Work Text:
Wooyoung should have never started smoking.
The air outside the club is cold, busy with light and sound, and Wooyoung is teetering the very fine line between tipsy and drunk. The very, very fine line. He breathes out, watches how his breath fogs briefly in the air then dissipates. Takes the way it almost makes him laugh as a reminder of that line, tells himself to keep his shit together, then has another drag of his cigarette.
The music inside spills out whenever someone opens or closes the back door, cuts loud and uncoordinated through the side street chatter. His body thrums with the bass under his feet, and the alcohol makes everything buzz anyway, just a little . Or a lot. He only ever realises how much he's drunk when he goes for these smoking breaks and he's been very easy to goad into having shots by Jongho tonight (tomorrow's a weekend! and it's my birthday! are very persuasive arguments). Oh, the line is so very, very fine right now. Maybe it's for the best that this man talking in his ear so very, very close to him is trying so very, very hard to sober him up.
Now, Wooyoung's an easy-going kind of drunk. His mouth runs away from him more than usual, a train of thought with no brakes or driver, and he doesn't really know how not to flirt with people at the best of times – which is the key issue right now. He flirts unwittingly with every person he meets, and, really, it's not his fault that he's so naturally smooth and complimentary, is it? It doesn't mean he wants to fuck them. If he wanted to fuck someone, he just tell them. That's actually sexy.
Pleading his case internally is no help right now, though, because the fact is that he does not like this guy – he's, like, ten walking red flags, and he has fake rips in his jeans, like, just show knee if you're gonna bother? – and yet, somehow, this guy is inviting him home.
Wooyoung gives another over-enthusiastic hum when he says where he lives, quick nods of his head behind the smoke he blows out his mouth. Nearby, of course he lives nearby. Ooh, and in his own apartment! Just Wooyoung's luck, his company all to himself, what dreams are made of!
Wooyoung taps ash onto the pavement, under the guy's arm. He's leaning across Wooyoung against the wall, firmly in his space. Ugh, and he really did want to savour this cigarette. Drunk smoking is so good. Doesn't this guy know these cigarettes are expensive? "Ah, I'd love to, but I'm with friends," he says with a laugh. "They're inside, actually."
"I'm sure they won't mind," this guy purrs, and Wooyoung tries to control the wrinkle of his nose, but he is actually kinda drunk, and he's not so sure this guy's paying much attention to whether he's into him or not. He could probably just stand there and he'd still be trying it. Wow. That's the biggest red flag so far.
Ugh. Men. "No, they would," he assures him in semi-good humour. This guy's touching his arm, now, he realises, with his free hand, and– Ah. Yeah, fuck that, he's pulling out the big guns: "So would my boyfriend."
"Boyfriend?" he questions, but still doesn't remove his arm, or lean away from his ear. He just kind of smiles. "Suddenly you have a boyfriend, huh? Didn't mention him before."
Ah, fuck. Yeah, that's because he's not real. "Oh no, yeah, he's here, too. Big, scary, shouldn't mess with him," he says. There's a picture of Yunho on his phone he can use as proof, probably. Maybe. He's mentally running through his photo library when he feels the man's hand drop lower, dangerously lower down to his hip–
Then fucking Song Mingi comes over, and he can't hold in the groan he lets out.
He should never have started smoking, if only because the other smoker in their group is Mingi after Hongjoong quit, and that leads to stilted half-conversations around an ashtray at best and situations like this at worst.
It's not that Wooyoung dislikes Mingi, per say. They only met a couple months ago, the same time he met Yunho, Mingi's roommate and long-term friend, because Mingi started working in Hongjoong's studio. All Hongjoong really needs to like someone is to see they're good at their work. Something about dedication and passion and creativity. Which, like, sure, he'll give Mingi that much: he is fucking good in the studio. And all of their friends get along with him. He does, too – kind of, maybe. He can't really tell and that's the most baffling thing about Mingi. He can't get a read on him.
It doesn't make any sense. He's good at reading people, good at making friends; famously so. And him and Yunho got along instantly, but Mingi acts like there's– there's hidden cameras around when it's just him and Wooyoung. Like, he won't fucking shake loose. They can go out in a group, have fun in a group, with enough people placed between them in their conversations. But alone, it's almost impossible to diffuse whatever weird tension Mingi's built between them. And Wooyoung's tried! A lot! But every attempt has been curve-balled or met with silence or taken the wrong way and turned into a petty argument, and Wooyoung's a persistent person, but Mingi's also stubborn.
