on a scale of 1 – 10, mingyu is pretty sure he’s over a ten in love with chwe hansol. hansol, who he has known since he was five, who has the prettiest laugh and brightest eyes, who, apparently, has captured mingyu’s heart. has he always had these feelings for hansol? mingyu’s certain the answer is no. just a couple months ago he’d grabbed the younger boy in a headlock, messing up his hair, annoying him to bits. and now… now mingyu has sudden urges to grab hansol’s face and kiss him instead.

when did this happen? mingyu remembers it exactly.

it was wonwoo who made that stupid joke. it wasn’t even funny and mingyu wanted to hit him upside the back of his head but hansol had found it hilarious, head thrown back when he laughed. there was a snort and then a gasp and then he was laughing even more and mingyu swore he’d never found anything else more adorable than that. he knew, just like that, that’s he’s fallen deep.

he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about hansol since then. he’d think of hansol when the younger couldn’t join him, wonwoo and minghao when they hung out, when he’s doing homework, when he’s eating, when he’s laid in bed about to go to sleep. it’s frustrating and at the brink of being annoying, especially since hansol gave zero hint at being equally interested.

there is also the fact that, well, hansol might be straight.

this fact might be confirmed when word get around that there is a girl who has her eyes on hansol. a girl mingyu would probably be interested in if he wasn’t already so in love with hansol. the problem is that mingyu thinks hansol might like her back, from the way he was flirting with her, oblivious to mingyu’s forlorn and borderline creepy staring.

mingyu had half the mind to give up on this crush, telling himself over and over again that hansol is his friend and he could start liking someone else.

but every time mingyu thinks he’s alright, hansol would laugh and he’s falling in love again. every single time. how minghao and wonwoo figured out about his feelings is unknown to him but he doesn’t bother to find out. they endlessly, but he expected nothing less from the two of them.

it’s the middle of school week when both wonwoo and minghao join him at their usual table in the cafeteria, having just finished their classes. hansol would be the last to join them every wednesday for lunch so it doesn’t surprise him that it was wonwoo and minghao who appeared first.

“dude, you gotta pick up those saggy balls of yours and ask him out,” wonwoo is saying, seating himself opposite mingyu.

the younger rolls his eyes, “whatever, man.”

“no, he’s right.” minghao interferes and this surprises mingyu; minghao never agrees with wonwoo. he points towards somewhere behind mingyu and the taller male follows his gaze. “bag him before she does.”

he hears hansol first before he sees him, the familiar sound of his laughter resounding across the cafeteria, seolhyun giggling by his side. mingyu wants to ignore the little tug in his chests, clenching his jaw and pretending to roll his eyes. “first of all, don’t talk about him like he’s some kind of an object. besides, i don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“right,” both minghao and wonwoo roll their eyes just as hansol drops his bag onto the table, plopping himself next to mingyu.

minghao coos, “seolhyun, huh?”

“what about her?” hansol asks but there’s a smile that’s etched onto his lips and mingyu wonders if that smile meant he does like seolhyun.

.

“hey,” he speaks up, stealing hansol’s attention in hopes of not venturing further into the seolhyun topic. “you know the movie you wanted to see? i think it’s showing now.”

wonwoo snickers. mingyu wants to kill him.

“oh cool,” hansol chirps and then, probably platonically and casually to him, he raises a hand and brushes off the hair that’s getting into mingyu’s eye. “should we go see it together?”

mingyu wants to die.

flustered, he pretends to look at today’s date on his phone. “sure,” and because he’s ing stupid, he looks over at the other two. “you guys wanna come?”

the two boys looked at each other and like the annoying friends they are, they nodded. mingyu is pretty sure this is why he’s still single.

hansol shrugs, grabbing mingyu’s bottled water to take a swing of it. “i don’t have any assignments that are due soon so tonight, maybe?” he doesn’t ask mingyu personally this time, just expectantly waiting for the other two’s response.

yeah, mingyu ed this one up.

 

“i dunno, i think i might ask jieun to the dance.” wonwoo says, not looking at the other boys as he chucks down his bottle of soda. they’re in mingyu’s car now on the way to the city for the movie they planned to see and wonwoo is sitting behind with minghao. “she’s been giving me that weird eye smile thing girls do.”

minghao scoffs, “song jieun doesn’t like guys like you, dude.”

“you’ll never know,” wonwoo claims smugly and mingyu knows that smile on his lips meant nothing is going to stop him from trying.

the school dance is held for graduating seniors towards the end of the year and every year that leads up to this, the four of them had been planning on who they would go with when the time comes. the time is soon and mingyu has no idea who he would bring. his first option would be hansol but hansol would probably ask seolhyun instead and he’s too much of a wimp to even suggest them going as friends. would it really ruin his reputation if he turns up without a date? probably not but his ego would be bruised.

well, there’s no guarantee wonwoo’s little plan would work and if it comes to it, the four of them would end up going together, dateless, a group and still having the time of their lives.

he thinks that’s not so bad.

amongst them, only mingyu’s passed his driving test and gifted with a car for his seventeenth birthday so whenever they go anywhere, he’s always the designated driver. sure, wonwoo could drive but he doesn’t have his license and mingyu actually loves his car, so no thanks. minghao on the other hand, had never been committed to anything; he took a test once, never again.

it was hansol who’s afraid of driving and mingyu finds this kind of adorable. of course, it’s not adorable that hansol gets a panic attack whenever he sits for his driving lessons ( that he eventually stops going to when wonwoo told him to stop if it was that bad ), but the idea of hansol not being able to drive kind of sits nicely with mingyu. maybe because he knows he would drive hansol anywhere and everywhere if he ever asks and he would be the only one hansol would ask since the other two boys can’t drive or have a car.

that sounds kind of bad now that he thinks about it. huh.

hansol had called shotgun and taken up the front seat as mingyu drives into the city. normal is having these three boys singing at the top of their lungs to their shared playlist that mingyu blasts on the speaker, bags of snacks both opened and still sealed, and bottles of soda packed up at the back with minghao and wonwoo. roadtrips were awesome every time they go on one and mingyu hopes that never changes.

he couldn’t remember not knowing these boys. they’d grown up together in this very town; from elementary school to high school and it goes without saying that they are all nervous about going to college, where they would undoubtedly go separate ways. it is the last year of school and mingyu isn’t ready to say goodbye.

growing up with them was great; they hold a kind of tradition where every friday they would go to their houses for dinner, going in rotation from oldest to youngest. wonwoo happens to be firstborn so his mother would have them for dinner on friday. they would go to mingyu’s the week after and then minghao’s before finally to hansol’s. sometimes they would skip hansol’s week because he doesn’t live with his mother anymore and his dad is often at work. their divorce was harsh on hansol but he had always been so strong.

mingyu admires that. perhaps it was one of the things he loves about the younger.

they see each other every day, though; at school and after school when they hang around after they’ve finished with assignments. wonwoo is an exception; the boy probably doesn’t sleep, works best at midnight and somehow he maintains his straight A’s. mingyu isn’t jealous or anything.

