CHAPTER 10: A Kindle of Warmth

SAN
•••

Scrolling on my phone while waiting for Wooyoung to finish up getting dressed, I tried finding the fastest route to the diner. It didn't take long to find one, seeing one that the route would only take 10 minutes total to reach.

"Done."

My eyes glanced up from the screen and grew wide as I noticed his new appearance. "Are you sure this interview is for a diner job?"

Rolling his eyes playfully, he glanced down at his watch and huffed. "Enough drooling, let's go. Time waits for no one."

Chuckling at his behavior, I opened the room door, gesturing for him to go first. "After you."

Wooyoung gave me a smile before stepping out first, waiting for me to lock our dorm securely before he made his way to the stairwell. All I could do was follow behind, smirking at the confidence radiating off of the male as he continued his way down the staircase. He continued walking toward the exit, taking a slight glances behind to make sure I was following.

Cute...

Once outside, I turned to him with skeptical eyes. "So...where exactly is your car?"

I smirked, raising his keys and pressing the car beeper. His eyes darted to the sound and a gasp escaped him at the sight of my vehicle. "There's my car. Let's go."

Taking the lead in guiding us toward the vehicle, with a swift motion, I opened the passenger door for him. "Here you go."

It didn't go unnoticed as I saw the faint blush on his cheeks, but he playfully covered it with a scoff. "My hands work, you know, but thanks."

"I know."

Shutting the door for him, I made my way to the driver side and gently stepping in before starting up the engine. However, I turned to him with a skeptical expression, glancing at the lack of security around his body.

Wooyoung raised an eyebrow curiously. "What? Why are you staring at me?"

Without words, I sighed and leaned over, pulling the seatbelt across his body and secured it. "Since your hands apparently work, please put on your seatbelt." I teased.

"Right." He murmured, clearing his throat with slight embarrassment. "Sorry."

Pulling out of the parking spot, I sped out of the campus grounds toward the Diner. Not only did I have my new person of interest inside my car, I had the privilege of bringing him to his interview. However, the deliberate act of reaching over to put his seatbelt on didn't help with my growing attraction, as his vanilla scent hit my nose directly while I did it. All in all, it took every ounce of self control to not pull him to my lips.

The drive to the diner didn't take long, as planned, leaving us with about 20 minutes to spare. I noticed that his demeanor shifted from arrogant to nervous, his breathing coming out in long exaggerated movements.

"Do you need me to wait for you or pick you up? I don't mind." I asked softly, breaking the overwhelming silence.

He shook his head. "I'll be alright. I do appreciate you bringing me here, so thank you..."

I sighed. Always gotta be stubborn...

Looking around, I tried to a spare piece of paper to write my phone number on it. With my luck, I found a clean napkin, allowing me to reach into my pocket and pull out a pen. Quickly scribbling the digits, I held out the paper to him. "Here is my number. Call me if you change your mind, okay?"

"O-Okay." He murmured softly, taking the napkin and folding it into his pocket. Opening the door to leave, he turned to me and smiled gently. "Wish me luck?"

"With how you look? You don't need it." I smirked confidently. "Knock'em dead."

With a subtle nod in response, I watched as he stepped out of the car and took a deep breath in to what I assumed was to calm himself before making his way to the diner doors. I waited until he entered inside before driving to the furthest part of the lot, somewhere secluded and hard to see. Part of me wondered why I wanted to stay, but another part of me already knew the answer.

I wanted to get closer to him...

It was the small moments that I realized how much of an effect the male was having on me. From his feisty attitude to his adorable laugh, all of it was imprinting on my brain. There was a sense of need to protect that I couldn't shake off, so whatever I could do to at least keep making progress, I'll do it.

"Let me see if I can get someone to give me some kind of eyes inside..." I muttered, scrolling through my phone and looking for a reliable contact. My eyes darted to Hyunjin, and a small smirk grew on my face as I dialed his number.

It took a couple of rings before I could hear a connection. "San? What's up?"

"I need a favor."

"...Should I be worried?"

I chuckled. "No, no. It's actually simple, really. I also need you to bring your boyfriend Felix and Chan, too. Feel free to let Chan in on the favor, but the payment is yours. It's up to you if you want to share it."

"Okay...what do you need me to do exactly? I'm just now getting out of class... and San, you should know by now that I'm splitting it with Chan-hyung."

"I need you three to head to the local diner, play it off as just a casual get together, and don't worry, I'll pay you back your tab. Just don't mention the name 'Wooyoung' to Felix. He knows who that is, and last thing I need is for him to be suspicious."

Now Hyunjin was the one who chuckled. "Who exactly is this Wooyoung...? Please don't tell me he's your new toy?"

"Don't worry about the details, just do this for me. You have two hours."

Before giving him a chance to respond, I hung up the phone and sighed. There was no doubt that Hyunjin would follow through with the plan, especially with the possibility of getting paid for it at the end. I had a tendency to reward those who helped me, in a large amount at that.

Setting my timer for six and pushing my seat back, I closed my eyes and waited for the signal of their arrival.

Not realizing I actually fell asleep, I felt the buzzing of my phone on my lap. Sitting up in the seat, I saw Chan's name on the incoming call. Picking up, I placed the phone to my ear. "What's up, Chan?"

"Hyunjin filled me in with the plan and we're about to meet up with Felix to go through with it, so we may be earlier than the two hour deadline. Is that cool?"

I smirked. "As expected by you two, that's fine. I just want you to keep an eye on Wooyoung for me, that's all."

"Speaking of him... I heard from Yunho that apparently he's supposed to be with his mom for some event? Is the event at the diner?"

My eyebrow raised curiously.

Why would he lie to Yunho about his interview?...

