Chapter Text
Wooyoung was 5, ramming his toy trucks into the piles of sand he had built up, trilling his tongue as he revved the toy up. No one played with Wooyoung, he had proven to be quite hostile towards the other kids at the playground, leading them to fear him. Safe to say he was surprised when a girl walked into the sand pit and squatted down. Wooyoung stared at the girl, who only stared back.
“Can I play with you. My dad doesn’t allow me to play with cars cause they’re for boys. I don’t believe him,” the girl says. Wooyoung nibbles on his thumb for a second before nodding. The girl smiles, extending her hand to Wooyoung, “I’m Oh Boreum. What’s your name?” Wooyoung looks to the side, shaking her hand before mumbling, “Kang… Kang Wooyoung…” “Why don’t the other kids play with you?” Wooyoung sighs, “They said mean things about my sister, so I beat them up.” “Okay. Can I play with you though? We can become best bros,” Boreum blinked and tilted her head at Wooyoung.
Wooyoung’s face crumpled in confusion, “Are you not scared of me? The rest of them are.” Boreum frowned and tapped her finger on her lips, “Nah. I heard from the teachers that your sister was really sick and went somewhere far from Earth. So they deserved it.” Wooyoung’s face falls as he is reminded of his sister’s passing. Boreum notices. She crawls over to Wooyoung and hugs him, patting his head and tucking him under her chin. And Wooyoung cries into Boreum’s frilly dress.
Wooyoung and Boreum become best friends, meeting at the playground almost daily. Until Boreum had to move. She stomped to the playground in tears, a basket in hand. Wooyoung had gotten quite a scare seeing his best friend in tears. Wooyoung pushes himself up and hugs Boreum, patting her back with his sandy palms. He knew that she was moving, they both knew. What they didn’t know, was how soon the move would be. Boreum had stayed up the whole night making a basket full of cards, trinkets and toys for Wooyoung, to make sure he never forgot her. The two children sobbed into each other’s t-shirts until a man in a suit came to escort Boreum away. She screamed as he carried her away, kicking and hitting the stoic man.
Wooyoung was devastated for months, barely ate his food and never went to the playground ever again. Little did he know, he would be meeting her very soon, just not in the way he was familiar with.
Middle School
Wooyoung had gotten to school early, shoving his face into his arms as he let time pass. The school bell finally rung and students were beginning to fill the classroom. Classes dragged on and on, minutes feeling like hours. The bell finally rings again and it’s time for lunch. He drags his feet to the cafeteria, basically counting the minutes before he can run off to the gym. While he stands in the queue, a girl with long, and he means LONG, hair and glasses chatting with a boy in a windbreaker with braces and a girl with pink streaks in her hair. He sees her face as she tucks her hair behind her ear and everything goes quiet in his mind.
‘She’s stunning…’ Wooyoung thought. He sees her eyes crinkle up with teethy smile as the boy cracks a joke. She taps the boy’s head gently as she giggles, hand coming up to cover her smile. The boy fumes, “I SWEAR TO YOU ON MY SOUL! I WILL GROW TALLER THAN BOTH OF YOU. WATCH ME!” The shorter of the two girls cackled loudly, “Beom! Suho’s gonna lose his soul! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!” This causes ‘Beom’ to burst into the most beautiful laughter Wooyoung had ever heard. He can’t stop staring, until a person nudges his shoulder, telling him to move. He walks forward and looks up to find ‘Beom’ looking at him, probably because he held up the line, but Wooyoung treasured that moment. The moment that marked the beginning of Wooyoung’s first love.
