i swear y'all want wooyoung killed or smth

cw: mentions of drug use & slight gore

you chose:
a) open the glove compartment

* * *

Wooyoung inhaled a deep breath, before gently tugging the glove compartment open.

He knew he had no right to be doing this, especially not in the car of a roommate he barely knew, but his curiosity was just begging to be satiated.

"Fucking hell," he silently cursed at his rapid, unsteady heartbeat. Even his hands shook like they were touching something cursed and forbidden. His jittery limbs distracted him and prevented him from staying concentrated.

I can't believe I'm doing this, Wooyoung thought the second his eyes took note of the several papers meshed into the compartment. They were in complete disarray, like they'd been shoved in prior to tonight, but apart from them there appeared to be nothing else there.

Nothing else... There's nothing else there so stop looking. Close the glove compartment before you fucking get caught, Wooyoung, the logical half of Wooyoung's mind shouted, but he'd totally blocked it out. He was now in too deep.

At this point, Wooyoung's breathing had grown more laboured, tense. Impatience allowed him to hurriedly shift through the many disorderly papers, only to slow down at what he saw.

It was a bracelet first, a simple silver one that glistened lowly in the darkness. Then there were the watches, the jewelry, the copious amount of rings, a purple lipstick -- even a beanie. The materials were inconsistent, and so random. It made no sense why they'd be scattered inside here together.

Before Wooyoung knew what he was doing, his fingers took the lipstick, slowly spinning it around in the light to observe it.

It looked...new, intact for the most part. Wooyoung was about to unscrew the cap when a shadow appeared in his vicinity.

"What are you doing?"

Wooyoung, startled and afraid, fumbled unceremoniously with the lipstick before the cosmetic finally smacked the ground. His heart raced like he'd just ran a marathon, but he tried not to let it show as he looked out the window, seeing none other than Seonghwa standing there.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.

"Uh, s-sorry." Wooyoung felt like he was going into cardiac arrest with how painfully quick his heartbeat had gotten. "I-I didn't mean to -- "

Seonghwa's hollow eyes were blisteringly intense. It made Wooyoung feel suffocated.

"I'm sorry," Wooyoung muttered again, his voice weak.

Seonghwa didn't answer, just walked around the car to enter through the driver's side. The silence in the car was as thick and cold as ice, and Wooyoung could only watch as the older man casually picked up the lipstick.

"You were curious, right?" Seonghwa was smiling now, but his tone was empty, almost mechanical.

Wooyoung didn't know how to answer. It was obvious he'd been snooping around where he shouldn't, and he feared he'd gotten Seonghwa, of all people, pissed off. Fuck, he was such an idiot.

His quietness didn't seem to bother Seonghwa, however. The man just shook the lipstick a little, a small chuckle leaving his lips.

"It's my sister's." Seonghwa dropped it back into the glove compartment and closed it, thereby hiding its contents from Wooyoung's gaze. "She does that a lot when I drive her. Leaving her stuff in my car, that is. It's quite funny."

"I guess." Wooyoung pushed a soft, relieved breath out of his lips. So that lipstick belonged to the man's sister. But, what about all the other stuff inside there? "I'm really sorry for looking through your things without your permission. That was so rude of me."

Seonghwa waved him off, putting on his seatbelt. He appeared just as relieved as Wooyoung. "It's fine. Next time, just ask, okay?"

Wooyoung looked at him. "...Are you kidding?"

"No," Seonghwa spared him a fond glance as he reversed out of their parking space. "I mean it. If you want to know more about me, I can always show you. Just say the word."

Wooyoung had to wonder if that was a threat or not.

"Also, I don't have any ice cream on me, sorry about that," Seonghwa continued as he joined the other vehicles on the main road. "They ran out of the ones I usually buy for everyone as soon as I'd checked."

Wooyoung had honestly forgotten about them. "Oh, yeah. It's whatever."

He could feel Seonghwa's stares carving metaphorical holes into the side of his face, and they were ones he just couldn't ignore for long. "What?"

The blond man smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. If there was one thing about him that Wooyoung found strange, it was the way he seemed to effortlessly switch between emotionlessness and raw joy. It was always so sudden too, so unexpected.

And sometimes -- like right now -- it made Wooyoung nervous.

Seonghwa's lips moved, but Wooyoung didn't hear a thing they said. His gaze darted elsewhere as soon as he realized he'd been watching the older man's mouth.

"What?" Wooyoung questioned, ears burning when he heard Seonghwa's subdued laughter.

"I said, are you a ring or necklace kind of guy?"

What kind of question is that? Wooyoung's eyes traced over the several houses and stores they'd passed as he tried to sort out his racing thoughts.

Seonghwa pointed at the thin golden ring wrapped around Wooyung's finger, and the younger male suddenly became self-conscious of it. "You always wear it out. I noticed."

