It was Wednesday evening now, and as Wooyoung sat on Nina's family's porch, he admired the orange glowing sunset. His phone was in his hand, and, after already missing three days of school, he was sure his parents back at home would've been bending their backs over to bring him back to the house. They just couldn't risk others knowing one of their kids skipped school because they'd kicked them out of the house with nothing but a few clothes in hand.

So when he read the new text messages that popped up on his phone, he cracked a dry smile.

- sibling
i'm picking you up at four am tomorrow
stay inside wonderland cafe
they're always open

- sibling
mom and dad hope you've reflected over all your sins by now

Sins? Wooyoung just rolled his eyes. He didn't bother answering his sister, she already knew she got the message across anyway.

Wooyoung was about to switch off his phone and admire the darkening sky once more when a new text showed up on his phone. He groaned, placing the lit cigarette in his hand beside him. He really hoped it wasn't Yebin again.

- yunho
hey, wooyoung
are you there

- wooyoung
mhm
what is it?

- wooyoung
we usually talk at school

And he was telling the truth there. Yes, Yunho spoke to him outside the school sometimes, but their conversations usually stayed within the school premises, and around daytime as well. So all this was baffling to him.

- yunho
yeah, but i want us to talk
can you meet me at that restaurant we always used to go to last year?

- yunho
i'll pay

- wooyoung
what's up

- yunho
i'll tell you over there

- wooyoung
you're so fucking secretive

- yunho
just be there in no more than like, fifteen minutes
please

Wooyoung's curiosity was so freaking piqued. He leapt off the porch and threw his cigarette away.

- wooyoung
sure

And soon enough, he entered the bustling restaurant. Everything had been tinted in this reddish glow that gave the entire area an eerie feel. But then again, that was its charm.

Families were here, couples were here, and there were some students as well. Of course they would be, since this particular restaurant served great food.

Wooyoung found Yunho by himself, since the latter looked too distracted by something to notice him entering.

"I'm hereeee," he sang, and lightly patted the taller's arm while taking the seat across from him.

"Hey, Woo." Yunho greeted, but it lacked all the zest it usually had. He had on a sky blue cap that looked too cute for the rest of his dark clothing, and Wooyoung had to smile. That was Jung Yunho for you: intimidating, but actually kinda soft.

"Are you okay?" Wooyoung asked, noticing the way Yunho kept clicking his fingers on the table like he was nervous. The habit reminded him of San, and subconsciously, he cracked a small smile.

"Let's order something first," Yunho tried to steer the topic of conversation, which Wooyoung noticed immediately. "Chicken?"

Wooyoung crossed his arms, getting himself comfortable. "...Sure, I guess. But you're telling me what's up with you."

Yunho just nodded, looking all lost and absentminded again. "Okay..."

And then, after the basket full of fried chicken was served, Wooyoung took a bite out of one of them, his tastebuds literally singing as he chewed on it. God, he'd nearly forgotten how good this place's chicken was. He made a mental note to bring San here with him at least once.

He finished a drumstick before noticing that Yunho hadn't even attempted eating any at all. The taller was just sipping his soda through a straw the whole time, his big eyes looking they were in another world altogether.

Wooyoung started getting worried. "Hey," he kicked the taller's leg under the table. "At least eat something."

Yunho just shook his head. "I... I can't."

"Why?"

"I feel sick to my stomach, and it's not because I ate something bad. I just..." Yunho rubbed his neck with both hands, "I feel really, really scared right now."

Wooyoung was now extremely worried. It wasn't often that Yunho would admit out loud that he was scared of something, and what even was he so scared of?

"Yunho," he began, forgetting all about the chicken on the table, "what's going on? You're starting to legit frighten me."

"Nothing."

"Don't 'nothing' me. I know you called me here to talk." A sense of deja vu washed over Wooyoung as he said this. Right. He and San had been in a situation similar to this before.

"What if I don't wanna talk anymore?" Yunho was uncharacteristically quiet, unable to meet Wooyoung's eyes. And he kept tapping his fingers on the table. Even his legs couldn't stay still.

"The hell is up with you, Yun?" Wooyoung wondered. "Did something bad happen?"

At this, Yunho finally looked up. His eyes looked particularly watery. "...I can trust you, right?"

Wooyoung shortened the distance between them. "I mean, yeah. You can trust me."

"Then..." Yunho chewed on his lip, inhaling a huge breath. "...I'm gay."

"What?" Wooyoung asked, and almost immediately, Yunho deflated.

"I'm... gay," the taller mumbled again, this time looking less content with himself. He drummed his fingers on the table, his entire demeanor anxious as hell. "Do you...hate that? Is that why you're so surprised?"

He looked like he was ready for Wooyoung to recoil in disgust, to instantly hate him and everything that he stood for.

Wooyoung shook his head, nudging his taller friend in the rib. "I'm not surprised because you're gay, dammit. I'm surprised you chose to tell me here, of all places. And while we're eating chicken too."

Yunho exhaled, looking relieved. But, his eyes still held an unmistakable sorrow in them. "You...aren't surprised?" His voice was mellow.

"I mean, I don't give a crap about who you like, who anyone likes, really," Wooyoung explained. "It just seems so dumb for someone to get hated on because of who they think looks good. Everyone deserves to like whoever they want."

Yunho pulled his cap further down to hide more of his face, but Wooyoung could still spot the splotchy pink on his cheeks.

