Chapter 8 – If only

I didn't think I could feel this great after a normal warm shower. My whole body felt alive and there was blood pumping through my veins again after almost freezing up in the cold. The clothes Shownu had given me fit just right and the sweatshirt was padded, keeping my body warmth inside. It was the first time I felt this comfortable in weeks and I waddled down the stairs on my bare feet to find Shownu in the kitchen. He smiled in relief when he saw how his clothes fit. “You look a lot better.”

“I feel better too”, I replied when I noticed how he was cutting up meat. “Can I help you with anything?”

Shownu stopped in surprise and glanced at a bunch of vegetables to his right. “You don't have to, just sit down in the living room, really-”

“Not a chance”, I interrupted him and pulled my sleeves up while searching the kitchen for another knife. “This is the least I can do.”

The other male snorted as he shook his head and went back to cutting what I assumed to be chicken. “How old are you, Hyungwon?”

“Twenty-two”, I mumbled absentmindedly and he hummed. “You?”

“Twenty-four. Be a bit more respectful, you brat.”

“Sorry, I didn't mean to-” I stopped myself when I saw the teasing glint in his eyes, realizing that he had meant it as a joke. “That was malicious.” Shownu chuckled, unable to hide his smile anymore and I just couldn't feel uncomfortable around him. It was strangely comforting to have him calmly joke around though we didn't know a thing about each other.

Wait, that's it. What are you doing here, you don't know who this is! He's a friend of Minhyuk, calm down. Is that good or bad? We worked in silence for a while and I was lost in thought, flinching when the front door was slammed open all of a sudden.

“Home!”, the person shouted from the entrance and Shownu sighed, taking a deep breath.

“Be quiet, idiot!”

“Love you too!”, came the answer and something clicked in my mind. Wonho, I thought just before the blonde guy walked into the room, letting out a sound of surprise when he saw me. “What have we here? Look at that, Hyungwon is back. How are you?”

I shot a glance at Shownu and then at Wonho who was wearing a white shirt with rolled up sleeves again. He had probably just come from work and even with the slightly visible dark circles under his eyes I could see that he was quite handsome. The bad thing was that he knew it too. “Good”, I mumbled and returned my attention to the pepper I was chopping, reminding myself of being polite. “How about you?”

I'd almost have dropped the knife later when he rested his chin on my shoulder, peeking at what we were cutting, but I managed to hold onto it and my body tensed up at his bored voice vibrating next to my ear. “Same.” When he didn't show the intention of moving anytime soon, I lowered my shoulder until his chin slipped off. “Shownu, he's being rude.”

“If you didn't invade his personal space seconds after coming home he might have liked you”, Shownu replied, but Wonho remained unfazed by it, clicking his tongue.

“Nonsense. Hyungwon loves me, he just doesn't admit it”, he stated and winked at me with a smirk. Ugh. Cheesy.

“Actually, Shownu is right”, I said with a raised eyebrow and after a few seconds of silence Shownu was barely able to suppress a laugh and Wonho put a hand over his heart with an overly dramatic sigh.

“To think I ever offered you a cup of coffee-”

“Go and get changed before he destroys your ego”, Shownu interrupted and pushed Wonho out of the room with his foot to go back to cutting the last piece of meat. “Finally someone who puts up with him. You mustn't take everything he says and does for granted.”

I hummed without raising my head. “Minhyuk told me the other day.”

“Speaking of which, he should be back with Jooheon in a moment, too.” They would come back together? Great, this gets better with every minute. “You need to relax a bit”, Shownu suggested and nudged me in the side. “You're safe here. Why were you out in the rain?”

I put down the knife after having finished my task. “The guys I lived with until now had to split up. Our sta- home turned into a lake because of the rain and, well...”

“I see. So you need a place to stay at?”

Just when I was about to reply Minhyuk opened the front door with another guy, probably Jooheon, in tow. I couldn't see him but I would have recognized that laugh anywhere. “I-I can leave again if this is a burden, I just wanted to ask, because I don't know many people around here and-”

“Hyungwon?” I my lips and my eyes darted towards Minhyuk who was standing at the door to the living room with big eyes. “You're here?”

I bit my lip and glanced at Shownu every two words. “Looks like it. But I can leave if it's a probl-”
“Woah, stop right there. There isn't any problem”, the oldest assured and I returned my eyes to Minhyuk who was practically radiating light with his smile.

“You changed your mind?”

“I was forced to”, I mumbled and the white-haired guy walked up to me, bouncing up and down, but I noticed the way he stopped himself about a step's length away from me. Giving me space all of a sudden?

“The circumstances aren't important anyway”, he waved my statement off and when another person moved into my field of vision I felt my motivation sink.

Jooheon was staring at me from the living room, pushing his drenched fringe back with one hand. No, wait, he was glaring at me from his narrowed eyes. “H-hello”, I managed to say, but when he didn't move I mustered up all of the social strength I (didn't) possess to walk up to him and bow my head. “I'm Chae Hyungwon. I didn't introduce myself properly last time.”

The slightly red-haired guy huffed with a raised eyebrow. “I know your name. We all know it. You're going to stay here?”, he asked with some gruff tone to his voice and I stumbled over my words for a moment, my mouth drying up.

“Looks like it, yes.” We both glanced back at Shownu who nodded with a shrug and Jooheon made his body relax with a sigh.

“Don't cause any problems.”

“I won't, I promise”, I retorted and turned towards Shownu again. “Anything else I can help with?” But he just shook his head and told me to sit down while Jooheon snorted once more before walking upstairs, probably to his room, and slamming some door shut. Just then, Wonho came back into the living room after having changed into something more comfortable.

“Why is he being like this, it's no big deal”, he mumbled with a roll of his eyes.

“I don't even know, he should stop being defensive.” Shownu muttered while heating a pot on a gas stove. “Wonho, no.”

I watched in amusement as said male withdrew the hand that was about to snatch a slice of pepper with a pout. “I'm sure Hyungwon had some too.”

“Don't make me laugh”, Shownu