Wooyoung nearly tripped after getting out of the car. The mixture of adrenaline, nervousness, and excitement caused his hands to tremble and his heart to race. Today was the day of the competition.
It had felt like ages until it turned the end of February but now that the day was here, he could barely grasp it. San and Yunho exited the car shortly after to follow Wooyoung. The latter was wearing a cool yet comfortable outfit that would not trouble him while dancing in any way. Wooyoung had informed both San and Yunho what people who accompanied dancers usually wore and was not disappointed when he saw the outfits they decided to turn up with.
Once they entered the biggest dance area the academy had to offer, their ways parted. Yunho and San quickly showed signs of support for Wooyoung before he rushed to the side where the competitors had already started gathering. Some were caught up in conversations, some sitting on the floor scrolling through their phones and some were stretching. While doing some warm-up stretches, he saw Jongho rushing towards him from his side view, immediately joining in.
"Can you believe we'll see Taemin in a couple minutes?"
"Don't remind me. I'm so nervous I might actually throw up."
Jongho scrunched up his nose at that and laughed. Once they were at eye height again, they hugged each other quickly, saying wishes of good luck and exchanging words of encouragement. Jongho knew how important this was to Wooyoung, so even if it turned out that he didn't get a chance, he hoped more than anything that at least Wooyoung would get the opportunity to actually work with Taemin after this. After small conversations here and there, the students immediately halted in their spots when suddenly music started playing. Their eyes turned everywhere, no one in sight except for the contestants and the people who accompanied them there.
Wooyoung was able to tell that it was Taemin's voice in the song but couldn't name it for the life of him. He listened carefully, already feeling his heart pound in his throat. Suddenly, shortly before the song reached its first chorus, Taemin appeared with a few dancers and performed a foreign choreography along with his song. The energy in his movements and his passion immediately burned up the room and Wooyoung felt the adrenaline rush through his veins. His idol was right in front of him, doing what he loved the most. He watched with pure admiration and excitement and started hyping him like the others, vibing to the beat with a few subtle movements, and enjoyed the moment while it lasted.
The song came to a stop and Taemin introduced himself with a bright smile and bowed, still panting a little when he faced the contestants again. "Hi guys, it's so nice to meet you all. I'm Taemin!"
Everyone cheered and the mood was unmatched. Not a single dancer in that room wasn't hyped or unhappy to be there. Taemin continued speaking after waving to the contestants and the people who came to support their loved ones.
"First of all, you all can quickly forget every dance move you prepared for today. Every joker you may have had in store won't help you anymore. I'm not here to watch you perform just something. I'm sure you all are good dancers, but I'm looking for dancers that can match my vibe. The choreography I dance and that is put together to fit my song. So, what we are going to do today is learn the choreography to my newest song 'Advice' that you got to listen to even before its release, I hope you like it!"
Taemin had a bright smile on his face and a friendly demeanor, yet he was intimidating in some way. If confidence were a person, Taemin would be the perfect expression for it. Wooyoung had so much to process at that moment. Every move he perfected for this competition wouldn't be of use anymore. He didn't want to have doubts in himself. He knew he was a good dancer, but so were the others. Wooyoung truly didn't know if this would be so easy anymore — not that he thought it'd be easy to begin with. But when his eyes cast over to where San and Yunho stood, he felt more at ease again. Both were showing Wooyoung encouraging signs with their hands and smiles.
The fact he'd dance in front of San also kind of spiked the nervousness in Wooyoung even more. Yes, San may have caught him dancing in his room with headphones on every now and then, but it was not the same. He couldn't put his mind onto what it was, but he just didn't want to disappoint him. Even when this wasn't personally Wooyoung but a Taemin choreography, he still hoped for it to look good enough to meet San's expectations. If he even had any. God, I need to stop thinking. I will do my best, that's literally all I can do. And I need to impress Taemin, not San.
