Twilight | ATEEZ

Chapter Nine

On his way back from grabbing dinner, Jongho enters the courtyard and finds a familiar silhouette sitting on the edge of the fountain.

"Hey, Doll," Jongho smiles warmly as he sits down next to Wooyoung, who has a few textbooks scattered around him along with loose sheets of paper. Jongho sets his take away bag beside one of the opened textbooks, "What are you doing out here so late?

Surrounding the two of them are dim lights and very few students, as the sun has already begun to descend past the horizon line. The students that still remain are on their way back to their dorms, and the emptiness shows that the majority of the SNU population are sitting back at home, having already turned in for the day.

Wooyoung looks up at Jongho, his hands holding tightly onto one of his books in his lap, "I-I was just getting some more studying in," he chuckles, but the chill of the air causes his voice to shake slightly. The sun going down means the warmth that was once there is dissipating, and Wooyoung doesn't have anything other than his signature long-sleeved shirt.

Jongho leans over to examine the book he was so enamored with, "Ah, veterinary science?" He looks up at Wooyoung, whose face is reddened from the cold, "Oh, here, here," he shrugs off his own jacket and holds it out to Wooyoung, "You look cold," he awkwardly chuckles, trying to make it not seem like such a big deal.

Wooyoung shakes his head, gently pushing the jacket back towards Jongho, "No it's okay, you'd be cold too," he tries, but his chattering teeth are hard to keep a secret.

"I think you need this more than me right now," Jongho insists, setting the jacket beside Wooyoung, "Anyway... Have you eaten yet?" Seeing Wooyoung's state in this weather, he starts to wonder how long the boy has been out here.

Jongho smiles when he sees Wooyoung close his textbook and put on his jacket, that's clearly an oversized fit on him. Like this, he looks just like a beautiful dress-up doll and Jongho shakes his head with a big smile, the hot air becoming visible from his mouth.

Wooyoung hums, tightening the jacket around himself with his arms, unknowingly inhaling a soothing scent of outdoors and freshly-cut grass that he can only assume comes from Jongho.

"No, not yet," Wooyoung mumbles, letting himself curl up into the warmth of the jacket. His eyes have been closed as he took in the heat and new scent, he didn't realize Jongho holding up his take away bag until he heard the sound of paper rustling in front of him, willing his eyes back open to meet Jongho's kind eyes and the bag he was carrying when he sat down with him.

Jongho's gummy smile shines even in the now-darkening light from the descending sun, "Well, I hope you don't mind cold fried chicken too much," He chuckles, motioning for Wooyoung to take the bag, "I'd heat it up for you if I could."

Wooyoung's eyes widen in shock of Jongho's kindness, and it makes him want to cry.

"R-Really, are you sure?" Wooyoung's chattering teeth are still not used to the warmth, but now, he's not sure if his stutter is from the cold or from the sheer surprise of someone doing something this nice for him. Wooyoung hadn't expected to have dinner tonight, instead, always saving his food money to have a nice lunch. Around dinner time was when his plans would be uncertain, so he preferred eating when he could have a steady schedule. Breakfast was normally out of the question unless he could sneak a snack in one of his morning classes, so lunch was always the perfect time.

Jongho nods, "I wouldn't have it any other way," he relaxes back on his hands, "Besides, seeing you happily eating will make my day."

Wooyoung's now unsure if his reddened cheeks are because of the cold or if they're because of the heated blush he felt crawling up his skin as soon as Jongho said those words. Wooyoung hesitantly opens the bag, seeing two rather large pieces of fried chicken sitting wrapped up. He pulls one of them out and immediately digs in, the flavor instantly hitting his taste buds and he feels this tingling sensation that he knows is his body telling him how happy it is to be eating such nice food.