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Wooyoung would say that their relationship is odd, but if he’s being completely honest, he doesn’t think that they have a relationship at all. Mingi doesn’t like him, and he isn’t entirely sure why. Wooyoung knows that he can be considered ‘annoying’ or ‘too loud’, but he can’t have seriously done something that bad in the short time they’ve known each other to warrant silent treatment?
He doesn’t like to be ignored, and not because he simply wants attention, but because it makes him feel really quite rotten. Mingi doesn’t like him, and Wooyoung wants to know why. If he finds out what he’s done wrong, or if he works it out himself, then maybe he can try to fix it? Maybe they can finally be friends?
The constant, not-so-subtle glares Mingi sends his way chills his bones, and the thick tension that forms over them whenever they’re left alone, even if it’s for just a few seconds, is suffocating. Mingi doesn’t like him, and as intimidating as he is, Wooyoung wants him to.
He wants to be friends with all of his band mates. He knows he joined late, and so he knows it’s going to take everyone except for Yeosang some time to get used to his bubbly energy, but Mingi doesn’t seem to want to even give him a chance.
It’s unfair, really. Yunho doesn’t leave Mingi’s side and yet he welcomed Wooyoung, quite literally, with open arms. Mingi laughs with everyone, and he smiles, and Wooyoung thinks that he has a nice smile and it disappoints him that he’s never the cause of it.
Dance practise is over now, and these thoughts are rushing through Wooyoung’s head because Mingi is the only one in the room with him. Mingi has his back turned to him, naturally, and is sorting through his bag. His bag is slightly torn down the left side, that’s one of the first things Wooyoung noticed about it.
He goes to say something, but stops himself because Mingi turns around to face him. The older puts his bag onto his back, and then he leaves the room. No nod of acknowledgment, no verbal ‘goodbye’, no ‘see you later’— nothing. His eyes fill with tears but he blinks them away. He believes that shouldn’t cry, but Mingi is reminding him of those boys who used to tease him on the playground when he was smaller.
He had wanted to be their friend too, but they had rejected him completely. Wooyoung didn’t have a proper friend until he met Yeosang all those years later in High School, and he has vowed to never let Yeosang go.
Wooyoung grabs his own bag, and he follows after Mingi with a new-found determination. He switches the dance studios light off behind him, and when he gets to the end of the corridor, he huffs quietly because he doesn’t know whether Mingi went left or right.
”Wooyoung,” a voice says from behind him, and Wooyoung spins on his heel to be greeted by Hongjoong. The older man is wearing a rather confused expression on his face. The expression makes sense when Hongjoong goes on to ask, “why are you still here? I thought you had gone home already?”
”Not yet,” Wooyoung shakes his head, “I’m, um, looking for Mingi, actually.”
The shorter is surprised. “You are?”
”Yeah,” the younger says, and then swiftly he comes up with a believable excuse, “he left something in the studio and I wanted to make sure that it got back to him.”
”What did he leave?”
Fuck. “A keyring?”
Hongjoong chuckles quietly, “you don’t seem so sure of that.”
”I, uh—”
The older shakes his head fondly, amusement lit within his eyes, “I’m just kidding, Wooyoungie. He went left, though after that I’m not sure. San might still be around if you need any more help?”
”Okay,” Wooyoung says through a sigh of relief, “thank you, hyung.”
”No problem,” Hongjoong tells him, “make sure you sleep earlier tonight, yes? I’m not willing to deal with complaints about your volume again.”
Ouch. His heart falls a little. “Who— who complained about me?”
Hongjoong seems to realise his mistake, and he registers the defeated expression on his friend’s face. “Nobody,” he lies to him, “I was joking again.”
”Are you sure?”
”I am,” the older nods, “but I do want you to sleep earlier. I can’t keep sending Sangie to get you out of bed before practise. It’s not really fair to him.”
”I think he slightly concussed me this morning.”
”How?”
”He pulled me off the mattress by my ankles. I like genuinely saw the light for like half a second, I thought my life was over.”
Hongjoong rolls his eyes, albeit fondly. “No video games past nine.”
”You sound like my Mum.”
”Then your Mum is a very smart lady.”
”She is,” Wooyoung nods, and then he spins around on his heel, and begins to turn the left corner. He calls before he disappears completely, “thanks again, hyung!”
