AUTHOR'S NOTE: HI EVERYONE, I WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR 100K.THIS BOOK STARTED OUT AS A JOKE AND IN MY OPINION MY WRITING SKILLS ARE MID BUT TO SEE SO MANY PEOPLE INVESTED AND INTERESTED IN THIS STORY MAKES ME HAPPY AND I APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. THE BOOK HAS SLOW UPDATES BUT I'M GRATEFUL FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND HOPE YOU GUYS STICK AROUND TILL THE VERY LAST 40TH CHAPTER. AND AGAIN THANK YOU SO MUCH, I LOVE Y'ALL ❤❤
WOOYOUNG.
"Remember when I brought you here for the first time?" San asked.
Wooyoung nodded. They were both lying down on the lawn, in front of a small lake just a few blocks away from the park. Their secret place he liked to call it. It was even more beautiful at night. Not a lot of people came that side and it was probably because of how hidden it was. San had brought him here for the first time the day he found out Wooyoung was being hit by his father. He had cried and slept in his arms that night while San's hand ran up and down his back whispering it's okay in his ear. Ever since then they'd come here when they wanted to get away from everyone and everything.
"The first time you found out about the beatings. " he scoffed. "You were fucking livid"
"Yes I was. "
"I feel like you would have actually killed him if I hadn't stopped you"
"I definitely would have. The only reason why I had even brought you here that day was because I needed to calm does and well you were a bit of a mess yourself, crying that I found out you were being hit. "
"You've never really told me how you found out about this place. "Wooyoung said.
"Hwa. It was around the time when my parents wanted to get a divorce and it was just crazy. The fights were loud, I found out my Dad had been cheating and you were avoiding me because you were all fucked up in the face and didn't want me to know what was going on. And I just kept over thinking, assuming you wanted to stop being friends or something. Hwa saw how hard I was struggling and one night he just drove us here and we sat in silence for a while until I finally broke down in his arms. Ever since then he stopped coming here and it just became my little hiding place. Our little hiding space" San explained.
"I'm sorry I was so closed off and harsh on you back then" Wooyoung apologized just thinking about how much he had kept pushing San away because he didn't want him to be involved with his family issues. And also the fact that he felt embarrassed by the idea of San knowing that he was being abused.
"It doesn't matter. You're allowed to open up at your own time and pace. "
"Thank you. For waiting. " Wooyoung muttered.
San shook his head. "No. Thank you for trusting me enough to open up to me. You have no idea how much that means to me"
"I still hide things from you"Wooyoung admitted quietly.
"I know"San replied calmly.
"Do you hate me for it? "
"No. "
"You're so annoying"
"What was the reason this time? " San reached a hand out and gently caressed his cheek with his thumb.
Wooyoung immediately knew what he meant. "I don't know how but his girlfriend found about the abusing and she didn't take it well, obviously. Don't know if she left him for good or she's giving him the cold shoulder for now but whatever it is somehow it became my fault and I just ended up as his punching bag that night and the following one."
"Wooyoung" San looked distraught.
"He's calmed down now. Maybe she forgave him. I don't know."
"Woo, can't we just.... "
"No San. You already know why I haven't reported him and gotten his ass in jail. "
San sighed but let it go. They ended up snorting a packet and thirty minutes later they were high off their asses.
"San"
"Yeah"
Wooyoung moved and rested his head on San's lap."I made a new friend."
"Who is it?"
"Yoona."
San's eyes that had been closed slowly opened but remained looking up at the starry sky."That's the girl you slept with the other night. "
Wooyoung nodded.
"She's nice" he muttered.
Wooyoung shook his head."I feel like she's more than that. "
San then hissed and sat up. "Watch your head"
Wooyoung frowned in confusion but when he looked down he noticed how his head was so close to San's crotch. He blushed and sat up too.
"Sorry."
"I feel a bit bad " San leaned back on his arms.
"Why? "
"I was mean to her that day when she left. "
Wooyoung scoffed. "You've never really been nice to any of the people I hooked up with"
"You weren't exactly nice yourself to her"
"I know. And I feel just as bad. I'm happy we can become friends. "
San nodded half heartedly.
Wooyoung tilted his head to the side, looking at him. "What's with that reaction? I thought you'd be happy for me that I made a new friend and not just clinging to your side like a pest. "
"You're not a pest" San clarified firmly.
"You didn't answer my question. "
"What do you want me to do Woo? Jump for joy and celebrate your new friendship? "
Wooyoung blinked as he watched San speak. He sighed then got on his knees before moving over to straddle San.
San sighed."What are you doing? "
"San'ah? "
"What? "
"What's wrong? "
"Nothing"
"You're lying to me. You've barely looked me in the eyes since we came here and throughout the drive.
