𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐠 - 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ✓

4 ʟᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ ɪɴ

••••

It was Wednesday.
Yeosang looked for Mingi and Wooyoung in the cafeteria. His eyes scanned the crowd but he couldn't spot either of them. A little saddened, he sat down at an empty table in a corner and put down his tray. His eyes wandered over the food and although it was delicious, he had no real appetite. His mind wandered as it often did and he thought about his art project.

He didn't notice a figure in a hooded sweatshirt approaching from behind. It was only when Yeosang felt a presence next to him that he looked up and a mischievous grin came into his view. Hongjoong's eyes scanned his face. "Why are you so surprised? It's just me."

Yeosang was hardly reassured. He had no idea what Hongjoong was thinking or what his plan was and that scared him a little, especially with what the others had told him. "You were all alone, so I thought I could keep you company." Yeosang smiled uncertainly. "But you're not eating, are you?" Yeosang said hesitantly, pointing to the empty table in front of Hongjoong. Hongjoong shrugged and took out a candy bar.

Yeosang took a deep breath and tensely began to eat his lunch. The first few minutes were quite okay and although Yeosang felt Hongjoong's penetrating gaze, they didn't say a word to each other and Yeosang was immensely grateful.

At some point, however, Hongjoong seemed bored. "What do you say if we do something together after lunch?" Yeosang almost choked and reached for his drink. Hongjoong started to laugh. "What's wrong?" he asked, amused. Yeosang didn't know what to feel, was Hongjoong just making fun of him?

"Yeosang?" a voice rang out behind them, and Yeosang was more than grateful when Mingi appeared besides them. He banged his tray loudly on the table, then grabbed Hongjoong's arm and released Yeosang from his grip. He smiled at Yeosang. "Why don't you leave first?" Surprised, Yeosang nodded and stood up. He wanted nothing more than to disappear from there.

Mingi looked after him, then his eyes wandered to Hongjoong, who grinned at him. Mingi let go of him. "Leave my friends alone. Nobody understands your stupid jokes." Hongjoong sighed. "You've always liked them." Mingi rolled his eyes.

Hongjoong's gaze suddenly pulled away from him. "Yunho!" he shouted and as Mingi turned around, the brown-haired man came towards them. Mingi sighed and wanted to leave but Hongjoong held him tight. "Can you at least tell me what I did to make you hate me so much?" Mingi looked at him silently and freed himself from his grip. Yunho appeared next to him. Mingi gave him an annoyed look. "Just leave me and my friends alone, idiot." Then Mingi picked up his tray and finally disappeared.

~

After Yeosang had finished his last class, he went out of the university building to buy the materials for his art project with Lia. He walked across the street and followed the path shown on his phone. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and as much as the sun was shining, Yeosang felt happy. He had always wondered if he would be able to go to a university far away from his home on his own. And now he was walking this way and had even made friends in such a short time. And then there was Jongho. Although he didn't even know him, he couldn't get the older one out of his head.

With a small smile, Yeosang turned into a side street and recognized a small store at the end of the street. He happily walked a little faster. He was really looking forward to working with Lia.

~

The next day, Lia was already sitting at her table when Yeosang entered the room. Yeosang sat down next to her and put his things down. Lia had tied her hair into a braid and then attached a pink bow. It looked perfect on her.

"Hey," she said with a smile and Yeosang admired how cheerful she always was. After the professor entered the room, Yeosang and Lia started to work. They divided the tasks between them and Yeosang started immediately. He couldn't help but smile as he began to form a framework for their sculptures. Lia's gaze lingered on him for a while.
"It's obvious how much you enjoy it," she said. Yeosang looked at her and gave her a smile. Her cheeks flushed, she looked away again and started working as well.