For Hyo.

~

“I think we dream so we don’t have to be apart for so long. If we’re in each other’s dreams, we can be together all the time.” 

– A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Taemin sat on the riverbank, carelessly skipping rocks across the water. He watched as each bounced, creating circles that spread out across the crimson surface. Today had been a typical lonely day, one that would have bothered him just a couple of weeks ago. But here he sat, perfectly content, with Roscoe snuffling the ground by his side.

As he lay back on the grass, Taemin enjoyed the sun’s warmth on his face and chest. He always felt a twinge of sadness when summer was on its way out. Shading his eyes with his hands, he looked up and inspected the trees. He loved the contrast in the leaves, some dark and others shining as if the sun lit them from within. Taemin was disappointed to note that a few had already begun to turn around the edges. Well, it was to be expected this time of year; at least the few weeks just prior to the onset of the cold weather were always the most spectacular – the forest exploding into brilliant blues and purples, with leaves littering the ground and crunching under his feet. It would arguably be his favourite season, if it weren’t that it signified the oncoming winter.

Taemin closed his eyes. He didn’t feel particularly tired, but he hoped the heat from the sun would coax him to sleep. He wanted to see Jonghyun. The sun did indeed do its part, and Taemin’s thoughts were just becoming fuzzy and incoherent when Roscoe, who had spotted a bug, got up in a hurry, poking Taemin in the side with his horn.

“Roscoe, you crazy dog, lie down!” said Taemin, squinting at the puzzled animal. “Down,” Taemin repeated, patting the ground. Roscoe lay down reluctantly, still fixating on the insect for a while before closing his eyes like Taemin and dozing off.

“Hey, you’re here.” The boy smiled up at him, genuine warmth radiating from his expression.

“Yep,” said Taemin, pulling up a square of sidewalk beside him and wrapping his arms around his knees.

“I feel like this is earlier than usual,” said Jonghyun. “Is it?”

“I missed you, so I decided to take a nap on my way home from school,” Taemin explained, marvelling to himself at how easy it was to be straightforward with Jonghyun.

“Won’t your mom kick your if you’re late home again?” asked his friend.

“Yeah,” Taemin admitted, “but that’s later and I’ll deal with it then. How was your day? Did you win?” he asked, shifting to extend his legs and lean back on his hand.

“We did,” Jonghyun nodded.

“And I’ll bet you scored a goal, right?”

“A touchdown, yes,” said Jonghyun, gently correcting him.

“Touchdown. Right,” said Taemin with a small laugh. It was the sort of mistake Taemin made all the time, the type of thing that the kids at school mocked him for. But with Jonghyun there was no judgment, no need to feel embarrassed. “I’d love to see you play.”

“That would be great, wouldn’t it?” said Jonghyun, before knitting his eyebrows, puzzled. “But I feel like there’s not really a way to get that to work?” he half-stated, half-asked.

“Yeah,” Taemin nodded. “Well, you’ll just have to tell me about it. Every detail,” he said excitedly.

Jonghyun laughed. “OK. Hey, let’s walk a bit,” he suggested, getting to his feet and rubbing his . “My ’s starting to fall asleep.”

The two headed down the street, with Jonghyun describing throws and penalties and interceptions and finally the “flea flicker” that had resulted in Jonghyun’s touchdown. Having never seen such a game, Taemin’s mental image of the events was way off course, but it didn’t matter. Jonghyun’s enthusiasm was infectious, and Taemin enjoyed every moment of the tale.

Eventually they found themselves at a large grassy field with ugly metal sculptures at either end. A handful of guys were running around and banging into each other.

“This is it,” Jonghyun said.

Taemin was baffled. “This is what, Jonghyun?” He noticed how freeing it felt to be honest. Around most people, he would have pretended to know what they were talking about and hoped that his ignorance wasn’t discovered.

“This is where I play football,” said Jonghyun, throwing an arm over his friend’s shoulder. “That’s what they’re doing,” he explained, pointing at the guys. “Well, sort of. I figured it might be the next best thing, right?”

“Hey, Jonghyun, do you guys want to join in?” yelled one of the players.

Jonghyun felt Taemin tense up. “Nah, we’re good. Thanks though!” he called back.

The two sat on the hillside and watched the pick-up game. Taemin was fascinated. “Your friends, they seem nice.”

“They’re OK guys,” Jonghyun agreed. “We just goof around together, though. Like, we never talk about anything important – not like you and I do.”

