You Should Leave, Baby → ZUWOON

chapter six

thursday.

Seokwoo walks through the forest towards the cabin the following afternoon, every step sending a wave of embarrassment through him.

The walk of shame, he muses, hands stuffed in his pockets. The wind howls through the trees, cold as he imagines somebody might be when he goes back inside.

The path in front of Seokwoo is lit from the high sun. It's a hot day, the wind being welcomed happily. He stumbles through the woods, desperately trying not to trip over the snarling roots that twirl and twist through the dirt, seemingly popping up only moments before Seokwoo steps where he believed it was clear.

He thinks back to waking up earlier that morning, alongside a still sleeping Jackson whose arm was trapped underneath Seokwoo's shoulders, his lips parted in silent breaths that made his chest rise and fall rhythmically. Seokwoo had turned to watch him, just for a moment, before trying to slip way undetected.

Seokwoo had found his clothes on the floor, scooping them into his arms quickly before his phone fell from his jeans pocket, landing loudly on the cold wood beneath him. He tensed, hearing the sheets shift behind him and a soft yawn filter through the room.

"Morning," the other sighed sleepily, and when Seokwoo turned to look at him he noticed that Jackson still had his eyes shut.

The brunette smiled weakly, reaching down to grab his phone. He felt guilty, as if he were sneaking around behind Juho's back. Since he'd woken up alongside him, things were... Different between them. He notices his phone's display had turned on when it fell. "Morning."

YOUNGBIN:
you haven't been home all night i'm just assuming
that, knowing you,
you WHORE,
you're with jackson so! please come home safe in the morning
i'll leave the front door unlocked

He shook his head, grinning to himself as he pulled on his clothes. He could tell he was being watched, but he didn't care. He looked back at the bed, laughing at the way Jackson pouted while he tried to wake himself up. "You're leaving so early?"

"I have to," he sighed, yanking his shirt down over his head. "I have to get back, they're worried I never texted." I need to see Juho.

Jackson sat up, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Do you want me to drive you back, then?"

The door creaks when Seokwoo opens it, and he squints his eyes shut as he steps inside. Sanghyuk and Youngbin are sitting at the table, laughing at something on one of their laptop screens. Youngbin turns quickly to Seokwoo, a relieved smile crossing his face at the other's appearance.

"You're safe," he comments, as if a weight's been lifted off of his shoulders. He'd always protected his friends, ever since Taeyang had gotten into a fight in his junior year of highschool. Youngbin hadn't been there, and Taeyang had ended up with a broken arm. Since then, he'd never let himself stray away from one of them, constantly bringing himself to attend Seokwoo's shoots or Chanhee's graduation; which had been a banger, by the way.

"Of course I am, dad." Seokwoo teases, lazily throwing an arm over the other's shoulder. He rests his chin on the brunette's head, looking at the screen. It's a Youtube video, Sanghyuk and Youngbin being in one corner as a game flashes through the main center of the video. "Oh, you're a gamer?"

Sanghyuk instantly begins to pride himself, nodding. His blonde hair is swept back, looking as if it hadn't been brushed or managed that day, just thrown back to stay out of the way. "And a good one, too." Youngbin grins, looking up to Seokwoo.

"His fans love me."

"They think we're dating."

A silence comes over them, then, flushing, Youngbin reaches over to pause the video. "Sanghyuk, can we talk?"