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Part One: First Impressions
Spring 2017
“And that’s San,” Yunho says, nodding at a skinny, sweaty boy on the other side of the practice room. He’s grimacing at himself in the mirror and looks a bit like a drowned kitten. “He’s no fun.”
Wooyoung looks at Yunho in surprise. It’s the first negative thing he’s heard out of the tall trainee’s mouth since Yunho made himself Wooyoung’s unofficial welcoming committee. Wooyoung glances at Mingi for clarification but can’t read anything from his scowling face. So far all he’s gotten from Mingi is that Mingi likes Yunho and doesn’t like Wooyoung.
For about the hundredth time in the fifteen or so minutes since he arrived, Wooyoung wishes he’d brought a change of clothes. Everyone else is dressed in sweats or street clothes. He feels stupid in his school uniform. He wishes Yeosang would get here. He wishes the first two people he’d met weren’t so damn tall.
San-who-isn’t-any-fun catches Wooyoung’s eyes in the mirror. A puzzled look crosses his face, then he smiles. He’s got dimples. He’s cute. He looks like he could be plenty of fun.
Suddenly, something like a shadow crosses the other boy’s face, and he ducks his head. When he looks up again his expression is much less friendly.
That’s two people who don’t seem to like him.
Wooyoung gets the sinking feeling that he’s missing something important.
***
San isn’t used to disliking people, but he dislikes Wooyoung right away. He lays in bed the night after their first meeting and stews.
It’s nothing about the boy himself. He seems perfectly friendly, and he did well in rehearsal, as expected of a former BigHit trainee. But that’s the problem.
If he’s here, then management thinks the seven of them aren’t good enough. Or maybe one of them in particular isn’t good enough.
San wonders if it’s him. He’s still the weakest dancer in the group. His vocals could be better. His visuals leave something to be desired.
It won’t be Hongjoong or Jongho, San’s sure of that. There’s no group without Hongjoong, the first trainee, their strongest all-rounder and by far the best rapper. No one mentioned Wooyoung being able to rap. And Jongho’s clearly going to be the main vocal. He’s a strong dancer too.
It can’t be Yunho or Mingi—San can’t imagine a group without either of them. Certainly not Yunho, their dance leader and the one who keeps their spirits up when things get tough.
On the other hand, Mingi’s been fighting with Hongjoong a lot recently…
No, it can’t be Mingi. Mingi’s the only other rapper since they moved Seonghwa to vocals. It has to be San, Seonghwa, or Yeosang.
Only it can’t be Yeosang. His dance lines are perfect. His vocal range is lower than anyone else’s. He’s gorgeous. He has fans. San has no idea how KQ lured him away from all those other companies that wanted him, but there’s no way they’re letting him go.
That leaves Seonghwa and San.
San chews on a fingernail. Seonghwa’s a better dancer but San’s a better vocalist. Seonghwa’s got better visuals but he’s socially awkward. He’s taller but not much. He’s older but not much.
Still, he’s older than Hongjoong. There’s always been one or two trainees older than Hongjoong. San’s done his idol homework and knows what that means: group mom. Seonghwa seems like the perfect type for it too.
Yunho wouldn’t make a terrible group mom, but he’s so much taller than Hongjoong they’d look awfully strange together. Then again, Seonghwa’s not short.
San groans and rolls over. This isn’t doing him any good. Maybe KQ isn’t going to cut anyone. Maybe they think eight would be better than seven even though odd numbered groups are easier to choreograph for. Maybe they just jumped at the chance to poach another BigHit trainee.
He’ll find out eventually. The only thing to do is to work even harder and try not to resent Jung-fucking-Wooyoung too much in the meantime.
Part Two: The Jumping Ban
Summer 2017
Wooyoung is bored. Wooyoung hates being bored. The company has hired a photographer to come and do a mock photo shoot with them. Wooyoung is impressed with the company’s foresight. He’s less impressed with the photographer’s punctuality.
“Hey, San-ssi,” Wooyoung calls, his eyes settling on the skinny vocalist sitting nearby. Like most of the others, San’s warmed up to him a decent amount, but Wooyoung still has a lot of work to do.
San looks up immediately, which sparks a flash of interest in Wooyoung. He’s missed having a partner in crime since leaving Yeonjun behind. Wooyoung adores Yeosang, but he can be so serious.
“Wooyoung-ssi?” San replies, looking at Wooyoung through narrowed eyes. San seems like a bit of a pushover sometimes but there’s a hint of mischief in him that Wooyoung wants to see more of. So Wooyoung does what he does best—he charges forward.
They’re at a park not far from the company building. Wooyoung glances around and spots a low-hanging branch on a nearby tree.
“I heard you played volleyball,” he says casually.
San tilts his head, frowning slightly. “Yeah. So?”
“I bet you can’t touch that branch over there.” Wooyoung jerks his head at the tree. He wonders if he’s going to have to give San more specific directions.
Delightfully, San bounces to his feet with an indignant scoff.
