11:11 Part One
11:11 Part 1/2
woogyu, hinted wooyeol, myungyeol, yadong
romance, fluff, failed!humor | 8,072 of 14,289 words
Two Christmas seasons have already passed, but Woohyun's wish remains the same: for the mannequin in his favorite clothing shop to come to life.
i
Tonight, the first snow falls down the sky, gradually covering the streets and houses with the cold, white substance. Woohyun isn’t excited at all realizing it’s really Christmas once again. Not when he’s passing by Edition and seeing his favorite mannequin on display, wearing a new set of clothes that fitted its slim body perfectly. Woohyun is amazed and terrified at the same time at how attractive he finds the inanimate object to be. How can he be so attracted to such thing? How can he fall so hard with something that won’t even answer back when he talks to?
“Good evening, Sir!” the salesman greets Woohyun with his usual big grin. Woohyun smiles back when he sees the same salesman he’s met two years ago.
“You’re still here? I thought you were transferred to another branch.” Woohyun looks up once more at the mannequin, not wanting to break his gaze from it, before walking towards the salesman.
He chuckles lively and says, “The branch manager wanted me to stay here so he did everything he could to keep me.”
Woohyun’s eyes crinkle as he smiles at the man. He reads his name in his mind, Dongwoo, and says, “That’s nice to hear. It only means you’re doing your job very well.”
Dongwoo nods optimistically. “You still like that mannequin, don’t you?” he asks so suddenly, catching Woohyun off-guard.
“Well… I think so,” he says reluctantly, not really wanting to say yes, I do and I will always do. Who the heck will want to say something like that? Unless he’s going to admit he’s what, someone who has a bizarre sexual obsession with inanimate objects? What’s that called again? He’s sure he’s looked it up on the internet sometime last week.
Never mind. He’ll remember it when he’s in the mood to remember it.
Ah, right. Objectophilia.
“Well, everybody loves that mannequin, says he’s one of a kind.” The salesman says fondly as he walks passed Woohyun and towards the glass. He looks up at the mannequin on display. In fact, he doesn’t look like a mannequin anymore. He’s close to being a human being - close to perfection. His skin colour is just perfect and his body is well sculpted, and his eyes and nose and lips are beautiful.
Woohyun stands beside the salesman and looks up at the human-like object as if it’s some sort of perfect scenery in a foreign country, the words please come to life, please come to life, ringing in his head.
Well, the mannequin is perfect. If he’s going to be a human being, damn he’d be more perfect than those artists who have undergone through some scientific transformation. He can’t say his perfection would be natural since he’s from, uhm, the species of mannequins (close to ‘plastic surgery’), but, well…
Woohyun shrugs the thought off mentally.
“He is,” Woohyun says with a small nod. “He really is one of a kind,” he says proudly, looking at the mannequin like a proud boyfriend look at his girlfriend.
“That’s why I named him Sunggyu!” Dongwoo chuckles, facing Woohyun. “Sunggyu fits him perfectly, right?” Dongwoo smiles at Woohyun expectantly.
Woohyun looks at Dongwoo and nods with a smile. “It does. It’s perfect. Sunggyu.” He looks up at the mannequin again and smiles, whispering, “Sunggyu.”
“Anyway,” Dongwoo decides to break the silence as soon as it resides between them. “We have a season’s promo! Do you want to check out our new arrivals? They’d look great on you!”
Sometimes, Woohyun thinks Dongwoo talks to him as if they’re close friends just so he can sell something for the day.
“Maybe next time,” Woohyun says reluctantly as he takes a step away from Dongwoo. “My brother is waiting for me at home. We’ll be going to Andong tonight to stay with our Auntie until the end of this week.”
“That’s nice,” Dongwoo comments while clapping cheerfully, as if he’s the one who’s going to have dinner at a relative’s place. “Have a safe trip! Oh, by the way, it’s nice meeting you. I’m Dongwoo!” he says, offering a hand to Woohyun for a shake.
Woohyun smiles at the salesman and takes his hand in his. “I’m Woohyun. And thanks.” With that said, Woohyun waves Dongwoo a goodbye and walks down the bright street.
Dongwoo smiles as he watches Woohyun slowly disappear into the crowd. With a sigh, he looks up at the mannequin that is coincidentally facing Woohyun’s way too, as if watching him walk down the street.
-
From: Yeol the cutie
You’re not coming tomorrow TT_TT
Sometimes, Woohyun thinks Sungyeol has a hidden desire for him. There are those times when he would catch the younger boy staring at him from the cashier with a smile, as if daydreaming (he wouldn’t dare think what those dreams are.) There are those times when Sungyeol would ask Woohyun to grab lunch with him, says he would treat him in exchange for a “friendly date” in the amusement park or a mall (‘friendly’ never sounds the way it’s supposed to be when it comes from Sungyeol’s mouth in front of Woohyun.) There are also those times when Sungyeol is tremendously touchy, suddenly hugging Woohyun from behind despite having people in the shop, or putting Woohyun into headlocks just to smell (which is actually to kiss) his hair.
Woohyun doesn’t hate Sungyeol for that. It’s not like he’s the only one who gets tortured by Sungyeol’s tight hugs and abusive nose (lips). There’s also Myungsoo who is equally touchy like Sungyeol, and Sungjong who is the youngest in the shop. Most of the time, Woohyun just enjoys the attention he gets from the tallest boy in the group because that’s just how Sungyeol is. He’s sweet and he loves skinship and he’s a sucker for tight hugs.
Woohyun doesn’t mind, just as long as Sungyeol’s hands don’t reach his crotch.
To: Yeol the cutie
Yup! Boo-hyung and I are going to visit auntie in Andong and stay there for a night. I’m coming back next day. I’m not going to run away from you, don’t worry. :P
Woohyun looks to his left to see his older brother sleeping comfortably in a bus seat. He wonders how he does that, sleep with his mouth open in a public transportation vehicle. He shrugs a few moments after and then wears his earphones to listen to music.
The music lulls him to sleep and he dreams of Sunggyu singing to him with an angelic voice.
-
“Woohyun, wake up,” he says in a sweet and wife-like manner.
“Sunggyu?” Woohyun blinks at the man in front, not sure if he is real or not. “What are you doing here?”
He smiles, and it shines brighter than the sun, blinding Woohyun’s eyes, and it’s painful. Painful because it’s too beautiful.
“Where are we?” he asks, sitting up.
“Andong.”
Woohyun’s eyes flung open and he finds himself in the bus, beside his surprised brother.
”Wow. For the first time you woke up with just one call,” Boohyun says.
The younger boy scratches his eyes before taking off his earphones and looking around. “Are we there yet?” the bus is still moving though, so he guesses not.
“Almost.” Boohyun shuffles in his seat, trying to find a comfortable spot again. He goes back to playing Subway Surfers in his phone.
“Since when were you awake?” Woohyun pulls out his own phone from the pocket of his jacket, pressing the unlock button in the process. His eyes widen slightly at the sight of the number of unread text messages he got.
There are 9. And 7 of them are from Sungyeol.
From: Yeol the cutie
goodnight woo-hyung :||||
From: Yeol the cutie
you slept on me T^T
From: Yeol the cutie
hey
From: Yeol the cutie
WOOHYUN HYUNG
From: Sungjong
Heard from Yeol-hyung that you’re gonna be absent tomo. Why must you leave me alone with these monsters :(( Have a safe trip and enjoy! :-)
From: Yeol the cutie
I’m so bored ugh
From: Yeol the cutie
Textmate, please D:
-gm
From: Soo
Hugging Sungyeol hyung gets tiring sometimes. He’s too skinny. Why did you leave? D: Hahaha! Kidding, please don’t tell Sungyeol hyung. <3 have a safe trip hyung and don’t forget my present!
From: Yeol the cutie
And what am I for you to run away from???? :|
Woohyun didn’t have the time to answer anymore because their bus finally arrives to their stop. From there they ride a taxi before finally arriving at the house of their Auntie, who fell asleep ten minutes ago while waiting for the two of them.
ii
“Woohyun, breakfast is served,” Sunggyu says in a sweet and wife-like manner.
“Sunggyu?” Woohyun blinks at the man in front, not sure if he is real or not. “What are you doing here?”
He smiles, and it shines brighter than the sun, blinding Woohyun’s eyes, and it’s painful. Painful because it’s too beautiful.
“What time is it?” he asks, sitting up.
“It’s time for-”
“BREAKFAST~” Auntie Hyejin sings on top of her lungs. “COME DOWN HERE BECAUSE AUNTIE MISSES YOU~”
Woohyun sits up abruptly, eyes wide at the sudden kick of surprise in his face. He looks to his right and sees his older brother looking at him with eyebrows crinkled.
“Are you okay?” he asks. He’s lying on his stomach on his own bed, reading a book, his feet swinging in air.
Woohyun looks away. God, this crush on a mannequin is not doing him any good.
The door flies open, and standing just outside their room is their Auntie Hyejin, dressed in her white sleeping gown. Woohyun wonders if she ever changes clothes.
“MY BABIES, BREAKFAST IS READY~” she sings on top of her lungs.
Boohyun and Woohyun look at each other. Here comes breakfast.
Breakfasts with Auntie Hyejin are always noisy, with greetings and catch up questions in between series of laughter. She asks the siblings how life in Seoul is, how Woohyun is doing at work and how Boohyun could bear being a teacher of 68 noisy kids (she hates kids). She laughs every after answer she gets even though nothing is funny and then she starts telling a story of her when she was still young even if it has no connection to the boys’ answers.
Toast breads and a mugs of hot chocolate last for almost an hour and a half because there’s more chuckling and nodding of heads than drinking and eating, and whenever their Auntie looks away to tell Sunhye to get her another mug of hot chocolate, the siblings would look at each other and talk with their eyes and minds.
‘Hyung, I want to get out of here!’
‘C’mon! This only happens once a year. Don’t you dare leave me here or I’ll kick you after breakfast!’
‘God!’
Breakfast ends in one and a half hour flat and Auntie Hyejin tells the two to get ready because they’re going to ‘mall the day away’ in an hour.
Oh. My. God.
Malls and Auntie Hyejin are not Woohyun’s favourite combination.
-
Auntie Hyejin still wears (thick and various colors of) makeup and colourful, teen-age clothes at the age of 64, but Woohyun tells his Hyung that she’s actually prettier without them. Boohyun agrees but tells Woohyun to shut the fuck up if he doesn’t want to go back to Seoul at the wrong time.
That’s actually Woohyun’s plan.
Car rides to malls or amusement parks with Auntie Hyejin are noisier especially when the driver, Kibum, is told to switch the radio on. Despite the loud music booming from the speakers, Auntie Hyejin still talks about her childhood (singing a few lines of the current song in between sentences.) Not that Woohyun and Boohyun didn’t enjoy listening to her cool stories (Auntie Hyejin’s childhood was awesome because it was spent on joining lots of singing contests and doing various sports), but they’ve heard those for God knows how many times already. Everytime they’re with her she talks about how she defeated twelve other contestants the first time she joined a singing contest, how she enjoyed skydiving at the age of nineteen, when joined the KPOP Star Hunt and fainted because one of the judges was looking at her seductively, and how different she was from other girls in her class because she was very sporty and didn’t enjoy putting too much makeup and wearing tank tops or ruler-length skirts (which somehow the siblings doubted because hello, look at her right now, screaming I AM SEXY AND RAINBOW COLORS ARE LUUURVE!!!)
