Chapter Text
Wooyoung moves to Sulwick on a warm summer's morning, blue sky stretched as far as the eye can see.
Moving to a small, unknown town surrounded by endless forest on all sides hadn't been in Wooyoung's plans—or something he had even taken a second to consider—but it turned out to be exactly what he needed. It's funny how life always finds a way to stir things up when you don't even realise how necessary it is.
Wooyoung had been approaching burnout, both in his personal and work life. At his job there were endless projects that just seemed to keep piling up and up, only for someone to change their mind about what they wanted halfway through, leading to Wooyoung having to scrap everything and put in longer and longer hours in an attempt to keep on top of everything.
With his free time dwindling and being poured into his job, Wooyoung's social life had suffered, his friends drifting further and further away, but he didn't have the time nor energy to try and fix things. Eating substantial meals, working out, and hobbies all fell to the wayside.
It wasn't sustainable—Wooyoung knew that—but he didn't see another option than to just continue working the way he always had. He was good at his job and it paid well, even if it came at the expense of having a life outside of work.
When Wooyoung finally broke down, frustrated with the life he was living but seeing no feasible way out, the letter finally arrived.
When it first turned up, Wooyoung ignored it, throwing it onto his kitchen table to deal with later (as he did with most of the post that he received—everything always became a problem for later).
He eventually opened it only to laugh in disbelief, believing someone was playing a cruel prank on him.
According to the letter, a distant great-grandmother had left Wooyoung all of her money (a significant amount—enough for him to live off for years if he uses it correctly) as well as a house in Sulwick, a small town in the countryside he'd never heard of. Supposedly the house had been in the family since it was built.
No one had ever mentioned this great-grandmother to Wooyoung, so he scoffed and threw the letter off to the side, deeming it unimportant once again.
It was only later that same day when his mother had called him for their weekly catch up and Wooyoung had mentioned the letter, that he finally discovered it might not be the prank he'd first assumed it was.
His mother confirmed that his great-grandmother did in fact exist. The reason she'd never been mentioned was because she'd chosen to have nothing to do with their family, cutting them all off and disappearing from everyone's lives. The very last thing anyone had expected was for her to leave everything to Wooyoung.
As far as Wooyoung's mother was concerned, his great-grandmother wasn't even aware of Wooyoung's existence.
Why Wooyoung was picked out of his entire family is a mystery that is yet to be solved, but Wooyoung hopes that maybe it'll become clearer once he settles into the small town his great-grandmother spent her life in.
With the letter confirmed to at least be telling the truth about this great-grandmother's existence, Wooyoung contacted a solicitor's office to confirm it's validity as well as iron out the finer details. It was verified that everything in the letter was the truth and Wooyoung was receiving the money and the house.
Cautious and not wanting to get ahead of himself, Wooyoung waited until the money was in his bank account before quitting his job, but the second he saw the money he wasted no time in handing in his notice.
And so now, a few months later, Wooyoung is standing outside the house that he can now call home. He stares at the house for a moment, taking it all in. He can't quite believe that he has a house to himself—spending his entire adult life so far in a city had left him used to cramped flats and living on top of other people, not the space that an entire house will bring.
The house is a decent size—not too big that he'll struggle to fill it all on his own, but not too small that he'll feel cramped. It's an immediate upgrade on the tiny one-bed flat he'd previously called home.
Vines crawl up the brick walls and flowerpots hang from each of the windows. They're empty of plants, but that's not something he's going to worry about for right now—it's easy enough to buy some pretty flowers. The front garden is also overgrown, but with some time and effort Wooyoung can get that fixed easily. He has all the time in the world now that he doesn't have to worry about that awful job, after all.
Wooyoung picks up his suitcase by the handle and follows the well-trodden, paved path that leads him from the gate at the entrance of the property up to the front door. It curves ever so slightly and some of the paved slabs stick up from the ground, so he's careful where he puts his feet to avoid tripping.
When he reaches the front porch, he puts his suitcase down and pulls the worn key out of his pocket. The lock turns easily and he pushes the door open, revealing the entryway to the house in front of him.
