With worried eyes, Wooyoung strolled over the stone towards the university. Deep in thought, he didn't notice when a motorcycle stopped not far from him and someone with gray hair got off.

"Wooyoung!" Wooyoung turned around questioningly. Mingi came running. As usual, he was wearing oversized jeans and a leather jacket. Wooyoung swallowed and stopped. When Mingi finally stood in front of him, he lowered his eyes. Mingi tried to calm his breathing, then he cleared his throat. "I wanted to apologize."
Wooyoung immediately looked up again. "You were right. With everything. I liked Hongjoong more than a friend and I lied to you because I didn't want to admit it to myself. I'm sorry."

Mingi bit his lip slightly. "And I'm also sorry for what I said, that no one likes you back. That's not true, you're perfect Wooyoung. Everyone would like you if they knew you better. You're great and you're my best friend. I'm sorry if I've kind of forgotten that lately."

Wooyoung stared at Mingi with glazed eyes, then suddenly he had to smile. "Mingiaaa.", he squeaked and threw his arms around Mingi's neck. Mingi started to laugh. "You know you shouldn't call me that," he said and returned the embrace.

Wooyoung laughed and pulled away from Mingi's arms again. "I'm sorry too, I didn't mean to argue with you," Wooyoung finally said. Mingi nodded slightly and grinned. Wooyoung breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't stand it when he and Mingi argued.

Suddenly, Wooyoung remembered something. "By the way, I got a message from Yeosang that he won't be coming to university for the next few days. He went home because his dog wasn't feeling well." Mingi's smile turned into a worried frown. "I hope he's all right," Mingi mumbled and Wooyoung immediately agreed.

~

As Mingi and Wooyoung entered the university building, Wooyoung poked Mingi in the side. "By the way," he mumbled, his cheeks heating up immediately. Mingi turned to him with a skeptical look. "Me and San." Wooyoung started to giggle. "We kissed."

Mingi's eyes widened and he slapped Wooyoung on the arm. "Are you kidding me?" he said, surprised. "Ouch.", Wooyoung complained. Then he smiled again and felt even warmer. Mingi gave him a heartwarming smile. "I'm so freaking happy for you Woo. Honestly." Wooyoung couldn't hide his joy and giggled again.

~

Shaking his head, Mingi walked down the hallway after dropping Wooyoung off at his class. He was very happy for Wooyoung and fervently hoped that San would make him happy.

As Mingi turned the next corner, he stopped abruptly. A few meters in front of him stood Yunho. He wore a hoodie as he almost always did and leaned against the beige wall of the corridor. When he spotted Mingi after a few seconds, he pushed himself away from the wall. And with a smile, he waved to Mingi.

Mingi just stared at him in amazement and when he noticed Yunho coming towards him, he turned around in a flash and ran away. He knew that what he was doing was totally childish, but he couldn't talk to Yunho right now. He had to think about everything first. With quick steps, Mingi walked to the toilets and hoped fervently that Yunho would disappear soon so that he could go back to his class.

~

During the lunch break, Mingi got his favorite drink from the vending machine next to the cafeteria. He looked at the can in his hand as he walked back and remembered how Yunho had given it to him. It had only been a small gesture, but no one had ever done anything like that for him before and Yunho even remembered what his favorite drink was. Maybe Yunho really meant it when he said that he liked him. But why would he like Mingi of all people?

Mingi shook his head in frustration. He was so lost in thought that he didn't realize where he was going and he bumped into someone "Oh my god sorry." Mingi groaned and reached for his can that had fallen to the ground.

In front of him stood a girl with long hair. "No, it was my fault." Mingi recognized her voice immediately. "Lia?" Lia looked up, then suddenly smiled. "Oh Mingi, it's good to see you," she said. Mingi looked at her questioningly. Lia held up a piece of paper. "I wanted to ask if you might know where Yeosang is. He wasn't in class and our teacher gave us back our report from last time."

Mingi nodded understandingly. "Yeosang isn't here for a few days. He went home because his dog is unwell," Mingi repeated Wooyoung's words from the morning. Lia looked at him with surprise and concern. "Really? I hope his dog will get better again," she said. Mingi immediately recognized how unhappy she looked. He couldn't help but smile. You could immediately see how worried she was about Yeosang and how much she liked him.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back soon." Lia nodded slightly, but still seemed sad. "Thanks anyway," she said and then said goodbye before disappearing again.

~

With a big grin, Wooyoung left his last class and walked out into his freedom. When he came outside through the front door and the autumn sun shone on him, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

A little later, Wooyoung heard someone calling his name and the voice alone gave him more than a thousand butterflies. Excited, he turned around and recognized San on the other side of the place. He waved to Wooyoung and as he walked towards Wooyoung with a beaming smile, his usual dimples appeared on his face. Wooyoung felt dizzy. How could someone be so cute, handsome and sexy at the same time.

San came to stand in front of Wooyoung. His neck was wrapped in a thick scarf and a large coat covered his body, as well as a beanie covering his ears and hair. Wooyoung instinctively felt the need to lean in and give him a kiss on the cheek, but he held back. He didn't know if San was ready for something like that.

Instead, he smiled and pulled the older one into a brief and awkward hug. "How are you?" he asked quickly to hide his nervousness. San nodded with a smile. "Great and you? How was class?" Wooyoung glanced daringly at the building behind them. "Interesting, but I'm glad I can go now."

San giggled lightly, his cheeks turning slightly pink. Wooyoung looked at him in amazement, as if everything San did was magic that enchanted him. As San pulled Wooyoung closer to him and then reached for his hand, Wooyoung came back to reality.