So Wooyoung doesn't dislike him. Wooyoung doesn't like to dislike anyone without good reason, and he has no problem with Mingi.
Having said that, Mingi does manage to piss him off.
"Back off," Mingi tells this guy now. Also kind of drunk, which just means he's even louder and blunter and sulkier and– more than usual. He's got his roll-up bag sticking out of the pocket of his pants, which are these long flares that taper in down his thighs then swim just above his heeled shoes. (Why does a guy that tall need heels, anyway?)
Then Wooyoung's hit with a streak of drunken genius: big and scary. He can almost envision the light bulb over his head and a little ding! sound effect. "Jagi," he drawls, and Mingi stops and blinks at him like a– big, dumb giraffe, maybe? It's kind of funny and Wooyoung's no gay chicken, so he rests his cigarette carefully between his fingers and puts his hand on Mingi's chest. To really make the character come to life. "Don't start a fight."
"But–" Then Mingi's hand covers his. No, swallows his. Oh. Okay, yeah, Wooyoung's fine with that. Maybe? Mingi kind of looks surprised at himself for doing it, then the man in front of Wooyoung clears his throat.
Mingi shoots a glare at him. "What? I said back off." (Wooyoung has half-a-thought: Mingi can't act. It's really cringe when he tries, mostly because Jongho indulges his little skits and he's really good at it. Which means Mingi's actually kinda mad right now.) "He's not interested," he tells him. Again, too loud. He's going to cause a scene. Of fucking course he is, without even meaning to. "He's– taken."
Wooyoung gives him an exasperated look. Yah, can he at least deliver the line well?
"Yeah?" the guy replies. He sounds like he's getting bored, at least, if not unconvinced. He just needs a little extra push to leave. "Well, he's been coming onto me behind your back–"
Wooyoung half turns to protest, thankful that he's not being touched by him anymore, at least, but Mingi, of course, cuts in instead with a very eloquent, "Fuck off."
The guy pushes off the wall and Wooyoung sighs a nice, clean breath into his lungs now there's some space between them. "You fuck off!"
"Or what, dickhead?"
For all his self-aggrandised lyricism, Mingi talking is not helping them right now. Wooyoung rolls his eyes, puts a hand on the back of Mingi's neck. Fine. Show-don't-tell it is–
He kisses him.
Or, well. It's not meant to be a kiss. He had meant to do just enough for the guy to get the picture and leave, leaning in kind of close then turning his head at the last moment. But Mingi– goes for it. Mingi parts his lips and starts kissing him without preamble.
Oh, god, oh, fuck. Wooyoung's fingers dig into his neck, into the base of his hair, and the very, very fine line has blurred. Completely blurred. It has to have, he can taste Mingi's last fucking cocktail on his tongue, sweet rum and pineapple. He's kissing Song Mingi and he can kiss.
"You didn't tell me?!"
They part like a crack in ice, clean and cold from each other. The guy has gone and, for both better and worse, San's marching over instead with–
Yeah, literally all of their friends are piling out into the back street.
Hongjoong is in hysterics, from what Wooyoung sees of him past San. San, who's now gripping his shoulders and shaking him in a way that can't be good for the alcohol in his stomach. "Oh my god," their hyung hiccups, dropping to the ground with a hand gripping Jongho's arm for support. (He's been fucking hammered almost since they got there.) "No way! There's no way!"
"What the fuck, hyungs?" Jongho adds, utterly nonchalant about Hongjoong falling over himself. Ugh, he's so good at pretending to be sober. Not fair. "You're meant to at least tell me these things!"
"Tell you what?" Wooyoung almost yells, slapping San's arms to stop his jostling. "Nothing is happening!"
Seonghwa, resident emotional drunk, stares wide-eyed over Jongho's shoulder. "Oh my god," he gasps, then frowns. "Did you think we'd be mean? Is that why you pretended you didn't like each other?"
