Stay ||| Wooyoung/Jongho/San (Ateez)

26

When Wooyoung woke up the next morning, he realized he had fallen asleep on the floor in front of his door.

Normally he would have groaned and regretting his decision, but he was past the point of caring right now.

He was numb to everything, so he elected to just lay on the floor and stare at the far wall of his apartment, trying not to think about anything.

It didn't work though. The pain from the previous day came crashing back to him and his body started to tremble.

A tiny meow came from next to his head and Nova held out a paw to place it on his nose.

Knowing he had to get up for her helped. Wooyoung was able to push himself into a sitting position and lifted the kitten up to his chest. She started to purr and she extended her claws to grip onto his shirt while he stood up.

"I've got you. Let's get you some breakfast pretty kitty." He cooed, keeping her cradled to him while cleaned out her bowl and poured her some fresh food. He also made sure to get her some fresh water as well before going to take a shower.

It made him feel a little better, but the thought of what was coming later that day just filled him with dread.

He really didn't want to deal with Marcus today, but he feared that he would be in more trouble if he tried to call out. Maybe he could convince Marcus to do some scouting today or something so that way they didn't have to spend a lot of time together.

Either way, Wooyoung was ready for the day to already be over.

He checked his phone and tried to not let himself get too disappointed when he saw there were no calls or messages.

They all needed time to process what had happened.

And he had plenty of time to do that on the bus ride into the city.

Wooyoung sighed while trying to find music he wanted to listen to that matched his mood, which was something slow and sad. While he did, he thought of San's confession. He couldn't believe that San still wanted to be with him after what he had done.

"You've just messed everything up, haven't you." Wooyoung muttered as his thoughts also drifted over to Jongho.

He knew the younger was hurt by this more than San, especially knowing now that Wooyoung had done the same thing to him that his father had done...

Wooyoung peeked at his phone again and bit his lip.

He had had a chance to make his apologies to San, so before he fully registered what he was doing, he pulled up Jongho's phone number and hit dial.

Thankfully the bus wasn't very full today, but he still turned into the corner and let his head rest against the side of the vehicle.

After several rings, Jongho's voicemail started playing, talking about how it was the busy season for him so he would get back to the caller as soon as possible.

Wooyoung hadn't expected the farmer to answer, but at the same time, he had never ignored Wooyoung's call before.

After the beep, Wooyoung hesitated for a second, and then started to speak. "Hey, Jongho. It's... Me. I know I messed up, and... I don't blame you for not answering. But, I'd like to talk, so that I can tell you in person my side of things. If you'll give me the chance. I... I know I don't really deserve it. But, Jongho... My time with you..." His voice caught in his throat and he had to take a couple of deep breaths. "I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt you." He ended the call and buried his face in his hands.

When his bus came to a stop, he hurried off and made sure to straighten out his shirt before walking to the office. Marcus had been there for a couple of hours already, so there was no telling what he was walking in to.