❝ dysphoria. ❞

˚₊✩‧₊

The sun was almost setting, the sky turning into a warm orange color from it's previously light blue color. The edges of the sky was already turning into a darker blue almost black, splatters of stars starting to appear.

The waves were rippling gently, washing over the golden sand and pulling back into the sea. The faint smell of the salty sea lingered in the fresh air. The cool breeze grazed their skin, hairs on their bare arms slowly rising.

Wonwoo couldn't stop staring at the beauty that was Mingyu. His eyes scanned over every little detail of the brunette from his soft hair to the curve of his cupid's bow to his lean torso and to his bare feet that created footprints on the sand.

"Wonwoo?"

Wonwoo snapped away from his gaze to look at Mingyu properly, mildly surprised at the concern that laced Mingyu's voice.

"Yeah?" He replied softly.

The younger boy just gave him a knowing look, confusing the elder boy.

"What is it?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"I know," Mingyu stated. "I know you like me."

All the blood drained from Wonwoo's face, his eyes blown wide. He halted his steps, feet digging harder into the sand.

"H-how?"

Mingyu smirked at the look on his face, "Well, it was pretty obvious," he replied.

Wonwoo flushed. "Sorry," he muttered, slightly bowing his head to hide the color that appeared on his cheeks.

"Don't apologize," Mingyu murmured, bringing his finger up to lift Wonwoo's chin.

"I'm the one who has to apologize."

Wonwoo furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “What are you talking ab-“ He was interrupted by the sharp gasp that fell past his lips.

His knees buckled as the pain on his chest spread and if it weren't for Mingyu holding him, he would already be lying on the sand. His vision blurred and blood bubbled up from his throat. It dripped past his lips and stained the otherwise light tan color of the sand.

Wonwoo followed Mingyu's line of vision and found himself looking at a huge splotch of red on his shirt. He kept holding on to Mingyu so he wouldn't fall, so when he least expected it, he fell to the ground. He winced at the pain that spread up his bottom, though it was nothing compared to the one on his chest.

Through his poor vision, he looked up at Mingyu who was scowling at a sleek knife that was painted red with Wonwoo's blood. "Disgusting."

The older boy choked up more blood and he managed to reach up and wiped his mouth with the intention to wipe it away but he just smeared more blood onto his face. His hand reached out for Mingyu, to hold onto him, hoping that he would help him. Mingyu sneered, slapping away Wonwoo's hand away from him.

"I don't — I don't understand," he managed. The pain was unbearable. He felt like he couldn't breath. He tried to take in gulps of air but was unable to do so. He found it very difficult to breathe and at that moment, his thoughts were filled with: 'I'm going to die. And by the hand of the person I love.'

Wonwoo couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was difficult too; to hear with the ringing in his ears. He thought that it was just his ears deceiving him but as he decided to listen on, he realized he was just fooling himself.

"I knew you like me. It was a long time ago when I found out. With your pitiful stares and following me like a puppy. It was really ing obvious. I've tried being nice to you but the plain truth is, I find it disgusting. I'm not interested in men. At all. Sorry for making you think you had a chance, but this is reality and I'm slapping you — or more like stabbing you with it."

The explanation was enough. Enough to make him beg to God or whoever up there to just take his life quickly and to end his suffering.

Was this really Mingyu? The same Mingyu who laughed and rolled his eyes at his lame, corny jokes. Was this really the Mingyu he knew and loved?

"Any last words, hyung?"

"I love you."

And Wonwoo closed his eyes.

The next time he opened his eyes, he was sitting up on his bed, a thin layer of sweat coated his body, making his t-shirt clung to his skin. He panted, desperately clutching at the left side of his chest just to make sure his heart was still there. It was.

'Okay. It was just a nightmare. Just a stupid nightmare,' He told himself.

He turned off the alarm that was screaming at his ears. The numbers on the clock blinked at him.

"7:45," he muttered before realization hit him on the face.

"! I'm late!"

●ᴥ●

"Bro, you look like ."

Wonwoo snorted. "Thanks."

"No problem!" Soonyoung cheered.

Soonyoung was none other than Wonwoo’s closest friend. The person Wonwoo could diss from left to right and didn’t have to worry about him being offended because that was the same exact thing Soonyoung did. Wonwoo would describe him as a ‘happy-go-lucky idiot’. With his bright personality, he had no problems with making friends. In fact, Wonwoo was not sure how they got along so well since their personalities were a stark contrast.

"So, what happened?"

Wonwoo took his tray from the lunch lady, giving her a nod thanks. Soonyoung did the same and he followed Wonwoo to an empty table. As they sat down, Wonwoo began telling him about the nightmare, hesitating a bit at first. Soonyoung listened intently, nodding his head occasionally and without interrupting.

"That sounds pretty ed up."

Wonwoo nodded. "Yeah. No wonder I remember every single detail of it."

"HYUNG!"

"Mingyu incoming," Soonyoung muttered lowly as he saw a tall dyed gray-headed boy coming their way. Soonyoung always did this whenever he saw the younger coming. It was kind of a ‘heads up’ to Wonwoo who took a deep breath and had his usual blank face on.

An arm swung over his shoulder and he waited for Mingyu to headlock him and choke him to death but it never happened. Reality Mingyu was a total opposite of Nightmare Mingyu.

"Hyung, can I please borrow your homework?" Mingyu pleaded, sitting down next to Wonwoo, with his arm still on the elder's shoulder.

"Do it yourself."

"But, hyung!" Mingyu whined, leaning his head against Wonwoo's shoulder.

Wonwoo's heart skipped a beat at the small contact. "Fine, here, take it." He took his book from his bag and shoved in into Mingyu's hands.

"Thanks!" Mingyu pulled his hand back and started copying Wonwoo's homework.

Wonwoo began to eat his lunch that was left untouched after he started to tell Soonyoung about his dream, or rather, nightmare.

"What's this?"

He looked down at Mingyu's finger pointing on a word. "That says diamond."

"Oh, okay. Your handwriting is really bad, hyung."

He frowned. He thought it was fine, at least it was readable.

"But that's okay. Your pretty face makes up for it!" Mingyu beamed.

Wonwoo felt his face turned red and he turned his head away from the other boy. He looked at Soonyoung who was trying his best not to laugh.

"Nice job. You made him blush so hard; he looks like a tomato," Soonyoung commented.

"Who looks like a tomato?" Seungcheol asked as he pulled a chair and sat down beside Soonyoung.

"Wonwoo. Mingyu called him pretty."

"No wonder."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mingyu huffed.

Wonwoo narrowed his eyes at Seungcheol to dare him to say anything that will blow his cover. Seungcheol noticed and grinned.

"Wonwoo blushes easily when people compliment him."

"I hate you guys," Wonwoo grumbled, shovelling more rice into his mouth.

