Chapter Text
The students of Myeongseong Boys’ Senior High - one of the most prestigious performing arts schools in the Seoul area - are settling in for their first class. With laughter and life seeping through every corridor, it’s hard to believe that any student would be faced with trials and tribulations on this wonderful Tuesday morning. But Song Mingi makes an exception.
Mingi would say there aren’t many things worse than an English Lit. pop quiz. While Mingi was not pulling ranks in any class, he is still a strong average student. But English Literature is his arch nemesis, and after today, Mingi is convinced that he is being punished by the English Lit. overlords for calling it a “colonisers’ propaganda created to continue our sufferings”.
It all began when Mingi realised that he did not have an eraser - an indispensable weapon when you are going to spend a good while second-guessing your every answer.
“Jonggie. Jonggieeeee.” Mingi whispered (loudly) to get his best friend and his bane of existence’s attention.
“Jongho, you ass, I need an eraser” Mingi swatted with his left arm to get Jongho’s attention.
“I only have one eraser, piss off” Jongho doesn’t spare him a glance.
Mingi continued to swat at him as Mr Yang, their homeroom and English teacher, distributes the quiz to the students sitting on the first benches.
“Bro, I cannot write this quiz without an eraser! Just … cut your eraser in half.”
“I am not doing that, you fiend!” Jongho turns to glare at Mingi.
“Okay, class. All your books into your bag, and make sure you don’t have anything under your desk!” Mr Yang announces.
“Please, you are my only hope!” Mingi begs.
“Life is unfair.” Jongho shrugs as Mingi drops down on his desk in defeat.
“Um, Mingi?” a soft voice calls.
Mingi jolts up to pay all his attention to the angel incarnate sitting to his right. Kang Yeosang. Mingi’s first and last love, his forever and always, the sun of his universe, his everything … you get the point.
“Y-yes?” Mingi crocks out.
“I have an extra eraser, if you want to use it.” He extends his beautiful palm with an eraser sitting on it. It’s confirmed, Kang Yeosang is an angel.
“Thank you,” Mingi takes the eraser with a reverence that would put worshipers to shame, “You saved my life.”
Yeosang chuckles, and Mingi is convinced that’s what heaven sounds like.
Riding the high from talking with the love of his life, Mingi somehow manages to look away to find Jeong Yunho looking at him with his Big Bored Eyes™. Without saying a word, Yunho - leader of the dance team and School Heartthrob - who sits in front of him hands him the quiz papers to be passed behind. Yunho has been in Mingi’s grade since middle school. But if Mingi is being honest, despite years of being kinda acquainted with Yunho, Mingi still finds him a little intimidating. Just a little.
The test progresses as Mingi expected, that is, it does not progress at all. After answering whatever he could, Mingi sits staring at the sheet and fidgeting with the life-saving eraser when he notices an ink blotch on it. The eraser definitely has seen better days, but Mingi manages to pull back the flimsy cardboard covering the eraser only to realise the ink blotch actually extends to a name, perhaps? Mingi squints his eyes to decipher the name, which clearly ends with a cutesy heart at the end of it.
“-nho heart?” Mingi mumbles to himself, and then it clicks.
Yunho. That is Yunho ♡ . Yeosang’s eraser… His Yeosang's eraser with a Yunho ♡
His heart speeds up as time slows down. Mingi feels like he is drowning in ice-cold water, but his eyes burn.
Kang Yeosang likes Jeong Yunho.
Mingi tries to shove back the eraser in its tattered cardboard cover, hoping that if he cannot see the name scribbled on the eraser, it is not real. He fumbles.
Oh shit
Mingi watches in horror as the eraser slips out of his shaking hands, knocks off the edge of his desk, does an incredible flip in the air and lands spectacularly next to Yunho’s feet. 10/10 performance. And what’s more? This stunning act of gymnastics performed by the eraser was noted by the one Jeong Yunho, and being a decent person that he is, Yunho picks up the eraser and turns slightly to return it to Mingi. Until he doesn’t.
Yunho’s eye catches the doomed ink scribbles on the eraser. He looks up at Mingi with such speed that Mingi almost winces in solidarity with Yunho’s neck. Yunho’s dumbfounded look would have been hilarious if it wasn’t for -
“Is that my name on your eraser?”
