Early Morning
Tell Me You ExistIndex:
(YJ) – Young Jae speaking
(DH) – Daehyun speaking
(GY) – Grandma Yoo speaking
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Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound of a pen constantly hitting the hard, wooden surface of the table, sounded through the room. It was nighttime, approximately eight or nine at night now and this was usually the time when a certain somebody could be found either studying or reading. Instead of doing either of these things, Young Jae was lost in thought as he blankly stared out the window.
The only other sound in the room was the sound of the heater and the sound of his own breathing. If anything moved in the room, he technically should be able to hear it, but his thoughts seemed to be a tad bit more important at the moment.
In that instant, the sound of the door sliding open quickly made Young Jae jump in his seat as he quickly sat up and tuned around. The sight of his grandmother holding a tray with a cup on top caused Young Jae to calm down a bit. His grandmother quietly chuckled after realizing what kind of reaction she had managed to pull from her grandson.
Stepping into the room, Young Jae’s grandmother slid the door closed behind her before she shuffled over to Young Jae’s desk. Carefully bending over a bit, Grandma Yoo set the cup of hot cocoa onto the desk before holding the tray underneath her arm. “Oh my… You are working so hard. Why not take a break?” (GY)
Young Jae briefly glanced at the cup of hot cocoa before he looked up at his grandmother. With a smile, Young Jae nodded as he set his pen onto the table. “Alright. I think I will.” (YJ)
“You’re such a good boy. Tomorrow, you can go with Himchan to that building he was talking about, but… I do worry. That boy…. He’s so hyper. Do take care tomorrow, okay?” (GY) Young Jae nodded once more as he held his small smile. Grandma Yoo smiled as she reached up and gave Young Jae’s cheek a quick pinch before she shuffled back over to the bedroom door. Sliding it open, she stepped out and was about to close the door, but she paused for a moment as she looked at Young Jae.
She noticed that Young Jae had already turned back around, though his attention was completely on the hot cocoa instead of his studies. Grandma Yoo smiled warmly, glad to see her grandson so filled with that innocent joy that he’s had since childhood. It was just a shame that his parents weren’t here to take care of him. What was he to do if she were no longer around?
Of course, she wasn’t exactly that old just yet. She was certain that she had at least ten more years before she had to start preparing. Until then, she would remain strong for her cute little grandson. With that warm smile of hers, Grandma Yoo closed Young Jae’s bedroom door before making her way back towards the kitchen.
Letting out a satisfied sigh, Young Jae his lips as he leaned back in his seat. He always loved it whenever his grandmother brought him hot chocolate. It was his definitely his most favorite warm drink in the world. Plus, it brought a sense of comfort to him.
His eyes drifted back towards the window as he admired the city lights once more. The city lights were always pretty to observe, especially with the location that his grandmother’s apartment currently was. With the ocean nearby and the skyscrapers lined in perfect positions, it made things feel like they’re perfect. It was weird, considering the fact that he’s lived here practically his entire life and was used to the view by now, but… he could just never get tired of it.
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Once again, Young Jae went through his usual routine in the morning. Wake up, get ready for school, eat his breakfast, then he was on his way once more. Just like yesterday, it seemed like the rain was here as well. From what he saw on the news reports, it was supposed to rain every now and then all week, which Young Jae didn’t mind. After all, he did love the rain. Why would he complain if it rained too often?
With his umbrella shielding him from the water droplets, Young Jae walked along the sidewalk as he quietly hummed to himself. For whatever reason, his mind was already drifting off to lunchtime. What had his grandmother prepared for him this time? He was really hoping that it was rice, scrambled eggs, and sausages. Even though it sounded more like breakfast, it was still something that he was currently craving.
