The late-night plane ticket. The last-minute sublet in Seoul. The hastily packed suitcase that sat slightly too heavy on your shoulders and your heart.
Everyone had called it a break. “You just need to clear your head.” “Get away for a little while.” “Find yourself again.”
You weren’t sure who you were supposed to find. Or what.
All you knew was that something about your life back home had begun to feel too small, too predictable. Like you were playing a role you didn’t remember auditioning for—smiling in the right places, saying the right things, and ignoring the quiet ache that whispered this isn’t it.
So you left. Not with a dramatic goodbye, just… a quiet promise to yourself:
Try something different. Open a new door. Even if it’s scary. Even if it’s a little lonely.
And now here you were—Seoul, South Korea. A city buzzing with people who didn’t know your name. No expectations. No pressure. Just you, a pair of worn-in sneakers, and the faint hope that maybe, somehow, you’d bump into something—or someone—that would make you feel a little less lost.
You didn’t know yet that it would happen on a street corner, beneath the golden glow of early evening.
You didn’t know that a stranger with kind eyes and a soft laugh would stop to help.
And you definitely didn’t know that this was where the story really began.
Prologue END.
You weren’t lost. Not exactly. You had a map app open, your hotel address typed in, and a vague sense of direction. But Seoul was a lot bigger and louder than you expected—and even with GPS, the blinking blue dot just kept circling itself like it was confused too.
It was early evening, golden hour melting across the skyscrapers and buzzing streets. You stood at the corner of a café tucked between two small boutiques, trying to look casual while your phone refused to connect to Wi-Fi.
"Ugh," you mumbled under your breath, tilting your phone and scanning the street signs written in Hangul you hadn’t fully mastered yet.
“You alright?”
The voice was warm. Kind. Slightly accented. You turned and saw him: a guy in a hoodie and black jeans, mask tugged under his chin, a coffee cup in hand. His brown hair peeked out from under a cap, soft curls just brushing his ears.
You blinked. He looked… familiar?
“Oh—uh, yeah,” you replied quickly, flustered. “Just a bit turned around. My phone’s being weird and I’m trying to find my hotel.”
He glanced at your screen, then at the street signs. “Ah, that place’s a few blocks over,” he said, pointing. “You actually walked past it.”
You sighed. “Of course I did.”
He smiled at that. “It’s easy to miss—Seoul’s got a million tiny turns. Want me to walk you there?”
You hesitated. He could be anyone. Then again, he had kind eyes. And you were tired of playing map roulette.
“Sure,” you said slowly. “That would be amazing. Thanks.”
“No problem. I’m Chris, by the way.”
You shook his hand. “Y/N.”
There was a pause as the two of you started walking side by side through the late-summer crowd. His steps matched yours naturally, unhurried.
“Visiting?” he asked.
“Yeah. First time here. I’m actually staying for a while—some classes, a little traveling.”
“Nice. Seoul’s great once you get used to the chaos.”
“Do you live here?”
“Sort of,” he said, sipping his coffee. “I’m here most of the year for work.”
You nodded, curious. “What kind of work?”
He smiled vaguely. “Music stuff. Producing. Bit of everything.”
That clicked. His face, the voice, the familiarity. Your eyes widened slightly but you tried to play it cool. Bang Chan. From Stray Kids. You’d seen clips of him online, watched interviews. But he didn’t seem like he was trying to be recognized right now—and honestly, he was helping you out of pure kindness.
You decided not to say anything. Yet.
“Is that why you offered to help?” you joked. “You rescue all lost tourists, or just ones who look this confused?”
He laughed, a low, easy sound. “Only the ones who look like they’re about to fight their phone.”
You smiled, feeling the tension ease in your shoulders for the first time all day.
Five minutes later, you were standing in front of your hotel. “Wow. That was embarrassingly close.”
“I told you,” he said, teasing. “You passed it.”
You laughed. “Well—thank you. Seriously.”
He hesitated, then looked at you thoughtfully. “You want a real introduction to Seoul sometime? Not the tourist map version?”
You blinked. “Like… a local guide?”
“Sort of,” he said with a smile that curved at the edges. “A coffee and street-food tour. I promise I’m not a serial killer.”
You laughed again, heart skipping. “Okay. Sure. That sounds… amazing.”
He nodded. “I’ll give you my number. You can text me when you’re free.”
You handed him your phone, and as he typed it in, you noticed how gentle his hands were. He gave it back, smiled once more, then turned.
“See you soon, Y/N.”
And just like that, he disappeared into the crowd, hoodie pulled up, coffee in hand.
You stood there for a moment, staring at your phone where Chris was now saved in your contacts.
Can you do a extended reaction for skz changbin where him and his idol s/o have become parents, and his s/o misses performing? (And that they understand the roles of being a parent but is starting to miss it)
Seo Changbin reaction to becoming a parent with S/O who starts to miss performing
Genre : fluff, extended
a/n : i think i forgot how to make extended reactions, i hope this is what you wanted anon! <33
He’ll first notice it when he sees you binge watching your music show performances. He'll also catch you singing or dancing in your free time when you don't need to watch over your child. And by this point, he knows you way too well. You don't need to say a single word for him to figure out what's the matter.
Worry not, he knows exactly what to do to make you feel better! It'll be a lot of work, but for you it's all worth it. First, he'll hire a nanny to take care over your child – of course, in secret. You must not know about his great plan.
Second, he'll prepare the stage. The Music Show's stage will be empty for two hours, and that's exactly how much time will be needed. Third, he'll call all your and his friends and bandmates to come and help with his plan. They'll be acting out your fans, cheering you on as you perform.
Now, the hardest part - you. Without you, the whole plan is in ruin. "Baby, did you hear?" Changbin hugged you from the back, humming against your neck. "Your favorite band will be performing tomorrow. I already bought the tickets" He giggled, his face falling a little when he heard you sigh.
"Binnie, what about our child?" You finished making the food for your little one, a little sad that Changbin's concert plans weren't going to work out.
"No need to worry about that. I booked a nanny." He smiled widely, still holding tight onto you. "No is not an acceptable answer, love" You clicked your tongue, turning around to kiss him.
"Gosh, what did I do to deserve such an amazing man?" You asked, Changbin responding with a shrug.
"Now, you go rest and I'll take care of our marshmallow, okay? You need to be prepared for tomorrow's concert" You nod, pecking his cheek and leaving to go to your room. Changbin smirked to himself, relieved that he convinced you. He was so glad that tomorrow, you may happily smile again. He’ll do everything to put a smile on your face, after all, he is your significant one, is he not?
Tomorrow came and Changbin took you to the ‘concert’ where all your friends were already waiting on their seats, preparing their lightsticks.
“Why is it so quiet?” You asked, looking around the entrance of the show. There were no other people besides you and Changbin.
“Everyone’s inside. Come on” He hurried you, trying extremely hard to hide the huge, happy grin on his face.
You entered the concert lounge, spotting all your friends sitting in the seats holding your lightsticks. Some even had merch on, waving to you.
Changbin turned you to him, smiling as you were frozen both in shock and confusion. "I noticed you were off. You miss performing, right?" You nod a little sadly, looking down to your feet only for Changbin to bring your head up, cupping your cheeks. "Well, now's your chance to perform~ I hope you didn't forget all the songs" He laughed, kissing your nose.
"Binnie, you're the best" You giggled, ruffling his fluffy, black hair.
"I know. Now, don't keep your fans waiting" He squeezed your hand reassuringly, letting you hurry off to the stage. He himself sat the closest to it, giving a thumbs up to the manager who agreed to help out with Changbin's plan.
The familiar music started playing, your 'fans' cheering you on as you held your microphone, the excitement and happiness of performing all coming back to you.
Locking eyes with Changbin, you began performing, free from all worries and hardships.
