One More Time

Chapter 4: I Knew What You Really Felt Inside

Kim Mingyu was dark. It wasn't a darkness about his character. It was a darkness about his life. Wonwoo had felt it during his days at PASSIONBAR. When he kept the curtains open in the house, his room was flooded with light. The street light at the entrance to the driveway was level with the second floor, so his bedroom was as bright as day. He hadn't needed to turn on a light in years. The paths he walked were usually lit by moonlight or lamps. The darkness was a faint part of Wonwoo's life and Mingyu's life was built around it.

As he pulled back the curtain and looked out onto the street, he saw once more that both outside and inside were in thrall to the damnable darkness. "Don't they have good lighting in here?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at the man on the bed.

The werewolf's green eyes rolled back, squinting beneath a forehead wrinkled with distress. "Would it make sense for them to put up neon lights for an illegal bar?"

"If there was some light, though..." Wonwoo muttered under his breath as he let go of the curtain and absentmindedly slid into the chair. He ran a hand over his head to mess up his brown hair. Then he locked eyes with Mingyu. "What?"

"You said you were coming to bed," his eyebrows rose. He pretended to count on his fingers. " For the last four times."

Wonwoo laughed and sat next to him on the bed. He leaned his back against the headboard and pulled the laptop across his lap. "Can you turn off the lights?" he said without lifting his head.

"You said it was too dark?"

He shrugged. "It's not physical darkness. You know that." Their eyes met for a moment and Wonwoo could see that Mingyu knew. Then the lights went out, the reflected light from the computer illuminating the room.

Migyu sighed tiredly as he sat next to him on the bed. He groaned when he saw the movie poster on the screen. "How many of these movies are there? Damn..."

"Quite a few, I guess," Wonwoo answered his question carelessly as he clicked on the Star Wars logo to start the movie. He shifted in his seat and took a comfortable position. He accepted the plate of snacks on his lap with relish and with a slight movement adjusted the screen so that Mingyu could see it as the opening credits began.

"If you keep coming back until you've finished all the movies," Mingyu said, popping a walnut into his mouth as the first scene came on. "I'll probably lose all my customers."

And here it was again. Just when Wonwoo was concentrating, ecstatic to have someone to share the movie series that had given his life meaning. Okay, he knew Mingyu's mind was still at work, but sometimes he forgot that he was sitting in an upstairs room at PASSIONBAR, a room reserved for sins, next to a man who pleased people for money. When he forgot, he felt happy. Mingyu's presence made him feel crowded but not tired. And for the first time, Wonwoo had embraced someone enough to watch Star Wars together. His best friend Soonyoung was a great guy too, but Wonwoo didn't think he could feel his connection to this movie. Star Warriors had saved Wonwoo's life. Soonyoung didn't seem to understand that.

"Unless you want me to come," he murmured over the voices in the movie as the lights and scene changed. He shrugged. "Quit the job."

Silence fell between them. He knew he was not watching the movie. It wasn't that kind of silence, the kind where you focus on something. The silence that filled the room in that moment was heartbreaking because Wonwoo knew Mingyu couldn't quit. He didn't know why, but the man had told him that over and over. And every time he said it, he got this look on his face like he was hurting.

Maybe that's what Wonwoo imagined it was.

"Wonwoo..." Mingyu sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "I told you I can't do this-"