When Y/N's eyes were opened that morning, she found herself in a big bed. Even though it took her a couple of minutes staring at the ceiling to fully wake up, once she did, the first thing she recognized was the soft touch of the sheet against her fully exposed skin. She was naked and, next to her, Wooyoung was resting, sleeping peacefully.
Noticing it, she appreciated him for a moment. When the memory of the previous night came to her mind, she licked and bit her lip into a smile. What a way to say goodbye to the city.
Silently, she took a seat on the bed and saw her clothes messily piled up on the floor. Then, she slowly got up and began to dress.
She was wearing her pants and had just buttoned her bra when she felt a sharp gaze on the nape of her neck. With a smile, she turned and directed her attention to the boy lying on the bed, who was watching her carefully, moving his eyes through her body slowly. The curvature of her lips intensified slightly when she noticed that she could appreciate his naked and defined torso from there.
"What?" Y/N raised an eyebrow as her mischievous gazes complemented each other's. "Did you enjoy last night?" Wooyoung could not hide a knowing smile and Y/N bit her lip again as she cheekily analyzed him, letting out a slight laugh then. "I'm glad... Because it's not happening again."
Then, Wooyoung's world unexpectedly shook. Among all the possible responses, that had been one he had not anticipated.
"What?" The boy frowned at her, confused.
"Don't you know?"
It was at that moment that Y/N remembered that she had refused to talk about it the night before. Of course he did not know. Nobody knew.
The girl let out a sigh and grimaced, shrugging.
"I got fired." She blurted out as she turned for her shirt, ignoring the weight of her own words. "And without a job, there is no income. I can't afford my studies... much less a life here." She turned to the boy. "I will have to go back to my parents, out of town." She explained as she dressed her torso. "You know that the monthly payment is paid this week, and it is not an easy amount to get from one day to the next. Even with a job it was difficult sometimes; unemployed, it's just impossible."
Wooyoung listened carefully to the girl and swallowed heavily, processing everything. Y/N seemed to have cold thoughts about it, as if she was calm about dropping her studies and going back to her parents.
But they both knew it was not so.
Once she was fully dressed she started walking towards the bedroom door.
"Stay." Wooyoung blurted out impulsively, getting Y/N's attention, who froze in disbelief at hearing him. "I'll do the rest."
The girl was a few seconds with lost sight, processing something that it did not seem to want to match her understanding.
Did he know what he was saying?
Then Y/N rolled her eyes, it must be a joke.
"Sure." She decided to not fall for his game and opened the door, leaving the place.
However, as she started walking towards the entrance, her eyes took in better everything around her. Perhaps it was due to the alcohol in her body, or her low mood, but last night she had completely overlooked the dimensions of the place.
Wooyoung lived in a large, two-story house of incredible size. Only the living room seemed to have the space that her entire apartment had.
Inevitably, her footsteps slowed and her brow furrowed slightly. What was it all about?
"I'll be waiting for you when you change your mind."
Wooyoung's voice reached her ears again, only this time, she had no idea what to say. So she just nodded and walked out of the house.
Y/N immediately found herself in a place that she was completely unaware of; she had never been there and there was no trace of anything familiar on the streets. Wasting no time, she looked for a map on her cell phone and started walking back to her apartment as everything that just happened repeated itself in her mind over and over again. Indeed, it seemed that Wooyoung's words and intentions had been serious after all. She had no idea what he was referring to, yet there seemed to have been no trace of doubt on his face or voice.
«I'll do the rest»? What did that mean?
The mind of Y/N began to give a thousand times to his words, analyzing every possible detail and creating theories about it. She was so immersed in it that, by the time she realized it, she was already in front of her apartment.
Her body had unconsciously led her down the path the map showed as her mind had flown away.
When she entered, a strange sensation settled in her chest. She knew that she would have to leave the place, sooner rather than later; even if the miracle of getting a job with the immediacy she needed happened, there was no way she would get paid in advance as well. The university was also not flexible with payment dates; the best she could do was start the process to freeze her studies for a couple of years hoping that, at least, she could continue them later.
She heard the alarm on her clock and hid a pity grimace. She would normally be running at that time to collect her things and get to the pawn shop on time.
But she wouldn't have to do it anymore.
Y/N let out a defeated sigh and knew that the best thing she could do at that moment was to call her parents to tell them what had happened, after all, she would be returning to them. However, hours passed before she felt ready. When she finally managed to gather the necessary psychological strength, she took a seat on the small armchair in her living room and took out her cell phone.
Her father answered a few seconds later.
"Y/N!" He greeted her as cheerfully as usual. "Hello, darling! How are you?"
"Hi, Dad," she smiled unconsciously, "well... everything-... is fine... and you? How's mom?"
"Us? We're great" he replied. "You already know your mother, she doesn't rest even for a second... not even on her days off! So now we are moving around with the occurrences of her."
Y/N giggled as she heard in the background different sounds that her mother was surely making. She would never change. She loved to be in constant motion; she even remembered the times when her father had to ask her not to change the furniture position daily when they gave her vacation from work.
"How are your classes going? Were you able to resolve that question you had a few weeks ago?"
Then the words she least needed to hear reached her ears. A lump formed in her throat and she had to swallow heavily before answering:
"Well... y-yeah, I... figured it out." She replied, licking her lips nervously, "... But, actually..."
"I'm so glad!" The man's voice interrupted her again. "We knew you would make it, princess. You have always had good grades and you work hard for what you want. We are very proud of you."
The sincerity in her father's voice made her lips seal. Her psychological preparation had not been enough to deal with that blow.
"Was there anything else you wanted to say?"
"No, n-no." The girl bit her lip in a tight spot. "No... I just wanted to hear from you."
"Oh, we're fine, Y/N. We love you so much and miss you every day."
"Me too..."
And then, after a few more words, the call ended.
Not only had it been a disaster, but it had been the apocalypse itself for her. Y/N was worse than before; if the world had already fallen on her previously, now it had ended up crushing her.
How would she now be able to tell her parents that she would return to them and leave the university? How would she explain to her pride that work does not always pay fair results? How would she look at her parents knowing that she could have made them more proud?
How...?
The next day she would have classes. What about them? Should she come and fool herself a little longer, or would she just stop going and accept her future?
She did not know the answers to her questions.
She did not have them.
However, it was then that she knew that whatever happened from that moment on, it would only depend on her. It all was in her hands. Her fate was not written, and she could choose what to do with it.
That was her mantra as soon as she left the building. Without allowing herself a margin of hesitation, she rang the bell as soon as she arrived and waited for the door to open. Within seconds, his smile appeared again in front of her as he leaned against the doorframe.
"Welcome back. I thought it would take you longer."