Seunghyun

It's been one of those days. You know those ridiculously long and impossibly troublesome days.... Yeah, one of those. Even from the moment Seunghyun woke up that morning he knew the day was going to be doomed. Thanks to the wonderful mysteries of technology, his alarm somehow didn't go off this morning. By the time his body clock kicked in to gear, there was no chance of getting to work on time. The one small saving grace from this long tiresome day is that he has put in enough overtime that despite being over an hour late this morning, he was still able to leave on time. If only some miracle could make the daily commute back home on the bus a little less horrible.

It would make a lot more sense to leave his home in the outer suburbs and move into a cramped apartment in the city. But Seunghyun refuses to make that choice-because then his life will become permanent. His mundane office job, his solitary existence, it all becomes a permanent reality if he makes that final move to the city. So every morning before the sun has peaked on the horizon to wake the world up and those late evenings when most people are already back home enjoying dinner, Seunghyun travels on his long bus route.

The bus route is only completely unbearable for the first forty minutes or so, after peak time most of the passengers have gotten off and it leaves the bus more or less empty. With no sweaty, sticky bodies pressed against you and vacant seats, the bus isn't all that bad. It can be quite peaceful and calming even after such a long day at work. It's the only time in the day Seunghyun has any real time to himself. As soon as he walks in the door at home he has to hurry to throw something together for dinner before flopping down face first on his bed and passing out to rewind and repeat his day. As unpleasant as the bus may be, Seunghyun has learnt to make the most of his time spent on them. Some days he indulges in reading, other days he writes silly little notes, occasionally he sleeps. People watching isn't really something that interests him, so he should find it very strange that he can't seem to take his eyes off a certain young man travelling on this bus.

Seunghyun is certain he has never seen this boy before, surely he would remember such an intriguing face. Perfect almond shaped eyes, the most brilliant shade of caramel brown which Seunghyun wishes he could study up close. Round, cute button nose with a tiny mole on his cheek and very pouty pink lips. Unruly brown hair flicks out around his chin and Seunghyun just knows it would be so soft to touch and before he can stop himself, he's already wondering how it feels running though his fingers. With an unconscious twitch of his fingers, Seunghyun imagines how it would feel to tuck a stray lock of hair behind one of those cute little ears of his. Would the boy lean in to his touch? Would he blush and try to hide his rosy cheeks?

He really should not be having these kind of crazy thoughts or staring at this kid. Because that's exactly what he is. A kid. A damn high school kid in uniform with a huge overstuffed backpack filled with text books. But something about this unknown boy is grabbing at Seunghyun's chest and refuses to let go. Something about the way his shoulders are slumped and those brown eyes appear duller than they should be. Seunghyun can feel that this boy feels as empty and lonely on the inside as he feels. Perhaps it's a telltale sign when the boy hasn't turned the page of the paperback novel he has his head buried in for over ten minutes. It's clear there is something plaguing his mind, occupying the space in his brain and causing him to feel the weight of the world on his shoulders. Even under that big pretentious school blazer Seunghyun can see how slender those shoulders really are.

The bus is a lot fuller than it usually is and Seunghyun has been stuck on his feet since he got on, but by some stoke of luck the space beside this young boy has just been made free. Before anyone else gets any wise ideas, Seunghyun all but sprints to sit beside him. Even when he slams himself into the backrest, the boy still doesn't look up from his book. What ever it is bothering him must really be something. A boy this young doesn't deserve to have something so heavy weighing on his mind. Seunghyun wishes they weren't strangers, he wishes they were friends, that he was a hyung who the boy could look up to, confide in, trust with his worries and his fears. He wants to know what goes on inside this head and hear what the boy's voice sounds like.

Upon closer inspection, the boy has his nose buried in a worn out class novel most likely from his school library. The pages are stained and scribbled in with black ink and it must be extremely boring (as all class novels are) because after unashamedly staring at the boy for over five stops, he still hasn't turned a single page. What Seunghyun does notice, however, is that the boy's skinny fingers are tapping out a beat on his bouncing knee and after gaining enough courage to lift his gaze up to the boy's face, he can see his lips moving. What Seunghyun wouldn't give to be able to hear the song playing in the boy's mind or to hear what his singing voice sounds like.

