Earlier that Saturday.

-

It'd been a crazy month for Yunho so far. First, he'd lost his grandma, and although she'd been harbouring health issues as of late, it didn't mean her death hurt any less. Second, his mother was more absent than ever, only flying back to the city to organize her mother's memorial. And after that, she was gone again and out of sight, her presence only felt when she decided she felt like giving her son one or two calls per week. And last, but certainly not least, Yunho was still battling with his entire identity as a whole.

Accepting that he was a gay guy took quite some time for him. At first he ignored it altogether, because how could he be gay? How could he be attracted to males? How could he have a crush on one of his closest friends? The discovery of his sexuality made him intolerable of himself, and soon enough, and that feeling quickly transformed into self-hate. It made him lash out, using his status at school to hurt and bully others because it made him feel better about himself.

But, that satisfaction never lasted as long as he wanted it to.

The feeling of self-deprecation had reduced now, but it hit Yunho the hardest at night when he rested on his bed, staring at nothing and evaluating his entire existence. It was at times like these that he wished he could disappear, or at least, be like everyone else.

He felt pressured to be a certain way everywhere he went. At school, he was expected to be tough and carefree. With his friends, he was expected to not give a single fuck about anything, when in fact he actually did give a fuck about a lot of things. In front of his mother, he was expected to be silent and compliant, unable to voice his opinions because that was what she regarded as perfect. And fuck, it got to Yunho's head at times.

He just wanted to just be. No expectations, just Yunho.

"Hello?"

Yunho blinked, coming back to reality. And reality was this little girl with long black hair standing by the doorway, a big smile on her face.

"Who are you?" Her words were blunt, but her expression still remained friendly.

Yunho felt nervous for some reason, despite finding it relatively easy to socialize with others. But seeing as this little girl resembled Mingi a lot, he realized that maybe that was why his heartbeat was so erratic.

He quickly nodded. "I'm uh, I'm Yunho."

"Yunho?" The girl almost exclaimed. Her small hands then grabbed Yunho's, leading him into the house. Yunho, in the meanwhile, was panicking so much inside. "Mingi talked a lot about you yesterday. He said you're really nice!"

"Oh, uhh," Yunho scratched his cheek. "That's...great, actually."

Mingi's house was filled with pastel browns and reds, making the overall atmosphere warm and open. It was a stark contrast to his own home, which had darker colours and felt cool all the time. That was why Yunho barely spent time at his house; there was no one waiting for him there, anyway.

Behind a lone chair situated at the right corner, was what looked like a wheelchair. Its appearance made Yunho curious as to who could have been using it.

"Dabin, are you sure you can stay in the house by yourself?" A voice from the hallway suddenly made its way into his ears, and Yunho's heartbeat immediately rose through the roof. "If you want, I can call one of your friends' parents over to look after you."

Yunho wiped his clammy hands over his jeans, trying his hardest to calm his nerves. Fuck, Yunho, stop feeling so anxious. It's just Mingi.

"No, it's okay!" Dabin replied, her cute smile still present. She gestured wildly at Yunho. "And Yunho's here!"

"Yunho?" Mingi showed up then. He had on a dark red sweater and black jeans that complemented his soft red hair extremely well. Upon seeing the taller male, his smile grew. "Hi."

Yunho really, really hoped he wasn't blushing right now. He gave a little wave. "Hey."

"This is my younger sister, Dabin," Mingi introduced the little girl to Yunho, adjusting the black-framed glasses on his face. "Dabin, Yunho."

"We've already met, haven't we?" Dabin giggled, sparing Yunho another long glance. It brought a slight smile to the boy's face, as she was very adorable.

Yunho nodded. "Yeah."

Mingi's eyes shifted between them, an amused look on his features. He nudged Yunho's arm and chuckled. "We should get going now."

"Y-Yes." Yunho cleared his throat. Why was he so nervous? "We should."

"Goodbye Yunho," Dabin greeted, and Mingi immediately frowned.

"What about me? I'm your older brother."

"Well, goodbye to you, I guess." Dabin squealed when Mingi pinched her cheek, identical smiles on both their faces. "Ugh, let me be!"

Mingi chuckled, letting her go. "Fine. I'll see you later then." He looked up at Yunho, shooting him this soft smile that sent the taller's heart skipping multiple beats. "Let's go."

As soon as the door was shut, Mingi shoved his hands into his pockets, his gaze surveying the neighbourhood. "I think Dabin likes you."

Yunho glanced at the other male, surprised. "What?"

"I'm good at figuring that stuff out."

"Oh."

Mingi patted his back. "Don't worry. She crushes on guys a lot, and forgets about them just as quickly."

Yunho nodded. Mingi's hand on his back made him feel oddly...shy. He wasn't used to it, seriously.

Mingi blew out a tuft of air, causing a few strands of his red hair to dangle idly over his forehead. Yunho couldn't help but watch. The shorter boy was so handsome.

As they began walking down the sidewalk, Mingi faced Yunho again.

"So... Where are we going? I mean, I've been looking forward to it ever since you gave me those roses yesterday."

Yunho blushed as he remembered his 'gift' for the other boy. After he'd apologized to San earlier that morning, he waited until the school day was over before he'd eventually handed Mingi a pretty bouquet of flowers. It was a simple, cliché gift for an offer of friendship, but Mingi turned out to like it. A lot.

And here they were.

"You'll find out where we're going once we reach there," Yunho replied.