Holding his stomach with his free hand, Young Jae whined to himself as he rubbed his belly a bit. He had eaten just enough to get him through until lunch, but the thought of more food had gotten him a little hungrier than before. “I’ll just have to wait until lunchtime to eat more…” (YJ)
“That’s pretty far from now.” (DH)
“Mhm.” (YJ) It took a moment, but once realization kicked in, Young Jae jumped away as his wide eyes quickly honed in on Daehyun. When had Daehyun gotten here and why hadn’t he said anything before?! Realizing that Daehyun was now getting hit by the rain, Young Jae gasped a bit before he quickly raised the umbrella once more to cover them both. He attempted to keep space between them while also huddling as close as possible to Daehyun so that they were both comfortably under the umbrella. “S-Sorry… but, when did you get here?” (YJ)
“Just now. I saw you on my way to the bus stop and I thought I’d ride the bus with you.” (DH) Why was Daehyun up so early in the morning? Young Jae was leaving about an hour and twenty minutes before the school buses were to start going around on their usual rounds. It was normal for him if he left early, but it felt weird to know that there was someone else up this early too.
“Oh… then… do you usually leave this early?” (YJ)
“Nah.” (DH) Young Jae had expected Daehyun to continue on with an explanation of sorts, but it seemed like Daehyun wasn’t going to go any further from that. Should he try to pry it out of Daehyun? Would it be pushing it if he did? Young Jae didn’t want to annoy Daehyun, but… his curiosity was getting the better of him.
“So… then… Why are you leaving so early?” (YJ)
“Hm? Curious, huh?” (DH) Daehyun chuckled as he looked around a bit, almost as if he wasn’t interested at all. Young Jae didn’t exactly like that as a possibility, but there had to be a reason that Daehyun was still talking to him, right? Maybe Daehyun just had a short attention span. “You left your umbrella at the bus stop yesterday, remember? I’m just making sure you don’t forget it again.” (DH)
“Oh… Really?” (YJ) Daehyun briefly glanced at Young Jae with a single brow raised as he smirked a bit.
“Yeah? You think a normal person would be awake at this time because they wanted to?” (DH) Young Jae turned red as he turned his gaze towards the ground. So… was Daehyun saying that he wasn’t normal? It’s not like Young Jae chose to wake up at this time, but his schedule just kept him from moving away from it for too long. “Hey, hey hey! If I offended you, then I’m sorry, okay?!” (DH)
Young Jae pulled himself from his rather depressing thoughts as he suddenly realized that Daehyun was pushing up against him as much as possible. Before he could figure out what Daehyun was talking about, Young Jae suddenly felt a hand take hold of his before adjusting the umbrella. However, instead of pulling away once the problem was solved, that hand stayed there, warming his cold hand and causing Young Jae to fluster up rather quickly. “W-Wha…” (YJ)
“Phew… Just in time. If I got wet anymore, I might get a cold. Anyway, I’m holding onto you now. Not gonna let you wet me anymore.” (DH) Daehyun looked at Young Jae with a grin, but once he noticed just how red Young Jae’s face was, that smile disappeared as it was soon replaced with a look of worry. “Are you alright? You’re pretty red.” (DH)
Just as Daehyun pressed the back of his hand against Young Jae’s forehead, Young Jae’s eyes widened as he quickly pushed Daehyun’s hand away. Daehyun looked at Young Jae with shock, but Young Jae quickly spoke up in order to fix the situation. “I, uh… I’m fine! Completely fine! Um… don’t worry, okay?” (YJ)
“You sure?” (DH) Young Jae quickly nodded. After they stared at one another for about two or three seconds, Daehyun let out a small sigh before he looked away and nodded. “Alright. Let’s just get to the bus stop and get out of this rain.” (DH)
Young Jae nodded in agreement as they quickened their pace a bit. It only took them a minute or so to make it down the block, but they finally managed to make it to the bus stop. Stepping underneath the roof, Daehyun let out a small sigh as he sat onto the bench. Once Young Jae closed the umbrella, he sat at his usual spot as he leaned the umbrella against the glass wall.