Suitcase back in hand, Wooyoung steps inside and takes in the house before him. He can't help but smile as he looks around. Sure, the decor is outdated and there are cracks in the wall and some paint-jobs that need some work, but it's all his to do what he likes with. Those things can be fixed with time and he's looking forward to having a project to work on—something will need to fill his time now that he's no longer working.
He tucks his suitcase into the corner of the room and shuts the door behind himself. He'd only brought what he could fit into the suitcase (plus a couple of boxes still in his car) for now and left the rest at his parents' house to be picked up at a later date—he didn't want to drag all his belongings down here only to discover the house was in such a state he couldn't even live in it.
Sure, he'd seen photos from his solicitor of the house, but they were such low quality that he hadn't been able to make a lot out and with Sulwick being so far and remote he hadn't had a chance to visit it in person before formally moving himself in.
At least everything seems to be working out well so far (although he does knock on the wooden cabinet in the hallway to make sure he doesn't jinx himself after having this thought).
As Wooyoung had driven up to the house he'd spotted a few people peeking curiously out of their windows—he's not sure they get many visitors around here, so his shiny, new car most likely stood out. He's excited to get to meet his new neighbours, really integrate himself into the town and learn more about the place that apparently his family have always been a part of, but for now Wooyoung wants to take some time to really explore and get to know his house—it's where he's going to be living, after all.
The staircase leading to the first floor is on the left wall of the entryway, but he chooses to ignore this for now, focusing on exploring the ground floor first. The first door he opens, closest to the front door, leads into the spacious living room with huge bay windows which he'd spotted out the front of the house.
In the living room he finds two old, worn sofas with floral patterns as well as an outdated TV—he'll definitely have to get those replaced—but there's also a beautiful, wooden coffee table in the centre of the room that he's going to keep. On the walls are a couple of shelves with various knickknacks covering them as well as a cuckoo clock that he'll have to check actually still works.
Wooyoung is pleased with the size of the living room—ideas are already popping into his head on how he can best lay out the room to make it a space he can enjoy and relax in. There are so many things he already wants to do to make the space more homey and more Wooyoung, but he shuts the door to stop himself getting too carried away and moves on to exploring the rest of the house.
The kitchen is next. It's not quite as spacious as the living room, but there's more than enough space for Wooyoung to be able to cook without feeling cramped. He used to adore cooking—it was his favourite hobby and a way for him to relax and de-stress—but it had been forgotten with the long hours at his previous job. Takeaway became something he depended on, rather than a treat every now and then.
But now that he's got his time back, Wooyoung is planning to make cooking a priority in his life once again. In order to do that, though, he'll definitely need to replace some of the appliances in the kitchen as they're far outdated, but there's nothing in the kitchen that majorly concerns Wooyoung. At least the fridge-freezer looks relatively new so he doesn't have to worry about replacing that for a while.
The French doors at the back of the kitchen lead directly out into the garden. It's huge and he can already see himself setting up some vegetable planters out there—then he can cook with things he's grown himself, which makes meals even more special. Much like the garden at the front of the house, it's overgrown and needs some love and care, but he knows once he gets it tidied up it'll be a great space for him to use. It gets a lot of light, too, so he's definitely going to make the most of sitting outside now that he can. His previous flat didn't even have a balcony, so fresh air and spending time outside felt like a luxury, one that he's now going to indulge in.
With the downstairs inspected, Wooyoung heads upstairs where he finds two bedrooms and a bathroom. The same outdated furniture of the living room is found in both of the bedrooms (his great-grandmother apparently really liked floral) and he makes a mental note that he should prioritise getting a new bed—preferably a soft, king-sized one for maximum comfort. He has the space now, so why not go all out?
Both bedrooms are fairly similar in size, so Wooyoung decides the front bedroom is going to be his actual bedroom as it has those same bay windows to match the living room downstairs which will give him maximum light.
