In His Arms - Wonheon ( Wonho x Jooheon )

Chapter 5 : Can't Hide No More

"Alright, spill."

Wonho looked up from the paperwork in front of him, his ballpoint pen stilling its movements, and he saw Shownu standing in the doorway of his office with a grin plastered across his face. Wonho raised a brow in confusion.

Shownu pushed off the door and stepped further into the room. He had the decency to close the door behind him. "C'mon man," Shownu pushed. "You can tell me."

Wonho blinked at him, feeling his mouth go dry. He could feel his heart jackhammering inside his chest in a sharp pang of paranoia and he wanted to scream in frustration because he had thought that he had been so careful. He wasn't ready to give Jooheon up. No. No. No.

He forced himself to give Shownu an even look, willing himself to stay as calm as he could. "I don't understand," he answered. His voice may have wavered a bit but if Shownu noted, he didn't say anything. Not verbally at least.

Instead, somehow that grin on Shownu's face widened even further. His brown eyes had a gleam that Wonho knew much too well.

Shownu threw himself in the chair that was positioned in front of Wonho's desk. It was a thick leather chair, and was used for when patients were invited into his office but Wonho never allowed anyone inside so apart from Shownu and the few times Ailee came in, no one ever used it.

Wonho looked at Shownu as the man slouched and made himself comfortable. "Well, let me explain then," Shownu inclined his head. He raised his hand and held up his pointer finger. " First , you get here exactly when your shift starts. Nine o'clock sharp every morning. You don't come in early anymore like you used too. Second--" His middle finger stood up to join the other "--You leave on each of your lunch breaks now and you stay out for the entire two hour bracket. But most importantly Wonho, you don't stay a minute after your last appointment." His gives Wonho a look that basically says don't bullshit me , with dark brows raised high on his forehead.

Wonho glanced away from his friend. His grip was tight around the pen in his hand. "What do you want me to say Shownu?" He felt exasperated, stuck between a rock and a hard place. He didn't want to lie to Shownu, didn't enjoy it either, but he wasn't going to give Jooheon away.

"I just want you to tell me the truth," Shownu said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Clearly something-- or someone-- is consuming your time, Wonho. It doesn't take a genius to connect the dots, y'know."

Wonho looked back towards Shownu. He eyed the man warily because what Shownu was asking for... what Shownu wanted to know ...

"I..." Wonho swallowed heavily. There was one voice yelling at him to shut up, shut up, shut up-- Jooheon is mine, mine, mine-- but there was another that was telling him he could talk about it. He didn't have to give the details, didn't have to give him the most important parts but talking about emotions and feelings were important too. There were entire professions based around things like that because it was bad to keep it all bottled up like Wonho had been doing for so long. So, so long.

He looked at Shownu and sighed softly, like a tired breath of relief that had been waiting for a moment like this for centuries. "I found someone," he confessed. The second the words left his mouth, his body sagged in undescribable relief because just how long had he been desperate to say those three little words? It felt... it felt fucking good . To say it outloud. To say it to another person so that it no longer remained a secret that only he knew. He wanted others to know, he wanted to shout it from the damn rooftops. Because he had found someone . Someone real and whole and someone just for him.

"I found someone," he repeated, letting his voice get louder than probably necessary but he didn't care and when he glanced at Shownu, it seemed that his friend didn't either. Shownu was smiling at him and Wonho could physically see the happiness bouncing off of him and seeping straight into Wonho.

"Well," Shownu spoke after a short moment of blissful silence. "It's about goddamn time."

The corners of Wonho's mouth curled upwards as he nodded towards his friend. "Ain't that the truth."