the only times they don’t hang out as much is usually during the examination period, mostly because mingyu doesn’t trust that he would get any revising done when with his friends. he knows wonwoo and minghao still meet up but hansol would usually be locked up in his room, nose deep in his textbooks. he’s gotten a scholarship and mingyu feels like a proud parent.

except, you know, not the paternal kind of way. not that way. more like… wow, the love of my life? he should stop talking at this point.

now as he parks into his usual spot near the cinema, he turns off the ignition and watches as hansol hops off his car, tripping on his way out. that was adorable. mingyu wants to kiss him. god, he should stop feeling like this. it’s really borderline pathetic and for the few moments he was alone inside the vehicle, he presses his forehead to the top of the steering wheel. stop this. stop this. stop this, kim mingyu.

when he finally gets out of the car, he sees hansol swarmed with people from school. it’s no surprise they would see them here; it’s a small town and a small city and everyone comes to here for the things they couldn’t find in town, which basically means everything because there’s, you know, nothing in town. how hansol makes all these friends is a mystery to mingyu. hansol is friends with everyone so it’s not surprising he’s got people crushing on him left and right, thinning mingyu’s chances even more. not that he had a chance at all to begin with.

he joins them to greet those familiar faces, a smile here and high five there. he’s not a complete loser at school, really. scratch that, he isn’t even close to being invisible. he lowkey thinks it’s because he’s been hitting the gym a lot often but the four of them have always been the kids people don’t bully and always made time to involve; invites to parties, lunches, to hang out. he doesn’t quite like the attention but he knows hansol does, even if he doesn’t admit it.

minghao’s the one who reminds them the movie would be starting soon, so they leave the group of their school friends to head to the cinema. hansol is extra chirpy, a little bouncy on his feet. mingyu finds it intolerably adorable. it’s almost illegal. honestly, this.

“i’ve seen the trailer like, ten times!” hansol is saying as they queue up for tickets, minghao and wonwoo gone to grab their popcorn and drinks. “i’m so ing excited. it better not disappoint.”

see the best thin about crushing on one of your best friends is that you’re still comfortable as around them. “yeah, dude,” mingyu agrees with a laugh. “you saw the way he fought them off? ing cool.”

“i know!” hansol cries out, eyes enlarging the way they do whenever he gets excited. there’s that wide smile on his lips as he continues to tell mingyu about the movie trailer mingyu had seen probably too many times. he only stops when it was their turn, taking the tickets after paying for them with a friendly smile at the staff, a girl not much older than them, who smiled back a little flirtatiously.

mingyu wants to roll his eyes.

they wait at the side for minghao and wonwoo, stuck in a longer queue so they’re lucky the movie doesn’t start for another half an hour. they drown in conversation about the movie and then the actors and mingyu notes how hansol hasn’t mentioned the female characters at all. mingyu purposely brings up megan fox, who happens to be in the film, because anyone breathing would find megan fox hot.

but hansol only said, “she’s cool.”

yes, yes, yes! he’s possibly gay! mingyu wants to laugh but he doesn’t get to when hansol reaches up and kind of tease his hair, the little fringe he’d let grow out. he thinks he’d stopped breathing. what the is going on? hansol is smiling, eyes on mingyu’s hair.

“i like your hair like this,” he says, retracting his hand. “don’t cut it. it’s really nice.”

mingyu wants to tell hansol not to cut his hair either because he looks so ing pretty with his hair like that, dyed orange curls framing his handsome face but all mingyu managed to croak out was a pathetic, “you think so?”

hansol beams, bright and blinding and he nods. mingyu hyperventilates.

“y’all wanna go get a room or something?” wonwoo interrupts them, hugging a bucket of popcorn to his chest, a teasing smile playing at his lips.

“are you paying?” hansol retorts, blinking innocently and mingyu’s pretty sure if it wasn’t night time, they’d see the red in his cheeks.

minghao laughs and wonwoo looks amused and just like that, the conversation drops as hansol laughs as well and bump shoulders with wonwoo as they walk in together. mingyu still can’t quite breathe properly even as the movie starts, not even when the credits start to toll. all he could think about was hansol’s hand teasing his hair, hansol’s smile, hansol’s indifference to wonwoo’s annoying jokes.

has hansol always been this touchy? had mingyu not notice this before? somehow he couldn’t remember. he thinks he would’ve remembered something like this; he knows he wouldn’t be able to forget what just happened earlier. he hates that he’s letting this get to him.

as usual, he drops minghao off first, the first house amongst them he’d pass by in their neighborhood. after, when wonwoo slips off the backseat, he shoots mingyu a knowing look and then hansol a wink. mingyu couldn’t hear him laugh when the door close after him but he could see wonwoo’s head thrown back in laughter. why does he have to be such a ing prick? mingyu loves him but he can be such an –

“idiot,” hansol finishes his thought though there’s no real bite to it; they all know how close hansol actually is to wonwoo and mingyu wonders if the older had told hansol about his pathetic crush.

mingyu laughs instead as he starts to drive again. “truly,” he agrees, “that one time he said hao was crushing on that one girl, like, right in front of her!”

hansol laughs, slapping at his thigh. “i remember! oh, oh, remember when he exposed himself in front of jun? god, he’s a ing idiot.”

that makes mingyu laugh even more. jun was wonwoo’s long time crush that didn’t get to go anywhere because jun moved back to china and wonwoo didn’t get to kiss him. it was sad, really, but wonwoo had been as idiotic as mingyu is now. he should take that as a lesson; what if hansol ends up going to a different college? it would be the same case, just sadder and even more pathetic.

when he stops by hansol’s house, the younger male doesn’t leave immediately. instead he leans back against his seat and stares out at his house silently. their silences had always been comfortable so mingyu doesn’t question him, just letting his hands rest on his lap. when hansol turns to face him, there’s a little smile on his lips and it’s not the wide, bright smile he’s known for. mingyu’s a little worried.

“you know,” hansol begins, twiddling his thumbs and mingyu knows his wall of confidence has been pulled down and what he’s seeing now is hansol’s raw vulnerability that not many people have the privilege to see. “i’m kinda scared i won’t get to graduate. what if i don’t do well enough and the scholarship get taken away? i won’t get to go to college with you guys.”

“hey,” mingyu says, his voice soft and he doesn’t think twice to close his hand around hansol’s. “you’ll do ing amazing, dude. you’re our straight A’s student. hell, you might even go to a better college than the rest of us.”

hansol’s lips twitched into a wider smile. mingyu feels like he’s won the lottery. “you’re just biased, hyung.”

“maybe, but it’s also a fact. your results say so.” mingyu shrugs, watching the way hansol turns his hand over and trace patterns onto the older’s palm. mingyu feels warm and he smiles genuinely. “i believe in you.”