"Except me, though. Right, hyung?" Mingyu chirped.

"Especially you," Wonwoo replied casually, without batting an eyelid even though on the inside his heart was beating so hard, he was sure he almost broke a rib.

Mingyu pouted but continued to copy down his homework.

Soonyoung gave Wonwoo a smug look which the latter boy ignored.

"Where is Jun?" demanded Minghao who approached them.

"Minghao!" Mingyu exclaimed, surprised at the entrance of his friend.

Minghao barely spared him a glance before looking at the other boys spread across the table.

Wonwoo sighed. "He's on the roof. But don't tell him I told you," he added.

Minghao nodded and walked away.

"What just happened?" Seungcheol asked once he was out of hearing range.

"Yeah, who's Jun?" Mingyu chimed in.

"Jun's my friend and it seems that Minghao has a crush on him or something." Wonwoo shrugged.

"Crush," Soonyoung snorted. "More like an obsession."

Mingyu nodded in agreement. "I've never seen him like that before."

"Wonwoo!"

Heads swerved towards the entrance where a frantically looking Jun was running towards their group. With a very fierce looking Minghao following him.

"How could you?!" He cried, ducking behind Wonwoo.

"He asked."

Minghao rolled his eyes and easily stood behind Jun who yelped when Minghao pulled his arm. He held on his grip on Wonwoo before blurting out, "Stop! It's Wonwoo I like!"

Wonwoo's eyes widened with disbelief. "Hyung, you don't really mean that, do you?"

Followed by Mingyu's really excessively loud, "What?!"

"Excuse me?" Minghao demanded, his tone dangerous and enough for Jun to almost wet his pants.

Sudden chimes of the bell rang throughout the cafeteria and sighs of relief were let out.

"Saved by the bell," Jun murmured.

Wonwoo glared at him. "I'm going to start eating lunch outside tomorrow onwards."

●ᴥ●

Fifteen minutes into the period and Wonwoo never felt this bored in his entire life. He found himself looking outside the window, admiring the falling orange-brown leaf indicating the near of fall. It looked like something that came out of a drama or an anime.

As he looked at the view of the school field, he thought of the day he got introduced to Mingyu. It was roughly a year and a half ago, when Wonwoo still had a girlfriend called Yuri.

Every Friday during lunch, the couple went to the yard to have their own little mini picnic. Wonwoo was a bit hesitant at first but Yuri insisted that it happen. Wonwoo never regretted letting it happen.

In the middle of spring, there was one particular week that was deemed the most horrible week ever and Wonwoo could not wait for Friday to come and brighten up his week.

When Friday finally came by, he trudged to the yard, his backpack hanging from one of his shoulder. When he thought his day couldn't get any worse, he saw a boy sitting where Wonwoo and his girlfriend always sat. As he approached the boy, he couldn't help but point out how familiar he looked. But being in the same school, they probably have seen a couple times at the hallways.

"Where's Yuri?" he asked.

"Are you her boyfriend?" the boy asked in return.

Wonwoo nodded and the brown-haired boy gave him a small smile. "She asked me to accompany you today since she has an exam to do."

"Oh." Wonwoo tried his best not to look disappointed and offend his newly acquaintance.

"Sit."

So he did, sit, in front of the boy who's name he still did not know.

And they hit it off. They just did. Wonwoo was so grateful the boy was talkative. If it weren't for that, they would probably be sitting awkwardly, eating their food.

They talked about lots of various things. From their teachers to the students in their school to watermelon and to pepsi vs cola.

"Pepsi's much better."

"What the heck? What's wrong with you? Cola is better than Pepsi," Wonwoo retorted.

"What? You need to get your tongue checked then!" The other huffed, folding his arms over his chest.

"How dare you talk to your hyung like that?"

"How do you know for sure that I'm younger than you?"

"Well, I dont know, what year were you born?"

"Ninety seven," He answered.

"Hah!" Wonwoo exclaimed in triumph, "I was born in the year ninety six."

The boy pouted. "Whatever.”

"How about this one: Burger or chicken?"

"Burger," they both said in unison.

"Well, that's something we can agree on,"

"I know we both can agree on how much better looking I am than you are," Wonwoo teased.

His acquaintance, or perhaps friend by now, frowned and shoved him softly. "Hyung, have you seen a mirror lately?"

Wonwoo huffed, shoving him back.

The brown-haired boy pushed him again but Wonwoo held on to him and then they were both lying on the grass.

Wonwoo sighed blissfully, turning to lie on his back, enjoying the natural warmth of the sun. In that moment, Wonwoo never felt this kind of connection before. Not even with Yuri.

"Hey," Wonwoo said, turning to his side. The other boy did the same so that they were facing each other, faces only inches away from the other. "I never got your name."

The brown-haired boy smiled. "I'm Mingyu."

●ᴥ●

Music has always been an interest to Wonwoo. So as soon as the list of after school clubs was released, he immediately went to look for one that caught his eye.

Alas, the only club affiliated to music was the Marching Band. He was disappointed to say the least but he had to join at least one club due to the strict rules of his school. In the end, he decided to just join the Marching Band club; the others weren't as interesting to him.

Not many of his friends joined the Marching Band club. Actually, none of them joined at all.

"Everyone, this is Kim Mingyu, he just recently join our club!"

On second thought.

Mingyu smiled widely at the crowd of Marching Band members, immediately making some girls blush at his charm. "Hi guys, I'm Mingyu, I hope we can work well with each other."

Wonwoo froze and he could only stare at the gray-haired boy with wide eyes. Why would a handsome, popular guy like Mingyu joined the Marching Band club?

Mingyu's eyes swept over the class, his eyes widened as it landed on Wonwoo's own chocolatey eyes.

'Hyung?' he mouthed. Wonwoo looked away uncomfortably, running his fingers through his hair.

"Well, then, let's get started."

Wonwoo went to return back to his seat when a hand fell on his shoulder.

"Hyung! I didn't know you were in the Marching Band club!"

Little did Wonwoo know that he was the only reason Mingyu ever joined.

●ᴥ●

By the time practiced finished, Wonwoo was breathing very heavily. His job on the trumpet was not as easy as everyone thought it was. It was tiring and took a lot of breathing supply.

He started to pack his trumpet back inside the case when the gray-haired boy approached him again.

"Hyung, how are you going home?"

"l usually walk home with Soonyoung 'cause we walk the same route."

"Can I please walk home with you? Minghao always leaves me to follow Jun."

Wonwoo nodded his head, even though he didnt knew if it was a good idea to walk home with Mingyu.

The two walked out of the Marching Band class just to see Soonyoung sauntering towards them. The blonde haired boy looked up, surprise to find himself looking at Mingyu.

"Mingyu? What are you doing here?"

"I'm in the Marching Band club!"

"But Minghao told me you were in the cooking club?"

