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...
Mentions of abuse/neglect are common in this chapter, as well as topics about mental health. Please be advised and do not read any further if these topics are sensitive to you.
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Day after day does San watch Wooyoung slowly evolve into a slow state of peace. Wooyoung had been depressed for a long time, lingering in bed into the late morning, seeking out the warmth of the shower afterwards, only to sink into the couch or back into the bed the minute he was done.
San felt helpless, watching as the one he loved most struggled to cope with the reality of his life. San didn't want to force him into doing things if he didn't feel up to it, let alone become a source of distress when he was supposed to be a source of comfort. Wooyoung was as strong as he could be, and San knew that he was doing his best, but seeing him like this, so broken and dejected, only made San's heart ache worse.
He would forever remain patient, keeping Wooyoung close and remaining as a steady presence, trying to stay as a consistent force of reassurance and love. He couldn't understand the pain of being lied to like this, but the hurt caused by his family, San knew the feeling all too well.
However, six days after arriving at the beach house, Wooyoung had strode out of the bedroom, fresh in casual clothes, his necklace glimmering in the soft sunlight that had poured in from the vast open windows, causing San to look at him with a glimmer of awe, stuck in a place of love and compassion. San hadn't expected Wooyoung to be so starkly different in the matter of a few days, but the fact that he was trying made San love him all that much more.
"Wooyoung," San breathes out, settled on the sofa in the living space, his eyes trailing over his partner with a tone laced in deep affection. "You seem. . . so much lighter."
"I want to go out," Wooyoung admits quietly, taking a few steps closer to the living space. "My mind feels like a prison, and the last thing I want to do is trap you in here with me."
"Baby, you're not trapping me anywhere," San assures, rising from his spot on the couch. "You're healing and coping, and you're doing it in the only way you know how. That's perfectly okay."
"We're finally away from Seoul, in a city that likely wouldn't know our faces by a first glance. Busan is going to offer us a moment of peace, and I want to cherish that peace with the one person I love more than anything else," Wooyoung says quietly, reaching his hand out to hold San's within his own. "Let's make a day of it, just you and me."
"That sounds perfect," San smiles softly.
"Really?" Wooyoung asks, his voice a bit surprised, maybe even relieved.
