“Oh, great you bought the strawberry syrup!” Sungyeol exclaimed when Woohyun and Myungsoo entered the kitchen.

“We also bought some other stuff,” Woohyun said, placing the plastic bags on the granite counter. “Myungsoo bought you chocolates with coffee flavored filling.”

Sungyeol gasped in pure delight and Sunggyu rubbed the sleep out of his eyes once again. It was still too early for him.

“Myungsoo,” he muttered, grasping his roommate’s shoulder. “What’s going on? Why is Woohyun here?”

“Well, I heard you were struggling on what to write in that pamphlet thing of yours so I invited both of them over. It was originally just Sungyeol, but Woohyun still wanted to make it up to you for earlier this week. You know, with the whales and the–”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Myungsoo walked away to his boyfriend and Sunggyu decided to stand next to Woohyun at the counter. The atmosphere was still a little awkward between them, but a tad bit more comfortable than the first time they met.

“So… I’m guessing you’re the one who likes the strawberry syrup?” Woohyun asked to break the silence. Their eyes met and he said, “Sungyeol told us to go out and buy strawberry syrup for you specifically.”

Sunggyu laughed sheepishly. “Yeah, I’m not that big of a fan of maple syrup. It’s a little too strong for me. The strawberry syrup is sweeter.”

Woohyun’s eyes sparkled. “Have you ever tried authentic maple syrup? Like the ones from Canada?”

“No. Is it better?”

“It’s a whole lot different than the kinds they sell around here. The ones they sell here are a little waxy, but my friend got me this can of real maple syrup and – wow. It changed me.”

Sunggyu laughed. “Maple syrup changed you.”

Woohyun smiled and nodded. “It’ll do things to you. Next time he gets me one I’ll make you try some.”

“Well, then I will be looking forward to that,” he grinned. “But until then, my heart still belongs to strawberry syrup.”

Woohyun shrugged. “That’s understandable.”

“Woohyun!” Sungyeol called from the stovetop. “Do you want chocolate chip or blueberries?”

“Chocolate,” he said after a moment. “…and maple syrup.”

“Okay.”

Sunggyu leaned over the granite island and grabbed a tangerine from the bag of groceries brought back. He began peeling it and looked pointedly towards Woohyun. “Want some?”

Woohyun nodded and Sunggyu broke off a few slices for him. Woohyun popped it into his mouth and chewed before turning back to the other.

“So, I heard you’re trying to write about a trainer’s life.”

He nodded, swallowing his own fruit piece. “Yeah, I am. I figured we could sell it at a booth near the exit of the orca show. I think people would be interested right after the show.”

“That’s a good idea,” he agreed. “And now you’re trying to figure out what to put in to make it interesting?”

“Basically. So I was wondering if maybe we could talk about it…?”

“Oh, yeah, of course!” Woohyun exclaimed immediately. “I’d be happy to participate in this! Besides, I still owe you.”

Sunggyu laughed. “You owe me absolutely nothing. Just think of it as a favor rather than owing me.”

“A favor, then.”

“But I guess you still owe me – invading my apartment and all.”

Woohyun laughed (which was weird because Sunggyu didn’t even know what was funny) as Sungyeol and Myungsoo brushed passed them carrying stacks of blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes.

“Breakfast is ready,” Myungsoo said.

Woohyun and Sunggyu followed them, kneeling down at their low coffee table in front of the television.

“Sorry, we don’t really have any chairs,” Sunggyu said sheepishly. “Mr. Photographer over here decided to sell them for a new lens.” He sent a pointed glare over to Myungsoo who returned it with a cheeky smile.

“It’s fine, it’s fine – I’ll just sit on a pillow.” Woohyun pulled a cushion under him and sat.

Sunggyu offered, “Are you sure you don’t want a stool or something? I could get one from Myungsoo’s room.”

“No, I’m alright,” Woohyun smiled. “Please, sit.” But when he turned back to the coffee table, he was surprised to see the presence of many bowls and plates while there were almost no utensils. “Where are the–?”

“Forks?” Sungyeol finished. “There are none. Well, there are, but those are in the sink and haven’t been washed for who knows how long.”

“Then how are we eating?”

“Simple,” he replied. Taking his pancake, he ripped off a piece and dipped it into a bowl of syrup beside him. From there, he placed it in his boyfriend’s awaiting mouth.

