Poisoned (Woozi)

" 'Oh, this has got to be the most disgusting thing ever - here, taste it!'"

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You sat in the back of your Home Economics class, watching the pair in front of you with pure amazement. Mingyu and Jaebum were the power duo of the class, getting a perfect grade on every dish they made. You just couldn’t understand how they made such amazing food with no effort.

“Yah, stop daydreaming and help me.” Your partner, Byungjoo, nudged you in the side with a scowl.

“It’s just ramen, Bjoo, how hard is it to make?” You questioned, lazily, choosing instead to lean back in your chair.

“With that attitude, you’ll never impress Jihoon.” He pointed the spoon at you with a frown before turning back to the ramen.

You also frowned, sliding down in your chair. Your eyes landed on the boy in question, positioned on the opposite side of the room, working with his partner, Jinyoung. You’ve been crushing on the blonde boy since he stood up for you in middle school, but since you had different social circles, you found it hard to talk to him. None of your friends knew him, so it was a struggle to find a way to work yourself into his life. That didn’t stop you from trying to come up with a solution, though.

You sighed in frustration, letting your head fall onto the table. “What am I gonna do?”

Byungjoo patted your back half-heartedly as he focused on the soup. “On the bright side, it’s movie night.”

That did make you feel a bit better. “Can I choose the movie this time?”

He shrugged. “I don’t care, but you know how picky Jiho is.”

Byungjoo, Jiho, and yourself have been best friends ever since you were tots in diapers. As you grew older, the bond between you became stronger until the three of you became a family, supporting each other through life’s twists and turns. To celebrate this bond and to face the reality that you all would probably split ways after high school, Jiho started hosting a movie night. Every Friday, the three of you would gather on his couch and watch several movies, usually chosen by Jiho himself. It was a small frame of time where you forgot about everything else, stuffed your face with various snacks, and enjoyed the company of your brothers.

When school ended, you and Byungjoo raced off to the local movie rental store, Blickbuster. The blonde kept sneaking around the isles trying to see which genre and movie you were choosing, but he was soon cornered by a couple of girls from school who may or may not have an unhealthy obsession with him.

‘That’s what you get for being so popular’, you snickered to yourself, quickly grabbing a couple movies that looked interesting before rushing to the counter. Because the internet was taking over when it came to movies, Blickbuster wasn’t as popular as it once had been. It sucked for them, but it was good for you because there was no line to wait in.

The cashier took his sweet time to scan the movies, making you want to yell at him to move a little faster, but he was an older gentleman and you didn’t want to be rude. You could hear Byungjoo’s steps as he rushed over to you, but the movies were slid into the plastic bag just before he reached the counter. He pouted at you, but you just offered him a thumbs up and a cheeky smile.

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Jiho looked up when his front door opened, scowling at the two of you – chatting cheerfully with each other as if you hadn’t been more than fifteen minutes late. “What took you two so long? We were supposed to walk home together, remember?” You tried to subtly shift the bag behind you, but he caught the logo. “No way, I don’t trust you, Y/N!”

When he turned away to set up the DVD player, you and Byungjoo shared a sneaky look.

Sniffling loudly, you put on the saddest face you could manage as you approached the couch, hands clasped tightly against your legs. Jiho watched you with suspicious eyes while Byungjoo looked at you with pity, making sure the brown-haired male saw the look. “Come on, man! Y/N is having some serious dating issues. She was really looking forward to showing us this movie.”

Still suspicious, he shifted his weight uncomfortably. “What movie is it?”

“I wanted to – sniffle – surprise you.” You responded in a timid voice. Byungjoo nodded, throwing his arms around your shoulders and frowning at the male.

Heaving out a deep sigh, Jiho gave in. “Fine.”

As soon as the words passed his lips, your mood flipped and you high-fived the male next to you. Dread filled him as Jiho realized that he had just been played. “You guys suck!”

“We love you, too, Jiho~!” You both chorused, working together to form a heart with your hands.

Working together, you quickly filled the coffee table with snacks and got everything connected. The boys settled down on the couch while you popped the disk into the DVD player, flicking off the lights. You squeezed in between them and pressed play.

Twenty minutes into the horror movie, both boys were clutching onto you for dear life, screaming every time something mildly disturbing happened which was quite often. Meanwhile, you were completely relaxed, munching on popcorn as the guy was forced to saw his ankle off in order to escape the room.

“You guys are such babies.” You mumbled, flinching. “Stop screaming in my ear, Jiho!”

