So Sweet And So Bitter

XVII.

> Mingyu <

"Thank you, bye!" I wave to the last girl, who gets up from her seat with a big smile lightening her round face. It's been an hour since we've been talking with our fans, but I could honestly do it all day, they all have something different to say. Their views, their opinions, and their likings are so varied that I could listen to them for hours, and their theories, I've talked to some fans speculating how the drama is going to continue and it brings joy to my heart seeing them so invested and passionate about something of mine, about something I worked for.

I look next to me at Wonwoo and his last interaction with the fan I just talked to. Disappointment seeps into me as soon as she leaves, the sight of the smile he had plastered on milliseconds ago fades into a neutral expression, and not a hint of amusement or satisfaction can be detected. The joy that was starting to charge me up again almost gets consumed.

But I don't want the day to continue like this, we have another two hours of fan meeting, and I don't want it to get ruined, even if it might seem selfish I know that Wonwoo would be thankful for it as well. Seeing as the fans are out, I can talk freely to him, so I walk to him.

I take his hands in mine, starting to pat them with a tissue. "It's so hot in here, isn't it? I can feel sweat everywhere, even in places where I didn't know I could sweat" I watch him and I smile jokingly seeing his lip curve a bit and a little snort escape him.

"Can you do that again for me?" I say pointing closely to his lips, and I see red reach his ears before he gives me a little smile. "Yes, I like that" I give him a little wink encouragingly before I take a sip of the apple juice I bought earlier.

I know it's not easy for him, and I can see his disassociation from the outer world, but at the end of the day as cruel as it sounds we have an image to keep, and I'm certain Wonwoo knows that, he just needs something to help him stay himself and half-serene but also something to remind him of what needs to be done. He needs a right hand and I want to be that right hand.

We move to a bigger stage, one by one we enter and greet Lee Know and the fans, the crowd much bigger than it was earlier. The place is a bit chaotic and I can still feel my heart pounding loudly in my chest from the excitement. Wonwoo also looks a bit overwhelmed by the atmosphere that's engulfing us but he smiles nonetheless.

We first introduce ourselves individually and then we introduce our drama. Luckily Jeonghan and Dokyeom's presence eases me a bit, since I haven't done a fan meeting in years, so we talk smoothly.

"I'm sure we are all looking forward to the next episode, seeing how the last one ended..." Screams start to come from the crowd and I chuckle, a bit shy at the realization that all of these people saw us kiss. Tonight the fifth episode should be out, I just hope that after the delay our fans haven't forgotten about it.

To hide myself I look to my right, where my partner is sitting and I find him already looking at me, his ears and neck red, but a glint in his eyes shows me that he's not totally uncomfortable with this topic, maybe he's even amused.

After about half an hour of looking at old scenes and commenting on them, and a reveal of what the behind-the-scenes look like, I know it's time to answer the questions from the fans.

"We have prepared a box with all of the questions your fans have asked on our twitter account, in total there are over a hundred, but you'll draw out only a portion of it" A box the size of a chair is brought out by one of the staff, we look at each other not knowing what to do, without having any instruction.

"Whoever feels more confident can just go first" Lee Know says, but I stay glued to my chair, Jeonghan is the first one to stand up and draw out a piece of paper.