On The Surface | WooSan

03 - Don't worry, I got you

Yeosang was eyeing Wooyoung with a judging gaze. He was the same height as him, but when he stood in front of Wooyoung who was sitting on the carpet, it felt like the latter was looking up to the Eiffel Tower. Yeosang let himself drop in front of Wooyoung, pulled one of his legs closer, and pushed his hair out of his face, the strong gaze not leaving his best friend for once.

"Why are you looking at me like this?!"

Yeosang clicked his tongue. "Your date? I don't believe you."

Their eye contact was strong — Wooyoung thought he could win for a moment and tried to intimidate his best friend by narrowing his eyes, but no one, absolutely no one won an eye staring contest with Yeosang and he sighed. He didn't know if he was ready to let the words roll off his tongue, wasn't sure if he actually wanted to hear what he was about to say, but the sooner the better, right?

"Promise me you won't judge, please."

Yeosang's gaze softened as he laughed, "Why would I-"

"Please," Wooyoung repeated and Yeosang realized that he was serious about this. He placed his hand on his best friend's thigh and asked him what was wrong.

"I might've agreed to a very stupid deal and it's not too late to back out, but I somehow don't want to and it makes me feel ashamed."

Concerned eyes were burning into Wooyoung's skin and when he finally started to explain and tell everything, Yeosang's gaze changed from confusion to amusement and eventually to empathy. He understood Wooyoung, understood why his friend agreed to this, and why he felt ashamed. A warm smile decorated Yeosang's face before starting to talk.

"Hey, I can understand that this situation is overwhelming. This is not the usual type of deal for sure, but regardless of the situation you're only doing this to pay for your classes and debts, so you shouldn't feel bad," he reassured, "On the bright side, it's not bad to have a sugar daddy!"

"He is not my sugar daddy!" Wooyoung whined outraged and Yeosang giggled, apologizing.

"He's good looking though, are you sure you don't want-"

"Yeosang! The thing San and I agreed on is solely on paper, it's business. It's like a job, I get paid for it!"

The other looked at Wooyoung with a smug smile. "San... Nice name."

"I'm quitting," Wooyoung sighed, was in the middle of getting up, and laughed when Yeosang pulled him down by his arm again, "Why don't you go and marry him in my place instead?!"

A few blinks, breaths, and laughs later Yeosang decided that he had teased his friend enough and they returned to their conversation. Wooyoung felt better now that it was out in the world (not quite yet) and the weight on his shoulders suddenly didn't feel as heavy anymore. Especially now that he knew Yeosang did not judge him.

... 

The next week approached faster than Wooyoung would've liked to and he was in the middle of packing his bag for Monday. He held his favorite pair of shorts which were made of dark green and silky material. Jongho, one of his classmates, told him multiple times that he had grown tired of the color green because he would wear it so often, and Wooyoung smiled weakly when letting his thumb brush over the fabric.

Everyone had at least one item they could never let go of and for Wooyoung it simply was these shorts. He connected them with a very precious memory, his casting to get accepted at the dance school to be exact, and he wore it to dance ever since.

After putting them into the bag he put in a random t-shirt and a big water bottle. One thing was missing now and his eyes landed on it. A white pair of sneakers, not completely worn out, but they were in a state where others would already get a new pair. The thought of being able to buy new sneakers soon came to his mind, and suddenly he felt weird. He grabbed the shoes, eyed them for a few more seconds, and eventually stuffed them inside the bag. It's a job. A deal. You're not doing anything wrong, it's okay.