Taemin gaped at Jonghyun, who was gazing at him with all sincerity. “So … we’re …” Taemin began, gesturing back and forth between them, “we’re special to you too?”

“Absolutely, Taemin. You’re the only real friend I have.”

Taemin beamed. He felt a warmth flooding his chest that he’d never felt before. A real sense of pride. This guy, this star of the school team who was popular with other kids, this guy treasured his friendship with Taemin. It overwhelmed him, and Taemin threw his arms around his neck. To his sheer delight, Jonghyun hugged him back.

“I’m glad you came early today so I could show you around. Hey,” said Jonghyun, releasing the embrace, “how have things been for you at school?”

“A little better,” Taemin smiled. “I did what you said.”

“Really? Tell me!”

“Well, a couple of days ago, they were hassling me after school again. Just far enough away from the schoolhouse that the teacher wouldn’t hear them. They took my book bag and started pulling out my stuff, tossing it back and forth between them.”

Jonghyun was leaning in, wide-eyed. Encouraged, Taemin continued.

“I did what you told me. I punched the ringleader right in the nose.”

“You’re kidding!” Jonghyun exclaimed.

“No, look,” laughed Taemin, showing off his bruised knuckles.

“Wow! Taemin, you really did it!” said Jonghyun, clapping him on the back. “Then what happened?”

“Well, his nose started to bleed. Not much, but it shocked him. He called me a couple of names and just turned and left. Then the others dropped my things on the dirt and followed him.”

“Did you get in trouble?”

“Nah. They would have had to tell how it started, so no one said a thing. But his nose looked kind of swollen the next day in class,” Taemin grinned.

“Taemin, that’s amazing! You’ve got some stones, kid.”

Being called brave was a first for Taemin, and he couldn’t have felt happier. He was smiling widely at Jonghyun when he noticed a drop of water splash on his friend’s nose. The two looked up as more big drops landed on them.

“C’mon!” said Jonghyun, jumping up and pulling Taemin to his feet. The two ran as fast as one can when laughing, but the rain came on so quickly they were nonetheless soaked by the time they got to shelter – the overhang outside a large brick building. They resembled drowned rats, and every time they looked at each other, water dripping from their bangs and clothes clinging to their skin like tissue paper, it set them off in peals of laughter again.

When they had finally recovered, the pair stood with their backs against the brick wall, catching their breath and enjoying the warm feeling that comes from having laughed uncontrollably. Eventually Taemin looked around. “What is this place?”

“Oh, it’s the library,” Jonghyun replied. “I come here after school a couple of days a week. This is where I work.”

Work! his thoughts interrupted. Jonghyun startled physically and looked around. He was sitting on the carpeted floor between the book stacks, a novel open in his lap. Beside him was the cart of books he was supposed to be re-shelving. He looked around, somewhat frantic. Phew. It didn’t appear that anyone had noticed him asleep. Hurriedly, he got to his feet, shook off the cobwebs, and began searching for the slot waiting for the next book on his cart.

He thought about his dream. He had been having this sort of recurring dream on and off for a few weeks now. Not the same dream, but with the same character. “Taemin,” he said quietly, and the sound of the name made him smile. Jonghyun paused and thought about his growing “friendship” with the boy – that’s really how it felt. Even though he was only a figment of Jonghyun’s imagination, somehow their experiences together were progressing; they were getting to know each other better, and he was increasingly fond of Taemin, to the point where he often found himself thinking about him when he was wide awake.

“Jonghyun!” a voice whispered sharply. He looked to his right to discover the head librarian looming over him. “You’re taking forever. What’s wrong with you today?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Ms. Hatchett. I’m just a bit tired, I think. I’ll step it up.”

“See that you do,” she advised, before moving on.

“Taemin! Taemin!”

Roscoe woke first and Taemin’s cheek, bringing him back.

“Taemin!” she screeched.

! Taemin thought, scrambling to his feet. I must be really late – she’s gonna kill me. He brushed the grass off the back of his pants, realizing that they were soaked from the rain, as was the rest of him. He looked around – the ground here was still dry. Oh, wow, how am I going to explain this? he wondered. “C’mon, Roscoe,” he called, running up the long hill toward his house and the inevitable punishment. Nevertheless, he felt happy. “You know, Roscoe,” he said, turning to face the dog, who was snorting and drooling in an effort to catch up with him, “even she can’t upset me today. It was totally worth it.”