ALL BARK NO BITE | SADISTIC BEAUTY SPINOFF

Chapter 20

~ 102-3, Yujin Apartments, Sanggye-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul

Minho sipped the herbal tea that Wookyung had dropped off at his house some days ago. It happened to be 'honey jujube', one of his favourite flavours. He swilled it around in his mouth as he worked on his research paper. He thought back to what the Dean had told him, he only had to write something worthwhile to get the tenure.

Why couldn't he express his writing through his papers? He always chose the finest research themes and did his perfect best to deliver on them. Writing was out of the question, Minho thought and returned to his reference books. It was better to do something that wouldn't cause his mental health more strain than it already did.

Writing reminded him of the worst parts of his life and he wanted to avoid them for as long as he could. His phone rang just then and he looked at the caller screen. "Cha Wookyung" it read brightly and Minho stared at the name for a while. He couldn't help but think of him in the classroom, looking dark, sharp, freshly showered and bleeding at the knuckles.

He looked sexier than he usually did...

He immediately picked up the call to distract himself from the odd thoughts and yes, in retrospect, it was a decision badly made but too late to reverse. "Hello" Minho mumbled into the speaker and Wookyung's energetic voice almost ear-slammed him "Hyung! Let's go on a date!". Minho's mind did the nervous equivalent of a cartwheel.

"No" he replied quickly without letting his mind explore the thought of what a date with Cha Wookyung would feel like. "Aww... don't say without giving it a thought, I visited one of my favourite restaurants after a long time, I promise you'll have the best afternoon with me. Do you like sushi?" he asked happily and Minho gulped. He did love sushi but he couldn't tell him that.

"I'm... um... working-" he got ready to cancel but Wookyung cut him off. "Hyung, how are you feeling right now?" he asked more softly. Minho let the question hang in the distance between them, he liked his voice "How is your hand?" he asked back to annoy him and delay his own reply. "You tended to me, of course it's fine!" Wookyung replied sunnily.

Eh? He had a smile in his voice, as if nothing could bother him today. Minho looked at the papers scattered on his bed, pens, pencils, highlighters and his laptop open to the 40th page of his assignment "In that case, I am relaxed, peaceful, overworked and serene" he replied and heard him sigh.

"You wouldn't feel so overworked if you came out with me right now" Wookyung answered sincerely. "No!" Minho stuck by his word, determined to finish his research paper on time. "Think about it... we can have sushi together, go to a bookstore, haunt a museum, buy some souvenirs... then walk by the river..."

"Just say yes, I'll come pick you up" Wookyung said and Minho thought about how comforting all those things sounded, of how much he wanted to do them... should he? He was about to answer when he heard a shrill female voice in the background. "Cha?! Oh my God!! we're meeting after so long! And at our favourite place too, tell me, did you get nostalgic? Missing me?" he heard her say, followed by Wookyung's soft little "Hm?" and the call went dead.

Minho checked his phone a couple of times but it seemed like he had actually cut the call. He shrugged, brushing it off but it still bothered him at the back of his mind. Was he about to say... yes?! To Cha Wookyung??! Minho tossed his phone across his bed and tried to not let it bother him. Wookyung was a popular, well-liked man, it could be any of his many acquaintances.

A part of him was behaving like a child, how could someone be so close to him? closer than him? He has known him so... closely! he agitated. What the fuck are you thinking??, Minho checked himself, banging his head backwards on the wooden headboard and his pillow flopped to the side, exposing the condom wrapper he had hidden underneath. Minho pulled it out, examining it.