It should have been an odd sight but no one seemed to dwell too much on the young man crying at the center of the square. There he sat, in front of the artsy metallic fountain -which formed the heart of the small city- with his back leaning against a smooth and slightly damp metal structure, his face buried in his arms and legs drawn up tightly, exposing the nape of his neck to the prickling sunlight. He appeared almost as tiny as he might have felt on the sparsely inhibited square. Only a hand full of people was passing by to sit outside at the ice cream parlor or finish whatever business they had come to the city for.
No one approached the boy and the number of odd looks they had sent him decreased significantly when he buried his tear-stained face in his arms.
This wasn't the first time he had been spotted in that place and after he had brushed off the very few people who actually voiced their concern, he was left with the many more people who didn't have the heart to care about a stranger's business.
People simply began to state that if he wanted to be left alone, so be it. Though it might have been alarming how he never seemed to run out of tears on days like this.
He didn't flat-out wail or sob loudly, seeking the attention. He cried soundlessly, only occasional shivers racking his body and sharp intakes of air giving away his state.
Sometimes he would go completely quiet, exhausted from his emotional outburst.

Today he wasn't burnt out just yet though and when he raised his head to smear the tears into the sleeves of his hoodie his face was red and puffy and his eyes sensitive against the bright sunlight.
He reluctantly blinked until the painful burning sensation of unshed tears and light ebbed down, only to be faced with a young boy staring at him. It seemed as if he had been watching him for a while from where he had been crouching on the ground a few meters away. He was probably around six years old, platinum blonde hair and an almost piercing gaze that could have tricked bystanders into thinking the brunette teenager had offended the kid.
Even though he got caught staring the kid didn't seem fazed at all, not breaking the eye contact. A little confused the brunette kept looking from the ground back to the boy who had completely stopped paying attention to the white stumps of chalk in his hand in favor of looking at him.
His posture got visibly less cramped and more fidgety under the scrutinizing gaze. Finally the boy got up and took a bunch of short steps over to him until he had to lift his head a little.
Without a word he offered a piece of chalk to him.
The brunette hesitated, biting his plump lip as he regarded the chalk.
His eyes flit back to the boy as if searching for his motives. But the blonde wore a completely blank expression, not giving away a thing he thought.
And eventually he decided to take the chalk.

Next to the small boy he sat on the ground carelessly, drawing swirls and flowers, suns and stars.
His breathing had calmed down and the dirt on his hands and legs didn't seem to bother him even one bit as he scribbled whatever came to his mind. The boy was mostly quiet but once in a while he would shyly scoot closer to the brunette to add his own versions of the flowers he had drawn.
And when he gasped in delight at the tiny mouse the older one drew next to their house with the respective mouse hole, his plush lips finally stretched into the faintest of smiles.
Suddenly a shadow darkened the picture they were sitting on.
"What kind of a monster is that?? Seriously, my HAMSTER could draw better than this!"
They both looked up at the one interrupting them so rudely. Even though the boy was shorter than the brunette and rather scrawny he seemed to emit natural confidence with his hands crossed over his chest and his expression one of mock. An unruly mop of short, sandy blonde hair and childish features made him look young though he was obviously off age.
The brunette who had initially flinched at the loud voice now couldn't help staring up at the intruder in defiance. Obviously he wouldn't let this stranger insult the kid who glared even more fiercely next to him. The boy seemed a little tripped up by the soft features still baring traces of his emotional outburst earlier, but he quickly regained his composure.
"No one is forcing you to look at it." the brunette simply said with a soft voice that was slightly coarse from the lack of usage.
"I bet you can't draw either!" the kid added with a stuck out tongue. The cocky boy only pursed his lips and his eyes twinkled at the challenge.
"Oh yeah? You bet I can." he easily said, slinking to the floor and reaching for an abandoned piece of chalk.

