Chapter Text
A ray of sun found its way to San’s table, hitting Yeosang’s glass of iced coffee and turning browns into orange, beige cream into white. The drink was still untouched, if not for the many traces waiters had inevitably left on the glass, hidden at first glance but now exposed by the light.
San allowed himself a minute to enjoy the welcomed warmth, leaning against the booth seat and taking in the sight. No matter how many times he had come here to work or hang out with friends, the Wonderland Cafe never ceased to be the prettiest place in town for him. With its walls covered by polished wood, the many green plants placed in pots all over the room or falling from wicker baskets hanging from the white ceiling, and the large window taking up the front wall, it radiated a sense of comfort and peace San couldn’t find anywhere else.
He had taken a seat on one of the four tables of the room, further from the window and close to the counter – most people came to order and left, meaning the cafe was usually empty during the day. Yeosang was there too, sitting in front of him and snapping a thousand selfies per second. The sight was ridiculous yet familiar, and San couldn’t fight against the fond smile breaking on his lips.
Eventually, he went back to the logo he had been designing on his laptop all morning. His client was a regular and San knew he wouldn’t have to worry about a deadline, but his list of tasks was getting longer and finishing this one early would make life easier for the next few days.
Just as he was about to drastically change the colors of his logo, the bell rang, announcing the arrival of a new customer. More by force of habit than pushed by curiosity, San glanced up to look at whoever had walked in, only for his heart to pitifully skip a beat. Cheeks growing hot, he hastened to look away, back to his screen.
Jung Wooyoung.
A name known by too many. A name that wouldn’t cease to fill San’s mind.
No matter how many times San had seen him entering this place, his reaction would always be the same – heart skipping a beat, warmth climbing to his cheeks, and a desperate need to stand up and introduce himself already.
Unable to focus on his work anymore, he sneaked another glance toward the counter, where Wooyoung was currently ordering his usual hot chocolate. The piercings adorning his right ear were twinkling in the light of the sun, but all San could see was the silky yellow ribbon Wooyoung had used to tie his hair in a ponytail.
Yellow… San had never seen this one before. It suited him.
“You’re staring,” Yeosang said, finally sipping his iced coffee. His phone was back on the table, screen facing the ceiling. “You know I won’t judge you or anything, but Jongho would crush your head if he knew you were still obsessed-”
“I’m not obsessed.”
“-crushing extra hard on this guy.”
He rolled his eyes, stirring his drink with his straw.
San kept his mouth shut for a moment, busying himself with his logo and saving his work. If this was where their conversation was going, then he wouldn’t stay there for long.
“You know I don’t care,” he eventually answered, clasping his laptop shut.
“I do.” Something soft flew across Yeosang’s eyes as he lowered his drink to give San his full attention. “We just want to keep you safe, San. The rumors…”
That was San’s cue to leave.
Sighing, he slid his laptop in his bag and stood up, not missing the slight pout forming on Yeosang’s lips.
“Hey,” he called, smiling fondly when his friend looked up. “Stop pouting. I’ll be free tomorrow, let’s eat somewhere nice with Jongho, okay ? My treat.”
The pout vanished, quickly replaced by a satisfied grin.
“Who would say no to free food ?”
“I knew you would say that.”
Yeosang laughed and so did San. After a quick hug, he took his leave.
Bag in hand, he passed by the counter and threw a smile at Changbin – his coworker – before pushing the door of the staff room open. His shift wasn’t supposed to start before the next 30 minutes, but his eyes needed a break away from his laptop screen and most importantly, he really didn’t want to hear Yeosang’s rambling about some rumors people shouldn’t care about.
He sighed, getting rid of his bag to put on his brown apron.
San couldn’t understand this society. Why were people always believing rumors if they were just that, rumors ? What was the point of calling them rumors if everyone acted as if facts were real and confirmed ? San had seen the spiteful looks thrown Wooyoung's way by some of their customers. People were treating him like dirt and disrespecting him as a human being because of these rumors. Yet, Wooyoung never talked back.
Most of the time, he would ignore them.
But once in a while, he would smile, apologize for the trouble and leave the shop with a drink still half full on his table. San’s heart would crack a bit more each time.
He tied the knot of his apron and left the room, joining his two coworkers behind the counter. After some small talk, he explained he was ready to work and one of them could leave early if wanted. Three seconds later, San was left alone with Changbin.
He put himself to work then, starting with cleaning the coffee machines. Yeosang was still there, sipping his drink mindlessly, eyes on his phone. Wooyoung had taken a seat on the table right next to him and his cup of hot chocolate was now half empty but he didn’t seem to acknowledge it anymore, too busy working on his laptop.
San was only slightly ashamed to admit he knew about Wooyoung’s work.
He had searched for him on the internet some months ago, but most of his search had left him with a heavy heart after reading tons of hateful articles and unproved news. Not enough about him, as a person.
He did find out Wooyoung had a – pretty famous – Youtube channel filled with ASMR videos of witchcraft tutorials. He had a blog too, and none of them were linked to his real name.
The bell rang, cutting San’s trail of thought. He didn’t bother looking up to watch their new customer entering, Changbin already greeting him and asking for his order.
“You welcome murderers in your shop ?” the man said when Changbin gave him his drink.
San perked an eyebrow, straightening up.
“I apologize,” Changbin replied. “We don’t check the criminal record of every person passing this door, sir.”
“Maybe you should.”
Behind the man, Wooyoung was putting on his earphones, head low. San’s blood slowly started to boil. Clenching his jaw, he went back to the coffee machine, trying to keep himself entertained.
He had been forbidden to talk in these kinds of situations. Tact wasn’t his forte and he definitely had some anger issues, which led him to snap at some customers a bit too often, until it became a problem for the shop. As much as he wanted to take these people down a peg or two, he could understand his reactions could give a bad reputation to their cafe, and agreed on keeping his mouth shut. His coworkers were better at handling it.
Yunho was definitely the best, but none of his shifts matched with San’s.
“Sure,” San heard Changbin answer. He smiled to himself, already knowing he would like the next words. “May I see yours then ?”
The man grunted in disbelief while San tried hard not to snort out loud. Yunho might be the best, but no one could top Changbin’s snide comments.
“Asshole,” his friend grumbled once the customer left the shop. “You take the next one or I’ll eat their head. My shift is supposed to end in five minutes anyway. Where the hell is Jisung ?”
He kept muttering under his breath as he left to clean a table, leaving a giggling San alone behind the counter.
