Wonwoo is busy multitasking. 

He’s adding ketchup on the side of his fries and stuffing burger in his face - all while reading his class notes he has set in front of him, when he hears Mingyu giggle from in front of him. It had been late afternoon on a Thursday when Mingyu begged Wonwoo to accompany him go get lunch because according to Mingyu, apparently, my brain is starving after Physics, Wonwoo Hyung. (That whining bastard). 

They’re both at the food place Wonwoo’s roommates (and best friends) work in. Overlooking the fact that he gets occasional discounted lunches and fruit juices on the house, Wonwoo prefers to hang out at the shop for he has the chance of looking less like the loner he actually is since his tiny circle of friends (all of whom worked in the shop) liked to drop by the booth Wonwoo sits in in between their breaks. Wonwoo’s lonely streak had gotten a little tipsy earlier in the year, when Mingyu barrelled his way over to the university Wonwoo studies in to continue his own education; adding a plus one in Wonwoo’s minuscule group of friends.

The lean-muscled old neighbour of Wonwoo’s (who Wonwoo is more warm, and less cold-and-quiet to) only giggles more at Wonwoo, his mouth full of food. Today, the younger science major is clad in a fitted white shirt that has Abercrombie & Fitch printed on the front; and he still manages to look effortlessly good, unlike Wonwoo who looks half-dead in his black hoodie and cap.

Mingyu takes time to swallow his burger down, and says, ‘Hyung, you look cute when you’re focused like that.’

Wonwoo stares at the figure perched in front of him through his wire-rimmed eyeglasses. His blank mind takes half-a-minute to process what Mingyu has said, and his ears take an extra ten seconds to turn red and match the colour of ketchup he has poured on his fries. Mingyu thinks it’s quite a sight to see Wonwoo red and frozen - burger still in hand, looking frazzled. Cute.

Wonwoo doesn’t really know what to say. Mingyu is staring at him expectantly, a puppy-like grin on his face, and Wonwoo feels like he’s compelled to reply something back. He’s practically vibrating in his spot thinking for a reply when his beloved Soonyoung (who overhears Mingyu’s sentence while he's walking out on his break) swoops in and says something along the lines of ‘I love fries, do you love fries? Do you want free fries?’ to save Wonwoo’s inarticulate . 

Wonwoo takes less than ten seconds to gather his notes in his hands and sprint off the corner.

Two days later, Wonwoo has the unfortunate luck of bumping into Mingyu again when he tiredly drags his body to the library, grudgingly accepting the fact that he will be put in the brink of failing his classes if he doesn’t start studying for his tests next week.

His auto piloted body is ready to take off again when he catches sight of Mingyu, hoping he can hide away before the taller can catch a glimpse of him. But Jeon Wonwoo hasn’t really been much of a bagger of luck; so it doesn’t take him much by surprise when Mingyu manages to holler out a loud and shrill whisper of Wonwoo Hyung, enough to catch attention and receive dirty glares from the students studying nearby.

Wonwoo lets out an inaudible it and takes hesitant steps towards where Mingyu is sitting; by the huge windows, the vast expanse of the campus behind the sitting boy working as a canvas to the art that is Kim Mingyu; a beautiful 6 feet of walking that is incapable of getting any eye bags despite lacking sleep, which Wonwoo thinks is ing unfair because what the .

Head hanging low with his hands digging tightly into his textbooks, and staring at his black converse that desperately needs some washing, Wonwoo pep talks himself that it is better to face the tall and hyperactive freshman now and pretend as if nothing interesting worthy had happened when they last hung out, instead of dragging the matter (what is the matter anyway?) like a stringy chewing gum.

An internally panicking Wonwoo is proud that he outwardly manages to look cool as he nods a tsundere hello to Mingyu while taking the empty seat next to him, making sure all parts of his body are tucked in safely within him (even his pinkie), to avoid facing the danger of coming in contact with Mingyu. He of course fails, since Mingyu is not good with controlling his limbs, and immediately crowds into Wonwoo’s personal space the moment he sits down to whisper him some equations about Physics or something. Wonwoo can’t actually think straight with all the Mingyu in front of him.

Mingyu babbles on about gravitational functions and Newton’s law with his thick textbook placed in front of them, and although Wonwoo tries, he really tries, to focus on what Mingyu is saying, his mind can’t help but stay haywire from the combination of a) Mingyu’s soapy smell b) thinking of what Mingyu had said a couple of days ago and c) his goddamn collarbones that prettily stand out against the dark colour of his soft maroon sweater. They look so, so comfy. Jesus, Mingyu looks so comfy, and Wonwoo feels like crying from the overwhelming want of wanting to cuddle Mingyu.

