Archive of Our Own ^beta

Soonyoung doesn't remember much about the world, barely remembers what his mother looks like or what the colour blue is. He was 3 when he went blind, and ever since then the only colour he's ever known was black. He tries to think he doesn't mind it, that he sees the world in his own way, that it doesn't matter if he doesn't have a favourite colour. Sometimes he's able to convince himself; more often than not, he curses himself. Now that he is 21, he tries to think rationally and ignore the feeling of emptiness. He knows how to live perfectly as a blind person, and most of the time it's almost as if he's just a 'normal' college student. Now that he knows the buildings, the way from his dorm and to his classes, he's alright. If he needs anything, his roommate and friend, Junhui, will help him out.

Which is why, usually, nothing goes wrong. Until Junhui is sick in bed and he has no idea where his class is. It's kind of stupid, but he didn't expect his class to be in a completely different building than the one he's used to due to floodings. He is stuck outside, trying to remember which way was the building D, with nobody to help. He would have called either Wonwoo or Jihoon, but the two happened to be in class at this moment and they'd both murder him if he had them come right now. He cherished life more than having to skip a class. He is ready to give up and simply go back home to a sick Junhui (maybe not) when he hears loud laughter somewhere on his right, and seconds later, someone bumps into him, rather violently, sending him stumbling a little further away. A hand wraps around his arm, stabilising him.

"Oh, shit, sorry!" comes a low voice, sounding truly sorry as Soonyoung tries to look toward it. "Are you alright?"

There are snickers around him, and a feminine voice. "Watch yourself, weirdo."

Now, Soonyoung is used to that. Usually, in college, people are smarter than that, but he still gets it a lot. He sighs, brushes at his jacket.

"I'm fine, don't worry."

"Mingyu, leave him, let's go," says another feminine voice.

Soonyoung expects just that, for them all to go away and leave him to have his own little emotional breakdown, but instead, the boy (he guesses it's the boy) puts his hand on his shoulder. "You sure it's alright? You don't look too good."

Soonyoung wonders if the guy is playing him, despite sounding perfectly sincere. He shrugs him off and one of the girls sighs audibly.

"Gyu, c'mon, don't talk to him."

The guy doesn't back off. "You guys just go ahead if it bothers you," he says, voice dropping lower in warning.

The girls don't seem to want a fight, so they drop it easily, not without displeased huffs, though. "See you later, Gyu, try not to get sick or something."

Once again, the guy sighs as the girls walk away. He takes a step forward and it's a little too close for comfort, but at least Soonyoung can make him out a little more. He seems tall, taller than him at least, and he smells nice, a little too strong, maybe.

"I'm sorry about them, they're a little... yeah."

Soonyoung snickers. "Couldn't have said it better."

The guy chuckles and it's pretty nice. He guesses he isn't that shitty.

"Excuse me if I'm wrong, but you look like you need something."

Perhaps the boy is an angel sent from above.

"Actually, yeah," he says, biting at his bottom lip nervously, "My class changed building suddenly and I don't know where it is."

"Oh, sure, I can help with that, just tell me and I'll walk you," comes the immediate answer and Soonyoung is pretty sure he can make out a smile in his voice.

"You don't have to walk me, I'm sure you're busy..."

The guy laughs softly. "Believe me, I'm as free as a bird right now. You actually saved me from a painful fate."

Soonyoung smiles. "Then you can walk me to the room 346 of building D?"

"Absolutely."

The guy offers him an arm that he takes gratefully, and immediately they start the walk toward his class.

"By the way, I'm Kim Mingyu, Year 3," chirps in Mingyu.

"I'm Kwon Soonyoung, Year 4, thank you for the help, Mingyu."

Kim Mingyu happens to be a true gentleman, guiding him with determination and kindness. Soonyoung is surprised that he even warns him about steps and people, as if he had done that his whole life. He refuses to drop him off in front of the building, instead walking him directly to the room and checking if they are at the right place. Soonyoung is on time, and a little overwhelmed by so much attention from a stranger.

"Thank you so much, I really don't know what I would have done without you," he says, taking his hand off of Mingyu's warm arm.

"You're welcome, it was my pleasure." There is rustling for a second, then a hand on his shoulder once again.

"Hey, if you want I could give you my phone number? If you ever need anything, you can call me."

Well, another thing he wasn't expecting. Soonyoung finds himself stuttering a little, flustered. "Uh, I... Sure? I owe you anyway, so I guess I could buy you a coffee or something, some other time."

"Great," Mingyu answers, and Soonyoung can hear the smile in his voice. It's really nice, like feeling the sun on his skin on a tiring day.

They exchange phone numbers, Mingyu typing them on both his phone and Soonyoung's.

"Here you go, hyung!" he exclaims and Soonyoung feels a little warm inside."It was really nice meeting you, and I'd stay to chat more, but I think your class is going to start very soon."

Soonyoung frowns, listening to the rustling in the classroom. "Shit, you're right. Uh, I'll text you?"

Mingyu still sounds like he's smiling. "I'll wait for it."

"Why do you look like you've swallowed the sun?" asks Wonwoo the second he sees him. He is picking him up to go get coffee after class, and as always, sounds as happy as depressive goose.

"I don't look like that," Soonyoung answers, frowning slightly up at him. It's easy with Wonwoo, he knows how tall he is exactly. Mingyu had sounded... taller. He wonders exactly how tall that could be. He hopes he can discover it.

Wonwoo snorts. "As if you could actually know what you look like."

Soonyoung kicks him in the shin, but he smiles, unhurt by his friend's habitual sarcasm. It had been weird, at first, a little scary, even, but Wonwoo had taught him it was easier to laugh about his disability than drown into it.

"You're an ass," he tells him, grinning, and Wonwoo pets his hair in an unspoken apology.

"Must be why you like me so much, professional ass lover."

"Gross."

The coffee they always go to is a little far on the campus, but Wonwoo won't go anywhere else because, apparently, they have the hottest baristas and he is a pervert of some kind. They go so often that Soonyoung can now recognise the baristas by their voices, which he likes, so he doesn't complain.

That day, it's Joshua's soft voice that greets them, and Soonyoung can almost picture the way his pretty eyes crinkle up as he does. Wonwoo spent a lot of time speaking about Joshua's eyes the first time he saw him, so he's pretty sure he's got at least this part of him right. "Hey guys, what can I get you?"

Wonwoo shifts awkwardly next to him and Soonyoung almost snorts. And he is the professional ass lover in between the two of them, sure.

"Vanilla latte, please," he orders and Soonyoung knows he lowers his voice on purpose to make himself sound sexier. Incredible.

"And a mocha, the usual."

Joshua hums softly. "Sure thing, I'll make it right away."

There aren't many customers at 3 PM, which Soonyoung is thankful for. Wonwoo leads him to a table not far from the counter so he can stare at Joshua like the gay fuck he is.

"You should ask him out sometime," Soonyoung tells him, knowing exactly the kind of answer he's going to get.

As expected, Wonwoo groans. "Shut your trap, for the love of god, he's going to hear you."

"That was the point, you nutcase. Just speak to him."

Wonwoo answers with a noise in between a 'no' and a 'fuck you'. Then Joshua comes to give them their drinks personally and Soonyoung would give good money to see Wonwoo's face right at this moment.

"Here you go. You guys finished class?"

Wonwoo sputters. Soonyoung decides he can save him for once.

"Wonwoo's still got a class at 7 because he's a crazy little shit, but I'm done."

Joshua laughs, airy and pretty. Soonyoung's always liked his laugh, it was easy to the ear and relaxing. Wonwoo didn't find it as relaxing as he found it really endearing, though. "I prefer night classes too, you memorise things better, don't you?"

Wonwoo coughs. "Yeah, it's uh, it's better. I'm a night owl."

The distinctive ring of a new customer interrupts them, and Joshua straightens up suddenly to greet them. "I'll talk to you guys later, yeah? Enjoy your drinks."

He's gone as fast as he came. Wonwoo lets out a long, relieved sigh. "God, he's going to be the death of me."

Soonyoung pats his head helpfully. "You're a real mess, my friend."

Wonwoo slaps his hand away.

"Enough about me, tell me why you're so happy. It's disgusting."

Soonyoung grimaces. "Aren't I always like that?"

"No," comes the very straightforward answer. Soonyoung pouts.

"Fine. There is this guy that walked me to class."

Wonwoo makes a noise that would sound like a squeak if his voice wasn't so deep. "So it is a boy! What's he like? Do we know him?"

Trump card activated, Wonwoo is in his gossip mode. Soonyoung rolls his eyes.

"You don't know him. He bumped into me and he asked if I needed help. I did, so he helped me. That's it," he states very seriously, trying his best not to let his enthusiasm sip through his facade. Wonwoo would never let an occasion to make his life miserable go.

"Yeah, ok, but what is he like?"

"He is... Really nice and polite. Walked me directly to my class and gave me his phone number in case I need help some other time."

Soonyoung can practically feel the gossiping energy sip out of Wonwoo's pores and realises it's too late to back away. Now Wonwoo is going to tell Junhui and Junhui is a whole new level of nosy so he will find out who Mingyu is in minutes. Well, he tried.

"So. You like him."

Soonyoung almost spits out his drink. "What? No! I just met him!"

Wonwoo hums thoughtfully. "He makes you smile and he's nice, that's like, exactly your type. What's his voice like?"

Soonyoung hates how well Wonwoo knows him. "It's kind of deep, but not like your voice. It gets kind of high when he's excited. He always sounds like he's smiling. It's... It's nice," he admits shamefully.

Wonwoo is grinning like crazy, he just knows he is. "Totally your type. What's his name?"
Soonyoung sighs. Useless to fight him now. Better satisfy him, it will be less difficult.

"Kim Mingyu."

Wonwoo chokes.

"Kim Mingyu? Like, THE Kim Mingyu?" he squeaks out in between two coughs.

"Uh... I don't know? I guess?"

Wonwoo makes a weird noise. "Oh boy, oh my poor Soonyoung."

"What? Is he, like, a fuck boy?" He sure didn't sound like one, but what did he know about him?

"No, no, no! He's like, real nice, it's cool. Too cool, in fact. He's basically a star on campus, I can't believe you don't know him."

For Wonwoo to actually know about someone, Soonyoung guesses he's quite something. "Why is that?" he asks, voice small.

"He is insanely hot. Like, he's not typically my kind of hot, but I'd suck him off in a heartbeat if he asked me," Wonwoo says, dreamily.

Soonyoung makes a gagging noise. "Gross, what the hell Wonwoo."

"Soonyoung, he is literally the hottest guy on campus. Don't tell Junhui I said that, though, he'd probably hunt me down," he adds as an afterthought.

Soonyoung pouts. He couldn't picture what Mingyu looked like just yet, aside from a big, soft smile and a tall figure. Now that he knows the guy is basically Tony Stark, he isn't sure about anything anymore. Of course he had to crush on the less accessible guy in Seoul. Life truly hated him.

"He is really nice, though..."

"Oh, yeah, he is, that's why people like him so much. On top of his good looks, he's freaking adorable. I'd hate him if I wasn't too busy being gay."

Soonyoung sips at his drink, a little dejected. Sure Mingyu had seemed like a very decent man, he just didn't expect him to be so... Mister Worldwide.

"Then I guess I shouldn't get attached."

Wonwoo hums. "Sorry to be the bringer of bad news, buddy."

Soonyoung shrugs in answer, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. He hears Joshua greet another customer behind him.

"It's not like I like him anyway," he says stubbornly before diving back into his drink, a childish pout resting on his pink lips.

Soonyoung isn't one bit surprised to hear two voices when he enters his shared apartment. Of course, Junhui is here, most likely sniffing away his cold, or whatever it is he managed to catch, but it seems that Jihoon is also around judging by the annoyed voice he can make out from his roommate's room. Soonyoung snorts. Of course Jihoon would be here.

"I'm home," he announces loudly for the both of them to hear.

The door to Junhui's room bursts open after a second of silence and Soonyoung can picture Jihoon's expression perfectly when he speaks up.

"Thanks god you're here, one more minute and I would have killed the fucker."

Soonyoung snickers. "Oh no, what a loss that would have been."

"I can hear you, bastard," sniffles Junhui from his bed, and Soonyoung almost feels bad because he does sound really sick. He makes his way inside the room, Jihoon hot on his heels, and easily sits on Junhui's bed, just next to his legs. He extends a hand to touch at his forehead. He can tell it's been cooled down by a damp sheet, but the boy is still boiling. He frowns.

"Maybe you should really go see a doctor, after all."

As he expected, Junhui starts whining at the mention of a doctor. "It's fine, it's just a small cold!"

Jihoon clicks his tongue next to him. "You're so childish, Jun, it's just a doctor."

Soonyoung sweeps away some stray hair on Junhui's forehead, feels his frown and how tense he is. It seems the boy has a trauma with doctors and refuses to approach one even if it's for something small. Jihoon is walking on dangerous grounds if he plans to fight Junhui on that, and a fight is the last thing the sick boy needs.

"Well, I don't need one, it's just some fever and it'll go away," he answers with stubborn determination and Soonyoung can't help but smile softly down at him.

"If your fever rises too much over night, you'll have to see one, Jun," argues Jihoon, and although Soonyoung agrees, he tries to keep it low as to not upset his friend any further. A sulky Junhui isn't a very good roommate and holds grudges for months.

"We'll see about that."

