The gang decided it was time. It was either now or never and they really wanted to see their faces again. Everyone missed them so much and truly things weren't the same without them.
So as Yunho and Mingi returned home after following the two, they told the gang everything. That prompted Jongho to find their actual apartment number since Yunho and Mingi couldn't.
And within about ten minutes, Jongho was able to find it. He found the number and the actual papers that San had signed.
"They're just renting it," Jongho stated. "They have been for almost two years."
"Let's go right now," Hongjoong stated. "We know that they are there right now, so let's go."
"I agree with Joong. We could try another time but there's no guarantee that they will be there," Seonghwa nodded.
The others agreed as well and the gang found themselves packing into their van and driving toward the apartment building.
There were many emotions. Excitement to see the two people they missed the most, sadness because they had thought they died, and anger because they never came back to the gang.
"Just think from their perspective... Wooyoung might have just needed a break," Jongho shrugged as he thought of possible reasons why they would fake their deaths and not return to the gang.
"They made me suffer. I want a good enough reason as to why or I will make them suffer," Yeosang grumbled as he played with his hands. He was definitely angry, but he also missed them so much.
"You don't mean that," Seonghwa shook his head.
"Yeah, I didn't mean it."
The drive wasn't too long, as they had taken backroads so they wouldn't have to go straight through the heart of Seoul. Though, the ride was filled with anticipation.
What if they didn't want to come back? What if they hated the gang?
What if they wanted nothing to do with them?
Those were all legitimate fears that the men had. They loved San and Wooyoung and would do anything for them, but what if the feelings were no longer reciprocated. None of them could fathom the idea of either of them hating the gang.
They gave both of them a new home and a fresh start. Hongjoong and Seonghwa had practically raised San. After bringing him in and taking him off the streets, they gave him a home.
As for Wooyoung, they fixed that boy and built him up. He was a broken child from a broken family but they saw a lot of potential in him. They all made it a point to make sure that boy felt loved.
As Hongjoong parked the van in the parking lot and got out, the others followed him. They entered the building and headed to the third floor where the duo's apartment was.
Anxiousness filled many of their stomachs, causing dread to fill their minds.
"What if they hate us..?" Mingi muttered as they neared room 305.
"Then we accept that they want to move on," Seonghwa stated as he and Hongjoong stopped in front of the door.
They all just stood there for several minutes pondering what to do.
"Do we knock or...?" Jongho questioned, watching as Seonghwa let out a breath and lifted his hand.
The eldest member knocked a couple of times and then waited. However, there was no answer. Faintly they could all hear classical music playing, but absolutely no movement.
"They're definitely here," Yeosang hummed as he tried knocking. But still nothing.
"Would it be wrong to pick the lock?" Jongho questioned as he pulled out some paper clips and a tiny screwdriver he always kept with him.
Nobody said anything, so Jongho took that as his cue to go ahead.
"They're going to hate us... they are never going to come back with us... t-they—"
"Mingi shut the fuck up!" Hongjoong slapped the younger man across the face, hopefully knocking some sense into him.
"Got it," Jongho stated as he slowly eased the door open.
The only thing that filled their ears was the sound of a piano symphony. And the only thing their eyes could see was an empty living room/kitchen area. It was quite nice, though they all wondered how San could afford to live there.
"Is this Wooyoung now?" Yeosang gasped in shock as he noticed a picture on a shelf of San and Wooyoung. They were hugging, with Wooyoung's head resting on San's chest and San placing a kiss on top of Wooyoung's head.
"Shit, he's grown up so much." Hongjoong commented as he felt some tears fill his eyes. They had missed watching Wooyoung grow up.
Seonghwa took it upon himself to roam, searching for the duo. They had to be somewhere in there. And the apartment wasn't that big.
He stumbled down a hallway that had a bathroom and one bedroom. He headed towards the bedroom, noticing the door was open. So he turned to enter.
"What the fuck?!" He screeched as he watched a shirtless Wooyoung stare at him in shock and a flustered San fall of the bed from the interruption.
The others were quick to rush over to see why Seonghwa was freaking out. To say they were shocked would be an understatement.
As San stood up and composed himself, he covered Wooyoung with a blanket to hide the boy's neck and chest that had been decorated with an assortment of hickies. Wooyoung was still frozen in place.
San let out a breath and looked towards Seonghwa, who had now entered the room to let the others see. "I don't even know what to say." San shook his head as he stroked his hair to make it less messy.
"Wooyoung?" Hongjoong looked at the boy, making Wooyoung's eyes widen as he sat up slightly and let out a hum of surprise. Neither of them had expected the entire gang to break into their apartment and catch them making out in their bedroom.
"Y-you look so different..." Yeosang muttered as all of them men stared at the boy.
Wooyoung cringed as he looked at San with pleading eyes. He really needed his shirt as he was extremely embarrassed by their current situation.
San let out a sigh as he pointed to the men. "Go sit in the living room and kitchen, just... just give us a couple minutes."
All of the men nodded and left the two alone in the bedroom. And as soon as they left, Wooyoung was panicking.