Wonwoo quietly hyperventilates again. He’s very sure he’d be facing the trouble of being admitted in the hospital sooner if he doesn’t stop facing issues concerning his regular intake of oxygen.

‘Hyung, are you okay?’ Mingyu softly puts his hand on Wonwoo’s shoulder and finally addresses the panicking male beside him, who looks very disorientated (yet beautiful, Mingyu's mind adds).

‘Mingyu, you cannot go around calling people cute,” Wonwoo blurts out, his tone stuck somewhere in between a nervous 20-year-old guy and a nagging mother.

He chastises himself to shut the hell up (because why did he even say that?) before he can make matters worse, and make his dignity look like it's gone for a spin in the washing machine, but his mouth seems to have taken a mind of its own and Wonwoo finds himself in the midst of a word vomit (literally, no filters) before he can stop himself from going any further.

‘And you cannot go around giving people your stupid smile because your canines look like they’re ready to poke at someone’s eyeballs, and you cannot wear sweaters and tight jeans together because it makes you look hot.’

Wonwoo quickly covers his mouth with his palms and cringes, but he realises it’s a little too late to be doing that because Mingyu’s body is fully turned towards Wonwoo now, and he is giving Wonwoo the same 500 watts grin (canines full on display and all) that he always blinds Wonwoo with.

‘Hyung, is this a complimented reply for what I said at lunch the other day?’ Mingyu draws out giddily, no ounce of shame present on his face, unlike Wonwoo.

Wonwoo’s face is ablaze with colour and embarrassment and he thinks he might combust anytime soon, palms moving to cover his cheeks in attempt to cool the fire in them. Someone call the fire department please, he thinks.

He tries to salvage whatever shred of manly dignity he has in himself and instead clears his throat, and replies, ‘No, I’m just handing out some genuine advice to my freshman friend.’ His answer sounds a lot like unconvincing bull even to himself.

‘Ah, but you think I’m a good-looking freshman, right?’ Mingyu teases, and Wonwoo almost rips out a page of his textbook.

‘N-No I don’t,’ he stutters. How articulate.

‘But you said I looked hot,’ Mingyu pouts, shaking his entire body like a wiggling puppy to catch Wonwoo’s attention. Wonwoo chokes at Mingyu’s words and flips the pages of his textbook even faster.

‘Wonwoo Hyung,’ Mingyu calls out a second later. Wonwoo curiously peeks out above his thick manual.

‘If the universe loses its gravitational force, how long do you think it’ll take for everything to go faulty?’ Mingyu asks. Wonwoo tilts his head to the side, confused as to why Mingyu would ask a question related to Physics in the midst of attempting to tease Wonwoo. Before Wonwoo can open his mouth to answer, Mingyu takes on a signature grin, looking ready to reply his own question.

‘It doesn’t matter, because you are my gravitational force and you already make my heart faulty!’ Mingyu giggles out, emphasising his words.

Wonwoo takes less than five seconds to sprint away from Mingyu this time.

While holding his impromptu ‘Run-Away-From-Mingyu-Marathon’, Wonwoo forgets to grab his textbook along with him on his run out.

So around two or whatsoever hours (he didn’t really keep count) after his sprinting marathon from Mingyu and the library, Wonwoo lets himself sit at the snack bar in the shop Soonyoung and Jihoon work - his right cheek pressing on the counter and a solemn look pasted on his face, as he soundlessly wonders if he a) really will be able to pass his classes and b) will ever be able to face Mingyu again without wanting to squirt mustard down his own throat.

Soonyoung throws a worried glance at his best friend from the cash register. Jihoon on the other hand though, isn’t as kind, and instead throws the wet rag he was wiping the tables with directly onto Wonwoo’s face. Soonyoung gets even more worried when Wonwoo barely flinches.

‘Yo, get your wimpy out of here if you aren’t planning to change the way your face looks, because no offense, but you look like a dead body,’ Jihoon says, collecting his rag from Wonwoo’s face.

Vernon who comes out from the back only peeps from around the corner, and continues going back to moving boxes like it’s his immediate priority. The boys are less hectic than usual, silently minding their designated jobs and finding new entertainment from Wonwoo since the shop isn’t much bustling with lunch-seeking individuals around the mid-evening.

