Whitewashed Stone
Whitewashed Stone
There are just one of those abnormal days when you feel so motivated that you actually want to get out there to explore the world and to learn new things. You plainly want to do everything and anything possible like you've been possessed by a motivational demon, which if you think about it isn't really a bad thing at all. But that's not the point. Youngjae was having one of those days.
Youngjae arrived in the city of Busan feeling ready to face any type of adventure set out to him. It was a new day and he was on-the-go. He wasn't going to waste time away and besides this surge of energy only comes to him once in a blue moon, he was going to take advantage of it.
Youngjae set foot on the white sandy beaches of Busan. He feels sand crunching under his shoes every footstep he takes. He observes his every surrounding and feels the warmth of the hot sun on his skin. The sea was that of a cool blue with a mix of green, the suns rays were glistening on the water, and the waves were freely flowing with the wind. It was a breath-taking scenery that Youngjae surely admires. It wasn't everyday that he allowed himself to leisurely go out and it felt nice and refreshing to do so.
He was peacefully strolling by the shores of the beautiful beach when out of nowhere he hears inhumane noises. His ears perk up hearing frustrated groans nearby and tries to look at the source of the commotion. Before he could even turn around, the back of his head was hit unexpectedly by what felt like a stone. A tiny whimper escaped his lips having been abruptly disturbed. He rubs the spot where he was hit and tries to ease the pain before it gets worse, only to feel his head throbbing as the pain sinks in.
Youngjae sees a figure run up to him. "Oh, jeez. I'm really really sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. Are you okay?" the stranger seems considerably apologetic. Youngjae could only nod, still quite surprised by the sudden turn of events. The man inspects his head to make sure he was really okay and checks whether he bled or not. He sighs of relief thankful that he didn't do much damage.
"D-do you need an ice pack? I live around the corner and it kind of looked like that hurt..." he says, unsure of how he should resolve the situation. "No, I'm okay. I can handle it," Youngjae smiles at him kindly to loosen up the man's tension. "You sure?" he still insists. Youngjae nods and says, "Positive."
"Were you going somewhere?"
"I--"
"I mean, I'm not trying to be nosy or anything. I just want to make sure I'm not interfering."
Youngjae chuckles light-heartedly. "It's no biggie. And to answer your question, I'm not really going anywhere in particular," The man sheepishly scratches the back of head and grins shyly. "Well, in that case, let me accompany you. I'm not doing anything either. Plus, I still feel guilty about throwing this stone at you." He picks up a small, flat, white washed stone stone and inspects it. He tucks it in his pocket.
"Fine with me," Youngjae says. And they begin walking down the endless shores.
"You have a name?"
"Daehyun. You?"
"Youngjae."
"So, Daehyun," he says, testing out his name. "What was that about?" Daehyun looks at him questioningly. "What?" he says, completely unaware of what he was talking about. "You know, you throwing rocks randomly," Daehyun's mouth forms an 'oh' and once again and he looks apologetic.
"About that... I wasn't really having a good day," Daehyun states. "School has been really stressful and I'm only here once a month for my family but home has been quite a disaster too," He looks at his feet as he takes one step after another and continues, "I went here to vent out my anger. I was throwing rocks at the sea and you walked along and I accidentally hit you... Again, sorry about that."
"I see." Youngjae nods. "You live here?" he says, ignoring the fact that he told him about his current dilemma. If he was having a bad day, then the least he could do was to distract him. "Yup, but I spend most of my time in Seoul where I study. What about you?"
"I'm from Seoul. I had free time on my hands so I came here,"
"Welcome to Busan then. Not really a good start getting hit on the head, huh?"
Youngjae chuckles and shakes his head a no. "But it was a great surprise," he grins, amused by his words. This was not what he had planned but he was fine with it.
It was the 24th paper crane that Youngjae has made since the time he had gotten in Daehyun's place. He was slightly convinced that by the time Daehyun had finished his term papers, he'd ba able to make 1000 paper cranes and make a wish that Daehyun would at least give him a second of his attention.
"Dae, are you almost done?"
"Mmm..."
"Was that a yes or a no?"
"Mmm..."
And for the nth time, Youngjae sighs out of complete and utter boredom. He knew that all those time that Daehyun had procrastinated and let off doing his term papers would lead to this. Good ol' cramming.
At last, with a few more intricate folds and adjusting, he makes his 25th crane. Youngjae throws the paper crane along with the others and slumps on the swivel chair he has been sitting on for the past hour or so. He spins around 360 degrees and skims his eyes around Daehyun's room to see if he can find anything to mess with.
He has been in Daehyun's place quite a lot of times but only for the sole reason of either eating in the kitchen or playing video games in the living room. His room was out of the context. He was slightly surprised to see his room neat and orderly considering that he looked rather laid back and a bit lousy if he might say.
Youngjae stands up and walks towards the bookshelf. Books were neatly lined up, mostly consisting of textbooks and notebooks for school. There were a few nooks and crannies laying on the bookshelf: a pencil holder with bookmarks in them, a few pictures of family and friends including the picture they took when they celebrated Christmas together, small figurines, and the like.
One particular thing caught his attention. It was an old, rusted, trinket box that looked like it was owned by a five year old with the design of a teddy bear who, ironically, is holding a smaller teddy bear and is playing with a train station.
He shakes the trinket box and hears the clanking of metal on metal and bits of solid objects. He opens the lid and inside were different types of shells and foreign looking coins which look like the ones you get from playing in arcades.
