Lost in Love [31/40]
Title: Lost in Love [31/40]
Author: ixjaydee
Rating: PG - 13
Pairing: Woogyu (Woohyun/Sunggyu);; Sungsoo (Sungyeol/Myungsoo);; Wooya (Dongwoo/Hoya)
Genre: drama, high school cliches, and the like.
Disclaimer: Reality is a cruel, cruel place.
Summary: Nam Woohyun: noun - [1] resident pretty boy and one of the most popular juniors in the entire school. [2] has a reputation of being a jerk, but only because most people don’t understand he doesn’t really mean his insults. It’s just how he shows his affection.
Kim Sunggyu: noun - [1] nobody. [2] a junior just trying to make his way through school and do bigger and better things with his life.
Woogyu: noun - [1] a name given to Woohyun and Sunggyu by his best friend Dongwoo, who happens to know that Woohyun has a crush on Sunggyu. [2] the reason Sunggyu gets crippled for life.
AN;; I gave in. Lol. I’m currently working on chapter 34 right now.
--
31
--
At school, Sunggyu was always surrounded by people. He didn’t know who most of them were, but they all seemed to know him. They all talked, they smiled, they asked him questions about when he would be putting up his next video. It didn’t really hit him that they were fans. Fans of his music, fans of him personally, he didn’t know, but it made him smile anyway.
“You look like you’ve been in a good mood lately,” Woohyun said as he swatted away Dongwoo’s and Hoya’s hands as they advanced on his food. He’d woken up too late to make himself a sandwich, so he was forced to eat the cafeteria food, even if it made him a bit nauseous.
Sunggyu snapped out of his daze and smiled. “Yeah, I just... Lots of people have been telling me they like my music. Some have been asking for lessons and stuff. Jinwoon texted me the other day, begging for me to come back and teach lessons again so he could advertise.”
Woohyun nodded. He could barely fight his way through the crowd to get to Sunggyu’s side these days. It was strange for Woohyun, because usually it was the other way around. People crowded around him, and it was impossible for other people to get to him.
“Is it starting to annoy you or something?” Dongwoo asked, flinching as Woohyun smashing his finger into the table as it came closer to his food again.
“No, it’s not that. It’s kinda surreal, you know? My YouTube videos have a few hundred thousand hits. Hundred thousand,” Sunggyu emphasized, shoving his unfinished food towards Dongwoo and Hoya, both of whom jumped on it like hungry jackals.
“You should consider making it a career. Go to a university with a good music program, get some vocal lessons on the side. You should do something with it,” Hoya said, fighting Dongwoo for the pudding.
“Are all of you guys planning on playing soccer after graduating?” Sunggyu asked, looking around at the boys. Dongwoo, Hoya, and Woohyun nodded while Myungsoo shook his head. Sungyeol was at home with a twisted ankle, because he tried to outrun Myungsoo in the rain the other day and slipped and fell.
“Really? What are you doing then?” Woohyun finished off his food and wiped off his hands while casting a curious look towards Myungsoo. Despite knowing each other for the past few months, he and Myungsoo hardly talked, and probably knew the least about each other.
“Probably digital arts. Photography, picture editing, and stuff. Soccer is just a fun past time.” Woohyun nodded again.
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Speaking of plans,” Hoya said, “it’s that time of year again. The scouts from all the universities are going to start coming to practices and games.” Hoya pointed at Dongwoo and Woohyun. The two of them sighed. Dongwoo let his head fall back while Woohyun rested his head on his laced fingers, elbows on the table.
“The scouts... to recruit you to schools, right? Don’t they offer really nice scholarships, too?” Not that any of them would need them anyway, Sunggyu thought to himself.
“Yeah. I’m just hoping I get into the school I want. All three of us have been shooting for the same school since we were kids,” Dongwoo said with a sigh. Sunggyu smiled. It was refreshing to see such a friendship.
“I haven’t even started looking at schools yet.” It was Sunggyu’s turn to sigh. The reality of his senior year was finally hitting him, and he was completely unprepared.
--
“Sunggyu? Are you in here?” Woohyun stuck his head into Sunggyu’s last class where he was sweeping the floor with some help of various other girls. He turned around and grinned at Woohyun.
“I insisted on cleaning by myself, but they really wanted to help.” The girls turned around and waved shyly at Woohyun before busying themselves with cleaning.