"I'm in both clubs. I just got a liking towards the Marching Band club."

Soonyoung stared at him, looking towards Wonwoo who merely shrugged.

"Are you done? We should go," the dark haired boy said.

"I'm coming with you guys!" Mingyu cheered.

"Oh?" Suddenly, an idea popped into Soonyoung's mind. "I don't think I can go with you guys today. I'm going somewhere with Seokmin."

Wonwoo narrowed his eyes at him. "On a date?"

"Not really," Soonyoung lied easily. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Seokmin who was walking alone. He quickly ran towards him and swung a hand over the other boy's shoulder.

"See you guys tomorrow!" He shouted, waving at them. Wonwoo frowned but waved back nonetheless. Soonyoung softly whispered to Seokmin who nodded at his plan.

Wonwoo and Mingyu was then left alone to walk home together. It was only then when Wonwoo realized Soonyoung's brilliant plan, only he himself didn't find it so brilliant. He clenched his fists.

"Then, let's go?"

Wonwoo nodded and began to follow Mingyu. As soon as they set foot outside of the campus, the cool air nipped at their bare skin.

"Which way do you go, hyung?" Mingyu asked, shoving his hands inside his pocket.

"To the right and then through the bridge."

"What a coincidence! I go through that route too!" Mingyu exclaimed.

Wonwoo furrowed his eyebrows. That was what he said but in his entire years of knowing Mingyu, he never once saw the boy whenever he walked home.

The pair turned to the right with light steps.

"Heard anything from Yuri?" Wonwoo asked.

"Yeah, she said that her new school has lots of hot boys and that she was very happy there. Oh! And she told me to tell you hi and good luck."

Wonwoo laughed. It was quite a long time since he heard from his ex-girlfriend who moved all the way to Australia. They did broke up in good terms. Yuri was very understanding and told him that he didnt need to worry about anything. She admitted that she was planning to break up with him since she was moving anyways and she also told him good luck which surprised him a little.

"It's nice to know that time hasn't changed her."

Mingyu nodded in agreement.

An awkward silence filled the dense air and Wonwoo struggled to come up with more subjects to talk about. Finally, much to his relief, Mingyu began to voice his thoughts.

"Oh! Hyung! You were really cool on the trumpet!"

A faint blush appeared on the elder's cheeks and it raised up all the way to his ears. "Ah, really? Thanks. What instrument do you play?"

The triangle. Wonwoo knew that. Of course he knew; he spent the entire time staring at the gray haired boy after all.

"The triangle," Mingyu replied sheepishly. "I'm not really talented with instruments but I was really interested in joining."

Wonwoo raised his eyebrow. "What made you want to join?"

Mingyu rubbed the back of his neck. "Uhm, well, it was uh, pretty interesting and I was bored so I joined it."

Wonwoo nodded slowly, as if the thought was hard to process but believed him anyway.

"Why did you join, hyung?" Mingyu asked, stopping as they reached the bridge. He turned to his right, resting his hands on top of the wooden rail.

The view was beautiful. The gentle waves of the lake was shimmering under the bright sun. The never ending sky was a light blue with splatters of cloud here and there. It reminded Wonwoo of the brutal nightmare he had. He shivered at the memory of it.

"Well, I always liked music but the Marching Band club was the only club related to music but I joined anyway."

"What other instruments do you play?"

"Actually, I couldn't even play the trumpet until I join the club and the teacher had to teach me," he let out a chuckle, his eyes averted to the skies and a smile formed on his lips as he remembered the old days of learning the trumpet. "The teacher let me bring the trumpet home and my mom scolded me for waking the whole neighbourhood up. It was worth it, though, joining the club." Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Ah, sorry, I started rambling all of a sudden."

"It's okay."

Mingyu felt an unknown rush of emotion ran through him. He didnt know what it was. He just knew that after seeing that sparkle in Wonwoo's eyes, he wanted to see more of it. He couldn't help but smile as he ponder to himself.

Could it be?

●ᴥ●

His happiness.

One word to describe Mingyu.

But right now, fear, was the only thing he felt.

No. This wasn't Mingyu. Mingyu always had a sweet smile on his face.

The Mingyu approaching him had a sinister look in his face. His sharp canine-like teeth poking out from underneath his curled lip.

"I can't believe Jun likes you."

"I-I think he was only joking," Wonwoo stammered, taking steps backwards. He unintentionally let out a gasp when his back hit a rough surface. His turned his head around and it worsened his feeling of fear.

They were at a forest. Tall trees loomed over them, their shadows casting monster-like figures. It was eerily silent, only their voices echoing throughout the vast space.

"He should know," he began, taking more steps towards Wonwoo until he has the elder trapped under his arms, "that you're mine."

Wonwoo bit his lip. He had no idea what was going on.

"Jun was only joking," he said as calmly as he could.

"But I'm not. You're mine, okay? Mine and mine only."

"I belong to nobody," Wonwoo managed.

Mingyu glared at him and grabbed his arm, the other boy flinching at the harshness.

"You belong to me. Besides," he continued, pulling Wonwoo towards a clearing, "Jun is no longer here.”

Wonwoo's eyes widened as he saw the cold dead body of his Chinese friend. The body was missing its arms and blood stained every inch of the earth around it.

There was blood.

Everywhere.

Wonwoo felt like puking but he pursed his lips, trying his best to keep in the bile that threatened to come out.

Jun's skin was pale, almost as white as a sheet. His face was caked with dried blood, mostly around and on his closed eyes. Wonwoo didn't even want to know what happened to them.

"I killed him. I cut off his limbs because his filthy hands touched you. I gauged out his eyes because he had the audacity to even look at you. I pushed a knife through his heart because his heart fell for you. And I killed him because he said he liked you."

It was a very vivid description. So vivid that Wonwoo saw flashes of images. A tear fell from his eye, dropping onto the soiled ground.

"I'll kill anyone that comes between us. I'll slaughter anyone that touches you. You're mine."

"I don't belong to anyone."

Mingyu clenched his jaw, "Isn't this what you wanted? You like me, don't you?" He spat, tightening his grip on Wonwoo's hand.

"Ouch," Wonwoo whimpered. "It hurts! Let me go."

"Never."

Using his free hand, Mingyu went to his belt to take out a knife that was slipped between his belt and his pants.

"Wh-What are you doing?!"

"I'm going to take your heart out. Your heart belongs to me now."

"No! Please don't!" Wonwoo cried out, trashing around, pulling his hand from Mingyu's tight grip.

"It's over."

Wonwoo let out a sharp gasp when he felt the knife went through his chest.

"Ugh, this isn't going to work." He heard Mingyu groan out and the next thing he knew, the knife was taken out from his chest and Mingyu had his hand on his chest.

"What are you doing?" He repeated, only this time his voice was more stable.

