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OKAY, maybe it's time i fill you in why wonwoo and i aren't exactly in talking terms. we met each other in the first year of high school and back then, he never talks. he doesn't answer when the teacher asks him a question, he doesn't answer when people ask him what club does he sign up for... he keeps his words to himself. it's scary, it really is scary. how scary is it knowing that someone in your class never talks?
in the second year of high school, he started warming up to people. in the second year, i was already friends with soonyoung. we had another friend called eunwoo. we were quite a tight three and that was until one lunch.
"hey, can i, um, have lunch with you guys?" was what wonwoo asked that changed the rest of our years in high school. in the third year of high school, both wonwoo and i caught feelings for each other, which resulted in us dating in about halfway through high school.
and then everything crumbled away at the end of the fourth year. it was months until our graduation and wonwoo, all of sudden, was mad at all three of us. i knew he was mad at eunwoo because eunwoo copied him in the maths test. eunwoo did apologise and said he never intended to do so, but wonwoo never forgave him.
wonwoo was mad at soonyoung for eating his snack, which was simply outrageous. you see, we have this tuck shop at our school and all you need to do is to just buy some more, and yet, wonwoo still got mad at soonyoung for stealing his snack. soonyoung and wonwoo made up afterwards, though. which is why i think they cross paths here again after so many years.
and as to wonwoo and i. well, it's a tough story to tell. wonwoo got to school one day with his face red and stuff, and so, being the boyfriend i am, i went to ask him what's up. and then he just lashed out on me. i had no idea why. i never knew why he got so angry at me no matter how much i tried to gain information from other people. no one knew why he got so angry that morning, that fated morning that resulted in wonwoo and i parting ways.
wonwoo sighed, "i want to talk about that morning." and i immediately knew he was talking about the morning i just told you about.
i sipped on my lemon tea, "okay, talk." wonwoo averted his gaze from the table and cleared his throat again.
"well. i just want to say sorry,"
i froze and stopped sipping on my lemon tea. jeon wonwoo? saying sorry? what kind of a world am i in now oh my.
wonwoo continued nonetheless, "yeah, i want to say sorry. big shocker, huh?" — a chuckle — "i'm sorry for lashing out on you that morning. it was my fault for doing so. things were happening back home and i was just... i was just so, so very pissed that day. i'm sorry for getting mad and putting an end on what we had. but, just so you know," he looked up at me and smiled, "i never regretted anything we had."
i gulped and continued sipping on my lemon tea, "whatever. what you did that morning was wrong. you can't just expect me to forgive you two years later as if nothing ever happened."
wonwoo chuckled lightly, "oh, i don't expect you to ever forgive me, myungho, but i just want to apologise and let you know i know i was at fault. i'm sorry for ever hurting you, myungho."
i hummed at wonwoo saying my korean name. it sounded weird since wonwoo always called me by my chinese name when we were dating. i shrugged, "good. i don't really think i'll be forgiving you any time sooner."
"you're still you." wonwoo laughed, "it's fine. anyways, how do you find jun hyung?"
i stopped sipping on my lemon tea again. jun. how do i find jun? in all honesty, jun is really nice and i just can't accept the reality that he's going to die in less than a month. i like him but in a friendly matter. anyways, what am i saying? i just met him yesterday!
"well, he's nice, i guess." i shrugged as if it doesn't bother me when in reality, it did bother me. wonwoo chuckled, "there's so much more to jun hyung than how optimistic he is, although that is his best feature. i mean, who could ever be so cheerful when they're dying?"
the room tensed at wonwoo's question. i gulped slightly at the uneasiness he brought to the atmosphere and wonwoo realised his mistake, "i-i didn't mean it that way."
i nodded, "yeah, i know what you wanted to mean. it's alright, things slip when we're stressed. anyway, how are you and mingyu?"
wonwoo's cheeks flushed red at the mention of the brain cancer patient. i felt a smile tug my lips upward, "oh, so you're there with him, hm?"
"s-shut it." wonwoo grumbled and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms in front of his chest. i let out a breathy laugh and aimed the emptied lemon tea box at the litter box, successfully throwing it in.
i propped up my chin with my right hand, "on a more serious note, how long does he have? mingyu, i mean."
wonwoo sighed, "from what i heard from doctor choi, he has eleven months left. i-i don't want to lose him, myungho." i looked at wonwoo and saw tears forming in his eyes. i wanted to comfort him, but i didn't know how. i'm not that close to wonwoo anymore, i'm not in a place where i can just comfort wonwoo when he's talking about such a sensitive topic.
luckily, soonyoung stepped into the lounge right this second. "hey guys— oh my god, wonwoo, why are you crying?"
soonyoung went over to the boy and immediately engulfed him in a bone-crashing hug. i sat back, observing the two best friends. soonyoung look over at me, mouthing 'what's wrong' at me, hoping to learn what happened.
i mouthed 'mingyu' back at him and soonyoung instantly tighten the hug. he patted wonwoo's back soothingly and let the boy's tears flow freely onto his shoulder.
after a few minutes, wonwoo stopped crying and raised his head from soonyoung's shoulder. he sniffed, wiped his nose and smiled at the both of us. "thanks for tolerating me, guys."
i chuckled lightly, "how can we not? we're all suffering here."
soonyoung raised an eyebrow, "yeah... but i'm in love with jihoon and wonwoo's in love with mingyu. does that mean...?"
i felt heat going up to my cheeks as i rolled my eyes at soonyoung's comment, "w-what are you on about?"
