It was nice not having to wear eye contacts all the time anymore. When Wonwoo mentioned telling everyone at the party, Mingyu has no reason not to believe him but . . . he didn't believe him. Based on what he'd said earlier that day, Mingyu didn't blame him for wanting to keep things secret. He was okay with it. He had told Wonwoo just that.

"I want to," Wonwoo had said, hopping off the counter.

Mingyu didn't know what was going through his soulmate's head, but hey, who was he to argue? "Are you sure?"

"I feel like you're the one who wants to keep it a secret now," the elder replied.

"Of course not. I've been waiting for this moment for a while now-"

"Then stop protesting."

"I'm just making sure you're absolutely positive about this. I mean, you know what telling people is going to do. There'll be more articles."

Wonwoo stopped his protests pretty quick.

With a kiss.

Right there in the middle of the crowded kitchen.

"There. Now I can't change my mind," he told Mingyu before wandering off and leaving Mingyu alone and stunned to take in any stares and question people could somehow even fathom asking. Mingyu felt drunk.

Now, a whole weekend has gone by. By Monday, the whole school knows they're together. It didn't feel real. His reality came into focus when he saw Wonwoo standing by his locker, his brown eyes there for the whole world to see. Mingyu was at a loss of words.

"I feel like I missed a few steps in this process,"  he finally admitted later as he followed Wonwoo into the cafeteria.

"This coming from the one who skipped several steps when we first met," Wonwoo responded.

"Yeah, but, I don't know. This feels like a dream."

"This feels like a nightmare," the older male grumbled. Mingyu knew he wasn't talking about outing their relationship, but rather the nonstop gossip because of it. He sat down without a word. "Do people have nothing better to talk about? I swear to God, I will shove a chopstick in someone's ear if one more person asks me if I hooked up with you at the party."

Mingyu had gotten similar questions. Most weren't as bad, some were worse. He really hoped these stupid questions and rumors didn't last that long.

Seungkwan plopped his tray down across from the couple. He looked tired, but his eyes weren't as puffy as they usually were.

"You guys are cute together," he said. Mingyu could tell he genuinely meant it.

"Have you heard anything new from Hansol?" Wonwoo asked.

The same night of the party, Mingyu and Wonwoo were tasked with taking Seungkwan home. Mingyu had gotten permission to fill Wonwoo in.

"No, but forget him," the red-head said. He took a bite of his cream bread. "Clearly, it's not meant to be, so all I can do now, is kiss as many people as I possibly can so I can beat Jeonghan at his stupid game."

"I am positive that is a terrible idea," Mingyu quickly mentioned.

"I just need to shove Jeonghan's shit back in his face. I said the bet was a bad idea. Hell, Jeonghan hasn't even kissed Jisoo and it's been a month."

Wonwoo sipped at his milk, uncomfortable.

Mingyu sighed. "Just don't get any diseases."

Seungkwan's put-together act quickly fell apart then. He groaned and put his face in his hands. "Why do we have to kiss someone to find our soulmate?" he asked, his voice muffler. "Like, what kind of logic even is that?"

"The universe is a bitch, clearly," Wonwoo said.

"Well, the universe should go screw itself," the youngest muttered.

"Who should screw who?" Junhui said, sitting down next to Seungkwan. Soonyoung and Seokmin were behind followed suite.

"How about we don't talk about 'screwing'?" Wonwoo said. He leaned his head on his hand. "What I want to talk about is Jun hiding the other night and then ignoring my texts and calls."

"I did not run away," Jun defended. He didn't back up his claim. His argument was just that simple.

Mingyu watched in amusment as Wonwoo interrogated Jun about his betrayal. Wonwoo was actually offended that Jun didn't let him in on his plan beforehand.

Seungkwan had gone very quiet. He seemed to be eating peacefully but Mingyu knew he was thinking very deeply. From across the cafeteria, Mingyu saw Jeonghan and Jisoo enter.

"Have you told Jeonghan about Hansol?" Mingyu asked while everyone else was distracted.

"No," Seungkwan said. "I can't bring myself to tell him. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I know he'll probably feel bad, and then I'll never hear the end of it."

"It is kind of his fault though," Mingyu implied. "And mine."

"I disagree. It's mine. I agreed to the bet when I didn't have to. Besides, even without the push, Hansol and I probably would have figured it out eventually. I mean, I've liked him for so long. It was only a matter of time before I worked up the courage to push things further."

"Please don't tell me you're actually going to kiss your way through guys just for the bet," Mingyu said.

"I've thought about it," the red-head admitted. "But I couldn't bring myself to kiss a guy I flirted with all night."

"Thank God. The last thing I need is my best friend to get mono."

Seungkwan made a face like he was thinking hard again. "I think we need to do something to get back at Jeonghan."

"Like what? And why?"

"I'm a wreck because of this bet."

"You said that wasn't his fault."

"How many time have we both been humiliated because of his bets?"

He made a good point. "Too many to count," Mingyu said after attempting to count.

"And how many times has he lost a bet?"

Mingyu was able to count that. Huh. Jeonghan hasn't lost a single bet. "None," he said.

"My point exactly," Seungkwan told him. "At this rate, I'm going to lose this bet, which is fine, but just once, as shitty as it sounds, I would like to see him lose."

"You sound like perfect best friend material," Mingyu said jokingly.

Seungkwan gave a sigh/laugh. "I love him. I really do, but he's so full of himself sometimes. I think he needs this."

Mingyu almost mentioned Jeonghan's abusive father, but he knew Jeonghan didn't want to be treated any differently because of it. If it really came down to it, Jeonghan might actually praise Seungkwan if he managed to actually pull this off.

"Okay," he said. "What's your plan?"

🌈

"Graduation is coming up soon," Chairman Kim mentioned when Mingyu sat across from him. "There's still a lot you have to learn before you take over the company."

"I know," Mingyu replied. Anything about taking over the company was playing on a loop in his head. Even so, it was better than being hounded about Wonwoo.

Chairman Kim sighed and met his son's eye. "Do you want to take over the company?"

"Of course I do," Mingyu said automatically. It was the answer most expected of him. He didn't even have to think about it.

"I'm speaking to you as your father, Mingyu. I want you to be completely honest with me." His expression softened. For once, Mingyu could see how exhausted his father really was.

The young male hesitated. "Okay. I'll be honest, I'm not ready to take over at all. I would like to, later in the future, but I don't think I can handle all of that responsibility right now " There. It was out.

"I understand," Chairman Kim said. "More than you might think actually. I'm glad you still want to take over because afterall, you are still my heir. I do think we can wait a few more years before you take my place."

Who is this man? Mingyu thought. He didn't know what to say. This was different from their usual conversations. It was still business, but in a way, it felt . . . nice?

"In the meantime, are you interested in that summer modeling job?" the chairman continued.

"After graduation. Exams are coming up right now." For once, Mingyu felt comfortable in his father's office.

"Alright. I'll get you the contract to sign by the end of the week." The CEO reached over and shifted a picture frame sitting on his desk. "By the way, that boy of yours--Wonwoo, I believe his name was--could you give this to him?" He handed Mingyu a small enveloped that was sitting underneath the picture.

"What is it?" Mingyu asked.

"A personal invitation."

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a/n: y'all wanted double updates once a week, so here you go 🥰 updates will be on Saturdays