Wooyoung fondled the piece of jewelry. "Uh, yeah."

"I guess you prefer that over necklaces?"

Wooyoung had no idea why he and Seonghwa were now taking about rings and necklaces of all things, and he didn't know where the older man was going with it either. But he still preferred this over getting Seonghwa mad at him any day.

"I'm have a ring on my hand, so I guess I prefer them...?" Wooyoung hoped his voice didn't betray how utterly bewildered he was about this whole topic.

Seonghwa looked pleased. "And you like them golden, right? Or you don't mind the colour?"

"I'm sorry -- but why are you asking me all this?" Wooyoung asked, adding in a laugh so he wouldn't seem like an ass.

Fortunately, Seonghwa seemed fine with his questioning. "I guess it's part of me getting to know you. And frankly, I'd expected that answer."

"How so?"

"I think I'm particularly good at reading others," Seonghwa stated. He'd gotten Wooyoung's full attention now, and that motivated him to keep talking. "In fact, it's probably a superpower."

"A superpower."

"Yep." Seonghwa grinned, turning a corner. They were gradually approaching the road that would lead to their apartment, but Wooyoung hadn't even noticed.

His curiosity had gotten the best of him yet again. "Oh really? Try and read me, then."

Unparalleled exhilaration flashed in Seonghwa's irises. "Sure. I'll try my absolute best to figure you out."

In the distance stood the apartment complex, the building void of any and all lights save for the one coming from the car.

Wooyoung waited until Seonghwa had fully parked, before listening to what the man planned to say.

"Okay," the older began, licking his lower lip. His eyes narrowed a bit in thought. "You're probably an only child. San told me your parents are businesspeople living in the richer side of Seoul, so I'm guessing you're only here because some kind of altercation took place. You like pets, neutral tones and golden rings, you possibly prefer hot chocolate to coffee, and you hate being forced into doing something you don't like. You're also probably into some sort of artistic expression, like singing or... dancing?"

Wooyoung was left flabbergasted, because Seonghwa had hit the nail right on the head. The man hadn't said much, but everything he did say was one hundred percent correct. Unease and dread began creeping into his chest once again, imprisoning him. All of a sudden, he didn't feel as comfortable anymore.

Seonghwa's eyes were scorching, his presence -- his scent -- so prevalent and restrictive Wooyoung felt like he was going to choke. He needed to get out of that car.

"Am I on the right track?" Seonghwa looked happy, like he was well aware of the effect he had on the younger.

"...You were okay," Wooyoung replied, rapidly blinking like that would help lessen the severity of the man's prolonged stares.

At that moment, Seonghwa had gotten much closer, fragrant lemon seizing Wooyoung's senses. It was so dark, both outside and inside the car, but the delighted gleam in Seonghwa's bottomless eyes remained.

His palms were warm and calloused on Wooyoung's neck, thumbs sweeping through the younger's hair like he'd cease to exist if he became more forceful. And Wooyoung...Wooyoung couldn't move.

It was like he was stuck there, trapped underneath Seonghwa's glittering gaze, and his delicate, honest hands.

"My jacket," the older's glossy, pink lips were stretched so wide he looked insane, sliding his jean jacket off Wooyoong's shoulders like he was stripping him whole. It was so intimate, so odd. So dangerous.

Wooyoung clicked open the car door, the icy atmopsphere kick-starting his lungs. Clarity resurfaced like a breath of fresh air, each and every thought pushing him to get the fuck out of there.

"I need to go, I'm sorry," Wooyoung let out, heartbeat roaring against his eardrums. Without waiting for Seonghwa's answer, he raced up to the apartment, only halting his steps when he saw the person beside the door.

It was Hongjoong, donned in a giant sweater and loose jeans, a lit blunt in hand. He shot Wooyoung a toothy smile, but his eyes were bloodshot and jumpy.

"Date?" He asked, way too casual for Wooyoung's frantic state of mind. He even had the nerve to look confident in his assumptions.

"Leave him alone," Seonghwa voiced out from the back, sounding closer than Wooyoung had anticipated.

Wooyoung decided against saying anything and entered the complex, unable to shake off the possibility that Hongjoong and Seonghwa were now talking about him...

* * *

- uncle
Don't forget the reason why you're there in the first place.

- wooyoung
i know.

- uncle
As soon as your grades slack or it happens again, you'll have to return back to your parents. I won't be able to help you anymore.

- wooyoung
i'm well aware

- uncle
Good.

Wooyoung threw his phone over his bed and huffed a tired exhale. The man was the only relative of his he still contacted, and that was solely because he'd been the one who'd helped with his schooling anyway. His parents were a different story, however. Hell, the only reason they weren't currently ransacking the entire country for him was because they were so convinced he'd return, even after enduring years and years of their extremist bullshit and abuse.

