Work Text:
When Mingyu decided that it was best for him to focus on his studies and leave his boyfriend Wonwoo behind, the transition that came after was awful.
Mornings were dull, nights were more lonely. The only thing that kept him alive was his motivation to graduate.
He graduated with Latin honors by the end, but it didn’t feel spectacular. It was as though it wasn’t something that should be celebrated.
His face was plastered on a huge tarpaulin in the living room and people gathered around to congratulate him. Thank you , he would say to his neighbor; It’s nice seeing you again , to a relative who claims to have held him when he was a baby. Newsflash, he didn’t remember who they were.
At lunch, they all sat at the dining table which felt never-ending. There was just a line of people in sight. Mrs. Kim walked into the room with a mischievous grin, hands trying to contain her excitement in fists. All eyes turned to her. The table was suddenly shorter. He could recognize everyone who sat with him.
“I have a surprise for our graduate…” She said in a tune, and only at that point did Mingyu’s blood feel alive. Not when his name was called out in the large hall of people, not when they announced that he had an astounding academic performance, only then did he feel his blood rush, when he felt that someone familiar could walk in the room at that very moment.
Mrs. Kim opened her right fist and squealed, “We got you a car!” The guests cheered. The car keys looked at Mingyu from his mom’s fists, shining, nowhere to go.
“Come out to the back and see!” All the guests hurried to the backyard, but the receiver of the gift left himself behind.
“Mingyu?” Mrs. Kim walked over upon realizing he was still there. “Do you not like it, dear?”
He swallowed a lump in his throat and gave her a tight-lipped smile. “I’m good. Just surprised, is all. Thank you, Ma.”
SIX YEARS LATER.
“They’re saying a part of the stage is unstable and they can’t jump during their performance!” Wonwoo, who is the head of the creatives team, had no idea why he was on the receiving end of these complaints.
“Do you want me to call technical to check?” He asked, unsure of what he should be saying. The complaints rang harsher inside the small room backstage.
“Do I want you to call technical to check?” The event producer mocked him before blowing off, “I need you to call them right now!”
“Copy.” Wonwoo walked out of the small room and pulled out his phone, ringing a friend from the technical department to fix the issue at hand. The phone continued to ring, and he started cursing under his breath.
“Pick up, Shua…” He started becoming more frantic by the minute. The ringing eventually came to an end. “Finally! I need help-”
“Hey, this is Shua! Leave me a message and I’ll get back as so- ”
Wonwoo clicked his phone off. “Damn it!”
He was about to release a string of curses to the event producer for even bringing a technical problem to him, but when he tried storming back into the room, he bumped into a rock-hard chest instead.
“As if things couldn’t get any worse!” Wonwoo looked up at them, fuming and irritated. When he was met with surprised eyes and a mouth slightly agape, the creases in his forehead vanished. His jaw dropped.
“Wonwoo?”
“Mingyu?”
They simultaneously said, making Wonwoo step back to assess if the situation was real or not. Wonwoo’s eyes traveled every inch of the face and body of the person he was forced to let go of, and he wondered if this was the universe’s way of giving him back.
“What are you doing here?” Mingyu asked first.
“I should be the one asking you that,” Wonwoo smiled slightly, still not believing that Mingyu was in front of him. As he brought himself back to reality, he was reminded of the pressing issue he had and finally noticed the lanyard that was hanging from Mingyu’s neck. “Wait, isn’t this a staff lanyard?”
He took the cloth between his fingers and took the laminated ID that hung from the end of it. “Mingyu Kim… Stagehand ?” Wonwoo said in a rather excited tone, and Mingyu was nothing but confused.
“You fix the stage, don’t you?” Wonwoo looked up, eyes now pleading. Please, please, please I hope this works.
“Yeah, I do. Why? Is there a problem?”
“Yes, and a pretty big one. They told me that the stage is unstable and needs fixing. You can help me with that, right?” Wonwoo’s grip on Mingyu’s ID went tighter as if doing so would persuade Mingyu to agree.
“Of course I can. Is it urgent?”
“Very! Please go and tell someone about it. Quick! We only have a few hours left until the show starts.” He finally let go of Mingyu’s ID and made his way into the little room backstage to tell the producer.
“No, wait,” Mingyu took his wrist, stopping him. Wonwoo stopped in his steps and looked Mingyu in the eye. “Wonwoo…”
“Yes?” He waited for his response.
“Call me after the show?”
Wonwoo scoffed. Calling wouldn’t be enough. “Meet me back here. Are you free tonight?”
“Of course I am. Want to go out?” Mingyu immediately offered, not wanting to pass the chance.
“I didn’t bring my car today,” Wonwoo frowned. “I’ll pay for the taxi.”
Mingyu laughed and took out the keys from his pockets to dangle them in front of Wonwoo, “No worries, I’ll drive.”
The keys looked at Wonwoo, shining, happy to have made its drive back home.