“He is here” Mingho* whispered as he peeked from behind the wall they were standing. Behind him was Seokmin, peeking just above Mingho’s head. Then there was Mingyu, simply tilting his neck to the side to take a glance at the ‘he’ that his friends were ogling at. Mingyu gulped seeing the man’s face. Taeyong’s face. It has been a week already since the washroom incident but Mingyu still couldn’t shake off the feeling of embarrassment, which makes him want to dig a hole and bury himself in it. So his best friends, the very best friends who challenged him to kiss Taeyong are now dragging him here to make him apologize.

When they were having lunch earlier Mingho suggested that Mingyu should apologize for his ‘irresponsible actions’.

“You better have some guts to say sorry for kissing the student council president without his consent dude”

“If someone should apologize, it is you two!” Mingyu spat and glared, not understanding how he was labeled ‘irresponsible’ when he was indeed a victim of his friend’s pranks.

“We aren’t the ones who did not bother thinking about the consequences” Seokmin argued getting a nod of agreement from Mingho. Though Mingyu hated admitting it, he knew his friends were right.

Kissing and getting a punch in return was definitely not ‘good’, specially if it is the president of the student council who has a direct connection to the school authorities. Mingyu can be in a ridiculously serious trouble.

And here he was, hiding behind a wall like some secret agent with his stupid friends, looking for a chance to meet up with Lee Taeyong. Mingyu sighed for the nth time in the day. “This is pathetic” He mumbled under his breath.

It was after school time so the halls were mostly empty. The student council president was coming down the stairs with a box in his hands, face scrunched at the weight of it. The boy stopped a few times on his way down, trying to get a better hold of the box, gasping and pouting when he almost dropped a file that was on top.

“That pout...” Mingyu cooed in his head...

“...What are you smiling at giant?”

Mingyu blinked. He did not know he was smiling and did not know when his friends turned around to face him. Seokmin was staring at him like he is some weird animal. Mingho had a similar expression and the taller guy cleared his throat awkwardly not knowing how to answer the question.

“I...am not smiling” Mingyu glanced at his friends then looked at the wall in front of him as if it was the most amazing thing in the world.

“Whatever...this is your chance, Go talk to him, and say sorry” Seokmin pulled Mingyu by hand, and even before Mingyu had the chance to protest, he was pushed out to the corridor with an unusual strength that Mingyu did not know Seokmin had.

“W-what? NOW?” Mingyu whisper-yelled, trying to regain control of his body and stop Seokmin from pushing him. But by the time he could do all that, his friends hid behind the wall again as if they saw a ghost. And Mingyu’s head slowly turned towards the staircase that Taeyong was coming down.

The president was standing at the bottom of the stairs with slightly widened eyes, staring at Mingyu. He was already out in the open with no wall to cover him any longer. It was too late for him to run back without being noticed. So it was after a long awkward moment that Mingyu finally cleared his throat and walked a few steps towards Taeyong.

“Uhm...need some help with that...sunbae? Mingyu knew he did not sound so genuine. It was like he was forced to say those words. And he could see that Taeyong was thinking the same. The president shook his head before smiling slightly at Mingyu. “I can carry it” And then he started to walk away.

“Oh no...don’t gooo” Mingyu screamed in his head as he ran after to catch up the shorter boy. Taeyong seemed surprised when Mingyu appeared next to him but quickly looked ahead as if he wanted to ignore the taller guy.

“Let me help sunbae. It looks heavy. You almost dropped it on the stairs too...” Mingyu bit his tongue when Taeyong looked at him again, with slight confusion in his eyes.

“How could you be so stupid? Now he knows that you were spying on him...idiot” Mingyu cursed in his thoughts.

Taeyong looked like he wanted to ask something but Mingyu’s hands were fast enough to grab the box that the other was holding, startling the shorter guy. Taeyong’s lips slanted, his face clouding with more confusion yet Mingyu did not let go. “Let me get this...I’ll carry it” Mingyu sounded desperate, and he could swear he’s never been so nervous in a long time. Why is saying sorry this hard?

“We are here already though...” Taeyong glanced to his side and Mingyu turned his head to see the door with the ‘Student Council Office’ sign on it, right in front of them. “...oh” Mingyu blinked.