"Yun," he started. The taller wiped something off his face. "Are you...crying?"

Yunho pulled his cap even lower. "Nah."

"Why are you crying for?" Wooyoung kicked the taller's knee. "Why would you have to cry for that?"

Yunho's form was hunched on the table. "My mom."

"What does your mom have to do with this?" Wooyoung asked, but as soon as he was done, he had a feeling he knew what Yunho was going to reply with.

"Mom tolerates gay people outside the house, but she would not be okay with her son being one of them," Yunho muttered with a sigh. "She already made that clear a few times already."

Wooyoung's jaw clenched. He was suddenly reminded of his own parents, of their ways of wanting to control him and whatever he found interest in. "Who cares what she thinks? It's your life, you aren't gonna stay with her forever."

"I know." Yunho gulped. "But she's my mother. I don't wanna disappoint her, even with the fact that she's almost never home due to work, and even when she has never been there for me lately." He inhaled another shaky breath. "I just... I fucking hate that she has this hold over me, because even when she's been nothing but absent over the years... I want her to still love me and consider me as her son."

"If she doesn't accept you for who you are, then she doesn't deserve to be called your mother," Wooyoung replied. His friend's words were eating away at him, and it angered him to no end. Because no matter how fucked up his parents were, there would always be this small, hidden part of him that wished to please them, that wished that they would actually love him.

"I know," Yunho whispered. "I just...wish she'd change her views. Because, aren't I her son? I'm her son, so don't I deserve to be accepted, at least?"

Wooyoung flinched as he retained the many times his dad hit him in his childhood for misbehaving, and the many times his mother shouted on him because according to her, he couldn't do anything right.

Don't I deserve to be accepted, at least?

"Dad kicked me out of the house since Saturday," Wooyoung admitted, rubbing his hands together. He could feel Yunho's eyes on him. "My sister's picking me up tomorrow morning though, so that's great, I guess."

"They fucking did that again?" Yunho questioned. His nose was still pink, his eyes still watery, but he looked a lot more pissed now.

"Yeah. Yebin found a cigarette in my room, so dad got mad and pushed me out." Wooyoung ran a hand through his dark hair. "Been staying at Nina's since her parents are out of the country for a while. But it's been nice, though. I even introduced San to them on Monday."

Yunho scowl softened. "...San?"

"Yeah." Wooyoung looked up, seeing the dark look in his friend's eyes. "What, jealous?"

"I don't like him."

"You don't like anyone who I show a bit of interest in."

"This is serious. I swear," Yunho leaned in. "I swear he has something going on with him. I know I know him from somewhere, but I can't remember where from."

Wooyoung just patted Yunho's shoulder. "San is nice. As I said before, you're just fucking jealous."

Yunho frowned. Not anymore. "I'm not."

"Sureee. But anyways," Wooyoung sipped from his coke, "are you into any guy right now? Maybe at school?"

He hoped his subject change would distract Yunho from talking about San even more. He'd come to realize that he really, really hated it when others spoke badly of him.

"The guys at school are gross."

"Okaaaay."

"Shut up," Yunho shoved his shoulder, smiling to himself. "...But... there's this guy."

"This guy?" Wooyoung mirrored.

"He's tall, likes to smile a lot, really smart. I'm too shy to talk to him," Yunho said. He looked eager -- back to normal, and Wooyoung was happy to see it, even if it turned out to be temporary. What mattered was that he was happy now.

"Yunho, the most feared guy in our shitty school, is too shy to talk to a boy?" Wooyoung uttered. "What dimension am I in right now?"

Yunho laughed, but he looked slightly embarrassed. "Shut up."

The shorter boy just grinned. "Mingi."

Yunho's eyes widened. "What?"

Wooyoung just crossed his arms, a smug look overtaking his face. "It's Mingi, isn't it?"

Yunho's whole neck was pink. "How'd you know?"

"You always talked about how nice he dressed last year, even when we only ever wear our school uniforms." Wooyoung took another sip of his drink. "Suspected something was up from that moment onward."

"Fuck," Yunho rubbed his neck. "You got me."

"Is he back at school or something?" Wooyoung asked. He knew Mingi had skipped school the majority of last year due to some undisclosed health issue.

"Yeah..."

"Then go talk to him, idiot. How long are you gonna wait?"

"It's just..."

"Just what?"

"I think he hates me now." Yunho looked at Wooyoung, seeming unhappy about what he was going to say next. "He caught me fucking with San, and got angry."

"You fucked with San?!" Wooyoung exclaimed a little too loudly. He slightly bowed in apology to the few eyes that glanced at him. Then he punched his friend rather hard. "You messed with San...?"

Yunho huffed. "What about it? Why do you like him so much any way?"

"You dumbass. I like him because he's nice," Wooyoung answered. "Don't touch him again, you hear me?"

Yunho sighed. "Fine. Whatever." He narrowed his eyes. "But are you...into him?"

Wooyoung rolled his eyes, but his hands shook a little. He hid them under the table. "No, but he's my friend. And I don't want you bothering him again, got that?"

With how tense Yunho looked, it was obvious he had a hard time taking orders from others. But, Wooyoung knew they were close enough for Yunho to listen to him.

* * *

a/n: thoughts?

you see this guy across from you do this in the club - your second most used emoji is your reaction