"How. Dare. You. Associate. Yourself. With. Him?! WHY DO YOU HAVE FRIENDS?!"
Hyeri bellowed, slapping Wonwoo repeatedly across the face the moment he returned from university.
Wonwoo, clueless but not surprised, silently endured until his mum finished releasing all her fury on him. He had no idea of why she was doing this, but chided himself for ever wondering so. When had Jeon Hyeri ever needed a reason to abuse anyone in the house?
Wonwoo stuttered as he tried to form a coherent sentence, heavy winces taking over, caused by the sharp nails that had impacted his face a few seconds earlier.
"Speak clearly, Wonwoo, don't be so sensitive,"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Mum,"
That got him another hit to his back. "Then make yourself aware, especially if you can't manage to stay on top just because of some pointless company," his mum seethed.
"CAN YOU FUCKING TELL ME PROPERLY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING!?"
"Do not raise your voice at me, Wonwoo!"
"Then try to give me an idea of what the fuck you're going on about,"
The back of Hyeri's hand, laden with her thick wedding ring, struck Wonwoo's head, right where the healing wound lay. Wonwoo shut his eyes in fear when he noticed his mum's fingers dotted with blood.
"If you're so curious, I'm talking about that boy – Kim Mingyu,"
"What?"
"Don't play dumb, Wonwoo, you know very well what I'm saying,"
"Why do you know this?" Wonwoo reasoned calmly, trying to keep the rage out of his voice.
"So, am I correct?"
"Bingo, Mum,"
Wonwoo didn't hide the sarcasm; he strangely felt like riling his mum up. All that rage pent up from never being allowed to relieve it bubbled through Wonwoo like hot oil, making him want to spit each and every violent thought of his right in front of his mum.
But he didn't – he couldn't – and that reality made Wonwoo settle with blowing a puff of air from his mouth instead. Unfortunately, even this didn't miss being noticed by his mum, earning another punch to the shoulder. Wonwoo remained still in his position, head hung low, and fists clenching behind his back.
"I don't care about whatever reason you have to justify you talking to someone from the Kims. I dare you to step another toe out of line, and if you do, forget about having a roof over your head. I knew you were a bit slow with studies, but taking help from someone like him? How low will you stoop?!" Hyeri spoke, her voice booming in the entire house.
"I'm on a scholarship at Pledis, Mum," Wonwoo mumbled, reminding her of whom she called 'slow', and silently walked up to his room.
Just staying in the room was suffocating, the tense atmosphere still clouding him. Wonwoo wanted to cry – he'd lost count of how many times he'd done that today. He tried, he really tried hard to cry, silently assuring himself that there was no one in his proximity that would question or reprimand him for doing so; but he failed. His mouth refused to let any sound free, and his eyes refrained from producing any more tears.
He just lay numbly on the cold tiles of his room, staring at the air conditioner humming in the silence of the room. The cold air numbed him further as he lazily picked himself up from the floor to grab the remote and turn it off, laying in his previous spot once again. It felt a tad bit bearable to stay inside now.
Maybe the problem was never Mingyu, Wonwoo reflected. Maybe it had always been the sheer stubbornness of his parents not wanting him to remain in a state to pay attention to his studies. He was either physically or mentally disturbed within the five minutes after he returned from university these days. Most times, it was both.
Wonwoo abruptly peeled himself away from the floor, and opened the window in the room. Without thinking twice, he jumped, but not for the same reason he had a few days ago. He wanted any little escape he could get. He wanted some fresh air to organise himself once again. He wondered how much time he would have to spend in the fresh air to completely reorganise himself.
The weather wasn't the best, Wonwoo realised once he got used to his surroundings, which were near synonymous to being unfamiliar. He couldn't even recognise this side of the house's exterior when he looked up at the window he jumped from.
There were several other houses, Wonwoo took note as he took a good look around. All of them looked pretty, and he wondered if they were pretty on the inside too; if there were happy, peaceful families living in them too. The thought made him jealous.
--
Wonwoo was stuck in Theatre, alongside Mingyu, reminding himself – yet again – that it was just for the play, and nothing else. Everyone else, except for Professor Lee and two other seniors – one of them being the guy who'd reported him and Mingyu – was backstage, with the blooming luck of not having to involve themselves in a situation like the one Wonwoo was stuck in.
On Professor's cue, Wonwoo began with his lines, going with the flow like he did each time. Mingyu, without a single trace of any emotion visible on his face, did his part too. Thankfully, the three observers stood a bit too far to notice much.
Wonwoo braced himself for the upcoming scene – which he'd tried hard not to dwell on in the past days.
Mingyu, without any warning, unlike what he did each time, leaned in and plundered Wonwoo's mouth with his own. Wonwoo squeaked in surprise, then calmly reminded himself that it was just for a matter of a few seconds.
Except it wasn't – as it turned out – because something didn't feel quite right with Mingyu. He hadn't left him alone, and it had been way longer than their usual rehearsals.
Wonwoo pushed him back, and noticed Mingyu's eyes lazily fluttering open. "What the fuck's wrong with you?!" Wonwoo whisper-yelled, not wanting to attract any attention.
Mingyu seemed to snap out of a trance, not quite registering what Wonwoo had said. "What?" he questioned, dumbly.
"The fuck are you doing? We're in practice, did you forget?" Wonwoo spoke through gritted teeth.
"No? Haven't we done this before?"
"Yes we have, but not this way! This is very uncomfortable, Mingyu, get away,"
Wonwoo excused himself to get a breather, and disappeared into the darkness of the auditorium, leaving Mingyu alone in the front.