Wooyoung was still wearing his earphones, but his shoulders seemed more relaxed now, his gaze peaceful.
San smiled to himself.
One day, he would talk to him.
–––
“I’m back !” San yelled to no one in particular, letting his keys fall on the shelf by the entrance. He kicked off his shoes and started to undress as he entered the apartment, smiling when he noticed Jongho sprawled on the couch.
“What are you doing in my apartment ?” he asked, throwing his jacket on the armrest and placing his bag on the coffee table.
Jongho shrugged.
“Mingi invited me.”
“Again ?”
“Yunho was the one who invited me on Monday. It’s not my fault you guys are obsessed with me.”
“Sure,” San huffed, rolling his eyes. “Is Yunho home ? Where’s Mingi ?”
Eyes stuck on the screen of his phone, Jongho shook his head before he lazily gestured toward the kitchen. San got the point. He patted his best friend’s thigh in acknowledgment and made his way to the kitchen, now knowing he would find one of his roommates there.
To his – secretly pleasant – surprise, Mingi wasn’t alone.
“Oh, you again,” San grumbled as he sat down at the round table, right next to Hongjoong. The glare he received in response was priceless.
“San.”
“Sorry, sorry !” San dropped the act before he could be killed on sight, giggling when Hongjoong scrunched his nose in displeasure. “Hi Joongie, I’m so happy to see you on this fine afternoon. Mingi, why is our apartment so full of people not paying the rent ?”
That got him a kick in the chin, but he should have seen it coming. From his position in one of the corners of the kitchen, Mingi snorted.
“For my defense, we were working when Mingi decided baking was more important than a new song due in a week,” Hongjoong said. He gestured toward the diverse sheets sprawled in front of him on the table, covered with notes San couldn’t read and various scribbles in Hongjoong’s fancy handwriting. “I was supposed to leave two hours ago.”
“Cupcakes can’t wait !” Mingi commented. “If I’m inspired to bake, I have to bake.”
“Your inspiration is misplaced.”
“Fine, no cupcake for Hongjoong.”
Mingi put on a potholder with a pout, ignoring Hongjoong’s roll of eyes. He opened the oven and smiled wide, quickly taking out the tray and setting it on the counter to let the cupcake cool down.
The sweet scent of freshly baked cake reached San’s nose in no time.
His friends started bickering, a sight San was painfully used to witness in his own apartment, but the untold promise of a cupcake kept him from going back to his room for a nap.
He was seriously considering sprawling on Jongho to force him to cuddle instead, when his gaze caught Mingi’s tablet on the kitchen counter. He frowned and tilted his head to the side, trying to decipher something above his friends’ voices.
"Is that…"
“Yes, it’s your crush’s newest video,” Mingi cut in, leaving Hongjoong in the middle of their silly argument to rush toward his tablet. He placed it on the table with a gigantic grin, screen facing San.
Just as he had expected, the video showed a workbench filled with plants and jars, two pretty hands with black painted nails busy brewing some herbs San knew nothing about.
“When did you start watching these ?”
“I subscribed a month ago.” Mingi pointed at the red box indicating ‘Subscribed’ in white letters. “It’s calming.”
San hummed, eventually ripping his eyes away from the screen, hoping his expression wasn’t betraying his awkwardness.
After finding Wooyoung’s channel, San had avoided his videos, forcing himself to not watch them too often. Having a giant crush on a customer was bad enough. Stalking him on the internet and using his content during his free time seemed a bit too much. Wooyoung was already taking most of San’s thoughts during his shifts, watching his videos and hearing his stupidly soft voice would no doubt be his downfall.
And yet here he was, eyes falling back to the screen as he secretly hoped to hear this melodious voice again, over the sound of tea leaves being crushed and purple liquid being poured in black bowls.
Hongjoong noticed, of course he did, one eyebrow perking up.
“You’re still pining ? I thought Jongho had managed to make you give up.”
“Believe me I tried,” came Jongho's voice from the door and this time, San really looked away. The tiny scratches on the surface of their table looked interesting now that Jongho was standing by his side. “He’s being stubborn.”
“I’m not stubborn,” San grumbled. “He’s just very pretty and I don’t want to believe stupid rum-”
“I’m not saying you should believe rumors,” Jongho interrupted. “I won’t spit on his face or treat him like shit like all these assholes, but Choi Yeonjun is still missing, San. It’s not a rumor, it’s a fact.”
San’s stomach clenched uncomfortably at his words. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Mingi pausing the video.
“It’s been three years,” Jongho continued. “I know your guy had claimed to be his best friend and had been found innocent but… he’s still the main suspect and we have no way to know the truth.” He put a gentle hand on San’s forearm, and San could feel his apologetic smile. “He seems like a nice guy but just in case, you have to be careful.”
He concluded his speech with a light tap on San’s arm, trying to get his attention. Despite the knot in San’s throat and the urge to go back to his bedroom to keep pining over Wooyoung in peace, San looked up. Jongho gave him a sincere smile, the one he used when he knew he had been harsh, but wasn’t regretting his words. San didn’t feel like smiling back, but he put his hand on top of Jongho’s, silently telling him things were fine.
A couple of seconds later, Jongho was leaving the room, not before stealing a cupcake. Mingi didn’t even flinch. Instead, he looked at San with a curious gaze, until an amused smile broke onto his face.
“Remind me who’s the oldest ?”
–––
San found his sparkle of courage on a Friday night, at the end of January.
His shift had ended a few hours ago but he had decided to hang around for a bit longer, knowing Hyunjin, one of his coworkers and friends, didn’t like being there by himself when dusk had already fallen and had been abandoned by his colleague because of an emergency.
Wooyoung unexpectedly appeared around 8:30 PM, ordering his usual hot chocolate and taking a seat at the first table, right next to the counter. He kept his hood on, hiding his face from anyone as he scrolled on his phone, the black glove he had been wearing placed next to his hand on the table.
He flinched twice over the span of five minutes, hiding his hand in the pocket of his hoodie for a bit, before coming back to his phone.
It was weird.
For the next few minutes, Wooyoung’s leg kept bouncing up and down under the table, his naked hand clenching and unclenching. He scratched his arms every three seconds and although San knew he wasn’t supposed to stare at a customer for so long, at least now he could tell Wooyoung wasn’t behaving normally.
Something wasn’t right.
So when Wooyoung left the coffee shop without a word and forgot his phone on the table, San didn’t think twice.
“Sorry Hyunjin, I gotta go. I’ll see you on Monday !” he called behind his shoulder, grabbing the phone and rushing to the door.
