two weeks to sandalwood; sunggyu/woohyun; pg-13
~2,800 | au
two weeks to sandalwood
Putting off math homework is not proper and neither is delaying his study schedule by - twenty minutes and counting. Backpack three stories down, lost in the midst of bushes, Sunggyu is supporting a limping student up the stairs, lolling head staining his uniform dirty red.
A female student went eek! as he turns the corner, frozen to the floor, face bloodless. She had good reason to be afraid, and even as Sunggyu tries to flash his warm council president smile, asking if she would open the infirmary’s doors for them, she doesn’t budge for a second.
Leaning against Sunggyu, sweaty and breathless (probably glaring at the poor girl, now fumbling with the door), is Geongduk’s most notorious senior. The blackest sheep of them all, the unknown source of both Sunggyu’s endless paperwork and headache: Nam Woohyun.
Unknown because he’s never seen the boy before. Endless paperwork because it takes a miracle to not find this name in the reports, shoved daily onto his desk.
Said sheep is glowering at him now, lip cut and skin broken in places. He is attractive, in a rebel sort of way, the type that brings metal rods to school and gets into fights - which he clearly has.
‘Thanks,’ Sunggyu says to the girl, who promptly scurries out. There are sounds of springs creaking, then a noisy crunching of metal and a soft hiss. ‘Sit down. You can’t even walk.’
‘I don’t wanna stay here,’ the boy’s voice is hoarse; he clears his throat, glaring at Sunggyu.
‘You’re injured.’
Woohyun is seated on the bed and Sunggyu on the rolling chair. The matron is out. The room smells of iodine and antiseptics, and when he moves closer the boy tenses.
‘Yeah but I didn’t ask you to fucking bring me here. Just -’
‘I wouldn’t have to if you didn’t fight in school dumbass,’ Sunggyu snaps and they are looking at each other angry. ‘I have homework and tests to study for, but there you are bleeding on the floor. Like I could leave you there.’
‘Council president, huh?’ the boy says it like a statement, glancing away. ‘Straight As, good track record, and all that shit. Real uptight asshole, aren’t you?’
‘Shut up and look at me,’ Sunggyu is on edge and prickling, cleaning Woohyun’s face with a cotton pad, feeling him grimacing. ‘Don’t move.’
It doesn’t take long to disinfect the cuts on his face and neck, plastering them down - all the while through thickening air, expanding with words left unspoken. Woohyun is stiff as Sunggyu patched him up; he smells like blood and granite and sandalwood and something pleasantly sweet (intoxicating) -
‘Your hand,’ Sunggyu’s voice being a little too loud and mind slightly flustered. Perturbed, Woohyun held out warily.
Two fingers are swollen, and badly, if Woohyun’s gah is any indication as Sunggyu bandages them.
It’s only when he’s done and everything is kept in the first-aid kit again, properly and in the correct compartments, that Sunggyu realizes the infirmary is deafeningly quiet. Voices shouting from the soccer field crawled softly, along with bus exhaust and the rattling pipes inside the walls.
The sound of water glug glug glug fills the room and Sunggyu offers the boy a cup of water, remembering his parched throat. Woohyun looks at it cautiously, then at Sunggyu, before taking it gingerly.
‘Not gonna shit on me?’
In that moment, the strings of their lives tangle.
‘I’ll think about it.’
-
On paper, another report - a broken bicycle rack. Reason: fighting.
And yes, Nam Woohyun is involved.
‘He’s been suspended before,’ Sungyeol, the treasurer, says across Sunggyu. ‘For setting the principal’s yard on fire.’
Sunggyu just stares at the report, seeing it but not at the same time, vision tilting past consciousness. The council room is cramped with a few desks and more chairs than they need. It is Antarctica boxed in a room, the air-conditioning being hyper-powered, while documents lay in haphazard stacks - on chairs, tables, the floor. Most of them being discipline records.
Myungsoo, the vice-president, snorts.
‘Why are you laughing?’ Sunggyu asks, ignoring Sungjong (the secretary) who just entered the room, hip-thrusting to Hyuna’s Change in the doorway.
‘He’s pretty cool,’ Myungsoo says and Dongwoo (welfare) glances up, beaming and nodding. They hi-five.
