Hoseok could feel his heart beating fast in his chest, uneasiness growing with every second of darkness that passed by. He wanted to ask if the other was okay, but figured he’d already been asking too many dumb questions and also didn’t entirely trust himself to speak – surely with the lack of sight, the tremble in his voice would only be more obvious. He briefly looked in the direction of the windows again, deciding he definitely didn’t want to do that again. If there was anything that absolutely terrified him, it were mirrors in the dark. And windows also showed his reflection. He didn’t know if it was some irrational fear of seeing something move behind him or the fact that everything just looked a little more distorted, but he hated it.
“S-Sor–” He stopped before the full apology could fall from his lips – the response automatic but his brain catching up just in time for him to quiet himself. Hoseok’s teeth sank into his bottom lip and he jumped a little at the noise from elsewhere in the store. Had he been stupid enough to think they were the only people here? Maybe just for a moment – it definitely didn’t help his jumpiness, however. The brunet forced his brain to focus on the existence of a generator, even if it wasn’t real, it gave him the tiniest bit of comfort.
The joke threw him off, briefly distracted him from the tenseness of his body as he slowly blinked at the absurdity of it. “That’s– That’s a joke, right?” He breathed, uncertainty lacing his voice. His phone vibrated in his hand, nearly making him drop the device. Narrowed eyes checked the screen, though the sudden plunge back into darkness told him all he needed to know – a dead battery. “Shit,” Hoseok usually kept his phone charged at all times, quickly plugging in his charger as soon as the battery percentage dropped below 20. But the thing was old and clearly listening to music had drained it.
Not that he’d intended to stay out very long, anyway. Buying a coffee should have taken about five minutes, but he was sure he’d been out for at least thirty by now.
The brunet just stood there for a moment, eventually pocketing the dead phone, along with his trembling hand. His fingers automatically wrapped around the plastic object in his hoodie and it took him nearly a full minute to remember what he was holding and then mentally slap himself for his stupidity. “Don’t– Don’t panic, okay?” He breathed out as a warning before pulling the lighter from his pocket and flicking it a couple of times (nearly burning his thumb in the process) until a small flame appeared. It was the poorest source of light available, but he figured it was the only one they had. “Should… we go outside?”
Kihyun nodded at the question, why, he didn’t know. The other probably didn’t even see it in the darkness, and so he spoke. “It is, I mean, the owner would trace it back to me, to us. I’m on a first name basis here.” An exaggeration. The employee would nod at him in recognition, whilst Kihyun would reciprocate. In his world, that meant that he was a regular.
It was funny, really--the one that had a small meltdown over a broken coffee machine attempting to offer comfort to him. But a thought intruded, after the flashlight flickered out, the other could have been speaking the words of consolation to themselves. He hoped it was the latter, and that his weakness when it came to the dark wasn’t TOTALLY exposed (wishful thinking, he knew). Kihyun could deal with spiders, snakes, and typical phobias that plague the average person. But he had just never been fond of the darkness, and his adoptive parents found this out the first night that he had stayed with them. They bought him a nightlight--he remembered it vividly, as not only did it possess a Batman symbol but it was the first time anyone had done something like that for him. Even now, Kihyun would sleep with a lamp on, finding himself soothed by it.
And so, when the flame ignited, Kihyun couldn’t help but feel relieved. Kihyun supposed that his companion in the blackout didn’t really understand the significance of what he had just done, and so Kihyun held his tongue. His eyes watched the match burn, as if mesmerised by it, before tearing his gaze away. “That’s, uh, a good idea.” He was so scatter brained, Kihyun wasn’t even sure why he hadn’t thought of that first. Too busy with his internal panic, he supposed.
Kihyun pushed open the glass door, the cold air like a slap in the face. He held it open for the other before coming to sit on the small ledge that ran parallel to the display window. Under the light of both the moon and the flickering streetlights, Kihyun inspected the small burn that was beginning to blister. “Kihyun,” He said suddenly, frowning at his hand as his finger prodded at the redness. “I don’t remember telling you my name,” He continued, glancing upwards. “I most likely didn’t, so...”
