tension and bananas

A cool gust of wind tore at Donghyun’s hood as he opened the door and stormed out of the building only a second later. His loud, angry steps resounded through the empty alley, the walls sending their echoes back. The words his roommate had thrown at him were still flashing through his mind and the anger boiling inside of him made it hard for him to think clearly. All he knew was that he wanted to get away from there as quickly as possible. Even though the weather didn’t look too promising and the time wasn’t ideal, he decided to take a little walk around town. There were hardly any people on the streets at this time and he knew he’d be able to get his mind off without the risk of bumping into someone he knew.

For a while, he was alone with his thoughts. The sound of his hasty breath and his steps on the cold, hard cobblestone filled his ears and after a while, became a soothing rhythm. It was weirdly comforting to be alone and it didn’t take him long to calm down. He kept his head down the whole time while walking, his eyes focused on how he dragged his feet over the pavement. It might have been because he was in a rather peculiar mood, but he had the feeling that something was in the air and it wasn’t the scent of rain that he was so familiar with. Something would change today.
With that weird mix of feelings he strolled along the streets, looking up once in a while when he passed by a traffic light. The traffic lights and a few street lamps here and there were the only sources of light, illuminating the deserted streets rather poorly. Donghyun’s eyes had adapted to the poor lighting conditions already and with his great knowledge of the town and sense of direction, he made it through town rather quickly. He didn’t have a goal at first but after a while he made up his mind: He wanted to go to the convenience store to get something to eat. His stomach had been grumbling loudly for a while already.
The steady thrum coming from the inside of the convenience store was the first thing he noticed as he started getting closer to it. At this time of the day, the store was like a camping gas lamp, drawing in lonely students like bugs. The fluorescent light pierced his eyes and he squeezed them together to be able to walk towards it. Only seeing black silhouettes, he could barely make out that there was someone walking out of the store. Curious as to who it was, he turned his head to look after the person, now seeing more than the outlines of them. The silhouette had been a boy in a blue jumper, walking out of the store with swaying steps and bags full of groceries under his arms.

Donghyun was about to turn around when he saw the boy clumsily tripping over his own feet and hitting the concrete ground with a loud thud. He felt his heart drop at the sight of the boy lying on the ground, his face contorted with pain. His legs started moving towards the injured boy before he could even think about it, a force that was stronger than him drawing him in. It was only a matter of seconds until he had reached the boy, panting heavily. His heart was pounding in his chest and he couldn’t quite figure it out if it was from the short run or from the concern he felt at the sight of the stranger. Not wasting any time, he leaned over the boy with the chestnut brown hair to check for any injuries.
“Are you okay?” Worry resounded in his voice and he furrowed his eyebrows. He watched how the boy in front of him shook his head while biting down on his lower lip, probably to prevent in pain. The boy started inspecting his hand, grimacing while doing so. The skin was slightly torn up and blood had started to form a little puddle on his palm. It probably looked worse than it actually was, but Donghyun couldn’t help but to nervously fumble in the pocket of his jeans, pulling out a tissue just a second later. Handing it to him, he got to take a closer look at the stranger for the first time while he was taking care of his injured hand. The fluorescent light coming from the inside of the convenience store was illuminating the stranger's face rather poorly – and yet Donghyun had to marvel at his beauty. The perfectly curved lips, the high cheekbones and the brown locks that were drenched in rain – his face was like a painting and his beauty almost took his breath away. He was sure that in all his life, he had not seen someone as beautiful as the angelic boy sitting in front of him.
“Need a hand?” He offered the young boy in front of him, leaning forward and putting on a smile to appear as friendly as possible. A quick glance at his reflection in the windows of the supermarket made him realise that his attempt had failed, he looked rather creepy in his black jumper and with his crooked smile. So he tried again, standing up slightly and rubbing his hand against the back of his neck.
“Very funny,” the stranger muttered and slowly got up on his own. His narrow eyes watched Donghyun’s every move, suspicious, waiting. Waiting for something to happen. Puzzled by the stranger’s suspicion, Donghyun let it happen and stepped back from him. It was only then that he realised how misplaced the sentence had been.
“Oh- Oh! I wasn’t trying to be funny… Should I help you carry your stuff home?”
The boy whose hair was soaking wet from the rain shifted his gaze upwards and his eyes met Donghyun’s for the first time. God, he has the eyes of a puppy. Donghyun felt like he was melting under the intense glare. "Sure," the boy replied, a bit reluctantly but still rather confident. Donghyun could feel that the stranger didn’t quite trust him and somehow that was bugging him. He wanted to make him trust him. A feeling of want that seemed out of place started to form inside him, engulfing his mind in a haze that made it unable for him to think clearly. With quick, firm movements he picked up the groceries the boy had dropped, not leaving him room to protest.
“I’m Donghyun by the way,” he introduced himself, a wide smile forming on his lips. Somehow it was very pleasing to be helpful to someone. He had missed the feeling of being wanted, being needed.
“I’m Jeongmin. Follow me,” Jeongmin answered, throwing a quick glance at Donghyun before he started walking away from the convenience store towards a big building. The glance he had thrown at Donghyun had only lasted a second but Donghyun had seen the uncertain expression on Jeongmin’s face.
“Do you live far away?” He asked, hoping to start a conversation as he tried to keep up with Jeongmin. The young boy was going at a rather fast pace and Donghyun could only imagine that he was doing it because he didn’t trust Donghyun enough to walk beside him.
“No, my flat is just around the corner. You don’t have to carry everything for me…” His thick, brown eyebrows spiked together, almost forming a line on his forehead. Determined to continue what he had started, Donghyun denied and assured the stranger that he would help him carry his groceries home.
Tension hung in the air as they kept walking in silence, their steps the only sounds that could be heard. The moon had risen a while ago, looking over the high buildings, causing undefined shadows to lurk in the corners of every alley. The soft, sweet air was filled with the scent of rain. With every step Donghyun inhaled deeply, drawing in a few breaths of it each time. His eyes set on the moon, his feet moved without the guidance of his eyes, following merely the sounds of Jeongmin’s steps.