"I'm not sure if that's the story, but I'd keep it going. Wooyoung probably had a reason for telling him that, and I don't blame him. We both know Yunho can't really keep a secret, hence why he even told you that."

"True, true...okay I'll keep you posted. We're on our way."

Hanging up the call, I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel in anticipation and appearance of Chan's silver G-Wagon in the parking lot. Knowing that the distance from campus was only ten minutes, each minute ticked by felt like forever. My anxiousness only settled when I noticed the distinctive vehicle pulling into the lot and parking, with Felix and Hyunjin stepping out first before Chan in what seemed to be deep conversation while walking to the doors. Once Chan stepped out, he instantly noticed my vehicle and gave a nod of confirmation before following the two inside.

"Now all I can do is wait..."

•••

It was now after six, and Chan gave me word that Wooyoung was finally serving their table and all seemed to be well. Apparently the interview was a test shift, and a smile grew on my face as I felt internally proud that he was succeeding.

"When does the shift end?" I asked in a text to him, patiently waiting for a response.

I noticed bubbles forming as he was typing a response, but suddenly the bubbles disappeared. Staring at the screen, there was no sign of him typing again which caused me to grow concerned. Typing back a quick message to gather his attention, my message remained on 'delivered' instead of 'read'.

Something in my gut felt like there was a problem and despite my urgent need to go inside, I couldn't. Wooyoung didn't know that I stayed to wait for him, but the lack of communication from Chan made my worry skyrocket instantly.

Calm down San...you're overreacting...

My phone vibrated, and before I could check the message, I saw Wooyoung step outside of the diner. Squinting my eyes, it looked as though his entire body was wet.

"What the hell...?" I whispered in surprise at his appearance. His previously fluffed hair was now sticking to his forehead, and his white shirt was practically clinging to his body. Clenching my fists, I knew something drastic must've happened.

However, my thoughts were interrupted as a single raindrop hit my windshield. Glancing up at the sky, panic grew as I saw how quickly the change of weather was as a storm came pouring down. The rain fell directly on him, but his body language shown signs of defeat.

Please call me...just call me....

Instead of choosing what I hoped, I noticed him prepare to walk home in the storm. Silently cursing, I started my engine and turned on my heater before pulling up next to him. I stripped off my shirt before hopping out of the car, running over to him to cover his head with it. "Wooyoung, I told you I could pick you up!"

"S-San?"

"No talking. Get in the car!" I shouted, pushing him to my vehicle. Opening the passenger door, I gently pushed his head inside to sit and quickly made my way back over and sat on my side, turning to the backseat to grab my spare hoodie again to put on.

Wooyoung turned to me with tears brimming in his eyes. "Why did you come to get me...?"

"Woo...I never left the parking lot. I was waiting for you." I said softly, gently brushing his hair away from his face. "Just relax. I'll get us back to campus."

He nodded slowly, staring silently at the window as the storm continued relentlessly. Noticing his sullen mood, I knew it was best not to ask him at the moment what happened, but all I could do was wonder what occurred inside.

Chan has a lot of explaining to do...

Reaching the campus grounds parking lot, I pulled into a nearby slot and shut the engine off. There was a silence inside that was nearly tangible, with the sound of the rain creating a sense of noise to occupy the space between us.

However, wanting to break the tension, I looked at him. "Wooyoung..."

"I don't want to talk about it San..."

"We can talk about something else then."

His head turned to me with tears threatening to spill. "Really? Like what?"

I sighed, rubbing his cheek softly. "You can ask me something and I'll answer. It can be anything you want."

Wooyoung giggled brokenly, with a tear finally escaping from him. "As if you would want to share something about yourself. What happened to the person who didn't even care enough to share his name with me?"

"That still stands," I rolled my eyes playfully, "but consider this your one free card. So, have at it. Ask away."

He furrowed his brow, his face deep in thought as he pondered on a question to ask me. Taking in every set of his facial expressions only added fuel to the never ending struggle between myself and my growing addiction towards him. However, the feeling hid itself behind my mind as he finally found a question.

"...What was your childhood like?"

Should've expected that one...

I sighed. "Not pleasant... I never had a mother growing up because she died giving birth to me and the relationship between my father and I... let's just say we weren't exactly the poster picture of a 'father and son' duo that most people would think..."

"Oh..." Wooyoung said softly, "I'm sorry for asking such a personal question..."

"No, it's fine. I don't mind answering, and I did give you a freebie." I teased. "Ask me another one."

Wooyoung's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really? I can ask another one?"

"Ask away, I'm all ears."

This time, I noticed a blush rising on his cheeks before he murmured the next question. "What was your last relationship like..?"

It took me a moment to process the question before bursting into laughter. "Seriously, Wooyoung? That's what you want to know?"

He pouted. "Stop laughing at me, okay! I just...nevermind. Forget it..."

"No, I'll answer..." I paused, trying to compose my words correctly without giving him too much of my true history. "I never really a real relationship before, if I'm being honest. They were mostly flings or just things without labels. I don't like girls, so all of them were just guys who either wanted a good time or people who were fine with what we had... I'm more of a...dominant type of guy."

"O-Oh." Wooyoung's blushed deepened. "I see."

On cue, the storm finally began to let up, with rays of sunshine making its appearance through the clouds. Wooyoung sighed, looking at me with a soft smile. "Thanks."

I raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"Picking me up... and lifting my mood. I feel much better now." He said quietly before opening the door. "Let's go to our room. I desperately need a hot shower."

Nodding in agreement, I followed suit and exited the car, locking it before joining him in the walk to our shared dorm room. The sunlight felt like a new sign, a kindle of warmth slowly growing between us.

———————————————————————————  

Remember to Vote & Comment ✨