Lost in Love [36/40]
Title: Lost in Love [36/40]
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;; WHY ISN’T IT OVER YET?! /claws at face
--
36
--
Woohyun was nervous. Even though the crowd of people cheering for their school, their team, and their favorite players, Sunggyu could see the nervous tension in his body as the team warmed up on the sidelines.
“This is only the first game. Look at all the scouts. It’s ridiculous,” Sungyeol said to Sunggyu, standing up to get a better view of the people sitting in the bleachers. The scouts stuck out like sore thumbs, because they were the only ones not carrying food or signs. Instead, they were carrying clipboards.
Dongwoo and Hoya were talking to each other on the field. Dongwoo said something to Hoya that made him laugh and shove the Dongwoo over, knocking him into Woohyun. Woohyun looked angry for split second until his face relaxed, and he laughed, saying something that made Dongwoo scowl at him.
Myungsoo finished stretching before the others and ended up hovering over Woohyun as he stretched. He bent over and kept his face closer to Woohyun’s, making him wave him away a few times, and successfully slapping him in the face once.
Sungyeol stood up indignantly and gave Woohyun a ‘what the hell are you doing?!” look from the bleachers as Myungsoo stood up, rubbing his cheek. Woohyun didn’t see Sungyeol, but flinched away from Myungsoo as he threatened to kick Woohyun in the back with his cleats.
“At least they’re trying to distract him. I hope he doesn’t mess up this game,” Sungyeol said, the traces of a frown still on his face.
“I think he’ll be okay,” Sunggyu said, smiling as the team finished warming up and lined up against the sidelines. Woohyun glanced into the stands, searching for Sunggyu.
When they met eyes, Sunggyu smiled and made a heart with his hands. Woohyun laughed and returned the heart, making the girls in the front scream.
“... Nam Woohyun. He’s the captain, and I’ve heard he’s the best player on this team...” Sunggyu turned around and saw some scouts behind him, writing things down.
--
Woohyun played flawlessly through the game. They won, three to none. Woohyun made two of the three goals, and always made it a point to search for Sunggyu in the crowd and send him a heart.
Coach raised an eyebrow at him and shook his head before reaching out to smack Woohyun in the arm with his clipboard.
--
After Woohyun’s confession, Sunggyu made it a point to spend all of his free time, whatever free time he could shuffle around and put together, with Woohyun. He’d noticed how much time he was spending at the music store with his lessons and such, and even started going home right after his lessons ended.
“Hey there, Speedy Gonzales. Why in such a rush? I’ve never seen someone hobble so fast before,” Jinwoon called after Sunggyu as he left the store. Sunggyu just shook his head and waved before heading out of the store.
There was one bus that went by his stop near his house if he hurried. And if he hurried, that would be an extra hour, almost two hours with Woohyun.
Sunggyu sighed as he waved his bus pass over the sensor and went to sit down. Woohyun had been a lot better lately, almost to his normal self. Now, it seemed like all the stress was on Sunggyu, trying to make him happy like Woohyun always tried to do.
It was times like this that made Sunggyu wonder if he ever really gave anything back to Woohyun that wasn’t a song or a cover. Did he make good company? Did Woohyun trust him enough to tell him things? He frowned at the last part. Obviously not. But then again, Woohyun probably didn’t want to shove his problems onto Sunggyu either.
And now that he thought about it, did he really have any problems? Sunggyu did pretty much the same thing every day. School, lessons, home, Woohyun. Was this what Woohyun’s life was like?He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw his stop and got up from the seat and hurried off of the bus.
Sunggyu stood at the bus stop for a few seconds as the bus drove off. Maybe Woohyun deserved better than him.
--
“Something wrong?” Woohyun asked as they laid on the couch together. Sunggyu shook his head and buried his face into Woohyun’s chest. Woohyun liked having Sunggyu on top, because he said he enjoyed the weight. It was comforting or something, but that first time he admitted it, Sunggyu thought it was Woohyun’s subtle way of calling him fat.
“You’ve been quiet and coming home a lot earlier than usual. Lessons aren’t going well?” he asked, reaching up to play around with Sunggyu’s hair.
