Desire (ATEEZ Boy x Boy Oneshots Book II)

F | My Treasure | Yeosang x Jongho

Yeosang embraced his small bag over his chest while his feet kicked the other one under his seat. Kicking the packed duffel bag reassured him that it was still there.

He was on his way to Seoul, where he would meet the new group he'd be training with. To say Yeosang was nervous is an understatement. He felt a mix of emotions, something that didn't process well in his stomach.

Yeosang suddenly thought about his treasure map tucked into the corner of his black bag. He felt like checking to see it was there. If there was something he couldn't live without, it was the map.

The treasure map was a thin yet rigid piece of old paper rolled and tied with a specific-colored ribbon.

At first, the map would be blank. The ribbon is never meant to come off smoothly. If it did and someone opened the map, they would find nothing there. That was normal.

The map only opened when it started glowing an intense, golden aura around. People say the ribbon would finally thaw from its hardened state so one could pull its two strings and open their map to reveal an embroidered black path. Only then would they find their soulmate.

Soulmate. Yeosang remembered how he tsked when his mother handed him his treasure map. Soulmates weren't possible to find — much less in some 'magical' map sent from who knows where.

That was until his mother stroked his hair and kissed the top of his head. "But if two soulmates never find each other, or one doesn't want to find the other, the map will turn black, and the paper crisps to ashes," she said.

From that day forward, Yeosang took his map seriously. He carried it wherever he could. He checked it over whenever he could, hoping that in some way, he'd find a glimpse of a golden aura around it. Up until now, he hasn't seen the map light up.

Yeosang swayed a bit as the train slowed from its rapid speed. His station. He gripped his two bags and prepared to dismount.

"Yeosang?" a voice called. He turned towards the voice. An older, taller man was waiting aside with a phone in his hand. Yeosang followed him. This must be his manager or someone from the company.

"We're going to pick up another member, alright?"

Yeosang silently nodded, still holding his bags.

The car ride was quiet. Yeosang chose the back seat because, well, actually, he wasn't sure why.

Did he want to speak to the boy getting in next? Did he want to be sociable? Would the other boy aggressively react if he did that?

The car slowly stopped in a neighborhood of several stunning townhomes. One of them exited a young boy with a backpack over his shoulder. By the look of his face, Yeosang knew he was younger.

Surprisingly, the boy had no problem getting into the backseat with him.

"Hi, I'm Wooyoung," he introduced.

"Yeosang."

Wooyoung stifled a laugh. "I'm sorry. When I meet people, it always has to be awkward."

This time a smile grew on Yeosang's face too. "I thought I was the one making this situation weird too."

The two boys made their way to a practice room where several others were dancing or sitting on the ground already. It looks like they might have been the last members to arrive.

"Hi!" one with vibrant red hair greeted. "What's your name?"

"Yeosang."

"Wooyoung."

"Cool. We were just getting started on introductions. Since we're all here, let's go around again."

One by one, everyone said their name and some other random fact about themselves. Yeosang looked at each member, but one sort of forced his eyes to look at him.