EDITED ON 04/10/2020

"You and me babe, how about it?"
("Romeo and Juliet" by Dire Straits)

Jonghyun thinks Kibum is his Juliet and he knows that’s silly of him, but he’s always been a fool.
 

Maybe he had to blame all of those times he had been waiting for him under his balcony (the only one, in the modest building he lives in, that faces the street), or maybe the one at fault was the way the other sings Dire Strait’s “Romeo and Juliet” out of tune every time they drunkenly make their way back home.
 

As always Kibum is right there, sitting outside and stubbornly feigning he’s studying and just took a breather to clean his spectacles. While digging through his memories Jonghyun can’t recall a single occasion when the younger wasn’t waiting for him on that familiar terrace, even when they were nothing more than two toddlers running along their boulevard . The only difference, he thinks, is that there’s not even the need to throw little stones at his window-door anymore.
The younger unfailingly stands there like a Juliet waiting for his Romeo, though Jonghyun thinks he himself is a bit too much of a coward to fit the role.
 

“Come here,” Jonghyun beckons. He’s not waiting for a reply, but hears his friend say “just a moment. Let me put my lenses and I’ll be there,” nonetheless.
 

“You’re such a pain in the . Hurry, I’ll be waiting here.”
His annoyed tone is a comforting mask he is too fond of.
 

Kibum doesn’t open his mouth anymore. He disappears inside the house and makes his way out a few seconds later, dressed in the same clothes as before, but there’s a certain perfection in the way the cardigan hugs his shoulder that betrays the brief pause he has surely taken in front of the mirror.
 

In the few seconds before the door closes, the elder realizes he can’t remember whether he’s actually ever entered his friend’s room.
 

Like every Saturday evening they observe the street getting eaten up by the sunset as they lazily stroll towards the pub at the end of their boulevard. Then time rapidly slips away along the tune of Jethro Tull’s songs and their knockabout voices that try to keep up with all the lyrics.
 

Jonghyun likes how Kibum’s cheeks get red when he drinks too much, and that guffaw laugh that makes him cringe in distaste and the way he lets his head fall onto the elder’s shoulder, as if his neck suddenly couldn’t stay straight anymore.
 

He, on his part, plays with the few peanuts crumbs on the old ruined table and muses he’d like for Saturday night to last for another century, even when he won’t be able to stand the sight of the other boy anymore and got tired of watching him as he taps his fingers on his leg according to the beat.
 

If it was for him they could have stayed there until the next morning, but they end up going back home around 1 a.m, drunkenly swaying with every step. At least Jonghyun does, because Kibum is almost totally leaning on him since his legs get weak when he drinks too much.
 

He hears him groggily humming “Romeo and Juliet” – there’s a place for us…you know the movie song.
 

When the younger finally disappears behind the door, Jonghyun decides to stop under the balcony for a while longer before he finally takes his leave, still tipsy.
 

It’s Wednesday when they sit together at a café, sipping on their beverages.
 

There’s not a real reason for Jonghyun to feel so nervous, if not that it is Wednesday, and they stopped meeting each other during week-days ever since they graduated from high school.
 

Kibum’s always a bit too busy building up his future (thrilled about everything and passionate about nothing), while Jonghyun lives his life with the sole purpose of throwing it to the wind.
 

This time he drops it into a coffee as black as the bags under his friend’s eyes. Not that he minds.
 

He doesn’t know why Kibum asked him to meet up and the reason seems destined to remain a mystery.
 

It’s not until they are about to part, Jonghyun throwing a casual “see you on Saturday,” behind his shoulder, that he understands. In fact he didn’t expect the younger to reply “I can’t. I have to work on an essay”.
 

He can sense there’s much more behind those words (he knows because his chest suddenly hurts), but in the end he simply nods.
 

He can’t chase away the sneaky foreboding that there won’t be any other night singing along Jethro Tull’s songs.

It feels weird, not finding Juliet on his balcony.
 

And yeah, he knows it’s 2 am and he’s drunker than usual.
But that doesn’t stop him from taking as much pebbles as possible and throwing them against Kibum’s window-door, praying with the bit of lucidity he has left not to break the glass.
 

When Juliet finally comes out , Jonghyun wouldn’t be able to tell how much he has waited.
It could have been minutes, or maybe hours.
 

He only then realizes there’s no guitar for him to use, nor a tiny shadowy corner to hide his panting chest, his breath that smells of beer and his red, glossy eyes.
 

On the contrary he’s right under the streetlight, his own personal spotlight where he’s about to (or maybe he already has) put his heart on his sleeves, for everyone to see.
 

“K-Kibum,” he mumbles with a burning throat.
 

Said boy doesn’t open his mouth, but waits.
 

And that is the moment, there’s no doubt about it, but Jonghyun just can’t find anything to tell to the other that will make any sense, too afraid this instant will slip through his fingers soon enough.
 

He gasps while looking at his feet and in the end all that he manages to pull out of his mouth is “You and me, babe. How about it?”
 

Everything goes silent for a few seconds and they’re enough for Jonghyun to feel desperate and weak in his knees, but then Kibum smiles.
 

He smiles and Jonghyun thinks that’s the answer he was waiting for.
 

“Come back tomorrow,” the younger yawns, “will you? Maybe this time you’ll finally go in and stay together with me.”
 

Jonghyun imagines just that: sitting on the balcony and watching the neighbor’s dog,  Kibum right next to him as he leisurely cleans his glasses.
 

He deems the scene even more precious than their usual Saturday nights and feels his heart bursting in his chest.
 

He nods in between a smile, while Kibum watches him disappearing along the street and getting swallowed by the night.
He’s just like Romeo at last, a bit drunk maybe, but with love.