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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wooyoung closed the door with the side of his arm while holding two cans of chilled coffee in his hands. he pursed his lips, already overwhelmed by the silence in his room, where he stood alone with the exception of san, who was sitting up straight on the edge of the bed, arms crossed.
he reached out his hand to san, who was taken aback by the unexpected gesture.
"you didn't have to," he said, but he accepted the can anyway.
while san stiffly read the words on the back of the can as if they were important, wooyoung, who regretted even starting this conversation, sat silently next to him on the bed. he popped open the can almost immediately and took a long swig.
"what is it?" san turned to him and placed the can on the bedsheet. "what did you want to talk about?"
wooyoung blinked, cheeks puffing from the liquid that remained in his mouth. he slowly swallowed it before speaking.
"i just wanted to say..."
now that he thought about it, this was an awful idea. not because wooyoung would be hurting himself by revealing what he knew; rather, he would put both of them in an awkward situation. a situation so painfully awkward that you'd get chills all over.
there was a reason san kept running away whenever wooyoung brought up the game. wooyoung now understood exactly what that reason was. choi san was embarrassed.
now, they both had something to hold against each other: the embarrassing drunken incident seven years ago, and this video game. but wooyoung couldn't stoop so low, could he? besides, it had been a while since san had last pulled his leg. he had been nothing but supportive and decent over the last few weeks. plus, making things awkward for san was not the main issue. the problem was that wooyoung would also find himself in the same awkward situation. he'd had enough of that.
so, with renewed resolve, wooyoung cleared his throat and confidently met san's gaze. "i just wanted to say that i'm grateful."
san tilted his head like a lost kitten trying to cross a busy road, and wooyoung internally facepalmed. he probably sounded a little too confident just now. not to mention that he was never the type of person to say cheesy things to anyone, especially someone who, outside of the scandal situation, was capable of getting on his nerves faster than a needle.
san laughed softly, confused. "grateful?" he repeated. "for what?"
wooyoung quickly took another sip of his coffee, unsure how he was supposed to proceed. "for everything," he said without thinking again, immediately looking away and squeezing his eyes shut from the agonising internal cringe.
"i mean," he sighed, returning his gaze to san. "you gave me the push i needed to fix this mess."
san laughed again, his shoulders relaxing as he leaned back. "it's nothing, woo," he said, extending his hand to ruffle wooyoung's hair. "but, in the end, it's all due to you. so be grateful to yourself for having the courage and strength to go through all of this."
