( with @yangyangrk )

it’s a feat, but by sheer force ( and a ton of shameless begging ) alone, jeno manages to get yangyang out of bed before the clock hits four-thirty in the morning. he’s personally accustomed to early starts, having ingrained an exercise schedule into his bones for long enough that his body, bless its’ poor circadian rhythm, can’t stay in bed for too long lest he start feeling restless. he knows yangyang isn’t the same, but the two years he’s been back in seoul and back in his friend’s company have made him increasingly greedier when it comes to spending time and secrets together.

and the sunrise above the han river early in the morning is one of jeno’s best-kept secrets.

“ are you mad at me? ” jeno asks, though he hardly sounds repentant, the smile on his lips wide and beguiling as he bumps his shoulder against yangyang’s, goading him. “ it’ll be worth it, i promise. you’re going to be thanking me later. ”

the yellow dust in seoul has been especially bad these days, and it’s hard to find a sliver of time when the air quality isn’t so bad it’s hard to justify an hour or two wading in it. he’s never been a big fan of face masks, and they’re especially not conducive to morning jogs.

everything comes easily when he’s in yangyang’s company—and he might write it off as the years they’ve spent glued to each other’s side ( and the years they spent coordinating timezones across an ocean or two ), but the technicalities have always been easy to brush aside. details are details, and they pale in comparison to time and things only it can tell.