Work Text:
It’s only half past four, but the sky is already dark. The clouds are pouring their anger outside and the thunder’s booms rattle the windows. Wonwoo pays it no mind because right now, he’s cozy as hell—he’s got his favorite hoodie on and the TV is playing his favorite sitcom. He almost falls asleep to the gentle lull before the doorbell sounds through his apartment. He sighs and pauses the series before he gets up from where he was comfortably laying on the couch, sluggishly walking towards the door as he prepares for the chaos that awaits.
When he swings the door open, the first thing that greets him is Minghao’s scrunched up face… that is seemingly caused by Wonwoo’s outfit. Okay, rude.
“I’ve seen that hoodie online. It’s from a matching set that only generic losers buy,” Minghao says and Wonwoo pretends he isn’t offended by the comment. The boy may be a fashion icon but Wonwoo couldn’t care less so long as he isn’t involved in whatever Minghao’s got going on with his “fashion escapades”—as Wonwoo labels it.
Wonwoo steps aside while Minghao slants his body as he enters the narrow entryway. “It’s comfy!” Wonwoo yells after him. The boy shakes his head, his red mullet shaking as he heads towards the kitchen.
Wonwoo turns back to the open door as the rest of the group files in after him. Most of them barely spare him a glance aside from Soonyoung who throws him a half-hug, Jeonghan who pats the top of his head, and Chan who greets him with a smile and a small “hi, hyung!”. God bless his heart.
As the last person gets in, Wonwoo closes the door and locks it again. The apartment is now livelier, the loud chatter from everyone invading the four corners of his space. Wonwoo does a headcount and Seungcheol notices him doing so. “Mingyu’s still on his way,” the oldest says to him. Wonwoo nods back.
Tonight was the night before Valentine’s Day and it just so happened that everyone’s schedule lined up perfectly. Soonyoung took it as a chance and immediately messaged the group chat, telling them that “a galentine’s sleepover is due!!!”.
“Galentine’s is for women, Soonyoung-ah.” Jihoon replies back to which the former ignores as he continues to obnoxiously spam and ping everyone.
Nobody had anything important to do the next day either, so it turned into a solid plan. Unfortunately, they did this “Palentine’s” (Chan’s re-labelling) sleepover every year, and the hosting started with Seungcheol and went down in order of age. The last person to host their sleepover (that was actually not too long ago, surprisingly) was Soonyoung. Which meant that it was Wonwoo’s turn.
So here he is, slouched on the couch, forcing himself to try and hear the TV over the loud cackling of Soonyoung, Seokmin, and Seungkwan. He debates wearing earphones and connecting the sound to it. Wonwoo quickly manages to immerse himself again, eyes intently watching the screen. He’s sprawled out on the couch while the other guys do god-knows-what in his apartment. His phone suddenly pings, along with half of the others’.
Mingyu
Sorry I’m running late guys!! Got caught up in the rain.
Soonyoung
Tsk tsk! How dare you! This is our sacred bonding time and you dare delay yourself!?
Minghao
Oh no. How ever shall we forgive you.
Joshua
That’s alright, Mingyu-ya. We’re all just chilling right now.
The group significantly quietens down, expressing their loudness in their messages instead. The loudest sound comes from the TV, which Wonwoo directs his attention back to after reading his friends’ antics. His phone continues to ping, no doubt coming from the chat as the others come online just to gang up on Mingyu.
Mingyu
Oh, by the way guys, is it alright if I bring someone with me?
Hansol
Who is it, hyung?
Mingyu
A girl from my pre-cal class. You’ve met her before!!!
The others share a look of doubt for a moment before looking back down at their screens.
Jeonghan
Who?
Mingyu
Yoojin-ah.
Wonwoo immediately feels eleven pairs of eyes land on him.
It was a well-known fact that Seo Yoojin had a huge crush on Mingyu. Apparently, it was obvious to everyone except Mingyu. She was the type to latch onto the boy’s arm whenever she gets the chance and pitches her voice higher to sound more “appealing”. Honestly, the entire group had side-eyed each other when they first met her. Wonwoo and Jihoon, who usually weren’t judgemental people, had even raised a brow.
But that isn’t why they were staring. It’s because Wonwoo liked Mingyu too. And he liked him first—long before Yoojin came along. He liked Mingyu when he was five and snotty and he liked him now in his twenties, handsome and charismatic.
It wasn’t odd for Mingyu to be surrounded by people. He was pretty sociable and plenty of students knew him. One could even say he was “popular”. Well, as popular as one could get in college. Of course, with the crowd came the handful of admirers. Wonwoo knew that.
He knew that and yet he couldn’t help the urge to scream at everyone—to let them know that he liked Mingyu first. But of course he couldn’t, because they were just friends. So what if he claimed his feelings first? It wouldn’t matter if Mingyu didn’t like him anyway.
Mingyu
I saw her on my way to Wonwoo hyung’s apartment.
I asked her why she was just standing there and she told me she was waiting for a bus to arrive.
The rain was starting to get worse so I asked how far she was from her house.
Seungkwan
And? How far??
Mingyu
15 km from campus.
Wonwoo inhales through his teeth, feeling kind of sorry for the girl.
Mingyu never really showed any signs of liking anyone, and if he did, he was probably just really good at hiding it. Wonwoo assumed that the boy just wasn’t interested in relationships in the first place. That alone effectively sent out a signal of rejection to practically every single one of his admirers. Including himself. Oddly enough, it comforts Wonwoo to know that if he didn’t have a chance, nobody else did either. Except Mingyu’s dwindling interest in getting into a relationship had attracted Yoojin to him.
Seo Yoojin first tried to charm him right in front of Wonwoo’s eyes, but the older boy only watched as Mingyu stayed unfazed (or oblivious?) to the girl’s subtle advances. Wonwoo was sure that Yoojin could even kiss Mingyu on the lips and he’d brush it off as an accident between friends.
