conditions | jigyu

Chapter 4 - Helping

Turn the video on for atmosphere!

Mingyu fiddled with his fingers as he searched for the private reading area; he's never been there before. Sure, he'd spend his time in the library once in a while, but never has he gone to the rendezvous where Woozi had told him. Also, he hasn't visited since the school moved the location of library to the other building, another place Mingyu has never entered before.

After a series of empty hallways, turns, and staff-questioning, he arrived at 4.49PM; it took longer than he expected. He finished his last class at least an hour and a half ago. He was starting to worry that the elder would have already finished and decided to leave him as he looked around, frantically searching for a blonde head.

As if his prayers were heard, Mingyu spotted the blonde haired senior strolling around the shelves and running his fingers ever so gently across the row of books.

Just as he was about to part his lips, the other had already figured he was here. "I know you're there." The older declared without facing him and chuckled to go along with it.

Mingyu slightly pouted at Woozi's actions, staying still from where he was standing. "H-How would you know?"

Woozi turned around at the younger's question with a grin plastered on his face, "I don't know. I could always sense if you're near me somehow. Is that a bad thing?"

Mingyu shook his head almost vigorously, displaying clear disapproval. "N-No, it's not. I l-like it, even."

A smile painted Woozi's lips at Mingyu's tiny confession as he approached the younger. "Good that."

Woozi clapped his hands eagerly once before continuing. "So! Do you know why we're here?"

"T-To research? I'm h-here to accompany you, right?"

Woozi grinned as he shook his head. "Nah, finished that while you were gone." He made his way to one of tables and sat down, his chin resting on intertwined fingers as he continued. "Try something else."

In fact, there was no need to research at all.

Mingyu unfroze himself somehow and sat across the elder hesitantly. "I d-don't know."

Woozi lightly chuckled before announcing their purpose there. "We're here for you to practice speaking."

Mingyu's eyes has never been so wide before. They were literally saucers right then. "W-What? S-Speak?"

The blonde's eyes turned into crescent moons as an even wider grin was taped to his face. "Yeah. I noticed you stutter a lot, so I wanted to help you."

Partly, Woozi thought. I just wanted to spend my time with you, you dense little kid, he resumed in his mind. It was a good thing he was careful not to think out loud.

"Y-You would?" Mingyu's eyes twinkled with hope. He was so happy; he'd tried alone before, but it never worked.

"Why not? We're friends, right?" A hint of hurtfulness was evident in the elder's smile; he wanted to be more than friends. He was just afraid of how his junior would think of him. He had an image.

Which he was sure having an image to keep is why almost half of the world's population couldn't be happy.

And very little did the blonde know that Mingyu was feeling exactly what he felt. He nodded slowly, "Yeah."

"Alrighty! Let's see what we got." Woozi beamed as he flipped open a few pages of the book he was holding.

Mingyu shifted in his seat, not knowing what to say.