Jihoon throws his hands in the air and starts mumbling about dumb chinese boys and their pride before walking out of the room. Soonyoung caresses Junhui's cheek gently as the boy sighs.

"I'm fine," he states as if Soonyoung was going to believe him. He hums in answer and Junhui reaches for his hand to hold it in his. It's burning hot as well. "I'm not going to the doctor."

"Just get some rest, yeah? We can see about that later. Did you take your medicine long ago?"

Junhui nods. "Hoonie gave it to me, like, 30 minutes ago."

"Good, sleep it off. You're burning hot."

His roommates hums in answer, squeezing his hand in his for a little bit before letting go. Jihoon is in the kitchen when he walks up to him, getting himself a glass of water with expert hands. This has been their apartment for 2 years now, so he is perfectly comfortable all by himself. Junhui had made sure everything was optimised for him anyway. The guy was a pain in the ass, but he was probably the nicest guy around. Well, maybe Mingyu could compete, now. Mingyu.
He sighs.

"You shouldn't upset him like this, he's going to hold grudges," he tells Jihoon off handedly. The boy groans.

"Can't help it, he's a fucking idiot."

Soonyoung rolls his eyes at his friend's roughness. Jihoon always meant well, he just wasn't very good with the social part and Junhui happened to be a very sensitive person. People would wonder how the two are even friends, if they are even friends, but Soonyoung has been around them together enough to know how well they fit together. He didn't need eyes for that.

"I'm just saying he's going to close himself to you, not that you don't know that," Soonyoung states, trying not to sound like he's giving him a lesson on how to deal with Wen Junhui, although he definitely is. Jihoon is smart, he should have gotten this by now, and yet, on they fight.

"Shut up," comes the sweet answer and Soonyoung is about to scold him when his phone goes off in his back pocket.

A message. He gives Jihoon a frown before tapping away at his phone. Honestly, aside from Wonwoo or his parents, he isn't sure who else could text him, so he isn't shy to put his phone on speaker for siri to read his message. It is only when it pronounces the name of the sender that he realises what a big mistake he just made.

"Message from The Great Kim Mingyu: Hi!!!! Just wondering if your class was alright!!!! It's Mingyu btw!!!!!"

Oh boy. Fuck that. Soonyoung is pretty sure he's redder than a tomato and he can feel Jihoon's burning gaze on him and now he can never forget how excited Mingyu sounds in his texts and it's really cute. He wants death.

"Kim Mingyu? Really Soonyoung?" says Jihoon with his low-key judging voice, but he is definitely smirking and Soonyoung flushes even more.

"Shut up, he just walked me to class."

There is a low whistling sounds from his friend and Soonyoung is really about to kick him out.

"How sweet of him. I'm sure Junhui will be overjoyed to hear about this."

Soonyoung glares at him - tries to. "Don't, it'll excite him and he'll die."

Jihoon snorts. "I have to admit it's true. Anyway, I've got to go, I'll leave you to your sweet Kim Mingyu. Have fun."

Soonyoung tries to kick him on his way out, obviously misses, but Jihoon has the class to not laugh at his incompetency. Once he is alone, he sighs and goes to sit on the sofa, fiddling nervously with his phone. He wonders if he should just call him, it's usually easier for him, but he guesses it would be too... Too intimate for them. So instead, he calls upon siri again.

"Hey, it was fine. Thanks you again for the help, I probably wouldn't have been able to go without you."

It's probably way too formal, but it's hard to make it not-formal when you have to get a machine to write it for you. The answer comes so fast it startles him.

"It was my pleasure, really ! besides, it was really nice to talk to you so, it was no burden!!"

Soonyoung is pretty sure he'll die before he actually sees Mingyu again.

"It was nice talking to you, too."

"Were you alright walking back home?"

Soonyoung learns Mingyu is a very fast typer as the answers seem to be almost instantaneous. It's kinda cute.

"My friend picked me up, so it was okay."

"Oh, cool ! Don't hesitate if you need help, yeah?"

He is about to reply when another message comes in, leaving him blinking for a few seconds.

"Not that I think you need someone at all time, right, you seem to be doing very good on your own!!!"

Soonyoung can't help but chuckle at the boy's precision. He's used to people being cautious around him, but never quite in such a charming way. Before Mingyu starts worrying that he said something wrong, he answers. He had stopped feeling silly talking to his phone long ago.

"It's alright, you didn't say anything wrong. It actually makes me feel safer to have someone walk with me."

He does feel silly smiling down at his phone, though.

"Oh !! I understand. Well, you know how to find me, now."

He can picture Mingyu's big toothy smile, now extra-handsome from the short description he got from Wonwoo, and it makes him feel all bubbly.

"The friend who usually walks me around is sick," he starts explaining just as an effort to prolongate the conversation, "that's why I got lost."

"Ah, I see how it is. I can help you out tomorrow? If you want me to?"

Honestly, Soonyoung can go around just fine to his scheduled classes tomorrow. He's got his stick and he knows exactly which way he's supposed to go. Junhui would usually walk him to class because he's a good service dog who enjoys holding Soonyoung's hand and flaunting his beauty and kindness, but he can do it on his own. But if Mingyu throws himself at him like that, he really doesn't have the strength to refuse him.

"Sure thing, if it fits your schedule! I'll treat you to coffee, too."

"It's a date!!!!"

A date.

Soonyoung smiles all the way throughout the evening.

So maybe he does have a thing for Kim Mingyu, sue him.

Mingyu is just as bright in the morning as he was in the afternoon. He is already waiting for him down his building when he comes out, and greets him with a lot more energy than Soonyoung has ever possessed in his whole life, and he thinks himself pretty damn energic. It's nice, it's really nice, in fact, and Soonyoung could get used to it.
He learns that Mingyu is a biology major, has a thing for dogs and a friend that just won't shut up about the ocean; Soonyoung thinks everything about him is truly endearing. He is saddened that the walk to his class is so short, but the promise of getting coffee together later that day is enough to keep his spirits up.

His day is spent worrying about Junhui, whose fever had only let up a little, and trying to figure out whether he should tell Wonwoo about the newest development with Mingyu. Turns out he doesn't have to worry about that because Wonwoo sounds really smug when he asks him if he needs somebody to third-wheel his date.

Mingyu runs late in the afternoon, but somehow, Soonyoung isn't even worried that he just abandoned him. He leans back on the wall of his building, tries to drown out the sound of chatters and clatters to focus on the birds' singing. He's so focused on this activity that he almost doesn't notice Mingyu's arrival, despite the heavy footsteps.

"God," the boy breathes out heavily right next to him, making Soonyoung jump a little in surprise, "I'm sorry, class ran late, ugh."

Soonyoung can't help the smile that spreads on his face, the warmth that spreads in his stomach. Mingyu is breathless - he ran just for him. "It's alright, I didn't even wait for long."

"Good," Mingyu says lightly, " I was so worried because my building is so far from yours. Should we go? I really need a caffeine fix right now."

The older laughs and lets Mingyu cross their arms together. He can now get a feel of the guy's height, and boy, he isn't disappointed. He is pretty sure Mingyu has a good 10 centimeters on him, and it shouldn't be as hot as it is. Soonyoung wonders if there is even a thing about the boy that isn't pleasing, because so far he found him no flaws.

"How was class?" Soonyoung asks as they make their way down the campus.

Mingyu groans. "I thought I was going to pass out from boredom at least 5 times today."

Soonyoung chuckles. "Really relatable."

"Sometimes, I wish I took marine biology with Minghao, at least he'd be excited for the both of us."

"Is Minghao the 'won't shut up about the ocean' guy?"

Mingyu laughs. He must nod before realising the other can't see him. Cute.

"Yeah, that's him. It's nice that he's so passionate about it, at least. I love biology, but sometimes it's a pain in the ass."

Soonyoung nods in understanding. He loves his own major, social sciences are definitely his shit, but sometimes he just wants to jump out of a window and die.

"I have a friend like that, too. He studies korean literature and he just never seems to get tired of it, it's kinda creepy," he says, thinking about Wonwoo and his endless library of books.

The coffee shop is a little fuller than it was the day before, mostly because it's near 4 pm and everyone is here for their fix. Seungkwan greets them warmly all the same, and perhaps he really shouldn't be surprised that he and Mingyu know each other, and yet.

"You got another hell shift?" the boy asks, sympathy in his voice.

Seungkwan sighs. "Yeah, I'm not good at bargaining with the boss. What do you guys want?"

"I'll take an americano," Mingyu answers easily.

"And I'll take a vanilla latte," Soonyoung adds, quickly taking out his credit card before Mingyu could have second thoughts on this.

"I didn't know you guys were friends," Seungkwan hums as he checks them in.

Mingyu shifts next to him. "It's pretty recent."

"We met yesterday," Soonyoung chirps in with a smile, making Seungkwan snort.

"Pretty recent indeed. Your order will be up soon, enjoy!"

Mingyu leads him away from the queue and to a table further in the shop than he would usually settle into with Wonwoo. It seems that he is right next to a window, his fingers slipping over the glass as he settles down. He wonders if Mingyu likes staring out of the window, if he's the people watching kind of person. Soonyoung thinks he would have been, too, if he had been able to see. In his own way, he probably already does see them.

"You come here often?" asks Mingyu, curiosity seeping through his tone.

Soonyoung smiles at him, fingers tapping gently on the table. "Umh, it's pretty much our base, with my friends. Junhui says the coffee keeps him alive," he snorts.

Mingyu makes a weird noise from his side of the table. "Wen Junhui?"

Soonyoung blinks, a little confused, but nods. "You know him?"

It makes Mingyu laugh. "I don't think anyone would not know him," he says, a hint of amusement tainting his voice.

Soonyoung is interrupted before he even speaks by their names being called; Mingyu gracefully goes to get their drinks, leaving him to think about it. Of course, he knows Junhui is popular, but hearing it from the guy himself and from somebody else is quite different. He hadn't realised he was that well known around campus. Or maybe they're both just friends, which would be surprising since Junhui would have probably talked his ear out about him if Mingyu was that hot. He doesn't have to wait for long for an answer as Mingyu slips his drink to him and sits again in front of him.

"How do you know Junhui?" he asks immediately, trying not to sound too invasive, but most likely failing. Mingyu doesn't seem one bit bothered by the question.

"He's pretty much the 'hot shit' on parties," he says, and the sound of clothes signals a shrug. "I don't know him personally, though. I don't think I ever spoke to him." He takes a sip of his drink before adding: "How do you know him, though? I didn't think you'd be a party kind of guy, no offense."

Soonyoung laughs, his hands wrapping around his warm drink. "None taken, I really am not. Junhui's been my roommate ever since we started college, so you could say I know him pretty well," he says, remembering fondly of the times when they first met. Junhui had been speaking to him in a weird mix of korean, english and chinese back then, and already, he was always making sure Soonyoung was alright and didn't need anything. He had never been annoyed by him, nor seemed burdened. Soonyoung appreciated everything he'd done for him, truthfully.

Mingyu hums. "That's nice. I've always wondered what he was like, honestly. He seems a little…"

"All over the place?"

"Yeah, exactly that," Mingyu confirms with a chuckle. Soonyoung nods, smiling.

"Well, can't say he isn't, but he's probably the nicest person I've met, so I can forgive him. He's usually the one who walks me to class."

"Oh. So he is the sick one?" Mingyu asks, and Soonyoung can almost hear the frown in his voice. He sighs.

"Yep, that's him. He's slightly better, apparently, but he could be lying to avoid going to the doctor," he says, feeling concerned suddenly. Jihoon had texted him over lunch to inform him that he had seemed better but that it was still worrying, but since Jihoon found everything about Junhui worrying, he wasn't sure how to take it.

Mingyu hums. "I can understand that, doctors are creepy."

Soonyoung rolls his eyes. "Tell him that and you guys will get along like a charm."

"Maybe I will," he says, a grin in his voice.

Soonyoung likes the way Mingyu speaks, he finds out as they start chatting aimlessly. There are just so many things he can simply hear, such as a smile or a grimace, pure fun or disgust, fondness and affection, all laid out for him to pick up. It's just like he can see it all painted on his face, and it's nice, it's really nice. He never seems to get bored or lose interest in what Soonyoung has to say, instead sounding enthusiastic and always egging him on like he actually wants to hear his opinion about koalas and global warming. He doesn't even realise how much time has passed, their drinks long finished, until Mingyu's phone goes off.

"Uh. I gotta take that," he says and Soonyoung simply nods, sitting back on his chair.

"Hey Hao, what's u-... What, why? Aren't we supposed to meet at 5:30? What time is it?" There is a short pause, then a gasp. "Are you serious? God, uh, I'll be here soon? Maybe give me, uh, 20 minutes? Sorry man, see ya."

He hangs up quickly, and then suddenly he is getting up. Instinctively, Soonyoung follows him. "God, it's nearly 6 pm, what the hell."

Soonyoung blinks, unbelieving. "Seriously? Wow, didn't see that happen."

There are shifting noises, then a hand on his forearm. It's warm, yet Soonyoung stills shivers slightly at the touch. "I'm sorry, I have to go or Minghao is going to murder me. I'll walk you home?" he asks, but it isn't so much as a demand as an actual statement. Soonyoung nods, smiling.

"Sure. Junhui is going to whine, so I should go home as well anyway."

