Me Without You

Mingyu-Sunbaenim

Prologue :

Having entered the entertainment business at such a young age, Mingyu had never experienced true love. He never thought he would end up finding love within his own company, much less with a boy. But Yoon Jeonghan had shown up to Pledis to turn his world upside down and everything he thought made sense, didn't make sense anymore.

CHAPTER ONE

Mingyu wanted nothing more than to be a regular seventeen year old but life had other plans. Mingyu was destined for greatness and he couldn't stop and change his mind now. Not when he was so close to achieving his dreams.
A lot of days seemed endless but for the most part Mingyu enjoyed the company of the members. They had formed a bond; They all seemed like a little family. The Eldest taking care of the younger and then there was him stuck in between. A little lost sometimes but there was alway Jeon Wonwoo to help him find his way.

Until a handsome stranger showed up and shook a young Mingyu to his core.

It was like any other day, practice started promptly after school. Yet this time when Mingyu arrived he spotted a thin shy boy sitting in the corner alone. He sat with his legs crossed and his eyes staring down at the wooden flooring.

Many had came and went from the very same practice room. The rest of the boy's paid no attention to the new comer, but Mingyu on the other hand couldn't help but feel sorrow for the stranger. He recalled when he too was new and struggled making friends. He took a seat straight across from the young boy and debated on whether he should say "Hello".

As he stares blankly at the figure in the corner, Seungcheol quietly sneaks up from behind. "Go introduce yourself to our new little brother Mingyu", he hisses, "Just say Hello, you can call me Mingyu-Sunbaenim". He pulls Mingyu up by both arms and gives him a little push towards the other side of the room.

Mingyu grins on how ridiculous it would sound to say that to the smaller stranger. But once he gets there he forgets any other words in his vocabulary. The boy looks up surprised that someone has approached him. "Hello, You can call me Mingyu-sunbaenim", He blurts out, immediately regretting it. Cheol on the other side of the room, giggling mercilessly, even rolling in amusement.

Just as Jeonghan looks up innocently at him Joshua interrupts the embarrassing moment. "Uh, Mingyu, actually Jeonghan is older" , he corrects him and takes a seat next to his new found friend.

Mingyu's beautiful tan skin is now stained with a shade of red on his cheeks. He turns abruptly, too embarrassed to explain anything else. For the remainder of the week Mingyu kept his distance. Jeonghan only pleasantly smiles from afar but Mingyu avoids any eye contact.

The weeks rolls by and Mingyu only gathers enough courage to at least greet Jeonghan. Mingyu only watches Jeonghan struggle from a distance and he can't help but feel pained. The staff scold the new guy worse than they did him. Mostly because he was older and they didn't really care to hurt his feelings, they were blunt.

After a long evaluation, Jeonghan hung his head low as he headed out the practice room door with Joshua's arm over his shoulder. "Joshua, stay back, we need to talk to you", a staff member yelled out. Joshua only silently nods at Jeonghan and he nods back to signal that he'll be ok without him.

Mingyu follows close behind, but not too close to avoid seeing Jeonghan eye to eye. The older one makes a turn into a closet in the hallway and slides in as Mingyu tiptoes behind. As he approaches he can only here soft sobs coming from inside, he can only imagine Jeonghan angelic face covered in tears.

The door creeks open and into the darkness of the room steps in the tall boy. "Jeonghan-hyung", he quietly inquires, "are you ok?". He places himself on the floor next to the sobbing boy. Jeonghan remains tight lipped and still, until he notices that Mingyu has taken a seat right beside him. Without uttering a single word, he lays his head down on Mingyu's shoulder and Mingyu freezes.

The silence eventually brings both boys to doze off and they are awakened by laughter. Their eyes slowly open to find Jihoon and Joshua in the doorway. "Still in the closet I see, Mingyu", Jihoon joked around.

All four laughed, as Jeonghan and Mingyu stepped out into the now dim hallway. "How long did we sleep?" , Mingyu curiously asked. "Let's just say we got worried when you didn't show up for dinner", Jihoon chuckles , "When does Kim Mingyu miss out on dinner". An adorable sadness replaces the younger one's smile and Jeonghan feels guilty.

If he hadn't stayed to console him, Mingyu wouldn't have missed out on his meal. He sneaks out of the dorm and makes his way to the corner store, filling a bag full of snacks and a ramen; And proceeds to purchase all the items. Happily making his way back to the dorms and into Mingyu's bedroom.

He stands tall, towering over Mingyu's bed, silently watching how Mingyu attempts to sleep to forget about the rumbling in his belly. Mingyu feel the presence over him and slowly peeks with one eye, making sure it's not Seungcheol. He pops right up when he sees an extended arm with a bag full of snacks. The arm belonged to Yoon Jeonghan and Mingyu is in shook.

He grabs the bag from his hands and the shy boy just smiles as he turns away to leave. Neither him or Mingyu saying a word once again.