The bedroom he chooses also had a carved wooden bookcase in it, matching the coffee table downstairs, which is filled with books of various genres. At some point he's definitely going to have to go through all the books to figure out what his mysterious great-grandmother enjoyed. He'll definitely keep the bookcase too—even if he isn't a big reader himself, he's sure he can fill it with various other things.
The spare bedroom he designates as a storage space for now while he renovates the rest of the house (as he knows he's likely going to have quite a bit of work ahead of him) and he can figure out an official use for it later down the line.
Beside the two bedrooms is the bathroom which appears to be the only place in the house that looks somewhat modern—it must have been redone in the past few years. It even has a waterfall shower which Wooyoung is incredibly excited to use. It's a shower over bath too, so he can soak in the tub on days he really wants to just sit back and relax.
Once Wooyoung has explored the whole house, he stands in the hallway upstairs and just grins, in awe of the fact that this is all his.
It still doesn't feel real, being here in Sulwick and having his own house to do whatever he likes with. He's been stuck in the cycle of work-work-work for years and now that he can finally relax and take time for himself is beyond what he could have dreamed of even a year ago.
He heads back downstairs to go grab the boxes he left in his car. He plans to unpack the essentials he's brought with him and then he wants to walk around the town to start to get his bearings. It shouldn't take him too long considering his car isn't the biggest and he hadn't filled it to the brim.
As usually happens, it takes Wooyoung far longer than he'd planned to get his boxes brought in and unpacked because he got distracted. He'd decided to check the loft space to see how much extra storage space he'd have up there, only to discover some old boxes left behind by his great-grandmother filled with photos and memory trinkets that he'd spent a little too long looking through.
It was interesting, though, to have a peek into his family history and he decides he's definitely going to make it one of his priorities to look further into once he settles in. He's still amazed that his family have lived in Sulwick dating back years and he'd never even heard of the town prior to the letter from his great-grandmother arriving.
The sun is going to set soon, so Wooyoung decides that he's at least going to walk down to the high street to figure out where some of the important buildings are, such as the doctor's office, post office and supermarket.
He decides to walk to the high street as when he'd driven in he'd noticed that the town was fairly small and walkable, so there's no need for him to use his car if he doesn't need to.
As he sets off on his walk, every person he passes (and he's surprised how many people are out and about late in the evening) greets him with a smile and welcomes him into the town, letting Wooyoung know they're always there to help if he needs anything. Wooyoung greets them all back just as enthusiastically, but he definitely doesn't retain everyone's name—that can be a problem for the future.
He's never lived somewhere before where there's such a tight-knit, yet welcoming community. He may have only been here for less than a day, but he can already see himself enjoying truly integrating himself into the community and getting to know all the townspeople.
Wooyoung loves talking to people, getting to know them, picking up on everyone's little quirks and interests so that he can bring them up at a later date, but it's not something he's ever really been able to fully embrace living in a city where everything was so busy and bustling and everyone was too focused on themselves to consider anyone else around them.
Wooyoung had been part of the problem too, of course, neglecting his social life in favour of his job, but now that he's in Sulwick which has a slower and calmer vibe, he's definitely going to make the most of it.
When he makes it to the high street after a fifteen minute walk, he finds that just about everything you might need is all lined up along the high street—very convenient. All of the buildings he'd been hoping to track down are there, as well as some more, including a bakery and a few restaurants of various cuisines that he's definitely going to have to check out at some point.
Wooyoung hasn't really eaten all day—he'd stopped to grab a bite to eat on the way up here but had neglected to actually buy any groceries for the week—so he decides to visit the supermarket to pick something easy up for his dinner for now. He can come back tomorrow to do a proper shop once he's actually made a list—Wooyoung knows what he's like when he shops without a list and it usually ends up with him buying a ridiculous number of snacks and nothing of substance.
He quickly finds the ramen aisle in the grocery shop and stands there scanning the shelves, trying to pick out which flavour he wants today. While he's pondering, someone approaches him cautiously to his left.
Wooyoung turns to face the newcomer, who is possibly the prettiest man Wooyoung's ever seen and he has a distinct birthmark on his face, only slightly hidden by the man's long hair.
