all jung wooyoung ever wanted was to go about life like he always did, and that worked for him; until the top-tier celebrity choi san was in the picture, that is.
but there was a catch; wooyoung was his anti-fan.
start: august 9, 2023
end: septembe...
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all wooyoung could do was cross his fingers behind his back and pray an ejector button would appear out of nowhere.
he couldn't help but think he'd done something truly unforgivable in his past life for his present life to be like this. it was horrible enough that he'd been caught with san, but to make things worse, the park seonghwa had to show up in his apartment, as well. wooyoung himself was stunned at the very sight of him, freezing in his spot like a popsicle. but deep down in there, he was almost honored that seonghwa had stepped foot into his apartment. he was one of his favorite actors after all.
san, finally seeing how this could be a potential problem for wooyoung, slapped his palm to his forehead. "what the hell are you doing here? my apartment's the one opposite to this one."
"i tried calling you," seonghwa said defensively, shaking his phone in his hand. "but you didn't answer. i assumed you'd be here. you know. for obvious reasons," he winked, making wooyoung want to melt into a puddle and quietly slither into a sewer from all the embarrassment. did san really have to tell him of all people?
yunho and yeosang only stared in wonder. this was probably the best day of their lives and the worst of wooyoung's. seonghwa strolled past the two cheerfully with no care in the world, stretching his hand out towards wooyoung.
"i know we've met before, but i'll consider this the first time, seeing how you're san's... half boyfriend?" he pondered on the right word to use, and before san could push him away, wooyoung shook his hand.
"we're just friends," he declared after a pause and san sighed, completely giving up on him.
"good to know." seonghwa smirked. his deep brown eyes twinkled mysteriously as he locked eyes with wooyoung. was everybody in this industry flirty, or what?
"that's enough," san mumbled, pushing him away with his elbows. "go explain yourselves to those two," he signalled to yunho and yeosang who's jaws were almost touching the floor at this point. "this one's mine."
before san could pull a stubborn wooyoung away, yeosang came marching in. "can you excuse us for a second?" he laughed awkwardly, ripping wooyoung away from the two towering figures that looked down at him curiously. it was almost intimidating. "we just... need to talk." yeosang gestured towards the kitchen and yunho followed. he set wooyoung down on the chair by the island like he was some kind of toy.
yeosang gripped wooyoung's shoulders tightly. "...how could you keep such a big secret from me?" he gasped.
"take your hands off before i break both your wrists," wooyoung said sternly, completely ignoring his accusatory words.
"you think you're in any position to threaten me?" yeosang scoffed, taking his hands off nevertheless. "you're literally acquainted to two of the biggest stars in this country and you kept me in the dark about it!" he said indignantly and yunho nodded on his behalf.
"how is that my fault?! things just ended up that way!" wooyoung defended, maintaining his innocence. "i didn't ask him to move here, and if i told anyone, i'd be the one that ends up in trouble."
"well he was a point." yunho chimed in, chewing down on an apple that had been sitting on the basket over the counter.
yeosang rolled his eyes, hellbent on putting the blame on someone because he felt like he'd been wronged. he seemed to realize none of this was in wooyoung's control and he gave up, sitting down next to him.
"...look, it's great that you're seeing someone so popular and all, but he's a celebrity, and a really popular one. i know you're not dating him just yet and it's not my place to say this, but i hope things will stay that way. someone like him, someone of that status will only end up hurting you if you let yourself get too involved with him. keep it at the surface, if you know what i mean." yeosang advised. the genuineness of his concern was evident.
"i know," wooyoung responded tentatively. yeosang wasn't wrong—it was true that wooyoung had let his guard down around san often, and further indulging in whatever they had would be bad for him. either way, choi san was bound to leave. once he was out of the apartments, the chances of wooyoung ever seeing him again were near zero. he would just go back to being a face wooyoung saw on a tv screen, on billboards and in mall advertisements. san however, would go out of this unfazed. wooyoung would be the only one that takes a blow. why did he keep forgetting that?
"i won't let things get serious," he proclaimed and yeosang nodded. all he could do was hope this wasn't flimsy confidence. seonghwa and san's muffled voices grew louder as they talked and laughed amongst each other in the living room, and yeosang looked up.
"now, if you'll excuse us..." yeosang shot up from his seat and yunho followed behind him eagerly. wooyoung stared at them curiously. what were they up to this time?
as soon as he heard the two fangirl and gush for autographs from the celebrities like pesky rodents, wooyoung dropped his face on the counter, letting out an exasperated breath. he brooded over yeosang's well-meaning words, feeling like a light within him had been put out in the most disheartening way possible. he blocked out all the cheerful voices emerging from the living room.
of course, he hadn't let san see through him completely yet. there was not much san knew about him besides what he showed. wooyoung intended to keep things that way as long as things felt unsteady and uncertain as they were now. he couldn't even avoid san successfully like he'd intended from the start; the least he could do was try and hold himself back from falling further into whatever they had. it was a good thing yeosang and yunho were here to keep san company, ultimately preventing wooyoung and him from using up their promised one hour of time. he needed more time to gather his thoughts and prepare himself if he was going to go about this the right way. the least he could do was save face before he ended up making a fool of himself.
all he needed to do was keep his personal life a secret from san, and completely cast him out with newer, more impenetrable walls. he just needed to keep things physical for the next few days so he wouldn't get too attached and used to things. maybe even san preferred things to be that way—he was a celebrity, after all. wooyoung would be a complete idiot to think he ever wanted something serious. men were men in the end. and san and wooyoung would always be, well...
