There is mentions of homophobia, abuse (verbal/emotional), along with topics of emotional neglect, yelling, confrontation and themes of mental health including anxiety. Please do not read any further if these topics are sensitive to you.

⸻⸻ .·:*¨༺ ♛ ♡ ∞ ♡ ♛ ༻¨*:·. ⸻⸻

Wooyoung holds his phone in his hand, palm slightly shaking.

"Answer it." San says quietly, watching Wooyoung turn his head just to glance at him. "I'll be right here. If she starts yelling or whatever, just hang up. You don't have to listen to that."

"Why should I even bother answering?" Wooyoung turns to look at his phone again, chewing on his bottom lip tentatively as he feels San's arm wrap around his waist.

"You never know what it could be about." San mutters with a tuned sadness accompanying his tone. Wooyoung knows that San is only speaking from experience since his mother only ever called him when something was wrong, so Wooyoung can't find it in his heart to deny him. His thumb swipes across his screen, answering the call, immediately placing the call on speaker.

"Wooyoung?"

"What do you want?"

There's a momentary silence after Wooyoung's bitter greeting, and Wooyoung feels his stomach twist. "We need to talk."

"What's there to talk about? You know where I stand, I know where you two stand. That should be that."

"We need to fix what went wrong. There's a side to the story you don't know. Your father doesn't even know that I'm calling you."

"I don't really want to see you right now."

"Wooyoung–"

"No. Do you not realize that the way you spoke to me last time was borderline abusive?"

"I don't realize I'm coming off that way in the moment."

"Of course not. You were raised with venom in your veins. You don't have a fucking heart to begin with."

"Wooyoung. I didn't call you to argue with you. I want to fix what happened and I want to make amends."

"You can make amends when dad decides he wants to, too."

"You know he won't agree to that."

"Exactly my point. Now if you don't mind, I was cuddling with my boyfriend and I'd very much rather get back to doing that."

"Wooyoung. I'm serious."

"I am too. I found someone who actually loves me and cares about me, therefore, he takes precedence in my life. You don't. End of story."

"Please." Wooyoung's brows furrow. San holds onto him tighter.

"Why?"

"I'll send you an address and a time. It's up to you if you want to show up."

"How cryptic." Wooyoung rolls his eyes and his mother sighs through the call.

"Goodbye, Wooyoung."

He hangs up the call without another thought, leaning back over to set his phone down on the bedside table. San pulls the younger back into him, Wooyoung immediately melting into San's warmth as he gently clashes into his body, eyes closing automatically.

"I really didn't expect you to stand up for yourself like that." San scoffs. Wooyoung shrugs, hardly an ounce of regret settled in his stomach.

"She deserved it. I don't think I'm gonna go. Why should I after everything she did?"

"You have a point." San sighs, which leads Wooyoung to believe that the elder was about to say something that he was not going to like. "Or–"

"San'ah." Wooyoung warns, leaning away from his hold, eyes boring into San unamusingly.

"Listen." San says calmly, voice soft and low, watching as Wooyoung rolls his eyes and leans right back into his embrace without further argument. "We've gotta move your stuff out of their house anyway. Maybe this is the perfect bridge to see her and be like 'oh yeah, by the way. I'm moving in with San, so I need access to the house.' Just a thought."

"I don't want her to know about my life anymore." Wooyoung groans, even if San did have a point.

"Then you don't have to tell her anything. I know it probably seems like a waste of time, but it might be worth seeing what she wants to talk about."

"Sounds like my dad won't be there." Wooyoung says softly, nearly a murmur. San drags his fingertips along Wooyoung's arm featherlight; trying to soothe the nerves out of him.

"It's probably for the best." San presses a kiss to the top of Wooyoung's head, muttering his next words into his hair. "I'd wanna beat his ass, anyway."

Wooyoung scoffs and San smiles at him. "I'm serious, Wooyoung. I'll go with you if you want me to."

"Won't that be like adding salt to the wound?" Wooyoung asks curiously, even if he doesn't seem to hate the idea.

