ᴀᴅᴅɪᴄᴛᴇᴅ

【28】

it's been weird... maybe awkward since that night at hongjoong's. yunho and mingi haven't really talked about it—not that they ever really talked about it to begin with—but now, the silence feels heavier.

they don't ignore each other, not exactly. but there's something off between them, something unspoken hanging in the air every time they're in the same room.

and unfortunately, being at school doesn't change that.

yunho is at his locker when he feels someone step up beside him. he already knows who it is before he even looks.

mingi.

yunho tenses slightly, but he forces himself to act normal. he keeps his eyes on his locker, grabbing his books even though his brain is suddenly blank on what class he even has next.

mingi doesn't say anything. doesn't move, either. just stands there, too close and too far at the same time.

after a long, too-tense silence, yunho clears his throat. "hey."

mingi shifts, adjusting his backpack strap. "hey."

yunho finally glances at him, and the second their eyes meet, it's like something in his chest locks up. mingi looks... hesitant. uncertain. like he wants to say something but doesn't know if he should.

yunho knows that feeling all too well.

the hallway is busy, students pushing past, laughter and chatter filling the space around them. but in this moment, it's like it's just the two of them, stuck in this weird, heavy limbo.

"you—" yunho starts, then immediately stops. he doesn't even know what he was about to say.

mingi shifts again, rubbing the back of his neck. "what?"

yunho shakes his head. "nothing."

a beat of silence. then—

"you're acting weird," yunho mutters.

mingi lets out a dry laugh. "me? i'm acting weird?"

yunho finally looks directly at him, his gaze sharp. "yeah. you are."

mingi scoffs, shutting his locker a little too hard. "okay."

yunho clenches his jaw. "see? that—you always do that. you shut down and act like I'm crazy for noticing."

mingi turns to face him fully now, his hand balling up into fists. "maybe because there's nothing to notice."

yunho exhales sharply, looking away like he's trying to keep himself from saying something he shouldn't. "whatever."

yunho hates this. hates the tension, the weight of all the things neither of them are saying. he wants to fix it. wants to go back to when things were easy, when they could talk without feeling like they were standing on the edge of something dangerous.

but he doesn't know how.

before he can figure it out, yunho shakes his head and steps back. "forget it."