"Hi," Wooyoung says, giving his warmest smile.
"Hello. Sorry to bother you, I just thought I'd introduce myself since I saw you. I'm Yeosang." He sticks his hand out which Wooyoung shakes enthusiastically.
Yeosang seems fairly nervous about speaking to Wooyoung, so Wooyoung tries to keep the smile on his face in hopes of alleviating some of Yeosang's nerves.
"Nice to meet you, Yeosang. I'm Wooyoung."
"You moved into the Jung house, right?"
"Yeah, it was my great-grandmother's. I didn't even know I had a great-grandmother until I got a mysterious letter through the post telling me I'm now the proud owner of a house in a town I'd never heard of." He's probably oversharing, but Yeosang seems to relax slightly at Wooyoung's rambling.
"None of us knew she had any family either, so it was definitely a surprise to find out that there was a relative moving in. Not that anyone's against you moving here, of course," Yeosang says awkwardly.
Wooyoung laughs lightly in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit. "It's probably unusual for someone new to turn up around here, huh? Everyone seems to know each other so well."
"Yeah, unusual," Yeosang agrees. He pauses and stills, seeming lost in thought as he stares off into the distance.
Wooyoung waits him out.
Then, Yeosang turns to Wooyoung with a bright smile and any trace of awkwardness and anxiety disappears in an instant. "Nice to meet you, Wooyoung. I'm Yeosang."
He sticks his hand out again, so Wooyoung shakes it and Yeosang is far more confident and firm in his grip than he had been before.
Wooyoung tries to keep the frown off his face. Maybe Yeosang's just a bit forgetful or distracted. If Wooyoung gets a chance he might try to subtly ask someone about it once he settles into the town a bit more.
"I'll leave you to it, but if you ever need anything I work down at Aurora Bakery. We serve the best—and only—cakes in town," Yeosang says enthusiastically. "I'll see you around."
"Bye, Yeosang. Good meeting you."
Yeosang disappears out of the shop (judging by the tinkle of the bell) and Wooyoung tries to put the interaction out of his mind as he turns back to the shelves of ramen.
The next morning, Wooyoung is walking past his next door neighbour's house on his way back to the high street when she calls out, "Excuse me, would you mind helping me with this?"
Wooyoung's goal for the day had been to try and meet more people in the town and figure out his bearings a bit better, so getting to know his direct neighbour definitely fulfils that goal.
He walks through the gate at the front of her house and over to her side, finding that she's struggling to pull out some weeds lining the pathway. Wooyoung wastes no time in pulling them out for her and adding them to the wheelbarrow beside him which appears to already be filled with weeds and dead plants.
"Oh, thank you, young man. It's very kind of you to help me," she says warmly, giving Wooyoung a smile. "I'm Mrs Kim and you must be the new Jung boy?"
"Jung Wooyoung. Very nice to meet you, Mrs Kim."
"Welcome to Sulwick. It's nice to see a new face around here—it's not often we get visitors, let alone new people moving in."
"I'm very excited to be here," Wooyoung says. "It's such a lovely town and I'm looking forward to getting more familiar with the place and meeting more of the community. I've had such a warm welcome already—much different than the city!"
"We're all very close here and I'm sure you'll fit right into the community," Mrs Kim says kindly. "Are you heading to the high street?"
"That's the plan. Any recommendations?"
"Well you simply must try Seonghwa's cakes. It's called Aurora Bakery—only one of it's kind on the street, so you should find it easily," Mrs Kim insists.
Wooyoung frowns. "Seonghwa? I haven't met him yet, but I'll be sure to tell him you sent me. I did meet Yeosang yesterday and he also told me to check the bakery out, so I can't ignore two recommendations."
"Oh, Yeosang, what a lovely young man. He spends all his time in the bakery. He has to be their number one customer by far."
Wooyoung frowns harder because he's sure he remembers Yeosang telling him that he works in the bakery, but here Mrs Kim is telling him the opposite and that he's just a customer there.
