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“Noooo,” Joshua whines, tucking himself and really digging the top of his head in Mingyu’s armpit as he hugs his middle, “Don’t go.”
He isn’t like this. He would always be the first one awake, even before the alarm rings. And usually, Joshua would be the one to patiently and gently drag him out of bed and into the shower. Even if it’s four in the morning and the sun hasn’t beamed, Mingyu always feels good waking up to Joshua’s gentle voice and loving pats.
But now, he feels extra sorry because his Shua-hyung is being so adorable in the mornings, but he can’t stay for it.
He himself is already dressed in a crisp suit and tie for work. It’s absurd, honestly, how, as the CEO, he’s expected to wear formal attire everywhere he goes. It’s a different scene from how he was just a few months ago, in sweatpants and a tracksuit jacket, and now, he can’t scratch his balls anytime he wants or he’ll get reported to HR.
“But I have to go,” Mingyu says, and he can’t believe he’s saying these words. What he can’t believe more is that he’s prying Joshua off him as he stands. This is unforgivable. Mingyu will have to swallow a thousand needles in his next life for doing this. “There’s an important meeting with the board later. I can’t afford to miss it.”
“You absolutely need to go now?” Joshua tries to open his eyes, but they’re too heavy with sleep. He doesn’t have the slightest idea what those blinking eyes are doing to Mingyu as they speak. “We didn’t spend yesterday properly together. You were home late again...”
His sullen expression digs a hole in Mingyu’s heart, and he tries to toughen up against it—really, he does. But Joshua has found a way to (cutely, of course) wraps his arms around Mingyu’s waist, looking up at him with tired, imploring eyes.
“Stay with me, please?”
It’s never like him to act spoiled, and under different circumstances, Mingyu wouldn’t be able to pass this opportunity up.
However, this thing at the company is important. He has to have some self-control, right?
Wrong.
Joshua’s lips pinch the zipper of his trousers, pulling them down as he lands on his knees with a soft thud.
Mingyu doesn’t have to look down to know that his boyfriend is wearing a ravishing expression right now.
But he does, anyway. Because it’s Joshua. Because Joshua doesn’t get clingy like this often. Because he’ll definitely off himself if he doesn’t savor this moment.
“I wonder if it would be okay if I’m late for thirty minutes...” Mingyu mindlessly mumbles, hand carding through Joshua’s hair the way he knows the older likes as heat invades his face to his entire body.
Suddenly, the suit is unbearably stifling.
When he shoves it in—Joshua’s head bobbing smoothly as his warm mouth envelops Mingyu—he loses all self-control he thought he finally acquired.
“I guess it would be fine,” he groans to himself.
He can take all the consequences for this.
Mingyu sticks out his chin, drooping like goo in his swivel chair as soon as the directors leave the conference room. It’s not ideal to have his own father as the chairman of the board, hovering over him and nitpicking his every single movement.
He lets himself linger a few moments in the cold, soulless room because this is better than going to his office because he’s sure he’ll be greeted by a stack of papers in need of scanning and approval.
His hand hurts from all of the signing. His head hurts from all of the jargons. He just wants to go home. His cute hyung must be waiting for him.
“President?” The head of an intern pops out from the doorway. “Can I come in to collect the projector?”
Nodding, Mingyu straightens up, standing to leave. Now there’s no excuse. He can’t believe this entire company is his responsibility now.
Since he was born, all he really cared about was enjoying life—trips to different countries every month, purchasing until his cards are maxed-out, trying out hobby after hobby...
It’s not like he was out partying, doing drugs, or hooking up with women—No. In fact it’s the complete opposite.
To be fair, he wasn’t particularly doing good in university then, but a huge part of his lifestyle changed when he found his hyung. His cute, diligent, cool Shua-hyung, a senior that was two years older than him but wasn’t any less cute because of that.
When he first saw Joshua Hong, the sun was shining behind him, and Mingyu thought he was looking at an angel.
(Granted, he was hungover from getting wasted at a drinking party with the business administration department. It’s not like Mingyu to even sleep on the bench in front of their department building because just imagine how many butts have sat on these benches, but boy, did that way of thinking change when he was too drunk and could not make it to his car.)
It wasn’t complicated—just a quick flutter of his heart when Joshua Hong (in his cute yellow ducky sweater and backpack strapped on both of his shoulders) tapped his cheek and asked him if he was okay. When Joshua Hong handed him vending machine coffee to help him sober up. When Joshua Hong, a total stranger to him before, helped him walk to his car and advised him to call a friend to drive him home because Mingyu looked like he would get into an accident if he drove himself.
