"...Hey, San?" Mingi whispers to the boy next to him on the bed. It's dark in here, save for the lava lamp on the nightstand, dousing the bedroom in a faint lavender and rosy glow. It's with this Mingi spots San's lost expression, the guy absentmindedly tracing shapes over the sheets. "Wanna talk about it now?"

Earlier in the evening after Gia called up one of her colleagues for a chat about this issue, she sat them down and told them San could most likely be one of the few human transporters of the world that could 'lucid dream' their way out of their surroundings. Gia had dealt with so many supernatural cases that she didn't seem too worried about where San went when he dreamt -- as long as he returned to his 'resting point' in the end (that was what she called it).

San hadn't told her or anyone else what he dreamed about, and now, as Mingi studies his friend's features tonight, he knows San's battling with something more serious.

"San?" He calls out, keeping his voice soft. He doesn't want Yunho or his aunt overhearing in case San does decide to speak up. "It's...it's okay if you don't want to talk about it. I'm not gonna force you."

Mingi can't deny his curiosity, however, which San seems to have picked up on because he sighs, rolling around to face the ceiling. The lava lamp ignites his side profile in an intense pink, making him look a bit unreal. If Mingi hadn't witnessed San's many, many dorky and embarrassing moments throughout the years of being his best friend, he just might've developped a silly little crush on him. Just might've.

"Your aunt said those kinds of lucid dreams are about imaginary worlds, just like my normal ones," San begins after a hot minute. He sighs again, his dark gaze focused on the starry ceiling. "The dream I had last night didn't seem like my usual ones."

"You didn't transport out of your surroundings in those other dreams?" Mingi questions, a little in disbelief that they're discussing something like this. But then again, his life has been anything but normal and sane thus far.

San shrugs. "I wouldn't know. I'd stayed at my house those times."

At the mention of his house, Mingi stiffens, then turns to face the ceiling as well. They both have this in common, it seems: staring at the ceiling when they're about to get vulnerable. "I went to your place this morning, San. I -- I didn't know what else to do when you disappeared, and I saw your dad."

The air between them turns hushed, both males quiet for the most part until San breaks it. "I figured."

"I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize." San watches Mingi, Mingi watches San. His voice has a certain edge to it, one it takes on whenever he talks about his parents. "I was the one who caused you guys unnecessary trouble."

"It's not your fault you can apparently lucid dream your way out of this world," Mingi tells him. By the way San's expression darkens, he realizes he must've said something wrong.

"I don't think it was a dream," San says.

"But Gia said it was," Mingi replies. "Said you travelled to some imaginary realm because you could."

"It didn't seem imaginary," San explains, glancing at the ceiling once more. His face is serious, matching the royal purple hue of the room. "I'd been at that same forest like those other times. This time, however, I saw...people."

Mingi's brows arch in questioning. "People?"

"They...they weren't just normal people, but two elves. One shot down this terrifying animal they called a 'Jukl' with his arrow, and then they started talking like I wasn't even there."

"Because you...weren't?" Mingi clarifies, but backs down when San glares at him.

"That's because I hid in a bush!" He whisper-yells.

"Okay, so you dreamt up elves. Doesn't mean that what you saw was real," Mingi says.

"They talked about Ynita, Mingi," San reveals, chewing his lip. He looks so bothered, distraught at the possibility that Mingi doesn't believe him. "The most important god of the elven kingdoms. They also talked about a prince that quote unquote 'ran away'."

"...Yunho," Mingi mutters, which San nods at.

"The one that shot the arrow -- Wooyoung -- also said they were supposed to get married, since he's also a prince. And -- and then when the sunlight hit him just right on one of his arms, his skin had this golden glow, similar to Yunho's. Like he was sun-touched."

Mingi's thoughts race a mile a minute, struggling to make sense of the information San just dumped on him. There's only one thing that quickly sticks out amongst the others. "M-Married? Does that mean Yunho was going to be a husband?"

San looks all sorts of exasperated with him. "I don't know because I don't know if it was real or not!"

"So why do you look so worried when you most likely dreamt this all up?" Mingi asks. Especially about Yunho getting fucking married. Mingi has no idea why that bothers him so much.

"That's the thing. What does that make me if I somehow entered the world of that other elven kingdom while sleeping?" San rakes his hand through his hair repeatedly, antsy as hell. "When I made a sound they heard me, Mingi. Then the one called Wooyoung showed up and saw me, and that was when I woke up. I'd never experienced anything quite like that before."

