with two snacks in hand and a cat by his feet, kyungsoo reflects on the night up to this point. hours earlier, his feet had only just begun to ache from traveling between districts all day. in that dimly lit alley, he sought to make peace with the whispers that would inevitably keep him company. sleep had been difficult to come by, constantly slipping from his grasp, but even by the time he’d been visited by a blue-eyed feline, he wouldn’t have been able to tell if he had been asleep for a half-hour or four. it’s always the same these days–gaps in memory that he can never account for, dreamless bouts of unconsciousness that still leave him exhausted come daylight. he much prefers these over the nightmares, but his last memory of emerging from the night well-rested feels just like that: a memory. somewhere between the loss of yet another friend and the peak of winter, he’d fallen back into familiar moors.
that isn’t to say, however, that kyungsoo can’t still appreciate the company of a curious cat and her unusually generous owner. they’ve brought him here, into the temporary but greatly welcome warmth of a convenience store, along with the promise of somewhere infinitely more comfortable than an alley to stay the night. he can feel the loss of what little cash he has left to pay for the snacks as if it were chipping away at his heart, but it seems like a fair exchange for being able to spend the evening indoors. after sending kit a reassuring smile, as if she were somehow checking up on him, kyungsoo glances over the myriad of snacks and drinks in jungkook’s arms. albeit only just barely, he manages to keep from balking at the sight and instead nods along as jungkook lists his late-night loot. if kyungsoo had the means, he would probably eat an entire feast in the middle of the night, too. he can’t fault his new acquaintance for having an unusual appetite, but he hadn’t pinned jungkook as the black-hole-stomach type either.
“those all sound really good,” he says softly, but honestly. sporting a small smile, he follows jungkook to the counter, kit never straying far from their feet. a wistful stare inevitably wanders towards the glass case housing a sizable selection of steamed buns, but kyungsoo drags his gaze back to the two snacks in his grasp. in his part-time work of delivering takeaway across several districts, he’s seen and smelled his fair share of steamed buns. given the afternoon rush and seemingly endless traffic, he rarely has time to sit down for a proper lunch break. it isn’t usually until at least three that he can spare enough time to scarf down the steamed bun that he’d been gifted by the kitchen staff each shift. he should hate steamed buns. he should be sick of them and feel like gagging just at the mention of them, but they do just the opposite. warm and familiar, they remind him of home. no matter how hectic the day may become, he always finds comfort in knowing he’s secured at least one meal each day.
on his turn to pay, kyungsoo hands the snacks over to the attendant and rummages through his pockets for cash. he won’t find anything more than what sits in the left inner pocket of his coat, but some part of him still hopes for a surprise. when no such luck visits, he quickly the single bill and a few coins, just enough to cover the total. unsurprisingly he skips the plastic bag when asked; he didn’t even have enough to pocket any change in return for his purchase tonight. after thanking the attendant, he tucks the snacks into the front-most pocket of his backpack, amongst an empty plastic water bottle and a miniature first aid kit. no matter how often he sorts through his belongings to toss the non-essentials, he always seems to balance it out with the ‘maybe i can turn this piece of rubbish into something useful’ mindset. his pockets are a testament to that, constantly occupied by chewing gum wrappers and discarded gachapon capsules.
“we can go to yours,” kyungsoo replies with a timid smile, secretly eager to browse through the books at the shop. given how the characters constantly distort and even lose a stroke or two, reading has never been his forté, but he would greatly appreciate something to keep his mind busy through the night. part of him also hopes to find a book of fairy tales among jungkook’s collection. absentmindedly, as if preparing for the inevitable rebuff of winter once they step outside, kyungsoo tugs the sleeves of his outermost coat over his fingers.
“i’m sure kit would be happier eating at home,” he adds, then directs his attention to the cat to address her directly. “right?”
Jungkook used to take pride in the help he could offer people, at his core the young man was a people person. That core though had grown dull and the fire inside has slowly dissipated to the point that the light is almost out. Secluding yourself from all of man-kind was difficult, but the consequences of making eye contact with another was far worse. Perhaps the Gifted man was not as mentally strong as he once thought. With that being said though, Jungkook could still pick up on other's emotions. People would call him an empath and it aided in his work of helping others. It had been so long since he has needed to use that skill, one would think that the ability to emphasize with people based off their aura would dissipate as much as the desire to help others. It seemed that this was not the case. He could feel this negative energy off the other as they handed over their money to the cashier, it pulls at his heart strings. His hypothesis is that the other wasn't planning on using that money as perhaps they were saving for something else-- or that is all they had.
