[ Architecture of a Heart ] - WooSan

Chapter 4

Wooyoung was working on his latest blueprint when he heard it. First, the steady vibration of the sewing machine stopped, and, more importantly, didn't start again. And maybe he was working on a smaller piece than usual, because it was just midnight and San told him last Thursday - the day where they always ended up walking together - that he had a lot of work to do. So that's what it was, he decided. Just a small piece of clothing that didn't require much sewing.

But then he heard a soft sob. Turning towards the wall that separated them, he froze. Maybe he heard wrong. But then a hiccup followed, and his heart dropped. He tried to imagine San's joyful face with anything resembling sorrow. It didn't work. It was so, so wrong.

It was a thousand times worse than any wink.

Slowly, he crawled on his bed, facing the blank wall. It's not like he could do anything. They didn't even really know each other. But the subtle sniffing coming through the thin wall kept on squeezing his lungs, and he felt so helpless in this instant. He knew San's desk was right there, a perfect copy of his, and he must have been sitting behind it, in front of his unfinished work. It reminded him of these times when the pressure was too high, and he would break down because the veranda he envisioned just wouldn't fit . Of the times he was too tired. Too alone. He had no way of knowing what caused it for San, but... He could at least try to be there.

Holding his breath, he raised a hand, and slowly, softly, he knocked on the wall between them.

"... San ? You okay there ?"

A muffled sound, silence, and a weak knock on the other side.

"Yeah. Don't worry."

He could barely hear it, much less decipher the emotions behind it, but it was enough. The terrible sound of a chair scraping the floor tiles was followed a little later by the recognizable whisper of a running shower. At least he wasn't just sitting there anymore.

Wooyoung sighed, rubbing his tired eyes, looking at his work, the wall, his work again. He should get back to it now. These rooms weren't going to design themselves on their own.