wonwoo gazed down at the details engraved in the wooden table, sulking over a steaming hot cup of coffee while the other boys were hesitating to involve him into their conversation or let him be for a minute. even mingyu, who sat in the chair beside him, had absolutely no clue what he had to say or do and remained silent.
to wonwoo's surprise mingyu barely said a word ever since they got home. he hadn't spoken to him nor to the group and sunk down in the comfortable leather of the chair. wonwoo had no idea whether it should terrify him or if he should be relieved mingyu displayed a calm expression.
but was it? because even to wonwoo, who mastered reading other's their expression, it remained quite unclear as to what mingyu was feeling. he wondered if he made a mistake which resulted in mingyu refusing to speak to him.
however, wonwoo's mind was mostly occupied with the strange encounter they had with the group of boys back on the beach about an hour ago. he couldn't believe he'd bumped into a group of such unmannered and harmful teens who couldn't be older than around fifteen years old. what even made them behave like that?
"god, this silence is driving me crazy." hansol interrupted wonwoo's chain of thoughts, making him peer his head up. wonwoo noticed how mingyu lifted his gaze as well, fixating his attention on the partly american boy "mingyu, we just decided to go back. the weather is too good to stay inside. besides, don't you think those boys need to learn some manners?"
a sly smirk appeared on mingyu's lips after hansol's statement. "that idea doesn't sound too bad." mingyu approved their decision, sitting up straight in his chair and flashing his signature smile. the one that made wonwoo's heart do a flip inside his chest, making him look away with flushed cheeks.
a gesture that apparently never went unnoticed by mingyu, who was quick to catch the slightest blush on wonwoo's cheeks.
"wonwoo, you're coming with us right?" the tone in mingyu's voice never lost its warmth, not even when wonwoo looked up with a slight frown.
"you're aware that it's futile to fight back, right? it'll only make things worse." wonwoo pointed out, visibly not in the mood to head back to the beach. call him a coward, but wonwoo still rather avoided his problems than to make them bigger on purpose.
"we're not using violence like mingyu did earlier." junhui explained, grinning confidently yet reassuring at wonwoo and ignoring mingyu's annoyed glance "just a little teasing. they're probably a few years younger than us, don't you think we have the right to stand up for ourselves?"
however, there was no way to actually convince wonwoo to return to the beach. although it was just after lunch and they still had the entire afternoon ahead of them, wonwoo was determined to spend the rest of the day in seokmin's lodge.
"it's okay guys, you should go. i was thinking of taking a nap anyways, i haven't slept quite well last night." wonwoo apologized when both chan and sekomin were getting up from the table already, being followed by the overly enthusiastic junhui and hansol.
"well in that case, sleep well wonwoo! you can use whatever room you like when we're gone." seokmin politely offered, allowing him in his house once again.
"let's claim our spot!" chan yelled, out of sight for wonwoo to see since he disappeared in the hallway, calling out for mingyu to follow them as well.
however, mingyu remained frozen in his seat, cocking a brow as he stared intensely at wonwoo beside him. "for as far as i can remember you slept perfectly fine last night? you told me that this morning!" a pout formed on mingyu's lips, making him resemble a toddler who didn't get what he wanted.
"mingyu don't worry about it, you should go with your friends. i'll be fine by myself." unfortunately, his words weren't enough to convince mingyu, who hadn't moved a single muscle in his entire body.
"are you sure it isn't about what happened earlier today?" mingyu bluntly asked, figuring his actions might have worsened the whole situation that already affected wonwoo in the first place.
but just before wonwoo could answer properly, chan appeared right behind mingyu and pulled at the fabric of mingyu's blouse. "come on! because of you we have to wait, hurry up!"
a bit annoyed, mingyu jerked his shoulder back, smoothing out the wrinkles chan had caused in his baby blue blouse. "i'm coming." he grumbled, shoving his chair back and pushing himself up on his feet, giving wonwoo one last glance "we're talking about this when i get back, okay?"
"sure?" wonwoo replied in a rather questioning tone, unsure as to why mingyu couldn't just accept that he preferred to stay at home for an afternoon.
but how could he understand? mingyu had to be used to incidents like these by now, seeing the position he had in school. not to mention, the boy was still well known for his rude behavior and his spiteful personality.
although it was a side wonwoo hadn't seen of him since the moment they met.
as if wonwoo had brought up a whole new persona in him. which he still didn't know was right or wrong. according to his friends it appeared to be one of the best things that happened, worthy to go down in history. even soonyoung, who was just an acquaintance to mingyu and not even that close of a friend, told him that wonwoo really brought out a better side of him.
even mingyu said so himself..
"bye bye wonwoo!" mingyu interrupted his thoughts yet again as he held onto the doorknob, smiling generously at wonwoo "we'll be back by dinner, okay?"
"of course!" wonwoo waved him away "you should go now! the weather is too nice to stay inside with me, have fun on the beach."
and with that mingyu disappeared through the doorframe, making the door fall back in its lock with a gentle thud. wonwoo let out a long drawn sigh as relieve washed over him.
oh mingyu.. he thought to himself as he stared at the now empty doorframe. what are you doing to me?
