↱SACCHARINE↲ ⇾woojoong⇽

lips

[ ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ✩‧₊˚ ]

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Wooyoung came home late that night, just as he always did.

He stashed his keys on the counter and kicked off his shoes the moment after closing the door, exhausted and barely upright on his feet.

His limbs ached as he pulled his arms from his jacket and let the material fall limp right there in the middle of the dining room, too tired to even care.

He rummaged through the apartment, planning on just going straight to bed, when the appearance of voices came drifting past him like an impending warning, seeping into the air where they pressed tension into Wooyoung's sides and caused a flare of anxiety to pierce his gut.

His eyes lingered on the glowing light beneath San's bedroom door, the familiar image reminding him of the night he had caught San puking over a toilet, and the thought alone was enough to send the younger staggering forward just as the voices grew louder, colliding in a sharp clash of brittle and soft.

Wooyoung pushed past the door just in time to register a flash of San and a brush of skin, before an arm was being thrown back and San was fumbling away after a ringing slap to the cheek.

His body faltered and struggled for balance, hand coming up to cup his cheek in shock, and Wooyoung turned absolutely livid as his eyes fell to the man who was reaching for San with grabby hands.

"Get off of him!" He roared, racing forward with enough rage to erase his mind completely, send him boiling over the edge to a place where San was crying hot and painfully into the palm of his hand, cheek red and already pruning with a daunting handprint.

It was agonizing but it was reality, and Wooyoung moved until he was clawing the man's arms apart and wrenching San from his grasp.

"Woo, it's okay. Leave, please just go-" San choked out, frantic and shaky as he tried to pull away from Wooyoung, eyes flickering nervously back to the man who was watching them with intriguing interest, studying the younger with enough intensity to send San into a frenzied panic as he pushed at Wooyoung's shoulders persistently.

"You need to leave-"

San's voice rang deaf to Wooyoung's ears once his fist collided earnestly with the man's jaw, blood pumping red and hot in his body where he watched his head snap back and crash against the window.

"If I ever see you in this house again I'll kill you." Wooyoung was reaching for the man again before he could think better of it, ignoring the hitch in San's breath and fearful twinge in his own stomach.

"Do you understand? Lay a hand on him again and see what happens."

And maybe Wooyoung should have seen it coming to begin with.

Maybe he should've taken into account that the man was almost twice his size, the anger in his eyes equivalent to a thousand sunsets as he watched Wooyoung threaten him blatantly, throat bared and muscles pricked to attention.

Maybe he should have expected the man to reciprocate with an equally traumatic punch to his temple that had Wooyoung falling to the ground and seeping into the floor in seconds, vision darkening as his head exploded in a wave of heated sparks.