Forced to be together for the sake of the public eye, Jung Wooyoung and Choi San have been wrapped up in a scheme to bring their parent's million dollar companies together. Wooyoung hates San, and San hates Wooyoung. The arranged relationship was on...
Be advised, there are multiple trigger warnings for this chapter, including: mentions of emotional abuse, referenced previous domestic violence, toxic relationships, panic/anxiety, mental health topics and themes in regards to gaslighting.
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Their lips part gently, and Wooyoung has to will himself not to panic. He looks at San, nearly dazed and confused, but he manages a smile for the sake of the media gasping in sheer joy as cameras flutter and flash before them. San is searching Wooyoung's gaze, but Wooyoung isn't sure what for. He was the one who had just fucking kissed him, so Wooyoung isn't all that sure why the male would be so confused. If anything, Wooyoung was in ruins. His mind was melting, heart aching, fully aware of how everything around them was beginning to crumble. Sun-hee was going to be furious, and only time could tell at how their parents would react to such an intimate gesture at a fucking press release of all places, but. . . it could be worse, Wooyoung supposes. Maybe it was for the best that this had happened. Maybe all of the deeply rooted feelings will finally melt away as he allowed his heart to savor in the one moment that they'd ever share like this.
Questions and praise are being yelled at them simultaneously, but Wooyoung can't bring himself to listen. As he smiles, he suddenly becomes unaware of what or who he's smiling at. Is he faking the smile for the pictures? Or is he genuinely smiling because San had given him something that he so dormantly wanted? Even if he was happy about a fraction of this, his hands began to tremble regardless.
The voices, the flashes, the kiss; it all began to sink in. Wooyoung's jaw tightens as he swallows the flood of anxiety coating his tongue, his brows pinch just barely as he tries to hold in every emotion smoothing over his expression.
Before too long, San looks away from him, smiling at the media as he leans towards the microphone again, trying his best to calm down the bystanders.
"I appreciate every one of you coming out here to celebrate our announcement, and we cannot wait to share more with you. I'm afraid there is more business for us to attend to, so I do have to cut our question time short. Please look forward to the news about our wedding." San smiles, bowing his head down slightly, then proceeding to turn away.
Question after question is barred at San's back, but San ignores them. His eyes find Wooyoung's again, and for a moment, a hint of regret lingers within San's deep hues, but amongst the regret lay a flood of yearning. Wooyoung wants to ask a million things, but he finds himself unsure if he wants any of the answers. The kiss could have meant nothing to him, but in reality, Wooyoung knew it likely didn't.
There was something going on beneath the surface, but he knew that San would never admit it.
San takes his hand, lacing their fingers together, gently leading Wooyoung off of the stage. The minute he steps off, he spots Yeosang, and an entire storm of anxiety settles in his stomach. He knew his best friend was sure to pry as to what the hell he had just witnessed, but Wooyoung didn't even know himself. That wasn't planned, and it sure as hell wasn't in the script his mother had written, so all he knew was that either San did that because he wanted to, or because it would be good for the company.