With the boy so preoccupied to notice this uninvited attention, Seunghyun has the complete freedom to inspect everything he can to find out more about him. A vague thought pops into his head that he should perhaps be concerned at the extent of his curiosity but he brushes it aside as quickly as the thought appears. It's only out of concern for such a young and seemingly troubled youth. He's never seen this boy on the bus before; has he just never noticed him before now or has his family recently moved further out of the city or is he visiting his sick grandmother for the weekend. So many mysterious surround this boy with the adorable chubby cheeks and pink pouting lips. Pink lips which capture his attention as they silently word out a song and the fleeting glimpse of that tongue which over the dry chapped skin.

The contents of the unamed boy's school bag are spilling out the open zip just enough to give Seunghyun a few more clues. He can spot a music textbook which appears to be bought brand new, not an old edition borrowed from the library. Despite the shiny new cover, Seunghyun can see how bent and cracked the spine is and several pages have been folded down to come back to later. Does the boy play an instrument? Does he play more than one? Or does he just sing? All of these questions tickle the tip of tongue and he can feel himself getting fidgety in his seat, itching to know everything there is to know about this young boy. Even just his name. At least he knows it starts with a J and his family name is Kwon, thanks to the gold lettering on the front of his bag.

With a glance out the window, Seunghyun's eyes widen in surprise when he sees they are already in the outskirts of the city centre. There's still a solid forty-five minutes to an hour until the end of the line, which just so happens to be Seunghyun's stop. Usually he would allow himself to fall asleep for the remainder of the journey but not tonight. Tonight he is determined to stay awake to see which stop is the boy's stop. Just as this plan formulates in his mind, Seunghyun has to suppress a groan when the young boy's head starts to droop forward and his grip on the paperback novel slackens until it hits the floor. Not even that wakes the kid up now that's he's fallen unconscious, so Seunghyun slips it inside his bag--but not before trying to flip through the back of the book to search for his name. There's no name but st least he discovers the boy is in his final year of high school education.

Against his better judgement, Seunghyun remains silent and allows the kid's head to slowly droop on to his shoulder. When the boy leans further into his side a surge of warmth spreads from the tips of his fingers down to his toes. How can it be possible to gain so much comfort from a sleeping stranger? It seems the boy feels just as comfortable judging by the little sleepy moan he makes and snuggles closer to Seunghyun's side. This is wrong, this is all kinds of wrong. Although technically Seunghyun is doing nothing wrong and considering how tired and sad this boy seems, there's no harm in offering him a shoulder to lean on for one hour.

It could all be in his imagination but Seunghyun swears he can feel all the tension in the boy's stiff body slowly easing. The muscles in his jaw stop clenching and his mouth slackens in his sleep and even his shoulders seem to relax. This boy seems like one of those people who have their default expression set to that sad puppy look. Which is concerning considering they say it takes a great deal more facial muscles to frown than it does to smile. Has no one cared enough to try and make this boy smile to alleviate the strain on his muscles? If this is the case, then it's only right that Seunghyun allows the young boy some comfort for thr remainder of the bus route.

With the boy's head resting on his shoulder, the faint smell of strawberries tickles his memory but he can't seem to put his finger on it. No one else he knows uses strawberry scented hair products so he's certain he hasn't smelt it before and yet he could swear this smell was familiar. Gazing out the scratched glass window, Seunghyun watches as the city lights pass them as they approach the suburbs. For once in his life, Seunghyun wishes this bus ride will never end but in the blink of an eye, they're at the last stop.

He attempts to shake the boy awake but he's fallen so deeply into his slumber that it requires a few shakes of his shoulder. Eventually the boy starts to wake up, those long lashes of his flutter against his cheek until big brown eyes open up at Seunghyun. The boy stares at him sleepily before lowering his gaze to Seunghyun's lips and he takes that as his queue.

