#manager!wonwoo

you had gotten scolded by your company severely. wonwoo was there throughout it all, of course. as manager, he was supposed to look after your online presence, pr training, socials, schedules and healths. he listened to the earfuls you received, then the insults he had to swallow about his incompetency. you argued back when the CEO had mentioned replacing wonwoo with someone more hardworking and diligent. you wouldn’t stand for someone else being held responsible for your actions and opinions.

“that was fucking stupid. all over some stupid milk, i’m sorry I dragged you into this mess. hope you know that whatever they were saying was random bullshit,”

wonwoo stood tall before you, not meeting your eyes as he ran his hands though his hair, sighing frustratedly.

“don’t do that again, especially not for me,” wonwoo had said, rather seriously.

this wasn’t new. wonwoo preferred having a professional relationship, and pushed away any chance of you being friendly towards him. he wasn’t like this with the other members exactly. he would offer a smile once or twice and give them reliable and comforting advice. you weren’t upset, but curious about why he treated you so coldly. did you hurt him in any way?

you worked overtime to burn the anger off. with a new ep coming out, you had meeting with various peoples, accompanied by wonwoo. It was around 5pm when you had told him to go home. you then disappeared into your studio, working on a b-side.

it was around 2am when you left. you hadn’t expected much, and you felt the deep ache between your scapulas. your wrists were aching, and you had messages from your youngest member, begging you to buy ice cream on the way back to the dorms.

the things you do for love.

you walk out of the building, towards your car, only to find wonwoo on his phone, leaning against your car, blue light reflecting onto his glasses.

“wonwoo?”

he looked up. you could only hear the sound of the subway tracks and the sounds of birds tweeting too early and too late.

he wordlessly takes your car keys and takes his seat at the drivers without so much of a word.

“thanks, by the way.”

he looked forward, and mumbled nothing or something. he stopped at a convenience store, near the dorms a bit later into the calm drive.

you look at him, confused and surprised.

he looked a bit amused. “I’m also in the group chat, you know that?”

wonwoo looked younger when he smiled like that.

you followed him as he walked in. he grabbed chocolate for two of the members, then stopped to get mint for the youngest, then he stopped at a flavor you very much loved. it was surprising that he liked the same ice cream as you.

“I’m surprised you also like that flavor.” you prevented him from closing the freezer, trying to grab the same one he had just taken.

“don’t, this one is for you.”

it was silent as you looked at the ice creams in his hands, and watched him pay for them. you didn’t understand him at all, you had thought.

“I don’t understand you, wonwoo," you had grunted as you slammed the door as you huffed into the passenger seat.

it was silent. the car hadn't been turned on and wonwoo just sat in silence, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt, the ring around his thumb, and the emblem of the car.

“I’m sorry. but I can’t be close to people I work with. professionalism and ethics and power imbalances and what not.”

“why are you suddenly saying this?”

“I don’t just wanna be workers with you. I get so fucking frustrated around you because of how sweet you are to me, even when I’m being an asshole.”

“hold on,”

“let me finish, please, i prefer keeping my distances from people I like, makes things easier in the long run if I get hurt, but especially you. seeing you put your dream basically on the line for me today was too risky. please don't do that ever again. especially not for me.”

“so you like me?”

“is that all you got out of my confession? but in conclusion, yes.”

“but you don’t date coworkers?”

“not anymore. hearing that bullshit from the ceo pissed me off today. dropped off my transfer letter just after you told me to piss off, I'll be managing that new rookie group that debuts in a few months.”

he locked eyes with you, and asked if he could hold your hand. you had only nodded as he patted his hands on top of yours.

the two of you awkwardly avoided eye contact, looking forward as the bag of ice creams melted onto your laps.