Written by: Pancake

Pairing: Woogyu

Prompt: Woohyun and Sunggyu are both friends back in high school, but because of Woohyun not as rich as Sunggyu, he can't continue his study. Sunggyu lost contact with him and now Sunggyu is famous, he tried to find Woohyun.

Words: 3,110

一期一会 (One Time, One Meeting)

        “What do you mean you want to take a break?”

         “It means just that, Howon.” Sunggyu sighed.

         “You can’t just take a break when you want to, Sunggyu. There are people out there that are waiting for your next book!”

         “Howon.” Sunggyu said with a stern voice, one that Howon knew meant that he was being absolutely serious. “I have something I need to do.” Then Sunggyu’s voice softened. “And it’s not like I’m never writing again. Don’t worry.”

——

         Sunggyu’s latest book, and his biggest hit so far, was about two people from very different worlds meeting and finding that their similarities and love for one another could override any divide that society placed between them. A love story about someone from a well off family and someone from a family just barely getting by may seem cliché, but Sunggyu had a way with his words. Besides, he had practically poured all of his feelings into this novel of his.

         Don’t get him wrong,Sunggyu was glad his book had so much success. It’s just that he had wanted to write this particular novel for quite some time, and now that he’s finally finished, there’s something else he knows he has to do.

         So that brings him to his best friend’s dance studio one bright Monday morning. He knew that Dongwoo’s first class of the day was at 10, so he arrived half an hour earlier. His best friend was always known to be always prepared for anything he did.

         “Sunggyu!” Mijoo, the receptionist gave Sunggyu a warm smile. “Looking for Dongwoo?” She continued when Sunggyu nodded, “He’s already in the studio warming up.”

         “Of course. Thanks, Mijoo.” Sunggyu replied as he made his way over down the hall and into the dance studio at the back. He opened the door to the sight of his best friend dancing to an upbeat song, but it only took Dongwoo a few seconds before he noticed Sunggyu.

         “Sunggyu! What are you doing here so early?” Dongwoo exclaimed in surprise after turning off the music, but with a bright smile nonetheless, “Shouldn’t you be at home typing away your next bestseller? I would think Howon would be all up in your face about it!”

         “I’m taking a break Dongwoo.”

         “Oh, going back to write after paying your favourite person a visit?”

         “No, Dongwoo, I mean an actual break. Kind of like a short but indefinite hiatus, I guess.”

         “Sunggyu, is something wrong?” The usual smile was gone from his best friend’s face, worry taking over instead.

         “N-no, I just—“ Sunggyu started but didn’t now how to explain. “Dongwoo, I came here to ask you something.”

         “Well, ask away!” Dongwoo took a seat on the floor with his back against the dance studio mirrors, motioning for Sunggyu to do the same. It took a few moments of silence before Sunggyu spoke up again.

         “Do you remember Woohyun, Dongwoo?”

         “Of course I do! You two were practically joined at the hip in high school!” Back in high school, Sunggyu and Dongwoo weren’t as close. It wasn’t until they attended the same university that they got closer.

         “I want— no, need— to find him.” Sunggyu stared at his hands in his lap. “Do you know where he is?”

         “Sunggyu, if anyone knew where he was, don’t you think it’d be you?”

         “I wish.” Sunggyu mumbled, more to himself than anything. Then, with a louder voice, “We kind of lost contact after I went to university out of town…”

         “Mm…. well, why don’t you try asking Sungyeol? I’ve seen him around the café down the street. I think he works there.” Sungyeol was Woohyun’s cousin. They’ve met before, maybe a few times back in high school. However, Sunggyu could remember the other’s wide smile like it was yesterday.

——

         Sunggyu opened the door to the café that Dongwoo was talking about to see Sungyeol cleaning up the tables. He hesitated for a moment before taking small steps to approach him because he wasn’t even sure whether or not Sungyeol remembered him. He was also trying to hide his face to avoid being recognized. Luckily it was now past the time of the early morning rush and there were practically no customers.

         “Sungyeol?” He said in a small voice, but still loud enough that the other boy lifted his head from wiping down tables. However, a frown immediately set upon his face at the sight of Sunggyu. Well. That was unexpected.Sungyeol definitely seemed to remember him, but Sunggyu didn’t remember offending him in any way in the past.

        “What do you want?” Sungyeol said in an unwelcoming voice.

