• • •

Wooyoung

The week ends before I can even catch my breath, because I'm definitely surprised by how much time has passed when I open my eyes that morning and realize that it's Friday, yet again.

I greet a fully-dressed San the minute I step out of my room -- and he answers back with ease, which leaves me wondering if I'd imagined that whole scenario with him and I last Saturday night. But, I know it wasn't fake -- I can still envision the nervousness embedded in his voice when we'd sat together on my bed, can still remember vividly the way he'd shyly stared at the ground after I'd offered him my room to sleep in. In fact, I've never been able to forget it. I thought about what happened all week like a loser, so why does San look so...unaffected?

"Cereal?"

My thoughts clear out as I'm brought back into reality, only to see San lightly smiling at me, a box of my beloved cereal in hand. He jiggles it a little bit.

I blink. "What?"

His smile washes away, replaced by a antsy set of dark round eyes and wandering fingers. His grip on the full cereal box tightens.

"Uh, I saw you were running out on the uh, cereal. So I bought this one last night, since you seem to like them a lot," San explains. His palm grazes the back of his neck, his gaze locked on the cereal box.

Instantly, like a lit match on gasoline, that warm feeling ignites inside my chest again, along with one of gratitude. But, I ignore it, flashing San one of my bright smiles. "Oh, really? Didn't even notice, haha. But, thank you. Really. You didn't have to."

San suddenly looks up, and that's when I realized I'd moved closer to where he stood. I hadn't even been aware of it.

He lets out an an awkward, yet relieved smile, and passes the cereal box to me. "You're welcome, I guess."

A comforting, yet careful silence dawns upon the two of us, and guess who just had to break it with their blabbering?

Me, of course.

"But like, this cereal's pretty good. You should try some, bet you'll like it." I lean in and whisper, "There's even a rumour that there's some magic in the ingredients."

San's nose (cutely) scrunches in thought, and then chuckles. "If there is, then I'm not surprised you like it so much. But, cereal's not really my thing."

"Why, because you're a vampire?" I ask. I mean, around here you see some vampires feasting on other things apart from blood as well, even if they're in small amounts. It's not that weird. Even Hongjoong has an obsession with popcorn despite being a full-blooded vampire.

"I've never really liked cereal all that much, even before I -- " I slightly raise my eyebrows when San abruptly stops talking, and I'm even more confused when he just clears his throat and shrugs.

"...When you what?" I question.

"I...need to get ready for my classes. See you later, Wooyoung," San hurriedly finishes, and before I can even count to three the guy's already left the dorm with his bag due to his his inhumane speed.

"...Did he even eat something?" I mutter to myself, a bit disappointed I didn't wake up earlier. I open the fridge, taking in the fact that, other than my stuff, there's nothing new there. I suddenly recollect all the times I've seen San inside our dorm. I've barely seen the guy take something other than what he occassionally asks me to prepare for him. Does he not get hungry that often, or does he do all of his eating outside?

I'm curious. So, so curious about San, but I fear I'll only push him away if I start asking invasive questions again. Despite the awkwardness that had lingered between us that night, we'd still managed to have decent conversations here and there. I don't want to ruin that.

But still, I can't deny that I'm sort of worried about him.

• • •

I'm in the library when Hongjoong rushes in, and all I can see is wild vibrant red as he almost tackles me to the ground, impaling me with a million questions every second.

"Okay okay. Wait," I raise my hands, before pulling him into an almost empty aisle so that we'd be away from the librarian's watchful eye. "What is it?"

Hongjoong inhales, then graces with a smile that I don't know whether to feel relieved or baffled by. It's his classic mischievous smile, and I'm pretty sure whatever he's about to say next I won't really like.

"What?" I press.

"Where's San?" He asks, which kinda catches me off-guard for a second there.

"What?"

"Where is he? He's your roommate, duh," Hongjoong continues to speak, raising one red eyebrow at my speechless face.

"Well..." I clear my throat, looking around at the numerous books inserted into the walls. "I'm not sure, hyung. Look, why are you asking?"

"You know how I always visit my parents in the mountains every few weeks, right?" Hongjoong begins. When I nod, he says, "I want you and San to come along! Yeosang and the others have already agreed. Well, mostly because of the pool in my parents' house, but whatever. We're scheduled to leave around noon tomorrow, and my parents really want to see you guys."

I don't know how to reply. Of course, I've been to Hongjoong's family home a couple times in the past, so I'm no stranger to how luxurious and fancy the place is, but I don't know if San would agree.

"But, isn't this on short notice? Especially for San," I ask. Hongjoong just waves me off.

"Maybe it is, but I really want him to tag along. Plus, my parents are really eager to meet another vampire, and I've told them about how nice the guy is. There's no need to be worried."