And from there, it escalated to Mingyu being unable to erase the angel from his memory. Like a smitten boy, he’d follow Joshua around (which only resulted in trips to the library at any time of the day) and try his best in making himself look interesting to gain his attention. He could list several moments where he humiliated himself (and even Joshua, too) in the process of winning his heart, but those moment shouldn’t matter anymore. His efforts proved effective, anyway!
Besides, he’d willingly go through those again if it means they’d be exactly the way they are now.
Living together. In love.
Mingyu looks at the expected pile of work on his desk. If he goes home and doesn’t get to work now, this will triple tomorrow which frankly makes him wants to stick his head in an oven broiler.
So, he gets to work, grumbling under his breath because this wouldn’t happen if not for his own carelessness.
If his father didn’t find out about him dating Joshua, if his father didn’t saw them kissing in broad daylight because Mingyu couldn’t resist those lips—he swears they’re just really addicting—
Well, that’s besides the point. If he wasn’t careless then, his father wouldn’t have something against him. He threatened Mingyu to be cut off from the inheritance, cards cancelled, and pretty much disowned if he didn’t leave Joshua.
In dramas, sure, that would be an easy choice. Love over money, right?
Wrong. Again.
Mingyu doesn’t like school (the only reason why he’s attending university is his father), Mingyu doesn’t know how to live doing manual labor, and Mingyu cannot live without his The History of Whoo skincare products (the packaging is just for royalty). And he can’t depend on his Joshua-hyung for any of his luxuries—hell, no. Mingyu’s supposed to be the one giving him a comfortable life.
In order to be that person for the love of his life, he had to bargain with his father. One could say there were voices raised, but it’s all good because now he can keep being with Joshua for as long as he sits as the CEO.
Suddenly.
Without any prior training.
Under his father’s laser-focus supervision.
It’s not as all good as it sounds, but he has a home now with Joshua. They live together, and he can keep living on his father’s money while actually working for something (he likes to feel not useless sometimes). At the same time, Joshua continues to work on his master’s degree while interning in a different company.
It’s lovely being with Joshua, but until he finds a way to get his father off his back without losing all that generational wealth about to be left under his name, then he has to tolerate this.
The amount of paperwork he has to go through... can this count as child abuse? What if he takes his father to court?
A knock on his door jolts him upright.
Jeonghan, the vice president, promptly enters without permission. Like he always does.
“You know, I don’t get the point of knocking when you’re going to barge in just like that,” Mingyu rumbles, refusing to even look at Jeonghan because that might acknowledge his presence and he’s too petty for that right now.
Jeonghan doesn’t listen to that. Instead, he lets his fingers rake through the stacks of papers on Mingyu’s desk. “I thought CEOs are supposed to live happy lives. What the fuck is this?”
“My father’s version of parenting,” Mingyu replies dryly.
“Ah.”
Jeonghan walks around the massive office, hands in pockets, looking at the displays like he’s in a museum. Mingyu chooses to ignore his presence because these papers aren’t going to sign themselves.
It’s not until Jeonghan starts plucking the one of the massive leaves of his indoor plant when Mingyu decides this person shouldn’t even be here.
“Don’t touch that,” Mingyu barks, but it doesn’t even faze Jeonghan, who continues ripping the leaf little by little like he’s a fucking caterpillar. “Hey! Get out of my office, you lunatic—”
“I’m bored,” Jeonghan yawns. He then lets go of the leaf (which now has random parts of it on the floor) to stretch. “Accompany me.”
“To where?”
“Nightclub,” Jeonghan says, turning to look at him with droopy eyes that look dreary enough to feel powdery. “I’m in the mood for pus—”
“—don’t finish that sentence—”
“—sy. It’s been a while.”
Burying his face in his palms, Mingyu groans, “I don’t want any of that. Get out.”
“Come on. I need a wingman.”
“You don’t need me for anything. Go away.”
Jeonghan comes over just to kick at his desk, the sole of his expensive leather shoes bashing against the equally expensive mahogany. “I need your dad’s card.”
“You have money.”
“I don’t wanna use mine.”
“Jeonghan,” Mingyu heaves a heavy, heavy sigh. “Get out.”