He doesn't want to question Mrs Kim, though, in case he's just misremembering what Yeosang said (especially with the interaction being a little strange, to say the least) so he chooses to keep quiet about it for now. He's sure he'll figure out what's going on eventually.
"I'll definitely get some cakes from Seonghwa then, since they come so highly recommended," is what Wooyoung settles on.
This time it's Mrs Kim's turn to frown. "Seonghwa? Don't be silly—Seonghwa doesn't make the cakes. That's Yeosang's job. Seonghwa just spends all his time in there—he's their number one customer!"
Now Wooyoung is even more confused, because Mrs Kim had most definitely told him the opposite only a minute prior. He chooses to say nothing, though, because she could just be mixing them up and Wooyoung doesn't want to get himself into a further muddle with this whole thing—he's had enough confusion over the last twenty four hours to last a lifetime.
He'll just have to visit the bakery and figure things out himself.
"My mistake," Wooyoung says easily, moving the conversation on. "I must just be getting my names mixed up as I still need to meet everyone. I'll let you get back to your gardening, but if you need a hand at all just give me a knock when I'm home and I'll be right over."
"You're such a dear," Mrs Kim says, patting him on the cheek with her gloved hand.
Wooyoung's pretty he's going to have to brush some dirt off later.
"You'll have to come over for tea one day and tell me all about your old life in the city," Mrs Kim continues.
"Most definitely," Wooyoung agrees easily. "It was lovely to meet you, Mrs Kim. I'll see you around."
"Bye, Wooyoung."
Wooyoung leaves and returns to his walk to the high street. After his conversation with Mrs Kim, he's even more determined to check out this bakery—partly because he really wants to try their cakes but mostly to figure out who the real owner of the cafe is—Seonghwa or Yeosang.
Much like on his walk the previous night, everyone who passes by greets Wooyoung with a 'good morning' and a wave, which Wooyoung returns eagerly. He's starting to feel like he was meant to come here. He feels like he's already fitting in and Sulwick just has the exact vibe that Wooyoung's been missing all his life.
When Wooyoung reaches the high street, he decides to head straight to Aurora Bakery and put the mystery to bed once and for all.
The bell of the door jingles when Wooyoung pushes it open and the person behind the counter greets him with a smile.
It turns out to be Yeosang and Wooyoung feels relief that it was just Mrs Kim mixing names up—in the most respectful way possible, it's probably just her age.
"You must be the new resident of the Jung house," Yeosang says, beckoning Wooyoung over. "Nice to meet you."
"Good morning, Yeosang," Wooyoung says. He doesn't even attempt to keep the confusion off his face because this is the third time now that Yeosang's greeted Wooyoung like it's his first time meeting Wooyoung and Wooyoung has no idea what to make of it.
Yeosang tilts his head and stares at Wooyoung for a few seconds with a frown before he physically shakes himself and smiles sheepishly. "Oh, good morning, Wooyoung. Sorry, I'm really out of it today."
"Don't worry about it."
Wooyoung really wants to ask someone else if Yeosang is always this forgetful, but there's no one he knows well enough yet to broach the subject. Wooyoung has an intrinsic need to help people, so he can't help but worry about whether there might be something bigger going on with Yeosang for him to be forgetting things so quickly and easily.
But, until he finds someone he can speak to about it, Wooyoung has to keep his nose out of other people's business, as much as it pains him to do so.
"So, did you want to try one of our cakes? Everything was baked fresh this morning, so you have a pick of just about everything we offer."
"Absolutely," Wooyoung says, his mouth watering at the sight of so many different cakes laid out in front of him. There are so many options and they all look equally as good that he could never possibly choose one himself. "Surprise me with your best."
"That'd be the strawberries and cream cake," a voice pipes up from behind Wooyoung.
Wooyoung turns and comes face to face with yet another beautiful man (is it mandatory to be incredibly attractive to live in Sulwick or something?) with long black hair and sharp features.
"I'm Seonghwa, by the way. Nice to meet you, Wooyoung."
"Nice to meet you too. I'll take your word for it on the cake." Wooyoung turns back to face Yeosang. "Two slices of the strawberries and cream cake, please. One for me and one for my new friend over here."
