Work Text:
"So remind me why you hate him so much?" Jeonghan asks as he spears a piece of lettuce with his fork, frowning with disdain down at the salad Minghao had prepared for him. "Junhui is literally the nicest person to ever exist. Like, nicer than Jisoo even."
Wonwoo looks up from his book, then takes a bite out of his sandwich, pointedly ignoring the older man as he continues with his lunch. Though quite honestly, just the mere mention of Junhui's name is quickly making Wonwoo lose his appetite. Jeonghan notices the way he hesitates to take another bite of his sandwich then smirks a little evilly as Wonwoo sets it down on a napkin in front of him.
If Jeonghan is going to hate his lunch, then Wonwoo will too.
Wonwoo goes back to reading and does his best to ignore the weird twisting knots in his stomach as it strangely gurgles and rumbles loudly. He only looks up again when Jeonghan offers him the majority of his salad, eyes set on Wonwoo's sandwich. Wonwoo takes it, pushing his sandwich forward and then they begin eating again, the light salad making it easy for Wonwoo to continue his lunch.
"Tell me why you hate Jun so much," Jeonghan pipes up seemingly out of the blue, his eyes set on Wonwoo to not miss a single movement.
"Eat your food," Wonwoo says instead, lifting another forkful of the lovingly made salad Minghao had prepared for his idiot, long-haired boyfriend sat across from him. "I don't know why you won't eat this by the way. Minghao is a genius in the kitchen and even a simple salad tastes like something you'd find in a restaurant. You're insulting his art by not eating the lunches he makes you."
Jeonghan scoffs and flicks his fingers at Wonwoo’s wrist, smiling wide because he knows full well that Wonwoo’s wrists easily bruise. “Don’t change the subject. We're talking about you and Junhui right now, or the lack of you and Junhui I should say.”
Wonwoo sighs and ducks his head, biting into the salad slowly now. “Why do you always ask me about him when I’m trying to relax? I have an exam in like an hour and you’re here, being a dick to me.”
“I just don't understand why you claim to hate Junhui so much!” Jeonghan whines, propping his head upon his hand as he stares unamusedly at Wonwoo. “Junhui is super nice, super cute and I bet you're just super jealous because he dated Mingyu first.”
“Mingyu and I broke up two years ago, get over it,” Wonwoo mumbles. “I hate him because he’s a self-pretentious prick, always acting like he's better than everyone just because he's a child actor. I bet he wasn't even that good in the roles he played!”
Jeonghan tsks at him, taking another bite of Wonwoo’s sandwich before he speaks again. “He wouldn't have gotten any of those roles if he wasn't good. If you haven't even seen one of his movies, then shut up about his acting. Just because you’re used to being the lead role in school plays doesn't mean you shit on someone who you've never even given a chance to.”
Wonwoo remains silent, quietly fuming as he ponders over when exactly Jeonghan betrayed him and took Junhui's side.
(Though if Wonwoo’s honest with himself, he’s being an asshole to Junhui for something most wouldn't consider as a solid reason.)
Jeonghan takes another bite of the sandwich as he watches Wonwoo and when he speaks again, Wonwoo wishes he hadn’t. “You know, I bet it's not even jealousy about him getting the lead role. I bet it's just you thinking he’s hot but being too bitter about him upstaging you to actually pursue him and now you bemoan his entire existence to anyone who gives you the chance.”
Wonwoo hunches into himself, avoiding Jeonghan’s sharp gaze. “Shut up.”
“No, you shut up and get over yourself,” Jeonghan replies immediately. “You’re being a dick to someone who literally cries when a bug is stepped on in front of him. Your complaining about Junhui is getting really annoying."
“And, if I’m going to be really honest with you Wonwoo, Junhui's stage presence exceeds yours by miles,” Jeonghan adds on when Wonwoo hasn’t said anything, smiling again as Wonwoo gapes at him. "Don't give me that look. It's true. Ask the cast, they'll give you essays on why Junhui got the lead role and you didn't."
