Jonghyun twirled a pen between his fingers, staring absentmindedly at the fishhooks hanging on the wall opposite him. His other hand supported his chin, his elbow on the counter, fingers tapping against his cheek.

It was a slow day at the fishing and boat equipment store. As it was located in a small seaside town one might expect it to have many customers, however, it had never been more than three people in the store at the same time ever since he started working there one year ago. It had its regulars, but most of the time Jonghyun was left staring at the fishhooks, which he could describe in detail in his sleep by now.

But today was different.

Today he wasn’t examining the fishhooks like he usually did. Today he didn’t adjust and readjust all the things in the store every two hours. Because today his mind kept the conversation he had had with Kibum, the beautiful line dancer, on replay in his head. It had his lips pulled up in a small smile and made his usually boring working hours bearable.

It had been three days since he had taken his evening stroll and found Kibum on the railing. Three days of the memory of him filling his mind at all hours of the day. Jonghyun itched to go back, to meet Kibum again, hear him talk and laugh and see him smile.

It just had to be his luck that his boss decided to entrust him with keeping an eye on the shop while he went out of town for business. It meant early mornings and late evenings for Jonghyun, even if the customers were few, and no time for much else. His boss was very strict about keeping the tradition his father and grandfather had had, which was having the store open as many hours as possible for any sailor in need. It was also just his luck that he was the only employee and therefore could not shirk the responsibility and put it on someone else.

What’s more, the pull to the Dome was still as strong as it had been three days ago. Jonghyun didn’t know what it was, but he just couldn’t let go of Cirque Fantasia. He wondered briefly, and with slight annoyance, if this was what an obsession felt like. Jonghyun, who had never felt an addiction to anything, was now obsessed with a circus of all things. And that obsession had only intensified after his encounter with Kibum.

He sighed at the thought of Kibum. It felt like he was standing him up by not finding the time to return when Kibum had looked so hopeful. When he himself wanted nothing more than to go back.

Frustrated, he scrunched up his face and put the pen down. Straightening up, he glanced out the windows and noticed that the sun had begun sinking towards the horizon, casting an orange glow over the town. Maybe he could alter the working hours just the tiniest bit so that he would make it to the Dome in time for the last minutes of the sunset. Jonghyun hoped Kibum would be out to watch it. There was something about Kibum that was just so… captivating. Jonghyun had been extremely lucky to happen upon him the other night and he could only hope he would be that lucky again.

“Yeah. Let’s do it,” Jonghyun encouraged himself.

Just as he made his way to the door to turn the open sign to ‘closed’, it opened and his boss stepped inside. Jonghyun stilled for a moment, surprised. His boss wasn’t supposed to be back for another two days. Then a grin took over his face and he swiftly backtracked to grab his jacket from behind the counter.

“Oh, Jonghyun,” his boss said as he shrugged it on. “I see you’ve taken good care of the shop.”

“Yep, I have!” Jonghyun chirped, starting toward the door again. “And you know what would be a great idea? Giving me a reward for my hard work!”

His boss blinked at him blankly as he passed.

“So, I’ll leave everything in your capable hands for now, captain!” Jonghyun opened the door and put two fingers to his forehead in a salute, sending him a last squinty-eyed grin. “See ya tomorrow, boss!”

He sprinted down the road to the harbour, not looking back even when his boss called his name in bewilderment. The man was nice, almost like an uncle to Jonghyun, but he could be quite forceful when he wanted to be. Jonghyun needed to leave as fast as he could before he got roped into something else. He couldn’t risk being held back.

He stopped just in front of the bridge to calm his breathing and heartbeat. It didn’t quite work as they acted up for completely different reasons now other than exersie. He took two small quick steps onto the bridge, once again feeling like a trespasser. Still, just like last time, there was no one to be seen. This time, however, a nagging feeling of being watched pricked at Jonghyun’s skin. He looked up at the Dome as he approached, but he could not see anyone in the windows. Shaking himself to get rid of the feeling, he quickly made his way around the building.

Again, like the last time, he could see the silhouette of a young man standing on top of the thin railing, gazing off into the distance. A smile grew on his face and he stopped to observe Kibum for a while, mesmerised. A warm breeze gently ruffled his hair and it looked as if it was aglow in the setting sun, painting it a pinkish-red colour. He was wearing a big, white t-shirt with a black print of a cloud that was starting to slip off of his left shoulder; grey, baggy sweatpants pooled around his feet, and he was barefoot. As he watched, Kibum grabbed the pants mid-thigh and pulled them up so he could take a few graceful, unhesitant steps on the railing, his back still turned towards Jonghyun.