“thanks, hyung,” hansol whispers softly before he grows silent again. a few seconds ticked and he looks up at mingyu. “you better ace so we can go to the same college, hyung. i can have wonwoo hyung and hao hyung stay here in town like they planned but i gotta have you.”

mingyu’s silent, warm, happy, elated and speechless but hansol takes his silence the wrong way. they younger rubs at his nape and he looks sheepish as he speaks. “i mean, if you want, of course.”

“pfft,” mingyu snorts, giving hansol a playful punch to his shoulder. “you’d force me to go with you, though. don’t even deny it.”

“that’s right,” hansol laughs, opening the car door and mingyu almost asks him to stay. “so ace your exams. we can share our dorm room. how rad would that be?”

“extremely,” mingyu agrees and hansol smiles at him. the younger thanks him once again and promises to see him tomorrow at school.

mingyu falls asleep that night with a smile and in his dreams, he gets to kiss hansol. now if he ever shares a room with the younger and gets these dreams, his secret would be spilled effortlessly.

great.

 

“dude, you really gotta do it, man. you’ve got competition, if you haven’t noticed?” wonwoo is saying on their way to school. minghao had to go with sister and hansol had gone much earlier so mingyu is left to pick up wonwoo from home.

he frowns, pretending to focus on the road. “i don’t know what you’re talking about.”

wonwoo rolls his eyes, texting as he speaks. “you know exactly what i’m talking about.”

“look,” mingyu sighs, turning the corner into the school premises. “he might be straight and i’d look like a goddamn idiot.”

“how do you know he’s straight?”

that silenced mingyu. how does he know? he shrugs, “i don’t know. it’s uh, a normal thing. isn’t it?”

“what about hansol is normal, honestly?” wonwoo snickers.

that’s true, but mingyu doesn’t say it aloud. “i don’t have a chance, man.”

“are you kidding? he touches you, like, every five seconds.”

mingyu drops the conversation by staying silent as he parks into his usual parking space and then they’re soon joined by minghao, who apparently had witnessed seolhyun flirting with hansol as if it’s some kind of great news that would make mingyu happy! thanks, he hates it. mingyu tunes them out instead until he sees it for himself. there, at hansol’s locker just next to his, was seolhyun, giggling and poking at hansol’s chest. mingyu wants to bash his own head in.

minghao and wonwoo had disappeared off to their lockers and mingyu considers running off and hiding in the toilet but hansol had seen him and started calling him over. thankfully, seolhyun seems to get the message and left with a wave directed at mingyu.

“so, like, she crushing on you or something?” mingyu asks, making sure he sounds light and teasing instead of what he actually feels; which is a lot frustration and even more jealousy.

“who? seolhyun? no way, hyung.” hansol laughs, grabbing books from within his locker.

mingyu scoffs, “huh. she bats her lashes at you, though. did you notice?”

the younger closes his locker door, “hm. must have missed it. anyways, any plans tonight?”

“no,” mingyu says, a little flustered for no reason and forgetting what subject he has for first period. he clears his throat. “i don’t think so, you?”

there is that smile again. “nope! we should hang out or something.

he closes the door, no book in hand. he can’t remember which book he should get. hansol casually keys in his combination, grabs his calculus textbook and presses it to mingyu’s chest. “sure,” mingyu agrees finally, and then, like a ing idiot. “i’ll just ring hao and wonwoo.”

hansol stares at him, blinks once and for a moment he looks a little frustrated. “okay, hyung. now let’s go. we’re gonna be late!”

. . .

 

wonwoo has had his share of flings that mingyu still remembers, whose names even wonwoo forgets. even minghao had a girlfriend once; they had only broken up when he had to move away. hansol obviously has admirers but mingyu? mingyu’s never really been interested. sure, he’s flirted with some, kissed a boy, a couple girls maybe, but he’s never been in a serious relationship. he would never expect anyone to be interested in him either so it comes off as a surprise when this girl he knows from geography approaches him and was not even subtle in her flirty intentions, going so far to touching his knee, slapping his arm.

huh. that’s odd.

a couple minutes after she left, hansol, minghao and wonwoo join him at his table. hansol looks a little annoyed, wonwoo amused and minghao is busy with his cell.

“what was that about?” hansol asks, not even bothered to hide the annoyance in his voice.

“i dunno,” mingyu shrugs a shoulder, pocketing his phone. “we were just chatting, i guess.”

hansol purses his lips, fingers drumming on the table. “seems a little touchy to me. what were you guys talking about? anything interesting?”

mingyu is both confused and amused. he a single brow up and the folds his arms on the table, attention fully on hansol. minghao and wonwoo watch them. “nothing important,” mingyu shrugs again. “but don’t worry, i won’t be going to college with her.”

a bright pink colors hansol’s cheeks and it’s the first time mingyu had seen hansol blush. hansol is blushing! because of him! mingyu is very much enjoying this and he holds hansol’s gaze until the younger boy clears his throat. “you sure? what if you end up kissing her?”

“what if you end up kissing her?”

hansol’s face scrunches up in that adorable way he always does before he laughs, “i prefer kissing boys.”

mingyu and wonwoo share a look. mingyu probably died. he blinks, decides it’s best to keep his cool. “how come i didn’t know that?”

“you don’t know everything about me, hyung.” he smiles, faking innocence and there’s something in the way he’d said it. as if he knows.

all through lunch, mingyu pretends he wasn’t at all thinking about what hansol had said, letting the boy steal food from his tray because he doesn’t like what’s on his, something mingyu is used to from their years of friendship. really, though, all he could think about was that hansol is quite possibly… gay?

mingyu’s only a little offended he didn’t know this sooner.

 

wonwoo and minghao took a total of twenty minutes drilling mingyu about being the stupid idiot he really is before ultimately claimed they have other plans tonight and left mingyu to fend for himself. he’s not really nervous; it isn’t going to be the first time he and hansol had hung out just the two of them. though he’ll admit he’s a little pissed with minghao and wonwoo for making it obvious.

hansol is shoving books into his locker when mingyu appears, keeping his own books and other things before he clears his throat. “so hao and wonwoo are ditching us.”

“girls or those dumb toy cars they wanted to get so bad?” hansol laughs, locking up his locker and shouldering his bag.

“probably both?” mingyu snickers before gesturing for hansol to follow. “my place, maybe? we could continue Brooklyn 99.”

hansol hums, following mingyu out of the school building. “you got snacks?”

“and ice cream,” the taller wiggles his brows and hansol’s eyes twinkled. “two tubs.”

the younger of the two cheered and he’s the first one who gets to mingyu’s car. “i would’ve gone even without the snacks, though.”

“yeah, right.”