Wooyoung sets the stack of books down at the library counter and huffs. In the corner of his eye, he sees ‘Beom’ with her head in her arms, her pen starting to roll off the table. Wooyoung speeds to the table and picks the pen up in time, setting it down on her paper. ‘Beom’ doesn’t get up. The sun is already setting, Wooyoung taps her shoulder slowly, watching her hair fall, her eyes blink tiredly as she gets up. Wooyoung bites his lip, “Um, the sun is setting so, I… thought I should wake you up…”
She gasps, “Oh my god thank you so much! I owe you!” Her voice is deeper than most girls their age. Wooyoung is in awe, coughing out, “You don’t owe me anything, I just happened to be here…” ‘Beom’ smiles at him before collecting her things and racing out of the library. Wooyoung’s heart beats out of his chest, slowly sinking to the floor and hugging his knees as the red rose up to his face. He can’t believe that just happened. She actually smiled at him.
“Wow.”
Wooyoung is drying his face after washing it in the basin, before hearing a familiar voice shouting from a few meters away.
“You ARE a real boy Beom!! YOU ARE OH BEOMSEOK! Don’t believe all the bullshit your dad and our teachers say to you. As long as Suho and I are around, we’ll make sure you know that!” The boy in the windbreaker, Suho, nods aggressively.
Beomseok bursts into tears as she, no… He hugs the girl with pink hair and Suho. You may ask, Wooyoung, now that you know your first love is a boy… do you still like him? And his answer would be yes. With no hesitation. He never felt any sort of disgust towards gay people like most people he knew had. They were also people who were simply loving, just not in the way others were used to. As far as Wooyoung was concerned, if he made his heart pound and his face blush, Oh Beomseok was still his crush.
They’re in high school now. Wooyoung still likes Beomseok. So you can imagine his internal reaction the day Beomseok walks into the cafeteria with all his long hair chopped off, a slightly shaggy cut in its place. Beomseok looked amazing, Suho and Youngyi, whose name Wooyoung had learned back in their final year of middle school, were smiling wide and congratulating their friend. Beomseok shyly fixed his glasses and smiled the widest Wooyoung had ever seen, jump starting Wooyoung’s heart and setting a quick pace.
Wooyoung was falling for him all over again. He realised right then and there, that it would be near impossible to get over Beomseok. He had fallen so irreversibly and hard for the boy in glasses who always wore a cardigan and slouched his shoulders. He turned his gaze to see Beomseok’s friends and how they had changed.
Suho had indeed shot up and towered over the two. Wooyoung already knew that because they went to the same gym. But Youngyi had also grown taller and changed her hair. It was shorter and messier with the same pink highlights, but now she had seemed impossibly more confident. Wooyoung didn’t think someone could have such a strong presence before meeting Youngyi. Her laughs were intense and powerful, they never failed to make Beomseok laugh too. Wooyoung liked her for that. Suho was a formidable opponent yet never looked down on Wooyoung, instead treating him to a meal at his part-time job every now and then. Suho was kind to Beomseok and his hugs looked warm. So Wooyoung also likes Suho for that. The main reasons he liked those two were centered around his love. How silly it may sound to others, but it was completely serious to him. He wanted nothing but the best for his love, even if it wasn’t him. So he watched from afar, one day hoping to be good enough for him.
Wooyoung noticed that occasionally, Beomseok would limp into the cafeteria with a grim face. Wooyoung never liked those days. He had no way of knowing why these days happened. He had gotten rid of his bullies a long time ago, beating them to a pulp after witnessing them leaving a heavily injured and weak Beomseok on the dirty ground, tears streaming from his eyes. Of course he never let them go after Beomseok again, let alone tell him that they had been chased away by someone he didn’t even know.
Wooyoung always laid in his bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking. Would Beomseok find it weird? That this lonely boy had been watching him since middle school? That he would watch from the door as he sketched out his paintings in the art room? That he would sit at tables with a clear view of Beomseok during lunch? That the only actual interaction they’ve had was Wooyoung waking him up when it was getting late?
He had fallen in love with someone who didn’t know him. Some even told him he had fallen for an image of Beomseok. He didn’t agree. He hadn’t built any image of who Beomseok was or could be. He just admired Beomseok. His small actions of kindness, his art, how pretty he was and how gentle he was with Suho and Youngyi. He didn’t dare to imagine a life with him. But somewhere deep in his heart, he dearly wished that one day, he would be able to hold the beautiful boy in his arms and let Wooyoung call him ‘his’.