Mingi's mouth falls open. "What?" Wooyoung splutters, at the same time Mingi says, "I haven't been pretending anything!" and if it were any other situation on any other night, Wooyoung would pull him up on being such a difficult shit, but finally Yunho stumbles out of the door last, apologising to a group of girls slipping back in, and Wooyoung feels a sliver of hope. Oh, Yunho, mercifully sober designated-driver Yunho who's letting Yeosang lean on him like a crutch, he'll be able to save Wooyoung from this hell!
"What's going on? Wooyo, we were just looking for you, then Mingi vanished–"
"They're dating!" San yells.
Guess not, Wooyoung thinks miserably, hopes and dreams effectively quashed. For fuck's sake, he's too drunk for this. "We are not–"
"They were kissing," Hongjoong giggles from the ground. Yeosang joins him moments later, the fucking traitor, holding his stomach as he laughs.
"No!" Wooyoung snaps. "He kissed me!"
"Yah, that is not true!" Mingi protests, turning to him with wide eyes and an accusatory finger. "You were gonna kiss me!
"You still kissed me back!" Wooyoung shouts, and Yeosang and Hongjoong collapse back into Jongho's legs, making him stumble back into Seonghwa and then Yunho, like a domino line of fucking idiots.
"Seriously?" Yunho catches Seonghwa under his arms once Jongho rights himself, eyebrows raised at Wooyoung then at Mingi. "Wait, seriously?"
"Fine!" Wooyoung exclaims, throwing his hands up and nearly knocking San in the nose. A laugh bursts out of him despite everything, and he places a clumsy, apologetic hand on the boy's cheek before continuing. "Whatever you say! Can we go back in now?"
—
"So," San prompts the next day, like Wooyoung hadn't just crawled from his bed to the shower to the living room, like he isn't feeling like a bag of dried wakame, shrivelled up and tangled and begging to sit in water. (He's pretty hungover and really fucking wants seaweed soup.) "Let's talk about last night."
"How does it feel to be God's favourite?" he says back to San, who, utterly unaffected by getting shitfaced yesterday, is bringing two coffees in from the kitchen. He giggles and the answer's written across his face – he's smug, amused, and happy to be their caretaker. When Wooyoung accepts his mug, San ruffles the top of his towel-dried hair until Wooyoung gifts him a fond smile and a thank you, then he plops another coffee in front of a much more appropriately worse-for-wear Jongho.
Jongho looks up from tracking their hangover-cure breakfast orders on his phone and sighs a thank you, hyung, then lets San sit down on the floor between his knees, looking expectantly over at Wooyoung.
"Can I wake up for three minutes first?" Wooyoung complains. It's late in the morning by now, which is how Jongho's justifying ordering a burrito for breakfast, but he's been up for all of… half an hour, or something. Give or take. And he just wants his seaweed soup. And to not think about Mingi and his mouth. "Not all of us are immune to the morning after."
"Mingi said you two got together last month, by the way."
Well, now he's fucking awake. Wooyoung snaps his head towards Jongho, cocooned in a blanket, cupping his coffee mug, blinking what would be very cute and innocuous eyes at Wooyoung, if Wooyoung didn't know he's a master manipulator. "No, he didn't," he replies slowly, suspiciously, squinting at him around a sip of his coffee.
Jongho laughs, eyebrows shooting up, like he's shocked Wooyoung doesn't believe him. "He actually did. Yunho hyung told me. It’s in the group chat, actually."
Wooyoung squints at him some more, shrewd. Fuck. He's a really good liar. And he can’t check his phone, because that would be letting him win. "I don't think he did," he hums. "Mingi sleeps like a fucking log into the afternoon. I don't even think he's awake."
Jongho lifts his mug to his lips, a barely held-back smile hiding behind it. "Does he, now?"
Ah, fuck. Wooyoung takes a determined sip of coffee and looks away from his scheming housemate. "He's slept over before. In your room. This isn't news."
"When did you get together, then?" San asks, genuinely curious instead of weaselly and plotting, and all Wooyoung wants right now is his soup and a paracetamol. He sighs his way back into the couch cushions.
"Last month!" Jongho repeats emphatically, then sinks further into his blanket cave and laughs again. "Why don't you believe me?"
San pouts back at him. "I don't know when you're telling the truth!"
"Check your phone!" Jongho says. "It's in the chat. I swear."
Wooyoung hears San shift and begin searching for his inevitably misplaced phone around the living room. He doesn't watch, though, just tilts his head back and shuts his eyes. Ugh. Fine, Jongho wins: "Did he seriously say last month?"