 

mingyu could not possibly count how many times they’d seen each other ; shirtless as they swim during summers spent at mingyu’s summer house out of town. they had been lanky and skinny boys growing up but lately mingyu had bulked up and wonwoo joins him in the gym sometimes, that explains the toned stomach he now has. minghao has always stayed thin, super fast in sports and proud with how he looks. hansol on the other hand, well…

before he realized or decided he’s in love with this boy, he’d never really paid attention to how he looks underneath all those clothes. so why is he so flustered and bothered when hansol removes his shirt as soon as they’re in his room? the younger boy hates the gym, mingyu knows this from his first few attempts to bring hansol with him, so that explains the lack of tone in his arms and torso.

still, he was beautiful.

there’s confidence in his strides without his shirt on, the pose of someone who likes how he looks, though he doesn’t stay shirtless for very long, much to mingyu’s dismay. hansol had merely grabbed one of mingyu’s hoodies and got rid of his jeans, tossing it aside casually, having been here countless times it could considered his own room. of course, he still has his boxers on, spiderman prints, as he crawls onto mingyu’s bed and lies flat on his stomach, and mingyu only breaks from his trance when hansol spoke.

“what?” he asks, blinking and shaking his head as he put aside his bag, ready to change into comfier clothing.

“i said hand me your remote so i could set it up, hyung.”

wordlessly, mingyu tosses the remote control over to hansol. his room is pretty spacey and there’s tv he’d bought with his own savings and his own playstation, one of the reasons why the guys hang out at his place most of the time. as hansol turns on the tv and logs into his netflix account, clicking on the show they see together and all while mingyu changes into shorts and his black tank top.

he busies himself tidying up his table but all he could think of was how ing pretty hansol is in his hoodie.

“hyung!” hansol is whining. mingyu thinks he might have a boy type problem down below, which is embarrassing. “go grab the snacks and ice cream. i’m gonna start it soon.”

so mingyu goes. he’s starting to think he’d do anything hansol asks him to.

he’s back upstairs with tubs of ice cream, spoons, cans of soda and the packets of snacks he has stored in the kitchen. hansol is frowning at his phone when he enters the room, tossing the device down and beaming as he takes some of the things from mingyu’s arms.

“someone stressing you out, bro?” mingyu asks, taking a seat on the floor at the edge of his bed and just in front of his tv.

hansol’s nose scrunches up. “seolhyun. she kind of don’t get it.”

“don’t get what, exactly?” he prompts, eyes on the screen.

“that i’m gay?” hansol scoffs, “granted, i haven’t come out to anyone so she doesn’t know. but, uh, i thought she would’ve gotten the message.”

mingyu gulps down his drink. so here comes the topic. “speaking of, why did you never tell me? does wonwoo know?”

“you never asked,” hansol shrugs, opening the lid of the ice cream tub. “wonwoo hyung asked, so i told him.”

mingyu doesn’t know if he wants to strangle  wonwoo or hansol. “you’ve kissed girls before though.”

around a spoonful of the cold treat, hansol says, “they’re cute and amazing but you know...”

he nods. he does know. he’d kissed girls too but he doubts he would like kissing them more than he would like kissing hansol. not that he would ever say that, seeing he’d never be able to kiss hansol. “who’s he?”

hansol blushes at this, “he was a senior last year. seungcheol hyung?”

the look of disgust must have been obvious on mingyu’s face because hansol laughs. for a second there, maybe a little longer, mingyu stares at hansol’s lips as he speaks. “can’t believe your first boy kiss was with that .”

what a shame, really. seungcheol was a total dickhead.

hansol is smiling, soft and adorable with his gaze trained down. he’s on his belly again and in this position, their faces are just inches away. mingyu could kiss him right now when hansol lifts his gaze and meets mingyu’s. “why? do you wish it had been you?”

yes? yes, yes, yes. he wants to scream it but all he does is chuckle and hansol laughs again as they both look away. the younger shakes his head, scrunching up his nose. “wasn’t that great anyway. dude was drunk. one of my many bad decisions. think i would have loved kissing you instead.”

yeah, you should have kissed me instead.

mingyu wishes he had the guts to say that.

 

it comes to light that the real threat and his true competitor is not seolhyun but a quirky, loud boy called seungkwan, whose jokes hansol laughs at all the time. mingyu: 0, everyone else: 1.

he’s not liking the look of that scoreboard.

grumpy and frustrated, he finds himself in the library trying to finish his notes while also avoiding having to watch hansol with seungkwan and minghao and wonwoo teasing him. he couldn’t even properly write his notes, accidentally doodling hansol’s name and a broken heart next to it.

this is pathetic.

what are the odds of hansol actually accepting him if he ever confesses? what if hansol had only ever seen him as a brother? god, that would break his heart.

giving up on his notes, he closes his books and keeps his things into the bag and as if on cue, he sees wonwoo walking into the library. a rare sight; wonwoo never goes to the library unless necessary, like right now. mingyu ignores him, who’d smiled the moment he’d walked in. he merely checks his phone, finding several messages from hansol he’s too sulky to respond to. wonwoo sits opposite him and he's still smiling when mingyu looks up.

“no, i’m not lending you my math homework.”

wonwoo rolls his eyes, “you know i don’t need to copy your , man. hansol’s looking for you. why’d you ignore his texts?”

shrugging a shoulder, mingyu keeps more of his things into his bag. “didn’t see it, man. i was studying. besides, wasn’t he with that other kid? seungkwan or whatever.”

the look on wonwoo’s face makes mingyu wants to hit something but he refrains from doing so and before wonwoo could say anything, mingyu smiles innocently. “and i want to spend time with you instead.”

“you’re full of bull, gyu.” wonwoo laughs and then he’s pulling mingyu off his chair. “come on, we’ve got something fun to do.”

 

staring at hansol now, mingyu wonders why the feelings he harbors had developed just recently. they had been friends forever and hansol’s smile had been the same bright and wide stretch of his lips, exposing rows of pearly whites and gum and nose scrunching up in his own adorable way whenever he laughs. it makes mingyu want to kiss him. or his nose. preferably both. god, this is going to drive him insane.

he hadn’t noticed that he’d been staring so when hansol cups his cheeks as a means to get his attention, mingyu’s heart almost burst out of his chest.

“hyung,” hansol says, laughing softly. “you in or nah?”

mingyu doesn’t know what he’s about to agree to but he nods anyway. and both minghao and wonwoo cheered.

damn hansol. damn him and his pretty eyes and his cute nose and his wonderful smile. damn his pretty pink lips. if he hadn’t been too mesmerized by them, he would’ve paid attention and if he had paid attention, he would not have blindly agreed.

really, though, could he have said no to hansol? unlikely.

when wonwoo said ‘we’, he really just meant mingyu and hansol and ‘fun’ meant mingyu’s about to get into trouble if he gets caught. ‘so don’t get caught,’ minghao had simply said. mingyu still wants to knock both him and wonwoo down. why are they his friends again?

instead of being home and finishing up with his notes, mingyu’s boosting hansol up his mom’s new boyfriend’s window. he doesn’t really know what hansol has up  his sleeves but he's stuck to helo the boy be petty. he knows hansol hates that his parents split up and he knows hansol doesn’t like his mom’s new beau. mingyu just doesn’t know how much. he supposes it’s a lot for hansol to risk losing his scholarship.

oh, he forgot to mention; hansol’s mom is dating their school’s headmaster.

his job is to keep a look out while hansol gets things done. his anxiety tells him hansol is taking a little too long, that mr. lee might pull in the driveway anytime soon and they would be busted. he’s starting to panic when hansol calls out from above.