The cold air of the night slapped him in the face and he winced, taking a brief moment to get used to the sudden lack of warmth. He caught a glimpse of Wooyoung turning around the corner of the street some meters away, and didn’t wait any longer before he started running after him. He reached the corner in record time but Wooyoung seemed to be walking fast, still a long way ahead of him.
San slowed down then, planning his next move. The street was awfully long and people usually avoided this part of the city, as it went along the forbidden part of the forest. Houses were lined up on San’s left, but there were no people walking down the sidewalk, no car on the road if not for the ones already parked. All San could hear was the sound of his shoes on the concrete, his shaky breathing and the foliage of the many trees moving along the wind on his right.
He pondered if he should call for Wooyoung now. Would he hear from there ? Should he run to catch him ?
Whatever thought he had next was cut short when Wooyoung abruptly stopped.
And spontaneously, San hid behind the closest parked car.
Idiot, he’s supposed to know you’re here.
But it was too late, and now San was too embarrassed to get out of his hiding place.
Through the windows of the car, he could see Wooyoung turning around, checking his surroundings. The hood was still on, preventing San from seeing his face properly – not that he would be able to anyway, considering the distance between them. A couple of seconds passed without any of them moving until…
Until Wooyoung climbed the low wall and jumped over the fence, efficiently entering the forbidden forest.
Well.
What the fuck ?
Without a second thought, San slipped out of his hiding and rushed to the place Wooyoung had been a few seconds ago. Panting from his sudden run, he brushed away any voices in his head telling him he should not follow a stranger in such a shady place, and climbed both the low wall and the fence.
A dreadful silence welcomed him when his feet touched the ground on the other side.
The forest was completely dark, the orange light coming from the street too dim to illuminate more than the first few meters in front of San. The wind was still blowing against trees above his head, messing with his hair and whispering in his ears, as if trying to tell him something, trying to warn him.
Or maybe it was pushing him forward because the next thing he knew, San was engulfing himself into the darkness, leaving the comfort and familiarity of the city behind.
There was a reason why people never came here.
Forbidden places were meant to be explored, meant to be trespassed for fun or just to go against the law.
Not this one.
This was the place people liked to call haunted, where weird sounds and flash of lights were reported, where even the bravest ones didn’t venture twice.
This was where Choi Yeonjun had been seen for the last time, climbing the fence just like San.
Did Yeonjun follow someone into the forest too ? Did he listen to the wind ? Was he scared ?
Strangely, San wasn’t.
He walked without knowing where he was supposed to go, the light of the full moon weak around him, partially hidden behind a sea of clouds but enough for him to not walk into a tree.
A purple light caught his attention. It was far, too far to distinguish its source, but San knew this was where he should go. He walked faster then, eyes never leaving the tiny spots of light moving in the distance...
He stopped, just as the wind sang into his ears again, telling him he shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t see what he was seeing, shouldn’t stay, shouldn’t watch. But Wooyoung was there too, a few meters away, hood still on his head and… Purple lights levitating around him.
Floating.
“What the fuck ?”
The words passed his lips before he could even think. Panic burned his chest when Wooyoung looked up, but San was fast, and a cloud covered the moon just in time for him to hide behind the nearest tree without being caught. His heart thumped against his chest, pounded in his ears and he felt himself sinking to the ground, his legs too weak to keep him up. He inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself.
It’s fine. It’s late and dark, you probably imagined it. San tried to reason himself, but he knew, deep down ; what he had seen was real.
It took him a while to find his breath again but when he did, he hastened to look past his hiding tree. The purple lights were still there, flying around Wooyoung and following each of his steps. San hadn’t noticed before, but there was no grass where Wooyoung was walking, just gravel and some twigs he quickly kicked aside.
Unable to look away, San watched him take a few candles out of his bag, and settle them in a circle around him. With one hand gesture, all candles lit up. The purple lights disappeared.
Fuck.
Wooyoung sat down in the middle of his handmade circle, a thick grimoire on his lap. San shouldn’t have been surprised when the pages turned on their own, yet he still gasped in shock.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
This was definitely not normal. Candles weren’t supposed to light up by themselves, floating lights existed in movies, and in movies only, people shouldn’t be drawing creepy circles with salt in the middle of a forbidden forest…
Fuck.
Was it… Magic ? No, this was ridiculous.
But San wasn’t dreaming, he had seen the grimoire moving by itself, the lights disappearing…
What the hell ? Magic wasn’t supposed to exist but how could he explain that ?
He could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he waited for Wooyoung’s next move. He was freezing cold, fingers numb and toes like stones in his shoes, but the excitation of knowing more kept him stuck there, behind his tree.
A gush of wind made him shiver violently, the foliage singing above his head. Hugging himself in search of some warmth, San glanced at the sky just in time to see the clouds slowly dissipating, letting the moon shine freely through the dark. Its light filtered through the trees, painting the forest in diverse shades of blue. San watched it fall against Wooyoung’s face, illuminating his pretty features, the sharp turn of his jaw, the smooth line of his cheeks…
And Wooyoung started to undress.
San sucked in a breath when Wooyoung’s hooded jacket fell over his shoulders, a flash of blue light passing through San’s eyes before he clasped a hand against his mouth and turned around, heart racing.
He shouldn’t be here. He really shouldn’t be here.
Struggling to put his thoughts into place, he stood up to leave, but fell back against the ground the next second. Bringing his hand in front of himself, he noticed how shaken he actually was, his trembling fingers shining under the light of the moon.
He was scared.
But before he could even think about what he would do next, an agonizing cry of pain rang in his ears, the sound so painful it sent a shiver down San’s spine, his heart vibrating with fear and shock...
… and a purple light burst behind him.
A violent blast of wind slammed against his black and sent him flying. It was too hot, too bright, suffocating, but San didn’t have any time to think. His body hit the ground a second later, the air knocked out of him for an instant.
He stayed there, lying on the ground, trying to understand what had happened, but his mind was blank. When he opened his eyes again, he was welcomed by the dazzling light of the full moon.
His precious tree was a few meters away, and so was Wooyoung. The candles were off, there was no more purple light. Wooyoung was still there, huddled up and immobile in the middle of his candle circle.
San needed to leave.
Now.
Ignoring his wobbly legs this time, he stood up hastily, eyes never leaving the dark lump that was Wooyoung still motionless under the moon. He took a step back, then another, praying that the leaves cracking under his feet wouldn’t alert the other man.
When he considered himself far enough to not be heard, he turned around and ran, the path leading back to the city illuminated by the blue light of the moon.