It seems Yoojin gets the same idea as Wonwoo because her eyes light up. If Mingyu was so uninterested about falling in love, then she could steal this chance because nobody else was brave enough to go for it. Wonwoo watches as Yoojin slowly comes to the conclusion that he’d already made ten years ago.
She narrows her eyes at Wonwoo, scooching closer to Mingyu’s side. Wonwoo stares at her blankly. At the back of his mind, Wonwoo quietly applauds the girl for doing the one thing he couldn’t for so long: Pouncing on Mingyu’s availability.
Seungcheol
No buses passing by either?
Mingyu
Nope.
Wonwoo winces. Oof, poor girl’s got it rough. Thunderstorms and commuting never paired well together. Wonwoo would know. He’s been there before.
Mingyu
So is it alright if she stays with us to wait until the rain lets up?
Seungcheol
That’s up to Wonwoo.
Mingyu’s chat bubble appears and disappears a few times.
Mingyu
@Wonwoo hyung?
So yes, although Wonwoo may not… be in favor of her, he still had sympathy.
Wonwoo
Sure, go ahead.
Mingyu
Awesome! Thanks, hyung. We’re on our way.
And suddenly, all eleven pairs of eyes snap back to him.
They all probably thought Wonwoo would tell Mingyu to just leave her there. But he wasn’t heartless. He had enough of a conscience to help.
“Hyung, why’d you do that?” Seungkwan says from where he sits at Wonwoo’s kitchen island.
Wonwoo simply flits his eyes to where Seungkwan is before looking back at the TV and shrugs his shoulder. “What, you’d rather Mingyu leave her all out in the rain? I know we don’t exactly—,” Wonwoo clears his throat, “-—like her, but this situation is completely out of it.”
“Aww, our little Wonu’s mindset is maturing!” Soonyoung says from where he lays on the floor, head perched on Jihoon’s lap.
“Oh shut up,” Wonwoo rolls his eyes and grabs the box of legos that Jeonghan had emptied its contents from and chucks it at Soonyoung’s legs. The blonde haired boy only yells before kicking the box away and it slides right back to Jeonghan’s side.
It takes about fifteen minutes after Mingyu’s message for the doorbell to ring once more. Seokmin, who had just exited Wonwoo’s shower, goes to open the door. By now, Seungcheol has tucked Wonwoo into his blanket and laid his head on his lap as a makeshift pillow. The older boy’s hands absentmindedly massaged his head, eyes trained on the TV that he stole the remote of the moment Wonwoo turned it off.
He snuggles into it as he teeters between the edge of consciousness. The after-lunch drowsiness comes back tenfold. He faintly hears hushed voices and shoes being dropped off at the entryway. Then, he hears padded feet shuffle inside.
“Is Wonwoo hyung sick?” is the first thing Mingyu says to break the silence that fell around the group as they waited for nightfall.
Seungcheol waves him off. “Nah, just the afternoon drowsiness.”
Mingyu nods. “Wanna switch, hyung?”
And before Wonwoo could catch Seungcheol’s answer, he fell fast asleep.
When Wonwoo slowly wakes, he hears two voices talking softly above him. He doesn’t open his eyes yet, too comfortable where his head lays on Seungcheol’s thighs—
Wait. This doesn’t feel like Seungcheol.
His eyes blink open, adjusting to the minimal light that spills from his floor lamp by the TV stand. He looks out the window and sees that the sky has turned a deeper shade of blue, but the storm remains all the same—loud and unrelenting.
He rubs his eyes and causes the man above him to notice that he’s finally woken up. The voices stop and it sounds like the question is now pointed at him when Mingyu says, “still sleepy, hyung?”
Wonwoo carefully gets up from where he laid on Mingyu, the blanket falling to his waist. He fixes his position and lets his back land on the couch behind him. He shakes his head at Mingyu’s question, still a little sleepy. He scans his living room, making out Jihoon and Soonyoung who lay fast asleep on the floor on a mattress that Wonwoo isn’t sure when they brought out.
Mingyu’s eyes stay on him as he rubs Wonwoo’s arm up and down. “Hannie hyung and Shua hyung are preparing dinner. Junnie hyung and Hao went out to go buy a few things for later,” the younger says diligently, like he already knew Wonwoo would ask.
Wonwoo’s voice is rough and muddled with sleep when he asks. “And the rest?”
Mingyu shrugs. “I think Seokminnie’s with the hyungs helping them cook. The younger ones are in your bedroom playing on your PS5.”
“Speaking of PS5, I’ve still gotta beat Chan’s stupid high score at Mario Kart,” Seungcheol sulks from beside Mingyu.
“Where’s Yoojin-ssi?” Wonwoo questions. Seungcheol sends him a side–eye that goes unnoticed.
“Oh, she’s on the balcony.” Mingyu points to the glass doors and Wonwoo looks out the window once more, this time focusing on the open area instead of the sky. There, he sees Yoojin's figure sitting on a chair outside—-just a little away from where the rain spills over—-her eyes glued to her phone.
“The rain wouldn’t let up at all and it’s been this harsh since two hours ago. I’m sorry, hyung. I never would have brought her here if I knew the storm would take this long.” Mingyu juts his lips out softly and all Wonwoo wants to do is kiss the pout away.
“Don’t worry, I don’t mind. Plus, what would you have done if I had said no? You obviously can’t just leave her there.” Wonwoo shakes his head, reassuring Mingyu.
The thing with Mingyu is that he was really considerate. Too considerate. So much so that he always makes sure that—if there is a divide in a situation—both parties are accommodated and never uncomfortable. That was one of the many traits Mingyu possessed that compelled Wonwoo (and many others) to fall in love with him.
Before anyone could say anything more, Jeonghan’s voice sounded through the living room. “Let’s eat!”
Seungcheol, who’s been scrolling through his phone, gets up and heads into the bedroom to call the younger ones.
“I’ll go wake the other two up,” Wonwoo says with a sigh as he gets up too, leaving Mingyu with the task of calling Yoojin to come eat with them.
