all jung wooyoung ever wanted was to go about life like he always did, and that worked for him; until the top-tier celebrity choi san was in the picture, that is.
but there was a catch; wooyoung was his anti-fan.
start: august 9, 2023
end: septembe...
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after his long and peaceful night with san that silently crossed the one hour limit he'd asked for, wooyoung inevitably enjoyed a deep, undisturbed and calm slumber. san had been nice enough to drive him back to yeosang's place and once wooyoung was in, he flaked out on the couch almost immediately. the pair had spent the entire time chattering away by the lake about the smallest of things, and though he was lively then, he'd quickly lost all his energy once back home.
it was a quiet sunday morning when his eyes fluttered open and he was facing the headrest. he smiled to himself. he rarely slept well so he was almost certain it was going to be a good day. wooyoung turned to his side serenely, only to shriek in horror once he was face-to-face with yeosang, who had his arms crossed on the couch right in front of wooyoung. he had an unsettling and knowing look on his face as wooyoung sat up straight, hand on his chest. yeosang should consider himself lucky he didn't end up with a broken nose.
"what the fuck, man?!" wooyoung burst out, throwing a pillow at yeosang. "you scared me!"
but yeosang didn't even flinch. instead, he leaned back, sitting on the floor with his legs crossed and his eyes narrowed down suspiciously at wooyoung. yunho sauntered into the room from behind him and plopped down on the couch. he had a comical look on his face as he joined yeosang in eyeing wooyoung down. half perplexed and half irritated, wooyoung's gaze shifted from face to face before he sighed. "okay, shoot. what's all this about?"
"care to tell us who the man you were with last night was?" yeosang cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms.
fuck.
yeosang's words were enough to banish all the remaining sleepiness in wooyoung. seeing how they reacted, there was no way they knew it was choi san. san had been careful enough to wear his mask even in the car.
"we saw you guys when we were coming back from the bar." yunho quickly joined in. "it's your neighbor, isn't it? the one yeosang told me about. the dude you kissed," he completed, mocking wooyoung by puckering his lips and making stupid faces.
"yeah, and the one you supposedly had a 'falling out' with. i suppose you're on good terms now?" yeosang continued. "damn, i thought my eyes were playing tricks on me 'cus i was plastered. but the look on your face tells me i was right."
"didn't you say he was a chaebol?!" yunho exclaimed and slapped yeosang's arm. "dude, we are so going to milk you dry." he howled, high-fiving yeosang.
"can you both just shut up?" wooyoung snapped, face-palming. it was his mistake for telling yeosang anything in the first place. "yeah, we made up. and that's why i planned on telling you after i woke up, that i'm going back to my apartment." he huffed. he couldn't even deny the chaebol allegations because then how was he supposed to explain his way out of it? there was not many reasons he could provide to justify his neighbor being 'off-limits'.
"and yunho, i'll return to work tomorrow," wooyoung continued. "i feel all shitty and miserable just moping around the house all day."
yunho nodded and opened his mouth to speak but was quickly silenced by yeosang who shoved a pillow at him, his eyes still locked onto wooyoung. "you think we can't tell you're trying to divert the topic?" he said tartly and wooyoung rolled his eyes.
"you read too deep into things. fine," he crossed his arms, "what is it that you want to know?"
yeosang cleared his throat before he spoke. "who is he? what does he do for a living? have you met his parents? are you dating now? have you slept with him—" he shot his questions at wooyoung, each one arriving faster than a bullet.
"do you have to be so inappropriate all the time?!" wooyoung exclaimed, cutting yeosang off. he stood up from the couch, taking his phone with him. "we're not dating, i don't even know him all that well. and i'm not answering the rest."
"that means they kissed! they kissed," yeosang and yunho gushed from behind him, hitting each other in excitement. wooyoung shook his head and made his way to the kitchen island, taking a seat there, away from all the noise. he turned his phone on and the very first notification was a text from mirae. he'd remembered to apologize to her before he went to sleep the previous night because it'd be a douchebag move if he left her in the dark like that.
don't worry, you looked super sick so i'll allow it. you can always make it up to me later! x
he set his phone down and sighed to himself. wooyoung was glad she was understanding of it, but a small part of him still ached with guilt because, well, he wasn't really sick. though there was no point in letting her know that, because then wooyoung would have to explain everything and it's not like he felt comfortable enough to tell her any of that. and it's not like she would care about it, either.
since they weren't essentially on bad terms, san had asked him to come back to the apartments. wooyoung dropped his head on the table exhaustedly, thinking about how he was going to pull through the next few days. he'd have to balance work and after that, he would have to give san an hour of his time like he promised. then again, the celebrity had it worse, seeing how he tended to have longer work hours and only one holiday per week. did he really have to be so hellbent on seeing wooyoung every other day? they could've just agreed to meet every friday. this every-day-of-the-week arrangement was only going to drain san of his energy. wooyoung couldn't help but feel guilty.
———
it was nearing 8pm when wooyoung had finally reached his apartment. yunho had driven them there, and though wooyoung hadn't even brought anything that occupied more than a single duffel bag, yeosang and yunho had decided to join in because they just wanted to 'help'. surely, in some or the other universe, 'help' stood for 'i'm using this as an excuse to see your neighbor up-close'.
wooyoung laughed down at them evilly in the back of his mind because san was probably still at work, meaning they would definitely not run into him. he carried the duffel bag on his shoulder while yeosang stood with his hands on his hips by the door that was wide open, and yunho quickly scurried to the living room to sink into the sofa. so much for helping. wooyoung narrowed his eyes in annoyance before setting the bag down by the coffee table.
the air in the apartment was murky, probably because no one had been in it for days. he really had a lot of cleaning to do. "hey, can you guys put the clothes back in my room? since you're here to help, after all," he said, looking at the pair expectingly.
"of course we are," yeosang said hesitantly, still peering out the door in hopes of seeing someone. he lifted the bag off the ground and dragged yunho with him. "let's finish up quick before we miss our chance," he whispered to the latter, hoping his words wouldn't reach wooyoung's ears but alas, they did. wooyoung let out an exasperated breath and approached the front door that yeosang had left wide open.
but like always, things just had to go downhill. his unwavering confidence that there would be no mishaps and ordeals came crumbling down, as if his life was jinxed. because exiting the elevator right next to his apartment was choi san, clad in his mask that was pulled down to his chin, and a black beanie instead of the usual cap. upon seeing wooyoung his eyes immediately lit up and before wooyoung could even breathe, san was already bolting towards him like he couldn't contain himself for a second longer.
he wrapped his arms around wooyoung tightly like he hadn't seen him for ages, nuzzling his head into the crook of his neck. wooyoung stumbled back from the force. if it were any other time, the explosions in wooyoung's stomach would've been insane like new years' fireworks. but this time, the churning at the pits of his stomach was caused by something else— the presence of his two friends in the apartment.
"i missed you," san mumbled, his voice stifled.
"we need to—" wooyoung began, trying to scurry out of the apartment before he'd been caught, but a loud thud sound from someone dropping something in the background had caused him to stop in his tracks.
equally as stunned, san looked up in the direction of the sound and wooyoung followed his gaze apprehensively. sure enough, there stood yeosang with his jaw dropped and his eyes as wide as saucers as he stared back at them.
