new year, new beginning
Apartment Block 17
[a/n]
once again, happy new year everyone!
let’s make this seventeen’s year <3
(also sorry for the procrastination idk why this took me so long lmao)
[HEALING HOSPITAL]
“Jisoo-ah,” Jeonghan whispered, shaking the boy lightly. He didn’t wake up.
Jeonghan took out his phone and faced the home screen at the sleeping boy.
“It’s 2017 now. Happy New Year,” Jeonghan said softly, planting a gentle kiss on his lips.
Seungcheol stood behind, watching silently. “Happy New Year,” he echoed. Jeonghan smiled.
“When will he wake up?” Jeonghan asked quietly.
“Doctor said in a few hours. Maybe,” Seungcheol replied, unsure.
Seungcheol had been woken up by his phone ringing the day before, a frantic resident telling him that someone had been hit by a car in front of Apartment Block 17. He rushed down immediately and was even more shocked to see that it was Jisoo.
He’d never felt that panicked in his life. One of his friends was laying face down on the gravel, a thick flow of red pouring from various wounds tearing through his delicate, pale flesh. He didn’t know what to do, and he hadn’t brought his phone with him in the rush. So he had blindly stumbled up to Jeonghan’s apartment.
Jisoo was okay, thanks to the prompt response by the local hospital. He had been rushed for immediate surgery and was now in a ‘stable condition’, though he had yet to wake up.
“He’s not in a coma, is he?” Jeonghan asked in a small voice.
“No, he’s just asleep,” Seungcheol assured him.
Jeonghan took Jisoo’s hand and squeezed it tightly, hoping to get some sort of response.
Jisoo wasn’t right. He was paler than usual, the sparkle in his eyes not visible as they were closed, his hands cold as ice and lacking the warmth Jeonghan always craved. It wasn’t ‘Jisoo’. It was a much more fragile, broken version of the boy Jeonghan loved.
“I called Jisoo’s parents,” Seungcheol said, breaking the pained silence in the room. “They’re flying over from LA.”
Jeonghan raised his eyebrows. “They’re flying all the way here?”
“Their son just got hit by a car,” Seungcheol said. “Of course they’d fly all the way here.”
Jeonghan had never met Jisoo’s parents; except for the occasional Skype calls he’d join. They seemed friendly, but Jeonghan couldn’t help but feel nervous.
He didn’t take care of Jisoo well enough; he should’ve forced Jisoo to sleep and not overwork himself. He didn’t want Jisoo’s parents to be disappointed in their son’s boyfriend and force him to move back to America with them.
Jeonghan definitely didn’t feel ready to meet the in-laws.
A sudden pressure in his hand brought him back to reality. Jeonghan looked down at his hand in surprise; Jisoo was gripping it tightly.
“Jisoo?” Jeonghan leant in closer.
The boy’s eyes fluttered open slowly, squinting upon registering the bright hospital lights. Jeonghan his hair and gripped his hand tighter.
“Jisoo,” Jeonghan repeated, softer.
Seungcheol stood up straighter. “I’ll go call the doctor,” he said as he rushed out of the room.
Jisoo’s eyebrows knitted together as he attempted to sit up. He glanced at Jeonghan and pursed his lips.
“Why am I in the hospital?” he asked with a broken voice. But Jeonghan had never heard anything so angelic and welcoming in his life.
“You didn’t look left and right when you crossed the road,” Jeonghan tutted.
Jisoo frowned and stared Jeonghan straight in the eyes. He was scarily intimidating; unlike the soft and pure ‘Jisoo’ that Jeonghan knew.
“Who are you?” Jisoo asked coldly.
Jeonghan’s heart dropped to his stomach. No way... there’s no way he forgot--
“Jeonghan,” Jeonghan said softly.
“Well, Jeonghan,” Jisoo said, his voice slowly returning to the original softness it used to be, “Could you call my parents or someone to pick me up? I should probably speak to someone I know. Are you a doctor here?”
“Jisoo-ah,” Jeonghan narrowed his eyes angrily. “I’ll slap you.”
Jisoo looked taken aback. “I’ve never met such a rude stranger.”
Seungcheol came back into the room with a female doctor.
“Oh, you’ve finally woken up,” the doctor said. “It’s good to have you back.”
“Doctor,” Jeonghan turned to her with a slightly annoyed expression, “He didn’t get any head injuries, did he?”
“He had a mild concussion from the impact of the crash,” the doctor replied.
“But he wouldn’t have severe memory loss, would he?” Jeonghan pushed on.
“It’s possible--”
Jisoo started laughing, slapping Jeonghan’s shoulder repeatedly. “I was joking.”
Jeonghan turned to him, annoyed. He pushed Jisoo back onto the bed roughly. “I hate you.”
“And that’s why you stayed next to me for the past day? Because you hate me?” Jisoo grinned.
“Yeah,” Jeonghan said, unable to hold back a laugh.
Seungcheol rolled his eyes. “I’m going to leave now,” he waved as he exited, after bowing politely to the doctor.
