Jongin zips through the sky, squinting through the varying streets for the one he's looking for. They're all laid out similarly, wide openings and dark brown cobblestone, streetlights every few feet. Ronce street, whatever that means, is the one he's desperately looking out for, but he can't locate it. He'd memorized the six streets closest to the bakery, but he'd never been called this far out. And he has a reputation of being the fastest delivery boy; he can't just let that go. 

He knows he can use his phone to search for it, but something about it makes him feel guilty. Shouldn't he already know where he's going? He sighs, ignoring that option, and continues further toward the ocean. It's beautiful, shining and blue in the crisp autumn air, and Jongin takes a deep breath.

He suddenly remembers the "It's by the university!" Junmyeon had called out after him that morning. Jongin had never thought about Sehun or Junmyeon knowing about the university, but he supposes they must've. They probably learned in the university, down by the ocean; they probably even met and fell in love on campus. It's something Jongin longs for, suddenly and stubbornly, but he pushes it out of his mind and focuses on finding his delivery location instead.   

It takes him a few more minutes, but soon he's almost to the beach and close to the university, a good fifteen minute walk from the bakery. It's then that he finally spots the street sign with Ronce scrawled out in wide, emerald cursive. 

Sighing in relief, he searches, this time more easily, for apartment 1011. The building it's in is only a second's ride down the street and he smiles to himself, proud that he won't be giving up his record-breaking delivery time just yet. He hops off the broom, brown takeout bag gripped firmly, getting ready to use his retail voice. 

The apartment is on the second floor, so he races up the stairs, eager and excited. Standing in front of 1011, Jongin realizes that something is different. There's abstract colors painted all over the door, a stark difference from the blank white of others, and Jongin can already hear loud laughter inside. His eyebrows raise a little in apprehension, but he knocks anyway, listening to the reverberation of it silence the inhabitants. 

It's too quiet, and suddenly the door is opened by someone oddly -- and embarrassingly -- familiar. 

It's the middle height boy from the bakery, the one with the high voice and teasing smile. He's in pajamas this time, hair disheveled, and a smile spreads across his face with delight.

Jongin panics a little, shoving the brown bag into his hands hurriedly. The last thing he wants is Soo to be here. He doesn't want Soo to see him, doesn't want to have to interact and make himself look like even more of a fool. However, middle height boy seems to have other plans.

"Yeol! Soo! I forgot my wallet, can I borrow some money?" 

Jongin swears he might actually pass out from the devilish look middle height boy gives him. 

In a matter of seconds the other two boys are there, glares evident. The tallest one mumbles, "We're at home. Where did you possibly forget your wallet?" and Soo nods gravely, distracted by searching through his wallet. 

It's then that the tallest boy truly looks up and sees who's at their doorstep. He perks up, large ears actually twitching a little. 

"Jongin!" 

Tall boy pulls him into an extremely uncomfortable, tight hug. It has Jongin wheezing as he's pulled half into the apartment, made to stand directly next to Soo. 

"H-hey," Jongin coughs a little, hands subtly retracting in an attempt to escape tall boy's firm hands. He dropped his broom somewhere in the hallway of the apartment building, and he's acutely aware that middle height boy is staring at it. And that Soo is staring at him. 

"Baekhyun didn't tell me he ordered from the bakery! I didn't even expect to see you!" tall boy screams out, finally loosening his grip enough to allow Jongin to shimmy out. Jongin guesses that his eyes convey confusion because immediately the tall boy clarifies, "I'm Chanyeol. Baekhyun's the one who ordered from you guys." 

He nods in understanding, finally placing names to faces, before sneaking a glance towards the shortest boy.

Soo's not looking at him anymore; he's busy studying the bills in his wallet. That doesn't stop Jongin, though, and he notes the dark blue sweatpants and t-shirt Soo is wearing, the way his hair flops into his face, how his glasses slide down his nose when he's concentrated. It makes Jongin's heart hurt a little, but then he's pulled back by Baekhyun's clear, loud voice. 

