Rental Boyfriend ; Meanie

Chapter 8

Mingyu’s chest is burning with pain and guilt as he returns to his car, but he knows that the faster he leaves, the more quickly he can heal. The image of Wonwoo’s hurt expression is seared into his mind, making another wave of heat blossom in his chest as he turns on the ignition.

A muffled staccato beating against Mingyu’s window catches his attention just before he backs out of his parking space. He rolls his window down warily to find Wonwoo peering in with panicky eyes.

“Yes?” Mingyu says tersely, not trusting his voice to stay intact.

“I just thought you should know,” Wonwoo gasps, breathing raggedly, “that Junhui and Jeonghan are together, I think. Just in case you were, um….”

“Just in case I was what?” Mingyu asks, genuinely confused by the direction Wonwoo is going in.

“In case you were interested in dating Junhui,” Wonwoo manages to choke out. Hot tears start spilling out of his eyes, and he buries his face shamefully in his sleeve.

Mingyu rolls up the window, switches off the ignition, and steps out of his car. He holds Wonwoo by the shoulders and presses their foreheads together.

“Now why would I ever be interested in dating Junhui?” Mingyu asks.

“B-because, isn’t that why you wanted to break up with me?” Wonwoo whispers through his tears. “So you could date someone on your own level, like Junhui….”

“Let’s continue this conversation inside,” Mingyu suggests gently. “You’ll catch a cold.”

He wraps his arm around Wonwoo’s thin shoulders and leads him back to his doorstep. Wonwoo holds tightly onto Mingyu’s hand as if he’s afraid that Mingyu will slip through his fingers like smoke.

The bowtie is hanging crookedly from Wonwoo’s neck, and his tuxedo is crumpled all over, but Mingyu hasn’t ever seen anything more beautiful than Wonwoo with his slick red lips and dark, wet eyelashes.

“Just so I know what’s going on,” Mingyu says, his fingers steepled in his lap. “What I want to know first is how you plan to proceed in your relationship with Junhui.”

Wonwoo frowns, tilting his head in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“I guess what I’m trying to say is, do you think of Junhui the same way you think of me?”

“Of course not!”

“Then why do you spend so much time with him? Why do you go to his house so often?” Mingyu asks, unable to staunch the accusation creeping into his tone.

“Because I babysit his son? Mingyu, what did you think my relationship with Junhui was?”

All the doubt and jealousy drains immediately from Mingyu.

“So that was it this whole time?” he says in a low voice, hardly able to believe what Wonwoo is telling him. “You weren’t Junhui’s rental boyfriend? You were just….a babysitter?”