Now that they were there, what was he supposed to say? Young Jae usually had difficult starting and keeping conversations. Heck, even when he was around Himchan, it was usually Himchan whom was talking. Anyone else and he was usually the quiet person in the background. That was probably why he didn’t have many friends, but he couldn’t help it. He was paranoid about how he would sound to the other person. “Hey. What do you have for lunch? Can I see?” (DH)
“My lunch…? Um… okay.” (YJ) Young Jae didn’t exactly understand why Daehyun was interested in his lunch, but it shouldn’t hurt to show him, right? Pulling his lunch bag onto his lap, Young Jae carefully ped the top of it before peeling away the lid. Once he was certain that everything was in there, Young Jae handed the bag over to Daehyun. He watched as Daehyun poked through his boxed lunch with quite a bit of curiosity. He seemed much more interested in the lunch as opposed to any of the conversations they had since yesterday.
“Wooow… It all looks so good! Who makes your lunch for you?” (DH) As Daehyun began to pack everything up the way it had been before, Young Jae couldn’t help but smile from embarrassment. He didn’t really know why he was embarrassed, especially since he wasn’t the one who made his own lunch, but it just felt like one of those moments for whatever reason.
“Um… My grandma did. Do you usually eat at school?” (YJ) Daehyun merely shook his head as he zipped the lunch bag back up before handing it over to Young Jae. Young Jae instantly frowned as he set his lunch bag on the opposite side before looking back at Daehyun. “Why not?” (YJ)
“Mm… I’m used to not eating during lunch.” (DH) Young Jae frowned at Daehyun’s words as he moved in just a bit closer. He wanted to offer some of his food to Daehyun when lunch came around, maybe buy him lunch or even prepare lunch for him, but he wasn’t sure if that would be awkward since they only just met yesterday. If he did end up getting him some form of lunch, then that did that mean that he was being too forward? “So… Not to be forward or anything, but do you mind if I borrow some money for lunch so that we can eat together…?” (DH)
“Borrow? Um…” (YJ) Did he even bring his money with him? Since Young Jae didn’t eat school lunch, he rarely ever saw a point to bring it. Sometimes he would bring it, sometimes he wouldn’t and today, well… he was fairly certain that he had forgotten it today. Though, maybe he could come up with something else. After all, there was still quite a lot of time left before school was supposed to start, but… the bus was going to arrive much sooner than that. “Um… Will you... be alright if we miss the bus and wait until the school bus arrives?” (YJ)
“The school bus? No problem at all. I ride it everyday, but what do you have in mind?” (DH) Young Jae pursed his lips as he looked off at the ground towards the left, a hint of red creeping up onto his face. It definitely was very forward to be doing this, but he felt bad if he didn’t do something to try and help Daehyun with his lunch problems.
“Um… Can we… go back to my house? My grandma’s sleeping and if we’re not too loud, then she won’t wake up, so... “(YJ) Clearing his throat, Young Jae forced himself to turn towards Daehyun before noticing just how wide Daehyun’s eyes currently were. He stared in slight confusion at first, but once it hit him, Young Jae’s eyes also widened as he quickly shook his head and put his hands up in a defensive manner. “N-Not like that! I-I mean that… I-I could um… I could make you lunch! And if you want breakfast, then um… I can make you that too!” (YJ)
“Wow… Really? You’d do that for me?” (DH) Young Jae reddened once more as he looked back down towards the ground. Once he swallowed the lump in his throat, Young Jae nodded, which quickly elicited a shout of victory from Daehyun. Young Jae had jumped a bit, his eyes wide as he leaned away from Daehyun the second Daehyun had jumped to his feet. Once Daehyun looked at him, Young Jae could practically see the sparkle in his eyes. This was probably the most excited that he’s seen Daehyun yet. “Let’s get going then! Man, I’m so excited! I haven’t had breakfast yet. You’ll make it really good for me, right?” (DH)
“U-Um… I can try my best…?” (YJ) Daehyun held his hand out as he held that grin of his.
