social | meanie

twenty seven

"wonwoo!" minhyuk yelled, jogging across the street to meet with wonwoo who was carrying a cup of hot chocolate in his hand.

"hey, shouldn't you be at La Rose Noir?" wonwoo asked taking a sip from his cup.

"my assistant can run it whilst i'm gone." minhyuk smiled, walking with wonwoo. "you going to school, this early?"

wonwoo nodded, "i mean it's not that early. i just have to help set up some things for the science fair."

"can i help out too?" minhyuk asked.

"sure, if you want." wonwoo replied. they walked in silence until they reached the school, opening the gates to let themselves into the school grounds. wonwoo headed straight for the hall with minhyuk following behind him. "can i ask you something, minhyuk?"

minhyuk hummed in response. "aren't you a bit young to be out of highschool and have your own business?" wonwoo asked.

"i guess so. i only started up the place a few months ago, with the help of some... connections." minhyuk said, now walking side by side with wonwoo. they reached the hall where some other students and teachers were, beginning to set up the banners and arrange the tables so they were in lengthy rows going from left to right.

by the time they finished, some students started entering the hall and arranged their projects on the allocated table they were given, rehearsing what they were going to explain about their display and hope to impress the judges.

minhyuk stood by the entrance with wonwoo who greeted people as they came in. wonwoo eventually met eyes with mingyu, holding their project in his arms and smiled. "hey hyung."

"hey gyu, want to set up over there?" wonwoo pointed to a table near the corner where soonyoung and jihoon were stood. mingyu nodded and before walking away, he took a glance at minhyuk. minhyuk gave him a glare but then a small, innocent smile.

what's he doing here? mingyu thought. he walked away to the corner of the echoing hall filled with quite a lot of students from different years, placing down the giant board on the wooden table.

mingyu walked over to soonyoung and jihoon, who were arranging their own project. "hey, do you know why minhyuk is here?" mingyu asked the two of them.

"minhyuk? wonwoo told us he came to help out with the fair. he seems like a cool guy." soonyoung said, jihoon nodding and agreeing with his boyfriend.

"but doesn't he seem a bit... i dunno, off?" mingyu suggested. soonyoung and jihonn exchanged confused looks, nit sure what mingyu was talking about.

"no? he seems fine to me." jihoon said. soonyoung then smirked whilst looking at mingyu. "are you jealous?" soonyoung teased.

"w-what? no! he just seems a bit odd to me. that's all!" mingyu panicked.

"mmhmm, sure mingyu." soonyoung said. they talked for a while until all the students had arrived. once they all did, one of the science teachers stepped up onto the stage at the front of the hall, holding a microphone in her hand.

"welcome, students, to this year's science fair. we are happy to see how much effort you all have put into your boards. we will be judging your projects based on presentation of information, how much information is included and how well you and your partners explain your project. feel free to walk around and look at other's boards but be sure to be by your station when it's your turn to present to the judges. other than that, enjoy the fair!" the teacher said in a high pitched voice, sounding bubbly and happy as always.

the three judges started at the front of the room where the freshman's projects were, making there way up the years. it would take a while until it got to mingyu and wonwoo's project so mingyu decided to walk around the hall to see other's.

wonwoo and minhyuk were walking around the hall, talking to one another and some students that happened to past by. "hey, one of the teachers told me they need help with something. you gonna be okay on your own?" wonwoo said, unsure if he wants to leave minhyuk on his own.

"i'll be fine." minhyuk politely said, smiling at wonwoo. "i'll just walk around and if i need you, i'll call you." his words reassured wonwoo and the two parted ways. minhyuk walked around the stands and project boards the students have produced for the day, watching them present their work to the judges.

"you're minhyuk, correct?" a low voice said. minhyuk turned around to see a tall figure standing behind him.

"yes, and you are?"

"mingyu. a friend of wonwoo's." mingyu said, giving the latter a fake smile.

"ah, wonwoo has spoken of you before."

"has he now? that's great, he's told me quite a lot about you, too." mingyu smirked. "he's told me many things about the time you abused him and caused him to have suicidal thoughts."

minhyuk rolled his eyes, hearing this all before. "look, i don't care who you are, but what i did to wonwoo in the past is none of your business. i've changed since then."

"oh, but it is. i don't know what you're trying to do with wonwoo, i don't know what sick game your playing with him to make him trust you; just stay away from him." mingyu threatened, his voice becoming more stern than his normal tone.

minhyuk scoffed, "we're posing threats now? you don't scare me, kid. what wonwoo does in his life is not yours to control, it's not like he's your boyfriend." he laughed. mingyu's face grew darker, becoming more impatient with minhyuk's words.

"i know what you're trying to do, and you have to stop. wonwoo doesn't deserve any of this but you continue to make him suffer."

"i'm the one who's making him suffer? ha! he really fooled you, didn't he? do you know what he did to me? he's not as innocent as he seems. he's not as fragile as he makes himself to be." minhyuk said.

"whatever he did, you probably deserved it. you're a dick that's selfish and gets pleasure out of people's pain." mingyu said, trying to not be too loud so others would overhear.

"so what? i don't care if people hate me. those who hate on me have nothing better to do because their life is just as rotten as mine. i have power over people, i can control by manipulating them into doing what i want them to do." minhyuk confessed, giving mingyu a dead stare.

this is what minhyuk has been taught all his life. taught to believe that power is everything you need in this world. power gets you anywhere and everywhere. manipulating people is what got him to where he is in the first place. people under his control would do anything just for minhyuk's satisfaction, and minhyuk loves every second of it.

even seeing mingyu in front of him now makes him laugh. mingyu thinks he's so confident and sure that he's better than minhyuk, but he's wrong. oh so wrong.

"what's this even about? want to protect your little boyfriend from me?" minhyuk said in a mocking tone. he knew doing this would get on mingyu's nerves, it's hilarious to him.

"he's not boyfriend!" mingyu growled.

"heh, how about we make a deal. person who can make wonwoo fall in love with them wins. simple, right?"

"too simple. what's your real intention?"

"smart. if i win, i get wonwoo and you have to leave the country. i'll be able to have him all for myself and you can do nothing about it. you win, you get wonwoo and i won't bother him anymore."

mingyu knew this was wrong. making a deal with minhyuk over wonwoo's feelings. but what else can he do?

"what if i don't agree?"

"well, i'll just have to tell wonwoo about this conversation, make it seem like i'm the victim and he'll just ditch you like he always does."

"...deal."