"This is ugly." the blonde kid blankly stated without mercy.
"You don't even know what it's supposed to be!"
"If I can't recognize what it is it's obviously a bad drawing." the kid replied matter-of-factly without missing a beat.
And the tanned brunette actually laughed, causing the bickering duo to halt and throw him a look.
"I think it's a bunny?" he threw in with a tilted head, observing the drawing from a different angle.
A triumphant noise followed.
"See? HE recognizes it! I wanna see how your bunny would look any different!"
The kid only huffed and the elder boy's eyes met over the crouched figure of him working on showing him what a bunny was supposed to look like.
"So what's your name?" he asked the brunette who had seemingly reverted to being shy in an instant.
"Jongin."
The blonde shot him a lopsided grin.
"Hah...", he thoughtfully hummed, "I'm Baekhyun."
Jongin only nodded in acknowledgment, his eyes a little too caught up in the twinkling bright orbs.
"Your name sounds stupid." the kid threw with a barely visible pout hiding beneath his blank expression as he stared up at them from beneath his bangs. Noticing this, Jongin turned towards him.
"What's your name?"
"Sehun. Oh Sehun!" he gave back, actually beaming at the attention.
Baekhyun chuckled lightly and Sehun only graced him with a haughty side glance before continuing to draw a huge tree.
"Your laugh sounds stupid, too."
Baekhyun only winked at the brunette before going back to bickering with the stubborn kid.
And Jongin blinked rapidly, clearly flustered before shaking the feeling off and grasping the chalk a little more tightly to lead it over the asphalt with purpose.

When the bells of the nearby church loudly announced it to be six in the evening, little Sehun had to return home.
He wiped his hands on his pants, the streaks of white barely standing out against all the specks of dirt and chalk anymore.
Jongin offered him his piece of chalk but Sehun only shook his head.
"You can keep it. It's a present."
"Are you sure...?"
Sehun nodded fiercely and quickly bid them farewell, not before reminding Baekhyun one last time not to be mean to Jongin before trudging away.
The atmosphere changed after that and while Jongin got more quiet, Baekhyun just gave him his full attention, asking continuous questions over the sound of chalk against stone.
"What's your age?"
"19..."
"Oh? You're a student?"
"No."
"Then what's it you do?"
"I... don't want to talk about it..." Jongin mumbled uncomfortably, fearing the nosy boy might prod further. But Baekhyun didn't seem put off in any way and just replied as if he had actually gotten a satisfying answer.
"Okay. Are you doing this a lot? Drawing with kids?"
"What? No... I don't."
"Haah... I see. You're good with kids though. You have any siblings?"
And it went on and on with Jongin barely replying to half of the questions but for every unanswered one Baekhyun already had two new ones one his tongue.
It wasn't all that bad, really. Jongin seemed to actually relax as time went by and the tears had dried long ago. He seemed to genuinely enjoy himself so his disappointed expression when the chalk had been reduced down to one small piece was paining the blonde even more. Thinking about it, he finally came to a conclusion and jumped up, leaving Jongin to squint a bit up at him in the impending darkness.
"Wait here, okay? Don't move even an inch! I'll be back shortly." was all he said before sauntering off into the distance.
A little lost, Jongin stared after him. There were even less people around than during the late afternoon and he suddenly felt very small again. Everyone had left him and he considered just going home when the clock struck eight, but the blonde boy was already running back towards him, huffing as he held out a little plastic bucket full of colorful chalk which Jongin automatically took.
"Made it!" he called out in triumph, sacrificing a lot of his precious breath and going back to huffing.
"Oh man, the store almost closed down on me." he said when the air in his lungs was finally returning.
He ruffled through his hair as he looked down at the baffled Jongin.
"Look, I should have gone home ages ago and it's getting dark, so..." he trailed off, watching the boy on the ground looking like a kicked puppy.
He hurried to steer in a more happy direction as he waved dismissively with his hands.
"I don't necessarily wan't to go home you see? But you have this new chalk now, right? Let's share it one day and draw again, alright?"
Jongin nodded and finally smiled, completely devote of bashfulness.
"Okay." he quietly said.