❀❀❀❀❀ a/n ❀❀❀❀❀
Thank you for requesting, I hope you liked it! <33 I also hope this isn't completely terrible, I tried my best!
Summary → from observing the moon glaze the ocean from your bedroom window, dancing in the moonlight alone enduring pure the happiness you felt, you notice a new light across from your bedroom. A new face, a new friendship, a new way of living life.
Authors note → ‘italics with inverted commas’ are for Hyunjin’s speak / thoughts. Bold is for the readers speech / thoughts. Speech marks are used as normal; once characters meet these are no longer in use.
‘You pushed your window out as far as it could go and opened your curtains wide open, your lamp on the dimmest setting to the point where there was no need to even have it on since the moonlight illuminated your bedroom. You leaned against your window ledge and rested your tired head on your palm, gazing into the sea where the moon’s reflection kissed the ripples and waves that rolled onto the pearlescent sand - even thought it was 2:34 am, you could tell the sand was pearly. Your carefree dancing in your bedroom, moving with the wind and the breeze without a care in the world. That was my first impression of you, you were an interesting character I was yet to meet …”
As you heave open your window until it opens as wide as it possibly could, you glance up at the milky orb in the abyss above you. You sigh to yourself; “it’s just you and me against the world, don’t fail me,” you scold the moon jokily. It was a little sad how you’d talk to the moon in your bedroom alone although the moon provided you with the utmost comfort when you had no one. You sit on your window ledge with your black kitten plushie in your lap and a notebook with a pen wedged into the spiral spine. Writing was your passion as well as gaining further knowledge about astronomy - although it was super hard- though people called you a poet since you wrote from deep within your heart. The tides came in gently rolling onto the grains that cloaked the beach; it was quiet. The leaves and trees rustled in the silence though it wasn’t a problem to you since your bedroom was filled with the melodious sounds of music. You liked listening to classical music during the earliest hours of the morning - 2am and later- as you noted down your ideas, feelings and thoughts with swift motions. Luckily, you found some quiet since the construction outside was halted for the night; a new home was being built next to your home and you wondered who would move in. Perhaps an elderly couple who needed a beach view, a family with young, loud children or perhaps a young, newly wed couple. The possibilities were endless. Sometimes you would fall asleep on your window ledge and wake up to the sun scorching the side of your face. The ceiling fan in your bedroom whirred, buzzing in one ear and the bluetooth speaker on a low volume playing one of your favourite orchestral pieces. Your bedroom lamp that sat towering over your paperclips and sticky notes was set to a warm light on a low setting too; your bedroom wasn’t a mess today, only a few things were misplaced like the charging cords on the floor and the dejected childhood teddy, tattered and frayed wedged into a box of ring binders and paper. It didnt bother you, that was your charm - forgetting things and misplacing things but being ever so focused on the one thing you love. That was you.
Your left cheek was scalding and it was none other than you sleeping against the window again, clutching your kitten plushie and notebook close to your chest. Your door was open ajar again meaning either your sister or your mother walked in to check if you woke up yet. Work. Panic struck, you scurried through your dresser and your clothes to find your work attire - you completely forgot you started at 12:35 today and it was 12pm already. Your notebook and plushie sat looking over the ocean although this time with the ocean lapping slowly onto the shore. You began walking to the bus stop praying you weren’t yelled at by your manager today but to your convenience, a large van blocked your vision to even see the bus come your way. Your groaned in downright distress and held your head in your hand running back to your house to beg your sister for a lift to your work place. Of course with all siblings there’s always a small negotiation and a quarrel; you had to give her some cash in order for her to drop you. A deals a deal but at least you were at home for the fraction of the time.
‘ I told my father the bus stop was a bad place to stop but I couldnt blame him, we couldnt turn because of someone waiting at the bus stop. I can’t blame her either, she seemed so… panicked. It’s true, I felt bad because I was in that moving van but maybe one day i’ll make it up to her. I wondered she worked, cafe perhaps? A hairdressing assistant? Or maybe a waitress? Whatever she worked as she looked too young to be a lawyer or something so prestigious although it’s not good to judge before hand now is it. Never, i’ll know her better one day, she looked like she was from the same neighbourhood I’m moving into and also looked around my age…’
You sat at the reception of the hairdressers, boredom striking you like a bolt of lighting. It wasn’t very busy today so you waited for time to tick by. “Any new appointments yet Kit?” the manager sighs with a coffee in her hands - how typical of a manager - you shake your head. ‘Kit’ was your nickname at work because you apparently reminded them of a baby fox. Who knew the reason but you thought it was cute. 3pm and you were off to have your lunch break and though it was a late one you were glad to at least move your legs a bit and get something to drink. The door to the coffee shop next door chimes and the barista greets you with a great smile. Iced vanilla latte. You’ve been craving one since you had that one dream that you went to cafe with someone and they bought you a iced vanilla latte. You’ve been getting strange dreams and as you seated yourself at a window seat, you pondered about them. One time you dreamt that you were in a verduous space, a wide path adorned with tall hanging trees that loomed over you. It was chilling indeed - not in a relaxing way - but there was an element of safety within that dream. You looke down to see you hand interlocked with someone and it’s ever so typical of dreams to just blur out that person. Just a smear in your memory, you just couldn’t fully remember who it was though the laugh they gave was hearty and full of pure happiness. You couldn’t forget. But a dream is a dream right? They’re not real.
Break time is over… back to work you go.
‘The new home was absolutely wonderful. The seascape below was so new to me and hearing it was so calming. It was a new start for me. My bedroom window was wide; a lot of natural lighting and I loved that indeed. The window faced the ocean to a degree but was right opposite my neighbour. Judging from the sheet curtains and the piano on the opposite side of the bed, they seemed like a girl who loved music perhaps? Possibly even around my age although I cannot judge can I? I’ll meet them some day, if we’re destined to.’
Tiresome and fatigued, you drop onto your bed as soon as you get home from work. Your new neighbours were quite strident whilst moving in, hearing boxes being placed, talking, laughter - that laughter. There was one that sounded like the one you dreamt of? Perhaps you were too overly tired since you slept at 4am the night before but who’s to judge you but yourself? There were birds nattering outside on the roof of the new house opposite; as you were watching them, a shadow walked out of the room opposite. You hoped they didnt see you and continued to do what you needed to do and the first on the list was to water the flowers outside in your garden. There was a yapping of a small dog coming from the garden next door and a couple people talking about something, one sounding distressed.
“ Kkami’s ball fell over the fence,” a young male voice spoke out sounding out of breath. Kkami? Kkami must be his dog. You look in your garden to see a red squeaky ball and glance over to the fence, should you just throw it over? It was now in your grasp and the most polite thing would be to return it so you lifted your arm and threw it over. You head a ‘ouch’, it did not just hit them on the head! You continued to water the plants and your flowers. “Mother, the neighbour threw Kkami’s ball back!” He sounded happier now. You were going to cross paths with him a lot more… a lot more than you thought anyway…
It was June 14th and your bedroom window was wide open to allow some sort of breeze to glide in. Your curtains were open and you were sitting cross legged on your bed flicking through your book, letting the entire vibe just settle. Ever since you moved to the home you were living in you visited the beach 3 times; once for a beach party with your friends; another time with your family during summer when the sun was practically scalding your skin; the last time was alone although it started to rain which was just plain bad luck. You went to close your window but that’s when the universe decided to change something, an energy shifted. Your eyes locked with a dark brown haired man? No boy! Well, you couldn’t really judge. The sheer shock and fear was quite evident on both of your faces, the male in the house opposite just got out of the shower! Luckily he was just shirtless with his chestnut toned hair stuck to his forehead only just shirtless though. . He broke out into a smile and you simply raised your hand. ‘That was kinda endearing’ You quickly shut your window and darted towards your door. What was that for? Why did you do that! You ask yourself. He was shirtless, what if he thought you were weird! Many thoughts scrambled your poor mind but you tried to not let it bother you, maybe writing ‘I’m sorry for staring at you’ on your window is a good idea! Are you dumb? That’s so strange! Maybe just an ‘I’m sorry’? A simple apology is straightforward and effective. In fact, you just left it and didn’t do anything hoping he’d just simply forget about it and wouldn’t talk of it again.