"Hey, Dae, are these shells from Busan?" Daehyun briefly looks up from his work before going back to typing. "Uh-huh," he answers. "Why do you have them if you always go to Busan anyways?" Youngjae questions. Daehyun shrugs and says, "For when I'm homesick." Youngjae nods even though he knew Daehyun would not see his reaction. He kind of felt bad for him since his family lived far from Seoul and he did not have the time to visit them often. Which was why he had Youngjae with him.
Daehyun dismisses what Youngjae was doing with his things and concentrates back on his term papers. And so he continues to rummage inside the container and sees a familiar looking rock at the bottom. He lifts it and saw words written on the stone.
January 26, 2012
Busan
Yoo Youngjae :)
He suddenly realizes where he had seen this particular stone and remembers the first time he met Daehyun a year ago. It was the stone that Daehyun accidentally threw at him. An overwhelming nostalgia floods his system and to think that after all these time he still kept the rock. A small smile tugs at his lips as he examines the rock in his hand.
At the very bottom of the box there was a small piece of folded paper. He retreats it from the pile and unfolds it to see Daehyun's handwriting.
To: Yoo Youngjae
January 26, 2013
It's official... I like like you.
Well, I don't even know what to say anymore. This is stupid. I won't even give this to you. I'm going to sleep and eat this off.
An unfinished letter that Daehyun wrote. Youngjae was awestruck at the sudden revelation. He hadn't known that Daehyun felt this way towards him.
Daehyun had an uneasy feeling with the sudden silence that had fell upon his room. It only dawned at him that Youngjae asked him about the shells that he kept in that box. He lifts his head to see Youngjae holding a piece of paper on one hand and, surely enough, a small box on the other. A sudden terror strikes him and his eyes widen out of sheer panic. He immediately stands up and runs towards Youngjae to try and retrieve the letter. "Yoo Younjgae, don't you dare read that," he shouts at him. But it was too late.
Younjgae, having quick reflexes, was able to escape Daehyun's wrath and goes straight out of the room. Daehyun chases after Youngjae. "I already read it, stupid," he teasingly says.
Daehyun dreaded what Youngjae said. Still, he chases after him although he knew it was useless. It was like a cat and mouse game around the place and for 15 minutes it went on. Finally, Youngjae runs towards the bathroom and quickly closes and locks the door.
Daehyun desperately bangs on the door continuously. "Yah! Open up or I'll break this door down," he threatens. But they knew that wasn't going to happen. He really didn't know what to do and he already forgot about that stone. Well, how could he if it was the sole reason why they met.
Another fifteen minutes pass and Daehyun is still trying to get the bathroom door to open up but miserably being ignored by Youngjae. He slumps down onto the floor and whines, "Youngjae, can I at least get a reaction from you?"
Immediately, a piece of paper slips under the door and Daehyun recognizes it as the paper he wrote the confession for Youngjae, if you can actually call it a confession when he didn't even intend to show it to him in the first place.
He grabs the letter and takes a deep breath before turning the paper.
To: Jung Daehyun
August 18, 2013
I like like you too.
I didn't even want to tell you but you're a stupid butthead.
Knowing Youngjae, that was a valid reason.
Almost on cue, Youngjae opens the door which had Daehyun unceremoniously toppling backwards. Youngjae snickers and says, "You loser." He walks over Daehyun and helps him sit right up. He settles himself beside Daehyun. It's time to man up and face reality.
They were both in deep thought, not having a single clue how to respond after finding out what they truly felt for each other. Now that the beans are spilled, well, then what? There were these debates in their mind whether they should speak up already or wait for the other to react when no one between them was taking the initiative to speak first.
Daehyun braces himself and clears his throat before recovering from the sudden turn of events. "Do you really?" he asks, still quite dubious about what he wrote back to him. "No, idiot," he mutters half heartedly with sarcasm.
Youngjae fidgets under the awkward atmosphere and tries his best to process how to continue the conversation they are currently having. It is a pure mess of complications and uncertainty between them, having doubtful thoughts about whether the other was stating the truth or not. Of course, in this type of situation, it is perfectly normal to have these kind of feelings. They have been good friends for the past year for christ's sake.
"You know I'm actually telling the truth," Daehyun says, it was as if he was reading his mind. Youngjae's heart was beating fast and he was now blushing beet red. He was not expecting what Daehyun had said and he most certainly was not mentally ready for it.
Ruining the silence, Daehyun chuckles out of nowhere and, in a matter of seconds, develops into uncontrollable laughter. Youngjae stares at him confused with his sudden actions. "W-why are laughing all of a sudden?" he stammers. Daehyun bites on his lower lip to control his laughter and says, "It's just, you look stupid when you blush," And again his laughter comes alive.
Youngjae doesn't know whether he should be angry because Daehyun called him stupid or hurt because he didn't respect his say in the situation. He punches Daehyun's left arm and grumbles something along the lines of Daehyun being an and leaving him for good.
His laughter dies down and he peers at Youngjae to see him grumbling to himself. He grins, completely amused. He leans down then kisses his cheek. Before Youngjae could even react, he stands up and walks towards his room. "I need to finish my term paper," then closes the door behind him.
Youngjae was completely bewildered by the sudden action. He stares at the closed door of Daehyun's room. How could he turn things around easily, that jerk. But Youngjae couldn't help it and before he knew it, he was smiling widely and faintly giggling to himself.
Thank you, abnormal past Youngjae, for visiting Busan.
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