“You have no soul!” He cried, throwing the blanket over his head when a particularly loud scream left the television.

Jiho’s older sister, Sarang, descended the stairs, rubbing her tired eyes. When she saw the horror movie playing on the screen, she decided to sneak up behind the three, screaming as loud as her lungs would allow. Her brother shrieked, falling off the couch and throwing himself against the wall. Byungjoo slammed his face into your shoulder, nails digging into your arm. Even you jumped, whipping around to face the source.

“That was not funny, sis!”

Sarang giggled, flicking the lights on. “I thought it was hilarious!”

You paused the movie and tried to pry the blonde off of you. “Did we wake you up?”

“Yes, but I don’t have any plans for tomorrow.” She plopped down on the couch next to you. “Mind if I join?”

“Nope! I’m going to bed, goodnight!” Without waiting for a response, Jiho stomped up the stairs, having had enough of being scared for one night.

You turned to Byungjoo who had finally removed his nails from your skin. “You in?”

Taking a deep breath, he hesitantly nodded.

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You flipped through the channels, looking for something at least mildly interesting to watch. You and Sarang had finished both movies, and Byungjoo had fallen asleep sometime during the second movie, using your shoulder as a pillow. You weren’t tired at all, though.

Because of how late it was, there wasn’t much playing on TV, so you just settled for a Running Man re-run. The blonde snored lightly as Sarang exited the kitchen, carrying two glasses of coke.

“So tell me, Y/N. Have you confessed your undying love to that boy yet?”

You shifted in your seat, taking a long sip of the drink.

“That’s a no,” she laughed, “You’re taking Home Ec, right?”

“Yeah, but I can’t cook to save my life.” You frowned at the glass, rubbing your thumb over the condensation. “Pretty sure Bjoo is failing because of me.”

“That’s a shame. You know, don’t you?”

“Know what?”

“You joined Home Ec and you don’t even know?” She looked at you in surprise. “What did you join for, then?”

“Bjoo begged me to join him because he thought the class would be full of girls. He wanted to use me as his wingman, but the class is mostly guys. There are only four girls, and two of them are obsessed with him.”

Sarang giggled. “Ah, high school life~ I remember what it was like being young~”

“You’re not even that old…”

“But you know, Y/N,” she leaned forward, holding her finger up with a smile, “The quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

You sat for a moment, taking in that information. “If that’s the case, then I really am screwed!”

“Nonsense! Your teacher is Mrs. Jung, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Perfect! She’s an amazing cook and a brilliant teacher. As long as you listen well and do as she does, you’ll be a pro in no time.” She patted your shoulder gently. “You’re resourceful and smart, have some confidence in yourself.”

You nodded, jumping off the couch and holding out your fist in determination. “You’re right, I can do this!”

Byungjoo groaned in pain, having been thrown face-first onto the floor.

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“I can’t do this…” You muttered as Mrs. Jung approached your table.

She looked down at the plate of food you had prepared, up to your crestfallen face, and back down to the food. What was meant to be a simple dish of bacon, eggs, and toast turned out to be a disaster because Byungjoo trusted you to cook the food alone after you begged him all morning.

The eggs were like rubber, the bacon was hard as a brick, and the poor toast, rather than being golden brown, had turned pitch black. Mrs. Jung cleared her throat, “Well… we all have to start somewhere. Good effort, Y/N, Byungjoo.”

You bowed your head in shame as the girls at the next table started laughing at you. Byungjoo did his best to comfort you, but his words didn’t reach. You honestly felt like such a failure – a hopeless loser that couldn’t even make toast properly. It wasn’t just your inability to cook, either. Byungjoo had trusted you and you had let him down. His grades would surely suffer from your overconfidence.

The next couple of days passed by you as a blur. You hardly said a word despite Jiho and Byungjoo’s various attempts to cheer you up or, at the very least, get some sort of reaction out of you. Everything they tried ultimately failed, though.

When lunch rolled around, you found yourself sitting alone at the table. Neither boy could be found, but you didn’t even notice. As Jihoon entered the cafeteria, his eyes landed on you. With a furrowed brow, he quickly glanced around the room, but neither Jiho or Byungjoo were in the room. You never ate without them. Had you fought with them? He had noticed your change in attitude over the past few days, but since he didn’t actually know anyone in your circle, he had no way of knowing.

The chair next to you squeaked as he pulled it away from the table, sitting down on the hard plastic. “Are you okay?”