“That’s not my eraser!” Mingi blurts out.
Yunho frowns, “Whose eraser is this?”
Oh shit
Mingi absolutely cannot push his sunshine, his Yeosang, under the proverbial bus! As much as it pains him, he cannot out his crush’s crush to his crush’s crush! Not only would that potentially break Yeosang’s trust in him, ruining any chance that he has with Yeosang. But if Yunho finds out about Yeosang’s crush, this could also spark a connection between Yunho and Yeosang and … and … that would also ruin any chance that Mingi has.
“Huh, no. No, this is … my eraser?” Mingi mumbles.
Yunho quirks his eyebrow but doesn’t get a chance to clarify as -
“Yunho, Mingi, is there a problem?” Mr Yang jolts them out of their conversation.
“No, Mr Yang”, Yunho replies with a surprisingly steady voice as he turns around, leaving the eraser on Mingi’s desk.
By the time Mingi hands over his test, he has a game plan. He will talk to Yunho and clarify that this was all a misunderstanding, and Mingi has exactly zero interest in Jeong Yunho. Absolutely none. So after the test papers are collected, he taps on Yunho’s shoulder while looking around like he is in a spy movie before leaning in to divulge his secrets to Yunho.
“Meet me after school. On the rooftop.”
Yunho looks at him hesitantly, “Why?”
Mingi sighs, “I want to talk to you about the eraser”
“Can’t you just talk to me right now?” Yunho asks, clearly unwilling to cooperate.
“Of course not!” A few students turn to look at Mingi. He gives them a sheepish smile before whispering, “Of course, we can’t talk right now. It would be bad if others overheard us!”
Yunho continues to give him a wary look till Mingi frowns at him and juts out his chin as if to ask, “What now?” Yunho sighs and gives a defeated nod before facing Mr Yang, who is oblivious to the drama unfolding in his classroom.
***
The rest of the day felt normal. Almost too normal to the point that Mingi could almost pretend that the first lecture never happened. But this illusion is broken when he opens his pencil pouch near the end of the day and comes face to face with the doomed eraser. Mingi wants to avoid even looking at the eraser, but he manages to gather enough nerve to return it to Yeosang at the end of the school day. The classroom is almost empty by the time Mingi takes a deep breath, shakes away the nerves, and goes up to Yeosang.
“Hi, Yeosang?”
Yeosang looks up from his bag, where he was digging for something.
“Your huh … eraser”, Mingi hands it over, trying to muster a smile, “Thank you for lending it to me. I really needed it.”
“Oh? Oh! No worries!” It seems Yeosang had forgotten about it altogether.
Mingi smiles and steps back, ready to leave, when Yeosang looks down at the eraser and hesitates. Mingi looks at it too and sees the almost hidden ink blotch that was glaringly obvious now that he knows about it. Yeosang looks up and as their eyes meet, an understanding passes between them that they both know what that battered cardboard cover is hiding.
“You saw it, didn’t you?” Yeosang asks.
“I - well, yeah.” Mingi looks down to avoid his eyes.
It’s a good few seconds before Yeosang sighs and continues to rummage through his bag.
“Could you,” Yeosang pauses what he is doing but does not look up, “perhaps, not tell anyone about it?”
“Oh?”
Yeosang looks at him sheepishly.
“Um, sure. Of course, yeah, I will not tell anyone.” Mingi shoves his hands into his pockets, “I haven't told anyone either, in case you were wondering, so don't worry!” Mingi pulls out his hand in defence, hoping that his desperation to be in Yeosang’s good books was not evident.
This seems to assuage Yeosang as he gives nods with a polite smile.
However, this does little to curb Mingi’s brewing curiosity. After a few moments of awkwardness where Mingi just stood there while Yeosang managed to find what he was looking for (his earphones), Mingi breaks the silence.
“But … aren’t you considering confessing to him?” and he quickly backtracks, “That is, if you are okay talking about it with me! I don't need to know. I was just … wondering.”
Yeosang looks at him in mild panic, “I- of course I cannot confess to him!”