"Wait, are you a witch?" 

Jongin's head snaps up and he nods shyly, scooting back toward the hall to pick up his broom. He'd never considered what the trio thought about witches. But now it's out there, and his eyes flit from boy to boy, hoping to distinguish any emotions they're conveying. 

"That's so cool! You can really fly this?" Baekhyun questions, eyeing the broom from bottom to top. "Is it scary?" 

Soo looks up to watch their conversation and Jongin makes brief, extraordinary, eye contact with the boy. His eyes are really wide now, pupils focused on the broom in Jongin's hand, thick lips parted a little in awe. Jongin ignores how much it makes his heart pound and instead answers the question.

"No, not really. I've been flying it since I was little, so. . ." Jongin rubs the back of his neck, trying to dispel the blush steadily creeping up. 

"How old are you?" Chanyeol asks skeptically, and he leans down to examine Jongin's face more carefully. He panics, mind suddenly screaming because what if Soo was older than he looked? What if he had a big, fat crush on some thirty-five year old man?

"I'll be eighteen in a few months -- in January, I mean -- uh --" 

Jongin knows he's blushing now. His face feels hot and he detects one single sweat bead making it's way down his back. This is too much.

"Kyungsoo was born in January, too! But he'll be nineteen!" Baekhyun pipes up, his tone coy. Jongin wants to crawl under a rock -- now they're going to about Soo. Wait, no, they're going to about Kyungsoo. Jongin thinks he likes his full name better; it suits him. 

Kyungsoo who is only eighteen, Kyungsoo who is avoiding his gaze and looks like an angel. Jongin internally shakes himself awake. Now is not the time to daydream -- he's not working in the potion shop, or laying in his bed at night listening to the sounds of the city. He is in a real conversation, trying to not act like a complete idiot in front of a cute boy who makes him want to scream. 

"So, what do you specialize in? As a witch, I mean." 

Jongin looks up at Chanyeol, thinking hard. He honestly doesn't know. The bakery is his life right now, and so he'd lean towards deliveries, but there's no real speciality he could describe. Does anything except potions count?

"Uhm, well. Deliveries, I guess? I really like flying, and I'm good at it. . ." Jongin feels lame. The soft pink on Kyungsoo's cheeks when they make eye contact tells him he's definitely being lame. Kyungsoo is embarrassed for him. Great, Jongin thinks, this is not how he wanted to come off. "I'm not so sure yet, actually." 

Jongin attempts to laugh it off and Baekhyun plays along, letting out a giggle and nodding. 

"Hey, that's okay! Chanyeol's still undecided in college and he's almost twenty. You're a baby compared to him, it's okay!" 

Jongin knows that the boy is trying to be encouraging, but that doesn't help his self-esteem at all. Being called a baby in front of Kyungsoo wasn't his plan for today.

Chanyeol, on the other hand, makes a hurt noise and smacks Baekhyun's arm lightly. Jongin hears a muffled 'rude' slip out of the taller's mouth, and for the first time a small smile forms on Kyungsoo's lips. 

If he was infatuated before, now he's head over heels. For a boy he's never even had a conversation with. Jongin screams a little to himself, yells to get a grip. But the way Kyungsoo's lips curve into a small heart, the perfect way his teeth fit together, it sends an anxious feeling plummeting into his stomach. 

"It's not easy for some of us! Baekhyun's always been a painter, and Kyungsoo loves literature. They had their majors chosen by the time they were ten. They can't expect me to catch up with that." 

Jongin watches Chanyeol pout, a ridiculous expression for someone his age and height, and offers a small smile in return. The tallest boy's words ring in his head, over and over again. Kyungsoo loves literature.

It fits him. Kyungsoo. He wears big sweaters and round glasses and loves literature and he has a beautiful smile. Jongin files all the information he knows into the back of his brain, heart ticking away like a time bomb. If he doesn't leave soon, he might miss another delivery, or worse, he might really screw up in front of these boys. 

