CHEERLEADER, woosan

ten

fingers trembling as they grip onto the banister, san walks up the staircase, which leads up to the school roof where his admirer, dare he call them, is supposedly waiting for his arrival.

he reaches the highest point of the stairs, and all he needs to do now is open the door in front of him for his wish to be granted. but, for a reason he doesn't know of, it's not as easy it seems. san can't help but think of every worst case scenario in the book, therefore his arms stay glued to his side instead of pushing the entrance open.

what if this is all just a prank? what if there's a group of people waiting for me in there with cameras in their hands, ready to record my embarrassment?

shaking his insecurities away, san brings his palms up to the door before him, and flashing through his mind is the thought of how much of a fool he probably looks like right now: nervously idling by the top of a staircase, heart pounding out of its cage, and chest rapidly heaving up and down as his breathing begins to uneven.

stop it, san. you have no right to be anxious, you're the one who recommended this in the first place. you shouldn't have—

"fuck it," san mutters, ceasing his thought train and pushing the door open with his clammy hands. the cool breeze instantly hits his face, causing his eyes to squint a little, as he recalls the last time he's been up here.

it was his first day at this school, three years ago, and mingi — who san knew nothing about at the time — was appointed to give him a tour of the building. he smiles to himself at the memory, grateful, because there's no chance he would've had the bravery to befriend the brunette any other way.

eyes drifting around his surroundings, a frown settles itself on san's lips when he comes to the realisation that the roof is... empty.

if the low whistling of the wind doesn't count, san is all alone.

no special someone is here waiting for him.

neither is someone like mark lee, who's willing to humiliate him in any way possible.

and the more san thinks about it, the more he wonders that maybe this is the prank after all. maybe he's meant to be stood up, maybe it had been the plan all along, as a hurtful reminder that he'll always be alone.

san's vision becomes blurry due to the water filling up in them, causing him to stumble slightly, but he is quick to steady himself. he sniffles away his tears, adamantly refusing to cry over someone whose name he doesn't even know of. san might not have the highest self esteem, but he knows he's better than that.

stepping towards the railing of the roof, san sits down on the cold floor, allowing his legs to dangle from the school building. as he's kicking his feet around, the sound of a door being slammed open makes him flinch for a split second in fear.

san snaps his head in the direction of the abrupt noise, eyes widening at who has barged in on him.

"wooyoung?"

this is enough to grab the dark-haired boy's attention, wooyoung now rushing over to san as if it isn't completely out of the ordinary. "i'm so, so, so sorry, san-ah! i really didn't mean to keep you waiting, but coach asked me to stay behind and i couldn't say no."

"i'm sorry, but... w-what are you talking about?" san asks confusedly, his heartbeat speeding up when the latter places himself besides him.

wooyoung's cheeks blossom a faint pink, and san doesn't think he'll ever get over how good the boy looks right now. "um... take a guess," wooyoung says. "what do you think i'm talking about?"