"San... I'm not ready!" He put his head in his hands as he tried to keep the tears in. He felt a dip in the bed and San's arms wrapping around him. San took the boy's hands away from his face and kissed his lips.
"You don't have to be ready for anything. Let's just talk to them, I'm sure they are surprised by everything just like we are. So let's just talk. They are the same people as before, they love you, they won't force you to do anything if you don't want to."
San helped Wooyoung put his shirt back on, laughing as Wooyoung gasped at all the marks on his chest. "You're crazy," Wooyoung stated as he fixed his collar. "I looked like I got beat up."
Both of them got up from the bed and headed out the door. "Not quite," San chuckled. "Maybe beaten up with love."
Wooyoung just scoffed as they entered the main area, where everyone was waiting for them.
The gang heard their conversation as they had turned the music off and the apartment wasn't that big. Most of them felt guilty for invading their privacy like that, but they also had no idea how to contact the duo.
"I'm sorry about that," San stated as he took a seat on the couch, motioning for Wooyoung to sit as well.
Seonghwa sat in an armchair and Hongjoong sat on the arm of the armchair. There really weren't that many places to sit as it was only Wooyoung and San that lived there.
Yunho was the only one that stood, as Jongho, Mingi and Yeosang sat on the chairs at the kitchen island.
"There's no reason to apologize to us, San. We were the ones that invaded your space." Hongjoong stated as he motioned to the both of them.
"Didn't you think to knock?" Wooyoung questioned as he scrunched up his face. He felt awkward for some reason and he didn't know why. They were the same people he had spent months with, the same people that became his family, the same people that cared for him when no one else would.
Jongho let out a laugh. "We tried, but you guys must have not heard us..."
Wooyoung's face went red and San bit his lip to contain his own laugh. They really were so engrossed in kissing that they tuned everything else out.
"Sorry Wooyoungie," Seonghwa chuckled.
After a few seconds the mood became serious again. San went to speak, but Yeosang beat him to it.
"Why did you do it?" He questioned as he looked at the two of them. Wooyoung couldn't make eye contact with him and San looked guilty. "Why didn't you just tell us? We would have supported any decision you made. If you needed time, we would have given it. But it was selfish for you guys to convince us that you were dead."
"Yeo—"
"San, Hongjoong can barely walk anymore, Yunho and Mingi kept going on deadly missions to get themselves killed, Jongho never stopped searching for you two, Seonghwa kept trying to piece together the gang again, and I wanted to die," Yeosang sighed as he spoke the truth. "We were all devastated. We thought that we would never see you again."
"I'm sorry—"
"We love both of you so much. But it really hurt when we found out you both were very much alive and were literally hiding from us," Yunho spoke up.
"We weren't trying to hide..." San tried.
"Then explain why you bought a car, are renting an apartment and moved to the whole other side of the city, if you weren't avoiding us," Hongjoong nodded for one of them to explain but both of them were silent.
San had no idea what to say as he was being interrogated by the six men that he grew up with. It was like being yelled at by your family and told that you were a complete disappointment to them. Although none of them said that, he felt like they had.
Wooyoung was speechless as well. He relied on San to keep him floating and didn't realize that the gang could help him too. He didn't fully comprehend how much of an affect their "deaths" would have had on them. Truly he was only thinking about himself. The sad truth was that he was being selfish and that made him hate himself.
"Please don't criticize San, I was the one that came up with the idea. I was the one that decided to be selfish because I couldn't face reality. I needed a break... but I didn't realize how much it would hurt you all. I never wanted to hurt any of you. I just... I just needed a break," Wooyoung confessed almost on the verge of tears. "If there's anyone you should be mad at, it should be me."
"Woo, we would never be mad at you. We all understand what you are going through. We heard what you said to San, and we understand how tough it is to overcome trauma. You don't have to come back to the bunker, but always know that you have a home there and with us," Seonghwa stated, giving the boy a smile and watching as Wooyoung's eyes filled with tears.
"That means a lot, hyung," Wooyoung sniffled and wiped his eyes.
"We are truly sorry though," San stated, looking at Wooyoung and wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulders. "We didn't think it would effect you so badly."
"Don't feel guilty, we understand," Hongjoong nodded as he adjusted himself on the arm of the chair. He let out a groan as he put too much pressure on his one foot and was helped by Seonghwa, who was concerned.
"Joong? What's wrong with your foot? Yeosang mentioned you can barely walk.. what happened?" San questioned as he too conveyed sincere concern.
"There truly is so much we need to catch up on, do you have any alcohol by chance?" Hongjoong let out a laugh as he joked around with San.
"Well, story time? You guys can share some details too, I would really like to know what was happening when I walked in." Seonghwa grinned as he motioned to Wooyoung and San. The younger's face could not possibly get any redder, but San just squeezed his shoulder and laughed off Seonghwa's statement.
"Are those hickies?" Hongjoong gasped as he leaned closer to inspect Wooyoung's neck, only for the boy to whine. "Damn, San." Hongjoong smirked as the others let out laughs.
___
The gang is back together!! But for how long?
Hope you enjoyed <3