WOOYOUNG
"Why did you think I'd forget you? " Wooyoung asked Yoona who was now sitting with him on the convenience store patio.
She opened her can of diet coke and chugged it down at one go like it was water. "Last time we were together you were pretty eager to get me home and probably never wanted to see my face again. Which is no surprise to be honest because isn't that how hooking up works? Fuck whoever you find at the party and forget their existence the following day. It's like the unspoken rule."
"I'm sorry. "
"It's fine. Plus I already knew you only slept with me to piss off Jackson. "
Wooyoung cringed. "That's not why? I slept with you because I wanted to. You're... attractive. "
She laughed. "That was the most awkward compliment I've ever heard anyone say to me. Let me guess, I'm attractive. But not enough to catch your attention. "
"Yoona i... "
"Wooyoung you can stop being so tense. I already knew you weren't interested that way in me but a girl could only dream right? "
"I don't get why you even like me to be honest. "
She snorted. "I can't tell if you're being humble or serious but if you really want to know Wooyoung, you're fine as fuck. More than attractive. And I'm not just talking about your looks. Your personality is.... at least from what I've seen... my kind of taste? If you will. You're just... perfect. " she casually said.
Wooyoung blushed. "Is this how you got Jackson to fall for you? Showering him with compliments? "
She chuckled. "Not even. Jackson was actually obsessed with me and I don't mean it in a cocky way. He really was obsessed. And to be honest with you I don't know how I even ended up going out with him. Want me to let you in on a secret? "
"I'm bad at keeping secrets" Wooyoung warned.
"I honestly couldn't care less if you told people about it. It's about time they knew anyway. "
"Is it about Jackson? "
"Kind of. See the thing is people think I dumped Jackson for you. But that's not the case. That jerk broke up with me, not the other way round. "
Wooyoung's brows raised in surprise. "Jackson left you? Thought you said he was obsessed? "
"Yeah. But I guess not obsessed enough to stick around once he found out I'm bi. His homophobic ass dumped me over a text message when my jealous ex girlfriend told him I was lesbian and he was my sexuality awakening or some shit like that. That idiot of course believed her and called me a whore for using him like that. Ah, let's not forget being called a dyke by him and my ex telling him my sexuality without my consent. Pretty shitty right? "
To say Wooyoung was dumbfounded would be an understatement. "Yoona that's fucked up. "
"Yeah it is. When I told him my sexual orientation is none of his business he had the audacity to say I tricked him and all that nonsense of excuses he used to make it seem like he wasn't being homophobic. Like, I don't care what he thinks of me but I hate how his egotistical ass is going around victimizing himself saying I dumped him for you. I was going to let it slide since I hate drama but he's starting to piss me off. " Yoona explained opening another can of coke.
"Shit. I'm sorry this is happening to you. '
"Don't sweat it. I'm the idiot for ever even agreeing to go out with him. So don't feel awkward when you see me. Yes I do like you. I mean who wouldn't? But I don't want anything with you. I slept with you that night because I was just going through shit and well the one person I actually like wanted to fuck me so I was like shit why not?. But that's all that it is. What I do want though is to be friends. Is that something you'd want? I actually enjoyed your company that night. And well I don't really have friends since Jackson found a way to get the whole school to hate my ass. "
"Of course I don't mind. Only if you're comfortable with it. "
She smiled."Oh trust me I'm more than comfortable. I was worried you treated me the way you did that morning because you might have heard something and wanted nothing to do with me. "
"Yoona I couldn't care less about what your sexuality is and I've never been the kind of person to go with what people are saying. I judge for myself and decide whether I want to fuck with you or not. "He told her.
"You seem like the type to do that. Looks like the person who did that to you didn't fuck with you though" she referred to the bruises on his face.
He scoffed."Yeah. My own father doesn't fuck with me apparently. Never did since the day I was born unfortunately. " Wooyoung said dryly.