"That's. . . not the intention behind it. But, if you want to take me with you, I'm not gonna complain. I won't speak for you, but I'll just be there to protect you if you need me. Who knows, this could be the last time you see her."

Wooyoung is quiet for a moment, nosing into San's neck, breathing him in as he contemplates. San always smelled so good, so comforting. He isn't sure if he just started associating San with the feeling of home or something similar, but even just leaning against his chest and breathing him in like this felt beyond safe.

"I'll think about it." Wooyoung settles on, unsure if even thinking about seeing his mother again was worth the effort. San hums and kisses his head again.

"Okay. Wanna watch a movie to relax?"

"Yeah." Wooyoung leans away, smiling tiredly at his partner. "Put on something funny, though."

"No Harry Potter tonight?"

"We watch that too much." Wooyoung watches San smile back at him, but he nods in agreement.

"Okay. Funny movie it is, then."

Four days later, Wooyoung wakes to a series of text messages from his mother. San was in the shower, light barely cascading into the windows as clouds continuously rolled overhead, hiding the peak of the sun. Wooyoung sits upright, rubbing at his eyes with an unamused glint within his gaze. He knew what the text messages were about, but he really did not care to read them.

Wooyoung shuffles out of bed, opening his closet to pull a fresh pair of jeans out along with a knitted sweatshirt, finding barely any motivation to think too hard into what he wanted to wear. They were most likely going to laze around anyways and spend time with one another without worry, but he also didn't know if San had any plans for the day. Which, if he did, Wooyoung wouldn't mind all that much. He'd do just about anything with San, mostly as an excuse to spend as much time with him as possible, simply because he could never really get enough of him.

Buzz. Buzz.

"Oh my god." Wooyoung's eyes roll as he pulls his jeans onto his waist, zipping them and looping the button through before tugging off his black tee. Curiously, and almost purely out of annoyance, Wooyoung leans over to check his phone that still rested on his bed, catching sight of more text messages from his mom and one from Seonghwa. With a breath, Wooyoung unlocks his phone and taps on Seonghwa's message, reading quickly.

Seonghwa

Wanted to stop by the dorm for a minute. Are you awake?

Wooyoung hears the bathroom door open behind him and he turns to look at San, phone still in his hand, unlocked. San smiles at him, eyes flicking down to look at Wooyoung's phone before blinking back upwards, meeting Wooyoung's gaze.

"Who's that?"

"Just Hwa." Wooyoung looks back down, thumbs tapping away quickly on the device before he sends a message.

I'm up. Come over. Door's unlocked.

"He wants to come by for a second, so put a shirt on." Wooyoung smiles, watching San roll his eyes and reach for his discarded hoodie that laid in its usual spot on Wooyoung's desk chair. Wooyoung grabs San's wrist after he slides his hoodie on, pulling the male closer. "Sleep okay?"

"I always sleep okay with you." San murmurs, tilting his head downwards, nose touching Wooyoung's.

"I know you do, Sannie." Wooyoung kisses him chastely, leaning back to look at him adoringly.

"Woo–" Seonghwa's voice rings through the front door as it opens, stepping into the dorm without hesitation. Wooyoung turns around, tossing his phone onto his bed before meeting Seonghwa half way. "I have a question for you."

Wooyoung raises his brow as he stands in the middle of the dorm. "What's up?"

"Joong and I want to go out of town for a weekend, but we wanted to invite you and Sannie with us. Probably after the semester ends, and also when it's not cold as shit outside."

"Oh." Wooyoung's eyes lit up immediately, turning around barely to look at San, who was now sitting in Wooyoung's desk chair. "What d'you think?"

"Whatever you want. I'll go where you go." San says contently, and Wooyoung nearly leaps out of his skin. He expected the answer, but it had him preening nonetheless.

"Where to?"

"Oh, I don't know. We can talk about it. Joong was just mentioning that he wanted to get away sometime in the summer before we all move out on our own. One last roommate hoorah, or something."

"Really didn't take Joong to be the sentimental type." Wooyoung scoffs, shrugging anyway. "But it sounds fun."