When they say goodbye, the barista had changed to Joshua, who softly sends them away. Soonyoung puts his hand on Mingyu's elbow and the boy accepts it easily, sticking a little closer than necessary to him.

"Will it be alright with your friend?" he asks, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth.

"Hao? Yeah, it's fine, he's always pissed anyway, but he's probably secretly happy he got some alone time with a cute girl," he says, snorting slightly as he says so.

Soonyoung smiles, but the mention of a girl, a cute girl, makes him slightly wary. Of course, his heart wouldn't have even considered the possibility of Mingyu being completely straight, on top of the whole "most popular guy in town" thing.

"Hey," comes Mingyu's soft voice, "do you want me to walk you to class tomorrow too? If I can?"

Soonyoung shifts nervously. "I… I don't want to take advantage of your kindness," he answers, ill-at-ease suddenly, his hand lighter on Mingyu's arm. The boy's response is instantaneous.

"You're not!" he exclaims, a little too loudly, making Soonyoung flinch slightly. "Sorry, didn't mean to be that loud," he laughs gently, patting at his arm in apology.

"You're not taking advantage of me, is what I wanted to say. I just… I like being with you? It's nice. Perhaps I'm the one taking advantage of the situation here," he says with a nervous chuckle that makes Soonyoung's heart warm.

"Oh," is all he can answer. Mingyu chuckles.

"Yeah, that totally sounded creepy, sorry."

Soonyoung's head twists so violently towards him that he almost twists his neck.

"No, it doesn't!" he quickly retorts, stopping as he does so. "It's… I feel the same. I like being with you."

There is a long sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god, you don't think I'm a creep, that would have been awkward," Mingyu says with a laugh, and Soonyoung finds himself laughing as well, a little lighter.

"Sorry, I scared you. I just didn't expect that. I'm glad you're not doing all of this out of pity."

Mingyu gasps out loud, seemingly offended. "I would never. Listen, Kwon Soonyoung hyung," he says taking hold of both his shoulders, making Soonyoung wonder what they must look like to other people's, just standing there in the middle of campus, "You're a great person and I genuinely enjoy spending time with you, so if you'll let me, I'll walk you to class any day."

Soonyoung's smile must be very embarrassingly big, but he finds he doesn't really care as he nods in answer.

"Sure," he says, not trusting himself to say more.

"Good."

Just like that, Mingyu puts his hand back on his elbow and starts walking again. They must be close to his apartment building by now, so Soonyoung revels in the heat of Mingyu's body brushing against his. They speak quietly until they reach the building, and part with smiles.

"I'll text you," Mingyu says the second Soonyoung lets him go.

Soonyoung smiles. "I'll wait for that."

It turns out that Junhui isn't better at all, as Soonyoung learns from Jihoon when he steps inside his apartment. Jihoon and Wonwoo are both there, speaking hushedly over the table as if they owned the place, and immediately drag him in the discussion. They end up agreeing that, maybe, getting a doctor to come would make Junhui less anxious about the whole thing, and maybe he won't even complain if Wonwoo holds his hand or something.

Mingyu, though, doesn't think much of it.

"No offense, but he's probably going to flip and hate all of you," he texts him after he tells him about the whole ordeal.

Soonyoung groans. "Then how are we supposed to see if he needs stronger stuffs?"

He is surprised when, the second later, there is an upcoming call from the boy. A little shell-shocked, he answers nonetheless.

"Hey, sorry, I thought calling would be easier," Mingyu immediately says, laughing gently. The background sounds noisy, he is probably out with friends, yet still finds the time to call him. It's sweet, probably.

"It's okay, what do you have in mind, though?"

"Oh, yeah, uh. I know someone who's a med student, he's a fifth year, so he should probably know a thing or two? I mean, I guess it's better than an actual doctor. And if he tells him he needs to see a professional, maybe it would tame him down a little?"

Soonyoung makes a noncommittal noise. "I'm not sure about that, but we can try, I guess, if it doesn't bother your friend.

Mingyu snorts. "Believe me, Jeonghan will be absolutely thrilled to take care of your friend."

From the side, there are laughter, and a strong "damn right he will be" that Mingyu shushes.

"Should I be worried?" he asks, smiling. The door from Junhui's room opens and closes, most likely Jihoon stepping out, since Wonwoo had to leave for a late class and Junhui is stuck in bed.

"Nah, he's cool, don't worry about that. I'm pretty sure I can get him to come tonight, if you want? I'll come along," he adds quickly.

Jihoon puts a hand on his arm and Soonyoung understands that he is asking who he's speaking to. Soonyoung puts a finger on his lips.

"Sure, we're not moving anyway, text me when you know."

"Umh, yeah! See you later in a few," he says before hanging up. Soonyoung sighs.

"Who was that?" Jihoon immediately asks, his hand still squeezing at his forearm.

"Mingyu," he answers easily, drawing a snort from his friend who lets go of him. "He has a friend who is med student and could help us out. Since he's not an actual doctor, maybe it'll go better."

Soonyoung can almost picture Jihoon rolling his eyes at him. "Sure, whatever. They're coming tonight?"

"Yeah, Mingyu is going to text me about tha-... Well, there it is."

Jihoon takes his phone before he gets to do anything, reading through the text quickly.

"He says they're coming over in about 30 minutes. What did he promise that guy for him to agree so quick? Med students are usually pretty busy," he grumbles.

"Maybe he's just nice," Soonyoung shrugs, making Jihoon snort again.

"Sweetheart, there is nothing such as genuinely nice people in life."

Soonyoung pushes him lightly. "That's why Junhui doesn't like you, you're so negative."

"Junhui doesn't like me because I tell the truth," Jihoon answers wisely, making Soonyoung roll his eyes.

"Sure, Einstein."

←→

Jeonghan is definitely not what Soonyoung expected, and apparently, not at all what Jihoon expected either. When Soonyoung thinks about med students, he thinks about tired, deadpan people, only looking for the sweet release of sleep. Jeonghan is anything but that. Well, maybe he is tired, but at least, he doesn't show it.

"Hi," he greets them sweetly as Mingyu gives way for him.

Next to him, Jihoon makes a weird choking noise. "God, why do they all have to be beautiful," he mutters, sounding absolutely exhausted. Soonyoung smiles.

"Hey, I'm Soonyoung. Thank you for coming so quickly," he says softly, and the boy laughs gently at this. God, he definitely sounds like someone beautiful, and Jihoon shifts nervously beside him.

"That's no problem, I was getting tired of studying. Practice is best, anyway."

There is a snort, and Soonyoung is pretty sure it's Mingyu. It gets confusing when there are too many people, especially when they are new, or rather new. Jeonghan's voice is definitely softer than the two others, though, so he guesses it will be rather easy.

"Jeonghan hyung just yearns for some human contact, the only humans he sees are in his books," Mingyu states, sounding really amused by the situation.

"Yeah, and they're mute. And naked. Is anyone going to be naked?" he asks, humour seeping through his bored tone. Soonyoung laughs.

"I'm pretty sure Junhui was wearing clothes the last time I checked."

"Umh, well. That's too bad."

Jihoon suddenly moves forward, bumping his shoulder as he does.

"I'm Jihoon," he says, probably to the both of them, his voice lower than usually. Soonyoung rolls his eyes.

"Nice to meet you," answers easily Mingyu.

"Oh, I know, Joshua told me about you," Jeonghan says, voice light.

Now, that was something unexpected.

Jihoon cuts the grass under his feet. "You know Joshua?"

Jeonghan laughs, visibly amused by their confusion.

"We were roommates for a while, now we're friends."

"Oh, I see. And what would Joshua say about me?"

Soonyoung is honestly curious as well. He wasn't under the impression that Joshua had anything to say about Jihoon more than about himself, Wonwoo or Junhui.

"He says you make amazing music. He also said you were small and looked ready to kill someone. I'm not sure I was supposed to say that, though," he adds as an afterthought, not sounding regretful at all.

Soonyoung laughs at the offended sound Jihoon makes. "Well, he isn't wrong," he says gently to him, earning himself a slap on the arm.

"Whatever, let's just go see Junhui before he dies," he grumbles, already walking away.

Junhui is sleeping when they walk in, his breathing heavy and rough. Jihoon sits on the bed like if it was his, shaking him awake with little mercy, Jeonghan coming closer. Soonyoung stays a little back, feeling Mingyu right by him, not wanting to crowd on the poor Junhui.

"What," croaks out the boy and Soonyoung can picture him almost exactly, barely able to keep his eyes open and sniffing.

"This guy isn't a doctor, so don't freak out, but he's going to see if you're gonna make it out alive," Jihoon says, speaking quickly enough to probably confuse Junhui. It's pretty effective, apparently, since the boy croaks out another "what", before gasping out slightly.

"I'm Jeonghan, and I'm going to check up on you? If you want?" comes Jeonghan's soft voice.

The sounds of rustling tell Soonyoung that Junhui probably sat up.

"What. Why?" says Junhui, now incredibly confused.

Jeonghan chuckles. "Don't look at me like that, I'm a med student and I'm not going to eat you. Your friends just want to see if you're not getting worst."

"Oh," Junhui offers, and Soonyoung didn't know such a small interjection could hold so much resentment, making him wince slightly. Junhui holds grudges very well. "Then why is Mingyu here?" he asks next, which, honestly, was a good question.

Mingyu clears his throat, not expecting to be asked anything. "I'm, uh, Jeonghan's friend, so, uh. I can leave if you want?"

Junhui must be waving his hand dismissively. "No, it's fine. Just surprising. Weird to be introduced while I look like a body ten years in decay."

"You look great, don't worry," reasons Jeonghan with a smile. "Now, can I do my check up?"

"Yeah, knock yourself out. Jihoon, get off, you're making me warm," he groans out.

Jihoon joins them, Soonyoung knows it because he has a hand on his arm almost immediately. It's an habit he has taken, although Soonyoung isn't sure if it's to signal his presence or just because he's used to leading him around. They stay silent like parents anxious for their son, all while Jeonghan does his thing. He hears him taking out stuffs and gently coaxing Junhui into doing whatever he needs. His friend is oddly quiet and obedient the whole time, making him wonder just how handsome Jeonghan could be. Jihoon's hand is gripping more harshly on his arm by the minute.

"Okay, I'm done. Wasn't so bad, was it?" cheerfully muses the student. Junhui makes an odd noise.

"It's only alright because you're good looking," he deadpans, making the older boy laugh.

Mingyu snorts behind him. "Here we go," he whispers to him and the skin on his neck raises when his breath caresses it. Nope, no time for that. Soonyoung smiles at him, knowingly.

"Thank you, handsome," Jeonghan answers and Jihoon makes a sound that's pretty similar to a retching noise. Soonyoung slaps him gently.

"So, what do you think, doctor? Will I make it?"

Jeonghan hums. "Most likely the flu. I can't give you anything personally, so if you're unwilling to see anyone else, you'll probably stay in bed sick for a week, at the very least."

"See, I told you," groans Jihoon, letting go of Soonyoung only to go crash on the bed again. "You need to see a doctor."

Junhui huffs in distaste.

"He is right, though. I know someone nice, if you want. Everything will be done in 5 minutes and you'll be on your feet much quicker," informed Jeonghan, now sounding exactly like a med student.

"You said you can't miss too many classes," Soonyoung argues gently, trying to sooth him.

Junhui sighs, loudly. "Fine, fine, I'll go see that guy, god. You guys are so annoying."

"Good, now we'll let you sleep. I hope the next time we see each other, you'll be perfectly healthy," Jeonghan adds, and Soonyoung isn't sure he is imagining the wink.

"Can't wait," Junhui replied.

Jeonghan and Mingyu are already at the door when they step out of the room.

"Sorry," Mingyu starts, "we gotta run. Minghao is already planning on replacing me as a best friend."

"And I have an essay to finish if I don't want to die next week," Jeonghan sighs.

"It's no problem, thank you so much for coming, you were of great help."

"Yeah, yeah, thanks, and all of that" Jihoon spits out. Soonyoung elbows him lightly.

Jeonghan chuckles, obviously not offended by the dryness. "You're welcome, update Mingyu and he'll tell me how it's going."

"See you tomorrow, Soonyoung," Mingyu adds right before the door closes behind them.

Soonyoung knows his cheeks are red, and Jihoon knows it a little too well as well. He snickers.

"God, you're already whipped. That's gross."

"You have no right to say anything with how you acted with Jeonghan."

"I acted normally," he states stubbornly, walking away from Soonyoung to get his stuffs.

"You're so jealous and you won't even ask him out, I don't get you."

"There is nothing to get, I'm not jealous and I am certainly not asking anyone out."

It's useless to fight Jihoon, he knows it, but god, it doesn't stop him from trying. The boy is unnerving and stubborn as hell, it's almost despicable. He sighs.

"Someday, he's going to be gone, you know."

"As we all are, what's your point? Don't actually answer that. I'm leaving now, see you."

Soonyoung sighs. "Bye, Jihoon."

When the boy is out, Soonyoung lets himself fall back on the sofa, huffing loudly.

This had been one hell of a long day, but it was a rather nice change. Mingyu was a nice change.
Mingyu was just... nice.

The boy sends him a goodnight text, a couple of hours later.

Hanging out with Mingyu proves to be incredibly easy. They both have a quite compatible schedule and so end up meeting up a lot, even after Junhui got better. It had been two weeks now, since they've met, and Soonyoung felt as if, somehow, he had always known him. His friends have found a liking to teasing him about Mingyu, but even that doesn't really affect him anymore.

