light a flame || seventeen

four ; light a flame.

WONWOO

sometimes, wonwoo misses the old warehouse. he misses its minimalism, the odd comfort it provided, and the simplicity it held. things were so much more different when it was just him, vernon, seungcheol, and mingyu alone in the warehouse with no strings attached and no commitments to anyone but themselves.

but he can't lie; he quite enjoys the large house the golden lights live in. he wonders how they got there, how they built everything up from the ground after arriving from utopia. he thinks yin likely had a big part in it, but he doesn't pry into business that isn't his.

while the house is rather spacious, they have to share rooms, though he's used to it as they all slept in the same room in the warehouse. he ends up sharing with mingyu, which is the only slight issue he has with the whole arrangement. even with his slow-growing likeness towards the younger, he doesn't think he's that far yet. he sees all of mingyu's habits in an even closer view than before, as their beds are just feet apart. wonwoo sees the pile of clothes mingyu leaves on the ground for days at a time, sees the used tissues and empty packaging from snacks left on the bedside table, sees the abandoned attempts at reading books (books that are wonwoo's, and he's displeased about seeing them left so haphazardly). he tends to clean up after the younger simply because he despises living in such a messy room, but other times, he leaves it be and hopes the other will take care of it. more often than not, he's wrong, but he digresses.

"how come you can clean up the kitchen and the rest of the house but not your side of the room?" he asks one day, exasperated at the younger's behaviour.

"because the kitchen is a communal space," retorts mingyu, not even looking up from the book he's pretending to read.

wonwoo leans over the length of the couch—including a helpless jongho, who thought he was free of cats and dogs—and smacks the taller on the head. "our room is a communal space!"

"communal implies it's shared by more than two people, like a community." mingyu flips a page, though wonwoo's fairly certain he's still not actually reading the book.

"i will break your nose," he threatens without malice, only strong irritation. "i don't care if you're sharing with one person or one hundred; you need to clean up your messes! i'm sick of sharing a room with you. you're insufferable."

"um," seonghwa interjects from across the coffee table, looking unsure as he speaks, "if we can manage to move the gym equipment to the garage, you both could have your own room."

wonwoo's eyes widen, and his head tilts as he mulls it over. he thinks it wouldn't be so bad because he could have his own space for once, and he wouldn't have to deal with mingyu's tiresome living habits. "i mean—"

"no, it's all right," mingyu interrupts quickly. "i'll work on it." he runs a hand through his hair. "just, uh, don't—um, i want to keep sharing a room with you."

wonwoo's nose scrunches, slightly raising his glasses back up his nose. he doesn't understand mingyu or any of the thoughts that run through his head, if any. "why?"

mingyu swallows and fumbles over his words again. wonwoo just raises an expectant eyebrow at him. mingyu finally huffs and drags his hands down his face in defeat. "never mind," he mumbles. "do whatever you want."

and for whatever reason, wonwoo says, "i guess it's not that bad. i can probably get used to it."

mingyu's head shoots up. "no." he takes a breath. "if i'm really that bothersome, we'll get you your own room. you shouldn't have to suffer because of me. stop compromising for the sake of others."