Wooyoung didn’t expect to see Beomseok at the university orientation. He had decided a long time ago that it would be too creepy to try and find out which university Beomseok planned to attend. Maybe it was fate telling him to shoot his shot… So he did. He started by asking Suho who his friends were, how they became friends… what they were like. Suho always answered with a sense of fondness, always speaking the best about them. Wooyoung already knew how gentle Beomseok was, but Suho gave him the knowledge of how truly warmhearted he was. Once again, Wooyoung fell deeper into the ocean that was Oh Beomseok.
Wooyoung began to try harder, asking Suho more about Beomseok and attempting to be obvious about wanting to go on a date with him. But he had overestimated Suho. He took a grand total of zero of his signals. Maybe he hadn’t fully grown despite his height. Maybe the braces he’s had for years were a sign of his immature internal radar. So Wooyoung waited for a better time. And oh did a better time come.
One day Suho comes marching towards him in the gym while he wrapped his hands up for a practice spar. He sighs decently loudly before exclaiming, “Beomseok has been going on a bunch of blind dates and it’s not working out. But… for some reason he took interest in you after seeing you in the café…” Suho averts his gaze and scratches his neck. Beomseok… took interest in him?
“So I’m asking you man, could you go on a blind date with Beom..? It doesn’t need to work out, just go on one date.”
“Okay. I will.”
“I owe you dude.”
Wooyoung can’t lie when he says that he is beyond nervous. Going on a date with his crush since middle school? Pinch him, because this must be a dream. He dressed up in his best clothes, styled his hair and sprayed on his favourite cologne. He had also picked out a bouquet of lilies and daisies in hopes these would woo Beomseok. Taking a deep breath, he pulls the door open with his free hand, spots Beomseok stirring his tea in a booth near the back and mustered up whatever false confidence he had lying around.
“Hi! Suho told me you were interested in me huh?” There is no way Wooyoung just said that. He totally fumbled that. He’s about to apologise until he notices how red Beomseok’s ears had gotten. That’s slightly concerning… but also… affirming?
“Uhm… Hello? Beomseok-ssi? Are you okay?” “YES! Yes I’m fine Wooyoung-ssi… Sorry…”
The next sentence that escaped his mouth was not his fault.
“It’s okay, you’re really cute you know? And really, really pretty…” Crap. He was done for now. But once again he’s shocked by how red Beomseok had gotten.
“Wha- WHAT?”
Wooyoung must’ve been bright red with how warm his cheeks had gotten, murmuring just loud enough for Beomseok to hear, “You’re really pretty… I’ve actually been trying to get Suho to introduce us… I’ve been your fan since the school film festival… I also brought these for you.” He reveals the bouquet and gives it to Beomseok. He can see Beomseok gulp as he takes the bouquet. Did he mess up? Were these not flowers he liked? Wooyoung was trying his best not to show his internal panic. Okay, you can do this Wooyoung.
“Do you want to leave this place? I’d like to get to know you more on a walk Beomseok-ssi, and also get ice cream and possibly… your number?” He nervously asks.
He hears Beomseok whisper out, “Score…” Wooyoung can’t help but smile, Beomseok was just too cute. He giggles warmly, “I’ll take that as a yes.” Wooyoung extends his hand to Beomseok in hopes that the other will take it. He lightly places his hand on Wooyoung’s and Wooyoung guides them away.
Beomseok, once again, was just too cute. He was licking the ice cream Wooyoung had gotten him, getting some over his mouth. Without thinking, Wooyoung reaches over, “Oh here, you got some on your-“ Wiping the cream off with his thumb and licking the excess off. Beomseok lets out the tiniest gasp and hides his face into his coat, his ears growing redder by the second. Wooyoung couldn’t help but smile at the man, gazing at Beomseok who he had yearned for all these years. As Beomseok looks back up, he lets out another tiny gasp. Wooyoung can’t help but say it.