If Hongjoong replies to that, Wooyoung doesn’t hear him. He continues moving through the building, and ends up at the set of six elevators. He steps into one, and goes down to the ground floor. There he finds San sipping on water, and Yeosang is sat beside him staring up at the ceiling.
”Hello friends,” Wooyoung greets them happily, approaching them with a slight skip in his step, “how are we on this lovely evening?”
”Tired,” is Yeosang’s monotone reply, and his eyes slip closed. Wooyoung frowns a little at him, but San sends Yeosang the most tender smile Wooyoung thinks he’s ever seen. Odd, and so he makes a mental note of it.
”Have either of you seen Mingi?”
San replies, ”he left about two minutes ago? Stood here with us for a bit and then headed back to the dorms.”
”Is he walking?”
”Yes.”
”Alone or with Yunho?”
”Yunho is with Jongho.”
”Then where is Seonghwa-hyung?”
”With Hongjoong-hyung.”
”No, he’s not,” Wooyoung shakes his head, “I was just speaking with Hongjoong-hyung upstairs. Seonghwa-hyung was not with him.”
”They’re together,” San says, and then he adds a comment that remains innocent until the year of 2025, “they’re together all the time.”
”Right,” Wooyoung nods, “well I’m going back to the dorms too.”
Yeosang asks, eyes still closed, ”why are you looking for Mingi anyway? I don’t think he likes you very much.”
Wooyoung lightly kicks his best friend in the ankle, and Yeosang immediately opens his eyes. “Don’t be mean.”
The oldest of the three says, ”I’m being honest.”
”Still mean,” Wooyoung states as a matter of fact, and San decides to absolutely not get involved in the squabble, “and I know that he doesn’t like me. I’m going to change that today, you see?”
”Good luck with that,” Yeosang hums as he closes his eyes again.
Completely missing the sarcastic undertone of the words, Wooyoung grins happily and says a bright, “thank you, Sangie!”
And with that, he places a friendly kiss to the top of both San and Yeosang’s heads and then disappears out of the building. He wanders down the dark, mostly empty, streets for a while and then picks up his pace a little. He’s almost jogging when Mingi eventually comes into view. Curse him and his long strides. They’re already nearly home.
Wooyoung slows down a few paces behind Mingi, and immediately the taller senses the shorter’s presence. Wooyoung doesn’t know this, though, and so he spends some quiet time trying to figure out what it is that he wants to say. He’s got one shot at this, he can’t mess up.
”Why are you following me?”
Too late. “We live in the same building?”
Mingi suddenly stops, and Wooyoung goes crashing into his back with a soft ‘oof’ escaping the back of his throat. Huh. Apparently he’d been walking a lot faster than he’d thought he had been. He takes a step back, and rubs his forehead. Mingi turns around.
”Are you okay?”
”No,” Wooyoung shakes his head, forehead basically throbbing, “why is your back so sturdy?”
Mingi shrugs, “I don’t know.”
Wooyoung groans softly, the pain subsiding after a few seconds. He lowers his left hand and then looks up at Mingi. “So—”
”So?”
”Shall we walk?”
Mingi doesn’t respond, not verbally, anyway. He just turns and starts walking again, and Wooyoung won’t be surprised if he has a mark on his own forehead by the morning. He catches up with Mingi, and settles contently at his… acquaintance’s side.
”I like the stars,” Wooyoung tells him, just for something to say, “they’re pretty, aren’t they?”
”I suppose.”
”Do you know what else I like?”
”What?”
”The colour Black. What’s your favourite colour?”
Mingi wants nothing more than for this human being to disappear from his side. He had been quite enjoying his silent, solo walk. “Cement.”
”Now what the f—”
”The colour of Cement?”
”So Grey?”
”No,” Mingi shakes his head, “Cement is its own colour.”
Wooyoung isn’t convinced. “That’s wrong.”
”It isn’t,” Mingi says.
Wooyoung spins around to walk backwards, properly focusing on the taller man. “I’m going to Google it when we get home, and you’ll see that you’re wrong.”
”You don’t have to be right about everything all the time, you know?”
”I’m aware, yeah,” the shorter nods, trying not to trip over his own feet, “but I know for a fact that I’m right about this.”
”You’re not.”
”I am.”
”You’re not.”
”I am.”
”You’re not.”
”I am.”
”You’re n— oh shit.”
Before Wooyoung can even properly register the curse word, a car horn is blaring, fingertips are curling into the fabric of the t-shirt he’s wearing, and he’s being dragged quickly forward. His chest collides with Mingi’s one, and the both of them go stumbling backward a little. Mingi steadies himself, and on somewhat of an instinct, he wraps his arms around Wooyoung in order to keep him close.