Just as Seonghwa is about to respond, Wooyoung's phone incessantly begins buzzing for the nth time this morning. Wooyoung glances at his bed, hand reaching up to rub at his temples before looking away, eyeing finding Seonghwa again. The elder eyes him worriedly, pointing to the bed. "Are you avoiding someone?"

"My mom." Wooyoung admits quietly, chewing on his lower lip. "She wants to meet me for lunch or some shit."

"Oh." Seonghwa looks at Wooyoung's bed, hand dropping to his side. "Did you read any of her messages?"

"I haven't wanted to." Wooyoung shifts uncomfortably on his feet, turning his head to look at his bed again. "Maybe I should. I don't know."

"I think you should." Seonghwa presses lightly. "But if you don't want to, then don't."

"San'ah–" Wooyoung turns on his heel and eyes his boyfriend anxiously, seeking guidance for the correct solution to his seemingly miniscule issue. "What do you think?"

"Do you want me to read your phone first? Make sure she's not berating you?" San offers, leaning forwards in the chair.

"Yeah. Please." Wooyoung walks towards his bed, grabbing his phone without sparing a glance. He hands it off without issue, watching as San unlocks his phone and opens the text message chain. His eyes scan the words quickly, nearly expressionless, making sure to take in the entire conversation before looking back up at his anxious boyfriend who stood ahead of him, shifting the weight between his feet. San takes a breath before handing Wooyoung his phone back.

"It's not bad, love. She genuinely wants to meet you somewhere."

"Does she really?" Wooyoung breathily responded, almost disbelieving. Wooyoung grabs his phone and looks through the text messages, heart lodged in his throat.

Mom

I'll be at your aunt's restaurant tomorrow afternoon around one. We can meet and discuss whatever you want there.

Your dad will not be there. It'll be just me.

I'm serious, Wooyoung. I just want to talk.

I don't want to argue and I don't expect you to forgive me right away.

You're my youngest son. I want to fix everything before I lose you.

Wooyoung's brow furrows. He isn't completely sure how to feel about any of this.

"What do you think?" Seonghwa asks quietly, taking a few steps closer.

"I think she's lying." Wooyoung says with a breath. "She's never been remorseful for anything in her entire life."

"Maybe the two months of distance changed her mind?" San says softly, and Wooyoung just shrugs.

"I'll hear her out. But I have no intentions of letting her back into my life." Wooyoung tosses his phone back onto his bed, biting his tongue with a bored gaze. No one wanted to press any further, waiting in tense silence as Wooyoung sways in the middle of the room. San rises from the chair, arms wrapping around Wooyoung's middle, kissing the side of his head and then his temple.

"Uhm, sorry, Hwa. I didn't mean to interrupt what we were talking about." Wooyoung glances back at Seonghwa, head turning as he barely fights to escape San's hold on him.

"It's okay. I basically said what I wanted to." Seonghwa folded his arms to his chest, adjusting the way he was standing. "Oh, that reminds me–"

Wooyoung blinks at him, leaning into San's hold for a moment before watching Seonghwa approach while pulling his phone from his back pocket. "Joong and I were looking at apartments and houses for rent, and we saw that this building had two apartments for rent in the same complex."

"Oh?" Wooyoung's once bored and dejected gaze suddenly beams brighter, a glimmer of excitement bleeding through his veins. "You still wanna be close to me, don't you hyung?"

"Of course I do, you idiot." Seonghwa rolls his eyes, tapping away at his phone momentarily before pulling up a website with a slideshow of pictures. "It's decently nice for the price of it, and it's on campus so we wouldn't be far from here."

"That's awesome, Hwa, but–" San leans away from Wooyoung a few inches, adjusting his hold so he can look at the elder. "I have an idea about all of that."

"This'll be interesting." Wooyoung huffs, looking at Seonghwa. "Only because I don't even know about this idea."

"Because I've just thought of it." San muses lightly, rolling his eyes. "Anyway. My mom left my dad's house to me. I had to decide what we did with it as far as keeping it, me moving into it, or whatever."