"You don't even hang out with us anymore," moans Junhui in his ear, his arms firmly wrapped around him as they wait for their coffees.

Soonyoung pats his hands soothingly. "I'm hanging out with you now, aren't I?"

That doesn't work at all in making Junhui feel better, the boy clinging harder on him until Wonwoo takes pity on him and gently pulls him off.

"Junhui, come on, you're going to strangle him, and then he really won't be able to do hang out with us."

He backs down with a whine, immediately cheering up when Joshua tells them their drinks are ready. There is a weird silence as they walk to their usual table that Soonyoung doesn't understand until Jihoon starts snickering, hard.

"What? What happened?" he asks, confused, only to be answered by a stuttering Wonwoo.

"He-he- he win-winked?"

"Who? Joshua?"

"Yeah, Joshua. I thought Wonwoo was going to die," tells Jihoon, sounding like a cat with a particularly tasty treat.

"It's cute," chimes in Junhui as Wonwoo whines, his voice questionably high.

God, Soonyoung wishes he had eyes just to see Wonwoo's face. Wonwoo's face was no mystery to him anymore, he had traced it again and again with his fingers, learned it by heart just so he could purposefully place expressions on the features. When Junhui described him, he always told him how blank his face was, most of the time, unless he smiled wide and his nose scrunched up sweetly, so something out of the ordinary was to be noted down. As if understanding his curiosity, Junhui says sweetly, "His cheeks went red really quickly, and his mouth went slack. He pretty much looked like he'd been dumped rather than winked at."

Soonyoung chuckles, painting the expression slowly in his mind. He still vaguely remembered what exactly a face was supposed to be like from his old, old memories, which made it easier, somewhat. "Sounds amazing, I'm sure Joshua was swooning."

"He didn't really stay to look, it's quite busy."

"Oh, disappointing," he pouts, taking a sip of his hot drink.

"What's truly disappointing," suddenly starts Junhui, "is that you spend all of your time with Kim Mingyu."

Soonyoung chokes on his sip, not expecting to be brought back so quickly in the conversation. Junhui must be holding one hell of a grudge. Jihoon snorts, patting his back gently. "Here we go again."

"Come on, don't you think it's unfair as well? We barely see him."

"To be fair, he doesn't ever see us," Wonwoo deadpans, finally back to the world of the livings for some more nasty jokes. Soonyoung kicks him under the table.

"Not the point, Wonwoo," Junhui gently scolds him. "The point is, Soonyoung spends all of his time with his boyfriend."

Soonyoung chokes on thin air, and once again, Jihoon patiently pats his back. "He's not my boyfriend!"

"Yeah, he wishes he was."

He kicks Wonwoo's shin again. "I do not! He's a good friend!"

The student can almost feel Junhui's eye roll. "Sure, and I'm ugly."

"I didn't say it- eh!" Wonwoo yelps as a sound of slapping is heard.

"Jeon Wonwoo, I'm just about to go tell sweet Joshua about your crush if you don't shut up."

That seems to at least calm him down a little as he grumbles something about fake friends.

"Anyway, Kim Mingyu."

Soonyoung sighs. "He is a friend and I like him. A lot. And you see me literally every day, Junhui. We're roommates."

Junhui seems to consider the answer before deeming it inappropriate. "Maybe, but we don't hang out the 4 of us that often anymore. I'm sure Jihoon misses you dearly."

"I didn't even notice anything," Jihoon retorts, bored. "Jun, you're just being a drama queen."

Soonyoung nods solemnly, agreeing wholeheartedly with his short friend. Junhui lets out a dramatic sigh. "You guys really don't understand my bleeding heart, my feelings for yo- oh god." He stopped suddenly, voice faint. Soonyoung frowns.

"What, what's happening?"

Jihoon pats his back soothingly. "Mingyu is here."

"Speak of the devil and he appears," Wonwoo mutters close to his ear.

There is a commotion behind them, a few gasps by his side, and suddenly there is someone panting slightly next to him. "Hi! I'm Minghao!" says the guy, his voice soft, breathless and hurried.

"Uh, hi?"

"He can't actually see your hand," states Wonwoo, making Jihoon snicker.

The boy sputters, audibly flustered by the whole interaction, and Soonyoung feels slightly bad for him. He smiles up at him. "Minghao, you said? Like, Mingyu's Minghao?"

"Yeah, my Minghao," says a deeper voice behind him. Mingyu. "Hi, Soonyoung. I'm sorry about him, he escaped his leash," he jokes, sweetness pouring from his voice. His smile widens as he greets him softly back, ignoring the snickering.

"It's because you keep him away from us! I'm curious," the boy whines, and now Soonyoung could definitely make out the hint of accent behind his sweet voice. Boy, the kid sounds incredibly cute, he'll have to get Junhui to tell him more about him.

"I keep you away because you're an idiot," Mingyu sighs.

"Soooo," drawls Junhui, and Soonyoung already knows he's up to no good, "nice to meet you, guys, I'm Junhui."

"We met, though," Mingyu observed, confused.

"Not properly, I was dying the last time, so I hardly count it as an official meeting," Junhui explains patiently. "Anyway, the grump is Wonwoo, and the short grump is Jihoon. Let's be good friends," he finishes sweetly and Soonyoung has a feeling that he's batting his lashes, ignoring his two friend's protests at being introduced like so.

"Nice to meet you all," Minghao pipes in, sounding like a small kid in the middle of a bunch of adults. It's cute, Soonyoung likes him.

"Well, sit with us?"

Sometimes, Soonyoung can't even believe that Junhui is a normal human being. The boy just doesn't ever seem to get embarrassed or even bothered by anything, instead grabbing things as they go and making the situation his bitch. He would certainly love to have this ability.

"Oh, uh, we have to get going, actually."

Soonyoung tries not to look too disappointed or relieved; disappointed because it's less time with Mingyu, relieved because it's less time for his friends to be with Mingyu, which is great. He feels a hand settle on his shoulder, large and warm, and he kind of hates himself for immediately knowing that it's Mingyu's.

"We have class in, like, 10 minutes, sadly."

Junhui hums gently. "I see. Well, we won't hold you back. I'm sure we'll get to talk soon again, anyway."

He must do something inappropriate because Minghao sucks in a breath beside him and stutters a hurried bye as Mingyu simply chuckles. "See you guys around," he says softly, giving Soonyoung's shoulder a light squeeze before letting go. They chorus a nice "bye" back at them.

Junhui sighs, content. "Even his friend is cute."

Wonwoo snorts, sucking in loudly the last of his drink. "You totally flustered him, there. Not nice."

"I didn't know he'd pull a Wonwoo on me," Junhui retorts, smirk evident in the twist of his tone.

"You all need to stop winking at people."

"I'm not winking at anyone," Soonyoung states to an exasperated Jihoon.

"No, you're making heart eyes, not much better."

Soonyoung gasps, offended. "I'm doing no such thing!"

Wonwoo snickers. "I wouldn't worry, Mingyu was doing the exact same thing back at you."

"It was super cute," Junhui adds, sounding like he is on cloud nine, which makes Soonyoung's head drop in embarrassment.

"I hate to admit that they're right," says Jihoon with a sigh, "but the boy's really got a mad case of heart eyes."

Soonyoung is pretty sure he's red on the cheeks for the rest of the day just thinking about heart eyes and warm hands.

When Mingyu invited him over for dinner, Soonyoung really didn't know what he expected; take out, maybe a simple dish that students had easy access to. Definitely not a full on lunch table made from scraps by the man himself.

"Cooking is my hobby," he simply says when Soonyoung tells him he really didn't have to go all out.

Soonyoung snorts, picking carefully at his pasta with a fork, getting used to the unfamiliar form in his hand. Of course, everything tastes amazing, making him wonder, once again, if there is even anything that isn't perfect about him. It's only after a few minutes of tasting, picking and congratulating that his mind begins to wander about other subjects than food -he was hungry- and Mingyu.

"Isn't Minghao your roommate?" he asks, realising the other boy with whom he had gotten slightly more acquainted to over the past week, hadn't been bothering them.

"Umh, he said he had something to do tonight, I don't really know what. He sounded excited, though," he adds thoughtfully.

"Marine biology stuffs?"

Mingyu laughs. "I don't think so, more like hot people stuffs."

Soonyoung snickers, "Isn't everything you guys do 'hot people stuffs'?"

It takes a few long seconds of silence before he realises what he just said. He feels the blood rush to his face, his lips becoming jelly. "I can't believe I just said that," he mutters.

"Well, I'm not offended, just definitely didn't expect that, I guess," Mingyu affirms, voice soft, slightly amused. "Is it okay if I ask you something a little insensitive?"

Soonyoung nods, getting a forkful in his mouth. He had heard his fill of insensitive questions and he doubts Mingyu can even get close to being rude.

"Do you even know what I look like? I mean, how do you… Can you judge if someone is handsome, or not?"

He hums, swallowing his mouthful slowly.

"Well, I've heard descriptions of you. Junhui does that a lot for me, describe people. I can only trust his judgement so far, I guess," he says with a slight laugh, fork picking aimlessly at his food. "I… It's probably going to sound creepy, but I can get a rather good image of people if I touch their face. It's not like I'll get an exact picture, but I'll know, you get me?"

Mingyu hums in response, sounding thoughtful. They spend a minute in silence, simply eating what's left in their plate, until the boy cuts in.

"Would you like to?" he blurts out, surprising Soonyoung.

He frowns. "Would I like to what?"

"To touch my face?" he asks, and there is a certain timidity behind the words that make Soonyoung's heart warm.

His heart leaps at the suggestion, whether it be from nervousness or fondness, probably both. He doesn't have to think about it; he's always wanted to discover Mingyu, all by himself, in his own way. It was like taking a huge leap forward for him, for them, made him feel fuzzy just from the thought of it.

He smiles. "That'd be nice," he answers softly, suddenly shy.

He hopes Mingyu is wearing a smile that matches his as he says, "Alright, let's finish up and do this."

The food is still amazing, but somehow his heart isn't into eating anymore, and from the way Mingyu quickly downs his own part, it seems that he feels the same about it. There is always something incredibly appeasing in the way they seem to match, both just enjoying being together in all circumstances. It's nice to feel like somebody really wants to be with you. Of course, his friends want to be with him, but they're not Mingyu, his heart doesn't soar whenever they laugh at his jokes.

Mingyu puts away the dishes quickly with Soonyoung's little help. It makes him laugh when Soonyoung accidentally dips his finger into a sauce, resulting in a surprised yelp and a pout, but a warm heart. They wash their hands cautiously together, and if they brush once or twice, they don't take notice, not really.

The tall student leads him to the couch, careful to have him walk around the furnitures, which Soonyoung is always thankful for. He doesn't really need to hold him so close by the shoulders, but they don't take notice of that either. The second they're settled close next to each other, shoulders pressed together and thighs brushing, it gets slightly awkward, both unsure of what they're supposed to do now that all is done and said. It's weird, Soonyoung never felt nervous upon touching other people, never even felt nervous about touching Mingyu. He didn't even consider the act of feeling someone's face so intimate anymore, but now, now…

Mingyu cuts him before he got the chance to feel so nervous he'd shy out of it. "So. Touch my face, I guess?" he says and behind the thin veil of humour, there is a hint of shyness that reassures Soonyoung.

He's not alone in this, then.

He laughs, but it's a little breathless. Mingyu doesn't comment.

Soonyoung turns slightly toward him, his right hand finding its way to his face, hand sliding up his arm, his wide shoulders, brushing against his neck, and then, there it is. The hint of stubble on the tip of his fingers, slightly prickly on the strong jawline. He hears Mingyu take a sharp breath, releases his own that he didn't know he was holding. His fingers dance lightly on the skin of his cheeks, fine cheekbones defining his face structure. The texture is mostly smooth, but if he drags his fingers down he can feel the small imperfections of his skin; he finds he doesn't mind them, not at all. He brings his other hand up, feeling both sides at the same time. He feels the skin move, so he knows Mingyu is smiling. He smiles back.

"Is it too weird?" he whispers, but Mingyu shakes his head gently.

"It's pretty nice, actually. Very relaxing."

Soonyoung smiles wider, daring to drag his fingers up. He feels an eyebrow, thick and straight, memorises the structure of his bones. His finger is light when he brushes it over eyelashes; they're pretty long, he realises, his image of him already morphing to fit his discovery.

"You have nice eyelashes," he says, and it makes him laugh. Soonyoung smiles.

"Thank you, that's a very refreshing compliment."

He hums softly in answer, fingers tracing his eyelids gently, then converging to his nose.

"It's a nice nose."

Once again, Mingyu laughs. "Thank you, it means a lot."

"You're welcome."

He traces it down, jokingly holds onto it between two fingers to make the boy chuckle at his childishness. And then come the lips. It's a shy finger that drags on it, feeling the curves, the dips. These are nice lips, but he keeps himself from saying so, instead spending more time than necessary tracing them, feeling the smooth texture of them, and maybe, maybe imagining how they would feel on his. That's when Mingyu jokingly opens his mouth to bite his finger.

Surprised, Soonyoung yelps before laughing, his hand slipping down to his chest as he laughs. "Don't do that," he pleads, "you scared me."

Mingyu puts hand over his, squeezing his fingers gently. "Sorry, I couldn't help it, you were so focused. It was cute."

