𝐀𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐫 || 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐖𝐨𝐧

Chapter 8

Some of the tension had leaked out of Wonwoo, but Mingyu could see the energy bubbling away under his skin. He was closing off again, bit by bit, when they’d barely scratched the surface of what had sent Wonwoo running to the orchard.

Mingyu had gotten Wonwoo to open up by pushing him until he broke. But now he needed a way to keep the omega talking.

And he had to do something about all that nervous energy inside him.

“Come on, let’s get those hands unwrapped and go for a run.”

The look Wonwoo gave him betrayed the omega’s feelings clearly.

“A run? Oh god, you’re like the worst kind of drill sergeant.”

Mingyu laughed and held out his hand for the ice pack.

Wonwoo handed it over reluctantly, and then set to carefully undoing the wraps. Mingyu kept his own ice pack pressed against his jaw until the omega was done, then set both of them aside.

“Ready?”

Wonwoo made a face but didn’t argue when Mingyu hustled him out of the gym and into the yard.

“Couldn’t I just run on the treadmill?”

“No.”

He didn’t explain his reasoning, just started off at a slow jog. Without looking behind him to see if Wonwoo was following, he headed for the side gate of the orchard. He went for a run most mornings, seeking different paths through the woodland and fields. The area around the orchard was almost as familiar to him as home.

Outside the gate, he turned left, and Wonwoo appeared by his side.

“I hope you’re not going slow on my account,” the omega threw out.

With a laugh, Mingyu sped up, hearing the muffled curse behind him as Wonwoo raced to catch up. They ran through the long grass, and Mingyu led them away from the orchard wall and through a nearby field. He kept the speed up, watching Wonwoo carefully to see when he started to flag.

The omega kept up gamely at first, but it wasn’t long before Mingyu could see the strain it was putting on him.

Wonwoo wasn’t that long recovered from his difficult journey to the orchard—his body hadn’t built the stamina back up.

As the river came into view, Mingyu started to slow, turning them again so they ran alongside it. When he was back down to a jog, he came to a slow stop, stretching slowly.

Beside him, Wonwoo bent at the waist, panting for breath.

Not wanting the omega to feel self-conscious about his conditioning or lack thereof, Mingyu moved closer to the river and sat down in the grass. After a minute, Wonwoo flopped down beside him. He was still breathing hard, beads of sweat sliding down his skin.

“When did it start?”

Mingyu knew it wasn’t fair to throw out questions while Wonwoo was still catching his breath, but he also knew that he had no chance of answers once the omega closed off again.

“When they moved me to a permanent team. Once I completed basic training, I was a floating Anchor. I moved from team to team, joining for missions when they needed the extra boost. It was good, I enjoyed it, and they must have thought I was doing a decent enough job because they moved me up the ladder quicker than most.”

“They only do that when you really stand out.”

Wonwoo shrugged. “That’s what I thought at first, but I don’t know if I believe that anymore.”