after a scandal, wooyoung, a defunct k-pop idol, runs away to his sister's hometown. he craves anonymity, yet his quiet routine is disrupted by a chance encounter- a local with a warm presence, who offers him a glimpse of a life beyond the spotlight...
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28 march, 2017
spring was here, which meant that the already noisy town would only get noisier. the annual bloomfest—the biggest festival of the year— was happening. as always, the school's field would serve as the ground where the festival would be held, meaning all sports activities would be moved indoors to the gymnasium for a while.
out on the field, all kinds of stalls were being set up. ideally, at 9 in the morning, when there was no school, wooyoung would be huddled up in the comforts of his bed.
so what was he doing, flat on the grass and under the sun?
"hey, will you get up?" jongho tossed a paper cup at his head, "it's almost half past 9! our stall should be opening soon, and we're not even prepared thanks to you!"
wooyoung groaned, still under the spell of slumber.
"i told you," he turned to his side without opening his eyes to spare his poor friends a glance, "i won't be of any help. you shouldn't have dragged me here or signed me up for this without asking."
though this was far from what wooyoung considered the perfect bed, the sun was gentle, birds chirped in the distance, the wind whistled as it blew past him, and oddly, the murmur and chitter-chattering of people became some sort of comforting melody. either that, or his soul was just so exhausted that he found it easy to make a bed out of anything.
jongho scoffed, the sound sharp enough to pierce wooyoung's sleep haze. "don't be such a baby. we need all the help we can get. besides, you owe us one after ditching us at the karaoke night last week."
wooyoung cracked open one eye, a sliver of sunlight blinding him momentarily. "hey, that was an emergency," he mumbled, swatting the paper cup away with a lazy flick of his hand. "my stomach decided to betray me at the most inopportune moment."
"right, because food poisoning is your go-to excuse whenever you want to bail," jongho countered, rolling his eyes. he knelt down beside wooyoung, shading him from the sun with his hand. "you stayed up all night training again, didn't you?"
yeosang, who was sat on the chair behind the clothed table, clicked his tongue. he was busy vigorously jotting something down on his notepad, but it seemed like he wasn't occupied enough to be unable to eavesdrop.
"i don't understand idols," he said without lifting his head. "you're not allowed to eat, sleep, or even enjoy the small things. shouldn't that be considered abuse? is it all even worth it?"
wooyoung shot up like a scolded puppy, blinking away the remnants of sleep. "hey! you just like to complain about everything. i mean, look at me! i'm perfectly fine!" he directed a glare at yeosang, who finally looked up from his notepad.
"i'm just stating facts," yeosang countered. "look at you, wooyoung. you're practically a walking zombie. one gust of wind and you'll topple over like a domino."