He trudges his way to the pair still fast asleep and almost swears when he steps on Jeonghan’s scattered lego pieces. He drops onto the mattress and gently shakes both Jihoon and Soonyoung’s shoulders.
The blond haired boy stirs awake and Wonwoo leaves it at that, trusting that Soonyoung was awake enough to rouse Jihoon from his slumber as well. He heads to the dining table where the rest of the boys had already taken their seats. The other two follow behind him, still a bit drowsy but awake nonetheless. They sit down on their seats as Wonwoo heads directly to the kitchen.
Surprisingly, even with how small Wonwoo’s unit is, he was able to fit an entire dining table into the space. The others sat on foldable chairs that Wonwoo had kept tucked away. He only bought nine of those foldable chairs specifically for these occasions where everyone gets to be together in his apartment.
Unfortunately, there were only nine extra chairs. Wonwoo forgot to take into account that there would be unanticipated guests at times.
When Mingyu and Yoojin get to the dining table, everyone was already seated aside from Wonwoo, Seokmin, and Jeonghan who are dishing out the food onto the table. Yoojin, in all her glory, bats her eyelashes and asks, “Mingyu-yah, where do you usually sit?”
Mingyu points to the chair across from Minghao, who is carefully watching the interaction. The girl confidently strides over and plops down right next to the chair Mingyu had pointed at. She pats the chair with a bright smile, encouraging Mingyu to sit. “Come sit with me, Min-ah!”
She doesn’t notice the nine pairs of eyes staring incredulously at her. Only when Mingyu stays frozen in his spot does she grow confused. “What’s wrong? Are you not hungry?” she says with a frown, attempting to make a cute face.
Jun, who’s sat across from Yoojin, offhandedly whispers to the boy next to him. “What is she doing? She just looks constipated.”
The red haired boy only pinches his boyfriend’s thigh, who in return lets out a small “ouch!”
Seokmin and Jeonghan emerge from the kitchen and absentmindedly place the dishes down and take their respective seats before realizing what’s going on.
Wonwoo finally enters the dining area carrying a large pot. He nudges at Hansol to place down a trivet on an empty part of the table. He looks up and sees that everyone is staring at him. Confused, his eyes scan the entire room and stop at the empty chair. Ah, so that’s why.
Yoojin remains unaware, too busy staring at Mingyu—who was also too busy looking at Wonwoo.
The girl follows Mingyu’s gaze, her eyes landing on him, pretending to act surprised.
Wonwoo is busy contemplating it for a moment. He decides on grabbing the chair from his study desk instead when—
“Oh, Wonwoo-ssi! Is this your seat? I’m so sorry!” Yoojin says in a faux apologetic tone as she remains seated. She looks around the table with wide eyes. “You could sit at your kitchen island! It seems like there’s no space here anymore,” she says with a pout.
Seungcheol would have said something by now, but he’d been scolded for it before. Wonwoo had told him off countless times that he could stand up for himself. The rest remain quiet, having been in the same predicament as Seungcheol before.
Wonwoo stares blankly at the steaming dish in his hands, the heat of the ceramic slowly seeping through the mittens he’s using to hold it. He carefully places down the big pot of soup onto the trivet. “Don’t worry, I’ll go sit at the kitchen island,” he says, waving a hand lazily.
“Perfect! It’s settled then,” Yoojin says with a smug smile. She prepares to serve food onto her plate before her phone starts ringing. “Oh, sorry! Let me go take this really quick!” She picks her phone up and darts towards the balcony. Wonwoo and the rest quietly watch her walk away.
Mingyu is the first to speak. “Hyung, I’m so sorr—”
“Jeon Wonwoo!” Jun hisses. “Why’d you let her take your seat just like that!?”
Wonwoo shrugs, walking closer to the table and placing a hand on the back of Seungkwan’s chair and leaning on it. “I’m the host. It’s my fault I forgot to set a plate for Yoojin as well. Besides, she’s right—-there is literally no space to fit another chair,” he nudges his head at the table.
Seokmin, who just finished filling his plate amidst it all, keeps it in his hands and gets up from his chair. “I’ll sit with you, hyung!” he says with a smile as he puts down the ceramic onto the counter. Jeonghan does the same, quietly picking up his plate and bringing it to where Seokmin is. He picks up an extra plate and utensils from the kitchen and hands it to Wonwoo before sitting down at the counter as well.
As Wonwoo fills his own plate with food, Seungkwan, Jun, and Soonyoung are all simultaneously lecturing him in angry whispering voices.
“Wonwoo hyung! Are you really just gonna give up like that!?”
“Wonwoo-yah, why are you letting her boss you around your own house!?”
Wonwoo gives them a face. “Why are you guys so affected by this? The three of you need to calm down,” he shakes his head as he gently places the ladle back into the pot of soup.
He throws a pointed look at the three of them. “Don’t you dare try to sit with us.” The trio deflates in their seats and accepts defeat. The tension dissipates, seeing how indifferent Wonwoo was to the entire situation. They decided that if Wonwoo didn’t care, then so must they.
He turns around to see Mingyu still watching him, his feet planted on the ground with no signs of moving. He sees the furrowed brow on Mingyu’s face. He places his plate down between Seokmin and Jeonghan before walking to the taller.
He places a gentle hand on Mingyu’s arm. “I swear it’s fine, Min. I really couldn’t care less. Go eat, alright?” he squeezes the taller’s bicep reassuringly. Mingyu nods back and seemingly shakes himself back to normal.
“I’m still sorry, hyung. What she did was rude and I should be responsible for it since I’m the one who brought her here,” Mingyu says, his voice growing softer the way it only does when he talks to Wonwoo.
Wonwoo shakes his head. “Aish, no need for all that! Just go eat!” He swings his arms towards the table. He smiles and Mingyu returns it.
They eat dinner like that, loud and familiar, with everyone else trying to include the other three into the conversation as much as possible.
