Desire - ATEEZ Mingi

31

Yeeun's POV

I took a deep breath before pulling open the glass door. Rounding the corner, my eyes scanned the nearly empty coffee shop, spotting Mingi almost immediately.

I'd texted him earlier this morning, telling him that I was ready to talk and that we should meet up. Although, I wasn't completely sure if I truly was ready. I'd made my decision on whether who to trust; him or Soyeon. But, I had my doubts.

Looking up from his phone, he smiled at me and stood as I approached the table he was sitting at.

"Hey," he said, pulling me into his strong arms and holding me firmly against his chest. "Hi." I mumbled into his shirt, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. I sighed, inhaling the familiar scent of his cologne.

I hope I'm making the right decision, I thought to myself before pulling out of Mingi's gentle grip.

"Do you want a coffee or anything?" He asked, sweetly pulling out my chair for me as I sat down. My stomach fluttered at the gentlemanly gesture.

"A hot chocolate sounds good," I replied. He grinned. "Okay, I'll be right back." He leaned down and pressed his his lips to my forehead before turning and walking towards the counter.

I exhaled, slipping my off my jacket and hanging it on the chair. My foot was tapping nervously against the floor, my clammy hands folded in my lap. My eyes wandered over to the window, I gazed at the fall colors while silently praying that I was making the right decision.

I got lost in thought, tranced by the way the leaves so gracefully and peacefully fell from their tree branches. Fall was slowly but surely coming to a close.

"Here you go, babe," a voice said, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up as Mingi set my hot chocolate in front of me. "Thanks." I said, giving him a half smile. He took the seat directly across from mine, placing his cup in front of him.

"So," he spoke in a playful tone. "I think you have some explaining to do, missy." I nodded. "Yeah, sorry about last night," I paused. "And this past week. I've been lying to you about some things, and I'm really sorry. I was just so confused."

Mingi's brow creased in concern. "About what, sweetheart?" He asked. I sighed, my heart rate picking up. This is it, I told myself. The moment of truth. I was about to tell Mingi everything.

"Please don't get mad," I begged, already imagining the possible outcomes after I told him what Soyeon knew. Mingi leaned forward, frowning as he cupped my cheek. "Baby, I'm not gonna get mad," he assured me. "I just want to know what's been going on with you."

I didn't believe him, but forced myself to comtinue anyway.

"Well, the other day, Soyeon came up to me in the library," I began, nervously. "And uh--sh-she told me that she'd overheard the two of us when we were talking about whether I was allowed to start talking to other people again."

Mingi frowned, his finch clenching against the table. But his eyes or facial expression showed no signs of anger. At least, not yet. I swallowed hard and forced myself to stay calm and continue.

"She started asking all these questions and I-I kind of admitted to her that y-you used to hurt me." Mingi's face went pale for a moment, his jaw falling open slightly. "What?" He asked nervously. I tensed. "J-just let me finish, okay?" He took a moment to recollect himself, clenching and unclenching his jaw before nodding his head, allowing me to continue.

"I told her that you promised not to hurt me anymore," I proceeded, tearing my eyes away from his. "But then she started telling me that people like you never change and that your promise didn't mean anythi--"

"What do you mean by 'people like me'?" He cut me off, anger slowly creeping into his eyes. I shrunk back in my seat, beginning to wish I'd never even brought this up.

"M-Mingi, please. Just let me finish," I begged. "Don't get mad."

I noticed a hint of guilt swell in his brown eyes. He nodded, allowing his body to relax back into his chair. I took this as a good sign and proceeded with my story.

"Soyeon told me that she's been in an abusive relationship before. She said that her boyfriend used to make promises to her all the time, saying he would never hurt her again. But he never kept them." I paused to watch the realization of where I was going with this slowly come to him.

"Yeeun, baby, I--"

"I know, Mingi," I said, cutting him off. "It just got me thinking. I didn't know if I was supposed to trust you or Soyeon and that's why I've been acting so weird lately."

"Baby, you can trust me, okay? I'm going to keep my promise," he said, leaning forward and taking my hand in his. I gave him a half smile. "I know you will, Mingi," I assured him. "I just got scared and that's why I was acting different. I just wanted you to know."

He smiled, standing up, walking over to me and leaning down to kiss my forehead. "Thank you for telling me. I was getting worried about you." He said. Then, he backed up a step and stuck out his hand, saying, "Come on. Let's go for a walk."

I grinned, taking his hand and letting him pull me to my feet. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and the two of us stepped out of the coffee shop and into the brisk morning air.

The two of us strolled down the sidewalks in comfortable silence. I smiled contently as I took in the fall colors as I sipped what was left of my hot chocolate.

I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. Even though it wasn't easy, I was glad that I'd told Mingi the truth.

Resting my head on his shoulder, I knew I'd made the right decision to trust him. Not Soyeon.

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A/N

Yikes...

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