Mingi watches as the car disappears down the street, and Wooyoung stares blankly at it, his heart rushing beneath his chest. He must’ve gotten slightly too close to the curb when walking backwards. Maybe he shouldn’t do that anymore? His arms slot around Mingi’s body, holding onto him tightly, and the side of his head comes to rest on the rapper’s left shoulder.
The older of the two requests, “please don’t walk backwards anymore.”
”I won’t,” Wooyoung promises him, and there’s a slight ringing in his ears. He can feel how fast Mingi’s heart is beating too.
”You’re an idiot.”
”I know,” Wooyoung nods weakly, and then he says, “thank you for grabbing me.”
”You’re welcome,” Mingi replies, and his hold on Wooyoung seems to loosen slightly. Wooyoung gets the hint, and the moment is over. He pulls back from the taller, somewhat reluctantly, and his gaze focuses on the ground. Mingi watches Wooyoung, and instantly he registers just how uneven the shorter’s breathing now is. Wooyoung’s shoulders are rising and falling in stuttering movements.
Mingi cradles the younger’s face within his hands and carefully guides his head upward so that their gazes can meet. He searches Wooyoung’s eyes for any sign of calm, but they’re alert and panicked.
”Are you okay?”
”No,” Wooyoung shakes his head, tears filling his eyes, “th-that was—”
Mingi offers, “scary?”
”Y-yeah.”
The taller hums small, and brings Wooyoung back into his arms. He allows the younger to sob softly in his hold, and he hates how much his own heart aches upon hearing the sound. Wooyoung’s arms slot around Mingi again, and Mingi knows that Wooyoung doesn’t plan to let him go any time soon.
He’s okay with that, he thinks. He doesn’t hate Wooyoung, not even a little bit, he just— his feelings towards him are complicated.
Mingi was the only one who perfected a certain difficult dance move after weeks of practise, and he’d been so proud of himself. Wooyoung then strolls in one day and nails it on the first try. Everyone claps and seems to forget that Mingi can dance that way too. Wooyoung dances like he does, and Mingi isn’t pleased about it in the slightest.
Wooyoung can do everything that he does, aside from rap. Ateez already have two rappers, though. If Mingi were to leave, Hongjoong could rap by himself and Wooyoung could do everything else Mingi does. Wooyoung could easily be his replacement.
Maybe he has been a bit too harsh on the younger man, though, despite these secret worries. Just because they dance the same way, he realises, doesn’t mean that he should be ignoring him in the way that he has been. Mingi doesn’t want to leave Ateez, and the six members he’s so used to sharing a space with don’t want him to leave either. He knows that. They all mean it when they say that ‘Eight makes One Team’, after all.
Suddenly he feels rather protective of the trembling man in his arms, and guilty for the way he has treated him so far, and so his hold on him tightens a little. Wooyoung’s sobs are now small sniffles.
”Feeling better?”
Wooyoung nods small against Mingi’s left shoulder. “Mingi,” he begins, unsure as to whether or not this is the best moment to ask but going for it anyway, “wh-why do you hate me?”
Mingi’s entire body freezes, and Wooyoung notices because of course he does. He pulls back, their limbs becoming their own once more, and he’s a little surprised to see the expression of guilt on Mingi’s face.
”You don’t talk to me,” Wooyoung sniffles, “and you don’t look at me or laugh with me or anything. I know I’m n-new, but what did I do wrong? I’d like to fix it. I want to be friends.”
The taller finds himself saying, “you haven’t done anything wrong.”
”So why are you so mean to me?”
Mean. One thing Mingi never wanted to be called. “I don’t—”
Wooyoung shakes his head, and he brings his hands up to wipe his eyes.
”I’m so sorry, Wooyoungie,” Mingi tells him honestly, “it’s— I was just nervous about what you joining meant for me.”
A harsh-sounding, but fair question, ”and what exactly have you got to do with it?”
”You can do everything that I can,” Mingi tells him, and Wooyoung blinks in confusion, “if the group decided one day that they didn’t want me anymore, you could easily fit into every single one of my positions.”
”I can’t rap.”
”Hongjoong-hyung can,” Mingi says, “most groups only have one rapper.”
Wooyoung allows the words to settle within his mind, the explanation weighing a little heavily on his own shoulders. “So you— you don’t like me because you think that I’m going to replace you?”