"Well, I should probably be getting back to the bakery," Jongin bows a little and starts to walk backwards to the open door. He needs to bolt, now. "Have a nice day." 

Jongin knows he sounds like an old man, and he knows it was awkward, but he's just so glad to have some time to breathe after being around them for so long -- he can't wait to shut this door, to daydream about Kyungsoo on the ride back, to be safe in the world in his head once again, flying in the clouds. 

But before he can, there's a soft hand reaching out to grab his. Glancing up, he connects the small hand to the small boy in front of him. Jongin knows there should be an electric jolt, but there's none. It's just pure heat, a soft, all enveloping warmth that stretches between them. It makes him instantly calm yet nervous; it's mystifying.

Kyungsoo is looking past him, not at him, but Jongin doesn't miss the hint of light brown swimming in his dark eyes, doesn't miss a single feature of his face from this close. He studies the boy's face as much as he can before it's awkward, noticing the soft pink the shorter boy's ears have turned. Then he feels the hand in his moving, spreading something papery and thin wide in his palm before his hand is gone.

"Your money," Kyungsoo speaks for the first time. It's deep, deeper than Jongin had imagined, and it's velvety soft. It makes heat bubble in Jongin's stomach, makes Jongin's cheeks shift to a deep red hue.

Jongin nods dumbly, mouth hanging wide open, too caught up in the sudden closeness of Kyungsoo to understand what had just happened. 

"Thanks," Jongin mumbles, almost incoherently, gripping the wad of cash in his hand firmly as if it's his lifeline. Kyungsoo steps back then, nodding his head as a good bye. He's turned around the next second, slippers making a little scuffing noise on the floor, and he turns a corner into a different part of the apartment. Jongin breathes hard, then doesn't breathe at all, and nods again. 

Everything is a blur of Chanyeol and Baekhyun giggling. The pair usher him out and just barely say goodbye before they resolve into more fits of laughter, obviously proud of whatever scheme they'd pulled off. 

Jongin doesn't realize until he's flying back towards the bakery that Kyungsoo spoke to him. Kyungsoo touched him, of all people. That everything that had just happened was real. That Kyungsoo lived in a cute little apartment down by the ocean, next to the university. That Kyungsoo has roommates, one who painted their door vibrant colors, one who doesn't know what he's doing but is full of love. That Kyungsoo loves literature and his eyes are enthralling from up close. 

It makes his heart beat uncomfortably and for once, flying is hard, because he's so distracted by his inner thoughts the entire ride home. 

--

Jongin lies in bed, Mongmong's soft snores reverberating through his chest where she's laying. He'd just called his mom and talked to her, like he does weekly. But this week it had changed -- because now Kyungsoo was something. He didn't want to bring it up to her (after all, they'd only ever shared, what? Ten words between them?) but he desperately needed to vent.

He'd tried to go talk to Sehun or Junmyeon, but when he walked past their room, they were talking excitedly about something, laughing so hard that their voices came out in exaggerated syllables. They sounded so happy; Jongin couldn't disturb that. 

And in the end, he'd only managed to tell his mom that he'd made a couple friends. And that his favorite was named Kyungsoo. He was a literature major with glasses whose voice is nice -- maybe even that was too much, he can't be certain. But she said "that's nice honey" and then had to hang up because Jongin's dad had done something and was calling for her. 

Jongin gently picks up the sleeping puppy, moving her to lay on the empty pillow next to his. He needs to breathe a little, he decides, and he takes the opportunity to sit by his window and look at the ocean and the streets below him. A soft breeze is blowing from the sea across the road -- a little chilly now, not that he minds -- as he studies the people trudging their way across the traffic. 

There's foot traffic, car traffic, even bike traffic -- and that's when Jongin sees him. 

Kyungsoo has on a slightly oversized windbreaker and his usual glasses, but his hair is pushed back in a way that makes him look charming, makes him stand out. He's biking up the hill towards the bakery, and for a brief moment Jongin is filled with hope that he's on his way to see him. That hope is squashed as he realizes they're closed already; it's nine p.m., for goodness sake. 