Wonwoo looks back down at his salad and forces himself to eat the rest of it, sweeping his books back into his bag as he stands. Jeonghan tilts his head up to watch him leave, smiling again when Wonwoo rolls his eyes at him.
"Tomorrow, I'm gonna have lunch with Soonyoung," Wonwoo mumbles as he pushes the bowl and fork Jeonghan's salad had come with back towards his side of the table. "At least he doesn't try to shove Junhui down my throat."
Jeonghan smirks, turning at the waist to watch Wonwoo as he leaves. It's only until Wonwoo has reached the next table that Jeonghan speaks up.
"We both know that you want something of Junhui's down your throat!"
Wonwoo groans and rushes out of the cafeteria, doing his best to ignore the fact that as he rushes past the doors, Junhui is entering. They share a moment of eye contact and then Wonwoo pushes past him, his face flushing red as Junhui stares after him with confusion splashed across his pretty face.
"So, you're coming right?" Soonyoung asks him the next day during the one hour Wonwoo always finds himself at the library.
Wonwoo debates looking up from his laptop but then decides against it when he realizes that he has no energy for whatever Soonyoung is trying to talk him into. So he keeps typing, his eyes starting to water a little and he forcefully dims the brightness of his screen to help appease the irritation of his eyes. Soonyoung is pouting at him from across the table and the only reason Wonwoo knows this is because he's known Soonyoung since they were in diapers and he knows about all of his little quirks and habits by now after twenty-two years.
"Hey, Wonu-ya, please tell me you're coming," Soonyoung tries again when Wonwoo only continues to ignore him. "You're coming to the drama party tonight right?"
"Party?" Wonwoo asks, one brow rising in question. "I didn't hear anything about a party tonight."
"Probably because you never leave that fucking cave of your dorm room, you nerd. Your nose is literally buried in books," Soonyoung scoffs, reaching across the table to shake Wonwoo's arm. "Come on. It'll be fun. Everyone's going to be there. I heard even Namjoon will make an appearance."
Wonwoo frowns at his essay but continues to type. "Won't Junhui be there too? You know I hate him. Why would I want to spend my Friday night looking at his annoying face?"
It takes Wonwoo a full minute to realize that Soonyoung has gone completely silent and once he has, he looks up in concern. For as long as he's known the dancer, Soonyoung has almost never been stunned into silence for such a long period of time and it's pretty disconcerting knowing that he managed to do that to his closest and longest friend.
"Soon?" Wonwoo asks as he peers up into Soonyoung's face.
Soonyoung shakes his head in a small motion, his eyes unblinking as he meets Wonwoo's gaze and if Wonwoo didn't know any better, he'd say that the look in Soonyoung's eyes is disappointment. Soonyoung only shakes his head again, the blankness of his expression disappearing quickly as a frown takes its place.
"Wait, you're still on about that?" Soonyoung asks, his voice strangled.
"On about what?"
"Claiming you hate Junhui, of all people," Soonyoung explains, rolling his eyes in an amazing imitation of Jihoon. "We both know it's impossible to hate that guy. He's like a rainbow personified ー and no, that's not meant as a crack about him being gay, that's completely separate."
Wonwoo doesn't know what else to do except to just nod dumbly, itching to get back to his essay again. Soonyoung's eyes practically bulge out of their sockets and Wonwoo has to fight back the urge to laugh at his best friend and his ridiculous antics.
But Soonyoung isn't done talking and Wonwoo feels like his ears are ringing. "You're just saying you hate him because, deep down, you want to fuck him, aren't you? Yeah, that's gotta be it. I mean, you said the exact same thing about Mingyu and yet I find you and him sucking each other's faces off a mere week later and then you dated for like four months before Jihoon swept in and stole him from you. So don't give me that 'I'm serious' face right now because I know you better than you know yourself and you're just saying all of this because you're in denial. You can't hide shit from me, Jeon."