He decided to walk back home. He didn’t mind the cold air in fact, it was probably what he needed the most after the events he had just witnessed. Taking the bus with random strangers would only push his thoughts to a later time and possibly lead him to have a mental breakdown in the middle of the night.
No, he needed to think now.
… Which led him to two conclusions :
First, following pretty people in the woods at night was now prohibited.
Second, Jung Wooyoung was not a normal human being.
San had no idea what had happened in there exactly, but if he had been hesitant to trust his mind about the floating purple lights at first, he couldn’t deny the candles, the grimoire and definitely not the fucking explosion of light that had propelled him out of his hiding. He could almost feel it run through his veins again, lighting his insides on fire for a brief moment, swirling around his heart, suffocating him…
It had been real.
But what was he then ? What was Wooyoung ?
A demon ? A fairy ? A witch ?
San knew he should be freaking out and frankly, he was, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Wooyoung and how pretty he had looked under the light of the moon.
Shit, this was bad. He was definitely obsessed, Yeosang was right.
But this wasn’t entirely his fault. Pretty face, mysterious rumors, blinding smile and now magic ? How on earth was San supposed to move on ?
The universe was clearly playing with him. Or maybe this was his fate. Maybe Wooyoung happened to be the serial killer Jongho secretly believed he was, maybe San would find his name and a random picture of himself next to Choi Yeonjun’s in a few weeks.
And apparently, he didn’t mind because the next thing he knew, he was turning around the wrong corner and walking away from the road he was supposed to take to go home.
When he arrived at Wonderland Cafe, the lights were turned off, the door closed, but San hadn’t expected it to be opened anymore.
He sat on the porch and waited there, knowing all too well why he came back, but choosing to ignore it. He was good at that ; pretending to himself that things were fine so they wouldn’t hurt, believing a problem wasn’t one until it became unimportant.
A cowardly way to live.
Something vibrated in his pocket, startling him for a second, but it didn’t come from his phone. Hesitantly, he took Wooyoung’s phone out of his pocket and lighted up the screen. His gaze fell on a red mushroom, a snail family on its top. San scoffed at the sight.
Cute.
The phone vibrated again and San jolted, nearly dropping the device screen first against the pavement. He didn’t, but he had to take a minute to calm his beating heart.
When the phone vibrated for the third time, San couldn’t ignore the messages displayed on the screen any longer.
Hwa
How are you ?
Hwa
It’s supposed to be cloudy all night but just in case, stay safe.
Hwa
Call me if you need anything.
Oh. So there was at least one person looking after him. San locked the phone and put it back into his pocket with a small smile. He had never seen Wooyoung with anyone in the cafe and for a while, he had wondered if the guy had any friends. Knowing someone was there for him was relieving.
The phone vibrated again, but San chose to ignore it this time. He had already dug way too deep into Wooyoung’s privacy today, a bit more and he would definitely feel guilty for the rest of his existence.
He mindlessly watched people going in and out of buildings, laughing noisily as they headed towards the nearest bars or went back home after a tiring day of work. He smiled at an old man walking his dog. Stared at the flickering light of the apartment block in front of him until it gave out. He wondered if Jongho went home after his exam or if he had crashed at their apartment again, if he would stay over and agree to cuddle for the night. He hoped Yeosang was having fun at his party of semi-famous people. Considering San hadn’t received any call yet, he guessed things were fine.
When the street became uninteresting, San offered his boredom to the sky. True to Hwa’s words, the stars were slowly disappearing behind a layer of clouds, obscuring the moon until its light became a soothing memory. It made San a tad sad.
“Thank god you’re here.” A melodious voice came from his left, pulling him away from his thoughts. “Seonghwa is going to kill me for not giving him any news.”
Wooyoung.
San scrambled to his feet, heart jumping to his throat before it thumped back against his chest.
Wooyoung was there, watching him, talking to him. His clothes were messy, wrinkled in weird places and his knees were covered with mud, but San couldn’t care less, not when Wooyoung was standing so close to him, with his shiny eyes and cute cheeks. Unable to stop himself, San’s gaze trailed down Wooyoung’s face, catching the faint flush covering his skin, the mole on his pink lips, his strong jaw and…
He paused.
There was… something running along Wooyoung’s neck, like a scar, or maybe a birthmark, but he couldn't see properly with the hood. Weird. San wondered how he had never noticed it before – honestly, he had stared at this neck an unhealthy amount of times in a not-so-distant past.
Wooyoung must have caught him staring, because he clasped a hand against his neck, startling both San and himself at the sudden gesture. With an awkward cough, he zipped his hoodie all the way up.
“Do you… Perhaps have my phone ?” he asked then, looking away.
San didn’t have to hear it twice.
With too much haste, he took the phone out of his pocket and handed it to its rightful owner. Their fingers brushed when they shouldn’t have and Wooyoung flinched. He grimaced for a split second but the corner of his lips quickly turned upward when San miserably failed to suppress a shiver.
Wooyoung didn’t thank him, he didn’t even acknowledge him. His manners were all over the place and Jongho would no doubt cut his head off but fuck. San was into it. San was so into it.
Maybe that explained why he talked before thinking.
“Something’s missing in it,” he blurted out, heat already climbing to his cheeks.
Wooyoung looked up from the screen of his phone, arching an eyebrow.
Here goes nothing.
“… My number ?”
The response was immediate. Wooyoung burst out laughing, a high-pitched sound loud and clear in the middle of the quiet street. This was the cutest laugh San had ever heard.
No, he wasn’t exaggerating.
He had never heard Wooyoung laughing before, but now he wanted to hear it forever. It didn’t even matter that Wooyoung was laughing at him. He would gladly make a fool of himself again if it meant he could make him laugh like that.
“I’m sorry to break it to you, but that was lame,” Wooyoung said once his laugh had calmed down. He let out a few giggles, an amused smile lingering on his lips as he brought his attention back to his phone. “No number for you.”
San had expected this answer, but he couldn’t stop his heart from sinking, just a bit.
Or maybe more than just a bit.
Because as he watched Wooyoung tapping on his phone, he realized this had probably been his only chance. He would never find enough courage to talk to him again, to face this pretty smile. He would go back to his silent pining then, and if he was lucky enough, maybe the humiliation from today would help him get over his crush and-
“You can ask me out for dinner though. I’m free tomorrow night.”
San’s thoughts stopped mid-way.
“I- Me too.”
“Cool.”
What.
Wait.
What ?
