Beneath the Surface

Vol 2 Ch 5: The Fight

Wooyoung is back on earth wandering the streets. There seemed to be no trace of his previous encounter with Hongjoong. Nothing obvious at least. But as he continued through the city he quickly drew back those thoughts. The blackout was all over the news and exactly as Wooyoung had predicted, there had been no scientific cause and the media was trying to cover it up to avoid panic spreading amongst the citizens. He stopped to watch a tv inside a bar. Though he couldn't hear what it said it looked like the blackout was being covered up as "broken cables due to the cold temperatures that night".

The cold.

Wooyoung had completely forgotten about that. That was probably even worse than the blackout. Dammit. Why did Hongjoong have to attack him. The least he could've done was take the fight to a place outside the city. Didn't Seonghwa tell him to keep the underworld secret at all costs? Or did he assume that Hongjoong knew about that unwritten rule. Even the overworld had that rule. Wooyoung decided to go back to the location at which he had met Hongjoong. Maybe he'd bump into him again.

Wooyoung was anxious though. Did he really want to have another encounter with the king of the underworld? The king who wanted to beat him up.

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The area was quiet. Wooyoung had been lurking around the location where he had met Hongjoong but the time spent there had been uneventful so far. The authorities had set up a small barricade round the shop where Hongjoong had smashed the window, probably for research reasons. Wooyoung was heading towards the familiar park. This was where he had met Hongjoong the first time. Maybe he would sometimes come by if he missed his life on earth? Though Wooyoung was scared of meeting him again he kept telling himself that Hongjoong was the only one who might know about Yeosang.

As he strode through the park his eyes fell on a bench. The bench. His heart skipped a beat and he stopped in his tracks for a moment. The memories of seeing a very depressed Hongjoong sitting all alone in the cold, came flooding back to him. Back then he had kept an eye on Hongjoong. Wooyoung knew Hongjoong had been sad because Seonghwa had left him but his mood hadn't seemed to grow any better with time. Wooyoung was worried Hongjoong might not get over the parting and end up feeling even worse. After that, Wooyoung had gathered his courage to talk to him. If Hongjoong could get close to someone new, maybe that would lessen the burden of Seonghwa's departure.

While Wooyoung went to sit on the bench he thought that maybe being so direct with Hongjoong back then had been a bad idea. He had obviously been flustered by Wooyoung's sudden appearance. But then again. Wooyoung was sure that he saw a glint of something in Hongjoong's eyes. Even though he had been somewhat scared of Wooyoung. Wooyoung laughed to himself softly. To think that Hongjoong had once been scared of Wooyoung and now Wooyoung was the one fearing the other with his life. Literally. He couldn't die though. He had to see Yeosang no matter what. No way was Wooyoung going to let the tension between them drag out. Only regret would come of it if he did.

A slight rustle sounded beside him. A tall and broad-shouldered guy came and sat down on the far side of the bench. He wore all black. Despite the cool temperatures he wore nothing but a black hoodie and some black jeans. His hood was up and he wore a face mask making his face indistinguishable in these darkening hours.

???: "You look sad."

WY: "Huh?"

???: "You seem lonely."

WY: "I-"

Wooyoung wanted to reject the stranger's statement. Who did he think he was to throw such an assumption at him from nowhere. But Wooyoung couldn't get himself to reply. Because it was true. He was indeed lonely.