“I can’t cook.” You muttered, absentmindedly stirring your potatoes.

He was quiet for a moment, carefully thinking over his response. “Cooking isn’t for everyone. Even so, don’t give up. Whenever you feel like giving up, think about the reason you want to improve your cooking. Focus on that reason until you no longer have the desire to give up.” After saying his peace, he stood up and headed for his usual table.

You looked up as he walked away, feeling the fork slip out of your fingers in surprise. It was Jihoon! You let his words sink in before you felt a new wave of resolve come over you. With your newfound energy, you sprung up, slamming your hands on the table. “I will learn how to cook!”

The other students looked at you like you were weird, disturbed by your sudden outburst. Jihoon hid his smile behind his hand, eyes following you as you rushed out of the cafeteria.

Most of your lunch period was spent searching for your two best friends. There were only ten minutes left when you finally found them talking to each other in the hallway. You ran up to them and threw your arms around their necks.

“I’m sorry for the way I’ve been acting! I’m sorry I’m practically making you fail, Bjoo!

They exchanged a look of surprise but returned the embrace.

“What’s gotten into you?” Jiho questioned.

“Was it aliens – ow! What’d you hit me for?!”

“Because you’re an idiot and you’re ruining the mood.”

“You ruin the mood all the time!”

“Exactly. It’s my job to ruin the mood, not yours.”

“Says who?”

“Says me.”

You burst out laughing, wrapping your arms around your stomach. It felt good like you were releasing all of the negativity that had been hanging over you the past few days.

The pair smiled at you, happy that you were no longer sulking. Byungjoo waited for your laughter to die down before speaking, “We have a surprise for you.”

“Surprise?” You questioned, wiping away your tears.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. Jiho wished you both good luck before you went your separate ways. Byungjoo was practically skipping to Home Ec and you were beginning to feel nervous. Was he going to get even with you for making him watch a horror movie?

The two of you were the last ones in the class before the bell and you caught Jihoon’s eyes. He sent you an encouraging smile, which you returned with a nervous one.

You went to take your seat, but the blonde shoved you into the chair next to Mingyu who offered you a kind smile. Byungjoo took his normal seat, but Jaebum was sitting next to him. Before you could question him, the teacher walked in and the lesson began.

As Mingyu started the day’s dish, he explained the situation. “Your friends explained your predicament to me and Jaebum. You like Jihoon, right?”

You startled, dropping the metal bowl that you were holding. You visibly winced as it bounced off the table and hit the floor, spinning for a few seconds before coming to a stop. With an apologetic glance to the teacher, you scurried away to grab the bowl, wanting nothing more than to hide from the watchful eyes of your classmates. The three boys surrounding you stifled their laughter. Not knowing the two that well, you turned to face Byungjoo with a scowl.

“I’m going to send you so many horror gifs!”

His laughter died immediately, his body tensing.

Mingyu chuckled, gaining your attention. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with us. They were really concerned about you, you know?”

You watched him as he carefully measured the ingredients. “They’re idiots, but… they’re good guys. I feel bad for making them worry.”

He hummed, “In that case, you should make it up to them by doing your best. Even if you fail, you can look them in the eyes and say that you did your best without giving up.”

As his words sunk in, you smiled. “Thank you. Please teach me all you know!”

“That’s the spirit!” He grinned, rolling up his sleeves. “Let’s get to work, we have a lot to cover before the exam.”

“Yes, sir!”

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The next week you focused solely on food.

Reading cooking magazines, watching cooking programs, going through the notes Mingyu made you… you even went so far as to play flash games about cooking. There were several times that you wanted to give up, but you remembered both Jihoon and Mingyu’s encouraging words. It re-energized you and gave you the confidence to forge forward.

The day of the exam finally arrived.

Everyone in the class was tasked with creating a curry dish. Because it was a test, the students worked alone rather than in pairs. You were feeling extremely nervous, but your friends had sent good vibes to you before the test began. You did the best you could, using the knowledge Mingyu had instilled in you.

When it was your turn to be judged, everyone looked at you in surprise.

The curry looked completely normal, delicious even. The rules of the test were that the student was supposed to taste their own dish before the teacher, but you were feeling nervous because you had never tasted your own food before. You grabbed a spoonful of curry, trying to steady your shaking hand.

Hearing Byungjoo laughing at your nervousness, you made a split-second decision. Whipping around, you shoved the spoon into his mouth only to freeze. It wasn’t Byungjoo standing behind you, it was Jihoon.