“Too early for romance,” Sunggyu chided, tearing his own pancake.

Myungsoo rolled his eyes. “It’s always too early for you.” He kissed Sungyeol.

“Please get a room!”

“Last time I checked, I’m in one.”

Sunggyu gave him a look of disbelief and sneered, muttering to himself. He took his blueberry pancake piece, dipped it in a little strawberry syrup and shoved it all into his mouth.

“You guys are funny,” Woohyun chuckled, eating his own pancake. “Living here must be fun.”

“Sure – fun,” Sunggyu repeated.

“Aw, come on. Myungsoo can’t be that bad. Sungyeol talks about him like he’s an angel.”

“He might be the angel around Sungyeol, but when he’s around me it’s like he’s the spawn of Satan.”

Myungsoo frowned. “I’m not that bad!”

“No, but you might as well be.”

Myungsoo turned his face and murmured, “ face…”

Sunggyu snapped his head up and retorted, “You’re a face!”

Myungsoo opened his mouth to speak again but Sungyeol shoved pancake into it. Myungsoo closed his mouth around it and Sungyeol smiled, giving his cheek a small pat.

“Don’t yell at Sunggyu, Soo. It’s pretty early for him.”

Sunggyu nodded his thanks and Sungyeol just smiled knowingly. Myungsoo chewed and made discontent faces as he grabbed the TV remote and switched it on, listening to the news for that hour.

“Do you like your pancakes, Sunggyu-hyung?” Sungyeol asked.

Sunggyu grinned towards him. “Yeah, I really do. Thanks for coming over to make them.”

“No problem!” He turned to his boyfriend again. “Soo, say ah.”

“Ah.” Another pancake was shoved into his mouth.

“…gross,” Sunggyu murmured.

Woohyun spoke up next to him. “How’s your strawberry syrup?” he smiled.

“Good. It’s a different brand, but I think I like it better.”

Woohyun smiled then stared curiously at his pancakes. “Do you have… blueberries in there?”

“In my pancakes? Yeah. Is that weird?”

He shook his head. “Sort of. I-I mean, it’s not weird at all! I just… I’ve never really tried blueberry pancakes.”

Sunggyu’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? Not once?”

“Nope – grew up with chocolate chips.” He smiled toothily. “And maple syrup.” He his lips and stared pointedly at Sunggyu’s plate. “Can I, uh… try some?”

“Sure, take all you want – I can never finish food when Sungyeol cooks for us.”

“I would, but…” He held up his hands and displayed his fingers glistening with syrup. “I wouldn’t want to smear maple syrup all over your blueberry pancakes.”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “How did you even get that much syrup all over your hands?!”

He cringed. “Am I making a bad impression?”

“Uh, no, but… all that syrup.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s like when you go to the beach; doesn’t matter if you kept your pants on – sand will somehow appear in your underpants.”

“True, true… well, it’s not a problem.” Sunggyu broke off a part of his pancake and dipped it in strawberry syrup. He held it up to Woohyun’s mouth. “Open,” he said.

Woohyun looked at him in shock. “You’re going to feed me?”

“Do you want to eat it?”

“…yeah.”

“Then open,” he said. “Ah,” he said, staring at Woohyun’s mouth and waiting for it to open.

Woohyun opened his lips and Sunggyu popped it in. He chewed thoughtfully and swallowed. “It’s sweet. But… not in a tooth-achingly way.”

“That’s cause it’s fruit,” he chuckled.

Woohyun nodded and smacked his lips. “You want to try one of mine?”

“Can I?”

“Sure!” He proceeded to do the same with his own pancakes. “Open wide!”

Sunggyu opened and Woohyun put the piece in, but it was a little too big, so Sunggyu ended up choking a little bit. He coughed as he held his mouth closed.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Woohyun said as he noticed Sunggyu choking. His fingers were still syrup-y, so he didn’t know what to do. “Do you need water? I’ll get you a cup.”

He stood up, but Sunggyu shook his head, waving his hand and coughing. “No need,” he wheezed out.

“No, no, I don’t mind. Besides, I need to wash his hands.” Woohyun departed for kitchen.

The three at the table watched him leave and as soon as he was far enough, Sungyeol leaned over and whispered, “Hyung, do you like him?”

“Like him as friend or a significant other?”

“A significant other!”

“Nope. We just met, Sungyeol, and we’re not even that into each other.”