         “Do you remember me?” Sunggyu was sort of regretting his decision to approach the other.

         “Kim Sunggyu.” Sungyeol crossed his arms and stood up straight, and he was sort of intimidating this way since he was taller than Sunggyu. “Now, what do you want?”

         “No need to get so defensive…” Sunggyu muttered under his breath before continuing, “I just wanted to know if you knew where Woohyun was.” Sunggyu had thought it was impossible, but Sungyeol looked even angrier at that, and only scoffed.

         “Who are you to want to know?”

         Oh, Sunggyu had a bad feeling about this.

         “I-I just wanted to see how he was doing, you k-know?” Why, oh why, did he have to stutter? He can’t be afraid of Sungyeol. “And we haven’t seen each other in forever, a-and I’ve been thinking about him lately—“

         “No.” He was cut off by Sungyeol’s stern voice.

         “What?”

         “No.” Sungyeol repeated.

         “Why? Just tell me where he is so I can go find him!”

         “Seriously? Why do you even want to find him? To hurt him even more?”

         “Hurt him?” Sunggyu was flabbergasted. “Why would I ever hurt Woohyun? I—“ But Sunggyu caught himself before he could ramble on.

         “You what, Sunggyu?” Sungyeol’s glare was dark, but Sunggyu felt like Sungyeol didn’t need to know what he felt for Woohyun.

         “Nothing. Just tell me where he is.”

         “No.”

         “Sungyeol, please. I need to find him.” However, Sungyeol just kept silent, his glare boring holes into Sunggyu’s. After a long moment of silence, Sunggyu sighed and turned around to leave. He’ll find Woohyun somehow, with or without Sungyeol’s help.

         “Mapo.” Sunggyu turned around at the sound of Sungyeol’s voice.

         “What?”

         “He lives in the Mapo district now.” Then Sungyeol returned to cleaning the tables like he had never said anything.     

         Sunggyu gave a small smile, “Thank you, Sungyeol.”

         Everyone deserved a second chance.

——

         Okay, so the Mapo district is pretty big, and Sunggyu can’t really go around asking people if they’ve seen Woohyun, because the gossip magazines would love that. So he settles on roaming around sections of Mapo each day (wearing a disguise of course), sometimes sitting down in parks and hoping that he’d see Woohyun around.

         A week into his search and no luck. He considered going back to Sungyeol and asking for more information, but he highly doubted that the other would even talk to him again, let alone give him more specific information about Woohyun’s whereabouts. It was late into the night and Sunggyu had skipped dinner, so he meandered into the closest restaurant he could find — an udon restaurant.

         Sunggyu took a seat at one of the corner tables, picking up a menu while waiting for someone to come by to wait on him.

         “Welcome, would you like anything to drink to start?”

         Now, where had Sunggyu heard that voice from before? He looked up and his eyes widened as his gaze settled on none other than Nam Woohyun in front of him. The other looked skinner than he had remembered, but taller, and… exhausted. Sunggyu felt a pang of worry at the sight of him. Woohyun also looked confused, because Sunggyu hadn’t answered his question. Sunggyu tugged down the mask to reveal his face, and also so that he could speak clearly.

         “Woohyun.”

         “Sunggyu?” Woohyun uttered before covering his mouth with a gasp and turning to walk away.

         “Woohyun, wait!” Sunggyu grabbed onto Woohyun’s wrist. Why is he running away from me? Was Sungyeol right? Did I… hurt him?

         “I have to work.” Woohyun pried his wrist away from Sunggyu’s grip and Sunggyu could go see him go and tell a waitress to wait on him instead, so he quickly pulled up his mask over his face again.

He pointed to a random item on the menu without saying anything, not letting his gaze drift away from Woohyun the whole time.

         Unfortunately, Sunggyu had no choice but to leave after finishing his meal, but he noticed the sign on the front door that said the restaurant closed at 9PM today, and it was 8:45PM now. So he took a seat on the bench outside near the entrance to the restaurant and waited.

——

         Sunggyu was shivering as he checked the time on his watch: 9:25PM. Woohyun must be helping out with closing up. He looked exhausted… I wonder if he’s okay.

         As if on cue, the door to the restaurant opened and Sunggyu looked up to see Woohyun stepping out and slightly shivering at the cold autumn wind that hit him. He looked to the left and as soon as he met eyes with Sunggyu, his heels and started walking down the road. Sunggyu immediately got up and followed the other with shouts of his name, but Woohyun simply acted like he could hear Sunggyu’s yelling and continued down the road with hands stuffed in his pockets.