Mingi studies his friend, noting the way San pats down his cheeks like he's trying to calm his thoughts down. Calm himself down. San appears dazed, a faraway look in his eyes that's further enunciated by the way he fiddles with the hem of his large tshirt.

"San?" He calls, but the guy doesn't repond. "San."

"Hm?" San snaps back into reality. Okay, weird.

"Suppose the things you saw were real, should we tell my aunt about it?" Mingi asks.

San looks down, fingers still kneading away at his shirt, another one of his nervous habits. "No. At least, not right now. It was most likely fake, like you said, just like how he really doesn't exist..."

Mingi picks up on the almost disappointed tone of his friend, and how dejected he looks. "Who are you talking about?"

San's eyes widen like a deer caught in headlights, as if realizing he just spoke his thoughts out loud. "Nothing."

Mingi pauses and then it hits him, wanting to smack himself for not realizing it sooner. He sits up, his actions gaining San's attention.

"Oh my god, San," he begins, clasping his hands. "You're talking about that 'Wooyoung' guy aren't you? That elf prince you said you saw. You wanna see him again."

At this, San quickly gets up, his posture getting all straight and proper like it always gets when his intentions are figured out. "No I don't."

Mingi can't unsee it anymore; the pink now coating San's cheeks isn't from the lava lamp. He chortles both in amusement and shock as this is the first time he's ever seen San act like this about someone.

"You totally do," Mingi smiles, unable to hold back more laughter when San tries looking all stern-faced but fails. Miserably.

"Mingi, stop," San whines, grabbing a pillow as a threat.

Mingi grabs another pillow and hugs it close, grinning broadly. "He was cute, wasn't he?"

"No he wasn't." But San's face has grown even redder now, like a tomato.

"You're so fucking red right now, it's unbelievable," Mingi comments, chuckling when San hits him with the pillow. "I'm serious!"

"And I'm serious when I say I didn't think he was cute and charming," San replies with a sulk.

"Charming?" Mingi gasps, purposefully saying it overdramatically. While he's absolutely gobsmacked at the fact that San has a crush and wants to know all the freaking details, he's also doing this to get San's mood up and distract him from worse thoughts.

"I never said he was charming, so calling him that means that's what you really think of him. You're fucking crushing, aren't you? Hard." Mingi adds.

San hits him with the pillow again, rougher this time around. "Shut up."

"Why are so aggressive?" Mingi asks, holding on to the pillow. "But then again, that only means I'm right -- "

San quickly jumps on him and starts tickling his sides, cutting his words short. "I do not like that elf!"

Mingi's gasping for air and dying of laughter. "You so do!"

San continues his tickling, only to yelp when Mingi gains control and starts tickling him instead. Immediately he guffaws, a bright smile breaking through his face.

"C'mon, admit it," Mingi says, laughing as well. He's pretty sure he and San are loud as hell right now, but he doesn't give two shits if it means it makes San happier. "You think he's cute and hot and crazy sexy, and you wanna have his babies."

San's face gets so red that even stop sign would get jealous. "No way."

Mingi grins. "Yes way!"

"Don't act as if you aren't also talking about Yunho," San snickers, and this gets Mingi to stop his tickling instantly. The taller's hands drop from his stomach, and San's laughter rings hollow.

"...Mingi?" He eventually asks after the silence starts to prolong. "I'm sorry -- "

"I don't like Yunho," Mingi says, keeping his voice lowered. He isn't smiling anymore. How can he when he's now reminded of what happened last night at that Halloween party, now reminded of the heated words he and Yunho had shared? "Why do you assume that I like him?"

San's mouth parts as he rushes to explain himself, only to halt at the last second. He looks as if he's thinking over his next words very carefully. "I didn't assume anything, Mingi. I just -- I just thought..."

Mingi watches his friend, not liking the look on his face. "Thought what?"

"I mean, you two seem like you're on better terms now. Closer, I mean," San answers, wrapping himself around a pillow. He rests his head on it. "And then when Yunho said you came home together last night -- "

"We didn't do anything," Mingi says a little too quickly to be normal. What the fuck are you doing?

"Of course, I never said you two did anything," San replies. He bites his lip, all contemplative. "I just figured you went to the party after I fell asleep and hung out with him for a bit."

Mingi can't help the scoff that leaves him right then. Hung out, huh? Mingi wouldn't exactly classify Yunho calling him jealous and him swearing at the elf as 'hanging out'.

San notices before long. "Something happened, didn't it?"

"Nothing happened. I went to the party, saw Yunho, and then he just followed me back home." Mingi's lying out of his ass, but he doesn't back down even when he knows San can easily read through his bullshit.