“They’re fine,” Sunggyu said, yawning slightly.
“Learning anything new?”
“Just working on some high notes. My vocal chords are slowly getting murdered, but it’s all good,” Sunggyu said with a smile. “How’s practice going?”
“Miserable. Everyone’s so nervous all of the time. People are still flinching away from me, even after I apologized.” Sunggyu knew that Woohyun was still deathly nervous. He could feel his heart start pounding his chest at the thought of the scouts.
“Maybe I should tag along on one of your lessons this weekend. Get my mind off of soccer for a bit.” Sunggyu pursed his lips.
“Sure. We can get lunch and wander the town after. It’s been a while since we hung out, just the two of us.”
“Knowing our luck though, the troll couple and Dongwoo and Hoya will magically appear and ruin our date.”
“Troll couple? I’d like to think we’re more attractive than that,” Myungsoo said as he pushed open the door to the house. Sungyeol was right behind him, taking off his shoes.
“They’re just jealous.” Sunggyu and Woohyun didn’t even bat an eye towards them as they stomped up the stairs.
“Jealous of what?” Sunggyu asked, looking up at Woohyun.
“Of true love like ours.”
--
“You think they’re gonna be okay?” Sungyeol asked as he peeked out of the door of his room. He saw Sunggyu sigh and roll off of Woohyun to pad off to the bathroom to take his medication. Woohyun laid on the couch for a few seconds before getting up and heading to the kitchen, looking for something to make to eat.
“They’ll be fine. Woohyun got his head out of his ass.” Myungsoo fell onto Sungyeol’s bed and nuzzled his face into the sheets before taking a deep breath. Smelled just like Sungyeol.
“I dunno... Sunggyu looks like his world is ending now. You know he got an acceptance letter already? The school is like, four or five hours away though, so he’d have to move out there.” Myungsoo nodded.
“Good for him.”
“It’s a pretty good school for performing arts apparently. But I think he’s waiting to hear from the one a little closer to home before he decides.”
“Why?” Myungsoo asked, rolling over and wrapping himself up in Sungyeol’s comforter.
“I think he doesn’t wanna go too far. With Woohyun looking at schools a million miles away, I think he’s starting to feel pretty lonely.”
“It’s not like he won’t be able to make new friends or something.”
“Well, Sunggyu is socially awkward if you hadn’t noticed. Even if he has like, a million fans on YouTube. I’ve never seen him start a conversation with anyone before.”
“He’ll be fine.”
“I dunno...”
“He’ll be fine.”
“Do you have to say these things like you know for sure?”
“Yes.”
--
Sunggyu’s head was bobbing to the beat of the song he was supposed to learn for his lesson in Woohyun’s car. Woohyun could see Sunggyu glancing over the lyrics and mouthing them as the song went on.
“You should just sing the song,” Woohyun said as they waited at a stop light.
“I don’t wanna tire myself out before the lesson. I’ll die of embarrassment if I crack another note.” Sunggyu remember the time he practice a little bit too hard before his lesson and cracked a note so badly, everyone outside could hear it. As soon as he stepped out, Jinwoon burst into laughter. After he finally stopped, he asked Sunggyu if his falsetto was getting any better.
“Oh, I see. Am I allowed to sit in on your lesson?”
“I don’t think so. You can wait outside. Talk to Jinwoon and stuff. It’s not like you won’t be able to hear me,” Sunggyu said with a laugh. “The rooms aren’t exactly sound proof.”
“Maybe learn a few more notes. Or learn the ukulele so we can do duet videos!” Sunggyu said excitedly. Woohyun couldn’t help but laugh at Sunggyu’s enthusiasm. Maybe he would pick it up. It would be another thing they could do together.
“Yeah, yeah. We’ll see,” Woohyun said as he turned into the parking garage. Sunggyu unplugged his iPod and stuffed it into his pocket. Woohyun parked the car and went to open the door for Sunggyu.
“What are these lessons for again?” Woohyun always meant to ask Sunggyu about them. He thought Sunggyu sounded fine.