After a while, Jeongmin slowed his pace down. Donghyun, who was walking beside him, kept his gaze fixated on him as if he feared Jeongmin would vanish into the darkness were he to take his eyes off of the beautiful stranger. Jeongmin didn’t shift his gaze towards Donghyun often, a quick glance now and then sufficed. With each glance he grew a bit fonder of the stranger who had helped him out without demanding anything in return. And he was doing it with such passion, such undisguised kindness, that Jeongmin grew more confident in his good nature with every glance. But there was a hindrance, preventing him from getting absorbed in his newfound joy. A simple name was lurking in the back of his mind and as soon as a thought grazed it, it made him cringe and feel the pain that he had felt the moment he had been left. Could he really trust him?
Donghyun noticed the slight change in Jeongmin’s expression as they continued walking and Jeongmin seemingly got lost in thoughts. Unsure of whether to address his change of expression or not, he cleared his throat, gaining the attention of Jeongmin.
“What’s up with the sad face?” A little smile pulled the corners of his lips up, hinting at a good intention.
Hesitation to tell the stranger kept Jeongmin from answering immediately. A fight went on in his mind – to tell or not to tell the guy he had just met about one of his worst memories. Just once, just this once he wanted to be able to trust someone. He decided to give it a try.
“Well, it might sound cliché but… I broke up with my … partner a few weeks ago.” Donghyun hesitated at the way Jeongmin prolonged the word ‘partner‘, but he decided not to comment on it.
“So what was your girlfriend like?”
“Loud and you know, the jealous type.” He shrugged, pretending not to care. But the memory of his past lover had left a scar in his heart that ached at the merest thought of him.
“Ah yeah, I’m far too familiar with girls like that.” Donghyun nodded, his thoughts drifting off for a moment as he remembered the girls he had dated previously.
“Have you had a lot of girlfriends before?” Jeongmin asked shyly. He knew it did not concern him and yet he was dying to know more about the other. Donghyun wasn’t bothered by his curiosity, there was something childish in it that was drawing him in. The guy knew how to make him talk.
“Tons.” His answer was short and sweet and followed by a grin that seemed overly confident. Too confident for Jeongmin’s taste. It was easy for him to look past it and he didn’t hesitate to comment on it, wanting to challenge him.
“Well, you’re a bloody liar, aren’t you?”
“What? Isn’t it obvious that I’m popular around girls?”
“Well...,” Jeongmin took a long moment to answer. His eyes wandered over Donghyun’s facial features; the prominent nose, the smug smile, the long, umber hair that had started to frizzle in the rain. And he had to admit that he was handsome in his own, unique way. There was something about him – he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was – that fascinated him. A strong desire to reach out and run his fingertips over the other’s facial features grew inside him. Even after looking away again, the image of his face was locked in his head.
“What’s with that stare? Do you fancy me as well?”
“No, it’s just… I was just thinking that you are quite good-looking.” Jeongmin felt his face heating up and he quickly shifted his gaze down, trying to hide his rosy cheeks from the other.
A hearty laugh from Donghyun followed Jeongmin’s comment. He liked his honesty. “You’re pretty cute yourself,” he replied, nudging the other against the shoulder. Jeongmin beamed a wide smile at him in response, an honest smile that hurt his cheeks. It was the first time he had smiled in a long time.

----╰☆╮----

“Thanks for everything, I’ll be able to carry everything on my own from now on.”
Jeongmin gave the stranger a quick nod before he took the groceries from him. Their parting was bound to happen, but the thought of it made Jeongmin’s heart ache. He reached into his pocket for his keys, pulling them out and unlocking the door just a moment later. With his hand on the door handle, he felt his heart drop. He turned around to the guy he had grown fond of, ready to say goodbye, but his turn had been so energetic that something flung out of his grocery bag. A banana landed in front of a very surprised Donghyun, who immediately bent down to pick it up. Thoughtless as he was, Jeongmin had done the same, his hand flying forward towards the yellow fruit.

Skin brushed against skin, long fingers grazing a soft, smooth palm, invisible sparks of pleasant anticipation flying through the air. The anticipation made a shudder tighten Jeongmin’s skin and even after pulling his hand back, he was electrified by the stranger’s touch. His mouth was gaping open, his eyes fixated on Donghyun. He did not believe in magic or in fate, no, he wasn’t that naïve. But if there was something he believed in, it was attraction and the inevitability of falling in love someday. And maybe, that day had finally come.
Their hands found each other again, crashing together like magnets, before they intertwined their fingers and Jeongmin pulled Donghyun inside of his flat.

And that’s how it all began.

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