Wonwoo sighs and lets his head fall into his hands as Soonyoung crosses his arms over his chest and nods his head as if he just solved the toughest case yet and there was nothing left to be said. He's too tired to really argue against anything at the moment and so Wonwoo nods back, grimacing when a triumphant smile lights up Soonyoung's face.
Soonyoung fist pumps the air and Wonwoo pretends that he doesn't know who he is when the other students in the library look at Soonyoung curiously.
Admittedly, the first time Wonwoo and Junhui met hadn't actually been such a grand event.
Junhui was lost and asked Wonwoo for directions towards the theatre building and Wonwoo had smiled politely, took out his other earbud and pointed the handsome man in the right direction.
Other than the fact that he was gorgeous and practically drool-worthy, Wonwoo didn't think anything else about Junhui until he turned to the side and Wonwoo got a glimpse of his designer bag and matching jeans. Just that very morning, Minghao had shown him pictures of those exact same jeans and bag on his phone and sighed in longing, which was the only reason Wonwoo even knew they were designer.
And just as Wonwoo had registered that, other things began to jump out at him too.
Like the way Junhui had his chin tilted up so he was quite literally looking down his nose at Wonwoo. The proud line of his nose making him look haughty and how he didn't even thank Wonwoo for helping him out once he'd spotted the big theatre building.
Wonwoo watched him run off with a strong flash of annoyance flaring up in his chest and he's never let it go since then.
Even when Junhui turned back around after running a few steps ahead and yelled something that Wonwoo couldn't hear because he'd put both of his earbuds back in.
He'd turned his back on Junhui and let the annoyance build into dislike that then festered into the hate he holds for Junhui now.
As soon as Wonwoo returns to his dorm room, Jisoo is waiting to ambush him.
Wonwoo sighs and slowly removes his shoes at the door, throwing his backpack onto his desk chair before he collapses into the sweet, soft cradle of his bed. Jisoo sits with his back straight and arms crossed as he sits on the edge of his own bed across from Wonwoo's and today just really isn't his day.
"There's a drama club party tonight and we're going," is Jisoo's terse greeting.
Wonwoo rolls onto his stomach and buries his face in his sheets, murmuring a muffled groan where Jisoo can still probably hear him. Jisoo's expression only closes off even more and Wonwoo decides that he's only ever going to leave his dorm for classes, the library, and food from now on.
Maybe showers too, but he can live without those for a while. Or a week at least because Jisoo sends him the death glare whenever he leaves dishes or cups around so if he didn't shower for a week, Jisoo would definitely kill him in his sleep then get Jeonghan to help him dispose of the body afterward.
Point is, Jisoo is evil and Wonwoo needs to sleep with one eye open from now on.
"Did you hear me?" Jisoo tries again.
Wonwoo nods into his bedspread then lifts himself up onto his elbows and squints at the elder. "Why are you going? You're not even in the drama club, to begin with."
Jisoo smirks from his perch and raises both of his brows as if in a challenge. "I'm your plus one. So, we're going. You're not gonna keep me from Soonyoung's ridiculous drunk dancing any further."
"I'm saving you the trouble, believe me," Wonwoo mutters with a groan, raising his own brows right back.
"Yeah, but a drunk Soonyoung? I need to film that for blackmail. It's not fair that Jeonghan has literally hours of footage of that. I need my own as well," Jisoo sniffs, falling back onto his bed when Wonwoo laughs and smiles at him. "I'll be there so you won't be totally bored out of your mind. It'll be fun."
Wonwoo's laugh immediately dies as he thinks of who else will be there and Jisoo stands up, making his way over to Wonwoo's side of the room. "What? You only make that face when... Wait, don't tell meー"
"Junhui's going to be there too," Wonwoo whines as he falls back into the mattress, the rest of his groan muffled by the material under him.