Mingyu ignored his question and began to his shirt. Wonwoo flushed a deep red.

"H-Hey!"

Mingyu smiled at Wonwoo, explicitly showing his canines. Slowly raising his hand, Mingyu placed his palm against Wonwoo's heart and in a blitz second, his hand plunged inside the elder's chest. Wonwoo gasped, taking hold of Mingyu's wrist, he stared into Mingyu's soulless eyes. He could feel Mingyu's fingers grip his barely beating heart tightly, tugging at it slowly before Mingyu ripped Wonwoo's heart out of his chest. Wonwoo could feel his heart being severed from the veins and arteries. It felt so real that Wonwoo had to remind himself that it was just a nightmare.

Not a second later Wonwoo dropped to the ground, and before darkness enclosed upon him, he saw Mingyu smiling at him triumphantly. Wonwoo was woken up abruptly, panting.

Just a nightmare.

Just a nightmare.

Just a nightmare.

●ᴥ●

The next morning, Wonwoo went to school looking lifeless, almost like a zombie. He had dark circles under his eyes from his lack of sleep; he didn't sleep at all since he woke up from his nightmare. And his hair was a mess.

He wore a hoodie on top of his uniform instead of his usual jacket assigned by the school. With his hood up, he trudged inside the school.

"Bro, you look even more tier today," Soonyoung acknowledged.

"I feel even more tier after hearing your voice first thing in the morning," Wonwoo retorted, walking alongside Soonyoung towards his locker.

Soonyoung frowned. "Another nightmare?" He asked, actually concerned at his friend's grumpiness early in the morning.

Wonwoo nodded. "It was terrifying. I couldn't sleep after that."

"Aw, you poor thing."

"HYUNG!"

"Mingyu incoming," Soonyoung sang in a low tone.

Wonwoo closed his eyes in a dreadful manner.

"Hyung! Let's go home together again!"

His eyes flew open. "Again?"

Mingyu nodded happily. "It was really fun yesterday and I have no one to walk home with anyway."

Wonwoo nodded. "Okay," he agreed.

"I feel like a third wheeler." Soonyoung's sudden statement made Wonwoo's cheeks red.

"Really?" Mingyu asked, tilting his head and pressing his lips together.

The blonde nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised if you two started dating."

Wonwoo narrowed his eyes at his friend. Soonyoung ignored him, keeping his eyes fixated on Mingyu.

Mingyu nodded understandingly. "I wouldn't be surprised too."

"Wha-What are you talking about!" Wonwoo exclaimed. "That's ridiculous."

Mingyu frowned. "What's wrong with dating me?"

Wonwoo could feel his ears heat up. Thank God, he was still wearing his hoodie up where there was only seventy percent chance that Mingyu could see him blushing.

"Nothing! Why are you asking me that anyways?" Wonwoo questioned, letting out a fake laugh.

"Hyung, are you okay?" Mingyu raised a hand up, placing it on top of Wonwoo's head. Wonwoo froze. His hand lingered there for a moment before he pulled his hoodie down.

Wonwoo winced at the lights that his hoodie had protected him from.

"I'm okay," he croaked out.

"Hyung, you looked like you got no sleep at all!"

"It was a rough night," he admitted.

"You should get more rest," Mingyu said in a disapproving tone, folding his hands together.

"I will." Wonwoo sighed, rubbing his temples.

It was in between the third and fourth period when the student council president, Hong Jisoo called him out.

"Jeon Wonwoo."

"Yes?"

"You're supposed to be wearing school assigned jacket, you are aware or that, aren't you?" Jisoo raised an eyebrow.

"I am aware of that."

"But since you look like death today, I'll let you pass."

Wonwoo didn't know whether he should be feeling insulted or embarrassed or even thankful so he just nodded and continued on walking to his class which he has with Mingyu.

"Today, I'll be assigning seats since some of you have been talking too much in my class," the teacher announced as soon as everybody was seated.

Groans and protests filled the room. Wonwoo didn't felt the need to protest since he was sitting beside someone he didn't know very well and if luck was on his side today, he might end up with a certain gray-haired boy sitting beside him.

"Okay. I will call out your and your partner's names and you will sit respectively one after another and then to the next column, understood?"

The class nodded reluctantly.

"First is Areum and Hyunryu; Seungchan and Jaemin. . ."

Wonwoo began to doze off, waiting for his name to be called. When he heard his name being called, he waiting in anticipation to see if it was his lucky day.

It wasn't.

"Wonwoo and Yoosung."

"Mingyu and. . . Jihoon."

The dark haired boy shuffled towards his new seat place next to a pretty looking boy who had the biggest smile on his face.

"Hi! I'm Yoosung."

"I'm Wonwoo."

"Nice to meet you!"

Wonwoo couldn't help but smile, even though he was mildly disappointed. "You too."

At least, Mingyu was behind him; he could always turn around to get a glimpse of the gray haired boy. And his seat mate seemed pretty cool too.

The teacher clapped her hands to get the students' attention and when the class got silent, she started teaching the dreaded subject.

●ᴥ●

"Hyung, let's switch partners!"

"Why? I like my partner."

"My partner's so grumpy and mean," Mingyu whined.

"That's unfortunate," Wonwoo mused.

Wonwoo took his tray from the lunch lady and instead of going to a table he and his friends usually sit on, he turns around towards the entrance of the cafeteria.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm eating outside. I'm tired of the constant annoyance that my friends bring from eating with them."

"Oh!" Mingyu smiled. "I'll come with you."

"Are you sure? You don't want to eat with Minghao or your other friends?"

"No. Minghao will probably be chasing Jun again."

"Hmm, okay then."

There was an opening in one of the hallways inside the school. You'd only get there if you went through twists and turns.

It was nice and chilly outside, Wonwoo decided a spot under a huge old tree that's been there older than the school has. Although it's rotting and it doesn't look like it's been taken care of, the tree is strong and sturdy enough to take the weight of both the boys leaning onto it.

Wonwoo began to eat his lunch slowly, tasting the bland flavor of the school's food. Even though it could use more flavors, he doesn't care, he's too used to it. Mingyu, however, doesn't agree and brings his own lunch.

"How can you eat that?" Mingyu asked, holding on to his precious flavorful homemade kimchi fried rice.

Wonwoo shrugged. "It's okay if you get used to it."

"Can you cook?"

"Not really," Wonwoo laughed. "Once, I was trying to make some rice and it became porridge 'cause I added too much water. Can you?"

"Cook? I'm actually really good at it. I make my lunches by myself," Mingyu replied proudly.

"Really? You should teach me then."

Wonwoo froze. , he didn't mean to say that. He didn’t mean to come off as overly friendly.

"Sure!"

He let out a huge breath. Thank God. Mingyu didn't suspect anything.

The pair ate together in silence. Wonwoo was once again struggling to come up with topics to converse about.