He frowned. “So? That’s not the point.”

Sunggyu rolled his eyes. This kind of behavior wasn’t that new to him. Though it wasn’t often, Sungyeol and Myungsoo would introduce him to a friend of theirs and try to set them up. He appreciated their effort, but he wasn’t exactly looking for a relationship.

The first time it happened was with Sungyeol’s cousin. And even though he was attractive in looks and personality, it just didn’t click between them. But they still stayed great friends. Sungyeol wanted to introduce him to more people, but Myungsoo helped Sunggyu out and toned his boyfriend down a little.

“Either way – do you like him?” Sungyeol asked again.

“He said no already, Yeol,” Myungsoo said, eyes glued to the TV.

“Stop worrying about my love life,” Sunggyu said. “I’ll be fine on my own.”

“I just don’t want to see you on your own forever! And Woohyun is a good guy – I’m sure you two can work.”

“Maybe later when we know each other better, but not now,” he smiled. “Myungsoo and I just need to finish our advertising job first before I can think about dating anyone.”

“Who knows, hyung,” Myungsoo said. “You might end up really happy with him – he might be a good kisser. I think you should hit on him while you can.”

“Myungsoo!” he chided. “No!”

Sungyeol just nodded his head along. “Myungsoo is right, hyung. Woohyun is a good kisser.”

Myungsoo grinned in triumph. “Exactly! Woohyun is a good – wait, Sungyeol, what did you just say?”

Sungyeol only laughed a little as Myungsoo stared at him in concern.

“How do you know how he kisses? Wait, are you hiding something from me?”

“Say ah!” Sungyeol sang and shoved in some pancake, muffling whatever Myungsoo had to say.

Sunggyu just laughed as Woohyun came back with an apple juice box. He sat down next to Sunggyu again and handed him the box.

“I was going to get you water, but I could really find any cups or anything. But I found this!”

“Thanks,” Sunggyu smiled, poking the straw into the aluminum cover.

He sipped up the juice and paused. Taking it from his mouth, he grimaced and looked on the back of the box to find out that the expiration date had passed a very long time ago.

“You get to the park how early?!”

“Five in the morning. So I have to wake up at four-twenty everyday!” Woohyun exclaimed. “Isn’t that crazy?”

After breakfast (or rather, brunch) was finished, Sungyeol made Myungsoo wash the dishes and Sunggyu got a chance to sit down with Woohyun and ask him about the details of a trainer’s life.

“How do you get up at four-twenty in the morning every day? I can barely get up, period.”

Woohyun smiled and shrugged. “I love it, though. Getting to the pools and seeing the whales while the sun is rising is just… it’s something you have to experience. And when you’re as close to a whale as a trainer is, it’s the cutest thing when they greet you in the mornings.”

Sunggyu raised an eyebrow. “I never expected a three ton fish to be considered cute.”

“Most people don’t since, like you said, they’re huge. But once you build a relationship with them, they’re like puppies. They love interacting with people.”

“The trained ones, at least.”

Woohyun nodded. “Of course. I don’t think a wild orca would respond the same way one raised in captivity would.”

Sunggyu nodded along and then asked, “So, what is it like, working with the orcas? Are there any times where they’re uncooperative or anything?”

“Of course! They’re animals, you know. They’re not robots that obey our every whim. There was once a time when one of the whales didn’t feel like performing in the middle of the show, so we tried to bribe her with fish a little.” He laughed at the memory. “It didn’t work, and she still didn’t perform. The audience wasn’t very happy, but at least she was.”

Sunggyu stared at his sparkling eyes for a second. Woohyun was very passionate about his job; that much was obvious. But Sunggyu still shivered at the thought of giant whales swimming in a deep pool with you.

“Aren’t you ever scared?” he asked.

“Scared? Of the whales?”

“Yeah. Aren’t you ever afraid that they could hurt you? They are three ton fish.”

“Well, I’m not sure if they’re three tons, but yeah – they’re really big.” He sighed and smiled to himself. “But the risk is worth it, I guess. When you see the smiling audience, and the squealing orcas and how happy everyone is… it’s all worth it. I love those orcas like they were my family, and I actually skipped Christmas with my family once to take care of a sick whale.”

“Really? You skipped out on Christmas?” Sunggyu repeated in shock.