"You should buy some cream for that. The good one is like 5$ here. Very affordable" she suggested, leaning back in her chair and throwing her head back with a tired sigh.
Because she was wearing a crop tee, Wooyoung couldn't help but notice her belly button piercing and the butterfly tattoo just above her waist on the side.
"Are you not going to ask? About why my Dad beats me up? "
"It's none of my business. " Yoona pulled out a cigarette from the back of her pocket.
"You got match. I think I might have dropped mine. "
"Yeah." Wooyoung pulled the little box out of his pocket and gave it to her.
She leaned forward and took it then lit up her cigarette. "Thanks."
She slipped it between her lips, the lip ring on the bottom side if her lip glistening under the annoyingly bright light of the store. Her short pixie hair was pulled back into a half ponytail that Wooyoung liked doing with his own hair. He could definitely see why Jackson was obsessed.
"People usually in this situation ask why I'm letting my Dad beat me up and not reporting him. " Wooyoung continued.
"That's because they're nosey and act like they know shit about you when they don't. You obviously would have long reported your father when the beatings started but you didn't and I'm sure there's a reason for that. " she replied, taking a long drag.
"You're interesting. "
"No Wooyoung I'm not. You've just met some shitty people in life that's all. "
"I can't disagree to that. Do you live nearby? "
She nodded. "It's a two minute walk from here. You? "
"I stay in this neighborhood too.Roughly about ten minutes from here. "
"Are you killing time here waiting for your father to go to sleep? " Yoona asked.
Wooyoung's eyes widened. "How did you know? "
"I used to stay with an abusive mom. She was an alcoholic. Everytime I came home I'd be emotionally and physically abused by her for. She's the first person I came to but she took it hard. Probably should have seen it coming though because our family is very religious and well you can imagine how they'd feel if one of theirs was gay. "
"But she's your mom. How could she just switch like that.? "
"To be fair she never really liked me. I was unplanned and Dad ran off to get married abroad befor6she even gave birth. So coming out to her was like adding fuel to the fire. Imagine being blamed for evey thing bad thing that happens because your own mother had been reckless and fallen pregnant at "
"And here I thought I had it worse. "
"We all do. You play tennis at school right? "
"Yeah. How did you know? Are you stalking me? " Would teased.
"I have too much self respect I'm afraid. I know because I do too. Girls tennis. We play on days the guys don't play. W alternate so that's why we probably haven't seen each other. " she explained.
"Oh. I'm actually surprised u haven't seen you at school before. "
"Raging introvert. I keep away from people as best as I can. On the days I don't have tennis, I'm at the art room. "
"You draw? "
She nodded.
"You any good"
"I want to believe I'm better than just good. I can't draw if you want sometime. Not for free though. My time is money" she gave the cig to Wooyoung.
"You want? '
" I'm not in the mood but thanks. "Wooyoung declined.
" it's alright. I should probably get going before my aunt starts getting worried. "She dropped it on the ground and stepped on it with her combat boots.
"Do you want me to walk you home? "Wooyoung offered, standing up and throwing their trash in the can.
" I'm good. I can take care of myself. You should also go. I think your Dad is down by now. "She zipped her jacket all the way up to her chin.
"Hopefully he is. '
She smirked. "I'm psychic. He most definitely is. If he's not you can just crash at my place. My aunt won't mind. Do you want my number or am I being forward?"
"I think it'd be weird if I didn't have your number when we decided to be friends. Here." Wooyoung gave her his phone.
She quickly dialed in her number and gave the phone back. "Call me when you want to hang out. I'm always free. "
"Got it. And uh... Thanks for this. I feel a little bit better after chatting with you. "
She winked. "You're welcome. I'll see you around"
She started jogging down the road back to her place. Wooyoung stayed and watched her till she turned around the corner.