Did he… Did Wooyoung just ask San to ask him out ?
Was San really going to have dinner with Wooyoung ?
Panic, excitation and apprehension melted into a wave crashing against his chest, rapidly taking over his body. A bit dizzy, San pressed his shoulder against the doorframe of the cafe and crossed his arms on his chest to keep himself steady, trying – and probably failing – to act nonchalant.
“I’m San, by the way.”
“I know.”
Once again, Wooyoung was two steps ahead. He looked up from his phone for an instant, enough to notice San’s startled face. He chuckled.
“You’re not the only one staring from afar,” he confessed, rolling his eyes. “There’s a reason I never come here on Thursdays.”
He frowned at his phone while San gaped, at a loss of words.
He didn’t know Wooyoung never came on Thursdays because he didn’t work there on Thursdays. Sure, he loved spending time there to grab a coffee or hang out with Yeosang and Jongho when he wasn’t on duty, but he usually stayed away from his workplace on his days off – namely Thursday and Sunday.
Did that mean… Wooyoung had been looking at him too ?
“Let’s meet here at 7 tomorrow, I’ll let you choose the place.” Wooyoung eventually slid his phone in the pocket of his hoodie, meeting San’s eyes. A soft smile illuminated his face. “Thank you for the phone, San. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
He winked, and before San could remember how to form words again, he was gone. San watched his frame growing smaller and smaller in the distance, until he disappeared around the corner.
Well.
He was screwed.
–––
San was nervous.
Wooyoung hadn’t shown up once during San’s shift, and while it was usually upsetting, today San was relieved. Stuck behind the counter, he had spent the day biting his nails, wishing for the time to move faster but fearing for the night that would eventually come.
He shouldn’t even be that nervous. After hours of turning around in his bed last night – Jongho didn't come over in the end – and an entire day filled with different thoughts, San came to the conclusion he didn’t mind discovering magic was actually a thing. He had grown up being taught fairies, witches and any magical creatures weren’t real. All he had to do was learn to accept they could be. As long as vampires weren’t a thing, he would be fine – vampires freaked him out.
Honestly, the only reason why he felt so tense wasn’t that he had seen Wooyoung do weird things in the middle of a forest at night, but because the man was fucking pretty. Going on a date with him after months of crushing from afar felt unreal.
So here San was, shuddering in front of Wonderland Cafe as a wave of cold air slithered through his jacket.
He jolted in surprise when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder, only to be welcomed by Wooyoung and his dazzling smile.
“Hey there.” Wooyoung chuckled, hand going back inside the pocket of his fluffy cream-colored jacket. “Found a nice place for us tonight ?”
His eyes were glistening under the dim light coming from the cafe. He held San’s gaze for a moment, before his eyes slowly trailed along his body, visibly checking him out. San’s heart stopped when their eyes met again, and Wooyoung’s grin turned slightly smug. Before he could say anything, San cleared his throat.
“I did actually,” he answered, gesturing toward the street. “Should we go now ?”
The dazzling smile was back. “Lead the way, pretty boy.”
–
Dinner was good. No, dinner was great.
San hadn’t had any expectation for the night, if not for some hope he wouldn’t make a fool of himself. Now that their plates were half empty and he was bursting out laughing for the umpteenth time tonight, he could affirm going on a date with Wooyoung had been one of the best decisions he had ever taken.
First, the restaurant he had chosen after three emotional crises and some indirect help from Yunho was actually nice, and the food tasted amazing.
Second, he could stare at Wooyoung and lose himself in those pretty eyes of his without looking like a creep.
And most importantly, he was finally discovering the real Wooyoung.
And he was loud.
His smiles were toothy, his laugh high-pitched, he spoke with his mouth full and never stopped talking. He was the kind of chaotic mess San was used to witnessing in his own apartment, but seeing him opening up and acting like himself for a night freed a bunch of butterflies inside San’s chest. He could feel his own smile getting bigger each time Wooyoung missed his mouth or snorted in his drink.
This date had come as a surprise, but San was definitely having a great time. He hoped Wooyoung was having one too.
It took them longer than San had expected, but the content of their plates eventually disappeared, save for San’s vegetables. Wooyoung had grown strangely quiet over the last few minutes, his gaze falling to his lap. San frowned, watching Wooyoung open his mouth to talk, only to clasp his lips shut the next second. On the third visibly failed attempt to let the words out, San decided to put Wooyoung out of his misery.
“What is it ?” he asked softly.
The younger kept his gaze down, lazily tapping on his mouth with a napkin.
“You’re not going to ask ?”
“Ask what ?”
“About the rumors…” He put the napkin back on the table and started playing with its corner. “Don’t you want to know if they are true ?”
“Are you comfortable talking about it ?”
A timid glance. Something flashed through Wooyoung’s eyes before he looked away, chewing on his bottom lip.
“… No.”
The simple word came in a murmur, as if Wooyoung was ashamed to let it out. It broke San’s heart, a little bit.
“I won’t ask then,” he said quietly, smiling in the hope that the crease between Wooyoung’s eyebrows would fall soon. He already missed his smile. “We just met, and it’s probably personal. You don’t owe me anything, Wooyoung, and certainly not something you’re not comfortable talking about.”
Wooyoung’s eyes widened at San’s words. He stopped biting his lip, looking up to meet San’s eyes instead. A moment passed before Wooyoung dared to speak again.
“That’s…” He gulped, blinking twice and looked away again, but not before San noticed how wet his eyes had gotten. “Thank you. For real. It means a lot.”
Before San could answer, he took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a brief moment. When he opened them again, the tears were gone, replaced with a starry sky staring right back at San. The familiar toothy grin was back on his face when Wooyoung nodded toward San’s plate.
“You’re not going to eat that ?”
San's vegetables were gone a few minutes later, and so were their plates. It wasn’t until San ordered their dessert that he realized how silent Wooyoung turned each time a waiter stopped at their table. Curiosity tickled the tip of his tongue but San didn’t pry, not wanting to make Wooyoung uncomfortable.
There was one thing he needed to ask though.
“Wooyoung,” he called once Wooyoung seemed to be done taking pictures of his chocolate fondant from every existing angle – a habit he seemed to have in common with Yeosang. “Are you a fairy ?”
Wooyoung choked on air, rushing to grab his glass and gulping it down entirely.
“Excuse me ?” he asked, pitch slightly higher than usual.
San ignored how fast his heart was beating.
“Are you a fairy ?” he repeated, unable to find any better way to ask about that.