“Happy New Year, Jeonghan,” Jisoo smiled, his lips already halfway to Jeonghan’s.
The doctor looked away in embarrassment. It was quite difficult for her to check the patient’s vitals while his boyfriend was scolding him for going out to get 3AM coffee.
”I swear I’ll kill you if you ever do something so stupid again.”
“But Jeonghan, I’d die either way.”
“That’s not the point, idiot.”
“Maybe I should just move back to LA.”
“Wait, no! I’m sorry, I love you, please don’t leave me--”
“That’s more like it.”
“Happy New Year, Shua.”
“You said that already.”
“Just shut up and kiss me.”
“Fine.”
-------------
[ADORE U PARK]
“Today’s the day,” Hansol breathed in deeply.
Seungkwan didn’t respond, so Hansol nudged him.
“Good luck,” Seungkwan said quietly. He seemed to have more on his mind, but he didn’t say anything.
The two boys reached Adore U Park, where the New Years’ Festival was held every year. The wide expanse of well-kept grass made it the perfect spot to hold a celebration.
“Hey, they have archery!” Hansol said excitedly as he grabbed Seungkwan’s arm and dragged him over to the nearest stall.
Seungkwan immediately perked up at the thought of a challenge.
As it turns out, both of them were horrible at it. Seungkwan didn’t think he was that bad at sports, but he didn’t expect to completely fail in archery.
Luckily, Hansol wasn’t much better either. They both struggled in pulling back the overly taut string and neither had the patience and precision to aim properly. Hansol managed to hit the outer edges of the target, earning them a small pack of magnets that passed off as a prize.
“Aw, they’re so cute,” Hansol said optimistically, looking at the vegetable-shaped magnets like they didn’t just waste ₩8000 shooting arrows into the ground.
“Looks like your birthday present’s covered,” Seungkwan smirked.
“Hey, your birthday’s before mine,” Hansol shot back, “I’ll get you something worse.”
“You wanna bet?” Seungkwan narrowed his eyes.
“Hey guys!” a bubbly voice interjected, and Seungkwan felt his shoulders sag as a slightly taller boy with pastel blue hair swung his arm around him.
Hansol greeted the two boys; Soonyoung and Jihoon; enthusiastically. Jihoon was holding a plastic bag with a giant bunny toy in it.
“Happy New Year,” Jihoon said with a smile.
“Where’d you get the bunny?” Hansol asked.
“You should’ve seen him! He won it at that archery stall, and it was so cool, he was all like--” Soonyoung said enthusiastically, mimicking an archer’s position and scrunching up his eyes like he was trying to aim for Hansol’s eye. “And he hit the bullseye every time!”
a/n; holy doesn’t he look cool --
Seungkwan looked rather jealous. Jihoon waved off Soonyoung’s praise as if it was nothing.
“More importantly, did you guys hear about Jisoo?” Jihoon said.
“What about Jisoo?” Hansol asked.
“He’s in hospital,” Jihoon said seriously. He explained everything he had heard from Seungcheol, with occasional comments from Soonyoung.
“That idiot,” Hansol muttered in English. “He’ll be fine, right?”
“Yeah, of course,” Jihoon assured. “But he’s gonna stay in the hospital for a while to recover.”
“Jeonghan?” Seungkwan questioned.
“He’s been at the hospital for nearly two days straight,” Jihoon sighed. “They’re both idiots.”
“Seungcheol’s always been complaining about paperwork for accidents that happen around the block, but looks like he never meant what he said,” Soonyoung smiled. “He looked so wrecked when we saw him this morning.”
“Of course,” Seungkwan pursed his lips. “His friend got hurt really bad.”
“Our friend got hurt really bad,” Soonyoung corrected. “I mean, imagine if Hansol got hurt,” he smirked at Seungkwan.
“If Hansol died, then I’d die,” Seungkwan said bluntly.
Hansol blinked a couple of times. “I’d never die before you, though,” he said smugly.
Seungkwan hit his chest.
“I didn’t say if he died, but alright,” Soonyoung laughed. “Anyway, I can smell the jjajangmyeon calling me. Jihoon, you’re buying!” he said as he ran off towards the food stalls.
Jihoon sighed and waved goodbye wordlessly.
“I’ll have to go visit Jisoo after this, then,” Hansol sighed. “How could he be so careless? And he didn’t even tell me...”
“Yeah,” Seungkwan laughed. “I’ll come too.”
Hansol took out his phone and glanced at the time. “But first, I gotta go meet Chae at 8,” he said happily. Chae? Seriously?
Seungkwan glanced at his phone; it was 7:45PM. “We still have time. Wanna go eat some takoyaki?”
“They have takoyaki here?” Hansol exclaimed at the mention of the Japanese octopus balls he loved so much.
“What kind of festival wouldn’t have a takoyaki stall?” Seungkwan rolled his eyes, grabbing Hansol’s arm and dragging him towards the food stalls.
Seungkwan couldn’t help but feel but it was his last chance to spend actual alone time with Hansol.
