it was far past eleven when wonwoo heard the front door closing, meaning mingyu had came home. the spare key that no one used was given to the latter a few days earlier, just in case wonwoo wouldn't be home, and it came in handy now.
wonwoo looked up from the page he'd left off and kept his finger on the last word he had read, eyeing a visibly exhausted mingyu. which was strange, since he only went to the convenient store, right?
"hey, where are the snacks?" wonwoo asked in confusion, seeing mingyu's hands were empty and he didn't cary a bag with him or anything close to that. if he only noticed mingyu's eyes growing twice the size, he might've caught onto some sense of suspicion. but still he remained oblivious of all the clues that were screaming for him to notice them.
"i'm sorry.." mingyu hesitated to just spill everything that had been on his mind. about why he was cheating on wonwoo and about the payments he received in return. yet he remained silent as he automatically used a lie to cover up his actions. "i stopped by at my apartment, but my brother wasn't at home and i forgot the key." he felt the metal object burning in his back pocket, connected to his car keys and the one to wonwoo's house.
however, it still didn't call for any suspicion to wonwoo, who only nodded understanding, stretching his arms high above his head as he let out a long drawn yawn. "how about we go upstairs and get some sleep, huh?" wonwoo decided to not keep lingering on the subject of why mingyu forgot the snacks, scared it might upset the latter in any way. it was only when he got up from the couch and mingyu didn't gave him a reply, he noticed something was off.
mingyu wasn't one to remain silent. let alone leave a question unanswered. and when his eyes wandered off to mingyu's face he noticed the tall boy staring down at his plain white socks, his eyebrows knitted and forming a gloomy expression. "gyu?" wonwoo whispered carefully, getting closer to the boy to check what was wrong. "hey? is everything alright?"
mingyu nodded, yet kept his eyes glued to the floor, unsure as to why he just couldn't bring his head back up. usually he wasn't one to feel bad about lying straight to someone's face, but with wonwoo however, it was so different.
in a swift motion, mingyu suddenly went in for a hug, pressing the boy up against his chest as he buried his nose in his jet black curls. his need for physical touch took over and he was far from able to restrain himself. "i'm just a little tired." mingyu covered his actions up with a lie for the second time, feeling his heart clench together in regret.
what the fuck do you think you're doing, mingyu? he scolded himself inside his head, even when he wasn't capable of letting go. somehow he was so scared of losing him, he figured it was best to keep up the act for now. even though he was well aware that it would hurt only more the longer he kept it up. for both sides.
"then let me guide you to the bedroom, you need some sleep." wonwoo offered his hand, leaning back a little as they finally locked eyes. fortunately, those words managed to bring the slightest smile onto mingyu's face as he grabbed a hold of wonwoo's milky white slender hand.
as wonwoo guided them up the stairs and to his room, both boys remained silent, only their rhythmically calm breathing being heard on top of the nearly overwhelming silence. the hallway on the first floor was unlit, making mingyu accidentally bump his shoulder into the wrong doorpost, his clumsy behavior being followed by both his and wonwoo's chuckles.
"silly." wonwoo whispered that one word that made mingyu's legs go weak on an instant, but made him feel only more guilty in this situation.
"i love it when you call me silly." mingyu spoke, trying to forget about his regret and overwhelming guilt for at least a second, wanting to feel the previous sense of calmth and safety wonwoo used to give him.
wonwoo's scent used to feel more stress relieving than a cigarette. then why did he long for one so much now? just one simple inhale of the intoxicating smoke and he would be able to act like his usual self..
however, once they entered wonwoo's bedroom and the strong scent of his boyfriend hit him in the gut, he managed to feel quite relieved. his sorrows faded for the slightest second when wonwoo's addicting scent entered his nose, making mingyu inhale it like smoke.
within seconds, the tall boy discarded everything but his boxers, seeing wonwoo did the exact same. they had became quite comfortable around each other and seeing the season was too hot to wear an entire pajama underneath the duvet, they didn't exactly have no other choice but to sleep bare chested.
wonwoo was the first to crawl in his bed, pressing his back against the grey painted wall to make space for mingyu to join him. unlike other times, where the taller took the lead in their cuddle position, mingyu now buried his nose in the crook of wonwoo's beautifully formed neck, allowing the older to wrap him inside the blanket.
"are you really sure you're okay?" wonwoo asked yet again, wanting to make sure that mingyu's atypical behaviour really wasn't caused by anything. but once mingyu only hummed in response, wonwoo decided it would be best to let it be for now, not wanting to ruin the comfort they'd built up together.
"you know what, i will hold you through it gyu." wonwoo ensured the sorrowful boy, knowing that for now it was his best option.
even with wonwoo's fingers slowly massaging his scalp, his deep voice humming from time to time and the overall safe atmosphere in the bedroom, mingyu barely got any sleep that night.
