"You can let go now, Mingyu."
Wonwoo interrupted, with a tone he hadn't quite yet used around Mingyu. Seeing him so open to actually trying to make him feel better, Wonwoo thought it wasn't a bad idea to let him in. Just a little bit.
He'd lost track of how long Mingyu had been hugging him. "Tell me more," Wonwoo asked.
Mingyu, as though he'd been plucked from a trance, jumped back to the present, and furiously cleared his throat. He scooted away from Wonwoo, hands getting fidgety in his lap.
Mingyu peered at him, looking so genuinely confused, an expression on his face that made Wonwoo end up in a fit of giggles. "Tell you what?"
"Why do you always sound so confused whenever I speak?"
Mingyu shrugged. "I don't, I'm just shit scared of you punching me again if I say anything wrong,"
The thought made Wonwoo wince. He remembered how bad his knuckles had hurt after the day he'd punched Mingyu in the locker room. "Sorry for that,"
"I always happen to be your punching bag. I get it," Mingyu deadpanned.
"It was mainly because of my parents, sorry,"
"Do they like... Hit you if you get low grades or whatever?"
"Used to. They won't be able to do so anymore,"
"That's good,"
"Tell me more," repeated Wonwoo.
"What?!"
Wonwoo laughed, finding himself getting amused by Mingyu's clueless face every time. "Are you a little?"
Mingyu squirmed in his seat, looking queasy. "How'd you know?"
"Uh, remember the incident last year?"
"Oh fuck,"
"You pulled at my hair. It hurt,"
"I did not!"
"Of all things, I wouldn't be lying about that,"
Mingyu visibly cringed, waving Wonwoo off to call the topic off. He complied, gladly, and got curious about Mingyu yet again. He had a feeling there was much more to Mingyu than he let on. "Come on Mingyu! I laid out all my secrets bare in front of you, and all I know about you in return is just your name!"
"You know I'm a little," said Mingyu, looking unimpressed.
"That doesn't count, I figured that out by myself,"
"Well, what do you want to know?"
"Your stupid mother," Wonwoo shut his mouth just as quickly. "I'm sorry," he shrugged, not sounding apologetic in the least, hoping Mingyu didn't take it the wrong way.
"I'm glad you're one of the few people who actually see beyond her fake-ass façade,"
"I'm quite smart that way,"
After hours of just sitting and talking, Wonwoo noticed it had gotten quite late, the sun having set already.
When he pointed it out, Mingyu looked like he was on the verge of losing it as he abruptly stood. He jumped off the couch fast as a viper, grabbed his bag, and walked to the door after muttering a quiet goodbye. Wonwoo had to consciously calm him down, because Mingyu looked seriously unwell. "What's wrong?"
"I'm late. Mother will have my head,"
Wonwoo couldn't help but snort. "What are you, twelve? Do you still have a curfew?"
"I'm supposed to be back by five, tops, and it's," he looked down at his wristwatch. "Fucking seven right now. I'm so screwed,"
"It's fine, you could just sneak in or something," Wonwoo offered, thinking sneaking inside the Kims' mansion could be that easy.
"I wish it was that simple, honestly," Mingyu's words were hurried, while he tried to tie his shoelaces, without sparing any time to sit down and do it properly.
"I'll get going, goodbye," he said, waving a friendly hand in Wonwoo's face.
And then he left, only after giving Wonwoo another hug.
Wonwoo busied himself with university stuff, trying his best to concentrate. But his brain kept replaying his whole day. He had fun; it was a task to let that sink in. Although he did nothing but talk, just being around Mingyu proved to be entertaining enough. It took Wonwoo a while to think back to the time when he hated, absolutely loathed, Mingyu and his guts. He wasn't even sure if he disliked him anymore.
Mingyu's life sounded pretty shit, based on what he'd claimed – he didn't have a dad, nor had he ever had a sibling. Wonwoo, gladly, had the luxury of the latter, even if it was for quite a short time period. It left him with few of the best memories to recall.
Maybe Mingyu wasn't really that bad, and Wonwoo could do with a friend; a friend who seemed genuinely interested.