‘No,’ Sunggyu declares, and they all look at him. His voice is increasingly hysterical, disbelieving. ‘No he is not cool. No. Look at all of this paperwork, and - and who does them? Me!’
‘He’s nice to me -’ Dongwoo begins.
‘No, Dongwoo. No.’
‘He’s lazy, but smart,’ Sungyeol chips in and Sunggyu gives him a betrayed look.
‘Athletic,’ Myungsoo adds, like it’s a thoughtful piece of information.
‘Now -’
‘He gave me an egg sushi once when I fell down,’ Dongwoo contributes timidly.
‘You fell down?’
‘In pre-school.’
Sunggyu’s incredibly exasperated, frustrated, tortured outburst of no-Nam-Woohyun-is-not-a-nice-guy-he-gives-me-work is interrupted at that moment, because Sungjong climbs onto the table with a sassy as hell expression.
The secretary begins hip-thrusting.
‘Uh oh uh oh uh oh.’
Sunggyu gives up trying.
-
The bell is going to ring in five minutes. Which means Sunggyu has five minutes to wrestle his gym clothes out of his tiny backpack, pulverize the washing machine’s door in and jam a dollar before rushing down the hallway for physics.
As always, it does not go according to plan. A minute in and his sweaty shirt gets caught on the bag’s zipper - beginning a tug-of-war of the century.
A humid musk stifles anyone in the school’s laundry room; odors of detergent, sweat, and mud rancid in the air. So it is only natural when Sunggyu, already aggravated by the stench, decides to grab the end of the shirt and swing it (and the bag) in a violent arc.
Good news is, the bag comes off. Bad news - it flies straight to the door, right into someone. Sunggyu takes a minute to register a frown on sharp features - Nam Woohyun - before thinking oh shit, as the boy chucks his bag onto a tumbling machine, appearing slightly murderous.
‘What are you doing here?’ Sunggyu tries to sound authoritative, hating the jittering in his stomach. Woohyun had these eyes, like burning black and he’s - oh god - crossing the room.
‘You’re late for class, president,’ deep baritone sends shivers down Sunggyu’s spine, and it’s completely illogical how - how confused Sunggyu feels about the entire situation. Like it’s, it’s almost hot.
‘I didn’t mean to throw the bag,’ Sunggyu’s heel hits the wall, a loud empty thud, and they are a foot apart; he can hear Woohyun’s breathing. ‘But knowing how you have this penchant for violence, you’re simply going to -’
Woohyun’s frown deepens and he tsks irritably loud, stopping Sunggyu’s words. The boy steps ridiculously close, their hips nearly touching and breaths mingling. Sunggyu feels his body heat, smells that intoxicating sandalwood of Woohyun and if he so much as moves -
Both his wrists are slammed against the wall, pinned by a hand, above his head. A result of stupidly trying to shove the boy off. Sunggyu’s throat feels like a desert, heart rate unhealthily high - he swears he’s going to get a stroke or some shit.
‘Why are you always so noisy?’ Woohyun murmurs as his fingers start picking apart Sunggyu’s buttons. Sunggyu stiffens.
‘T-this is highly inappropriate,’ half his shirt is done. ‘I won’t tolerate any kind of violation,’ Right here, Sunggyu stops altogether and swallows; because Woohyun pulls the rest of his uniform out. ‘And I will not hesitate to -’
‘Shut the fuck up,’ the boy says quietly, irritated. Sunggyu lets him pull his shirt off, deciding on compliance for now. There’ll be a chance to bolt for it, or to ram his head against the washing machine or something.
Woohyun steps away with his shirt in hand, sauntering off to another machine and chucking it in. He smashes the door close with a foot, and Sunggyu wonders what the hell does Woohyun think he has hands for, keeping it in his pockets all the time.
If the machines spoil it’s precisely because idiots like him kick it like that.
‘I don’t understand,’ it’s chilly without a shirt, back still against the bumpy wall. A coin clinks into the machine and beep beep it starts rumbling.
‘You’re late for class.’
‘Yeah but I can’t go for fucking class like this.’
Woohyun spares him a glance, like he doesn’t give a shit about anything, and it makes Sunggyu more annoyed than confused. The boy begins unbuttoning, which doesn’t take long because the idiot doesn’t tuck his shirt in, taking it off and simultaneously causing blood to rush up to Sunggyu’s head, making it burning hot.