Seonghwa gasps in delight and claps his hands together excitedly. "You're going to be my new best friend."
"Only if this cake lives up to your high praise," Wooyoung jokes.
Yeosang quickly dishes up two slices for them and Wooyoung pays. Then, Wooyoung and Seonghwa head to one of the tables in the corner and take a seat opposite each other.
"Thank you for this, Wooyoung. It's very kind of you," Seonghwa says as he digs in.
"No problem. I love treating people."
Wooyoung takes his first bite of the cake and instantly hums his approval—Seonghwa was right, the cake is incredible. It's the perfect balance of sweet and creamy without being too overpowering. Wooyoung devours the whole slice within minutes and tells himself he needs to compliment Yeosang on his baking skills and buy another slice to take home for later.
Seonghwa finishes his own slice shortly after Wooyoung and then opens his mouth to say something. Before he produces a sound, though, he freezes and stares out of the window behind Wooyoung.
Wooyoung turns around, trying to figure out what it is that Seonghwa's staring at, but there's nothing outside that he can see, so he turns back.
Seonghwa mutters something and there's a faraway look in his eyes. Wooyoung leans in, trying to figure out what it is he's saying, but Seonghwa's mumbling is too quiet and unintelligible.
Wooyoung looks around the bakery, trying to find Yeosang for help, but the other man is nowhere to be seen.
Then, as if nothing had happened, Seonghwa comes back to himself, turns to Wooyoung with a smile and says, "So, tell me, what brings you to our wonderful little Sulwick?"
Wooyoung blinks a few times, wondering if he just imagined the whole thing as Seonghwa is acting completely normal, as if nothing ever happened in the first place.
He has no time to dwell on it, though, without causing an awkward silence, so Wooyoung explains the story of being left the house by his mysterious great-grandmother.
Seonghwa is attentive, asking questions in all the right places, and Wooyoung starts to think he really did imagine Seonghwa's strange muttering.
They end up deep in conversation about the best weather (Seonghwa insists it's snow, Wooyoung very much disagrees) when an alarm goes off on Seonghwa's phone, making them both jump.
Seonghwa glances at it for a second before announcing, "Shit, I'm so late. Sorry, Wooyoung, I have to dash. It was lovely meeting you, though, and thank you again for the cake. I'll treat you to a slice next time you're in here."
Then, Seonghwa is gone in a flurry.
Wooyoung looks around the bakery again for Yeosang, but he's still nowhere to be seen. He'll just have to come back another day for his extra slice of cake (and probably try another cake, if he's being honest with himself).
He drops a few coins in the tip jar on his way out and decides next on his agenda is to try and hunt down some pots and pans as well as do a food shop so that he can get back to his cooking hobby like he's been dreaming about for months.
Later that same evening, Wooyoung finds himself unable to fall asleep. Despite having a busy day filled with familiarising himself with his new town as well as meeting many, many new people, sleep's sweet embrace doesn't seem to have found him quite yet.
He tosses and turns in bed for a while before he eventually gives up and gets out of bed. He stands in his room for a minute, staring out of the window and debating what to do, before he decides that going on a walk will hopefully wear him out enough that he'll be able to fall asleep.
He puts on the first clothes he finds before he walks down to the local park. He'd spotted it earlier when he'd been exploring and it was only five minutes away from his house, so the perfect place to take his late night walk.
It's peaceful in the park, no other people to be found. He finds a bench next to one of the fields and takes a seat, leaning back into the bench and shutting his eyes. He takes a deep breath of the fresh air and feels it fill his lungs.
Wooyoung sits there for a few moments, simply breathing in the peaceful energy around him, before someone coughs beside him.
He opens his eyes only to come face to face with one of the most attractive men Wooyoung's ever come across in his life—which is saying something, considering some of the people he's met already in Sulwick. While the man is around Wooyoung's height, he's incredibly muscular and Wooyoung has to resist drooling at the sight of him.
Then he smiles and dimples appear and Wooyoung barely manages not to swoon.
