jiwon blinks at the small person in front of him, a little disconcerted at how seamlessly he seems to fit in with his three hyungs when jiwon has practically never seen him before. jinhwan, jiwon recalls seungyoon mentioning, is the same age and seungyoon and taehyun, which is really weird to jiwon because jinhwan looks so small and innocent compared to the seungyoon and taehyun. really, how can such a petite and fluffy person be older than him?

he sees minho leaning an arm comfortably on jinhwan's denim clad shoulder, grinning at a bad joke made by seungyoon while taehyun just groans by his side. jinhwan's smiling a little, eyes crinkling and suddenly, jiwon feels out of place, without hanbin, it feels as if jiwon's intruding on a moment. jiwon watches as minho's arm leaves jinhwan's shoulder, only to be replaced by taehyun's, bringing both of them closer together. maybe it's because of the never-ending placement of arms around jinhwan's shoulders that jinhwan doesn't grow any taller, jiwon muses, laughing at little at that thought internally. but, when jiwon looks at the picture of taehyun and jinhwan together, it's really pretty, really really pretty. and it's not hard to imagine jinhwan in a denim blouse and black skirt at all.

a twinkling laughter draws jiwon out of his thoughts, catching his attention because in his life, all he's ever heard is hanbin's dumb laugh, chanwoo's child-like laughter, seungyoon's unconstrained laughter, taehyun's dignified laughter, minho's choking laugh, and his own uncontrollable laughter. jiwon thinks then that jinhwan's quite like the opposite of him, gentle and calm, soft and passive while jiwon's rough and hyper, loud and active. jiwon's not one to reject being someone's friend at first sight, but he can't help thinking that jinhwan will forever remain as just a friend of his hyungs. still, jiwon's curious about jinhwan.

"jinhwan? he's my childhood friend, also taehyun's. he moved here recently from jeju for studies."

"studies? but isn't it weird to transfer in the middle of the school term?"

"jinhwannie's a smart kid, plus, he's freaking popular, attracts people like bees to flowers. look, he managed to make some friends already on his first day."

jiwon looks in the direction minho has pointed, and true enough, jinhwan is sitting with three others in a group, already chatting and joking around as if they've known one another for years. suddenly jiwon misses both hanbin and chanwoo, his own childhood friends.

2.

jiwon's walking towards the neighbourhood library to meet up with hanbin when something, or more accurately someone, catches his eyes, and he knows it's jinhwan instinctively even though they haven't met more than once. but jiwon's more than amused at how jinhwan seemed even tinier in his sweater that seemed a size or two too big. he supposes it's useless to try to call jinhwan, judging by the way his headphones are fitted snugly over his ears, but it's not like jiwon will try to call him either way, when they're just mere acquaintances. it's cute though, how jinhwan's standing in the middle of the street, gazing around his surroundings, marvelling at the tall buildings and modern constructions without any regard of the glares, grunts and curses from passersby, which are being blissfully blocked out by, no doubt, jinhwan's favourite songs flittering into his ears. but jiwon doesn't have such a luxury of a filter, and a particularly hard shove coupled with a few angry curses shakes him out of his world, jiwon hasn't even realised that he has stopped walking, and was just, in the center of a busy street, staring blankly at jinhwan. embarrassed, jiwon shakes his head to clear his mind, muttering low apologies as he continues on his way to the library. he's late.

"hyung, you're late."

"sorry."

"humph. so, how do you read this word."

hanbin's launches straight into work after jiwon has arrived, and jiwon wants to laugh because that's just so hanbin. they continue with their work for a few hours in silence, only punctured when either of them has a question for the other. but it's not quite a surprise when hanbin cuts the silence with a totally unrelated question, they were bound to lose focus sooner or later. it's the question which is more of a surprise to jiwon.

"bobby-hyung, do you know of jinhwan?"

"huh? yea, i met him once, why?"

"minho-hyung says he wants me to meet him. he's his childhood friend, he says."

"yes he is, taehyun-hyung's too."