Judging by how San exhales right then, he definitely did. "Yunho likes you a lot, you know?"

Mingi blinks in reponse. He hadn't expected San to say that. "...What?"

"Ever since he came here, he's been trying his hardest to get along with you," San adds. He's swaying a little with the pillow still stuck to his chest, and Mingi would've found it adorable if not for the contents of his words right now. "He's always tried to get on your good side. Even now, he's always around, ready to help you."

Now it's Mingi's turn to grab a pillow, needing something to distract him from his racing, noisy thoughts. His heart is even noisier. "He doesn't like me."

"He does," San counters. "He certainly wants to be good friends with you."

Mingi's heart stills at the shorter's last words, realizing San was only talking about Yunho liking him platonically. Of course. "Well, he'll have to try a little harder."

"Mingi."

"I don't want to talk about elf boys right now, San."

"Actually, you were eager to talk about mine a minute ago," San exposes.

"You suck." Mingi shoves the shorter's shoulder.

"And you swallow," San replies. "Speaking of swallowing, do you think Yunho -- "

"No."

But San doesn't budge, doesn't relent. He just leans in, close enough that Mingi could count his lashes if he really wanted to. "You know you can tell me anything, Mingi. You think Yunho's attractive, don't you?"

Mingi's grip on his pillow tightens so bad he could rip it apart if his palms weren't so sweaty. His heartbeat's a throbbing mess beneath his ribs, echoing within his eardrums. "San..."

"Come on, tell me," San beckons, voice gentle. "You can talk to me about your feelings, just like I can talk to you about mine. We can talk about the boys we like tonight."

Mingi groans and falls back on his bed. San follows suit, peering at him through his lashes.

"Mingi?"

"Just to be clear, I don't like Yunho," Mingi begins to explain, and San squeals next to him, looking all giddy. His excitement is unfortunately contagious, which has Mingi covering his face with his hands. "I really don't like him."

"But?" San presses, tone submerged in enthusiasm.

"But," Mingi continues, face still shielded, "but, I do think that he's...attractive." The word feels odd, foreign on his tongue even when it's a constant thought he tries to forget whenever he sees the elf around the house or at school.

San squeals the second time, and Mingi pushes him, so fucking embarrassed he just admitted that out loud. "Oh my god."

"Let's stop talking about this now."

"I can't believe I was right," San beams. "Okay, I need to calm down. When did you start thinking that?"

"I don't know," Mingi says, and he is telling the truth. The guy has always been eye-catching (which comes from him being an elf, clearly), but all of a sudden Mingi just found himself being a lot more aware of the taller, thoughts of him lingering on his mind more and more.

"So you think he's hot."

"He may be," Mingi admits, causing San to muffle his screams on his pillow, "but that doesn't mean I'm into him like that. Why are you so invested in this anyway?"

"Because you're my best friend, and it's the number one rule for best friends always cheer their besties on whenever they're crushing on someone. Especially if that someone is the crazy tall, crazy goodlooking elf prince currently living with them."

"I am not crushing on Yunho," Mingi tries to clarify, but San doesn't seem to be listening.

"Why do elf boys have to be so cute?" San asks no one in particular, a tender, lovestruck look on his face. This is so out of character for San, but Mingi knows his friend needs this distraction, and he'll be a shitty friend if he ruins it now, his confusing feelings about Yunho be damned.

"You think the elf you saw was real?" Mingi asks.

"It's confusing. On one hand, I know I was dreaming and want it to stay that way. But on the other hand... I want what I saw to be real. I want that prince to be real."

"If he isn't, then he probably exists out there somewhere," Mingi tells him, trying to be encouraging for his sake. "Our brains can only create faces we've seen before in our dreams."

"Yeah, you're right," San mutters, lost in thought before he speaks up again. "But, what if he is real?"

"Then I need to see him. I gotta know just how cute he has to be to get my dearest darling Sannie all worked up like this."

San glares at him while Mingi laughs. "Never say that again. But...he looked really good."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Is it bad if I say I hope I see him again in my dreams tonight?" San asks.

Mingi can't believe he's downright gossiping about cute elf boys with San -- out of all topics to talk about -- but he'd be lying if he says he minds it all that much.

Mingi pats his friend's head, endeared by his innocence. "It's not bad. Just don't get caught staring at him like a creep."

At San's silence, Mingi barks out laughing.

"Oh my god, San. You did get caught staring at him like a creep!"