Seonghwa's phone is shoved back into his pocket as he listens curiously, watching San's gaze carefully.

"I decided to sell it. The house is too far away, and. . . I don't want to live somewhere that holds so many memories. Good and bad ones, at that. I've discussed it with Wooyoung, and we've known for a while that we want to live together, but I'm going to have more than enough funds to take care of rent. So, I've been thinking, for a little bit actually, that the four of us could find a place. We can look until we find the perfect one, even if it's split level or something, I don't know–"

"I don't wanna impose on you two." Seonghwa is a mixture of thankfulness and happiness, with a blurred line of sadness crumbling in between. San shakes his head, almost adamantly, releasing one of his arms slung around Wooyoung to reach for Seonghwa, landing on his shoulder gently.

"You wouldn't be. We care about you, and about Joong, and I think that until we all can get a bit more steady on our feet, it might be the perfect step so we don't have to worry about paying for rent in an expensive part of town."

Seonghwa smiles at him, teeth sinking into his bottom lip briefly before nodding. "Let me talk to Joong about it, but I really like the idea of that."

"It'll be less lonely." Wooyoung looks at Seonghwa, knowing that the elder would understand exactly what he meant. San glances at Wooyoung for a moment, but comes to realize that it was some sort of unknown secret that the two close friends had, so he chose not to take any offense to the comment.

"Yeah." Seonghwa breathes out, glancing back at the door behind him. "I'll leave you two to. . . whatever you had planned for the day. Uhm, but. . . let me know what happens with your mom. Call me or text me, whatever you wanna do."

"I will, Hwa." Wooyoung smiles at him.

Seonghwa leaves the dorm after another few minutes of conversing, leaving the two males to settle back into the quiet of their morning, sitting in near silence. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence by any means, but it gave Wooyoung all the time he needed to process the onslaught of emotions rushing at him. Wooyoung had escaped San's hold and melted into his mattress, staring into the ceiling as he found himself doing on several occasions. San sat and watched him quietly, spinning in the desk chair slowly.

Wooyoung doesn't really want to see his mother, nor does he want to hear her voice anymore, but he supposed that Seonghwa and San had a point. He truthfully did need to get the rest of his belongings out of his home and it would be a prime opportunity to let out any remaining resentment he may still have within his heart.

All Wooyoung could ask for is to be rid of his attachments to his parents. He no longer had the will to stay in contact with his mother, or his father for that matter. He wanted to be free of the chains that weighed him down for over the last decade. But, in the back of his mind, he finds himself hopeful for a different outcome. One not so rash, not so isolated; he's surely dreaming of a fairytale at this juncture, but it felt depressing to only see an outcome without parents.

"You okay?" San asks quietly, suddenly climbing into bed next to Wooyoung and hovering over him. Wooyoung's eyes snap to gaze at him, blinking a few times to wake himself free of his tangled thoughts.

"Yes, yeah. I'm fine. There's a lot on my mind, is all." Wooyoung breathes calmly, eyes casting away from San for a moment as more words linger on the back of his tongue. San can tell the younger wants to say something, so he waits patiently, idly resting above Wooyoung with a small smile as he watches Wooyoung gather the courage to speak. "Do you honestly think there's a chance she feels remorseful?"

"I had a feeling you were going to ask me that." San sighs, leaning down on his elbows as he plants his knees carefully on one side of Wooyoung's body before leaning to his side, flopping down onto the mattress next to the younger. Wooyoung watches him, teeth reaching for the interior of his cheek as he anxiously awaits an answer, unsure of how his partner even felt about the entire situation. "I don't know your parents as well as you do, obviously. The good side of me, my heart, wants to hope that she sees what she did wrong. I want to hope that she'll apologize and take accountability for everything she put you through, while also trying to explain your father's behavior. Mothers tend to feel more deeply about their children at times, so I would hope that she would come to her senses by now."

"Okay." Wooyoung takes an uneasy breath. "If that's what your heart says, what does your mind say?"