Wonwoo only lets an indecipherable grunt in response, and mumbles again when Jihoon throws insults at him. Vernon finishes his duty at restocking a while later and joins his co-workers at front, participating in the wallowing conversation of Wonwoo’s problems. He looks back and forth between the contrasting duo of friends who are attempting to cheer Wonwoo up.

‘Wonwoo, he’s a close friend of yours. If Mingyu’s saying things like that to you, maybe he’s just trying to cheer you up.’ Soonyoung says.

‘Yeah, maybe he noticed how nasty you look,’ Jihoon adds, and Soonyoung swats him in the hand to say that Wonwoo was just stressed from studying.

‘It shouldn’t be a big deal, man. Just man up and act casual the next time you see him.’ Vernon chips in helpfully.

Not sooner after Vernon has let the sentence out of his mouth, the bell above the door rings to signal a customer who more or less barges into the shop; his mood apparently the blaring opposite of Wonwoo’s.

Before Soonyoung can give his roommate a heads up, Jihoon snickers at the loud Hyung! the deep voice calls out.

Oh boy.

‘Wonwoo Hyung!’ Mingyu calls out again, hands busy and fumbling with the stack of books he carries along, and would you look at that, half of them seem to be the ones Wonwoo left in the library earlier. ‘You left so soon, Hyung. I could barely carry all our stuff here, and the walk-out machine kept beeping at me because I couldn’t scan my card!’ he rambles, settling down on Wonwoo’s right and letting the textbooks fall on the counter with a dull thud.

For lack of better words, Wonwoo only lets out a meek sorry, eyes projecting downwards as if the barstool was the most fascinating thing in the world. Oh look, it has in-painted glitter.

‘Are you planning on running away every time we have a conversation?’ Mingyu’s abrupt question really takes him by surprise. Wonwoo’s round-glasses rimmed eyes look up to see Mingyu stretching his long body over the counter and blindly find for a straw to put into his cup of milkshake that Soonyoung delivers him. Soonyoung moves a little father to stand next to Jihoon who’s settled near the tables, comfortable enough to watch over and hear the couple without making it look blaringly obvious.

Wonwoo sighs. ‘The thing is Mingyu, there is a difference between having a casual conversation and having talks that are borderline flirting,’ Wonwoo finally finds his voice and energy to say. He’s slightly proud at himself for not stuttering over his words, but he doesn’t pay too much attention to it in order to not lose the flow of his speech.

‘You go around calling me cute out of the blue when I’m stuffing my face with a burger, and call me cute when I’m wearing my reading glasses, and sit so close to me that I can smell your detergent on my own clothes, and it just makes it so hard for me to think straight, or even hardly think sometimes. You make me not know what to do.’ Wonwoo confesses, his tone growing softer towards the end of his outburst.

Mingyu only answers back unfazed; telling that he still doesn’t see the problem with what Wonwoo had said, half slurping on his milkshake. ‘Hyung, I’m only being honest with you when I say those things to you, and plus, haven’t we always been sitting close? You know I have the habit of leaning towards people when I talk.’

‘Yeah, but you, like, flirt with me Mingyu,’ Wonwoo half-heartedly relents, softly adding, ‘Or at least I think you do.’

‘Yeah, because we have a crush on each other, Wonwoo Hyung,’ Mingyu’s eyes flit over from the brim of his cup, lips playing with his straw. Wonwoo immediately chokes on air upon hearing what Mingyu says because how on Earth did he find out about Wonwoo’s homoual crush on him?

Wonwoo honestly finds it hard to recall the last time he had spoken to Soonyoung or Jihoon about Mingyu’s grades or the occasional text messages between them; and Mingyu hadn’t changed his hair since he dyed it back brown after his blond-and-short-hair fiasco, and that had definitely been way before Mingyu entered college three months ago.

That had all been back when Mingyu was still struggling to finish his senior year and preparing to graduate high school, whilst Wonwoo was thrown into the whirlpool of tertiary education, science and college assignments. There has literally been nothing for Wonwoo to pore over concerning Mingyu to his duo of friends in recent times, so Wonwoo wonders, how could Mingyu have possibly known that Wonwoo finds the former’s round and cute? (Mingyu doesn’t know this last part, of course).

(But frankly, although Wonwoo lessened his rants about Mingyu recently, he shamefully admits that his crush on Mingyu still stands as how it has always been. He simply hasn’t been wording his feelings as actively since he’s been seeing Mingyu far more often now compared to the year before, now that the two are back to living and studying within close proximity. It’s different when Mingyu and Wonwoo were separated two states from each other; between school and university.)