Putting his focus back on his idol, he tried to get rid of every negative thought he had by shaking his arms out. Taemin explained some last steps that everyone listened to carefully. Today's plans included learning the choreography roughly with Taemin and his choreographer, building teams of three to four dancers to perfect the dance within everyone's group, and eventually performing it in front of Taemin. He would then proceed to choose three female and three male dancers because that was what he had decided on and didn't care what the dance academy settled with. Wooyoung had to laugh to himself a little at that decision, absolutely loving Taemin's attitude. But it also settled once more that he competed against a good number of dancers to get one of those three spots, so he tried to snap back to seriousness.
After everyone found a group, Taemin announced that they'd start in fifteen minutes. Wooyoung and Jongho, who of course teamed up together, made their way to San and Yunho. Jongho had just followed Wooyoung since he obviously didn't see a problem with greeting his boss and the belonging bodyguard at all. A smirk made its way to San's lips.
"Nervous, you two?"
Jongho bounced on his feet. "Hella nervous."
Wooyoung agreed to the words spoken with a strong nod and Yunho giggled, arms crossed. "You'll do well though, I have no doubts."
Both dancers thanked him, a little more small talk helping both to shake off some of the tenseness in their bodies. Jongho looked both San and Yunho down. "Your outfits are so fitting, you two could join the contest and no one would notice you aren't students of the academy."
"Please, I can't dance a single bit. They would notice, trust me," San laughed with wide eyes, immediately shaking his hands to turn down the idea. Yunho however remained silent, a subtle smirk on his lips thinking about the slightly absurd idea (or joke) Jongho had thrown in the room, and Wooyoung caught up on it first. Like always.
With a grin, he threw his arm around the bodyguard, putting some of his weight on the other. "I mean... technically, we still have a free spot in our team."
"Oh, no- No. I won't steal a potential spot in Taemin's music video from one of the students, but it was a good idea, I won't lie."
All four of them laughed. Wooyoung didn't even think of that, but Yunho was definitely right. Something sparked his interest though, and he put on a fake-hurt expression. "So, you like to dance? Why have you never told me about that?"
"Because it's just something I like to do every once in a while! Not even worth mentioning."
"Promise you'll dance with me one day." Wooyoung threatened by holding his index finger right in front of Yunho's face, waving it around.
San watched the whole scene unfold in front of him, eyes softening when he saw Yunho and Wooyoung mess around some more before they agreed on actually planning something in the future. And just like that, the fifteen minutes were over and Taemin clapped his hands a few times to get everyone's attention.
"Good luck, Wooyo." San had pulled him into a tight hug, Wooyoung melting at the touch and feeling most of his nerves starting to calm down. It was almost as if San had pulled the doubt and anxious feelings out of him by placing his hand on Wooyoung's neck, shaking him just slightly. "You can do it!"
Wooyoung nodded determinedly. He now definitely had two goals. First, go and get that spot in his favorite artist's music video. And second, show San that the faith he put in him wasn't for nothing. With newfound energy and confidence, he made his way back to the others. Not long after that, Taemin had introduced them to his choreographer properly and they started the first dance lessons. For now, everyone was just following and trying to memorize as much as possible.
"Five, six, seven, eight..."
Wooyoung stood in the second row but was still able to see himself and Taemin in the mirror just fine. Jongho next to him seemed to be in his full element too, extremely focused and determined to not miss a single move. When Wooyoung glanced over to San for just a second, the latter winked at him, causing him to immediately avert his eyes again with a smile. He didn't know if it freaked him out that San's eyes were observing his every move or if it calmed him, but one thing was for sure: He was glad San was there with him.
A good amount of time has passed while the students trained with Taemin, taking breaks in between to drink water and rest for a few minutes every now and then. Wooyoung was confident when it came to memorizing the choreography. Every move they were taught burned into his head, his body parts subtly moving to match the pictures in his head that he memorized with no problems. Wooyoung had always been fast at remembering parts of choreographies and it definitely came in handy now. Jongho on the other hand was humming the melody of the chorus, trying to keep himself calm by drumming his fingers on the sides of his thighs while sitting on the floor. The third member of their group was just scrolling through his phone. He had joined the two earlier when he saw they needed another person to team up with.
