pulled up outside of an apartment complex in the city, yeosang hurried over to san's side, who was in the process of shaking wooyoung awake.

"c'mon, woo..." san's hand brushed through wooyoung's hair, pulling apart the knots throughout, whilst the other rubbed gentle circles onto his shoulder.

not long passed when wooyoung's eyes gradually begun to flutter open, a scared whimper escaping him, before san grounded him of his safe surroundings. "hey, it's alright. you're alright, woo." san smiled softly through his reassuring murmurs, wanting the younger to be as comfortable as possible before moving him. "we're gonna get you inside, now, 's that okay?"

"mhm." wooyoung could only hum and nod his head the slightest bit, any more would leave him curled over in pain; he was too sleepy to act as if he didn't feel like he just got back from a trip to hell.

"yeosang," san called out in a hoarse whisper, grabbing the older's attention.

almost immediately getting the gist, yeosang swung one of wooyoung's arms around his shoulders, san doing the same on the opposite end. the two then hoisted the purple-haired boy out of the car, and up to the entrance belonging to the aisle of apartment blocks.

through the passageway they headed, small and thankfully empty — any passerby's bumping into wooyoung's horrendous state certainly wouldn't end well. squishing into the cramped elevator, san punched a button with the number 8 labelled upon its red paint, which, after a few seconds, caused the machine to whir as it started to travel them upwards.

the silence was thick, yeosang accidentally locking eyes with san at one point, being gifted an awkward blink in return.

the quiet internally driving him nuts, he eventually decided on breaking it. what better way to address the elephant in the room? "so..." two heads whizzed in yeosang's direction. "are you guys—"

"no." "uh huh."

san and wooyoung stared at each other, the older of them stunned. "but, woo, you said..."

"of course you two know how to turn such a simple question into rocket science," yeosang commented in disbelief, regretting even asking them. but whatever they did have, he was happy for them. they deserved each other.

"it's my fault," wooyoung made clear. "i suggested we keep it to ourselves for the time being."

"ah..." though there was a lot left to still unpack, yeosang was glad this fraction of the story was cleared up. "how long's it been?"

"i don't even know what time it is," wooyoung muttered, incapable of answering, earning a chuckle from san who took the question into his own hands.

"'s been five months!"

"that's... a while," yeosang bluntly responded, finding the situation unbelievable to comprehend. after a few mental calculations, he came to the sum that the pair have been together since summer that year. was he that dense, or were wooyoung and san just that good at keeping things to themselves, yeosang didn't know; he'd prefer the latter, however.

the ding of the elevator disrupted yeosang's thoughts, the trio exiting the sliding doors.

wooyoung managing fine with san's assistance, yeosang followed the couple to where san's apartment was situated. keys jingling irritably as they twisted open the room named 1117, they made it inside, san leading wooyoung to his kitchen as warmth seeped into yeosang's shivering body.

"you'll be alright alone with yeosang for a minute, won't you, woo?" san questioned softly, helping wooyoung up onto a tall stool. "'cause i need to grab my things to clean you up."

wooyoung winced as he made himself comfortable. "yeah, of course, angel."

after taking wooyoung's hand into his own for a short second, san disappeared through a door, leaving the pair of best friends on their own.

too immersed in taking a look around san's apartment, yeosang didn't notice the lack of his presence. instead, he wandered around the small area, sitting room and the kitchen merged into one, the cosy, yet lively, interior reminding him of the pear-haired boy. everything that came into sight was just very san-like, as there was no other way to put it, from the pretty succulents displayed in every possible spare spot, even to the ripped packets of ramen left on the counter.

abruptly, wooyoung cleared his throat, causing yeosang to spin around. and it was only then when he'd realised that san had left. "do you... need anything?" he asked considerately, cringing at how unlike them it was.

"no, no, don't worry. i just..." wooyoung's gaze jumped elsewhere. "thank you."

"o-oh," yeosang murmured, taken aback. "you don't need to be. did you expect me to just leave you there, or something?"