Heart pounding, he looked at their now intertwined fingers and a warm feeling enveloped him. "Will you take me to the café?" San asked with a sweet smile and Wooyoung knew that no matter what San would have asked at that moment, he would have said yes.

~

The walk to the café was relatively quiet. While San seemed to enjoy the sun and the nature around them, a thousand different scenarios ran through Wooyoung's head. He imagined himself sitting in the movie theater with San and them not concentrating at all on the movie and throwing popcorn at each other instead. He imagined him and San back in the dance studio, dancing together, laughing and their lips touching again. He imagined him and San lying in bed, watching a movie and Wooyoung finally being able to hug and love him. It all felt so unrealistic that it seemed like dreams to Wooyoung. Dreams that would never come true.

"Wooyoung?" Wooyoung looked up and only then realized that they had already arrived at the café. Inwardly, he cursed the fact that the walk from the university to the café was so short.
San slowly let go of Wooyoung's hand and his warmth evaporated like a leaf in the wind. Wooyoung watched sadly as San buried his hand in his jacket pocket.

"Do you want to come to my place at the weekend? Then you can finally meet Byeol." Wooyoung's sadness was replaced by a happy feeling and he looked at San with shining eyes. "Definitely." he exhaled and San smiled too. "Great, see you then," he mumbled and Wooyoung nodded quickly. They said goodbye and San disappeared into the café.

Overjoyed, Wooyoung turned around and couldn't help but jump in the air while walking down the sidewalk excitedly. He wished that he could just skip the next few days and go to San right now. Patience had never been his strength.

~

Two days later

Yeosang walked along the stony path with gloomy thoughts. His head hurt and his eyes were swollen. All he wanted to do was sleep, but he really had to pick up his missed class materials or he wouldn't be able to keep up with everything.

He turned the corner and entered the university grounds. The last few days have been like hell. His dog, who had been his best friend since childhood, had now disappeared. It was as if he had never existed and since Yeosang had hardly seen him lately, it hurt even more to let him go.

Yeosang never thought that the death of an animal could make him like this, but now he just felt empty. And he knew that his parents were feeling no different. He would have liked to stay at home longer, but he wouldn't have done anything there anyway and at least he had something to do here.

He also couldn't deny that he had missed Jongho like crazy over the last few days. They had texted to each other a few times, but Yeosang finally wanted to see him again. Thinking back to what almost happened before his mother called, his heart pounded wildly. He had never been so crazy about anyone.

"Yeosang?" Yeosang stopped abruptly and looked up. His sweater hood hung low over his face, he was amazed that anyone recognized him at all. A much too familiar face looked at him anxiously. He didn't know if he should be happy when Lia appeared in front of him, but either way he was surprised that she was talking to him. Voluntarily.

"You're back?" she asked. Her long hair swayed slightly in the wind, her pink lips glistened in the sun. Yeosang nodded cautiously. Lia took a step closer. Yeosang noticed how she scanned every inch of his face. "I heard you had to go home because of your dog. How is he?"

Yeosang swallowed. "He died." he breathed out, and something about sharing it with someone felt relieving. Lia's eyes widened slightly. The makeup under her eyes twinkled slightly. "Omg I'm so sorry." she mumbled, a little startled. Although Yeosang didn't want pity, it felt good to hear those words. But maybe it only felt so good because they came from Lia.

"My dog was already old, so it wasn't really surprising, but it was still terrible," Yeosang explained quietly. Lia nodded immediately. "I once had a turtle and I cried for three days when she died," she said sympathetically.

"A turtle?" Yeosang asked confused, and when Lia nodded again, he couldn't help but laugh. Lia looked at him questioningly, then pouted and punched him on the arm. "That's not funny. She was my best friend," she exclaimed in offense. Yeosang took a deep breath to stifle his laughter. "Sorry," he said. "It's just a bit surprising," he added, pointing at Lia to make her realize that a turtle didn't suit her at all.

He couldn't help but laugh again and this time Lia laughed with him. "Okay, I admit that I don't look like the turtle girl, but she was really cute." Yeosang's laughter became a little quieter again. "It's all right, I believe you," he said with a smile. Then they both fell silent and looked at each other.

Yeosang didn't know what to say. He hadn't laughed with Lia for a long time. It felt unfamiliar but good. Lia cleared her throat slightly. "If you're ever sad about your dog or anything else, you can text me by the way, I'm pretty good at cheering people up." She winked at Yeosang. Yeosang blinked at her a few times. Did that mean Lia forgave him?

"And I'm sorry I ignored you for so long. You didn't do anything wrong, that was stupid of me." Yeosang could hardly believe his ears, but he couldn't think about whether this was real, because Lia took a step forward, then suddenly hugged him.

Her thin arms went around Yeosang's waist. "I hope we can still be friends," she mumbled. Yeosang didn't hesitate for a second and returned her hug. He took a deep breath as if the last of his worries had just disappeared. "That would be great," he replied and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe that this had just happened and that everything seemed to be all right again.

~

"See you then," Jongho called to his friends, throwing his bag over his shoulders. With a thoughtful look on his face, he walked off to pick up Lia. His thoughts wandered back to Yeosang, with whom he had texted a few hours ago that he would be back today. Jongho couldn't wait to see him again.

He buttoned his jacket further as a cold breeze blew over him. Then he turned the corner and saw the place in front of the university's art building. He was about to reach for his phone to tell Lia that he was there, but then he spotted her in the distance. But she was not alone.

She was hugging someone. And on a closer look, Jongho realized who this person was. Shocked and irritated, he stopped walking...

_____________

Update comes really soon ^^

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