"Alright, everyone!" Taemin pulled everyone's attention on him once more, "Please, every group, position yourself in a way that allows us to tell you apart. My people will assign each team a number. Once we call it, the team the number belongs to will know it's their turn. The moment you've come forward, please introduce yourself with your full name. Everyone understood?"
Once the students nodded, Taemin showed a satisfied and excited smile. Each team got a folded paper pressed into one member's hand. When Jongho revealed the number eight, Wooyoung took a deep breath. It's about to get real. He just didn't know if that was a blessing or a curse considering they were around twelve teams in total. Would it be good that they'd wait for a little until it would be their turn? Or would it have been better to get it over him immediately? He really couldn't sort out his feelings. Eventually, Wooyoung's feet dragged him over to San and Yunho. Upon getting asked what their number was, he answered and leaned against the wall, standing in between Yunho and San now.
San nudged Wooyoung's shoulder with his own and smiled at him, just trying to offer some comfort. Jongho stayed with their other teammate, so at first, it was just the trio watching the first few teams perform. Wooyoung was very focused on the first two groups, with the third one, however, he loosened up a little and eventually hyped them silently by bobbing his head to Taemin's song, Yunho and Jongho (who had joined them by then) doing the same. Just San stood there against the wall as calm as ever, eyes shifting between the performers and Wooyoung every now and then.
They were all good, some extremely good, and Wooyoung nearly forgot he was in the middle of a competition for a moment. That was until team number seven got called to perform and his eyes met with Jongho's. They instinctively squeezed each other's hand, the action calming both to some extent. Wooyoung's heart started to race and his breath picked up when the performance neared to end. San's hand on his shoulder startled him shortly, but when he turned around to look at him, warmth spread in his chest.
"Good luck Wooyoung, and don't think too much." San smiled and hugged Wooyoung, eventually inching closer to his ear. "I believe in you."
Wooyoung then withdrew himself when he heard the number eight getting called, stomach dropping. He showed a warm smile to San who then smirked while playfully pushing Wooyoung the slightest bit by his shoulder.
"Show me what you got."
Wooyoung chuckled and walked backward with a grin. "You don't have to tell me twice!"
When he, Jongho, and their team member stood in front of Taemin, they introduced themselves and got into position. Wooyoung took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and tried to fully get into his dance mindset. As if possessed, he looked at his reflection with dark and determined eyes. He had to prove to Taemin, to San , and most importantly to himself, that he truly deserved to get this spot. He stood at the right, the three of them agreeing to switch the center position throughout the performance.
Once the song started playing, Wooyoung immediately felt a lightning of energy shoot through his body. He was going at it immediately, knowing he had absolutely nothing to lose. Wooyoung blended everything around him out, just focusing on Taemin who had his eyes glued to him once he moved to take his center position. Every beat entered his body and left it through the energetic moves he offered, facial expressions as fitting as they could be. Wooyoung wanted this and made sure it was absolutely visible. Even when he took the spot on the left, he still had Taemin's concentrated eyes on him for a few seconds. Before he knew it, the song stopped, and he stood there panting before bowing and attempting to leave the area.
"Hey, Wooyoung. That was your name, right?"
For a moment he thought he hallucinated but actually saw Taemin address him with his name when he turned around. He nodded, too overwhelmed to even say anything. And if he was being honest, he was a little nervous too seeing the stern expression on Taemin's face. Wooyoung watched Taemin as he rested his hand under his chin, obviously lost in thought. Everyone in the room turned dead silent and just observed the artist. Their eye contact ended, only for Taemin to pick it up again a few seconds later. A subtle smirk sat on his lips as he looked at Wooyoung, arms crossed in front of his chest.
