At first Seungcheol ignored Minghao's request cause he knew that it was just an excuse.
'Minghao must have seen everything that happened earlier that's why he is tagging along to comfort me' Seungcheol thought to himself.
But he is not in need of anyone comforting him. He just wants to be alone. He wants to vent his feelings.
So he tried to bypass Minghao but Minghao was determined to not let Seungcheol leave alone so he quickly went forward and stood in front of Seungcheol's car and blocked his way and spread his hands on both sides.
His eyes focused on Seungcheol showing a stubbornly determined expression. They had a staring contest for a while cause Seungcheol too wasn't in the mood to back down or co-operate.
But in the end, Seungcheol had to bow down in front of Minghao's stubbornness. He was feeling exhausted already, mentally exhausted. He doesn't want to add to his exhaustion.
He sighed tiredly as a sign of giving up, unlocked his car and motioned Minghao to come and sit in. Seeing this Minghao smiled brightly and quickly went to sit beside Seungcheol before Seungcheol changes his mind.
As Minghao sat beside Seungcheol he asked, "Hyung where are you heading to?"
Seungcheol rolled his eyes and replied, "I don't know. You tell me where should I drop you instead?"
To which Minghao paused for a few moments to look at Seungcheol carefully before cheekily and softly saying while looking at him with a deep gaze, "Our destination is the same hyung".
Hearing him say that made Seungcheol freeze, his brain stopped working for a moment. By now they were already on the main road so he almost missed the red signal and almost hit the car in front of him before hastily stepping on the brake pedal.
Minghao's words sounded so ambiguous as if containing more than one meaning to what he said. Seungcheol was sure that he had not heard it wrong.
Minghao was still looking at Seungcheol. The corner of his lips raised as he teased, " Hmm? Did what I said just now affect you so much?"
Seungcheol clutched the steering wheel tightly before turning to look in Minghao's eyes as he said, " Myungho-ya don't play around with me"
Seungcheol's eyes showed how serious he was while saying it.
Minghao's eyes shifted for a moment before fixing on Seungcheol again.
"Why does hyung think that I'm playing around with you?" Minghao leaned a bit towards Seungcheol and asked, " Can't you see the sincerity in my eyes?"
Seungcheol's breathing became irregular as he processed Minghao's words but he still felt confused.
"Wha-why, what are you talking about?" Seungcheol swiftly broke the eye contact with Minghao.
Minghao could see that Seungcheol was feeling flustered and confused and thought that he shouldn't go overboard so he chuckled softly and said, " Why are you so cute hyung? You have turned all red. I just want to accompany you today. Let's hang out together"
Seungcheol let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He already knew that Minghao coming with him was just to accompany him so as to comfort him due to the things that happened today.
But this kid keeps teasing him instead of comforting him!
Seungcheol sulked as he started driving again.
He didn't accept Minghao's proposal and said, " No need to accompany me. Tell me where to drop you off or I will just randomly kick you out of the car".
Minghao groaned after hearing Seungcheol's words and said, " Please don't do that hyung, I teased you to lighten your mood. Please have mercy on me and accompany this lonely soul today".
Seeing Minghao pleading Seungcheol pressed his lips into a thin line which made his cheeks bulge cutely. By the time Seungcheol said anything Minghao's mind was lost in the land of cuteness aggression.
After thinking for a few moments Seungcheol decided to forgive Minghao and asked him, " Then where should we hang out. Where do you want to go?"
It's because Seungcheol didn't have any destination in his mind that he kept asking this question to Minghao so it looked like Minghao answering it was a necessity.
"Let's go to the gym" Minghao said after thinking for a while. He thought that Seungcheol must be wanting to vent his feelings right now and nothing is more suitable than sports and exercise if someone wants to vent their stress.
Seungcheol thought the same thing as him so he agreed readily and made his way to the gym that him and his friends visit regularly.
They have a membership in the gym as well as their own lockers so they took the gym clothes from the locker and changed into them in the bathroom.
After entering the equipment room Seungcheol went to the rowing machine directly, the treadmill machines were right in front of the rowing machine he chose. As he started to exercise he saw that Minghao was running on the treadmill.
For some reason his eyes kept glancing towards Minghao.
Minghao was wearing a black under-vest and black pants that highlighted his lean figure. His arms and muscles weren't bulky but they were well structured and beautiful as if they were sculpted with ample of time, care and attention. His long hair danced as he ran on the treadmill.
Seungcheol was being unable to focus. Minghao just looked....too tempting.
Argh!! Maybe his brain has been affected by Minghao's continuous teasing.
Seungcheol tore his eyes away from Minghao with difficulty and decided to just do some bench press so that his eyes won't keep glancing towards Minghao.
He got up and went towards the equipment and laid down on the bench as he was about to lift the weight when Minghao's face came in his line of sight. Minghao was bending down a bit to face Seungcheol as he asked, " Do you need my help hyung?"
It was a casual and common question. All of their friends have the habit of frequently exercising in the gym and they helped each other whenever they came together to gym but Seungcheol's attention was on the thin layer of sweat glistening on Minghao's face and body. His face was red due to running and for some reason his lips too were looking fuller. His long hair fell forward due to gravity and framed his face nicely.
Seungcheol felt his heart skip a beat then it started thudding against his chest. He quickly closed his eyes so as to shut out the reason for the abnormal reaction of his heart.
Minghao cocked his head in confusion but before he could say anything he heard Seungcheol say,
" I can handle it on my own. You can continue your routine".
Hearing his reply Minghao shrugged his shoulder and went to the elliptical machine.
After this Seungcheol tried to focus on exercising and it did help him vent his confusion and sadness. After exercising he felt tired but his mind felt clear and light.
Minghao came to find him when they thought that it was time for them to stop and leave.
They took showers together in the stalls that were side by side from each other.
While showering, Seungcheol couldn't help but recall the things that happened today. Minghao's teasing and the way he felt attracted towards Minghao's figure earlier just now.
At this moment his thoughts were getting occupied by Minghao showering in the stall beside him.
No, that's not right. I should think about something else...
Seungcheol tried to distract himself cause the thoughts of Minghao in his mind were becoming more and more outrageous. His body was heating up due to these thoughts. He doesn't want that.
So after trying hard he successfully distracted himself with the thoughts of what happened with Sara and him today. After carefully thinking about it he felt that he should really have at least given a chance to explain herself.
But he wasn't able to think straight in that situation! Anyone would feel hurt and angry in such a situation right?
Though he successfully distracted himself, he started feeling sad again.
After showering and changing clothes both Minghao and Seungcheol decided to eat something before going home.
" Hyung let's go to the place we used to frequently visit in high school" Minghao said as his eyes lit up while thinking about the cosy and warm restaurant place him and their friends used to visit when they were all in high school.
That place holds so many of their memories and also the memory that is especially precious to Minghao.
Minghao glanced towards Seungcheol with a light smile but it contained many of his hidden emotions.