“catch me!” hansol says in a hushed whisper and without letting mingyu prepare for his landing, he jumps and they both tumble down in a noisy heap, hansol laughing and mingyu grunting in pain.

he might have broken a toe.

they jump up quickly when they hear a car approaching, sprinting off in case it really was their headmaster. they don’t stop until they reach the front of the diner they frequent, breathless and nearly dying but hansol is still smiling and mingyu thinks it’s worth it after all.

when they’ve calmed down a little, mingyu straightens up. he thinks about seungkwan’s not so funny jokes that hansol found so hilarious and has the sudden urge to try. if all else fails, least he had tried.

right?

“you hungry?” he asks, gesturing towards the diner.

hansol looks over and then nods, casually speaking up as he takes the lead and head towards the diner. “you’re getting me ice cream too.”

mingyu smiles; attempt number one would go well.

 

they ended up wasting half the ice cream because they couldn’t fit any more in their stomachs. in the car mingyu had asked hansol what he’d done but hansol had only laughed again and said, “the less you know, the better, hyung. you’ll figure it out soon enough.”

he sort of did when it’s announced without saying that their headmaster wasn’t around the next day.

“let’s just say he had, uhh, a really bad case of bed bugs,” hansol said when asked again. minghao and wonwoo had laughed but mingyu doesn’t even want to know what exactly hansol had put in mr. lee’s bed. he hopes hansol doesn’t get expelled, which is very much a possibility if someone else finds out.

they don’t see mr. lee for the rest of the week and hansol doesn’t get to see his mother for that week. he doesn’t seem to mind. when he’s not with the group, he’s hanging with seungkwan and mingyu grows frustrated. why can’t he just say something? hansol is getting closer to the other boy and mingyu’s still pathetically crushing on him.

three weeks after hansol’s little stunt, they gather at wonwoo’s place on a friday after dinner. minghao and wonwoo are seated on the floor playing cards and hansol is texting, smiling as he does and mingyu has a feeling it might be seungkwan. this crack in his heart isn’t even funny anymore, man.

“you and kwan, huh?” he voices out finally, pretending to be on his phone as well when hansol looks up.

silence. hansol snickers. “what about us?”

“you guys seeing each other?” he asks, a little to hesitantly because yes, he is afraid of the answer.

then there it is, the very laughter that had pushed mingyu down this well of love he can’t seem to climb out of. hansol laughs and snorts, covering his mouth and looking surprised as if he had never heard that one before. and , it’d be a lie if mingyu says he didn’t just fall in love again.

“he’s not my type,” hansol shakes his head then tosses his phone to the side, smiling up at the older. “why do you ask, hyung?”

mingyu shrugs, places his phone down as well. “no reason. you two seem close. been hanging out with him a lot.”

“i’m sorry, hyung,” the younger boy says then and wordlessly leans to press against mingyu’s side, arms winding around the taller’s waist. “i’ll spend more time with you, okay?”

he’s about to get defensive and say that’s not what he meant when that’s exactly what he meant. he doesn’t; instead he smiles and says, “good, we should go somewhere this weekend.”

hansol perks up; mingyu could feel his eyes widen even though he can’t see the boy. “like where?”

“the city, maybe?”

“can we go to that waffle place?” the younger asks, looking up at mingyu expectantly and it’s so ing adorable.

“we could do anything you want,” he almost called hansol baby. BABY. that would have been a whole mess. what was he thinking? apparently, he wasn’t. it’s hard to when hansol is this close.

someone clears his throat, making mingyu jump but hansol is unfazed, casually resting his head on mingyu’s lap as if he hadn’t heard anything. it could have been minghao or wonwoo, mingyu couldn’t have known because now they’re pretending to be engrossed in their card game. some friends he has. maybe someday he would thank them but the day is definitely not today.

“i’m getting bored,” minghao says, collecting the cards he was playing and keeping them in the box. “let’s do something that doesn’t involve y’all kissing.”

hansol throws a pillow at minghao but he’s smiling, cheeks a little pink. wait, what? is hansol… blushing? over a kissing joke? a kissing joke that involves mingyu? holy .

wonwoo is smirking, taking the pillow that was thrown at minghao to hug it to his chest. mingyu wonders what’s going on in that thick skull of his. he wonders how exactly wonwoo had gotten so close to hansol anyway? he has close to zero s given about everything else, but no one touches his precious hansol. mingyu doubts he’d be spared if he ever made hansol cry. of course, he doesn’t ever plan to.

not that he has any chance at even making hansol smile at all, does he?

“what are you thinking?” hansol is nudging at his knee, no longer resting his head on mingyu’s lap. “why are you staring at wonwoo hyung like that?”

mingyu blinks. has he been staring? , he needs to stop that. he frowns before shooting a look at wonwoo. “was just thinking about how i wanna bash his head in is all.”

hansol scoffs; for a moment he looks a little pissed but it came in a flash and then gone in another. wonwoo, on the other hand, looks a little too pleased. mingyu just feels like an idiot and a victim. there’s something he feels like he should figure out but his mind is blank and all he could think about was how hansol looked for the few seconds earlier. also, wonwoo probably knows something he doesn’t.

 

he’d put on a simple short-sleeved, printed yellow dress shirt that goes with his white pants, letting his hair fall over his brows and swiped slightly to the side in a coma fringe, the way he knows hansol likes it. smiling at himself in the mirror, mingyu deems himself decent enough before finally heading out. only when he’s in the car did he realize he might have looked like he was trying too hard. oh god.

he tries not to think too much of it, finding hansol already waiting in his driveway, dressed coincidentally in white shirt and jeans that goes exceptionally well next to mingyu, a yellow bandana around his head and his orange curls falling over it and framing his pretty face. he smiles when hansol waves at him and hops into the car with simple words that escape him, “waffle place. i’m hungry.”

mingyu doesn’t ask twice. driving into the city, like always, hansol blasts songs from the radio, singing at the top of his lungs. mingyu finds himself blushing when dandelions by ruth b started playing. it’s a song that really reminds him of hansol. he doesn’t know if it’s pathetic, really, but it fits. if he had a dandelion to wish on for hansol to be his, he would. not that he would ever admit that to anyone.

he pulls over into an empty parking space, walking into the waffle place laughing and playfully shoving hansol for a joke he made. this feels like a date. it’s nice. mingyu’s cheeks kind of hurt from smiling. he guides them both to an empty seat and because they’ve been here often, he doesn’t bother looking at the menu.

“what are you having?” he asks hansol and the younger purses his lips in thought. it amazes mingyu that hansol has to think every time, no matter how frequent they’d been here. it’s almost like he can’t decide.

he wouldn’t be surprised if they end up switching plates.

“do i want the chocolate melts or oreo?” hansol asks aloud, looking frustrated with himself and mingyu had to laugh at how adorable that is.