He leaned forward and put his hands on Wooyoung's thighs but his head still remained down. "I'm sorry"
".... "
"I'm sorry. I just... I still feel so... dirty and disgusted by myself. I shouldn't have put my hands on you and you shouldn't even forgive me for that. You didn't deserve that. I've known you for a longer time than Ari and yet I jumped to conclusions, taking her side and didn't even listen to what you had to say. "
"Oh."
"I'm embarrassed. That's what's wrong" San said in a small voice.
Wooyoung smiled. "Sannie look at me. "
He shook his head. "Sometimes I feel like I just genuinely don't deserve you. "
Wooyoung chuckled then wrapped his arms around San's neck, pulling him into his chest and hugging him. "Oh you big baby. "
"I'm sorry Woo. I really am. " San's voice cracked.
"I know San'ah. I know. And you know I already forgave you that night. So stop being hard on yourself. "
San's hands slowly ran up his thighs to hold his waist."You shouldn't forgive me so easily like this "
"I know right. But I can't help it. "
They hugged like that for a while, Wooyoung breathing in San's scent and enjoying the feel of having his body in his arms again.
"Fuck."San suddenly said.
"What? "
"I can't feel my legs"
Wooyoung pulled back and looked at him. San's eyes were barely open, his face flushed.
He laughed. "You're really high off your ass aren't you?"
San nodded. "I needed it to be honest. My parents are back and they're already starting to piss me off. You look more alert than me though"
"I didn't take as much as you did. Do you want me to get you water? The store is not that far from here" Wooyoung offered.
"Like hell I'm going to let you walk by yourself in the dark. It's fine. It'll wear off in an hour"
"It had better because you need to take me home. " Wooyoung told him.
"Of course. " San let himself fall back and lie down on the lawn, arms folded behind his head.
Wooyoung still stayed on his lap. "I have one question though"
"Yeah? "
"That same night... At Ming's, in the kitchen....Were you really drunk? " Wooyoung shouldn't even be asking but somewhere deep down in him he needed the validation. For what reason? He didn't know.
San went quiet for a bit before he opened his eyes and stared at Wooyoung through his lashes.
"No I wasn't"
Wooyoung blinked.
"I was a bit tipsy yes but I was aware of what I was doing" San's voice was calm. Scarily calm.
"Then why did you.... "
"I don't know either. Did I make you uncomfortable? "
Wooyoung blushed. "No... I... Not really. I mean I guess a little bit... It's just.. It was so sudden and not like you. "
"I'm sorry. "
Wooyoung pouted. "You're saying that too many times for my liking. "
"You just... looked really good that night. I've never seen you wear something like that before and I just... I don't know. Fuck, I'm like all over the place right now"
"It's the weed. "
"No shit. "
"Are you telling me I turned you on with that outfit? " Wooyoung teased, then shifted a little so his ass was right on his crotch.
San didn't even flinch like he had done earlier. "Don't flirt with me while you're sitting on my dick Woo"
Wooyoung huffed and got off of him to sit cross legged on the lawn. "I keep forgetting how annoyingly blunt you are when you're high. "
"Young'ah"
Wooyoung opened a bag of Doritos that he had forgot in San's car on Friday."I thought I told you stop calling me that. "
"I'm confused"
"So am I"he chucked a chip inside his mouth.
"Do you think we're weird? "
"No but this conversation is slowly becoming weird. "
"I've seen the guys in our team. Their friends. They don't act like us Woo. I mean they hug yes but that's as far as it goes. "
"Does it bother you that we're different? "
"No. But I think it bothers Ari. Actually no. It does bother her. "
Wooyoung nodded. "I mean to be honest if I was in her shoes I'd be bothered too. But San we're not weird. Not even close. Just because our dynamic is a little different from what society deems as normal doesn't mean we're weird. "
"I know. "
"I don't think you do. Do you want to change the way we are? " Wooyoung asked hoping his voice didn't waver the way his heart was doing.
"No."
"But you like Ari"
"Not more than I love you"
Wooyoung really shouldn't have gotten butterflies from that but he did. "You know you can't be saying stuff like that around people especially Ari right? Because they'd misunderstand. "
"I know. I wish they were like you. You're the only one who gets me. "
"Sometimes I feel like I don't though. "
"That's because I also hide things from you. "
"What kind of things? "
"Just... things. "
"It's fine if you don't want to tell me. "
"You wouldn't get it"
"You just said I'm the only one who gets you like 10 seconds ago. "
"I'm scared. "
"Of what? "
"Of how seriously I think of you sometimes. "
Wooyoung smiled cheekily. "That's because you love me"
San's eyes lingered on him. "I do. More than anything. And that's why it's scary. "
Wooyoung cleared his throat.
"Do you want chips? "
~~~~
"You know this is fun and all but your friend is glaring daggers at me right now and it's making me so uncomfortable I think I might choke on my food" Yoona said.