Your heart thumped out of your chest like it was trying to resuscitate itself back to life. Was that normal? The palpitations were getting oddly frequent. “Do you mind? I’m trying to study here!” you speak to yourself softly before glancing to see your neighbours desk facing your window; he seemed to be doing some type of work too? He looked up and it felt as if the world stopped spinning for a split second for you, the moon began shining brighter and the stars were gleaming harder - just in that second. A simple smile is all he returned. You smiled to yourself and thought that this could be something good and that you could have a new friend like you see in movies. Who knows? You found yourself asleep at your desk at 6:45 AM, your notebook wide open with some ink smeared because you suddenly slept on it. It was the weekend and you had time to sleep in although you had to leave for your job at midday. 12:15 PM, you walk down the stairs humming a melody that you've played on your piano and into the kitchen before you get a glimpse of people in the living room with your mother. “Oh you’re awake! What good timing, these are our new neighbours and their son who’s your age,” your mother smiles as they all turn around to you and there he was. Smiling at you fondly with a single strand of hair lingering at his forehead. “Hi, i’m Hyunjin by the way,” he raised his hand giving a slight wave and a side smile. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you and I don't mean to be rude but I am super late for work right now and I have to go-” you panic before dashing for the door. You dismiss yourself before biting the back of your hand for embarrassing yourself.
“Hey neighbor!” you hear before you walk into your home after your shift. You freeze at your front door and turn around with a painted smile to see it was your neighbour Hyunjin - Dream boy. “Oh hey! How are you?” you ask him. He smiles and points towards your feet; “ you’re stepping on my dog's toy,” he giggles as he bends to pick it up. You never felt more embarrassed. “ We met earlier but we didnt get to talk but it seems like you’re busy and injured,” he points to the back of your hand which you hide behind your back. “Oh yeah sorry about that i’m so busy with uni and work and i barely have time to even talk to my parents so i-” you ramble before he interrupts politely. “ well here’s my number so we can text any time you’re free since we’ll be seeing each other more often,” he smiles before leaving a little note in your free hand and taking his dog’s toy. “Talk later window friend,” he smiles. Friend? Did he just call you friend? Of course he did. That’s Hyunjin.
Hyunjin was a talented dancer and a genius at physics. Surprisingly, he loved philosophy and learning about it since he studied philosophy in his previous university. Hyunjin had a welcoming personality; his strong, passionate and king aura radiating warmth and compassion. An all round nice person to be friends with.
You sit on your bed cross legged and hold the note and your phone in the other hand, side eyeing the window to see if he was there and then turning your head around since you were certain he wasn’t there. You were wrong. He picks up his phone and points at it before pointing back at you and you shake your head, of course he playfully drags his finger down his face to indicate he was crying. Your roll your eyes and type his number in and message him.
You: what?
HJ: omg you finally messaged me, i just wanna get to know you :D
You: I suppose I didn’t make the best impression on your family earlier did i?
HJ: no my parents though you were a hard worker, I must say I do agree, do you always sleep on your desk.
Oh no.. he saw you passed out on your desk from studying til the early hours of the morning.
You: no i don’t, don’t tease me on that!
Minutes pass, hours pass and you and Hyunjin sit at the window talking all night, getting to know each other and becoming closer by sharing things in common. Your eyes match and lock every time there was a sweet exchange of words, the internal giggling you endured when he teased you in the most winsome ways, the way his fingertips were raking his chestnut locks back and smirking sweetly at you. It felt nice having someone to experience your early hours of the morning with. It seemed like a perfect start to a long term friendship. One thing caught you off guard:
HJ: are you free tomorrow night to hang out?
It was the fact he asked about tomorrow night and not any other time of the day. Of course without a second thought you replied with a simple ‘sure:)’ and turned off your lights to go to bed. Though the fluttery sensations toyed with you, it was bizzare to you; Inexplicably extraordinary even! Forget it. It’s the nerves talking nothing more.
The following night was blissful; the ocean’s waves softly crashing against the bay of the beach below against the gritty sand which appeared to look like satin spread across for miles. You wait at the window again, watching the evening go by; the elderly couples walking hand in hand across the beach; the puppies experiencing the sand for the first time; the sun finally kissing the ocean goodnight before the moon rose to dance on the motionless ocean. There was a sudden flicker disrupting your train of thought and it was him. Hyunjin. He was searching for his jacket all of a sudden and caught you staring at him. Without fail he smiled at you with great compassion you could almost feel it radiating off his body, gleaming.
HJ: grab a jacket, it gets colder during the night
Where on earth were you both off to? You met him outside your front door and he waved at you again. “Seems like the first time we met,” he smiles again, his eyes turning into the crescents you loved to see in the night sky. “In my house or when I was stepping on your dogs toy?” you laugh back. “Hmm the second time seems a lot more memorable, since you didn't even realise you were standing on Kkami’s toy,” his hand rests on your shoulder. “No worries, Kkami forgives you even if you don't know his name.”. You roll your eyes, “come on, you just moved in and now you’re making fun of me?” you poke his arm. “Hmm, friendly banter?” he shrugs and flashes a mischievous smile. He begins to walk and you follow, standing by his side. His complexion was illuminated by the moonlight, highlighting his features; the sharpness of his jaw, the way his lips were naturally a rosey pink. It was interesting how such an angelic person existed with such a vivacious personality balanced out perfectly with the correct amount of introversion. He was like a warm spring’s day and a garden of freshly bloomed flowers dispelling such sweet fragrance. He reminded you of a freshly baked pie left at an open window for cooling. It was hard to explain, though that’s what he made you feel. “How many times have you come down to the beach?” he asked you whilst swaying side to side. “Hmm not many, maybe 3 times in my whole life?” you reply without having a second thought. He gasps. You stopped and looked at him with such confusion tilting your head at him. “Why what? Did I say something wrong?” you look around. “How could you miss out on something like this?” he points at the beach and the ocean. “I can see it from my window, what more could I ask for?” you shrug. He grabs your hand; “hey we are NOT this close yet!” you yelp before he drags you into the sand. The smile on his face lights up right in front of you. He seemed so happy. Genuine happiness. Your heart felt so warm. Though you were not happy about your shoes getting covered in sand that’s for sure. “Hyunjin -” you whine at him meanwhile he excitedly swings his arm around your shoulder. “I never took you for a whiner,” he giggle before looking up at the stars.
“The stars are so bright tonight,” Hyunjin looks up, encapsulated by it’s heavenly beauty. “Are you into astrology and all that?” you ask him shrugging slighting so his arm falls off your shoulders. He didn’t seem to have minded at your gestures, he wanted to respect you as his new friend. “I am, I think the stars have such an interesting meaning don’t you think?” he turns to you, the speckles of light from the stars glossing his umber orbs that were glazed slightly by the pale moonlight. “I don’t know, I never really thought of it much thought the moon seemed to have given me some type of comfort, it’s just so weird,” you pause, “don't worry,” you ridicule yourself. “Well, maybe you might change your mind,” he smiles, pulling the draw strings of his hoodie tighter, “it’s getting colder, maybe we should head home.” he turns around beginning to walk though you stood there watching the ocean lapping onto wet sand. It was unusual; the ocean was pitch black almost hidden, almost like the moon during the day.Perhaps people were like that too? Hidden in the open, ready to be seen though it takes some time to finally be noticed. Those who do notice the true beauty of the moon and the ocean are those who appreciate the small things, notice the small intricacies of what makes these things so valuable. Hyunjin was one of those people who notice the small valuable things in life, it was indeed an admirable quality you saw in him.
