"Are you guys dating?"

Woozi looks up from his phone. "What are you talking about, Chan?"

"You and Wonwoo. You guys have been attached at the hips since we started the road trip." Chan glares in the direction of his senior, fighting to see the man in the bright morning sun.

Woozi pockets his phone and pulls off his sunglasses. Making sure there's not much smudges on the lenses, he puts them back on. "No, we're not. We're just..." He's trying to find the word for the kind of relationship he and Wonwoo have, but nothing comes up, so he settles with, "... very close friends?" He didn't plan for it to sound like a question, but it's too late anyway.

Chan hums, and Woozi knows he's not totally convinced.

They stay silent standing in the parking lot, looking at their two friends coming out from the hotel lobby. And Woozi, typical Woozi, immediately directs his gaze on the tall lanky man who is slowly making his way towards him and Chan.

They have been friends for 3 years. The first time they met was at a senior's house. The music was too loud for Woozi, and since he wasn't technically legal at that point, he just skipped the booze and focused on filling his stomach with free pizza and all kinds of snacks Seungcheol had laid out on the table. He had only been at the university for a week, and the only people he knew at the party were his roommate Soonyoung and his hometown neighbor Seungcheol. He had a chance to talk to the older's roommates, Jeonghan and Joshua, and they had introduced him to other people, some of whom he had seen in his classes. Apparently all of them were from the same engineering department.

He was still enjoying his third pizza slice when he felt the other end of the couch dipped with a new weight. He turned his head and saw the other person with what seemed like a mountain of snacks. The guy noticed Woozi staring and smile unabashed. "They're out of pizza and Joshua had just ordered more Chinese food," the guy offered without prompting.

Woozi had seen him in some of his classes earlier, but could not, for the life of him, remember the guy's name. Luckily, he didn't need to do much as the guy extended his hand to Woozi. "I'm Wonwoo. We have Chemistry and PE class together. You're Woozi, right?"

That's how they started being friends. Before long, Woozi learned that Wonwoo wasn't only smart, he's 4-flat-for-every-semester smart. They had most of their classes together, and spent most nights studying in the library till closing time. Even though Wonwoo's apartment was closer than Woozi's, he still insisted on walking all the way to Woozi's dorm under the pretense of going to get snacks at the grocery store where their classmate, Minghao, worked.

"You know that he has only walked you home, right? Soonyoung asked him to walk together the other night, even offered to buy him a weekend's worth of snacks, and Wonwoo just laughed in his face," Minghao talked to him over the counter while checking his items out. Woozi could only roll his eyes.

"I never asked him to walk all the way here. It's his choice." Woozi had argued countless times with Wonwoo that he won't be attacked by bears if he walked alone, but that man was just so stubborn.

Woozi is not dumb, and he certainly is not oblivious to the way they have been dancing around each other. Small touches here, flirty remarks there. Inside jokes that only the two of them are privy to. He knows how they might look to other people. And it's not like he never considered the possibility of them being together.

He had. It just never really mounted to anything.

"What's got you looking like that in this glorious morning?" Woozi will never admit it out loud, but he will never not enjoy hearing that deep voice so close to his ear. But he cannot show that to Wonwoo now, so he frowns deep, which just makes the taller man laugh and puts his two hands up as a sign of surrender. His smile still lingers as he wraps his arm around Woozi's shoulder, and Woozi had to put his 100% focus to stop himself from shuddering. Or melting. He doesn't really know.

They load their bags in the trunk of the rented car, and get themselves ready for their next journey. It's Wonwoo's turn to drive for the day with Mingyu riding shotgun. Woozi sits himself on the passenger side at the backseat, and he got himself a full view of Wonwoo's profile. He's extremely good looking, with his sharp nose, high cheek bones, full lower lips and super round glasses for his poor eyesight. It's easy to be attracted to his face. It's much easier to keep staring, if not for the insistent poking in his ribs by his fellow backseat passenger. He loves Chan, but at times like this he really wishes he could strangle the kid and wipe the smirk off his face.

