five | meanie

tatlumpu't walo

"you never told me the reason you wanted to skip school today. for you to suggest such a thing is a surprise." mingyu said as they walked along the gravel path that weaved through the park by the han river.

the park wasn't as populated at this time of day, only filled with a few joggers passing by and owners walking their dogs. wonwoo already knew that mingyu was going to ask this question, but he still hoped he didn't. "i already told you, i just wanted to let off some steam." wonwoo answered, pushing up his glasses that were falling due to his head being tilted down, looking at his walking feet.

"the real reason, won." mingyu said, looking at the elder who still didn't meet his gaze. "if you wanted to let off some steam, you'd either read or play games on your phone. skipping school would be out of the question for you, unless... something was bothering you."

wonwoo chuckled quietly, looking up and taking a glance at mingyu with a small smile spread on his lips. "since when did you know so much about me?"

"i'm great at observing." mingyu said as the two sat down on one of the benches, a beautiful view of the calm river, its waters flowing east carrying small pieces of litter and twigs, creating sounds that were so calming to listen to. "tell me the real reason you wanted to miss school." mingyu faced his body towards the elder, propping his head on his hand as his elbow leaned on the backrest of the bench, allowing himself to get a good view of wonwoo, who was just staring out towards the water and the rest of the city behind and beyond it.

"you'll think it's a stupid reason." wonwoo mumbled before starting to fiddling with his thumbs, not wanting to meet mingyu's strong gaze again. mingyu stopped leaning on the bench and took wonwoo's hands in his, making the elder to look at mingyu with his heart beat quickening.

"whatever the reason is, i won't think it's stupid." mingyu reassured wonwoo, using his thumb to softly caress the top of wonwoo's hands.

"well... me and my friends had a fight- over you." wonwoo said sheepishly, turning so he could lean his head on mingyu's shoulder, their hands never parting.

"why over me?" mingyu asked with slight guilt in his tone.

"we were talking about the date you took me on, and everything was going fine, you know?" wonwoo said. "but then they started suggesting that you had ill intentions. that you were just playing with my feelings. i ended up lashing out and swearing a bunch."

mingyu didn't know what to say. a part of him wanted to protest and say deny that idea completely, but another part of him understood why wonwoo's friends would suggest something like that.

because honestly, if your friend just started hanging around a delinquent, or some kind of dangerous figure in general- and your friend said that he was going on dates with that dangerous figure- you would obviously warn them to be cautious and would be wary of the other's actions.

so instead of denying what wonwoo said, mingyu simply asked, "do you believe what they say?"

"i don't want to believe it! i know you're... a good person- i just know it. you wouldn't be treating me so nicely if you had ill intentions towards me. i don't want to believe what they're saying will be true, and i hope it's not the truth." wonwoo said with such innocence. wonwoo had so much to learn about relationships, despite being in one before.

maybe wonwoo's past boyfriend never treated him the way mingyu did, so that's why wonwoo was loving mingyu's affection so much, it was a new experience for the elder.

"i just don't get why they were worrying so much. you've clearly changed since our first encounter, and you've made me happier than i've ever been since minjae was last here in seoul. why weren't they happy for me that i had finally moved on from then?" wonwoo ranted.

minjae? is that the name of wonwoo's ex boyfriend? mingyu thought. he wanted to ask more about who minjae was, but seeing how wonwoo talked about him, he didn't want to upset the elder.

wonwoo didn't want to look at how mingyu was reacting, scared that mingyu may lash out- but the complete opposite happened.

instead, mingyu gently took wonwoo by the chin, tilting the elder's head towards him and give him a reassuring kiss on the forehead, saying, "believe what you want, wonwoo. but think of how junhui and soonyoung may feel, they were probably just looking out for you. i don't plan on playing with your feelings because believe me, you're probably the best thing that has ever happened to me."

the small compliment at the end caused a light blush to over come wonwoo's cheeks, which mingyu found incredibly cute how wonwoo would blush at any compliment he said, but continued again. "but if i did have ill intentions, you would regret not listening to their warnings. don't think that they aren't happy for you, because from what minghao has told me, i know that junhui is happy for you. just think of what they're saying as advice to you for relationships."

wonwoo was undeniably surprised by mingyu's lecture like speech, not expecting such advice to come from mingyu. "wow. just- wow."

"you didn't expect me to give such good advice, did you?" mingyu said with a smug look on his face, pretending to act like he was really smart.

"no i didn't, actually. you usually say something dumb or useless." wonwoo laughed as mingyu gave him a jab to the arm, protesting to wonwoo's mean comment. "but really, thank you for the advice. maybe i did overreact, and i should probably apologise to them."

"you can apologise later, but for now... let's continue our date!"