Woohyun’s phone vibrates in the pocket of his jeans but he ignores it because Auntie Hyejin is talking about how gadgets are not yet labelled as necessities during her time.
God. Help.
The mall, of course, is full of people walking everywhere, holding paper bags with their left hand and their kids’ hands with the other.
“Have you both done Christmas shopping already?” Auntie Hyejin asks as the three of them make their way into the mall. She’s in the middle of the boys, left arm hooked with Woohyun’s and right with Boohyun’s.
Woohyun is busy looking at the mannequins in each of the boutiques they would pass by, eager to find one that would be equal to Sunggyu. What do you expect? Psh. Of course, there’s none.
“Yup,” Boohyun answers, smiling at Auntie Hyejin. “I bought clothes for my co-teachers and packed goodies for my sons and daughters,” he elaborates.
“That’s nice to hear,” Auntie Hyejin says sweetly, and then turns to Woohyun on her left. “How about my baby Woohyun?”
If Boohyun could only kick his brother or elbow him somewhere… he sighs and calls him calmly, “Woohyun.”
“What?” Woohyun asks after looking away from a headless mannequin. Oh god. A headless mannequin!
Boohyun gives Woohyun a what-the-fuck-are-you-doing look and then opens his mouth to answer Woohyun when Auntie Hyejin says, “You seem out of your mind. Is there something wrong?”
“Oh… I’m fine. I just remembered something,” Woohyun mutters, looking at his feet and shoving his hands into the huge pocket of his jacket.
They don’t press with the matter anymore, letting Woohyun’s mind wander off in wonderland. They spend the first half of the day walking around, entering boutiques and buying stuffs. Woohyun is quiet the whole time, only looking up at the mannequins he’d come across, wondering how Sunggyu’s doing.
Of course, he’s standing. That’s how boring his life is, Woohyun.
“Boys, where do you want to eat? Don’t think about the cheap ones. I’m allergic to them,” she jokes and then laughs ‘a-haw-haw-haw’, a hand slightly covering her lips.
“Woohyun, where do you want?” Boohyun is always like that, asking his younger brother first before making a decision.
“Anywhere,” Woohyun answer absent-mindedly.
He sighs before answering Auntie Hyejin, “Wherever you want, Auntie.”
Auntie Hyejin chooses an expensive seafood restaurant unfamiliar to both Boohyun and Woohyun, and as they take the seat to where they were led by a young red-haired waiter (Woohyun wants to kill him for reminding him of Sunggyu), Auntie Hyejin makes orders.
The restaurant is full and most are families, eating happily.
Auntie Hyejin looks at the siblings with a smile and says, “Jinwoo and I eat here everytime we come to this mall. Everything in here is Jinwoo’s favourite. From the tables, to that big chandelier, and of course, the food. He likes the crab the most.”
“It would really be great if he’s still here with us. He misses you so much.”
“We miss him too,” Boohyun says. “Too bad he left early.”
Auntie Hyejin merely nods.
“Excuse me. I need to use the comfort room,” Boohyun says, standing up and leaving.
“So, what’s the problem?” she asks, propping her elbows on the table and then resting her chin on top of her clasped hands. “Don’t tell me you just remembered something because I can definitely see that something’s bothering you.”
“Really, it’s nothing,” Woohyun insists.
The waiter comes back again for their utensils and glasses of water. Auntie Hyejin tells the waiter to also bring her tea.
“Woohyun, there’s a reason why I became Nam Hyejin,” she says calmly.
The boy sighs, thinking twice about telling her everything. When he sees her giving him the go-on-and-tell-me look, Woohyun sighs once more before asking, “How do wishes come true?”
She laughs for a moment, eyes disappearing into crescents. “Tell me your wish, first.” She wiggles her eyebrows at him.
“What? No!” He blushes. “Are you a fairy?”
“What if I am?” She laughs, but it’s short. And then she becomes serious, looking at Woohyun in the eyes. “Wishes don’t always come true, Woohyun,” she says in a serious tone. One that Woohyun finds rare (and surprisingly wonderful), because she’s always singing on top of her lungs like an opera singer and being sarcastic. “And I really don’t know what kind of wishes comes true and what kind of wishes doesn’t,” she adds. “I remember making lots of wishes when I was young. I always asked for it to rain of chocolates, toys, money and clothes. I asked for a private plane, but all I got was Kia. I asked for a mansion, but all I got was a two-storey house far from Seoul. I asked for a handsome rich guy who can sing and has a resort, but all I got was your Uncle Jinwoo. He’s not even cute! Ugh. He was the most frustrating man ever. He’s unpredictable.”
Woohyun laughs, but she doesn’t and it’s somewhat surprising.
“But you know Woohyun, they were all fine for me. I didn’t rain chocolates, toys, money and cool clothes, but it was okay. I didn’t get a private plane nor a mansion and a handsome rich guy who can sing and has a resort but it was okay. Why? Because what I got was not what my mind wants but what my heart needs.”
He listens to her closely.
“They were friends, your Mom and Dad, your Grandpa and Grandma. I got a nice two-storey house with a big backyard because I love plants and most of all, I met Jinwoo. He’s ugly, he’s really frustrating and annoying and he nags a lot, but he loves me more than I love skydiving. He loves me more than he loves looking at pictures of naked women,” - Woohyun laughs for a few seconds - “too bad he left early. That man. He said he couldn’t take me and my noisy mouth anymore.” She laughs.
Either because she’s happy visiting the memories or it’s just a cover to stop the tears that have gathered at the sides of her eyes, Woohyun doesn’t know. But he thinks he missed the sound of it. Being serious doesn’t suit Auntie Hyejin, but Woohyun thinks its fine to see her eyebrows wrinkled once in a while.
“And of course, they are all jokes.” She laughs louder this time.
Woohyun wants to throw the glass of water in her face. Yes, water + glass for a better result. Just when he thinks she’s being serious…
The waiter arrives with the tea she asked and laughs too when Auntie Hyejin asked him to laugh with her.
He leaves, rolling his eyes.
“No, I’m kidding,” she says, serious again.
“I’m never going to believe you and your stories again,” Woohyun deadpans. “I honestly can’t tell when you’re joking and when you’re not.”
She sighs, tired of all the laughing. “No, really, Woohyun,” she says as she stands up and sits beside Woohyun. “I once wished for something and it came true. It was a few years ago, twelve days before Christmas.”
The seriousness in her tone makes Woohyun listen. It’s mysterious and inviting.
“Do you want to know my secret?”
Woohyun crinkles his eyebrows, curious as to what his mischievous Auntie is up to this time. “Okay?” he answers, somewhat unsure.
“Do you believe in 11:11?” she asks, to which Woohyun shakes his head. “Ahh, that’s it. That’s the problem,” she says, pulling away to straighten up and cross her arms. She gives Woohyun a displeased look, shaking her head, her lips forming a line.
“It’s not… true?” The statement comes out as a question because Woohyun isn’t sure what to say to his Auntie.
“Don’t you make wishes when the clock strikes 11:11?”
“No.” Woohyun says quickly, as if proud of it. “Nobody believes in it. Well, I think girls do. Yeah…”
“It’s true!” His Auntie declares. “And everybody believes in it, Nam Woohyun!”
“What about it,” Woohyun deadpans. Arguing with her is pointless.
She pulls herself close to Woohyun, her lips almost touching the boy’s earlobe. She looks around, as if seeing magical things Woohyun can’t and whispers, “For twelve days, whenever the clock strikes 11:11, I made the same wish: for your Uncle Jinwoo to say yes to me.”
“You-” Woohyun pulls away abruptly, eyes wide.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, blinking. “It’s never wrong for girls to woo boys,” she says proudly.
Woohyun opens his mouth, closes it, opens it again, and then closes it when he realizes he has nothing coherent to say.
“Well?” she raises an eyebrow at Woohyun.
“How does that happen? I mean, the wishes, how do they… come true?”
“If I’m not wrong, I got my tooth extracted that time.” Auntie Hyejin shrugs and says, “Well, I guess the tooth fairy loves messing up with Santa Claus.” And a series of laughter follows.
Woohyun can’t believe he’s speaking with a talking baboon.
Oh well, he’s not a girl but he can give it a try.
“I can’t believe I got lost-” he stops in his tracks when he sees his seat occupied by a fat woman. Auntie Hyejin took his seat!
The waiter comes back with their orders. Finally!
Boohyun walks over to the seat Auntie Hyejin occupied minutes ago. “Uh, isn’t that my-”
“Just eat! And then lets watch a movie later,” she says happily, looking at Woohyun while wriggling her eyebrows.
Boohyun gives Woohyun a what-the-fuck-is-happening look, but the younger boy only shrugs and eats.
Watching movies with Auntie Hyejin is fun, mostly because she pays for the tickets, popcorns and soft drinks.
And saying goodbye to Auntie Hyejin has never been this hard for Woohyun because he’s learned a lot of new things about her and thinks he wants to spend some more time with her, talking about wishes and how they come true.
-
That night he really gives it a try.
The moment he arrives home, he takes a bath, talks with his older brother about their stay in Andong last night while eating dinner and then lights up the Christmas tree. It’s beautiful, as beautiful as the person whose name is in his one and only wish. He looks up at the clock, an hour left before 11 in the evening, and waits patiently.
When the clock finally strikes 11:11, he writes his wish excitedly in a 6x3 red paper, folds it in half and then hangs it on one of the stems of the Christmas tree.
iii
He passes by Edition that morning on his way to the mall and sees Sunggyu standing at the same place. He has a new set of clothes which Woohyun finds really cool.
He decides he’s going to buy the complete set soon.
“Woohyun hyung!!!” Sungyeol jumps on Woohyun the moment he arrives at the music store, enveloping him in a tight hug and showering him with kisses. “I missed you! I missed you!”
“Ew, gay,” Sungjong says as he puts back the CDs the kids decided to put in different places yesterday.
“You’re just jealous ‘cause you’re not the one I’m hugging,” Sungyeol says, still clinging to Woohyun as the latter walks to the cashier.
“Hi, Hyung,” Myungsoo greets him with a charming smile. “How was your trip?”
“Cool,” Woohyun says simply. “What are you doing here? You should be outside calling buyers.”
Myungsoo pouts. “I’m not here just to attract buyers with my looks.”
“Just kidding.” Woohyun messes his hair.
“Myung’s mine!” Sungyeol says, slapping Woohyun’s hand away.
Woohyun rolls his eyes at the taller boy and says, “Just get laid, Sungyeol.”
“Then let’s go to the storage room and have sex!”
