S I X T E E N ✧ C L A S H
. . .
I AWAKE a couple of hours later, my head falling and rising due to the fact that I am still sleeping on Mingyu's chest. The roles, this time, have reversed; it is I that is tightly clutching his shirt while he is resting his head peacefully on the armrest of the sofa.
The TV is still on, but instead of the drama from before playing, colored bars are on display and a slow song is being played, allowing me to conclude that Mingyu himself had fallen asleep not long after I did.
The storm had apparently subsided as well, the occasional sounds of raindrops dripping from the roof and chirping crickets coming from outside. The room is mostly dark, since the only source of light in the house is coming from the kitchen and the TV itself, but to be honest, the atmosphere is rather calming, somehow, and after weeks of being nothing but stressed out, this feeling of comfort is one I'd gladly greet with arms wide open.
Since I had charged my phone in my room before taking a shower earlier, I have to squint at the little clock placed on the shelf beside the TV to see the time, and frankly, I'm not too surprised to see that it's only three in the morning, judging by how dark the sky is.
I slowly sit up, careful not to wake the sleeping boy, and decide to grab a blanket for him before continuing my sleep upstairs in my own bedroom. Mingyu has done a lot of things for me these past couple of days, so the least I can do for the agent is to let him have his rest.
Reaching for the remote on the coffee table, I press the power button and the TV shuts off, leaving me in almost complete darkness. Beside me, I feel Mingyu stir in his sleep, and I hold my breath in hopes that I hadn't actually woke him up.
Thankfully, he only repositions himself on the couch and lets out a content sigh when he's comfortable once more. I inwardly sigh, obviously relieved, and quietly crawl up the stairs to get Mingyu a blanket.
✧ ✦ ✧
WHEN I GET BACK downstairs, a somewhat-thick blanket slung over my arm, Mingyu is no longer sleeping, but is squinting at my direction instead. He has this dazed, confuzzled look on his face, hair as wild as a lion's mane, and I can't help but let a small smile creep onto my face.
"Crystal?" He asks, voice groggy from sleep. "Where'd you go?"
"I just went to grab you a blanket." I answer, raising my arm to show him the soft material. "I wanted to let you rest. Why'd you wake up?"
"I don't know..." Mingyu speaks, yawning and rubbing his tired eyes. "I felt your absence and thought that maybe something happened to you."
I chuckle lightly, and sit beside him once more. "Well I'm fine, as you can already tell. Do you want to go back to sleep in your own room?"
"No," He mumbles, curling into a ball as he faces me with both of his eyes closed. "Let's stay here and talk."
"Mingyu, it's 3 AM. Shouldn't we rest?"
"Tomorrow's a Saturday, Crystal. We can sleep in."
"Okay, then." I give in, handing the blanket to Mingyu so that he can wear it himself. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Well..." He opens his eyes, accepting the blanket and laying it mostly on my lap instead of his. "It's a little awkward if you put it that way so how about we play a game?"
"What game?" I ask, moving the piece of cloth on my lap so that at least he'd get half of it as well.
"How about the 20 Questions game? Do you know how to play it?"
I nod. "I think so. I mean, the name itself is pretty straightforward."
"I'll start, alright?" Mingyu says, sitting up a bit straighter. He tips his chin up, trying to think up of a question, and when an idea seems to come to him, he says, "Ah—got it." He lazily grins, averting his attention back on me once more. "Let's start off easy; what is one embarrassing thing you've done?"
"That's not easy!" I whine, already dreading to answer the question.
He chuckles, sleep still evident in his voice. "C'mon now, it'll just be between us."
"Fine..." I murmur, toying with the edge of the blanket and looking down. "Sometimes I fall for no reason at all while walking."
"What?" Mingyu says, incredulous. Then, as he tries to contain his laugh, he asks, "How do you even...?"
"Shut up." I grumble, looking away in embarrassment. The boy lets his laugh out this time, and honestly, all I want to do right now is creep under my bedsheets and hide myself from the world.
"Awh, come on." Mingyu starts, circling an arm around me and drawing me closer to him. "We all have things we're embarrassed about."
"Yeah? What's yours?"
"Well for one, I'm terrible at English." He speaks and I laugh, knowing that that's not a lie. "Hey—why are you laughing? You're supposed to be denying it!"
"But it's true!" I argue, grinning. The boy pouts, but seeing that I'm still laughing at him instead of being embarrassed of what I told him, he smiles as well.
"Okay, enough of that. Your turn."
"Um," I begin, tapping my chin and thinking hard. "What is one thing that you believe in?"
"Easy—that everyone deserves to be happy."
"Even the bad guys?"
"Even the bad guys." He nods, smiling. "Have you ever cried watching a movie?"
"Well of course I have." I scoff and roll my eyes at him for asking such an obvious question. "I'm a softie."
"Maybe," Mingyu responds, looking at me straight in the eyes and making me notice just how close our faces currently are. "You may be a softie, but you are one of the strongest people I've ever known in my life."
Baffled and embarrassed, I am at a lost for words. The two of us simply stare at each other for a good couple of seconds or so, my eyes taking in his strong features which are illuminated by the pale moonlight coming from outside the windows.
"Crystal..." He starts in a low voice, his canine glinting and making me gulp. "Do you like me?"
To say that I am nonplussed might be an understatement. I just look at him, throat dry, waiting for a beat. I figured that he is asking whether I like him as a friend, so I answer him without realizing that it's supposed to be my turn to ask him a question.
"Um, o-of course I do. W-why wouldn't I?"
And just like that, our mouths clashed.
