vengeance | woosan

7

Glancing back at Wooyoung, I saw him leaning on the car horn, trying to catch the attention of both Soobin and Yeonjun. "Hey, Soob," Wooyoung shouted out, giving a nod in Soobin's direction. Soobin acknowledged Wooyoung with a nod before turning back to Yeonjun, who looked frozen in place. Maybe I should have sent Yeonjun a text beforehand.

"Good luck with your new competition," Wooyoung joked with a laugh before driving off, leaving me to face the awkward silence between Soobin and Yeonjun.

I made my way up to my house, greeting Soobin with a dry tone before heading inside. The sudden change in attitude caught me off guard, but Wooyoung's words lingered in my mind, bothering me a little. Let's see how long they'll last, I thought to myself.

I settled into the living room, noticing snacks arranged neatly on the small table and the TV humming softly in the background. As the door closed behind me, I waited for Yeonjun to enter, but as soon as he did, we both exclaimed in unison, "What was that?"

"You first! Why didn't you give me a heads up?" Yeonjun yelled, his ears still tinted pink with embarrassment.

"I didn't think to do so! Why was Soobin here, and is it safe to sit on the couch?" I grimaced, imagining what the two might have been up to while I was sitting there. Yeonjun rolled his eyes and scoffed, "You're overthinking it, we just did homework together."

"Do you like him?" I asked, curious about Yeonjun's feelings.

"Yes! Didn't we talk about this?" Yeonjun replied, a hint of exasperation in his voice.

"Yeah, but I didn't think it was serious," I shrugged, grabbing the bowl of popcorn from the table and placing it on my lap to munch on.

"It's not, we're just talking," Yeonjun clarified, flopping onto the couch. "Why did Wooyoung take you home? What happened today?"

"Nothing really, I just needed a ride home," I informed him, and Yeonjun sighed in response.

"I'm surprised he didn't make a move on you. Maybe this stupid—"

My phone rang suddenly, interrupting Yeonjun's sentence. He looked at me as I picked it up to answer, and I heard Wooyoung's voice on the other end. "My bag," he said simply, and I nodded, knowing he was circling back to retrieve it.

"Can you send Yeonjun out?" Wooyoung's voice crackled through the phone.

"No," I replied sternly, but then attempted to lighten the mood with a feeble joke, "You don't want to see my face?" It sounded better in my head, but I couldn't help cringing as Wooyoung erupted into laughter.

"Thought you'd be tired of me, I'm down the block," Wooyoung informed me.

"Okay," I said, ending the call and turning to Yeonjun. "Wooyoung is coming back; he wants his bag."

Yeonjun rolled his eyes, his frustration evident as he stood up and stormed upstairs, muttering, "He can have it," with each stomp he made in between the words.

As I waited for Yeonjun's return, I quickly fixed my hair in the mirror. When he came back down, Yeonjun tossed the bag at me as if I were Wooyoung. "Just loves to ruin my day," he muttered loudly.

Sighing, I held the bag and stepped out of the house to meet Wooyoung by his car.

"Here's your bag," I said, leaning towards the car window and passing it to him.

Wooyoung took it from me with a nod of thanks. As I moved away, Wooyoung opened his mouth as if to say something, but then thought better of it. Sensing the moment, I took the opportunity to walk away, feeling a mixture of relief and curiosity about what he had wanted to say. With a final glance, I watched as he drove off, leaving me with lingering questions and a sense of unresolved tension in the air.

+=+

With no school to attend, I spent the day catching up on homework and indulging in a few episodes of my favorite K-dramas. As evening approached, I knew that tonight was the party, and I intended to get ready once Yeonjun returned home.

Closing my laptop, I stretched my arms overhead, feeling the stiffness from hours of sitting gradually dissipate. Glancing at the clock, I noted the time: 8 PM. Shamelessly, but effectively, I had spent the entire day in my living room. The warmth emanating from my overheated MacBook served as undeniable evidence of my productivity—or lack thereof. Giving my laptop a much-needed break, I listened as the cooling fan whirred to life, providing a soothing background noise in the otherwise silent room.

With an hour to spare, As I made my way to the kitchen, my phone vibrated in my pocket, signaling an incoming call from Yeonjun. "What's up?" I asked, noting the faint sound of music in the background.

"I'm coming home early," he replied.

"Okay, I'm going to take my shower," I informed him before we exchanged brief updates and ended the call. With my phone still in hand, I ascended the stairs to the bathroom, idly scrolling through Instagram as I walked.

I liked and commented on posts from friends that appeared on my screen before stumbling upon Yeonjun's recent post—a playful selfie featuring duck lips and a peace sign. Smiling, I tapped the like button and left a comment, "The cutest."

Continuing to scroll, I came across a post from Wooyoung, which Instagram had recommended to me. Curious, I clicked on his profile and began to browse through his feed.

It struck me that I had never taken the initiative to social stalk Wooyoung's accounts before, but now, as I scrolled through his public life, I realized he wasn't as much of a closed book as I had assumed. His profile revealed a life of luxury: a wealthy upbringing with multiple cars, divorced parents (or perhaps just a young-looking mother), two dogs, frequent vacations, and notably, no posts indicating he was in a relationship.

It didn't shock me, considered that yeonjun is a victim of his lies. He like to show availability, or thinks he's in a polyamory relationship.

As I continued to browse Wooyoung's social profile, I noticed something odd—he wasn't tagged in anything. It struck me as peculiar, considering his substantial social presence. Pondering this, I began to undress, preparing to step into the shower. With my phone still in hand, I glanced at Wooyoung's following list, noting the eclectic mix of girl groups, students, frat boys, and other socialites he followed.

Multitasking, I entered the shower with my phone in hand, intending to quickly finish up my social media perusal. As I swiped through his profile, my thumb accidentally tapped the blue follow button, which swiftly transitioned to grey, indicating that I was now following him.

"What the hell," I gasped in disbelief, realizing my mistake. Hastily, I tried to undo it by unfollowing Wooyoung, but it was too late—he had already received the notification. In a matter of seconds, Wooyoung had reciprocated the follow, and panic set in as I frantically searched for the block button.

"Shit, shit, no," I cursed under my breath, my heart racing as I attempted to rectify the situation. But before I could take any further action, my phone rang—it was Yeonjun. Ignoring the call in my haste to handle the unfolding crisis, I watched in horror as Wooyoung began liking every picture on my profile.

With a sense of urgency, I clicked the block button, hoping to avoid any further embarrassment.