“Why are you thinking I could be one ? Fairies aren’t real.”
Oh, Wooyoung was definitely lying.
He was avoiding San’s eyes and drinking from his glass again, which was perfectly empty.
“I saw you, Wooyoung. The purple light and-”
He paused. Now, how was he supposed to explain he had seen him without admitting he had been following him and undeniably ending up looking like a creepy stalker – which he had been, for a few minutes…
“Damn it, I knew someone would notice,” Wooyoung grumbled, startling San away from his thoughts. He put the glass down, side-eyeing San. “You watch my videos, right ?”
“Y-yeah ?”
“I knew someone would see it, during my last ASMR live. I cut it when I edited the video but…” He sighed, crossing his arms. “There’s no use hiding from you now, isn’t it ?”
San had no idea what live Wooyoung was talking about, but it looked like his secret was safe.
Nice. He would take it to his grave then.
He shrugged, grinning. “I know what I saw.”
It put a frown on Wooyoung’s face. Leaning forward, elbows on the table, he observed San for a long moment. The restaurant grew silent around them as Wooyoung locked their eyes, searching for something in San’s while all San could hear was his own heart pounding in his ears. Wooyoung’s gaze was dark, piercing. San didn’t dare move a finger.
With a loud sigh, Wooyoung ripped his gaze away.
“I’m not a fairy. I do magic though.”
“Are you a wizard ?”
Wooyoung shrugged. “Witch is the term I use myself, but I’m not sure it’s appropriate enough in modern society. Are witches supposed to do that ?”
He glanced around before pointing at San’s glass of water. The liquid turned green, then purple. Then back to its transparent self.
San blinked at it with wide eyes, ignoring the light flickering above their head for a couple of seconds.
“Are you sure you’re not a fairy ?”
Wooyoung chuckled, finally taking his spoon to dig into his cake. “I’m definitely not. I’m not sure they exist and I don’t have wings anyway. It’s a shame really, I would look so pretty with purple wings.”
“You look pretty even without wings.”
Shit.
A flush pooled on San’s cheeks as soon as the words were out.
“S-sorry ! I shoudn’t-”
“Thank you,” Wooyoung cut before San could panic any further. There was a tiny smile on his chocolate lips. “I think you’re hot so I’m glad you find me pretty.”
The smile turned into a smirk and San’s heart coiled, his face no doubt a crimson red at this point.
“With that being said,” Wooyoung continued, “now you know my secret. Don’t go blabbering it around or I’ll turn you into a frog or something.”
“You don’t turn people into frogs.”
“How can you know that ?”
“I don’t. You just don’t seem like the type.”
Wooyoung chuckled, and San couldn’t help but smile too.
“Okay. No frog then.”
“Cool.”
They both stared at each other, stupid smiles stuck on their faces.
“Cool.”
–––
The next time San saw Wooyoung was on a windy Tuesday morning. The lights were on in Wonderland Cafe, the sky so grey and the streets so dark it barely felt like 8 AM had passed.
After his date with Wooyoung, San had spent the weekend looking back on the discussions they had shared, how easy it had been to talk to him and how much San wanted to do it again. He had giggled a lot by himself, kicking his feet in the air like a happy child on his birthday, stuffing his face in his plushies to hide his smile. If Yunho or Mingi had noticed his weird behavior, they didn’t pry.
Needless to say, San was ecstatic when he saw Wooyoung entering the shop, his hair tied up in a ponytail again, a black bandana covering his forehead. Changbin was already greeting him, forcing San to stay behind, back to cleaning.
It didn’t stop him from exchanging a smile with Wooyoung, his heart fluttering in his chest when Wooyoung also winked.
A couple of minutes later, he was sitting at his usual table, furiously typing on the keyboard of his laptop while his hot chocolate was slowly getting cold.
It started raining at some point, thick drops crashing on the floor-to-ceiling window, the noise covering the background lo-fi playlist Changbin had chosen when they had started their shift. Customers came and went, rain dripping from their clothes or umbrellas leaving puddles of water on the fake wooden floor.
Some time during the last hour of their shift, Changbin disappeared into the staff room to take an important call, and Wooyoung stood up at the same time. He put on his black denim jacket and closed his laptop, sliding it back into his bag.
San’s heart sank when he realized he didn’t know when he would see Wooyoung again. His lips parted anyway, as he got ready to say his usual goodbye, but they clasped shut when Wooyoung didn’t walk to the door, but toward him.
He stopped in front of the counter, his beautiful smile the only thing San could focus on.
“Hey,” Wooyoung greeted, sliding both his hands in the pockets of his jacket. There was a black hoodie underneath, and a few necklaces adorning his caramel skin. San’s knees were already weakening.
“Hi…”
A light giggle bloomed from Wooyoung’s parted lips and San was certain the sound would have pushed the clouds away if it hadn’t been trapped inside the shop.
“Why do you look so tense ? It’s just me Sannie.”
Sannie.
San was going to pass out. He stayed silent as Wooyoung took out a piece of paper from his pocket. With two fingers and freshly black painted nails, he slid it toward San on the counter.
“After our date the other night, I think you deserve this,” Wooyoung carried on, and San halted his nail observation to notice the phone number neatly written on the paper in emerald ink. “Just call me or text if you ever want to hang out.”
This pretty smile again, then he was turning on his heels. San watched him take back his purple umbrella from the stand by the entrance, put a hand on the doorknob…
“I’m free this afternoon,” San blurted out, way too loudly considering the shop was empty of any customer and the rain had stopped. A flush climbed to his cheeks in record time, but his embarrassment flew out the window when Wooyoung turned around. The sparkles in his eyes were worth a million words.
“Okay,” Wooyoung murmured. “I’ll come back around 2 then.”
San didn’t know how he was still breathing.
“Cool.”
“Yeah.”
Wooyoung chuckled, and this time, he did push the door open, a gust of wind rushing in the shop. San was too far gone to feel its coldness. Wooyoung didn’t seem to mind either.
“Cool,” he repeated.
Then he was gone.
–
Wooyoung came back fifteen minutes late, smiling brightly as he approached a freezing San waiting in front of the cafe. The rain had stopped a while ago but dark clouds were still obscuring the sky, the wind even stronger now that San was outside.
“Hey,” Wooyoung greeted, accompanying his word with a wave of the hand. “Is it okay if we go to my house ?”
San blinked. “To your house ?”
“Yeah, it’s going to rain soon and it’d be better than staying here. Aren’t you tired of spending your days in your workplace ?”
