【just a dare】meanie

11

Strangely, Wonwoo feels a surge of reassurance and warmth from that one hand squeeze, and he hopes nobody will notice him blushing. (Because it certainly didn't feel very subtle, the way he felt himself blushing with affection. Whoops—Who cares, though? It's normal.)

Mingyu just keeps walking, with Wonwoo close next to him. Wonwoo hears Jin start to call after them, but Mingyu just smiles at Wonwoo, shrugging.

Mingyu pulls Wonwoo through the crowd of people walking, and they keep going until they've lost Jin in the sea of people.

"Well, that worked." Wonwoo exhales. "Thank god."

"Yes," Mingyu agrees, and the way he smiles and looks at Wonwoo so gently kind of makes Wonwoo feel dizzy. (As cheesy as it sounds, yes. That happened.)

Mingyu suddenly looks away, looking worried.

"What's wrong...?" Wonwoo asks, feeling concerned at the sight.

"Wonwoo, I..." Mingyu looks at him again and smiles, as if trying to reassure him. It's not very convincing, as Wonwoo can see right through that smile, and tell that something's worrying Mingyu.

"I'll protect you, okay?" Mingyu says. He looks determined, lips pressed into a serious, from line. He avoids looking at Wonwoo, who frowns up at him.

"What are you..." Wonwoo looks at him, confused. "...talking about?"

"About my parents, I mean..." Mingyu sighs. "You know how they are, right?"

Wonwoo suddenly feels chilled to the bone, and feels his heart drop. He's suddenly afraid of what could happen in the future, if Mingyu's parents found out.

'Yeah, I really don't want to have to let you go, Mingyu.'

'I'm scared.'

"But don't worry, Wonwoo, come here." Mingyu pulls him closer, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. He kisses Wonwoo's nose quickly.

"I won't let anything happen to us." Mingyu murmurs. "I'll make sure we last forever, okay?"

Wonwoo smiles. "I'll do the same, Mingyu. But I'm just scared. I don't want to cause anything bad to happen to you because of me, and how your parents would react about this, and..." He trails off uncertainly.

"What I've realized is that things don't come easily. You have to take risks and be willing to sacrifice something, I guess. Do you know what I'm saying?" Mingyu runs a hand through his hair. "What I'm saying is that, I love you with all my life, and I'm planning on doing anything to be able to stay with you, you know? It's worth it, you're worth it, we're worth it."

Wonwoo stares at him in shock. But he couldn't agree more.

He pulls Mingyu towards him, quickly pressing a kiss on Mingyu's lips before pulling away.

As Mingyu's cheeks turn pink, he stares at Wonwoo, flustered.

Wonwoo smiles. "Funny," He murmurs. "Agreed. I feel that way about you too."

Mingyu smiles back at him so brightly and happily that Wonwoo feels like a huge weight has been lifted off his back. It's kind of funny how something so simple, a gesture so small, can ease away what feels like pounds of worry.