“How about this—” The vice president plants his hands on Mingyu’s desk (where there aren’t papers—which, to be honest, isn’t a lot of space). “Come have a drink with me and I’ll give you a tried and tested tip on how to have less workload. You’ll have time to fuck your boy six ways to Sunday.”
“Mind your words. That’s my Shua-hyung you’re talking about,” he menacingly replies, but he looks interested anyway, and that’s enough for Jeonghan to smirk.
Jeonghan ignores the threat, knowing Mingyu’s all talk against him.
“So?”
Mingyu looks up, mulling it over. Is it okay to trust this person? He looks at Jeonghan one more time. This man never seems like he has any work. He barges into Mingyu’s office in a leisurely pace, and it bothers him how, as the fucking President, he stays at the company much later than this slug.
“Just a few drinks,” Mingyu decides after a moment of thinking it through. “I won’t be your wingman.”
Jeonghan steps back, impressed with his own persuasive powers.
“Just a few drinks.”
Somehow, the smile on Jeonghan’s face makes Mingyu not trust that.
“You smell good,” Mingyu slurs in the crook of Joshua’s neck. He’s heavy is all Joshua could think about when he tries to balance them both with Mingyu draping all over him as soon as he opens the front door. Mingyu takes a long, audible sniff at his hair. “Berries.”
Choosing not to entertain a drunkard, Joshua leads them both inside, settling Mingyu on the couch and taking off his shoes for him.
“Come up here,” Mingyu babbles, giggling as he extends his grabby hands. “Cuddle with me.”
“I don’t cuddle with people who smell like nightclubs.”
Okay, he knows it’s petty, but he has the right to act like this. They haven’t been seeing each other much nowadays despite literally cohabiting because of Mingyu’s sudden job (not exactly a job... Mingyu’s sudden ascend to a throne? What does even a CEO of a multinational conglomerate do?).
Don’t get him wrong. He’s happy for him. He’s happy that his lover’s future is finally taking shape. When he met Mingyu, the world he lived in was so different from what Joshua was used to and vice versa. The younger never knew what it was like to struggle, only indulging himself—his wants, his need, his whims. Once they got together, well, Mingyu doted less on himself... and more on Joshua.
It was nice to be thought about... but Joshua preferred gifts that didn’t cost the same as his mother’s entire kidney surgery.
Now, with what responsibility Mingyu’s father dropped on his son, Joshua can see that this is fitting for him.
And when Mingyu bought Joshua a speedboat (that he never ever asked for in the first place) with the first money that he made himself, the first money that didn’t come from his father, Mingyu was over the moon.
(Men have their ego. Joshua would be lying if he says he doesn’t feel like pumping his fists in the air when he spoils his own mother.)
He’s happy for him, but at the same time... Why is he always working late? Joshua can’t help the semi-permanent sulky expression on his face which was already budding as soon as he opened that door. To be fair, Mingyu came home quite early today. It’s ten in the evening—not as late as usual, but him coming home drunk obviously from a nightclub makes Joshua upset.
Upset. Yes. That’s the word.
Mingyu, on the other hand, isn’t really drunk drunk. Admittedly, he’s a little tipsy from downing all the drinks Jeonghan bought (on Mingyu’s father’s card). He got it over and done with, but his tolerance is greater than this. All that alcohol just heightened the inclination to cling on the cutest boyfriend ever.
Even with that pout on his face, Joshua is the cutest.
“You don’t want to hug me?” Mingyu asks, eyebrows curving down as he tries to get ahold of his boyfriend’s waist only to be swatted away.
“Exactly.”
“That’s mean.”
Mingyu tries to hold his hands, but Joshua only crosses his arms on his chest as he sits on the couch (maintaining a great distance between them), turning away lest Mingyu tries anything again. “What’s mean is going out when you finally have time to come home early and then coming home drunk.”
“I’m not drunk,” turning on the puppy eyes, Mingyu scooches nearer, but the older absolutely refuses to acknowledge him.
“Tell that to your breath.”
Bringing a hand to his mouth, Mingyu huffs.
Alright, he has a point.
“I’m really not drunk,” Mingyu whines some more, resting his chin on Joshua’s shoulder. “I’m just being clingy.”
“Prove it, then,” Joshua says, briefly facing him. And the way his boyfriend’s nose scrunches at the heavy smell of whiskey in his breath makes Mingyu’s heart skip a beat.
“Anything for you.”
