Happily Ever After?

Chapter 23

I gotta finish this. If not for me, then for the one person I know that has been begging for it.

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Wooyoung's POV

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Freak.

I tore the note from my locker and crumpled the paper into a ball in my fingers. This was getting so fucking old anymore. The word freak felt fake. Hadn't they done enough damage? I shoved my books into my locker and shouldered my backpack, retracing my steps back to the art rooms. I sat myself at an unused table in a dark room, pulling my phone out and flicking on the flashlight. I spread my notebook out in front of me.

Bringing my notebook was definitely a bold move on my part. After all, it caused me much grief the last few months or so. But I was sick of hiding my passion. I was sick if feeling sick. So I brought it. I wore my BTS sweater over my uniform and changed into the jacket before arriving. I clipped the Mang keyring mom and dad got me for Christmas to my backpack. It was time to stop running and start fighting.

"I knew I'd find you here." I twisted in my seat and squinted at a figure framed in the doorway. I turned back when I realized who it was. "Wooyoung..." Mingi trailed off, and my stomach gave a little flip of anxiety. Outside of San, he was the worst one when it came to this. "Listen Wooyoung..." But again his voice faded off before he could get the words out.

"What do you want Mingi?" I asked lowly, my grip on my pen tightening ever so slightly. I glared down at the blank page like it could magically fill itself with words. I heard some shuffling behind me, and suddenly a colorful gift bag filled my vision. I caught Mingi's nervous stare out of the corner of my eye, his feet restlessly patting the ground. "What's this?" I asked him.

"A gift?" Though the way he said it made it seem more like a question. I took it from him gingerly, taking the time to study it. Nothing special about the bag anyway. Just a green gift bag with a Christmas tree on it. I frowned thoughtfully at it, turning to study Mingi once again. He fiddled with his fingers in front of him. "I know it doesn't even begin to cover my ass," he added. "But we've always gotten you something for Christmas. Why should this year be any different?"

"Why?" I asked, catching him off guard. The twiddling stopped and he stared at me, unblinking. I held the bag up, quirking an eyebrow. "Why?" I repeated. I watched as he took the seat opposite me, his elbows on the table. Suddenly he seemed about four years older than he was. He scrubbed his tired expression with his palm.

"If you want me to be honest Wooyoung, I don't know," he admitted. "I don't know how any of this started. I don't know how it's going to end. I just don't know." I studied my notebook instead of Mingi, because my notebook couldn't emote. I didn't have to watch its facial expressions. "As for your gift... We've taken so much away from you this year. It doesn't cover anything, and it doesn't excuse our behavior, but the least we could do was give you something instead of taking it." I finally peeked inside the bag.

"Oh." I huffed out a surprised breath as I pulled out an album. But not just any album. BTS's very first. 2 Cool 4 Skool. This was damn near impossible to come by. Nowhere seemed to sell it. "How..." I turned a questioning eye to Mingi, who simply shrugged.

"Got lucky and found it on a for sale site," he said. "The girl wanted, like, next to nothing for it. I don't think it comes with the original photo card, though I'm not surprised about that, ARMY hold those hostage most of the time. She did give me some kind of card to go with it." I tore into it, flipping through the photos and grinning madly. This was beyond what I ever expected. I got to the photo card, and while it definitely wasn't of baby BTS, I appreciated the You Never Walk Alone card too. "I know it's nothing grand," Mingi continued. "But it just...felt right. You were their biggest fan out of all of us. Of course you should have this." He laughed awkwardly, reaching up and scratching the back of his neck. I stood from my spot and circled around the table, throwing my arms around him. He stiffened.