"ah really? ...do you know what he's like?"

"humm, he's really small, quite pretty, comparable to taehyun-hyung, and he seems like a cool type of person. he's quite cute too."

"hmm."

they fall into silence once more, and while jiwon has no idea what's hanbin thinking, he finds his own thoughts drifting away to earlier, where he saw jinhwan, and a soft smile plays on his lips unconsciously, thinking of how innocent the image looked, jinhwan seeing the world with wonder in his eyes as though he's experiencing it for the first time.

"hyung, what are you smiling about?"

"oh, nothing much."

1.

jiwon thinks it's fate, when he sees jinhwan on the street again, this time closer to his apartment. hanbin lives just streets away from him, still in the same district, but in all his years of being friends with him, jiwon has only met hanbin once whenever he's out on the streets. so it just might be fate, maybe. this time, jiwon doesn't stop, and instead his legs moves to continue on his way, yet another glance back at jinhwan causes his steps to slow down to a pause, because jiwon realises jinhwan looks troubled. should he help? should he not? jiwon's mind swirls with hesitation, until finally the angel perched on his right shoulder helps him make a decision, and so he places one foot after another in the direction of jinhwan.

"jinhwan...sshi?"

"bobby!"

the lost puppy look instantly melts into one of relief, and jiwon can see the thin sheen of sweat lining jinhwan's forehead, and it's no wonder that jinhwan had taken off his checkered shirt to reveal a sleeveless top. god know how long the poor guy has spent under the sun, looking around for directions, jiwon thinks as slight pity tugs at his heart. jiwon's heart, he feels, aches in a weird way when he hears jinhwan call him by his english name, but even if he's heard it millions of times before, somehow, it feels different coming from jinhwan's lips.

"do you need help? you look lost, and i live around here so i'm familiar with the surroundings..."

"oh! really? thank you then."

and jinhwan passes him his phone, and of course, jiwon recognises the place, even if he doesn't go there frequently. afterall, there's only one pet shop in the vicinity. jiwon is sure it was only a slight look of surprise shown on his face, but jinhwan seems to understand his unspoken question of "why is he going there?" and replies with a succinct answer of "it's a job interview.". and now a slightly more prominent look of surprise is most likely shown on jiwon's face when jinhwan smiles laughingly in return. it's strangely comfortable though, the walk with jinhwan to the pet shop, as words pass through the both of them and jiwon decides that yes, minho is right in which jinhwan really does attract people like bees to flowers, maybe it's the way jinhwan makes people feel at ease around him, maybe it's just the kind of pull jinhwan has. jiwon's finds himself liking jinhwan's company already.

"bobby? are you doing anything later on?"

"nope, nothing."

"then do you want to grab some lunch with me? that is, if you're okay with waiting for a while."

they've reached the pet shop when jinhwan asks, head tilted and with a little hope and expectation dusting his eyes. and maybe it's because the idea of shopping alone seems so lonely to him all of a sudden, maybe it's because having someone to spend the day with may not be too bad afterall, and maybe it's because he's just so comfortable and relaxed with jinhwan now, but jiwon's lips move automatically to form the words "i don't mind." the smile he receives is bright and pleased, but when jinhwan goes to enter the pet shop with jiwon in tow, jiwon doesn't expect jinhwan to turn around again with a teasing glint in his eye.

"you can call me 'hyung', you know."

0.

"hey! thanks for waiting, i'm done here. ready to leave?"

jiwon hears jinhwan's voice from his crouched position, fingers softly pressed against the glass separating him from the tiny bulldog puppy behind it. he's been spending most of his time while waiting for jinhwan playing with the puppy, even if he can't touch it directly, a finger here, a finger there, the puppy just follows his finger wherever it moves to, and jiwon just finds it so endearing. he looks up then, finding jinhwan standing over him, the light flitting in through the front door casting a soft glow on jinhwan and a fleeting thought of "he's gorgeous." crosses his mind. he replies jinhwan with a nod, before turning back to the puppy to say goodbye, feeling a sense of longing when it yelps sadly, seeming to sense that jiwon's leaving.