"Yes," Jongho insists at the same time San returns, assumedly successful in his search from the sound he just let out.
"Oh my god! A whole month? And you didn't say anything?" he gasps, hitting Wooyoung's knee from his place on the floor again.
I'm going to kill Mingi, he thinks. But if he wants to do this, Wooyoung will fucking do this. Will out-do this. "It's not been a whole month," he tells them. Then the doorbell finally, graciously rings and Wooyoung, despite his body's protests, takes it upon himself to move. "It was two weeks ago in Hongjoong's studio," is what he leaves them scrabbling with.
It takes one seaweed soup, two painkillers and several hours to pass for Mingi to call him.
Wooyoung accepts the call from the happy comfort of his bed, after doing the bare minimum of putting his laundry into one pile, and realises they've never spoken on the phone just before he says, "Good morning, jagiya."
Even though it's definitely afternoon by now, Mingi doesn't point it out. On the other end of the line, he seems to choke a bit instead, before spluttering out, "What the fuck is happening?"
"You tell me," Wooyoung replies, unfazed, flopping onto his back on the bed. "You're the one who told Yunho we're dating."
"I didn't! I– No, he asked and I– Okay. Okay, maybe I did," Mingi concedes, and Wooyoung rolls his eyes up to the ceiling. "But it wasn't intentional–"
"Why would you do that?" he groans. "If you didn't do that we could have written it off! A one night stand! Now we can't! Now it’s a thing!"
"I panicked!" Mingi blurts out.
"Well, get it together!"
" Why don't you get it together?” Mingi shoots back. “Why did you tell Jongho we hooked up at Hongjoong hyung's studio?"
"I did not say hooked up," Wooyoung clarifies, but giggles a little anyway, because that is kind of funny. "I said we got together in the studio."
Mingi makes a frustrated noise in the back of his mouth. It crackles over the phone, but Wooyoung’s heard it so much in real life that it comes across clearly. "What else could that have meant?"
"Something romantic," Wooyoung replies. "A mere brush of hands. Spark of love over the mixing desk."
"Well, Hongjoong hyung thinks we– you know. In his studio."
Wooyoung has to laugh. He covers his mouth, laughs again, and asks, "We what, Mingi-ssi?" Turns onto his side, propping his head up in his chin, and grins down the line. "What does he think we did, jagiya?" he teases.
There’s silence on the other end of the call for a few moments. Wooyoung can almost picture him squirming, how he does whenever Wooyoung tries to compliment him before ignoring him or asking why he said whatever he said. “Can you not call me that?” is what he replies this time, though, and something about it pulls in Wooyoung’s gut.
Just a thread of guilt, under the amusement and exasperation and the utter ridiculousness of this whole situation. He realises they aren’t close like that and this light-hearted teasing might not land well. “Sorry, Mingi-ssi,” he says seriously, then clears his throat. “But we're fucking in this now. At least for a couple weeks, until they let it go.”
Mingi groans. Wooyoung huffs out an amused breath at the dramatics. “I know,” he says, resigned. They know their friends: if they deny it, they’ll just watch even closer, be even more annoying. It’s easier to just let their fascination run its course then pretend to amicably break-up.
“So,” Wooyoung continues, “if you’re dropping major backstory I've got to know.”
“I didn’t mean to,” Mingi mutters, petulant, then before Wooyoung tells him to get a grip again, he sighs, “Okay, fine. Whatever.”
Wooyoung nods into the phone. “Cool. Let me tell hyung it was just a brush of hands, then”
“Good,” Mingi exhales before hanging up the call.
—
"He just doesn't like me," Wooyoung had told Hongjoong once, sat around his studio space with Yunho. It was one of many occasions where he'd been roped in to help on a track. Mingi and San had left the room to get food for everyone at Hongjoong's request, which had effectively interrupted his and Mingi's mid-recording bickering, which had been going on just long enough to edge out of friendly joke-y territory. "It's like he knows how to annoy me and– does it whenever he can."
Hongjoong just hummed, legs crossed in his chair noting something down. Yunho shifted next to him on the couch, crossed his legs as well and turned his body towards Wooyoung. "He thinks you don't like him." Yunho said it like Wooyoung was meant to understand something in it, more than just Mingi misreading him – again.
