“Why are you sitting so far away?” Woohyun asks out of the blue, almost teasingly as a smile creeps up on his face at Sunggyu’s startled expression. 

It hasn't been that long since the incident inside the bathroom. And to say that Woohyun wasn't feeling awkward at all would be a lie, but it was obvious in Sunggyu’s expression that he was starting to feel shy about the kiss. And this amuses the younger boy to a great extent. Amidst the cold facade that the elder was trying to pull, it didn't work on Woohyun. He could see right through Kim Sunggyu. And right now, Woohyun was having the time of his life because teasing the bashful Sunggyu was way too fun. 

“I’m still mad at you.” Sunggyu states with a frown. He crosses his arms across his chest and tries to shoot Woohyun a glare. 

Woohyun wasn't fazed. All he could think about was Sunggyu’s lips on his not too long ago. 

“Shouldn’t I be the one mad at you?”

The question piques Sunggyu’s interest. “What for?” He tilts his head to the side with curiosity. 

This was Woohyun’s chance. “For starters, you kissed me without my permission.”

The look on Sunggyu’s face immediately transitions to surprise. Tints of red start to color Sunggyu’s cheeks, and Woohyun holds in his laughter. Sunggyu opens his mouth, closes it, and then opens it again but no sound ever came out. He didn't know what to say or how to respond. Woohyun grabs this opportunity to fluster Sunggyu some more.

“And then, after that, you kicked me out.”

“H-Hey!” Sunggyu points a finger at him. “For your information, you kissed me back! And I really had to take a shower…”

It was now Woohyun’s turn to blush. He definitely did not expect Sunggyu to attack him like that. There was a pause after Sunggyu’s response. Woohyun didn't exactly know what to say because it was true that he did kiss Sunggyu back. And it felt good.

“But I really am sorry.” Woohyun looks up to meet Sunggyu’s sincere eyes as he spoke. “I don't know what came over me.” The elder averts his gaze to his mattress. He combs his hair up wth his fingers as he releases a sigh. “It’s alright if you're upset at me. I’ll even let you punch me.”

“I’m not upset at you.” Woohyun replies eagerly. “But can I still punch you?”

Sunggyu throws a pillow directly to Woohyun’s face, causing the latter to fall back unto his bed. Sunggyu’s laugh resonates in their small room. Woohyun hasn't heard Sunggyu laugh like that after the day Sunggyu asked him to join the Elude. The sound was heart-warming. Woohyun removes the pillow on top of him, hugs it to his chest, and slowly sits himself back up. The elder had just finished laughing, a half-smile on his face when their eyes connect again. 

“What?” Sunggyu questions after he notices the younger boy staring at him.

“Is it too late to change my mind about joining the Elude?”

-

Sunggyu and Woohyun were walking together over to the cafeteria, side by side, and physically closer than normal. Neither of them minded or even noticed how close they were walking together. Sunggyu was just too happy that Woohyun had finally decided to join him in his plan to escape. He doesn't try to hide his happy emotions anymore as he marches to the cafeteria with the shorter boy on his left, who was too busy talking about cooking pancakes with peanuts, to take notice of the small smile forming on Sunggyu’s face.

“You sure do talk a lot.” Sunggyu says after some time with a smirk of amusement. 

“Huh?” Woohyun slows down his steps as they were nearing the cafeteria. The noisy chatter of the hundreds of men inside gets louder and louder. “Were you even listening?”

Without another word, Sunggyu takes Woohyun’s wrist and pulls him inside the crowded room. They see Hoya waving over to where they were - just a few tables across. Sunggyu releases his grip on his trainee as soon as they reach the table. All five of his friends were there with their meals almost empty. Woohyun wonders if they all know about him joining the Elude. Except for Sungjong, that is. Woohyun is sure that Sungjong was the only one who wasn't in on the plan. He makes a mental note to ask Sunggyu about it later. 

“Looks like someone made up~” Dongwoo teases with a big grin as he looks at the pair who has just arrived. He repeatedly pokes Sunggyu’s soft cheeks, who instantly regrets sitting beside the overly active man. The leader swats Dongwoo’s finger away and grabs Myungsoo’s tray of food because his brother still had a lot of food left. Myungsoo didn't mind. 

Woohyun, on the other hand, didn't have any food on him. He sits up straight to look at the queue in front where they were serving meals. Thankfully, the line wasn't that long. He looks over to Sunggyu, who was occupied with the food he was eating. 

“Not eating, Nam?” Hoya asks with a spoon hanging out of his mouth. Out of nowhere, Sungyeol grabs the spoon and jokingly tries to wipe it on Sungjong’s face. The question directed to Woohyun makes Sunggyu lift his head up, cheeks filled with rice. 

Despite the chaos between Sungyeol, Sungjong, Hoya, and now Myungsoo (because Sungyeol had accidentally smacked the spoon on Myungsoo’s nose) happening between them, Sunggyu never averts his eyes away from Woohyun’s. He sends the latter a knowing look, and Woohyun simply nods as he stands up from his seat. The trainee knew how persistent Sunggyu could get when it came to him and his meals. 

“He must really love food.” Woohyun thinks to himself as he walks over to the line up front. He situates himself at the very back and patiently waits for his turn to be served some food. After filling up his tray a few minutes later, he walks back to their long table only to realize that all of them were already leaving. 

“We’ll get going.” Sungyeol says as he pats a hand on Woohyun’s face. “Enjoy your meal.”

Woohyun rolls his eyes at the taller male and says goodbye to the rest of his friends (except to Hoya who decided to give him a kick on the shin as a goodbye). Wincing in pain, Woohyun sits by himself on the table, expression dark.

“Why the long face?” A familiar voice asks.

Woohyun doesn't realize that Sunggyu was sitting right in front of him. “Oh, you're here.”

“Yeah.” Sunggyu nods as a response. “I’ll wait for you, so take your time.”

Although it was probably nothing, Sunggyu’s words made his heart skip a beat. Woohyun starts to stuff his face with food so Sunggyu wouldn't notice the sheepish smile that was about to form on his face. Suddenly, the look on Sunggyu’s face when they were kissing flashes in his mind again, and Woohyun starts to cough out loud. 

“Yah…” He hears Sunggyu say. “I said take your time, you idiot.” 

A few seconds later, Woohyun’s coughing fit starts to calm down. He swallows the food in his mouth and releases a deep breath. Sunggyu could only stare at him with an entertained smile. 

“I cant believe you're finding this amusing.” The younger boy shakes his head jokingly. “I almost died!”

“You’re overreacting.” Sunggyu snorts. His smile starts to fade as he says, “And you know I’ll never let that happen.”

Woohyun doesn't make it too obvious how much Sunggyu’s words were making him feel, so he stays quiet. The silence between them was a little bit awkward. Sunggyu realizes that he’s been staring too much so he decides to focus his gaze somewhere else besides Woohyun. He notices that people were starting to leave as it was getting late. Curfew was still a few hours away, but the young men in training know how important sleep is. That’s why Myungsoo and the others hurried along their rooms because any amount of sleep that they could get is precious. And although no one loved to sleep more than Kim Sunggyu himself, he didn't mind spending a few of his valuable minutes with the boy in front of him. 

Upon realizing that no one sitting near them was at hearing range, Sunggyu speaks up, “Tomorrow after training, I’ll tell the others about you joining.”

“Oh. About that…” Woohyun puts his utensils down slowly. He catches Sunggyu’s raised brow, waiting for him to continue. “I’m only joining if Sungjong is coming with us.”

“What?” Sunggyu tries not to raise his voice. “That w