Desire - ATEEZ Mingi

Epilogue

3rd Person POV

Mingi smiled to himself as he marched out of the treatment center for the last time. He took in a long, deep breath, as if he hadn't stepped outside in ages. The warm, June air was soothing.

He felt free. He felt happy. But most of all, he felt like a new man. A man that would be the best he could possibly be.

The past 12 months had passed by at an agonizingly slow pace. Life without Yeeun moved at the pace equivalent to a snail. He couldn't bare going much longer without her.

It was especially torturous for him while the two of them were still in high school. Mingi would see Yeeun constantly, whether it was passing each other by in the hall, sitting on opposite sides of a classroom, or trying to avoid one another in the library. It 'killed' Mingi to see Yeeun so often while knowing that he was tied down from going anywhere near her. Yeeun could see the painful longing in his eyes every time they made eye contact and tried not to let it get to her.

To make the pain a little more bearable, Mingi would call or text her on occasion. But the small talk the two of them made with one another over the phone wasn't enough. Mingi wanted to touch her, hold her, kiss her. He wanted to see her smile and hear her laugh. He wanted to look deeply into her eyes and tell her he loved her.

But he couldn't.

The pain of staying away from Yeeun only got worse on prom night. She looked absolutely stunning in her light blue dress. Mingi watched her all night long from the opposite side of the dance floor, in awe of her incredible beauty. He smiled whenever she laughed with her new friends and frowned whenever she danced with another guy.

Mingi was desperate for just one dance with the love of his life. Every time a slow song came on, he ached to march right over to her and ask for a dance. He wondered if he could break the rules just this once and take her in his arms while they took to the dance floor.

So, he stood up from his seat and made his way through the crowd to get to Yeeun. When he reached her, she was staring blankly at the dance floor, watching other couples sway to the slow music and share an occasional kiss.

"Hi, gorgeous," Mingi said softly, grasping Yeeun's attention. She looked taken aback when she found Mingi in front of her, holding out his hand with a breath-taking smile. "Can I have this dance?"

Yeeun said nothing for a moment. She was shocked that Mingi was standing before her. He wasn't supposed to be there. He was supposed to stay away from her.

"Mingi, what are you doing?" She finally spoke once she snapped out of shock. "We can't."

Mingi lowered his hand, then slowly crouched down in front of her. "Hey," he said softly. "It's just one dance."

She pursed her lips, feeling the strong desire to give into his wishes. She knew it was wrong, but she was suddenly craving the feeling of being held in Mingi's arms again and she couldn't fight it.

"O-okay," she stuttered, giving in to him. Mingi grinned, rose to his feet, and took her hand to help her up. The feeling of his skin on hers again instantly drove him insane.

Placing one hand on the small of her back, he guided her to an open space on the dance floor. Then, slowly, he wrapped her up in his arms and pulled her in close. One of his hands found the opening in the side of her dress and he tenderly caressed her silky smooth skin with his thumb. She swallowed hard as goosebumps surfaced and butterflies fluttered at the feeling of his thumb against her skin. She hadn't felt this way in a long time.

Still, a part of her was a bit frightened to be back in Mingi's arms. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, especially not in front of all of these people. But she could help that old, familiar feeling of fear from being in Mingi's presence again.