Woohyun chokes on air.
“We didn’t need to hear that!” Sungjong shouts from behind a shelf.
Myungsoo slaps Sungyeol at the back of the head. “You and your dirty mouth- aish!”
“Butt!” Sungyeol slaps Myungsoo on an arm.
Their first customer comes, wearing the shirt Sunggyu was wearing earlier. Or at least, that’s what Woohyun remembers.
-
Woohyun is singing one of his compositions when he passes by Edition that night. His eyes automatically find Sunggyu, standing in the same position as the days before, wearing the same clothes, and still looking handsome.
‘One day,’ Woohyun thinks, ‘we’ll be eating outside like couples do. We’ll be throwing snow balls at each other like kids in the park do during Christmas. We have lots of memories to make, Gyu. Please turn into human as soon as possible.’
He sees Dongwoo standing by the entrance of the store, waving at him with a big smile.
He waves back.
-
Woohyun looks at the clock saying 11:11 with so much faith and hope before writing his wish in a 6x3 orange paper. He folds it in half carefully and then hangs it up two stems next to the first one on the Christmas tree.
iv
That morning, Woohyun sees a girl undressing Sunggyu and his heart screams in jealousy. But then he gets excited, wondering what clothes Sunggyu’s going to wear today.
He still prefers the one Sunggyu wore yesterday. But then again, in Woohyun’s eyes, Sunggyu will always look handsome whatever clothes he wears.
Woohyun walks to the mall with a smile that morning.
-
What Woohyun hates about working in a music store is those days when buyers are lesser than his pimples.
You see, Woohyun has no pimples. You’ll only see small ones if you’ll look closely at his face, but there really are none. His skin is flawless -as flawless as the skin of the inanimate object in Edition that is his crush, as we all know.
Woohyun stands beside Sungyeol who just took his turn in the cashier. Sungjong and Myungsoo left a few minutes ago to have lunch and it’s quiet in the store, despite the loud Christmas jingle being played in the speakers. It’s boring, really, and a lot of scenes like skinning Sungyeol alive or strangling Sungyeol to death flashes in Woohyun’s eyes.
He sits in a corner, knees crossed, and fishes out his phone from his pocket. Words begin to pop out of his mind, slowly forming into sentences, and then forming into phrases. That’s when he starts typing on his phone, eventually losing his mind into writing another song, unaware of the pair of eyes watching him adoringly.
Click.
And his picture makes its way to Sungyeol’s secret instagram account, with the caption: All I want for Christmas is Woo
.
.
.
.
.
Hyun.
-
Woohyun’s eyes almost pop out of their sockets when he sees a headless mannequin standing behind the glass instead of Sunggyu.
“That woman!” he says, heart beating in rage as he stands in front of the glass, looking up at the new mannequin with so much anger in his eyes. It’s ugly! It’s disgusting! How dare she replace Sunggyu with this trash! This is horrible!
“Woohyun!” Dongwoo calls as he comes out of the shop hurriedly, surprised to see Woohyun shooting daggers at the headless mannequin.
“Dongwoo! Where’s Sunggyu?!” he asks, eyes already glistening with tears.
Dongwoo swallows as he looks away. “I… I don’t know, Woohyun. I’m sorry.”
“That girl! Where is she? I saw her taking Sunggyu’s clothes off this morning! She kidnapped him!”
There’s so much anger in Woohyun’s voice but all Dongwoo hears is sadness. Emptiness. And then he fears it. He fears that Woohyun has grown so attached to the mannequin that he considers it as a human being already.
“She left,” he says softly. “But I have no idea what she did to Sunggyu or where she placed it.”
‘IT? SUNGGYU IS NOT AN IT YOU DICKLESS HUMAN BEING!’
“You don’t understand, Dongwoo!” Woohyun grabs Dongwoo by the collars of his uniform, fists trembling in a mixture of anger and sadness. “I need to find Sunggyu. I need to know if he’s okay! I need to see him!” -because he’s the only one who keeps me sane!
Dongwoo can only look at Woohyun with apologetic eyes.
“What’s happening here?”
Dongwoo and Woohyun look at the entrance of the shop where a man at their age stands, clad in a suit that screams his importance.
Oh boy isn’t he so sexy.
“Manager Lee!” Dongwoo pulls away from Woohyun immediately and then bows to the handsome man. “It’s nothing. We’re just talking about… our reunion! Yes, reunion. He didn’t want to come without me, so… yeah,” he says as he looks at Manager Lee again.
Manager Lee nods his head, but he doesn’t look satisfied with his employee’s answer. Then he walks towards the two, eyes somewhat scrutinizing Woohyun. With his deep voice he says, “If you have any problems concerning my employee I’m only a phone call away.” From his wallet, he pulls out his calling card and gives it to Woohyun before heading to the black Sedan that is parked just in front of the shop. “I’m off to a meeting with the other branch managers. I’m leaving everything here under your care, Dongwoo,” he says before entering the car and leaving.
“Yes, sir!” Dongwoo says, all smiles, and when the car is gone, Dongwoo sighs in relief.
Woohyun faces Dongwoo and wiggles his eyebrows. “So he’s the manager who didn’t want you to be transferred to another branch, huh? He’s handsome.”
Dongwoo blushes. “I-” he doesn’t get to speak anymore when Woohyun suddenly grabs him by the collars of his shirt and shouts, “But where’s my Sunggyu!!!!!”
The salesman sighs as he carefully pushes Woohyun away. He sighs before saying, “Woohyun, wake up.”
Those three words turn into bullets as they enter Woohyun’s ears, wounding his brains before making their way down his heart, making it stop.
“What?”
“He’s just a mannequin, Woohyun. He’ll never turn into a human being no matter how much you wish for him to. Wake up. It’s time to wake up.”
Tears well up in Woohyun’s eyes and his hands form into fists, trembling in anger. Dongwoo says it so straightforwardly like it’s the easiest thing to do in the world. Well, bullshit, because it’s fucking annoying and it fucking hurts because it’s not as easy as counting 123.
Not when Woohyun thinks he’s completely fallen in love with Sunggyu already.
Woohyun tries his best to swallow the lump that has formed in his throat together with the sickening words that are at the tip of his tongue but he fails. The words are stuck there, waiting to attack Dongwoo like bullets. Wanting to hurt Dongwoo like the words he just said to Woohyun.
“Woohyun, I’m sorry about this.”
It takes Woohyun a great deal of control not to curse Dongwoo.
“It’s just, I don’t know. It hurts me whenever I’d see you looking at Sunggyu with loving eyes.”
“You even gave him a name,” Woohyun says through gritted teeth. Dongwoo did, and it only gave Woohyun so much hope, left him a lot of unspoken promises, made him believe.
“I know. And I was wrong to have done that.”
“Well, you’re an asshole!”
Dongwoo’s right hand balls into a fist. He didn’t see that coming. “Yes, I am, but I never imagined Sunggyu as someone I can talk to! I never imagined him as someone I can hug during cold nights and I never ever imagined myself falling in love with him,” Dongwoo says, watching the way Woohyun’s face contort in anger.
Well, that’s bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bull. Shit.
“You just don’t understand, you big shit!” Woohyun yells at him with so much anger before running away.
Dongwoo watches as Woohyun’s figure disappears, and when he’s completely out of sight, Dongwoo’s lips curve into a small smile.
Santa Claus grants the wishes of those who have been good this year and Jesus grants the wishes of those he thinks are deserving.
Dongwoo thinks Woohyun is more than just a good boy who deserves a mannequin turned to human.
-
Boohyun looks up from the TV upon hearing the door close behind him. He sees Woohyun sniffling and wiping his eyes with the back of his hands.
“Woohyun, are you crying? What happened?” he asks, worried. Woohyun never cries, unless something’s really wrong.
He stands up, ready to hug his baby brother when Woohyun says, “It’s nothing, Hyung. Something just got into my eye.” He smiles small at Boohyun despite the teary eyes and red nose before going upstairs and locking himself in his room.
Boohyun looks at the staircase, wondering why Woohyun has been acting weird lately.
-
Woohyun still makes a wish that night, writing it in a yellow 2x1 paper. But he doesn’t hang it on the stem of the Christmas tree. Instead, he puts it under his pillow, remembering what Auntie Hyejin said about the tooth fairy messing up with Santa Claus.
Yes, he knows it sounds childish and funny but he still gives it a try.
He’ll never give up with Sunggyu.
v
“Christmas lights.”
“Check!!”
“Christmas tree.”
“Double check!”
“Empty boxes with grift wrappers.”
“Triple check! But Woo-hyung,” Sungyeol speaks before Woohyun could say the next thing in his list. There’s none, actually. Just some reminders about the CDs being in their proper places and new posters being taped on the walls.
“Yeah?”
“Where are we going to put these? I mean… there are no tables here or…stuff,” he asks, scratching the top of his head while looking around. The things he can only see inside the small store are CD shelves and posters taped on walls.
“See that space beside the door?”
“Yeah.”
“Figure it out.”
Sungyeol pouts. ‘Geez, where’s Myungsoo when I need him the most?’ He turns on his heels and makes his way towards the door, the knee-length Christmas tree in his arms. He puts it there and starts wrapping it up with the Christmas lights, not bothering himself if it looks fine or not. When he’s done, he puts the small boxes wrapped in colourful papers under it and smiles.
Wow.
Turning around, he sees Woohyun staring at the computer monitor with lifeless eyes.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, walking towards the counter and then standing beside Woohyun. Just like any other days, the music shop is empty. He remembers those days he’d argue with Myungsoo about people and their unoriginality.
‘No one buys CDs anymore because everything can be downloaded from the internet,’ Myungsoo said.
‘That is if you don’t like your things original, butt,’ Sungyeol contradicted.
‘There’s no need to call me butt!’ Myungsoo slapped him on an arm.
‘But you’re a butt.’
‘Then you’re the whole!’
“Geez, nobody needs to hear that!’ Sungjong shouted from outside.
God, he misses Myungsoo already. How dare he choose lunch with Sungjong over him??
Who cares when he’s beside his crush?
Shhh.
“Hey.” He nudges the older boy when he gets no answer. “You can talk to me when you have problems, you know? I’m not here only to stick to you like a leech.”
Woohyun snickers at him. “You won’t understand.”
Nobody would understand because they’re not Woohyun, because they’re not stupidly, pathetically and irrevocably (he says) in love with a mannequin.
Sungyeol rolls his eyes. “Oh well, not my lost.”
-
The Christmas jingles are annoying. In Woohyun’s ears they don’t sound lively and wonderful at all.
They sound like Sungyeol’s farts.
Walking down the neighbourhood has never been this boring for Woohyun, even if there are five different Christmas jingles booming from the speakers of different shops along the street. It’s boring even if there are colourful Christmas lights twinkling everywhere. It’s boring even if kids are playing in the street.
He feels so lifeless after not seeing Sunggyu twice a day.
He feels like crying like a baby.