“Why not?”
“He is too, well…” Mingi witnesses Yeosang turn red in real time, “It is my first love, so I want to cherish this emotion.”
First Love? First L.O.V.E.?? Yeosang’s first -
“I don't want him to know. I don’t need him to know, and besides,” Yeosang pulls his bag on his shoulder, “he probably likes someone else.”
“What a moron.” Mingi mumbles.
Yeosang looks at him in surprise.
“Not you! He! He is a moron if he doesn’t recognise your affections!!” Mingi fumbles, “I mean … you are amazing! Like really pretty - I mean pretty … good! As a person and-” Mingi shuts his eyes at his own ramblings, takes a deep breath and opens his eyes, “What I mean is that, anybody would be lucky to be your first love.”
Yeosang smiles as his face grows redder.
“You are very kind, Mingi. But I am just happy seeing him every day. There is romance in quietly adoring him from afar.”
Great. Mingi always knew that Yeosang was an absolute angel, and if he were not a strong guy with absolute control over his emotions, he would sob.
“Yeah, I get it.” Mingi clears his throat and looks away, blinking rapidly, “I know exactly how you feel. While you want nothing more than to be with … with this person, you would still put their happiness before yourself. Even if it keeps you away from your happiness.”
Mingi is lost in his thoughts before realising that Yeosang hasn’t replied. He jerks back his attention to find Yeosang looking at him wide-eyed.
“You also have someone you like?”
Oh, wouldn't you like to know!
“Uhm.. well, yeah. Yes, Kinda” Mingi scratches the back of his head.
Yeosang lights up, which paints a mental picture of an excited Maltese.
“That’s great! Is it someone I know?” Yeosang gasps, “Is it someone from our class?!”
“Yes?” Mingi is sweating buckets.
“Who is it?!”
“Erh… that’s-”
“No No! It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me!” Yeosang holds up his hand in front of Mingi’s face, “You don’t have to tell me, I got a little carried away”, he smiles.
Mingi forces a smile.
“This could be our little secret,” Yeosang pulls up his little finger for a pinky promise, “I am here to support you.”
A genuine smile makes its way to Mingi’s lips this time. He locks his little finger with Yeosang’s in a promise.
“I will support you as well”
He will do anything for Yeosang’s happiness.
Even if it means crying in the washroom for a good ten minutes. Which is exactly what he is doing when he receives a message from an unknown number.
_Unknown Contact
Hi, I am on the main terrace.
_Unknown Contact
This is Yunho btw
Mingi lets out another sob before blowing his nose and collecting his wits to go face his challenge.
Curse you, Jeong fucking Yunho!
---
“You are lying”
“Wha- I am not!” Mingi sputters. They are on the school terrace, which is not a popular hangout spot for the students, as there is no roof scaffolding and so many exposed pipes and plumbing everywhere. In lieu of keeping his promise to Yeosang, Mingi monologued to Yunho that yes, that eraser was Mingi's. No, he has no interest in pursuing him, as it was just a prank. And of course, Mingi begged him not to tell anyone about it.
“You were obviously crying before you came here.”
“I - well! I wasn’t! It wasn’t like that -” Mingi sputters some more.
“Mingi,” Yunho meets his eyes with the most earnest look, “I understand that you didn’t want to tell me about this, and it was an accident. But you don’t have to lie to me. I am sorry I do not reciprocate your feelings, but I do respect your feelings nonetheless.”
Mingi stares at him aghast. The only feeling Mingi is feeling for him right now is annoyance. Mingi swears he can see a halo glowing behind Yunho’s head, and if he squints enough, he is certain he will see angel wings and hear harps. Would it kill Yunho if he tried to be anything but kind and polite and understanding? Where are his raging hormones responsible for making him impulsive and immature and not understanding?
Yunho continues his preaching, “I - well, I will of course not tell anyone about this. I have no reason to share this with someone, and well… hurt you even more.” He runs his hand through his hair, “But I don’t know what I should do! I am quite lost here, if I am being honest. I would actually appreciate it if you like… tell me what would help you? So I- you know, just so I don’t accidentally hurt your feelings?”
Hurt my feelings?