Once dinner was finished, everyone had started cleaning up. Aside from Yoojin who threw herself onto the couch immediately after eating. Seungkwan sent her a glare before Hansol had to gently nudge him to pick up the plates.
Wonwoo sits at the counter, eyes absentmindedly watching MIngyu’s back as he washes the dishes. Seokmin was talking about his favorite musicals, with Wonwoo quietly listening and adding to the conversation occasionally. It’s when Seokmin was already at the height of his dissection about Rent that Seungkwan slams a hand on the kitchen island and he stands in front of Wonwoo.
“Hyung. You need to intervene.” Seungkwan says. Wonwoo’s never seen him so serious before.
Jun steps in from the side and looms over him as well. “Tell her she has to go.”
Wonwoo stares up at the two boys who stare him down menacingly, a futile attempt at making Wonwoo cave in.
He rolls his eyes and shoves both their faces aside, smushing their cheeks. “No thanks. The storm’s still not letting up. I’m not gonna be a douche and send her home in the pouring rain.”
Mingyu perks up at this, turning to face Wonwoo as he dries his hands on the kitchen towel. “Hyung, it’s alright. I can take her home if you guys aren’t comfortable with her being here,” he says, voice softening.
Wonwoo frowns at that. “Min, I’m telling you. It’s really okay. Don’t listen to these guys, they’re just being assholes. I really don’t mind Yoojin being here at all,” Wonwoo says, sending glares to Jun and Seungkwan as he says ‘these guys’.
Seungkwan opens his mouth but Wonwoo gives him a pointed look, effectively shutting the younger boy up.
“Let’s be the bigger people here,” Wonwoo mouths.
Jun and Seungkwan both nod dismissively. They’re not happy with it, but they know Wonwoo would kick their asses out of his apartment if they didn’t listen.
Everyone is now gathered in Wonwoo’s living room. Mattresses are laid out on the ground and the thermostat is set to a comfortable temperature, keeping everyone warm in the middle of the winter season. The group is scattered all over his living room, lazing around as Wonwoo and Hansol fiddle with his TV to set up his PS5.
The very first agenda on their “palentine’s” list was to hold a Mario Kart tournament. Every time they pulled up the game, the play was always intense. They always treated it like it was a real championship. The consequence of losing was that the person with the most losses must be flicked on the forehead by everyone else.
Since there were thirteen of them, that only meant that the loser had to bear the consequences twelve times. Not to mention the fact that everyone in the friend group was extremely competitive.
Wonwoo stares at the PS5, feeling like something is missing. Hansol, who is standing beside him, snaps his fingers and walks back into Wonwoo’s bedroom. He walks back out with an HDMI cord, and the older pats him on the back with an “ah, right”.
Once the two boys have finished setting up the PS5, everyone settles into where they’re either sat or lying down from. Seungkwan and Soonyoung take the lead by becoming the impromptu emcees. They get up from where they’re sitting and force Hansol and Wonwoo to go sit down. Hansol plops himself down beside Joshua, who is currently preoccupied with leaning over Seokmin to watch the latter’s phone.
Wonwoo plops himself down onto the mattress where Seungkwan once sat. He smooths over the sheets next to him where Soonyoung originally laid down, irked by the wrinkles.
Unfortunately, his efforts go to waste as Mingyu himself settles onto the empty space. But because Wonwoo was a good champ, he decided to say nothing about it. He turns around to look at the couch, seeing Yoojin bunched up on one corner lazily scrolling through her phone.
Looking out the window wasn’t necessary when the thunder itself was already loud enough, but Wonwoo finds himself doing it anyway. A flash of lightning strikes and he stares at it for a moment before returning his attention to Soonyoung and Seungkwan’s antics.
“Alright gentlemen, let’s begin this thing!” Soonyoung claps.
“As always, we’ll start with the losers of the previous tournament. Then we’ll work our way to the top. And of course, the last person to win must face off our reigning champion:”
“Lee Chaaaaaan!” Soonyoung drags out the last part loudly as if he was announcing an MMA fighter.
Chan, in all his glory, gets up and flexes his muscles as the rest of the group laugh at him. Wonwoo chuckles and shakes his head while Mingyu leans into his side as he yells out lighthearted jabs at Chan.
The first to face off were Joshua, Jeonghan, Jun, and Jihoon who, contrary to popular belief, were absolutely horrible at Mario Kart. Jeonghan and Joshua especially were always losing yet somehow never lost too much. Wonwoo is amazed at how they manage to avoid the punishment, always cutting it close every single time.
Joshua loses first, leaving him to sulk in Seokmin’s arms before bouncing right back and throwing Jeonghan very colorful insults as he moves onto the next round with Jun and Jihoon. The rest of the boys sit back and watch as the other three fight for first place.
The “tournament” goes on like that, until it reaches Wonwoo’s turn. Wonwoo ranked a lot higher than the rest, having been an avid player of the game. It was his PS5 after all.
Of course, he’s put against Seungcheol who had just as much experience as he did. The other two were Hansol and—surprisingly enough—Mingyu. Don’t get him wrong, Wonwoo never underestimated the boy. He just thought that Mingyu would rank a little lower—in the same league as Seokmin and Minghao who were average at the game.
Nevertheless, his confidence didn’t falter. Wonwoo’s main goal was to beat Seungcheol. Because if he beat Seungcheol then that meant he’d get first place. He didn’t need to worry about the two other boys who had lagged behind. Hansol had been outpaced by Seungcheol who used a mushroom and Mingyu slipped on a banana Wonwoo had dropped behind him.
“Amateurs!” Seungcheol yells with a huge smile on his face. Mingyu nudges his shoulders in an attempt to throw him off, but the eldest simply continues on with fighting for first place against Wonwoo.
In the end, Wonwoo takes the victory. Seungcheol pouts and amplifies his sulkiness to compel Jeonghan to comfort him. He’s celebrating his victory with Jun and Seokmin cheering at him when Yoojin suddenly speaks up.