His skin turned deathly pale and the class swore that his soul had left him.

“Shit,” you cursed, watching as he stumbled out of the classroom, clutching his stomach. The class was silent.

“Go!” Mingyu whispered, pushing you forwards. You took off after him, finding him leaning against the wall for support.

Swallowing down your nerves, you gently took his arm and put it over your shoulder, helping the boy to the nurse’s office. After quickly explaining what had happened, the nurse gave him a liquid to settle his stomach before directing him to lie down on one of the beds.

You sat on the stool by his head, staring at your hands. You couldn’t dare look him in the eye after what you had done. “I am so sorry, Jihoon! I thought Bjoo was behind me and I… I’m so sorry!”

He took a deep breath, thinking over what he wanted to say. “What reason did you have for wanting to be a better cook? What’s your motivation?”

The question surprised you. “I… was trying to get someone’s attention…”

“Byungjoo?”

“Eh?” You finally lifted your eyes to meet his, surprised by the determination burning within their depths.

“You were trying to get Byungjoo’s attention, right?”

Your nose scrunched up in disgust, “Ew, no. He’s practically my brother.”

“Then who?” His brow furrowed. He had been sure that you were trying to impress the blonde.

“Oh my god! Why are these two so dense?!”

“Be quiet! You’re gonna get us caught!”

You exchanged a look with Jihoon before approaching the door. When you pulled it open, two boys fell through while Mingyu and Jiho stood behind them. The two on the floor were Byungjoo and one of Jihoon’s friends, Seungkwan.

Seungkwan pulled himself to his feet, huffing out in annoyance as he waved his arms dramatically. “You two are so frustrating!” He turned to you, pointing a finger at your face. “How do you feel about him?”

“I…” Biting your lip, you decided that you had already made a complete fool out of yourself already – you had nothing left to lose. Taking a breath to steel your nerves, you turned around to face Jihoon. “Do you remember that time in middle school? It was our second year and I was being bullied by some girls because of Jiho.”

“How is that my fault?!”

“Fangirls,” Byungjoo responded simply, throwing his arm around the boy.

You continued, ignoring their exchange. “We had never spoken before, but you still stood up for me. They stopped messing with me after that day… After that, I started to feel strange every time I looked at you. Whenever our eyes met, my heart would start racing. I found myself thinking about you whenever you weren’t around… Bjoo made me realize that I was crushing on you, but those feelings only got stronger as we got older. I originally joined Home Ec because of Bjoo… I guess I can see why you’d think that I liked him, but I started taking cooking seriously because I wanted you to notice me!” Your cheeks were burning and you felt yourself shaking a bit, but you felt so much lighter now that you had gotten everything off your chest.

Your two idiots started clapping proudly, wiping away invisible tears from their eyes. They were moved by your bravery.

Jihoon was silent for a good minute before he pushed himself into a sitting position. “Come here, Y/N.”

You glanced back at your friends for encouragement, receiving a thumbs up from both of them. You slowly approached his side.

He gently grasped the collar of your shirt, tugging you down until your lips connected with his own. At that moment, everything else disappeared. He was the only thing in your world and it felt amazing. You smiled as he pulled away, his lips ghosting over yours as he spoke, “I’ve liked you since our first year of middle school.”

“Finally! Jeez,” Seungkwan sighed as he left the nurse’s office, muttering to himself about how much of a pain you both were.

You rubbed the back of your neck, smiling sheepishly at him. “I’m sorry for poisoning you…”

Jihoon chuckled. “It was worth it.”

Little flecks of white started to rain down on you both, courtesy of Byungjoo and Jiho who had shredded up some paper and were currently tossing it at you.

“Boys! Stop making a mess!” The nurse scolded them, ordering the pair to stay after school to clean up the mess they had made.

As you watched them being scolded, you felt Jihoon wrap his arm around your waist and lean against you. It was a small gesture, but it meant the world to you. The boy you had been chasing for so long was finally yours, and you were finally his. All it took was serving him some disgusting food that nearly killed him. It was like a fairytale at that moment –

“So, are we not gonna talk about how you were trying to poison me?”

“What did I say about ruining the mood?”

“I don’t see your name on it.”

“You don’t see – are you five?!”

You giggled at their argument, reaching down to place a chaste kiss on Jihoon’s lips. “Welcome to the family~”

“Great, more idiots to deal with.”

“Hey!”