Joshua expects him to pounce on him and not listen because that’s Mingyu all the time—just grabbing at Joshua and pinning him underneath and smothering him with hugs and kisses (definitely not a bad thing, Joshua’s just playing hard to get). But instead, he stands—wobbling a little—and makes his way to the bathroom.
Odd.
Joshua sits there, dumbfounded as he watches his boyfriend’s retreating back.
What... What just happened?
When he comes out of the shower, he sees Joshua has left the living area, so he makes his way to the kitchen where he must be. And sure enough, there he is, whipping up some instant ramen.
“Late night snack?” Mingyu asks as soon as he stuck himself on Joshua’s back, snuggling him from behind. Joshua doesn’t respond, but he doesn’t shoo him away either. As he thought, he’s still sulking. “Did you make some for me, too?”
“Move away,” Joshua warns, “It’s dangerous for you to be drunk near fire.”
“Hyung, I’m not drunk—”
Squinting his eyes, Joshua turns his head briefly to look at him. “If you’re not drunk, fetch me some cheese from the fridge. And yes, I made some for you, too. To help you sober up.”
Eager to please yet reluctant to peel himself off his boyfriend, Mingyu whines, “Let’s get the cheese.”
“Together?”
“Yep.”
It’s funny how one moment, he’s waiting for the ramen water to boil. Next, his feet are on top of Mingyu’s feet and they’re walking the steps towards the fridge.
Joshua would say he’s built fairly huge now since he does spend a considerable amount of time exercising, but he always knew that there isn’t a competition on who can be bigger between the two of them because Mingyu will always win that. He has always been taller, broader in every sense of the word, and Joshua doesn’t particularly mind that in bed, but...
But now, he feels like a marionette. Like Pinocchio before he became a real boy.
“Here we go,” Mingyu says when he opens the refrigerator door like they don’t look dumb right now. “Get the cheese, hyung.”
“I asked you to do it,” Joshua says, now growing curious as to why he’s acting like this an everyday thing of them to do—
Oh, right. Mingyu is just... Mingyu.
“I can’t. I’m holding onto you.”
Sparks of warmth, something akin to intimacy, shoots down Joshua’s spine when Mingyu hugs him by the waist from behind to stabilize both of them, reminding him of what he missed in the first place.
Grabbing the cheddar from the fridge door, Joshua huffs. “If you wanted to cling on me, you shouldn’t have drank before you came home.”
Dang it. He almost gave in to the warmth, but not again. Mingyu should learn from this. Even if it means Joshua will have to sulk the whole night.
“Hmm,” Mingyu hums, moving his feet (with Joshua’s on top of them) to walk back to the stove. “Can a drunk person do this?”
He must be talking about the marionette thing with Joshua on top of his feet as he walks.
“This cannot be safe,” Joshua complains despite being fully aware of how he likes the way his back is flush against Mingyu’s toned chest, “We’re in front of the stove.”
“This hasn’t been listed as a fire hazard before, not that I know of.”
Joshua raises a brow at that.
“You’re getting cocky.”
Shrugging, Mingyu presses a kiss to his cheek, effectively warming up the bouncy surface. And before he moves his face away, he lingers, knowing the effect it has on his boyfriend.
Dropping his voice low, he whispers, “Your noodles are getting overcooked.”
If you ask Joshua, that sentence has no business being that sexy.
“Set up the bowls if you want to eat—” Joshua shoots him a glare that he knows won’t work that much because his face must be tomato red now “—And put me down.”
Mingyu yields, gently setting Joshua’s feet back on the ground as he slips his own from underneath. There’s no use pissing him off further when he only meant to tease, so he follows properly this time.
The late night ramen was so good, Mingyu couldn’t hep but slurp it up like a heathen. It has been so long since he had some of this (what he used to call peasant food because he didn’t know powdered preservatives in small square food packets can be so delicious).
What he doesn’t notice is the way Joshua eyes him as he wolfs down the noodles.
Joshua likes to think he’s a level-headed man not prone to the dangers of the world because of his inner peace.
But he hasn’t had any for so long either, and Mingyu sloppily eating is starting to look sexy much like a human would start looking like food if you’re stuck on a deserted island.
“Slow down,” Joshua clears his throat, making a point of not looking at him and swirling his chopsticks in his bowl instead. “You might get indigestion.”
“I’ll be fine. My tummy’s tough,” he burps before downing some water. “Why aren’t you eating?”
“I’m just... taking my time.”
“Always the slow-eater,” Mingyu fondly smiles at him.