To him, Sunggyu is his ray of sunshine, his rainbow after the rain, the beat to his heart, the merry to his Christmas, the music to his ears, the lyrics to his songs… the Woo to his Hyun. Erm.
He’s head over heels in love with him. He’s fallen completely in love with him. And it feels like he’s going to die in a few moments if he wouldn’t still get to see Sunggyu.
And it was like the greek gods have heard his crying heart, because his wish for tonight comes true.
There’s a figure standing a few feet away from him, looking at him with eyebrows furrowed and fast breaths.
Woohyun swallows when he realizes who the person in front of him is, and it’s like a trigger that sends his heartbeat increasing in an alarming rate.
Holy fart.
Standing in front of him is Sunggyu, right hand softly holding his left elbow, pain written across his beautiful face.
And shit, he’s naked.
To God be the glory and Santa Claus, longer life. And oh, Tooth Fairy, more teeth to collect.
Woohyun gapes at the man for a minute (or two, because he’s savouring the image of Sunggyu naked goddamn it I swear my brain was working just fine seconds ago.) He thinks he’s only hallucinating. Yes, he’s definitely just imagining things. He’s been through a lot today, he decides, and this is only the effects of sadness on him. Plus, he’s been perving on Sunggyu a lot lately. Shh!
But Sunggyu really is standing in front of him. Well, at least someone who looks like Sunggyu. So Woohyun decides this is all true and waits for his mind to process everything.
But it never works. His brain refuses to work properly.
A naked Sunggyu is not healthy for him. For his eyes, for his ‘you know’ and for his heart.
“What are you doing there? I know my body’s perfect, but would you please help me? It’s cold.”
“S-Sunggyu?” he finally manages to say a word. But his throat is still dry, his brain still unable to work coherently. “Why are you… naked… snow… cold… wow.”
The naked man falls ceremoniously (in Woohyun’s eyes) onto the ground and he starts coughing, to Woohyun’s horror. He hurries towards the man, kneels to his level and puts him in his arms (holy shiet! Holy shiet so, oh god, he’s burning. Hogod he’s sizzling hot!!!! The snow is melting under him!! Okay, exaggeration.)
“Are you okay?!” Woohyun’s breath hitches at a closer look at Sunggyu’s meeep.
Sunggyu frowns and says, “Do I look like I’m okay?” He sits down, hand still holding his left elbow. “Ugh! That bitch of a woman! How dare she throw me in a room just like that- ouch!” he cries when Woohyun accidentally touches his left elbow. “Don’t touch that! It’s broken!”
“Sorry, sorry,” Woohyun says, panicking. “I - what - what do I do - oh god.”
“It’s cold,” Sunggyu says, his voice quiet. He looks around, glad that there’s no one around except him and Woohyun. He really hates it when he’s naked in public, just like when he was being undressed by the woman earlier in the store. He wanted to kill her right then and there. A mannequin killing a human? Huh. He could have pulled off an unusual sight at that very moment, but thanks to whoever is above he wasn’t able to.
“Don’t you have any extra clothes there? I’m pretty sure you’d gladly lend me some,” he said.
Woohyun’s not sure but he thinks Sunggyu’s a bit arrogant.
“Uhm, I have here a shirt our branch manager gave me today for Christmas.” He shrugs after pulling out the shirt from his shoulder bag. “I don’t know if this would fit-”
“A shirt!” Sunggyu exclaims, as if it’s one disgusting thing. “How am I supposed to wear that with this broken elbow?” Sunggyu raises his voice a bit while giving Woohyun an are-you-an-idiot look. “I can’t raise my hand. It hurts.”
Woohyun isn’t sure now if he really is the Sunggyu he used to see standing behind the glass in Edition. Not that he doesn’t like this one, but gosh, isn’t he a bit annoying?
“Uhm, maybe you can wear my jacket,” Woohyun says, unsure this time. When Sunggyu doesn’t say anything against it, he starts taking off his jacket and then helps Sunggyu wear it, hearing a few ‘ows’ and ‘what the fucks’ in the process.
“Ugh! This is stupid!” Sunggyu complains as he stands up and looks down at his body. “How do I hide my dick?!”
Woohyun feels the tears crawling up his eyes.
“Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh~”
For Sunggyu who was a mannequin in his past life, he sure has a beautiful voice, Woohyun thinks.
Woohyun walks in silence as he leads the way to his house, hands in the pocket of his jeans, still feeling cold, and eyes glued to the ground covered with snow. Sunggyu is trailing behind, singing to some Christmas songs in a child’s voice, looking like he has no problem at all concerning Sunggyu Junior. They’ve both decided to hide it with the use of Woohyun’s bag. Sunggyu wears it and puts it in front, covering his dick.
It’s cool.
But the thought of it brushing against Sunggyu’s umph once in a while drives Woohyun crazy.
He’s never ever going to use it (he’s never ever going to wash it, that’s what he means to say.)
“Hey! A man’s butt naked!” one kid at the park shouts after seeing Sunggyu and his butt cheeks.
“Aaahhh!!!!!” a girl screams.
“MY INNOCENT EYES!!!”
“MAMA MAMA PLEASE CALL THE POLICE! THERE’S A RETARD WALKING IN THE SNOW WITH HIS BUTT NAKED!!!!!!!!!!1”
Mom faints.
No matter how funny the scene is, Woohyun can’t laugh. He can’t laugh because… just because.
“How dare that kid call me a retard,” Sunggyu mutters under his breath. It’s annoying him so he wants to annoy the kids too, plus the mom who fainted. He waves at the kids and then faces his back at them before wiggling his butt. “Catch Rudolf!!!” he kisses the tip of his finger and then presses it on the cheek of his butt. “I’m so hot! Can you heart that sound? Pisssss!”
Woohyun facepalms.
Maybe Sunggyu really is a retard.
Isn’t he embarrassed? Even a bit? No?
Goodness. Is this how his Christmas will be?
Woohyun bites hard on his lower lip that it almost bleeds as he stares at the foot of the door, not sure if he should let Sunggyu in or not. Just what is Boohyun going to say if he sees Sunggyu and his butt?
He’ll surely freak out and he’ll surely send Woohyun out of the house.
No!! He can’t be homeless this Christmas!
Woohyun sighs in frustration. He faces Sunggyu shortly after and says, “Is it okay if we enter the house using the back-”
“No,” Sunggyu answers before Woohyun could finish his sentence. “What are we, burglars?” he asks sardonically.
Woohyun palms his forehead before dragging the hand down his right cheek. He will never talk to Sunggyu anymore, he decides. Wait, he can’t do that. He can’t live without hearing Sunggyu’s voice anymore. Maybe he’ll just kick Sunggyu somewhere if he speaks like that again.
“Fine,” he says, facing the door again. He heaves a heavy sigh before finally inserting the key into the hole, turning the doorknob and then opening the door. The whole house is dark as usual and only the lights illuminating the living room are the ones from the Christmas tree and the TV.
“Woohyun! You’re finally home…” Boohyun’s excited voice goes down after seeing the man who Woohyun is so desperately hiding behind him. “Who’s he?” he asks, standing up and looking rather alarmed. Who wouldn’t, when your younger brother brought home with him someone who has no…pants?
“I’m Sunggyu,” the red-haired man says a little too quickly, stepping out of Woohyun’s back and then smiling at Boohyun.
Woohyun steps out quickly, standing in front of Sunggyu again. “He’s, uh, new! He’s new at Beats! Yes.” Woohyun’s voice trembles. “He just came from… Busan and uh… something unfortunate happened when he was in the bus on his way here.” Words are jumbled and some letters aren’t pronounced properly as Woohyun stutters. He hates lying to his brother, but this moment calls for it. “His pants were freaking cool so the robbers took them!”
“O…kay?” Uh-oh, Hyung doesn’t look satisfied with his baby brother’s answer.
“Uh, so, I’m going to bring him to my room and give him some clothes and maybe let him sleep there? I guess? Because, uh, the bed you used before is there,” he says nervously, pushing Sunggyu towards the foot of the staircase. “Bye, Hyung!” And then they run up the stairs and into Woohyun’s room.
Woohyun sighs after closing the door, leaning against it. Sunggyu is already wandering around, looking at the things inside the other boy’s room.
Shit, it’s messy. Just like Woohyun’s thoughts. There’s Sunggyu naked, what to eat, not taking a bath, some more naked Sunggyu, want to sleep, what to write for his wish, and more naked Sunggyu.
“So, uh, do you want to eat?” Woohyun asks awkwardly, scratching the nape of his neck. Sunggyu’s back is facing him and he can see his butt clearly.
Holy mother of cockroaches!
“Eat? Hmm,” Sunggyu faces him and then taps his tummy, “Hear that sound?” It’s the sound of an empty plastic bottle. Sunggyu then faces one of the bed, dismissing the topic.
Woohyun swallows nervously as he tried his best to look away. But there must be some kind of an invisible string connecting his eyes to Sunggyu’s butt because no matter how hard he tries to turn his head away, his eyes keep looking at that cute ass.
God, he’d tap that ass right now.
“Uh, aren’t you, uh,” how should I say this?
Sunggyu faces him with an eyebrow raised. “What?”
“Aren’t you embarrassed…. Of th…at?” he asks, pointing at Sunggyu Junior.
The red-head boy laughs loudly, as if it’s the most stupid thing he has ever heard in his entire life, which is technically just one day old. “Are you insulting me or what? Of course I am not. I became a mannequin for a reason.”
Woohyun’s jaw drops at that. He’s sure mannequins aren’t made to show off their… dicks. Mostly because they don’t have obvious dicks.
Whatever. At least his meep is covered.
Sunggyu faces the bed next to the windows. “If you want to eat, go eat. I’ll just go to sleep. Is this my bed?” he asks, patting the mattress.
“That’s mine actually, you can use my bro-”
“No, thanks, I prefer this one.” He sits on the edge of the bed carefully, pats his left elbow, saying, “Get well soon,” and then lies on the bed.
Woohyun sighs.
“Oh wait.” Sunggyu sits up abruptly.
Woohyun blinks at him. “What now?”
“I can’t sleep. I’m afraid I might turn back into a mannequin again when I wake up.” He goes out of the bed and then stands by the window. “I’ll just stand here and watch you sleep.”
“Uhh… that’s creepy, man.”
“I’m not going to rape you or anything. I’m too fab for you.”
Woohyun only closes his eyes. ‘Breathe in, breathe out.’
Three minutes before 11:11, with Woohyun’s back facing Sunggyu, he writes something in a 6x3 green paper, folds it into two and then puts it inside the drawer together with the one he wrote last night.
“Good night, Gyu,” he says in a teasing manner as he lies in his bed and smiles at the red-head boy. “Have a good night sleep.”
“Night and I hope you still have that baby of yours when you wake up,” Sunggyu deadpans.
“You said you’re not going to rape me!”
“Castrate and rape are two very different words.”
“Touch me and I’ll tear that arm off.”
“Oh, I’m so scared.”
Woohyun dreams of him and Sunggyu singing in front of Beats music store to attract customers.