"Shut up." San looks seconds away from suffocating him with his pillow.

"Okay okay, I will," Mingi nods, wiping tears from his eyes. "A piece of advice though: try to say hi if you see him. Or just run away if you're caught. Anything's fine than outright staring."

"I hate you."

"Love you more," Mingi grins, pinching San's cheek. When San smacks his hand away, he just hugs him, patting his back.

San soon relaxes into him to return his hug, as he's always been a huge fan of physical touch. It wasn't always that Mingi would hold him like this, especially in the past when the taller was more insecure about his body.

"Good night, Sannie," Mingi says. "Sweet dreams."

"Good night, Minnie."

They say nothing else, and after a couple minutes San dozes off in his arms, leaving Mingi to face his turbulent thoughts alone. They all center around a certain blond elf that he just admitted he's attracted to on a certain level.

Fuck. Mingi feels close to freaking out. He's always been bad at dealing with his feelings, choosing to hide away when things got too complicated. He doesn't know how San can be so vastly different from him in regards to his emotions, choosing to feel them in their entirety instead of blocking them out.

You think Yunho's attractive, don't you?

Mingi's mind replays every moment he and Yunho have ever spent together, from their meet-ugly to this very evening when he couldn't stop looking Yunho's way at the dining table. The elf also seemed to have the same problem, even though Mingi's sure he hallucinated it.

And it drives him mad, because how can he be into someone who gets on his nerves, who he envies? Someone who he's pretty sure hates him now with how terrible he's been to him since the moment they met?

Mingi knows next to nothing about Yunho, yet thoughts of the guy haunt his every waking moment.

Unable to take it anymore, Mingi slides off the bed as carefully as he can not to wake San, then slips his feet into his trusty pikachu slippers and leaves the room.

He doesn't make it long because a certain someone lingers at the end of the dim corridor, their silhouette tall and broad. Familiar.

"...Yunho?" Mingi whispers, and the shadow moves, their blond hair more noticeable than before.

"Yeah?" Yunho's voice is hushed as Mingi draws nearer, a little shy. "Can't sleep again?"

It's then Mingi notices the blankets strewn over the couch, the selfish part of him wondering if Yunho had been waiting for him.

"Yes," Mingi confesses, facing Yunho once more. The taller's donned in a long shirt and baggy shorts -- something he almost always wears to sleep -- yet Mingi can't look away.

Yunho isn't looking away either, green eyes soulful and gentle. "Do...do you want to talk?"

Ignoring the fact that Yunho just stuttered, Mingi's gaze drops to the elf's lips, finding it extremely difficult to look elsewhere. Yunho's skin is warm when Mingi holds his face, his presence alone igniting intense sparks in Mingi's chest.

"...Mingi?" Yunho calls out, brows furrowing, and Mingi leans in and kisses him right then.

Mingi can't believe he just did that, but Yunho's lips are softer than he'd ever imagined, pressing against his just right.

Yunho does nothing at first, but then he swiftly deepens the kiss, arms quickly wrapping around Mingi's waist in a tight embrace.

The force takes Mingi aback, but he quickly gets used to it, winding his fingers through Yunho's locks while the taller kisses him some more, lips all too eager against his own.

Yunho doesn't fight back when Mingi shoves him against the wall, large hands firmly kneading the skin of his hips when Mingi steps into his space and slots their lips together once more.

Mingi's thoughts are like a wildfire, raging and incoherent as he pushes his hands up Yunho's shirt and sucks down the slope of his neck, wanting to feel more of him.

Yunho groans, low and rough when Mingi grinds down on his middle. Mingi takes that opportunity to bite his bottom lip and slips his tongue into his mouth. Lips moving heatedly in tandem, Yunho pulls Mingi even closer, and Mingi doesn't hesitate to rub his knee against the elf's crotch.

The moan that leaves Yunho's mouth right then sends heat pooling at Mingi's stomach while chills of pleasure descend down his spine. Fuck, he sounds so good.

"Min...Mingi..." Yunho whispers, and like a bucket of ice cold water got doused on him, Mingi snaps out of his haze, eyes wide.

In less than a second, he's retreating, abhorred by what he's just done.

Yunho stays there, hair all messed up, clothes tampered with and lips swollen beyond compare, which only makes Mingi freak out even more.

What the absolute fuck did I just do?

"Mingi?" Yunho questions, opening his eyes to stare at him.

"Fuck," Mingi mutters, taking several steps back. "I'm so sorry."

Yunho doesn't get another word in because Mingi rushes to his room right then, slamming the door shut.