Homeless Rose | Woosan

Sixteen

Wooyoung finally pulled back after a while, not because he wanted to, but because he felt like they went too far.

San held both his hands. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"I saw really bad nightmares...and...the room was so quiet when I woke up...I'm not used to it."

San squeezed his hands. "It's okay...you can try to go back to sleep."

Wooyoung shook his head. "I'm not sleepy anymore...but you can go..." he mumbled.

San smiled. "I'm not leaving you."

Wooyoung felt immediate relief, but he didn't want to show it.

"I'll get you water."

"It's okay, I'm okay."

San nodded. "Okay..."

They sat in silence for a long moment. It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, they both enjoyed each other's presence.

"So...do you trust me now?" San suddenly asked, making the other chuckle.

"I guess..."

San couldn't help but smile widely. He felt like he achieved something almost impossible. Like he won something no one else has.
"Thank you, I promise I'll never break your trust."

Wooyoung bit his bottom lip, he was scared of saying how he felt, but it felt right at the moment. "You make me feel...safe..."

San stayed quiet, not sure how to react to the sudden confession.

"Because I'm constantly in my defense mode...my blindness makes me have to be...and I live on the streets...the number of horrible people that have attacked me before is stupid...so I always have to be aware and ready to fight back or at least protect myself...but with you...I can relax and actually feel safe..."

The honest speech made San's heart swell. He didn't know how to respond.

"I'm..."

"You don't need to say anything." Wooyoung stopped him, half regretting what he said. "Can you let go of my hands?"

San quickly did as told. "Sorry..."

Wooyoung sighed. "Don't be...uhm...I think I'll try to go back to sleep."

San nodded. "Yeah, okay."

He was going to leave the storage room, but as he reached the door, he stopped and turned around...

"I've never felt anything since my boyfriend passed...until I met you..."

He then sighed and walked out.

He wasn't going to leave the other alone, he just sat in the shop thinking and arguing with himself until he fell asleep on the counter.

-

"San...San..." a hand gently shook him awake.

"I'm awake..." San yawned.

"Did you really sleep here...I almost bumped into you..." the younger grumbled.

"Yeah, I didn't wanna leave in case you had another nightmare."

"I'm sorry..."

"What time is it? We should open."

San got up and prepared everything and opened the doors. "I'm going to get breakfast, okay?"

"You're leaving me alone?" Wooyoung asked with a hint of panic in his voice.

"Don't worry, if a customer comes in, tell them I'll be right back."

Wooyoung sighed, still worried. "Okay..."