“You alright? Are you not cold?” he taps your shoulder. “Oh yeah, let’s go,” you shove your hands into your pockets and stroll alongside him. “That was a nice talk,” he smiles, ear to ear. “It was and I suppose we should do this more often?” you suggest. You never usually suggest things like this so this was a first. Hyunjin’s warm smile felt like a pleasant spring day, a cool fruit tea; “no need to ask, we’re friends now,” he holds out his pinkie finger and you look at it blankly. What’s that supposed to mean? “Make the promise and lock it girl next door,” he inches slightly closer to you. “Alright alright, don’t come any closer then,” and that’s when you made the promise and locked it.
Never break promises.
Months pass, around 6 months, and you and Hyunjin became very close friends. It was easy to connect with him, he was like a friendly golden retriever. You discovered that he was a very talented dancer and also incredibly intellectual. You saw the way he studied; his eyes scanning his textbooks, the window slightly ajar to let in the breeze, the desk lamp set to a warm and dimmed so it wasn’t too disruptive to any other neighbours. Your stomach churned and twisted like it was making its own dough, abnormal indeed though it started ever since you started to spend more time with Hyunjin. Hyunjin would ask to meet you at the window or ask you to take a stroll down the beach with him.
Tonight it was warm and pleasant. Hyunjin walked by your side and handed you one of his headphones; “what’s this for?” you ask puzzled as to why he would just hand it to you. “ Music usually helps with silence, sometimes there just isn’t much to say,” - he wasn't wrong and he was very much correct. You willingly took the headphone and placed it to your ear and you were surprised at the music he listened to. Slow yet fulfilling to listen to. “I would have never guessed this is the music you liked?” The subtle smile he gave spoke a million words. Gestures that were deemed irrelevant to you prior to meeting him suddenly meant a lot like the gentle hand on the shoulder or the way his eyes softly blinked when he was listening to you speak. Speaking from the heart, you had to admit there was steady proliferation of your emotions to him but your stubbornness refused to confess; however today everything seemed to have merged within your path. As you both sat on the sand, hands buried deep within the grains gazing up at the bleak sky that was adorned with speckles of light and glitter, Hyunjin began to speak.
“Have you ever seen a dolphin in your dreams recently?” it was a strange question to ask nevertheless you responded with something simple. “I haven’t, it’s a weird question to ask,” you couldn't help but smile at his confused expression. “Ahh okay,” he buries his face into his palms “i feel so stupid!” his cheeks visibly going red. “Why is that?” you nudge him.
Dolphins are a symbol of protection and often signify needing some freedom from tumultuous emotions that an individual has been enduring. Hyunjin was embarrassed to even utter what was on his mind but he had to at some point right?
Under the pale moonlight that began to beam brightly, it was endearing to see Hyunjins ears blush with a pink tinge, his face buried between his hands. “Is it weird to say,” he paused for a moment before gathering himself together, “i’ve fallen for you, really hard,” you could hear the pit in his throat as his voice began to sound croaky and hoarse. Everything became muffled; the ocean crashing against the shore, the breeze skimming the sands, your own heartbeat was the only thing that was deafening to you as it thumped out of your chest and into your hands. “Sorry, that was a bit out of line, I- I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable,” Hyunjin’s voice began to get shakier and that isn’t what you wanted. “NO-” you burst, “I mean, no, not at all,” you couldn’t help but let a smile loose. During that very moment the red threads were tightening meaning that two souls have finally met the way they should have. The sudden silence was abrupt yet soothing and in this moment whatever happened, happened. Hyujin’s hazel irises observed you for a moment before you felt his hand slide up the side of your cheek, his thumb brushing over your cheek thought you didn't move at all and you knew you didn’t want to.
It was like a rollercoaster that sat at the top before the big drop, you didn’t know what to expect. That’s when your heart stopped for a moment; Hyunjin’ free hand held onto your hand as he leaned into a tender kiss that was burning with passion. You weren’t certain with your feelings until this very moment when you pushed yourself towards him. How did you and the boy next door fall for each other? It was as if fate was on your side for once. For the first time ever, you felt like your feelings have been reciprocated, the way Hyunjin treated you was something almost too heavenly to imagine. “I thought you would react badly...” Hyunjin shyly looked down, but you shake your head and lay a wholesome kiss on his forehead. “of course not, you went with your heart and i’m glad you did because that’s what I love about you, you follow what your heart tells you,” your hand caresses his cheek as he tilts his head into your palm intentionally. A new way of living had just begun. From strangers to neighbours, neighbours to friends and from friends to much much more.
The moon and the ocean were so close yet so far to which they would only meet at the horizon when the moon would set and the sun would appear. The moon gleamed with rich pale rays of light onto the ocean just like Hyunjin’s enthusiasm and playfulness would compliment your toned down, almost mysterious personality. That’s how Hyunjin described you and himself because the most beautiful moment to witness is when the moon kisses the sea.
Summary: Han Jisung, certified quiet boy, has never really understood the hype about love and romance. That is until he has to step out of his comfort zone and onto the basketball court to impress that one person he can’t stop thinking about.
Main Themes: highschool!AU, basketball!AU, internalized homophobia, friends-to-lovers
Chapter 1
MASTERLIST
A/n: so here’s chapter two!! Thank you to everyone who takes their time to read this, it really means a lot to me <33
CHAPTER 2
Unknown: Hey, it’s Minho, I hope you don’t mind me getting your number from Hyunjin lol
Unknown: I just wanted to make sure you were doing well after last night
Unknown: Text me when you get this!
Jisung stared down at his phone for several moments. He was trying to remember why he would be getting texts from Lee Minho, when the only words he’s ever spoken to the boy was probably “Do you have an extra pencil?”
Then it hit Jisung like a missile. Minho was the one who took care of him the night before. Jisung felt a wave of nausea again at the memory.
Oh no... I threw up... in Bang Chan’s bathroom...
Jisung felt his stomach drop down through the floor. So much for not embarrassing himself at his first big party.
“Ji, are you okay?” he heard Chaeryeong say, “you look really sick,”
Jisung waved her off and sat back down in his chair. It was okay. Practically nobody would have even noticed him in that state except for Minho. And Hyunjin, who apparently drove him home. This whole situation sucks.
“Okay well I’m going to go take a shower, I’m meeting some friends today,” she announced before taking off up the stairs to the bathroom.
Jisung thought about how he should respond to Minho. On the one hand, his chest felt warm and he felt appreciated when he thought about Minho helping him, but on the other hand, he felt embarrassed that he let himself be seen like that by any human being- especially Lee Minho.
He opened the chat for the unknown number, and began to type.
Me: Haha, yeah I’m alright.. thank you for helping me yesterday, I’m sorry that you had to see that
Jisung hit send. He sighed and brushed his hair backwards, feeling the slight fever that came with his hangover. Almost immediately, he felt his phone vibrate with a response.
Jisung smiled at the message and shoved his phone back in his pocket. This was actually kind of nice. Minho has always had this reputation of a dumb jock that plays with girl’s hearts because that’s what the stories and rumors about him had people believe. Now that Jisung thinks about it, he has only heard about these things from a guy who heard it from a guy who heard it from a guy. Maybe Minho isn’t what people perceive him to be.
Coming back to reality, Jisung knew that going to the party was a dumb move. He should have just stayed home and studied for biology, like his mom wanted.
Jisung’s mom and dad were out working today, which didn’t surprise him. His mom barely got any time off, and when she did, she spent it doing other things that didn’t involve interacting with her children. Sometimes Jisung felt like her only purpose in his life was to nag and yell at him about his schooling.