"Let him think that, then. Sorry. I know how it sounds. But I've not given him a reason to think that," Wooyoung muttered. Hongjoong raised an eyebrow at him and Wooyoung rolled his eyes. " He was calling me loud just now," he said, gesturing around the room, the scene of the crime. Mingi had turned in his chair next to Hongjoong, looked at him and San on the couch, and said, Wooyoung-ssi, you're being really loud.
"Uh-huh," Hongjoong encouraged.
"I'm just talking to San! And he's the loud one! I only had to speak up because he was being loud!" Which is what he told him. Well, Sannie can't hear me over you. (It didn't help that all Yunho and San added to the situation was a low and harmonised oooh.) (Or that Mingi had to act like a fucking defence lawyer afterwards.)
"Yeah?"
"Yes." Wooyoung grabbed his coffee off the table. "He's stubborn and loud. Sorry, Yunho," he added for his friend's sake, who, to be fair, wasn't taking it seriously anyway.
"I see," Hongjoong said, rote.
"And he can dish it but he can't take it," Wooyoung added.
"Mhm."
Wooyoung shot him a look. Hongjoong, leaning over the back of his chair, looking amused. "No words of wisdom?" he deadpanned.
Hongjoong smiled, exchanged a look with Yunho next to Wooyoung, who looked like he was trying not to laugh. "Just sounds a lot like someone else we know," he said eventually.
"Oh, fuck you, hyung," Wooyoung said gruffly. They both burst into laughter and he sipped his drink extra loud just to annoy them.
If you told Wooyoung then that him and Mingi would start texting every day, give or take, he’d have laughed – if you said it was just to solidify the details of their fake relationship, he'd have screamed.
mangi
what do i save u as on my phone
hmmm
smth cute xx
mangi
like???
ugh idk ur the lyricist
mangi
this is very different from writing lyrics!!!! what do u like to be called???
its not a big deal mingi
but young-ah makes my heart flutter xx
mangi
so i can call u young-ah?
yea sure
mangi
ok.
i like min min
uh
if u want
really???? min min???!
min min
don’t take the piss.
i’m not???? that’s so fucking cute?
min min
whatever.
[...]
min min
have u seen kipo and the age of wonderbeasts
???
min min
fuck. i said we watched it together
its like 3 seasons long
why tf would u say that
min min
idk
hongjoong hyung asked what our first date was ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
and its my favourite show rn…
u rlly do suck at lying
min min
thank u so much wooyoung that's so helpful.
ok well passive aggression aside,
is it good?
min min
duh. its my favourite show.
yea but is it good
min min
yes!!!!!???? fuck u????
no need to be rude min min <333
have u seen harry potter
min min
????? uhhh some with yunho probably. can’t remember
watch the first 3 movies and ill watch ur show.
deal?
min min
deal.
[…]
Wooyoung’s surprised when Mingi picks up his call. It’s kind of late – well, no, it’s late- late. Like, 2AM. Ah. He should’ve checked that before calling. Now he’s even more surprised.
“Young-ah? Are you okay?” Mingi asks in a low, sleepy voice. If Wooyoung wasn’t so emotionally compromised, then he’d maybe comment on the fact Mingi doesn't have to call him that when it's just the two of them, or why the fuck he answered the call.
Instead, still staring at the Netflix end screen, perhaps a bit more emotional than he has any business being over an animated show, he half-croaks, half-laughs, “I just finished Kipo. You fucking bastard. What the fuck?”
“Wait, you watched it for real?” Mingi sounds instantly more awake, even a little giddy. It’s a bit cute, Wooyoung can admit. “See, I told you it was good!”
[…]
min min
yunho’s mad u got me into harry potter and not him
HAHAHAAAAA
suckerrrrrrr
favourite character GO
min min
um
buckbeak guy
the godfather
SIRIUS BLACK???
min min
yeah
is that fr how u spell that.
TASTE!!!!!
yea he’s named after a star
so r bellatrix and andromeda
actually andromeda is a constellation
but yea so they're all latin or greek or smth
min min
??? who
OH…..oh u have so much yet to learn
let’s watch the rest together
yunho clearly didnt teach u well
“I can’t believe I didn’t notice you two before.”
Wooyoung looks up from his phone and raises his eyebrows across the table at Seonghwa, clearly asking him to repeat.
