taste of desire - woosan

27. i like you

whatever posessed wooyoung to walk over to san was long gone by the time they made their way to a park bench, a little bit away from the stargazers. he thought he'd have more time to plan out what he was going to say to san and imagine where the conversation would go, but he wasn't that lucky.

maybe he should have resisted harder when yeosang asked him to go with him to the park. he planned on rotting in his room the whole day anyway but it's not like it's easy for wooyoung to say 'no' to yeosang. 

san sat next to wooyoung. it wasn't as if the bench was small. it was a decent size for the two men to sit together with a distance in between but san took it upon himself to sit impossibly close to wooyoung. it's as if he had no concept of personal space. and wooyoung of course, didn't dare to look at san although he could tell san was staring at him.

"what did you want to talk about?" san asked, breaking the awkward atmosphere. wooyoung attempted to scoot away from san to create some sort of distance but he was sitting towards the edge so he was stuck with his shoulders touching san's.

wooyoung sighed, and looked down at his lap. he was the one who approached san so he had to go through with talking to him, "i think we should talk about last night".

he wasn't sure what he was going to say to san, he still felt bad about how he basically rejected san. it wasn't that wooyoung wanted to push san away, it was just that wooyoung thought san liking him was too good to be true.

"what about it? i mean you made it pretty clear that you want me to leave you alone" san replied with a shaky laugh. 

"do you like me?" wooyoung blurted out and instantly covered his mouth with his hand. 

"i do" san reponded with no hesitation, making wooyoung's eyes widen. although san's actions had already proven he felt something towards wooyoung, him saying it out loud and actually admitting his feelings surprised wooyoung. san seemed so sure and content with his feelings which made wooyoung feel jealous since he didn't know his own feelings, or he couldn't own up to his feelings.

"but you already knew that, didn't you?" san voice held a hint of playful amusement, prompting wooyoung to gather the courage to meet his gaze his breath hitched in his throat, seeing how san was quite literally admiring wooyoung. he stared at him, the corner of his lip turned upwards into a small smile and a glint of warmth in his eyes. san looked so ethreally perfect, how could someone like him like wooyoung?

san squinted and tilted his head to the side, "do you like me, wooyoung?".

"um...i" wooyoung began, his voice trailing off as he searched for the right words. he couldn't deny the flutter of emotions stirring within him, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to admit them out loud. he didn't think he could say anything considering he told san he didn't hold the same feelings san did for him last night, albeit he didn't truly mean that either.

wooyoung was confused and he didn't want to be confused anymore, he wanted to be sure.

"i don't know" wooyoung admitted softly, his words carrying a hint of frustration at his own indecision. he felt a pang of guilt for his lack of clarity, knowing it only added to the complexity of their situation.

san was silent and wooyoung looked up at him to see him smiling, making wooyoung frown in confusion. he was just sitting there, grinning like an idiot. seriously, what was wrong with him?

"i thought you were going to reject me again" san said, looking up to the sky and smiling to himself. "i didn't say i like you" wooyoung pointed out, not wanting san to get the wrong idea.

"yeah" san said, looking back down at wooyoung, "but you never said that you didn't like me either". wooyoung's frown only deepened, he wasn't sure what san was getting at.

"what are you talking about?" wooyoung asked and san sighed, realizing that wooyoung was completely lost.

"if you said you didn't like me at all that would mean you feel nothing towards me but you said that you didn't know, so that means there's something there" san reasoned, hoping to clarify his point.

wooyoung scoffed, "well what if i was trying not to hurt your feelings?" he retorted. san smiled, showing off his dimples, "you hurt my feelings already but i can see now that you didn't mean anything you said last night".

"what makes you so sure?" wooyoung challenged. it was weird but wooyoung kind of enjoyed stepping on san's toes and making him annoyed.

san didn't respond but suddenly leaned in so close that his lips were nearly touching wooyoung's. wooyoung widened his eyes but didn't pull away. instead he stared into san's eyes, getting lost in them. without knowing, wooyoung's eyes softened, almost closing and he pursed out his lips in anticipation.

when nothing happened, he opened his eyes fully to see san back in his original position with a teasing grin on his face. the realization that he had fallen for san's playful trick made wooyoung's cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"you can't do that" wooyoung mumbled, turning his body away from san, which only caused san to burst out laughing. wooyoung wanted to disappear, he had never felt more embarrassed than he did in that moment.

grumbling, wooyoung stood up to leave. he had enough of choi san for one night. 

"wait" san said, his laughter dying down as he held onto wooyoung's wrist. wooyoung froze in his spot but refused to look back at san. "i'm sorry, don't go yet" san tugged on wooyoung's wrist, making him plop back down on the bench again.

san wrapped his arms around wooyoung's frame, making him stiffen up at the sudden action. he glanced over at san, "what are you doing?" wooyoung questioned.

"i like you, wooyoung. i like you a lot" san confessed, resting his head on wooyoung's shoulder. wooyoung gulped, why was he acting like this?

"you don't have to like me back, just let me stay with you" san murmured, his breath warm against wooyoung's neck. wooyoung's mind raced, torn between the warmth of san's embrace and the uncertainty of his own feelings. he had never been in a situation like this before, and it left him feeling vulnerable and exposed.

"we should go" wooyoung said, clearing his throat. he didn't know how to respond to san. how did san expect him to react when he was making wooyoung feel this way?

"please, wooyoung" san grabbed wooyoung's hand. san's demeaner had suddenly changed, he sounded so desperate and helpless.

"let me make you fall for me".