“They’re kind of evaluation lessons for one of the universities I’m applying to. They send down one of the professors to give me lessons and help me improve, and if they end up liking me, then they write me recommendations which help a ton with getting into the school,” Sunggyu explained as they walked down the sidewalk. Woohyun nodded his head and slipped his hand into Sunggyu’s.
“You sure you don’t want me to carry your guitar for you?” Sunggyu nodded.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not even using your cane.”
“I have my brace on, and my knee’s been feeling a lot better lately.” Woohyun pursed his lips. Sunggyu never mentioned anything about his leg lately. Usually, he would complain about feeling like an old man, but Woohyun hadn’t heard anything about his leg for a while.
“Really? It doesn’t hurt when you walk anymore?” They stopped in a crowd and waited for the light to turn green to cross.
“Well, it’s more of like a dull ache nowadays. Sometimes, I don’t feel any pain at all.”
“So... can you like, run and stuff?”
“Maybe jog slowly. I wouldn’t push it just in case something happened. Why? Thinking of making me pick up soccer or something?” Sunggyu laughed as Woohyun rolled his eyes. “You know my foot eye coordination doesn’t exist.”
Woohyun did know that. If he added up all the times he almost had a heart attack because he heard Sunggyu yelling from somewhere in the house because he stubbed his toe, on his bad leg no less, or bumped his knee into something and ended up on the floor in agony, he’d be dead ten times over.
“No... Maybe kick a ball around and stuff. You could be goalie. I’m sure your hand eye coordination is better.” Sunggyu laughed again and dragged Woohyun across the street as the light turned green.
“We’ll see. I’ll play soccer with you if you record a duet with me. How’s that?” Woohyun pursed his lips as he opened up the door to the music store.
“Deal.”
--
Woohyun watched as Sunggyu let go of his hand and kissed him on the cheek, telling him he’d be out in two hours and that he was free to do whatever he wanted until he got out. Sunggyu hobbled over to the professor waiting for him at the door and shook his hand before they disappeared into one of the practice rooms.
Jinwoon was leaning on the counter, flipping through a magazine. He glanced up to see Woohyun standing there awkwardly and grinned before calling him over.
“You’re Woohyun, right? Jinwoon. We met a few times,” he said, extending his hand for a handshake.
“Right, I remember you. Sunggyu talks about you every now and then.”
“He doesn’t say anything bad, does he? Because I swear, I’ll mess up his other leg if he has.” Woohyun narrowed his eyes at Jinwoon.
“Just a joke. Probably a bad one at that, sorry,” Jinwoon said apologetically, rubbing the back of his head.
“It’s okay. I joke about breaking his other leg sometimes too, when he’s hobbling away from me at top speed.”
“Hobbling away at top speed,” Jinwoon said to himself, snickering.
“Well anyway. Can you help me with something? Sunggyu said he’d play a soccer match with me if I learned to play the ukulele and made a duet video with him.”
“Can you read notes?” Jinwoon asked, standing up and walking out from behind the counter.
“No, not really.”
“Oh. Okay. You don’t really need to learn them to play. I can just teach you some chords and stuff. You know how to stum?”
“Barely.”
“Oh boy.”
--
Two hours had never flown by so fast for either boy. Sunggyu was feeling very good throughout his entire lesson, and even the professor noticed the lift in his mood.
“Who was that boy you came here with earlier?”
“Woohyun.”
“Ah. I see.” Sunggyu figured he didn’t have to say anymore. He wasn’t exactly keeping it a secret he was dating a boy, and most of his YouTube fanbase loved it. Of course, he had hate comments about his sexual orientation, but he didn’t even have to say anything because for every hate comment he got, he had a hundred people backing him up and supporting him.
“Well, maybe you should bring him by more often. Everything sounded really good today, and if you keep this up, it’ll almost be a guarantee that you’ll be accepted to the university.” Sunggyu bowed and thanked him before cleaning up his things and stepping outside.
He didn’t see Jinwoon at the counter and wandered around the store, looking for Woohyun.
“... I don’t get what’s up with your fingers.”
“They just don’t bend that way.”
“They don’t have to bend like that. This is smaller than a guitar, so your fingers don’t have to go as far.” Sunggyu peeked out from behind a shelf to see Jinwoon fixing Woohyun’s fingers on the strings of a ukulele.