“Mmm,” Hansol sighed, savouring the hot deliciousness of the takoyaki Seungkwan had bought him. “Why’d you offer to pay? You never do that,” he smirked.
“Just because,” Seungkwan shrugged, looking away.
Hansol nudged his shoulder. “Thanks,” he grinned. “I wish we could do this all the time.”
“This?” Seungkwan questioned.
“Like you know... just us two, hanging out. Not caring about school. Just doing fun stuff together.”
“Don’t we do that all the time?” Seungkwan asked anxiously. Why does he sound like it’s going to end?
“Yeah, but... we’re graduating soon,” Hansol pursed his lips. “We might not have time to do this. And our channel, too.”
Seungkwan breathed a little easier. “You scared me,” he hit Hansol’s chest, “I thought you were going to say you were moving or something.”
“Oh no,” Hansol immediately reacted, “No, I mean... I wish we always had free time like this. Just for us, you know.”
“Yeah, me too,” Seungkwan smiled.
Seungkwan’s happy moment was cut short when he heard Chaeyoung’s voice calling them from behind.
“Hansol!” she said, catching said boy’s attention. She bowed politely to Seungkwan as well; “Hey, Seungkwan!”
Chaeyoung looked really delicate, especially that night. Her chin-length hair, now coloured a lighter auburn, was perfectly mussed up, natural makeup enhancing her perfect skin and perfect features. She wore a thin choker and a dark blue coat that looked far too expensive for a mere festival.
And not to mention how polite she was, how her smile really made her face glow, how her small, plush, pink lips gave her a doll-like appearance and how petite and delicate she was; presenting herself with the poise of a ballerina.
Seungkwan could see why Hansol liked her.
“Hey, Chaeyoung,” Hansol said with a smile.
“I’ll leave you guys to it,” Seungkwan said reluctantly.
Chaeyoung looked slightly confused, but nodded. “Oh, see you around!”
He looked back at Hansol one last time. The boy was looking at Chaeyoung with an indescribable expression on his face.
Seungkwan hoped he would still be Hansol’s number one after the night was over.
-------------
He ended up following them anyway; he didn’t mean to, but he really was too curious to just leave it be.
Hansol walked with Chaeyoung, occasionally pointing out something in the stalls that surrounded them, eliciting small giggles from the girl. Seungkwan could already feel his nightmare coming true.
He tried his best not to hate Chaeyoung; she didn’t do anything wrong. But he still felt an undeniable jealousy for the girl.
Seungkwan couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if he was girl.
“Hansol, can I ask you something?” Chaeyoung said as they passed by the last stall and made their way over to the dark, open space, where some others were gathered for the upcoming fireworks.
“Of course,” Hansol said quietly. His hands were clutched behind his back nervously.
Seungkwan sneaked past the stall and hid behind a tree nearby. He was glad that it was dark; Hansol wouldn’t notice him for sure.
“Why did you want to meet up today?” Seungkwan heard Chaeyoung ask in a polite tone. The two of them stopped walking as they reached the start of the bridge, Chaeyoung turning to face him while rocking back and forth on her toes.
The bridge overlooked a section of the Han River; the water glittering faintly as it reflected the odd car light from the roads above. It could been perceived in two, among many, ways; beautifully mysterious, or deathly dark.
Seungkwan could only make out Hansol and Chaeyoung’s outlines in the gloom; there were no lamps offering light within the vicinity of the bridge. But it made it easier for him to hide, so he didn’t complain.
Hansol laughed nervously and Seungkwan felt his stomach churn.
Hansol had that smile on his face; the one where his eyes crinkled slightly and all his teeth became visible because of how wide he was grinning. It wasn’t so much of a bashful smile as it was a genuinely joyful smile.
It wasn’t the same smile Hansol broke into whenever Seungkwan said something funny; Seungkwan wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not. He was greedy; he didn’t want anyone else making Hansol smile like he did to him.
“Oh, I just wanted to tell you something,” Hansol began, but was interrupted by Chaeyoung’s phone buzzing.
“Sorry, just a sec,” she said sheepishly, her phone screen illuminating their faces in the dark atmosphere. She seemed genuinely shocked and worried by whatever text she received, because she looked up at Hansol rather hurriedly.
“Um, do you think I could get a raincheck?” she asked with a shy smile. “I have to meet someone ASAP.”
“Is everything alright?” Hansol asked, concerned. Seungkwan tried very hard to hold back a scoff; Hansol sounded so polite and unlike himself.
“It’s a little complicated. I’ll call you when I’m done, it probably won’t take too long,” Chaeyoung assured, and she soon ran off back towards the festival. Seungkwan slid behind a tree so he wouldn’t be caught.
Hansol seemed to contemplate what to do next, so he took out his phone and began to type.
Seungkwan realised too late. His phone started ringing obnoxiously, ‘OK’ by Strawberry Milk resonating into the quiet atmosphere.
Hansol narrowed his eyes, recognising the ringtone and walking through the trees until he spotted his roommate slouching over his phone, trying to hide the screen’s light.
“Hey, Seungkwan,” Hansol said slyly.
