the group of boys settle down quicker than wooyoung initially expected them to. hongjoong and seonghwa easily make themselves comfortable, yunho eventually comes out of hiding and faces mingi, who — perking wooyoung's intrigue — seems more than ecstatic to see him, jongho is quieter than wooyoung once knew him to be, and san... well, where should he even start?

the elder is a lot more soft-spoken than he seems over the phone, yet simultaneously manages to imitate the same whimsical and sarcastic comments wooyoung has grown accustomed to.

and he's so comfortable, so at ease, around san that the idea of them never having met before barely feels right. every worry surrounding the future of their friendship from here onwards, surrounding san's friends' perception of him, surrounding the foe who he wasn't prepared to reunite with like this, slips from wooyoung's shoulders, all because his friend is exactly that. his friend.

somehow, he even forgets for a few moments of jongho's infuriating presence just half the room away.

instead, the way san's eyes light up at all of the little things which excite him, the way san's dimples selfishly steal the spotlight of his smiles every time the conversation is brought his way again, the way san's giggles are just about audible due to how childish his humour can be — it all enthrals wooyoung, like the boy is an endless void he's being sucked into as he learns more and more about him, meaningful or not.

and wooyoung almost regrets idolising san to begin with, despite it gifting him the opportunity to be with him like this right now, due to how much he doesn't hate the huge grin paralysed across san's features as he yells out into their circle of friends, "uno!"

even so, wooyoung deeply sighs at the mere two cards in his hold.

"told you i'd win."

wooyoung's head swivels towards san, whose cheekbones are still raised high in triumph. "uh huh, and weren't you the one who dealt the cards?"

san scoffs. "you are not accusing me, the choi san, of cheating in a game as simple as uno right now, are you?"

"except you're spot on. you're dumb enough to do that," wooyoung says, before turning to the rest of the boys. "are any of y'all hungry? 'cause i could raid my friends' kitchen if you'd like?"

"yes please, babe," yunho answers, slightly leaning onto mingi. "alcohol'd be so good right now."

wooyoung's demeanour stiffens. "no alcohol, i hate to say."

"what— why?" yunho whines. "just a few shots, woo? please?"

"no." wooyoung is adamant, even when yunho frowns, glancing between him and mingi to make a point — though that wasn't even half of it.

"i hope your fucking charger stops working," yunho mutters, and wooyoung only shakes his head exasperatedly.

he stands up, eyebrows furrowing when san mirrors his action. "let me help?"

wooyoung's lips curve upwards momentarily. "sure. you need humbling, anyway."

"you really aren't gonna let that uno round go, are you?"

"not when you cheated—"

"i didn't cheat!"

"you did."

"did not," san defends himself, following after wooyoung, who sighs. and the younger can practically see san's smug smile from the back of his head when he continues, "can't keep up your side of the argument?"

"no, you're just draining," wooyoung shuts down, having finally found the kitchen within kevin and jacobs' humongous apartment.

"why, thank you! i'm glad i can make an impact," san says and wooyoung's never wanted to punch him more. he proves to have pretty decent self-control, however. "hm, anyway."

wooyoung raises a brow at the pause after san's words, digging into the cupboards for something to eat. "what?"

"i didn't know jongho lived in canada before," san takes a second to get out, as if conflicted. "he's never mentioned it."

body stilling in its spot, wooyoung clears his throat. he chuckles forcefully, somewhat relieved that his back is to san. "i didn't know that either."

san snorts. "are you that desperate to hide things from me?"

"hide what?" wooyoung gulps, nervous despite his denial to san's theorising. "i've never even seen your friend before, i don't know what you're trying to prove."

"mhm, okay." gosh, san sounds so utterly unconvinced wooyoung wants to punch himself this time. "just know that you can tell me whatever, whenever, yeah? i'm not going to roundhouse kick you back home if that's what's putting you off."

the tone of san's voice is so soft, wooyoung feels like he's being manipulated when his shoulders droop down and he builds up the courage to face the latter. "i know. i-i know that, sannie, and— i don't know... i suppose i just don't want to ruin the friendship you guys have? i mean— yeah, we're friends, too, but i still don't think it's fair for my experiences to affect how you view him. 'cause i'm sure he treats you great, so—"

"wooyoung," san interjects gently. he seems to have neared said-boy amidst his rambling, who can only endure a moment of the tenderness in his eyes before having to avert his gaze. "i know you only mean well, but try not to put others before yourself, hm?"

and just as quickly, wooyoung brings his gaze back to san. "huh?"

san chuckles, yet it isn't pricked with any kind of judgement like wooyoung would expect. "you care a lot, woo," he says, only taking him back further. "that's not necessarily a bad thing, of course; in fact, i think it's one of the things that makes someone a beautiful person. but i also think you should care about yourself and your own feelings just as much."