"The logical part of me thinks that she doesn't have any plans of being remorseful. I think she's going to play you, gaslight you, do anything she can to have you back under her wing so she can try to pull out her tricks again. Who knows, maybe your dad has a hold on her too."

"My dad loves my mom," Wooyoung's brows furrow. "I don't know if he'd ever force her into anything like that."

"Can I speak plainly here, Woo? Do you mind if I just. . . spit something out?"

"I won't hold it against you." Wooyoung affirms quietly, watching San wet his lips with his tongue for a moment before he speaks.

"Your dad is an abusive asshole, Wooyoung." San's jaw tightens, watching the younger's breath catch in his throat. "I would hope he doesn't talk to your mother the way he talks to you. I already want to beat the shit out of him, so I don't know what I'll do if we find out something worse beneath all of this."

Wooyoung's heart swells and tightens all in one action, mind confused at what exact emotion he should be feeling. San was right. His father was abusive and he was an asshole. As for his mother, Wooyoung didn't know where to place his feelings. A part of him held out hope that the woman who raised him would be kind enough to realize how wrong she had been. But the other part, the more logical part, comes to terms with the end of a relationship with both of his parents.

"I didn't mean to overstep." San tries to soothe in a rush as Wooyoung falls to silence. "If I said too much, I'm sorry."

"You didn't say anything that wasn't the truth, jagi." Wooyoung finally says, a sudden flash of dejection fading over his skin. "I needed to hear that."

"You look sad now, though." San frowns with a murmur.

"Well. . . it's not easy to hear someone else call your father abusive." Wooyoung shifts so he can lay on his side, facing towards San. "But it's something I've never been willing to admit. So hearing that made something click."

"Like what?"

"Made me realize that I put up with shit for too long." Wooyoung leans forward to snake his arms around San's waist, colliding into the male's chest to breathe him in. "You've never even met him and you saw it better than I could."

"You're not oblivious, Woo." San comforts quietly, leaning down to rest into his pillow. "You're just blinded by the fact that he's your father. Parents aren't supposed to act like that towards their kids, but it was all you ever grew up knowing. But now that you're older and know how parents are supposed to act, hearing all of it from me, or even from Hwa, is going to be shocking regardless."

"How do you always know how to make me feel better?" Wooyoung glances up at San, fingers toying with the shirt attached to his chest.

"Magical boyfriend abilities." San smiles, listening to Wooyoung quietly scoff in response. "But I'm also just being honest with you. I wouldn't tell you something that was a lie."

"Will you go with me tomorrow?" Wooyoung asks softly. "You don't have to. But. . . it might be easier if you did."

"You don't even have to ask." San affirms, pulling the male closer. "I'll be there every step of the way."

Wooyoung is quiet for a moment, head tilting forward to press into San's chest. "Promise?"

"Promise."

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea, Wooyoung." San says timidly, sitting in the driver's seat of his car as he drives through busy traffic, one hand on the wheel, the other glued to Wooyoung's thigh.

"I think it'll be funny." Wooyoung shrugs, one hand holding his phone while his opposite elbow leaned into the center console.

"Young'ah–" San groans lightly. "We don't want to go in there and automatically piss her off."

"Why not?" Wooyoung muses, turning to glance at San.

"You know why." San shifts his hold on the steering wheel as he makes a right turn, pulling into a less busy street, searching for a parking space.

"So, you're telling me that if I kiss you in front of her, you're gonna lean away from me?"

"I didn't say that." San rolls his eyes, spotting a space further up the street as he continues to drive.

"Then that's the deal. If she pisses me off or gives me pushback, I'm gonna say some choice words, demand to move out my shit, and then kiss you right in front of her homophobic eyes."

"I won't stop you." San says quietly. "But I don't think it's a good idea."

"It's just in case. I'm not going to forsure do that." Wooyoung tries to assure, but San doesn't seem all that impressed.

"If you insist, jagi."

