Lip Balm | Wooyoung

12

Wednesday

The next morning arrives too soon and as usual, the morning feels dreary for Hyunmi as she opens her front door.

And once again, Wooyoung steps out of his own apartment at the exact same time. Hyunmi's eyes widen at the sight of him but very quickly, memories from the night before flood her mind and her eyes shoot down from his eyes, feeling shy with her face turning crimson.

As she hangs her head and is about to leave, she notices the glass container in his hands again.

"Good morning! Here's your lunch," he chirps, as bright as ever while presenting the food to her. Even though he has done this a couple of times already, Hyunmi still gasps. "You shouldn't have, I told you-"

"And I told you that I like to do this. Please, it would make me happy if you accepted it," Wooyoung interrupts.

Hyunmi bites her lip and reluctantly takes the container from his hands, feeling guilty. "Why don't I drive you to work today then?" Hyunmi suggests. Wooyoung's lips curl upwards at her offer, feeling warm on the inside at the thought. He knows that Hyunmi finishes work way later than he does and hopes that she doesn't realise this because he's happy enough to take the bus. He just wants to go to work with her.

"Thank you!" he beams, brightening up. Hyunmi finally shakes off her embarrassment from the night before and smiles widely. She notices him wearing a suit again, and can't help but admire it as they walk to her car together.

They take a seat and Wooyoung's heart flutters at the sight of Hyunmi taking the car out of the car park, her full concentration on the road.

They drive quietly for a while after Wooyoung tells her the directions until Hyunmi gets curious.

"Why have you been moving schools so much?" Hyunmi asks, only curious because deep down, she doesn't want Wooyoung to move again. She's only known him for a bit over two weeks but has already grown attached, although she wants to deny it.

Wooyoung flinches at the question, though the girl doesn't notice it. He decides to be honest with her.

His face already starts to grow hot before he even begins. "I spend a lot of time in nightclubs and stuff to meet more people but I seem to eventually get caught somehow in every town that I've lived in and then I get fired by the school," he sheepishly explains.

Hyunmi's mouth drops open. "Then why do you continue to go to those places when you know you keep getting fired?" she exclaims, feeling a bit fired up as she holds her job so dearly. If she gets fired, her life is completely over. But Wooyoung talks about this so nonchalantly and doesn't seem to have much trouble getting a new job every time either.

"I told you, I need it to cope. Getting fired at work just adds on to my stresses and it just creates a cycle that I can't get out of, I only go deeper and deeper. I've tried to stop many times but I just...I can't," Wooyoung vents his pent up frustrations. He doesn't know how much longer he can go without breaking Hyunmi's trust anymore either, distressing him further.

Hyunmi feels a pang in her chest at his confession. It disgusted her beyond belief before, but right now she just feels bad for him. It sounds like he's having a hard time. She takes one hand off the steering wheel and rests it on his thigh.

Wooyoung's eyes fly down to her hand and don't leave. He doesn't even realise he's breathing heavily with tears stinging his frantic eyes until her warm hand makes contact with his leg. His heartbeat slowly returns to its normal rate and he blinks away his tears.

"I don't know if you trust me fully yet or not- but I trust you. I'll stay with you along the way, so don't lose hope! We'll get through this together, I'm not letting you get fired again. I'll always be here to listen," she rubs her hand comfortingly over his leg and pats it twice.