"How did you learn how to cook?"

Wonwoo praised himself for the natural question that came out of his mouth.

Mingyu hummed. "My mom was getting busier with work and couldn't make lunch for me and my sister so throughout the winter, I learned a couple things. Didn't know I'd be this good, though."

The dark haired boy laughed. "How cocky of you to say that."

"It's the truth! Here try some," Mingyu urged, shoving his lunchbox to Wonwoo's lap.

"If you say so." Wonwoo took the spoon and scooped some of the fried rice onto it then brought it up to his mouth.

It was a taste of sweet and sour mixed deliciously. Wonwoo instantly fell harder for Mingyu.

"This is actually really good."

"Told you." Mingyu smiled. "You can have the rest if you'd like."

"Thank you."

"No problem."

Lunch ended quicker than expected, much to Wonwoo's dismay. He was enjoying his time with his crush.

"Let's go back inside."

Wonwoo nodded, rising to his feet. The pair walked to their separate classes.

"Where were you?" Soonyoung asked Wonwoo when he entered the class.

"Eating outside."

Soonyoung pouted. "Why didn't you tell me? I would've joined you."

"I was with Mingyu."

He grinned. "Oh, , yeah. You're right. Wouldn't want to be a third wheeler or anything."

Wonwoo rolled his eyes and directed his attention to the teacher who entered the class.

●ᴥ●

The wonderful aroma of something cooking wafted towards Wonwoo. The aromatic scent drove his senses into a frenzy. His house never smelled this good. He went to search where the smell was coming from.

It was the kitchen.

"Mingyu?" Wonwoo asked, confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Making dinner." Mingyu smiled. "You can go sit on the table. It's almost done."

Wonwoo's heart swelled with happiness. Is this how living with Mingyu would feel like? It was something he thought about.

"Okay."

He went to the dining table and sat down on one of the chairs. Soon enough Mingyu comes over with two plates on his hands, he sets them down before going to kitchen again to bring two more plates.

"This is the appetizer," Mingyu said, pushing one of the plates towards Wonwoo. "It's salad with a dressing that I created. Lettuce is so mainstream so I put in Hemlock instead. I hope you like it."

Wonwoo nodded, looking at the plate. He'd never taken an interest in eating salad before but this was something Mingyu made so he planned to finish everything up.

He took his fork and starts to eat the green vegetables drizzled with a light brown coloured dressing. The sauce is sweet and has a tangy flavour to it, which mixes very well with the flavorless vegetables.

"This is so good!"

"Really? I'm glad."

Wonwoo never enjoyed eating vegetables this much. He finished the salad until the plate was clean.

"Why aren't you eating?" Wonwoo asked as a sudden realisation hit him

"Oh, I'm not that hungry yet."

Mingyu then pushed another plate towards Wonwoo. This time it was lasagna.

"Will you eat with me this time?" Wonwoo asked.

Mingyu nodded. "Fine."

The both started to shovel pieces of Mingyu's homemade lasagna into their mouths. Once again, Wonwoo's tastebuds started going on a frenzy. He ate slowly, to savour the dish.

Wonwoo took his glass and washed down the lasagna with water. He never felt this satisfied in his entire life.

It came all of a sudden. Mingyu was introducing the last plate, dessert and then Wonwoo was having a bite of it before intense pain started erupting all over his muscles. He choked on the apple pie.

What was happening?

"W- Wat - Water," Wonwoo managed, trying to reach out to his glass. But his weak hands struggled to do so and they bumped onto the glass, making it fall to the floor and shattering into pieces, water splashing everywhere.

Wonwoo was in a panic state. He was choking and wheezing. His sight was becoming blurry and started to fade out.

Mingyu, on the other hand, looked calm as ever. As if he expected all of this to happen. A glass of water on his hand, he took in gulps of it. He set it down on the table, just slightly centimetres away from where Wonwoo's fingertips can reach.

"M- Mi- Mingyu! Wh- Whas Happening?" Wonwoo squeezed his eyes shut, like doing it might be able to soothe his pain.

Mingyu gave out a chuckle. "You've never liked Biology, have you?"

Wonwoo shook his head slowly.

"Then I shall start explaining. Hemlock. It's a poisonous plant. If you haven't noticed, you just ate a whole salad filled with it. And you asked me why I wasn't eating, well that was why. If only you paid attention to the teacher, you wouldn't be stuck in this position in the first place."

"Thank you for finishing it, by the way. It was hard to get those without people getting suspicious of me."

"Why?" Wonwoo asked, shivering.

"Why? You know Minghao? Well, he paid me one hundred million won to get rid of you. It was extremely easy to do since you would do anything as I say. Love really does make people weak." Mingyu laughed. "Now he can be together with Junhui without you in the way. Why does Junhui even like you in the first place?"

"But he doesn't," Wonwoo chokes out.

"Shut up. You have no place to talk right now."

Mingyu's left hand shot out to grab a wad of tissue on the table. He stood up and stepped towards Wonwoo. With his right hand, he placed his hand on Wonwoo's chin gently, his thumb softly against Wonwoo's lips, much to Wonwoo's surprise. Using his thumb, Mingyu pulled Wonwoo's chin down, opening the latter's mouth. He shoved the wad of tissue inside Wonwoo's mouth, making a make-shift gag.

"Now no one can hear your pathetic screams, if you even have the power to."

Mingyu stood up straight and he took his time to stare at Wonwoo, who was already starting to sweat as the pain increased. He smirked.

"My job here is done."

He left, leaving Wonwoo behind withering in immense pain.

●ᴥ●

"He poisoned you?!"

Wonwoo glared at Soonyoung, shushing him. "It was a nightmare."

"Another nightmare? What the , Wonwoo? This has to be some kind of sign. Maybe he likes you too or he hates you so much since he did kill you in each of your dreams."

Wonwoo frowned. What if it was true? What if Mingyu really did hated him? He'd rather have Mingyu kill him a thousand times before hating him.

"Hey, don't think so much about it, okay?" Soonyoung said, starting to notice the change in his friend's behaviour.

"Okay," Wonwoo replied softly.

"HYUNG!"

"This kid, I swear to God."

"Morning, Wonwoo-hyung!"

"How are you so cheerful this early in the morning?" Wonwoo grumbled.

"I drank coffee!" Mingyu smiled, making his eyes turn into crescents.

Soonyoung fake coughed to gain his attention.

"Oh, hi, Soonyoung." Mingyu's cheeks turned pink.

Soonyoung raised an eyebrow. "I'm your hyung too, you know."

The younger of the two ignored him and returned his attention back to Wonwoo.

Soonyoung raised his hands only for them to drop beside him again in an exasperate manner, muttering something about being a third wheeler before leaving the couple alone together.

"Hyung, can I eat lunch outside with you again?"