"Ooh, so secretive."

"That's me, alright." Yunho held a thumbs up, smiling when Mingi laughed a bit. His heart felt so light, and honestly, only Mingi could make him feel that way.

* * *

"You like dogs?" Yunho asked Mingi as soon as the doors to the dog café opened, both teens entering the place.

Mingi's wide grin was contagious. "Uh, yeah. I really do."

The soon found a empty seat by the windows, and Yunho had to smile when he spotted Mingi's eyes following the dogs hopping and jumping about.

"Fuck, I had no idea you'd bring me here," Mingi started. "But wow, I'm really glad you did. You know, I've always wanted a dog as a pet, but mom's allergic to their fur, and I was already -- "

"Hmm?" Yunho rose his eyebrows in confusion when Mingi abruptly cut himself off. He took the opportunity to run his eyes all over the shorter's high cheekbones, brown eyes and pouty lips, memorizing it further while trying to figure out what the shorter was hiding.

Mingi exhaled, his grin dimming into a tight-lipped smile. "I'm gonna go order as a thank you for bringing me here. What do you want?"

Yunho stood up and shook his head. "Nah. I'm already paying. I'm gonna order."

Mingi chuckled, raking his fingers through his hair. "Sure. I want a milkshake, coffee isn't really my thing."

And Yunho went ahead to get his and Mingi's orders, the smile on his face not falling off. How could it when he was hanging out with the guy he was so deeply interested in?

Mingi didn't take long to finish his order as he was really eager to go play with the dogs. Yunho chuckled when the red haired male ruffled the fur of one of the smaller dogs, its excited yelps echoing throughout the café.

Mingi had this look of pure happiness on his face, one that Yunho felt extremely lucky to witness. The shorter always made eye contact with him whenever he played with all the animals, and for the first time in a long time, Yunho felt like he was doing something right.

"Okay, but like, that one over there reminds me of you," Mingi was saying, which caused Yunho to just snap out of his daze. The taller was glad Mingi hadn't caught on to his extensive staring.

Yunho blinked, his ears a hot pink. "Uh, what?"

Mingi pointed to one of the dogs another customer was currently hanging out with. It was a beagle with soft, spotted brown fur and big, expressive eyes. "That one. It reminds me of you."

Yunho, usually, wouldn't take it too kindly if someone compared him to a pet, but this wasn't just a someone. This was Mingi, and whatever Mingi said, Yunho automatically liked. It sounded pathetic, but it couldn't be helped.

"Why?" Yunho asked.

"Its eyes reveal everything it feels, just like yours," Mingi started, affectionately scratching behind the ear of the dog that had made its way towards him. "And it's sociable, wanting to be around others at all times because it just wants someone to call its own. ...Just like you."

Yunho gulped, not knowing what to say. His chest squeezed once he met Mingi's gaze from across their table, but he looked away first. "What..." He licked his lips, "what do you mean by that?"

Mingi sighed, before saying: "You like me, right?"

Yunho looked up again, wide-eyed. "W-What?"

"Come on, you don't need to be scared," Mingi admitted, his voice gentle. "I like you too."

Butterflies scattered about in Yunho's stomach. His hands were so clammy. But yet still, he couldn't speak.

"I want us to be more comfortable with each other. And I'm guessing you want that, right?"

Yunho nodded. "Well, yeah."

Mingi's dog pranced away, leaving both boys alone. Mingi then shifted closer to Yunho, and for the first time ever he was avoiding the taller's gaze.

"Uh," Mingi coughed, appearing awkward all of a sudden. He lifted a bit of his right pant leg, and it took Yunho a moment to notice that the leg wasn't real.

"I've got a prosthetic leg. I mean, it's not the whole of my right leg. Just up to the knee area." Mingi softly chuckled, pulling the pant fabric down once more. "That's one of the reasons I spent last year and some of this year absent from school. Had to familiarize myself with it."

Yunho was shocked, he hadn't expected this at all. Mingi looked -- and walked fine, and finding all this out made him suddenly feel guilt. A lump formed in his throat when he remembered that wheelchair he'd seen back at Mingi's home. "Shit, I'm so sorry."

Mingi laughed. "Why are you apologizing?" He waved a dismissive hand. "None of this was your fault, and I'm fine."

Yunho wrung his hands together, not wanting to seem nosy. "Can I ask what happened that, uh, made you..."

"Fuck, Yunho," Mingi answered, his tone serious. He leaned in, hooded eyes trained solely on Yunho's face. "I had a health issue, but goddammit, stop being shy, will you? It's kinda weird. Where's the cool, badass Yunho I'm so used to seeing at school?"

Hearing Mingi cuss like that with his deep voice made Yunho's insides all mushy like he was some prepubescent schoolgirl, because fuck, it was hot.

But of course, Yunho would never utter that out loud.

Yunho exhaled and pursed his lips. "I'm sorry. I don't even know why I'm apologizing but I -- " he paused. "You make me nervous."

Mingi nodded. "...Then how can I make you less nervous?" His fingers stroked Yunho's shirt collar and hell, even when they were in public, Yunho frankly did not give a shit. "Kiss you?"

Yunho's breath hitched, eyes shamelessly tracing the curve of Mingi's plump, pouty lips. He yearned to feel them against his, to familiarize himself with them.

But then Mingi leant back, his laugh warming the insides of Yunho's chest. "I'm just kidding."

Yunho desperately wished he wasn't.

* * *

a/n: thoughts?