Wooyoung chews on his bottom lip as he looks out the window, spotting a familiar restaurant down the street with a glowing neon sign hanging off of the building. San parallel parks his car with ease, turning off the engine before getting out, walking towards the sidewalk as Wooyoung exits the passenger seat. Wooyoung looks ahead, eyes scanning the familiar path towards the restaurant as he listens to San mumble something behind him after locking his car. There's a familiar pit settled in Wooyoung's stomach, but instead of ignoring it, he chooses to feel it. He knows he's nervous, maybe a little anxious, but he's spent enough time delaying the inevitable. It was time to either forgive or cut the ties completely.

"Here." San stands beside him, holding his hand out to Wooyoung as they hesitate. Wooyoung looks down, biting his lip, glancing up at San afterwards. He knows he isn't alone in this, and the thought of that alone is overwhelmingly comforting. Wooyoung laces their hands together and slides his phone into his pocket, readily walking towards the restaurant with San next to him.

As they arrive, the restaurant is relatively empty, minus a few patrons in the far right corner, leaving all of the other seats vacant. Wooyoung doesn't spot his mother until he glances around a private wall, spotting her settled at a table secluded from the rest of the other seats. Suddenly, he wants to back out, turn and run away with San in tow so he can continue to ignore everything his mother wants. But, that isn't who he is. One more chance.

"She's over there." Wooyoung subtly remarks, watching San's gaze turn towards the half-wall.

"Ready?" San asks.

"Let's get it over with." Wooyoung clings to San's hand tighter, leading him towards the private room with an uneasy breath. The moment they break through the threshold of the room, Wooyoung watches as his mother's eyes train towards him with unamusement lingering in her gaze. He ignores her for a moment, pointedly sitting across from her with San settled to his left, hand still holding onto his nervously.

"You came." His mother states plainly as Wooyoung gets comfortable in his seat, eyes boring into her with boredom laced in his hues. His mother eyes San for a moment, almost with a trace of disgust or something similar, but San doesn't bother to pay attention.

"I did. What do you want?"

"What a way to be polite, son. I thought I raised you better?"

"Enough." Wooyoung's voice is laced with such venom, such spite; San isn't sure if he's ever heard Wooyoung speak like this to anyone.

"Fine." His mother sits up in her seat, straightening her spine as she pushes her nearly-finished tea to the side. "I wanted to talk about your scholarship."

"What about it?"

"Your father made the decision to make you apply to that college. I had no say in it. I agreed, simply because your older brother went there too. We thought it would be good exposure for you, maybe in the hope that you'd grow up and focus on a real job instead of some fantasy."

"And what exactly do you consider a fantasy?" Wooyoung tilts his head slightly, his free hand moving upwards as his elbow rests on the table, palm folded open for his chin to rest into.

"Dancing isn't a job, Wooyoung." His mother seems adamant, so sure of something she clearly knows nothing about. San notes how bold she is in saying that, knowing that his mother knew for a fact that he himself was a dance major and pursuing a career in dance, considering how friendly she is with his dance professor.

"You're ignorant. D'you know that?"

"Watch your tone." She grumbles, irritation lingering in her gaze. "Anyway. I didn't want him to be so hard on you like that. He wants what's best for you and he's always wanted that."

"Oh?" Wooyoung's head raises, stature no longer slouched as he sits upright, amusement lingering in his eyes. "He wants what's best for me?"

"Of course he does." His mother smiles, almost as if she felt relief in finally getting through to her son. San knew all too well that Wooyoung was being sarcastic, and for a slight moment, he felt sorry for his mother.

"Well too fucking bad." Wooyoung leaned back down, hand leaving San's so he could fold his arms against his chest. "I'm going to say this once, and I really want you to fucking hear the words I'm about to say to you, because if you try to argue with me, I'm walking out."

Wooyoung's mother falls silent, her smile sinking into a frown. "He's fucking abusive. He belittles me. He yells at me. Oh! And, not to mention how often he threatens me along with all of the shit of mine that he broke when I was a kid because I didn't get good enough grades."

San glances at Wooyoung, heart pained at the unheard memories leaving Wooyoung's tongue. He never wanted to pry about the younger's childhood, but now as he hears more of it, he can't bear but feel boiling rage sink into his pores. He really hated Wooyoung's dad and he's never even met the guy, not to mention how much he truly wanted to beat his ass. That said enough.