“Can I play a round? I’m sure I can do better than that!” She pouts her lips excessively in an attempt to look cute, batting her lashes while keeping her gaze locked on Mingyu.
The room goes quiet and the boys all share a look with one another. Wonwoo keeps his eyes on Yoojin but he’s certain that Mingyu is already staring at him.
Sigh. Be the bigger person.
Wonwoo shrugs a shoulder, brushing off the impolite remark, and stretches out his hand that holds the controller towards Yoojin. “Sure, go ahead.”
The girl happily accepts it and practically snatches the controller from Wonwoo’s hands. She squeezes herself into the small space between him and Mingyu, forcing Wonwoo to scoot to the side closer to where Hansol is. He feels the latter place a hand on his back and finds him asking a silent question with his eyes.
Wonwoo blinks for a second as he processes and simply pats Hansol on the shoulder reassuringly.
Wonwoo is fine.
Probably.
All he needs to do is just be. the bigger. person. And that’s what he’ll do. For the rest of the time that Yoojin has to stay here.
Wonwoo feels an eye twitch.
After the tournament, they all decide to wind down and play a few rounds of Charades. (P.S.: A game of Charades never winds them down. It was just an excuse Joshua made up because he really enjoys playing the game.)
They’ve always played Charades ever since the start of their “Palentine’s” sleepover, just with a little twist of their own. Initially, the group splits themselves into two equal teams. Each team chooses two representatives. The two representatives must decide who becomes the “art” and who becomes the “artist”.
Once the word or phrase is given and the host starts the timer, the “art” must stand completely still whilst the “artist” moves their limbs around or in place in order to create the scenario or object that the host gives out. The rest of the members try to figure out the given word or phrase and press their designated button in order to make a valid guess. If the answer is wrong, the other group gets the chance to make their guess as well.
Usually, Seungkwan willingly takes on the host role, making both teams equal to six members each. Right now though, one team consists of six: Jeonghan, Soonyoung, Wonwoo, Jihoon, Seokmin, and Chan. On the other hand, the second group consists of seven: Seungcheol, Joshua, Jun, Mingyu, Minghao, Hansol, and Yoojin.
Team A—Jeonghan’s team—decided on Wonwoo and Soonyoung, while Team B—Seungcheol’s team—had decided on Mingyu and Yoojin.
Well, more like Yoojin had decided on Yoojin and Mingyu.
“Alright pals, we’ve now got our groups and our representatives!” Seungkwan chirps.
The four of them now stand in front with the two groups sitting on the mattresses separately.
“Now, Team A. Please tell us who the art and artist is,” Seungkwan says as he glamorously waves his hand in front of both him and Soonyoung.
“I’m the artist and Wonwoo-yah is the art!” Soonyoung pipes up excitedly, leaning all his weight onto Wonwoo’s shoulders as his eyes form into crescents. The latter shrugs him off softly and adjusts his glasses. Hoots and hollers come from their team.
Seungkwan nods eagerly and moves onto the next duo with a fake mic in hand. “Alright, Team B! Please tell us who—“
“I’m the artist and Mingyu is the art!” Yoojin says a little too loudly, her squeaky voice cutting through the air. She copies Soonyoung’s position, leaning her weight onto Mingyu’s shoulders. Their team lets out the same noises, albeit a little quieter.
If Wonwoo notices, he pretends he doesn’t.
“Right. So. Let’s get started then!” Seungkwan coughs awkwardly then shakes off the tension. “Artists, come see your first item.”
Soonyoung and Yoojin both crowd around Seungkwan as he shows them the card. He gives them a few seconds to look then starts the timer. “Three, two, one! Go!”
The two of them rush over to their respective partners as the room fills with shouting from their teams to “Hurry! Hurry!”.
Wonwoo feels Soonyoung maneuver his limbs around, the dancer instincts seeping through his aura. He watches as the blonde-haired boy puts his limbs into place and attempts to figure out what the item was along with the rest of the team.
Soonyoung faces his head to the right and that forces Wonwoo to lock eyes with Mingyu, whose head was turned to the left. They share a small giggle at seeing how silly both of them looked. Suddenly, Yoojin’s voice cuts through the moment.
“Oh, Min-ah! Your biceps are sooo big! Do you workout?” Yoojin says as she harshly rubs her hands up and down Mingyu’s arm, glaring straight at Wonwoo.
The said boy simply stares at her before awkwardly answering, “Uh. Yeah. I do.”
The noise falters a bit from the interaction before Chan smashes the button and yells out an answer with a raised hand.
“It’s ‘Contemporary Dancing’!”
“Correct! Point for Team A!”
The two were then called to look at the next item and Yoojin lets go of Mingyu’s arm. Wonwoo finally breathes a little.
The rest of the rounds happen like that—Soonyoung, ever the dancer with scary precision, accurately forms Wonwoo into the perfect picture while Yoojin continues getting all touchy-feely with Mingyu as she maneuvers his body around. Wonwoo occasionally glances towards the other pair, making sure Mingyu wasn’t getting uncomfortable with Yoojin’s touches. The taller’s face remained neutral, and Wonwoo took it as a sign that he was still fine.
After what felt like a million rounds of Charades, the group finally settles down. Like, actually settles down.
They finally moved on to the most precious and sentimental part of their sleepovers—they were scrapbooking pages of their recent memories from the past year. It was tradition for the entire group to add to their ever-growing journal the new adventures or activities that they’ve done together from the previous year.
They would each take a blank page from the book and bring out their own materials, leaving everyone in their own scrapbooking world as soft music plays over the speakers. Sometimes, most of them would forget to print the photos—leaving the current host’s printer with a nearly empty ink cartridge and a “sorry! :P” written on a sticky note attached to the machine.
Soon, they’ll collect photos of their time together throughout the entire year and do the same process during their next “palentine’s” sleepover. It was routine. Their constant. A familiar sight to see every year.