He hops to his feet as Kyungsoo turns a corner and disappears from his view. Is it weird to watch him? he wonders. But then he's stealthily crawling out onto his balcony, broom in hand, ready to go. 

He's about to mount it, too, when he notices that Kyungsoo has stopped only three stores down. Jongin squints, searching for a sign, but it seems like this store is tiny and doesn't have anything that would cause it to stand out at night. But that doesn't stop Kyungsoo from parking his light blue bike outside the shop and walking in with a small smile, making Jongin's heart flip a little more.

Before he knows what he's doing, he's grabbed his jacket and slipped his shoes back on, climbing down the side of the bakery in order to hop safely into the grass. He panics for a brief moment, worrying about Sehun and Junmyeon looking for him, but it's gone with a rush of adrenaline as he trots his way down the street. 

The store is a small, brick building with ivy growing up the walls. Some of it has bloomed recently, bright yellows and oranges giving off an almost fluorescent hue in the twinkling darkness. Through the throng of flowers and vines Jongin makes out the word, 'Bookstore'. He knows there's a name before it, but he can only read the last letter before the foliage blocks him from going on. 

He peeks through the tinted windows surrounding the door and sees rows and rows of books and couches of different colors sprawled across the entire store. Jongin realizes now that it goes back further than it is wide, and that Kyungsoo has disappeared among the shelves and seating arrangements. 

He opens the door as softly as possible, so as not to disturb the multiple people reading throughout the store, and he tiptoes further back until he's surrounded over his head with the dusty, overwhelming smell of ink and paper. He thinks it's a nice smell, better than the smoky burn of the potion shop, but nowhere near as nice as the bakery. 

He thumbs the side of a few books, interested in the jewel tones of the covers they're bound in. He's never been much of a reader, but he understands why someone would want to get lost in a book. He does the same with flying, with zoning out.

Jongin busies himself for a minute by reading the back of a few novels, but nothing catches his eye, so he moves further towards the rear of the shop, until a staircase is his only option. 

The steps creak slightly under his weight and he eyes the aged wood under his feet. Relief settles as he finally reaches the second floor. There are abundantly more bookshelves with a few older, more comfortable looking couches spread out.

Jongin notices a familiar head of hair, the eyes he'd been dreaming about, sitting in one of them. It's a light brown couch, the same tone as the coffee Sehun drinks in the morning, and it looks as soft and inviting as Kyungsoo's plush lips. The boy is surrounded by five or six books and, wow, Jongin thinks, he must've known exactly what he wanted to read if he'd already grabbed that many in so little time. 

Jongin is impressed, to say the least. He decides that maybe Kyungsoo wouldn't appreciate it if he knew he was being stared at so openly in public, so Jongin grabs the first book he sees off of the shelf nearest to him, settling in a couch a few feet away from Kyungsoo. He realizes the older boy must be absorbed in what he's reading because he doesn't look up once, not even to blink or smile lazily in Jongin's direction.

Jongin zones out then, book open in his lap, but eyes unfocused and staring at the shorter boy. He watches the way his fingers turn the pages, the way his lips purse as he reads. Kyungsoo has a habit of frowning naturally when he's focused and, god, Jongin wants to go smooth out his forehead and ask him what's happening in the book right now -- but he also knows that he'd be too embarrassed to touch him. 

So instead he watches intently, almost fondly as Kyungsoo finishes ten, twenty, thirty pages. He studies the way the older stretches his neck and back a little every few minutes, the small yawn that slips out once it hits nine-thirty. He watches on in agony as Kyungsoo his lips softly, eyelids fluttering closed for a brief moment out of fatigue.

Kyungsoo cracks his neck and pulls his jacket back on, the pile of books in his hands before the younger can blink. Jongin fumbles to put his book back on the shelf, and he barely accomplishes it before Kyungsoo is back sans books. The shorter boy must know this place like the back of his hand, Jongin realizes, and he feels a tender sort of pride at the passion Kyungsoo holds for his major. 