Jisung moved to refill his water glass, which seemed like the only saving grace from his current physical situation. He also grabbed whatever medication he could find in the cabinet above the stove in the hopes of curing his hangover.
Just then, he remembered about the two idiots that got him into that situation in the first place. Felix and Seungmin! He had completely forgotten that he was their ride to the party, and he was supposed to be their ride home.
He fumbled through his pocket to pull out his phone. He quickly opened Felix’s contact number and hit call.
The tone dialed and rang, and he waited for his friend to pick up. After a few moments, Jisung was sent to voicemail. Either Felix was still sleeping, or he was ignoring his calls.
Jisung filed through his contacts again to find Seungmin’s number. Hitting call again, he waited through the ringing.
“What’s happening?” he heard Seungmin answer on the other end.
“Oh man thank you for answering, Felix didn’t,” Jisung told him, slightly relieved that he knew Seungmin was good.
“Let me put you on speaker,” Seungmin said, “Felix is here too,”
“Jisung, I dropped my phone in Chan’s pool last night,” Felix admitted. Of course he did.
“Felix, that’s like the third phone you’ve broken this year,” Jisung nagged.
“Don’t scold me, it wasn’t my fault,” Felix defended, “and besides, I’m not the one who should be disciplined here! Where the hell were you last night? Seungmin and I were looking around for like half an hour to find you!”
“It’s true, we were worried sick,” Seungmin said. Jisung sighed and apologized to the other boys.
“I don’t even remember coming home last night,” he admitted, “I was a little drunk. But how did you guys get home?”
Felix laughed a bit. “You know that girl I was talking to?” he asked.
“No I don’t, because you ditched me,”
Felix scoffed. “You would have ditched you too,” Seungmin laughed at that. “Anyways that’s not the point. She is a college student, and she drove Seungmin and I home,” Felix said, in a teasing, flirty type of voice, implying that driving them home wasn’t the only thing that college girl did.
“Oh is that right?” Jisung asked, “and?”
“And-”
“And...” Seungmin cut Felix off before he could answer with any details, “when she was driving us home, Felix stumbled over his words and instead of saying ‘do you want my number’ or ‘thanks for the ride’, he said ‘do you want ride’, which she took in a very weird way, leading her to kick us out of her car three blocks from Felix’s house where we got rained on at four in the morning,” Seungmin finished, and Jisung could hear Felix punching the other boy in the arm over the phone while Seungmin laughed at him.
Jisung was also laughing. Even though he felt guilty for leaving his friends at the party alone, he was relieved that they made it safely back to Felix’s.
“Moving on,” Felix insisted, “how did you get home Jisung?” Felix asked, and Jisung scoffed.
“Hwang Hyunjin apparently drove me home after I passed out in Bang Chan’s bathroom”. Maybe it was the thought of Jisung passed out in a basketball player’s bathroom, maybe it was the thought of him being driven home by his ex friend, maybe it was still because of Felix’s thing, but the other two boys were laughing so hard.
“Wait, does that mean that your car is still at Chan’s place?” Seungmin asked once he stopped laughing.
Fuck.
“Shit, I guess it is..” Jisung mumbled. How the hell was he supposed to go pick it up? Both of his parents were at work, and neither of his friends could drive him. “Ah, this day can’t get any worse,”
“Don’t you watch movies?” Felix warned, “when the protagonist says that, the day always gets worse,”
Jisung scoffed at him. “I’m honored that you think of me as the protagonist.”
“Why can’t Hyunjin drive you there?” Seungmin suggested. Jisung thought about it. Nobody else he knew had a car and could drive him back to Bang Chan’s. Plus, Hyunjin only lives about four houses down from Jisung. This would involve asking a favour from his old ex friend, and a really long and awkward car ride.
Jisung groaned audibly. “Seungmin, I don’t think Jisung likes that idea,” Felix stated.
“Fine.” Jisung said, and when the boys started laughing again, he hung up the phone. Would you look at that, Jisung’s day managed to get even worse!
Felix and Seungmin knew about how Jisung felt about Hyunjin. When two people who were so close drift apart because of high school social status, things get awkward. Jisung never really blamed Hyunjin for it, he knew how things worked. If anything, he blamed himself for not getting involved in things like sports.
Jisung dragged himself back up the stairs and into his bedroom. Would Hyunjin even be home? Would he want to help Jisung out? There’s no way Jisung should be asking this of Hyunjin after he drove Jisung’s blacked-out ass home from Chan’s yesterday. But then again, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe Jisung could actually have a conversation with Hyunjin and they could become friends again. Ah, but that’s so unlikely. Jisung imagines that Hyunjin probably changed a lot during high school, he seems different than he used to be.
But then Jisung thought about Minho again. Minho wasn’t what he seemed to be at all, so why should he believe Hyunjin is either?
Jisung made up his mind to ask the boy for help. It was only one car ride. So, with a heavy body, Jisung dragged himself to his closet and grabbed some clean clothes. When Chaeryeong got out of the shower, Jisung took his turn to wash up and brush his teeth before getting dressed and heading out towards Hyunjin’s house.
The air outside was surprisingly warm for October weather, which Jisung didn’t mind since he was only in a t-shirt. The sun was also unusually bright, which Jisung didn’t like as much, seeing as he was still battling a major hangover. He passed by a couple people on the street, which makes sense because it was a beautiful day.
When Jisung got to Hyunjin’s house, he hesitated. He didn’t know if asking for Hyunjin’s help was a mistake or not, but it didn’t matter at this point. He knocked thrice on the door.
Jisung heard the familiar bark of Hyunjin’s dog, Kkami as he waited on the front doorstep. The door opened, and Jisung saw the little dog being held back by Hwang Hyunjin.
“Go on, go away,” Hyunjin talked to the dog, and finally settled on scooping him up in his arms.
Jisung always loved that dog. Back when Jisung and Hyunjin were still friends, they used to take Kkami on walks together and use that time to talk about people in their class, and girls, and things that young boys normally talk about.
Hyunjin raised his eyes to see Jisung standing there awkwardly, a nervous smile on his face. Hyunjin was surprised at this, but smiled back anyways.
“Jisung,” Hyunjin greeted, and Jisung gave a small bow to the other one.
Why are you so awkward he asked himself.
“What’s going on?” Hyunjin asked. Jisung brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck.
“Oh, well um..” Jisung started, “I wanted to thank you for driving me home last night...” Hyunjin chuckled a little bit at Jisung, “I know it was probably a burden for you,”
“No, it was alright,” he assured. Jisung felt a small weight lift off his shoulders, “but how’s your mom? She seemed pretty upset when I brought you home, I hope everything’s okay,”
“Yeah, don’t worry about that,” Jisung waved off. There was a beat of awkward silence between the two boys before Jisung realized Hyunjin was waiting for him to explain why he was standing on his doorstep. “Yeah, oh well... I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind doing me a small favour,” Jisung asked, and Hyunjin nodded his head. “You see, I left my car at Bang Chan’s place yesterday, and I sort of need it back, but I don’t have anybody that could drive me to get it...”
“You want me to drop you off at Chan’s?” Hyunjin supplied, and once Jisung saw the genuine look on Hyunjin’s face, he gave a relieved smile.
“I mean, if you don’t mind.. it’s okay if you can’t, though,” Jisung was tiptoeing around what he wanted to do.
“You have to ask me properly,” Hyunjin teased. If there was one thing about Hyunjin that Jisung remembered from when they were younger, it was that he was always big on teasing.
Jisung laughed a little bit because even though Hyunjin was playing with him, it reminded him of how they used to act with each other when they were younger.
“Fine, Hyunjin will you please drive me over to Bang Chan’s house so that I can pick up my car?” Jisung replied, leaving Hyunjin looking satisfied.