Touché. San hadn’t thought about how or where they would meet this afternoon, but he had secretly hoped they wouldn’t stay there. Wooyoung’s offer was surprising though, considering they had met less than a week ago.
Did San mind ? Far from it. The sky was rumbling and San grew curious about what kind of house Wooyoung could be living in.
“Lead the way,” he heard himself say in the end, receiving a soft smile in response.
Their walk was silent at first. Wooyoung kept his hands hidden in the pocket of his jacket as he hummed a few songs, his sweet voice occasionally muted by thunder.
The lack of talk didn’t feel awkward or unpleasant, but it pushed San to think thoughts he would rather ignore, and ask himself questions he didn’t want to answer. The conclusion was clear anyway :
Keep this away from Jongho, at all cost.
Eating dinner with Wooyoung once was fine. Harmless. Safe.
Accepting to go to his house without knowing where he lived but aware that he was a witch and could probably kill him on sight ? Not so much.
But despite the warning signs Jongho was desperately brandishing in his mind, San knew he wouldn’t turn back. He didn’t feel threatened, didn’t fear anything coming from Wooyoung. Not even once they entered the park of the city and Wooyoung led him to the path no one ever walked on. Not even when they reached the forest and left the track, slowly distancing themselves from any kind of human life.
When Wooyoung took out a bunch of keys and opened a rusty gate with a large notice stating “DO NOT ENTER” in red letters, San realized he was already too far gone.
This wasn’t trust – not yet. This was just San being dumb and crushing hard because Wooyoung had a pretty face, a cute laugh, a ponytail and a mushroom keyring.
The first drops fell when Wooyoung closed – and locked – the gate behind them, San purposely ignoring how he was now back into the forbidden forest he had promised himself he would never enter ever again.
“Gotta walk faster,” Wooyoung said, smiling when his eyes met San’s. He put on his hood and walked again, faster this time.
“Do you do this often ? Inviting guys over after meeting them a week ago I mean,” San couldn’t help but ask as he followed Wooyoung deeper inside the forest.
He heard a laugh, but couldn’t see Wooyoung’s face behind the hood.
“Do you really want me to answer that ?”
“No.”
“Hmm.” Wooyoung climbed up the low wall interrupting their walk and held out his hands toward San, the corner of his lips curling up until his face broke into a mischievous grin. “I thought so.”
San took the offering hands. They jumped to the other side of the wall, rain now falling hard, thick drops crashing against San’s clothes.
“If it can reassure you or whatever,” Wooyoung continued, almost yelling so San could hear him above the downpour, “you’re the very first person I'm bringing home. Well, not counting Seonghwa.”
Thunder rumbled again but the sound was nothing compared to how loudly San’s heart pounded in his ears.
This couldn’t be true. Wooyoung was so beautiful, so fun, so nice… Surely, he had tons of people trying to court him or hopelessly crushing on him so why… Why San ?
“Don’t look so happy,” Wooyoung laughed when he turned to glance at San. “I’m a witch, remember ? I put tons of protection spells on this house. Try something funny against my consent and she’ll eat you.”
“Eat me ?”
Wooyoung didn’t answer, but San didn’t miss the amused smile on his lips when he turned back to look in front of him.
A couple of minutes and a drenched jacket later, they were reaching what could only be Wooyoung’s house ; a cottage lost between the trees, with only one floor and big windows covering a part of the front wall and climbing to the roof.
Once they passed the wooden fence, San gaped at the kitchen garden taking up most of the place in front of the house, but the rain still slapping his face prevented him from admiring Wooyoung’s work for too long.
After fiddling with his keys, Wooyoung eventually opened the front door and stepped inside, San quickly following.
“You can put your stuff here, I’ll be right back,” he said, closing the door behind them and gesturing toward a wooden chair on their right.
He threw his jacket on it, took off his shoes and a second later, San was left alone by the entrance.
Still slightly startled but eager to get rid of his soaked clothes, San mirrored Wooyoung previous moves before taking a few steps inside the house, grimacing when his wet socks left ugly traces on the wooden floor. The uncomfortable feeling of clothes sticking to his skin dissipated as San took in his surroundings, replaced by a sudden warmth tickling his feet and spreading into his chest.
He understood quickly enough that the living room where he was now standing was also Wooyoung’s room. A double bed was pushed against the wall closest to the kitchen garden outside, its white sheets neatly tucked under the mattress and a folded cream-colored blanket on the top. The four windows San had seen from outside were lined right above the headboard, followed by four more on the tilted ceiling. San loved watching the sky at night, so this bed seemed like the perfect spot for stargazing, and now he was slightly jealous.
All furniture in the room were pushed against walls ; a wardrobe and a chest of drawers right next to the chair by the entrance, tons of shelves all around the room, a bedside table next to the bed. Except for a massive wooden bookcase on the other side of the bed, a bit further away. San couldn’t properly see from where he stood but he could make out a desk, and piles of thick, old-looking books. Considering the wall where the desk was pushed had no window, plunging the corner into darkness, San guessed this part of the house was purposely kept away from the rest.
Apart from that dreary area, the entire house was decorated with green plants and trinkets, the shelves filled with pots, jars, candles and other objects that seemed straight out a fantasy movie. It made sense, Wooyoung was a witch, but his house was so cliché yet so cute and cosy, it tore a discreet giggle out of San as he admired the content of the jars.
Past the wall facing the entrance was what clearly looked like a kitchen, with no door to separate it from the living room, and with twice as many jars, dry flowers and herbs on wooden shelves. Wooyoung had disappeared behind the only door of the house - not counting the entrance - so San guessed that was where the bathroom was.
The younger came back with a pair of dry sweatpants and socks, not giving San any time to react before he grabbed his wrist, crossed the room and pushed him into the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, San was sitting at Wooyoung’s kitchen table, a fuming cup of tea between his hands and a tray of blueberry cookies in front of him.
“Did you make these ?” San asked, munching on one of them.
Wooyoung hummed, apparently busy crushing some leaves on the counter, back facing San.
“I did. These are not my best recipe but I quite like them. I hope they’re okay.”
“They're exquisite.” San helped himself with another one before he could overthink and end up staring at the tray without daring to take more. “Are you seriously telling me you’re pretty, nice, gifted with magic and you can bake ?”
“I can cook too.” Wooyoung came back to sit in front of San, a purple vial in his hand. “The ‘might have killed his best friend’ thing is usually a turnoff though."
“I don’t mind that part.”
In a second, the glint in Wooyoung’s eyes was gone, and so was his smile.
