[untitled.]

always listening // svt kim mingyu

mingyu was telling you about his day. he told you how he got pushed aside in a restaurant by a rude customer, how he almost dropped his wallet into the toilet bowl, everything. you sat there listening to every single detail your best friend told you, nodding every once in a while to tell him you understood or agreed with him. the two of you had been best friends since you two were six, considering you guys had been neighbours since then.

a few minutes pass as he continued talking when you find yourself accidentally zoning out.

due to a developmental problem, you could not speak a single word even after some kids had learnt how to talk. at first, your parents thought you were a late talker. even the doctors they had referred you to had come to the same conclusion. your parents never gave up and signed you up for speech therapy, but you never started speaking and eventually, the doctor's appointments stopped.

consequently, it became difficult for you to make friends. some children made fun of you and called you names, others completely ignored you. there were also kids who minded their own business. the friends you did make, however, drifted apart from you. it was too hard for them to be friends with someone who couldn't speak.

then, a new boy moved into the neighbourhood when you were six and began chatting your ear off. you had to admit, you were annoyed at first. you were used to the loneliness. your parents had always given you love and attention, but it just wasn't the same as having friends. you assumed he would grow tired of your silence like everyone else and leave, so you let him be. when he proved he wasn't going anywhere, the two of you became attached at the hip and were the best of friends.

mingyu was the only friend who stayed.

"i like you," he told you once when you were twelve. "you listen to me all the time," he said.

you nodded and wrote him a response on the notebook he gave you for your birthday when you turned 11. he had told you that you could write everything you wanted to tell him there, and he'll read it. he said that it was his way of listening to you.

"you tell interesting stories," you wrote in big, blocked letters. mingyu only smiled and continued telling you everything he knew as the two of you walked home from school that day.

when you turned sixteen, he didn't bring you a present like he usually did. you were afraid he was already tired of you, but he had a bigger surprise up his sleeve.

"thank you for always listening to me. i have been learning to do this for the past six months so you don't have to keep bringing that notebook everywhere to talk with me. i'm not good at it yet, but i'll try my best," mingyu had signed to you with a smile on his face.

his movements were a little hesitant, but you appreciated it nonetheless. both of you guys' parents were smiling and you couldn't control your tears of joy. that was the first time you gave him a hug.

i love him, you thought.

mingyu noticed you weren't paying attention to him anymore. he had stopped talking for a while now, and smiled to himself as he watched you chew on your bottom lip. you did that a lot when you were deep in thought. it took all of him to not take your hand in his and ask you what you were thinking about, wanting to know everything you never told him. he saw you sigh and decided to pretend he never stopped talking.

"y/n? are you still listening to me?" he asked and you turned your head to face him, finally pulled away from your thoughts.

your eyes met his and you felt your heart leap. he had stopped talking and was looking at you with puppy eyes, his lips pouting. you could not help but smile at his sulky expression, feeling your tense shoulders relax as your face softened.

"always," you signed, and that made his heart flutter.

"well, i'm done now," he chuckled.

"wanna go home?" you signed again and he nodded.

you mean the world to me, y/n, mingyu thought to himself before taking your hand and pulling you up to your feet.

the two of you then walked home together, just like you did ever since you were kids.