“That’s much better,” Jisung rolled his eyes at the taller boy, “let me just go grab my keys”. Hyunjin turned around and closed his front door behind him, leaving Jisung on the doorstep.
Why had Jisung been so nervous to talk to Hyunjin? He hadn’t changed at all. This whole high school social status thing is so overrated. Hyunjin still had the ability to make Jisung laugh, even after months of being separated. Jisung felt happy for the first time that day. Maybe the day wasn’t so bad after all.
Suddenly, the door opened again, and Hyunjin was backing out of it, talking to his dog. “No... no... stay there... good boy!” Hyunjin praised, closing the door and separating himself from Kkami. “Ready?” he asked, and Jisung nodded, making his way over to Hyunjin’s car.
Hyunjin’s family was pretty well off, financially. Hyunjin didn’t have to worry about how he was going to pay for college like the majority of kids their age did. He didn’t even have a job. Not to say that he was necessarily “daddies money” or anything like that, but being the son of a lawyer definitely had its perks. For example, this beautiful car that Hyunjin’s dad bought him when he was sixteen. Of course Jisung was a little bit jealous, Hyunjin was definitely more popular with the kids at school because of it.
That being said, if someone from the outside were to have a normal conversation with Hwang Hyunjin, they would see that though he was very financially secure, his personality didn’t show it. Jisung always assumed that it was the fact that Hyunjin’s mother grew up in a poorer neighborhood without much to live by. When Jisung used to go over to Hyunjin’s house, occasionally she would tell the boys stories about how she used to live with only her mother and brother, each child working at least two jobs by the time they were thirteen. She would use these lessons to remind the children about how fortunate they were, and how not everybody is able to have the opportunity to live a comfortable life like them.
Jisung opened the passenger side door and slid into the car. Jisung had never actually stepped foot inside Hyunjin’s car, he had only seen it from afar. It was every bit of cool on the inside as it was on the outside. There were even leather seats that could be heated in the winter, and cooled in the summer. Jisung thought he was experiencing what living in the lap of luxury would be like.
“Buckle,” Hyunjin reminded before he started the car, and Jisung complied, pulling the strap across his chest and clipping it in place. The car started with a gentle hum. Much nicer than Jisung’s car, that started with uneven sputters and coughs, if it even started at all.
The boys pulled out of Hyunjin’s driveway and down the street towards Chan’s place.
“This car is insane,” Jisung complimented, and Hyunjin chuckled a little bit.
“Thanks I guess,” Hyunjin said awkwardly. For a few moments, the boys drove in silence. Jisung felt the nervousness and stiffness creep back into his system, and he knew that he had to start a conversation to keep himself from being weird.
It seemed like Hyunjin had the same thought because just then, Hyunjin said “So I guess you had fun last night, huh?”
Please, anything but this.
“Uh.. yeah, I guess for a bit..” Jisung blushed a little bit when he remembered he was probably being propped up into this very seat he was in last night, except he was passed out drunk. On second thought, they probably just shoved him into the backseat, which was somehow even worse.
“Someone said they saw you with Im Nayeon, is that true?” Hyunjin asked, taking a right. Jisung remembered the pretty girl from last night with the sparkly eyes.
“People are talking about that?” he asked.
“I knew it was true!” Hyunjin exclaimed, smiling like an idiot. “Good for you, Jisung! She’s so hot,”
Jisung was trying desperately to change the subject. “Do you have a girlfriend, Hyunjin?” Hyunjin smiled a little bit.
“No, not right now, but there are some girls trying,” Jisung didn’t doubt that one, “but I don’t know if I am interested in any of them,”
“Oh, a man with standards,” Jisung teased. Hyunjin laughed and nodded.
“You don’t have a girlfriend, Jisung?” Jisung shook his head. “What about Chaeryeong? Who is she with?”
Jisung felt his heart stop out of surprise “not you, so don’t even try,” he warned, stifling an awkward laugh.
“What? No I didn’t- no I swear I didn’t mean that for me!” Hyunjin spoke in an obviously panicked tone, and Jisung laughed at him. Hyunjin really hadn’t changed.
“Whatever man,” Jisung shrugged. There was no way he was going to tell Chaeryeong about what Hyunjin asked, it would make her think she should pursue him further,
“I don’t know why we don’t hang out anymore, Jisung.” Hyunjin admitted. “I missed talking with you,”
Jisung knew exactly why he and Hyunjin drifted apart, but he wasn’t about to spoil the good mood by bringing the politics of high school status into the topic.
“Yeah I don’t know either,” there was another beat of silence.
“So where are you thinking about applying to next year?” Hyunjin asked. The conversation from there was pretty average for teenage boys. They talked about school, they talked about Hyunjin’s basketball and how he’s hoping to get a scholarship, they even talked about television shows, which seems like pointless small talk, but it isn’t when Jisung could see Hyunjin was clearly very obsessed with Stranger Things. Jisung had only bothered to watch a couple episodes of it, but he still participated in the conversation because he enjoyed seeing Hyunjin so excited.
When they turned onto Bang Chan’s street, Jisung saw that his car was still parked on the curb where he had left it.
“That’s it right there,” Jisung said. Hyunjin pulled into the driveway next to the car, and Jisung unclipped his seatbelt. “Thank you for the ride again, Hyunjin”.
“It was nothing, I was happy to help,” Hyunjin said with a warm smile. Jisung returned the smile, and said goodbye. “I’ll see you at school on Monday!” Hyunjin called out before Jisung closed his door. Maybe he might just be able to rekindle an old friendship.
----
Jisung knew he was fucked when he turned onto his street and saw his mother’s car in the driveway. He forgot that she gets off early afternoons on Saturdays.
Jisung pulled into the driveway beside his mom’s car. He turned the car off, and sat for a moment. Should he even bother going inside? Maybe it would be easier to take off again and hide at Felix’s place so that he didn’t have to face her.
Don’t misunderstand, Jisung loved his mom. Jisung knew that she only scolded him because she wanted him to be a good person, but sometimes it was too much. She was never satisfied with him. And he knew that a mistake like last night’s would be hands down the worst thing that he has done in his seventeen years of living.
Jisung didn’t know how long he sat in the driveway, debating his options before he got a text from Chaeryeong.
Chae: Jisung I know you’re in the driveway, get your ass inside before mom takes her anger out on me!!!!
Jisung sighed and hit his head against his steering wheel. That helped make up his mind that he had to face his mother. So, with a heavy body, he stepped out of the car and made his way inside.
The house was quiet when Jisung walked in. Jisung gently walked into the kitchen where he knew his mom was likely to be sitting, drinking coffee or tea and reading a book.
Sure enough, there she was: still in her nursing scrubs, graying hair disheveled as it had most likely just been pulled out of a ponytail, and a tired expression on her once lively and bright, now worried and exasperated face.
Jisung felt himself cower away from her like a dog when his owner yelled at him, and he made eye contact with his sister, who was washing dishes by the sink. She gave him a shrug, but her eyes were sorry.
“Jisung, sit.” his mother commanded. Jisung obeyed, and sat across the table from her. “I work all day. I come home tired every day. You want to give up your academics for a stupid party, and when I say yes, you come home at three in the morning, unconscious, waking everybody up, making your sister and myself worry, and making me lose sleep before I have to go back and work another hard shift at the hospital, is that right?” Jisung felt his head pounding and his chest tight with regret. He slowly nodded his head. “And then, when I come home, you aren’t even here to take my lesson like a man, is that right?”
Jisung wanted to tell her that he was just going to pick up his car from Chan’s, but he knew that it was no use trying to redeem himself. So he nodded again.
“Jisung wasn’t avoiding you mom, he went to get his car because he didn’t drive home,” Chaeryeong defended, and Jisung knew she shouldn’t have bothered.
