My Significant Bother - WooSan

Chapter 20

Just like he did at the beginning of the year, Wooyoung avoids his room as much as possible. He spends all his free time in Yunho and Mingi's room or in the common room, and he puts in so much time at the library that he might as well live in there. But that's only because San is constantly in the room.

Every time Wooyoung opens the door, San sits up in bed, mouth open, words about to come out. So Wooyoung backs out and shuts the door and hurries away. He can't deal with it, is the thing. He doesn't want to know what San has to say. He doesn't want to listen to Hongjoong trying to defend him. Wooyoung wants to spend the next few months focusing on school work and nothing else. San does not fit into that schedule. Nor does the box of chocolates he finds on his bed one afternoon. San, for once, isn't around.

The room is blissfully empty, and Wooyoung was planning on taking advantage of that by going on his laptop to catch up on a few episodes of TV shows before he went to bed. But his eyes fall to the bed, and he frowns. He slowly moves towards it, kicking San's messy shit out of the way. It's a small box, completely black except the red bow. He frowns, picks it up, and tugs the bow until it comes undone. There's no letter, no card. Just a few pieces of chocolate inside. Before he can stop himself, he takes one out and places it on his tongue. Expensive, he thinks. It's not hard to tell the difference between cheap chocolate and the stuff that costs a little more, and this stuff is good. Rich and creamy, melting and coating his tongue. Carefully, Wooyoung puts the lid back on, stashes the box in the top drawer of the desk, and then he falls onto his bed, pulling out his laptop.

An hour, and an episode of Shameless later, the door opens. Wooyoung pauses the show, eyes lifting to San. "Hey," San says pleasantly. "Did you leave those chocolates on my bed?" Wooyoung demands. San blinks, a frown tugging at his lips. "Maybe." "Why?" San shrugs and pulls open his dresser drawer. He riffles through it, pulling out clothes, and then he gathers up his stuff for the shower.

Distantly, Wooyoung notices the sweat covering his skin, and he figures San was at the gym. If Wooyoung runs away to the library, San's escape is in the gym. He rarely even works out on their floor anymore. Just before he's out the door, San hangs back and asks, "Did you like them?" Wooyoung presses play on his show and ignores the question.

******

"You could have just told him you didn't," Hongjoong points out. "You didn't have to ignore him." Something Wooyoung's learning quickly about Hongjoong, in the short time that he's pushed his way into the threesome of Wooyoung, Yunho and Mingi, is that he isn't as naive as Wooyoung thought. In fact, Hongjoong seems possibly more aware of anything than any of them, sees straight through all the bullshit. And he hasn't been afraid to call Wooyoung out on it, unfortunately. Not that Wooyoung doesn't like the guy, because he does. A lot. But he likes living in his happy little world of denial a lot more.

"What was I supposed to say, though?" he demands. He's on the floor of Mingi and Yunho's room, Mingi and Yunho on Mingi's bed playing a word puzzle, Hongjoong sprawled out on Yunho's bed with a bag of chips. Wooyoung wonders, distantly, why Hongjoong isn't with San. San's probably missing his best friend, right about now, and it almost makes Wooyoung want to snap at Hongjoong for abandoning him. But he has a feeling there's a reason Hongjoong's with them and not San, and he isn't about to ask what it is, so he lets it go.

"Uh, thank you, maybe?" Hongjoong suggests. "It's the polite thing to do, man." "I don't even know why he gave me the damn things," Wooyoung grumbles. It's been fucking with his head all week. The empty box still sits in his drawer of the desk, and every day, at some point, he'll open the drawer, see it, and it will confuse him all over again. What's San playing at? What kind of game is this Psychological warfare? Is he pissed at Wooyoung for pushing him away, so now he's pretending to be all nice just to screw with Wooyoung for it?

"Because he's in love with you, dumbass." "Dumbass!" Yunho says loudly. "Three down, two across." "I'm pretty sure the word dumbass isn't used in crosswords," Mingi says patiently. "I think the word is dumping." Wooyoung ignores them in favour of blinking confusedly up at Hongjoong. "Why would you say that?" "Say what?" Hongjoong asks. "That San's- that he-" Wooyoung waves a hand, unable to repeat those words. "In love with you," Hongjoong finishes. "Because he is, maybe? I mean, Wooyoung, come on. The guy broke up with his girlfriend for you." "No." Wooyoung shakes his head firmly. "She dumped him because he cheated on her." "With you," Hongjoong reminds him. "But that's not why it happened. He told her after he broke up with her, because she asked him why it wasn't working out, and he said he'd been with someone else and he couldn't see himself being able to stay away from them, and he couldn't be with her if he wasn't being faithful."

Wooyoung rubs at his temples. This is all too much. It's just- it's way too much. "That's not true," he denies. "Yeah, it is." Because it seems to be Hongjoong's goal, apparently, to not let Wooyoung live in peace. "Also, poetry or flowers?" This whole conversation is making Wooyoung's head hurt. "What?" "If someone wanted to get you something, would you rather have poetry or flowers?" Hongjoong elaborates. "I- I have no idea," Wooyoung says. "Poetry? I don't- where did that even come from?" Hongjoong shrugs and stuffs his face to keep from answering, and Yunho snickers from the other side of the room. Mingi looks between the three of them with an upset look on his face, but he drops his eyes back to the crossword puzzle before Wooyoung can ask him what that look means.

Wooyoung pushes that weird question aside in favour of thinking about what else Hongjoong said. About San possibly... but, like, he can't be right. San can't be in love with him because- why would he be, really? Wooyoung's been nothing but an ass to him, ever. And even if he were nice to San, Wooyoung doesn't really have much to offer anyone. Especially not someone like San, attractive and popular. Who could have his pick of much better candidates for his love. But- Whatever.

Wooyoung's not thinking about it anymore; if he does, he'll drive himself crazy. So he reverts back into his Cave of Denial, where he'll happily live his days until the school year is over. And then, next year, he'll make sure that his roommate is not San, and he'll never, ever have to see San again. It'll be wonderful, he thinks, and if his stomach twists at the thought of doing that, well, he'll happily deny it.