𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜 • 𝐣𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐥

XLVII

wonwoo decides that it was enough drama for today, so he huffs, and decides to head back to where mingyu sat. in a room, resting. lucky him. he doesn't get to watch sad dramatics.

wonwoo opens the wooden door, seeing a man facing the mirror. "hey, mingyu. what are you—mingyu?"

the man facing the mirror was definitely not mingyu. his hair was not a platinum blonde, and he wasn't this short. mingyu also wasn't wearing a jacket earlier, so who's this?

the man snaps his fingers, turning back to the mingyu wonwoo knew. phew. "hello, bag of luck. dinner's ready?"

"i thought you were resting, but here you are, playing around with your shapeshifting skills in front of the mirror. didn't you already have enough fun in your previous years?" wonwoo sighed in relief, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"i was practicing new forms." mingyu turned around from the mirror, facing wonwoo instead. "i just met hoshi and chan, you know. it'd take a while."

wonwoo was quite lost. "what?"

"just like how i did for you," mingyu laughed, standing up to sit down beside wonwoo. "i want to be a way for them to see their loved ones again."

huh. he's unusually kind, for a pawn of kaehee's. maybe it was because he felt the same way whenever he wishes to see seokmin? guilt because of his betrayal? or just.. kindness?

"you are not usually this kind, mingyu." wonwoo squints. he looks towards the mirror to indirectly stare at mingyu's face. "did hitting your head do the trick?"

mingyu laughs. ouch. doesn't laughing hurt when you are fresh from being battered? "i've always been like this, what do you mean?"

"lies."

mingyu laughs once again. "fine. it's because i relate to them, alright? and i know you do too," the demigod shrugged. "so, excuse me. i have to perfect shifting to their forms now."

"jisoo just got angry after a fight with junhui," wonwoo informed, staring at mingyu. wonwoo only seemer to notice now that mingyu had a beauty mark on the lower side of his face. "so you won't be able to show them your newly acquired skills soon."

"aw. that's normal, though, i'll just wait for a good moment to ask them." mingyu shrugged, placing his elbows on his lap to rest his chin on his palms. "what? you're staring at me."

"i cannot stand the energy out there, so i am here."

"ohoho! you like me, huh? say no more, sweetheart! i—"

"not in that way, bastard." wonwoo cuts mingyu off, making the demigod laugh. "don't you want to sleep?"

"don't you?"

"no. asylus is a dangerous place as of now, i can't sleep soundly here."

"so i won't sleep too," said mingyu, shaking his head as he shrugged. what's he going to do if he doesn't sleep then? wonwoo doesn't like cleaning up after someone else. "it's an insomniac contest."

wonwoo gruffly replied, "you can sleep because i am guarding you, morsel."

that was not supposed to come out as a 'we are close and i am on your side and i got your back' type of dialogue, but wonwoo let it be. he was getting used to mingyu's nagging and teasing anyway.

but the question is: does wonwoo really have mingyu's back?

"ah! classic romanticism! haven't seen that in a while!" mingyu laughed, playfully stroking wonwoo's arm. wonwoo slapped mingyu's hand. "ouch! a romantic does not hit his partner!"

"i already beat you up, too, so i definitely am not a romantic." he quipped, staring mingyu down. "just sleep."

mingyu scratched his scalp. "i don't know what's gotten into you."

"i don't know what's gotten into you."

"people can change, bag of luck."

"i doubt it."

"i am the perfect example."

"whatever." wonwoo stood up, sparing mingyu one glance. "i'll take a bath. you sleep."

"ohoho, you never know! what if somebody peeps at you while taking a bath?! asylus is a dangerous place as of now, and—"

"sleep!" wonwoo scolds, making mingyu laugh as the god headed out of the room.

wonwoo doesn't know for sure if mingyu has truly changed, but he definitely is seeing the demigod in a slightly better light now. maybe he isn't that bad after all. he's quite caring for others, and he learns his lessons. not something you see everyday.

maybe wonwoo isn't so unlucky in love after all.

jisoo wonders what kind of expression chan had in his last moments.

maybe it was one that showed fear. or maybe, on the contrary, he showed hoshi a strong expression to keep him calm. or maybe chan was crying, like the crybaby he is. maybe chan was laughing, or smiling.

maybe. jisoo could never know.

chan was a wondrous boy. he was brave; he tried everything with a passionate smile, he sought for betterness whenever he is at the face of failure. he was good at everything he did, but not good enough for his parents to see him.

chan was interested in a lot of things, and that's enough reason to explain the tons of junk in jisoo's apartment. part of it was also because he wants his mother and father to acknowledge him. as jisoo said, he was always good, but never good enough.

jisoo wished he told chan how talented and skilled he was, when the boy still lived. jisoo was always truly impressed when he catches chan doing something new—and trying it all over again when he fails. he was a boy that neither his parents, or the world deserved.

jisoo doesn't even have anything left of him. just the stupid blue frog ring he and his lovers had on their ring fingers. was that enough?

the writer sighed, looking up at the sky of asylus.

chan and hoshi would've loved it here. the band kids would most likely make so much ruckus when they see this place. look at the sky; there's the stars, a few constellations, aurora borealis, and two moons. an amazing sight they would swoon over, and make jokes about. before jisoo knows it, chan would have developed an interest in astrology.

then, they would tease junhui for having a house as big as that, too, saying that he wasn't broke after all. they'd eat random berries outside the house and then they would show up with a bloated face, and the bunch would share a hearty laugh.

jisoo hates his imagination sometimes.

jisoo hates himself, sometimes.