“Well, you can hold it”

Mingyu almost dropped the box on his feet when Taeyong suddenly released his hold without warning. The box weighed a little too much even for Mingyu who works out every day. With some shuffling of his feet, Mingyu managed to regain his balance and hold the box properly in his hand while Taeyong took a key from his pocket to open the door. The president walked inside quietly and Mingyu followed.

“Keep it here” Taeyong tapped the face of a table and Mingyu obeyed. He took a look around the room since it was his first time inside the student council’s office. His every day revolves around classes and basketball practices so this office looked like another dimension to him, with all the shelves filled with files, trophies etc. Mingyu’s eyes roamed all over the room before finally landing on the only other person that was standing in the room with him, reminding him why he came here in the first place.

Mingyu gulped. His ears felt hot as he felt Taeyong’s expecting gaze on him.

“Where are the other…” Mingyu stopped when his brain refused to remember the words he wanted to say “Office...holders…? Assistants…? Ok...now I must be looking like an idiot” He grunted.

“They left already. I stayed back to finish some work” Taeyong turned to the table next to him and started arranging some papers on it. Mingyu kept staring at how Taeyong’s hands swiftly move not knowing how to proceed. A minute passed without either of them saying anything. Taeyong looked back at Mingyu as if to make sure that the latter was still there.

“Is there anything you want to tell me, Mingyu-ssi?” Taeyong leaned to the edge of the table as he spoke, and Mingyu felt like the blood is circulating inside his head again snapping him back to reality. He has been staring at Taeyong all this time!

“DAMN YOU KIM MINGYU!!!”

“uhmm...sunbae...I…” he stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck involuntarily while trying to meet Taeyong’s eyes. The shorter male cocked his head to the side while blinking, and a girly voice inside Mingyu’s head screamed “CUTE”.

“Aaish...aahh…” Mingyu shook his head in frustration, trying to stop his mind from getting distracted. He took a deep breath before opening his mouth again.

“ Sunbae, Actually...I just wanted to say...”

A sudden sound of music startled both the boys the next second. Dynamic Duo’s Guilty was playing when Taeyong quickly fished out his phone from the pocket. He swiped on the screen to answer it with a soft voice.

“Hello...Halmeoni?”

Mingyu sighed, both relieved and annoyed that he was disturbed right when he was about to say sorry. Scratching his chin absent-mindedly, Mingyu thought if he should just leave and do this on another day or stay until Taeyong finished his call. He finally decided that he needed to finish what he started. He cannot be so spineless that he can’t say a simple sorry.

“WHAT?! Jisung tell me which hospital? Who’s there with you?”

Taeyong’s loud and panicked voice broke Mingyu’s train of thoughts. He looked at the older guy just to find Taeyong looking like he saw a ghost, eyes widened and lips quivering from shock.

“Y-yes I’ll be right there...don’t worry ok?” Taeyong said.He gulped hard as he put the phone back into his pocket slowly and his eyes were moving left to right constantly as if he is trying to process something difficult in his brain.

Mingyu stared at Taeyong for a brief moment with confusion which was soon replaced by a wave of worry when Taeyong’s eyes turned to Mingyu and he could see tears pooling inside them.

“M-Mingyu-ssi...you have a bike right?” Taeyong asked, his voice cracking and barely audible.

Mingyu nodded. He was one of the few students who had their own vehicle in the school. He wondered what Taeyong wanted to do with it.

“Please take me to the SNU hospital...please...I need to be there”

Taeyong’s voice cracked slightly as he spoke and it took Mingyu a moment to notice that Taeyong had walked to him and was holding his hand. Taeyong’s eyes screamed desperation. The tears that were clouding over the pupil of the shorter male glistened like diamonds right in front of Mingyu.

He did not bother to ask why nor he tried to reply. Seeing the other guy in a state as if he is going to break down any second made Mingyu’s heartache and he wanted to do whatever it takes to make Taeyong feel better. He did not bother questioning himself as to why he wanted to do it either. He turned around without letting go of the shorter guy’s hand.

“Follow me,” Mingyu said, pulling Taeyong with him and walking out of the door.

