In the birds' nest • woosan

IX. Guilt

[tw: drug dealing, drug addiction, mentioned self-harm, mentioned sexual content, psychological abuse, mention of death]

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Usually, he would just scroll through the list of recent calls, but on that day, he found himself struggling to locate the number. He hadn't saved it in his contacts—a small act of defiance that he still clung to after all these years. The absence of a name next to the number was like the last flicker of hope, a tiny ember that one day, he wouldn't need to dial it anymore. Yet... how many years had it been? He couldn't remember. But on that night, too, he couldn't help the sigh that escaped his lips as the metallic ring of the call echoed in his ear.

The long, unbearable toot-toot of the dial tone finally ceased, replaced by a sweet, gentle voice on the other end. Wooyoung swallowed hard before whispering into the microphone.

"Hey, it's me—" He paused, hesitant. "Do you have it?"

Wooyoung was always a little taken aback whenever he heard Yunho's voice. It was always so calm, so sweet, a tone that didn't quite match the image he had of the boy or the dangerous nature of what he did for a living. That first meeting had been a surprise, too—Yunho's demeanor didn't align with the ruthless world he inhabited.

He owed Seonghwa for that connection, though. Seonghwa had always been the one to know the right people, to have the right answers when things got tough. After all, Seonghwa was a star at The Nest. Unlike Wooyoung, who kept his head down and did what he had to do, Seonghwa thrived in the spotlight. He was the kind of person who drew others in effortlessly, whether on stage or off. There was an intoxicating energy about him, a mix of charisma and raw allure that made him the club's favorite.

Despite Gege's strict set of rules for his workers, Seonghwa operated in his own orbit, bending them with a charm that no one else could replicate. Where others were forbidden from indulging in more than a single drink offered by a customer, Seonghwa could sip on champagne or take a shot or two without repercussions. Xiaolong trusted the boy so much that most of the times he looked the other way when it came to his habits—especially his love for getting high before his shows. It wasn't just a vice; it was part of his ritual, a way to elevate his performances to a level that kept the audience enthralled. And for that, he relied on Yunho.

Wooyoung couldn't count the number of times Seonghwa had pulled him out of a tight spot—and not just him. He realized that if it wasn't for Seonghwa, Yeosang wouldn't still be with them. Wooyoung hadn't been there when it happened, but he'd heard the story—Hongjoong had a big mouth, and while Seonghwa never bragged about his powerful connections or the help they brought, Hongjoong couldn't stop praising his best friend. It was Seonghwa who managed to locate Yeosang after days of futile searching—he simply dialed the right number, and an address appeared in his messages within a few hours.

Again, it was Seonghwa who introduced him to Yunho, saving Wooyoung from the necessity of venturing into the creepiest parts of the city, forced to rely on shady, dangerous characters. Yunho was a safer option, someone Wooyoung could trust. For better or worse, that connection had become one Wooyoung had grown to rely on, despite what it represented. Yunho was different. There was something about him that Wooyoung couldn't quite pin down, something that made him uneasy yet strangely comforted at the same time. Perhaps it was the dichotomy of his personality—soft-spoken and kind, yet involved in a world that was anything but.