Okay, that suddenly brings back a lot of memories.
It’ll be okay for Joshua to bring up one, right?
“Remember when I first made you ramen?” He asks, smiling at his noodles before (carefully) slurping some. “You were so picky, you kept saying you wouldn’t eat it even if your stomach digests itself.”
Mingyu pinches his brows together at the memory. Groaning, he chews aggressively. “Let’s not look back at that, please, hyung. I was such a—”
“A little prince?” Joshua snorts.
“Ugh. I liked ramen in the end and that’s the moral of the story.”
“No,” Joshua says, “I clearly remember how you called it peasant food—” there it is, Mingyu thinks “—ate my ramen because you couldn’t resist the smell and then you finished everything.”
“I was a growing boy!”
Not a lie. He seems like he’s still growing, too.
“Alright, alright, I was just teasing.” Joshua leans from across the table, moving away the limp, freshly-washed hair off Mingyu’s forehead so he can see better. “Finish your food and we’ll go to bed.”
“You won’t have beer with me?” Mingyu asks, pouting as his cheeks bulge filled with noodles. “Late night snacks are the best with beer, you know.”
“That’s too much for tonight,” Joshua says with a yawn as he stands up. “You’re drunk. Maybe tomorrow if you come home early sober, I’ll drink some with you.”
He turns to leave Mingyu at the dining table, the bed calling his name as he feels the ramen do its job of making him drowsy.
“I told you already,” the whine in his voice is always adorable to Joshua, “I’m not drunk.”
Letting out a laugh, Joshua hums, “If you really insist you aren’t, then do the dishes.”
“You’re reading a book.”
“Yep.”
“On our bed.”
“Yep.”
“You never read,” Mingyu points out, right brow twitching at the sight before him. “You’re always complaining about your chapter readings—”
“Yeah, well, if you can drink out at night like you’re not a married man—” Joshua holds grudges, he’s finding that out about himself now “—I can read a book on our bed.”
That doesn’t seem to dampen Mingyu’s spirits, though, as the man just dives onto the bed, pinning Joshua down with his whole weight like he expected him to do earlier on the couch.
Ah, phooey. He’s such a big puppy.
“We’re married?” Mingyu asks, grinning from ear to ear as he looks at Joshua who sputters because why is he focusing in on that detail?
“I mean we are living together,” Joshua mumbles as he tries to look away in an attempt to hide his eyes since he cant hide his face, “and I don’t plan to love anyone else—unless you want to go love someone else, then that’s gonna be a problem—”
Shaking his head vigorously, Mingyu bites his lower lip, seemingly suppressing the ever-growing smile plastered on his face. “Nope. Never. Can’t even imagine myself with anyone else.”
The giddy feeling is extending to Joshua, but instead of smiles like Mingyu’s, he’s experiencing rapid beating in his heart like he’s some kind of inexperienced teenager. And it translates onto his beet-red face.
“That’s—That’s good, then.”
Mingyu shifts them both so that Joshua’s head is resting on his arm. Joshua likes this—being so close to him, cheek to chest if he moves even closer. Mingyu is just such a warm person the Joshua sometimes jokes about his boyfriend being the only heating device he needs during winter. Everything about him melts ice in Joshua’s bones, and he wonders...
He wonders if it has something to do with his true-heartedness.
Now, Joshua feels a little bad for being such a sulky bitch the entire night.
“I’m sorry,” he voices out the feeling, “for being such a sulky bitch tonight.”
“You were right, though. I shouldn’t have gone out—”
“I don’t mind that you go out and have fun,” Joshua cuts him off, wanting to make that part clear. “I just... I was...”
Patiently, like always, Mingyu waits as he strokes his hair. “Hmm?”
“I was getting sadder,” he admits albeit bashfully. “I’m happy for you, really—you’re getting a career and securing your future, but I’m just—I can’t help being selfish—”’
“But you’re not being selfish,” Mingyu shushes him, pressing a light, placating kiss on his temple. “You never ask me for anything, hyung. So, please. Tell me honestly what’s making you sad, and we’ll slay that beast.”
Sighing, Joshua buries his nose in the fabric on Mingyu’s shirt. Smells good, of course. Smells like him. “You promise you won’t get turned off?”
“It will take a lot for you to turn me off. You already farted on my face during sex and I still found it sexy—”
Well, now, Joshua’s just a ball of fire. “We agreed to never speak of that ever!”