“This has never happened to me before, so … should - should I stay away or behave like this never happened or something … I don’t know!” Yunho continues his ramblings, “But I am willing to help you, that is, if you need my help! You don’t have to lie, though. It’s okay, I will not tattle on you or anything if that is what you are worried about.” Yunho gives a small encouraging smile, “It’s okay to be gay! Love is love after all.”
“I am not gay”, Mingi says flat out, “I am bi.”
Yunho turns cherry red as his eyes widen. “Oh, sorry! I should not have assumed! I - shit - I am so sorry!”
Despite himself, Mingi chuckles at his reaction. Mingi did not foresee discussing his bisexuality with Yunho on a pleasant Tuesday afternoon. He did not go in thinking Yunho would be queerphobic, but it was still good to have a sincere, if slightly too enthusiastic, confirmation that Yunho, yet again, is considerate and not at all an asshole.
Gosh, this asshole.
Mingi rubs his face with both hands in exhaustion and looks up at the sky with a deep sigh.
“Do you have to be so nice? No wonder you are easy to fall in love with.” Mingi mumbles under his breath to himself, but is undoubtedly overheard by Yunho.
“I am so sorry!” Yunho suddenly bends down to a 90-degree bow, startling Mingi.
Yunho sheepishly looks up while still bowing, “I know we aren’t friends exactly, but I am here to help you get over this … I guess?” he winces.
Mingi sighs and moves to lift Yunho out of his deep bow, “Forget about it.”
“What?”
“I don’t want you to remember about the damn eraser and forget about everything that happened today.”
“B-But -”
“No.” Mingi says firmly, hands still clutching Yunho’s shoulders from when he hoisted him up. He notes that Yunho is slightly taller than him. This fucker honestly is beating Mingi at everything.
Mingi sighs in defeat.
“No. Just … let it go. I don’t want you to remind me of this, and honestly, ignoring this entire ‘situation’,” Mingi let’s go of Yunho’s shoulders in favour of making air quotes, “will actually help me get over it.”
“You sure?”
“Yup”, Mingi pops ‘P’ as he steps backwards, shoving his hands in his pockets. With a morose smile, he adds, “See you around, Yunho,” before making his exit.
He is barely out of the door when he feels the familiar prickling of tears. Somewhere deep down, he hoped that if it came down to it, he would be able to convince Yeosang to let go of Yunho. But this conversation made him realise two things,
- Yunho is a frustratingly good guy
- He can’t win against Yunho. Not a chance.
This was officially one of the worst days of his life.
---
Most things appeared to be normal the next day, but it’s not the same. Yeosang gives him a private smile when Mingi takes his seat. Witnessing Yeosang’s beautiful smile on any other day would have Mingi floating in the clouds, but not today. Not when he is smiling at him while leaning against his desk and talking to Yunho in a hushed voice.
“Ohhh, sharing secrets this early in the morning, are you?” Jongho chimes in as he drapes himself over Mingi.
“N-not at all!” Yeosang squeaks and Jongho’s eyes shine brighter with mischief.
Jongho gasps dramatically, “Don’t tell me you guys have something-something going on!”
“Jonggie.” Mingi warns him as Yeosang turns red and Yunho looks amused.
“We are discussing the setlist for the summer festival dance competition.” Yunho raises his eyebrow in challenge. “Wanna join our team?”
“Nah, thank you.” Jongho drawls as he makes his way to the desk, “You might want to ask Mingi though, he competed in middle school.” he wiggles his eyebrows at Yunho whose ears are turning the same shade of red as Yeosang’s.
Mingi tries to ignore them as he defiantly moves to his seat but it is difficult considering they all sit next to each other. At that moment, Mr Yang enters the class and disperses the students and the lingering tension.
Half way through the class Mingi is lost in his own world, looking out of the window. When he finally decides to grace the class with his attention he is startled half out of his seat when he finds Yunho’s Big Eyes™ looking straight at him.
“What?” Mingi furiously whispers.
“Are you doing okay?”
“Yes?”
“Okay, okay that’s good” Yunho gives him a tight smile and looks away.
Mingi is so perplexed he continues to stare at the back of Yunho’s head for the rest of the class.