“Well, let’s go already! I’m starving!” (DH) Gathering his things, Young Jae quickly looked around to make sure that he had everything with him before taking a hold of Daehyun’s hand. In that instant, Young Jae was nearly yanked onto his feet before the two began to hurry back down the sidewalk. Of course, they did get a bit wet since Daehyun was hurrying them, but Young Jae had managed to get the umbrella up in time before they could end up soaked.
Was this a good idea…?
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“Um… So… how does it taste?” (YJ) It was probably a bad time to ask him, considering the fact that Daehyun seemed to be quite engrossed in his food. The second Daehyun attempted to talk, it sounded more like a garbled mess as opposed to understandable words. Young Jae furrowed his eyebrows and slightly puffed out his cheeks in an attempt to try and understand what he was saying, but Daehyun had quickly finished the food in his mouth before trying again.
“It’s great! Wow… and you made all of it! I’m impressed! Will you cook for me more?” (DH) Young Jae nodded, though he still didn’t understand why he was so determined to impress Daehyun. Was he really this desperate to have more friends? He didn’t even know Daehyun’s favorite color and already he was cooking for him! For all he knew, Daehyun could have had some sort of allergy and Young Jae didn’t know of any of this! Though, for whatever reason, he felt satisfied seeing Daehyun eating so happily. If he hadn’t already had a set path, maybe becoming a chef would have been an option. Of course… he only knew a few simple recipes thanks to his grandmother.
While Young Jae was lost in his thoughts, Daehyun took this opportunity to take a look around Young Jae’s apartment. Could he help it? He was quite a curious person. With his plate and spoon in each hand, Daehyun wandered around the apartment as he continued eating.
It was a rather small, yet cozy apartment. He could see how two people could live comfortably in an apartment this size. Of course, it may have been cozy simply because of all the knit things that were hanging practically everywhere. From doilies to blankets, there were knit objects wherever it would look nice and homey. His grandmother must be quite a nice person if she was able to make her home feel welcome. Noticing the small hallway that leads away from the living room and the kitchen, Daehyun wandered off into it before opening the first door to the right.
It was just simply the bathroom and to his surprise, there didn’t really seem to be anything knit in there. It was a nice and relatively clean bathroom, but it wasn’t all that interesting. Closing the door up, he turned and noticed the sliding door to his left now. It felt odd to see a sliding door here when the bathroom had the type of door with a doorknob, but it still caught his attention. He did wonder if this was either a bedroom or the storage.
Taking a hold of the handle, Daehyun slid the door open before stepping inside. Just as he the lights, the sound of footsteps could be heard. They sounded rushed, almost as if they were in a hurry, but he merely ignored it as he looked around the room. “W-What are you doing in my room?!” (YJ)
“Hm?” (DH) Daehyun briefly turned around to see Young Jae’s slightly surprised, if not flustered, face. With a mere shrug, Daehyun turned back around as he went further into Young Jae’s bedroom, his eyes taking in as much as he wanted to see. “Just looking around and learning more about you. I see you like anime though. We should go to an anime convention.” (DH)
Young Jae was a deep shade of red as he stood next to his door. He didn’t like it when people were in his room. He felt like he was being judged and, well, it felt like an invasion of privacy. Still… he just couldn’t find it within himself to tell Daehyun to leave his room. For whatever reason, despite the fact that Daehyun was being rude by coming into here without his permission, Young Jae felt like it would be rude in response to tell Daehyun to get out. It was just difficult to decide which path was the right one to follow. “Hey, you okay?” (DH)
Lifting his gaze, Young Jae’s eyes widened once he realized just how close Daehyun was. He could see the curiosity on Daehyun’s face, but Young Jae didn’t know how to respond. “U-Um… Can we… leave my room?” (YJ)
“Does it bother you that I’m in your room? Well, alright. Let’s go back to the kitchen then.” (DH) Was it really that easy? With a small smile, Daehyun gave Young Jae’s shoulder a small pat before he left the room. Young Jae felt a little confused as to how that worked. If it had been Himchan, Himchan would have put on a scene before leaving or managing to actually stay in his bedroom. Though… he did have to take into account that Daehyun and Himchan were both different people. He shouldn’t be comparing them to one another after all.