“Hey, Hansol,” Seungkwan looked up, face betraying all the guilt he felt.
Hansol started laughing. “I’m gonna follow Chae. Wanna come?”
“You’re seriously asking me that?” Seungkwan raised an eyebrow. Hansol gave him a look; the look where he raised his eyebrow slightly and tilted his lips as if he was saying ‘of course’. “And stop calling her ‘Chae’. You’re not on that level yet.”
“Does that bother you?” Hansol batted his eyelashes jokingly. “My Seungkwannie?”
“Stop,” Seungkwan gave him a disgusted look. “We’re gonna lose her if we don’t hurry,” he added quietly.
Hansol grinned and pulled him along through the crowd, weaving through as if it were an Olympic sport and he was a gold medallist. Thankfully for Seungkwan, Hansol didn’t seem bothered in the slightest that he had eavesdropped on them; in fact, he seemed to have expected it.
Chaeyoung seemed to be headed towards the entrance of the festival. She stood at the gates with her phone in hand, glancing around nervously.
“Who’s she meeting?” Seungkwan wondered. Hansol pursed his lips.
Suddenly, she caught sight of someone, and waved vigorously to get their attention. Said person jogged over and met her with a smile.
Said person, who had short brown hair and a boyish smile. Chan.
“Chan?” Hansol whispered. “What’s he--”
“Shh,” Seungkwan shushed. Chaeyoung was saying something to their good friend.
“I didn’t think you’d actually be able to come,” she said, her voice a little higher than normal.
“I’m on break, so it’s fine,” Chan laughed. “You said you wanted to tell me something?”
“Y-yeah,” Chaeyoung said. She looked around nervously. “I, uh-- like you... a lot.”
If anything, Hansol never expected the ‘love of his life’ to confess to one of his closest friends. Seungkwan felt Hansol grip his arm tightly, as if it was the only thing keeping him grounded.
“You... what?” Chan seemed just as shocked as both Seungkwan and Hansol were. They stayed frozen, hidden behind a nearby stall as Chaeyoung spluttered out almost incoherent sentences.
“Yeah, I mean-- if you want-- you don’t-- I’m sorry--”
“I’m sorry,” Chan interrupted quietly. “I can’t date, anyway. Pledis is really strict about that.” He sounded genuinely sorry and sincere, but Seungkwan wasn’t sure if that meant he didn’t like her back, or if he actually did.
Or maybe, he knew that Hansol liked her and didn’t want to ‘betray’ his friend.
“O-oh, I thought so!” Chaeyoung blushed furiously. “I just wanted to tell you, so--”
“I really like you too, but I’m honestly just too focused on training and school to have the time for a relationship,” Chan said with a kind tone. He put his hand on her shoulder in a friendly manner, but it seemed to have a much more profound effect on her.
“Yeah, I just--” Chaeyoung looked down. “Sorry.”
Hansol started to walk away, his grip on Seungkwan’s arm broken. Seungkwan followed after him cautiously.
He walked silently, but in a steadfast manner. Seungkwan had trouble keeping up with the ever-growing crowd.
They ended up back at the bridge, somehow. Seungkwan didn’t know what happened in the end between Chaeyoung and Chan, but he thought it probably just ended with them agreeing to be friends.
Seungkwan wasn’t sure what to say to Hansol, though.
He felt slightly guilty, but he felt a surge of happiness run through him, fizzing up his senses like a newly opened soda can. Seungcheol was right, as always. It did turn out okay. Kind of. Maybe. For me, at least.
Hansol sighed and sat down on the side of the bridge. Seungkwan hesitated, but he sat down next to him.
Without a word, Hansol leant his head on Seungkwan’s shoulder, his bangs tickling Seungkwan’s neck. Seungkwan, who was for once, at a loss of words, put his arms around Hansol in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.
Hansol seemed to be fine with it. They used to do that a lot; ‘platonic cuddling’, or what most people just called ‘bromance’. But it was comforting, so neither of them really thought more of it.
Seungkwan’s arms were the perfect length to wrap around Hansol’s shoulder width, and the crook in Seungkwan’s neck seemed to perfectly accomodate the curve of Hansol’s skull.
Somehow, Seungkwan was sure they were meant to fit together.
Neither said anything to break the silence; it was one of those ‘actions speak louder than words’ moments.
Even when Hansol’s phone rang; probably a call from Chaeyoung; he immediately turned it off and they relapsed back into silence.
Their surroundings were quiet, only the distant sounds of the festival and the occasional bridge-crosser breaking the stillness. In that moment, it was just Seungkwan and Hansol.
They were both suddenly startled when the loud booms of fireworks sounded off behind them. The bright, coloured sparks flitted into the night sky, raining down over the skyline in a manner that could only be described as magical.
“Seungkwan,” Hansol said, voice cracking slightly because of how quietly he was speaking.
Seungkwan looked down at him, but Hansol sat up a little to readjust his position.
“Sing something?” Hansol requested in a soft voice.