“Is it too soon to say I want to kiss you Beomseok-ssi? Only if you let me of course.”
“If you don’t kiss me right now I’m leaving Wooyoung-sii.”
That’s all the confirmation Wooyoung needs before shifting closer and leaning into Beomseok, finally getting a taste of the apple of his eye. It didn’t feel like those cheesy romance novels that spoke of fireworks. It felt warm and sparkly, like coming home on Christmas. It felt right. Wooyoung could never have been more glad that he had waited all these years for Beomseok, because it was all worth it.
The days to come with Beomseok as his boyfriend… HIS boyfriend… were the best Wooyoung had in a long time. Comfy hugs and sharing Pocky while watching sitcoms, holding hands under tables, watching Beomseok during his online sign language lessons and getting to kiss him.
“Woo, do you have any pics of what you looked like as a kid?” Beomseok slung his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulder while Wooyoung typed on his laptop. He blinks a few times before unlocking his phone and scrolling for a few seconds before flashing the screen to Beomseok. There scrawny 5 year old Wooyoung was, legs covered in sand and his hands holding up peace signs. There’s a girl next to him in the picture who Beomseok finds all too familiar.
“Woo. How did you know that girl…”
“Oh.. Boreum? She was my best friend until she moved away right before graduation… I still don’t know where she is. I was miserable after she left, Boreum was the only person who wanted to be my friend. I beat up a bunch of kids after they said mean shit about my sister…” Wooyoung trailed off as he gave Beomseok a sad smile.
“That’s me Woo. I’m Boreum. At least… I used to be,” Beomseok whispered. Wooyoung froze.
What?
Wooyoung zooms in on the picture, eyes raking over Boreum and her teethy smile in another one of her frilly dresses she said her dad forced her to wear. His head whips up to meet Beomseok’s eyes as he tears up.
“Really? You’re not lying are you… Please don’t lie about this.”
Beomseok nods aggressively as Wooyoung drops his phone to the carpetted floor and embraces his boyfriend, tears staining Beomseok’s cardigan. Wooyoung sobs and sobs as Beomseok pats his head and rubs his back, nuzzling his face into Wooyoung’s hair. He cries, “I still have that basket you gave me, every single card and toy you gave me is still in my room… I kept hoping to see you again one day and we could play in the sandpit again. I never, I never thought that-“
“I’m here now Woowoo, I’m here,” Beomseok mumbles out his old nickname for Wooyoung.
“Okay so let me get this straight. You have liked Beom since middle school BUT you guys were actually best friends in PRESCHOOL but didn’t recognise each other until you showed a picture of when you were little?? That’s some crazy destiny shit right there dude!” Suho exclaimed. “WAIT… WHEN DID YOU START LIKING BEOM???”
“He had really really long hair at that time and you were the shortest of the trio back then. You were shouting about growing taller than both of them one day and he and his laugh were just, really pretty. Funny that you actually grew taller, shame you still have those braces,” Wooyoung bit his tongue to contain his laughter when Suho’s jaw dropped. He shrieked, “I ONLY STILL HAVE THEM ON BECAUSE MY TEETH WERE REALLY REALLY FUCKED UP! I’M GETTING MY RETAINERS THIS MONTH!” The room bursts into laughter, even Sieun was laughing so hard his face was bright red.
“I’M GONNA WATCH HIS ORTHO SAY ANOTHER GAP OPENED UP FOR THE NTH TIME AND SEE HIS FACE FALL,” Youngyi cackles as she points at the fallen Suho. Sieun doubles over and nearly falls off his chair from his hysterical laughter. Suho shakes Sieun’s shoulders, “YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE ON MY SIDE????”
Beomseok smiles to himself, entwining his and Wooyoung’s hands as Wooyoung plants a kiss into his wavey hair. Beomseok snuggles his head on Wooyoung’s shoulder as they watch their friends laugh. Wooyoung hopes life will continue to be filled with these moments of happiness, and so does Beomseok.