a work of art [meanie]

Chapter 17

1492 words

The boys are sitting on Mingyu's bed - as they usually do - but it's different this time. The atmosphere between the two guys is different; they're not joking and laughing like they usually are. It's a lot more serious now. The lights are off (at Wonwoo's request), and the only source of light is the LED lights. Wonwoo likes the dim lighting.

Wonwoo is hugging one of Mingyu's huge pillows, playing with the hems of his sweater.

"You're sick, Mingyu. Have you eaten today?" Wonwoo asks after a short silence, still keeping his bloodshot eyes fixed on his hands.

"Don't worry about me. You're the one we should be talking about. Are you okay?"

Mingyu's having a temperature, but not presumably very high. Mingyu is wearing comfy clothes, and his hair is a cute mess. He looks like he has spent the whole day laying in bed, but he doesn't really look like he'd be sick.

"Not sure. I've been pretty stressed lately," Wonwoo admits, trying to hold back the tears that are threatening to fall again. He's so not going to cry in front of Mingyu.

Mingyu nods, scooting closer to Wonwoo, "I've noticed."

"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you..." Wonwoo mutters, and Mingyu shakes his head rapidly.

"No, no, no. Absolutely not. You're not bothering me, Wonwoo. I'm seriously really happy if I can help you with anything. For real."

Wonwoo smiles, few tears escaping his eyes. Mingyu smiles sadly, and wraps his arms around silently crying Wonwoo.

"I'm such a crybaby," Wonwoo laughs, but Mingyu sees the sadness and pain in Wonwoo's smile.

"Nothing wrong with that," Mingyu states, turning Wonwoo so that he's basically back hugging Wonwoo. Minguy leans on the wall, setting Wonwoo to lay comfortably against his chest. He starts playing with Wonwoo's hair, and Wonwoo closes his eyes, taking few deep breaths to calm himself down.

When Wonwoo is a bit calmer again, Mingyu asks what's on Wonwoo's mind. And Wonwoo lets it all out. He tells about his problems in the past. He tells about him being gay and a burden to his mother and his dad being a total dick. He tells about his fight with his mother, and he also tells about the stress he's feeling because of school and work. He tells about how he feels like he's never good enough. He tells about how he feels like he's not worth everything he has in his life.

And Mingyu just listens. Mingyu hums at some parts, signifying that he's listening, and Wonwoo just tells everything without thinking it twice. There's a lot to tell, and probably a lot to take in for Mingyu. He hasn't told things like that to anyone for a long time, and it feels awful saying all those things aloud. But at the same time, it makes Wonwoo so relieved. Getting all that off of his chest helps him so much. He's been so anxious about Mingyu finding out about him being gay, so it's really relieving to finally tell the truth he's been hiding.

Mingyu never stops playing with Wonwoo's hair, and it reassures Wonwoo. When Wonwoo finally stops talking, Mingyu shifts so that he's able to look at Wonwoo's eyes.

"You know what?"

Wonwoo tries to hide his face, as it's red from all the crying, but Mingyu just shakes his head, taking Wonwoo's hands in his.