Seungkwan broke out into laughter. He was reminded of a few months ago, when Hansol had been feeling particularly stressed about school, and instead of studying, he had asked Seungkwan to sing ‘Snow Flower’ by Park Hyo Shin.
He didn’t know why, but Hansol would randomly request to hear Seungkwan sing. Often, he fell asleep halfway through, so Seungkwan didn’t know why he bothered trying.
But for Hansol, he’d probably jump off a cliff. So singing for the boy wasn’t a big deal in the slightest.
Since the situation called for it, Seungkwan couldn’t refuse a request from his roommate. But instead of singing, he proceeded to rap ‘Cypher Pt.3’ by BTS.
He smiled smugly when Hansol reacted exactly the way he wanted; doubled over in laughter, clutching Seungkwan’s shoulder for support.
Yeah. Nothing’s better than watching Hansol laugh.
-------------
[APARTMENT BLOCK 17]
“You sure you’ll be alright in that?” Mingyu raised an eyebrow at Wonwoo’s coat.
“Yeah. I don’t get cold that easily,” Wonwoo insisted, his attire paling in comparison to how thickly bundled up Mingyu was. “You look like a caterpillar.”
“An attractive caterpillar,” Mingyu winked. Wonwoo made a hissing sound of disapproval.
Turns out Mingyu’s concern was correct, for as soon as they stepped out of the apartment block and into the cold, Wonwoo started shivering instantly.
“You wanna go back and get another coat?” Mingyu smirked, taking in the sight that was a shivering Wonwoo. He looked so much smaller in that huge coat of his, shrinking into himself in an attempt to preserve body heat.
“N-no,” Wonwoo’s teeth chattered slightly. He tried to straighten up to prove that he was alright. “I’ll get warmer as we walk.”
He didn’t.
They reached Adore U Park, where Wonwoo had said a New Years Festival would be on.
“L-last year, they had r-really good takoyaki,” Wonwoo stuttered, folding his arms in tightly. “Y-you should try some.”
Mingyu was too distracted by Wonwoo’s shivering to actually comprehend what he was saying.
“You listening?” Wonwoo waved his stubby, gloved hand in Mingyu’s face. At least he wore gloves.
“What do I do with you?” Mingyu sighed, ping his giant parka and boldly pulling Wonwoo to his side with his free arm. Wonwoo made a weird yelping sound, that wasn’t high-pitched enough to be ‘scared’ but also not low enough to be his normal voice. “Better?”
Wonwoo looked up at Mingyu; Mingyu never realised how much shorter Wonwoo was until he was right next to him.
“Yeah,” Wonwoo mumbled, looking at the ground in embarrassment.
Mingyu: 1. Wonwoo: 0.
“You know, Seokjin said he was really impressed with your acting,” Mingyu commented as they passed by numerous stalls in search of the takoyaki stall Wonwoo had recommended.
“Oh, nice,” Wonwoo murmured. The play was in less than a week; Wonwoo performed fine and didn’t forget any lines during rehearsal, but he wasn’t sure about the actual day.
Especially about the whole kissing-Mingyu-on-stage thing.
“Well, no use worrying! All we can hope for is a seamless performance on the day,” Mingyu smiled.
“Yeah,” Wonwoo said softly. “I’m kind of excited.”
Mingyu jumped a little next to Wonwoo, a small kick in his step. “Same! I wish Junhui could watch us, but he’s flying off today.”
“I heard my name,” said man’s voice piped up from behind them. Wonwoo turned around, pulling Mingyu along in the process and was preparing to shoot a warning glare at Junhui when he caught sight of a group of guys further behind, shouting rowdily at a basketball stall.
Whatever colour was left in Wonwoo’s face was blanched in an instant.
“Hey, I, uh--” Wonwoo said in a hurry, “Gotta run and find a bathroom real quick. I’ll find you later.”
He hurried away before any of them could protest.
Turning a corner into a smaller row of stalls, he felt himself collide with a slightly taller male. Strong hands steadied him and Wonwoo looked up blearily at who he had bumped into.
.
“Wonwoo?” the male raised an eyebrow, gingerly taking his hands off his shoulders.
“Hey,” Wonwoo said bitterly. “Sorry for bumping into you,” he said as he pushed past roughly.
“No, you’re not.”
Oh Sehun. Another homophobic college boy whose mission was ruining Jeon Wonwoo’s life.
“It’s not like you’re sorry either,” Wonwoo turned back. “I hate you, and you hate me. Let’s call it even.”
“I never said I hated you,” Sehun said bluntly.
“You certainly act like it,” Wonwoo sighed. It’d been a while since he’d run into problems with Sehun; certainly close to a year; but Wonwoo still hated the sight of him and his stupidly well-groomed hair.
“I know we have some history together,” Sehun sighed. Wonwoo rolled his eyes. “But that was like, a year ago. I’d rather just move on.”
“Then move on,” Wonwoo said, walking away. “But I won’t.”
“Wonwoo--”
“Oh, by the way,” Wonwoo whirled around one last time. “Your friends are over by the basketball stall. Tell them to shut up a little; they’re so ing loud.”