Wooyoung looked over his shoulder to see San sitting with his friends, leaning back in his chair one leg up and resting on his other and his arm around Yeosang's chair while he stared back at them. While the others laughed and talked, San kept his eyes on them.
He chuckled and turned back to face Yoona. "Ignore him. "
"That's San right? " She smirked.
"Yeah. How did you know? "
"Everyone in school knows San. I have a feeling he doesn't like me though"she opened a can of juice.
" Are you talking about that morning when you left? He told me yesterday that he had been a little rude to you. "
She smiled."I wish I could say no he wasn't since he's your friend but yes he was rude. It was pretty embarrassing. "
"Sorry. He and I aren't really morning people and we had just gotten shit faced the night before so the hangover was hitting hard. " Wooyoung said.
She shrugged. "Like I said, it's whatever. You have practice today? "
"Yeah. You want to come watch me? Or we could have a little match after. I have a feeling I'm better than you at tennis. " Wooyoung grinned.
She scoffed."No you're not"
"Want to bet? "
"On what? "
"Loser gets to pay for movies this Saturday. "
She paused. "Movies? When did we agree to go for movies on Saturday? "
"Well we are now. "
She sighed. "Wooyoung this awfully feels like you're asking me out on a date which I told you.... "
"No. I'm not asking you out. At least not in that way. I just wanted to get to know you more. As a friend. "
"And your way of getting to know someone is by making a girl pay for the movies? " she arched a brow.
"I wasn't actually going to make you pay. "
"So the little match was just an excuse? "
"Kind of but I still want to play though. Even if you don't want to go to the movies. "
Yoona looked behind Wooyoung and smirked."No. I'd love to go. "
"Yeah? "
"Yeah. What are we watching? I like thriller. Anything that's not that I can't watch" She told him.
"It's not my favorite but I watch it from time to time. We can check out Midnight. Have you seen it? "
"No. Is it good? "
"My friend Jongho said it is and he's a sucker for good thrillers. I trust his taste. "
"Let me guess Jongho's the one in all black? "Her eyes went back to Wooyoung's friends.
He didn't have to check to see who was wearing all black. "Yeah."
"I bet he's funny. I'd probably like his humor. " Yoona said.
"Probably."
"You and your friends are all attractive by the way"
Wooyoung grinned."You really think so? Why would you say we are? If you were to go like one by one"
"Don't fish for compliments"she said dryly.
He pursed his lips."Sorry"
"Did you know people call you guys ATEEZ? "
Wooyoung frowned. "The fuck does that mean? "
She shook her head as if she herself couldn't believe the name. "Apparently because first of all there's 8 of you and 8 rhymes with ATE which also means you guys ATE with the visuals and then TEEZ because none of you date and just fuck which means you're practically teasing girls, giving them what they want but not fully what they actually want which is a relationship. You get it? "
"If I was high I probably would"
She nodded. "Fair enough. Cheesy though ain't it? "
Wooyoung shrugged. "I mean so long as it's not offensive it doesn't matter"
"Nah. I think you like that shit. Being called hot and a tease by 90% of the school. "
"Trust me it's not that big of a deal when your brain thinks the way that mine does"
"Self love issues? "She guessed, her eyes laced with sympathy.
Wooyoung's eyes widened. "How.... "
"Just one of the little things I noticed about you back then during my pining era" she cut him off.
"Are you always so observant? " he asked, a little bit intrigued.
"Yes. An annoying trait of mine I'm afraid. "
"It's not annoying." Wooyoung said softly.
She then suddenly laughed and put her boot clad feet on the arm of the chair beside her.
"What? "
"San. Your friend. He's cute. "
That caught Wooyoung off guard a bit but he tried not to let it show and forced a smile. "I mean yeah I guess he is.... "
"I'm talking about the way he's behaving right now. Not once have his eyes looked away. "
"Oh." Wooyoung laughed awkwardly. He felt like an idiot for even thinking Yoona meant it in the other way and getting a little jelly about it.
"I told you to ignore him"
"It's very hard to when he's cursing all six generations of my family with those eyes. "
Wooyoung looked over his shoulder again and sure enough San was still staring. He cringed from the second hand embarrassement."On a serious note Yoona, please just ignore his ass. "
"I bet he's overprotective isn't he? "
"I don't know if you could call it that but yeah I guess. "
She smiled, looking at San and then Wooyoung. "You two are cute. "
Wooyoung groaned."No we're not"
"Yes you are so politely shut up. " she chugged down the rest of her juice and crushed the can with her hand.