Dark eyes met San’s, intense and cold and intimidating, forcing him to suppress a shiver, but he didn’t dare to look away.
There was something there, in these eyes, something San had failed to notice before. Something sad.
“Maybe you should,” Wooyoung eventually said.
He broke their eye contact and opened the vial to let a few drops of a transparent liquid fall in San’s cup.
“Did you just put poison in my tea ?”
Wooyoung snorted at San’s incredulous expression, putting the cork back in the small bottle. “I didn’t.”
San remained silent, eyeing the cup with a frown. When Wooyoung looked up and noticed San’s face, he straight out laughed at him, the high-pitched sound San liked so much making the house tremble – or he was imagining things.
“I didn’t, I promise ! It's like essential oils but better, I swear… Look-” He took San’s cup and drank, drank, drank until half of his tea was gone. He put the cup back on the table with a triumphant smile.
San sighed. “Nice. Now my cup is covered with your saliva.”
“I’m pretty sure you don’t mind.”
San was about to retort, but clasped his mouth shut when he noticed the mischief in Wooyoung’s eyes, glistening as he stared at San. Holding San’s gaze, Wooyoung placed his elbow on the table and his chin against his palm, a grin making its way to his lips.
San couldn’t explain how, but he could feel a sudden warmth emanating from the house, making his heart churn inside him.
Too slowly to be innocent, Wooyoung ran his tongue along his plump lip and San could only stare, gulping as he gripped his own knees under the table to stay sane.
“I don’t,” he murmured.
The oppressing warmth left in an instant and Wooyoung’s smile grew bigger. He stood up and grabbed the teapot to pour some tea back into San’s cup.
“Cool.”
–
It seemed like every time San thought he had seen all possibly magic utensils hanging around the house, something new would catch his attention and show him just how much there was to discover there.
After staring at a wall for a whole minute, certain it had moved when Wooyoung had burnt himself with the teapot, Wooyoung had laughed at San and eventually explained that the house, Mili – yes, she had a name – was somehow connected to him, to his feelings or his senses… Or something. He had tried to explain how it worked but gave up with a giggle as soon as he had noticed the utter confusion on San’s face.
“So what do you do, other than being Wonderland’s hottest barista ? You work a lot on your laptop, right ?” Wooyoung asked once San was done exploring the house, both now settled on Wooyoung’s bed, the unfinished tray of cookies placed between them.
San hoped the heat climbing to his cheeks at the simple compliment wasn’t too obvious.
“I’m a graphic designer. Freelance. I do logos, motion design, sometimes I edit videos too.”
“Nice.” Wooyoung smiled, eyes shining a bit brighter. “We should share tips sometimes,” he added, taking a cookie and ignoring the crumbs falling over his shirt as he took a bite. “Was that like, a dream career thing ?”
“Not really,” San scoffed. “I don’t really have any life goal or dream. I just go with the flow and see where it’ll lead me.”
Wooyoung hummed, mindlessly munching on his cookie.
“Seems like a smart way to live.”
“It’s not smartness, it’s cowardice. I took the easy path so I wouldn’t fail. I give up on things as soon as it starts being difficult.”
He knew he was being tough on himself, but this topic had been occupying his thoughts for too long to be taken any other way. His current jobs were giving him a sense of fulfillment, but there was nothing impressive in the ways he got there and he didn’t feel worthy of getting praises for it.
“What’s your life goal then ? Or your dream ?” he asked instead, trying to put the conversation away from him.
Wooyoung seemed to get the point. He eyed San with a slight frown for a few extra seconds, before turning his gaze toward the ceiling, humming.
“I guess I don’t have any dream either,” he confessed after a long minute of silence. “I had one in the past though. A big one. But I think dreams are made to help you hope and go forward, not necessarily to be fulfilled. Sometimes life crushes them. Then you don’t get to dream anymore, you simply live.”
He sighed, the sadness flowing in his eyes betraying the bright smile he was trying to keep on his face.
“I love what I’m doing now though,” he continued, looking down at his pale blue socks. “It’s a combination of everything I love and people don’t judge me when I upload a video. They don’t care about rumors when they visit my blog. It’s safe there. I feel safe there.”
“You don’t feel safe out there ?” San asked, gesturing toward the outside of the house.
Wooyoung’s smile eventually lost its brightness. It turned sad, and San regretted even asking.
In silence, Wooyoung grabbed the fluffy pillow placed next to him and hugged it tightly, pressed against his chest.
“I don’t,” he murmured, keeping his gaze away from San’s. “I know you see me a lot at Wonderland and we even went to a restaurant but… I don’t go out that much. Honestly, the restaurant was way out of my comfort zone.” He chuckled, slightly embarrassed. “I love going to Wonderland though. I’m supposed to be a people person, being alone is really not a me thing but I can’t do it anymore. I can’t hang out with random people or talk to strangers and make new friends every day as I did so easily some years ago. This coffee shop is what’s closest to my past life. I get to talk to your coworkers and enjoy some time with other people. I do feel safe there.”
He dug his chin into the pillow, his puffy cheeks prominent now.
“It’s the only place I go. I tend to stay home most of the time. Seonghwa usually shops for me I’m… I’m scared of people and crowded places now.”
He scoffed, but it sounded somber. The house herself seemed darker now, affected by Wooyoung’s mood.
“I’m sorry, you probably didn’t want to hear all this sad stuff.” He sat up straight and kept the pillow on his lap. “This is embarrassing, I don’t know why I talked so much. Shit sorry, you must think I’m some kind of dramatic bitch now-”
“No, I’m glad,” San cut in before Wooyoung could continue his blather. He smiled, trying to look comforting. “I’m glad you told me. And I’m sorry I brought you to a place that made you uncomfortable the other night.”
“I kinda forced you to ask me out though,” Wooyoung muttered, still looking down. He sighed then, a timid smile making its way to his lips, and the house visibly brightened. “Thank you though. For listening and not judging me. This might sound weird because we barely met but I think I feel safe with you…”
A light flush blossomed on his cheeks and San had to use all his willpower to not reach out and poke his pink skin. He kept his hands on his lap and clenched his fists instead, smiling at the adorable blushing mess sitting in front of him.
“That’s nice, because I plan on keeping it this way.”
Wooyoung smiled, and San smiled wider at the sight. Perhaps he was blushing too. Perhaps his heart was beating a bit too fast. But who cared ? Mili was shining, Wooyoung was beaming.
San would never regret following him into the forest.
“Ok then, now that you know my entire life, wanna see my snail collection ?”