“You know, one day you’re going to fall,” Jonghyun said before he could stop himself.

Kibum spun around, eyes wide. He glanced around warily before his eyes fell on Jonghyun and his face lit up in a gorgeous smile.

“Jonghyun.”

“Hi.”

Jonghyun waved awkwardly as he approached the railing and Kibum slid down to sit on it instead when he reached him, both of them facing the water, Kibum’s legs dangling over the cliff. Jonghyun leaned his forearms against the railing, close enough to feel Kibum’s body heat.

“I waited for you,” Kibum said softly after a moment.

“I’m sorry,” Jonghyun apologised sheepishly. “My boss had to leave town for a few days and I had to manage the shop on my own.”

Kibum turned his head to smile at him and Jonghyun’s stomach made a weird flop.

“It’s okay, I had a show yesterday anyway.”

Jonghyun smiled back.

“I wish I could have seen it again.”

Kibum hummed and they both looked out at the waves again.

“So,” Jonghyun said after a while of comfortable silence as they watched the sun sink into the sea. He looked up at Kibum. “How was your day?”

Internally he groaned at himself. There were so many more interesting questions he could have asked and he decided on that? It wasn’t that he didn’t want to know, he just could have maybe not been so basic. He wanted Kibum to remember him.

Kibum chuckled a little, as if he could hear his inner thoughts, and his eyes glittered in the sunlight. For a moment Jonghyun forgot about his embarrassment as he stared at him, heart palpitating.

“It was good. I had practice the entire day. Nothing exciting,” Kibum answered, casting him a quick glance and biting his lip. “Until you arrived, that is.”

Face heating up, Jonghyun cleared his throat. He tried and failed miserably to keep a goofy grin from spreading on his face and his insides filled with butterflies.

“Same,” he mumbled and Kibum laughed lightly. “You don’t have a show tonight?”

Kibum shook his head.

“We only have a show every third night to get some rest or practice.”

A crazy – or brilliant, depends on how you look at it – idea came to Jonghyun and he straightened.

“Then, my fine gentleman, would you like to go on an evening stroll around town with me?” he asked. He would have been more embarrassed by his theatrics if it hadn’t put a tint in Kibum’s cheeks and a small, shy smile on his lips.

“I would love to,” Kibum murmured. He bit his lip and looked down at himself, frowning.

“What is it?” Jonghyun asked.

Kibum looked back up at him, still chewing on his lip.

“I just… need to change clothes.”

He gracefully swung his legs over the railing so that he was now sitting with his back against the sea. Jonghyun thought he saw him cast a nervous glance towards the Dome, but it was so quick it might have been his imagination. He held out his hand as Kibum made to jump down and Kibum looked at him in confused surprise for a moment before his face lit up with a gentle smile. He slid his soft, pale hand into Jonghyun’s and let him help him down. They stood close together for a few seconds, staring at each other, cheeks rosy. Kibum was a little taller than him and he noticed a small freckle underneath his left eye. Then Kibum took a small step back, putting some space between them.

“I think it would be better if you waited at the end of the bridge, if that’s okay?” he said, voice uncertain.

Frowning a little, Jonghyun nodded. Kibum smiled at him again and made his way to the doors.

“See you soon!” he called and quickly slipped inside.

Jonghyun slowly made his way around the Dome again and towards the bridge. Kibum seemed a little skittish at the prospect of leaving and he had a feeling it didn’t have anything to do with their date.

Date.

The goofy smile was back on his face and Jonghyun completely lost track of his thoughts. He walked across the bridge on light feet. He had a date with Kibum, the beautiful, intriguing line dancer. He wanted to tell everyone he knew about this extremely important piece of information. They all deserved to know and marvel over it. He bit his lip to keep his giddy smile down and leaned against the lamppost at the end of the bridge, watching people pass him by, greeting them absentmindedly.