Seonghwa just smiles and nods to the phone in Wooyoung’s hand, over the top of his laptop. “You can’t stop talking," he says over the coffee shop chatter.
Wooyoung rolls his eyes once his brain catches up, locking his phone and pocketing it. “How’d you know it’s him, hm?” he counters.
“Because you’re smiling too much,” Seonghwa replies easily.
—
Wooyoung had intended on inviting Mingi over to hijack the weekly movie night with his housemates. Run through Goblet of Fire in detail, and maybe Order of the Phoenix, too, just to see Mingi's reaction to Sirius dying. They could sit next to each other to appease the room but he's really in it for the movies and an audience for his commentary.
But suddenly San and Jongho are busy. During the precious, untouchable time they carve out for movie night. When Wooyoung gets in from work, they're already out, and he sends them several reprimanding texts before the doorbell rings.
Mingi stands on the threshold of his apartment, looking as awkward as he usually does around Wooyoung, this time with a grocery bag of snacks in his hand.
“The others are busy,” Wooyoung offers as an explanation for the empty living room behind him. "So it's just you and me."
"Oh." Mingi hesitates, looks down at the bag of snacks. He looks back up at Wooyoung with a mildly concerned expression. "I kind of, uh. Overbought, then."
“Don't threaten me with a good time,” Wooyoung replies, smiling, then steps aside for Mingi to come in.
Maybe this is where they've been going wrong, Wooyoung thinks sitting next to Mingi now. They keep trying to meet each other on unfamiliar ground – maybe they just needed something in common, something to talk about without getting personal until Mingi got used to Wooyoung's roughness enough for his heckles to drop. Or Wooyoung to his blunt or questioning replies, enough to see there's not always an argument laying underneath it.
For both of them to yell in the same direction, for once, instead of fighting to be heard over each other.
It's nice.
He finds out during the opening scene of Goblet of Fire that Mingi's a fucking wimp, too, which sends Wooyoung into a fit of laughter. Mingi jumps and, as Harry wakes up on screen, Wooyoung turns to see his entire face is hidden in his hands, just the barest peek of a flushed, embarrassed smile visible through his fingers.
"How did you get through Chamber of Secrets?" Wooyoung giggles.
"I muted it when they did the snake talking," he admits, which makes Wooyoung shriek and hit his arm. "And couldn't look at the big snake. Or the spider. I kinda angled the screen down."
"Yah, that's no way to watch Harry Potter," he scolds, and bats Mingi's hands down as the movie plays on. "You have to watch it all the way through with me. No hiding. I can hold your hand at the scary bits?"
He sing-songs the offer, because he likes to be just a little annoying. "I don't need to hold anyone's hand," Mingi responds gruffly, but he does drop his own from in front of his face, and he does watch the screen the whole time. Wooyoung knows because he keeps glancing at him to see his reactions. Which he gives freely, like Wooyoung does. Wide eyes, gasps, jolts in his seat when something happens.
It's nice.
Wooyoung likes to insert tidbits from the books and the third time he does it, Mingi asks him to pause the movie if he needs to say something, because he can't read the subtitles and listen to Wooyoung's expositions, and it's– not mean, like Wooyoung might've thought it was. It's just that Mingi doesn't want to miss anything. So he does as asked, and takes in Mingi's rapt attention when he talks, little encouraging hums to show he's interested, and grins when Mingi starts asking him questions back.
(And during the final scenes, Mingi does end up taking his hand. He grabs it with tight and tense fingers. Wooyoung's almost too emotionally invested in Cedric's death to make a note of it – almost. He squeezes back whenever Mingi flinches.)
San and Jongho come back home to the two of them huddled together on the couch with several almost-finished snacks and a blanket around their tucked-up legs. The fifth movie is coming a climax in the Ministry of Magic. Both of them, in unison, hush Wooyoung's housemates out of the living room, with Mingi saying something like, "Shh! My dude just died!!!"
Wooyoung catches San's gooey little smile before he slinks away with Jongho to his room.
—
From there, they just gets worse.
Wooyoung's not sure the exact occasion that makes him clock onto what they're all doing. At first, it was San and Jongho becoming surprisingly busy without him – weekly movie nights turned into him and Mingi finishing the rest of the series. Wooyoung stops expecting them there and orders food for two, instead. (He knows Mingi's favourite restaurants now.)