Jisoo sighs and pulls on his hair, clicking his tongue when Wonwoo slaps his hand away. "Suck it up, brat. Everyone knows that you only say you hate him 'cause you wanna suck his dick."
Wonwoo sputters, kicking his legs out in the hopes of landing a blow on Jisoo's slender form, but Jisoo is too stupid to remain so close after saying something like that. "Shut up. You don't know anything."
"Listen, the fact of the matter is that you said the exact. Same. Thing before you dated Mingyu. You griped about how his mere existence grated at your life and then you ended up drunk and making out with him. Don't give me that bullshit about you hating Junhui again. It's annoying having to listen to you get so worked up over someone who's literally the nicest person alive. He's nicer than me!" Jisoo yells, stomping over to his desk dramatically as he does. "I seriously have no idea how you can even dislike him in the first place."
"You are not nice," Wonwoo spits out, pushing himself back onto his elbows again to glare at Jisoo. "And he's a stuck-up rich kid. That's why I don't like him."
"I am nice!" Jisoo shouts back, then backtracks as Wonwoo opens his mouth to respond. "Okay, so not all of the time, but I am nice. Ask anyone."
"You're only nice to them because you don't have to share a room with them for three years," Wonwoo points out and then laughs when Jisoo flushes a dark red.
"You're a dick. I'm surprised Junhui doesn't hate you back, considering the way you treat him ー especially when we all get together as a group. You're a right ass, you know that?" Jisoo asks, tilting his head curiously to the side as Wonwoo blinks up at him. "Of course you know that. If you're the biggest asshole to anybody, it's to yourself. Am I right?"
Jisoo ducks as Wonwoo chucks his pillow at him and then laughs as he picks it up, dusting the pillow off as Wonwoo readies himself to throw his other one. "Hope you know you're not getting this back. So unless you want to sleep without pillows, I recommend that you drop that one."
Wonwoo sighs and lets the pillow fall back onto the head of his bed and Jisoo smiles triumphantly. "See? That wasn't so hard. Now go shower. We have to be at a party in three hours."
"Sometimes, I think you're Satan himself," Wonwoo groans as he rises from the bed, wrestling his other pillow out of Jisoo's hands for a brief moment before he eventually gives up and turns to find his clothes for tonight.
"Yeah, I love you too, brat," Jisoo shoots back as he throws Wonwoo's lost pillow onto his bed and starts digging through his dresser for something to wear. "And none of that 'I-hate-Junhui-so-much' crap when we get there. You hear me?"
Wonwoo rolls his eyes but nods because Jisoo might be skinnier than him and looks like he couldn't ever possibly hurt a fly, but he is more than capable of kicking Wonwoo's ass anytime he wants and Wonwoo would very much like to keep his ass unkicked, thank you very much.
Of the few times that Wonwoo has actually held a conversation with Junhui, he can admit to the fact that Junhui doesn't make an effort in being haughty.
If anything, Junhui has been polite and kind of quiet, his mouth barely moving to form his words. Not like Wonwoo has watched Junhui's mouth as he speaks! That would be ridiculous.
But the moles that surround Junhui's mouth are pretty cute in a non-asshole way that anyone, even Wonwoo, can appreciate. One is near his cupid's bow while the other strays towards where his upper and bottom lip meet and can sometimes be confused as a dimple of some sort. If you look hard enough though, you can tell that they're moles.
And they're cute, but Wonwoo has only gotten the chance to stare at them up-close once in his life because Junhui tends to cover them up with makeup.
Wonwoo doesn't understand why, but he's also uninclined to ask about the reasons behind it either since he and Junhui are sworn enemies. Or, two people who hate each other. Or ー as Jisoo put it ー someone Wonwoo hates because he wants a reason to not fall for them and then get hurt when it doesn't work out.
Wonwoo doesn't agree with Jisoo, but there's some validity to the statement and it's still pretty hard to hang out with Mingyu like he used to back when they were on better terms. Not to mention that Jihoon still gives him a wide berth whenever they're in the same area and while Wonwoo's heart throbs painfully in his chest because he and Jihoon also used to be really good friends, he understands that there are certain social situations that Jihoon refuses to deal with.