"but i-i am. thankful, that is. i'm guessing you can already tell, but it's been... terrible, a-and i just- i'm really glad you came," wooyoung explained. "i don't know how you even found me, but thank you. thank you, yeosang."

way too many emotions playing with heart, yeosang merely nodded his head. it felt nice, reassuring. being recognised for doing something good. because he did. and it was hard, letting go of jongho was so, so, hard, even whilst knowing he was a terrible, terrible person. but, still, yeosang did it because it was right.

"you okay, yeo?" wooyoung made sure.

nodding his head strenuously, yeosang stuck a smile onto his face. san walked in right then, a first aid box clutched in one hand, fortunately filling in the empty space left by the lack of verbal response.

"ah, look who it is — my favourite nurse!" wooyoung sung, causing san's features to scrunch up shyly.

"you're gonna be a nurse, san?" yeosang butted in, intrigued.

the pear-haired boy snorted. "trying to, yeah. but getting into med at uni takes way too much science, i don't know if that's possible..."

"you can do it, though, baby," wooyoung encouraged. "as long as you don't skip your classes, you'll be more than fine."

yeosang restrained his laughter for san's sake, who failed in doing the same for himself, the shameless snicker passing the corners of his lips rising wooyoung's suspicions.

"you were doing so well, though, what happened?"

the lighthearted mood falling down on itself, san pressed his lips into a firm line, beginning to set his equipment up in silence. meanwhile, yeosang just felt awful. and it only got him thinking about what could've possibly been the outcome if he'd sided with san all along.

"sannie..."

"ah, 's nothing. sorry for worrying you, just needed to focus," san lied, lips curving upwards as if to be convincing.

wooyoung observed san's features for a moment, before pressing on further, "no one... said anything to you again, did they?"

"woo, i already said... i just, y'know, slept in on some days..."

"i'm not stupid, sa—"

"wooyoung," yeosang hesitantly interrupted. "leave it for now, let him work."

the boy would be lying if he said he strictly piped up to save san out of the pressuring cage he was trapped in, yet he felt like returning the favour the latter was doing him by staying quiet. even so, he promised himself to break the truth soon, to the both of them.

san flashed yeosang a short smile to express his gratefulness, before getting to work on treating wooyoung, starting with his face, for he assumed these injuries were the most minor of them all. standing in between his boyfriend's legs, san gently dabbed at the cuts with a wet cotton pad, cleaning them up first before applying ointment to them. majority of them were old, already dried up, so he thankfully didn't have to worry about hurting wooyoung just yet.

eventually, san stepped to the side, wiping his hands with a cloth. features grazed with anxiety, he lightly brushed his fingers against wooyoung's clothed rib, the thin material completely smothered with blood. "how bad is it?"

reaching for san's arm, wooyoung frowned. "sannie, bub, you don't need to. we can call 119, instea—"

"we aren't doing that," san stopped the latter, adamant.

"wouldn't it be... easier that way?" yeosang said, who was just idling by them uselessly.

"and deal with the cops again?"

confused, wooyoung glanced at yeosang. what happened? he mouthed.

"the police were looking for you." yeosang saw no point in keeping the conversation between themselves when san was only a foot away. "it went on for, like, a week- they were searching college, and everything. but then..."

"they gave up," san finished for yeosang, who was physically incapable of recollecting the past events. "they dropped your case, said something about how there wasn't enough "evidence"... fucking assholes."

"pretty much," yeosang agreed under his breath.

in understanding, wooyoung pulled san closer to him. "well, since that's the case... we can get on fine on our own, right? the three of us?"

"sure, we can. yeosang?"

yeosang paused. "yeah. yeah, sure."

———

resting his chin on a bandaged wooyoung's shoulder, san sighed tiredly, before turning to the others, "anyone hungry? 'cause i fucking am, god."

sending san a knowing look, yeosang laughed upon the realisation evident atop of his expression, amused at the younger's forgetfulness. "ah, right!" san chuckled apologetically at the glare wooyoung sent him. "'m sorry, woo. but t' make it up to you, we can get anything you'd like!"

the pout on wooyoung's lips vanished into a content smile. "pizza?"

"of course, that's alright. and if yunho's working, i can save myself from going bankrupt, too," san joked, slipping his phone out of his back pocket. "yeosangie — what kinda pizza d'you like?"

yeosang shrugged his shoulders. "as long as there's no pineapple in my sight, i don't really care."

san gasped dramatically. "what- pineapple on pizza is the best, though!" san turned to wooyoung for validation. "isn't it, woo?"

