Seventeen Scenarios

Still the Same - Mingyu

Mingyu reconnects with the reader, his childhood friend.
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"Y/N!" an all too familiar voice called from behind you.

A whispered 'dammit' slipped from your mouth as you made a point of busying yourself with grabbing books from your locker to load into your backpack. It was Kim Mingyu, your lifelong... neighbor? It was difficult to call him a friend, being that he was so much more to you and had been since second grade. Even in middle school when he was teased for being friends with a girl, you liked him. However, your admiration didn't stop you from thinking he was a total tool ever since entering high school. He was tall, handsome, a total people-person, and the crowd he swung with were just the epitome of 'stuck up'. It was blatantly obvious that he was considered 'out of your league'.

"Hey, Y/N!" he called again.

You quickly swung you backpack over your shoulders and slammed your locker closed, mentally planning the quickest possible escape route and ignoring him as hard as you humanly could. Quickly turning on your heel, you instantaneously smacked into a solid entity, and looked up to see that Mingyu had already found his way next to you, grinning down at you with satisfaction that he'd finally gotten to you without you running away.

"So when do you plan to stop ignoring me?" he said cooly.
"I'm not ignoring you, I'm just not responding," you huffed, shoving past him and briskly strolling towards the exit.

As expected, Mingyu followed behind you and continued talking, "You never talk to me, so of course you're ignoring me. You know you're still my friend right?"
"You say that like you own me," you retorted.
"I'm saying it to try to convince you to talk to me."
"Mmhm."

He continued speaking despite your nervous, dismissive tone, and Your chest felt tight and a spinning sensation grew heavier and heavier in your head. Usually you were able to leave school fast enough to avoid him, so you weren't prepared for his company for this walk home at all. You truly wanted to talk to him, laugh with him like you used to; you genuinely wanted to be close to him again... just not in the way he would think.

"--don't you think so, Y/N?" Mingyu said.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, totally," you hastily replied, hoping he wouldn't notice that you hadn't been paying attention.

Mingyu let out a hearty laugh, rubbing the top of your head playfully, "I KNEW you weren't listening!"
"Huh? Yeah I was!" you insisted, slapping his hand away and smoothing your hair out again.
"Well, considering I wasn't even saying anything that made sense and considering you agreed so quickly, I think I can say that you weren't."

His long legs kept steady with your stride as the two of you walked in silence. Your shoulders, meanwhile, were being slowly disintegrated by the weight of your textbooks. Wanting to avoid making a scene, you continued walking with a straight face. However, it wasn't long before you felt that huge weight being lifted from your shoulders. Looking over, you saw Mingyu swing your backpack over his other shoulder.

"Jeez, what do you have in here, bricks?" he grunted with a half-laugh.
"Textbooks. They're just as interesting as bricks though," you said.
"Your sense of humor hasn't changed a bit."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Nothing, nothing!"

With a hidden smile, you pulled your cardigan tighter around yourself, beyond grateful that he was able, and willing, to carry your bag. Honestly, he just had some strange magic with everything he did... for example, making your heart swell to unrealistic levels. The path to your houses seemed so much shorter than usual, and with the rest of the walk over in minutes, you turned to him to get it back.

"Thanks for not running away from me today," he smirked, returning your bag.
"Thanks for helping me keep my shoulders functioning," you replied.

Expecting him to go to his house, you were caught off guard by the way he just kept looking at you.

With an oddly sweet, innocent smile, Mingyu stepped forward and placed his hands delicately on the sides of your face and pressed a small kiss to your forehead, setting off a series of fireworks in your mind, your body, and most intensely, your heart. He stepped back slightly, taking a loose hold of your hand and giving it a brief squeeze.

"I hope that wasn't unexpected. I'm still the same, Y/N," he said.
"What are you talking about?" you asked, trying to wrap your head around everything.
"I heard your friend say why you were avoiding me. Because I'm different now. Do you really think I've changed from when we were kids?"

You stood in stunned silence, unsure of how to reply.

"Sorry this is so sudden, sorry if I'm being creepy," he trailed off, rubbing the back of his head and laughing nervously.
"No, it's okay... I mean, you ARE different now. I thought you'd just forgotten about me and that you were trying to talk to me just to be facetious." you responded.
"Forgotten about you? No way. I've liked you since we were little, there's no way I could have forgotten."
"So... you like me?"

Though he was usually cocky and outgoing around his friends, you were seeing the most human side of him you'd seen in years. His ears and cheeks had gone red, his breathing seemed slightly labored, his hand holding yours had become sweaty, and it was plain as day that he was struggling with words.

"Yeah.  I've wanted to say so for a while now," he said.
"Well since we're being honest, I've liked you for a while too," you smiled.

Without another word, he pulled you into a hug and laughed in waves of relief. He really was still the same; just as dorky and sweet as ever. You eventually pulled away and picked up your bag, unsure of what to do next.

"So... well, you want to come inside?" he asked, gesturing to his house, "we could study together. How about it?"