So Wonwoo gets that, he really does, he's just aching is all.
Plus, Junhui doesn't actually hate Wonwoo ー he's probably terrified of Wonwoo for always glaring at him, but Junhui has never said anything, so Wonwoo doesn't know ー Wonwoo is the one who hates Junhui. Everyone knows it. The entire drama club has been giving him shit for his attitude directed towards Junhui for months now it seems. He's always the butt of the joke and whenever he enters the auditorium after Junhui has already arrived, everyone always falls startlingly quiet.
It's annoying and makes Wonwoo feel pretty excluded, but he gets it. If someone didn't like his friend, someone he thought could do no wrong, he too would also avoid that person.
So again, it's understandable. He's simply aching with the unfairness of it all and fed up with how everyone buys into Junhui's act.
He'll prove them all wrong somehow at least.
Wonwoo had sworn to himself that he wouldn't drink at this lame party.
He'd sworn he wouldn't (and he had also sworn to Jisoo), but as soon as he saw Junhui walk in with Minghao and Seungkwan trailing after him, Wonwoo decided that he needed a drink.
Or many drinks as it turned out, because, after his fifth, Wonwoo can't actually remember how many he's had. All he knows is that Junhui is hovering at his shoulder, keeping him upright while Jeonghan and Jisoo go bright red in the face, angry at how shitfaced Wonwoo is. They're both probably yelling something, something that Wonwoo's intoxicated mind doesn't understand, but all that registers in his head is the warm hand on the small of his back. The shoulder pressing into his back to keep him upright.
The only reason Wonwoo even knows it's Junhui behind him is because of the cologne he's wearing. Only Junhui douses himself in Chanel No. 5 like some pretentious, rich asshole.
Which he is, unlike what the vast majority might think. Who cares if he's Minghao's childhood best friend? Junhui's still a dick in Wonwoo's opinion.
A rich dick who surprisingly smells nice.
Junhui is rich, true, but Wonwoo's not actually sure that he's pretentious or an asshole. For all the glares they've exchanged, Junhui has never actually glared back at him. It's been more of just confusion and a little bit of fear in his eyes really and now Wonwoo feels like a right ass, but right now, he can't think about that. All he can think about is the fact that Junhui is taking him somewhere and Wonwoo kind of wishes he'd been nicer to Jeonghan and Jisoo since he's sure that they would help Junhui hide his dead body and get away with murder by this point.
The sounds of the party quickly fade and Chanel No. 5 guides Wonwoo through the quiet streets around campus. Eventually, Wonwoo begins to recognize a few landmarks and pushes himself into gear, leading the way towards the dorms. They arrive quickly and Wonwoo doesn't question the hand that is now suddenly holding his or the hand that holds the door open for him.
Wonwoo stumbles into the building and giggles like a fool when he almost trips. Gentle hands catch him and pull him upright again before Wonwoo regains himself and leads the way to his room, his muddled brain able to pick up the trail easily from the many times he's taken it before. The warmth behind him is calming now in the dull hallways and when Wonwoo digs his keys out, a hand reaches out to take them, quickly unlocking his door before handing his keys back to him.
Then he's being ushered inside and before Wonwoo's head can catch up to what he's doing, he's tugging on the warm hands and drawing them close until the scent of Chanel No. 5 permeates the air around him. Wonwoo closes the door and presses the warm body against it, clumsily finding the heart-shaped lips he's been thinking about for months. His tongue reaches out to caress the places he knows lip moles will be, but before anything more can happen, Junhui is pushing Wonwoo away and whispering something that he doesn't understand. Wonwoo blinks and it's suddenly too hot and the room is spinning.
Hands grab his face then, but the familiar brown eyes Wonwoo expects to meet are too blurry and he forces his own to close before his stomach decides to chuck up his dinner.
