Chapter 17- Say Yes

“Hyung…I think you have lots of explanation to do. I found him crying while you were sleeping. ” Hansol quirk an eyebrow, from Wonwoo to Mingyu’s way. He…cried? But why? Did something happen again? Wonwoo bit on his lower lip, trying to recall what kind of stupid things he must have said before falling asleep again.

“…well that’s awkward…fine. You know what. I’ll leave the house for half an hour. You two can make it or break it.” Hansol sighed, face palming himself as the other two merely sat in silence. The main door shut with a soft ‘bang’, indicating that Hansol was officially out of the house, leaving Mingyu and Wonwoo alone. Again.

“W-Why did you cry?” Wonwoo’s voice croaked a little as he slowly lifted his head to look at Mingyu. He was faced with silence, and the moment he made eye contact with the younger, everything they talked about right before he fell asleep hit him in the face. Oh. I told him…didn’t I?

“I-I…E-Erm…I’m sorry?” Wonwoo apologized with a questioning tone, a guilty smile plastered as he observed Mingyu’s expressions.

“What are you even sorry for…?” Mingyu snorted, rolling his eyes. His expressions hardened, turning to look in another direction.

“I d-don’t know…just felt like I owed you an apology…” Wonwoo confessed.

“Why?” Mingyu probed, playing with the edges of his shirt. Don’t look at him now…you’ll just fall for him as always. Realizing how Mingyu was now avoiding eye contact, Wonwoo cleared his throat.

“I didn’t want to…you know…lead you on back then. I swore I didn’t know that…was having feelings for a person. Like you know…having feelings romantically?” Wonwoo cringed at how he was explaining himself.

“You need to know that…I always confide things like these to Jun…because that idiot has his love life all figured out. So when he told me how I felt wasn’t in a romantic way…I thought so too…because he’s Mr Know-It-All…And thinking back…he was probably…just afraid of me…hurting another innocent kid.” Wonwoo continued, his voice getting soft towards the end.

“You thought that rejecting me wouldn’t hurt me then?” Mingyu retorted through his gritted teeth. Wait. Why am I getting mad now?

“Are you…getting mad at me right now?” Wonwoo asked, his brows furrowing back together. Beats me either… Mingyu stared back.

“Are you even sure that those feelings you had were for me? Not just another one of your jokes to ‘rile me up’ again?” Mingyu asked right back instead of answering Wonwoo’s question. Please…tell me you’re not…I’ll kill you if you’re kidding about liking me…

“I know…that I always joke around. But I swear and promise this isn’t another one of those! I like you. For real. I swear.” Wonwoo took a step nearer. Mingyu started to soften, seeing how serious Wonwoo was.

“So…can’t you tell me why you cried?” Wonwoo asked, placing one hand on Mingyu’s shoulder.

“How would you feel…when the person you started falling in love with…has the same feeling as you…?” Mingyu questioned back. It was funny how he was answering Wonwoo’s every question with another question, and the older didn’t seem to mind. Mingyu was now staring at the ground, feeling embarrassed that Wonwoo found out that he had cried after the whole “confession” thing.

“So you didn’t cry because I did something wrong…right?” Wonwoo let out a sigh of relief, a wide grin gracing his face when Mingyu shook his head.

“Thank god…the next time…don’t cry if I’m not there to comfort you.” Wonwoo pulled the younger’s head against his chest. H-Huh…? Mingyu felt his cheeks burning up as he bit on his lower lip, not knowing how to respond.

“I see you guys have made up. Well done! And I’m not trying to spoil your sweet moment there but god damn it. It’s freezing out there.” Hansol rubbed his arms, dashing into the house. It may be spring, but the weather at night was always unpredictable.

The three of them finished their dinner, and Mingyu left their place feeling much more relaxed and happy. Firstly, his love was finally requited. Secondly, their project was almost done. Mingyu figured he should tell one of his friends about the new advancement between Wonwoo and him, at least Seokmin. He was excited, feeling like a teenage girl in love, but something in his gut told him not to. From the way Jeonghan and Seokmin acted, they didn’t seem to like the idea of Mingyu being together with Wonwoo. And I’ve yet to find out why…

“Soooooo…is it official yet?” Hansol asked as the two of them laid in bed, ready to go to sleep.

“What’s offi- Ah choo!” Wonwoo sneezed between his sentence abruptly, saliva transmitted in the air as he couldn’t cover his mouth in time.

