cupid ⠀song mingi

twenty two

mingi's pov / hours before the movie marathon at yuqi's

"we can slow down if you like," i told hyerin, standing still as i watch her walk uncomfortably with her almost-healed-ankle. she scoffed and rolled her eyes at me, continuing to catch up to us with her zombie walking skills, "we're almost there. what's the point?" she asked, reaching me.

before she could pass by me, though, i held onto her arm to support her walking. she paused and slowly looked at me with a death glare before pulling her arm away from me, "hands off," she says.

"why do you hate me?" i asked her as she takes one step away from me. she paused again, then stood straight, facing me, "i don't hate you." she answered, sighing. obviously being guilty about seeming like the bad guy.

i smiled, then walked over to her, placing both hands on both sides of her shoulders, "since you haven't fully recovered—" i explained, "let's take it one step at a time, hm?"

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mingi's pov / the day it rained

"you might slip. walking that fast." i held onto hyerin's arm. it's raining and the streets are slippery and i didn't want her injuring herself again. good chance to be with her since kyunghee wanted to stay with her sister at that barbecue place. heh.

hyerin carefully pulled my wrist off of her arm, saying, "stop this." with a really sincere and low voice. is she sad? i wondered, but i wasn't in the role to ask, so i just kept silent, "stop it before things get bigger." she added, looking at the ground with a negative expression.

"remember last time?" i asked her, smiling, as i hope it would cheer her up even for a little bit. "last time, i told you, to take it one step at a time." i completed, and hyerin gazed at me with worrying eyes. is she worried that i'm faking all this care?

one step at a time, mingi. i told myself. because, heck, this is going to take a long time to have her fall for me. she has a really tough shell, always acting tough, so it'll be hard for me to know her feelings. but one step at a time. i know i'll succeed at this, any month soon.

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hyerin's pov

"hyerin," mingi's voice called my name. i quickly turned around, slightly panicking, then i saw him, wearing his physical education uniform. "hey," i greeted him, and he smiled widely, "you know there's this upcoming test before spring vacation, right?" he asked. and i tried my best not to get red as a tomato.

doing my maximum at not showing my feelings reminds me of the day i sprained my ankle, there i did my maximum to not curse at him. but now? i'm trying my best not to say "i like you. like a lot,". and having these thoughts got me saying, heh, look at me now, i'm falling for you.

"and?" i asked mingi, since i didn't know what to say about the exam. he avoided my gaze for a second then said, "can you study with me later?" he asked, which made me chuckle. i nodded then pushed a cool smile, "sure." my cOoL answer somehow made mingi a little jumpy as he says, "i'll pick you up after i change."

mingi dashed to the boys' locker room while i was left standing alone, still waiting for my friends to show up. "what's taking them so long?" i mumble to myself.

it took about five minutes when i knew my friends weren't coming. that's when i checked my phone and they all said they already left me to go and study at yuqi's house, since mingi asked for their permission about studying with me earlier today. mingi.. asked them? is this what we are now? trying to do everything we can to be alone together?

"hyerin!" i saw mingi (finally) walking towards me, wearing proper uniform, he stopped as i look at him as he says — "let's go."

mingi and i.. this is what we are now.

walking to his somehow far house was awkward unlike back then which i only found as a reason to be mad about. bruh. studying together. is that like our own version of netflix and chill? or eating ramen together?

i kept my gaze on the opposite side of mingi, while he also had his gaze on the other side. i can't help but think about all the times we spent alone together, and the thought — 'i wonder if he has imagined kissing me' is stuck in my head. because i have imagined that already (heh).

we reached his house without talking, and that was the most torturing 10 minutes of my life. the struggle of wanting to start a conversation but not being able to say a word was horrible, this is how i am with mingi now. and he's acting the same way! bruh.

i sat on the same spot the last time we studied in his room, and realized that i didn't appreciate how neat his room was compared to hongjoong's apartment when i took a peek on one of the rooms. now i also wonder if mingi cleaned up just to impress me, because i'm definitely impressed.

mingi sat down in front of me, still in his school uniform, "where should we start?" i asked him. that's literally the first proper sentence i have spoken to him ever since earlier from walking over here. mingi pursed his lips and thought about it carefully, checking his books one by one.

"let's start with.." mingi slowly said, then humming as he placed down all of the books he just checked, "..with something i'd been meaning to tell you." he finished his sentence abruptly, which startled me in a different way, making my heart race.

is he going to confess? or what? i looked away because i got too nervous. but wait, why am i even nervous about this? nervously excited maybe? i don't know what emotions i'm having— all i know is that my stomach feels weird, like there are.. (heh, cliché) butterflies inside.

"w-what is it?" i ask mingi, stuttering, since he waited for me to speak a.k.a. become emotionally ready for what he's about to say. but no! i'm never ready to hear the words directly from you!! yes, i've imagined this moment and had a conversation with myself about what i would say if you did confess but no!! i'm still not ready. i (am crying inside) can't do this yet!

"actually.." mingi started off with a really low voice, which made me want to lean towards him to hear better, but i just stayed still in my spot and looked at him with my brows raised.

pit-pat.

"i like you."

a/n: 600 reads and 60 votes!!! you guys are amazing ㅠㅠ thank you for supporting!! i'm glad that people are liking this uwu