Wonwoo is guided towards a bed where he takes off his own shirt before snuggling under the covers and the last thing he can remember is a soft voice singing something in a language he doesn't understand while fingers run through his hair.
The first thing Wonwoo think when he wakes up is I'm dying.
The second is something along the lines of What the fuck happened?
And then, of course, that's when his existential crisis begins and Wonwoo pushes himself up to get a view of the room he's found himself in while his head spins dangerously.
His dorm. That's good.
He looks down and lets out a sigh of relief that somehow rattles in his lungs.
His own bed. That's great.
Wonwoo's ears then pick up on the soft snores from the opposite side of the room and he looks over to find Jisoo curled up in his own bed, snuggling the teddy bear that they both pretend Jisoo doesn't have.
No unexpected guests. Even better.
Wonwoo sighs and buries his face in his pillow, groaning softly into it when his temples throb painfully. His mouth is dry and his ears are ringing, but thankfully their curtain is drawn so the only light in their dorm is that from their alarm clocks and the sunlight creeping in from the edges of their curtain. His mouth tastes like something died in it though and his stomach is rumbling with either hunger or the urge to vomit, he's unsure about which.
Just how shit-faced did he get last night? And when exactly did he get home becaーactually, who even brought him back? The last Wonwoo remembers is Jeonghan and Jisoo yelling at him while someone helped him stand and then flickers of images here and there. Most are of the walk home, trees, a few stoplights, but through it all, there's the warmth on his lower back, more warmth curled around his hand, and the lingering scent of Chanel No. 5.
Oh no.
Did heー?
"Fuck!" Wonwoo groans aloud then winces as he instantly regrets it.
"Shut up," Jisoo mumbles from the other side of the room, turning so his back is now facing Wonwoo. "Just because you finally realized you like Junhui doesn't mean you have to be so loud about it."
Wonwoo falls back into his pillows and groans again, unbelieving of the sluggish memories that are now making an appearance. "I don't know what you're talking about."
More shuffling from Jisoo's side of the room can be heard and Wonwoo tries his best to melt into his mattress until he's nothing but a puddle that will never have to face another day with Junhui's face in it. "You made out with him last night. He told me before he left."
"He brought me here!" Wonwoo shoots up out of bed, almost toppling over the edge before he catches himself and stays very still less in case his stomach decides it's rumbling is due to an urge of vomiting instead of hunger. "We kissed?"
Jisoo laughs gently, then shifts in bed again until Wonwoo can hear him getting out of it. "You kissed him actually. Jun thought it was necessary to tell me in case you tried making out with me while you slept too. Though, I could tell he wasn't really all the upset by it so my theory has been proven correct once again. Jeonghan owes me some money."
"You bet on this?" Wonwoo asks, pushing himself until his back has met the wall and stays there as he pins Jisoo with his eyes. "I barely remember anything except that he played with my hair and sang me a song so I would fall asleep. I can't even remember kissing him."
"You're blushing so I'm pretty sure you remember the kiss," Jisoo points out before he lurches out of bed and walks over towards Wonwoo's. "Come on, let's go get cleaned up and I'll make us some coffee."
Wonwoo lets Jisoo drag him out of the dorm room and into the communal bathrooms they share with their floor and after a shower, Wonwoo feels like he might be able to face this day after all. Even after Jisoo places a mug of coffee down before him, Wonwoo loads it up with sugar and cream and accepts the painkillers Jisoo hands him.
Today won't be so bad after all.
Today is fucking horrible.
Wonwoo had to face the utter humiliation of his friends and most of the drama club exchanging money between themselves as soon as he showed up to their "after party" which isn't much of an after party and more of just a consolation lunch in fact. Either way, Seungcheol always ends up paying for everyone so Wonwoo isn't going to say no to free food.
What makes it all worse is the fact that Junhui is there and he's actually giving money just like the others and blushes an endearingly bright red when Minghao thumps his back.