“what about oreo? you had chocolate melts last time.”

“i did?” hansol scrunches up his nose, shrugging a shoulder. “oreo it is.”

mingyu offers to get the order and hansol doesn’t protest. he comes back with two plates of waffles, a special cookies & cream ice cream on top of hansol’s waffle. the younger boy cheers, clapping his hands excitedly. he dives into it without question and mingyu wonders why they don’t get proper lunch instead.

hansol scowls but he doesn’t say anything as he steals a bite of mingyu’s waffle, eyes widening as he chews. mingyu had gotten peanut butter tipping with chocolate ice cream and apparently hansol likes that. as always, mingyu offers, “you wanna switch?”

nodding, hansol doesn’t even hesitate to switch their plates, very much enjoying mingyu’s – now his – plate of waffles. this little exchange had gone on for years, ever since they knew each other when they six. how long ago was that? huh. very long, for sure. he wouldn’t mind having to do it for the rest of his life, though.

after, when they’re finished with their waffles, they walk along the streets, entering random stores and they walk towards the ice cream parlor with hansol having bought a new video game and mingyu a couple books for him to read during the summer. hansol offers to pay for ice cream but mingyu insists. he ends up switching flavors with hansol too, this time with a little apologetic grin on the younger’s lips.

“you know,” hansol is saying, at his ice cream cone as they walk back towards mingyu’s parked car. “i had a nightmare a couple nights ago.”

mingyu bites into his biscuit cone. “oh? what about?”

hansol looks sheepish, focusing on his cold treat. “losing you,” he says and then shrugs a shoulder. “it’s weird and random. it’s of like those weird ones that felt real?”

“oh,” mingyu nods, up the dripping cream that almost got to his fingers. “i know those kinds.”

“yeah,” hansol continues, “so i was with wonwoo hyung and we got to the same college. minghao hyung stayed in town and i couldn’t find you. like, the dream me knows you exist and i was sad about it. like i dunno where you went but i know you were gone.”

mingyu’s finished his ice cream by then and he notes the tinge of sadness in hansol’s voice. he smiles, wrapping an arm around the younger’s shoulders, assuring him. “you’ll never lose me.”

“i know,” hansol smiles up at him, no longer sad as he finishes his ice cream as well. “good, because i can’t imagine what it’d be like without you, hyung.”

that could have been part of mingyu’s hallucinations, but he takes it. he’s warm and happy as he pulls hansol with him towards his car. it might be the only time that he could grab the chance and confess, maybe kiss him or something. ask him out. instead mingyu lets hansol change the subject, laughing as they drive back into town and all the way til he sends hansol right on his driveway. the younger thanked him. for a second he looks like he might lean in and kiss mingyu and he could meet hansol halfway. kiss him, kiss him, kiss him; a voice in his head says and it sounds eerily like wonwoo’s.

he doesn’t.

and then hansol is gone.

 

you know how in movies when a character gets heartbroken there would be a whole slow-motion scene and a sad music playing in the background? that is exactly how mingyu is feeling right this second. there isn’t any slow teardrop or dramatic gasps, but there’s a song that’s playing in his head and it’s calum scott’s if our love is wrong. he's pretty sure he can hear his own heart breaking.

he was just enjoying lunch with his mates, laughing and biting into his burger, hansol next to him and wonwoo seated with minghao opposite them. and then suddenly seungkwan’s walking up to them, looking sheepish and shy and mingyu had looked over at hansol, who had shrugged his shoulders, looking as confused as mingyu felt. he was chewing so adorably too… but mingyu’s attention had quickly averted to seungkwan when he finally spoke.

“i like you,” seungkwan had said, there’s pink in his cheeks and he’s looking at hansol expectantly. “like, i really, really like you. and i though you’d wanna go to the dance with me?”

the dance? the ing dance? why didn’t mingyu even think about it? it had felt like all typical heartbreak scene but in reality mingyu choked on his burger, having to gulp down his drink in order to stay alive. when he sneaks a peak at hansol, the younger was smiling and mingyu hates that he can’t read what it meant.

so, yeah, his heart is breaking. he’s too late.

hansol doesn’t answer immediately; instead he gets up and pulls seungkwan with him. mingyu doesn’t even turn to look. he’s very aware at both wonwoo’s and minghao’s eyes on him but he only swallows thickly and pushes his plate away, appetite long gone. for once, wonwoo isn’t smiling and minghao looks a little concerned. somewhere in the back of his mind, he thinks they might have rooted for him.

but all he’s been is a ing idiot.

 

he makes up an excuse for having to be home earlier, by text so he doesn’t have to face any of them. they don’t ask him if he’s okay and he’s glad; he doesn’t want to have to lie again. he doesn’t really know how to feel so he ended up falling asleep as soon as he’s home, waking up only to miss dinner and ignore the messages on his phone. he’d merely listened to music and played video games.

mostly, though, he’s thinking about what he’s gonna do and how he’ll have to react tomorrow when he sees hansol and seungkwan holding hands. what if they kiss in front of him? what if seungkwan starts sitting with them at lunch? oh god. he doesn’t think he can handle that.

when games start getting boring and the songs have replayed endlessly, mingyu decides it was time for bed. he looks through his phone and sees messages from all three of his friends. he wonders if he should reply but guesses it’s better if he doesn’t, lest he sounds off with them. so he lets sleep take over; perhaps he’d feel better in the morning.

he doesn’t, but he does return his friends’ messages, telling them he was busy and that he would be picking them up to school. he manages to fake a smile or two once they joined him in the car. hansol seems indifferent. things must have gone well. which means mingyu has to at least be a good friend and ask.

he doesn’t get to.

hansol and seungkwan don’t kiss, which is good but also surprising. he guesses they’re not allowed to make out on school premises but he’d expected they would look a little intimate? instead seungkwan hadn’t stuck around very long. mingyu doesn’t question it.

“alright,” wonwoo slams his books down onto the table, startling mingyu but he only looks up once and goes back to his notes. “what’s going on?”

“what’s it look like?” mingyu snaps back although he probably shouldn’t have but he simply sighs. “i’m studying. got big tests coming up.”

wonwoo rolls his eyes, “that’s bull.”

“look,” mingyu sighs. he’s kind of tired and there’s really no point lying to wonwoo. they’ve been friends forever. “i’m not ready to, like, watch them be boyfriends or whatever. i know i messed up my chances, okay?”

there’s a second of silence and then wonwoo’s laughing. mingyu’s confused; does the older not know he was crushing on hansol? when he finally calms down, wonwoo clears his throat. “i think you shouldn’t have went straight home yesterday. listen, gyu, go talk to him.”

now it’s mingyu’s turn to laugh. “no ing way. talk to him and say what? that i’ve been in love with him for a while? he’s just gonna laugh at me. besides isn’t it a little disrespectful? what with him just getting with kwan and all.”