A crumpled ball of white lands flat on Sunggyu’s face, and he stutters when he rips it down indignantly, glaring at a topless Woohyun. Who has a very good build. Those abs. And. Sunggyu’s thoughts are not connecting.
‘Wear that and get to class,’ Woohyun crosses his arms, which is not good because it makes Sunggyu’s eyes travel to - ‘my blood’s on this shirt. I’m cleaning it.’
And so, stumbling partially blind out of the Laundromat, the rest of physics has Sunggyu remembering.
That he was wearing the same shirt when he carried Woohyun up to the infirmary. Understanding that this is an apology from someone with too much pride to verbalize one.
Brain half-fried and scraps of logic failing, he finds Newton’s Law hopelessly tinted in sandalwood.
-
It’s been a week after Woohyun practically stripped him in the Laundromat and Sunggyu does not understand why he has such a kind and generous heart.
See, he had been walking home from a study session in school when a helpless granny stopped him, begging for his help in finding Mr. Ruby. He’s always been good but today he’s had a mischievous streak; that bugger.
Mr. Ruby is a cat, by the way.
So obviously, Sunggyu spends the entire afternoon searching for this cat and then it begins raining. Like, heavy torrential downpour, kind of rain.
He’s blinking water out of his eyes, bag held futilely against the hammering rain, when he notices a splotch of black approaching him from a distance. An umbrella distinguishes itself, and while Sunggyu wonders how he’s going to dry his shoe for school tomorrow, he falters at recognizing the person under the umbrella.
Constricted by an umbrella over your head, with a fairly intimidating, glowering punk’s face inches from yours, isn’t exactly the ideal place for a conversation. But Woohyun yells at him anyway.
‘What the hell are you doing?’
‘I’m looking for a cat!’
‘A what?’
‘Cat! Mr. Ruby. A cat.’
‘Why would a cat be in the rain you fucking dumbass.’
Sunggyu pretends not to notice the embarrassed flush across his cheeks, warm against the icy droplets, meeting Woohyun’s glare with his own. He doesn’t have anything smart to say, so there’s this silence. Then Woohyun exhales, in an I-give-up way, shoving Sunggyu’s head downwards.
‘Idiot.’
They find Mr. Ruby, wet and disgruntled, underneath the river bridge. The sun is out by then, sparkling droplets glimmering across inclining planes of vibrant green. Both their feet are in a puddle, an azure, high blue sky above them - and there’s a faint rainbow if Sunggyu tries and squints.
Mr. Ruby hisses and scratches when Sunggyu tries to pick him up. The bastard climbs into Woohyun’s arms like a domestic little bitch, though.
It probably has a thing for bad boys.
-
‘Don’t,’ Sunggyu warns Sungjong, the latter opening his mouth to state the obvious.
The council room is still clogged with paperwork. Dongwoo is out to buy them coffee and flu tablets for Sunggyu, being in charge of welfare and all. Myungsoo glances at him, and then returns to work without saying anything.
‘You are silently judging me,’ Sunggyu narrows his eyes at his vice-president, who shrugs.
‘No claims for medicine without a doctor’s certificate,’ Sungyeol says, buried in the accounting book.
Yes, Sunggyu has caught the flu from two days ago - he still hasn’t forgiven the damn cat.
‘You know, hyung,’ Sungjong begins and Sunggyu groans. ‘It’s amazing how you tried to find a cat in the rain.’
‘Yeah,’ Sungyeol looks up, grinning widely. ‘Had to be rescued by Nam Woohyun too.’
Myungsoo snorts. He needs to stop snorting. Sunggyu’s going to implement a no-snorting rule.
‘Look,’ Sunggyu has a reputation to keep, damn it. ‘I didn’t -’
The door whips open with Hoya, discipline head, entering. He seems harassed.
‘Hyung, here are this week’s reports.’
‘How bad?’ bracing himself, he closes his eyes.
‘One.’
‘One?’ he faces the world again, shocked.
‘And it doesn’t involve Nam Woohyun.’
‘What?’
‘Exactly,’ Hoya said. The lack of reports is an anomaly.
‘How -’
The door slams open again.
