Chapter 34 - One Closes Another Opens 2

Wonho stares at the calm water. He can see everything inside it, the fish, the pebbles, the random turtles… Sometimes even the ducks come close enough for Wonho to step away from the lake, afraid to be bitten before realizing they are just as scared as he is. The one and only time he was here alone is the orientation night when he was stalked by an alpha, hence why he didn't come back since.

But he needs to clear his mind right now, and the only place he can think of is here. And it is mid-day, if anything are to happen, there will be people nearby to help. Hopefully.

Sitting down on the ground, Wonho leans back, supporting his weight with both his hands, and takes a deep breath. He never realizes how calmingly lively this place is during the day. Away from other people, this place is very quiet with only the sound of nature which makes it really tranquil. All his worries don't seem to matter anymore. At least, for now.

Throwing a piece of pebble into the lake, Wonho sighs.

Jinyoung, he deserves to be with the alpha. Despite what happened, Wonho is somehow not as disappointed, as angry, or as surprised as he thought he should have. In fact, he is actually a bit relieved.

After calmly rearranging his thoughts and feelings, he realized deep down, what they had was never really love. Yes, he enjoyed the smaller one's presence, but that is merely adoration. Jinyoung is the first omega he ever met besides his family who has that shameless, in-your-face personality, who knows what he wants and is adamant about it.

And yet he is adorable, lovable, awkward, and somewhat lonely, which made Wonho feel protective over him. He feels the same way about his family, he realized that now.

That could be why he rejected anything physical with the omega, it just never felt right. The fact that he easily cut off contacts after the incident, almost forgetting about the other, is proof enough of his real feelings. And yet, when the omega came to him, telling him his life could stay the same, Wonho held on to it.

Now he realized it was not because he loved Jinyoung. It was because Jinyoung is his past.

The past that he was still not willing to let go.

Looking up at the bright sky, Wonho closes his eyes. His stomach still feels a bit bloated but nothing the painkiller cannot fix. He knows he has to go to the doctors, he went there 3 times, but every time they told him to prepare for ultrasound, he gets cold feet and runs away.

The word 'ultrasound' usually associated with pregnancy doesn't not mix well with his traumatized brain, his body goes into automatic flight mode. He wonders if the doctors and nurses will still take him seriously if he goes there the fourth time. Or maybe he should go to another hospital....

But that is the only hospital on campus though... God, why did he have to run away?

Ignoring the slight pain, still trying to convince himself he is going to be fine without any medication, Wonho reaches out for his soda. Only to find it gone.

'Don't drink cola when you have stomachache.' He hears Minwoo calls as the man takes a big gulp from his bottle. Wonho looks at that smug face and turns back to face the lake, ignoring the wink. He is not in the mood to listen to his weird nonsense.

On the other hand, Minwoo grins to himself. He is extremely excited to finally find Wonho alone. He checked around, his friends are not there. The man is finally by himself, at the lake. Where he first saw the man.

The first place he saw the lake guy.

'Nice view.' Minwoo comments after a few moments of silence. He glances over at the other, eyeing all his features, the ones he has come to adore so much. Wonho does not mind his staring anymore, maybe even enjoying the bit of attention, thanks to the constant teasing from his friends when they would catch Minwoo's stares. At least one good thing came from their interruptions.

'My face?'

'The lake.' He turns his head quickly when he realizes Wonho is looking at him. That caused the other to laugh slightly, albeit very softly. Minwoo too, laughs awkwardly, slightly embarassed, but also enjoying himself. He then moves in closer, wanting to make sure his shoulder touches with the other. At this distance, he can really enjoy the smell of the other's flowery shampoo, the scent he has been addicted to as of lately.

'Why are you here alone?' He tries to start a conversation. It is so quiet, it feels like a waste. After all, it is not everyday he gets to be alone with the man. This is his chance to get closer.

'To be alone.' Minwoo pouts at the answer as he realizes how stupid his question was. He shifts his position a bit, hitting Wonho as he did, earning him a push from the other. 'You're making so much noise!'

'I didn't do anything!'

'Your existence is noisy.' Minwoo is baffled and pouts again, giving him the puppy eyes. Wonho rolls his eyes and pushes his face away, 'I hate dogs.'

He never knew when he started understanding Wonho's harsh jokes, but he did. Maybe it is all thanks to him laughing along awkwardly with Junjie whenever the two betas made lame jokes together. As a result, his own sense of humor too, is reduced to dry ones.

But none of that matters because now, Wonho seems to have already accepted him. He is comfortable enough to act playful, though he does so in a weird way, making Minwoo all giddy inside. All his effort for the past few weeks, months maybe, was not for nothing.

'Did I interrupt something?' He asks, to make sure he is actually welcomed. He would hate to be here if Wonho wants him gone because that would not benefit their relationship at all. The man has a tendency to say the opposite of things, and Minwoo sometimes finds it hard to read in between the sarcasm.

Wonho stares at him longer than usual before a smile decorated his handsome face. He shakes his head and lies down on the rocks before getting up again as he feels the sharp edges hurting the back of his head. Minwoo takes that chance and does the same thing, cushioning his own head with his right hand, and stretching his left arm to make a pillow. 'Come and lay here.'

'What're are you doing?' Wonho looks at him weirdly but Minwoo swears he sees some red on those cheeks.

'Arm pillow.'

'I have my own arms'

'Mine are more cushiony. Yours are just bones.'

Wonho again, rolls his eyes and puts his own left hand behind his head anyway and lies down, 'This is not comfortable.' He then gets up and decides to just sit.

'Told you so.' Minwoo stands up from the painful position and starts to collect some pebbles, throwing it into the lake to show off his stone-skipping skills. He knows the other cannot do it and is creating an opportunity for him to teach the other, if only Wonho would bite the bait. Taking more, he does it again and again, looking back at Wonho with a proud grin.

And the man is envious, he can tell. Wonho is pretending to ignore the alpha but cannot quite take his eyes off the moving stones - his curious pupils betraying his stoic expression.

Wonho slowly stands up, grabs one of the rocks without minding the shape and starts to mimic Minwoo's action with his body bending awkwardly. As expected, the stone drops with a loud blop, making the better one laugh. 'That was intentional.'

'Yeah. Sure.' Minwoo throws another one slowly, making sure every movement is slow enough for Wonho to 'study'. 'Ahhh…. Should've thrown lower…' he murmurs loudly.

As predicted, there is another blop. 'Which one should I choose?' He continues talking to himself while looking for the best pebble to throw. He grabs one, complains loudly about it and throws it away, doing the same thing a few times until he finds a flat one. In the corner of his eyes, he sees Wonho doing the same thing, collecting flat pebbles after Minwoo's comments.

Adorable.

He smiles widely after seeing Wonho failing, yet again. 'Yahh, why don't you just admit you can't do it.'

'The wind is strong.'

'Woah! Look at that pride!' He pretends to look up and receives a punch to the shoulder. 'Lemme teach you.'

'No thanks.'

'Whatever.' He replies and proceeds to comment on the shorter male's every movement, lecturing him on the art of stone-skipping. And although the latter pretends to be annoyed, he is listening attentively and in mere moments, both of them are betting on who can throw the furthest. The best part of the whole situation is Wonho's scrunching nose the whole time, delighting Minwoo even more. They start to collect more pebbles to throw before both accidentally grabbed the same one.

Bzzz!

He feels it, the jolt. Something like static electricity flowing from his finger and fading around his elbow.

Minwoo is stunned, staring at the man in front of him, 'Woah.'