What wasn’t familiar, however, was the sight Wonwoo was seeing in front of him at the moment. He had shoved his earphones on—a habit he’s always done whenever Chan got dibs on the speaker.
Don’t get him wrong. Chan’s taste wasn’t horrible, he just enjoyed Ne-Yo a little too much. Wonwoo simply has different preferences in music. (Like not dedicating an entire playlist to one singular artist.)
The moment the younger one got a hold of the aux, Wonwoo played his own music. He was minding his own business, preparing to start his scrapbooking, when he realized one of his photos was missing. He looked around only to find it completely gone. He shrugged it off and went into his room to print a new one, only to come back to Yoojin attempting to snuggle against Mingyu right across from him.
So here he was, sitting in front of the pair, actively trying not to mind the situation before him.
Mingyu sat down in front of Wonwoo and Yoojin had followed suit. As the taller began to work on his page, the girl had scooted close to him, leaving space that was barely even there. Wonwoo, again, waited for any sign of unease on Mingyu’s face, but the latter stayed neutral, so he let it go and focused back on his own work.
Wonwoo manages to immerse himself into the page for about thirty minutes before his spine and neck start to ache. He looks up for a moment and straightens his back as he stretches his arms with a yawn. His eyes naturally scan around the room to make sure everyone is still alright.
His gaze lands on the duo in front of him, and his heart almost lurches at the sight.
Yoojin is all up in Mingyu’s space, practically leaning on his lap, as she asks a question about the photo the latter was holding. Mingyu, seemingly unfazed, answers with ease and even indulges in Yoojin’s poorly veiled attempt at flirting.
Either he knew what she was doing and enjoyed it, or the poor guy was just too dense to see it. Wonwoo wishes it was the latter.
He isn’t able to stare and let his heart ache for much longer because Seokmin is lunging at his side to tackle him with tickles out of nowhere. He laughs out of reflex and attempts to wriggle out of the boy’s grip. He, of course, fails, as the other was already on top of him and leaning all his weight onto Wonwoo.
“Wait—Seokminnie—I can’t breathe!” Wonwoo says in between gasps of laughter.
“You’re too stressed hyung! You need to relax a little!” the boy on top of him replies, his smile widening even more.
Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Minghao giggling along and recording the entire thing, as the rest of them watch in amusement at Wonwoo’s suffering.
He attempts to shield himself from the attacks, but Seokmin only grabs his wrists and continues tickling him. The older laughs so hard tears start to form in his eyes. Seokmin slowly starts to calm down and frees the boy’s hands from his grip.
“What the hell was that for?” Wonwoo says, panting. He stares up at Seokmin with a smile, his fake angry tone faltering.
“You looked too serious, Wonwoo-yah. You needed an intervention!” Soonyoung pipes up with a bright smile.
Wonwoo raises a brow. “With tickles? What are you, an eight year old?” he rolls his eyes.
“Laughter is the best solution, hyung,” Seokmin, who was still on top of him, pats his cheek and finally moves back to where he sat.
“It’s medicine. The word is medicine, Seokmin-ah,” Wonwoo deadpans. The said boy rolls his eyes and waves a hand at him. “To-may-to, to-mah-to, hyung.”
He gets up from where he fell on his back and fixes his shirt. He vaguely sees Seokmin lean towards him until he feels his breath on his ear. “You were getting too obvious. Don’t think Soonyoung hyung and I didn’t see that.”
Wonwoo flushes red and covers his ear as he shoves a cackling Seokmin away. He looks around, eyes meeting Mingyu’s—whose stare is an unreadable expression. The latter quickly avoids his eyes and looks back at Yoojin, who was still busy talking.
His eyes then find Joshua’s, who was already giving him an icy stare before snapping his head away with a small ‘hmph!’ sound.
What is wrong with these two, honestly?
As he takes one last scan at the room, everyone occupying themselves again, he sees one of his earphones laying on the carpet. Then, he realizes something. It’s quiet outside.
He looks out the balcony doors and sees that the rain has finally subsided.
“Oh, it stopped pouring,” Wonwoo absentmindedly says. Everyone of course follows his gaze and stares out the glass doors as well.
He doesn’t mean to, but his eyes find Yoojin’s amidst it all.
Alright, there were only two ways for him to go about this.
One, he’ll kick Yoojin out of his apartment once and for all,
or two, he’ll kindly ask her to leave even though she’s practically overstayed her welcome long past curfew and has been an overall rude guest because Wonwoo has the patience of a saint.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t get to decide because Seungkwan is already speaking up and pulling Yoojin to stand up with him.
“Right, well, time for you to go Yoojin-ssi! It’s been less than a delight and your presence has not made a difference whatsoever, so please get on your way and make it back home safe so we’ll never have to see your face again,” Seungkwan’s words come out in a rush, a sweet tone tinging his voice to cover up his very obviously jabbing words as he shoves on Yoojin’s coat and makes her put on her shoes before slamming the door in her face. “Okay, bye!”
He lets out a huff from losing air by saying it all in one breath as he slumps onto the front door. Everyone stares at him incredulously for a moment before they collectively let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank god, hyung. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could deal with the tension,” Chan says with a breath.
“I was this close to kicking her out myself,” Jeonghan makes a gesture of pinching his pointer and thumb together to make a statement.
“She was such a bitch, wasn’t she?” Jun speaks up, leaning into Minghao’s side as he scoffs and crosses his arms. The latter slightly nudges his arm and stares at Mingyu. The room goes silent as everyone follows Minghao’s gaze.
Wonwoo, aware of the tension, coughs before speaking up. “Min, why don’t you go with Yoojin-ssi? It’s too late for her to be walking to the station by herself. She’s probably waiting for the elevator. You can still catch up.”
For the nth time that night, he feels eleven pairs of eyes look at him appalled.
He ignores them and keeps his eyes on Mingyu, who in return sends him a blank look. Wonwoo nods his head carefully, assuring the boy that it was alright.