But it doesn’t end there. Mingi catches Yunho staring at him with a frown on his face during the science lab, during the break, and then from across the gym. Mingi has just about made up his mind to walk through the volleyball court and roughhouse Yunho when Yeosang joins him on the bleachers and the rest of the world fades away.
“Hi, taking a break?” Yeosang asks in his polite, deep timber voice.
“Yeah, the match was quite intense.” Mingi replies, his eyes plastered on Yeosang who is taking a sip from his bottle.
Yeosang hums and they sit in comfortable silence before Mingi is reminded of this morning.
“Sorry about Jongho, by the way.” Yeosang snaps back his attention to Mingi in surprise, “He can be a little … dense sometimes, but he means no harm.”
Yeosang smiles and looks back at the new volleyball game that has picked up, “No harm done.”
Mingi follows his gaze and notices Yunho playing on the team facing them. He feels a stab of hurt but shakes it away, reminding himself of the promise he made yesterday.
Yeosang sighs loudly, not looking away from the game, “Why is it so difficult to talk to him?”
Mingi looks at Yeosang and takes a moment to answer, “Probably cause we want to look all cool in front of our crush?”
Yeosang hums, “Probably.”
A moment passes before Yeosang continues, “But you are already super cool and talented as well, Mingi. Is it hard for you to talk to your crush as well?”
Ohmygodasdfghk “Super cool”. Yeosang thinks he is ‘talented’
Mingi looks away as he struggles to hide his dopey smile.
He clears his throat, “Well, of course! My crush is also very pretty and so talented.”
They continue to sit in silence and eventually, Mingi focuses on the game. Of course, Yunho’s team is winning. Yunho successfully scores the winning set point and looks straight to the bleacher, much to Mingi’s annoyance. Their momentary eye contact is broken when San and Jongho haul themselves into Yunho with a celebratory hug.
“You know I am so curious to know who your crush is, but,” Yeosang grunts as he gets up, “Don’t feel pressured to tell me who it is”
He starts walking out of the bleachers but stops and turns, “Thank you for keeping my secret, Mingi.” He smiles, “It was really comforting to talk to you about my feelings.”
Mingi smiles, not trusting his voice as emotions bubble up.
Unaware of the struggle he is putting Mingi through, Yeosang smiles and hits the final blow, “How I wish it was as easy to talk to him as it is to talk to you. You are really a great friend.”
Ouch.
---
Mingi occasionally spends his lunch hour fooling around on the football field with Jongho and the others, but he is more likely to spend it in Hongjoong’s studio, picking up new skills from Hongjoong and being a third wheel when Seonghwa joins them. But on days when he needs his peace (or he is in the middle of an exciting anime), he will make his way to the school terrace. Despite it being lacklustre and not the best place for lunch, he has found himself a nice low seat to sit back and enjoy some anime.
Earphones in, Mingi watches the protagonist read a letter on the school terrace and Mingi vaguely thinks of the parallels between him and the character. Both on the school rooftop with broken hearts. As the background score of piano and violin surge, so do the tears in Mingi’s eyes at the heartbreaking scene. By the time the scene ends with a confession and heartbreak wrapped together, Mingi is biting his lower lip to stop himself from weeping. He can’t even look at the subtitles any more with the tears streaming down his face. Lunch forgotten, Mingi puts his phone to the side and his head against his knees as he gives in to the tears. Life is really unfair.
“Mingi!”
Mingi yelps as two hands grab his arms.
“Mingi! Are you okay?” muffled voice filters through the music from the credits roll of the anime that is still playing.
Mingi blinks up at the worried expression on Yunho’s face, who is kneeling in front of him.
“Wha- What are you doing here?” Mingi fumbles to pause the anime and remove his earbuds.
“I … Well, I was worried you would be here alone and crying again and… you are crying, again.” Yunho gives a pained look, finally letting go of Mingi’s arms.
“Are you stalking me?” Mingi looks away to discreetly wipe away his tears as if Yunho’s Big Brown Eyes™ were not literally plastered on his face. “How did you know I was here anyway?”
“Jongho” Yunho says in an explanation.
Mingi grunts and rolls his eyes, “What do you want?”
