Color Me Rainbow || MEANIE ✔

-12 || mingyu-

It was after school on a Thursday.

Mingyu leaned forward to get a glimpse of what Wonwoo wrote in his interview notebook. It took him a minute to understand since he was reading upside down. What he got out of was Wonwoo was more perceptive than he initially thought.

The older male hadn't just written down whatever Mingyu had said in answer to his questions. He wrote habit and actions that Mingyu did in certain situations. Foods he hated that he had never mentioned.

Mingyu's gaze left the notebook and landed on Wonwoo's face. He imagined what it'd be like if Wonwoo liked him back, what'd it be like for Wonwoo to let him kiss him, what'd it be like to run his lips along the elder's sharp jawline.

He jumped when Wonwoo suddenly closed the notebook, and Mingyu took in account that he was in a very close proximity to the older male. He'd been unconsciously leaning forward. He pulled away.

"I was just looking at your notes," Mingyu said briskly. "I wasn't going to kiss you or anything." But he'd definitely thought about it.

Wonwoo eyed him suspiciously but let it go. "I'm hungry. Wanna get something to eat?"

Mingyu stared at him blankly. Did Wonwoo just ask him out for food? Usually, it was the other way around. "Did I hear you correctly?"

"No, you heard the tree ask you to dinner," Wonwoo responded. "Are you coming or not?"

Mingyu slowly smiled. "Yeah, I'm coming."

He followed Wonwoo to his car and stopped in his tracks when he saw the thing. "You have an American Super Bee?"

Wonwoo shrugged like it was no big deal. "I didn't have a choice in the matter. Your brother bought it. It's my mom's."

"Jisoo bought you a car?!" Mingyu said in disbelief.

"Correction: he bought my mom a $500,000 car and me, a $20,000 camera. But just to be clear, I let him know I didn't want anything overly expensive, just needed something my mom could get around in and something I could take quality pictures with."

"Why?"

"So I'd work on this project with you," Wonwoo told him, throwing his stuff into the backseat of the car.

"I feel like I should be offended," Mingyu said as he climbed into the passenger seat. "But I think you deserve this kind of luxury."

Wonwoo's hands tightened on the wheel. He said nothing.

"So, is this article just about me or is there more to it?" Mingyu asked because he knew they needed a subject change.

"You know how journalists write those 'All About This Celebrity' articles? That's pretty much what this is. Fan service to all you fans," Wonwoo explained, dryly.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Mingyu said. He had slight hopes it was because the other was jealous, but he knew Wonwoo was unpredictable. What Mingyu thought was most likely not what was on Wonwoo's mind.

"I just don't get why people like everyone else knowing everything about them," Wonwoo said. "It just leads to gossip and rumors. None of it actually ends well."

"Sometimes, letting people get to know you through honest sources is better than them not knowing you at all," Mingyu said, softly.

"You're right. But how many sources are actually honest?"

🌈

Mingyu hung in the back of the room, blowing bubbles with the mint gum he'd snuck into the party. He hated attending his father's business parties, but since Chairman Kim's position was his future, he had to get acquainted with as many people as possible. He'd already spoken to more people than he could count and found refuge in the back of the room.

He desperately wanted to rub his eyes. The contacts Chairman Kim had provided him for the party were irritating his eyes. Mingyu didn't know why he'd been given the contacts, but he had a hunch. He refused to introduce Wonwoo, so his father must believe that their relationship isn't working out. Of course, the old man was mostly right.

Chairman Kim stood beside Mingyu and held a hand underneath his son's chin. Mingyu was not about to spit his gum into his father's hand, so he swallowed it instead.

Chairman Kim pulled his hand back. "I trust you're in good spirits tonight?" He'd said more as a threat than an actual question.

"Sure." Except his eyes were itchy, and he wanted to leave.

"Good. I don't want you mentioning that you have a soulmate," his dad said. "Now that I know of your preference for both men and women, I went ahead and found a couple more candidates you could end up with."

"You can't do that. I have a soulmate," Mingyu said, as if that fact wasn't clear enough.

"Yes, but you're eighteen. You'll need a partner and clearly your soulmate must not be interested."

Ouch. Mingyu clenched his jaw. "I'm not meeting anyone."

Chairman Kim wasn't interested in listening. "Look, here he comes now."

Mingyu followed his gaze to a guy, his parents trailing behind him. He knew the guy as Choi Seungchol. His parents ran a rivaling company. His black hair was swept to the side, he had multiple piercings in his ear, and all in all, just like Mingyu, he clearly did not want to be here.
Mingyu had been set up with dozens of girls in the past, but none of them had lasted more than a week. He didn't think this one would last much longer.

After formal introductions, the two boys were left alone. They stood their in silence as they watched the guests mingle. Mingyu could feel their parents' eyes on them.

Seungchol leaned towards him and in a hushed voice said, "Do you want to get out of here?"

"If it's not to make out with you, then yes," Mingyu replied just as quietly.

Seungchol laughed. "Don't worry. You're not my type." He started walking away and motioned for Mingyu to follow him. Once they made it out of the main room, the older male said, "How do you feel about real parties?"

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