Red floods his cheeks as he whines in answer, making the younger laugh kindly at him. Then, the hand holding his pulls it up until it's sitting on his cheek again, pressed warmly against it. "Go on," he says before letting go. Soonyoung slips his finger to his ears, cupping them and smiling at the way Mingyu seems to shrink under his hand.

"Cute, you have small ears."

The boy gasps, as if deeply offended. "Don't insult them, they're sensitive."

"That I can feel," he replies with wit, getting the boy to shake his head in exasperation. He pulls at his ears lightly as a revenge for the finger biting, smiling pleasantly at the whine he gets. He withdraws his hands slowly, only to cup his cheeks, thumbs stroking at his cheekbones mindlessly as he tries to engrave the memories in his brain.

"So?" Mingyu presses, voice low, "what's the verdict?"

Soonyoung smiles with fondness back at him. "I'm afraid you have a severe case of nice face," he jokes, tone soft. Mingyu chuckles.

"Oh, no, whatever will I do?"

Soonyoung slips a hand to his ear, tugging at the lobe gently. "Don't worry, your small ears are acting as counterparts, so you'll be just fine."

Mingyu laughs, loudly, throwing his head back, and Soonyoung can't help but take notice of the way his whole face crunches up right before he withdraws his hands with a wide smile of his own. A hand catches his, warm and slightly roughed up, squeezing gently at his, smaller and softer.

"Thank you for the analyse, doctor," he says, barely above a whisper.

He squeezes back. "You're welcome."

If they hold hands for a few long minutes as they keep talking mindlessly, joking back and forth, they both pretend not to notice.

"So, you guys are finally dating, uh?" is what Seungkwan greets them with when they walk inside the coffee shop, sending Soonyoung immediately down the drain.

"Wh-what?" he sputters, feeling Mingyu tense right next to him. There is a silence following his interrogation, then the noise of fingers tapping against glass.

"What, you're not?" the boy asks, and by his tone, Soonyoung can just tell he is frowning.

Mingyu starts laughing, but it sounds like he's being choked at the same time. "Why would you think that?" he asks, and Soonyoung nods, wondering just the same thing. Sure, he and Mingyu are close friends, but Junhui is always on his back and nobody suspects that they're dating.

Well, Junhui and dating sound oddly like a foreign concept (since the last fiasco, at least), to be fair, but still.

Seungkwan snickers. "Are you guys really asking because you don't know?" Soonyoung frowns, shaking his head cluelessly. The barista laughs. "You guys are cute. You're holding hands, dummies."

Soonyoung is about to protest, but then Mingyu's hand is squeezing his and he realises that they are, indeed, very much holding hands. "Oh," he utters. He doesn't make any movement to let go, though, and neither does Mingyu, instead holding tighter.

"It's comfortable," is the taller's answer, shrugging as he does so, seemingly unfazed by the situation. Soonyoung nods, going along with the explication, although, really, more than comfortable, it's just some kind of natural reflex by now. He doesn't know since when they've been doing this, just reaching for each other's hand and holding onto it preciously, but he knows he's not about to give that up. Besides, Mingyu seems plenty content with the arrangement.

A customer enters behind them, and although Seungkwan sounds like he wants to speak about it, he only ends up asking them about their drinks, sounding incredibly defeated as he does so. They retire to their usual sit by the window. Now, Soonyoung knows that Mingyu, indeed, likes to people watch, telling him all about the weird people that pass them by. It's cute, he thinks. Their hands part as they go sit on opposite sides, and it feels as if something is missing already as Soonyoung starts taping at the table with his now free fingers.

They don't bring up the subject for the next few minutes, not until Mingyu's hand reaches for his and he starts playing with his fingers mindlessly in the middle of a talk about sea urchins. It's easy, it's natural, their hands gravitating towards each other like they just couldn't be properly without one another. Soonyoung doesn't even think about it for a few seconds, just keeping up with Mingyu's explanation about his roommate's weird obsession, then it hits him.

"We really do hold hands a lot, don't we?" he says suddenly, accidentally cutting Mingyu out. The boy doesn't seem one bit bothered though, instead sliding his thumb across his hand, laughing gently.

"Does it bother you?" he asks, and the question sounds so absurd to his ears that he shakes his head no before he even gets to think about it.

"Not at all," he hurriedly answers, shortly battling to squeeze Mingyu's hand in his. "I just hadn't realised, I guess."

Mingyu hums. "Honestly, it's the same for me. It just feels, like, right? I guess?" he offers, his voice rising slightly at the end as if fearing he'd say anything wrong. Soonyoung smiles at him reassuringly.

"Yeah, my thoughts too," he confirms, feeling Mingyu immediately relax as he intertwins their fingers together, gently shaking their hands together.

Right, it just felt right, like everything did with Kim Mingyu. Soonyoung had come to terms with the fact that he did, indeed, have a crush on him, and instead of feeling horrible and helpless about it, it was rather pleasant and warm of a feeling. He had always hear people complain about how awful crushes were, but honestly? Liking Kim Mingyu was pretty great. He thinks it has a lot to do with the fact that the guy himself is pretty damn great, never making him feel anything other than warm and good. He is lucky, most likely, that it has to be Mingyu he likes. Of course, it's not easy and there is the lingering fear of not being good enough, of them being way too different, of himself being a burden, of Mingyu just not liking him, but… The second Mingyu greets him, the second he hears the smile in his voice, the second their hands meet, he just forgets all about those fears.

Liking Mingyu is a lot like coming home, he realises as the boy walks him back to his building that same evening, hands twinned together, bodies brushing. The taller student is talking excitedly about the dogs he saw at the park the day before, and Soonyoung feels content, full, like there is no other place he'd rather be but right here with him.

Mingyu always sounds dejected when they have to part, and even that makes him feel warm.

"I have to hang out with my friends, they say they feel lonely," he pouts, hand still holding his tightly. Soonyoung laughs kindly, amused by the childishness in his tone.

"Junhui keeps on saying he's going to die of loneliness at home, as if Jihoon isn't over basically every single day," he jokes, swinging their hands in between them.

"Dramatic," Mingyu sighs. "I have to get going now, before I'm the one they decide to kill," he adds, and suddenly there is his warmth crowding him, a press of soft lips on his forehead. It's quick, the boy withdrawing after a second, but it's there and Soonyoung can feel his forehead burning from the simple kiss.

"See you, hyung," he chirps, already sounding quite a way away, leaving him in his dazed confusion.

It takes him a few long seconds before he comes to, realising belatedly that Kim Mingyu just kissed his forehead before running away like a dirty thief. Truly the worst criminal out there, he thinks as he enters his building, cheeks red and heart beating joyfully in his chest.

Out of all the people he expects to come home to, Minghao isn't at all one of them; god, he didn't even know Junhui and him were talking, yet there he is, both speaking in quick mandarin on the couch, greeting him in tandem as he walks into the living room.

"You're home early, I thought you'd hang with Mingyu," is what Junhui says the next second, sounding legitimately surprised.

Soonyoung shrugs, cheeks reddish as he drops his bag nearby. "He's got work to do," he states shyly.

Junhui hums softly. "So do you, you could just have worked together."

Minghao laughs at that, surprising Soonyoung slightly. "C'mon, Mingyu could never get anything done with hyung around, he'd be too distracted," he says, insisting heavily on the last word.

Soonyoung isn't sure if he's implying what he thinks he is implying, but his cheeks are flaming either way, and Junhui is cooing,"Awh, sweet young love."

The blind student sputters, unable to form a correct sentence, unable to find anything to fire back with. There is nothing to deny, not on his side anyway, and Junhui knows it perfectly well. Instead of replying, he huffs and goes to get himself a glass of water, changing the subject entirely. "Anyway, I didn't know you guys were friends," he says as he carefully pours the water in his glass.

"Chinese alliance, I guess," Minghao says nonchalantly, too much for it to be entirely it. Soonyoung wonders if the poor boy isn't already roped in. Maybe he should put a warning on Junhui, something like 'Don't expect anything' or whatever.

Junhui sounds all smiles when he speaks again. "Minghao is very helpful."

"I don't want to know," Soonyoung cuts in quickly before drinking his water, making his roommate laugh.

"Nothing like that, god, get your mind out of the gutter, Soon."

"Can you blame me for being cautious?" he sighs, making his way back to the living room. Junhui's hand wraps around his wrist when he's nearby, pulling him down with them on the couch. There is a late afternoon drama running on the tv, the sound barely above a buzz; clearly, none of them were even paying attention to it.

"Can't," he says, cuddling up to him like he were his own personal teddy bear. Used to the displays of affection, Soonyoung merely pets his head. Minghao doesn't even utter a word and he's unsure whether it's from shock or mere disinterest.

"What's Minghao helping with, then?" he asks, thinking he'll probably regret that.

"It's a secret," Junhui chuckles against his shoulder, making Soonyoung roll his eyes.

He turns to Minghao, as much as possible. "Don't let him drag you into some weird shit just because he's cute," he warns him kindly with a slight smile, and Junhui hits him lightly.

Minghao chuckles drily. shifting on the couch. "Don't worry for me, I dragged myself into it."

"Uh," Soonyoung eloquently answers. "Even worst."

He's about to retire for some schoolwork when someone's phone goes off, and then someone's static muted voice takes over the silence. Minghao is laughing. "God, chill Seokmin, I'll help you. Yeah, yeah, I'll be here in like, 15 minutes, just hang on. Whatever you do, don't ask Hansol," he adds before he hangs up, then turning to the two roommates. "Sorry, I'm gonna have to go, my friend is panicking over mathematics. Duty calls."

They chuckle, and Junhui is off of Soonyoung in seconds, most likely to hug his other friend. "You go save him from this evil monster, hao," he says, and it sounds a little muted, probably against Minghao's thin shoulder. "I'll see you soon."

There is the sound of light taps on a back, then, "See you, Junhui hyung, Soonyoung hyung."

Soonyoung waves at him, a light "bye" escaping his lips.

Once the boy is out of the apartment, Junhui jumps on his roommate again, and, fondly, he accepts his defeat, instead letting him cuddle against him. He still had a few hours left to work on his essay, a few minutes of cuddling won't hurt.

"Minghao is nice," Junhui says then, wrapping his arms tightly around his waist to get closer.

Soonyoung hums in answer. "He is."

There is a short, comfortable silence, before the Chinese boy says, "Mingyu is good for you."

Soonyoung would have taken it as yet another joke if it wasn't for the fact that Junhui's voice held no hint of a joke, only unaltered truth and fondness. Without answering, he puts a hand in his hair, calmly combing through the black strands as he thinks about the implication behind his words. It's big, he thinks, for Junhui to give his approval on someone that is out of their group - hell, he still shuts Wonwoo up when he thinks he's being too much of a dick-, so he must really mean it. For some reason, this simple proof of support makes his heart warm. He doesn't need to word it, he knows Junhui just gets it, because they both stay in a comfortable silence for the next fifteen minutes, until they both have to get back to their student's life, both feeling a little lighter.

It's a late evening of May when Soonyoung gets a very informative text from his dear roommate. He's out with Mingyu, having dinner at Mcdonalds because they're both broke, tired students, and honestly, it's the last thing that he expects from that day.

"Message from Jun: hi lol met hot future doctor so maybe don't come home right now."

Soonyoung almost face plants into his hamburger as Mingyu chokes on his nugget. To be fair, it had been a while since Junhui had pulled this card on him, so he had almost forgotten it was a thing that could happen. Great. Really great.

"Uh," he slowly starts, "I guess I'm getting sexiled?"

Mingyu is taking long sips from his coke, trying to stop choking. When he stops, he's breathless. "God, what the hell," he utters, and Soonyoung feels that, he really does. "By any chance... is the hot future doctor Jeonghan hyung?"

Uh. Soonyoung sighs heavily. "God, I wouldn't put it above him."

"Well, I definitely wouldn't put it above hyung either, he's had his eyes on Junhui for a while," Mingyu states, taking Soonyoung aback.

"He did? Is that why he accepted to come when he was sick?"

Mingyu clears his throat, clearly embarrassed by the whole situation. "Well, yeah? God, that sounds creepy, I'm so sorry."

"No, don't worry about that," the older laughs it off, "I'm sure Junhui would be incredibly flattered at worst. Way to boost his ego, please don't ever tell him."

Seemingly reassured, Mingyu laughs along with him and agrees not to tell anything to the Chinese roommate. Now that all of that is overseen, all that's left is the fact that Soonyoung is homeless for at least a good few hours; Junhui liked to take his sweet time, especially if his lovers were pretty. He sighs. "Well, guess I'm gonna have to crash Wonwoo's."

"Wonwoo hyung's?"

Soonyoung nods. "I can't go to Jihoon's, it would cause a damn riot and you can't actually see the floor anyway. Wonwoo probably won't mind anyway."

There is a short silence, then Mingyu audibly swallowing his spit. "You can crash mine, if you want?"

Now that's something he didn't think about, not even for one second, which is slightly stupid, honestly, since the guy is right in front of him. Besides, it's not like it's the first time he'd go over to his apartment, so. It makes sense, he thinks; not that he'd find any excuse to hang out with Mingyu for a longer amount of time.

"It won't bother you? Or Minghao?"he asks, mostly being polite as he's already totally sold on the idea. Mingyu's hand grabs his, gently squeezing.

"Of course not, you're always welcome anyway."

Soonyoung smiles widely at him, squeezing back with fondness. "Then lead me to your humble castle, dear."