And then he comes to the conclusion that Kyungsoo is about to notice him, whether he likes it or not. The shorter is pulling something out of his pocket and moving to glide down the staircase, as usual, but this time there's a tall teenage boy in the way. They collide and Jongin gasps, feeling caught. Kyungsoo looks up with startled eyes that settle into relief as he recognizes Jongin. 

"Hi," Kyungsoo greets, still practically clinging onto Jongin's chest. He seems to recognize this fact a moment later because he jumps away quickly, his entire face turning a vibrant pink. Jongin curses internally because, , that was cute. 

"Hey," Jongin can hear his voice crack, knows that he sounds utterly ridiculous. He closes his eyes and tries to will himself to calm down, it's just Kyungsoo! Kyungsoo who is quiet and collected all the time, who is beautiful and intimidating. When he opens them again Kyungsoo is staring him down in confusion, looking a little concerned for his health. 

"I -- I live down the street. So I popped in here." 

Kyungsoo's eyebrows raise a little but he nods slowly, seemingly believing the story. Jongin tries not to focus too hard on how it feels to have Kyungsoo's whole attention. Kyungsoo has never really looked at him before. 

"Why are you here? Just reading?" Jongin tries to ask casually, as if he hadn't been admiring the other from afar the entire time. Kyungsoo nods again, eyebrows finally back to their normal position. He's still quiet, so quiet, and he won't give Jongin anything to work with conversation wise. "What books?" 

Kyungsoo shrugs noncommittally and he starts to inch towards the stairs. Jongin notices his cheeks are pink again -- this time it's harder to catch, since the warm lighting of the shop obscures his natural skin tone -- but the taller boy can't miss a single detail.

Although he's not sure if he's supposed to, Jongin follows Kyungsoo down the stairs like a puppy follows its owner. Kyungsoo says nothing about it, just slows his pace a little once they're on the first floor, and the taller boy takes it as a cue to walk with him. 

"How are Baekhyun and Chanyeol? It's been a week since they last ordered," Jongin questions, keeping his voice soft and close to Kyungsoo's ear out of courtesy for the still-reading customers.

Kyungsoo shivers a little, cheeks reddening again, and Jongin panics. He backs up suddenly, so suddenly that he almost knocks into a stand of books. But he doesn't want to make Kyungsoo uncomfortable, doesn't want him to shiver like that again if he can help it. 

The shorter boys eyes are big when he looks at Jongin again, staring at him in an amused way. His lips twitch a little when Jongin can't stop stumbling over his own feet. Jongin doesn't know if this is the moment, if he'll finally make Kyungsoo smile at him, but god, he hopes it is. He smiles wide at the older boy in an embarrassed way, trying to coax it out of him, but it's to no avail. 

Kyungsoo suppresses the smile and looks away again, focusing on making his way back into the cold night air. He needs a little bit of it, he resolves. Jongin pouts to himself, but he can't help the pounding of his heart just knowing he was almost there. 

"Baekhyun and Chanyeol are the same as always. Loud," Kyungsoo pushes open the door. "Giggly. Working hard." 

Jongin trails behind him and makes sure the shop's door closes all the way -- the buildings are old here, and he knows Junmyeon sometimes has trouble with theirs. Kyungsoo moves to unlock his bike, pocketing the key. Jongin is slightly disappointed that Kyungsoo is going like this, that he won't get a smile out of the boy at all.  

"Do you want a ride home?" Jongin asks, tone hopeful, acting as if Kyungsoo isn't already sitting on his bike.

The shorter looks up at him like his entire future depends on his answer to this question. He seems to be considering something deadly serious, something life-changing. Jongin's stomach clenches at the way his lips are open, at the sparkle the moon gives his eyes, the way the lighting of the night makes his features look so soft and perfect. 

Kyungsoo moves to look behind Jongin, as if searching for something, and shakes his head. 

"On what? Nevermind, I have a bike. It's okay." 

Jongin nods because, really, did he expect another answer? He knew he'd say no -- shouldn't have even asked. Now he's embarrassed himself and made Kyungsoo hate him more than he already does. 

