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“Can he be trusted?” Sana asks Mingyu who sits beside her on the other end of the couch of his living room.

“Wonwoo is a quiet guy in general so I think it won’t take that much to shut him up.” Mingyu rubs his chin. “If he breathes a word about it, though, then I have no other choice but to take him.”

Sana rolls her eyes. Why does man think one of the best way to solve problems is by introducing their fist to one another? “And then, we need to make a trip to the police station and we can’t do that because I haven’t had dinner.”

A cough interrupts.

“Can you guys not talk about me like I’m not here?” Wonwoo drawls from the chair of the other side of the room. He’s been sitting there like he’s on a time-out because Mingyu is afraid he somehow smells like bacon and makes Sana pukes her guts out again. “Does it mean I’m right? You guys are pregnant?”

Mingyu sighs. “Yes. She’s three months now. defect.” He absentmindedly runs his palm on the back of her head. She can’t help but leans into his touch because she can’t not. He’s a soothing balm at this moment and he smells good and doesn’t smell like bacon. “We found out a month and a half ago. We’re still figuring this out, so mate, I really hope you don’t mind our business and keep it to yourself. Can you do that?”

“I’m just shocked, that’s it. Are you guys even dating? I don’t know you’re the dating type, let alone a father type.”

“Like I said, we’re still figuring this out. We’ve just done with the storm that is our parents. We’re doing good now so I hope nothing pokes our bubble for the time being. She’s easily stressing out right now, man, you’ve seen her puking. Until she’s ready, can I trust that no words come out from this room about this?” Mingyu asks this all modulatedly, but there’s still a hint of authority in his voice.

And Wonwoo seems to be an easy person to talk to. He just has to relax and realizes that this has nothing to do with him, that’s all. “I won’t tell anyone. You know that,” he settles at that.

“Good. I’m just making sure. This isn’t about me, this is about Sana.”

Wonwoo nods. He exhales a loud breath before raising his head up and puts up a big smile. “Then, I guess congratulations is in order.”

“Thank you, Wonwoo. I don’t think we’ve received any congratulations yet. Feels good to get one.” Sana grins at him back. Seeing him at the comfort distance of a house, interacting with him, she finally sees the gist of what Wonwoo is really like. He’s like a mess. But clean one. Like he’s all over the place, but it’s not a bad thing. She stares at him longer, wondering what attracted her to him before. Maybe the kind face and she’s right about him being a good guy but it doesn’t matter now because after seeing what he ate, Sana doesn’t think she can still view Wonwoo the same anymore. She will evaluate him again after she gives birth because this really is just her hormones being discriminative.

Just to fill the silence and diverting the conversation, Sana blurts out, “You know, I used to have a crush on you.”

Two heads snap at her equally fast. She will regret this but right now . . . she’s very hungry and like always, hungry makes her stupid. There’s no harm in telling, she thinks. It was in the past. “Just sometimes. I used to stalk you on social medias—which, by the way, you need to deactivate your Instagram because you never once bother to post anything.”

“I forgot the password,” Wonwoo provides. “I have a new account though.”

Sana shrugs. “I’ll follow you if I must.”

He laughs. “That’s good to know. Although, you really didn’t have to tell me that. I was fine not knowing my housemate’s baby mama used to crush on me.”

“I know.” She groans. “I don’t know what I’m thinking. All that making sense in my head right now is I’m going to have about ten sesame chicken later and I’m not apologizing for it.“

“That doesn’t make that much sense either.”

“Watch me.”

Wonwoo laughs again and only then Sana realizes that Mingyu doesn’t make a sound. When she looks at him, he’s chewing on his lip. She knows this trait of him. It means he’s thinking of something and can’t focus at the same time. It will make him even more confused with his thoughts later on.

She taps on his thigh, demanding attention. He perks up, glancing at her and forms a small smile.

Then he asks, “Late dinner?”

At eleven thirty, Sana is finally full. So full, she thinks she’s more of a chicken than a human at this point. “I can’t move. I want to spend the rest of my life on this floor.”

Mingyu laughs, cleaning up their boxes.

“So you have to surgically remove me and send me back to the dorm in ten minutes because I’m at the risk of falling asleep.”

“Then, just sleep here,” he offers flippantly before walking out of the room, leaving Sana gaping. Twenty seconds later, he’s back, closing the door. Seeing her expression, he rolls his eyes. He takes the books scattering around in his bed and stacking them together—his and her books—on his table. While clearing the bed, putting their things away, he clarifies, “We’re not going to do anything. I just want to talk. If I never say this, I’m going to say this now. You’re a very fun person to talk with. And I like talking to you.”