“Wonwoo, you know I’m not friends with those dips anymore,” Sehun said, exasperated. “Do they still bother you?”
“Of course,” Wonwoo said lowly.
“I’ll talk to them,” Sehun said, seeming slightly sincere.
“Seriously?” Wonwoo raised an eyebrow.
Sehun paused for a while. “I’ve changed.”
“Wow,” Wonwoo applauded sarcastically. “You sound like you mean it.”
“People can change. And I genuinely apologise for the things I’ve said to you in the past,” Sehun said. “Doesn’t mean I like you, but I don’t think you deserved what I did to you.”
Wonwoo had long forgotten about his history with Sehun; the boy was just another one of the homophobes Wonwoo had blacklisted in his head.
“Well, I’m glad you realised that,” Wonwoo said tersely. “Bye, Sehun.”
Walking away as fast as he could, Wonwoo quickly got lost in the crowd. He wasn’t sure why his eyes were stinging, but he blinked them furiously in an attempt to calm himself.
“You okay there, boy?”
Wonwoo stopped in his tracks and found an elderly lady in a purple robe staring at him from her nearby stall.
Wonwoo sniffled. “Just a bit cold.”
“Would you like a reading?” the lady beckoned him to her stall. “It’s free.”
Wonwoo stared cautiously at the contents of the stall - crystal balls and tarot cards; the whole fortune teller starter pack.
“Uh, sure,” Wonwoo agreed, not really in the mood to refuse the intense gaze of this fragile, small-framed old woman.
He sat down slowly on a thin stool placed in front of the stall, and the lady immediately grabbed his hands. He knew his hands were cold; but this lady’s hands were even colder, inhumanly so.
He couldn’t tear his gaze away from her eyes. Her eyes weren’t completely dark, like most people’s; they had a certain misty, grey quality to them that made Wonwoo believe he was going slightly insane because of the cold.
“Your starsign... is Cancer?” she narrowed her eyes.
“Y-yeah,” Wonwoo stuttered. He certainly didn’t believe in the power of the stars or any of that psychic crap, but he did have to admit this lady struck him as downright strange.
She suddenly opened her eyes wider and leant closer to him slowly. Wonwoo reflexively leant away and nearly fell off when the fragile chair he was sitting on rocked backwards.
“You’re in love.” Yeah, no , Sherlock. Everyone tells me that. I know.
“He’s an Aries,” she continued. “Challenging choice. Cancer and Aries individuals don’t normally end up in long lasting relationships. Though it can be a challenging relationship, if you can both adapt to each others’ style, it will definitely improve over time and eventually rival any other match.”
“Um, alright?” Wonwoo said hesitantly. She sounded like she was spouting out words from the first horoscope site on Google, but the fact that she knew he was an Aries...
Wait. Mingyu’s an Aries, right? Is he? I don’t remember.
“You’ll often see him to be too adventurous, while he might see you to be too sensitive and introverted--”
“Okay, but what do I do?” Wonwoo interrupted. He might as well get some useful advice out of this lady. He could feel his hands breaking out in cold sweat against her weathered palms.
“Aries men tend to have their emotions near the surface, meaning they are upfront and blunt about their feelings,” she said slowly, “while you are likely to have your emotions on a deeper, more emotional level.” Hm, true. So far.
She didn’t say anything more. “And...?” Wonwoo said slowly.
“That’ll be ₩10 000,” she said bluntly.
“What?” Wonwoo deadpanned. She’s giving me this ‘sign up for Premium Membership’ ?
“You know what, nevermind, thanks,” Wonwoo said in a rush, ripping his hands from her grip and stumbling off the chair.
He looked back briefly before pushing through the crowd and ending up back where he left Mingyu and Junhui.
Wonwoo couldn’t help but feel creeped out by what he just experienced, but he decided to forget about the unknown and worry about finding his roommate again.
He didn’t have to look for long because his roommate stuck out of the crowd like a tree.
But it was also because he was surrounded by a bunch of teenage girls (which usually happened when they went outside, so it wasn’t like this was a new thing).
Mingyu looked rather annoyed; his attention was focused on the girl in front of him, and didn’t realise that Wonwoo was staring at him from afar.
Wonwoo creeped closer, not really caring if Mingyu noticed him but also wanting to hear the conversation. He was glad that the group of rowdy boys at the basketball stall was nowhere in sight.
Maybe Sehun really did talk to them.
“You’re cute,” the girl said straightforwardly, drawing Wonwoo’s attention back to the situation in front of him. “Wanna go out?”
“No,” Mingyu said in signature blunt fashion. He hesitated a little before saying, “I love someone else.”
Oh. Never heard him use this card before.
“What?” the girl looked shocked. “Who is she? What does she have that I don’t?”
“Actually, she’s a he,” Mingyu started to look really annoyed. “And he has plenty of things that you don’t.”
“Like his heart,” came a snarky voice from behind Mingyu. Wonwoo hadn’t noticed earlier, but Minghao was behind him as well.
