Perfume • Woosan | Ateez

t h i r t e e n

I try and I try and I t r y
But I'm even too sad to c r y

• • •

THE face from the officer made Choi San shiver. He looked serious, like really, really serious. As soon as Halmoni had opened the door he immediately scanned whatever was facing him with his eyes, as if he expected some monster jumping out from behind somewhere. Then his grandmother quickly shut the door a little again after she saw the officer observing San now, so he would only be able to see her. It was like she wanted San to be invisible. That made him think about that she would probably still do everything to protect him, even if he ever did something that could get him in trouble with the police. And that meant a lot, considering she hated everything that had to do with breaking laws and getting other people hurt. She would literally do anything for him, like she told him a million times. Everything I do is for you, my sweet, sweet angel. She was the one person who would go to the end of the world and back for him.

Suddenly San realized how fast his heart was beating. It was so fast, that he could even feel it in his fingertips. The last time he had felt like this Wooyoung and he- No. He shouldn't think about that anymore. San stepped a little closer to the door, so he would still be able to hear what was going on. Why did the police come knocking at their door in the middle of the night? He couldn't be the reason the officer was here, because he didn't do anything wrong. Or did he? The first thing that came to mind was the bunch of assholes who wanted to take Wooyoung's and his shoes on the way back home from school, but that felt like years ago. The police couldn't be here because of that. Two days ago he would've smiled like an idiot while thinking about that incident, since that was kinda the reason Wooyoung and he kissed for the first time, but now it was just the day everything started to be confusing and more and more unbearable.

His grandmother pulled him out of his thoughts and the time loop he had felt trapped in. »Can I help you with something, officer?«, she asked with her always so kind sounding voice, even though San could hear that she was already slightly upset. He could imagine pretty well, what was going through her head right now, since she had six, sometimes even seven, teenagers living under her roof after all. Teenagers whom most of them didn't have their parents as role models or other persons in their lives who taught them how to handle certain situations. Little did she now, that one of the boys she cared for wasn't asleep upstairs and that her worries would be fully justified. Jung Wooyoung was the only reason his grandmother would get woken up in the middle of the night by a police officer and San felt stupid that he truly considered himself to be the reason for a second. While Halmoni was probably still thinking hard about who was most likely to get in trouble with the police, San was already thinking about what exactly happened. Did he get into a fight again? Did he steal something? Did he cause a scene because of his anger issues?

»Ma'am this is because of a teenage boy I found laying on a bench next to a supermarket. He tells me he lives with you at the moment and I would need confirmation that he's telling a lie, before I take him with me to the station. I'm sorry to disturb you this late at night«, the police officer stated. The terror on his face had faded and now he looked like he just wanted to get this over with. Here we go, San thought, but realized the exact words that the officer had used a few seconds before. Confirmation that he's telling a lie? His grandmother seemed as disturbed as himself, still could hold herself back though. It was clear, that the police officer was more concerned about disturbing an elderly woman in the middle of the night than why a kid was sleeping alone outside. »And what's the name of this teenage boy?«, she asked with a raised eyebrow. The police officer still didn't notice, that he had found a topic which his grandmother took very, very seriously. She didn't mess around when it came to children, no matter what age they were. »He tells me it's Jung Wooyoung, but couldn't show me an ID confirmation of that either«, he said almost sounding amused, like he thought his grandmother would find the situation as absurd as he obviously did. »He is sitting right there in my car in fact, being watched by my partner«, he continued talking, while Halmoni was looking at him in absolute disbelief.