Chapter Text
The air is red and orange and yellow but it's the smell of bossam and rosé tteokbokki that wakes Wonwoo. And as if on cue, he hears Mingyu in his head humming a soft tune.
The Wonwoo some 7 years ago would have been startled at hearing someone else's voice inside his head but not this Wonwoo. This Wonwoo has gotten so used to Mingyu lumbering around his brain as early as 7am in the morning that he would've been surprised if he didn't hear Mingyu inside his head.
Smells good.
Fuck! The clanging of pans follow suit and Mingyu's screams of pain. Holy shit that's a hot pan. Fuck that hurts. Oh god, the egg. Is it alive? Fuck that hurts.
Wonwoo smiles despite himself.
I can hear you smiling from here, hyung, it's not funny. You fucking scared me.
Wonwoo gets out of bed and walks himself to the bathroom. You can't be a telepath and say I surprised you. That's not how it works.
How do you know how it works, are you the telepath?
Wonwoo snorts. I know because it's only logical. Anything else makes no sense.
Well, hyung, being a telepath isn't exactly very 'logical'. Wonwoo notices it, that even when Mingyu was speaking to him inside his head, he could see him using air quotes on the word logical. It is one of the most endearing aspects of him. Come down when you're ready, hyung.
And Wonwoo hasn't had a very good couple of weeks but he thinks, this, this is good. This is great. And though the thought is fleeting, it appears in his head that he wonders if Mingyu heard it: I could get used to this .
Mingyu's color changes very often. He spoke very little but sometimes he didn't have to. You can read every emotion in his face if you only care to look. Then again, Wonwoo's never had to be familiar with facial expressions; Mingyu's or otherwise. Being an empath makes it so that he knows what people felt before they even open their mouth. It's what allowed him to be as well-adapted as he is despite being an introvert. He always knew how to read the room.
This morning, Mingyu is red and blue. Amidst the oranges and yellows of a breakfast well-cooked is the undercurrent of love and sadness.
Wonwoo feels a pang of guilt and, if he only stopped being a coward and stopped sweeping his own emotions under the rug, selfishness. He'd given Mingyu shit when he'd found out he was a telepath because of some bullshit reason like his privacy felt violated when really, he's the intruder.
After all, you couldn't be any less vulnerable in front of someone who could crush your heart in their hands and watch it bleed.
Eat lots, hyung. I cooked it well. I had to cook you another egg but you don't know that–well, now you know dammit. I hope I didn't overcook the pork. Stupid pans. What if it's tough? It was tender when I cut it so it should be okay, right?
Mingyu. It tastes great. Thank you.
A sigh. Thank God. But you don't look happy, hyung? Did you want to eat something else? I knew I should've asked you before jumping into cooking. I could make you whatever you want for dinner. But, we'll have to go grocery shopping first because your pantry doesn't have anything in it. Why do you not stock your pantry, hyung?
Being an empath has its perks. But it also has its disadvantages, too.
For one, Wonwoo fell easily. He weren't just privy to people's feelings, he also mirrored it. The moment their energy changes towards him is the moment Wonwoo knows he's the most vulnerable. But he lets himself be vulnerable, anyway, trusting their feelings even when he knew perfectly well that feelings were fleeting and temporary.
For another, when Wonwoo internalizes his emotions, he falls sick. Just like now. Being able to tell when another person falls out of love doesn't stop that shit from hurting. If anything, Wonwoo is left to wonder what went wrong, and hoping against hope that the break up had nothing to do with him even as he could feel his partners lie through their teeth.
And if that wasn't unfortunate enough, everything else fuels his self-hatred. Like how Mingyu adores him; he's no one to be adored. Or how Mingyu cares for him; there's better use for his time. Or how Mingyu loves him even when he hasn't told him yet; he shouldn't have known and he definitely shouldn't be taking advantage of him like this.
I'm not hungry anymore. I'll just rest.
What? Hyung, you barely touched your fo–
Wonwoo doesn't even want to look at Mingyu because he knows, even without looking, the way he's feeling (blue. Everywhere blue), and knows, because he's Mingyu and they spend so much time together that his facial expressions are practically basic arithmetic to Wonwoo, at this point, exactly the kind of face he'll make.
Mingyu taught Wonwoo how to shut him out. Apparently, if you wanted it enough, you could shutter Mingyu's access to your thoughts. And because Mingyu didn't feel entitled to them, anyway, he'd respect it.
Walls erected and barriers fortified, it had only ever serve to protect Wonwoo's thoughts and safeguard his privacy. He never thought it'd protect his heart and be able to hurt Mingyu in the process.