Wooyoung wished he could fall in love with her. He wanted to. She was beautiful and his type but his stupid heart was just ice cold. Letting himself fall for someone was the most hardest thing for him and half of it was because his sick father who made him feel worthless and the other was just his lack of self love. Wooyoung just wanted a break and Yoona? She was like a breath of fresh air. He already knew this that night they met. When they talked and laughed, sitting at the bar before they both decided they wanted to fuck.
If he couldn't have her as a girlfriend, he at least wanted her as a friend because despite Wooyoung struggling with his anxiety and his mental health, he was still an extrovert at the end of the day. A social butterfly who always attracted people's attention to him. Both good and bad and it was very clear which side Yoona was.
~~~~
Tuesday wasn't good, if anything worser than Monday. San still hadn't called and well Wooyoung wasn't about to call again. He didn't want to look desperate. San was obviously still mad at him. He dragged his feet to his first class of the day, completely ignorant to the murmurs down the hallway talking about the new power couple in school.
He sat at the back where all his seats in every class were. Yunho came in a minute later looking just as discouraged as Wooyoung was. He plopped down on the seat next to him and put his backpack on the table.
"Friday seems so far away. " Yunho said.
"Tell me about it. "
Yunho turned to look at him. "Did you sleep yesterday?"
Wooyoung shook his head.
"I can tell. Your eye bags are like so prominent right now. You need to sleep Woo and stop thinking about San. " Yunho told him.
"I'm just worried Yunho. It makes me feel uneasy seeing him act this way. "Wooyoung admitted.
" Depriving yourself of sleep is not going to get him to dump his sly so-called girlfriend of his and come running to you. But you know what you can do? Come with me to practice today. He's obviously going to be there and you guys can talk. "
"No. Ari is always with him 24/7 , I don't want to cause a scene again. "
"Woo are you afraid of her? "
"No. I'm afraid of getting on San's nerves again. I'll just wait for him after school. Hopefully Ari still won't be hanging off of his arm by then."
Yunho sighed. "I don't get why you're acting like you're in the wrong. He's the one who should be worried and trying to talk to you after that dick move he pulled on Saturday."
Wooyoung sighed."You don't get it. "
"Maybe not but one thing I do get Woo is that San is not being himself and it's all because of Ari. "
The teacher walked in and everyone stopped chatting, getting settled in as class started. Wooyoung knew he wouldn't be able to hear a single damn throughout the lesson after what Yunho said. It was no lie that San was changing.
"Is he really not going to come even today? " Yeosang asked.
It was lunchtime and they were sitting at their table except San wasn't there. Yesterday had been the same thing as well.
"He eats with Ari now. The bench just behind the cafeteria. That's where they sit. I saw them yesterday. " Yunho said picking out the peppers from Mingi's plate for him and putting them aside.
"I heard you two fought. Was it because of her? " Jongho asked.
Mingi scoffed"What do you think? "
"Dude Ari is like everywhere. They're always kissing and hugging after practice. I know I said I wanted to see San be in a relationship but this is just.....not it." Yunho shook his head to emphasize his disapproval.
"Why not though? Ari doesn't seem bad. I mean yeah she's a bit too clingy but she likes San so. "Seonghwa commented.
" Come on Seonghwa, don't tell me you aren't a little bit annoyed by her. Especially after what she said to Wooyoung on Saturday about his outfit. Speaking of which, do you think she's homophobic or something? That was like a weird thing to say to someone. "Yeosang said.
" Let's not assume things Yeosang. I don't really know how I feel about her but she's seeing my brother and not us. We can't act hostile to San just because we don't like her. "Seonghwa told them.
Mingi huffed. "At least you admitted that you don't like her "
"That's not... "
"Is San okay? Has he said anything about me? " Wooyoung cut Seonghwa off, asking in a small voice.
Seonghwa sighed. "No he hasn't Woo. "
"Dude really doesn't care. " Jongho muttered.
"I think he does. He's just being stubborn. I bet your ass if you told him Woo got hit again he'd be running over here in a split of a second. " Mingi mocked.