“You don’t even have to push down as hard. Maybe that’s why it sounds so weird. You look like you’re trying to strangle it.” Woohyun sighed.
“But hey, don’t let it get you down. This is good progress for someone in two hours. Just practice some more, and I’m sure you’ll sound fine. Get Sunggyu to help you.”
“The things I do for him,” Woohyun said with a sigh. Sunggyu chuckled silently and stepped into view, leaning on the shelves.
“And I appreciate every single one of them.” Woohyun and Jinwoon looked over to him, and Woohyun gave him a sheepish smile.
“Oh, done already? It’s been two hours? Where does the time go?”
--
“How are you going to practice if you don’t have a ukulele?” They made a trip back to the car so Sunggyu could put up his stuff before going to lunch.
“What makes you think I don’t have one? Besides, if I didn’t have one, I’d just borrow yours.”
“You have one? Since when?”
“Since forever ago. I just never used it. I’ll look for it when I go home. It’s probably hidden under a mountain of dust somewhere.” Woohyun looked both ways before dragging Sunggyu across the street.
“Where do you wanna go for lunch?” Woohyun asked, looking down the row of cafes and shops on the street.
“I don’t know. Wherever is fine. Is there a place we haven’t tried yet?” They wandered down the street at a leisurely pace, looking at the names of the cafes.
“We haven’t been here,” Sunggyu said, stopping in front of a quaint little place. Woohyun opened up the door for Sunggyu before following him inside. They were greeted and seated almost immediately, the both of them looking around at the decorations.
“This place is pretty cute,” Woohyun said, eyeing the decorations.
“Yeah. And for once, we are undisturbed.” Woohyun shushed Sunggyu and looked around frantically.
“Don’t say that too loud, or you’ll jinx us.”
“Woohyun, don’t be so-”
“Woohyun! Fancy meeting you here!” Woohyun cringed a little bit as he turned around to see Dongwoo and Hoya coming towards him. He turned back to Sunggyu and gave him a slight glare, which made Sunggyu shrug his shoulders.
“What’re you guys doing here?” Sunggyu said with a smile as they pulled up chairs and sat down next to them.
“This is our cafe. We’ve been going here to eat since it first opened. What’re you guys doing here?”
“Lunch date. Care to join us?” Woohyun huffed and sighed.
“Only if Woohyun is paying,” Hoya said, nudging at Woohyun.
“When do I not?” he said, rolling his eyes. Everyone around the table laughed, and eventually, Woohyun joined in the laughter and talking too.
“What? Lunch without us? What is this?” Two more chairs were pulled over, and Myungsoo and Sungyeol sat down on the other side of Sunggyu and Woohyun.
“You guys too? Where are you people coming from?” Woohyun said with exasperation.
“We had to go into town to get some stuff for a project that someone conveniently forgot was due on Monday and hasn’t even started on it yet,” Myungsoo said, glaring at Sungyeol, who busied himself with the menu.
“You guys are paying for yourself, right?” Woohyun asked, raising an eyebrow at them.
“Well. We spent all of our money on supplies and stuff, and we only have enough for the bus ride back home so...” Woohyun sighed as Sungyeol blinked innocently and smiled at him.
“Whatever, Woohyun. Don’t pretend like you mind paying for lunch,” Sunggyu said, reaching across the table to pinch his cheek. Woohyun sighed again. Sunggyu laughed, because he knew deep down, Woohyun didn’t mind at all.
In fact, it probably made him feel pretty good. Woohyun was just that kind of person. If he wasn’t useful in some way, he’d probably go crazy, even if it was his money being spent. Dongwoo and Hoya said something about it once, how Woohyun would get depressed if he felt like he wasn’t needed.
“How are you guys going to fend for yourself when I go far away for school?” Myungsoo and Sungyeol looked up at each other from their menus before turning to look at Woohyun with matching expressions of horror.
“You can’t leave. We’ll starve and die. Or you know, you could just wire us some money every month, and we can learn to manage money on our own.” Woohyun blinked a few times before shaking his head.