‘Oh for God’s sake, stop interrupting me!’
Dongwoo stands in the doorway, eyes wide in innocent fear.
‘I just wanted to get here with your medicine as fast as I can…’ Dongwoo explained with the most pitiful voice the world has ever heard.
-
It’s seven when Woohyun throws the council room door open, grabbing a chair across Sunggyu’s desk and sitting with its back to his front. The room’s empty by now.
Sunggyu gives him a what look, and Woohyun smirks.
‘C’mon president,’ he jerks his head towards the door. ‘Let’s go.’
‘I’m studying.’
‘You’re a patient. Sick people don’t study.’
‘Don’t you have fights to get into?’
‘I figured you needed some rest,’ Woohyun’s fiddling with his stationary, rolling a pen back and forth. ‘No fighting this week.’
‘Are you serious?’
‘No. I just turned over a new leaf or whatever that shit’s supposed to be,’ Woohyun looks at him, a lopsided grin revealing his canine.
‘I do not believe you.’
‘Wanna feel around my pocket and check if I have a knife?’
By now Sunggyu has no idea if Woohyun’s playing with innuendo or if he’s being serious, so he just stares.
Woohyun chucks an eraser at him.
-
This part of town is unknown to Sunggyu, simply because his life rotates around school, council, debate and home - which essentially means 24th street and Geongduk High.
Sunggyu is ridiculously enthusiastic now, while Woohyun has this bored but amused expression. There’s a Ferris wheel by the pier and they can see it from the carpark. Tugging Woohyun by the wrist, Sunggyu finds himself enamored with the melting orange lights, reflection equally beautiful in the dark water.
They don’t eat at an expensive restaurant or anything. In fact, they don’t even eat.
After the Ferris wheel, Sunggyu drags Woohyun down across the road - the boy a pseudo-reluctant block of wood - to walk beside the railing looking out to a dark purple horizon. It’s quiet; the cars drive slowly here, and the only people on the pavement are drunks and couples. Softly, the sea sloshes below, on concrete, and maybe it’s lulling because soon Sunggyu finds himself walking with his back leaning into Woohyun, the boy’s hands clasped on his stomach.
‘So,’ Sunggyu starts. ‘This is your hangout?’
‘You’re so weird,’ Woohyun’s voice vibrates against the back of his ears. ‘This place is decrepit.’
‘Thanks for bringing me somewhere decrepit.’
Woohyun laughs lightly and something flutters in Sunggyu’s stomach. He sneezes, and they stop. The punk wraps his arms around Sunggyu, rubbing his arms to keep him warm.
‘I just thought,’ the sky is empty, but the lampposts are bleeding orange and mystically bright. ‘It’d be nice for you to have some quiet.’
‘Really.’
‘You sound like you’re saying ‘rinny’.’
Sunggyu rolls his eyes.
-
It’s way past midnight and the neighbourhood is deathly silent.
Sunggyu wonders how he’s going to open the door without waking everyone in his family up. He’s thinking of an excuse, in front of his door, when Woohyun turns him around by the shoulders.
‘Thinking about?’
‘How to be a ninja.’
‘At this moment, I should be the only thing on your mind.’
Sunggyu snorts and Woohyun smirks. He’s picking that up from Myungsoo, definitely.
‘Really.’
‘Rinny.’
‘Asshole.’
‘Oh, seriously?’ Woohyun gives him this surprised look, stepping in real close and hands finding Sunggyu’s back. The laugh is natural.
‘No,’ they’re back in the Laundromat again - except this time, Sunggyu’s more in control of himself, sandalwood permeating his senses and turning bones to paper. ‘I wonder if you’ll get into trouble tomorrow.’
‘If that keeps me on your mind.’
Everything stops. Woohyun’s face is too close and they’re not laughing anymore. Sandalwood is taking control of his body and Sunggyu sort of seizes up, and he thinks his lungs are missing when chapped lips press against his, lightly.
He’s glad Woohyun’s heads (hands) - are around his back, because his tongues (limbs) have completely surrendered. Sunggyu’s head is swimming and he thinks Woohyun knows because the boy sort of laughs, puffs of hot air on his lips and Sunggyu thinks two weeks is all it takes.