“Thanks,” she mumbles, still stunned for words. Is he serious? Isn’t sleeping together too intimate? She knows she’s having his baby, but still, they are not in a relationship.

“You’re also very fun to feed.”

“You’re good at feeding.”

“And since you’re pregnant, I like looking after you. If you’re not in my sight, I won’t be able to sleep.”

Sana sighs—at the sheer lameness of that statement.

He pats the bed. “So now come here.”

“No.”

He looks amused. “Can’t move? Want me to pick you up?”

“No. Yes, I can’t move but no, don’t pick me up. Also no, thanks.”

His face is now contorted into half-amused, half-confused. “Baby bird, what exactly are you saying?”

“Are you for real? We can’t sleep together.”

“We already slept together.”

“But this is too intimate.”

“We’ve seen each other .”

She grimaces. He’s saying it so brashly. Like it didn’t matter. Okay, fine, it didn’t matter now, but saying that to a preggie? With her current state of out-of-control hormones? That reminds her of another reason why she can’t stay. “I can’t. I might accidentally molest you in my sleep.”

“I give my consent in advance. Come here.”

“You can’t just give me consent!”

He sighs, dropping across the bed, lying on his front. “Baby bird, we can do this all night, but it’s really not fun arguing with you when you’re on the floor. And I don’t want to argue with you at all. It’s late. I’m tired and my head is about to explode if I don’t sleep soon. You also need to sleep and stop being shy.”

“I’m not being shy.”

“Then it’s done. Come here.”

She didn’t have to change because she’s already dressed in her Hello Kitty shirt and flannel pants. She washed her face and brushed her teeth with her finger, now she’s facing him with the light switched off. She can still make out the outline of his face in the dimmed light.

It’s been twenty minutes and they haven’t sleep. They talk.

“If he’s a good guy, then why did you break up with him?”

They are talking about her past boyfriends. Now, they are on the second one—her middle-school boyfriend. Frankly, instead of feeling like sleeping with a guy she’s attracted to, this feels more like sleepover with girlfriends.

“I couldn’t be with him anymore. It’s hard. He’s lactose intolerant.”

He bursts out laughing. “He what?”

“Mind you, we were young. And I loved ice-creams and cereals. The thing was, he loved them too. But he couldn’t even stomach those things without getting sick. If we dated any longer, he might die and I might be convicted.”

He continues laughing. “Goodness, tell me more.”

She tells him about Ten, her last boyfriend. She tells him about her father and his cats. She even tells him about how she always orders pizza with olives but then removes them because she doesn’t like the textures but she likes the taste they leave on the pizza. And the fact that she only eats red M&Ms.

And then he pokes about Wonwoo. It sounds tentative. Insecure, even. “You must feel . . . bad, that you got me instead of Wonwoo. The chances were about the same. We’re housemates.”

Sana scowls at him. “You make me sound like a .”

“No! Good Lord, no. Not at all. I’m sorry, that’s not what I mean. It’s just . . . it could’ve been better for you. You could have liked this whole thing better.”

She gets what he means. But who actually knows? Wonwoo is a good guy, but who can tell he might react positively? Who can tell that he’s ready to father if it’s happen anyway? “There’s a lot of other ways this could happened. But this is the way it is, and I won’t trade it for anything.”

He tries to hide his smile, but totally fails. “You so lame.”

“You lame first.”

They grin at each other. The grin turns to a smile. Then, to an observing face. Eyes roaming on each other’s features.

It feels like at that particular second, something cosmic happens. She doesn’t know what triggers it, but suddenly, there’s a shift in the atmosphere, from friends talking turning into something else.

Something completely . . . else.

Eyes collide.

Breath falters, then heavier.

Hearts quickens.

Hormones peaking.

She guesses it’s mutual, because he inches closer to the middle. Small movement, but they are closer now.

And then, like an alpha he is, he takes her hip, and pulls.

He pulls her entirely into him. She clings to his chest, his shirt, feeling his heartbeats wild against her knuckles.

She dares herself to look at him in the eyes. There’s . . . something . . . gushing in them.

“What are we doing?” She whispers.

His voice is hoarse. “We’re being lame.”

She curls closer, taking advantage of how warm he is. “Lame sounds good. It’s warm.”

He chuckles, and it seems like by doing so, the spell is broken. He sighs, shutting his eyes and bows his forehead on hers.

They stay like that for a while. Until everything—Heart, Breath, Hormones—settling.

Lame might be a good idea. She wants him. She likes him. But she guesses, it’s probably better to not be lame right now. It’s still too soon, too fast.