Jongin didn't turn up the next day but the day after that he found himself sitting on the square once more even though he wasn't crying this time. He usually didn't come here when the world seemed even remotely alright but he was scared Baekhyun might take it that he wouldn't return.
And to the brunette it was close to a miracle that Baekhyun actually did show up in the late afternoon.
They drew a huge castle together with colorful roofs, flags and countless little windows.
And while Jongin still didn't want to talk about himself, they managed to have small conversations over menial things around them.
Baekhyun was rather persistent in his tries to make Jongin open up but whenever he seemed a little too overwhelmed he would result to talking about himself. There didn't seem to be such a thing as silence with this boy.
Jongin didn't complain and while dragging the colorful chalk over the asphalt he soaked up all the information Baekhyun had to share about himself. About his family's bistro where he usually helped out. The bistro was located at the square and while Baekhyun did mention that he had seen Jongin while serving customers outside he didn't go into it any further.
Instead he told him about his twin brother, their pet dog and hamster, their funny neighbors or odd customers. On and on it went with Baekhyun seemingly leading an exciting life. Or rather leading a life where he managed to find excitement in anything and everything.
Once in a while Baekhyun would pipe up from his endless stream of words, asking him whether he was bored which Jongin denied with a shake of his head.
"If I'm talking too much, just tell me. I won't be offended! Just put your hand on my mouth and make me stop!" he assured him with dramatic movements but Jongin only shook his head for the second time, smiling a tiny bit.
"It's okay." he carefully mumbled with a lowered gaze.
Baekhyun eyed him with an unreadable look that had Jongin fidgeting at the sudden intense attention.
His eyes flitted back up and met the other's imploring gaze. Steady. Unwavering.
And then the moment was gone as quickly as it had come up and Baekhyun went into a story about his latest visit to the cinema.

As the days went by they got longer, from mild spring weather to stifling summer heat.
Jongin didn't go to the square everyday but he also lost his initial shyness and let Baekhyun see his tears when he felt like everything was falling apart beneath his finger tips. Baekhyun always seemed to freeze, not knowing what to do at moments like these. He would offer Jongin to listen, fidgeting unsurely but whenever the brunette denied, he'd just go into another story, trying to distract him by talking.
It didn't go unnoticed by Jongin how he would scoot closer though, their sides brushing ever so often.
And the sensation akin to electricity running through him at the touch really did manage to distract him from his misery.

