Madness for Two 🎬 yungi [▶]

19

"Why did you come?" Yunho finally spoke up once they were in Mingi’s luxurious car, having managed to escape the swarm of paparazzi. "I could have handled it myself."

"You could handle it yourself?! If I hadn't come to you, you would have had a panic attack by now, right?" Mingi might have sounded a bit irritated. But he knew Yunho had every right to be annoying after what happened today.

And Yunho took a deep breath before realizing that, yes, he might have stood there like a statue in front of the paparazzi. Even with two burly security guards, Yunho knew it was Mingi’s shout that cleared the way for him.

Yunho touched his wrist unconsciously. Mingi had held it tightly. It was still warm, and when Mingi was shouting earlier, his grip had tightened even more. There was some anger being directed at Yunho. But for some reason, Yunho felt secure with that strong hold.

Something seemed to assure him that Mingi would not let go.

"So, what does that Kim dude want from you?"

Yunho tried not to rejoice upon hearing the jealousy in Mingi’s last sentence. Maybe it was just a feeling of disturbance because his toy was interrupted? Yunho reminded himself to keep his small hope in check and not start celebrating anything. It meant nothing.

"It doesn't mean anything."

"I saw him watching you at the back door. You know, looking at you with worry or something."

There was a pang in Yunho’s chest. He hated that, in reality, he still felt pain every time Hongjoong was brought up. Yunho had learned to stand on his own again. He had a career that he had built not just from scratch, but from minus. If Hongjoong was now having second thoughts, if he now thought it was finally the right time to apologize,

Yunho didn’t care.

At least, that’s what he told himself. He repeated it in his head like a mantra.

Because, in the end, he still missed Hongjoong. After Hongjoong, Yunho had no other experiences. He almost shut himself off from any social activities until he met Jongho at acting school and began to open up again. He began to trust others and form new friendships.

Yunho regretted a little that he wasn’t like those who become sex maniacs after a breakup. At least they had many experiences to compare. Yunho only had Hongjoong. Hongjoong hadn’t even touched him completely. At the last moment, he always remembered that Yunho was still underage.

He would always joke, “Just in case somebody knows about us. They can’t make me go to jail just because of kissing you, right?”

Yunho should have seen the signs back then. He was always a dirty little secret.

He looked at Mingi, who was still staring at him with an annoyed expression. Waiting for an answer. "Do you know now?" Yunho knew Mingi didn’t know about his scandal with Hongjoong. Mingi was too proud and busy to care about that. So even though he was dealing with Yunho now, involved in illegal business, Yunho knew Mingi’s pride was too high for him to dig deeper into Yunho’s past.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"You wouldn’t be interested."

Mingi agreed in his mind. But he would never admit that Yunho seemed to know him inside out now, while he knew little about Yunho, except for a bit. Mainly because Mingi was an ignorant.

"You haven’t answered me."

Yunho frowned, putting on an expression that he genuinely didn’t remember what he was supposed to answer.

"What does he want?"

Yunho only shook his head. With his tired eyes, without a smile this time. Just the weary face of a young man who was actually handsome but was consumed by sadness. Yunho closed his eyes and tried to relax, letting his back rest completely against the back seat of Mingi’s car. His face was upturned, looking fragile under the flickering streetlights.

"Let him rest, Mingi," San said softly, but loud enough for Mingi to hear. Mingi nodded. "Maybe you should rest too. I’ve never seen you so tense in front of the camera."

"Shut up, San." Mingi closed his eyes, mimicking Yunho’s sitting posture. Trying to relax and forget the look Hongjoong had given Yunho earlier when Mingi had managed to reach the back door of the studio. They had exchanged glances for a moment before the man hid from the paparazzi’s cameras. He looked at Mingi as if meeting a rival, a sworn enemy. But he was too cowardly to truly fight.