”I did think that,” Mingi explains, “but now I realise that it was a stupid thing to think.”
”Yeah, just a bit.”
“I do want to be friends with you, and I do like you,” Mingi says honestly, “I’m sorry for treating you so badly, that wasn’t fair.”
”It made me really sad.”
”I know,” and because he has no idea what else to add, he just apologises again, “I’m really sorry, Wooyoungie.”
The nickname makes his heart feel a little warm, and his tears begin to stop falling. “Promise that you won’t be mean to me again?”
”I promise.”
Wooyoung considers. “I’m not here to replace you,” the younger says, “I’m not here to replace anyone.”
”You’re here because of Yeosang,” Mingi says, “I know. I’m sorry that I didn’t know that b—”
”I’m not here just for Yeosang, though he does play a big part in it,” Wooyoung explains, “I’m here because I like this company, and I like this group. I like being here—”
”We like having you.”
”Do you?”
”Yeah,” Mingi nods, “I just hadn’t realised that until now.”
”So all it took was some honesty and you saving me from getting crushed by a car?”
”Never do that to me again, by the way. This friendship won’t work if you stress me out like that. I’m actually quite sensitive, you know?”
But Wooyoung just grins, one part of what has just been said sticking out more than the rest, “we’re officially friends now?!”
Mingi smiles at him, a warm smile and Wooyoung could almost squeal with excitement. He’s made a friend! “Yeah, we’re friends.”
”This is so exciting, Mingi!! We can have sleepovers now and movie nights and everything!”
”Oh, I don’t know ab—”
”We can have one tonight! I have popcorn.”
”Why do you have popcorn?”
”It’s one of my five-a-day.”
Curious, Mingi asks, ”alongside—”
”Coffee, Chocolate, Muffins, and Orange Juice.”
”Right,” Mingi says, amused, “I think that only one of those things might count as part of your five-a-day, Wooyoung.”
”Ah, I can see where you’ve gotten confused,” Wooyoung begins, “that’s the general five-a-day you’re thinking of. You know, fruit and vegetables and all that boring nonsense. I have just told you about my five-a-day. A Muffin a day keeps the Doctors away, that’s what I say.”
Mingi feels a certain fondness for the younger man, and he cannot quite believe that he never allowed himself to feel any sort of positive emotion towards him until now. He chuckles softly, and Wooyoung beams.
“You think I’m funny?”
”Yeah.”
”I’ve always wanted you to laugh at my jokes,” the truth comes out easily, “and now you are! Aside from almost dying, this is like the best evening ever!”
”My friendship really isn’t that special—”
”It is to me,” Wooyoung nods, and without thinking he takes both of Mingi’s hands into his own ones, “your friendship means a lot to me.”
Mingi smiles gently, half-forced, and he can feel his neck growing a little warm. “Why are you holding my hands?”
Wooyoung blinks, and he looks down to where their bodies are connected. “Oh,” he says small, a little mortified, “sorry.”
He lets Mingi’s hands fall from his own, and he sort of wants the ground to swallow him up. He even takes a step back to give Mingi some extra room. Mingi sighs softly, and he silently considers as the light breeze of wind moves a few strands of his hair around. He reaches forward with his left hand, and he takes Wooyoung’s right one within it.
”You don’t have to—”
”I don’t mind,” Mingi tells him, and Wooyoung looks up into his eyes.
”Are you sure?”
Mingi nods.
The shorter asks, entwining their fingers, “we can have a movie night tonight?”
”We can,” Mingi nods, “so long as we both agree on the movie.”
”Okay,” Wooyoung grins, “that’s fine by me. I also did just want to say something else, though.”
”Oh yeah?”
”Yeah,” the younger begins, “you said earlier that you thought I was going to replace you. You said that it was a stupid thing to think and I agreed. I don’t— I don’t agree, not entirely.”
Mingi tilts his head to the side, confused, “what do you mean?”
”Well you’re allowed to feel uncertain about things. Change is difficult no matter how big or small it may be,” Wooyoung tells him, “I still don’t like that you were mean to me, but part of me understands why. You didn’t know what me being here meant, and yeah— yeah, I understand the worry of being replaced. Next time you have a worry that involves me, please just talk to me like we’re doing now? I don’t like being ignored, and I’d much rather know what’s going on in your head than have to guess.”