“just go and talk to him, man.” wonwoo insists, closing mingyu’s book and keeping his markers and pens in its case. “go,”

“yeah, dude,” minghao appears out of nowhere, plopping himself down next to wonwoo. “he’s at his locker now cleaning out some stuff. go before he heads home.”

mingyu considers this; he looks at his friends and then at his pile of books. he thinks about hansol’s pretty laugh that wonwoo and minghao found quite ugly but that’s okay, that means they aren’t equally interested in hansol the way he is. he thinks about when hansol made him promise they’d go to college together and then at that waffle date when hansol said he can’t even imagine what life would be without him. he thinks hansol deserves to know at least. he hopes their friendship would prevail no matter what and both wonwoo and minghao would be okay.

and well, if it goes badly, they’re probably just go to different colleges. graduation isn’t too far from now.

mingyu inhales and then heads straight to hansol’s locker.

when he gets to his locker, hansol is there, his book bag on the floor and a hand in his locker, appearing busy with cleaning up. mingyu doesn’t really know what to say now that he’s here. students are already clearing out of the hallway after the last bell and then there were two of them. he needs to speak up before hansol leaves.

opening the door to his own locker, mingyu clears his throat, getting hansol’s attention finally. the younger only smiled at him but doesn’t say anything. mingyu thinks his heart might stop beating.

“so, listen,” he starts, closing the locker door but not completely. “i know i should be congratulating you –”

“congratulating me?” hansol frowns, a genuine look of confusion etched on his features. “what for, though?”

mingyu blinks, “um… for getting with seungkwan?”

hansol stares at him for five very long seconds and when he doesn’t say anything, mingyu rubs at the back of his neck. “look, i know the right thing to do is congratulate you but i thought you should know that i – i’ve liked you for a long time and i should have told you earlier but i’ve been so ing stupid and now you’re seeing someone else and i’m too late and i might just be ruining this friendship –”

“kim mingyu,” hansol cuts him off. and god, that was so hot? how dare he calls mingyu like that. if he wasn’t so heartbroken, he might have to deal with a boy type problem down there. “just kiss me.”

oh, there it is. this is the end. they’ll never be friends – wait, what? did he hear that right? “what?”

hansol rolls his eyes, “kiss me.”

maybe it’s the way he said it or the way his mouth moves when he speaks but mingyu’s pretty sure it’s because he’d spent months wishing he could just that. so he closes the distance between them, cups hansol’s beautiful face within his hands and slots his lips over the younger’s. just like he’d imagined, hansol’s lips were soft and his mouth tasted like strawberry tear and mint and god, mingyu can’t stop.

he kisses hansol like it’s the first and last time, allowing the younger male’s arms to wind around him as he deepens the lip lock. he doesn’t think he could ever have enough but they pull away to catch some breath and there’s something sinful in the way hansol’s lips swell red and properly kissed and all of it was mingyu’s doing. oh my god. he looks so ing beautiful.

they stare at each other for a second and then hansol’s leaning in to kiss him again and he meets his halfway, thinking if he should die from kissing hansol, it’d be worth it. they have to, unfortunately, stop kissing, pulling away to rest their foreheads together before hansol releases a soft laugh, his hands on mingyu’s waist. “so…”

“so,” mingyu continues, the grin on his lips beginning to hurt his cheeks. “you wanna, like, go on date with me?”

“finally,” hansol laughs again, leaving a soft peck onto mingyu’s lips. “i was waiting forever for you to ask.”

he feels silly but then he remembers something. “wait – what about seungkwan?”

“what about him?”

“didn’t he ask you…?” mingyu frowns, “aren’t you two dating? oh my god.”

“hyung!” hansol stops him from panicking, “i never said yes to him! i told wonwoo and minghao hyung yesterday after classes ended. i wanted to tell you if you asked but you went home earlier. figured you’d be busy since you didn’t reply my texts. i didn’t wanna bother you.”

stupid. stupid. stupid.

“i was…” hansol continues, looking sheepish as he fiddles with his thumbs. it’s the most adorable thing. “i was hoping to go to the dance with you.”

somewhere in mingyu’s chest, his heart swells up, threatening to explode. he’s grinning so widely his cheeks hurt and without saying another word, he pulls hansol into his arms and steals another kiss. this time isn’t as feverish as before, soft, lingering pecks onto hansol’s lips and smiling when they part. their bodies are so close, mingyu could feel hansol’s heat against his skin and he couldn’t have enough of it.

he doesn’t really know what this would mean for them but now he’s excited to find out. hansol is smiling at him, so adorable, so pretty and they’re about to lean in for another kiss when they heard someone clearing his throat, causing them to jump apart.

mingyu scowls when he sees that it was just wonwoo with minghao behind him appearing out of nowhere, handing him his bag and books with a smirk on his lips. “sorry, had to check on you guys to make sure y’all don’t fool around in the janitor’s room. can’t get you guys expelled now, can we?”

“prick,” hansol rolls his eyes but he’s still smiling and his lips are still red. mingyu wants to kiss him again.

instead he takes his bag from wonwoo and shoulders it as the four of them head towards the exit. he’s elated but annoyed with wonwoo, whose smug look still stayed on his face.

“so can we like, go to the dance together?” minghao asks, falling into step next to hansol while wonwoo stays next to mingyu. they walk in a row, grinning faces scowling when the afternoon sunrays hit them.

this is happiness, mingyu thinks, surrounded with his friends that he’s known his entire life. sure, hansol may be more than just his friend now but he thinks that won’t change anything. he turns to look at the younger boy, who smiles up at him. and he wraps his arm around hansol’s shoulders, pressing a kiss into his soft hair.

“yeah,” he says finally as they walk up towards his car. “yeah, we could go to the dance together.”

 

exams had gone by painfully slowly and during that time, he does see hansol and they study together on some days. the date he had asked hansol out on had to wait til exams were over but that’s his fault, really. hansol didn’t seem to mind. instead they studied all through out the exam period. mingyu thinks he did well.

he’s nervous about the dance, for some reason. now clad in his own black tux, an emerald colored necktie around his neck, he looks over himself once more before finally heading out. his excuse to his parents about not having a girl date was that he’d promised to go with the boys. they don’t question him after that. he’d gone, first to pick up wonwoo and then minghao, purposely saving hansol for last.

one, because he’s nervous and two, so he could get ready to possibly die the moment he sees hansol.

wonwoo, mingyu has to admit, does look pretty good in his midnight blue suit; necktie neatly seated around his slim neck and hair styled upwards. perhaps if he had asked song jieun, she wouldn’t have regretted saying yes. mingyu isn’t always so confident but he thinks he looks pretty good. hopefully hansol would think so as well.

when he picks up minghao, the Chinese boy wears his mullet he usually does, wearing a glittering and sparkly red suit that he flaunts proudly with a laugh before he hops into the car. mingyu doesn’t expect less from minghao, really. they had laughed and taken pictures until wonwoo says they should get to hansol’s place quickly.