“Oops.” Mingyu snickers, reveling at how easily he gets worked up. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he peppers kisses on Joshua’s forehead and his boyfriend visibly melts, the reminder of that one unfortunate moment leaving him. “Go on.”
“I hate that you’re busy all the time. You’re barely home. I got so used to being around you that I kind of can’t function normally when you’re not here because all I do is think about you, and it’s driving me nuts because I’m becoming this unproductive member of society who only thinks about his boyfriend—” Joshua heaves a breath, realizing how much he’s rambling “—and I get really, really sad because I want to spend time with you.”
“I’m sorry if this sounds selfish,” he adds because he might be pressuring Mingyu right now, “I don’t want you to give up anything for me, but I just want to be honest about how I feel about you always staying late at the company.”
He expects Mingyu to need a moment. Mingyu isn’t one to be tied down by... by anything, really. He’s a free soul, choosing to do whatever is most comfortable for him at the moment. So, what Joshua truly fears is Mingyu making adjustments to fit Joshua’s needs when in fact...
It’s his fault for not just bearing it.
He expects Mingyu to need a moment, so it’s comes as a surprise when Mingyu tilts his chin up to place a loving, chaste kiss on his lips filled with promises and understanding.
“You have nothing to apologize for, hyung,” Mingyu says, breath warm, smelling a lot like mint against Joshua’s nose. “I’m glad you’re being honest about it because that makes it a thousand times easier for me to keep you happy.”
That’s...
That’s unfair. It’s like Joshua’s falling in love all over again because Mingyu’s giving him new reasons every time.
“You—You don’t think it’s whiny—?”
“Not at all,” he assures Joshua calmly like cool sea breeze at night, “I don’t enjoy staying late at work, too, you know. You’re all I think about at the office. I feel like my brain is melting every second I stay there.”
“You’re father is really being mean to you, huh?”
“Yeah, but I found a way to counter all that.” He sounds up-and-coming as if he just devised a fool-proof plan on how to slack off. “I won’t be busy anymore from now on, I promise.”
Joshua’s muddled face is warranted. “You can’t just promise that. Isn’t your father gonna be angry?”
“Not at all.” He puffs his chest out, flashing Joshua his canines as he smiles smugly. “Jeonghan taught me a trick.”
With a fist thump on Mingyu’s chest that earn an oof, Joshua spits, “I told you not to spend so much time with that man!” Joshua recalls that time he met Yoon Jeonghan and he was falsely yet deliberately lead to the west wing of the premises when Mingyu’s office was located at the east. Joshua was never a good navigator, too. “He’s bad influence!”
Mingyu hums, considering Joshua’s hostility against the infuriating vice president. So he can cross Jeonghan from people who could potentially steal Joshua away from him. That’s good to know.
“He can be annoying, but he’s really a smart worker.”
Joshua doubts that. His face says it all.
“What did he teach you?”
“To hire a team of secretaries who’ll sort and do stuff of me.” Mingyu nods. Hearing the plan out loud makes the idea concrete. “Effectively cuts 90% off my work.”
“...”
Dang. Even Joshua can’t deny that that’s genius.
“...so we’ll have more time together?”
“Yes, hyung,” Mingyu says with a pleased sigh, pulling him closer. Nothing can replace the familiar warmth of having Joshua by his side. He smells clean, he feels soft and beautiful in his embrace.
This is home.
He’ll do anything just to get home.
“That’s nice,” Joshua admits.
Silence takes over as they hug each other tightly with Joshua clinging onto Mingyu’s middle while Mingyu pulls him closer against him. They’re having this moment, basking in the idea of having time to spend with each other again. Joshua figures he should moves some stuff off his schedule, too, no matter how important they may be.
He doesn’t have the liberty of hiring assistants, but there are other ways.
“Hey, hyung...”
Joshua looks up only to meet Mingyu’s eyes, fondness swimming in them.
Funny how one look can feel like an entire world’s worth of declaration of love.
“Hmm?”
“Let’s be...” Mingyu trails off, clearing his throat before continuing because this is going to sound cheesy. “Let’s be together always, yeah?”
But Joshua beams at him—a tickled pink twinkle that reminds Mingyu of when he first saw him.
When he first saw Joshua Hong, the sun was shining behind him, and Mingyu thought he was looking at an angel.
It’s the middle of the night, the sun nowhere to be found. So how come...
How come he’s still shining?
“Let’s.”