san wooyoung

18.06.17

wooyoung takes a deep breath, knowing he won't be able to withhold information this critical from his best friend for any amount of time. of course he wants to protect him, but covering up the truth isn't always the best thing in the long run.

"yeosang," he starts quietly, and everyone immediately falls into silence. "let's get some air. you should... sit down."

the suggestion isn't anything out of the ordinary, as the appearance of one's soulmate and eighteenth birthday is not to be taken lightly. it's an arduous experience that many faint directly after enduring- so no one thought to disagree.

he feels a soft grip on his arm, the owner of the hand subtly quivering. wooyoung recognizes the presence as yeosang, and releases himself from san in order to follow the older outside.

"i'll tell him myself." he whispers gruffly, trusting the right person to hear. it's the only goodbye he can bid to the boy right then, unsure of everyone's whereabouts amidst the disarray.

yeosang doesn't seem to hear, set on getting away from the suffocating turmoil that is his own birthday party, and wooyoung is surprised when he leads them to the stairs, under the assumption they had been about to go outside.

"upstairs?" he questions, but continues up nonetheless. his friend hums in confirmation next to him, either lacking the physical energy to speak or simply emotionally drained from the discouraging facts.

wooyoung is familiar enough with the infrastructure of yeosang's house to conclude their destination when the other leads him to more stairs - this time narrower and their surroundings growing quieter, the music and chatter becoming distant background noise. they were heading for the roof.

when they reach the top, he hears yeosang exhaling deeply, pausing before reaching up to push open the skylight that leads outside to the roof. the two of them had spent countless afternoons lying on those sturdy tiles when they were younger, and wooyoung can confidently navigate his way up there- well, with his eyes closed. needless to say; he knows it well.

"give me your hand." the taller insists, despite knowing his friend probably doesn't want any help. wooyoung decides not to object, accepting wordlessly as he knows yeosang will think no less of him.

the fresh air hits him like a truck, almost instantaneously clearing his lungs and head, relaxing any tightness in his muscles and greeting him as a sorely missed old friend. the shorter enjoys its amicable engulfment, welcoming the calming effect it has on his perpetual darkness.

although it makes no difference to him, he imagines there to be a dull and starless blanket of overcast gloom above them, sensing a reasonably cloudy night hence the slightness of a clammy breeze, and wishes he'd dressed a little more warmly.

he turns his head consequent to the audible thump yeosang makes upon sitting down, and feels his way over to the side of his best friend. wooyoung lowers himself steadily, stretching out his legs languidly and balancing himself with his hands behind him, making no move to speak too soon.

but yeosang has already deducted countless possible conclusions, and takes the opportunity to pounce on one of them promptly. "do you know him?" he presses, the question dully laced with desperation. "park seonghwa. do you know him?"

wooyoung bites his lip, unsure how to go about revealing the little he actually knows. it's not much, but it's something. "not exactly."

"just tell me, woo." yeosang begs, defeat in his tone. "i'm already expecting the worst."

"well..." wooyoung starts, pain twisting his features. "it's just a possibility. but san saw- and i heard - someone called 'seonghwa' at the party, going to hook up with a girl." he pauses, literally blind to how yeosang is taking the news, deciding to leave out the part about chengxiao being san's girlfriend. (or so he assumed). he doesn't need to know that the top candidate for his soulmate was possibly a fuckboy who was going around picking up other guy's girls.

yeosang is quiet for a stretch, and wooyoung doesn't know what he should say to reassure him. there are no words that can help this matter, none that can make a difference to the impending calamity of the situation. the beliefs he had spoken to san earlier that night come to mind, backed by the five words that have stuck with him since about a week ago about soulmates not rejecting one another. he prays to whatever god there might be that his best friend won't be the first to have a soulmate like that.

"he has to know, don't you think?" yeosang finally spoke, his words quiet. "who's party he's at. who's house he's at." he's only voicing what they've both already been thinking, but it makes the situation seem even worse.

wooyoung doesn't reply, instead simply laying his head on the other's shoulder; the only comfort he's able to offer. yeosang's whole body seems to sag, and the blonde boy shuffles closer to his warmth.

"let's talk about something else." he suggests softly, stretching his arm around the brunette's shoulders and drawing him in.

"like what?" yeosang sniffles, and wooyoung's heart falls when he realizes he has been trying not to cry.

"anything," he offers, listening to the occasional rumble and engine vibration of a car going past below them. "or nothing. we can just sit."

yeosang opts for the latter, and the two drink in the silence through their every pore, soothed by its meditative qualities. it's not a sullen nor ominous silence, not cold, heavy nor awkward. neither is it complete and utter silence, because one is acutely aware of the other's steady breathing, and wooyoung can feel a warm breath when yeosang lowers his head to look at him mutely.

they stay like this for as long as he needs to, and wooyoung would believe anyone who tells them they'd been up there for five minutes or fifty.

the first interruption they face is not unwelcome, and wooyoung raises his head at the sound of the skylight being pushed open, calculating at least three more people to be clambering onto the rooftop to join them.

"it's yeonjun, soobin and yunho." yeosang tells him under his breath, and by the clinking of glass wooyoung figures they've brought alcohol.

"where's mingi?" he then asks after they have all sat down, making the roof seemingly a lot less spacious and silent.

"with san," replies yunho gravely, nudging wooyoung's hand with the cold bottle to offer him a sip, which he accepts gratefully. "apparently they know each other pretty well, and are trying to find the seonghwa guy or something." he explains, and yeosang winces at the name.

the taller takes the bottle from him, and doesn't speak, the sound of him gulping back the contents his only answer. a part of wooyoung wonders if it's a good idea to be getting drunk on top of a fairly high building, but no one else says anything, so he supposed it's okay.

"let's not talk about it." soobin repeats what wooyoung had suggested earlier, and the others hum in agreement.

"hey," he hears yeonjun warn, followed by a sound of objection from yeosang. "don't drink the whole bottle."

wooyoung gestures for someone to pass him the bottle, and presses its cold surface against his warming face when it's given to him before swallowing the rest of its contents. yeosang nudges him, mumbling in protest. he feels like he needs it to.

"there," wooyoung gasps, wincing as the burning sensation licks down his throat and settles like acid in his stomach. "now you can't drink it."

"wooyoung!" yeonjun groans, taking the empty bottle from him. "you're going to die. we both know your tolerance is as good as a five year old child." he's right. wooyoung already feels a hazy buzz setting in.

they laugh, and wooyoung feels yeosang getting up a little unsteadily next to him. "and bold of you to assume i don't have more."

he uses wooyoung's shoulders as a stabilizer when going past, before presumably descending back into the house. "c'mon, help me get the stash."

he lies back, dimly aware of soobin and yunho going down after him. he isn't very sure though, because after that even his blackness seems to become a blur. not a good idea.

-

um sort of a filler? this chapter was originally way too long so i decided to split it up into two... so expect a double update hehe

i hope i'm not boring you to death yet i have a million plans for this fic just none for early on ;-;

thanks for 1k!!! means a lot ♡

xxx

edit: 5 updates in a day? i really said y'all wanna see some real speed? honestly i'm just writing instead of doing online lessons yikeskdjsk