"and you're saying that i... don't?"

"only you can decide that, i don't know what's going on in here." san taps the side of wooyoung's head. "though, from what i can see... maybe you aren't completely there yet."

wooyoung scoffs, and presses his lips together. "i take very much offence to that."

san shrugs. "you wouldn't if it wasn't true."

for the first several seconds, wooyoung doesn't say anything. his mind is the exact contrast to the silence, however, san's words only sinking deeper into his sea of thoughts. and maybe he's right. partially, only, for that's all he's possible of staining his pride to admit.

lip caught in his teeth, wooyoung blurts out, "he used to date my best friend."

even the hum of the refrigerator is loud as san racks up a response. "he... oh. did they try to elope behind your back, or something?"

"shut up." wooyoung smiles, anyway, at san's attempt of brightening the mood. "but not to my knowledge, no. i'm not gonna sit— well, stand here and tell you jongho was absolutely horrendous to him. but just..." he sighs at the slight twitch of his fingers. "certain things he did upset him — my friend. and obviously someone had to confront him about it on his behalf, so... yeah."

"and now you guys hate each other's guts?" san assumes, not by any means negatively, his head tilted to the side.

"well, the word hate is a bit..."

"dislike?"

"i dunno, dislike is also a bit of a stretch. at least for me." wooyoung's heart clenches when he explains, "the reason we have an issue to begin with is literally dead, so, y'know."

perhaps san notices the stupid tremble of wooyoung's fingers, as for just a moment, he grazes his own over the younger's wrist. "the others are probably waiting for us... d'you wanna get something ready for them before they start to eavesdrop on us, or...?"

wooyoung laughs a bit. "yeah. yeah, we should do that."

###

"wait— why is one of us missing?" wooyoung observes the circle of friends after returning to his seat, confusion brushing his features. six, there's only six of them. on his fingers, he counts again, making sure to include himself just in case he'd forgotten. yet, still, he only makes it to a hand and a thumb on display.

san nudges wooyoung, his expression hinted with hesitance. "fuckboy," is all he murmurs into his ear.

wooyoung's brain whirs silently for a second, until an inaudible gasp slips past him. immediately, his eyes drift to yunho, the only one out of them who hasn't dug into the mountain of snacks he and san had discovered just several minutes prior.

a small frown etching his lips, wooyoung shuffles closer to his dismayed friend.

yunho looks up at him from his lap, smiling reassuringly. then, he's shaking his head as if he knows what wooyoung is about to say. "it's okay. to be honest, i... i should've expected it, anyway. so it's okay."

"no. no, that's not okay, yunho," wooyoung says, trying his very best to keep the volume of his voice to a minimum. "he was all over you just before i left to the kitchen, how—"

"but that's just the way he does things," yunho interrupts, chewing at his lip. "plus, i said it was alright for him to leave when he asked, so..."

"that doesn't make it alright for him to even consider leaving you for a fuck in the first place."

"mhm, he's right," san chimes in suddenly.

wooyoung nervously fidgets at the empathetic voice by his right. "you... you weren't meant to be listening to that."

"you don't trust me?" san asks. now, wooyoung has his complete undivided attention.

"did i ever say that?"

wooyoung doesn't consent in the mumble leaving his lips but regrets it just a little less when the ghost of a smile uplifts san's cheeks.

"good, 'cause me, too," he says. he seems almost embarrassed at his own words, quickly moving on, "you were right, as well, yunho. mingi does do things like that, i guess it's just who he is. i'm not saying this solely to get you hopeful, but because i genuinely mean it when i think you're different, though," san claims. something in yunho's eyes flicker. "the way he talks about you isn't the same as how he talks about all the other dudes he sees naked weekly."

"do you have to say it like that?" wooyoung whines, disgusted.

"absolutely." san grins at the latter's despair. "but seriously, yunho. i really hope the lightbulb in his head switches on soon, it'd be good for you both."

yunho blushes a faint pink, whilst wooyoung claps grandly. "to poet choi san, everyone believes in."

"you were supposed to be taking me seriously!"

"i was!" wooyoung argues. "not my fault you sounded like shakespeare, or one of the other bald romance people, sannie."

"i'm not fucking bal—"

"please shut up," yunho urges, dramatically dropping his head into his hands. "what do you mean mingi might like me? and you're being serious, too? oh my dumbledore, you can't just tell me that without—"

nodding supportively along to his friend's mental crisis, wooyoung whispers to san, "what did you do to him?"

"it was an accident!"

###

a/n: hi :D

this has a rly weird awkward dumb ending i knowwww but this chapter was so hard for some reason idk why </3 got a writers block in the middle of writing it too so it took like almost two weeks to complete i'm sorry if it doesn't rly flow that well

i hope u enjoyed reading regardless! next chapters r vvv... gay. 😰. so stay tuned!!!!!!!'!!