"Why are you here?"
Wooyoung perked his eyebrow. Then a wave of confidence struck him, and he replied almost cockily. "Obviously to earn my place in your music video."
Taemin let out a short laugh at his attitude, the smirk never leaving his lips. "Well, congratulations. Because you just did!"
That was it. That was the moment Wooyoung heard everyone in the room cheer. He looked around, eyes widening in the process. It was slowly sinking in that what he just heard was actually reality when Jongho shook his shoulder and shouted words that Wooyoung could hardly grasp. He hugged Jongho and some of the contestants who continued to be extremely excited for him. Then he had only one urge spread in his chest.
Wooyoung ran up to San with the brightest expression, immediately jumping in his arms. San stumbled back only slightly at the force, then spun Wooyoung around happily. After setting him down again, he cupped his face, a little harsher than intended due to the excitement taking over.
"I'm so fucking happy for you, I could kiss you right now!"
Only realizing what he said after the words passed his lips, San started to feel the heat rise to his ears. And if Wooyoung hadn't been red along his cheeks from dancing anyway he would've definitely blushed now. Their eyes cast over each other's lips for a split moment. To not make the moment any more awkward or tense, San decided to plant a kiss on Wooyoung's cheek which earned him a sweet laugh. They hugged once more.
"You were amazing!" Yunho praised before embracing Wooyoung as well, patting his back proudly.
And when Jongho joined them, San and especially Yunho showered him with encouraging words as well. It was obvious that Yunho appreciated dance deeply and had a special eye for it. Remaining there for the rest of the competition, the four of them planned that they'd go out to eat together afterward. Jongho had chosen the place, telling them about how it was a little secret and only known by cool people . So, when Yunho playfully mocked San by saying he'd have to stay outside, he earned a slap on his shoulder and Wooyoung could only snicker.
After they spent around two hours there eating, catching up, and talking about the day, San insisted on paying and thanked Jongho for the recommendation. Yunho glared at Wooyoung through the rear view when the latter thanked him for his chauffeur service. Jongho only laughed, figuring it was some kind of insider thing both had. Plus, he didn't have to travel home by public transport, so he was appreciative and didn't rub it any further.
Once home, the first thing Wooyoung did was wash up. It may not have been an uncommon sight to see San sit on the sofa working on his laptop in sweats and a shirt, but it still made Wooyoung a little weak in the knees every time. Seeing San concentrate on something was just oddly attractive to Wooyoung, whether that be him cooking, reading, or working on something. And don't get him started on the way his dimples showed a little whenever San bit the insides of his cheek whenever he was deeply focused on something.
"Are you done staring?" He suddenly teased, eyes still glued to the screen.
"I wasn't-" Wooyoung protested first but then just sighed. "Fine. Yes, I'm done."
San chuckled and felt the sofa dip next to him, Wooyoung now leaning in to see what he was doing. All he saw were numbers scattered around all over the screen and he frowned before he pulled his phone out, resting his head on the backrest first, but with time his body naturally gravitated towards San's, and he rested his cheek on his shoulder instead. The silence was comfortable and all that was heard was the occasional tapping of San's fingers on the keyboard. When Wooyoung looked past his phone screen and his eyes landed on the ring, he snorted.
"You know, it was kind of funny."
San just made a questioning sound but stopped typing which indicated that Wooyoung had his full attention.
"The question Taemin asked me. Why are you here? " Wooyoung mimicked the words and chuckled. "It reminded me of your casting . Hell, I nearly said I'm already married."
San snorted. "Yeah, thank god."
Thank god? What do you mean thank god?! Physically feeling Wooyoung shift to look up at him, he added something else with a smirk. "So that no one can steal you from me, obviously."
"Possessive for someone who's not even my real husband."
San chuckled, keeping the conversation lighthearted. The words he spoke next had a playful ring to them. "Right, the audacity."