Wonowo couldn’t hold back a laugh. Minghao noticed his presence instantly, locked eyes with him and somehow managed to summon Junhui from nowhere to drag Wonwoo over to a surprised Mingyu.
“U-uh, Wonwoo,” Mingyu stuttered, his attention taken away from the girl in front of him. “Took you a while... to find a bathroom...”
“Sorry,” Wonwoo ducked his head sheepishly. “Yeah, hi, I’m the one who has this guy’s heart,” he nudged his thumb at Mingyu and couldn’t resist smirking at the girl. “Apparently.”
The girl sighed. “Why are the hot ones always gay or taken?” she muttered. Minghao burst out laughing.
They awkwardly left a short while later, Junhui dragging them all over to a fishing game which he challenged Minghao in. Mingyu looked at them, amused.
Wonwoo shivered, and unconsciously sidled up closer to Mingyu; not exactly touching but also at a close distance. Mingyu didn’t say anything.
Wonwoo liked it like that.
-------------
“Jihoon, these are so pretty!” Soonyoung exclaimed, a stall filled with eye-catching, obnoxiously sparkly jewellery grabbing his attention.
Jihoon sighed and trailed after his energetic roommate. The stall handler; a kind-looking elderly lady; smiled profusely upon meeting up with Soonyoung’s enthusiasm.
“Oh, they’re mood rings!” Soonyoung marvelled, as if he’d never seen the cheap, knock-off, overpriced colour-changing rings before.
Jihoon didn’t believe in such an obvious scam; but Soonyoung’s fascination with the objects warmed his heart.
“Jihoonie,” Soonyoung abruptly grabbed Jihoon’s left hand, leaving him more flustered than he’d admit.
Soonyoung promptly proceeded to swiftly slide one of the mood rings - currently a grotesque greenish hue - onto Jihoon’s fourth finger. Jihoon watched in horror as the colours began to fade and transform from a vomit-green into a deep red.
“It fits!” Soonyoung gave him a wide smile. “Ooh, it turned red. What does that mean?” he asked the stall handler.
Jihoon wanted to drown.
“It means he’s feeling passionate. Or in love,” the lady said slyly. She had a mischievous glint in her eyes that contradicted her calm, wise appearance.
Soonyoung was beside himself. “You’re in love? Why didn’t you tell me you had a crush?” he pouted, hitting Jihoon’s shoulder repeatedly.
“I’m not in love,” Jihoon said rather furiously, trying to pry the ring off his finger. He was glad that he had small fingers.
Soonyoung narrowed his eyes. He knew Jihoon was lying; his roommate had a habit of twitching his left eye whenever he wasn’t 100% honest.
“If you say so,” Soonyoung smirked, internally making it his mission to find out who Jihoon liked. He took the ring from Jihoon and slid it over his own fourth finger.
The ring’s colour turned into a dull orange. According to the chart, it meant Soonyoung was feeling adventurous and creative.
“Sounds like you,” Jihoon muttered. He felt like Soonyoung putting on the ring was rather anticlimactic; ie. Jihoon would’ve probably liked the ring to turn a deep red as well.
Soonyoung thanked the stall handler and proceeded to run over to the game stalls. That was the entire reason he came to these festivals (aside from the food).
“You’re going to slip if you run like that,” Jihoon called. Soonyoung didn’t listen; as always. He beckoned Jihoon over to a rabbit-shooting stall (fake, wooden board rabbits of course).
“Are you actually going to waste your money on this?” Jihoon raised an eyebrow. “They’re always rigged.”
“But it’s fun,” Soonyoung reasoned bluntly, as if it was a completely logical reason to spend the equivalent of three cups of instant ramen on a 5 minute game. “You wanna play?”
Jihoon knew he could never say no to Soonyoung; which was how he ended up spending their entire weekly grocery budget on one stupid game. And all they got was a pack of magnets.
“You look like you’re having fun,” a snarky voice commented from behind. Jihoon sighed and turned around, recognising the voice; it was Seungcheol. He was with a taller boy around their age, with a long, angular face, thick eyebrows and a blindingly cheerful aura; there was a certain boyish charm surrounding him, yet he also managed an air of handsomeness. Something about his demeanour felt familiar.
“I guess,” Jihoon said.
Soonyoung had been fiddling with the pack of magnets, trying to get the packaging open but failing because of how cold his fingers were without gloves. Jihoon always told him to wear gloves in winter; but he never listened, as usual.
“Hey, Cheol,” Soonyoung greeted, looking up briefly from his struggle. “Who’s this?”
“Oh, hey, I’m Seokmin,” the boy said with a cheerful smile.
Soonyoung stopped fiddling with the magnets and looked at him, eyes wide. “O-ohh!” he stuttered. “You’re the idol guy from the group chat!”
Seokmin laughed; a warm, hearty sound erupting from the very base of his being and resonating in the cold, crisp air. “Just call me Seokmin.”
“Or you could just call him Sungmin,” Seungcheol added, receiving a light shove from Seokmin.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jihoon,” Jihoon bowed politely, but realised afterwards that it was far too formal of a gesture. He normally greeted people like that, anyway.