When the leaves slowly died a vibrant death, Jongin was sad about it. The days were getting shorter again and the pleasant summer warmth subsided, having him wear a warm hoodie instead of his usual breezy shirts.
No matter how cold it turned out to be, Baekhyun would always watch out for Jongin while sauntering around in his apron, serving food and entertaining the customers with witty jokes as he did so.
In between the easy lines his eyes would flit up and peek through the high windows, looking for a sign of the brunette on the square.
One gloomy day he had even turned up at the bistro all flighty and shy, receiving a free cup of hot cocoa and a lone window seat to relax at.
Today the weather wasn't merely gloomy though. It was raining, pouring even. The evening was still young, yet the sky had darkened with bulks of heavy grey clouds, leaving an endless stream of fat raindrops to pitter-patter against the windows and create a deafening white noise in the background.
Baekhyun was glad their bistro harbored so much warmth and soft lights, making it an incredibly comforting shelter on days like these. And even though it was highly unlikely, he couldn't help but squint through the window glass in hopes of spotting Jongin.
They were offering a potato stew today and he would surely be able to sneak him a bowl...
That was when he saw a movement outside.
It was indeed Jongin, against all odds. Instead of searching for cover he was sitting in the middle of the square, right next to the fountain, crouching on the floor.
Baekhyun looked at him, a flurry of mixed feelings traveling down his spine and into his fingertips which instinctively reached back to untie the apron he was wearing and toss it behind the counter along with his tablet. His fingers grasped another object from the counter instead and with a short excuse he hurried outside, taking an umbrella as he exchanged the welcoming tinkling of the bell above the entrance for the loud static noise of rain hitting every available surface.
The closer he came, the clearer he could hear the helpless sobs and hiccups getting out-drowned by the rain.
The rain puddles splashed beneath his quickly moving feet but Jongin didn't see him approaching until the pattering of rain got more hollow as the drops bounced off the umbrella's surface and he looked up.
Even though he had only been exposed to the rain for very few seconds, Baekhyun's blonde hair was already dripping, appearing many shades darker than usual. Jongin, however, was completely soaked and his clothes dirty from the wet ground.
He still wouldn't move away, his trembling fingers paler than usual as they firmly grabbed a piece of green chalk.
It was smudged and a few more small pieces of gooey chalk were lying on the ground nearby.
"What are you doing?!" Baekhyun called out over the noisy of rain and flinched as Jongin only sobbed louder, dragging the chalk over the ground with determination. There were no actual puddles but the lines still turned out faint and stray raindrops immediately worked on washing them away for good.
"They keep fading-" the brunette hiccuped, turning the chalk as if the other end was even a little more dry than the first one.
"It hurts and I want to draw - but it won't stay-" he uttered, choking a little on another sobbing noise and even though Baekhyun felt scared and sad at the same time, he tried not to show it and carelessly put down the umbrella as he crouched down to be on eye-level with Jongin. His knees were already getting soaked through the fabric but he couldn't have cared less as he let his hands run down Jongin's upper arms, gently but surely taking the chalk out of his hands and clasping them together in his. He felt the fingers twitching in his hold and with one hand Baekhyun reached inside his pocket, pulling out the thick marker he had brought and quickly uncapping it with his teeth. Jongin watched his movements with reddened eyes, rapidly blinking as raindrops kept getting caught in his eyelashes. An unsure yelp escaped his lips as Baekhyun manhandled the pen into his hands, steadying the hold with his own petite but strong fingers and brought it up to let the black marker's tip point at his chest.
"There. Draw on me instead." he firmly said, urging the hand closer to run down his soaked white dress shirt.
Big brown eyes were searching his' but Baekhyun only nodded in encouragement and let go of Jongin's hands, relaxing his posture.
The first of the pen were hesitant but hard, leaving him to feel exactly where the pen traveled, lead by the shaking fingers of the brunette whose other hand had wandered up to steady the willing blonde by his shoulder. Baekhyun only closed his eyes, concentrating on the faint scent of a permanent marker in the sea of salty rain, the tethering hard feel of the marker in between the fleeting drops of water. And the shallow breaths of Jongin who kept sobbing through his bit lip as he created nonsensical scribbles with so much purpose that he finally spoke up.
"What are you drawing?" he asked with his eyes still closed.
"I don't know-" he uttered, not ceasing his movements.
"It's what I'm feeling."
More hasty lines were digging into a portion of his free shoulder.
"They say my head is sick so I can't understand." he stammered, sprinkling a few dots down his upper arm before wandering back to his chest.
"They say I'm too stupid to understand."
He got quiet as he desperately decorated the front of his shirt with both fiercely drawn zig-zag lines and curvier ones before distancing himself a little and drawing a more precise form on Baekhyun's chest.
The blonde's eyes fluttered open and he tried to look down where all the lines were staring back at him, a smudged but clearly visible black.
"What is it?" he asked as Jongin kept going over the outlines again and again.
"It's a heart. There's your heart."
For a second he interrupted himself to look up at Baekhyun with a look of hurt and confusion.
"I also have a heart and I'm also feeling things, so what is it I don't understand? What am I missing?"
Stunned, Baekhyun stared at the boy who went back to bringing out the heart, sniffling but seemingly finding comfort in doing so.
His gaze wandered around in deep thought, flitting over the abandoned square drowning in rain and back to the shivering figure before him almost clawing at his shirt, and he made a decision. With slow but sure movements he pulled the pen out of his grasp and into his own numb fingers, causing Jongin to whine quietly in protest. But Baekhyun only raised the pen and with two simple movements he drew a black heart right onto his hoodie, disregarding the print completely.
"There. You have a heart as well." he stated.
Jongin looked down at it in hesitant wonder.
Baekhyun didn't leave him to dwell on it for too long and pulled him around and into his chest, embracing his cold frame strongly.
He leaned his chin on Jongin's shoulder, his cheek lightly nuzzling into him.
"Whatever you're missing, it can't be important. You have a heart. That's all you need." he replied, leaving his hands to rub the feeling back into Jongin's lower arms. The movement sent his soaked sleeves to ride up and a variety of scratches and purple bruises stood out starkly.
Even though Jongin winced a bit, he didn't make a move to withdraw and left the blonde to carefully rub down his arms as if hadn't seen them.
After a while, Baekhyun reached for the discarded pen and holding Jongin's right arm in place he carefully drew a dot right next to one of his moles, right over a faint blue-ish spot and a curved line below.
"Look.", he softly said, "It's a smiley."
And Jongin smiled.
It was a tiny and unsure smile, but a smile nonetheless.

As it's often the case with the stuff I'm writing, it's up to you to interpret what exactly happened to Jongin and even though there are a few clues sprinkled in and I have a vague idea, there's no ultimate answer so yeah. It's up to you.
I found writing this to be very relaxing and I hope to be able to write more short one shots like this in the future~

Thanks a lot for reading - like every author I totally feed off love so every form of feedback is highly appreciated c:
Love,
Sugar-and-Salt