They walk hand in hand quietly back to his apartment. As always, Mingyu says hi to a bunch of people that they walk by, and as always, Soonyoung will wonder if it's not a bother for him that so many people see them together, hand in hand, but, as always, each time he tries to draw his hand away, Mingyu squeezes it, as if assuring him it's fine. Maybe they should talk about this, but he doesn't think there is much to say.

Minghao isn't here when they get home, a good twenty minutes later, but Mingyu shrugs it off, despite it being past 9 already. "He's most likely at Seokmin and Hansol's," he says off handedly, leading Soonyoung to his bedroom so he could drop his things. "He stays there late often, says they'd die without him around. Don't doubt it, though, Hansol would set water on fire."

They settle in the couch and comfortably watch a drama together, Mingyu gasping loudly once in a while in the middle of his explanations of what is exactly happening, making Soonyoung smile fondly. Honestly, he doesn't pay much attention to the drama despite all of the younger's effort, instead enjoying the warmth of his body stuck close to him, a hand wrapped around his smaller one. Mingyu smells good, he always does, a mix of sweet mint and a hint of a nice cologne, and Soonyoung likes to lay his head on his shoulder and just relax entirely, his body flush against his. The younger boy feels safe, right. Just like home.

He doesn't realise that he started dozing off until he is awoken by Mingyu shifting slowly.

"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to wake you," the boy whispers gently, right next to his ear, sending tingles down his warm body.

"It's okay," he answers just as softly, pulling himself away slightly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you."

Mingyu chuckles lightly, and there is a hand threading through his hair, gently combing the strands back. "It was cute, don't worry."

Soonyoung would blush a pretty shade of pink if it wasn't for his tired mind not processing the information right. Instead, he leans into the touch, humming pleasantly at the light scraping on his scalp.

"We should head to bed, since Junhui doesn't seem done," Mingyu offers, and Soonyoung merely nods in answer, feeling his eyelids drooping down once again. The taller chuckles, leaning down to kiss his forehead before standing up, dragging him up with him. "Come on, I'll give you something to get changed in."

Soonyoung follows him easily, still wrapped into sleepiness. He stands still as Mingyu rummages through his closet, tries to wipe the sleepiness away as he rubs his eyes. Quickly after, the boy offers him a set of clothes, a shirt and a pair of shorts. Without thinking much of it, Soonyoung pulls his own shirt off, which triggers a gasp from Mingyu. That's when he realises he is the one that is blind, not Mingyu. "Uh," he says, his shirt hanging in his hand purposelessly. "do you mind if I change here?"

Mingyu clears his throat. "I don't. Uh, sorry. I was just surprised, I guess."

Soonyoung nods, unconvinced, but too tired to bother fighting it. He reaches for the shirt Mingyu gave him, easily slipping it over his body. He marvels for a good few seconds about how big the shirt feels on him, the collar hanging loosely on his shoulders and probably revealing a lot more collarbones than ever needed, then reaches to unbutton his jeans. He hears Mingyu coughs, a lot of shifting that he associates with him getting changed as well as he tucks down his jeans and socks. The shorts fit alright, so he merely picks up his clothes and fold them neatly, putting them on his bag. He can probably wear them tomorrow until he gets back home to change.

His attention is drawn to Mingyu when the boy clears his throat once again. "You can, uh, sleep in my bed, I'll take the couch."

"What? No, I'll sleep on the couch, it's your bed," Soonyoung replies, frowning. He likes the couch, anyway, so it's not a problem.

Mingyu sighs, but there is no hint of exasperation. "What kind of host would I be if I gave you the couch? Just take the bed, hyung."

Soonyoung huffs in slight annoyance. Out of all the times to play the gentleman… "It's fine, honestly, I'm crashing your place, I should take the couch."

Of course, the other won't go down so easily. He clicks his tongue at him, and there is a hand wrapping around his wrist, tucking him where he supposes the bed is. "Don't be stubborn," he says, and Soonyoung wants to tell him exactly the same thing, so he does.

"You are the stubborn one, I'm telling you I'm fine with the couch."

"Soonyoung hyung… Honestly… You're tired, just go to sleep," Mingyu reiterates, pulling him farther to the bed. The older yelps slightly in surprise when he knees meet the mattress, making him fall into the said bed. "Oh, shit sorry, didn't mean to do that," Mingyu quickly apologises, a hand coming to wrap around his elbow to pull him up. "You alright?"

Soonyoung laughs, wraps his other hand around Mingyu's wrist and pulls gently. "I'm fine, you dummy," he assures him with amusement. He feels the younger struggling against his pulling, which suddenly brings an idea - a rather brilliant one, too, in his sleep muddled brain. "Hey, I think your bed is big enough for the both of us, let's just sleep together."

Mingyu falls heavily on the bed next to him, and Soonyoung would probably feel bad for the shock he just induced if he didn't want to sleep so bad. "Uh, are you sure?" the boy asks, voice hesitant, shyness peeking through.

Soonyoung nods fervently, wrapping his hand around Mingyu's. "Yeah, it's fine, let's just sleep."

Surprisingly, Mingyu really doesn't take much more convincing. He sighs in defeat. "Fine. I'm taking the spot near the wall, though."

The older smiles brightly. "Deal."

After Mingyu turns off the light and closes the door - stating offhandedly as he goes that Minghao is probably going to come home in the next hour and crash in his own bed-, they both slide under the covers. They smell pleasantly just like Mingyu, which Soonyoung can definitely survive, and well, there is Mingyu right next to him, feeling like a brand new kind of heater. The bed is not quite two places, but if they squeeze a little, they can totally make it work. Both of them don't mind squeezing. Mostly.

"Mingyu, isn't your face against the wall?"

The answer comes slow. "Maybe…"

Soonyoung laughs, turning around so he's facing Mingyu's back. "Don't be ridiculous, I don't bite."

There an embarrassed chuckle, then more shifting, and suddenly they're facing each other, so close Soonyoung can almost feel Mingyu's breath on the tip of his nose. He smiles gently. "Here, better," he says, sliding his fingers in between Mingyu's. The boy doesn't pull away, instead inching closer until their bodies are flush against each other.

"Is this ok?"he breathes out, his chin now mostly on top of Soonyoung's head.

He hums, shifts his head until his nose is nestled against Mingyu's neck in answer. The taller boy lets out a shaky breath, but when he presses his lip to the crown of Soonyoung's head, he can just feel the smile on them.

"Goodnight, hyung," he whispers quietly.

Soonyoung's free arm wraps around Mingyu's waist as he replies with a sleepy, "Goodnight, Mingyu."

Waking up next to Mingyu is pretty much all Soonyoung could ever dream of. It's warm and comfortable; he doesn't feel like moving, ever. He doesn't realise immediately what's happening, just losing himself in the sweet warmth he is surrounded by, but then he nuzzles into a firm surface, takes a deep breath, sighs in delight. Realises that he's snuggling up to Kim Mingyu, proceeds to have a mental meltdown. He ends up letting the side of his brain that's too comfortable to move win when he feels a strong arm at his waist pulling him impossibly closer. His fingers close on the fabric of a shirt and he hums pleasantly. He feels legs tangled in his, their weight nice and grounding on his. If he moves his other hand, he can feel Mingyu's intertwined with his, still, and really, he doesn't need any more reason to feel happy.

He starts dozing off again, comfortably nestled against the tall boy, lips grazing against skin without meaning to, until a loud alarm wakes him with a start. God, he had forgotten about how cruel life can be, what with waking up and all. Mingyu seems merely inconvenienced, shifting slightly so he can reach for his phone on the bedside table, right behind Soonyoung, his long arm proving itself to be very useful. Soonyoung listens to the tapping of fingers against touch screen as the alarm stops blaring, the slight clatter as he puts it back on the nightstand. They stay unmoving for a few more seconds, until Mingyu has to pull away, almost making the older whine in disapproval. He lets Mingyu pull his hand away from his without any resistance, although he wants to hold on tight and never let go. The hand that was on his waist is suddenly on his hair, petting his bed hair down gently.

"Hi, hyung," says Mingyu, his voice groggy and deep from sleep. It sends chill down his spine, makes him lean into the touch.

"Hm, morning, Mingyu," he answers softly, his eyes still closed. Mingyu's fingers slip to his face, gently caressing his cheek only to pull at his ear playfully.

"Sleepyhead," he chuckles fondly as Soonyoung bats his hand away.

He almost falls off the bed when he rolls on his back, which makes the younger laugh at him as he holds his waist firmly, just in case he'd put his weight the wrong way. They manage to slip out of bed in the following minute, although Soonyoung immediately sits back the second Mingyu left it. The boy snickers at him. "God, you lazy ass."

"Shut it," he replies playfully, no bite at all. "What time is it anyway?"

Mingyu moves around the room, most likely picking clothes to wear after he showers. "It's 9 am, I have a class at 10:30. Don't you have class at 11?"

Soonyoung nods, touched that the boy even took the pain to remember his schedule.

"I'm gonna take a shower and then I'll walk you home, is that alright?"

The older smiles at him, kicking his feet. "Yeah, sure. I'll just get dressed and wait for you."

When Mingyu leaves for his shower, Soonyoung finally gets up and goes to put on his clothes, neatly folding Mingyu's and putting them on his bed. He wonders if he should bring them back home and clean them, but he's pretty sure the boy has some kind of neat system to wash his clothes, so he leaves them here. He checks his phone, his only text being a long apology from Junhui telling him it's alright to come home now, sometime after 3 am. He replies that he's fine, just crashed at Mingyu's, and steps out of the room into the living room. It's easy, now, for him to make his way around the small apartment, so he quickly reaches the couch and settles into it, phone in hand.

"Oh, you're here," comes Minghao's sweet voice from behind him. He sounds tired, like he'd come home very late - or very early - and plops down next to him.

"Yeah, got sexiled, Mingyu offered I sleep here," he tells him with a shrug.

"Hm... Where did you sleep, though?" Minghao wonders, and Soonyoung hates that he starts blushing immediately. He had been brave last night, but now he just felt like a wet noodle.

"Uh, well. In bed."

He knows Minghao is smirking, he just does. "With Mingyu?" He nods in answer, careful. The Chinese boy snickers. "You guys move fast."

God, he totally expected that. He groans, swatting his hand in Minghao's general direction and successfully hitting a shoulder. "Please don't say another word."

The younger laughs, truly sounding like he's having the time of his life. He pats his shoulder in support and leaves him to reflect on his actions. He doesn't get much time, though, because soon Mingyu is stepping out of the bathroom, and when he gets closer to him, Soonyoung gets a good whiff of mint and cologne.

"Hey, let's go. I'll get breakfast at the cafeteria."

Soonyoung gets his back-bag, quickly waves bye to Minghao who whoops joyfully back at them as they leave. Mingyu snorts, and immediately reaches for his hand once they're out of the door.

He doesn't think the day can get any better from then on, yet is proved wrong when Mingyu kisses his cheek as a goodbye.

What a fine morning.

When Junhui says "a quiet joint birthday party", what he really means is about 20 people, more than half that he doesn't even know of, all stuck together inside their tiny apartment with a bunch of alcohol and snacks. After more than 3 years of living with Junhui, really, he has come to expect it, so he doesn't really mind even he is squashed in between two girls whom he doesn't even know the name of. They seem plenty nice, though, one of them petting his hair in a drunken girl kind of way and the other calling him cute and cooing at him. He guesses there are worst situations in the world, so he accepts it and goes with it, although a little awkwardly. He doesn't even need to speak since they both don't seem to mind his sudden muteness, probably too drunk to even notice.

It is important to specify at this moment that it is only a little past 10 PM, and Soonyoung really doesn't want to think about the amount of alcohol those two girls downed in less than one hour. He is infinitely grateful, though, when an arm wrap around his shoulders, pulling him a few centimeters away from the girls. Mint and soft cologne. Soonyoung smiles.

"Sorry ladies, I'm borrowing the birthday boy," Mingyu claims, pulling him away further. The ladies, though, don't sound bothered at all, instead cooing a little louder and shooing them away joyfully. Drunk girls are truly amazing, he thinks as he lets Mingyu lead him further into the crowd. "You doing okay?" he asks him as they come to a halt next to what he believes is the kitchen table, slightly away from the main crowd.

"Doing incredibly good. Got the ladies wrapped around my finger," he jokes, feeling irrationally proud of himself when the boy laughs, his hand coming to pet his hair.

"I could see that. Great job, handsome."

Now, he knows it's a simple sign of endearment, but he can't help but blush at the compliment. It's not the first time Mingyu's complimented him, be it on his physical aspect or his mental, but it still tugs at his heart the exact same way. In a hurry to change the subject, he picks up the next thing he can think about.

"Hey, can you tell me how Junhui decorated? Everyone laughs and just leave me hanging when i ask."

Obviously, Mingyu laughs as well. He puts his large hand on the back of his neck, gently massaging it. "He just put some dumb banners, something about 'sweet asses' and 'sexy brains'," he states. "Oh, and the colour scheme is bright orange. He also drew dicks on the balloons," he adds, pensive.

Soonyoung rolls his eyes. "I swear he is 5 years old, not 22."

Mingyu laughs, his hand not leaving its spot on his neck, which is very nice. Soonyoung melts into the touch with a smile.

"God, you guys are disgusting," sneers Wonwoo the second he steps inside the kitchen.