“I’m Soonyoung! Wanna play?” Soonyoung asked eagerly, pointing to the game he and Jihoon had just wasted their time and money on - not that Jihoon didn’t enjoy himself, though.
“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into,” Seokmin mirrored Soonyoung’s mischievous expression.
Oh. So that’s why Seokmin felt familiar.
Jihoon stared, nose and face losing feeling as the cold air bit at him, numbing every sense in his body. Seokmin had quickly taken up Soonyoung’s challenge, and the two were deep in concentration, shooting rubber pellets at the impossibly stiff, rabbit-shaped boards.
They were already so comfortable around each other. Within 5 minutes of meeting.
“You could take your own advice, you know.”
Jihoon knew that Soonyoung was a handful. They were polar opposites in almost every way; it was a miracle they managed to understand each other so well. But Soonyoung was exactly what Jihoon needed; while he himself was a more quiet, reserved individual, Soonyoung brought the fun and craziness his life had lacked previously.
But Jihoon never understood why; Soonyoung was so bright and had so many other friends from university to hang out with, yet he almost always stuck with Jihoon. Soonyoung always insisted that they were best friends, and while Jihoon occasionally caved and allowed himself to let go and be crazy just for Soonyoung, he never felt like it was enough.
Why should Soonyoung stay tied down by Jihoon when he could be around people like Seokmin? Seokmin, whose bright smile and enthusiasm matched perfectly with Soonyoung.
He didn’t take his own advice for Wonwoo because he was nothing but a hypocrite.
“Don’t think for too long. You might lose him to someone else.”
But the difference was that Wonwoo’s ‘problem’ actually loved him back. Jihoon envied him.
“You right?” Seungcheol said quietly, hands in pockets and his voice muffled by the thick scarf around his neck. He’d been standing next to Jihoon quietly, observing Soonyoung and Seokmin’s antics with a slightly amused expression.
“Yeah,” Jihoon huffed, breath visible against the dark sky. “How’s Jisoo?”
“He’s fine. Jeonghan just called; told me to bring them back some food to eat,” Seungcheol sighed. “I swear, the things I do for him...”
“The soft spot you have for Jeonghan honestly bothers me,” Jihoon rolled his eyes.
“It’s not a soft spot,” Seungcheol complained, lip jutting out, “It’s fear.”
Jihoon couldn’t help it; he started laughing. His short puffs escaped visibly into the atmosphere, the periodic clouds dissipating as soon as they came out of his mouth.
“You never know what Jeonghan will do to you,” Seungcheol continued, dead serious. “I’m amazed that Jisoo sees past his evil nature.”
“Jisoo’s purity counteracts Jeonghan’s... evil,” Jihoon laughed.
Hearing the two’s conversation, Soonyoung bounded over, Seokmin following behind. He was holding a box with some sort of contraption in it.
“Jihoonie!” Soonyoung exclaimed, waving the box with a grin. “Look what Seokmin won!”
“That’s... nice?” Jihoon wasn’t sure what to say. He grabbed the box from Soonyoung’s hyper grip and inspected it; it was a piece of rubber shaped into a crescent, the ends dented inwards, forming some sort of clip.
“Smile Maker,” Seungcheol peeked over Jihoon. “Stretches the muscles on your lips for a brighter smile...”
Soonyoung snatched the package back and ripped it open with ease. Jihoon looked at him with a horrified expression, anticipating the worst.
“Try it on!” Soonyoung urged, his eyes glinting with amusement. Jihoon started to back away, but Soonyoung was faster.
Seungcheol; the little ; held Jihoon’s arms down while Soonyoung proceeded to shove the rubber contraption, hooking the clips into the sides of Jihoon’s mouth. The crescent shaped mould stretched his mouth into a forced smile that he was sure didn’t look attractive at all.
Jihoon’s eyes watered; from the cold, and from his painfully stretched mouth. And from how beautiful Soonyoung looked while clutching Seokmin in fits of laughter, his breath escaping in small puffs and his eyes scrunching up in the cutest way possible.
Well .
[a/n]
this was meant to be up much earlier but whoops i got distracted ahaha. also i just realised, as of chapter 21 this fic is 100 000 words long!!
i’m actually shook omg i didn’t expect to write this much when i started... im sincerely grateful that you have stuck with me for this long ?!
have a great year ahead everyone<3
-fangirl corner-
im late as usual but
HAPPY BOO DAY!!! no words can describe my love for boo seungkwan ~~ STAN SEUNGKWAN
i hope he’s ok bc he was sick today...?? ;-;
+ ISAC!!! so!! many!! inter!! actions!!
(my multifandom heart is screeching)
SVTS AEROBICS DID YOU GUYS SEE THAT LIKE W T F I AM SHOOOOOOK
seokmin for performance team guYSsssss
jungkook, the newest member of svt^^
jIHOON, JUN AND VERNON DOING ARCHERY (shooting their way thru our hearts, cruel)
SVT WINNING THE 400M RELAY !!
THAT WILL BE ALL GOODBYE
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