"Why do I feel like you're a bit of a menace? "
"I'm a Sagittarius. I think it's safe to say I'm one. "
Wooyoung gasped. "Shut up. I'm a Sagittarius too. "
"Would have been weird if you weren't. Are you coming to Changbin's party this Friday? " she swung her legs back and forth on the arm of the chair, her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket and her bucket hat was almost covering her eyes so you could see mostly see her nose and lip piercing.
"Changbin? The guy from the football team? "
"Yeah. Binnie. He's actually my cousin. It's game season and the team is playing on Friday. They're throwing a celebration party later that night"
"They don't even know they're going to win"
"Confidence is key. And they can back it up too. When was the last time you heard our school lost in a game? Be it any sport"
"I mean you're not wrong there"
"Exactly. So are you coming? "
"Yeah. You? "
"Yes now that I have someone to keep me company there. Going to a party by yourself as an introvert is not at all fun. "
"I can imagine. "
"Oh, your friends are coming this way. I think that's my cue to leave." Yoona said putting her feet back down on the floor and getting up.
"Wait, you can just say hi. " Wooyoung stood up as well.
She shook her head and put on her crossbag. "Don't worry. I will at the party on Friday. "
Wooyoung sighed. He really wanted her to meet them. "Are we at least still having our match later? "
She winked. "Of course. You need to be put in your place. See you after study. "
She walked away and only a minute later his friends came by his table, their chattering loud as hell.
"You sly fox. You dare sit with your girlfriend without telling us anything. " Yeosang smirked, his arm around Jongho's shoulders.
Wooyoung rolled his eyes grabbing his phone off the table and shoving it inside his pocket before walking with them out of the cafeteria.
"She's not my girlfriend. "
"Hey." San said, putting his arm around his waist.
Wooyoung looked at him. "Hi"
Mingi's brows knitted together."Why do I feel like I've seen her before though? "
"You're talking about the girl Wooyoung was with?" Jongho asked.
" Yeah "Mingi replied.
"Wasn't she the girl you two were rude to that morning when she left our place? " Seonghwa asked.
Yunho's eyes widened."Your place? Woo you've slept with her before? "
"Oh right! That's fucking Jackson's girl. " Mingi exclaimed.
"They're not dating anymore" Wooyoung clarified.
"How would you know? Because you're the one dicking her down now? " Yeosang wagged his brows.
Come to think of it, Yoona was right to go because this would have been embarrassing in all kinds of levels.
"No I'm not" Wooyoung glared at him.
San's hand slightly gripped tighter around his waist.
"But you did though" Yunho pressed.
Mingi snickered.
"Quit it. All of you" San said.
"Yoona and I decided to become friends. She's nice and you guys will like her" Wooyoung told them.
Mingi scoffed. "That's what San said about Ari. "
Yunho face palmed.
San stopped walking, jaw clenched.
"I'm not even going to wait around for the fight. I'll see you guys later. " Jongho said and went the other way.
Yeosang cleared his throat and smiled at Wooyoung. "I have an assignment to do with Jongho. See ya!"
And just like that he ran after Jongho.
"Oh come on San, you know I'm just messing with.... "
"Shut up and let's go. San we'll see you at the court later" Yunho interrupted and dragged Mingi away with him.
Wooyoung sighed. "Don't take Mingi seriously San'ah. That's just bad for your mental health or anyone else's."
"I wasn't taking him seriously but his jokes are starting to get on my nerves" San let go of Wooyoung's waist.
"I'm going to come home late. Mom said she's working overnight and Dad I don't know. He just said he'll be home tomorrow. " Seonghwa said handing San their house keys.
"You coming home late? That's a first" San said taking the keys from him.
"Don't jump to conclusions. I'm just trying to finish a group work assignment at the library. " Seonghwa clarified.
" Do you want me to pick you up? "
"No. Hongjoong said he'd drop me off"
San raised a brow. "Hongjoong? He has a car? "
"Yeah. He told me his uncle gave it to him last month. " Wooyoung answered.
"I'm going to go. I'll see you at home" Seonghwa said and hurried off, probably wanting to avoid the confrontation he could feel coming from San.
San turned to look at Wooyoung.
"Don't even. " he said.
"I wasn't even going to say anything"
"San if Seonghwa and Hongjoong are getting along this well then that's their business. You can't stop him from making new friends no matter how much you hate Hongjoong"
"I don't hate Hongjoong"
Wooyoung rolled his eyes. "Sure you don't. I'm going to the art room. Enjoy study period"
"Wait. You're skipping? "
"Yeah. Yoona said I can always join her in the art room."
"Oh"
" I'll see you later or tomorrow. I don't know" Wooyoung shrugged then made to leave when San held his arm and stopped him.
"Don't"
Wooyoung sighed."Don't what? "
"Don't go there. "
"San I swear to god if you're about to give me a damn lecture about how study period is important and whatnot then save it because I... "
"Skip it with me instead. "
"What? "
"Study period. Let's skip it together"