Yunho kicked him under the table. "Stop"
"Ow! What the hell Yunho?! "
Wooyoung lost his appetite. He probably never had one to begin with. Sitting here just made his stomach turn and hearing how San seemed to not want anything to do with him.
He stood up. "I'll see you guys tomorrow"
"Wait what do you mean tomorrow? We have study period in like 15 minutes. Are you going to skip? " Yeosang asked.
"Just sign me in. I don't think I can stand another hour sitting in class. "
Seonghwa looked at him in concern. "Why? Are you not feeling well? "
"Something like that. " he dumped his food in the trash can and made his way out of the cafeteria not sure where he was going. He couldn't go home. That was the last place in his mind.
He pulled his phone out and looked at his contact list. He opened his chat with San and started typing when he heard what sounded like Ari's voice from a distance. He looked up and sure enough San and Ari were walking together towards the classrooms, Ari's arm locked around his as she laughed at whatever he was saying. If San turned around he'd see Wooyoung. But he didn't because why would he?
Wooyoung deleted the message and ended up texting Yoona whose contact was right below San's.
You free?
She replied within a minute.
Yeah. I'm in the art lab. You can come join me if you want.
Wooyoung smiled and walked the other direction. What he failed to notice though was Ari had looked over her shoulder and saw him.
"You're allowed to be in here by yourself? " Wooyoung asked sitting on the stool by the window and watching Yoona sat cross legged on the table painting what looked like flowers. She was wearing a tye and dye shirt, her hair tied in a messy bun and a pen between her teeth, brows knitted together and completely focused on what she was doing.
She let the pen between her teeth drop to her lap. "Not really. I'm only allowed because I have a project I'm working on and the art teacher was nice enough to let me use the room during lunch and study period. "
"So you won't be attending study? "
She smirked. "Nope. Envious? "
"You have no idea. Do you mind if I spent it here? I won't bother you I promise. I just don't want to sit in class in that silence hearing pages turn and watching people read because I couldn't be bothered to. "
"I don't mind Wooyoung. But if you get in trouble and they find you here it's not on me. Did you eat lunch? "
"No I'm not hungry. What about you? "
She pointed to the empty tupperware of food beside her. "I always eat by myself here. "
"I'm starting to think you're a loner"
She chuckled and put her brush and palette down. "That's because I am one. "
"That's sad. "
"For others probably but I enjoy the solitude. " she grabbed her canvas and showed it to Wooyoung. "What do you think? "
Wooyoung walked over to her to take a closer look. It was three roses with different colours lying on a pool of water on a table, pieces of a broken vase surrounding it.
"Sad but beautiful. Was that the intent? "
She nodded. "I still have two more pieces to do but I can do them tomorrow. What do you want to do? "
Wooyoung shrugged. "Anything that doesn't involve reading and absorbing information. My brain is too lazy. "
"Relatable. How about I draw you instead? I know I said we can do it sometime but I don't really mind doing it now. "
"I hate sitting still for too long. " Wooyoung told her.
"I won't take long. I'm just doing a sketch. "
"Am I going to have to pay for it? " Wooyoung asked putting down his bag to go sit on the stool in front of her.
She smiled. "You can pay me by sitting with me at the cafeteria tomorrow. I've always wanted to do that for a while but I couldn't see myself sitting by myself there and eating. I'd look like I'm depressed. "
"Or you can just join my friends and I" Wooyoung suggested.
"Not yet. I can't sit with your friends when I barely know you Wooyoung. "
"They wouldn't mind though"
"I do. "
"Fine then. I'll sit with you. It's a date. "
She rolled her eyes. "No it's not"
"Would you want it to be though? " Wooyoung shamelessly flirted.
"No. "
"Why not? I thought you liked me" he teased.
"I do but I'm not the one you're interested in. "
Wooyoung frowned. "What do you mean? "
She smirked knowingly. "I mean stop talking and sit still. "