"Shut up, you're drooling all over Joshua," Soonyoung fights back, and everything goes silent for a second, before Mingyu starts snickering. Oh. Damn.

"…Joshua is here, isn't he?"

"Hi, Soonyoung," answers the barista's amused voice over Wonwoo's muttered threats and Mingyu's laugh. "Happy birthday."

Well, 22 is too young of an age to die, but he guesses it'll do. "Hey, Joshua, thank you for coming."

"I am definitely glad I came, I'm learning interesting things," the older boy says, and knowing Wonwoo, the boy is probably as red as a ripe tomato by then, what with the teasing and attention.

"Hit me up anytime you need some intel on Wonwoo, I'd be glad to sell him off against a coffee," he confides, now really amused by the whole situation, comforted by Mingyu's hand massaging gently his neck.

"Why don't you guys just go ahead and kill me, it'd be less painful," Wonwoo groans out.

Joshua laughs, delicate and warm with a hint of a smirk. "Oh god, no, watching you squirm is too entertaining."

So maybe Joshua is some kind of devil in disguise, Soonyoung learns as he listens to Wonwoo whine in his deep, gravely voice.

"Is Josh torturing an innocent soul again?" asks a voice Soonyoung isn't familiar with, deep and kind.

"Me? Torturing?" gasps the accused, "Seungcheol, that's impossible, I am nothing but an angel."

The man, Seungcheol, snorts. "And I'm Marilyn Monroe, yeah. Sorry about him, he hasn't had his fill of innocent soul this month."

"God, just take me," Wonwoo breathes out, probably not meaning for any of them to hear him, yet sadly for him…

"Please, just call me Joshua, and I'll gladly take you."

They burst out laughing, all except Wonwoo who sounds like he's welcoming death with open arms, and Mingyu's head bumps gently into his as he laughs breathlessly into his ear. Soonyoung can picture him exactly, eyes cringing up, large smile lines and pretty teeth; by now, Mingyu's face is completely memorised on the tip of his fingers.

Mercy is given to Wonwoo as Junhui bursts inside the room with Jihoon, both sounding increasingly irritated by the second. The trio is quick to run away, Wonwoo first, but Soonyoung lingers behind, unsure whether he should intervene yet. Fights between the two friends can get downright nasty if they're left to themselves.

"What's happening?" he asks, Mingyu sticking close to his side, arm wrapped around his shoulder like it could protect him.

"Jihoon is being a fucking dick, that's what's happening," Junhui spits out, which has Jihoon laugh without humour.

"Apparently, I'm not allowed to make jokes anymore," the smaller boy argues back, anger seeping through his tone dangerously. Well, that's going great. Soonyoung can feel Mingyu's hand tighten on his arm, warm and reassuring.

"That was not 'a joke' Jihoon, that was downright mean and you fucking know it, stop being an asshole."

Jihoon snickers. "If Wonwoo had made this joke, you wouldn't even bat a fucking eyelash."

Oh uh. The Wonwoo territory.

"Guys, you should just, chill, may-…"

"Why the fuck do you even have to bring Wonwoo into that? He wouldn't make this sick 'joke' to someone he barely knows, for fuck's sake."

Or maybe not.

"Yeah, because Wonwoo is such a fucking saint, of fucking course," Jihoon snarls, mean and unrelenting, just the way Soonyoung hates.

"Guys, please…"

"Don't fucking go there, Jihoon, just don't," the taller warns harshly.

Mingyu reaches to hold his hand. Soonyoung sighs.

"Why can't I? Was his dick really that good, uh?"

That's enough. He steps forward suddenly, squeezing tightly at Mingyu's hand for support.

"GUYS FOR FUCK'S SAKE! What the hell is wrong with you?"

It has the desired effect, both of them shutting up, at least momentarily, probably too shocked by his intervention to think about fighting. "I swear to God, I'm about to punch you. You really shouldn't be having this conversation, not right now when you're both drunk, not ever," he chastises, frowning heavily. "Stop being a dick, Jihoon, and stop leading him on, Junhui. You both need to cool the fuck off."

More silence follows, which is satisfying. Sometimes, he wonders what they'd do if he wasn't around; probably punch each other bloody until Jihoon starts having a breakdown because he just hurt Junhui. Maybe start angrily making out. He isn't ready to find out.

"Make up. Apologise to each other, and you, Jihoon, to whoever you wronged. Now," he commands, firm. In the end, they're both just like kids needing someone to correct them and play mediator.

They both start mumbling half-hearted apologises back and forth at each other, until shame takes over them and feelings start coming back to them. Once he is sure they're not going to go back at each other's throat, he huffs and drags Mingyu with him to the living room, leading a quest to find something to drink; preferably something alcoholised. The downside to mediating those fights is the way it gets him heated up as well, unable to let it all go down in seconds. It always hurts him to see his friends tear each other apart in this way, especially knowing exactly what pushes Jihoon to be so bitter and mean. Helping Jihoon was impossible due to his amazing stubbornness and hardcore emotional constipation, but that doesn't mean he can't try, still. In a way, he understands his worries, Junhui isn't always ideal or easy to be with, but Jihoon is really just ridiculous and needs to step up his game.

"I take it as I need to forget everything that I heard?" Mingyu says once he's got Soonyoung a drink, something that tastes like fruits and vodka.

Soonyoung snorts, softening a little as Mingyu resumes his massage from earlier. "It's fine, nothing is really a secret anyway," he smiles up at him, then sighs. "It's just that Junhui and Wonwoo dated for a bit and it got Jihoon's panties in a twist because he's a hopeless idiot. It's been, like, almost 2 years and he holds onto it like an enraged dog. Truly inspiring."

Mingyu laughs, patting his hair soothingly. They talk about the party, Mingyu telling him about the guests as Soonyoung comes down from his agitated state. "Jeonghan hyung actually came," he says, sounding amused, "and since he and Joshua hyung came, Seungcheol hyung came out as well. He is Jeonghan's current roommate," he explains patiently to him. "He's really nice, and he's in law as well, 5th year, so I'm sure he and Junhui hyung will hit it off just fine, if they ever get to speak, that is."

Soonyoung nods in agreement. Junhui would definitely enjoy having an older friend in law, it'll be useful.

"Oh, and he's dating Seungkwan," he adds, offhandedly, like he didn't just drop a huge bomb on Soonyoung who almost chokes on his drink.

"What the-…"

"Are you okay?" Mingyu asks worriedly, patting his back with a little too much strength.

Once the shock is passed, Soonyoung nods, still slightly stunned. "Sorry, it's just… I didn't know Seungkwan was dating." Much less that he was dating a law student three years older than him.

The younger chuckles, pushing him aside a little so that he wouldn't get hit by a drunken boy. "That's because you only see him at the coffee shop. Honestly, he brags about Seungcheol hyung all the time, so it's hard to ignore," he snorts fondly. "Anyway, I think Minghao bribed Junhui or something, because Seokmin and Hansol are here as well. You know about them."

Of course he knew about them, both he and Minghao spoke fondly of them. Seokmin was planning on becoming an elementary school teacher while Hansol was an history of art student. They sounded both quite fun and, honestly, a little helpless.

"Hansol brought this cute guy he's got a crush on as well, Chan I think… Which makes me think, what exactly is the criteria for the guests? It's impossible that Junhui hyung knows them?"

Soonyoung laughs, deeply amused by his confusion. "Honestly, he probably just cheerfully told everyone to bring their friends. He loves meeting new people, it's kind of cute."

"He does seem to enjoy it," Mingyu says quietly. "He's currently squishing Hansol and giggling."

The older snorts. "Sounds like him alright."

"Heyyy guys, what's up?" interrupts a voice that sounds a lot like Minghao's, except most likely drunk.

Soonyoung laughs as Mingyu shifts by his side, most likely to steady Minghao. "Just chilling," he answers with a smile. A second later, he's got a handful of the Chinese boy wrapped around him. Boy, that smells like a lot of alcohol.

"Why chill when you can party," he mumbles loudly, gripping harder on him as his friend tries to pull him away. Soonyoung laughs, again.

"We're partying, Minghao," he corrects kindly. "What did you drink, anyway? A truck of liquor?"

Minghao laughs. Loudly. Right in his ear. "You're so funny, hyung," he slurs,"and so cute tooooo… if you weren't, like, dating Gyu, I'd smooch you."

Mingyu makes a noise that sounds like a choked chuckle, and Soonyoung just shakes his head, smiling fondly as he unwraps the boy carefully from around him with the taller one's help. "Thanks, Minghao, I appreciate the thought."

"You're welcome, hyung," he answers pleasantly. "Oh! Oh! Why don't we open the presents? Why aren't we opening the presents!"

Soonyoung is about to gently answer that it's a little early for that, maybe, but the boy is already out of his arms and screaming at the whole room that it's time to open the presents, and judging by the loud reception he gets, it is definitely time to open the presents. Mingyu apologies to him, like it's his own fault, and Soonyoung quickly waves his worries off.

"Maybe it's better to do it now, anyway, before everyone is too drunk and out of it."

"Agreed," Junhui slips to him, making him jump slightly in surprise, not expecting him to be so close already. "Sorry, didn't mean to make you jump," he apologises easily, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "Alright, kids! Presents time! I start because my birthday is first, let's go!"

Junhui's presents happen to be either really suspicious, or really cool. The dog toy he gets from one of his girl friends really stands as suspicious, while the huge neon cactus lamp gets the cool approval. The singing birthday card that never shuts up that Wonwoo so kindly got, though, deserves to be burnt (and it does burn mysteriously, later at night, though Jihoon denies he's got anything to do with it). It was only acceptable because he got Junhui the star wars encyclopedia he's been dying for. Of course, Jihoon had to step up the game by getting him that one pair of sneakers Junhui had been drooling on for months. Soonyoung had gotten him a nintendo 64 with games and remote that earned him a heartfelt hug.

Once he had opened his last present (a bottle of marshmallow flavoured vodka and a pack of condoms), all the attention suddenly turned on Soonyoung, who smiled awkwardly.

"God, I've been waiting for this moment all night," Wonwoo claims, "I'm so curious about some of your presents, honestly."

Junhui laughs, exhilarated. "Same, to be honest," he agrees wholeheartedly, and Soonyoung doesn't know if he should be worried about this, or excited. He decides to be both as he is given his first present to open. Joshua and Jeonghan's, he is told. Honestly? Worrying. However, it ends up being the biggest and softest plaid he's ever felt in his entire life. It's pink and cute, Mingyu notifies him, and Soonyoung thanks them.

It seems his reputation is much more tame than Junhui as he doesn't get that many weird gifts- well, that girl who petted his hair earlier definitely got him an assortment of products that smell like bacon, so that was weird - which he is somewhat grateful for. He is definitely taken aback when he gets a armful of what seemed like a good 5kgs of candies (courtesy of Hansol, Seokmin and Chan), or when Minghao gifts him a pillow with, apparently, Mingyu's face on it, but it's still pretty sweet - or very sweet, pun intended. It gets slightly teary when he discovers that his three friends got him a new ipad (his had been dying for months now), and hugs them all warmly and tightly.

"Alright," Junhui sniffs, "now to the most interesting present!"

Soonyoung frowns, unsure of what to expect. If he remembers well, the only person left that he actually knows it… Mingyu. That would explain why the boy has been shifting all the while next to him. There is a commotion, a few drunken whoopings, and then Junhui's hands are guiding him wrapping paper, which is like, fine and all, except the wrapping paper is definitely at his height and that there seems to be a lot of it.

"What the hell is that," he mutters in confusion, earning himself a round of laughter. He strips the paper and almost trips on something as he tries to get closer. He strips more, and more and… he starts to feel something as he brushes his hand against the present. Something soft, really soft. He squeezes the zone that has been freed from the paper. If anything, it raises more questions. "Mingyu, what the hell."

He hears the boy laugh sheepishly behind him before he says "You should just try to sit on it, you'll get it."

With no reasons to distrust him, Soonyoung tries, with Junhui's help in case he'd fall head first on the floor. Immediately, he feels surrounded by warmth and fluff. He tries to wrap his arms around the figure, but it's just way too big for him to reach around. He pauses, his head pressed on the fluffiness, ignoring the chorus of "awwwh"s that he gets.

"Mingyu," he starts quietly. "Did you… Did you just get me a gigantic stuffed plush?"

"Well," the boy answers, a hint of amusement in his voice, "technically, it's a gigantic teddy bear."

Fuck. That's so cute. Soonyoung hugs it tighter, nuzzling at the fluff, perfectly content to be sitting on a gigantic teddy bear in the middle of a party in his own living room. Absolutely perfect. "Thanks," he says, voice muffled by the fluff,"I love it. I'm going to sleep on it - scratch that, I'll live on it."

His friends laugh, and there is a hand petting his hair, most likely Junhui's. "That's real cute, Soon, but it'd be super nice if you could move it to your bedroom for now, it's taking up a lot of space."

He helps Soonyoung back up, messing up his hair more and calling him cute before he calls for Mingyu to help him, since, well, it's his present anyway. Mingyu's voice comes muffled when he tells Soonyoung to follow him as he carries the giant bear around the living room, a few guests screaming in delight on its way. Soonyoung grabs his elbow, laughing loudly at the whole ridiculous situation. The bear barely gets through the door, making Soonyoung wonder just how the hell Mingyu even got it in the apartment in the first place, and also, did he just walk all the way there? With the bear? The thought is so ridiculous, he just can't stop laughing about it.