Turning off his lights and closing his door, Young Jae let out a small sigh before following after Daehyun. Now that he thought about it, he was fairly certain that there wouldn’t be many seats on the bus that were free, so that meant that they might not be able to sit next to each other. They always could just take the city bus, but it would take longer than a school bus since it didn’t go directly to school. However… the city bus does seem like a better option…
“Hey. Wanna skip school today?” (DH) Young Jae had only stepped into the kitchen when Daehyun had suggested such a thing. Young Jae couldn’t help but freeze at his spot, his eyes wide as he stared at Daehyun. However, Daehyun only seemed to look confused at his response once Daehyun had turned to look at Young Jae. “What? You’ve never skipped before or something?” (DH)
“No… I haven’t. It’s wrong to skip…” (YJ) It was the truth and Young Jae just couldn’t bring himself to skipping without feeling guilty about it. His grandmother and his mother both trusted him to go to school on his own and if he broke that trust, then there was no telling what could happen. However… Daehyun merely laughed a little bit before he finished up the rest of his food and set it into the sink.
“Don’t worry about it. I was kidding anyway. Hey! Can I use your toothbrush?” (DH) Young Jae’s eyes widened yet again as he stared at Daehyun, whom was currently using his tongue in an attempt to clear his teeth of any food that got stuck. Once Daehyun noticed this, he chuckled again before rubbing the back of his head. “I mean, do you have any spare toothbrushes that I can borrow.” (DH)
“U-Um… I-I don’t think I do… I have to check…” (YJ) Turning slowly, Young Jae slightly tilted his head to the side as he began walking. Was it normal for people to be this forward? It kind of felt like Daehyun was kind of mooching off of him and Young Jae wasn’t exactly appreciative of it, but he would remain silent for now. He kind of wanted to be a good host.
Opening the bathroom door and turning on the lights, Young Jae moved over to the wall cabinet before opening it up. Just as he began to look through it, he felt something lightly press against the back of his body. He instantly shuttered before he slowly looked to his right to see Daehyun’s face. “Hey. Is this one free to use?” (DH)
Daehyun picked up the still packaged toothbrush before he looked at Young Jae. He smiled a bit as he held the toothbrush up for Young Jae to see. Once Young Jae nodded, Daehyun grinned as he walked over to the sink and prepared to do whatever it was he wanted to do. Young Jae couldn’t help but stare at Daehyun as he held his right fist up to the center of his chest. When Daehyun noticed that Young Jae was staring at him, he smiled a bit as he turned to look at Young Jae. “What is it? Did you need something?” (DH)
“Are… you usually like this?” (YJ) Daehyun’s smile shrunk a bit as he attempted to figure out what Young Jae was talking about.
“What do you mean?” (DH) Young Jae looked towards the ground as he began to fumble with the hem of his blazer. How was he supposed to say this without sounding mean? He wanted to be forward like Daehyun, since he seemed to act that way, but at the same time, he didn’t want to be too forward to where things would become awkward between them.
“You um… you ask for stuff so easily, you look around the house without permission, and um… you... you were really close...” (YJ) Daehyun lowered the toothbrush before turning the water off. Young Jae felt like he had just hurt Daehyun’s feelings somehow, but he wanted to know.
