A Patchwork Story |Woosan|

2

San met Wooyoung in late spring on a muggy afternoon.

The company was treating him and the other trainees to a picnic at a local park. They had rented out an outdoor shelter and didn't account for how the humidity raised the temperature ten degrees higher than it should be. San thought that really said something about the company he was entrusting his future to, but he let that thought slide.

KQ usually treated them well. They had clean dorms—not very spacious, but that would change if—when—he debuted. But, yes, while KQ treated them well, the picnic came as a surprise none of them were expecting. Staff had a grill and a stock of meat stored for the event, and the afternoon was theirs to enjoy without schedules.

Hongjoong joked, saying it must be KQ's anniversary. Seonghwa took it seriously and looked it up on the company's computer before they left. Turns out, it was true.

If San got free meat every year on the company's birthday, he might just stay for the long run.

There were ten trainees then, including him. San already knew his friend, Youngsoo, was planning to leave in a few months, no matter how much San begged him to stay. That would leave nine, and San didn't want to lose any more of them. But their trainee contracts were dwindling to their ends, and still the company gave them no sign of debut. San could feel his own hopes close to the edge of the cliff, but then he would look at Hongjoong and feel angry at himself, knowing just how long Hongjoong had been waiting compared to himself.

San looked up to Hongjoong in a way he never had anyone else close to his age.

Maybe that was why he sat next to Hongjoong that day, when the manager bent close to Hongjoong's ear, and over the spittle of meat cooking nearby, San could hear the whisper clearly in his own, too.

"There's a new trainee coming today. We're planning to debut nine of you after his training is complete."

Hongjoong had whipped his head up, staring with wide eyes at the manager's back as he stalked off. And then he turned to smile at Yunho across the table, who just smiled quizzically back.

San pretended he didn't hear anything, but rather than sharing in Hongjoong's obvious excitement, he looked at the other trainees. He watched Youngsoo and Junyoung talking animatedly by the edge of the shelter. Yeosang was half asleep over the table, and he watched the staff overload Seonghwa with piles of untouched meat. Jongho and Mingi were laughing. Hyunko watched fondly from the side, much like San was doing now.

Nine were going to debut, but there were ten of them, and one more coming today, and judging by the manager's words, Hongjoong and the new guy were already set in place.

Yunho had barbecue on his face. Hongjoong was still beaming.

San felt bile rise in his throat.

If Youngsoo knew what the manager said, would he stay? If San hadn't overheard, would he be left behind himself? Would he still be left behind? Was San good enough yet?

They were going to lose two of them. Two of San's new family. Either that, or he'd lose all of them.

He loved, and he grew attached too easily, and even more so than that, he never hated someone as viscerally as he did then, before they even met.

San couldn't meet any of their eyes for the rest of the picnic. On the way back to the company, the manager announced the new trainee, saying he would be waiting to meet them at the dorms. San didn't want to meet him. To San, he was the herald of two lost friends.

But when they arrived, as they trickled into the dorms, Yeosang had shouted a name that San would grow to love dearly.

Yeosang ran and tackled him, happier than San had ever seen him. The room filled with laughter and a high-pitched squawk that would haunt San's dreams for years to come. San glared when they finally stood face to face.