“Practice was canceled today. Coach had an emergency at home, and you weren’t on the field, so I thought you’d be cleaning. I came up here to see if you needed help but... looks like you’ve got that taken care of,” Woohyun said with some laughter in his voice.
Woohyun sat down and watched as the room was cleaned in record time. Sunggyu thanked the girls and said if they had any song requests, he’d sing it for them. The girls giggled as they all bid Sunggyu and Woohyun goodbye before leaving.
“What? That’s not fair. I help you all the time, and you never offer to sing songs for me,” Woohyun said with a pouty lip. He started to smile as Sunggyu gave him a look of disbelief. He reached out for Sunggyu and pulled him down into his lap.
“I made you a CD. Sang a song to you while recording a video, and wrote you a song. What more do you want from me?” Sunggyu asked dramatically, grabbing Woohyun’s shoulders and shaking him. Woohyun laughed pulling Sunggyu closer for a kiss.
“I want,” he said in between kisses, “to be able to stay over again,” another kiss, “and do unspeakable things to you all night long,” a longer kiss, “then let you do unspeakable things to me,” Woohyun whispered against Sunggyu’s lips with a devious smile on his face. Sunggyu’s ears turned red at the thought, making Woohyun laugh.
--
“Woohyun! Come on!” Coach looked like he was about to throw a fit. Woohyun sighed before wiping away some sweat from his forehead. He didn’t know what was going on with him today. Sunggyu watched worried from the stands before he caught Coach waving him down.
Woohyun was already standing next to Coach by the time Sunggyu managed to make it down.
“Are you two fighting?”
“No. Everything’s fine,” Sunggyu said as Woohyun nodded.
“Then you’re the problem,” Coach said, turning to Woohyun. “Where’s your head at?”
“It’s here. It’s just... distracted.”
“By him?” Coach jerked his thumb over to Sunggyu.
“No. University stuff.” Coach blinked at him a few times before crossing his arms over his chest.
“Alright, Woohyun. When you’re on the field, you mind is on the game you’re playing. I don’t want you thinking about anything else. Worry about it later. Scouts will be coming soon, and I don’t want you to show them your bad side. You’re talented. Now get back out there.”
--
“Hey, Sunggyu, are you doing the talent show for the Spring Festival?” Sungyeol asked as the two sat at the coffee table in the living room to do their homework.
“When is that again?” Sunggyu furrowed his eyebrows when he realized his answer was wrong and started to redo the math problem.
“In a few weeks. The day after your birthday.” Sunggyu looked up from his homework and glanced over to the calendar.
“Wow. My birthday really is in a few weeks, isn’t it? Good grief. I’m getting old.” Sungyeol rolled his eyes.
“Doing anything for your birthday? Besides Woohyun, I mean.” Sunggyu reached out and tried to hit Sungyeol as he laughed.
“No, probably not. Nothing beyond what we usually do.”
“Blow a candle out on a cupcake and eat it? Seriously? You’ve been doing that since you were like, four.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
--
“It is a big deal,” Woohyun said as the two sat in their usual spot at the ice cream shop. Sungyeol and Myungsoo would be meeting them there later, and Dongwoo and Hoya said that they would meet them downtown after the ice cream. Woohyun thought something fishy was going on when they denied food.
“Not really. Woohyun, I don’t really celebrate my birthday, and it’s not something I’d really be interested in changing.” Woohyun knew something was wrong by the way Sunggyu swirled his spoon slowly in his ice cream.
“Is there something about your birthday I don’t know or...” His voice trailed off as Sunggyu looked up with a sad smile.
“My dad died on my birthday.” Woohyun blinked a few times and swallowed.
“Oh... Okay. I understand.” He reached out and grabbed Sunggyu’s hand with a sad smile on his face.
“Yeah. The weekend before my birthday, we’re headed back to my hometown to visit his grave. If you’re not busy, maybe you could come along.”
--
It was a six hour car ride to Sunggyu’s hometown. Woohyun offered to switch out driving with Sunggyu’s mom, but she insisted on driving the whole way. Sungyeol slept in the front seat while Woohyun and Sunggyu shared the back. Woohyun was staring out of the window while Sunggyu slept on his shoulder.
Their fingers were laced between them.
Woohyun watched the world pass by. The city concrete turned into grassy fields eventually. Woohyun hadn’t seen so much untouched land in his lifetime. Hopefully, he wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb back in Sunggyu’s hometown.
