"Hi, uh, so." Wooyoung desperately tries to shake off the blankness that washed over him as soon as the pretty receptionist looked up from his laptop and smiled at him. "Do you have a phone?"
A moment passes. Wooyoung wants to facepalm.
~~~
Growing...
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There's still a myriad of thoughts flooding San's mind by the time he reaches the dorms and toes his shoes off at the entrance to his shared room. Mingi and Yunho are not as boisterously loud as they usually are when they go out altogether, but the lights are on and San can them hear talking in an undertone around the corner.
"I'm back!" he announces, just in case their conversation is supposed to be private and they didn't notice him enter.
"San!"
"Finally!"
For a moment, the whirlwind of thoughts in his head clears, and San takes two big steps to peer around the corner. Two eager smiles greet him—eager for the food they can finally eat now, San supposes, but also for him. The thought warms him, and he finds himself smiling widely back at them. For a second, everything is alright.
Then Mingi straightens up from where he was leaning over the kitchen table to talk to Yunho, Yunho announces that he will set the table, and San is reminded of his struggle. He opts to wait to talk about it, though. He will tell them when they're sitting together. When there's a lull in conversation. He doesn't want to talk about himself only—he wants to hear about Mingi's day too.
"Who was the guy waiting for you, San?" Yunho asks as he places a pair of chopsticks and a spoon on the table for each of them.
Or not. San opens his mouth. He's not sure how he should explain what just happened. "Wooyoung."
That gets Mingi's attention, too, immediately: "Wooyoung from our island?"
"I didn't know it was him!" Yunho remarks at the same time, pouting. Then he frowns, matching the face Mingi makes: "What did he want?"
"He..." San swallows nervously, "he wanted to- to reconnect, I think. It seemed like it. He gave me his number."
Mingi looks stunned for a second. The furrow between his eyebrows becomes deeper: "So after ignoring you, he just decided he-"
"He didn't see it," San interrupts him quickly. It's embarrassing to admit that his gesture that was supposed to be kind of symbolic messed everything up, but if he is to tell anyone, it's Mingi and Yunho: "I wrote my number on a stone that we found once and gave it to him, but I didn't make sure he saw it right away because I was scared he might reject m-... it. It probably seemed like a Goodbye present to him, or something like that."
Sceptical silence follows his words. "Do you believe him?" Mingi inquires. San nods hesitantly. Usually, Mingi isn't judgmental, especially towards someone he knows so little. But now, there's no mistaking the sour note in his usually calm voice. He's holding a grudge on San's behalf, San realises with a burst of fondness and affection towards his best friend despite the circumstances.
"He did wait two hours in the café to talk to San," Yunho points out carefully.
Mingi mumbles something irritated under his breath before he focuses back on San: "Remember how upset you were when he didn't call after he left?"