He watches as Mingyu nods back and gets up, brushing off his pants. He faintly hears the quiet click of the lock as Seungkwan shuts the door behind Mingyu.
The once silent room suddenly erupts into protests at Wonwoo.
Seungkwan’s voice is the loudest, harshly pointing a finger at Wonwoo. “Hyung, you knew she was being rude as hell and you still have the heart to make Mingyu hyung escort her home!?” his voice pitches higher with every word.
The voices overlap, with Jun and Soonyoung being the loudest among them all.
Seungcheol meets Wonwoo’s eyes and raises a hand, making everyone else fall silent. He gets up from where he sat, walking towards the front door and shoving a coat and his shoes on.
“It’s fine, guys. What’s happened has happened. Besides, do you really believe I’d let them go alone together?” He's halfway out of the apartment when he looks back at everyone. “I may be nice but I’m not spineless.”
Wonwoo sends a wink at nobody in particular, his smirk growing into a smile as he shuts the door to the loud cheers of his friends hooting and whistling. Once he’s fully outside, he giggles and shakes his head at his friend’s antics before jogging to catch up to Mingyu and Yoojin.
Luckily, he catches them entering the elevator, before yelling out. “Wait! Hold the door!”
He watches as Mingyu’s eyes light up, and he quickens his pace to keep them from waiting longer. Once he gets in the elevator, he turns to both of them with a kind smile. “I figured I should come as well. Besides, I’m the host after all.”
He winks at Yoojin who sends him a harsh glare. Mingyu, unbeknownst to the tension, wraps an arm around Wonwoo’s shoulder as he presses the ground floor button and lets the elevator doors close.
As the three of them walk to the station, Mingyu has seemingly gone back to normal as he chatters away into the dead of the night about nothing and everything in particular. He’s got an arm hooked around Wonwoo’s as they walk side by side with Yoojin a few steps ahead of them.
She tries to hook her own arm around Mingyu’s a few times, but Wonwoo drags him away under the guise of finding "something interesting" along the road. He would point at a random portion of the city and go, “Min, look! Isn’t it so nice?” so Mingyu would squint and pretend to agree while Wonwoo sends a triumphant smirk towards Yoojin without the taller boy’s knowledge.
The girl only huffs and walks a little further to create distance, assuming Mingyu would speed up after her to remedy her sulkiness. Unfortunately for her, said boy continues to stick to Wonwoo’s side as he waxes on and on about his Physics class.
The gesture wasn’t big. It wasn’t even intentional. But something about the idea of Mingyu subconsciously choosing him over Yoojin made pride swell in his gut.
A small smile remains on Wonwoo’s face as they walk all the way to the station.
They wave goodbye to Yoojin behind the glass window of the train, Mingyu sending a polite smile while Wonwoo clings onto his arm even tighter just to mess with her. He sends a sly smirk as Yoojin makes a gesture of ‘I’m watching you.’ when Mingyu looks away.
The carriage finally speeds off, leaving Mingyu and Wonwoo alone in the quiet of the underground station, the sounds of the tracks echoing filling the space.
The walk back to the apartment is quiet, save for the sound of shoes landing on concrete. They walk in sync, pacing slowly like they’re taking their time to absorb the midnight ambiance.
Wonwoo keeps his hands in his pocket, the chill of the evening gently blowing at his face. Remnants of the thunderstorm linger, the cold air biting at his skin as proof of it. He mentally reprimands himself for not snagging a scarf on the way out.
“You cold, hyung?” Mingyu breaks the comfortable silence, turning to look Wonwoo in the eye. He nods quietly, feeling his hands shake in his coat despite his vain attempt to warm them up. He feels Mingyu’s hand gently wrap around his bicep as he leads him to a nearby convenience store.
The warmth radiating from the heater immediately envelops them the moment they step inside the store. Wonwoo exhales a little at the comforting temperature.
“Want anything?” Mingyu says as his hand lands on the small of the older’s back. Wonwoo pretends not to notice it. He nods a little.
“Just something to warm us up,” he says with a little smile.
Mingyu nods back, heading to the hot chocolate dispenser to get two cups. Wonwoo watches as he grabs two paper cups, carefully filling each one to the brim, then taking them to the counter to pay. He almost pipes up, but Mingyu pays for both before Wonwoo could even get a word out.
The taller one finishes paying and leads Wonwoo out the store, warm drinks in hand. Mingyu halts outside the automatic doors, prompting Wonwoo to do the same. He’s about to ask why until Mingyu gently shoves the two paper cups into his hand.
Wonwoo carefully takes them—albeit confused—to make sure neither would spill over. He watches as Mingyu takes off the scarf around his neck, eyes widening when he feels the fabric being wrapped around him instead.
“I’m sorry for today, hyung. I definitely should have just brought Yoojin to the station. I shouldn’t have offered to bring her with me to your apartment,” he says, his head dipped a little and his eyes darting back and forth Wonwoo’s as he grips onto the edges of the scarf.
Wonwoo couldn’t help but send him a gentle smile. “It’s okay, Min. I didn’t mind at all.”
Mingyu hastily shakes his head. “No, hyung. I should have just accompanied her home the moment I saw her. Instead, I ruined our sleepover just because I decided to suggest she stay with us until the rain died down. I’m really sorry, hyung. I understand if you’re mad at me. I had no idea she would act that way and—”
Before Mingyu could continue, a pair of soft lips gently landed on his own. His eyes widen, unable to register what’s currently happening. Wonwoo pulls away too fast, leaving Mingyu barely any time to reciprocate. The older boy stares up at him, letting out a little giggle at his dumbstruck expression.
“I— why’d you— hyung!” Mingyu says exasperatedly, hiding his face in his hands. Wonwoo finally lets out a cackle, setting down the two cups of hot chocolate onto a bench nearby.
He grabs Mingyu’s wrists, softly prying them away from his face. Wonwoo can see the red tinge of his ears and the faint blush on his cheek. Mingyu stares at him with wide eyes.