“Was I asking you to speak, Chaeryeong?” his mom asked, and Chaeryeong opened her mouth to protest again, but was cut short. “Go start a load of laundry. This is between me and Jisung.” Chaeryeong sulked as she walked out of the living room to do the laundry.
Jisung felt his cheeks burn up.
“I mean seriously Jisung, I am trying my best to raise you right, but this kind of behavior makes me feel like it’s all in vain,” she complained, and Jisung laid his eyes on the floor. How could he look up? “I am not trying to make you upset, I just don’t think that you are making good life choices, and I will not raise a son that throws caution to the wind and doesn’t give a care in the world about his future or his family. Think about how your father and I feel about this.”
“I’m sorry,” Jisung said, knowing it’s the only thing out of his mouth that his mom would want him to hear.
“What if someone had seen you? What if friends of your father and I saw that our only son was spending his prime academic, adolescent years drinking and disappointing us like this? Your actions reflect badly not only on yourself, but on your father and I.” she finished, “Now. Go study.” She returned her attention back to her book.
Jisung stood up from his seat and moved to walk away. He saw the worried lines on his mother’s face, and the disappointment in her features. Jisung wanted nothing more than to be a proud son, but it was impossible to be both a good child to his parents, and a person that is in control of his own life.
Jisung had pondered the idea of going to school in America or Canada multiple times. He was good at English he thought, and he could be far away from his mother, but it was expensive.
Jisung sat down on the edge of his bed when he entered his room.
“What if some friends of your father and I saw that our only son was spending his prime academic, adolescent years drinking and disappointing us like this?”
That was what bothered him most. Hearing his mother call him a disappointment hurt more than any insult any bully had ever given him. Maybe if he was more proper and friendly like Hyunjin, or more athletic and charming like Minho instead of being anxious and quiet like himself, who's barely able to spend over half an hour at a time studying.
Jisung believes firmly that his mother is only treating him the way that mothers are supposed to treat their sons if they want to motivate them into living good lives.
this situation wasn’t even worth worrying over. Jisung will just get over it the same way he normally gets over things. By outliving the stress.
----
Monday came quickly to Jisung, and before he knew it, he was walking through the pull doors and into the over crowded hallways of his high school.
The sound of people talking was somewhat deafening for Jisung, who hated being in crowds of people with a passion. So, he put in his earbuds and listened to whatever music played on his playlist first.
Jisung’s classes were all the same. Nothing new ever happened at school, no matter how badly the antsy teenagers wished for a little bit of excitement. Jisung never really liked change, but he couldn’t help but want something around him to, just so that he could make sure he wasn’t living in a loop.
His moment came directly to him on that day.
Jisung had convinced Felix and Seungmin to find another ride home from school that Monday, since Jisung had promised his mom he would stay late to practice biology. He was okay with this plan, because that gave him time to talk to his favourite bio teacher.
Everybody has their own form of emotional support high school teacher. Some people enjoy ranting to their English teachers, some people make jokes with their history teachers, some people just use that teacher’s class as an escape from the rest of the hellish existence known as high school.
Jisung had Mr. Kim for science in grade 9, biology in grade 11, and biology again senior year. Even though Jisung hates to admit it, even to himself, he sometimes subconsciously thinks of Mr. Kim as the parent figure he has always yearned for in his life.
Mr. Kim knew Jisung as the “quiet kid” when he came to the school in grade 9. He was seated close to the teachers bench, so every day before class, Mr. Kim would start conversations with Jisung. Jisung appreciated it greatly, since he didn’t really have anybody else to talk to before the bell.
Slowly, Jisung began looking forward to that class everyday. Some people didn’t like Mr. Kim for whatever reason, but he was funny and always listened to what Jisung had to say.
On that Monday, Jisung went to the extra help room and took the desk that he usually occupies whenever he goes for extra help. Jisung enjoys the subject of biology a lot, and he has even considered pursuing a career in that field. His mother would be very happy if her son ended up being a doctor or a biologist. Or maybe he could go into teaching and be like Mr. Kim.
Jisung opened his biology books and began to answer some of the practice questions Mr. Kim had assigned, but before Jisung knew it, it was already 5:00 and he had to head home. So, he politely gave Mr. Kim a thanks and a bow. He still wasn’t confident that he could get over 80%, but what was he supposed to do about it now?
Jisung made his way back to his locker to grab a textbook when in an instant, his high school life earned that interesting change that Jisung had been silently yearning for.
Jisung opened his locker and grabbed his books. All of the sudden, he heard loud voices and the sound of a basketball being dribbled on the freshly cleaned hallway floors. Jisung remembered about how the basketball team had after school practices every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Jisung cringed at the thought of facing Minho after what had happened the Friday before.
Jisung closed his locker and began walking away from the sound, hoping to god it was somebody other than Minho. He would rather talk to Hyunjin. Actually, he would like talking to Hyunjin.
It seemed a lot like the universe was out to get him because once he heard the boys come around the corner and begin down the hallway he was on, he heard his name being called out.
“Jisung!” Jisung winced. It was certainly the confident voice of Lee Minho. “I’ll catch up with you guys later, tell Hyunjin I’ll be a second.”
Jisung turned around to see that Minho was walking with Bang Chan and Seo Changbin, who nodded at him and kept walking away. They never stopped dribbling the basketball between them.
“Jisung, wait up,” Minho called, jogging slightly to catch Jisung. It was obvious that Minho had just come from practice. His hair was slightly sweaty, his usually fair cheeks were tinted soft pink, and he was wearing the ugly school basketball uniform, which somehow made Minho look more handsome than Jisung thought it should. “Hey man, how’s it going?” he asked once he got within earshot of Jisung.
“Hey Minho,” Jisung greeted, “I’m fine. Did you just have practice?” he asked. Maybe he could steer the direction of the conversation away from their encounter on Friday night.
“Yeah, but Jisung, I mean... how were you after Friday? I wanted to check up on you again, but I got distracted,” Minho confessed. Why the hell was he so worried about Jisung? It’s not like he ended up in the hospital.
“Oh that, yeah don’t worry I’m fine,” Jisung said, “Saturday kind of sucked for a while, but other than that...” Jisung trailed off. Minho laughed a little bit at that. Jisung noticed a few things about Minho at that moment.
The first thing was that Lee Minho had a beautiful laugh. Jisung had never really thought about people having nice laughs, but Minho’s was just so light and bubbly that it made Jisung smile. Secondly, Jisung realized that Minho was very pretty. Not that Jisung was attracted to him, but he noticed that Minho had very sparkly eyes, and very nice skin. Minho was pretty like a girl, Jisung thought.
Jisung snapped himself out of his own head. “I wanted,” Jisung started, “I wanted to thank you, for taking care of me on Friday.. It was really nice of you, and you didn’t have to do that,” Jisung said, suddenly feeling embarrassed and shifting his gaze away from the other.
Minho smiled at him. “You know you don’t have to thank me,” he said, “you would have done the same,”
Jisung nodded his head. “I’m about to head out,” he said, and Minho answered.
“Oh, well I’ll walk with you”
The two boys began walking away towards the school parking lot. “So how is your team doing this year?” Jisung asked. Maybe if he were to make conversation, he wouldn’t feel so stiff next to Minho.
“Well, we’ve won three games and tied one, but there’s a long way to go until championships,” Minho answered.
“Well winning three games right at the beginning of the season seems pretty good to me,” Jisung said, and Minho nodded. “Then again, what do I know about sports,”
They turned the corner and opened the glass doors that led to the student parking lot. “Yeah, I guess so. You don’t play any sports, Jisung?” Jisung audibly laughed at that. “What, what’s funny?” Minho asked.
“I haven’t played any sort of sport since t-ball when I was seven,” Jisung admitted. “I guess I’m not really the athletic type,”
“I bet you could do it if you tried,” Minho said. Jisung blushed a little bit at that. Why did he blush? Jisung felt happy when the other boy praised him. Maybe it was just nice to be encouraged by someone.