“Easy!” San eyes up the branch, takes a running start, and smacks it so hard the noise startles most of the surrounding trainees and staff out of their bored contemplation of their phones.
“Sorry,” San mumbles, sitting back down closer to Wooyoung than before. His cheeks are red. “Fuck you,” he hisses.
Wooyoung snorts. He’s never heard San swear before. It feels like progress. Progress toward what, he’s not sure. But definitely progress.
***
San vows he isn’t going to embarrass himself for Wooyoung again, but then Wooyoung pouts at him—pouts!—and it’s so endearing San can’t help himself.
On the short walk back to the agency, Wooyoung bets San he can’t touch two street signs, another low-hanging branch, and the building number outside the agency door.
It’s a stupid game, but it makes Wooyoung laugh, and this makes San happier than he’s felt in a long time. San thinks he could get addicted to making Wooyoung laugh.
They’re almost late for their next lesson while San tries to jump high enough to reach their building number. Wooyoung cheers him on until Seonghwa holds the door and clears his throat for them to come along.
Hongjoong glares at San and Wooyoung when they duck into the practice room, but San barely notices because he’s laughing so hard.
“You almost had it,” Wooyoung says reassuringly, hooking their arms together. “You’ll get it next time.”
San grins. He thinks he might be able do anything if Wooyoung believes in him. Or if he’s trying to show Wooyoung up. Or make him laugh.
After a couple weeks of this, Eden announces that they are officially banned from all unnecessary jumping. It’s too late for San, though. Wooyoung has him completely and utterly under his spell.
Part Three: You’re Allowed More Than One
January 1, 2018
“Hey Wooyoung?” Wooyoung looks up from his phone to see San poking his head inside Wooyoung and Yeosang’s bedroom. Wooyoung’s lying on his bed. Yeosang, per Wooyoung’s request, has made himself scarce.
“Hey San.” Wooyoung sits up and gestures for his friend to join him.
San sits on the edge of the bed like he’s afraid Wooyoung’s going to bite him. Which, to be fair, is a reasonable fear. “Do you like me?”
Wooyoung grins. “Yeah.” He hadn’t expected San to get right to the point like that.
“I mean, like like?”
Wooyoung giggles and squeezes San’s knee. “Yes, that’s what I meant too.”
San toys with the strings of his hoodie. Wooyoung doesn’t think he’s ever seen anything so adorable in his life.
“What about Yeosang?” San asks. “I… I saw you kissing at the party last night.” Wooyoung opens his mouth but San throws up a hand to interrupt him. “I wasn’t trying to spy on you, I promise! I was looking for Yunho and…”
“San-ah.” Wooyoung squeezes San’s knee again. “It’s okay. Yeosang is my boyfriend.”
“Your what?!” San’s eyebrows creep into his hairline.
Wooyoung grins. “You’re allowed more than one.”
San blinks. He looks like a cartoon who’s been hit by a falling anvil.
Wooyoung knows he shouldn’t but can’t help bursting into laughter.
“Stop it!” San objects. “I’m serious.”
Wooyoung does his best to sober himself. “I’m sorry. Your face was just…” He giggles again, then shakes his head. He reaches forward and takes San’s hand. “I’d really like it if you wanted to give it a try.”
“It?”
“Being my boyfriend.”
“Your second boyfriend,” San frowns.
Wooyoung shakes his head. “There’s no ranking. People don’t say, oh, that’s my first and second friends. They’re just friends.”
“People have best friends,” San continues stubbornly.
“I’ve got more than one of those too.” Wooyoung wrinkles his nose. “I guess I’m just greedy.”
San looks skeptical, but curious too. And he’s still holding Wooyoung’s hand.
“I talked to Yeosang when I realized how I felt about you,” Wooyoung continues. “He said he’s okay giving it a try. You might not have noticed but he isn’t really big on public skinship.”
San snorts. “I couldn’t believe that was him last night.”
Wooyoung grimaces. “He’s going to be pissed you saw us.” He perks up quickly. “But on the bright side, I might be able to convince him to let you watch him punish me.” He bites his lower lip. “That could be fun.”
San’s eyes look like they’re about to bulge out of his head. He takes a deep breath and refocuses. “What if I get jealous? What if Yeosang gets jealous?”
“Then we talk about it.” Wooyoung shrugs. “You waited less than a day after seeing us kissing before coming to talk to me about it. You could have sulked for a month. Or a year. Or come in here screaming and yelling about me leading you on. Or… I don’t know. Punched Yeosang.”
San laughs. “Yeosang’s stronger than me.” He reaches for Wooyoung’s other hand.
“And meaner,” Wooyoung adds.
“Yeosang isn’t mean!” San objects, scooting closer. “And I can be mean, too!”
Wooyoung smiles, leaning forward. “I know him better than you do. And I’ll believe that when I see it.”
San drops one of Wooyoung’s hands and lightly cups his face. He’s so close Wooyoung can see the freckles on his neck. When they debut, their makeup staff will probably cover them with makeup. A shame.
Wooyoung closes the remaining distance between them, shuts his eyes, and falls.