Then they all start dropping out of plans at the last minute. Yunho, Yeosang, San and Seonghwa say they should all go bowling, then on the day, one by one, they drop like flies, until only Wooyoung shows up and it's just Mingi there. (So they decide to find a place to eat instead because who books a lane for just two people?)
Hongjoong invites Wooyoung to the studio then conveniently gets pulled into a meeting as soon as he arrives, so Wooyoung ends up monitoring Mingi recording instead. (He's really fucking good.)
Yunho invites Wooyoung over and when he shows up, Mingi answers the door, confused, because Yunho's with Seonghwa downtown – but he invites him in anyway, since he's there. (Wooyoung finds out Mingi's dogshit at video games, to his delight.)
It's after another fake-outing, this time to the cinema, that Wooyoung goes to the most reliable source for answers: Yeosang.
"Are you guys avoiding us?" he asks as they walk the shared route back from their separate workplaces.
Yeosang blinks confused eyes at him at the crossing, cars zipping by through the cold air. "Who?"
Wooyoung pulls his jacket tighter across his work uniform, then adjusts Yeosang's, too. "Me and Mingi," he says. "Why are you all so busy now? What's going on?"
"Nothing," Yeosang replies too quickly. It only takes a prolonged, doubtful stare from Wooyoung for him to crack and admit, "Okay, no. We are. We're giving you two alone time."
"Alone time?" Wooyoung repeats, unimpressed.
"Yeah." Yeosang clears his throat. "I mean, you always had to hang out around us before. To keep up appearances. So… We're giving you two space."
Keep up appearances, Wooyoung thinks. Huh.
"You know, you guys could just tell us like normal people," he says as the traffic light turns red and everyone starts crossing. He falls into step beside his friend, mulling it over. This whole thing was for them. To satisfy their questions before they kept asking them. It was for show. So who are him and Mingi keeping up appearances for now? When their friends don't show up, why don't they just… go home?
"I know. We thought this was funnier," Yeosang admits, with a small smile. "But don't worry, yours and Hongjoong's birthday thing is real! We wouldn't stand you up on your birthday."
Wooyoung laughs. "You draw the line at joint birthday parties?"
Yeosang grins at him, then hides it behind his hand. "See you Saturday!" is what he chirps in lieu of confirming or denying this.
They part ways at the end of the block and Wooyoung lingers on the corner. Staring at Mingi's contact on his phone, at their piles and piles of texts throughout the day. They text about boring shit now, like what they're eating. Mingi sent him a photo of his cup noodles earlier. Wooyoung sent him some old dance clips yesterday and got a stream of emoticons as a response on his lunch break.
Mingi texts him good morning and good night. It's been a month since Jongho's birthday and neither of them have mentioned the plan to break-up.
Realisation dawns on him like blinding winter sunshine.
Oh, fuck.
—
min min
where r u?
min min
at the bar
why?
ok i cant see u
u wanna go smoke?
min min
oh my god yes see u outside
—
This club is a lot nicer, courtesy of listening to Seonghwa's recommendations. The smoking area's out the back again but it's not a dingy side road, and it's not crowded with gross men either. There's a smattering of outdoor tables at elbow height when standing, with high chairs the two of them are neglecting in favour of standing and leaning.
Mingi's wearing those flared pants again, but this time they're a ridiculous cow-print that Wooyoung is kind of obsessed with. They're camp as hell. And he brought two pink cocktails outside with him, to rest and condensate on the table, and Wooyoung really can't stop looking at him.
He licks the edge of his rolling paper – Wooyoung watches his tongue, then his fingers rolling up his cigarette and digging out his lighter.
"Mingi-yah," Wooyoung says. His stomach pleasantly warm from alcohol, fuzzy, but his head is clear. Mingi's lighter clicks and clicks, so Wooyoung reaches over to take it from him. "You know how we're kind of dating?"
Mingi blinks his surprise at the question, putting his cigarette between his fingers instead of his lips. "Ah." Wooyoung cups his hand around the end and finally lights it for him. "I… kind of forgot."
"Yeah," Wooyoung agrees easily, then snatches the cigarette from Mingi's fingers with a grin. "Me too," he says after taking a draw.