Next
woogyu, hinted wooyeol, myungyeol, yadong
romance, fluff, failed!humor | 8,072 of 14,289 words
Two Christmas seasons have already passed, but Woohyun's wish remains the same: for the mannequin in his favorite clothing shop to come to life.
i
Tonight, the first snow falls down the sky, gradually covering the streets and houses with the cold, white substance. Woohyun isn’t excited at all realizing it’s really Christmas once again. Not when he’s passing by Edition and seeing his favorite mannequin on display, wearing a new set of clothes that fitted its slim body perfectly. Woohyun is amazed and terrified at the same time at how attractive he finds the inanimate object to be. How can he be so attracted to such thing? How can he fall so hard with something that won’t even answer back when he talks to?
“Good evening, Sir!” the salesman greets Woohyun with his usual big grin. Woohyun smiles back when he sees the same salesman he’s met two years ago.
“You’re still here? I thought you were transferred to another branch.” Woohyun looks up once more at the mannequin, not wanting to break his gaze from it, before walking towards the salesman.
He chuckles lively and says, “The branch manager wanted me to stay here so he did everything he could to keep me.”
Woohyun’s eyes crinkle as he smiles at the man. He reads his name in his mind, Dongwoo, and says, “That’s nice to hear. It only means you’re doing your job very well.”
Dongwoo nods optimistically. “You still like that mannequin, don’t you?” he asks so suddenly, catching Woohyun off-guard.
“Well… I think so,” he says reluctantly, not really wanting to say yes, I do and I will always do. Who the heck will want to say something like that? Unless he’s going to admit he’s what, someone who has a bizarre sexual obsession with inanimate objects? What’s that called again? He’s sure he’s looked it up on the internet sometime last week.
Never mind. He’ll remember it when he’s in the mood to remember it.
Ah, right. Objectophilia.
“Well, everybody loves that mannequin, says he’s one of a kind.” The salesman says fondly as he walks passed Woohyun and towards the glass. He looks up at the mannequin on display. In fact, he doesn’t look like a mannequin anymore. He’s close to being a human being - close to perfection. His skin colour is just perfect and his body is well sculpted, and his eyes and nose and lips are beautiful.
Woohyun stands beside the salesman and looks up at the human-like object as if it’s some sort of perfect scenery in a foreign country, the words please come to life, please come to life, ringing in his head.
Well, the mannequin is perfect. If he’s going to be a human being, damn he’d be more perfect than those artists who have undergone through some scientific transformation. He can’t say his perfection would be natural since he’s from, uhm, the species of mannequins (close to ‘plastic surgery’), but, well…
Woohyun shrugs the thought off mentally.
“He is,” Woohyun says with a small nod. “He really is one of a kind,” he says proudly, looking at the mannequin like a proud boyfriend look at his girlfriend.
“That’s why I named him Sunggyu!” Dongwoo chuckles, facing Woohyun. “Sunggyu fits him perfectly, right?” Dongwoo smiles at Woohyun expectantly.
Woohyun looks at Dongwoo and nods with a smile. “It does. It’s perfect. Sunggyu.” He looks up at the mannequin again and smiles, whispering, “Sunggyu.”
“Anyway,” Dongwoo decides to break the silence as soon as it resides between them. “We have a season’s promo! Do you want to check out our new arrivals? They’d look great on you!”
Sometimes, Woohyun thinks Dongwoo talks to him as if they’re close friends just so he can sell something for the day.
“Maybe next time,” Woohyun says reluctantly as he takes a step away from Dongwoo. “My brother is waiting for me at home. We’ll be going to Andong tonight to stay with our Auntie until the end of this week.”
“That’s nice,” Dongwoo comments while clapping cheerfully, as if he’s the one who’s going to have dinner at a relative’s place. “Have a safe trip! Oh, by the way, it’s nice meeting you. I’m Dongwoo!” he says, offering a hand to Woohyun for a shake.
Woohyun smiles at the salesman and takes his hand in his. “I’m Woohyun. And thanks.” With that said, Woohyun waves Dongwoo a goodbye and walks down the bright street.
Dongwoo smiles as he watches Woohyun slowly disappear into the crowd. With a sigh, he looks up at the mannequin that is coincidentally facing Woohyun’s way too, as if watching him walk down the street.
-
From: Yeol the cutie
You’re not coming tomorrow TT_TT
Sometimes, Woohyun thinks Sungyeol has a hidden desire for him. There are those times when he would catch the younger boy staring at him from the cashier with a smile, as if daydreaming (he wouldn’t dare think what those dreams are.) There are those times when Sungyeol would ask Woohyun to grab lunch with him, says he would treat him in exchange for a “friendly date” in the amusement park or a mall (‘friendly’ never sounds the way it’s supposed to be when it comes from Sungyeol’s mouth in front of Woohyun.) There are also those times when Sungyeol is tremendously touchy, suddenly hugging Woohyun from behind despite having people in the shop, or putting Woohyun into headlocks just to smell (which is actually to kiss) his hair.
Woohyun doesn’t hate Sungyeol for that. It’s not like he’s the only one who gets tortured by Sungyeol’s tight hugs and abusive nose (lips). There’s also Myungsoo who is equally touchy like Sungyeol, and Sungjong who is the youngest in the shop. Most of the time, Woohyun just enjoys the attention he gets from the tallest boy in the group because that’s just how Sungyeol is. He’s sweet and he loves skinship and he’s a sucker for tight hugs.
Woohyun doesn’t mind, just as long as Sungyeol’s hands don’t reach his crotch.
To: Yeol the cutie
Yup! Boo-hyung and I are going to visit auntie in Andong and stay there for a night. I’m coming back next day. I’m not going to run away from you, don’t worry. :P
Woohyun looks to his left to see his older brother sleeping comfortably in a bus seat. He wonders how he does that, sleep with his mouth open in a public transportation vehicle. He shrugs a few moments after and then wears his earphones to listen to music.
The music lulls him to sleep and he dreams of Sunggyu singing to him with an angelic voice.
-
“Woohyun, wake up,” he says in a sweet and wife-like manner.
“Sunggyu?” Woohyun blinks at the man in front, not sure if he is real or not. “What are you doing here?”
He smiles, and it shines brighter than the sun, blinding Woohyun’s eyes, and it’s painful. Painful because it’s too beautiful.
“Where are we?” he asks, sitting up.
“Andong.”
Woohyun’s eyes flung open and he finds himself in the bus, beside his surprised brother.
”Wow. For the first time you woke up with just one call,” Boohyun says.
The younger boy scratches his eyes before taking off his earphones and looking around. “Are we there yet?” the bus is still moving though, so he guesses not.
“Almost.” Boohyun shuffles in his seat, trying to find a comfortable spot again. He goes back to playing Subway Surfers in his phone.
“Since when were you awake?” Woohyun pulls out his own phone from the pocket of his jacket, pressing the unlock button in the process. His eyes widen slightly at the sight of the number of unread text messages he got.
There are 9. And 7 of them are from Sungyeol.
From: Yeol the cutie
goodnight woo-hyung :||||
From: Yeol the cutie
you slept on me T^T
From: Yeol the cutie
hey
From: Yeol the cutie
WOOHYUN HYUNG
From: Sungjong
Heard from Yeol-hyung that you’re gonna be absent tomo. Why must you leave me alone with these monsters :(( Have a safe trip and enjoy! :-)
From: Yeol the cutie
I’m so bored ugh
From: Yeol the cutie
Textmate, please D:
-gm
From: Soo
Hugging Sungyeol hyung gets tiring sometimes. He’s too skinny. Why did you leave? D: Hahaha! Kidding, please don’t tell Sungyeol hyung. <3 have a safe trip hyung and don’t forget my present!
From: Yeol the cutie
And what am I for you to run away from???? :|
Woohyun didn’t have the time to answer anymore because their bus finally arrives to their stop. From there they ride a taxi before finally arriving at the house of their Auntie, who fell asleep ten minutes ago while waiting for the two of them.
ii
“Woohyun, breakfast is served,” Sunggyu says in a sweet and wife-like manner.
“Sunggyu?” Woohyun blinks at the man in front, not sure if he is real or not. “What are you doing here?”
He smiles, and it shines brighter than the sun, blinding Woohyun’s eyes, and it’s painful. Painful because it’s too beautiful.
“What time is it?” he asks, sitting up.
“It’s time for-”
“BREAKFAST~” Auntie Hyejin sings on top of her lungs. “COME DOWN HERE BECAUSE AUNTIE MISSES YOU~”
Woohyun sits up abruptly, eyes wide at the sudden kick of surprise in his face. He looks to his right and sees his older brother looking at him with eyebrows crinkled.
“Are you okay?” he asks. He’s lying on his stomach on his own bed, reading a book, his feet swinging in air.
Woohyun looks away. God, this crush on a mannequin is not doing him any good.
The door flies open, and standing just outside their room is their Auntie Hyejin, dressed in her white sleeping gown. Woohyun wonders if she ever changes clothes.
“MY BABIES, BREAKFAST IS READY~” she sings on top of her lungs.
Boohyun and Woohyun look at each other. Here comes breakfast.
Breakfasts with Auntie Hyejin are always noisy, with greetings and catch up questions in between series of laughter. She asks the siblings how life in Seoul is, how Woohyun is doing at work and how Boohyun could bear being a teacher of 68 noisy kids (she hates kids). She laughs every after answer she gets even though nothing is funny and then she starts telling a story of her when she was still young even if it has no connection to the boys’ answers.
Toast breads and a mugs of hot chocolate last for almost an hour and a half because there’s more chuckling and nodding of heads than drinking and eating, and whenever their Auntie looks away to tell Sunhye to get her another mug of hot chocolate, the siblings would look at each other and talk with their eyes and minds.
‘Hyung, I want to get out of here!’
‘C’mon! This only happens once a year. Don’t you dare leave me here or I’ll kick you after breakfast!’
‘God!’
Breakfast ends in one and a half hour flat and Auntie Hyejin tells the two to get ready because they’re going to ‘mall the day away’ in an hour.
Oh. My. God.
Malls and Auntie Hyejin are not Woohyun’s favourite combination.
-
Auntie Hyejin still wears (thick and various colors of) makeup and colourful, teen-age clothes at the age of 64, but Woohyun tells his Hyung that she’s actually prettier without them. Boohyun agrees but tells Woohyun to shut the fuck up if he doesn’t want to go back to Seoul at the wrong time.
That’s actually Woohyun’s plan.
Car rides to malls or amusement parks with Auntie Hyejin are noisier especially when the driver, Kibum, is told to switch the radio on. Despite the loud music booming from the speakers, Auntie Hyejin still talks about her childhood (singing a few lines of the current song in between sentences.) Not that Woohyun and Boohyun didn’t enjoy listening to her cool stories (Auntie Hyejin’s childhood was awesome because it was spent on joining lots of singing contests and doing various sports), but they’ve heard those for God knows how many times already. Everytime they’re with her she talks about how she defeated twelve other contestants the first time she joined a singing contest, how she enjoyed skydiving at the age of nineteen, when joined the KPOP Star Hunt and fainted because one of the judges was looking at her seductively, and how different she was from other girls in her class because she was very sporty and didn’t enjoy putting too much makeup and wearing tank tops or ruler-length skirts (which somehow the siblings doubted because hello, look at her right now, screaming I AM SEXY AND RAINBOW COLORS ARE LUUURVE!!!)