Two weeks, to have his heart oscillate somewhere between maybe and definitely.
highly inspired by this.
two weeks to sandalwood
Putting off math homework is not proper and neither is delaying his study schedule by - twenty minutes and counting. Backpack three stories down, lost in the midst of bushes, Sunggyu is supporting a limping student up the stairs, lolling head staining his uniform dirty red.
A female student went eek! as he turns the corner, frozen to the floor, face bloodless. She had good reason to be afraid, and even as Sunggyu tries to flash his warm council president smile, asking if she would open the infirmary’s doors for them, she doesn’t budge for a second.
Leaning against Sunggyu, sweaty and breathless (probably glaring at the poor girl, now fumbling with the door), is Geongduk’s most notorious senior. The blackest sheep of them all, the unknown source of both Sunggyu’s endless paperwork and headache: Nam Woohyun.
Unknown because he’s never seen the boy before. Endless paperwork because it takes a miracle to not find this name in the reports, shoved daily onto his desk.
Said sheep is glowering at him now, lip cut and skin broken in places. He is attractive, in a rebel sort of way, the type that brings metal rods to school and gets into fights - which he clearly has.
‘Thanks,’ Sunggyu says to the girl, who promptly scurries out. There are sounds of springs creaking, then a noisy crunching of metal and a soft hiss. ‘Sit down. You can’t even walk.’
‘I don’t wanna stay here,’ the boy’s voice is hoarse; he clears his throat, glaring at Sunggyu.
‘You’re injured.’
Woohyun is seated on the bed and Sunggyu on the rolling chair. The matron is out. The room smells of iodine and antiseptics, and when he moves closer the boy tenses.
‘Yeah but I didn’t ask you to fucking bring me here. Just -’
‘I wouldn’t have to if you didn’t fight in school dumbass,’ Sunggyu snaps and they are looking at each other angry. ‘I have homework and tests to study for, but there you are bleeding on the floor. Like I could leave you there.’
‘Council president, huh?’ the boy says it like a statement, glancing away. ‘Straight As, good track record, and all that shit. Real uptight asshole, aren’t you?’
‘Shut up and look at me,’ Sunggyu is on edge and prickling, cleaning Woohyun’s face with a cotton pad, feeling him grimacing. ‘Don’t move.’
It doesn’t take long to disinfect the cuts on his face and neck, plastering them down - all the while through thickening air, expanding with words left unspoken. Woohyun is stiff as Sunggyu patched him up; he smells like blood and granite and sandalwood and something pleasantly sweet (intoxicating) -
‘Your hand,’ Sunggyu’s voice being a little too loud and mind slightly flustered. Perturbed, Woohyun held out warily.
Two fingers are swollen, and badly, if Woohyun’s gah is any indication as Sunggyu bandages them.
It’s only when he’s done and everything is kept in the first-aid kit again, properly and in the correct compartments, that Sunggyu realizes the infirmary is deafeningly quiet. Voices shouting from the soccer field crawled softly, along with bus exhaust and the rattling pipes inside the walls.
The sound of water glug glug glug fills the room and Sunggyu offers the boy a cup of water, remembering his parched throat. Woohyun looks at it cautiously, then at Sunggyu, before taking it gingerly.
‘Not gonna shit on me?’
In that moment, the strings of their lives tangle.
‘I’ll think about it.’
-
On paper, another report - a broken bicycle rack. Reason: fighting.
And yes, Nam Woohyun is involved.
‘He’s been suspended before,’ Sungyeol, the treasurer, says across Sunggyu. ‘For setting the principal’s yard on fire.’
Sunggyu just stares at the report, seeing it but not at the same time, vision tilting past consciousness. The council room is cramped with a few desks and more chairs than they need. It is Antarctica boxed in a room, the air-conditioning being hyper-powered, while documents lay in haphazard stacks - on chairs, tables, the floor. Most of them being discipline records.
Myungsoo, the vice-president, snorts.
‘Why are you laughing?’ Sunggyu asks, ignoring Sungjong (the secretary) who just entered the room, hip-thrusting to Hyuna’s Change in the doorway.
‘He’s pretty cool,’ Myungsoo says and Dongwoo (welfare) glances up, beaming and nodding. They hi-five.
