Desire - ATEEZ Mingi

28

Yeeun's POV

The weekend flew by and before I knew it, I was weaving my way through crowds of kids in the school hallway.

I was almost excited to be back, but then I remembered that there was nothing to be excited for. It wasn't like I was about to be reunited with my best friends after being gone for a week.

And it's all Mingi's fault, a voice in my head sneered. I quickly shoved the voice away and pretended that I didn't hear it. Mingi was changing his ways and the past didn't matter to me anymore. All that mattered to me now was the present.

As I turned a corner, into the hallway my locker was in, I froze in my tracks. Soyeon stood before me, leaning against my locker.

What is she doing here? I asked myself. Mingi's going to kill me.

But then I wondered if Mingi promised to stop hurting me, maybe he would let me actually talk to people now. Wishful thinking, that same mocking voice in my head told me. Once again, I shook it off before making my way over to Soyeon.

"Hey, Soyeon," I greeted her, plastering a kind smile on my face. Her head turned in my direction and a look of relief came over her features. I took a pause, confused.

"Yeeun, you're back!" She exclaimed, pushing herself away from my locker and approaching me. "Yeah, I'm back," I assured, nodding my head. "Thank God. I was getting worried about you. You just disappeared," she replied, sounding relieved. I furrowed my eyebrows. "You noticed that I was gone?" I asked curiously. She nodded. "Of course I did. Why wouldn't I have?"

"Well," I began as I stepped around her to get to my locker. "It's not like we hang out or anything." I said, dialing in my locker combo and pulling the door open.

"I know. But I still noticed. After all, you were gone for a whole week," she replied. "So, where were you?"

I bit my lip nervously, unable to make eye contact with her all of a sudden. Despite Mingi and I being okay now, I was still being forced to lie to people.

"Uh, I was just really sick," I fibbed, hoping that my lie came out smoother than it sounded to me. "With what?" Soyeon pursued, making me clench my jaw in slight irritation.

"The flu," I lied again. "Oh." She replied simply.

Soyeon then opened her mouth to say something else, but a deep, familiar voice cut her off.

"Hey, sweetheart," Mingi said as he wrapped his arms around me from behind. I tensed, glancing nervously at Soyeon, who was standing just feet away.

"Hey," I replied, faking a smile at him. He grinned back, leaning down and pecking my lips gently before finally noticing Soyeon as she stood directly across from us.

"Soyeon, right?" Mingi asked as he tightened his grip on me. I gulped, taking that as a bad sign. "Yes, and you're Mingi. Nice to see you again," Soyeon said politely as she adjusted the glasses on her face. Mingi nodded in reply, his grip on me still tight. It didn't hurt, but I sure wasn't going anywhere.

"Soyeon, do you think you could give me and Yeeun a minute alone?" Mingi asked. I tensed up even more. No, no, no, no! I screamed in my mind. I was dead.

"Sure, no problem," Soyeon said. "I'll see you around, Yeeun. Bye Mingi." I faked a smile at her as she began to walk away. Once she was gone, Mingi turned me around in his arms and I was sure I was about to get it. "Mingi, please, don't hurt me. She was just waiting fo--"

"Baby, shh. It's okay," Mingi cut me off in the middle of my desperate pleading. "I'm not going to hurt you, okay?" My tense body relaxed a little as he wrapped his arms around my waist. "Okay." I nodded in understanding.

"I just--"he began. "I don't want you talking to people too much." I furrowed my eyebrows just slightly. "Why not?" I asked curiously. He licked his lips, glancing at the floor before meeting my eyes again.

"Because I don't want anyone to take you away from me," he replied, his voice noticeably softer. My forehead creased with confusion. "What? Why would someone take me away from you?" I asked him. He sighed, moving one hand up and running it down his face.

"Because, one day you might tell someone about the past year and what I've done to you." He explained and finally, I understood.

"Mingi," I began. "As long as you keep your promise, you're never going to lose me. Okay."

Mingi let a tiny smile tug on the corners of his lips. "Okay." He replied in understanding. I smiled, getting up on my tippy toes and kissing his cheek.

"But, Yeeun," he said as I pulled away. His smile had dropped and now he looked serious. "Please, just don't talk about it to anyone. For my sake." He said. His facial expression was neutral, but his eyes were desperate. I felt a little bad for him. The last thing he wanted was to lose me and I could see that, clear as day.

"Okay. I won't." I agreed.

He let his half smile return and leaned down, attaching our lips.

"I love you so much," he whispered. I smiled and whispered in reply, "I love you too."