The servants of the castle surrounded the big armchair in front of the fireplace where their Master was sitting. Wonwoo was sitting on a step stool next to him, wetting a towel in a bowl of warm water. He reached his hand out and pulled the beast's injured arm towards himself, bringing the towel closer to clean the still slightly bleeding wound.
'It might sting a little' he warned and dabbed the towel on the beast's furry arm. The beast growled loudly and Wonwoo just managed to pull his arm away in time before he would've bitten him.
Seungkwan and Soonyoung cringed watching the scene, but to their surprise Wonwoo wasn't the one to back away that easily.
'Hey! Grow a pair!' he yelled. Mingyu avoided his eyes and Wonwoo continued cleaning the wounds. Then he grabbed another tissue and put some liquid on it, dabbing it on the wound carefully. The beast growled loudly, but by now Wonwoo was already expecting the attack and moved backwards before he would've bit off his arm.
'Bitch!' he yelled at the beast.
'It hurts!' he shouted back.
'Really? You sound like some kid falling on the playground! Seriously, do you even see yourself?! You're a big mighty beast who whines because of a little sting?!' mocked Wonwoo. The servants were watching amusedly. No one ever dared to talk back to Mingyu like that, maybe except for Soonyoung.
'Well, if you weren't such a whine and didn't run away, I wouldn't have to fight off all those wolves who would've torn you apart in a second!' fired back Mingyu. Wonwoo sighed and sat back properly on the step stool.
'You know what? You are right' he admitted. Mingyu looked at him in surprise. Wonwoo continued. 'I'm sorry for going to the west wing. And for being nosy. Please don't blame them' he gestured at Seungkwan and Soonyoung. 'They told me not to go, it was me being too curious. Thank you for saving my life' he said quietly. Mingyu was so in awe that he didn't even flinch when Wonwoo continued treating his wounds.
'You're welcome' he said finally. 'And I'm sorry for acting like that' he added. 'I'm not used to having guests in the castle.'
'How about we start things over?' asked Wonwoo looking up at him. For a few seconds Mingyu just stared at the boy. The way he looked at him with the fire from the fireplace reflecting in his eyes was just mesmerizing. He looked ethereal. The beast slowly nodded and Wonwoo held his hand out for a handshake.
'I'm Wonwoo.' The beast slipped his big hurry hand in Wonwoo's slim one.
'Mingyu. Please, make yourself at home in the castle.'
.
Wonwoo watched as Mingyu was sleeping soundly in his king-sized bed. The beast almost looked peaceful, his chest rising with every breath he took. Wonwoo took care of his wounds, now his arms were wrapped up and slowly healing.
Still, he lost a lot of blood and was exhausted. It's been two days since the incident and Mingyu still had to recover. To the staff's surprise (and luck), Wonwoo took it his personal job to take care of their Master, since it was basically his fault that now he was in such condition.
That's why he spent most of his time sitting next to Mingyu's bed with a book he got from the shelf in his own bedroom, reading out loud stories to the still sleeping beast, and also to take his mind off everything. He missed his village, his brother and his friends, but he was also worried about Mingyu.
'They were ready to die for each other' he read it out loud. 'And the book said about true love that-'
'... that it happens when you love someone else more than you love yourself' finished the quote a quiet voice instead of him. He looked up surprised, only to see Mingyu awake, staring at the ceiling with sleepy eyes.
'You're awake' said Wonwoo, then he furrowed his eyebrows. 'Wait... you read this book?' he showed up the book in his hands.
'Yeah' admitted Mingyu awkwardly.
'You don't seem to be the type to be into this kind of stuff' grinned Wonwoo, pleased to be able to sass without having to worry about Mingyu attacking him. He was still too weak for that.
'Like what kind of stuff?' asked back the beast, turning his head slightly to look at Wonwoo.
'Oh you know... this true love thing' said the boy. Mingyu stared at him for a few seconds and his gaze was so intense that Wonwoo had to look away. Mingyu looked back at the ceiling again.
'I'm not. And that book is a really bad one anyways.'
'It was just the Author's first book' said Wonwoo looking at the cover. It read Swan Lake. This is totally not self-promotion because that book is actually a really bad one. 'Her other books are way better. And you can't deny that you read it a few times. You knew the quote by heart!'
'Stop it, will you?' groaned Mingyu and turned to his side, facing away from Wonwoo. The boy smiled to himself and opened the book again, continuing to read out the end of the love story.
.
That afternoon somehow Mingyu managed to finally get out of bed, despite Wonwoo's protests about him still being weak. He insisted that he just wants to take a walk in the castle because he hasn't moved for days, and Wonwoo only agreed if he can go with him.
Mingyu totally wasn't only doing this because by now he got to learn that the easiest way to impress Wonwoo is through books. No, he just wanted to prove that there are many better books than Swan Lake... and maybe he also wanted to impress Wonwoo just a bit.
'Where are we going?' asked Wonwoo as they were walking on the hallways.
'You'll see' said Mingyu. They soon stopped in front of a tall door that the beast now opened. Wonwoo stopped in the doorway and looked around amazed.
They were in a library, a library so big that Wonwoo couldn't even imagine in his wildest dreams. All the walls had shelves all over them, and the shelves were all filled with books. The sunlight shone through the windows, enlightening the room. The marble floor was so clean that Wonwoo could even see their own reflections in it.
The beast, who meanwhile walked inside, sensed that Wonwoo wasn't beside him anymore and he turned around expectantly.
'T-This is... wow' gasped Wonwoo, taking in the sight of the library. His lips slightly parted and the sunlight reflected in his eyes, making them look like if they were actually sparkling. Beautiful, thought Mingyu.
'You like it?' he asked. Wonwoo nodded without hesitation, his eyes scanning all the shelves.
'Have you read all these books?' he asked.
'Well... not all of them. Some of them are in other languages... Chinese, French, Italian...' admitted the other.
Wonwoo hummed with a hint of admiration. He definitely wouldn't have expected Mingyu to be so well-educated. But then again, he didn't know anything about him. It's easy to judge others without knowing their true story.
Mingyu, as if he was reading his thoughts, spoke up again. 'I had good teachers' he added.
Wonwoo didn't ask more questions, just went to a shelf to pick up a book, smiling when he recognized it as one of his favorites. Mingyu felt an unfamiliar warmth in his chest just from seeing his smile.
.
Wonwoo was immersed in his book even by the dining table. It was evening, and he and Mingyu were having dinner. The servants made them a wonderful meal, thanking Wonwoo for taking care of their Master.
Wonwoo looked up with the chopsticks in his mouth when he heard disgusting slurping noises from the opposite side of the table. He covered his mouth to suppress his laughter when he saw Mingyu with his face in the bowl of ramen, basically snorting it. He sensed Wonwoo's eyes on him because he looked up, having noodles all over his face.
'Umm...' he mumbled trying to wipe his face, then his eyes wandered towards his own chopsticks. He stared at them for a second before slowly reaching for them, trying to take them in his huge furry hands, failing to hold them properly. He looked at Wonwoo again awkwardly, only to find the boy putting his own chopsticks down and grabbing his own bowl, holding it up as cheers with a small smile.
Mingyu copied his movements confusedly, then Wonwoo held the bowl to his own lips and began drinking the rest of the soup. Mingyu unknowingly smiled and continued having dinner, a bit more considerately this time.
.
A/N: My apologies for the self-promotion in the second scene lmfao, that was actually a quote from my very first book and ik it was very lame. In the movie they were quoting Shakespeare but I decided to go for something else bruh-