Woozi rolls his eyes (he finds it somewhat disturbing how many times he has rolled his eyes in this exact manner ever since they started this road trip), and throws his gaze outside. Nothing much to see, but it helps take his mind off Wonwoo.

Or so he thought.

The thing about his friendship with Wonwoo is, it has been easy. They are both introverted people who choose each other's company. It's easy to talk to him about school. Wonwoo is always there to remind him to complete his assignment, finish his projects, study for his exams, prepare for his quizzes, take a deep breath when he's on the verge of breaking down from having to do all of those things within the same week. Spending time together does not always mean they need to talk all the time. Not like it is hard to get them both talking when they are alone, anyway.

And Chan wasn't the first person to be asking this question. Woozi remembers the first Physics 1 lab where he was partnered with Wonwoo. They were sat two people at a table, and Woozi couldn't help but notice the guys in front of him - Vernon and Seungkwan - kept looking at him and Wonwoo, and they were pushing at each other while continuously bickering between themselves. It wasn't until one of the guys, Woozi couldn't remember who, called out to him and Wonwoo to ask for help with one of the questions that the TA has posed for them to solve. Woozi let Wonwoo took the question and explained what needs to be done. The next question from Vernon wasn't something either of them had expected, though.

"Sorry to ask this, but are you guys a couple?"

At this point Woozi had only known Wonwoo for one semester, and that question left both of them speechless. They looked at each other and Woozi knew Wonwoo was thinking the same, do they really look like a couple?

Seungkwan must have seen the look of confusion on the two faces, and he just blurted out, "There's nothing wrong if you two are, or are not. We just thought you guys look so sweet that we assumed you guys are together. We've seen other couples who are not as together," air quote,"as you guys. Sorry if we made you uncomfortable."

From then on, Woozi had started to learn to deal with that situation. The owner of the grocery store where Minghao works at, the waiter at the diner where Woozi and Wonwoo eat every Thursday, their seniors, their juniors, their friends from other schools, even their parents. They all have the same question, and Woozi or Wonwoo will always tell them the same answer.

That they are just close friends.

Towards the summer of sophomore year, Soonyoung had announced that he'll be moving in with his girlfriend. Woozi was fine with it, and he had heard that Jun and DK were looking for a third roommate, so he approached them. They were bewildered and confused by Woozi's request, and DK looked so ready to fight when Jun gently asked Woozi, "Is everything alright with you and Wonwoo?"

It took him a while to finally understood what Jun was asking, and at that point he could no longer hold his laughter in. Jun and DK looked alarmed, and that triggered another bout of laughter from Woozi.

"Guys, I'm fine. Wonwoo is rooming with Mingyu, and I heard you guys are looking for another roommate. Since my lease is up and Soonyoung is also moving out, I thought it's best for me to room with you guys." He wiped a stray tear at the corner of his eyes. "And before you guys ask, no, Wonwoo and I are not dating so he can room with whoever he wants."

Woozi will never get tired of the reactions he gets when he tells them that he is definitely not dating Wonwoo.

They stop for lunch before continuing their drive, and by the time they get to Santa Monica it is already dark. They eat their pizza and Mingyu and Chan walk off somewhere, leaving Woozi with Wonwoo.

"You know, Chan was asking about us earlier." Woozi wipes the grease off his fingers and chug the remaining of his beer. "He asked if we were dating."

Woozi doesn't know what is so different about the question this time. He usually finds it funny, but this time it got him thinking. And the entire day, Woozi has tried to find the answer to why this bothers him this much.

There's still nothing from Wonwoo, but Woozi knows he has been listening, so he continues, "I told him no."

He takes a new bottle of drinking water, and sips the water slowly.

"I've never really asked you this, but has it ever bothered you before? When people keep asking about us dating?"

He's ready for Wonwoo to laugh it off, like he usually does when they share stories of being asked the question.

But he's not ready for Wonwoo's reply, "All the time."

He whips his head so fast he can hear his neck cracking, and in the dim light he can see Wonwoo staring at him, a soft smile on his face. Woozi feels an apology slipping out his mouth, before Wonwoo holds up a hand to stop him.

"It bothers me when I have to say no."