After shaking his head with a smile, Wooyoung's phone chimed. He shot up immediately after reading the message. When San asked what was up, he grinned.
"It's a message from Taemin's manager. He just sent me the location and when I have to arrive... Wait, it's already next weekend?"
San's face dropped a little at the information, but he tried his best to keep his excited demeanor up. Wooyoung however immediately noticed something was up. San sighed, wishing he wasn't so attentive. But on the other hand, it's one of Wooyoung's qualities he adored the most.
"Everything is alright. It's just that I'll meet up with my mother next Saturday and I thought you'd be there for emotional support or whatever."
Wooyoung's face softened, almost feeling guilty. "So you've decided to see her, San? I'm happy for you. Sorry things are like this now."
"No." San set his laptop aside, faced Wooyoung, and unconsciously placed a hand on his knee. "I won't allow you to feel guilty over this! There's nothing to feel sorry for. I hope you have lots of fun and I'm genuinely so, so happy for you."
Wooyoung cupped San's cheek and smiled at him. The action nearly caused San to slip from his composure and he tried to keep it up to not accidentally melt into the touch. Wooyoung had to suppress a smile at San looking at him like a lost deer but decided he'd just let his hand rest right where it was. "You can tell me about everything when I return that Sunday, alright?"
"Sounds good." San smiled and turned back to lean on the backrest, immediately grabbing his laptop to resume his work.
Wooyoung bit away a smile at San's behavior, not knowing if he purposely wanted to escape the touch or if he simply panicked and didn't know how to react, but it was sweet enough to make his heart a little warmer at that moment, nonetheless.
...
Wooyoung finished putting on his shoes when he saw San walk toward him with a water bottle, immediately smiling at the kind act. This had happened more often than he liked. He would forget to take water with him quite often and whenever San was home at these moments, he'd either remind Wooyoung to take some with him or hand over a bottle himself. At this point, just maybe, sometimes he intentionally forgot to bring water with him just to have San do his thing. Wooyoung held onto these small moments and gestures to feel taken care of by him. With a smile, he reached out to grab the bottle.
They now stood across from each other, just looking into each other's eyes with a soft expression on their faces. Both embraced each other, the action happening so naturally it would've scared them months ago. Both closed their eyes to take in the other's presence one more time before they temporarily had to part ways. It was weird to San that this house would be empty again now. Even if they didn't get to spend time together every day, the pure fact that Wooyoung was there calmed him. San inhaled deeply, knowing that they'd see each other again in only two days. He held onto that.
Wooyoung didn't feel much different. Both were pulling energy from each other at that moment, feeding off each other's presence a little longer. They knew they needed it for different reasons. San was the first one to initiate parting from the hug by starting to rub Wooyoung's arms up and down, the latter just withdrawing enough for their eyes to meet.
They were now getting lost in the gaze of each other, San's hand movements slowing down but never stopping completely. He felt like a magnet was pulling him closer towards Wooyoung but fought the urge at all costs, aware that Wooyoung was currently facing the same feeling by the way his eyes lowered to his lips for a second before meeting his own once more. There was a hint of uncertainty behind his eyes, probably the same that was mirroring in San's, but none of them questioned it. They had learned to appreciate the raw vulnerability that lingered in the air sometimes, and it wasn't any different right now.
"Ready to go?" San eventually broke the silence.
The corner of Wooyoung's mouth twitched but it wasn't enough for a smile. For some reason, fear spread in his chest. He would've loved for San to be with him while he shoots the music video with Taemin and he knew that the faint sadness was playing into it as well, but he couldn't help but feel uneasy all of a sudden — like it wouldn't be a good idea to leave San alone now with the day that was approaching. Was there guilt spreading in his chest as well? Probably. But he knew San was not mad at him in the slightest, and Wooyoung also had to prioritize himself. As harsh as it was, he had to remind himself that he and San were not a couple, and despite the bond they had built so far, they were still on their own in one way or another in the end.