They succeed in stocking it in a corner of the small room. It's a little squashed in between the desk and his shelf, but it's good enough. Seemingly exhausted by the whole thing, Mingyu drops on the bear with a heavy sigh. Chuckling, Soonyoung does the same, sitting shoulders to shoulders next to him, back pressed against the bear's tummy. It's comfy here, the sound of the party so loud yet so far from them as they rest against each other in silence for a bit. Junhui probably misses him already, but Soonyoung finds he doesn't care at all as Mingyu threads their fingers together, letting their hands rest on his thigh. They stay quiet for a few short minutes, before Soonyoung whispers "Thank you, for the bear. It's perfect."

Mingyu chuckles, his thumb stroking lightly at his hand. "You're very welcome. It reminded me of you, soft and fluffy, so I really couldn't not get it."

Soonyoung hits him playfully, merely more than a forceful caress on his chest, letting his hand rest on Mingyu's forearm afterward. "You're going to make me blush, stop that."

The younger boy laughs, squeezing his hand. "That's the point. It's super cute when you blush."

Now, Soonyoung is definitely blushing. He mutters a half-hearted "shut up" as he leans back into the bear as if it could hide him from Mingyu's sharp eyes. It makes the boy chuckle, fondness dripping from his laugh. It's quiet again for a minute, only the sounds from the party mixing with their breathing. He hears someone scream, most likely Junhui, surrounded by a lot of laughter, yet he wouldn't want to be anywhere else than in his room at this moment.

"Hey," murmurs Mingyu, voice so quiet he almost misses it in the chaos outside.

"Hm?"

"Would it be alright if I kissed you?"

His beating heart is so loud the second the words are out of Mingyu's mouth that he thinks he could go deaf just listening to it. It's shock, but it's also so much more. God, he wonders how long it's been, how long he's been thinking about kissing Mingyu? Probably since day one, since he bumped into him and apologised so kindly. It's funny, he didn't even know him and already he was drawn to him like a magnet, like it was natural, like it was how it was meant to be all along.

He breathes out. "Please, do."

Everything feels like it's in slow motion, from the moment Mingyu rests a hand on his cheek, his other still holding onto his tightly, to the moment he presses his lips on his, gentle and soft, so soft against his plush ones. It's short, just a press and a breath, but it's enough for the fire in his chest to soar, fierce and delighted. Mingyu pulls away only to press his forehead against his, letting out a shaky laugh.

"God, I've wanted to do that for so long," he whispers.

Soonyoung chuckles, his free hand coming to rest on his Mingyu's cheek, gently feeling the lines of his face. "Me, too."

"We're stupid," Mingyu smiles, and Soonyoung agrees with a curt nod. "Can I kiss you again?"

The older tugs at his ear tenderly. "As much as you're willing to."

Mingyu laughs. "Hope you're ready for years of kisses," he says, right before he presses his lips on his once again.

Soonyoung thinks he is totally ready for that.

It's completely Soonyoung's idea not to say a thing, not yet. It's not because he thinks anyone is going to be so against it'll be bad, not at all, in fact he is pretty sure most of their friends are going to jump through the ceiling the second they hear that they are something more than friends. Maybe he's just not ready, maybe he needs time to process all the informations. He needs time to process the way Mingyu says "I like you" quietly in the nook of his neck before kissing his lips gently, how easy it is to just reach out for him and laugh against his lips as they lay down in bed for hours, just bathing in each other's warmth and love. Nobody questions the amount of time they spend together, which, they think, is quite funny, until they realise they had already been doing all of that all along for the two, only two months they've known each other. Junhui was right, he was totally spending most of his free time with Mingyu, and now that they're officially boyfriends, he doesn't see it decreasing at all. It's not dependency, though, he tells Mingyu on a Wednesday afternoon as they get coffee, after thinking about it for a while, because they can totally do their stuffs without needing to be always by each other's side, it's just that, in the end, they always seem to be coming back to each other, a way or another, naturally.

It's not even a week in the shift of their relationship, a Friday night, and Mingyu is out for a party while Soonyoung is reviewing classes and getting through the bottomless pit of homework. Junhui is home as well, groaning and crying on his own classes. Sometimes, they check on each other to see if they didn't respectively decide that throwing themselves off of the window would be a better option than studying.
Soonyoung is neck deep in when his phone rings, dragging him out of his dazed state. He pauses the kind lady reading him some boring ass paper on communities and picks up. At this time of the night, it can only be either Mingyu or Wonwoo; from the loud background he immediately knows it's the former.

"Hello, Mingyu," he says softly, already smiling.

"Hyung! My beautiful fairy!" exclaims Mingyu on the other side, effectively covering the loud music by his booming voice. If Soonyoung can hear him so well, he's pretty sure everyone can also hear him. He laughs it off, noting down the new nickname his boyfriend so lovingly picked.

"Are you drunk?" he asks, brow raising, although the answer is quite obvious.

"Uh? Oh, yeah, hella wasted," the younger chuckles. Soonyoung shakes his head fondly; well, at least he knows it.

"You need anyone to pick you up?" he continues, just to make sure the boy isn't left in the wild. He trusts Mingyu, but he isn't sure about drunk Mingyu.

Someone starts screaming something that sounds a lot like the lyrics from Everytime we touch right by the cellphone, and Mingyu laughs. "Minghao, get off, 'm on the phone," he scolds gently, though his pronunciation of 'phone' would be enough to discredit anyone. Minghao, obviously just as drunk, apologises and starts singing somewhere a little away. He hears Mingyu snorts, then, "I have a ride, yeaaah, dun worry, hun," he slurs.

Soonyoung hums. "Good, be careful, yeah?"

"Always am!" Mingyu beams loudly.

"I'm sure you are. Any reason why you called?"

That seems to make him think a little. "Uh, well. Wanted to hear your beautiful voice?" he finally declares, almost in a hush. Soonyoung feels himself smile wider, like an idiot, down at his laptop.

"God, you're cute."

"Nu-uh, you're cute, hyung. Like, dude, I want to smooch you, like, right now," he announces, making Soonyoung laugh at the forwardness.

"Come over, then," he teases, although he would definitely not refuse a kiss, even a drunk one.

"Uh, dude, I would, but like, I'm soooo drunk I can't even move, but uh, yea, hold that thought? I guess?" he blabbers. The older snorts in amusement, but agrees. Somewhere near Mingyu, Minghao screams "Just date already!", which only adds to his amusement.

That is until Mingyu smartly screams back "We already are, idiot!".

Well, if this is how the secret goes, then it goes, he thinks as he laughs at his boyfriend's drunken declaration. It's not like it's that big of a secret, anyway; in a day or two, it would have naturally been out. The dramatic "oops" that escapes Mingyu's mouth the second he says it, though, makes it fun enough. In the background, Minghao starts screaming like a goddamn banshee, which also makes it worth it.

"Shit, fuck, sorry, didn't mean to dis-… disc-… say that," he croaks pitifully on the phone as Minghao screams congratulations and curses, revealing the information to whoever wants to hear it, which makes him think…

"It's okay, Gyu, but I have to go, Junhui is gonna barge in the room any minute now," he explains. It makes the boy curse and apologise some more.

Soonyoung has barely enough time to reassure him that it's fine until the door flies open.

"You're dating Mingyu? What the hell, Soonyoung!?"

With a laugh, he says goodbye to his boyfriend and answers to his friend. "Yeah, sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

To his credit, Junhui doesn't yell, not really. He sits down next to him, calmly, then suddenly starts squeaking as he hugs him close to his chest. "My baby, my sweet baby is dating… My lovely Soonyoung… Dating…. I can't believe this…."

Soonyoung chuckles, patting at his friend's hand. Letting Junhui be dramatic is always the best way to deal with him. "Yeah, well, me neither, to be honest."

Junhui sniffles in his hair although Soonyoung is pretty sure he isn't actually crying. "Ugh, and you guys are so goals as well… I can't even be like, a mean step-mother because I like Mingyu."

Soonyoung laughs at that, resting his head on Junhui's chest comfortably. "Sorry I brought home a nice guy, mom."

The Chinese boy snorts and pets his hair gently, like he so often does. Sometimes, Soonyoung wonders if he does it for him or for himself, really. "I'm glad it's him. If you had brought home someone like Wonwoo or Jihoon, I would have punched him. And you."

He bursts into laughter, joined by Junhui soon enough. He thinks that, he too, is glad it's Mingyu.

It's hot out, incredibly fucking so. Summer has settled in now that July has come, and with it the heat. Soonyoung's skin feels too much on his bones, constantly damp from a thin layer of sweat no matter how little clothes he wears. It doesn't help, he knows, that he's lying right by Mingyu on his tiny bed, fingers laced together as the younger complains about the mass of sudden homework the teachers are giving them with the upcoming summer vacations. It doesn't help, but he doesn't mind the heat as much when he's with the boy.

In the living room, Junhui is humming a song, Jihoon's newest project, he recognises, as he slaves away for an essay due the next week. It's quiet, just the three of them in the apartment. Soonyoung smiles as Mingyu huffs. "They're insane, completely insane. We can't hand out 3 essays in the same week, that's just torture. I'm sure there is a law against that."

"If there was, I'm pretty sure Junhui would have found it by now," he replies quietly, turning his head toward him.

Mingyu sighs, dramatically. "Then he needs to make one when he becomes some kind of famous law guy."

Soonyoung chuckles fondly, a hand coming to rest on Mingyu's cheek. Their faces are close, close enough that he could just kiss him whenever he pleases, and so he does just that, easily locating his lips to press a soft kiss against them. "I'll make sure he gets wind of the idea."

"Thanks, sweet fairy," his boyfriend whispers back against his lips, not quite pressing for another kiss. They stay like this for a while, resting comfortably against each other

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” he says, voice hushed.

Mingyu hums in answer, his breathing heavy and calming, making Soonyoung wonder if he's about to fall asleep.

“What is it that drew you to me?”

The question had been on his tongue for so long, ever since the first day, maybe, when Mingyu had proposed to walk him to class the next day. He had said he enjoyed spending time with him, but that couldn't have been it, not only it. Mingyu's pulls away, just slightly, their lips no longer brushing whenever they speak.

“I think... I think, at first... God, it's going to sound so weird,” he laughs, nervous and quiet.

Soonyoung smiles, egging him on. “It's okay, I swear I'm not going to run away.”

The boy laughs again, squeezing his hand gently. “I... You couldn't see me,” he says, finally, voice barely above a whisper. Soonyoung frowns, slightly.

“What do you mean?”

“It's just... People usually approach me because I'm popular, because I'm, like, kinda handsome, you know?” he explains rushedly. “They all have a reason to talk to me aside from, well, actually wanting to befriend me for who I am. But you... You didn't even know me. You didn't even know what I looked like. You didn't even care about popularity or anything.

“You became my friend because you actually enjoyed being with me, Mingyu, not that popular good looking kid, and I just... It felt nice, for once, to just be myself.”

Soonyoung answers by a long silence, expression blank as he processes what the younger told him.He never thought of Mingyu like that, never thought about how heavy of a weight popularity was to him. The boy always sounded so cheerful and kind to everyone, he hadn't once thought that, maybe, it made him feel like a stranger in his own skin.

“Ah... It's super weird, right? I'm sorry,” the boy mumbles, worry seeping through his voice, his hold on his hand slackening. Hurriedly, Soonyoung squeezes tighter, a smile stretching on his face, tender.

“No, no, it's not. Don't apologise. I just... I never considered it that way. I didn't know it burdened you, all of that.”

“Oh, well. It's not really something I go around screaming,” he says with a curt laugh. “It makes me sound like an hypocrite, doesn't it?”

Soonyoung shakes his head, quickly. “No, no, Mingyu, it doesn't. If anything, it only makes you human. You can't always be rainbows and smiles,” he reassures, a soft smile tugging at his lips. “I wouldn't be able to handle so many people looking up at me, expecting things from me, and you deal with it like a champion. And, despite it all, you still manage to be the kindest and most beautiful person I know. You're pretty awesome, Mingyu.”

The younger lets out a shaky laugh, and suddenly there is an arm pulling him closer by the waist to hold him close, lips on his forehead and hushed sobs. A “Thank you” is breathed out as Soonyoung holds onto the taller boy tightly, listening to his quivering breathing.

It's a few minutes before he calms down. Junhui is still humming in the living room, soft voice barely making it above the rumbles of the building, but all the same soothing. Mingyu's heartbeat next to Soonyoung's ear slows to match his, and then, he asks, “What drew you to me, though?” his voice quiet, a little on the deeper side.

Soonyoung smiles. “The way you talk,” he answers without any hesitation. “You speak like you have the sun in your heart.”

There is a heartbeat of silence, and Mingyu laughs, tender and soft. “God, you really want to make me cry, don't you?”

The older grins pulling away from his comfortable place on his chest to kiss his lips, a simple peck conveying so much more. “You're a cutie.”

Mingyu leans for another peck, smile pressing against smile. “You're so much cuter. The actual most beautiful person on earth, inside and out. That's what made me stay.”

“Now, you're trying to make me cry,” he chuckles against his lips, quickly joined by his boyfriend.

“I would never make you cry,” he swears before pulling him into a proper kiss, pulling him close, uncaring for the dampness of their skin and smiling a little too much as he does.

Soonyoung believes him in a heartbeat.