         Sunggyu eventually caught up with Woohyun and walked beside him for a moment before hesitantly placing a gentle hand on Woohyun's shoulder. However, Woohyun just coldly shrugged him off and continued walking. Inside, Sunggyu was totally frustrated but he tried not to let it show because he could sense that Woohyun wouldn't appreciate that. Instead, he settled on just walking beside Woohyun in silence, once in a while looking over to stare at Woohyun's face. At least the other didn't seem to mind it that much. Woohyun's face has changed since high school, but not enough that Sunggyu couldn't recognize him. His eyes still held that same sparkle Sunggyu loved, albeit a bit dimmer, a bit sadder now. Sunggyu was determined to bring it back.

         After about a 10 minute walk, Woohyun reached the gate of his apartment and stopped, seemingly trying to decide whether or not to punch in the security code before turning around to face Sunggyu.

         “You can go now.” Woohyun’s tone of voice was distant, cold. Sunggyu didn’t like it at all.

         “Can I visit your place?” Sunggyu gave Woohyun one of his rare puppy faces that back in high school, knew the other couldn’t resist. He could only hope that it was the same now. “We need to talk.” Sunggyu added, sort of as an afterthought. Woohyun only gave a sigh and Sunggyu knew he had won.

         “Fine.”

——

         When Sunggyu stepped into Woohyun’s small but cozy studio apartment he couldn’t help the smile that stretched across his face. Everything was just so Woohyun and it seemed the other hadn’t changed much from high school. That fact alone made Sunggyu’s heart warm. He took a seat across from Woohyun at the small table crammed into the corner of the room, as Woohyun set two cups of tea down. Barley tea — so Woohyun still remembered his preferences.

         “Now, talk.” Woohyun’s voice was less cold now, but still distant. Sunggyu was making progress, and that gave him courage to keep talking.

         “So, how have you been?” Sunggyu’s voice was fond and Woohyun was trying his best not to jump into the other’s arms like his instinct told him to.

         “Was that all you wanted to say? If so, please leave. I don’t have time for this.”

         “Wait, no—“ But Sunggyu didn’t get to finish his sentence, as he spotted something out of the corner of his eye on Woohyun’s nightstand. “Is that—?” Woohyun turned around and as soon as he realized what Sunggyu had set his eyes on, made a move to lunge for the book, but Sunggyu had managed to get is hands on it first.

         “You read my books?” In his hands was One Time, One Meeting, the book that was Sunggyu’s latest hit, the one he based off of—

         “No.” Sunggyu could only chuckle at Woohyun’s blatant lying.

         “Yeah, stop lying. See, you even have it bookmarked—“ Sunggyu opened the book but what actually caught his eye was what Woohyun used to bookmark the page: an envelope. In particular, it was an envelope with the name “Gyu” on it. Wait. Hold up. Gyu?

         Woohyun cursed in his head (Why didn’t he put the book back after reading it for, what, the third time?) and tried to snatch it from Sunggyu but again, Sunggyu was faster than the other and held Woohyun at an arm’s length away while he stared at the envelope in his hands.

         “What’s this?’ Woohyun gave up and scoffed at Sunggyu’s question.

         “You don’t recognize it?”

         “Why would I recognize it?” Sunggyu gently opened the envelope to reveal a letter inside. “Is it for me?”

         “No.” Again, Sunggyu could tell that Woohyun was lying.

Dear Gyu,      

         You’re probably wondering why I’m writing you a letter, aren’t you? I have so many things I actually want to say to you, but forgive me for not being able to gather enough courage to say these things out loud.

         However, I think I better make it short. You never had much patience anyway.

         I love you, Sunggyu. I love you so much that it hurts me to see you succeeding and going off to university and leaving me behind. I would have loved to follow you but you know I can’t afford it, that my family is just getting by as it is. I can only ask that you still remember me when you’re miles away. Even if you don’t feel the same, can we please stay as friends? I don’t think I can lose you.

Woohyun.

         Sunggyu was at a loss when he finished reading the letter. His eyes moved up to the top corner of the page. It was written 7 years ago, near the end of their high school senior year. 7 years ago…

         “Why read it again when you’ve read it before and then just threw it in the trash?” Woohyun’s voice was laced with venom, but Sunggyu could sense the hurt hidden beneath.