“Mingi … you don’t have to- like,” Yunho looks away and sighs. Mingi is distracted by the worryingly red shade of Yunho’s ear that is facing him.
“Please don’t cry. I am sorry I hurt your feelings, but please don’t cry!”
Mingi scoffs at the audacity, “I was not crying because of you, you … you twat!”
Yunho blinks, “You were not?”
“No!” Mingi exclaims, and brandishes his phone at Yunho’s face, “I was literally just watching the saddest anime ever.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh!”
“But then,” Yunho moves to sit on the low bench with Mingi, back against the wall, “But then why are you isolating yourself on the rooftop?”
“This is literally my spot! I watch anime out here all the time!” Mingi huffs, “I am not isolating myself.”
“Oh.”
They sit quietly for a while with Mingi nibbling on his half eaten lunch and lost in the thoughts of the painful ending of the anime he just watched till Yunho interrupts him again,
“Why do you spend the time here though? Our school rooftop isn’t exactly the most scenic location.”
“The reception here is very good if I want to stream anime,” Mingi says between bites, “and besides, I am kinda a slow eater so,” Mingi hesitates already berating himself mentally for being so honest in front on Jeong Yunho, “I can just eat at my own pace here.”
A moment passes before Yunho asks, “Do your friends mind if you eat slowly?”
“No, no! Not at all.” Mingi turns to look at Yunho, “Nothing like that. I do hang out with them from time to time but I don’t want them to always wait for me to finish eating, you know. And besides, I really need my peace and quiet some days."
Yunho nods just as the school bell goes off.
Mingi packs his stuff quickly and Yunho stands there waiting for Mingi to be done.
They are barely at the door when Yunho says,
“I have been thinking about like … feelings”
“Feelings?”
“Yeah. After our hmm … talk yesterday. I don’t really know what it feels like … to like someone.”
“You have never had a crush on anyone?”
“No”, Yunho answers sheepishly as they step into the main building.
“Woah.”
Thank god I did not encourage Yeosang to confess! This means Yunho doesn’t like Yeosang!
“Do you know what your type is, though?” Mingi enquires, curious to know more about Yunho now that Yeosang is not in the picture.
“I don’t know?”
“You must have a preference, no? Like, a guy or a girl, tall or short or loud or quiet? What’s your type?”
Yunho looks like he is trying to solve a Maths problem. “I don’t think I have a strong preference towards guys or girls… I think”
“That’s fine. That’s good. I always say, ‘bisexuality is the norm of nature’. We are all bisexual until proven otherwise”
Yunho hums appreciatively at the thought and continues, “As for the person. I think someone kind is always good ...”
Yeosang is very kind.
“... may be someone who is selfless, which again goes with being kind but also soft …”
Yeosang is selfless, he is also very soft.
“Of course if they are also delicate and beautiful, that is good as well, and shorter than me! I don’t think that part would be too challenging.” Yunho thinks out loud.
Yeosang is all of that and more.
Mingi gives him a watery smile.
Yunho might not have a crush on Yeosang yet. But Yeosang is literally his ideal type. They are really meant for each other.
“That’s great!” Mingi forces a smile, “I know a friend who pretty much fits the description! I can totally set you up if you want. I am sure my friend would appreciate it as well.”
At least Yeosang would be happy to know that Yunho doesn’t like anyone else.
They are almost in the corridor to their classroom when Yunho pulls Mingi’s arm to stop him.
“Mingi, I am sorry I should not have said that to you after everything-”
“No! Don’t worry about it! I am serious, I can totally fix a date for the both of you.” Mingi cuts him off.
Yunho continues to give him a conflicted look while still holding Mingi by his elbow.
“How can you just … try to set up your crush with someone else?” Yunho asks in disbelief.
Mingi thinks Yunho has no clue how close to the truth his question really is, albeit in a roundabout way.
Mingi blinks at this question and twists his arm away with a sad smile. He turns into the corridor, which is now almost empty of any students. He moves to his locker as an excuse to not look at Yunho.
“It’s cliche but when you really like someone, you really want them to be happy.” Mingi smiles to himself, “You will understand when you like someone as well.”