“Does it bother you that I act like that?” (DH) Young Jae kept his gaze towards the ground as he reluctantly nodded. They stood there for a moment or so as an awkward silence seemed to creep in. Young Jae almost instantly regretted his decision to talk to Daehyun about it, but he instantly jumped the second he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders. Lifting his gaze, he looked at Daehyun with surprise as he saw him smiling. “Alright. If it bothers you, I’ll tone it down. Does that sound good to you?” (DH)
Young Jae nodded as he smiled a bit. It was rather refreshing to hear someone actually listening to his suggestions. Himchan usually did whatever he wanted, so he was grateful to have created a new friend like Daehyun. Looking over at the sink, he could see the freshly opened toothbrush on the sink. “Um… You can still brush your teeth if you want.” (YJ)
“Really? Thanks!” (DH) There wasn’t any hesitation as Daehyun seemed to go straight back over to the sink. Despite that though, Young Jae merely smiled as he left the bathroom. Now, all he had to do was wait for Daehyun to finish up and then they could be on their way to school. That shouldn’t be too much of a problem. If they walked, they might be able to at least avoid having to go through riding the bus. It was definitely an option to walk, but they would have to leave as soon as Daehyun was finished in order for them to make it there on time.
As the minutes ticked by, Young Jae had gathered all of their things and put them on the couch in the living room before sitting next to their things. Waiting as patiently as he could, Young Jae tapped his fingers on his knees as he quietly hummed to himself. If Daehyun were like him, it would take approximately ten minutes for him to finish. That would allow them about forty minutes if they did end up walking to school. Would Daehyun be alright with walking?
“Hey, Young Jae.” (DH) Young Jae looked over at Daehyun, whom was currently peeking his head from around the corner. “Mind if I keep the toothbrush in your cabinet? I’ll come back and pick it up after school, if that’s alright.” (DH)
Once Young Jae nodded, Daehyun grinned yet again as he gave Young Jae a thumbs up before disappearing back into the hallway. Looking forward once more, Young Jae hummed to himself for a few more seconds before Daehyun emerged from the hallway. Walking over to Young Jae, Daehyun seemed to hold his grin as he sat down next to Young Jae before getting comfortable. Young Jae, however, stared at Daehyun before Daehyun finally looked at Young Jae with a single brow raised. “What?” (DH)
“We have to go now.” (YJ)
“Huh? I thought we were riding the bus.” (DH) Young Jae quickly looked away as he tried to think. He had completely forgotten to ask Daehyun if it was alright for them to walk to school instead. He wanted to suggest it, but Young Jae didn’t exactly want to make Daehyun walk all the way to school if he didn’t want to. After all, it was a forty-minute walk.
“Um… I… wanted to walk to school with you instead…” (YJ) Young Jae expected Daehyun to flat out reject the idea. He expected Daehyun to instantly think that he was crazy and that there was no way that they were going to walk to school. In fact, he could practically already imagine Daehyun getting up and leaving him all alone again. However, that was just his negativity kicking in.
“Walk? Alright.” (DH) Young Jae looked at Daehyun with wide eyes, watching as Daehyun got to his feet before making his way around to their backpacks. Daehyun opened up his backpack, making certain that everything was in order, before putting it on. He looked at Young Jae, whom continued to stare at him with surprise, causing Daehyun to chuckle a bit as he reached forward and flicked Young Jae’s forehead. Instantly, Young Jae jumped backwards a bit, holding his forehead as he shut his eyes.
“Ow!” (YJ)
“You wanted to go walk, right? Why are you just staring like that?” (DH) Young Jae opened his eyes and frowned as he rubbed his forehead. He unintentionally pouted, causing Daehyun to chuckle once more before picking up Young Jae’s things. “Pouting isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. Come on. Let’s get going before we’re late.” (DH)
“Okay, okay…” (YJ) Young Jae held his frowned pout as he took his backpack and put it on. Taking his lunch bag and his umbrella, the two soon began to make their way towards their intended destination.
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[[ My Own Thoughts:
Yay chapter 2 >3<…
Daehyun is so far, reeeaaallly forward…
I think that’s the word anyway.
But at least Young Jae is speaking up about it. X3
Comments are loved >3<…
I like to see if I’m doing well enough with these chapters! ]]
So... I don't know if I should edit Ch. 18 & 19 or not. It's pretty angst and I cry.
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