soft - woosan

chapter 37

wooyoung san

back to school. back to trudging through enclosing hallways with his head down, flinching at sounds around him and praying no one talked to him.

the gates were looming bars that promised doom, pillars appearing as gothic gargoyles for a second who ushered him to an unavoidable fate.

of course, in the blink of an eye, san only saw what was truly in front of him; half polished weak iron gates set between two chipped creamy pillars of brick beholding years of ridiculing graffiti - a gift from past students leaving their mark of surviving high school.

he'd be fine. just as long as he avoided wooyoung and consequently everyone else.

-

so far, so good.

he'd managed to dodge yunho on the way to combined science, and had ducked into a supply closet after ignoring wooyoung in english to avoid running into seonghwa, mingi, minho and hyunjin who had come to meet the younger.

now came the harder part: break. he wasn't about to sit in the cafeteria and risk seeing them all, but wasn't brave enough to scout the hallways when everyone was free to roam those, too. going outside was an option, but was quickly eliminated when he remembered the two possible routes included passing a main corridor or through the cafeteria.

so that's how he ended up staying in the supply closet, backed in the corner while trying to breathe as quietly as he could so not to alert faculty of his presence.

sounded as pathetic as it was in reality. fitting, since pathetic was about the only word he associated with himself recently.

and all was going well until he heard a soft knock, widening his eyes and sending his heart into an unsteady rhythm of rapid beats.

"san? it's me..." came a deep voice from the other side of the door. "i followed you after english."

a pause. "what are you doing in a supply closet?"

san bit his lip, making a quick decision. it was felix. he could trust felix. and god, did he need someone he could trust.

"...hiding." he replied feebly, the last syllable raised like a question rather than a statement.

"can you come out so we can talk? we're- i'm worried about you."

san had begun to move towards the handle, but retracted his hand as if the knob was burning hot to touch. "is someone else there?"

"no- no one's here. just me." a loud clearing of the throat. "i promise."

warily, the raven haired boy opened the door, edging himself slowly into the open to find felix. standing alone, nothing but worry in his dark eyes.

immediately, san launched himself into the arms of his friend, hugging him tightly, melting into the comfort of someone he knew.

felix stiffened in surprised, but quickly relaxed, returning the hug even though it was a little awkward on his side. the last time they hugged it didn't end so well. and felix was remembering it all too clearly.

finally, san pulled back, unfazed (unlike the other), and offered him a smile. "i'm glad it's you." he confessed.

"u-uh, yeah," felix stuttered, scratching his head awkwardly. "i wanted to talk to you about... wooyoung."

the smile fell like summer rain, san stepping back as if the word hit him with a physical force. "why?"

"you should talk to him, san." felix tried, grabbing at san's wrist as the boy began to walk away. "you don't look good. you-" a sigh, as if it strained him to admit. "you need him."