Wonwoo hesitated before nodding slowly. "Sure."

"Wonwoo!"

"Jesus H. Christ," he groaned.

"What is it, Jun?"

"Where were you yesterday? I was almost mauled by Minghao and you didn't help me,” Junhui whined.

"And why should I be helping you?" he retorted.

"Just because. I'll do anything in return."

Wonwoo raised an eyebrow. "Anything?"

Jun bit his lip. "Anything," he murmured, leaning closer to the dark-haired boy.

Wonwoo missed the way Mingyu stiffened beside him.

"Good. Then stay one mile away from me."

Jun gasped, retaliating. "How could you?"

Chimes of the bell rang out throughout the hallway.

"Bye, Jun!"

The classes dragged on before lunch finally came. Mingyu and Wonwoo drifted away from their class with the crowd as they walked towards the cafeteria. A long line could be seen where the students buy their lunch.

"The line is so long," Wonwoo grumbled. "I don't feel like buying now."

"Oh! That's okay, hyung. I just remembered I made you something."

Wonwoo's eyes grew wider in surprise. "Oh, really? Thank you. No one's ever done that for me before."

Mingyu smiled in delight. "It's no problem, hyung."

Once they were under the old tree, Mingyu bring out the packed boxes that seemed to make his bag bigger than it actually is.

"This one's for you. It's a potato salad. I was trying out new things. I hope you like it!"

Wonwoo froze. Salad?

"Thank you," he replied, trying to seem grateful, which he was, but flashes of scenes of his nightmare kept on coming back onto his mind.

He's trying to kill you.

Impossible, Wonwoo thought, these look nothing like Hemlock.

"Hemlock. It's a poisonous plant. If you haven't noticed, you just ate a whole salad filled with it."

Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.

He ignored the voices in his head and took the fork Mingyu gave him. Mingyu looked at him, waiting for his feedback. Wonwoo is aware Mingyu is watching him so he stabs the salad with his fork, picking up a couple leaves and a piece of potato. He brings it up to his mouth and slowly puts it in, chewing it.

Just like his nightmare, Mingyu is wonderful at cooking. Even though it was merely just a salad, all kinds of flavours seemed to coat it.

Wonwoo let out a noise of delight. ". This is great."

"I'm glad you like it."

Wonwoo kept on shoveling more vegetables into his mouth, waiting for the moment pain would erupt in his muscles. But it never happened.

●ᴥ●

For the next couple of weeks, Wonwoo and Mingyu stuck together like peanut butter and jelly. It was hard to see one of them without the other.

"Wow, for once you're not with your boyfriend."

Wonwoo frowned. "He's not my boyfriend."

Soonyoung grinned cheekily. "Yet."

Wonwoo didn't bother to reply.

"Wonwoo-ya, do you want to be my plus one to this party?"

Wonwoo spared a glance towards Soonyoung before continuing stacking his books inside his locker. "When is it?"

"This friday. After school."

Wonwoo frowned again as he closed his locker. "I was thinking of going with Mingyu to the movies."

Soonyoung groaned. "You can ask him on Saturday. Please? Just this once."

Wonwoo hesitated.

Soonyoung clasped his hands together, pushing his lower lip out. "Please?" He begged, dragging the word. "Jun is coming too."

"Okay, fine. In one condition."

"What?"

"You stop making that face."

"Deal."

Wonwoo couldn't believe he agreed to Soonyoung. But he believed that he's been neglecting spending time with Soonyoung to spend time with Mingyu, so just this once, he'll go to this party with Soonyoung. And Jun was coming too. He could always ask Mingyu another time.

As his thoughts distracted him, he did not notice the figure behind him reach up and covered his eyes.

"Guess who?" They teased.

"Oh, my God! Is it you, Jun?!" Wonwoo exclaimed, trying his best to sound excited. He knew very well that those long, calloused hands belong to none other than Kim Mingyu.

"What?" Wonwoo could hear the frown on his voice. His hands faltered down and Wonwoo turned around to face him.

"Oh, it's you." Wonwoo sighed, feigning disappointment.

Mingyu frowned deeply, feeling a jab at his heart.

Soonyoung noticed it and he hit Mingyu's shoulder playfully. "Your frown is deeper than Wonwoo's voice. He's only ing with you. He probably couldn't be more glad that it's you."

Wonwoo flushed a deep red colour. "Stop it," he hissed.

Slowly, a smile was etched on Mingyu's face. "Is that how you really feel, hyung?" he teased.

"I hate you both," Wonwoo grumbled, folding his arms together.

"What's up, fellas? Missed me?"

"Jun!" Wonwoo cried out, throwing himself at him.

Jun stumbled but caught him in his arms. "Woah."

Mingyu narrowed his eyes.

"Let's get away from them. They're s," Wonwoo complained.

"Okay," Jun replied, his tone confused. He shot a look towards Soonyoung who merely shrugged.

Wonwoo draped his arm around Jun's shoulders and dragged him away, leaving behind a confused Mingyu and an amused Soonyoung.

●ᴥ●

Friday came in a blink of an eye. Wonwoo stood in front of his bright red locker, staring at it. Soonyoung stood beside him, his back leaning against the locker beside Wonwoo's.

"You better not be thinking twice about coming," Soonyoung warned. "You are coming and that's final."

"I was just thinking about what to wear," he defended, though that was a big fat lie.

Soonyoung immediately brightened up. "Good. I'll be picking you up at six, okay?"

"Guess I don't have a choice." Wonwoo sighed. "Okay."

No more words were exchange and the only thing that could be heard was the background noise of students chatting with each other, most of them about the party.

A panting Mingyu appeared beside Wonwoo. He stopped his rushed strides and placed his hands on his knees, bending down in exhaustion.

"Oh, Mingyu. Let's go," Wonwoo said.

Mingyu held up a finger to indicate a minute.

Soonyoung sighed. "Seeing you guys like this makes me feel so lonely."

Wonwoo narrowed his eyes at him.

"Why? Hyung and I are here."

Soonyoung laughed. "You clueless idiot. Mkay, I'm gonna go now. Be good to each other."

"What was that all about?" Mingyu felt puzzled.

"I don't know. Let's go."

Their habits continued as they walked home together. Wonwoo shoved his hands inside the pockets of his school issued pants. He always felt comfortable walking home with Mingyu beside him. Just Mingyu. . . being there comforted him.

Sometimes their arms would lightly brush against each other's and it sent a tingly feeling through him.

They continued towards their routine path, passing by homes, apartments and markets before they reached to their first destination.

"Bye, Mingyu. I'll see you on Monday."

Mingyu waved back at Wonwoo, watching and waiting until he gets inside and is nowhere to be seen. He then turns around and walks down the path that brought the pair to Wonwoo's house. He passed the gates that lead him to his school, continuing to walk until he reaches a warm, middle-class house a few blocks away from the school on the other side.