And how is Mingyu saying things like we have a crush on each other, looking utterly nonchalant, and is he still slurping on that stupid milkshake? Wonwoo finds himself a little flustered at Mingyu, and more annoyed at the chocolate milkshake in his hand and harshly pulls Mingyu’s drink away from him.

Mingyu pouts when his drink is taken away from him (his stomach has been grumbling since earlier and studying Physics again for half the day; especially on a Saturday, is not cool). He rolls his eyes playfully and scolds at Wonwoo to stop looking so scandalized. Before Wonwoo is able to deny or question what Mingyu had said earlier, Mingyu goes back to his habit of halting Wonwoo’s replies with a reply of his own.

Mingyu’s reply goes along the lines of explaining that he got to know of Wonwoo’s crush on him from when Wonwoo had slurred it out drunkenly after a fraternity party Wonwoo had firstly taken Mingyu to, when helping him get accustomed to the college life. Wonwoo had taken the bright-eyed and lost freshman for a campus tour to make him feel at home, in addition to pulling him into a loud house filled with smoke and alcohol (and probably weed, but who knows) to give him the full college experience.

What Wonwoo probably had overlooked the morning after he woke from his drunken stupor was the fact that his mouth tended to run wild at more times when excessive alcohol got into his slinky system. (He remembers being told that he once had a serious and literal eye-to-eye talk about the fraternity house’s cat whilst sitting on the senior’s lap himself); and if Wonwoo thought that was his most embarrassing drunken story, he thinks the universe is proving him wrong right now.

Wonwoo faintly hears Jihoon’s cackle behind him and he feels his face slowly turning tomato. He cannot believe, (refuses to believe) that he voluntarily confessed his liking for Mingyu to the person himself, and he immediately wants to crawl over the counter, sit underneath it, and cry.

‘You’re so red right now.’ Mingyu laughs, unaware of Wonwoo’s internal crisis.

‘Yeah, so red Wonwoo,’ Jihoon chimes from behind them, and Soonyoung chokes his neck to shut him up.

Wonwoo is in the middle of what he does best – hyperventilate and panic, when Mingyu talks again after a grinning pause.

‘You were so cute, Hyung. You were going on and on about how you thought I should have worn blue contacts while I was blond, and how I’ve always looked amazing when I wear my button-ups and ripped skinny jeans together.’

Now, Wonwoo can even hear Vernon laugh from somewhere around the shop. Please let the ground open and swallow me up.

Mingyu finally gets the audacity to turn shy, and his tone shifts to something that is more softer and reserved. ‘I think that’s why I got more confident about telling you things I’ve always wanted to tell you, Hyung. Ordinary things I like about you on a normal basis, they're easier to point out since I know our feelings are mutual.’ He fiddles with his fingers, now that his straw is gone.

Wonwoo’s round eyeglasses droops down his nose and Mingyu leans forward to push it back up. Wonwoo flusters again.

‘You look cute like this, Wonwoo Hyung,’ Mingyu smiles out, and Wonwoo wheezes (only internally), this time.

Wonwoo flaps Mingyu’s hands away from his face and squeaks a shut up, and Mingyu laughs more.

‘So, are we cool now?’ Mingyu tilts his head and stares at Wonwoo.

A lesser conflicted and non-emotionally constipated Wonwoo is somehow calm when he nods his head to confirm that they’re cool now, a shy smile taking over his face. He even goes as far as adding, ‘Hey Mingyu?’

Mingyu brings out his canines again. ‘Yes, Hyung?’

‘That sweater looks nice on you.’

‘Vernon! Go make another milkshake!’ Soonyoung screeches.

It’s only minutes later that Wonwoo and Mingyu are silently giggling at each other, textbooks crowding the table they shifted into (tests be damned). The milkshake a grinning Soonyoung delivers is settled in the middle of the table looking very pink (its strawberry, and it looks on par with Mingyu’s lips) and very full (again, like his lips) and very big, compared to the ones the boys usually serve around the shop. It also has two straws perched in it.

When Wonwoo leans forward to drink his milkshake, Mingyu noisily sneaks a wet kiss on Wonwoo’s cheek before drinking the milkshake along.

Wonwoo flushes as pink as their strawberry milkshake when his eyes catches Mingyu’s, only two inches away from his.

‘They’re making eyes at each other!’ Jihoon shrieks.