“DUDE! THAT’S ING GROSS!” Hansol shouted, pulling a tissue from his side of the bed, wiping at his arms and face furiously, as if it were some sort of disease. Well, theoretically it was, but still.

“I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to.” Wonwoo chuckled a little before getting into another one of his coughing fits that had been going on for the past few nights. That was what kept him and Hansol up all night. The itch in his throat was unbearable, and it didn’t help that his nose kept watering up.

“Why did you even insist on attending school today? It must have gotten worse because you left house.” Hansol scolded, passing Wonwoo a glass of warm water.

“We had Criminal Law today…you know that lecture we shared…I needed to be there…the stupid project.” Wonwoo explained himself.

“Don’t lie…you were probably there to keep an eye on him…not wanting other guys fishing for him. Don’t fight me on this because your face is turning red.” Hansol snickered.

“I-I’m red because I’m sick you jerk!” Wonwoo retaliated weakly, hitting Hansol’s shoulder.

“Sureeee Mr-Reliable.” Hansol teased.

“What? What’s with that nickname now?” Wonwoo rolled his eyes as he popped his medication down easily.

“Don’t cry if I’m not there to comfort you.” Hansol repeated, pretending to gag and choke as he watched Wonwoo’s face burn red.

“Shut the up…” Wonwoo held Hansol in a headlock, making the younger burst out in laughter.

“Just get him to be your boyfriend already!” Hansol managed to squeeze between his chains of laughter.

“W-What?! Me? N-No way…you know what happened last time. I’m not letting history repeat itself.” Wonwoo backed away into his half of the bed, staring at the ceiling.

“Come on…I’m sure he’s just waiting for you to ask.” Hansol poked Wonwoo’s bicep.

“B-But…I don’t know what to do…? What if he says no? What if he doesn’t even want to be more than friends?” Wonwoo panicked, turning to his side, looking at Hansol with the most confused look.

“Just calm down! Firstly, pick the right date, place and time.” Hansol began his lecture, teaching Wonwoo all sorts of ways he could ask Mingyu out. Wonwoo didn’t return to school for the rest of the week, staying home to recuperate due to Hansol’s naggings. However, he did receive texts from his friends, wishing him a speedy recovery and also Mingyu telling him that he would be dropping by on Saturday to start on their presentation slides. Wonwoo may or may not have forgotten about Mingyu coming over.

“Wonwoo-ah! Wake up! I think your friend is here!” Granny Jeon called out, watching Hansol and Wonwoo still deep asleep under the sheets, arms tangled.

“Jeon Wonwoo! You lazy bum!” Granny Jeon hollered, pulling the blankets off her grandson.

“Granny, I’ll take over from here. You can go have your breakfast.” Mingyu grinned, striding into Wonwoo’s room. His smile faltered a little when he saw how close Hansol and Wonwoo were. Stop right there. They’re like brothers. Don’t be silly. Kim Mingyu. What’s gotten into you…

“Aigooo…what’s a handsome boy like you doing, hanging around that useless grandson of mine…?” Granny Jeon joked.

“Wah…seriously…insulting me first thing in the morning…” Wonwoo said, the baritone of his voice more evident in the morning than ever. He sat up in his bed, hair sticking in every direction as he glared at his grandmother with an eye open. Mingyu wanted to laugh at how childish Wonwoo was acting, but the side of him that found Wonwoo’s morning look ravishing manipulated his mind. Mingyu stood rooted by the door, only watching Wonwoo stretching, his shirt lifted slightly.

“That’s how I encourage you.” Granny Jeon laughed, watching Wonwoo trudge into the bathroom to wash up. While Wonwoo was gone, granny Jeon pulled Mingyu into the kitchen.

“You must be a really special kid huh…” Granny Jeon commented, pulling out a frying pan from one of the cupboards.

“H-Huh? What do you mean?” Mingyu asked as he assisted her, washing the utensils.

“You managed to melt my darling’s ice-cold heart…” Granny Jeon answered, beating some eggs before dipping bread into it. She was making French toast for the boys as breakfast, Hansol’s favourite. Mingyu felt his ears burn, pretending not to understand what granny was saying.

“I overheard Hansol and him speaking one night…they were planning something for next Thursday if I’m not wrong.” Granny Jeon told Mingyu as she whipped up the French toasts.

“Next Thursday? I-It’s my birthday…” Mingyu mumbled to himself, wondering how on earth Hansol and Wonwoo knew.