The two boys arrived at Jisung’s car, but neither of them ended their conversation. Jisung leaned up against the driver side door while he talked to Minho.
“Ah even if I wanted to, I’m sure that I couldn’t handle both school and a sport. How do you juggle your studies and being the team captain?” Jisung asked, “it can’t be easy,”
Minho smiled, but he looked a little bit sad. Jisung was confused. They weren’t talking about a sad topic, so why was Minho sad? “I love basketball,” Minho admitted, “It wasn’t my choice to be captain. I’m not saying I don’t appreciate it, but...” Minho trailed off and sighed. “you see, I don’t know if you know this, but our school has won the board championships six years in a row. The boys voted me captain this year, and I’m actually pretty scared that I’ll end up letting them down. I don’t want to be known as that captain that broke the six year winning streak, you know?” Minho began to actually look sad now. His handsome face had very faint lines of worry, much like Jisung sees in his mother.
Jisung understood the other boy’s feelings. That was the moment that he began to truly understand these people. These jocks that have their reputations to uphold, the kids that nobody really knows, but everybody thinks they know. Jisung felt a little bit sorry for Minho.
“Anyway.. I don’t know why I’m telling you all of this,” Minho started to brighten up again, like he just flipped a switch inside his brain. Jisung thought that being able to switch from being sad to being happy like that must be a skill. He also wondered how often Minho might actually be sad underneath the charming and confident exterior he always wears. “I guess you’re just very easy to talk to,”
Jisung smiled. “I like talking to you too, Minho,”
Just then, there was a loud honking noise, and both of the boys turned their attention towards the nice, white car that Jisung knew belonged to Hwang Hyunjin.
“Shit, I guess they’re waiting for me,” Minho said, “Jisung, maybe we could do something some time? Would you want to?”
Jisung was a little bit shocked that Minho wanted to spend more time with him, he didn’t get why the other boy would bother. Still, Jisung liked talking to Minho. So, he nodded a yes, and Minho smiled at him.
“Great! I have your number, I’ll text you!”
“Okay,” Jisung agreed, and Minho made his way over to Hyunjin’s car, where Jisung saw about six other boys were crowded in. Jisung thought that the car must smell like sweat and feet with those boys in it.
Once Hyunjin drove the other boys away, Jisung got into his own car. It was then that he felt the way his heart was beating so fast. He felt really weird after that conversation with Minho, it was hard for him to describe. All he knew was that he loved the feeling, and he wanted to be Minho’s friend really badly.
Jisung couldn’t stop smiling the entire car ride home, or for the rest of the night. He couldn’t even figure out why.
There’s a strange moment in life that no one talks about.
The one that sits quietly after you make a big change…
…but before anything starts to feel different.
You were in that space now.
The city around you buzzed with noise and motion—horns honking, coffee machines hissing, conversations in a language you were still learning to catch. And yet, you felt like you were floating just outside of it all, like someone had pressed pause on your life while everything else kept moving.
You weren’t lonely exactly.
Just a little… untethered.
Like your soul hadn’t quite arrived yet, even though your body had.
You weren’t looking for anyone. Not here. Not really. You’d told yourself this was a trip to reset. To breathe. To figure things out on your own.
But sometimes—just sometimes—life doesn’t wait for you to have a plan.
Sometimes, a stranger with a hoodie and a soft voice walks into your orbit when you least expect it.
And even though your heart was still a little bruised, and your life still a little messy…
…you couldn’t help but wonder what might happen if you texted him back.
Just a coffee.
Just a tour.
Just a maybe.
Prologue END.
You stared at your phone for a full ten minutes before typing anything.
hey! this is y/n—the tourist you rescued from map meltdown :)
Then deleted it.
Rewrote it again.
hi chris! hope i’m not texting too soon but thanks again for helping me yesterday <3
Too soft.
Too eager.
You groaned into your pillow. It had only been one day since you met him—“Chris,” the kind stranger with warm eyes and a laugh that felt like a memory you never knew you had. And now, your phone sat glowing on the nightstand like it was daring you to text him and ruin everything.
But you couldn’t stop thinking about him. The way he hadn’t rushed. The way he’d offered to walk you instead of just pointing and walking away. And the fact that, deep down, you were pretty sure he was Bang Chan from Stray Kids.
Still, he’d asked you to text. That had to mean something. Right?
You chewed your lip, took a deep breath, and finally sent:
Hey! It’s Y/N. I’m free tomorrow if your offer for a city tour still stands :)
You stared at the screen. Five seconds. Ten. Fifteen.
[Chris: Of course it does. I know a place with the best tteokbokki in all of Seoul. 2pm? I’ll meet you there.]
Your heart stuttered. Then your stomach growled.
You were five minutes late.
In your defense, the stairs out of the subway had tried to eat your suitcase-like tote bag, you’d dropped your chapstick under a busker’s amp, and—because your life was a comedy—you’d nearly tripped walking out of the station and into the street.
Smooth.
But when you finally spotted him leaning casually against a brick wall outside a cozy-looking food stall—cap pulled low, black hoodie again—you swore you forgot what embarrassment even was.
He looked up at just the right second, and when your eyes met, he smiled. That same soft, familiar smile. The one that made it feel like he already knew you.
“You made it,” he said.
“Barely,” you admitted. “I may have almost gotten eaten by the subway.”
Chris laughed, stepping beside you and falling into pace. “That’s why I gave you extra time. You seemed like someone who might have a few… detours.”
You narrowed your eyes playfully. “Are you calling me clumsy?”
“I’m saying you look like trouble,” he grinned. “The charming kind.”
Your cheeks warmed. He was teasing. But not in the way people back home had—this was light, kind, gentle. The kind of teasing that said: I see you. And I don’t mind.
The food stall he took you to was tucked into a quiet alley, with red plastic chairs and steaming plates already crowding the tables. A local spot—not fancy, but real. You sat across from him on a stool that wobbled slightly, feeling like you were in on a secret.
“Try this,” he said, scooping tteokbokki onto your plate. “Spicy, but not the kind that tries to end your life.”
You took a bite.
And nearly cried.
“Okay,” you said through a full mouth, “you weren’t exaggerating.”
Chris beamed proudly. “I never joke about food.”
You ended up staying there for nearly two hours. Talking about everything and nothing. He asked about what brought you to Seoul, and you told him the half-truth: “I needed a break.” You didn’t mention the heartbreak or the job you’d quit or the way you sometimes felt like a puzzle missing half its pieces.
He didn’t push. Just nodded like he understood, and told you about the city in return—the quiet corners people missed, the parks hidden between high rises, the cafés with walls covered in Polaroids.
And somewhere in the middle of it all, he asked:
“Do you usually talk this much when you’re nervous?”
Your chopsticks froze mid-air. “I’m not nervous.”
He arched a brow.
“…Okay maybe a little.”
Chris laughed again, eyes crinkling at the corners. “It’s cute.”
You stared at him. “You just called me cute while I’m holding a fish cake on a stick.”
“It’s your moment,” he said seriously. “Own it.”
When you both finally got up to leave, the sun had dipped low and the streetlights were flickering on, casting a soft golden glow over the alley. The walk back was quieter—not awkward, just comfortable.
“Thanks for today,” you said. “I mean it. I haven’t laughed like that in a long time.”
He looked at you then—really looked—and something in his expression softened.
“Then I hope this is the first of many.”
You both stood in front of a small bookstore now, the kind with fairy lights in the window and a bell that jingled when someone walked in. You weren’t ready to say goodbye. Not yet.
Chris glanced at the sign, then back at you.
“Want to go in?”
You hesitated.
Then nodded.
And as the two of you stepped inside, the doorbell chiming above your heads, you had the smallest, quietest thought:
