[ Architecture of a Heart ] - WooSan

Chapter 12

Wooyoung was sitting on Yunho's couch, playing with a cup of water. He was fairly stressed. He had been, as usual, invited to his New Year's Eve party, to form their high school squad ; himself, his cousin Yeosang, their bodyguard Jongho, and the one keeping them together, Yunho. That was the easy part ; he spent a lot of time with them, he was comfortable. And even if Yunho added that new guy, Mingi, it was still manageable. However...

Yeosang sat down on the armrest, crossing his legs and lifting a brow.

"So when's your crush coming ?"

Wooyoung didn't even look at him, jaw shut tight. Jongho joined them, wide eyed.

"I can't believe Wooyoung found someone after his fuckboy phase."

Wooyoung pointed at him menacingly.

"I swear to God if you mention that again you're going to regret it."

"I could break your bones with only one hand", he shrugged, drinking his coke.

"What happened here ? When did I lose all my authority over you ?"

"Bold of you to assume you ever had any", huffed Yeosang.

A blood vessel was getting very visible on his neck. Yunho stepped in, Mingi joined to his hip - and they were both so tall, how was that even legal ? Did they exist just to make fun of his height ?

"Give Wooyoung a break, he's going to meet his in-laws tonight, it has to be stressful", said Yunho.

"Wait, what in-laws ?" interjected Jongho, lost. "I thought it was just that mysterious neighbor he fell in love with."

Wooyoung crushed his cup in his fist. Everyone ignored it.

"Well, you know how I stole his number from Wooyoung's phone on Christmas", explained Yeosang like he was talking about the weather. "We chatted a bit and when I invited him he said he always did it with these two dudes, and that they're like his parents, and he would never ditch them. So I invited them too. They agreed. We're having a family meeting now."

"Yeosang, why are you working so hard against me ?..."

"I'm helping you ! Now you get to spend a party with your crush and don't even pretend you didn't want to. You cried when you opened his gift, that freaked me out, I had to do something."

Yunho and Jongho gasped, Mingi looking mildly concerned. Wooyoung jumped on his cousin, starting a fight with him.

"You WHAT ?!" screamed Jongho.

"Yunho, help, HELP !" screeched Yeosang, wriggling to escape Wooyoung's deadly grip.

"Knock knock", did the door.

Everyone froze. Yeosang looked at his cousin like he was asking him why he was not opening the door yet. In fact, they all looked at him like that. Vanquished, Wooyoung let go of him, and got up, ignoring everyone to the best of his ability.

San was there, smiling and shining as usual. He didn't know it was possible, but he smiled even harder when he saw it was him.

"Wooyoung~ ! I missed you !" he exclaimed, catching him in a hug that made him tumble back.

Wooyoung felt himself die on multiple levels. The stares on his back were boring onto his skin. Luckily, San let him go before he had to reciprocate anything. He was two seconds in and he was already screwed. What did he ever do to deserve this ? His neighbor went past him, waving at his friends with a joyful "Hello, I'm San~", as if everyone wasn't already very aware of that fact. Still a little stunned, Wooyoung lingered by the door, ending face to face with two new guys. One was taller than him. The other slightly smaller. Half a victory was still better than a full failure.

"Hi", said the small one with a smile. "I'm Hongjoong, and this is Seonghwa. Maybe San mentioned us at some point. You're Wooyoung, right ?"

And, yes, Wooyoung knew about them. San told him all about how they met in high school despite being in different years with a dancing contest, how they cared for him before graduating, how Hongjoong was the one that convinced him to follow the path of fashion like him and do what he loved for a living, how Seonghwa always managed to make room in his schedule to comfort him despite trying to become a surgeon, how they were the most important people in his life besides his grand-parents. He knew exactly who was in front of him, and saying he was terribly intimidated would be putting it lightly. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he forced a smile out.

"Y-yeah. It's nice to meet you."

Seonghwa smiled warmly, and on the back of his mind, Wooyoung barely registered wondering if everyone associated with San including him was a model of some sorts.

"I'm glad I finally get to meet you, we've heard a lot about you, you know ?"

He put a hand on Wooyoung's shoulder, and leaned in a little. His smile wasn't warm at all anymore. The coldness of death seeped through his clothes where he touched him and it took every ounce of frozen bravery in his body not to look down. His low voice was the most menacing sound he had ever heard.

"If you hurt him, I swear no one will ever find your body."

Seonghwa straightened up and everything was normal and warm again. He laughed, and Wooyoung laughed nervously, too. Then he remembered that San told him that he had access to the mortuary and its bodies for training purposes, and he didn't really feel like laughing anymore.

"Anyway, thanks for inviting us", Seonghwa concluded, patting his back and heading towards the rest of the group.

Hongjoong followed him, giving him a mischievous smile, and Wooyoung stood there, in front of the empty door, just a bit longer.

It was going to be a long night.