"Sorry to bother you," the man says. "I just thought I'd come over and introduce myself since I haven't had a chance to meet you yet. I'm San, the local antiques dealer."
San sticks his hand out and Wooyoung wastes no time in shaking it enthusiastically. San's hands are slightly calloused and surprisingly smaller than Wooyoung's own.
"I'm Wooyoung, but I'm assuming you figured that out already."
"You're all that anyone's been talking about," San confirms. "The new mysterious man in the Jung house."
Wooyoung laughs. He's not surprised in the slightest by San's words—most of the people Wooyoung had met today had already known his name, so it seems like information spreads like wildfire through the community.
"Do you mind if I sit?" San asks.
"Go ahead."
San takes a seat on the bench beside Wooyoung, just close enough that Wooyoung can feel his body heat but without actually touching him. San leans back into the bench, similarly to how Wooyoung had been sitting before, and shuts his eyes, a soft smile on his face.
"It's always so tranquil in this park. I like coming here late at night, but I don't usually bump into other people."
"I couldn't sleep, so I thought some fresh air might do me some good," Wooyoung admits.
"Insomnia's a problem for me too. Maybe we'll find ourselves meeting again another night."
Wooyoung hums an agreement. There's a softness to San's voice that has the tendrils of sleep that have been evading Wooyoung for hours reaching out to try and grab him.
Wooyoung resists them for now. Sleeping on a park bench isn't a good idea for many reasons and he's also curious enough about San to want to keep himself awake to learn more about the other man.
He looks up at the sky above and watches the stars twinkle as him and San sit there together in a comfortable silence.
San's presence beside Wooyoung feels comforting, grounding, and there's an immediate pull towards him that Wooyoung can't explain. Attraction or not, he's been firmly pulled into San's orbit already.
"Beautiful, aren't they?"
When Wooyoung doesn't speak, San clarifies, "The stars, I mean."
Wooyoung turns his head to look at San, expecting him to be staring at the sky above much like Wooyoung had just been doing, but he finds San looking directly at him and his eyes sparkle as if the starlight has been captured within them.
Wooyoung feels his breath hitch when his eyes lock onto San's and he has to look away, feeling shy.
Shyness is not a feeling Jung Wooyoung experiences often in his life.
"Very beautiful," Wooyoung agrees. Then, he yawns loudly and slaps a hand over his mouth immediately after in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry. It's not you at all, I swear."
"You came here looking for sleep and you found it. I can't be offended by that."
I also found you, is what Wooyoung wants to say, but he holds it back. He can't go around saying things like that to someone who's practically a stranger.
"You should head home and get some rest," San encourages.
"Mm, you're right. I'm sure our paths will cross again soon." Wooyoung stands and brushes himself off before turning to look at San one last time. "It was really nice to meet you."
"And you," San replies. He gives Wooyoung another dimpled smile before he stands himself. "Goodnight, Wooyoung."
"G'night, San."
San leaves and disappears into the night as if he'd never been there in the first place.
Wooyoung pinches himself to make sure that he's actually awake and didn't dream the entire interaction. Sure enough, he's awake and San is most definitely real.
With a smile etched onto his face, Wooyoung makes the walk home, feeling his legs get heavier with each step he takes. Once he finally makes it home, it takes all of his willpower to change out of the clothes he's wearing and back into his pyjamas.
Once he's changed, he settles back into bed and shuts his eyes, ready to let sleep finally overtake him.
Then, someone shouts loudly outside. The words are indistinguishable, but it's definitely a person shouting.
With a groan, Wooyoung drags himself back out of bed and looks out of the window in an attempt to figure out what's going on.
He waits a minute or so before he hears the shouting start up again, then pushes open the window and sticks his head outside, hoping to hear better, but the second he does so the shouting immediately stops.
Wooyoung waits for a few more minutes, half hanging out of the window, hoping that he'll be able to find the source of the mysterious shouting, but everything has gone silent.
So, Wooyoung shuts the window and heads back to bed.
He's sure it was nothing.