"I want nothing to do with him anymore. He's fucking homophobic, he's abusive and he's not a father to me. He's just a stranger that I've lived with and had to hide my entire life from for years. I'm over it. I want to be happy– fuck! No, I deserve to be happy. If you can't accept that, and he can't accept that, then fuck the both of you."

"Jung Wooyoung." His mother threatens lightly between her teeth, fingers gripping onto the edge of the table. "Watch. Your. Tone."

"Y'know what?" Wooyoung smiles at her with possibly the most shit-eating grin he could ever conjure up. "No."

"Oh boy." San mutters under his breath, fully expecting Wooyoung to turn in his seat and shove his tongue down his throat. But, he doesn't.

"Oh, by the way, mom, this is San. Remember him? He's my boyfriend. I love him more than you could possibly ever imagine, more than you've probably loved anyone in your entire life. I sleep with him, we go on dates, and even better–" Here we go. Wooyoung brazenly grabs San by the collar of his shirt and tugs him forward, kissing him chastely. San knew it was coming, but he had to admit, the look of pure shock coated over his mother's face was indescribably enjoyable. "I'm moving in with him in the summer."

"Wooyoung! You are being extremely disrespectful and you're– you're diluted! You're not thinking right!"

"Oh. I'm thinking perfectly straight, because I'm not fucking straight. I'm never going to be into girls, sorry to disappoint. You have no idea how many times he's saved me and helped me because of the shit you and dad put me through. When I needed someone, guess who was there?" Wooyoung's mother blankly stares at him, rage burning through her skin. "Well, I'll make it easier for you; it wasn't you and it definitely wasn't dad."

"You're making a mistake."

"Am I?" Wooyoung laughs, standing from his seat, glancing at San. "I don't think so. But, I just wanted to warn you that I'm gonna be stopping by the house to pack up the rest of my shit so I never have to see you again."

"Wooyoung–"

"Nope. The time for talking is over, you just get to listen now." Wooyoung holds out his hand for San, no longer shaking and no longer filled with the same anxiety San was so used to seeing radiate off of him. "I'm done with you. I'm done with dad. I'm done with the family. I don't need you, and I don't need your money and I especially don't need your fucking opinions in my life anymore. Consider this our final chat together, Jung Soo-ah."

With that, Wooyoung laces his hand with San's, leading him outside of the restaurant and towards his car wordlessly. San unlocks his car and settles inside, watching as Wooyoung gets into the passenger seat with a pale expression. San looks at him for a moment, words unable to leave his tongue as he sits and waits for the younger to say something, but Wooyoung simply smiles.

"It's over." Wooyoung shakily admits with a breath, eyes staring out of the windshield as he grapples with reality.

"Do you feel okay? Do you need anything?"

"San'ah–" Wooyoung leans back into his seat, forcibly turning his gaze towards his partner, tears curling over and sinking down his cheeks. "I don't know what I feel right now. I can't tell if I'm relieved or i-if I'm upset– I don't know."

"It's okay, love." San leans over the center of his car, hands resting on Wooyoung's jaw as his thumbs sweep away his falling tears. "One thing at a time, right?"

"Yeah." Wooyoung smiles at him, leaning into his touch.

"I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself." San looks at him lovingly, voice low and calm.

"Thank you for coming with me."

"I'd do anything for you." San assures quietly, leaning a little closer. "I love you, Wooyoung."

Wooyoung tilts his head slightly, kissing one of San's palms. "I love you most."

Wooyoung and San head back to the dorms shortly after, Wooyoung clinging closely to San as they settle back into bed and turn on the third Harry Potter movie, enjoying everything about their newly found peace. Wooyoung was finally free. No more ties, no strings attached; he could simply just exist and live without the fear of his parents looming over him. San held onto him closely, always checking in on him, making sure that he was okay before they went to sleep and after they had woken up. A new life spent without parents would be an adjustment, but one they would conquer together.

Afterall, San was all Wooyoung ever needed.