path to dazzling lights // ateez high school au {on hold}

1.5 an unexpected encounter

"Hey! Why are you so late today? I thought you're usually the first out of the classrooms for lunch?"

"The teacher told me to stay back to clean the board, and of course, the board was very much used today!" He pouted and slumped down into a seat, and it just so happened to be the seat right next to Wooyoung.

He glanced up at Wooyoung and a glimmer of recognition shot onto his face.

"Oh, hey! We met this morning, right? With Hongjoong, while he was bringing you around? Anyway, hi! I'm San! It's great to meet you!"

He smiled, and looked so irresistibly adorable with his dimpled cheeks that if Wooyoung hadn't known him as someone he feared he would have immediately fallen for him.

Wooyoung was surprised that he didn't even recognise him. What had happened in 10 years?

"Hi... I'm Wooyoung. It's nice to meet you too."

He turned back to his food and continued to eat steadily, trying not to freak out and blow his identity. San seemed to meld it to their conversation quite easily and quickly, and with the endless chatter, nobody realised that Wooyoung hadn't said a word in over ten minutes.

A while went by, and Hongjoong eventually picked up on Wooyoung's silence. "Oh yeah, so Wooyoung, what do you think of our school? You think you'll like it here?"

He managed a smile, "Yes, I think I'll really enjoy it here. The activities seem quite interesting and I'll probably get a whole ton of exercise from walking around." he chirped out.

"Yeah, if there wasn't a Choi San around that would make it a whole lot better" he said in his head.

"That's great! Maybe you'll be in Yunho or San's class, they can easily show you the ropes."

"Yeah, I hope so! That'll be fun!" Wooyoung choked out. "I'm glad you think so too!" San exclaims, grabbing Wooyoung's right arm in a friendly manner and somewhat hugging it. He seemed to crave human contact and affection very much.

However, that gesture, which Wooyoung normally enjoyed when it came from a different person, ended up triggering him instead. He had no idea why San was acting this way, why he seemed to have no idea about who he was. What was he scheming?

He jumped at the touch, and in a quick movement, sharply drew his arm away from the others grasp and clutched his own arm to his chest. San looked at him, bewildered.

Wooyoung jumped up from his seat, stating that he needed to use the washroom, and also asking where the trays should be left after eating. Following their directions, he left his tray on the rack at the side of the room and left the hall.

Once he had left the depths of the lunch room, he realised that he had no where else to go, and that he was still a bit confused about the locations of certain blocks. Moreover, he had also ditched his guide. Unsure about where he was going, he took flight after flight of stairs upwards, until he reached the entrance to the rooftop. Hongjoong hadn't shown him any of the rooftops. They're supposed to be off limits to students, although not stated as a formal rule.

The door ahead of him beckoned him forward, gnawing at his curiosity as to what the rooftop would be like. Likely it would be standard and plain and dusty with unuse, but he still needed to know anyway. He pushed the door open.

His first realisation when he stopped onto the rough tiles of the rooftop was that he wasn't alone. There was another student, sitting on the ground a few metres away from the stairwell entrance, having his lunch. Wooyoung became confused once again.

Why would this guy want to have his lunch alone up here, when everybody else is having theirs downstairs in the lunch hall?

The sitting student was alerted to his presence when he heard the door creak open. He turned around, seeming surprised as to why another would come up here. Wooyoung waved at him, then came over and asked if it was okay for him to sit with the other.

"It's a free space. You can do whatever you want," the other boy states in his deep voice while shrugging. Wooyoung sits there, quiet for a few minutes, letting the boy finish his lunch in peace, before asking the question that he had been on the tip of his tongue.

"Why do you eat your lunch up here?"

The other boy looks up at him with a blank expression, before tilting his head and shoulders slightly to the side, quite clearly expressing "I don't know?".

"Come on, you must have a reason."

"Fine. It's because I don't have any friends, and it looks pathetic if I sit in the hall alone, so I isolate myself instead. I've done this since the first week I started here, so I'm used to it. No need to feel sorry for me."

Wooyoung couldn't help but feel sad for the boy. Here was another who hadn't been given the chance to fully experience what it was like to have a friend. This was an opportunity.

"I can eat lunch up here with you too! That is, if you don't mind? Then at least you won't be so lonely. It must be so frustrating to have words to speak but nobody to say them to."

The boy hesitated, before smiling brightly at Wooyoung and nodding his head vigorously. His smile was so welcoming and friendly looking, it was hard to believe that he didn't have any friends. Well, at least now he could be the first one. Wooyoung smiled back.

It may have been his first day here, but if he could make someone's day better with a small gesture like this, then he would do it with no hesitation.

Wooyoung reached out his hand towards the other, saying: "Now that we officially are lunch buddies of a sort, maybe I'd better introduce myself. Hi! My name is Wooyoung, and it's actually my first day here. What's your name?"

The other guy takes his outstretched hand and shakes it once in something similar to a pact gesture. "Hi Wooyoung! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well. My name's Mingi."