“dude, you’re sweating,” wonwoo snickers and mingyu automatically reaches up to see if he really was. he wasn’t. ing wonwoo.

minghao laughs, “don’t , wonnie. we can’t have him pissing his pants!” they guffawed.

mingyu ignores the fact that minghao had referred to wonwoo ‘wonnie’ like that isn’t some soft . he wants to stop the car and leave them behind but he doesn’t. he only rolls his eyes and tightens the grip he has on the steering wheel. “it’s not funny,” he huffs, turning the corner into hansol’s driveway. “y’all promise to keep me on my feet once i see how beautiful he is?”

this time minghao and wonwoo roll their eyes, wonwoo making a little comment under his breath about how he needs to get used to this. minghao only snickers as they all got out of the vehicle. mingyu’s smiling, pleased to have annoyed wonwoo. but the nervousness is quick to come back to him, heart racing against his chest as he reaches into the car to press the horn a couple times.

a couple seconds later the front door opens and then hansol appears, a smile on his lips and the top of his dress shirt undone while his hand holds onto what mingyu knows is his necktie. his suit jacket is the same emerald as mingyu’s tie, something they had planned earlier. his hair is curled, as always, framing his pretty face in an orange halo and god, even half ready like that, he was gorgeous.

and he’s mingyu’s boyfriend.

grinning, hansol bounces over and throws himself over to mingyu, arms wrapping around the taller’s neck. when he pulls back, mingyu kisses him, ignoring minghao and wonwoo grunt as they slip back into the car. mingyu’s laughing as they pull away, raising a hand to ruffle up hansol’s hair.

“you look ing stunning, bebe.” bebe? huh. that was random. but it’s nice. hansol seems to like it.

the younger boy grins almost shyly, dipping his head a little. “you look handsome. that girl from geography is gonna be so jealous.”

mingyu laughs again, gesturing towards the tie hansol is holding on to. “you wanna put that on before we go?”

hansol looks at it as if he’d forgotten it was there. his cheeks colored and he offers the strip of cloth to mingyu. “help me?”

so. ing. cute. mingyu willingly takes the tie, grinning as he helps put the tie on the younger boy. once he seems decent, he kisses hansol’s cheeks and opens the car door for him.

wonwoo and minghao cheered once they’re both in the car and mingyu drives off towards their school. everyone is dressed well and at some point while he grabs drinks for both himself and hansol, mingyu finds seungkwan with seolhyun. odd. perhaps they’d bonded over being kindly rejected by hansol.

there’s a sense of pride in his chest but he doesn’t show it. if he had been rejected by hansol, could he have gone with seolhyun instead? he would never know. he’s glad he would never have to know.

they danced and laughed and wonwoo had snuck in a tiny bottle of vodka that he pours into their fruit punch, not too much, he said, while he takes a full swing of it and disappeared with minghao.

they only went to the after party for less than hour before mingyu had to send wonwoo home because he’s already wasted. he must have had more beer from the other kids. minghao offers to stay with him, much to both mingyu’s and hansol’s relief. they don’t go straight home and mingyu drives them to the beach instead. there are still people hanging around, nightlights decorating the trees around and mingyu thinks its perfect.

hansol drops himself down onto the sand, uncaring of dirtying his dress pants before he smiles up at mingyu and pulls him down with him. he leans against mingyu’s side and they sit like that for a while. mingyu steals kisses into hansol’s hair and they kiss occasionally, until hansol ends up straddling mingyu’s lap, kiss-swollen lips red even under the night sky and mingyu is living his best life.

hansol is so ing gorgeous.

“how long have you known?” mingyu asks randomly, a hand curled at hansol’s hip while his free one caresses hansol’s cheek.

the younger boy quirks a single brow up, “that i’m gay or that you were crushing on me hard?”

mingyu blinks. what? had hansol known all along? perhaps this shouldn’t surprise mingyu, since hansol had been the one who asked him to kiss him. hansol laughs and he cups mingyu’s cheeks, kissing him again.

“you started getting flustered a lot,” hansol is saying, lips stretched into a grin as he swipes the pad of his thumb over mingyu’s bottom lip. “you asked if i was interested in seolhyun and then kwan and whenever you ask, you have this little twitch on your lip.”

“what twitch?” mingyu huffs, a little embarrassed.

hansol laughs again, pressing a kiss onto mingyu’s lip. “that twitch, like you’re embarrassed or upset, or you know, jealous.”

mingyu’s cheeks warmed. “pfft, i’m never jealous.”

“oh sure,” hansol says, leaning back but still straddling mingyu’s lap. “so you’re saying you won’t be jealous if i go to the same college as kwan?”

mingyu shrugs, “why should i be? you’re going to college not a date. wait – is he?”

laughing, hansol’s face still scrunches up in that cute way of his, snorting adorably. “what if he’s still after me?”

“well i wouldn’t just jealous,” mingyu says, leaning in and tracing a finger over hansol’s pretty lips. “i’m your boyfriend now. i’d be possessive but just lightly but i’m definitely protective.”

“i think possessive’s hot,” hansol giggles, biting down onto his lip and mingyu can’t help but lean forward and kiss him. they kiss for a while, mingyu’s tongue into hansol’s mouth, tasting him and drinking him in. they only pull away to breathe, hansol’s lips red and swollen and so ing kissable, mingyu just wants to have him. all of him. he would take every bit of hansol he’s allowed to have and love him with all that he is.

they stay like that for a while, occasionally kissing and at some point hansol’s breathing evens and he’s silent and mingyu thinks he’s asleep until he spoke, soft and sweet and there’s a smile in his voice.

“hyung?”

“yeah?”

hansol lifts his head to look up at mingyu. for a moment he doesn’t say anything so mingyu leas in to kiss him and hansol laughs softly and then softly, like a whisper against mingyu’s lips, he says, “i’m so glad i met you.”

warmth fills up mingyu’s chest and he thinks he might cry but he manages a smile instead, kissing into hansol’s hair. “i’m so glad i met you too, bebe.”

“i like when you call me that,” hansol laughs again, leaning against mingyu’s side.

“you know,” mingyu says, lacing his fingers with hansol’s as he speaks. “can’t believe we’d be in college together. roomies!”

“so,” hansol says, a playful glint in his eyes. “how long til you decide to deflower me?”

mingyu blushes, hansol laughs and the older attacks him with tickles. the younger boy starts tearing up from laughter and mingyu decides he deserves some kind of mercy. they stay at the beach til the sun rises, so pretty and breathtaking but still nothing compared to the boy in his arms.

college would start after summer. wonwoo would start college in the states since his mother is moving. they’d cried about it the other day, hugging it out and making promises to call. hansol had taken it the hardest and mingyu and minghao had let the two spend time together. they must have talked it out.

minghao on the other hand, had decided to stay in town and attend the college they have while hansol and mingyu would  go to seoul. the separation would sting but mingyu’s certain they would work it out. they’ve been friends forever; they would be friends forever.

in this moment here and now, he breathes in the summer air and hansol’s strawberry scent and he feels like he could live forever.