Woohyun’s phone vibrates in the pocket of his jeans but he ignores it because Auntie Hyejin is talking about how gadgets are not yet labelled as necessities during her time.
God. Help.
The mall, of course, is full of people walking everywhere, holding paper bags with their left hand and their kids’ hands with the other.
“Have you both done Christmas shopping already?” Auntie Hyejin asks as the three of them make their way into the mall. She’s in the middle of the boys, left arm hooked with Woohyun’s and right with Boohyun’s.
Woohyun is busy looking at the mannequins in each of the boutiques they would pass by, eager to find one that would be equal to Sunggyu. What do you expect? Psh. Of course, there’s none.
“Yup,” Boohyun answers, smiling at Auntie Hyejin. “I bought clothes for my co-teachers and packed goodies for my sons and daughters,” he elaborates.
“That’s nice to hear,” Auntie Hyejin says sweetly, and then turns to Woohyun on her left. “How about my baby Woohyun?”
If Boohyun could only kick his brother or elbow him somewhere… he sighs and calls him calmly, “Woohyun.”
“What?” Woohyun asks after looking away from a headless mannequin. Oh god. A headless mannequin!
Boohyun gives Woohyun a what-the-fuck-are-you-doing look and then opens his mouth to answer Woohyun when Auntie Hyejin says, “You seem out of your mind. Is there something wrong?”
“Oh… I’m fine. I just remembered something,” Woohyun mutters, looking at his feet and shoving his hands into the huge pocket of his jacket.
They don’t press with the matter anymore, letting Woohyun’s mind wander off in wonderland. They spend the first half of the day walking around, entering boutiques and buying stuffs. Woohyun is quiet the whole time, only looking up at the mannequins he’d come across, wondering how Sunggyu’s doing.
Of course, he’s standing. That’s how boring his life is, Woohyun.
“Boys, where do you want to eat? Don’t think about the cheap ones. I’m allergic to them,” she jokes and then laughs ‘a-haw-haw-haw’, a hand slightly covering her lips.
“Woohyun, where do you want?” Boohyun is always like that, asking his younger brother first before making a decision.
“Anywhere,” Woohyun answer absent-mindedly.
He sighs before answering Auntie Hyejin, “Wherever you want, Auntie.”
Auntie Hyejin chooses an expensive seafood restaurant unfamiliar to both Boohyun and Woohyun, and as they take the seat to where they were led by a young red-haired waiter (Woohyun wants to kill him for reminding him of Sunggyu), Auntie Hyejin makes orders.
The restaurant is full and most are families, eating happily.
Auntie Hyejin looks at the siblings with a smile and says, “Jinwoo and I eat here everytime we come to this mall. Everything in here is Jinwoo’s favourite. From the tables, to that big chandelier, and of course, the food. He likes the crab the most.”
“It would really be great if he’s still here with us. He misses you so much.”
“We miss him too,” Boohyun says. “Too bad he left early.”
Auntie Hyejin merely nods.
“Excuse me. I need to use the comfort room,” Boohyun says, standing up and leaving.
“So, what’s the problem?” she asks, propping her elbows on the table and then resting her chin on top of her clasped hands. “Don’t tell me you just remembered something because I can definitely see that something’s bothering you.”
“Really, it’s nothing,” Woohyun insists.
The waiter comes back again for their utensils and glasses of water. Auntie Hyejin tells the waiter to also bring her tea.
“Woohyun, there’s a reason why I became Nam Hyejin,” she says calmly.
The boy sighs, thinking twice about telling her everything. When he sees her giving him the go-on-and-tell-me look, Woohyun sighs once more before asking, “How do wishes come true?”
She laughs for a moment, eyes disappearing into crescents. “Tell me your wish, first.” She wiggles her eyebrows at him.
“What? No!” He blushes. “Are you a fairy?”
“What if I am?” She laughs, but it’s short. And then she becomes serious, looking at Woohyun in the eyes. “Wishes don’t always come true, Woohyun,” she says in a serious tone. One that Woohyun finds rare (and surprisingly wonderful), because she’s always singing on top of her lungs like an opera singer and being sarcastic. “And I really don’t know what kind of wishes comes true and what kind of wishes doesn’t,” she adds. “I remember making lots of wishes when I was young. I always asked for it to rain of chocolates, toys, money and clothes. I asked for a private plane, but all I got was Kia. I asked for a mansion, but all I got was a two-storey house far from Seoul. I asked for a handsome rich guy who can sing and has a resort, but all I got was your Uncle Jinwoo. He’s not even cute! Ugh. He was the most frustrating man ever. He’s unpredictable.”
Woohyun laughs, but she doesn’t and it’s somewhat surprising.
“But you know Woohyun, they were all fine for me. I didn’t rain chocolates, toys, money and cool clothes, but it was okay. I didn’t get a private plane nor a mansion and a handsome rich guy who can sing and has a resort but it was okay. Why? Because what I got was not what my mind wants but what my heart needs.”
He listens to her closely.
“They were friends, your Mom and Dad, your Grandpa and Grandma. I got a nice two-storey house with a big backyard because I love plants and most of all, I met Jinwoo. He’s ugly, he’s really frustrating and annoying and he nags a lot, but he loves me more than I love skydiving. He loves me more than he loves looking at pictures of naked women,” - Woohyun laughs for a few seconds - “too bad he left early. That man. He said he couldn’t take me and my noisy mouth anymore.” She laughs.
Either because she’s happy visiting the memories or it’s just a cover to stop the tears that have gathered at the sides of her eyes, Woohyun doesn’t know. But he thinks he missed the sound of it. Being serious doesn’t suit Auntie Hyejin, but Woohyun thinks its fine to see her eyebrows wrinkled once in a while.
“And of course, they are all jokes.” She laughs louder this time.
Woohyun wants to throw the glass of water in her face. Yes, water + glass for a better result. Just when he thinks she’s being serious…
The waiter arrives with the tea she asked and laughs too when Auntie Hyejin asked him to laugh with her.
He leaves, rolling his eyes.
“No, I’m kidding,” she says, serious again.
“I’m never going to believe you and your stories again,” Woohyun deadpans. “I honestly can’t tell when you’re joking and when you’re not.”
She sighs, tired of all the laughing. “No, really, Woohyun,” she says as she stands up and sits beside Woohyun. “I once wished for something and it came true. It was a few years ago, twelve days before Christmas.”
The seriousness in her tone makes Woohyun listen. It’s mysterious and inviting.
“Do you want to know my secret?”
Woohyun crinkles his eyebrows, curious as to what his mischievous Auntie is up to this time. “Okay?” he answers, somewhat unsure.
“Do you believe in 11:11?” she asks, to which Woohyun shakes his head. “Ahh, that’s it. That’s the problem,” she says, pulling away to straighten up and cross her arms. She gives Woohyun a displeased look, shaking her head, her lips forming a line.
“It’s not… true?” The statement comes out as a question because Woohyun isn’t sure what to say to his Auntie.
“Don’t you make wishes when the clock strikes 11:11?”
“No.” Woohyun says quickly, as if proud of it. “Nobody believes in it. Well, I think girls do. Yeah…”
“It’s true!” His Auntie declares. “And everybody believes in it, Nam Woohyun!”
“What about it,” Woohyun deadpans. Arguing with her is pointless.
She pulls herself close to Woohyun, her lips almost touching the boy’s earlobe. She looks around, as if seeing magical things Woohyun can’t and whispers, “For twelve days, whenever the clock strikes 11:11, I made the same wish: for your Uncle Jinwoo to say yes to me.”
“You-” Woohyun pulls away abruptly, eyes wide.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, blinking. “It’s never wrong for girls to woo boys,” she says proudly.
Woohyun opens his mouth, closes it, opens it again, and then closes it when he realizes he has nothing coherent to say.
“Well?” she raises an eyebrow at Woohyun.
“How does that happen? I mean, the wishes, how do they… come true?”
“If I’m not wrong, I got my tooth extracted that time.” Auntie Hyejin shrugs and says, “Well, I guess the tooth fairy loves messing up with Santa Claus.” And a series of laughter follows.
Woohyun can’t believe he’s speaking with a talking baboon.
Oh well, he’s not a girl but he can give it a try.
“I can’t believe I got lost-” he stops in his tracks when he sees his seat occupied by a fat woman. Auntie Hyejin took his seat!
The waiter comes back with their orders. Finally!
Boohyun walks over to the seat Auntie Hyejin occupied minutes ago. “Uh, isn’t that my-”
“Just eat! And then lets watch a movie later,” she says happily, looking at Woohyun while wriggling her eyebrows.
Boohyun gives Woohyun a what-the-fuck-is-happening look, but the younger boy only shrugs and eats.
Watching movies with Auntie Hyejin is fun, mostly because she pays for the tickets, popcorns and soft drinks.
And saying goodbye to Auntie Hyejin has never been this hard for Woohyun because he’s learned a lot of new things about her and thinks he wants to spend some more time with her, talking about wishes and how they come true.
-
That night he really gives it a try.
The moment he arrives home, he takes a bath, talks with his older brother about their stay in Andong last night while eating dinner and then lights up the Christmas tree. It’s beautiful, as beautiful as the person whose name is in his one and only wish. He looks up at the clock, an hour left before 11 in the evening, and waits patiently.
When the clock finally strikes 11:11, he writes his wish excitedly in a 6x3 red paper, folds it in half and then hangs it on one of the stems of the Christmas tree.
iii
He passes by Edition that morning on his way to the mall and sees Sunggyu standing at the same place. He has a new set of clothes which Woohyun finds really cool.
He decides he’s going to buy the complete set soon.
“Woohyun hyung!!!” Sungyeol jumps on Woohyun the moment he arrives at the music store, enveloping him in a tight hug and showering him with kisses. “I missed you! I missed you!”
“Ew, gay,” Sungjong says as he puts back the CDs the kids decided to put in different places yesterday.
“You’re just jealous ‘cause you’re not the one I’m hugging,” Sungyeol says, still clinging to Woohyun as the latter walks to the cashier.
“Hi, Hyung,” Myungsoo greets him with a charming smile. “How was your trip?”
“Cool,” Woohyun says simply. “What are you doing here? You should be outside calling buyers.”
Myungsoo pouts. “I’m not here just to attract buyers with my looks.”
“Just kidding.” Woohyun messes his hair.
“Myung’s mine!” Sungyeol says, slapping Woohyun’s hand away.
Woohyun rolls his eyes at the taller boy and says, “Just get laid, Sungyeol.”
“Then let’s go to the storage room and have sex!”