‘No,’ Sunggyu declares, and they all look at him. His voice is increasingly hysterical, disbelieving. ‘No he is not cool. No. Look at all of this paperwork, and - and who does them? Me!’
‘He’s nice to me -’ Dongwoo begins.
‘No, Dongwoo. No.’
‘He’s lazy, but smart,’ Sungyeol chips in and Sunggyu gives him a betrayed look.
‘Athletic,’ Myungsoo adds, like it’s a thoughtful piece of information.
‘Now -’
‘He gave me an egg sushi once when I fell down,’ Dongwoo contributes timidly.
‘You fell down?’
‘In pre-school.’
Sunggyu’s incredibly exasperated, frustrated, tortured outburst of no-Nam-Woohyun-is-not-a-nice-guy-he-gives-me-work is interrupted at that moment, because Sungjong climbs onto the table with a sassy as hell expression.
The secretary begins hip-thrusting.
‘Uh oh uh oh uh oh.’
Sunggyu gives up trying.
-
The bell is going to ring in five minutes. Which means Sunggyu has five minutes to wrestle his gym clothes out of his tiny backpack, pulverize the washing machine’s door in and jam a dollar before rushing down the hallway for physics.
As always, it does not go according to plan. A minute in and his sweaty shirt gets caught on the bag’s zipper - beginning a tug-of-war of the century.
A humid musk stifles anyone in the school’s laundry room; odors of detergent, sweat, and mud rancid in the air. So it is only natural when Sunggyu, already aggravated by the stench, decides to grab the end of the shirt and swing it (and the bag) in a violent arc.
Good news is, the bag comes off. Bad news - it flies straight to the door, right into someone. Sunggyu takes a minute to register a frown on sharp features - Nam Woohyun - before thinking oh shit, as the boy chucks his bag onto a tumbling machine, appearing slightly murderous.
‘What are you doing here?’ Sunggyu tries to sound authoritative, hating the jittering in his stomach. Woohyun had these eyes, like burning black and he’s - oh god - crossing the room.
‘You’re late for class, president,’ deep baritone sends shivers down Sunggyu’s spine, and it’s completely illogical how - how confused Sunggyu feels about the entire situation. Like it’s, it’s almost hot.
‘I didn’t mean to throw the bag,’ Sunggyu’s heel hits the wall, a loud empty thud, and they are a foot apart; he can hear Woohyun’s breathing. ‘But knowing how you have this penchant for violence, you’re simply going to -’
Woohyun’s frown deepens and he tsks irritably loud, stopping Sunggyu’s words. The boy steps ridiculously close, their hips nearly touching and breaths mingling. Sunggyu feels his body heat, smells that intoxicating sandalwood of Woohyun and if he so much as moves -
Both his wrists are slammed against the wall, pinned by a hand, above his head. A result of stupidly trying to shove the boy off. Sunggyu’s throat feels like a desert, heart rate unhealthily high - he swears he’s going to get a stroke or some shit.
‘Why are you always so noisy?’ Woohyun murmurs as his fingers start picking apart Sunggyu’s buttons. Sunggyu stiffens.
‘T-this is highly inappropriate,’ half his shirt is done. ‘I won’t tolerate any kind of violation,’ Right here, Sunggyu stops altogether and swallows; because Woohyun pulls the rest of his uniform out. ‘And I will not hesitate to -’
‘Shut the fuck up,’ the boy says quietly, irritated. Sunggyu lets him pull his shirt off, deciding on compliance for now. There’ll be a chance to bolt for it, or to ram his head against the washing machine or something.
Woohyun steps away with his shirt in hand, sauntering off to another machine and chucking it in. He smashes the door close with a foot, and Sunggyu wonders what the hell does Woohyun think he has hands for, keeping it in his pockets all the time.
If the machines spoil it’s precisely because idiots like him kick it like that.
‘I don’t understand,’ it’s chilly without a shirt, back still against the bumpy wall. A coin clinks into the machine and beep beep it starts rumbling.
‘You’re late for class.’
‘Yeah but I can’t go for fucking class like this.’
Woohyun spares him a glance, like he doesn’t give a shit about anything, and it makes Sunggyu more annoyed than confused. The boy begins unbuttoning, which doesn’t take long because the idiot doesn’t tuck his shirt in, taking it off and simultaneously causing blood to rush up to Sunggyu’s head, making it burning hot.