"Okay," Jongin replies lamely, eyes focused on the tiny scuff on his black shoes.

He becomes self-conscious suddenly because he'd only packed black shirts and pants and shoes -- it's the color witches have worn for centuries. Besides the ruby pendant on his necklace, there's no vibrancy to him. In a city full of flowers, surrounded by the sea, with a boy like Kyungsoo, isn't he too boring? Does Kyungsoo think he's drab and ugly?

"You --" the shorter starts, and Jongin's head shoots up at the deep voice. "You said you live down the street. Do you live at the bakery?" 

Kyungsoo's eyes look genuinely interested as he waits for an answer, and it gives a spark of hope to Jongin. The younger nods frantically, heart dancing in his ribcage, and makes a motion with his head to the bakery. 

"Junmyeon and Sehun let me stay since I'm on my year," he confesses. He doesn't know why he would say that, why he would reveal that he's just now getting around to it. As if Kyungsoo didn't already think he was a baby from Baekhyun's comment, this cemented it.

Kyungsoo kicks off and slowly starts rolling down the street, and Jongin walks alongside him, moderately surprised that he hadn't said anything about his age and the year. Maybe Kyungsoo doesn't know enough about witches to notice, or maybe he just doesn't care, but some part of Jongin hopes it's because it doesn't matter between them. 

"They own the bakery, by the way," Jongin adds as an afterthought. Kyungsoo nods a little right as a cold breeze billows across the street, kicking leaves into the dark air. Jongin shivers involuntarily, the biting wind blowing his hair in every direction. Kyungsoo shivers, too, and he pulls his thin jacket tight around himself as they approach the bakery.

Jongin has no way of explaining that he's locked out of the bakery and needs to climb up the side of the building to get back to his balcony, so instead he focuses on the way Kyungsoo's hands are shaking in the autumn wind. It makes fear blossom in his chest -- it's already so late, so dark, so cold, and Kyungsoo has at least ten minutes by bike to go. 

"Here."

He slips his thick, black jacket off and places it over the handlebars of the bike, face inches from Kyungsoo's. Jongin doesn't know if his teeth are chattering because of the cold or because of Kyungsoo's proximity, but he can't stop. 

Kyungsoo looks down at it and small smile breaks out, lips curling up for the first time for Jongin. The taller is transfixed, shocked at how ethereal the other boy looks smiling shyly at the ground. He hears the crash of the waves in the distance, can see the moonlight reflected on Kyungsoo's bike, can feel the cold wind nip at him.

He doesn't think he's ever felt this alive, not even when he finally flew away, not when he'd first seen the ocean. 

"Thanks," Kyungsoo whispers, voice laced with something sweet and foreign. Jongin watches in wonder as Kyungsoo slips the jacket on top of his own, now a puffy, formless ball of blushing red cheeks. 

No, Jongin chides himself, he's not blushing. It's probably because it's windy -- he's cold, and the wind is getting to him. Kyungsoo spares him one last glance, but it's rushed and before the younger boy knows it, Kyungsoo is pushing away, speeding down the hill towards the sea. 

Jongin stands outside the bakery until Kyungsoo makes a turn, disappearing out of view, before he starts the climb back to his balcony. Halfway up he pauses, eyes trailing over to the small bookstore, and his heart skips again.

He finally makes it up, hands frozen and biceps aching. Sliding his shoes off and slipping into bed, heart running a mile a minute, he closes his eyes and imagines that Kyungsoo's small hands are holding his, that Kyungsoo is reading him one of those novels until he drifts off. 

--

im uhhhhh thinking of actually making this a four part thing? idk ill see how it plays out hmm

oh! also! i chose ronce street bc ronce is french for bramble, which is what grew over yseut & tristan's tombs in an ancient love story ,,,,,nd ksoo the lit nerd of course would love to live on that street LOL (can u tell i am ...also a lit nerd?? and in french? lmfao)

ok bye bye guys!!! show support if u like it ;^0 love u