"It's the end of the line," Seunghyun reaches down to zip up the boy's school bag and hand it to him before standing up. "I hope you haven't missed your stop but I didn't have the heart to wake you."

*

Dreams can be so cruel. How is it fair for his own mind to play such evil tricks on him? Drifting in and out if consciousness, Jiyong could feel an unknown warmth encasing his entire being. Tiny bright sparks of comforting warmth spread from the soles of his feet and tickled their way up to the roots of his hair. Jiyong knows the moment he opens his eyes and wakes up, he'll find himself cold and alone, head rattling against the vibrating glass of the bus window and a sore crink in his neck. The simplest answer is to remain asleep as long as he can, even if it means waiting until the end of the line and being woken by the driver. If that is what it takes to avoid the harsh reality of there being no one beside him, holding him while he snoozes, then Jiyong will wait until the end of the line. To make it home by a reasonable hour he'll have to sprint back three stops which will serve as a distraction for recalling his dream too vividly.

Just as Jiyong reaches this decision in his half-asleep half-awake phase, a voice as soft as velvet calls to him. He feels his eyes twitch, his long lashes tickle his cheek and cause his eyes to flutter open. Surely he's still asleep, he must be stuck in a dream land with no escape. How can this image of handsome perfection in front of him be real? Familiar dark eyes draw him in and he's finally granted his wish at studying them up close. They're just as dark and endless as he thought they would be. Jiyong could happily lose himself in eyes like these.

Small crinkles form at the edges of the man's eyes and they twinkle with a bright smile. A strange sense of familiarity settles over Jiyong as though he's seen this expression a million times before. He flicks his gaze down to the man's mouth and is not surprised to see the amused half smile tugging on the corner of the man's sculptured lips.

"It's the end of the line," the man zips up his school bag and hands it to him before standing up. "I hope you haven't missed your stop but I didn't have the heart to wake you."

The fond smile this stranger is giving him right now makes Jiyong's heart skip a beat and without second guessing himself, he reaches out for the man's hand to stand up. As they walk off the bus together and on to the dark streets, the man shifts his hand to the small of his back. A vague thought pops into Jiyong's mind that he really shouldn't be trusting someone he doesn't even know but everything about this man makes him feel safe and comforted. He never thought he would get to see him again, let alone speak to him.

"The end of the line is my stop, do you need a ride home?"

Does this man's kindness know no bounds? But at least Jiyong can be relieved that he didn't leave the man stranded on the bus to nowhere because the end of the line is his stop. It still doesn't make it any less embarrassing to wake up beside this handsome man he hasn't been able to stop thinking about. With his heart pounding so loudly it's ringing in his ears, Jiyong needs a quick escape. All he can muster is a quick shake of his head before turning around to run away.

"Hey kid!" Before Jiyong can run off down the unlit street, that booming voice stops him dead in his tracks. "What's your name?" He finally asks when he reaches Jiyong in a few strides of those long legs.

"Jiyong. Kwon Jiyong." Comes the automatic response with a deep bow of respect for his elder. When Jiyong realises his actions, he blushes bright red and freezes on the spot and a light chuckle reaches his ears which only causes his ears to burn hot.

"At least I know you've been raised to be a polite and respecting young man."

Warm hands wrap around Jiyong's slender arms and guide him to stand up straight again. With the handsome stranger standing right in front of him, the smell of his fruity cologne drawing him in closer, Jiyong can feel his face heating up even more.

"Choi Seunghyun." The man briefly his thumb across Jiyong's red cheeks. "How often do you take this route?"

"Every day." Jiyong replied breathlessly.

"Me too," Seunghyun smiles warmly at him and Jiyong finds himself smiling back just as brightly.

"What time?"

"Six thirty-seven. Sharp."

"Well then I won't be late." Jiyong gives him a toothy grin and forces himself to turn around to start running home before he gets lost in those impossibly endless black eyes.

A/N: well there you have it guys, part two! I hope you all have enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing this sweet little ficlet. I do have ideas for a third and final part but no set plans on when I'll get to it (considering I'm still in the UK and now also fighting off a cold :c) so for now, you'll just have to use your imagination ;)