She lays on her back again, making his hand on her hip trailing to her stomach and it stays there. He ducks his head into the crook of her shoulder and his idly hand starts to .

“You know, Wonwoo is a better guy and he might be a better father, my ego can admit that. But my ego is one hundred percent sure you and I make a better-looking baby.”

She snorts. “You really make it sounds like I could have just easily knocked-up by anyone.”

“I want to say something to dispute that . . . but it’s completely lame and you just had a box of chicken and I’m too comfortable to get up to help you vomit later.” He pats her belly lightly. It’s bloating. Pretty sure it’s just food baby.

She giggles and he smiles before pulling her again, her back against his chest. “Come to Lame. It’s warm.”

“Me and Seungcheol, we’re not friends, but we’re not not friends,” Nayeon offers as she stands in the line in the dine hall with Sana in front of her.

“Why are you telling me that?” Sana almost shrieks, though she knows why. Nayeon has been playing mind games with her since the night she spent at Mingyu’s. Sana told her, she won’t talk about it if Nayeon doesn’t start talking about Seungcheol. So now, here it is. “I didn’t ask you to start telling me.”

“We’re bestfriend, we share everything.” Nayeon leans forward to Sana’s ear. “Every. Little. Secret.”

Total mind games.

Sana ignores her until they get their foods and walk to a table in the middle. She redirects a conversation once they are settling in. “Remember when I told you I kind of need a job? There’s this small tattoo shop near my home. They are hiring.”

“Eh, I thought you weren’t serious? Sana, there’re like three more weeks before final exam.”

Sana pokes a straw into her drink. “I’m thinking to work there for the semester break. Chill.”

“What would you do there, though?”

“Just sorting appointments. Talk people out before committing to stupid tattoo. Hold hands with the chickens.” She shrugs. “They say they are very important tasks.”

It doesn’t pay much, but it’s decent for a job that won’t give her too much workload. And from the phone call, they seem to be nice people.

“I might check them out with you. I’m thinking of getting a tattoo. Here.” Nayeon shows behind her ear. “Jeonghan designed some for me. I’ll show you. They’re pretty cool.”

Sana wants to tease that Nayeon might be inspired by her not-friend-but-not-not-friend, but she doesn’t want to risk Nayeon to start being inquisitive again.

They eat and fall into casual conversation before suddenly, Nayeon trails off and points to Sana’s behind.

“Should I take picture?” She asks when Sana turns to look over her shoulder.

And her stomach hollows.

At a table at far end of a corner, sits three gorgeous girls. Mingyu is standing by the table, grinning with all his charms—and how dare he shows his teeth that she likes so much on full display like that?

By his side is Wonwoo, not paying the girls attention as he looks around and then his eyes land on Sana.

He smiles and puts up a hand as a hi.

“Is Wonwoo looking—oh god, he is looking here. Sana, wave back! What are you doing?”

Sana waves back half-heartedly. She can’t really offer up much enthusiasm when one of the girl eagerly chatting up Mingyu that requires touching him wherever she can reach.

Something in Sana is twisting. She can feel her eyes narrowing as her blood nearly boils out of her skin.

Wonwoo keeps nudging Mingyu, but he is still very occupied with his little tête-à- tête with his harem. Sana looks away as her feeling registers.

She’s jealous.

She’s not much of jealous person, even back when she’s in a relationship, but she’s jealous now. As though she doesn’t know this about him. She witnessed one or two times Mingyu making out with some girls at dark corner in parties. She used to feel disgusted and even feel bad over the girls.

Now . . . well, now, she’s ed.

She’s ed as she realizes that she’s now nowhere feeling disgusted. She feels territorial. And she has no business feeling so. Expecting baby with Mingyu doesn’t make him hers. Him going temporarily celibate doesn’t mean it’s for her. They are sure getting so much closer lately. And whatever happened in his bed the other night was probably a fluke; just some residual wants and needs on his part. Nothing to do with his feelings at all. If he feels anything at all in the first place.

Her, on the other hand . . .

“Oh, boy.” Nayeon sighs sympathetically as she studies Sana’s expression. “You don’t dislike Mingyu anymore, aren’t you?” She asks this in a context. A context only bestfriends knows without really saying how it truly is.

Sana gives in. She tells her what her bestfriend deserves to know—what Nayeon seems to already know anyway. She nods. “I don’t dislike him.”

She doesn’t dislike him so much.

a/n : do i write a/n here or in the author's thought box? 

hi. i hope u like this chapter! it's a progress! at least i think it's a progress lol.

what do u think of wonwoo? would he be a threat? a trigger? a third party?