         “W-what? Trash? Woohyun I’ve never even seen this letter until today! What are you talking about?”

         “Stop lying, Sunggyu. I put it in your locker that day back in high school so you definitely could have seen it. Why did you come back, anyway? To throw away my heart again like you did 7 years ago? Now that you’re famous, I’m still not good enough for you? After 7 years I thought I could finally move on but then you publish this ing book—” Woohyun throws the book towards the wall in anger, tears starting to stream down his face, “—which I know is about the two of us. And you had the audacity to turn the two of us in high school into some ing love story when you didn’t even give a about me. Was that all that I was to you? Just some tool you could use for inspiration? It must have been fun to pick on a poor kid like me—“

         Woohyun got cut off when he felt soft, warm lips on his and instead of pushing Sunggyu away like his mind was screaming at him to, his hands found their way into the front of Sunggyu’s sweater, clutching onto it tightly like life-line.

         “Why did you come back Sunggyu?” Woohyun’s voice was only at a whisper now, soft, quiet, and broken compared to his angry yelling from before. Sunggyu absentmindedly wiped away the tears from Woohyun’s cheeks as he gazed lovingly into Woohyun’s eyes.

         “To make sure I don’t make the same mistake of letting you go again.” Sunggyu placed another gentle kiss on Woohyun’s lips. “I never saw you as the poor kid, Woohyun. Please believe me when I say that the letter you wrote never got to me. If it did, things would’ve turned out very differently.”

         “Like in your book?” Woohyun whispered. Sunggyu nodded, resting his forehead on Woohyun’s while simultaneously letting his arms wrap warmly around the other’s waist.

         “So you admit it was about the two of us.”

         “Only because I couldn’t get all the what ifs out of my head. What if we didn’t drift apart after high school? What if I had been more sure of my feelings and acted on them? What if I had been more sure of you? After writing it I just knew I had to go find you again.” Sunggyu took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

         “Don’t apologize. After I found the letter in the trash I was so angry I just completely stopped talking to you. I didn’t even say goodbye the day you left for university… I should have asked for an explanation, but I was so embarrassed. I believe you Sunggyu. I’m sorry too.”  Woohyun snuggled into Sunggyu’s warm embrace, the two of them basking in the comfortable silence that surrounded them.

         “One time, one meeting,” Sunggyu said, citing the title of his book, “Us meeting in high school was something that only happened once in our lifetime, something that I can’t go back and change or replicate. But then again this meeting now, 7 years later, is also a once in a lifetime chance. And I know I can’t mess up this time.” Sunggyu cupped Woohyun’s cheeks in both of his hands, and Woohyun was almost brought to tears again at his loving, sincere gaze towards him.

         “I love you, Woohyun.”

——

         “Please do me a favour and get a room.”

         Sunggyu immediately pulled back from wiping latte foam from Woohyun’s lips with a laugh, while Woohyun blushed a deep red and aimed a kick to Sungyeol’s shin.

         “OW! Is this any way to treat the person who’s the reason why you two can be so lovey dovey now?” Sungyeol rubbed his shin and glared at Woohyun.

         “OW!” Sunggyu flinched when he also got a kick to his shin from his boyfriend. “What was that for?”

         “For deciding to go on a date where my cousin works!”

         “Hey, he’s also the reason why I was able to book off this whole café so we could have a private date, you know?”

         Woohyun only sulked.

         “I hate you both.”

         “You love me.”

         “Ugh. Not again.”

A/N: Hi there! I hope you like this fic and I hope it was at least mostly what you wanted ;w;

“一期一会” in Japanese literally means “one time, one meeting” and from Wikipedia: “is a Japanese four-character idiom hat describes a cultural concept of treasuring meetings with people. The term is often translated as "for this time only," "never again," or "one chance in a lifetime." The term reminds people to cherish any gathering that they may take part in, citing the fact that many meetings in life are not repeated. Even when the same group of people can get together again, a particular gathering will never be replicated and thus, each moment is always once-in-a-lifetime.”

(Also I couldn’t find a good place to fit it into the fic, but in case you were wondering, there was a student who had a crush on Sunggyu in high school and saw Woohyun wedge the letter into Sunggyu’s locker and so went and threw it away.)