So it looks like Junhui is an asshole after all and Wonwoo has been right all along.
Still, he stays and avoids everyone's gaze and eats quietly, glad for the fact that Jisoo is beside him and keeps passing food from his plate to Wonwoo's whenever Seungcheol isn't looking. Jeonghan sits on Wonwoo's other side, but he refuses to talk to him and so Wonwoo is alone.
On the plus side, Mingyu and Jihoon are here too and Wonwoo's glad that they still look very happy together. Seokmin is also here and Jisoo keeps sharing glances with him that Wonwoo wants to tease him about, but he keeps his mouth shut as Soonyoung starts a game between himself and Chan. Wonwoo can feel Seungkwan's eyes burning into him too, however, Seungcheol has him occupied for most of the lunch and Wonwoo is grateful to the eldest for that.
Junhui keeps trying to catch his eye, but Wonwoo forcibly ignores him instead and turns his body so that he's invading Jisoo's personal space. Jisoo catches on quickly and throws an arm over his shoulders to play the part of more than friends that they both came up with whenever they're receiving unwanted or confusing advances. Wonwoo keeps his head down and continues to eat, glad for the fact that while Jisoo can be a pain in the ass most of the time, he's a good friend when Wonwoo really needs him.
As Seungcheol pays for their lunches, Wonwoo grabs onto Jisoo's hand and waits until the elder has finished saying goodbye to everyone before he waves generally at them all and lets Jisoo lead them out of the diner.
He barely makes it towards the door before a familiar warm hand is grabbing hold of his arm and pulling him to a stop. Wonwoo knows without having to turn that it's Junhui and lets go of Jisoo's hand when the elder turns to stare at him. Jisoo shrugs and trails after Seokmin as they all begin to leave until it's just Junhui and Wonwoo standing alone in the entranceway of the diner.
"Um, could we talk?" Junhui asks as he lets go of Wonwoo's arm with a sheepish expression on his face. "I promise this won't take long."
Wonwoo nods and motions for Junhui to follow him. "We can talk outside. Let's take a walk or something."
Junhui nods and smiles at him and Wonwoo turns on the spot with his heartbeat thumping in his ears. They walk silently together, making their way out of the diner and into the brisk sunny afternoon of spring. It isn't hot enough for Wonwoo to start sweating yet so he keeps his cardigan on and tangles his fingers into the sleeves as Junhui walks dutifully beside him.
Outside is better at least. The crowds of people force them to walk closely together in order to not lose one another, but the noise and smell of traffic numb Wonwoo's senses to Junhui's breathing and his scent (Damn that Chanel No. 5!) and Wonwoo is grateful for that.
There's also more open space and if Wonwoo decides that this conversation will be too much, he can just cut away and run off without another word. He knows Junhui wouldn't follow him at least. And so he has that as well.
Eventually, though, they find the park Wonwoo was leading them towards and Junhui scopes out a bench they can sit on. It's Saturday so that means plenty of families are here enjoying the sunshine and the ducks at the pond, but neither Wonwoo nor Junhui can find an empty bench. Wonwoo steers them towards a large tree, taking a seat on one of its biggest roots and leans back on the trunk, uncaring of sap or ants getting on him. Junhui takes a seat on a root sticking out a little below Wonwoo's and turns until he's facing him, his expression more guarded than Wonwoo's seen it.
Wonwoo stares at him, taking in the little things, then pauses when he finds that Junhui didn't bother to cover up his moles today and that right there lights a tiny fire inside Wonwoo's stomach.
"So, I feel that I should go first," Junhui murmurs, his soft voice making Wonwoo feel a little dizzy with the whirlwind of emotions he's experiencing. "Um. I just wanted to know if you remember what happened last night?"
The way Junhui phrases his words makes it sound like he's asking a question, and Wonwoo doesn't know if he should answer honestly or not, but after the humiliation he faced during lunch, he may as well come clean and own up to what he did. He inhales a deep breath and lets it out through his nose, steeling himself for what he's about to do.