●ᴥ●

Wonwoo looked into his wardrobe, staring at the content, some of them spilling out of its place. He groaned once, then twice, then thrice before he reaches his hand in and pulls out a striped red and white t-shirt which he puts on.

He already has dark jeans on with holes that shows off his pale knees. The dark-haired boy then proceeds to slide open another section of his wardrobe that is filled with jackets and school uniforms that are hung from a bar that is suspended on the top of the box. He took out a matching dark jean jacket and puts it on, folding the sleeves up.

Wonwoo was never a person with any interest in fashion or style. But he really didn't feel like going to the party so perhaps his choice of clothes will make him feel better about himself.

The clock reads 5:30 when he got a text from Soonyoung.

 

i'm on my way.

will be there in 10

[5:30pm]

okay

[5:30pm]

 

He waited ten whole minutes before the sound of the bell resonated throughout the house.

Wonwoo opened the front door and there stood Soonyoung in all his glory wearing a pair of jeans that has been bleached white with a faded band t-shirt and worn out Chuck Taylors.

"Aren't you a little underdressed?" was the first thing that came out of Wonwoo's mouth as he saw his best friend.

"Aren't you a little overdressed?" Soonyoung retorted.

Wonwoo frowned at the jab. "No."

"In case anything happens. Wouldn't want my clothes to get stained or anything."

"Oh. Oh. I should've done that."

"No. No. No. There's no time. Go put on your shoes."

Wonwoo went to the shoe rack pushed against the wall and picked up a pair of equally as worn out Chuck Taylors that he bought with Soonyoung just cause he thought it looked cool on his friend.

Once the laces were tied and his feet were snug and warm inside his shoes, he locked the doors to the empty house and followed Soonyoung down the path that lead to the streets.

"Where is it being held?" Wonwoo asked, shoving his hands inside the pockets of his jacket; it was a habit he never really seemed to notice whenever he did it.

"Actually, it's at Seungcheol hyung's friend's house."

"We're going to a stranger's party? Does his friend even go to our school?"

Soonyoung chuckled nervously. "Uh you see, he's a uni student."

Wonwoo sighed exasperatedly. "One of these days," he murmured under his breath. "If I go to jail, you are paying my bail."

"Hey! That rhymes," Soonyoung mused.

Wonwoo rolled his eyes, quickening his speed.

"Why are you walking so fast," Soonyoung whined, dragging his feet behind him.

"The earlier we get there, the earlier we can leave."

"Jeez, Jeon Wonwoo, you're such a party pooper."

Soonyoung bumped into Wonwoo's back who halted to a stop.

"What? Why'd you stop?"

"I don't know the way," Wonwoo grumbled under his breath.

Soon the silent neighbourhood was filled with Soonyoung's humorous laugh. It was one of those laughs that made you laugh even harder.

However, Wonwoo — the victim — did not find this whole situation so much that hilarious. He continued sending his glares towards his blonde friend who has started to walk in front of him, with his head tilted back and laughter spilling out of his open mouth.

"Oh, Wonwoo. What would you do without me?" Soonyoung said, swinging his arm around his grumpy friend's shoulder.

"I'd probably be enjoying my private time at home."

"Exactly! You'd be an antisocial with seventeen cats as friends and maybe Mingyu as your partner."

"Why do I even bother?" Wonwoo sighed.

"Lucky you! We're here."

Just meters away from where they were standing stood a typical frat house which you'd see in chick flicks. It was oddly quiet, with just background noises of the cars passing by and the wind ruffling the leaves of trees.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?"

"I'm pretty sure we are."

As they space between them and the house became smaller, they could start to hear the pounding music from the inside.

Before Soonyoung could even grasp the handle, the door flew open, almost hitting Wonwoo in the nose.

Seungcheol stumbled out. A familiar short boy stood beside him, holding his hand to prevent him from falling and doing anything stupid.

"Soonyoung! And Wonwoo!" Seungcheol swung his arms around the duo.

"Hyung, are you drunk?" Wonwoo asked, struggling under the weight on his shoulder, face squished against Soonyoung's own.

"What? No." Seungcheol giggled. "Just a lil tipsy, that's all."

"How much did he drink?" Soonyoung grunted, pushing the elder's hand away from him softly.

"Two cups or more," Jihoon answered, holding Seungcheol's hand to steady him.

"Jun's inside and hey, Wonwoo," Seungcheol called out. "Guess who else is there."

Wonwoo's forehead creased as he furrowed his eyebrows. "Who?"

"Mingyu," he sang teasingly.

" off," Wonwoo muttered.

Why was Mingyu here? What was he doing in a college party? Who invited him? All these questions ran through his head.

"Hyung, can you please let us in? It's cold outside," Soonyoung whined.

"Oh, yeah! Silly me." Seungcheol moved aside to let the pair in.

Almost instantly, their hearts started to beat with the song. The place lacked people as everyone was at the swimming pool where the music was coming from. Colorful lights flashed from here and there.

Soonyoung approached a table that was once crowded with typical red solo cups but now had spilt all over, making a mess. He picked up two red cups that stood up straight, no signs of it being spilt or having been drunk by someone else. Handing one cup to Wonwoo, he took one for himself.

Wonwoo brought the cup to his lips and tilted it slightly. The colorless liquid - if Wonwoo's suspicions were correct, was sprite mixed with vodka - poured into his mouth, giving off a slight kick to his throat.

"Go find Mingyu," Soonyoung, all of a sudden, said.

"What? No. I came here with you, right? So, I should stay with you."

Soonyoung hid the smile on his lips by taking another gulp of his drink.

"C'mon. Let's go find Jun."

The both followed where the music was coming from. More crowds forming as they went deeper inside the house. They found the Chinese boy right as he was about to throw himself into the pool.

"Jun!"

He stopped at his stance and followed where the voice was coming from.

"Wonwoo!" He waved and jogged towards the dark-haired boy.

Across wherever they stood, Mingyu's head swerved towards them as he heard the name being called out.

Wonwoo stumbled back as Jun threw himself at him and hugged him tight. Mingyu watched with narrowed eyes.

Wonwoo laughed. "Woah. You reek of sweat."

"How come I don't get a hug?" came a complain from Soonyoung.

Wonwoo rolled his eyes, taking away his arms around Jun to let the Chinese boy wrap his arms around the blonde

"Hey, hyung." Wonwoo heard a voice behind him. "I didn't know you were coming here." Wonwoo gulped and turned around.

"Same here. Seungcheol hyung invited us."

"Oh. My friend's brother lives here."

Wonwoo nodded.

"Mingyu! We didn't know you'd be here. Thank God I convinced Wonwoo, here, to come."

Mingyu laughed. "Right. Well, he could've stayed home if he wanted to."

"And let him mope around at home? Hell no."