"eh, it's not that bad." despite san's hopefulness, wooyoung then added, "but not that good, either."

"so tasteless it's almost embarrassing," san muttered, before dialling yunho's number into his phone, absentmindedly finding wooyoung's fingers and playing with them as he did so. "yun, hi! mhm, i'm good!" san's cheer diminished. "no, i'm not lying, why would i—" san sighed deeply. "i'm great, actually! hey, what do you mean that's too hard to believe?!"

"harsh," wooyoung mumbled, san rolling his eyes in agreement.

"whatever, you'll see once you get here. yep, the usual- add a chicken and margarita onto that, though, please! mm, thank you. get here safely, yun, bye bye!"

"you don't think he's forgotten about me, do you, sannie?" wooyoung asked, as san pulled his cellphone away from his ear. "because we only met, like, once."

"when all the town talks about is whether, or not, you joined a cult, i don't really think that's possible, woo."

"joined a cult? me?" wooyoung's eyes widened in surprise. "i think i'm more likely to start one, though?"

san giggled, wooyoung's hand reaching out to ruffle his head of fluffy hair.

quite frankly, third wheeling wasn't all bad, yeosang decided. perhaps it was because it selfishly strayed his mind from what he wanted to ignore most; and as long as yeosang didn't think about how helpless he must've looked observing wooyoung and san's whimsical dynamic, he'd say he'd been succeeding greatly at disregarding the bad for now.

suddenly, the doorbell rang. in the midst of nuzzling his head into the crook of wooyoung's neck, san withdrew, cheeks flushed for whatever reason that may have been.

"make sure it's him first, though, yeah, bub?" wooyoung insisted, smiling a bit at the reassuring jump of san's head. he then turned to yeosang questioningly. "you just gonna sit there, yeo? sannie's pretty fond of you, i can tell, so you're allowed to make yourself at home, y'know?"

"i'd rather just stay with you guys for a bit... i don't trust myself on my own right now..." yeosang admitted to, ashamed. wooyoung was back, and as happy as he could be; why did he still feel so empty?

"yeo... come on, don't beat yourself up fo—"

"wait, sannie, isn't that wooyoung's voice?!" yunho — yeosang guessed — peered through the door frame, hand finding his gaping mouth in shock.

"well talk about this later," wooyoung murmured to yeosang softly, before grinning at the tall male rushing over to him. once yunho was close enough, he pulled him into a short bear hug. "indeed, it is, fellow jung."

"gosh, i..." yunho paused, needing a moment. "it makes me so happy you're back, i-i- how have you been?" a silent second passed. "fuck, never mind- maybe that wasn't the wisest question i've asked..." yunho scratched the back of his head sheepishly, the unfamiliar boy by the kitchen counter finally grabbing his attention. "oh, who's this?"

at yeosang's hesitance, san came forward, a stack of pizza boxed held in his arms. "ah, this is yeosang! remember, woo's best friend i told you about?!"

"i remember that!" yunho smiled gently at the fidgety male. "hey, i'm jung yunho! it's real nice to meet you, i've heard you've been taking good care of sannie over the past month, or so!"

i... have? politely, yeosang returned the smile. "it's nice to meet you, too. i've actually heard a bit from you, too..."

"duh, you have, sannie just loves me way too much." yunho sighed as if flattered, whereas san just looked disgusted.

"so very funny." san faked a laugh. "now move, you have work to be at!"

"my shift is almost over, though, can't i—"

"nope," san shut down ever so kindly, ushering yunho out of the door, who squeezed out his farewells just in time.

with a slight slam, san finally returned to yeosang and wooyoung, placing the three boxes of pizza atop of the counter. "ah, this smells good! let's dig in, shall we?"

———

a/n: i've been paranoid ab this godforsaken app recently so i've backed up all my works elsewhere and bro :|| after looking through them i've realised how much grammar mistakes i make 💀💀💀 ITS NOT EVEN FUNNY MY SENTENCES BARELY MAKE SENSE ATP AND NO ONE POINTS THEM OUT WHYYY

anyway i'm embarrassed now so that's fun