【low battery】MEANIE

what

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「reminiscences」
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"Hey Wonwoo," Mingyu murmurs thoughtfully. The two of them are waiting for their roommates, and have some time to kill, so they lean against the wall and just chat with each other in the meantime.

"Yeah?" Wonwoo repliess, turning to look at him.

"I was just thinking," Mingyu says. "You know how you dislike when people ruffle your hair, and it brings back bad memories?"

"Yes," Wonwoo nods. "What about it?" He hesitates a bit.

"What if I ruffle your hair... like, a lot...?" Mingyu asks. "Until you stop thinking about him and you'll just be reminded of me instead when I ruffle your hair. To get rid of the bad memories, that's what I mean..."

Wonwoo hesitates more. "I'm not sure... but we could try it."

"If you're okay with it." Mingyu says, smiling at him patiently. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Uh, yeah..." Wonwoo murmurs. "You can try it." His heart pounds in his chest anxiously. I'm ready. No, I'm not.

"Okay." Mingyu smiles a bit nervously. "Tell me if it's too much." Wonwoo nods.

Mingyu slowly puts his hand on Wonwoo's head, starting by stroking his hair softly, then starting to ruffle it.

"I'm here, Wonwoo, okay?" He says while ruffling it, and Wonwoo looks at him, nodding.

"It's me, Mingyu." Mingyu smiles. "Just in case it felt too familiar. I'm not him."

Wonwoo doesn't dare to close his eyes. He's afraid he'll start to imagine things.

That one simple action still reminds him of those days, but luckily he's constantly reminded that it's someone else, Mingyu, ruffling his hair, and that Mingyu is not like him.

"It's laptop charger boy." Mingyu jokes, and Wonwoo breathes a sigh of relief.

"Good." Wonwoo sighs.

"How is it?" Mingyu asks.

"It's better than I imagined..." Wonwoo murmurs. "I'm okay right now."

"Okay, good." Mingyu says, stops ruffling Wonwoo's hair, and just smiles at him.

"Thanks." Wonwoo says softly.

"Of course." Mingyu replies, resting his arm on Wonwoo's shoulders.

Wonwoo smiles. Maybe I really will be able to step out of this fear.

I sure hope so.

He hesitates for a minute, but then does it anyway, and places his head against Mingyu's, leaning into him slightly.

Mingyu just pulls him closer, sighing, and closes his eyes.

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"And so that's how I ended up with flour all over my cheeks." Mingyu laughs. "I really like cooking. But when I was little, and it was my first time cooking, it was a disaster."

"Did your parents take photos?" Wonwoo asks. "I'd love to see a tiny Mingyu with flour all over his face. Must be cute." He can barely believe the words coming out of his mouth. Did I just call somebody cute?

"So maybe they did," Mingyu sighs. "Not like I'm going to show you! Not a chance, Wonwoo." As he walks, he lightly leans into Wonwoo's side subtly. He blames it on the small space in the hallways, though he knows perfectly well that he's just finding any chance he can to be closer to Wonwoo.