It didn’t take long for Kibum to get done and soon they were strolling along the streets, looking into windows of different shops. Jonghyun told him about where the coffee was good and pastries tasty and where to get the best pizza, where the best bookshop was and where the nicest fruit market lay. He stumbled over his words in the beginning, but the more time he spent beside Kibum the easier it became talking to him. Besides, Kibum seemed endeared by his fumbling so he didn’t beat himself up about it too much.

People greeted Jonghyun cheerily everywhere they went and gave Kibum curious, but friendly looks and smiles. Kibum returned it with a shy and curious smile of his own and Jonghyun took it upon himself to introduce him to the best people he knew, his group of friends from university.

They found them at the café they frequented and soon they were a group of people walking around, everyone chatting excitedly with Kibum about where he should go and things he should do and see while endlessly complimenting him on his performance and looks. After a while of strolling around, Jonghyun shooed them away and dragged Kibum over to buy him dinner at his favourite restaurant. He rolled his eyes at the smirks and wolf whistles that followed them and Kibum laughed.

Though neither of them had specified what this entire thing was supposed to be, Jonghyun treated it like a date. It didn’t seem like Kibum minded because there was a tint in his cheeks and a sparkle to his eyes, and he smiled happily throughout the entirety of the evening. He even grabbed Jonghyun’s hand tentatively when they made their way back to the Dome after dinner. Surprised, Jonghyun’s head snapped up to look at him and a small blush spread on Kibum’s cheeks. A slow smile spread on Jonghyun’s lips and he laced their fingers together. Kibum bit his lip through his grin, swinging their hands back and forth gently.

“Do you know everyone here?” Kibum asked as the beginning of the bridge came into view. They had walked in silence for a while, enjoying each other’s presence.

Jonghyun hummed.

“This town is small enough for everyone to know everyone.”

They stopped just at the beginning of the bridge and turned to look at each other. Jonghyun knew it was time to let Kibum go back since it was midnight by now, yet there was still so much he wanted to know about him. He had shown Kibum nearly every part of his life in town but Kibum had been a little hesitant to reveal much about himself other than that he had travelled to a lot of places and didn’t even know where his hometown was. However, Jonghyun was hopeful he would someday get to know more.

“I had a really nice time tonight,” Kibum said quietly, cheeks pink as he looked at his feet.

Jonghyun gently pulled on their still linked hands and he looked up at him again.

“Me too,” Jonghyun murmured.

A brilliant smile spread on Kibum’s lips. They grinned at each other for a few short moments before Kibum looked away again, shifting from one foot to the other and worrying his bottom lip.

“Um, tomorrow I’m going to practice the entire day again but… if you want to watch...?” his voice died out and the question hung unfinished in the air.

It took Jonghyun a moment to realise what he meant and his heart skipped a few beats.

“That would be awesome!” he nearly shouted.

Kibum jumped a little at his loud outburst and started laughing. Jonghyun cringed and cleared his throat, rubbing his neck.

“I-I mean… yeah. I would like that. Very much,” he said sheepishly, face burning.

“Then, tomorrow afternoon?” Kibum asked, the excitement in his voice matching the one in Jonghyun’s stomach.

Jonghyun nodded eagerly.

“Sure! My boss won’t mind!”

Kibum smiled.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“You sure will!”

Jonghyun begged the earth to open and take him. Kibum laughed and reluctantly untangled their hands, hold lingering.

“Good night, Jonghyun,” he said, voice soft, as he took a step backwards onto the bridge.

“Good night,” Jonghyun replied, voice equally soft. “Sleep well.”

Kibum nodded and took another step back before he stopped in his tracks. He cast a glance over his shoulder at the Dome and looked back at Jonghyun, eyes searching his face.

“What is it?”

Jonghyun barely finished the sentence before Kibum had quickly retraced his steps and stopped right in front of him. Jonghyun’s heart leapt up his throat as Kibum leaned and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

“Good night,” he whispered in his ear.

Jonghyun caught a glimpse of shining red cheeks when Kibum backed away and turned around. Before he could say anything, Kibum sprinted towards the entrance, leaving him to stare after him in a daze, the spot where he had been kissed warm.

A/N: New chapter! And they went on a date! Yay! xD This is becoming more cuter/fluffier than I thought it would.

Also, I think this story will be updated every weekend since that is the only free time I have to write :/ These chapters are also somewhat longer than what I usually do o_O Well, this entire story is different than what I usually do, really...

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Love you all!

Bye~!<3