best of me | woosan (✓)

- fifty one -

"sangie..." jongho started.

"no... no, we've already talked about this. i-i don't want to hear it, i-i can't be with you!"

wooyoung gently pulled yeosang back, a little worried that the boy would either completely lash out or break down.

"you can be with him, sangie," seonghwa began to explain. "jongho never meant any harm, he was just being protective of you. he's not going to say shit like that to me anymore, i promise."

"i-i don't trust him..."

"i do. he reached out to me a little over a week ago and we met up and talked everything out. he was being sincere, sangie. he wasn't doing it just to get you back, i promise."

"sangie... at this point, i don't mind if we never get together. i-i just want you back in my life. i want all of you back in my life..."

hongjoong quickly went over and hugged jongho, a small smile on his face.

"i'm really glad you finally came to your senses, jjong," he muttered.

yeosang stared slightly, torn between giving jongho a chance and holding his front.

"sangie... you don't have to say anything now, but just think about it, okay?" jongho asked.

yeosang nodded and walked over to the couch, wooyoung following closely behind him when he noticed how anxious the boy was.

"and how are you two doing?" seonghwa asked mingi and yunho.

"someone's finally starting to warm up to the idea of putting a label on things," mingi said with a small smile, kissing yunho's temple.

"we're getting there, yeah..." yunho added.

"i'm happy for you guys. and yunho... i'm really proud of you for giving it a chance."

"thank you for giving mingi a shot, it means a lot to me as a friend," san added.

"i wouldn't have it any other way," yunho admitted with a smile.

the rest of the group went over and sat down, seonghwa and hongjoong going over and grabbing the brownies and chips first.

"i'm gonna take sangie upstairs for a little bit," wooyoung whispered to san.

san nodded and turned his attention to the conversation going on while wooyoung and yeosang made their way upstairs.

"i shouldn't have come..." jongho muttered.

"no, we're happy to have you here, jongho. sangie just needs some time, it's all going to work out," seonghwa assured.

"yeah, you know how he is. it's a tough decision for him to make, and you know damn well it's making him anxious," yunho explained.

"i know... i just don't want him to feel forced to give me any kind of chance. and just by being here... he may feel pressured to make a decision now."

"i'll check on him and woo in a few minutes," san decided. "and i'll talk to him about how he's feeling. if he feels pressured like you think he does and you really don't want that, i'll let you know. you can decide whether you want to talk to him and relieve that pressure a bit or if you want to leave. i'm not going to stop you from doing what you think is right for you."

"and if he's not, i'm not either. san knows you far better than i do, so i'll trust his judgement," seonghwa added.

the others nodded, agreeing with san's plan.

the minutes went by slowly, the group trying to make conversation but failing as they worried about yeosang and jongho's future. san stood up and went up the stairs quietly, knocking on the door and then slowly entering.

as he did, yeosang panicked and kissed wooyoung on the cheek, thinking that jongho was walking in. wooyoung gave him a look of confusion and yeosang looked up, sighing.

"i-i'm sorry, san..."

"it's okay, sangie. i promise you, it's okay. just stay away from those lips, deal?"

"i-i'd never... if i did that, i don't think i'd be able to look either of you in the eye... i'd feel terrible."

san nodded and sat down beside yeosang, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"how are you doing?" san asked sincerely.

"absolutely terrible... i-i don't know what to do but if he's staying, i-i feel bad not giving him an answer."

"i figured. jongho wants you to know that you don't have to feel pressured to give him an answer, even if he stays. he really wants you to take all the time you need, okay?"

"i-i can't go down there... i—"

"sangie, stop it," wooyoung said softly. "you're stronger than this, stop having such little faith on yourself. go down there and give this a shot. if you still aren't sure after tonight, you tell him no. okay?"

"o-okay..."

"he's going to support whatever decision you make, yeosang. i can promise you that," san added.

yeosang nodded, silently agreeing to san's promise.

"let's go, sangie," wooyoung insisted.

the boys headed back downstairs, jongho standing up the second he saw yeosang.

"sangie..."