Guilt starts to sit heavy on his shoulders, he should have just bought the other's food along with what he had bought to share. Though he wonders if pride would have come into play as such an offer. Not everyone is as open to accepting help, but Jungkook would never know since he never offered. Sighing softly he tries to push that behind him. He was giving the other a warm place to stay. A nice place, he was doing some good even if he keeps messing up. He doesn't realize he lets out a soft sigh of disappointment as they move away from the register and cashier. He really has become so out of touch with the world, how long has it been since he was shutting himself up inside his apartment? How long has it been since he actually went inside the shop? Hours turned into days, days turned into weeks, turned into months-- honestly Jungkook couldn't even tell you what day it was. It's not like it mattered to him anymore. He has nothing to plan for, nothing to do except leave the house for some groceries so he doesn't starve to death. He takes a lot for granted. Mopping around in his own misery is getting him no where, life could be worse. He could have no place to stay, like this man. . .
The thought of changing plights crosses his mind. Would he rather be outside in the cold, without any warmth, the possibility of freezing to death a very real and pressing matter and be able to look people in the eyes without a horrible gruesome sight or live life as he does now. In a home that has warmth, a life where money is not an issue at this point in his journey around the sun, and his familiar always at his side so he does not have to live a completely lonely life.
Luckily the man beside him answers his previous question which does not allow him to dwell on answering the question that flashed across his mind just now. Clearing his throat he nods his head a bit.
"I think you're right. It would give us a chance to settle without having to worry about moving into the cold again. Better to get it done and over with is the saying right?"
He asks not exactly excited to be going back into the cold weather, but he has absolutely no room to complain about that.
Kit clearly siding with the decision the two men made lets out a small and happy mew before she gives soft purrs, weaving through their legs as they remained still for the moment. Jungkook still felt that pang of jealousy seeing Kit become some friendly with the stranger. Were they someone Kit knew in a past life? What was it about this man that had Kit so adamant they needed to bring him home with them? It's not like she wasn't a friendly familiar, never before was he bothered by Kit showing brief moments of affection for his clients or kind people who try and chat with him for a moment, but this was not fleeting affection. Kit always came back to him and stayed by his side, but Kit was equally moving between the two of them. Why? Sometimes he wished Kit could speak to him in Korean, or that he could speak cat.
"My place is not far from here, promise."
He says as he opens the door to brace the cold of winter once more.
"Maybe a three minute walk."
He says sympathetically as he waits for the other to be at his side before he starts walking towards the direction of promised heating.
"I'll get you all set up in the shop, turn the heating on high and we can all eat in peace knowing we don't have to come back out here."
He says hoping his former place of business turned abandoned shop is not too dusty. It's been a long, long while since he stepped foot in there. Even if it was dusty that would still be considered better than sleeping outside at night, in the middle of winter, with the constant threat of harsh winds and snow. Dusty abandoned shops are at least protection, heat, and provide a nice bathroom and sink shower.
Jungkook makes sure to keep his walk quick, but at a reasonable pace. His eyes remained on Kit who was now walking in front of him, helping him guide through any obstacles that might not be apparent to him as he walks with his head down. He finds it a little bit odd that the other man hasn't asked him about why he doesn't look people in the eyes, why he keeps his head cast so low, and is constantly using Kit as if she was a seeing eye cat. He was used to strangers asking about his odd mannerisms when he was forced to come out of his apartment for groceries and other necessities. Those people who ask and comment are those he's barely known for a minute, and yet this man who has spent a decent amount of time with for previously being complete strangers hasn't shown the slightest inquiry to why Jungkook is the way he is.
Strange man, strange circumstances, strange night. As they approach his old place of work Jungkook opens the key pad and hesitates for a moment, it's been so long since he's needed to type in a code he needs a moment to actually think of what the password was. It only takes him a few seconds to recall and he hopes the batteries in the locking mechanism still held some juice in them. How embarrassing would it be to invite a man over only to have them locked out? A sigh of relief this time exits his body as the door opens and he lets Kit in first before holding the door open for the other to join her.
