Rental Boyfriend ; Meanie

Chapter 5

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Sticky. Dizzy. Pain . Wonwoo's bleary mind registers each sensation piece by piece as an unfamiliar room constitutes itself in his vision. Warm . Despite the painful throbbing in his head, Wonwoo is comfortable and cozy, tucked in soft blankets and snuggled up against something impossibly warm.

He slowly realizes that his cheek is pressed against a man’s bare chest, their bodies entwined together. Wonwoo’s head reels when he tries to recall who is curled up against, but absolutely nothing comes to mind. His eyes follow the contoured planes of the man’s chest up to his broad shoulders, long neck, and sloping jawline. And then he recognizes those soft, shell pink lips parted gently in sleep that couldn’t possibly belong to anybodyelse.

It feels so surreal that Wonwoo would suspect that he’s still dreaming, if it wasn’t for his pounding migraine. Wonwoo closes his eyes again, wanting to hold onto this impossibly serene memory of waking up next to Mingyu forever. He’s torn between wanting to watch Mingyu sleep and wanting to touch his golden skin, just to make sure that he’s really there. Wonwoo almost believes that his hand would pass right through Mingyu’s body, like he’s only a mirage in a bittersweet dream.

Wonwoo slides his hand lightly over Mingyu’s broad, muscular chest, his fingertips barely grazing his smooth, supple skin. Mingyu shivers in his sleep, and Wonwoo feels desire rise in him. He rests his hand gently on Mingyu’s firm shoulder and then turns his head slightly so that his nose and lips are pressed against Mingyu’s chest. Wonwoo inhales deeply, breathing in the scent of Mingyu’s skin. At Wonwoo’s exhale, a gentle susurration soft as a whisper, Mingyu’s eyelids flutter open and a sleepy grin curls the corners of his lips.

“Good morning,” Mingyu mumbles.

His smile shrinks around the edges when he notices a strange, unreadable look in Wonwoo’s eyes, somewhere between confusion and apprehension. Dread pools in Mingyu’s belly as he realizes that Wonwoo probably has no recollection of anything that happened the previous night.

“I know this looks bad,” Mingyu begins nervously, “but I promise you that I didn’t do anything to take advantage of you last night. Please trust me.”

“W-what happened last night?” Wonwoo asks, his throat feeling croaky and dry. Fragmented memories are starting to float to the surface of his mind, but he still has trouble making sense of it all.

“Um, I think you had a little too much to drink.” An understatement. “Junhui had to go home to take care of his son, and I didn’t know where you lived or who would be able to take care of you, so I brought you here, to my apartment. I hope you don’t mind….”

“Oh. Thank you,” Wonwoo says. It still doesn’t explain why he woke up in Mingyu’s arms, but Wonwoo’s too afraid to ask, like it might disturb the placid illusion of that perfect moment.

Mingyu is vaguely relieved when Wonwoo doesn’t pry for details about how they ended up in bed together. He doesn’t want to embarrass him by explaining exactly what had transpired the night before—Mingyu carrying Wonwoo to his bed, Wonwoo stirring from his unconscious stupor just to start sobbing uncontrollably, which resulted in Mingyu holding him in his arms until he dozed off again. Staying by Wonwoo’s side the entire night to make sure Wonwoo wouldn’t have to cry alone.