"jinhwan-hyung, there's this bibimbab shop near here that i want to try, can we go there?"

"sure thing."

"wait! jinhwan-ah."

and jiwon's startled when someone else's voice calls out, before he turns to see a lady, seemingly aged yet appearing youthful, with warm eyes and kind smile, holding onto a bundle in her arms. and he hears a surprised "mrs kwon!" from jinhwan as he crosses the shop to hold the lady carefully, a gesture so natural that jiwon wonders if it's the first time they've met. he sees the two of them exchanging whispers, before mrs kwon hands jinhwan the bundle in her arms, tucking a hand under jinhwan's cheek with a gentle smile adorning her face, and jinhwan's hand comes up to rest over hers, eyes soft, before leaning in to give her a hug. it's a heartwarming sight to jiwon, one that he is envious of because his own mother is back in america, and the closest thing he has to a mother figure here is jinwoo, who has already graduated and busy with his own life. but jiwon doesn't dwell because jinhwan's back by his side now, ready to leave as he casts a goodbye to mrs kwon, with her throwing back a warm smile and "take care." at not only jinhwan, but jiwon as well.

"mrs kwon's like the mother i never had while i was in jeju."

jinhwan informs him as they exits the pet shop, but that was all he said in their five minute walk to the shop jiwon mentioned. the silence didn't bother jiwon too much, seeing as how jinhwan seemed lost in thought then, his arms cradling the bundle preciously, but it did made jiwon wonder how jinhwan's life was when he was young, how it was before jinhwan met mrs kwon, how it was after she left for seoul. but he shakes himself out of his thoughts when he realises that he's the one who wanted to go to the shop and jinhwan has no idea of where it is. so jiwon, with an flustered laugh, guides a confused jinhwan back to the shop they've passed minutes prior, jinhwan's tinkling laughter ringing by his side.

and minutes later, they both have a bowl of bibimbab in front of them, and jiwon's glad to have chosen a nice shop to lunch with jinhwan. jinhwan doesn't talk much, jiwon realises, only listening intently as jiwon talks, about his life in america and how's different being in korea is, about minho, seungyoon, taehyun, hanbin and chanwoo, and how silly all his friends are, with jinhwan inputting some of the embarrassing things minho and taehyun did when they were kids. it's enjoyable, and jiwon finds himself relaxed, too relaxed for it to be the first meeting where they actually conversed. but it goes to show how much jiwon has been talking when jinhwan places his spoon into an empty bowl, taking the napkin provided to dap at his mouth when jiwon still has a third of the rice left in his. he shoves down his food then, despite protests from jinhwan that "it's alright! take your time! please don't choke...". he does choke, and jiwon doesn't want to think of how he's embarrassing himself in front of jinhwan.

jiwon walks jinhwan to the train station after they had their lunch, because as much as jiwon knows that jinhwan's a grown male and the sun is still shining, jiwon feels the need to protect jinhwan, or at least make sure he's safe on the way home.

"oh, by the way, what's your korean name?"

"eh? it's jiwon, kim jiwon."

"then can i call you by that?"

jinhwan blinks owlishly at him, head tilted, a habit jiwon has noticed whenever jinhwan asks a question. and jiwon doesn't know that his answer of an "of course!" will lead to sparkles shining in jinhwan's eyes, his smile wider than anything jiwon has seen in the day. but it's gone in a flash when jinhwan disappears down the stairs to the the underground station with a wave and goodbye, before jiwon even has time to formulate a response.

it's only when jiwon's walking back towards his apartment that he realises jinhwan actually said "bye, jiwon-ah.", and he doesn't know why, but a foolish grin spreads across his face at the thought of it, until it slips off and jiwon stops walking, groaning out loud. he had forgotten to exchange numbers with jinhwan! with a sigh as he ruffles his hair, jiwon wonders why he's so upset about this. either way, jiwon's definitely looking forward to the next time he meets jinhwan.

thanks for reading! please comment! (: