True to his words, Wooyoung took Mingi to that ice cream shop that he and San had previously gone to, and San watched as the taller boy looked around the area, a soft, sentimental smile sprouting on his face.

"Guys, I've been here before," Mingi told them. "Place serves great ice cream."

"I know right," Wooyoung replied without missing a beat. He sat the closest to San at their table, and the latter nearly jumped when he suddenly patted his back, before leaning closer to Mingi as if he was about to share a huge secret. "But do you know that San here doesn't even like ice cream?"

Mingi's pouty lips parted a little. "Wait, really?"

San rose a hand, trying to defend himself. "I never said I hated ice cream -- "

"Oh, but you did." Wooyoung's hand still lingered on his back, making San's heart squeeze.

"I said I didn't like ice cream that much," San mumbled. "It's okay, but I prefer other things, like a smoothie, or something."

Mingi crossed his arms, flashing San a gentle smile. "Understandable. Not everyone can like something."

"But this is fucking ice cream we're talking about," Wooyoung answered. "I swear, if I could eat one thing for the rest of my life, it'd be ice cream."

Mingi laughed at this, while San's lips lifted a little. He couldn't help it though, especially when Wooyoung's eyes shone like an excited child's when he spoke about ice cream.

"You're lucky you aren't lactose intolerant," Mingi said, looking through the ice cream flavours that he could get.

"I swear, even if I was, I'd still eat ice cream." Wooyoung then perked up, sitting straighter in his seat. He looked at both San and Mingi, a smile nothing less than mischievous coating his features. "Hey, we should totally make a competition out of it."

"Wait," San began, but Mingi spoke up.

"Like, who finishes the fastest?"

Wooyoung smirked, a dimple appearing. "Yep."

Mingi grinned. "Hell yeah."

San bit his lip. He didn't like ice cream so much that he'd want to compete in it, so as a result he calmly rose his hand to speak, and the two boys next to him turned to watch him.

"Uh," San dropped his hand. "I'll be the judge...?"

Luckily, Mingi beamed at his suggestion. "Yes! You can do that. And also record us too, so we can like, store it for memory's sake or something."

Wooyoung nodded. "I'll post it on Instagram."

At this, Mingi quickly shook his head. "Hell no."

"Why?"

"Just no."

"Fine," Wooyoung pouted, and San couldn't help it, he just had to laugh.

"Hey, what are you laughing at, asshole?" Wooyoung frowned, but he didn't look annoyed. "Want me to tickle your guts out again, Choi?"

San made a motion of zipping his lips. "Nah, I'm good."

As this was going on, Mingi was staring at the two of them with this knowing look on his face that they both missed.

Wooyoung soon passed San his phone, who then proceeded to record several videos of Mingi and Wooyoung both competitively trying to finish their ice cream orders as quickly as they possibly could. It was funny, and it was loud. Many times, San had to tell them to quiet the fuck down before the shop owners kicked them out, but overall, San had to admit that he was glad they'd went along with Wooyoung's idea.

"San, quick -- get this record-breaking shot," Mingi told San a few seconds after he'd finished his ice cream. "It's fuckin' hilarious."

San obeyed, diverting the camera over to Wooyoung, who looked like he had a white mustache due to the ice cream he'd just consumed.

"Turn it off," Wooyoung groaned, looking like an irritated Santa on a sugar high. He started to wipe off the lingering ice cream lining his upper lip.

"San's already got it, though," Mingi replied with a cackle. "Oh god, you looked wack as hell."

San couldn't stop himself from giggling as well. "I -- I thought you were Santa for a sec."

"Since when is Santa Korean?" Mingi joked.

Wooyoung pouted, before grabbing the bottle of whipped cream on the table and spraying it over San's entire mouth. 

Mingi's laugh boomed throughout the store, while San tried to cover his face as Wooyoung began to record him.

"Give me one of those pretty smiles of yours, Choi San," he laughed, while Mingi looked like he was seconds away from falling out of his seat. "Come on, don't be shy."

"Put some more." Mingi wheezed, grabbing his sides as he continued to laugh.

San, totally, and utterly embarrassed, grabbed the whipped cream bottle and sprayed some along Wooyoung's exposed eyebrows. He smirked as soon as Wooyoung gasped.

"Fuck," he cursed. "My beautiful eyebrows!"

Mingi actually fell of his seat this time.

Wooyoung grabbed the bottle of whipped cream, but San held on to it as well, for once not minding the stares they were all getting.

San finally yanked off the whipped cream, and then proceeded to spray some more across Wooyoung's cheek.

"You fucking asshole," Wooyoung started with a huge smile. It didn't take long for his hands to land on San's ribs, tickling the hell out of him. Instantly, San dropped the whipped cream and landed on the floor, his vision filled with nothing but Wooyoung's terrifying transformation and manic laughter. And god, it was a sight.

They all ended up getting kicked out of the shop.

"I managed to get most of it on your phone's camera," Mingi said, looking the most unscathed out of the three of them. Wooyoung was busy tousling his damp locks, having already washed his face in the shop's bathroom, and San was unbuttoning his school shirt which had a couple stains on it. He hoped Seonghwa wouldn't get too mad at it.

"Which one?" Wooyoung asked, his hair falling in messy waves all over his head. San found his eyes drifting to him for what seemed like the nth time that day alone.

"The one where you looked like a freakin' psycho?" Mingi answered with a laugh, and Wooyoung looked highly unimpressed.

"Bitch," Wooyoung muttered, licking his lips. He hummed in satisfaction. "I can like, still taste the whipped cream, so I don't regret getting kicked out."

Since Mingi was still looking at the videos saved on the shorter boy's phone, San braved yet another look at Wooyoung.

Give me one of those pretty smiles of yours, Choi San. San felt his neck burn. Wooyoung thought his smile looked pretty.

"Hey, Choi," Wooyoung said, stepping closer to him. He poked his arm. "Thinking of me?"

"U-Uh," San stuttered, but before he could conjure up a reply, obnoxious rapping was heard from Wooyoung's phone.

"Your mom's calling." Mingi uttered.

Wooyoung snatched the phone from Mingi's grip, but his face remained stoic. Then, he went off somewhere, his phone pressed to his ear.

"I don't think he likes his Mom that much," Mingi spoke next to San. "He isn't smiling anymore."

And he was right. San could see how Wooyoung's frown gradually deepened as he continued to converse with his mother in the distance. His fists clenched when he recollected the marks he'd seen on Wooyoung's face that one Saturday night.

"We can't all have great parents," San whispered. Mingi rose an eyebrow in questioning, but he didn't get the chance to ask him what exactly he'd meant by that because Wooyoung showed up not too long after.

He flung his arms over their shoulders. "Boys, I'm afraid I must leave now. Mother wants me to be home before 6 pm." He sighed. "Don't miss me too much."

Mingi coughed, and then rolled his eyes. "Wasn't planning on it."

Wooyoung just grinned, before facing San. "What about you? Will you miss me?"

Mingi mouthed a 'say no', but nearly choked when Wooyoung smacked his chest.

"Well...sometimes you talk too much, so I won't really miss that," San admitted. He wasn't really telling the truth there, he just wanted to tease the dark haired boy a bit.

Mingi's laughter sent San laughing as well. "Ooh, burn."

Wooyoung just nodded, his smile sour. "I see."

San bit his lip. "I didn't really mean it."

"Whatever." But Wooyoung was smiling again, indicating that he wasn't offended.

San exhaled a sigh of relief. The thought of Wooyoung getting pissed because of him didn't sit well with San at all.

Later that night, San got a new message from Wooyoung on his phone. It was a few of the videos he'd taken earlier at the ice cream place. And as he played them all, he grinned so wide that his cheeks hurt.

Something then dripped onto his open palm, and San's grin disappeared.

His nose was bleeding again.

* * *

Yunho found himself waking in the middle of the night when a new text message appeared on his phone.

- unknown number
hello

- unknown number
is this yunho?

- yunho
uh, yes?

- yunho
who is this???

- unknown number
it's mingi :]

- mingi 🌹
sorry i texted u in
the middle of the night.
just wanted to confirm
that it was u

- yunho
uhm, yes
it is me

- yunho
yunho
jung yunho

- yunho
how did you get
my number?

- mingi 🌹
wooyoung ;)

- yunho
oh
thats great

- yunho
are u alright?

- mingi 🌹
why are you asking lol

- yunho
i just wanted to know
if you're fine

- mingi 🌹
didn't know you were idk,
capable of asking that

- yunho
what do u mean??

- mingi 🌹
i see what you do at school
and what you did to san

- yunho
i'm sorry

- mingi 🌹
its not me you should
be apologizing to

- yunho
fine. i'll apologize to san.
will that be ok?

- mingi 🌹
sure

- yunho
also,,
we should hang out sometime
you seem like a guy i'd like to befriend.

- mingi 🌹
no

- yunho
sorry?

- mingi 🌹
you should get me something you'd think i like
and then maybe i'll consider hanging out with you

- yunho
oh

- mingi 🌹
are u mad?

- yunho
no, i'm not
and its alright
i mean, its fine that u
want me to get u something
so we can hang out

- mingi 🌹
thanks for understanding

- yunho
it's perfectly fine :)

Yunho flung himself on his bed and touched his cheeks. They felt hot, and he guessed that he was probably a blushing mess right now.

You rule over the guys in your school, Yunho thought, so why are you getting so flustered over one guy?

* * *

a/n: thoughts?