"How are you so sure San'll agree?" I question again.

"I'm not. But, it'll never hurt to try, I guess," Hongjoong shrugs. "That's why I'm looking for him, so he'll have the time to prepare."

"...Okay," I sigh. "I actually don't know when he'll be back, but when he arrives at our dorm, I'll ask him about it. Don't get your hopes up though."

Hongjoong chuckles. "Dude, I'm sure he'll agree."

"Don't count on it," I say while heading out of the library.

• • •

San agrees.

I'm speechless, awe-struck at how seamlessly he agrees to Hongjoong's suggestion that my mind literally becomes blank.

San looks up from his laptop and stares at me through his round specs. "Uh...Wooyoung?"

"Are -- are you sure?" I don't even know why I'm asking him again. I guess the shock is making it hard to think or function properly. "We're literally leaving for Hongjoong hyung's home tomorrow."

San shrugs. "So? Did you...think I'd say no?"

I snap out of my daze and quickly shake my head. "Uh, nope. I definitely did not think that. I'm -- I'm glad you wanna hang out with us tomorrow."

Unlike his outfits that mostly comprise of blacks and greys, San's dressed in a stripped forest green shirt that complements his red streaked hair very well. I can't help but notice this as he runs his fingers through them, his gaze focused elsewhere other than my face.

"It's no biggie," San answers.

I take the risk and decide to take the chair next to him. He immediately freezes up, but I choose to ignore it. "Since Hongjoong's parents have a pool, he's probably going to make us swim in it. Can you swim?"

"I'm okay at it," San nods, staring at his lap. Up close, I can see the sparse freckles on his cheeks, since he isn't wearing any makeup. They're faint, but they add a bit of definition to his face. He kinda looks cuter like this, to be honest.

"Wooyoung?"

Shit. He must've caught me staring.

I clasp my hands to alleviate the awkwardness, getting up to my feet. "Well," I start, "since you agreed, I'm gonna let Hongjoong hyung know about it. I bet he'll be very happy once he hears your response."

I can feel San's attentive, heavy eyes on me the whole time until I hurriedly lock myself up inside my room. My breathing's a bit irregular as I lean against the door, wondering frantically why his stares affect me so much.

• • •

One of the things I've always disliked about the mountains is how cold it gets at times, especially at night. Goosebumps spread across my bare back as I hastily push back damp strands of my hair to regain my vision.

The pool at Hongjoong's family home is huge, and that's further exaggerated by the select few people that're swimming right now, including Yeosang and I.

"You totally cheated last round," Yeosang's saying to me as he relaxes against the edge of the pool, shoving a couple pieces of fruit in his mouth. "You're not that good of a swimmer."

"Wanna bet?" I smirk, even though I'm a bit distracted. In the distance, Hongjoong's talking with Mingi and Yunho, along with some of his other friends that he'd brought along, but somehow I've found zero traces of San anywhere. He'd said he'd swim, but...

Someone waves a wet hand in front of my face. "Helloooo."

I playfully glare at Yeosang, pushing his hand away. "What?"

"What're you looking for?" He questions instead.

"I dunno," I shrug. "What am I looking for?"

Yeosang rolls his eyes. "If I was in my merman form I'd flip you under with my tail right now. Consider yourself lucky."

"Oooh, I must be very lucky then," I gasp, chuckling when he purses his lips, unimpressed.

He flicks some water over my chest and gets off the pool with a grace only a merfolk can have, before swishing one of the towels on the lounge chairs around his neck and pointing at me afterwards. "I'm gonna go get some more food. Be ready for a rematch when I'm back."

I raise my hands in surrender. "Sure thing, captain."

Yeosang just scoffs in response and struts away.

I stare at the dimming sky, a bit entranced by the indigo blues gradually taking the place of the fiery orange sunlight when someone new makes an appearance.

As if the picturesque sky's just for him, San exits Hongjoong's house with the sun's light glowing behind him. His onyx-shaded hair falls over his eyes, framing his skin that looks almost golden because of the sunset. His white shirt's thin, hanging loosely off his slim physique as he rubs his arms, when his dark eyes meet mine across the pool, I gulp.

I bite my lip, about to make the bold move of waving him over when someone I'm not that familiar with steps in front of him, flashing him an easy smile. As soon as this happens, San's and I's eyecontact is broken, and disappointment, heavy and gloomy, rumbles in the pits of my stomach.

The person's hair, half-black, half-white, catches my attention, which makes me remember him almost instantly.

Park Seonghwa.

As Hongjoong's quite friendly with everyone, it's no surprise that Seonghwa's here today. He's one of the rare cases in our school, mostly because he isn't an otherworldly creature like most students, but instead a human with powers.