A crumpled ball of white lands flat on Sunggyu’s face, and he stutters when he rips it down indignantly, glaring at a topless Woohyun. Who has a very good build. Those abs. And. Sunggyu’s thoughts are not connecting.
‘Wear that and get to class,’ Woohyun crosses his arms, which is not good because it makes Sunggyu’s eyes travel to - ‘my blood’s on this shirt. I’m cleaning it.’
And so, stumbling partially blind out of the Laundromat, the rest of physics has Sunggyu remembering.
That he was wearing the same shirt when he carried Woohyun up to the infirmary. Understanding that this is an apology from someone with too much pride to verbalize one.
Brain half-fried and scraps of logic failing, he finds Newton’s Law hopelessly tinted in sandalwood.
-
It’s been a week after Woohyun practically stripped him in the Laundromat and Sunggyu does not understand why he has such a kind and generous heart.
See, he had been walking home from a study session in school when a helpless granny stopped him, begging for his help in finding Mr. Ruby. He’s always been good but today he’s had a mischievous streak; that bugger.
Mr. Ruby is a cat, by the way.
So obviously, Sunggyu spends the entire afternoon searching for this cat and then it begins raining. Like, heavy torrential downpour, kind of rain.
He’s blinking water out of his eyes, bag held futilely against the hammering rain, when he notices a splotch of black approaching him from a distance. An umbrella distinguishes itself, and while Sunggyu wonders how he’s going to dry his shoe for school tomorrow, he falters at recognizing the person under the umbrella.
Constricted by an umbrella over your head, with a fairly intimidating, glowering punk’s face inches from yours, isn’t exactly the ideal place for a conversation. But Woohyun yells at him anyway.
‘What the hell are you doing?’
‘I’m looking for a cat!’
‘A what?’
‘Cat! Mr. Ruby. A cat.’
‘Why would a cat be in the rain you fucking dumbass.’
Sunggyu pretends not to notice the embarrassed flush across his cheeks, warm against the icy droplets, meeting Woohyun’s glare with his own. He doesn’t have anything smart to say, so there’s this silence. Then Woohyun exhales, in an I-give-up way, shoving Sunggyu’s head downwards.
‘Idiot.’
They find Mr. Ruby, wet and disgruntled, underneath the river bridge. The sun is out by then, sparkling droplets glimmering across inclining planes of vibrant green. Both their feet are in a puddle, an azure, high blue sky above them - and there’s a faint rainbow if Sunggyu tries and squints.
Mr. Ruby hisses and scratches when Sunggyu tries to pick him up. The bastard climbs into Woohyun’s arms like a domestic little bitch, though.
It probably has a thing for bad boys.
-
‘Don’t,’ Sunggyu warns Sungjong, the latter opening his mouth to state the obvious.
The council room is still clogged with paperwork. Dongwoo is out to buy them coffee and flu tablets for Sunggyu, being in charge of welfare and all. Myungsoo glances at him, and then returns to work without saying anything.
‘You are silently judging me,’ Sunggyu narrows his eyes at his vice-president, who shrugs.
‘No claims for medicine without a doctor’s certificate,’ Sungyeol says, buried in the accounting book.
Yes, Sunggyu has caught the flu from two days ago - he still hasn’t forgiven the damn cat.
‘You know, hyung,’ Sungjong begins and Sunggyu groans. ‘It’s amazing how you tried to find a cat in the rain.’
‘Yeah,’ Sungyeol looks up, grinning widely. ‘Had to be rescued by Nam Woohyun too.’
Myungsoo snorts. He needs to stop snorting. Sunggyu’s going to implement a no-snorting rule.
‘Look,’ Sunggyu has a reputation to keep, damn it. ‘I didn’t -’
The door whips open with Hoya, discipline head, entering. He seems harassed.
‘Hyung, here are this week’s reports.’
‘How bad?’ bracing himself, he closes his eyes.
‘One.’
‘One?’ he faces the world again, shocked.
‘And it doesn’t involve Nam Woohyun.’
‘What?’
‘Exactly,’ Hoya said. The lack of reports is an anomaly.
‘How -’
The door slams open again.
‘Oh for God’s sake, stop interrupting me!’