--
The road turned from paved to dirt soon, jerking Sunggyu from his sleep. They would be making it to town soon. There was one paved road that went all the way through the middle of the town, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near where they would be staying.
“Are your parents back yet, Sungyeol?”
“Yeah. They’re back at our house. They’re excited to see you guys again.”
“Oh. So are you moving back?” Woohyun asked. It was a genuine question. He didn’t really want to get rid of Sungyeol anymore, if anything, he grew attached to the other boy already.
“I don’t know. If I continue with school, then I’ll stay, but if not, then I’ll be moving back with my parents. I’m starting to lose my muscle,” he said, flexing his arm for emphasis.
--
The sun was setting by the time they pulled up to Sungyeol’s house. The outside yard and street were decorated, and there was tons of food piled up on tables outside along with chairs. Sunggyu’s mom pulled over and parked the car before getting out with a confused look on her face.
“Mom? Dad?” Sungyeol called as he got out of the car. His parents poked their head out of the house and smiled as Sungyeol went up to hug them. Woohyun helped Sunggyu out of the car as his mother went to greet them too.
“Sunggyu! Look at you. All grown up already. I remember the days where you and Yeolie used to run around in your diapers.” Woohyun snickered as Sunggyu grinned.
“Yeah. I’ve gotten a lot older. This is Woohyun, by the way.” Sungyeol’s parents’ eyes flicked back and forth between Sunggyu and Woohyun.
“Ah. It’s nice to meet you, Woohyun. We don’t get very many visitors here,” Sungyeol’s mom said. Woohyun gave Sunggyu a questioning look, but Sunggyu shook his head.
“But come on! The rest of the town came by and set up this little welcome back party for you! They’ll be back in a little bit.”
--
“Why didn’t you introduce me as your boyfriend?” Sunggyu was sitting on the front porch of the house, leaning back and staring at the stars in the sky.
“Sit.” Woohyun sat down next to Sunggyu, still confused.
“Everyone that grew up in this town is pretty traditional. Old way of thinking, you know? They’re kind of close minded about things like... this.” Woohyun blinked.
“Your mom seems fine with it.”
“She is. She didn’t grow up here, though. She grew up in the city and moved out here when she and my dad got married.”
“So your dad wouldn’t have approved of... us?”
“He probably would’ve thrown a fit and tried to kill me. Or you. Or both of us,” Sunggyu said with a fond smile.
“Sungyeol’s parents are the same way. I don’t know how he’s going to break the news that he’s dating a boy to them. So kinda be careful when we’re here.” Woohyun nodded. He couldn’t believe his ears.
--
“So, Sunggyu. Did you find yourself a nice girl in the city?” Sungyeol’s parents asked during breakfast. Sunggyu laughed and shook his head.
“No, no girls,” Sunggyu said, taking a bite of his breakfast. He could feel Woohyun stiffen beside him as he ate.
“That’s a shame. You’re a handsome boy. I’m sure you have plenty of girls chasing after you. It’s just a matter of finding the right one, right?” Sungyeol’s father asked with a wink.
“I guess.” Sunggyu smiled at him and elbowed Woohyun, making him scowl and punch Sunggyu in the arm.
“What about you, Woohyun?”
“Uh, no. Girls aren’t really my thing.” Sungyeol’s father raised an eyebrow at him.
“His true love is soccer. He’d get married to it if he could,” Sunggyu said, wiping at his mouth. When he went to scoop up more food with his spoon, Woohyun could see his hands shaking slightly.
“Sunggyu, did you take your medication yet?” Woohyun asked with a frown. Sunggyu blinked a few times before shaking his head.
“Medication? For what?” Sungyeol’s mom asked as she heaped another helping of breakfast onto her son’s plate.
“Mom! Seriously? This is my fourth helping.”
“I know, but you’re so skinny. You could stand to eat a little bit more.” Woohyun looked over to Sunggyu, who was staring resolutely at his food.
“I hurt my knee last year. It’s still bothering me a bit, so I take some medication for it. Woohyun, could you go get it for me?” Woohyun excused himself from the table before hurrying into their shared room to grab his medication.
--
“Sunggyu. Please don’t tell me your hometown discriminates against cripples, too. Because you can’t pretend you’re not crippled. You’re going to hurt yourself trying.” Woohyun wondered why he left his cane in the car and why his mom didn’t say anything about it.
“No, it’s not that. They just... tend of avoid them.” Woohyun sighed heavily.
“I don’t think I like this place very much.”
“It’s a lot different from the city, isn’t it? But this is where I grew up,” Sunggyu said as he gestured around him. There was a row of small shops and stalls down the sidewalk. Sunggyu put on his knee brace and took his time walking through the town, pointing things out and explaining things to Woohyun.
Sunggyu reminisced on old times, telling Woohyun the things he and Sungyeol used to do as he remembered them. They stopped at the edge of the woods where Sunggyu’s mom and Sungyeol were waiting for them.
“Will you be able to make the hike up there?” Sunggyu’s mom asked quietly. Sunggyu nodded.
“I have Woohyun and Sungyeol to help me, just in case.”
--
Sunggyu made his way up the steep hill to his father’s grave with some help from Sungyeol and Woohyun. They had to stop every now and then so the throbbing in his knee would go down so he could continue walking.
His mom went ahead, so she could clean up the grave site a little bit before the others got there. When the tombstone came into sight, Sunggyu let go of Woohyun and Sungyeol and walked on his own to where his mother was standing.
All four of them stood in silence as Woohyun glanced over the grave. The words carved into the stone were wearing away. He could still see “family man” and “loving father” clear as day.
--
Sunggyu, Sungyeol, and Woohyun sat on the railing overlooking the sea. It was on top of a hill close to Sungyeol’s house.
“This is our favorite spot. We used to go here when we were little and dream about doing bigger and better things with our lives,” Sungyeol said as the waves crashed into the side of the cliff below them.
“Still dreaming of bigger and better things?” Woohyun asked as he shifted closer to Sunggyu.
“Of course. I thought I was going to be stuck here forever.” Sungyeol glanced back out over the sea.
“If you don’t like it here so much, then why did you say you would move back if you didn’t continue school?” Sungyeol sighed.
“School’s expensive. And my parents won’t be around forever. They’re getting old.” There was another silence between them, filled with the sounds of crashing waves.
--
It was Woohyun’s turn to sleep on their way back to the city. He took off his seatbelt and laid his head on Sunggyu’s lap and promptly passed out. Sunggyu’s mom gave him a sad smile as she peeked into the rearview mirror.
“How is he? I know it was only two days, but he looks so tired,” she said.
“He’ll be fine. It was just kind of a shock to him, you know? He’s so used to holding my hand and helping me everywhere. Culture shock.”
“The city is where he belongs.”
--
“So, Sunggyu, you never answered my question,” Sungyeol said as the two of them sat in the bleachers. There were more people observing the practice than usual. The fangirls were there, along with some other men Sunggyu had never seen before.
“Are those scouts?” Sunggyu asked, ignoring Sungyeol again.
“Scouts... those guys? Yeah, probably. Myungsoo was talking about them. Stop avoiding my question!” Sunggyu’s eyes moved towards Woohyun, who looked up from the field to see Sunggyu staring at him. The two of them stared at each other before Sunggyu smiled and started to laugh.
Woohyun grinned at him from the field before pointing his finger at him and winking. The fangirls screamed as the scouts turned to look at him. Sunggyu smiled out at Woohyun. At least he wasn’t nervous.
--
After practice, Sunggyu made his way down the bleachers with Sungyeol. The scouts were with Coach, talking and asking questions about his players. Coach answered them with a rare smile on his face. Woohyun, Dongwoo, Hoya, and Myungsoo were stopped as they came off of the field.
Sunggyu watched as they bowed and introduced themselves. Myungsoo bowed politely before saying something. The scouts all groaned in disappointment before he bowed again with an apology on his lips. He pushed his way past them and hurried over to Sungyeol’s side.
“What were they so disappointed about?” Sungyeol’s voice echoed behind Sunggyu as he and Myungsoo headed towards the locker room.
“I told them I wouldn’t be continuing soccer after high school. They were mildly disappointed.”
Sunggyu turned his attention back to the other three boys talking with scouts. They each got business cards before the scouts turned to leave. They looked at each other before looking through the cards. Coach shoo’d them off of the field.
“Sunggyu!” Woohyun yelled as he hurried over to Sunggyu’s side.
“Hello, hello. You didn’t look too nervous with those scouts here today.”
“The scouts from the university we want to go to don’t come looking until soccer season actually starts,” he said, throwing a sweaty arm over Sunggyu’s shoulder.
“Where is this university anyway?”
“On the other side of the country,” Hoya said as he and Dongwoo walked by.
Sunggyu stopped.
“The other side of the country?”
Author: ixjaydee
Rating: PG - 13
Pairing: Woogyu (Woohyun/Sunggyu);; Sungsoo (Sungyeol/Myungsoo);; Wooya (Dongwoo/Hoya)
Genre: drama, high school cliches, and the like.
Disclaimer: Reality is a cruel, cruel place.
Summary: Nam Woohyun: noun - [1] resident pretty boy and one of the most popular juniors in the entire school. [2] has a reputation of being a jerk, but only because most people don’t understand he doesn’t really mean his insults. It’s just how he shows his affection.
Kim Sunggyu: noun - [1] nobody. [2] a junior just trying to make his way through school and do bigger and better things with his life.
Woogyu: noun - [1] a name given to Woohyun and Sunggyu by his best friend Dongwoo, who happens to know that Woohyun has a crush on Sunggyu. [2] the reason Sunggyu gets crippled for life.
AN;; I gave in. Lol. I’m currently working on chapter 34 right now.
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31
--
At school, Sunggyu was always surrounded by people. He didn’t know who most of them were, but they all seemed to know him. They all talked, they smiled, they asked him questions about when he would be putting up his next video. It didn’t really hit him that they were fans. Fans of his music, fans of him personally, he didn’t know, but it made him smile anyway.
“You look like you’ve been in a good mood lately,” Woohyun said as he swatted away Dongwoo’s and Hoya’s hands as they advanced on his food. He’d woken up too late to make himself a sandwich, so he was forced to eat the cafeteria food, even if it made him a bit nauseous.
Sunggyu snapped out of his daze and smiled. “Yeah, I just... Lots of people have been telling me they like my music. Some have been asking for lessons and stuff. Jinwoon texted me the other day, begging for me to come back and teach lessons again so he could advertise.”
Woohyun nodded. He could barely fight his way through the crowd to get to Sunggyu’s side these days. It was strange for Woohyun, because usually it was the other way around. People crowded around him, and it was impossible for other people to get to him.
“Is it starting to annoy you or something?” Dongwoo asked, flinching as Woohyun smashing his finger into the table as it came closer to his food again.
“No, it’s not that. It’s kinda surreal, you know? My YouTube videos have a few hundred thousand hits. Hundred thousand,” Sunggyu emphasized, shoving his unfinished food towards Dongwoo and Hoya, both of whom jumped on it like hungry jackals.
“You should consider making it a career. Go to a university with a good music program, get some vocal lessons on the side. You should do something with it,” Hoya said, fighting Dongwoo for the pudding.
“Are all of you guys planning on playing soccer after graduating?” Sunggyu asked, looking around at the boys. Dongwoo, Hoya, and Woohyun nodded while Myungsoo shook his head. Sungyeol was at home with a twisted ankle, because he tried to outrun Myungsoo in the rain the other day and slipped and fell.
“Really? What are you doing then?” Woohyun finished off his food and wiped off his hands while casting a curious look towards Myungsoo. Despite knowing each other for the past few months, he and Myungsoo hardly talked, and probably knew the least about each other.
“Probably digital arts. Photography, picture editing, and stuff. Soccer is just a fun past time.” Woohyun nodded again.
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Speaking of plans,” Hoya said, “it’s that time of year again. The scouts from all the universities are going to start coming to practices and games.” Hoya pointed at Dongwoo and Woohyun. The two of them sighed. Dongwoo let his head fall back while Woohyun rested his head on his laced fingers, elbows on the table.
“The scouts... to recruit you to schools, right? Don’t they offer really nice scholarships, too?” Not that any of them would need them anyway, Sunggyu thought to himself.
“Yeah. I’m just hoping I get into the school I want. All three of us have been shooting for the same school since we were kids,” Dongwoo said with a sigh. Sunggyu smiled. It was refreshing to see such a friendship.
“I haven’t even started looking at schools yet.” It was Sunggyu’s turn to sigh. The reality of his senior year was finally hitting him, and he was completely unprepared.
--
“Sunggyu? Are you in here?” Woohyun stuck his head into Sunggyu’s last class where he was sweeping the floor with some help of various other girls. He turned around and grinned at Woohyun.
“I insisted on cleaning by myself, but they really wanted to help.” The girls turned around and waved shyly at Woohyun before busying themselves with cleaning.
“Practice was canceled today. Coach had an emergency at home, and you weren’t on the field, so I thought you’d be cleaning. I came up here to see if you needed help but... looks like you’ve got that taken care of,” Woohyun said with some laughter in his voice.
Woohyun sat down and watched as the room was cleaned in record time. Sunggyu thanked the girls and said if they had any song requests, he’d sing it for them. The girls giggled as they all bid Sunggyu and Woohyun goodbye before leaving.
“What? That’s not fair. I help you all the time, and you never offer to sing songs for me,” Woohyun said with a pouty lip. He started to smile as Sunggyu gave him a look of disbelief. He reached out for Sunggyu and pulled him down into his lap.
“I made you a CD. Sang a song to you while recording a video, and wrote you a song. What more do you want from me?” Sunggyu asked dramatically, grabbing Woohyun’s shoulders and shaking him. Woohyun laughed pulling Sunggyu closer for a kiss.
“I want,” he said in between kisses, “to be able to stay over again,” another kiss, “and do unspeakable things to you all night long,” a longer kiss, “then let you do unspeakable things to me,” Woohyun whispered against Sunggyu’s lips with a devious smile on his face. Sunggyu’s ears turned red at the thought, making Woohyun laugh.
--
“Woohyun! Come on!” Coach looked like he was about to throw a fit. Woohyun sighed before wiping away some sweat from his forehead. He didn’t know what was going on with him today. Sunggyu watched worried from the stands before he caught Coach waving him down.
Woohyun was already standing next to Coach by the time Sunggyu managed to make it down.
“Are you two fighting?”
“No. Everything’s fine,” Sunggyu said as Woohyun nodded.
“Then you’re the problem,” Coach said, turning to Woohyun. “Where’s your head at?”
“It’s here. It’s just... distracted.”
“By him?” Coach jerked his thumb over to Sunggyu.
“No. University stuff.” Coach blinked at him a few times before crossing his arms over his chest.
“Alright, Woohyun. When you’re on the field, you mind is on the game you’re playing. I don’t want you thinking about anything else. Worry about it later. Scouts will be coming soon, and I don’t want you to show them your bad side. You’re talented. Now get back out there.”
--
“Hey, Sunggyu, are you doing the talent show for the Spring Festival?” Sungyeol asked as the two sat at the coffee table in the living room to do their homework.
“When is that again?” Sunggyu furrowed his eyebrows when he realized his answer was wrong and started to redo the math problem.
“In a few weeks. The day after your birthday.” Sunggyu looked up from his homework and glanced over to the calendar.
“Wow. My birthday really is in a few weeks, isn’t it? Good grief. I’m getting old.” Sungyeol rolled his eyes.
“Doing anything for your birthday? Besides Woohyun, I mean.” Sunggyu reached out and tried to hit Sungyeol as he laughed.
“No, probably not. Nothing beyond what we usually do.”
“Blow a candle out on a cupcake and eat it? Seriously? You’ve been doing that since you were like, four.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
--
“It is a big deal,” Woohyun said as the two sat in their usual spot at the ice cream shop. Sungyeol and Myungsoo would be meeting them there later, and Dongwoo and Hoya said that they would meet them downtown after the ice cream. Woohyun thought something fishy was going on when they denied food.
“Not really. Woohyun, I don’t really celebrate my birthday, and it’s not something I’d really be interested in changing.” Woohyun knew something was wrong by the way Sunggyu swirled his spoon slowly in his ice cream.
“Is there something about your birthday I don’t know or...” His voice trailed off as Sunggyu looked up with a sad smile.
“My dad died on my birthday.” Woohyun blinked a few times and swallowed.
“Oh... Okay. I understand.” He reached out and grabbed Sunggyu’s hand with a sad smile on his face.
“Yeah. The weekend before my birthday, we’re headed back to my hometown to visit his grave. If you’re not busy, maybe you could come along.”
--
It was a six hour car ride to Sunggyu’s hometown. Woohyun offered to switch out driving with Sunggyu’s mom, but she insisted on driving the whole way. Sungyeol slept in the front seat while Woohyun and Sunggyu shared the back. Woohyun was staring out of the window while Sunggyu slept on his shoulder.
Their fingers were laced between them.
Woohyun watched the world pass by. The city concrete turned into grassy fields eventually. Woohyun hadn’t seen so much untouched land in his lifetime. Hopefully, he wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb back in Sunggyu’s hometown.
--
The road turned from paved to dirt soon, jerking Sunggyu from his sleep. They would be making it to town soon. There was one paved road that went all the way through the middle of the town, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near where they would be staying.
“Are your parents back yet, Sungyeol?”
“Yeah. They’re back at our house. They’re excited to see you guys again.”
“Oh. So are you moving back?” Woohyun asked. It was a genuine question. He didn’t really want to get rid of Sungyeol anymore, if anything, he grew attached to the other boy already.
“I don’t know. If I continue with school, then I’ll stay, but if not, then I’ll be moving back with my parents. I’m starting to lose my muscle,” he said, flexing his arm for emphasis.
--
The sun was setting by the time they pulled up to Sungyeol’s house. The outside yard and street were decorated, and there was tons of food piled up on tables outside along with chairs. Sunggyu’s mom pulled over and parked the car before getting out with a confused look on her face.
“Mom? Dad?” Sungyeol called as he got out of the car. His parents poked their head out of the house and smiled as Sungyeol went up to hug them. Woohyun helped Sunggyu out of the car as his mother went to greet them too.
“Sunggyu! Look at you. All grown up already. I remember the days where you and Yeolie used to run around in your diapers.” Woohyun snickered as Sunggyu grinned.
“Yeah. I’ve gotten a lot older. This is Woohyun, by the way.” Sungyeol’s parents’ eyes flicked back and forth between Sunggyu and Woohyun.
“Ah. It’s nice to meet you, Woohyun. We don’t get very many visitors here,” Sungyeol’s mom said. Woohyun gave Sunggyu a questioning look, but Sunggyu shook his head.
“But come on! The rest of the town came by and set up this little welcome back party for you! They’ll be back in a little bit.”
--
“Why didn’t you introduce me as your boyfriend?” Sunggyu was sitting on the front porch of the house, leaning back and staring at the stars in the sky.
“Sit.” Woohyun sat down next to Sunggyu, still confused.
“Everyone that grew up in this town is pretty traditional. Old way of thinking, you know? They’re kind of close minded about things like... this.” Woohyun blinked.
“Your mom seems fine with it.”
“She is. She didn’t grow up here, though. She grew up in the city and moved out here when she and my dad got married.”
“So your dad wouldn’t have approved of... us?”
“He probably would’ve thrown a fit and tried to kill me. Or you. Or both of us,” Sunggyu said with a fond smile.
“Sungyeol’s parents are the same way. I don’t know how he’s going to break the news that he’s dating a boy to them. So kinda be careful when we’re here.” Woohyun nodded. He couldn’t believe his ears.
--
“So, Sunggyu. Did you find yourself a nice girl in the city?” Sungyeol’s parents asked during breakfast. Sunggyu laughed and shook his head.
“No, no girls,” Sunggyu said, taking a bite of his breakfast. He could feel Woohyun stiffen beside him as he ate.
“That’s a shame. You’re a handsome boy. I’m sure you have plenty of girls chasing after you. It’s just a matter of finding the right one, right?” Sungyeol’s father asked with a wink.
“I guess.” Sunggyu smiled at him and elbowed Woohyun, making him scowl and punch Sunggyu in the arm.
“What about you, Woohyun?”
“Uh, no. Girls aren’t really my thing.” Sungyeol’s father raised an eyebrow at him.
“His true love is soccer. He’d get married to it if he could,” Sunggyu said, wiping at his mouth. When he went to scoop up more food with his spoon, Woohyun could see his hands shaking slightly.
“Sunggyu, did you take your medication yet?” Woohyun asked with a frown. Sunggyu blinked a few times before shaking his head.
“Medication? For what?” Sungyeol’s mom asked as she heaped another helping of breakfast onto her son’s plate.
“Mom! Seriously? This is my fourth helping.”
“I know, but you’re so skinny. You could stand to eat a little bit more.” Woohyun looked over to Sunggyu, who was staring resolutely at his food.
“I hurt my knee last year. It’s still bothering me a bit, so I take some medication for it. Woohyun, could you go get it for me?” Woohyun excused himself from the table before hurrying into their shared room to grab his medication.
--
“Sunggyu. Please don’t tell me your hometown discriminates against cripples, too. Because you can’t pretend you’re not crippled. You’re going to hurt yourself trying.” Woohyun wondered why he left his cane in the car and why his mom didn’t say anything about it.
“No, it’s not that. They just... tend of avoid them.” Woohyun sighed heavily.
“I don’t think I like this place very much.”
“It’s a lot different from the city, isn’t it? But this is where I grew up,” Sunggyu said as he gestured around him. There was a row of small shops and stalls down the sidewalk. Sunggyu put on his knee brace and took his time walking through the town, pointing things out and explaining things to Woohyun.
Sunggyu reminisced on old times, telling Woohyun the things he and Sungyeol used to do as he remembered them. They stopped at the edge of the woods where Sunggyu’s mom and Sungyeol were waiting for them.
“Will you be able to make the hike up there?” Sunggyu’s mom asked quietly. Sunggyu nodded.
“I have Woohyun and Sungyeol to help me, just in case.”
--
Sunggyu made his way up the steep hill to his father’s grave with some help from Sungyeol and Woohyun. They had to stop every now and then so the throbbing in his knee would go down so he could continue walking.
His mom went ahead, so she could clean up the grave site a little bit before the others got there. When the tombstone came into sight, Sunggyu let go of Woohyun and Sungyeol and walked on his own to where his mother was standing.
All four of them stood in silence as Woohyun glanced over the grave. The words carved into the stone were wearing away. He could still see “family man” and “loving father” clear as day.
--
Sunggyu, Sungyeol, and Woohyun sat on the railing overlooking the sea. It was on top of a hill close to Sungyeol’s house.
“This is our favorite spot. We used to go here when we were little and dream about doing bigger and better things with our lives,” Sungyeol said as the waves crashed into the side of the cliff below them.
“Still dreaming of bigger and better things?” Woohyun asked as he shifted closer to Sunggyu.
“Of course. I thought I was going to be stuck here forever.” Sungyeol glanced back out over the sea.
“If you don’t like it here so much, then why did you say you would move back if you didn’t continue school?” Sungyeol sighed.
“School’s expensive. And my parents won’t be around forever. They’re getting old.” There was another silence between them, filled with the sounds of crashing waves.
--
It was Woohyun’s turn to sleep on their way back to the city. He took off his seatbelt and laid his head on Sunggyu’s lap and promptly passed out. Sunggyu’s mom gave him a sad smile as she peeked into the rearview mirror.
“How is he? I know it was only two days, but he looks so tired,” she said.
“He’ll be fine. It was just kind of a shock to him, you know? He’s so used to holding my hand and helping me everywhere. Culture shock.”
“The city is where he belongs.”
--
“So, Sunggyu, you never answered my question,” Sungyeol said as the two of them sat in the bleachers. There were more people observing the practice than usual. The fangirls were there, along with some other men Sunggyu had never seen before.
“Are those scouts?” Sunggyu asked, ignoring Sungyeol again.
“Scouts... those guys? Yeah, probably. Myungsoo was talking about them. Stop avoiding my question!” Sunggyu’s eyes moved towards Woohyun, who looked up from the field to see Sunggyu staring at him. The two of them stared at each other before Sunggyu smiled and started to laugh.
Woohyun grinned at him from the field before pointing his finger at him and winking. The fangirls screamed as the scouts turned to look at him. Sunggyu smiled out at Woohyun. At least he wasn’t nervous.
--
After practice, Sunggyu made his way down the bleachers with Sungyeol. The scouts were with Coach, talking and asking questions about his players. Coach answered them with a rare smile on his face. Woohyun, Dongwoo, Hoya, and Myungsoo were stopped as they came off of the field.
Sunggyu watched as they bowed and introduced themselves. Myungsoo bowed politely before saying something. The scouts all groaned in disappointment before he bowed again with an apology on his lips. He pushed his way past them and hurried over to Sungyeol’s side.
“What were they so disappointed about?” Sungyeol’s voice echoed behind Sunggyu as he and Myungsoo headed towards the locker room.
“I told them I wouldn’t be continuing soccer after high school. They were mildly disappointed.”
Sunggyu turned his attention back to the other three boys talking with scouts. They each got business cards before the scouts turned to leave. They looked at each other before looking through the cards. Coach shoo’d them off of the field.
“Sunggyu!” Woohyun yelled as he hurried over to Sunggyu’s side.
“Hello, hello. You didn’t look too nervous with those scouts here today.”
“The scouts from the university we want to go to don’t come looking until soccer season actually starts,” he said, throwing a sweaty arm over Sunggyu’s shoulder.
“Where is this university anyway?”
“On the other side of the country,” Hoya said as he and Dongwoo walked by.
Sunggyu stopped.
“The other side of the country?”