Mingi takes count of Wooyoung's face. Wooyoung sees it in the quick dart of his eyes, layered with shadow, and the way his throat works. Catches it when Mingi looks at his lips, when he blows smoke out into his face, before he averts his gaze.
He feels bolder from it. He already felt sexy when he dressed up earlier, but it's different, seeing it on someone else's face.
"What does that mean?" Mingi asks a few beats later, low, as if anyone could hear them anyway. The couple other people out here are several feet away in conversation that explodes into laughter every so often.
Wooyoung holds the cigarette up to Mingi's mouth. "I think it means I like you, Min-min," he muses, letting his fingers linger for just a moment after Mingi accepts it between his lips.
"I thought you hated me," Mingi replies and his lips brush the sides of Wooyoung's fingers – they both seem to realise at the same time, and Wooyoung drops his hand with a shit-eating grin. (He's never giving up smoking.)
"I never hated you." Wooyoung rolls his eyes, sips his drink. "I just thought you were loud and stubborn. And hated me ."
"Hey–" Mingi rests the cigarette between his fingers to say, "I thought you were loud and stubborn. And I didn't ever hate you at all."
"Then we're a perfect fucking match, aren't we?" Wooyoung huffs. Smiles at Mingi's indignant face, the quiet amusement underneath his defensiveness. It feels good, now, their back-and-forth. He gets it now. "Hongjoong hyung would have a field day with this."
"That's because I–" Mingi stops. Puts the cigarette to his lips and Wooyoung can tell it's just him stalling.
"Go on," he teases.
"Because I told him I liked you," Mingi says quietly, and Wooyoung nearly chokes – it makes Mingi throw his arms up in complaint. "Yah, why did you think I was being so weird and awkward?"
"Because you're weird and awkward?" That earns him a shove to his shoulder, which he just returns full force, then shrieks when it nearly knocks Mingi sideways. "Sorry!"
"Fuck you," Mingi grouches, but his cheeks are clearly blushing red under the fairylights strung overhead as he straightens up, taps ash into the ashtray.
Wooyoung leans on both elbows, smirking around the straw of his drink. "You'd be so lucky, big boy. What, do you think being loud and stubborn is sexy? You're into it?"
Mingi picks up his own drink and takes a big enough sip to make Wooyoung feel kind of dizzy. "If you like me," he says once he sets it down, "then you're just as into it."
"Perverts, huh?" Wooyoung jokes, then waves a hand to show the teasing's over. "So you liked me. When you kissed me, you already liked me."
Mingi adjusts his shirt, unbuttoned far too low, wets his lips. Wooyoung's eyes linger. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," he says in one long breath out of his mouth. And Wooyoung can't help a small, endeared smile. "I should've apologised earlier, I know. I just wanted him to fuck off–"
"You didn't make me uncomfortable," Wooyoung cuts in. His hand squeezes Mingi's arm reassuringly. "I was shocked, but–"
"And I was kinda drunk," Mingi continues as if he can't hear him. "And I did like you, yeah– I mean, I do, still, but I was kind of intimidated by you before because you're hot and flirty and– But yeah, I'm sorry if–"
Wooyoung moves Mingi's cigarette out of the way and kisses him.
He's not drunk this time, not wound up and frustrated and taken by surprise. He kisses him until his lips part around Mingi's bottom one, aware they're in public as he sucks it back against his teeth – just long enough to feel him gasp before pulling back.
"Now we're even," he tells him, close and warm and tasting the cigarettes and pink gin of Mingi's mouth, utterly enamoured by the dumbstruck expression on his face.
It's there for just a second more, then Mingi's bringing his hand to Wooyoung's neck and kissing him again. A confirmation of this, sealing the deal. His tongue swipes across Wooyoung's lip like rolling paper, eager for a fix–
"This is a record-scratch situation," Mingi says after a while, breathier than before, to the corner of Wooyoung's mouth.
Wooyoung, still a bit kiss-dazed, blinks his eyes open again only to have his face sink into confusion. "Huh?"
"You know, like. Record-scratch: I bet you're wondering how I ended up here."
"Mingi-yah." He leans back and gives him a hilariously incredulous look, and Mingi cracks into a fit of soundless giggles. Wooyoung's face hurts. He's smiling too much, looking at Mingi's face. Wonky and self-satisfied and… comfortable. "Just shut up, Min," he happy-sighs, and drags him back down by the collar.