Woohyun chokes on air.
“We didn’t need to hear that!” Sungjong shouts from behind a shelf.
Myungsoo slaps Sungyeol at the back of the head. “You and your dirty mouth- aish!”
“Butt!” Sungyeol slaps Myungsoo on an arm.
Their first customer comes, wearing the shirt Sunggyu was wearing earlier. Or at least, that’s what Woohyun remembers.
-
Woohyun is singing one of his compositions when he passes by Edition that night. His eyes automatically find Sunggyu, standing in the same position as the days before, wearing the same clothes, and still looking handsome.
‘One day,’ Woohyun thinks, ‘we’ll be eating outside like couples do. We’ll be throwing snow balls at each other like kids in the park do during Christmas. We have lots of memories to make, Gyu. Please turn into human as soon as possible.’
He sees Dongwoo standing by the entrance of the store, waving at him with a big smile.
He waves back.
-
Woohyun looks at the clock saying 11:11 with so much faith and hope before writing his wish in a 6x3 orange paper. He folds it in half carefully and then hangs it up two stems next to the first one on the Christmas tree.
iv
That morning, Woohyun sees a girl undressing Sunggyu and his heart screams in jealousy. But then he gets excited, wondering what clothes Sunggyu’s going to wear today.
He still prefers the one Sunggyu wore yesterday. But then again, in Woohyun’s eyes, Sunggyu will always look handsome whatever clothes he wears.
Woohyun walks to the mall with a smile that morning.
-
What Woohyun hates about working in a music store is those days when buyers are lesser than his pimples.
You see, Woohyun has no pimples. You’ll only see small ones if you’ll look closely at his face, but there really are none. His skin is flawless -as flawless as the skin of the inanimate object in Edition that is his crush, as we all know.
Woohyun stands beside Sungyeol who just took his turn in the cashier. Sungjong and Myungsoo left a few minutes ago to have lunch and it’s quiet in the store, despite the loud Christmas jingle being played in the speakers. It’s boring, really, and a lot of scenes like skinning Sungyeol alive or strangling Sungyeol to death flashes in Woohyun’s eyes.
He sits in a corner, knees crossed, and fishes out his phone from his pocket. Words begin to pop out of his mind, slowly forming into sentences, and then forming into phrases. That’s when he starts typing on his phone, eventually losing his mind into writing another song, unaware of the pair of eyes watching him adoringly.
Click.
And his picture makes its way to Sungyeol’s secret instagram account, with the caption: All I want for Christmas is Woo
.
.
.
.
.
Hyun.
-
Woohyun’s eyes almost pop out of their sockets when he sees a headless mannequin standing behind the glass instead of Sunggyu.
“That woman!” he says, heart beating in rage as he stands in front of the glass, looking up at the new mannequin with so much anger in his eyes. It’s ugly! It’s disgusting! How dare she replace Sunggyu with this trash! This is horrible!
“Woohyun!” Dongwoo calls as he comes out of the shop hurriedly, surprised to see Woohyun shooting daggers at the headless mannequin.
“Dongwoo! Where’s Sunggyu?!” he asks, eyes already glistening with tears.
Dongwoo swallows as he looks away. “I… I don’t know, Woohyun. I’m sorry.”
“That girl! Where is she? I saw her taking Sunggyu’s clothes off this morning! She kidnapped him!”
There’s so much anger in Woohyun’s voice but all Dongwoo hears is sadness. Emptiness. And then he fears it. He fears that Woohyun has grown so attached to the mannequin that he considers it as a human being already.
“She left,” he says softly. “But I have no idea what she did to Sunggyu or where she placed it.”
‘IT? SUNGGYU IS NOT AN IT YOU DICKLESS HUMAN BEING!’
“You don’t understand, Dongwoo!” Woohyun grabs Dongwoo by the collars of his uniform, fists trembling in a mixture of anger and sadness. “I need to find Sunggyu. I need to know if he’s okay! I need to see him!” -because he’s the only one who keeps me sane!
Dongwoo can only look at Woohyun with apologetic eyes.
“What’s happening here?”
Dongwoo and Woohyun look at the entrance of the shop where a man at their age stands, clad in a suit that screams his importance.
Oh boy isn’t he so sexy.
“Manager Lee!” Dongwoo pulls away from Woohyun immediately and then bows to the handsome man. “It’s nothing. We’re just talking about… our reunion! Yes, reunion. He didn’t want to come without me, so… yeah,” he says as he looks at Manager Lee again.
Manager Lee nods his head, but he doesn’t look satisfied with his employee’s answer. Then he walks towards the two, eyes somewhat scrutinizing Woohyun. With his deep voice he says, “If you have any problems concerning my employee I’m only a phone call away.” From his wallet, he pulls out his calling card and gives it to Woohyun before heading to the black Sedan that is parked just in front of the shop. “I’m off to a meeting with the other branch managers. I’m leaving everything here under your care, Dongwoo,” he says before entering the car and leaving.
“Yes, sir!” Dongwoo says, all smiles, and when the car is gone, Dongwoo sighs in relief.
Woohyun faces Dongwoo and wiggles his eyebrows. “So he’s the manager who didn’t want you to be transferred to another branch, huh? He’s handsome.”
Dongwoo blushes. “I-” he doesn’t get to speak anymore when Woohyun suddenly grabs him by the collars of his shirt and shouts, “But where’s my Sunggyu!!!!!”
The salesman sighs as he carefully pushes Woohyun away. He sighs before saying, “Woohyun, wake up.”
Those three words turn into bullets as they enter Woohyun’s ears, wounding his brains before making their way down his heart, making it stop.
“What?”
“He’s just a mannequin, Woohyun. He’ll never turn into a human being no matter how much you wish for him to. Wake up. It’s time to wake up.”
Tears well up in Woohyun’s eyes and his hands form into fists, trembling in anger. Dongwoo says it so straightforwardly like it’s the easiest thing to do in the world. Well, bullshit, because it’s fucking annoying and it fucking hurts because it’s not as easy as counting 123.
Not when Woohyun thinks he’s completely fallen in love with Sunggyu already.
Woohyun tries his best to swallow the lump that has formed in his throat together with the sickening words that are at the tip of his tongue but he fails. The words are stuck there, waiting to attack Dongwoo like bullets. Wanting to hurt Dongwoo like the words he just said to Woohyun.
“Woohyun, I’m sorry about this.”
It takes Woohyun a great deal of control not to curse Dongwoo.
“It’s just, I don’t know. It hurts me whenever I’d see you looking at Sunggyu with loving eyes.”
“You even gave him a name,” Woohyun says through gritted teeth. Dongwoo did, and it only gave Woohyun so much hope, left him a lot of unspoken promises, made him believe.
“I know. And I was wrong to have done that.”
“Well, you’re an asshole!”
Dongwoo’s right hand balls into a fist. He didn’t see that coming. “Yes, I am, but I never imagined Sunggyu as someone I can talk to! I never imagined him as someone I can hug during cold nights and I never ever imagined myself falling in love with him,” Dongwoo says, watching the way Woohyun’s face contort in anger.
Well, that’s bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bull. Shit.
“You just don’t understand, you big shit!” Woohyun yells at him with so much anger before running away.
Dongwoo watches as Woohyun’s figure disappears, and when he’s completely out of sight, Dongwoo’s lips curve into a small smile.
Santa Claus grants the wishes of those who have been good this year and Jesus grants the wishes of those he thinks are deserving.
Dongwoo thinks Woohyun is more than just a good boy who deserves a mannequin turned to human.
-
Boohyun looks up from the TV upon hearing the door close behind him. He sees Woohyun sniffling and wiping his eyes with the back of his hands.
“Woohyun, are you crying? What happened?” he asks, worried. Woohyun never cries, unless something’s really wrong.
He stands up, ready to hug his baby brother when Woohyun says, “It’s nothing, Hyung. Something just got into my eye.” He smiles small at Boohyun despite the teary eyes and red nose before going upstairs and locking himself in his room.
Boohyun looks at the staircase, wondering why Woohyun has been acting weird lately.
-
Woohyun still makes a wish that night, writing it in a yellow 2x1 paper. But he doesn’t hang it on the stem of the Christmas tree. Instead, he puts it under his pillow, remembering what Auntie Hyejin said about the tooth fairy messing up with Santa Claus.
Yes, he knows it sounds childish and funny but he still gives it a try.
He’ll never give up with Sunggyu.
v
“Christmas lights.”
“Check!!”
“Christmas tree.”
“Double check!”
“Empty boxes with grift wrappers.”
“Triple check! But Woo-hyung,” Sungyeol speaks before Woohyun could say the next thing in his list. There’s none, actually. Just some reminders about the CDs being in their proper places and new posters being taped on the walls.
“Yeah?”
“Where are we going to put these? I mean… there are no tables here or…stuff,” he asks, scratching the top of his head while looking around. The things he can only see inside the small store are CD shelves and posters taped on walls.
“See that space beside the door?”
“Yeah.”
“Figure it out.”
Sungyeol pouts. ‘Geez, where’s Myungsoo when I need him the most?’ He turns on his heels and makes his way towards the door, the knee-length Christmas tree in his arms. He puts it there and starts wrapping it up with the Christmas lights, not bothering himself if it looks fine or not. When he’s done, he puts the small boxes wrapped in colourful papers under it and smiles.
Wow.
Turning around, he sees Woohyun staring at the computer monitor with lifeless eyes.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, walking towards the counter and then standing beside Woohyun. Just like any other days, the music shop is empty. He remembers those days he’d argue with Myungsoo about people and their unoriginality.
‘No one buys CDs anymore because everything can be downloaded from the internet,’ Myungsoo said.
‘That is if you don’t like your things original, butt,’ Sungyeol contradicted.
‘There’s no need to call me butt!’ Myungsoo slapped him on an arm.
‘But you’re a butt.’
‘Then you’re the whole!’
“Geez, nobody needs to hear that!’ Sungjong shouted from outside.
God, he misses Myungsoo already. How dare he choose lunch with Sungjong over him??
Who cares when he’s beside his crush?
Shhh.
“Hey.” He nudges the older boy when he gets no answer. “You can talk to me when you have problems, you know? I’m not here only to stick to you like a leech.”
Woohyun snickers at him. “You won’t understand.”
Nobody would understand because they’re not Woohyun, because they’re not stupidly, pathetically and irrevocably (he says) in love with a mannequin.
Sungyeol rolls his eyes. “Oh well, not my lost.”
-
The Christmas jingles are annoying. In Woohyun’s ears they don’t sound lively and wonderful at all.
They sound like Sungyeol’s farts.
Walking down the neighbourhood has never been this boring for Woohyun, even if there are five different Christmas jingles booming from the speakers of different shops along the street. It’s boring even if there are colourful Christmas lights twinkling everywhere. It’s boring even if kids are playing in the street.
He feels so lifeless after not seeing Sunggyu twice a day.
He feels like crying like a baby.