"I could at least mop around."

Soonyoung bursted out laughing. "Now there's my favorite Wonwoo."

"That was terrible," Jun said, looking distasteful.

"Hey. Only special, privileged people are allowed to hear my jokes. Appreciate it."

"Aw, I'm special?"

"Of course!"

"Am I special?" Soonyoung asked, voice hopeful.

"Not at all."

The group split up. Wonwoo sat on the edge of the swimming pool; his jeans pulled up so that his feet can touch the water without his jeans soaking with water. Jun sat next to him, having done the same actions as him.

"How's it going with Minghao?"

"Better. I told him to stop following me around and we could go out on a date."

Wonwoo laughed.

"How about you?"

"What do you mean?"

So far as Wonwoo knew, Jun didn't know a single thing about his attraction to Mingyu. He could feel himself getting paler at the question directed to him.

"Mingyu. How's it going with him?"

"Fine. I mean, how else would you expect a friendship to be?" Wonwoo laughed nervously, emphasizing the 'friendship' part.

Jun rolled his eyes. It was too dark to see but Wonwoo was pretty sure he did.

"Stop lying to me. I can see how you look at him like he's cheeseburger except, you know, he's a walking cheeseburger but not a cheeseburger- ugh, you get what I mean."

Wonwoo could feel himself heat up right to the tip of his ears. "He doesn't have a clue."

"That is why you should tell him," Jun said, mocking Wonwoo as if he were a two year old child.

"Hell no. I'd die before ever telling him. I'd ruin our perfectly fine friendship."

"Even when you can make it a relationship?"

Wonwoo nodded.

Jun held out his arms and wrapped them around Wonwoo who furrowed his eyebrows in confusion but hugged back nonetheless.

When Wonwoo questioned him, he shrugged. "I felt the need to comfort you."

Wonwoo rolled his eyes.

None of them noticed Mingyu who stood behind them, watching them exchange body heat and he watched as Jun gave Wonwoo another bearhug. He stood frozen, feet rooted to the ground as if he was standing on quicksand.

Finally he managed to croak out, "Hyung."

Both of them turned around, eyes wide open.

"Yeah?" Wonwoo managed. How much of that did he hear?

"Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure." Wonwoo rose up from his spot, feet instantly getting colder as the cool air dried the water from getting soaked inside the swimming pool. Jun patted him on the leg as if saying a silent 'good luck'.

Mingyu lead him to a quite place on the side of the frat house, where there was a rusty staircase that lead to God knows where. The younger of the two climbed up and Wonwoo, though confused, followed him up. Half way up, Mingyu sat down on the steps, Wonwoo next to him, fingers fidgeting.

"Can I ask you something?" Mingyu asked.

The crammed space in the staircase had them both pressed against each other. Wonwoo was grateful Mingyu couldn't see his flushed face but, he wasn't complaining.

"Yeah."

"Are you and Jun dating?"

Wonwoo choked on his own spit. "What?!"

"I don't know. You both just seem so close," Mingyu spat out bitterly.

"No," Wonwoo replied slowly. "I am not dating Jun."

"Oh."

After a few moments of silence, Wonwoo managed to gather up the courage and managed, "I have someone else I like."

He didn't know if that little bit of alcohol was talking for him. He didn't know why he did that. He blamed it on the alcohol and the whole situation the Gods forced him into.

"Oh? What're they like?"

Gulping down his dignity, he replied, "He's nice and sweet."

"It's not Soonyoung, is it?"

Wonwoo laughed. "What? No. That'd be weird."

Mingyu chuckled.

Wonwoo couldn't help but think how stupidly cliché this whole thing was. The moonlight made Mingyu's skin glow and he was looking so ethereal under it. He was just so beautiful, Wonwoo couldn't help but stare.

"Do you have someone you like?"

Wonwoo thought, it. He'd already embarrassed himself to many times in less than an hour. Might as well get on with it.

"Yes. And he's so oblivious to it. It's like I have to spell it out for y- him. Even though I've been sending so many hints."

"Why don't you confess? I think any person would be lucky enough to have you like them." Wonwoo felt his heart ache and his insides hurt.

"!" Mingyu shouted, making the other jump in shock.

"Hyung! You're so ing oblivious," Mingyu seethed.

Wonwoo frowned. "What did I do?"

Mingyu laughed bitterly, like a rancid taste in his mouth.

"Hyung, look at me."

Faces inches apart, Wonwoo felt the warmth from Mingyu's breath. He dared himself and looked into the deep pools of Mingyu's brown eyes.

Then, soft lips met chapped lips. Wonwoo closed his eyes, feeling the warmth spread throughout his body. Mingyu's hands found Wonwoo's waist, touching the skin that had peek out from his shirt rising. He found himself wrapping his arms around the taller boy's neck.

There was no such thing as lust or desire, just pure, innocent love. They pulled away from each other, hearts beating fast.

"Wow," Wonwoo managed.

"Wonwow," Mingyu agreed which granted him a shove from Wonwoo.

"Now, who's the person that you like? Let me have a talk with them."

Wonwoo laughed. "I think it'd be weird if you started talking to yourself,” he said shyly, a light rose color tinted his cheeks.

Mingyu's jaw dropped.

"And you called me oblivious."

Mingyu shoved him. It took him several seconds to think of a retort.

"Meanie!"

●ᴥ●

The sun was almost setting, the sky turning into a warm orange color from it's previously light blue color. The edges of the sky was already turning into a darker blue almost black.

The waves were rippling gently, washing over the golden sand and pulling back into the sea. The faint smell of the salty sea lingered in the fresh air. The cool breeze grazed their skin, hairs on their bare arms slowly rising.

Wonwoo couldn't stop staring at the beauty that was Mingyu. His eyes scanned over every little detail of the brunette from his soft hair to his bare feet that created footprints on the sand.

"Wonwoo?"

Wonwoo snapped away from his gaze to look at Mingyu properly, mildly surprised at the concern that laced Mingyu's voice.

"Yeah?" He replied softly.

The younger boy just gave him a knowing look, confusing the elder boy.

"What is it?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"I know," Mingyu stated. "I know you like me."

Wonwoo frowned. "Of course. We're dating, you idiot."

Mingyu laughed, music to Wonwoo’s ears. He looked down at their intertwined hands and felt a swell in his heart. A good kind of swelling.

“Hyung, I’ve liked you ever since you asked me if I liked Pepsi or Cola better and even though you like Cola better, I still liked you.”

Wonwoo smiled at that, the breeze ruffling his hair.

“Mingyu, I love you."

The gray-haired boy blushed at the confession. “I love you too, hyung.”

And he will continue to love Mingyu, the boy who turned his nightmares into dreams and his dreams into reality.

T H E  E N D

10,040 words

a/n: jesus, that was a lot of dialogue