"Yes, I'm ready."
Wooyoung then grabbed his suitcase and approached the door. Why was his heart feeling so heavy all of a sudden? Pushing the uncomfortable feeling aside, he smiled and faced San once again.
"Text me if you want, alright? Doesn't matter what time it is."
San hummed, "Same goes for you. Stay safe."
"You too."
With that, San opened the door for Wooyoung and they looked at each other once more before saying their goodbyes. San waited until Yunho had closed the car door on Wooyoung's side before waving to him, the heaviness in his chest growing. He closed the door slowly and leaned against it with his back, shaking his hands out due to the cold that entered while he waited for Wooyoung to get into the car.
San sighed. Why do I miss you already?
He really craved Wooyoung's warmth that night, and to accept that realization already took him long enough. They didn't do this often. Sleeping next to each other was something rare for them, let alone cuddling, and San could count off his fingers how many times it had happened. They never initiated closeness like this and really only allowed it when something happened, for example Wooyoung having a terrible nightmare. He always wanted to be there to comfort Wooyoung whenever possible, but San would never ask for it when he needed comfort himself.
But oh , how he wished for Wooyoung to be there with him right now. He just wanted to be close to him, to hold him, or be held, he didn't care. It was no secret to San that he always slept so much better with Wooyoung next to him. With a heavy sigh, he turned in his bed to get up, knowing sleep wouldn't catch up on him so fast tonight. Tomorrow was the day he'd finally meet his mother, after all these years, and he had mixed feelings, most of them negative. He felt nauseous, nervous, anxious even, and regret was biting at him as well. Why exactly did he agree to this, to see the woman that had left him and never looked back?
With his feet dragging him to his desk, he decided to write some of his feelings down in the small notebook Wooyoung had gotten him for Christmas. A small smile sat on his lips as he ran his fingers over the velvety surface and it subsided again quickly when he opened it rather in the middle, having the notebook filled with random thoughts and feelings quite a bit by now. He wrote down what kept him awake, what he expected of tomorrow, and then found himself doodling a small fox face on the corner of the page before he knew it. Foxes had always reminded him of Wooyoung ever since they exchanged the vending machine rings. A short and breathy laugh escaped his lips when he realized what he had done and closed the notebook.
Glancing back to his bed, an idea sparked him. San opened his bedroom door and walked over to Wooyoung's, hesitating for a moment before entering the room. He knew that this could count as invading someone's privacy, but he wouldn't snoop around. And he was here for only one reason: to snag Wooyoung's blanket.
And so, he did. With it thrown over his shoulder, he closed the door behind him again and re-entered his own room to shove his blanket aside and place Wooyoung's on his bed instead. After sliding under it he turned his lamp off and tried to get comfortable. San's eyes fixed on the tall windows that allowed the moonlight to softly illuminate his room. He didn't know if he imagined it or not, but he could've sworn that there was still Wooyoung's scent lingering on the blanket. Instinctively, he tucked himself further in, the blanket now covering half of his face as well. San fell asleep like this after a while, his racing thoughts eventually losing the fight against his exhausted body.
...
After a successful day of shooting and eating out with Taemin and his team, Wooyoung was now back in his hotel room with Yunho sitting across from him, telling him about today's events and just spending time in each other's company. Wooyoung spoke about the filming location with its dark aesthetic and amazing use of lighting, how he got to wear three different outfits with the color scheme of white, black, and red, how professionals did his make-up, and how fun it had been in general because everything had felt so real. He didn't know that was possible, but he was even more convinced now that this was exactly what he wanted to do for his future. Both had spent quite a good amount of time together before Yunho went to his own hotel room, leaving Wooyoung all on his own.
