Paradigm | ATEEZ x Reader

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO | NEW YORK

July 27th

"Hey!" You bellow, being pulled off the dock and into the water below. The cacophony from the shore is lost as you sink down. And for a brief moment, your worries are lifted. But soon, your bliss is broken as you feel someone grabbing your hand, pulling you to the surface. You wipe your eyes, seeing Wooyoung before you. He winces as he blinks water droplets out of his eyes.

"Kinda burns, doesn't it." He laughs, and you can see his skin start to turn pink. You offer him a smile, though your eyes begin to wander around the lake. San, Mingi, and Yunho are a little ways from you, splashing about like they're five. Yeosang and Seonghwa stand by the grill Mr. Kim brought, taking lessons from him as he makes your dinner. The smell wafts over as your attention shifts back to Wooyoung. "Shortie." You look down at your shoulder, not noticing that he'd placed his hand there. "You good?"

"Yeah. It's just so weird to be here without her." You say, fidgeting with the pearl hung around your neck.

The tradition started before you came into the picture. Before any of you had. As it was told to you, Ms. Jeong had come to Lake Erie one summer after being invited by one of her college classmates, and she fell in love with the scene. She said she never felt so at peace in her life. So, when the next summer came around, she asked to go with them again. Though her friendship died out, her love for that lake went on. Every July, no matter what was happening, she made the journey east just so she could sit on the shores once more. Eventually, she was able to bring her new family with her. Soon, her children made good friends, and like her classmate, she invited them to join her and her family. But now, as you look back at all the parents crowded around a campfire, you see her seat left empty.

"Woo!" You snap out of it, turning your attention to Seonghwa, who is standing over the both of you on the rickety wood of the dock. "It keeps going off..." Seonghwa holds out Wooyoung's phone, shaking it in an effort to get him to take it.

"Who is it?" You ask as Wooyoung grabs it, moving to shallower waters.

"Yeonjun..." He hesitates for a moment before answering it. "Hey?" He says, before making his way out of the water.

"That's weird." You say to Seonghwa, who's trying to get a read on Wooyoung's expressions.

"That was his fifth time calling him." Seonghwa notes, shaking his head before taking a seat on the edge of the wood. He swings his feet into the water below.

"So, uh, how's the burger lessons?" You ask, swimming up beside him, resting your arms on the dock.

"Good. You know Mr. Kim..." Seonghwa smiles.

"He's a talker." You both say, laughing awkwardly as the silence floods back in.

"It's kinda weird having a celebrity just call us." You say, looking back to Wooyoung, who is now half shouting into the phone.

"I'm sure it's even weirder dating one." Seonghwa mutters.

"We're not–"

"Shortie, I know. Just making a joke."

"Oh, okay." You say, sighing.

"I'm really okay. You know that, right?" He says, looking at you.

"You keep saying that."

"I still think you should've just told me."

"I know."

"But you wanted to land your knife, so I get it." You shake your head at him, pushing up off the dock.

"I didn't do it to hurt you. I did it because I was stressed out."

"Deliberate or not, on some level, you had to have known what this was going to do to me."