forever boy

it was love at first sight for chaeyoung.

when she first found out that her friend had cats just lazing around in his house, she did not hesitate to pay him a visit. wanting to immediately get herself comfortable with the animals who probably knew nothing about her at first. ever since that first day, chaeyoung was hooked on the small cats that seemed to like her just as much, allowing chae to carry them around like they were royalty. the younger woman had completely zoned out as she felt the soft fur tickle her fingertips, the small cat rolling on its belly as an invitation to keep going; and of course, she didn’t stop. 

not for at least another minute spent in their own little world of purrs and joy. 

if it wasn’t for the constant call of her name, chaeyoung would’ve sat there all day until the cat had enough of her. the artist snapped her head up, eyebrows furrowed with a pout because jaehwan had interrupted something that had brought her a small amount of happiness. but upon the words ‘pancakes’ she had perked up, sliding back in her chair and walking near the kitchen, with the cat in her hands of course. “pancakes sound great, i only had a bagel before coming over so i’m starving.” her morning routine was a mess, always leaving her with no time to truly eat anything before starting her days in class or meeting friends and being fashionably late. but today was a little different, chae didn’t try to dress-up like normally due to her being a bit on the lazy side and fear of getting cat hair all over her clothes. “yah, can you go a day without flirting!” a small whine as she gently hit his arm. 

a part of him feels like he could watch this scene forever, his cats and his friend. it makes him feel warm somehow every time something like this happens, good that this worked out so well because it means she’s coming over a lot more than she probably would otherwise, but there’s also a hint of jealousy in between all this endearment. whether it’s because chaeyoung is allowed to do so much to his cats that his other friend’s aren’t -- even jaehwan sometimes -- or because his cats always keep chaeyoung’s attention away from him, jaehwan has no idea.

but it seems a lot more unimportant when she finally does pay some attention to him, puts her focus on him. ( even if it means that chobee is getting a free ride along. )

“i guess that got your attention,” he mutters to himself, a light chuckle following before he throws a smile her way. jaehwan reaches out to scratch the cat in her arms behind the ear. it’s good she got up because otherwise he would’ve had to ruin chaeyoung’s fun with telling her that the cats aren’t allowed on the kitchen table.

meiqi hasn’t been to the movies since… she can’t remember how long ago. her trainee schedule often leaves her with only a small amount of free time to do whatever she wants, but even that is cut short by how tired she is by the end of the day. it’s different today, however, and she finds herself with much more energy than usual.

instead of heading home, meiqi takes a detour to the closest cinema. she doesn’t know what movie she’s buying a ticket for, but she walks in and it’s already playing.

she sits in the same row as another single movie-goer, just a few seats over. meiqi doesn’t understand what’s happening on the screen, but it entertains her nonetheless—that is, until she overhears incessant sniffling coming from down the row. that should make for an even more entertaining show.

meiqi doesn’t hesitate to shift closer to the stranger, occupying the seat right beside him this time. she doesn’t have any tissues in her bag, and she’s not about to let him wipe his snot on her precious clothes, so she can’t offer him much except a pat on the shoulder. “hey, you okay? why are you crying? could you maybe cry a little quieter, or at least like, explain if i should be crying too?”

apparently, luck isn’t on his side this time because it seems like his sniffles were too loud after all. someone noticed, that girl on the other side of the row, despite his attempts at keeping his embarrassing outburst more or less a secret -- because he’s in a movie theatre, how secretive can he be in a room filled with people? when she slides into the seat next to him, that’s the point where jaehwan wants to die. kind of. he’s like it a lot if he could just sink into the ground, or his backrest to disappear.

jaehwan even almost hides his face in his hands ;

but he holds back. instead, only rubs at his eyes at a distraction but halts for a second when her whispers reach her through the high volume of the movie. slowly, he turns his head towards her. “did you ... . just ask me to cry quieter?” if he wouldn’t cry right now, jaehwan would actually love that. her guts to seriously say something like that to a crying person.

today is definitely not going the way that he expected it to go.  honestly, he just expected to pick up a package and go back to his parents place to spend some time with them since .. he needed the company.  of all places, he never expected to be chatted up in a post office, much less a very public post office by a guy.  at least their conversation sounds friendly enough .. right? nothing too over the top.

just because jinseok can sense the nuances doesn’t mean that anyone else can.  at least, that’s what he’s hoping.  (  after all, he does have a public image to uphold now.  as much as he doesn’t want to have to hide himself, it’s just part of the territory.  )  

“ yeah, you did.” jinseok’s smile slowly creeps onto his lips without him recognizing, eyes curving into crescents.  it’s probably the first time he’s smiled so wide in awhile, and that’s a feat amazing in and of itself.  it’s definitely been .. a long couple of days since he’s returned from jeju.  that’s all that he can say.  jinseok snorts, “ if you met my mom, you’d know why i dote on her.  she deserves the world.” talking about his mother always puts him in a better mood, because he knows she’s practically an angel in disguise.  in his eyes, she can do no wrong - but even thinking on this doesn’t really make the slip into a gentler expression pass his notice.  maybe he shouldn’t have brought her up?

… why is jinseok worried about it, anyway? he’s just a stranger in the post office.  a very friendly stranger who is very clearly hitting on him in the post office.

good thing that no one is around to hear this whole entire conversation and judge it.  after all, the guy is laying on the hints pretty thick.  “ … sure.” he finally says after a beat, thinking about it.  it’s just a number, and jinseok - no matter what this may seem like, always likes making new friends.  “ i’ll give you my number after we’re done here … while we go get that hot chocolate -”

it’s a subtle hint that jinseok is willing enough to go.  he wants to see where it takes him.  it’s in his head when jinseok finally steps up to the counter to collect his mother’s package, and steps off the side to wait.

after all, it’s just hot chocolate.

jaehwan doesn’t think that, despite his radiating confidence, his lines are working that well actually but he does think that that pretty guy finds him likeable -- there was no punch to his face yet. no disgusted grimace. seems like it’s a good road he’s going down there. seems like he likes him, there’s some interest at least. another victory, a small one but it counts.

of course it counts with jaehwan.

there’s even a smile as a reward and it comes so unexpected, that he’s frozen solid for a moment. he’s gotten one from the boy before when he started the conversation with his smoothest line ever but it seemed more forced, comes off more natural right now. real. and it’s very pretty. so pretty that jaehwan is lost in it, feeling a little dazed. it makes his cheeks warm up sheepishly when the other goes on and snaps him back into it. “ah—yeah …. moms. that’s how it’s supposed to be with them, though, isn’t it? you’re supposed to want to give them the world,” he says as if he knows what he’s actually talking about. he probably wasn’t any different when he was a boy.