“Or you two could, you know, get a job!”
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;; WHY ISN’T IT OVER YET?! /claws at face
--
36
--
Woohyun was nervous. Even though the crowd of people cheering for their school, their team, and their favorite players, Sunggyu could see the nervous tension in his body as the team warmed up on the sidelines.
“This is only the first game. Look at all the scouts. It’s ridiculous,” Sungyeol said to Sunggyu, standing up to get a better view of the people sitting in the bleachers. The scouts stuck out like sore thumbs, because they were the only ones not carrying food or signs. Instead, they were carrying clipboards.
Dongwoo and Hoya were talking to each other on the field. Dongwoo said something to Hoya that made him laugh and shove the Dongwoo over, knocking him into Woohyun. Woohyun looked angry for split second until his face relaxed, and he laughed, saying something that made Dongwoo scowl at him.
Myungsoo finished stretching before the others and ended up hovering over Woohyun as he stretched. He bent over and kept his face closer to Woohyun’s, making him wave him away a few times, and successfully slapping him in the face once.
Sungyeol stood up indignantly and gave Woohyun a ‘what the hell are you doing?!” look from the bleachers as Myungsoo stood up, rubbing his cheek. Woohyun didn’t see Sungyeol, but flinched away from Myungsoo as he threatened to kick Woohyun in the back with his cleats.
“At least they’re trying to distract him. I hope he doesn’t mess up this game,” Sungyeol said, the traces of a frown still on his face.
“I think he’ll be okay,” Sunggyu said, smiling as the team finished warming up and lined up against the sidelines. Woohyun glanced into the stands, searching for Sunggyu.
When they met eyes, Sunggyu smiled and made a heart with his hands. Woohyun laughed and returned the heart, making the girls in the front scream.
“... Nam Woohyun. He’s the captain, and I’ve heard he’s the best player on this team...” Sunggyu turned around and saw some scouts behind him, writing things down.
--
Woohyun played flawlessly through the game. They won, three to none. Woohyun made two of the three goals, and always made it a point to search for Sunggyu in the crowd and send him a heart.
Coach raised an eyebrow at him and shook his head before reaching out to smack Woohyun in the arm with his clipboard.
--
After Woohyun’s confession, Sunggyu made it a point to spend all of his free time, whatever free time he could shuffle around and put together, with Woohyun. He’d noticed how much time he was spending at the music store with his lessons and such, and even started going home right after his lessons ended.
“Hey there, Speedy Gonzales. Why in such a rush? I’ve never seen someone hobble so fast before,” Jinwoon called after Sunggyu as he left the store. Sunggyu just shook his head and waved before heading out of the store.
There was one bus that went by his stop near his house if he hurried. And if he hurried, that would be an extra hour, almost two hours with Woohyun.
Sunggyu sighed as he waved his bus pass over the sensor and went to sit down. Woohyun had been a lot better lately, almost to his normal self. Now, it seemed like all the stress was on Sunggyu, trying to make him happy like Woohyun always tried to do.
It was times like this that made Sunggyu wonder if he ever really gave anything back to Woohyun that wasn’t a song or a cover. Did he make good company? Did Woohyun trust him enough to tell him things? He frowned at the last part. Obviously not. But then again, Woohyun probably didn’t want to shove his problems onto Sunggyu either.
And now that he thought about it, did he really have any problems? Sunggyu did pretty much the same thing every day. School, lessons, home, Woohyun. Was this what Woohyun’s life was like?He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw his stop and got up from the seat and hurried off of the bus.
Sunggyu stood at the bus stop for a few seconds as the bus drove off. Maybe Woohyun deserved better than him.
--
“Something wrong?” Woohyun asked as they laid on the couch together. Sunggyu shook his head and buried his face into Woohyun’s chest. Woohyun liked having Sunggyu on top, because he said he enjoyed the weight. It was comforting or something, but that first time he admitted it, Sunggyu thought it was Woohyun’s subtle way of calling him fat.
“You’ve been quiet and coming home a lot earlier than usual. Lessons aren’t going well?” he asked, reaching up to play around with Sunggyu’s hair.
“They’re fine,” Sunggyu said, yawning slightly.
“Learning anything new?”
“Just working on some high notes. My vocal chords are slowly getting murdered, but it’s all good,” Sunggyu said with a smile. “How’s practice going?”
“Miserable. Everyone’s so nervous all of the time. People are still flinching away from me, even after I apologized.” Sunggyu knew that Woohyun was still deathly nervous. He could feel his heart start pounding his chest at the thought of the scouts.
“Maybe I should tag along on one of your lessons this weekend. Get my mind off of soccer for a bit.” Sunggyu pursed his lips.
“Sure. We can get lunch and wander the town after. It’s been a while since we hung out, just the two of us.”
“Knowing our luck though, the troll couple and Dongwoo and Hoya will magically appear and ruin our date.”
“Troll couple? I’d like to think we’re more attractive than that,” Myungsoo said as he pushed open the door to the house. Sungyeol was right behind him, taking off his shoes.
“They’re just jealous.” Sunggyu and Woohyun didn’t even bat an eye towards them as they stomped up the stairs.
“Jealous of what?” Sunggyu asked, looking up at Woohyun.
“Of true love like ours.”
--
“You think they’re gonna be okay?” Sungyeol asked as he peeked out of the door of his room. He saw Sunggyu sigh and roll off of Woohyun to pad off to the bathroom to take his medication. Woohyun laid on the couch for a few seconds before getting up and heading to the kitchen, looking for something to make to eat.
“They’ll be fine. Woohyun got his head out of his ass.” Myungsoo fell onto Sungyeol’s bed and nuzzled his face into the sheets before taking a deep breath. Smelled just like Sungyeol.
“I dunno... Sunggyu looks like his world is ending now. You know he got an acceptance letter already? The school is like, four or five hours away though, so he’d have to move out there.” Myungsoo nodded.
“Good for him.”
“It’s a pretty good school for performing arts apparently. But I think he’s waiting to hear from the one a little closer to home before he decides.”
“Why?” Myungsoo asked, rolling over and wrapping himself up in Sungyeol’s comforter.
“I think he doesn’t wanna go too far. With Woohyun looking at schools a million miles away, I think he’s starting to feel pretty lonely.”
“It’s not like he won’t be able to make new friends or something.”
“Well, Sunggyu is socially awkward if you hadn’t noticed. Even if he has like, a million fans on YouTube. I’ve never seen him start a conversation with anyone before.”
“He’ll be fine.”
“I dunno...”
“He’ll be fine.”
“Do you have to say these things like you know for sure?”
“Yes.”
--
Sunggyu’s head was bobbing to the beat of the song he was supposed to learn for his lesson in Woohyun’s car. Woohyun could see Sunggyu glancing over the lyrics and mouthing them as the song went on.
“You should just sing the song,” Woohyun said as they waited at a stop light.
“I don’t wanna tire myself out before the lesson. I’ll die of embarrassment if I crack another note.” Sunggyu remember the time he practice a little bit too hard before his lesson and cracked a note so badly, everyone outside could hear it. As soon as he stepped out, Jinwoon burst into laughter. After he finally stopped, he asked Sunggyu if his falsetto was getting any better.
“Oh, I see. Am I allowed to sit in on your lesson?”
“I don’t think so. You can wait outside. Talk to Jinwoon and stuff. It’s not like you won’t be able to hear me,” Sunggyu said with a laugh. “The rooms aren’t exactly sound proof.”
“Maybe learn a few more notes. Or learn the ukulele so we can do duet videos!” Sunggyu said excitedly. Woohyun couldn’t help but laugh at Sunggyu’s enthusiasm. Maybe he would pick it up. It would be another thing they could do together.
“Yeah, yeah. We’ll see,” Woohyun said as he turned into the parking garage. Sunggyu unplugged his iPod and stuffed it into his pocket. Woohyun parked the car and went to open the door for Sunggyu.
“What are these lessons for again?” Woohyun always meant to ask Sunggyu about them. He thought Sunggyu sounded fine.
“They’re kind of evaluation lessons for one of the universities I’m applying to. They send down one of the professors to give me lessons and help me improve, and if they end up liking me, then they write me recommendations which help a ton with getting into the school,” Sunggyu explained as they walked down the sidewalk. Woohyun nodded his head and slipped his hand into Sunggyu’s.
“You sure you don’t want me to carry your guitar for you?” Sunggyu nodded.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not even using your cane.”
“I have my brace on, and my knee’s been feeling a lot better lately.” Woohyun pursed his lips. Sunggyu never mentioned anything about his leg lately. Usually, he would complain about feeling like an old man, but Woohyun hadn’t heard anything about his leg for a while.
“Really? It doesn’t hurt when you walk anymore?” They stopped in a crowd and waited for the light to turn green to cross.
“Well, it’s more of like a dull ache nowadays. Sometimes, I don’t feel any pain at all.”
“So... can you like, run and stuff?”
“Maybe jog slowly. I wouldn’t push it just in case something happened. Why? Thinking of making me pick up soccer or something?” Sunggyu laughed as Woohyun rolled his eyes. “You know my foot eye coordination doesn’t exist.”
Woohyun did know that. If he added up all the times he almost had a heart attack because he heard Sunggyu yelling from somewhere in the house because he stubbed his toe, on his bad leg no less, or bumped his knee into something and ended up on the floor in agony, he’d be dead ten times over.
“No... Maybe kick a ball around and stuff. You could be goalie. I’m sure your hand eye coordination is better.” Sunggyu laughed again and dragged Woohyun across the street as the light turned green.
“We’ll see. I’ll play soccer with you if you record a duet with me. How’s that?” Woohyun pursed his lips as he opened up the door to the music store.
“Deal.”
--
Woohyun watched as Sunggyu let go of his hand and kissed him on the cheek, telling him he’d be out in two hours and that he was free to do whatever he wanted until he got out. Sunggyu hobbled over to the professor waiting for him at the door and shook his hand before they disappeared into one of the practice rooms.
Jinwoon was leaning on the counter, flipping through a magazine. He glanced up to see Woohyun standing there awkwardly and grinned before calling him over.
“You’re Woohyun, right? Jinwoon. We met a few times,” he said, extending his hand for a handshake.
“Right, I remember you. Sunggyu talks about you every now and then.”
“He doesn’t say anything bad, does he? Because I swear, I’ll mess up his other leg if he has.” Woohyun narrowed his eyes at Jinwoon.
“Just a joke. Probably a bad one at that, sorry,” Jinwoon said apologetically, rubbing the back of his head.
“It’s okay. I joke about breaking his other leg sometimes too, when he’s hobbling away from me at top speed.”
“Hobbling away at top speed,” Jinwoon said to himself, snickering.
“Well anyway. Can you help me with something? Sunggyu said he’d play a soccer match with me if I learned to play the ukulele and made a duet video with him.”
“Can you read notes?” Jinwoon asked, standing up and walking out from behind the counter.
“No, not really.”
“Oh. Okay. You don’t really need to learn them to play. I can just teach you some chords and stuff. You know how to stum?”
“Barely.”
“Oh boy.”
--
Two hours had never flown by so fast for either boy. Sunggyu was feeling very good throughout his entire lesson, and even the professor noticed the lift in his mood.
“Who was that boy you came here with earlier?”
“Woohyun.”
“Ah. I see.” Sunggyu figured he didn’t have to say anymore. He wasn’t exactly keeping it a secret he was dating a boy, and most of his YouTube fanbase loved it. Of course, he had hate comments about his sexual orientation, but he didn’t even have to say anything because for every hate comment he got, he had a hundred people backing him up and supporting him.
“Well, maybe you should bring him by more often. Everything sounded really good today, and if you keep this up, it’ll almost be a guarantee that you’ll be accepted to the university.” Sunggyu bowed and thanked him before cleaning up his things and stepping outside.
He didn’t see Jinwoon at the counter and wandered around the store, looking for Woohyun.
“... I don’t get what’s up with your fingers.”
“They just don’t bend that way.”
“They don’t have to bend like that. This is smaller than a guitar, so your fingers don’t have to go as far.” Sunggyu peeked out from behind a shelf to see Jinwoon fixing Woohyun’s fingers on the strings of a ukulele.
“You don’t even have to push down as hard. Maybe that’s why it sounds so weird. You look like you’re trying to strangle it.” Woohyun sighed.
“But hey, don’t let it get you down. This is good progress for someone in two hours. Just practice some more, and I’m sure you’ll sound fine. Get Sunggyu to help you.”
“The things I do for him,” Woohyun said with a sigh. Sunggyu chuckled silently and stepped into view, leaning on the shelves.
“And I appreciate every single one of them.” Woohyun and Jinwoon looked over to him, and Woohyun gave him a sheepish smile.
“Oh, done already? It’s been two hours? Where does the time go?”
--
“How are you going to practice if you don’t have a ukulele?” They made a trip back to the car so Sunggyu could put up his stuff before going to lunch.
“What makes you think I don’t have one? Besides, if I didn’t have one, I’d just borrow yours.”
“You have one? Since when?”
“Since forever ago. I just never used it. I’ll look for it when I go home. It’s probably hidden under a mountain of dust somewhere.” Woohyun looked both ways before dragging Sunggyu across the street.
“Where do you wanna go for lunch?” Woohyun asked, looking down the row of cafes and shops on the street.
“I don’t know. Wherever is fine. Is there a place we haven’t tried yet?” They wandered down the street at a leisurely pace, looking at the names of the cafes.
“We haven’t been here,” Sunggyu said, stopping in front of a quaint little place. Woohyun opened up the door for Sunggyu before following him inside. They were greeted and seated almost immediately, the both of them looking around at the decorations.
“This place is pretty cute,” Woohyun said, eyeing the decorations.
“Yeah. And for once, we are undisturbed.” Woohyun shushed Sunggyu and looked around frantically.
“Don’t say that too loud, or you’ll jinx us.”
“Woohyun, don’t be so-”
“Woohyun! Fancy meeting you here!” Woohyun cringed a little bit as he turned around to see Dongwoo and Hoya coming towards him. He turned back to Sunggyu and gave him a slight glare, which made Sunggyu shrug his shoulders.
“What’re you guys doing here?” Sunggyu said with a smile as they pulled up chairs and sat down next to them.
“This is our cafe. We’ve been going here to eat since it first opened. What’re you guys doing here?”
“Lunch date. Care to join us?” Woohyun huffed and sighed.
“Only if Woohyun is paying,” Hoya said, nudging at Woohyun.
“When do I not?” he said, rolling his eyes. Everyone around the table laughed, and eventually, Woohyun joined in the laughter and talking too.
“What? Lunch without us? What is this?” Two more chairs were pulled over, and Myungsoo and Sungyeol sat down on the other side of Sunggyu and Woohyun.
“You guys too? Where are you people coming from?” Woohyun said with exasperation.
“We had to go into town to get some stuff for a project that someone conveniently forgot was due on Monday and hasn’t even started on it yet,” Myungsoo said, glaring at Sungyeol, who busied himself with the menu.
“You guys are paying for yourself, right?” Woohyun asked, raising an eyebrow at them.
“Well. We spent all of our money on supplies and stuff, and we only have enough for the bus ride back home so...” Woohyun sighed as Sungyeol blinked innocently and smiled at him.
“Whatever, Woohyun. Don’t pretend like you mind paying for lunch,” Sunggyu said, reaching across the table to pinch his cheek. Woohyun sighed again. Sunggyu laughed, because he knew deep down, Woohyun didn’t mind at all.
In fact, it probably made him feel pretty good. Woohyun was just that kind of person. If he wasn’t useful in some way, he’d probably go crazy, even if it was his money being spent. Dongwoo and Hoya said something about it once, how Woohyun would get depressed if he felt like he wasn’t needed.
“How are you guys going to fend for yourself when I go far away for school?” Myungsoo and Sungyeol looked up at each other from their menus before turning to look at Woohyun with matching expressions of horror.
“You can’t leave. We’ll starve and die. Or you know, you could just wire us some money every month, and we can learn to manage money on our own.” Woohyun blinked a few times before shaking his head.
“Or you two could, you know, get a job!”