I don't know much about his backstory, but I'm pretty sure as a kid he'd been involved with the twisted sort of scientists who'd captured human victims to test their experiments out on, which led him to have a set of enticing green eyes, along with a scar along the left side of his face that he usually covered up with makeup.

Despite his quite traumatic past, he's still a good person, and although we've never really talked much, I can tell he's a nice guy.

So why am I feeling a little iffy seeing him talking so freely with San? San barely looks tense around him, even returning one of his charming smiles that lots of females back at college swooned at. Seeing him like that should make me feel elated, because after all, San's actually getting along with everyone else, but all I feel is some other feeling that's way darker. Something that dampens my smile.

I watch as Seonghwa says something to San that makes them both dip themselves into the pool together. Seonghwa, upon catching my stare, cheerfully waves at me.

"Hey, Wooyoung! What's up?" He greets. I feel like blushing when San's eyes fall on my face, calculating.

"I'm good," I reply, suddenly feeling out of place. It's now I immediately realize that I'm shirtless, and although I'm not one to shy away from exposing my upper body, I can't help but heat up a little at seeing San look at me like that.

"You should come over," Seonghwa continues to speak. "I'm gonna go talk to Yunho over there, but I'll be back later. Hey, I heard you guys are dorm mates. That true?"

"Yeah..." San nods, and as I swim over, the chlorinated water engulfing my torso, he keeps staring at me until there's just a couple feet between us.

I release a breathy laugh when Seonghwa's gone. "Ah, you're finally here."

San's smile is gentle. "Yeah..."

I stare at his face, at the small freckles decorating his high cheekbones. I point at his shirt. "Are you cold?"

He shakes his head. "No."

"You're just more comfortable with the shirt on, right?" I answer for him. My ears burn when he laughs and nods.

"Yep."

"Well..." I smile at him, "would you like to swim with me? I mean, Yeosang and I had a match going on, but I'm pretty sure he's having a buffet right now, so."

The laughter that escapes San's lips after my joke is one that's like music to my ears. Woah. My whole face warms up.

By now, the pool's gotten considerably darker, but there's still some light in the sky. It reflects off the water's surface like silver and makes this moment all the more memorable.

"Sure, I'll swim with you."

"But, I'm letting you know now, I'm an awesome swimmer, if I can say so myself," I brag. "It's okay if you lose."

"I'm pretty sure I won't," San answers, and the competitive glint in his maroon eyes causes me to grin.

"We'll just have to see, then."

• • •

San wins. For the third time in a row.

But somehow, I can't bring myself to be pissed about it. I just can't. Not when I've got the image of San's ecstatic grin right in front of me, his alluring dimples on display.

"Okay, I've got reasons to believe that you cheated," I state between laughter, not even taking myself seriously.

San slicks his wet hair to the back, exposing his forehead and pair of dark furrowed eyebrows. He looks more mature like this, his stares a lot more intimidating.

"Is that so?" He inquires.

I shrug. "I just can't believe you beat me. You said you were 'okay at it'. That wasn't okay. That was...on another level."

"Maybe it's because I'm a vampire?" He replies.

"Not all vampires are great at swimming," I counter. "But, you were great. We should do this again sometime."

San looks away, muffling his growing smile by biting his lip. "Maybe."

I shouldn't be staring, I really shouldn't, but his white shirt sticks to his body like second skin, highlighting his abdominal muscles and slim waist. When he looks up at me with those eyes of his, flashing his dimpled grin, my heart-rate picks up.

"Sorry for interrupting this moment between you two -- " a voice suddenly fills the silent air, and when I turn my head I see Hongjoong standing at the edge of the pool with his hands on his hips. He looks like a strawberry with his all-pink shirt and swimming trunks.

He juts his thumb at the inside of his house. "But dinner's almost ready. My parents want everyone there."

"In other words, he means 'get ready to get ultra-full with food tonight'," I whisper at San, to which he smiles at.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you're saying can wait, Wooyoung. You and San have to be changed in like, five minutes," Hongjoong taps on his imaginary watch, before sauntering back inside his house. It's then I notice that San and I are the only ones outside at this point.

I exaggeratedly sigh. "Duty calls, I guess. But, we can always swim again tomorrow."

"That'll be nice. I'll get to crush you again."

"Yah," I tsk, but grin widely at San who just chuckles and wades through the pool to the other side while I follow after him until he gets up. He quickly picks up a periwinkle coloured towel and dries himself, but not before I get yet another glimpse of his toned upper body through his shirt.

Bashfully, I look away and get off the pool myself.

•••

a/n: thoughts?