Woohyun nodded. “All of the trainers love and care for these whales a lot and the danger of being hurt is very apparent. But we do it anyways. I’ve gotten over fear a long time ago.”

“Not afraid of fear anymore, huh?” he said. “Wish I could say the same.”

Woohyun gave a sympathetic look. “You and water, right?”

“Something like that.” He shrugged.

Woohyun leaned forward slightly. “Am I allowed to ask what exactly why you’re afraid of it? Is it just water?”

“It’s not really water than it is of the ocean. Big pools and stuff also make me anxious but the ocean… the ocean is the worst. I can’t even listen to the sound of waves without getting nauseous.”

“It’s that bad?” Woohyun asked in soft surprise. “I knew it was bad when you fainted earlier this week, but I didn’t think it was that effective on you.”

“It doesn’t really effect my everyday life,” Sunggyu responded. “Well, until recently, that is. And I think the whales made me anxious, too. They were just so big and scary looking up close.”

“Do you know why you’re so afraid of big bodies of water? Is there something specific?”

Sunggyu opened his mouth to speak when he realized that he didn’t really know. So he shrugged instead.

“There’s not a time I remember when I wasn’t afraid of the ocean. But I’m pretty sure I wasn’t born with it.” He paused. “You know, now that I think about it, maybe something really did trigger this phobia.”

Sunggyu scratched his neck and spoke, “Frankly, I don’t even know what it is about the water that I’m afraid of. I get the feeling it’ll hurt me, but I’m not sure how. I just get so nervous and anxious around water.”

“It you don’t know. Fear is a state of mind, so if you can pinpoint what event made you so afraid then I’m sure you can learn how to control your anxiety better.”

Sunggyu raised a curious eyebrow. “You sure seem to know a lot.”

Woohyun shrugged humbly. “I used to really be afraid of the dark.”

The elder rolled his eyes. “We were all afraid of the dark.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t grow out of it like the other kids did. Up until about four years ago I was still really afraid of the dark.”

“Did you see a therapist?” Sunggyu asked.

Woohyun shook his head. “Nope. I just went online, did some research about fear and worked from there. I found out why I was afraid and I slowly came to terms with it. I could control myself after all of that.”

“Wow,” Sunggyu said, impressed. “You didn’t even need a therapist or anything.”

“Yeah, well, I kind of also have a degree in psychology, so, you know.”

“Right, right – psychology,” he grinned. “Like Sungyeol.”

Woohyun stared into his eyes and seemed to scrutinize him a little bit. Sunggyu felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, but it didn’t bother him too much.

“Maybe I could help you,” he said suddenly.

“What?”

“If I could fix my darkness phobia then I might be able to help you get over water.”

Sunggyu waved his hand. “Please, it’s not that big of a deal. You don’t need to–”

“No, I’m serious. Sunggyu, you’re going to be advertising for a marine park – you can’t avoid the big pools of water.” Sunggyu swallowed at that, because even though he knew that, being told it made him more nervous. “And if you’re affected by water that badly,” Woohyun continued, “then you’re going to have to overcome your fear to work comfortably. I can help you!”

“Woohyun, that’s a lot to ask for. You still have your respective job of being a whale trainer and that itself is already time consuming. I can’t ask this from you.”

“I’m not suggesting for me to be your personal psychologist or anything, because neither of us have time for that. But I’m just saying… if we do have time, I want to try and help you out. You’re a cool guy and it if you have to be anxious while you're working.”

Sunggyu rubbed his nape. “I guess if it’s a situation where we both have the time and you’re willing to help… sure.”

Woohyun grinned widely, his white teeth shining. “Thanks! Let’s exchange numbers then, okay?”

Sunggyu smiled and pulled out his own smartphone, tapping it awake. “Sure.”

( A/N ) ; hello again :3 I've finally finished chapter three. and while it's not that exciting, the bases are being laid for the future beautifulness of woogyu =u=i think it's a tad shorter than usual, but no worries, because like I said, this is more of a base chapter.

i apologize for this coming a little later than usual ^_^ my computer is practically pre-historic and i had to deal with html codes and whatnot, but it's all under control now.

i hope you like it! ^^ from now on there will be much more moments between them! Thanks for sticking with me thus far, and hello to all the new subscribers :3

now, since i must leave now i will big you all a goodbye :3 subscribe, and upvote if you are pleased and leave a comment down below stating what you think :3 S

see you next time!

~ Quinnie