DANDELIONS.

No. 46

"You have to tell him."

Minghao and Hansol had never been close. While part of the reason Minghao had never grown fond of the boy was because an opportunity for them to bond had never arisen, Minghao's overwhelming pity towards Hansol always left a heart-wrenching sensation of guilt at the bottom of his stomach whenever he watched the boy stare at Seungkwan with such tenderness. He couldn't bear to be around Hansol, so naturally, he avoided him.

Some days, though, he felt like he had to talk to Hansol, or he'd regret it for the rest of his life.

Minghao could understand why Seungkwan spent so much time around Hansol. The boy was pure eye candy, with his warm eyes and rosy lips, reminding Minghao of a fireplace and a flickering flame and the aroma of wood and Christmas and berry blast lip balm all bundled up in one person. His presence was comforting, whereas Seungkwan's was reassuring; they went together like puzzle pieces. Mismatched puzzle pieces with pictures that didn't connect to form one, but puzzle pieces that slotted together nonetheless.

"Excuse me?" Minghao could see why Seungkwan would fall in love with him. Hansol was understanding and polite, and undeniably attractive - even the way he furrowed his eyebrows as his face washed over in confusion was pretty. There was a glowing tenderness that swam in the depths of his eyes, only surfacing in the presence of Seungkwan; Minghao couldn't help but wonder how it was that no matter how unrequited the love seemed, Hansol was unfailingly loyal. Minghao had nearly given up on Mingyu, who he was in love with for half the time Hansol was in love with Seungkwan - and Mingyu had shown signs of returning the feelings. On the other hand, Seungkwan was dense and oblivious and Hansol had not once looked away.

"You have to tell him," Minghao repeated, his voice wavering, but he didn't have the time recompose himself. His eyes weren't welling up with tears, instead with the guilt of knowing that if he didn't get the message across, Seungkwan's sorrows would be his fault. Hansol had to know. "Seungkwan. You have to tell him."

"I don't understand," Hansol tilted his head, blinking rapidly in confusion. Minghao let out an exasperated sigh, finally bringing his gaze up to look Hansol in the eye. "Tell him what?"

"That you're in love with him," Minghao couldn't find the energy to elaborate. He couldn't. He couldn't ruin Hansol like that. The words ricocheting in the walls his head had only rolled off his tongue as simple phrases, unable to pass along the message he had been screaming at himself to give all along - but Hansol had to know. He had to. "You have to tell Seungkwan that you're in love with him."

"I'm not-" Another wave of confusion washed over his features. "I'm not in love with him."

"I didn't come here for you to lie." His voice, though neutral and hard, was laced with a desperation that he didn't fight. He could spare some of his dignity to make his words clear to Hansol, even at the expense of his pride. "Just- Tell him."

The clear puzzlement and shock written across Hansol's face melted into worry. The more he mulled over the seriousness of Minghao's expression, the more unanswered questions swirled around in his spinning head. He and Minghao had never been close, had hardly ever talked at all; why was Minghao suddenly so concerned about his love life? Why did it matter to Minghao whether he confessed to Seungkwan or not? He blinked, refocusing. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, okay? Just..." Minghao shook his head, sighing. His hands, which had been fists opening and closing by his sides, had found themselves intertwined, dangling in front of him - he always did that when he was nervous, but for what reason he was nervous, he didn't know why.

Eyes were supposedly the window to the soul, but they weren't simply empty holes in the wall. People assumed that you could stare at any given person and read their emotions, their thoughts, but that couldn't have been true. Perhaps curtains had been draped over the windows of the house, preventing unwanted eyes from peering inside. Hansol didn't have the right to look through the window until he was welcomed through the door, but that didn't stop him from placing Minghao's expression under scrutiny.