But Wooyoung wasn't going back. There was no way he was.

Feeling immensely claustrophobic, Wooyoung left his room and headed to the kitchen, hoping the change of scenery would help cleanse his mind.

Luckily, only one person was there. Unluckily, that one person turned out to be Yunho.

The curly haired man was dressed in vine green overalls, standing before the counter and making something Wooyoung couldn't see. A second later though, he'd turned around, catching sight of the younger.

Wooyoung anxiously chewed his lip, contemplating if he should just take a step back and leave.

I can't just keep running away at every chance I get. He's harmless. They're all harmless, he told himself. He pulled out a seat to sit on, wishing for some sense of normalcy for once.

"Hey," he greeted, adding a smile he hoped looked welcoming enough. The smell of hot cocoa hovered along the kitchen's walls, toasty and inviting. Wooyoung was suddenly reminded of how much he craved the drink.

Yunho sat down across from him, placing two mugs of steaming chocolate on the table. He slid the one on the right towards Wooyoung.

Wooyoung's eyebrows raised, stopping just below his hairline. He hadn't expected this. "Wait, really?"

Yunho nodded, rubbing his cheek. Just like always, his lips stayed shut.

Yeosang's words about his flatmates replayed in Wooyoung's head like a broken record. Keep your distance.

But then he remembered what Seonghwa had said to him yesterday night about the man, and how he was supposedly a compulsive liar.

Does that mean Yeosang lied about everyone?

Yunho shifted the mug even closer, and when Wooyoung looked at him, he displayed a thumbs up, as if telling him it was okay to drink the hot chocolate.

Wooyoung felt his fingers wrap around the mug as he stared at the frothy, rich brown drink. He blew over it too cool it a bit, before ultimately taking a hefty sip. It tasted amazing. The best one he'd had in a while, even.

He looked up from the chocolate, meeting Yunho's soft eyes, and grinned. "It's super great."

Yunho replied with a faint smile, taking the tiniest sips out of his own mug.

It was strange how Wooyoung was currently having hot cocoa with Yunho, the guy who was Mingi's boyfriend and someone Wooyoung would've avoided conversation with at all costs any other day. It was something he definitely hadn't seen coming.

Wooyoung soon finished up the chocolate, conscious of Yunho's observant eyes. He wiped his lip. "What?"

Yunho didn't verbally respond, but that wasn't the abnormal thing there. It was the way he kept casting glances ever so often at Wooyoung, like he'd thought the younger wouldn't ever notice.

"Can't you talk?" Wooyoung asked before he had the chance to think it over, and fuck, he wanted to evaporate the second those words left his mouth.

Way to go asshole. What if he's mute?

Yunho looked thoughtful, like he actually wanted to say something but couldn't. In the end, he just made a zipping motion over his lips.

Wooyoung got what he wanted to say. "Are you -- "

Whiskers sprinted out of the hallway and into the livingroom, its ashy fur standing on end with its tail swishing around. Its teeth were clamped around something unseen, teeth stained with some kind of sticky liquid.

Wooyoung stood up and made his way over in case Whiskers had plans of trashing the area. The last thing he wanted was Hongjoong getting pissed because the cat decided to claw up the wall or something.

Only...he'd never prepared to see Whiskers nipping a finger.

A defeaning cry tore out of Wooyoung's throat. Shock blinded his senses as he fell over, sharp pain ricocheting through his bones as his back slammed against the floor.

"Where the fuck is that cat?" Mingi shouted from behind Wooyoung, smothering him in another wave of terror.

Yunho had his arm around the screeching kitten as he snatched the finger from its teeth, infinitely calmer than his boyfriend and far less nauseous than Wooyoung, who just couldn't believe that this was actually happening.

Mingi looked murderous, jaw clenched and eyes bursting with rage. "I swear I'll fucking kill that cat one day."

"What the hell is going on?!" Wooyoung screamed just as Whiskers violently wriggled out of Yunho's grip. "Please -- someone please tell me what the fuck is going on!"

"Stop shouting, kid," Mingi spat, glaring hard at Wooyoung. "It's fake."

"Is that Yeosang's cat?" That was unmistakably Hongjoong's voice. Immediately, Whiskers rushed into the corner, hiding itself from everyone else. "Woah, I think it needs Yeosang, but I don't think he's around."

"What that cat needs is a good smack," Mingi retorted, his tone dripping with venom.

Wooyoung tried to control his breathing as San knelt beside him and stroked his brown hair, his touch mirroring tenderness. Wooyoung was too drained to tell him to stop.

"You okay?" San asked, voice gentle. He had on a sunny yellow shirt and wore shorts Wooyoung distinctively remembered seeing on Hongjoong two days ago.

"I...I just saw Whiskers eating a finger."

"It's fake," Mingi repeated, still visibly pissed.