Mingi stares into his open locker for an escape.
“Mingi?”
“Yeah” Mingi’s voice breaks embarrassingly.
“Could you … wait for my answer?”
“Huh?!” Mingi zaps his head to Yunho.
“I don’t know if I can like you back, and I don’t mean to give you any false hope, but…” Yunho gulps and takes a deep breath.
“What? No, I am absolutely fine with you not liking me!”
“I don’t want to reject you when I don’t even know you well enough to decide if … if I can like you.” Yunho continues, ignoring Mingi’s pleas.
“I’ll give it serious thought.” Yunho continues with newfound conviction, “So please, wait a bit.”
---
Extra Scene:
Yunho’s POV
Tuesday, After Mingi ‘confesses’ to Yunho on the school rooftop,
Yunho thought he was having a lucky day. He woke up to the sound of birds chirping, only to realise he forgot to set his alarm, but surprisingly still woke up on time. His hair was falling in the right place without putting in any effort. He even got lucky and found his favourite snack at the convenience store where it was always out of stock. And then he saw Mingi’s eraser.
He was too focused on the quiz to really comprehend the writing on the eraser, but the very familiar hangul of his name, followed by a heart, caught his attention. He wasn’t sure if he saw it correctly, but Mingi’s wide eyes and defensive reaction were enough of an answer.
He spent the entire day dreading the ‘talk’ Mingi wanted to have with him, only to come out of the talk feeling wrong-footed.
He won’t lie, he is a little flattered despite being confused by the sudden confession. He had expected Mingi to tell him it was a joke, maybe a prank, or even lie about it being someone else's name, seeing that the writing was barely legible. And Mingi had done that, and Yunho should have bought that poor excuse. But Mingi had showed up with a red-tinged nose and puffy eyes. Not only that, but Mingi was very adamant about forgetting the entire thing and this somehow did not sit well with Yunho.
Yunho felt bad and maybe slightly guilty, even though it was not his fault. It wasn’t Mingi’s fault either though, was it?
They were acquaintances at best, Yunho thinks. It's not like they were close, even though they have known each other for some years.
Yes, they were on the same dance team once upon a time till Mingi decided to focus on music production. Yes, they shared a wave or a smile when they crossed each other in the corridor, just to be genial. Yes, Mingi shared his umbrella with him last week when Yunho forgot his, but that was just them being normal acquaintances, right?
Through the jumble of his thoughts, he notices Jongho on the basketball court, playing by himself.
“Hey, Jongho!”
Jongho turns around, squinting at him, “What?!” he yells back.
Before he can second-guess, Yunho jogs over to him, “You are a close friend of Mingi’s, right?”
“Yes?” Jongho drawls, “I am actually waiting for him. Why do you ask?”
Mingi still hasn’t left?
Not only did Mingi leave the rooftop before Yunho, but Yunho was caught up in dance leader duties for at least a good 15 mins.
Is Mingi crying again?
“I … nothing.”
Jongho raises his eyebrow, “Okay.”
“I probably hurt his feelings without intending to.” Yunho blurts out.
“I see. And you are telling me this because ... you want me to pass on your apology to him?”
“No, no. I will talk to him myself. But I don’t know him too well, so I was wondering what sort of person he is ... and how should I approach him?” Yunho winces, he is seriously regretting starting this conversation with Jongho.
Jongho looks entirely unimpressed.
“Yeah, never mind.” Yunho tries to move away, heat rising to his cheeks
“He is exactly how he seems.” Jongho says, stopping Yunho in his retreat.
“He is very … ‘T’ personality, you know? Very honest with his thoughts,” Jongho continues, “Yeah, he lacks a filter sometimes, but he is a very soft person underneath all that bravado.”
“Hmm… thanks.” Yunho nods, attempting to get out of Jongho’s scrutiny as fast as he can.
“Yunho!” Jongho calls out before he can leave the court.
Yunho turns around to find Jongho glaring at him.
“I don’t know what this is about, but if you truly hurt Mingi, now or in the future, I will hunt you down.”
Yunho gulps and nods as Jongho gives his gummy smile, which makes him look even more threatening.
This was a very bad idea.