wonwoo couldn't fall asleep. no matter how many times he shifted his position nor looked at the ceiling for god knows how long, there was just no possible way he could doze off with ease.
meanwhile, he had no clue that the person who slept a tier below him was having the exact same issue. normally mingyu could easily fall asleep without any troubles, but tonight seemed different.
so after being awake for too long, and the clock of the display of his phone showed it was nearing three am, he decided to get out of bed and sneak outside. of course, with wonwoo being the only one awake in the room beside him, wonwoo got up as well after mingyu left their room, leaving the door slightly ajar.
at first wonwoo contemplated whether to follow him or leave him be. however, something inside him told him it would be the right decision to follow him. and so he did.
when he managed to get off his bunkbed without making further sound, he tiptoed to the door, checking if he hadn't awoken anyone in the process. he silently clicked the door back in it's lock and felt how a cold night breeze hit his exposed skin which sent chills down his spine. to protect himself against the slight cold he pulled up the fabric of his sweater to cover up the sensitive skin of his neck, pulling down the sleeves that covered his hands entirely.
he let his eyes wander around the camping terrain, although he had gotten a clue as to where mingyu would be. and his guess was right, because his eyes were quick to find mingyu who sat on a tree stump at the abandoned campfire, that was still lightly smoldering.
noiseless, wonwoo decided to approach mingyu's perfectly shaped figure up from behind. he also didn't said a thing when he sat beside him, following mingyu's gaze that led to the tiny flames. mingyu noticed and recognized his presence right away, but due to the thoughts that occupied his mind he remained silent.
"are you okay?" wonwoo managed to bring out, deciding to end the silence between them. he wasn't quite used to mingyu being silent at all, which gave him the instinct that there had to be something off.
"physically or mentally?" mingyu joked, bringing out the smallest and most fake smile wonwoo had ever seen on his face. "both, i guess?" wonwoo questioned, more to himself than to mingyu, who still didn't budge from his current position, his eyes being glued to the smoldering flames.
"well, physically my lip still hurts. i think it's a bit swollen actually." finally mingyu looked up from the fire, averting his gaze to wonwoo as he pointed with his index finger to his lip. even with barely any lighting in their surroundings, wonwoo could see the left corner was a tiny bit swollen.
"you can barely tell it's swollen." wonwoo tried to assure him, having no clue if he was being any help to mingyu, "and mentally?" he asked right afterwards.
"you know.. you're actually the first one ever i'm telling this to. but i have absolutely no idea." mingyu sighed, propping his elbows up on his thighs as he leaned his chin in his hands. even his posture showed how down he felt, making wonwoo feel a bit gloomy as well.
"it's about that chan situation from earlier, right?" wonwoo assumed, on which mingyu nodded, his gaze now piercing the tree stump next to them.
"that combined with a few other reasons." mingyu admitted, still not lifting his gaze up to meet wonwoo's, who had been staring at him the entire time.
wonwoo awkwardly patted mingyu's utterly soft hair in an attempt to show him some compassion. "i know it's one of the most cheesiest phrases in history and it might not be the most useful thing. but if you feel the need to talk about any of it, i'm a pretty good listener if i have to say so myself. and i will always try to help you or at least help you find a solution."
but to mingyu, both the gesture with his hand and the sentence were more than enough. it was all he wanted to hear and if he had to admit, even more when it came from wonwoo's mouth. so with them being already close to each other, he kept his head hanging low but leant all the way forwards so his cheek would touch wonwoo's chest.
with wonwoo having absolutely zero experience with physical touch, he nervously reached both his hands up to mingyu's face, cupping his cheek with one and curling his fingers in his hair with the other. it was able to make a satisfied hum roll off mingyu's lips.
"i've always wanted someone to play with my hair." mingyu sighed in relieve, wishing for wonwoo to continue with the wonders he was working on his head.
"does it make you happy?" wonwoo asked carefully, as he couldn't help but to smile at mingyu's warm head agains this chest. he even let out a sound of surprise when he felt mingyu sneaking both his arms around his waist, pulling himself all the way up against wonwoo's body.
"when you're the one doing it, it makes me more than happy." mingyu admitted, making wonwoo continue instantly, "it actually makes me feel wanted.."
wonwoo cocked his brows. "how could you say that, you know everyone in our school would date you. i guarantee that-" "-wonwoo. they wouldn't. i know how they think of me." and of course, wonwoo couldn't fight his words.
even with mingyu's personality being developed so beautifully over the past few days, there was still no doubt that mingyu was well known for his scary and intimidating reputation. students hung around with him, because in reality they were scared of him.
and that sickened wonwoo, who was the one who saw mingyu change to the real him.
"mingyu?" the boy in his arms hummed in reply, "what will happen when we get back home?"
"what do you mean with when we get back home?" mingyu asked, lifting his head up from wonwoo's chest to look him directly into his eyes. wonwoo visibly struggled with finding the right words as mingyu gaze pierced directly through his face.
but he swallowed his fears away, determined to continue asking his question. "us. what will happen with us when we get back home. will it change?"
a relieved smile appeared on mingyu's face. "the only thing that will, hopefully, change between us is that we get closer. in a, you know, different way."
"different?" wonwoo asked, the confusing choice of words making his level of insecurity rise up on an instant.
and mingyu only confidently smiled, reassuring wonwoo by softly stroking the smooth skin of his cheek. "yes. different as in, from the stage right now to, perhaps, boyfriends." he boldly spoke, making heat rise up to wonwoo's cheeks.
but on the other hand, it filled wonwoo's stomach with aggressively fluttering butterflies, and there was only one answer he could give mingyu in return.
"i like different."
