_

as mingi waited for yunho to finish talking on the phone, he kept having inescapable flashbacks to all the times parents had swerved their children out of the way when he had tried to speak to them. or the times when kids had thrown their trash at him, or when busy passers-by had almost stood on him in their haste. he shook his head to try and escape the memories.

"okay, everything's in place so I don't need to come back in till the afternoon" yunho spoke as he returned to the room. mingi was sat on one of the stools, playing with the sleeve of his jacket. "are you ready to go?"

mingi didn't answer straight away, and instead continued to pull at the material on his arm, mind occupied with other thoughts.

"mingi?" yunho tried, "I'm sorry about what san said, please understand that he was only looking out for me"

"people will always share his opinion when you tell them where you found me" mingi replied, emotion lacking in his tone.

yunho reached his hand across the table to where mingi was sat and placed it on top of the fist mingi was making. "hey, it's okay. we don't need to tell anybody anything" yunho soothed, "I needed extra staff in here anyway, it's only me currently. I was gonna put a job ad out..." he trailed off.

he brushed his fingers through his long blonde hair as he tried to think of a way to comfort mingi, but mingi was sure his heart skipped a beat at that moment. it was early in the morning but yunho looked as good as ever, even if his eyes were a little puffy from lack of sleep.

"I'm ready" mingi announced after a few seconds, "if you're sure"

yunho nodded happily and began searching for his keys.

"yunho? does.. does san know where we're going?" mingi asked unsurely.

"urm, not exactly"

"okay" mingi replied and tried to force a smile.

of course yunho would want to keep it a secret, it was a ludicrous idea, right?

_

mingi couldn't actually remember the last time he had been in a house. it was weird, to feel the softness of the rug in the entrance under his feet. to smell that sweet, comforting aroma that he recalled - the one that meant yunho must have been burning candles the night before. he could hear a clock ticking somewhere and the sound was strange to him. he felt kinda disorientated and yunho had noticed.

"mingi? are you okay?" yunho asked, concerned.

"I left my stuff behind the shop" mingi spoke, surprising the other boy.

"that's okay" yunho whispered, not wanting to further disorientate the red-headed boy, "we'll get it this afternoon. but I'm hoping to replace a lot of what was in there"

mingi looked over to yunho with the biggest eyes he had ever seen, and they were swimming with tears. yunho smiled sympathetically, "I know it's a lot to take in. let's go get you showered up and then you can relax for a while, get used to your surroundings"

mingi nodded unsurely and yunho began to lead the way to the bathroom.

"the shower is pretty easy to work" he began when they arrived, "just leave your clothes on the floor. when you're done in there, give me a shout and I'll pass you some clean clothes through"

"o-okay" mingi stuttered, still incredibly overwhelmed. "d-don't go too far"

yunho chuckled, "I'll be right in the next room, I won't leave you alone". ever, he thought to himself.

_

"yunho? I-I'm done" mingi called after a little while. he spent a little longer in there after he had finished washing up, just feeling the warm water splashing onto his skin for the first time in so long.

his mind felt clearer now, the water from the shower having washed away most of his anxieties.

yunho rushed to the bathroom door as soon as mingi called, wanting to instill in mingi that he wouldn't leave him alone. mingi opened the door slightly and yunho passed through some jeans and an over-sized t-shirt.

when mingi exited the bathroom, it took a couple of seconds, but finally a huge smile grew on his face. "thank you" he spoke quietly.

"you look great, mingi!" yunho said truthfully. he was used to seeing the other boy in joggers and a large jacket, but these clothes accentuated his body more, even if he did look a little on the skinny side. yunho had realistically wanted to see him shirtless to measure just how underweight the boy was, but this wasn't something he wanted to request currently.

mingi rubbed his damp hair with the towel as he went over to look in the mirror. he stared at his reflection for a little while while yunho looked on happily.

"I'll let you finish up and I'll go make us some tea" yunho offered, to which mingi nodded and smiled.

when the two finally sat down at the kitchen table with their mugs of tea, mingi was the first to speak.

"thank you so much for your kindness, yunho. but may I ask you something?"

"of course"

"can I sleep in the shop again tonight? I'll help you out as much as you want me to but I don't need any cash payment, I'd rather have somewhere to sleep"

yunho took in the other's words and they further solidified a decision he'd really already made. it was crazy, granted. it was really crazy. and he would have to tell san what he was doing, for sure. but hey, what was normal anymore?

"mingi, you're probably gonna think I'm crazy" yunho began, "but I would prefer, if you would like.. if you would feel safe.. I would prefer you to stay here with me"

mingi's eyes widened yet again, "here - in your house?" he questioned.

"yes"

"well.. I-I, urm... would you? feel safe, that is"

yunho laughed out loud. "I probably shouldn't say yes, but yes. for some reason I do, feel safe with you"

"you can trust me you know?" mingi asked sincerely. yunho just smiled.

"so what do you say?"

"I don't know how I could ever thank you, yunho" mingi exclaimed, flustered by the offer.

"just keep being you"

mingi let out an abrupt burst of laughter, "now that definitely isn't enough repayment"

"don't say that"

"you'll soon realise that I'm a pretty worthless piece of shit" he laughed off.

yunho furrowed his brows and reached out his hand to touch the other, "don't ever say that. don't ever say that again, okay?"

mingi scoffed, "it's true"

"why do you think that, mingi?" yunho needed to know.

"I know it. my parents didn't want me, my ex fucking hated me, and I live on the fucking streets"

"not anymore you don't" yunho pointed out, but he could see that mingi's eyes had begun to appear glassy. he might laugh it off, but the boy was hurting immensely inside.

"mingi, why did your ex hate you?"

a tear fell down mingi's cheek as he tried to gather his thoughts. "you don't have to talk about it but I think it would be good for me to know" yunho added.

"he was awful to me, yunho" mingi explained, voice barely audible, "horrible. he's the reason I am where I am"

"on the streets?"

mingi nodded as he wiped the wetness from his face, "I escaped. I ran away. but I had no where to go"

yunho felt tears prick in his own eyes as he contemplated the grim realisation that the way mingi's ex treated him must have been pretty bad if he would choose the street over living with him.

"I had to get out" mingi finished as he finally broke down completely, burying his face in his palms as he sobbed.

yunho arose from his seat and slowly wrapped his arms around mingi from behind, not wanted to make the boy feel any more uncomfortable.

"are you okay with me hugging you like this?" yunho asked as mingi's whole body shook beneath him. mingi just nodded.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you, mingi. please don't cry anymore, I'm going to take care of you now, okay? you have me now and I won't leave you alone. shhh, it's okay" he soothed,

"I won't let you go back out there mingi,

I won't"

_

a/n: choi san in a crop top was everything I needed this morning 👀

hope you're enjoying this story so far ♡