When Soonyoung wakes up in the morning, his immediate reaction is to reach for his phone. He wakes up completely and totally on his own, which is something that doesn’t happen often; he’s consistent with setting an alarm, and he’s sure he set his for 9:30. Except, this morning, he wakes up to complete silence, which makes Soonyoung panic.

After glancing at his phone, he realizes he had woken up before his alarm, but only by five minutes. He sighs, not seeing a point of going back to sleep, but doesn’t quite bother with getting up, either. He runs through his notifications, slowly letting his eyes adjust to the sunlit room and the screen in front of his face.

He has a couple of Instagram and Twitter notifications, as well as a few e-mails about school, but other than that, his phone is empty. He double checks his text messages, but still, nothing.

After scrolling through his timelines for ten minutes, he decides to get up and start his day. His schedule is empty; no classes and no work, which means Soonyoung didn’t have to do anything today, but he knows there is still schoolwork to be done. A quiet day at home didn’t seem too bad, at least.

Soonyoung throws a load of laundry into the washer and takes a shower, getting ready for his day. Once he’s finished, he heads back to his bedroom to start working on homework.

It isn’t much tidier than the last time Wonwoo was over, but it’s livable. There weren’t as many clothes everywhere now that he had taken the initiative to do laundry, but his desk still remained cluttered. If he was going to get any work done, he was going to have to clean, which upset him.

As he picked up the trash on the desk, he hears his phone chime from somewhere on his bed. He throws down whatever he has in his hand and quickly throws the comforter off of his unmade bed. He shakes it around a couple of times before his phone slowly falls onto the mattress. He bundles the blanket up at the end of the bed and checks his phone. He doesn’t admit it, but he’s slightly upset it’s only Wonwoo.

Hello good morning have you heard anything from Sugar Daddy ??

Nope, nothing

Well thats unfortunate but at least u werent murdered !!!

Wanna come over then? Mingyu’s been gone all day

Soonyoung hears his stomach growl, but answers Wonwoo quickly.

Yeah, let me eat real quick then i’ll head your way

Sweet see u soon !!!

Soonyoung throws his phone back onto the bed and heads downstairs to make breakfast.

When he enters the room, his mom is sitting at the dining room table, drinking a cup of coffee while reading a book. She turns when she hears Soonyoung’s footsteps, and greets him with a warm smile.

“Good morning, Soonyoung. Did you sleep well?” Soonyoung kisses his mom on the top of the head when he walks by, smiling back.

“I slept fine, thanks.” His mom doesn’t say anything in return, instead, taking her attention back to her book. Soonyoung pours himself a bowl of cereal, and doesn’t waste any time devouring the food. He doesn’t bother to put away the box, knowing very well he was going to have another bowl.

His mom doesnt look up from her book. “Do you have any plans for today?”

He shrugs, finishing his bite before responding, “Not really. Wonwoo invited me over to do some studying.” He scoops up the last bit of cereal and begins to pour himself another bowl. His mom sighs softly.

His parents, of course, have strict rules on when and where he can go, especially with who. They don’t ask any questions if Wonwoo is involved, thankfully. They’ve been friends too long for his parents to care, anymore.

“I hope the two of you are actually going to get something done, just don’t be gone too late. At least, in time for dinner.” Soonyoung nods. “I’ll be home most of the day, if you need anything.

“You’re not working today?” She shakes her head and sets her book down.

“Your father is staying all day, apparently there’s a lot of work to be done that doesn’t concern me much, and there’s no sense in both of us being there.” She doesn’t seem upset about the situation, though. Soonyoung knows she doesn’t enjoy working at the store nearly as much as his dad thinks. It’s always been his business, not really theirs. She doesn’t mind, though. It keeps things simple for her, and gives her more time to spend time with her kids.

Soonyoung’s mother is one of the most loving people he’s ever met. Yes, his parents are strict and set quite a few rules, but they absolutely mean well and Soonyoung knows he’s loved. Following their requests doesn’t particularly bother him, simply because of his mother. While his dad has always been the disciplinary parent, his mother has always been the one to nurture and care for Soonyoung. He has never been made to feel unloved, despite the limitations he’s dealt with his whole life.

Soonyoung finishes up his last bit of cereal and milk and puts everything away. His mom is nose-deep in her book again, but Soonyoung is sure to hug her from behind on his way out.

“Enjoy your book; I’ll see you later.” She bids him goodbye and he makes his way back up to his room to grab his things. He throws his laptop and a few notebooks into his bag, tucks his wallet and phone into his back pocket, and heads to catch the next bus into the city.

The trip into the city is probably one of Soonyoung’s favorite things, especially recently. It’s one of the few times he’s able to spend time fully alone anymore, it seems. All he has to do is shove his earbuds in and he’s able to drown out the world, at least for a while.

It seems to go by quickly, because before he knows it, he’s arrived at his stop. He gets off with a handful of others, but only one of them walks in the same direction as him.

It’s only about a 10 minute walk from the bus stop to Wonwoo’s dorm. There’s quite a few students on campus, as it’s only Friday, and Soonyoung is lucky enough to not have class.

He makes his way through the hallways until he finds himself in front of Wonwoo’s door. He can hear his friend yelling incoherently on the other side, only muffled by the heavy bass of his music. Soonyoung knows knocking isn’t necessary; not that Wonwoo would be able to hear him, anyway.

He opens the