[ Architecture of a Heart ] - WooSan

Chapter 14

The bathroom, much like its owner, was organized and clean, colored in soft shades of white and blue, cold light raining from the fairy lights on one of the walls. Wooyoung stared at his reflection, water running on his hands, his whole face slightly tainted red and his eyes tired. The party was nearing its end. The countdown, the fireworks, the noncommittal resolutions. The drinks. The stares. The drinks to forget about the stares.

With a sigh, he got out of his contemplation and splashed his face. He was far from being clear enough to think about the blur that was quickly becoming that night. That would be a problem for future Wooyoung. Poor future Wooyoung, always the one to face all the consequences. Maybe he should do something nice for him. Like, prepare a sandwich at home for lunch instead of buying a bad one at the nearest store. Hm. That didn't sound like much. He should be able to find something better.

Wait, was he spacing out again ? God, he was tired. Tired and uselessly inflating Yunho's water bill. Right when he was turning it off, multiple screams and gasps came from outside, followed by panicked footsteps and more screaming.

"Please please open the door it's an emergencyyyy !"

Anguish suddenly overwhelming him, Wooyoung opened, expecting the worst. San was there, frantic, hands held in front of him, covered by a shimmering layer of a pinkish liquid dripping down his wrists, but he seemed okay. He rushed past him, washing his hands to the best of his ability, fighting against the sleeves of his oversized sweater. When he put his hands down the stream, they slid down, and when he put them up to get it to slide down his arm the drops followed.

"I really really can't get this wet", he whimpered, desperate.

Reacting after a second of being stunned, Wooyoung quickly picked the end of the sleeves to push them up to his biceps. San sighed, relieved.

"Ah, thank you. This fabric reacts so badly to water, and if it got stained by the watermelon..."

Wooyoung suddenly realized how close he was to him. To keep the way-too-wide sleeves out of the way, he held them up, hands on the muscles he hadn't noticed before, an arm across his chest. His face was so close, he could count his eyelashes. He would, in fact, seeing how focused San was washing his hands. Then his words registered, and he blinked.

"Watermelon ? Wha... What happened there ?"

"So you know how Jongho splits apples ?"

"Yeah, they kind of make him do it every time there's someone new to impress them", Wooyoung muttered.

"Oh, so it's like, a whole routine ?"

"Sometimes we find something new to add and it sticks. At the beginning he didn't sing while doing it, but then Yeosang suggested it and bam, now he does it every time."

"Heh, that's funny", he smiled, rubbing soap between his fingers. "So anyway, you remember how Mingi said something along the lines of, wow, he's so strong I bet he could break a watermelon ?"

"... They... How did they find one."

"Yunho asked Yeosang if he knew someone that had one nearby, and, turns out- long story short he just came back with one."

"Why am I friends with these people", he deadpanned.

"Because they're funny ?"

"Debatable."

"After they got it they decided he should karate chop it. So I held it up..."

"You could've died", he paled.

"It was fine ! I was even hidden behind the counter so that it wouldn't splash on me."

"You don't know what danger you were in. You've got no idea."