The school building was quite empty, but quite a few people noticed how the school’s popular basketball player walked in such a hurry while dragging the student council president behind him. Some were surprised, including Mingho and Seokmin who were still waiting behind the wall they were hiding. And even before they could follow the two guys, Mingyu and Taeyong were already out of the building.

Mingyu did not stop until he reached the School’s parking lot where his bike was. He took his keys from the pocket and opened the compartment under the bike’s seat. From there he took the spare helmet before turning to face Taeyong, and he froze for a moment.

The shorter guy was panting hard from where he stood with a flushed face. His hazel eyes were wide and wet from the tears. Taeyong looked strangely beautiful in that state. Something tugged inside the taller guy’s chest at that moment.

Mingyu bit his inner cheek. Even after a few seconds he could not tear his gaze away from the man in front of him. It was until he noticed the strange coldness in his palm which made him realize that Taeyong had released the hold in his hand. Mingyu wanted to hold it again. But this wasn’t the right time. The taller guy cleared his throat and passed the helmet to the other before getting on the bike and wearing his own helmet.

“Hop on sunbae” Mingyu turned the keys and started the engine of the bike. He felt funny ticklish when Taeyong sat behind him and held onto Mingyu’s shoulder. It’s not like this is the first time that someone is riding on the bike with him. So why is he feeling so strange? “This isn't the time for silly thoughts Mingyu” His inner voice reminded him.

“You ready?” Mingyu asked Taeyong and heard the faint “yes” from the other. In the next second Mingyu was racing his bike out of the school gates on to the road, riding to their destination.

For the first half of the ride, both of them were silent. Mingyu, on one hand was focused on the road and on the other hand, was trying to act normal when his heart skipped a few beats every time Taeyong gripped on his shoulder blade tight. He glanced at Taeyong’s face from the side mirror only to notice the desperate look on the other guy. Even though he did not say anything Mingyu knew that he was wishing to reach the hospital as fast as possible. So Mingyu maintained the highest speed he could without violating traffic rules. He felt slightly guilty that he cannot drive faster than that. Still, it’s better than getting stopped by the traffic police and being late to...whatever thing they are going now.

Mingyu eyed Taeyong once more, arguing in his head whether he should ask the other about what’s going on. If Mingyu heard it right, Taeyong was talking to his grandmother....or someone named Jisung. So maybe his family member faced an emergency. Mingyu decided not to ask anything from Taeyong, now that what he thought made sense.

“My grandmother...she had a ”

Mingyu’s eyes widened slightly when Taeyong spoke. The older guy’s voice was filled with worry and sadness which made Mingyu want to hug him tight.

“My brother was the one who called...he is in the hospital alone,” Taeyong said, looking over Mingyu’s shoulder as the bike moved passing other vehicles. They were not riding for too long but Mingyu knew that it must have felt like hours to the other guy. He had another question in his mind to ask but he decided not to.

“We are almost there sunbae...don’t worry” Mingyu assured Taeyong, earning a small nod from the latter.

They reached the hospital in another ten minutes. Taeyong hopped down and ran inside the building right after Mingyu stopped the bike. He did not even stop to take off his helmet. Mingyu, after debating in his head for a second, decided to walk inside the hospital as well. When he went in he saw Taeyong turning from a corner and disappearing. Mingyu ran after him before he lost sight of the other guy.

When he finally reached the corridor which Taeyong disappeared to, Mingyu stopped on his tracks. Few meters ahead of him was the door to the emergency care unit of the hospital. And in front of him was Taeyong, hugging a younger boy tightly who seemed to be crying. Another older male was talking to them. Everyone looked so worried and upset so Mingyu did not want to go to Taeyong and trouble him, instead he turned around and walked away.

................................................................

*Mingho - Minghao's (THE8's) Korean Name

A/N: My writer's block (kind of) healed. This chapter is not the best and I deeply apologize for whoever is reading this for keeping you hanging this long. I thought of deleting the story many times but now that I kind of have a gist about how this story can go I will rather try finishing it as well.  Chapter 3 is already work-in-progress so maybe by next two to three weeks I'll post it as well. Thank you for reading.

Unbeta-ed./crappy