“Birthday? But I’m pretty sure they weren’t planning for a birthday…it sounded like he wanted to ask-” Before granny could foil his entire plan, Wonwoo cleared his throat, entering the kitchen.

“What are you making for us? Ooh…French toast…I don’t even like French toast!” Wonwoo complained, but he picked one up nonetheless.

“Yah! Don’t eat it if you don’t like it you brat! Put it down then!” Granny Jeon rolled her eyes, stacking the cooked French toast on a plate, bringing it out. The two boys followed her out, seated by the table set up, munching on the toasts.

“Take care of the house…don’t burn it down while I’m gone.” Granny Jeon instructed as she put on her shoes by the door as soon as she was done with her breakfast.

“Where are you going again? Stop working so hard will you? People will think that I’m mistreating you…did you bring a jacket along? Do you have enough money?” Wonwoo shot a string of questions, holding onto his granny’s arm, not letting go until at least one of his questions was answered.

“Aigoooo…are you a grandfather? Why do you have so many questions?” Granny laughed, prying Wonwoo’s hands.

“Ahhhhh….granny…answer at least one of my questions…” Wonwoo whined, a small pout appearing. Mingyu was astounded, his first time seeing Wonwoo pouting. He looks…adorable… Mingyu couldn’t take his eyes off the older.

“Don’t worry so much. I’ll be back with dinner. Now go…your friend is waiting for you.” Granny patted Wonwoo’s hand.

“Fine…come back early…” Wonwoo’s pout deepened. He bent down to his granny’s level, asking for a kiss on his forehead.

“Aigoooo….Why are you acting like this again? I told you I’ll be back…” Granny Jeon complained, but giving her grandson a kiss on his forehead as requested.

“I’ll miss you…come back safe!” Wonwoo frowned, as he watched the old lady make her way down the walkway. He only left the window when he couldn’t see her backview any longer.

“Why are you acting like a puppy who’s sad because their owner went to work?” Mingyu teased, setting up his computer on the ground.

“I’m not a puppy. You’re the puppy.” Wonwoo stuck his tongue out at the younger in a childish manner, eliciting laughter.

“Yeah that’s right…you seem more like a cat. Sophisticated but still mischievous.” Mingyu stuck his tongue back at Wonwoo, earning a frown from the older.

“Mischievous? You want to see real mischief? I can show you…” Wonwoo smirked as he leaned in closer to Mingyu, only a few inches apart.

“Hyun- Oops…Was I interrupting something?” Hansol yawned, scratching his scraggly hair.

“N-No! W-We weren’t doing anything! Not that sort!” Mingyu exclaimed, waving both his hands frantically, trying to prove his point.

“Right….just continue doing whatever you guys were doing. Breakfast time for Hansol~” Hansol went into the kitchen to grab a few toasts and a cup of milk before retreating back into the room. The two ended up completing their presentation slides and even managed to practice through their scripts several times. They wrapped things up and Mingyu was about to leave when Wonwoo stopped him.

“I-I was just wondering…if you wanna…you know hang out awhile?” Wonwoo asked, his hand still holding onto Mingyu’s arm.

“Y-Yeah sure…why not.” Mingyu shrugged, his eyes unconsciously going to Wonwoo’s hand that was still holding onto his arm.

“Great! Give me a minute to change!” Wonwoo grinned, darting off into his room.

“Finally going on dates huh? I thought hyung would make a move earlier…such a coward.” Hansol snickered, flopping down on the ground as he switched through the channels on the TV lazily.

“D-Date?!” Mingyu widened his eyes as he subconsciously scanned his clothes, wondering if his clothes were deemed appropriate for a date.

“I’m done! Let’s go! Hansol-ah! Tell granny I won’t be back for dinner!” Wonwoo said, not even giving the younger a glance.

“Use protection you hear me!” Hansol hollered across the living room, breaking out in a fit of giggle as Mingyu’s jaw dropped.

“Shut the up. Don’t listen to him. He’s just trying to make a fool out of me. AS ALWAYS.” Wonwoo shot the curse at Hansol before turning to face a blushing red Mingyu.

“Soooo…do you have anywhere you want to go?” Wonwoo asked as the two of them strolled down the pathway, making their way to the bustop.

“I-Is this a date?” Mingyu mumbled out loud, only realizing what he had done when Wonwoo let out a small