Work Text:
The first time Wonwoo realized he was in love with Mingyu, it wasn’t some grand, dramatic moment. There was no slow-motion scene where time froze, no heart-stopping revelation. It was simple, almost laughable—Mingyu had just turned to him in the middle of a late-night movie marathon and handed him the last slice of pizza without hesitation.
"You should eat more," Mingyu had said, eyes crinkling at the corners, voice warm in the dim light of the dorm.
And just like that, Wonwoo knew.
It was in the little things. The way Mingyu always waited for him after practice, even when it meant missing out on hanging with the others. The way he’d throw an arm around Wonwoo’s shoulders, effortlessly closing the distance between them. The way he always, always smiled at him like he was something special.
But the cruel irony was that Mingyu treated everyone like that. He was the sun—warm, generous, belonging to everyone. And Wonwoo? He was just another planet caught in his orbit.
"You should confess," Seungcheol told him one day, watching him stare (probably too long) at Mingyu as he played basketball with Seokmin and Vernon. "It’s painful just looking at you."
Wonwoo snorted. "And ruin everything? No thanks."
"What if he likes you back?"
Wonwoo turned to him with a sad smile. "Then he wouldn’t be Mingyu."
Because Mingyu loved freely, but never romantically. He flirted without meaning to, made people feel like they were the only one in the room, but he never once looked at Wonwoo the way Wonwoo looked at him.
But despite knowing that, Wonwoo never stopped hoping.
One rainy evening, huddled under a shared umbrella, Mingyu turned to him with a grin. "You know, you’re my favorite person, right?"
Wonwoo’s breath hitched, fingers tightening around the umbrella handle. "Don’t say stuff like that," he mumbled.
Mingyu blinked. "Why not? It’s true."
"Because you don’t mean it the way I want you to."
The words slipped out before he could stop them, hanging heavy between them. The rain pattered against the fabric above, drowning out everything except the sound of his heartbeat.
Mingyu’s smile faltered. "Wonwoo…"
"Forget it," he said quickly, forcing a laugh. "I was just—"
"Are you—?"
"No," Wonwoo interrupted, stepping away from the umbrella’s cover. The rain soaked through his hoodie immediately, but it was better than standing there, waiting for rejection. "Just forget it, Mingyu. Please."
But how could he forget, when his heart had spent years memorizing the way Mingyu made him feel?
In the end, nothing changed.
Mingyu didn’t pull away, didn’t treat him differently. He still walked beside him, still laughed with him, still made him feel like he was the center of his universe. But it wasn’t love.
And Wonwoo had to learn to live with that.
Because sometimes, love wasn’t about being loved in return. Sometimes, it was about loving someone enough to let them shine, even if it meant standing in the shadows.
And so, he did.
End.