Mingi nods, registering every word as it gets spoken. “I can’t promise that I will straight away, because I might need some time to process, but I will try my best to, okay? I’ll come to you as soon as I can, if ever I need to. You— you can come to me too, alright? If I ever do something you don’t like, you can tell me and we’ll figure it out.”
”I will,” Wooyoung nods, “and just so you know, having me as a friend means having me around forever.”
”Forever is a very long time…”
”It is. Do you think you’ll be able to handle me for that long?”
”I think so,” Mingi nods, “and if ever I need a break, I can just give you to Yeosangie.”
Wooyoung rolls his eyes, the action not cruelly intended at all. “I’m sure he’ll love you for that.”
”I’m certain too,” Mingi smiles, and Wooyoung decides in that moment that he will do absolutely everything in his power to keep Mingi smiling. Mingi’s smile lights up his entire face. It’s a goofy expression, but it’s endearing also.
Wooyoung asks him, “do you like horror movies?”
Mingi’s face immediately falls. Shit, mission already failed within two seconds. ”No.”
”Oh,” that’s not exactly what he had been expecting, “do you like Comedy movies?”
”Not really.”
”Uh— Fantasy?”
”No.”
”What about Sci-Fi?”
”I like Disney.”
Wooyoung blinks. ”Like the Princesses?”
”Yes,” Mingi nods, “and the Pixar ones. I like Toy Story, I used to watch it with my brother all the time.”
”Do you have that film on DVD?”
”Of course,” the older nods, “why?”
Wooyoung offers him a gentle smile, “want to watch it when we get home?”
”As our movie night?”
”Yeah,” Wooyoung nods, “it’ll be fun. I like that movie too. We can shower and then get changed into comfy clothes and I can make the popcorn and we can watch a movie.”
”In the lounge or—”
”In my room,” the younger suggests, “if that’s okay? I’d like for it to be just the two of us. Sannie and Yunho are nosey, they will want to watch too and I love them dearly but I don’t want that. Not today.”
Mingi chuckles softly, ”I’m honoured?”
”You should be.”
They watch each other for a moment, and the air around the grows pleasantly warm. Wooyoung is more than pleased with this new friendship, and Mingi is as well. He still feels bad for how he treated Wooyoung before, deep down he believes that he always will.
Wooyoung lightly pulls Mingi’s arm with their joined hands, ”come, Mangi—”
”Mangi?”
The younger asks, “not Mangi then?”
Mingi considers. He has a few nicknames floating around already, he supposes one more can’t hurt. “Mangi is okay.”
”Just ‘okay’? I won’t call you that again if you don’t want me to. Just say the word and I’ll stop.”
”No,” Mingi shakes his head, smiling small, “it’s alright. I like it.”
”Really?”
”Only for you to call me it, though, nobody else.”
Wooyoung clears his throat, and does his best impression of the man with him, “I’m honoured.”
Mingi grins, clears his throat too with a light cough, and does his best Wooyoung impression, “you should be.”
Wooyoung watches him with a growing grin, and then he bursts into a fit of hysterical giggles that, after a few seconds, gets Mingi laughing too. Mingi calms down first, eventually.
”Can we go and watch Toy Story now?”
”Absolutely! And aren’t there like three of them? We could watch one movie per night!”
Mingi nods, “sounds good to me. I’ll be in charge of snacks tomorrow and we can watch it in my room?”
”Yeah,” Wooyoung nods, and then for a split second he doesn’t know what to do until he gets a bright idea, “race you?”
Mingi blinks, “wh—”
But before Mingi can finish what he was going to say, their hands fall apart and Wooyoung is sprinting down the street at what must be, or what is likely close to, his full speed. Mingi watches him go, and smiles fondly. He then rolls his eyes.
A not entirely serious, ”THAT’S CHEATING!”
There’s a distant call that sounds a little like a dismissive, “I’M WINNING!”
Mingi huffs, and sprints after the younger man. His additional height helps, and the fact that his legs are just naturally stronger. He catches up to Wooyoung in no time, the younger having started to slow down.
”MANGI NO!”
Mingi grins to himself, and the distance between them increases until he decides to slow down a little. He hears Wooyoung approaching, and so he briefly both looks and reaches backwards into order to grab Wooyoung’s right hand with his left one. He entwines their fingers together again. It’s a little odd how incredibly natural the touch feels.
The two of them grin at each other, still running, and soon enough they’re home and their movie night begins. And yeah— they could quite happily get used to this.