"Yeah, I remember," Wonwoo responds, still staring at Junhui's moles instead of his eyes.
Junhui sighs and settles himself a bit more comfortably on top of the root he's perched on. "Ah. That's a relief. How much do you remember though?"
Wonwoo chances a look up at Junhui's eyes before he drops his gaze again, his voice lowering with it. "I remember you taking me home...and I remember kissing you."
Junhui nods then waits as if there's more that Wonwoo has to admit to and Wonwoo knows what else Junhui wants him to say. His face flushes as he works the words over his tongue, but no matter in what order or way they go through, it's still embarrassing to say aloud.
"I remember you playing with my hair and singing me to sleep too," Wonwoo finally manages to murmur, his face feeling much too hot as a soft smile spreads across Junhui's face. "But I also remember you not kissing me back."
Junhui frowns and shakes his head. "You were drunk. It felt wrong kissing you while you were so intoxicated. But I didn't kiss back because I didn't want to. I mean, I've had a crush on you ever since we met. It was extremely difficult not to kiss you back last night."
Wonwoo's face feels even hotter now, but he files that piece of information away for later when he isn't preoccupied. "I also remember you not thanking me for showing you where the theatre building was when we first met."
"I did thank you!" Junhui sputters almost immediately after Wonwoo has spoken and Wonwoo looks up to see that Junhui's eyes have grown ridiculously huge. "You had your earphones in and turned your back on me as I did it. That was really rude actually."
"Oh," Wonwoo says, not knowing what else would be appropriate to say apart from, "I'm sorry?"
"You better be," Junhui sniffs before he smiles again and Wonwoo lets his gaze fall back to Junhui's mouth to take in that beautiful sight. "So is that why you say you hate me?"
"I honestly don't know. I know it was the reason I didn't initially like you at least," Wonwoo confesses quietly between them. "But since it seems to be just a misunderstanding, I guess it doesn't matter anymore."
"That makes this so much easier," Junhui mumbles to himself before he's leaning forward and taking Wonwoo's face into his hands, his eyes practically burning holes into Wonwoo's skin. "Can I also ask why you've told everyone you hate me then? Maybe that'll make us both less confused."
Wonwoo shrugs, doing his best to still not look him in the eye as Junhui inches even closer into his personal space. "Jeonghan told me its because I was bitter about you getting the lead role. Soonyoung said it was because I wanted to fuck you and Jisoo told me that I just wanted to suck your dick. And then he told me to shut up and stop being a brat."
Junhui's blushing too by now and Wonwoo revels in the victory of getting a reaction out of him. But the victory is short-lived because Junhui soon asks the same question Wonwoo has been asking himself ever since he met him.
"And were they right?"
Were his friends right about why Wonwoo hates Junhui? Or are they really just being the assholes Wonwoo's always thought they were? Has Wonwoo just been in denial this entire time then?
Honestly, he doesn't know but with Junhui so close to him all Wonwoo can think about is kissing him again. How he wants to touch the moles above Junhui's lips and tell him to stop covering them up with makeup. Wonwoo can't stop thinking about all the times he's caught himself staring at Junhui during rehearsals and whenever their entire group of friends gathers for parties or other events. Nor can he stop thinking about the way Junhui's entire face lights up when he laughs or how often Wonwoo has caught himself laughing at the jokes he's overheard Junhui say.
Sometimes, Wonwoo just wants to cuss Junhui out and tell him just how handsome he is at the same time. Other times, Wonwoo just wants to knock Junhui flat on his ass and pick him up then twirl them around in a circle when he's overjoyed about something Junhui did. But most of the time, Wonwoo just wants to have a reason for turning his "hatred" on its head and take Junhui into his arms without having to feel ten shades of bitter about it.
Junhui is offering him a reason though. A good one. And all Wonwoo has to do is take it.
So he does.
Junhui is happy with his answer.