After washing up and getting ready for bed, Wooyoung still felt the adrenaline, happiness, and excitement of the day in his muscles. He couldn't grasp that he actually met his idol, the person he looked up to so much, and got to be in his music video. Meeting Taemin somewhat privately was something he never even dreamt of happening, but there he was. He was insanely grateful for this opportunity and definitely appreciated everything he was able to learn and experience today.
With a sigh, he opened San's chat again. There was still no message from him today, the last time he texted was on Friday to wish Wooyoung a good night. Wooyoung acknowledged that he might be out of it or his nerves were shot from today, but he still would've loved to know how it went down with San and his mother. Maybe he was too drained to think about texting Wooyoung, and that was fine and understandable, so he didn't think about it any further. Even better would be if they got along well and that's why San still didn't respond, because there was no way in hell he already slept two hours before midnight.
— Wooyoung / 7:23am
I wish you strength and good luck for today, San.
Hopefully everything will go well!
— Wooyoung / 9:15am
We're currently driving there... I'm so nervous!!!
Yunho says hi btw lol
— Wooyoung / 1:33pm
Can you believe I'm already in my second outfit?
Attached Picture
This one is my fav!!
— Wooyoung / 6:58pm
TAEMIN SAID HE LOOKS FORWARD
TO WORK WITH ME AGAIN
I'M GOING INSANE ?????
Wooyoung chuckled looking back at the messages, kind of reliving the moments once again by reading about them. He decided to send one last message to San for today, already noticing how the exhaustion was catching up to him.
— Wooyoung / 10:23pm
Goodnight and sleep well,
see you again tomorrow!
...
Wooyoung frowned upon seeing that San still hadn't replied to his messages even the next morning. He tried to not let it get to him, but this for sure was unlike him, and Wooyoung couldn't help but feel uneasy. And as if that wouldn't have been enough, his phone rang soon after Wooyoung got ready, only getting done pulling the hoodie over his head before he answered his phone.
"Mingi? Everything alright?"
"I'm not entirely sure. When will you be back?"
Wooyoung felt his stomach drop. "What happened? We planned to start driving in two hours."
"Okay," Mingi paused for a moment, "I saw he left his scarf in my car, and I came to drop it off yesterday, but when I arrived I saw him and Hongjoong having a conversation at the door. I don't know why but I don't have a good feeling."
Wooyoung nodded, humming. He didn't know how to feel about this and figured that overthinking wouldn't help, so he decided to try and stay calm at least for now. "I'll let you know when something is wrong once I'm home, alright? I wouldn't worry too much for now though, I mean, that's his brother after all, right?"
The silence at the other line of the phone call didn't help.
"Just call or text me as soon as you know more."
With that, Mingi hung up. On one hand Wooyoung found it touching that Mingi cared so much about San, on the other hand it was extremely unnerving that he didn't trust Hongjoong at all. Wooyoung knew that Hongjoong wasn't the sanest person ever, but to actually harm his brother? Was he really that cruel?
He told Yunho about this as soon as they started making their way back to Seoul and Wooyoung could tell he was driving faster than usual. Not out of the speed limit, but definitely out of his comfort zone. Yunho did not care right now though, and it definitely wasn't the first nor last time he drove faster. The car ride was mostly quiet, the tension just too heavy to even allow room for a conversation. Yunho seemed to be in his bodyguard mode, but Wooyoung could tell he still cared deeply. He definitely found comfort in Yunho's presence even when he wasn't fully there, at least mentally, at the moment.
Once Wooyoung was able to recall his surroundings again his heart started beating faster with each minute, the unknown nearly driving him crazy. He needed to know if San was okay. Only a few more minutes passed until they arrived in front of the house and Wooyoung didn't wait for even three seconds once the car came to a stop before he exited the vehicle and made his way towards the door. He roamed in his jacket for the keys while he jogged to the door, suddenly hesitating before opening it. Yunho just stood there, observing the situation, his quick breaths dissolving as white clouds in the air.
And when Wooyoung finally opened the door and glanced inside, he thought the whole world would come crashing down on him.