taste of desire - woosan

5. never again

san liked to think of himself as a person who thought things through. he never really acted on impulse and nor did he ever put himself into unfamiliar and unexpected situations. in his friend group, he was seen as more on the responsible side. but this exact morning made san rethink pretty much everything about himself.

the overwhelming sunlight peeking through the curtains woke san up and he very reluctantly opened his eyes, wincing at the throbbing pain he was experiencing in his head. groaning, he grabbed a pillow and put it over his head as he turned over, sinking into the bed. san furrowed his eyebrows...this bed was too big to be the tiny twin bed in his room and the mattress was softer than seonghwa's. slowly, san removed the pillow from his face and sat up. looking around the room, san was confused. the room was larger than his and seonghwa's combined. strange enough, there wasn't much in the room. just the bed, a desk with a computer and chair, and two doors aside from the bedroom door. the interior of the room was all black. where the hell was he?

on the computer desk chair, there was a white coat slung over it. san got up quietly and walked over to it, picking it up out of curiousity. it was a chef coat with the words "eclat" written in cursive gold letters and below it a name. san rubbed his eyes with one hand and read the name. jung wooyoung. 

san tried to recall the events of last night, but just couldn't remember what happened. the last thing that he remembered was walking out of the karaoke room after seonghwa and jongho forced him to sing. he looked around to see if his phone was nearby, but it was nowhere to be found. holding onto his aching head with one hand, san put his hand on the bedroom door, hoping no one was home so that he could get out. just as he opened the door, a man holding a tray of food and water appeared in front of him.

squealing out of shock, san stumbled back so quickly he nearly fell on the floor. he looked at the man, who didn't look startled at all, with wide eyes.

"you're finally awake" the man simply said while walking into the room. he placed the tray down on the desk and looked back at san, who was still frozen in his spot. "are you going to eat or are you going to keep staring at me?". san blinked, regaining his composure, and sat down at the desk.

"why am i here?" san asked as he took a bite from a piece of toast. the man, who san assumed was wooyoung raised an eyebrow and an amused smile appeared on his face, "you don't remember?". san shook his head and wooyoung tilted his head to the side like he was thinking. "hmm, let see. well, i just finished work and i went to relax on a bench and i found a very drunk person next to me who would ramble at me one second and start bawling his eyes out the next".

san froze, "i didn't say anything stupid, did i?" he felt his ears redden in embarrassment. wooyoung squinted, "you said my restaurant was so bad and you kept crying over someone named jiyeon". san widened his eyes as the realization hit. this was the same person that stopped him the other night when he took jiyeon out. he gulped and looked up apologetically at wooyoung, "i didn't mean...i'm sorry". san sighed, realizing he was really screwed.

wooyoung glared at san, "i had to carry you on my back all the way here, do you realize how heavy you are?" he gestured towards the bed, "i also let you sleep on my bed and i had to sleep on the floor". san gulped. this was definately not one of his finer moments. "i'm really sorry" he muttered, completely and utterly embarrassed.

the silence that followed after his apology was too much for him to handle and all that san honestly wanted right now was to get out of there. "i'm just going to go" san said, and got up from the chair. he looked at wooyoung, "thank you and i'm sorry again". san headed to the door.

"how are you getting home?" san stopped and looked back. come to think of it, san had no idea where he was. his phone was apparently not here, he must've left in the karaoke room.

wooyoung sighed and walked over to him, "what's your name?" he asked as he pulled out his phone from his sweatpants. "san. choi san." san replied, shifting from foot to foot. the man handed his phone over to san, "order an uber, san". san shook his head and backed away, "no, it's okay. you've done more than enough". rolling his eyes, wooyoung shoved the phone into san's hand, "how else are you going to get home?".

knowing he was right, san reluctantly ordered an uber, "i'll pay you back" he muttered while handing the phone back. wooyoung let out a sarcastic laugh, "yeah right". san cringed internally, remembering again how he left the restaurant without paying.

"i'll pay you back for the dinner too" he quickly said. "i was going to pay, i just had something to deal with but i promise i wasn't trying to not pay".

"that's not what it looked like. i remember you clearly saying you weren't going to pay because you didn't eat anything and that you could get a better meal from the pizzeria" wooyoung spat out bitterly and san cringed again.

wooyoung looked at san sternly, "honestly, i don't care if you like the food or not. i'm used to criticism, but i don't like people who order a bunch of food and not only not pay for it, but leave it to be thrown out". san looked down, the guilt was burning inside of him. they both stayed silent for a few moments.

"your uber's here" wooyoung suddenly announced as he glanced at the notification on his phone. san uttered another apology and quickly rushed out. he jumped into the uber waiting outside and sighed as he leaned against the window in the backseat.

never again would he drink in public by himself.