Dongwoo stands in the doorway, eyes wide in innocent fear.
‘I just wanted to get here with your medicine as fast as I can…’ Dongwoo explained with the most pitiful voice the world has ever heard.
-
It’s seven when Woohyun throws the council room door open, grabbing a chair across Sunggyu’s desk and sitting with its back to his front. The room’s empty by now.
Sunggyu gives him a what look, and Woohyun smirks.
‘C’mon president,’ he jerks his head towards the door. ‘Let’s go.’
‘I’m studying.’
‘You’re a patient. Sick people don’t study.’
‘Don’t you have fights to get into?’
‘I figured you needed some rest,’ Woohyun’s fiddling with his stationary, rolling a pen back and forth. ‘No fighting this week.’
‘Are you serious?’
‘No. I just turned over a new leaf or whatever that shit’s supposed to be,’ Woohyun looks at him, a lopsided grin revealing his canine.
‘I do not believe you.’
‘Wanna feel around my pocket and check if I have a knife?’
By now Sunggyu has no idea if Woohyun’s playing with innuendo or if he’s being serious, so he just stares.
Woohyun chucks an eraser at him.
-
This part of town is unknown to Sunggyu, simply because his life rotates around school, council, debate and home - which essentially means 24th street and Geongduk High.
Sunggyu is ridiculously enthusiastic now, while Woohyun has this bored but amused expression. There’s a Ferris wheel by the pier and they can see it from the carpark. Tugging Woohyun by the wrist, Sunggyu finds himself enamored with the melting orange lights, reflection equally beautiful in the dark water.
They don’t eat at an expensive restaurant or anything. In fact, they don’t even eat.
After the Ferris wheel, Sunggyu drags Woohyun down across the road - the boy a pseudo-reluctant block of wood - to walk beside the railing looking out to a dark purple horizon. It’s quiet; the cars drive slowly here, and the only people on the pavement are drunks and couples. Softly, the sea sloshes below, on concrete, and maybe it’s lulling because soon Sunggyu finds himself walking with his back leaning into Woohyun, the boy’s hands clasped on his stomach.
‘So,’ Sunggyu starts. ‘This is your hangout?’
‘You’re so weird,’ Woohyun’s voice vibrates against the back of his ears. ‘This place is decrepit.’
‘Thanks for bringing me somewhere decrepit.’
Woohyun laughs lightly and something flutters in Sunggyu’s stomach. He sneezes, and they stop. The punk wraps his arms around Sunggyu, rubbing his arms to keep him warm.
‘I just thought,’ the sky is empty, but the lampposts are bleeding orange and mystically bright. ‘It’d be nice for you to have some quiet.’
‘Really.’
‘You sound like you’re saying ‘rinny’.’
Sunggyu rolls his eyes.
-
It’s way past midnight and the neighbourhood is deathly silent.
Sunggyu wonders how he’s going to open the door without waking everyone in his family up. He’s thinking of an excuse, in front of his door, when Woohyun turns him around by the shoulders.
‘Thinking about?’
‘How to be a ninja.’
‘At this moment, I should be the only thing on your mind.’
Sunggyu snorts and Woohyun smirks. He’s picking that up from Myungsoo, definitely.
‘Really.’
‘Rinny.’
‘Asshole.’
‘Oh, seriously?’ Woohyun gives him this surprised look, stepping in real close and hands finding Sunggyu’s back. The laugh is natural.
‘No,’ they’re back in the Laundromat again - except this time, Sunggyu’s more in control of himself, sandalwood permeating his senses and turning bones to paper. ‘I wonder if you’ll get into trouble tomorrow.’
‘If that keeps me on your mind.’
Everything stops. Woohyun’s face is too close and they’re not laughing anymore. Sandalwood is taking control of his body and Sunggyu sort of seizes up, and he thinks his lungs are missing when chapped lips press against his, lightly.
He’s glad Woohyun’s heads (hands) - are around his back, because his tongues (limbs) have completely surrendered. Sunggyu’s head is swimming and he thinks Woohyun knows because the boy sort of laughs, puffs of hot air on his lips and Sunggyu thinks two weeks is all it takes.
Two weeks, to have his heart oscillate somewhere between maybe and definitely.
highly inspired by this.