“I needed to shut you up and my hands were full,” Wonwoo shrugs, looking off to the side with a smirk. Then, his smile turns serious. “I promise, none of it mattered to me. I’m just glad she’s gone now.”
Mingyu giggles a little and finally releases his wrists from Wonwoo’s grip. He then places a tentative hand on Wonwoo’s waist, testing the waters.
“Hyung, I like you.”
Wonwoo snaps his eyes to the boy in front of him and raises a brow. “Out of nowhere?”
“You kissed me first,” Mingyu grins.
“I told you, my hands were full,” Wonwoo shrugs.
With a surge of confidence, Mingyu tightens his grip on Wonwoo’s waist and pulls him closer. Their faces are now mere inches apart, breaths mingling together.
“Say it, hyung.”
Wonwoo rolls his eyes behind his glasses and smiles at Mingyu.
“I love you, Kim Mingyu.”
The younger drops his jaw open, eyes wide and face flushed. Wonwoo takes the chance to leave another peck on Mingyu’s lips. The latter stays frozen as Wonwoo grabs the two cups of hot chocolate, sipping into one, before walking away.
Truth be told, there was always something lingering between the two of them. They never acknowledged it, but they knew it was always there. Silently stewing beneath both of them, yet they paid it no mind.
Somehow, Yoojin overstaying her welcome is what finally manages to push them both onto the edge and close the gap between them. After years and years of pining over each other, one girl was all it took for them to find the courage to cross the boundary.
Wonwoo continues drinking his hot chocolate, smiling into the cup as he thinks about the absurdity of it.
“Min, if you don’t start walking, I’m going to finish your drink as well!” he yells over his shoulder, voice echoing off the pavement.
That urges Mingyu to snap out of his reverie. He shakes his head comically and jogs over to the older, falling into step with him once more. He picks up the fuller cup from Wonwoo’s hands before intertwining their fingers together. He places a kiss to the back of the older’s hand before letting it dangle between them.
They walk hand in hand all the way back to the apartment, softly talking about whatever came to mind. The conversation was easy. Everything was always easy when it came to the both of them. They were best friends first and now, lovers second. They knew nothing would ever change that.
As they enter the apartment, the noise surrounds them once more. They shove off their shoes and coat—and scarf for Wonwoo—before heading back to the living room. All eyes land on them and the chatter subsides a little.
The two of them stare back at everyone else with a confused look. Seungkwan merely jabs a finger at them with narrowed eyes.
“Something happened between you two,” he says accusingly.
Mingyu sticks his tongue out like a child. “Way to go, Sherlock Holmes,” he says, rolling his eyes as he rests a hand on his hip.
Minghao leans back onto the couch with a sly smirk. “Well what do you know? I didn’t think you would have it in you to grow a pair, Mingyu-ya!”
“Don’t talk to my boyfriend like that,” Wonwoo says lamely, rolling his eyes before pressing a kiss to Mingyu’s cheek. The latter freezes the same way he did earlier, face flushing and his body staying completely still. Wonwoo pats his face and heads to his bedroom. He hears the rest of his friends cackle at Mingyu’s expense before he himself giggles.
When he opens the door, he finds Joshua and Seokmin making out on his bed—the former perched on top of the younger boy’s lap. He fakes a grimace and—with a monotone voice—says, “Gross, you better change those sheets,” as he passes by both of them.
He sees Seokmin grab one of his pillows from the bed and sends it his way, effectively dodging the projectile while Joshua flips him off as he cackles his way into the bathroom.
When he gets out, the bed is empty. He walks back into the living room to find everyone settled into their designated areas, a movie playing on his TV screen. He scans around the room, revelling in the moment for a second as he feels oddly sentimental.
Chan and Seungkwan were seemingly arguing about something unrelated to the movie, with Hansol chiming in every so often as one hand rests on Seungkwan’s waist while the other snatches popcorn from Seungcheol’s bowl. The older, unaware of the thief, pops a few pieces into Jeonghan’s mouth, the latter resting his head on Seungcheol’s shoulder.
His eyes then find Jihoon and Soonyoung who were actively discussing the movie as it plays. He watches them for a bit before Jihoon places a kiss on Soonyoung’s cheek, and Wonwoo opts to look away.
His gaze lands on Jun and Minghao, who are both snuggled in the corner of the couch. The former is half-asleep on the red-haired boy’s shoulder, eyes drooping and head bobbing up and down like he’s fighting the drowsiness. He watches as the younger boy gently coaxes his boyfriend to finally go to sleep.
Lastly, he looks at Seokmin and Joshua who—thankfully—aren’t making out in the middle of the living room floor. This time, they’re both simply cuddling on the mattress, eyes focused on the TV screen while their hands are intertwined beneath the covers.
And of course, his final gaze lands on the person beside him.
Mingyu.
The taller boy meets his eyes, his lips stretched into a wide smile filled. Wonwoo huffs out a breath of contentment as he stares at the boy next to him.
“What are you being all smiley about, hyung?” Mingyu asks so softly. So soft that it makes Wonwoo tip over the edge.
So he responds. “Nothing, I just love you. What are you being all smiley about?”
It makes Mingyu freeze for a split second. He immediately catches himself and throws it back to Wonwoo.
“Nothing. I just love you too.”
And right then and there, Wonwoo realized that he wouldn’t trade any of this for the world. He’s decidedly right where he wants to be—wrapped in the arms of the boy he loves, the soft glow of the movie flickering around them, and the quiet laughter of their friends carrying warmth into the room.
He smiles lovingly at Mingyu, sharing a kiss with him before resting his cheek on the taller’s shoulder, nuzzling the crown of his head into the boy’s neck. He feels the weight of tonight’s events rest heavy on his eyelids, but he doesn’t fight it anymore. He lets his eyes slip shut as he focuses on the rise and fall of Mingyu’s chest as he slowly dozes off.
Perhaps this kind of forever wouldn’t be too bad, Wonwoo concludes.