To him, Sunggyu is his ray of sunshine, his rainbow after the rain, the beat to his heart, the merry to his Christmas, the music to his ears, the lyrics to his songs… the Woo to his Hyun. Erm.
He’s head over heels in love with him. He’s fallen completely in love with him. And it feels like he’s going to die in a few moments if he wouldn’t still get to see Sunggyu.
And it was like the greek gods have heard his crying heart, because his wish for tonight comes true.
There’s a figure standing a few feet away from him, looking at him with eyebrows furrowed and fast breaths.
Woohyun swallows when he realizes who the person in front of him is, and it’s like a trigger that sends his heartbeat increasing in an alarming rate.
Holy fart.
Standing in front of him is Sunggyu, right hand softly holding his left elbow, pain written across his beautiful face.
And shit, he’s naked.
To God be the glory and Santa Claus, longer life. And oh, Tooth Fairy, more teeth to collect.
Woohyun gapes at the man for a minute (or two, because he’s savouring the image of Sunggyu naked goddamn it I swear my brain was working just fine seconds ago.) He thinks he’s only hallucinating. Yes, he’s definitely just imagining things. He’s been through a lot today, he decides, and this is only the effects of sadness on him. Plus, he’s been perving on Sunggyu a lot lately. Shh!
But Sunggyu really is standing in front of him. Well, at least someone who looks like Sunggyu. So Woohyun decides this is all true and waits for his mind to process everything.
But it never works. His brain refuses to work properly.
A naked Sunggyu is not healthy for him. For his eyes, for his ‘you know’ and for his heart.
“What are you doing there? I know my body’s perfect, but would you please help me? It’s cold.”
“S-Sunggyu?” he finally manages to say a word. But his throat is still dry, his brain still unable to work coherently. “Why are you… naked… snow… cold… wow.”
The naked man falls ceremoniously (in Woohyun’s eyes) onto the ground and he starts coughing, to Woohyun’s horror. He hurries towards the man, kneels to his level and puts him in his arms (holy shiet! Holy shiet so, oh god, he’s burning. Hogod he’s sizzling hot!!!! The snow is melting under him!! Okay, exaggeration.)
“Are you okay?!” Woohyun’s breath hitches at a closer look at Sunggyu’s meeep.
Sunggyu frowns and says, “Do I look like I’m okay?” He sits down, hand still holding his left elbow. “Ugh! That bitch of a woman! How dare she throw me in a room just like that- ouch!” he cries when Woohyun accidentally touches his left elbow. “Don’t touch that! It’s broken!”
“Sorry, sorry,” Woohyun says, panicking. “I - what - what do I do - oh god.”
“It’s cold,” Sunggyu says, his voice quiet. He looks around, glad that there’s no one around except him and Woohyun. He really hates it when he’s naked in public, just like when he was being undressed by the woman earlier in the store. He wanted to kill her right then and there. A mannequin killing a human? Huh. He could have pulled off an unusual sight at that very moment, but thanks to whoever is above he wasn’t able to.
“Don’t you have any extra clothes there? I’m pretty sure you’d gladly lend me some,” he said.
Woohyun’s not sure but he thinks Sunggyu’s a bit arrogant.
“Uhm, I have here a shirt our branch manager gave me today for Christmas.” He shrugs after pulling out the shirt from his shoulder bag. “I don’t know if this would fit-”
“A shirt!” Sunggyu exclaims, as if it’s one disgusting thing. “How am I supposed to wear that with this broken elbow?” Sunggyu raises his voice a bit while giving Woohyun an are-you-an-idiot look. “I can’t raise my hand. It hurts.”
Woohyun isn’t sure now if he really is the Sunggyu he used to see standing behind the glass in Edition. Not that he doesn’t like this one, but gosh, isn’t he a bit annoying?
“Uhm, maybe you can wear my jacket,” Woohyun says, unsure this time. When Sunggyu doesn’t say anything against it, he starts taking off his jacket and then helps Sunggyu wear it, hearing a few ‘ows’ and ‘what the fucks’ in the process.
“Ugh! This is stupid!” Sunggyu complains as he stands up and looks down at his body. “How do I hide my dick?!”
Woohyun feels the tears crawling up his eyes.
“Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh~”
For Sunggyu who was a mannequin in his past life, he sure has a beautiful voice, Woohyun thinks.
Woohyun walks in silence as he leads the way to his house, hands in the pocket of his jeans, still feeling cold, and eyes glued to the ground covered with snow. Sunggyu is trailing behind, singing to some Christmas songs in a child’s voice, looking like he has no problem at all concerning Sunggyu Junior. They’ve both decided to hide it with the use of Woohyun’s bag. Sunggyu wears it and puts it in front, covering his dick.
It’s cool.
But the thought of it brushing against Sunggyu’s umph once in a while drives Woohyun crazy.
He’s never ever going to use it (he’s never ever going to wash it, that’s what he means to say.)
“Hey! A man’s butt naked!” one kid at the park shouts after seeing Sunggyu and his butt cheeks.
“Aaahhh!!!!!” a girl screams.
“MY INNOCENT EYES!!!”
“MAMA MAMA PLEASE CALL THE POLICE! THERE’S A RETARD WALKING IN THE SNOW WITH HIS BUTT NAKED!!!!!!!!!!1”
Mom faints.
No matter how funny the scene is, Woohyun can’t laugh. He can’t laugh because… just because.
“How dare that kid call me a retard,” Sunggyu mutters under his breath. It’s annoying him so he wants to annoy the kids too, plus the mom who fainted. He waves at the kids and then faces his back at them before wiggling his butt. “Catch Rudolf!!!” he kisses the tip of his finger and then presses it on the cheek of his butt. “I’m so hot! Can you heart that sound? Pisssss!”
Woohyun facepalms.
Maybe Sunggyu really is a retard.
Isn’t he embarrassed? Even a bit? No?
Goodness. Is this how his Christmas will be?
Woohyun bites hard on his lower lip that it almost bleeds as he stares at the foot of the door, not sure if he should let Sunggyu in or not. Just what is Boohyun going to say if he sees Sunggyu and his butt?
He’ll surely freak out and he’ll surely send Woohyun out of the house.
No!! He can’t be homeless this Christmas!
Woohyun sighs in frustration. He faces Sunggyu shortly after and says, “Is it okay if we enter the house using the back-”
“No,” Sunggyu answers before Woohyun could finish his sentence. “What are we, burglars?” he asks sardonically.
Woohyun palms his forehead before dragging the hand down his right cheek. He will never talk to Sunggyu anymore, he decides. Wait, he can’t do that. He can’t live without hearing Sunggyu’s voice anymore. Maybe he’ll just kick Sunggyu somewhere if he speaks like that again.
“Fine,” he says, facing the door again. He heaves a heavy sigh before finally inserting the key into the hole, turning the doorknob and then opening the door. The whole house is dark as usual and only the lights illuminating the living room are the ones from the Christmas tree and the TV.
“Woohyun! You’re finally home…” Boohyun’s excited voice goes down after seeing the man who Woohyun is so desperately hiding behind him. “Who’s he?” he asks, standing up and looking rather alarmed. Who wouldn’t, when your younger brother brought home with him someone who has no…pants?
“I’m Sunggyu,” the red-haired man says a little too quickly, stepping out of Woohyun’s back and then smiling at Boohyun.
Woohyun steps out quickly, standing in front of Sunggyu again. “He’s, uh, new! He’s new at Beats! Yes.” Woohyun’s voice trembles. “He just came from… Busan and uh… something unfortunate happened when he was in the bus on his way here.” Words are jumbled and some letters aren’t pronounced properly as Woohyun stutters. He hates lying to his brother, but this moment calls for it. “His pants were freaking cool so the robbers took them!”
“O…kay?” Uh-oh, Hyung doesn’t look satisfied with his baby brother’s answer.
“Uh, so, I’m going to bring him to my room and give him some clothes and maybe let him sleep there? I guess? Because, uh, the bed you used before is there,” he says nervously, pushing Sunggyu towards the foot of the staircase. “Bye, Hyung!” And then they run up the stairs and into Woohyun’s room.
Woohyun sighs after closing the door, leaning against it. Sunggyu is already wandering around, looking at the things inside the other boy’s room.
Shit, it’s messy. Just like Woohyun’s thoughts. There’s Sunggyu naked, what to eat, not taking a bath, some more naked Sunggyu, want to sleep, what to write for his wish, and more naked Sunggyu.
“So, uh, do you want to eat?” Woohyun asks awkwardly, scratching the nape of his neck. Sunggyu’s back is facing him and he can see his butt clearly.
Holy mother of cockroaches!
“Eat? Hmm,” Sunggyu faces him and then taps his tummy, “Hear that sound?” It’s the sound of an empty plastic bottle. Sunggyu then faces one of the bed, dismissing the topic.
Woohyun swallows nervously as he tried his best to look away. But there must be some kind of an invisible string connecting his eyes to Sunggyu’s butt because no matter how hard he tries to turn his head away, his eyes keep looking at that cute ass.
God, he’d tap that ass right now.
“Uh, aren’t you, uh,” how should I say this?
Sunggyu faces him with an eyebrow raised. “What?”
“Aren’t you embarrassed…. Of th…at?” he asks, pointing at Sunggyu Junior.
The red-head boy laughs loudly, as if it’s the most stupid thing he has ever heard in his entire life, which is technically just one day old. “Are you insulting me or what? Of course I am not. I became a mannequin for a reason.”
Woohyun’s jaw drops at that. He’s sure mannequins aren’t made to show off their… dicks. Mostly because they don’t have obvious dicks.
Whatever. At least his meep is covered.
Sunggyu faces the bed next to the windows. “If you want to eat, go eat. I’ll just go to sleep. Is this my bed?” he asks, patting the mattress.
“That’s mine actually, you can use my bro-”
“No, thanks, I prefer this one.” He sits on the edge of the bed carefully, pats his left elbow, saying, “Get well soon,” and then lies on the bed.
Woohyun sighs.
“Oh wait.” Sunggyu sits up abruptly.
Woohyun blinks at him. “What now?”
“I can’t sleep. I’m afraid I might turn back into a mannequin again when I wake up.” He goes out of the bed and then stands by the window. “I’ll just stand here and watch you sleep.”
“Uhh… that’s creepy, man.”
“I’m not going to rape you or anything. I’m too fab for you.”
Woohyun only closes his eyes. ‘Breathe in, breathe out.’
Three minutes before 11:11, with Woohyun’s back facing Sunggyu, he writes something in a 6x3 green paper, folds it into two and then puts it inside the drawer together with the one he wrote last night.
“Good night, Gyu,” he says in a teasing manner as he lies in his bed and smiles at the red-head boy. “Have a good night sleep.”
“Night and I hope you still have that baby of yours when you wake up,” Sunggyu deadpans.
“You said you’re not going to rape me!”
“Castrate and rape are two very different words.”
“Touch me and I’ll tear that arm off.”
“Oh, I’m so scared.”
Woohyun dreams of him and Sunggyu singing in front of Beats music store to attract customers.
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