"Take it easy, Min," Hongjoong spoke. After a moment, he'd joined San where he'd laid next to Wooyoung, staring apologetically at the latter. "Sorry you got quite the shock there. The finger's...part of those fake corpses Mingi works on at times. Yeah. He's a pre-med student."

That made some sense to Wooyoung's frazzled mind, but he still wondered what that kind of thing was doing inside this apartment.

Whatever, I don't care. I need to go back to my room. He had to struggle to stand up, his legs feeling like jello. Even his thoughts were slower and less cohesive.

"Are you alright?" San asked, but he was too close. Far too close, just like everyone else in that congested livingroom.

Wooyoung held a hand up to his head, feeling like it was going to crack like an egg due to all the pressure it was under. "I'm...I'm fine."

He tried to convince himself that was the case even when it felt nothing but. He started walking away from San and the others, the tiles spinning below his feet. He could only hope he was headed in the direction of his bedroom, but even navigating there became a hassle.

Voices fizzed like water into the blurry background, rippling into echoes that his ears failed to pick up. His vision fogged once he entered into a space similar to what his room looked like.

Was I drugged? Wooyoung asked no one in particular, and he never got to hear the answer to his question either.

He went out like a lamp just as his head hit the bed, images of watchful eyes, broken fingers and rabid felines haunting his dreams.

* * *

"He's truly asleep?" Seonghwa's tone bordered on incredulity as he addressed Yunho. They, as well as San and Hongjoong, were outside, and the older's black work bag was slung over his shoulders.

Yunho's eyes took in the tight grip Seonghwa had on his bag, and nodded.

"That's odd. I'd planned on taking him out with San and Joong to check something as soon as I was done with the bookstore," the blond remarked. He looked disappointed.

"What if he throws up when he sees it, huh?" Hongjoong asked from San's car, their sole method of transportation for the 'trip' they were going on tonight. San giggled coyly next to him, his head rested on his shoulder.

Yunho looked away before he saw anything he didn't want to see.

"Shut up, Joong. You fully know I don't plan on showing him anything of the sort just yet."

"Just yet."

Seonghwa ignored the redhead, locking eyes with Yunho once more. "Let me know when he wakes up, okay? And when Yeosang's around make sure he doesn't talk to him alone."

Yunho nodded again. After all, that was all he could do.

He watched on as Seonghwa entered the backseat, San driving off a minute later. Gratification then infiltrated his core, because his plan had worked.

* * *

Jongho hummed the SpongeBob theme song as he cruised around the aisles of the store twenty minutes away from campus, searching for his favourite brand of chips that he wouldn't find anywhere else.

But like most days after befriending the very interesting boy known as Jung Wooyoung, Jongho soon started thinking about him.

What's he doing right now? Has he eaten? Is he well? Those were the questions that usually frequented his mind whenever he thought about the older.

Jongho grabbed three of those chips and dumped them in his cart, smiling to himself when the image of Wooyoung laughing at one of his jokes flashed in his head. The older was often so reserved, but his laughter was free-spirited and rambunctious in the best of ways. It gave Jongho an instant serotonin boost as soon as he heard it.

He slowed to a stop in front of the display that held plushies, and his eyes were instantaneously drawn to a Welsh Corgi plush with large eyes and puffy cheeks.

Jongho beamed, because that plushie reminded him so much of Wooyoung. The only difference was that Wooyoung was cuter.

"I find it hard to sleep at times," was what Wooyoung revealed during one of their lunchtime conversations. "Insomnia and shit like that. But I don't really mind. Sleep is for the weak anyways."

"I hope you'll find it easier to sleep from now on," Jongho muttered under his breath, not hesitating to put the plushie inside his cart.

It was when he was cashing in his stuff that he saw two guys by another cashier. The one with dark hair excitably gushed about the plushie in his hand to the shorter, red haired one, and Jongho was about to tune out their voices when he heard the name 'San'.

San? The name wasn't that common, and it was the same name Wooyoung had given to the man who drove him home after school. And judging by Wooyoung's description of the driver, the taller guy matched him to a T.

Jongho pulled down his cap, shielding his face from view just as the cherry haired one glanced his way. They didn't know each other, but the student still wanted to take precautionary measures.

Even though Wooyoung hadn't mentioned the names of his other flatmates apart from this San, Jongho remained wary of them. From what little Wooyoung had said about them so far, they didn't seem like the best people to be around.

Cherry and San strolled out of the store as soon as Jongho was done paying for his stuff, and the stupidest idea he'd ever thought of jumped into his head.

Go with them.

what does jongho do next?

a) give up on that idea and drive back to his dorm

b) follow them

***

a/n: alright guys i certainly won't write super explicit gory stuff, but if it seriously affects you, then pls dont read. but if youre chill with it then enjoy the ride😎😎

thoughts?