Even on good days the train ride out of the city after work is the least enjoyable aspect of Kyungsoo’s day.

Morning’s are okay. Kyungsoo always leaves his house a full hour earlier than he should, coffee in hand, because he likes to be prepared in case of anything unexpected. (“No, you’re just paranoid,” Chanyeol says  one day after he finds out Kyungsoo reads on the benches outside of their office building every morning, waiting for the lobby doors to be unlocked.) When Kyungsoo boards the train in the mornings, there’s only a few other people in, the same faces every day: the graying businessman in an equally gray suit making loud phone calls on one of those Bluetooth devices that scream of an important title; the fidgety, pudgy middle-aged man in a crooked tie and worn jeans that likely works at one of those “casual” firms that are small enough to get away with such attire; and Kyungsoo’s personal favorite, the senile woman that somehow always manages to sit behind Kyungsoo and snag one of her knitting needles on whatever suit he’s wearing. Not one of his suit jackets has been spared, and he’s given up on buying new ones.

So no, morning’s aren’t exactly pleasant, but they’re bearable. Kyungsoo can accept that half the reason train rides in general is because he’s cynical and borderline nihilistic. With his refillable coffee cup in one hand and the Smartphone he uses for work in the other, his suitcase neatly tucked between his legs, he maintains himself distracted the whole train ride.

The afternoon train ride back home is a far cry from the morning ride. It seems like half the city flocks to the trains all at once, no one willing to stay a single second after five o’clock in their respective cubicles, and Kyungsoo is no different. There’s no way to avoid the rush hour, either; Kyungsoo isn’t willing to stay an extra half hour to wait it out, and leaving work half an hour early is out of the question. If he were more assertive, he might have asked his manager to let him come in to work half an hour earlier so he could leave half an hour earlier, but Kyungsoo would rather deal with the hustle and bustle of 5 o’clock than potentially lose his job for asking for too much.

Today’s train ride is going well enough. He finds an empty seat, and even though there’s some guy in a hoodie dozing off in the seat beside him, it definitely beats standing. As a smaller guy, he gets jostled around, always bumping into other standing commuters. Besides, he’s been running up and down the stairs all day, fetching documentation for his boss’ big meeting with an important client, and he deserves to rest his feet.

He sits, and all is good for a few minutes, until the train makes it out of the subway. Kyungsoo hadn’t noticed before, but the sleeping guy beside him is wearing one of those ridiculous flashy watches. The arm with the watch is resting right against the window, and now that the train isn’t underground, the sun is hitting the shiny piece of metal at just the right angle - or wrong angle, really - and the glare is hitting Kyungsoo right in the eye.

Kyungsoo thinks about getting up, but the train is so packed now that there are standing passengers pressing against him, and there’s no way he’d make it out. He tries twisting his neck at a different angle, but that just makes his neck cramp up until he has to turn his head back, right into the gleam of the guy’s watch again.

The sleeping guy hasn’t stirred at all since Kyungsoo got on the train, and Kyungsoo is irritated enough to angrily jab a finger into the man’s side. The man startles at the contact, bonking his head on the glass in a way that sounds awfully painful, but Kyungsoo is too upset to care.

The guys rubs his head and turns to Kyungsoo, eyes sleep-swollen and disoriented, a tiny yawn escaping his lips. The hoodie he had been wearing since Kyungsoo sat beside him has slipped from his head as he sprang awake, and Kyungsoo’s earlier anger dissipates for a moment because the guy beside him is cute, oh my God. He’s tanned in a way that’s uncommon amongst Koreans, though Kyungsoo doesn’t mind this in the least, the skin tone giving him an ethereal glow. His eyes are a deep brown that’s still hazy from sleep, but there’s a shine to them that shows signs of youthful wonder, not yet dulled by the misery of adult life. He must be in college, Kyungsoo thinks, because he’s definitely not a high school student, but he doesn’t seem to to be an office worker either. He probably attends one of the downtown campuses, and Kyungsoo confirms this when he notices an open messenger bag by the young man’s feet, just catching a glimpse of econ and biology textbooks.

“I’m sorry, were you the one that woke me up just now?” the guy asks, and his voice is much deeper than Kyungsoo expected, though smooth and quiet, almost a rumble. Kyungsoo finds that he quite likes it.

“Uh, yeah. Your watch...the sun keeps glinting off of it and straight into my eyes. Could you maybe move down your hand?” Kyungsoo can’t believe how calm he sounds to his own ears, considering he was ready to tell off the kid before he had shown his face.

The boy looks instantly apologetic, retracting his arm and bringing the sleeve of his hoodie down to cover the watch. “Sorry,” he says, bringing his hand up to scratch the back of his head sheepishly. “I don’t usually wear watches, but my friend gave this to me last month for my birthday because I’m always late to everything. I’m still not used to having it strapped to my arm. Sometimes I still pull out my phone to check the time.” The boy laughs a little at that, though he sounds nervous and covers his face to cover the sound. Kyungsoo kind of wishes he hadn’t.

“So your birthday was last month?” Kyungsoo asks, for lack of anything better to say. He doesn’t want the conversation with this handsome stranger to end just yet.

The kid smiles, and God, he may have the brightest smile Kyungsoo has ever seen, and the way his eyes crinkle makes him impossibly cuter. “Yeah! I turned 21 on the 14th of January.” His eyes fill with puppy-like joy at this, like he’s proud of how grown up he is. Cute. “I’m Jongin, by the way,” he adds, extending an arm and a smaller, shy smile playing on his lips.

Jongin. Kyungsoo mulls the name over in his head, liking the sound of it. He doesn’t realize he’s said it out loud until he notice the way Jongin flusters. He takes Jongin’s hand in his, pleasantly surprised with how large and warm it is. “Nice to meet you, Jongin. I’m Kyungsoo. I turned 22 on the 12th of January. Weird, huh?”

The younger looks shocked for a bit before he breaks into a burst of giggles.

Never before has Kyungsoo been so thankful for the hour long train ride, more than happy to spend what’s left of it talking to Jongin. He learns a lot about the younger: he’s a dance major, which really shouldn’t have surprised Kyungsoo so much. It’s in everything from Jongin’s posture to the elegant way his limbs move as he speaks. Jongin also has a thing for dogs, wasting no time in pulling out his wallet to show Kyungsoo an extensive collection of pictures of his three dogs. Kyungsoo has never really loved dogs, but seeing the adoration in Jongin’s eyes makes him just as happy and excited as the latter.

In turn, Kyungsoo tells Jongin about his own life, about his boring 9 to 5 job and his failed dreams of a singing career. Jongin listens attentively, and Kyungsoo is glad to see that Jongin doesn’t look like he pities him.

Just as they’ve begun to discuss animes they have been watching lately, the train operator informs the passengers of the stop coming up. Jongin sits up a bit, looking at Kyungsoo. “Hyung, that’s my stop,” is all he says, but he’s staring at Kyungsoo and biting his lip like he wants to say more. He sighs, collecting his stuff up and standing.

Kyungsoo instantly deflates. He doesn’t want Jongin to leave, not now that he’s just met him and Jongin is possibly the closest thing to perfect that Kyungsoo has ever met. He can’t just let him leave.

“Jongin, before you go,” he starts, nervous until he sees the hopeful look on Jongin’s bright eyes. That look gives him some confidence. “How about you give me your phone number? We should… we should definitely meet again. For coffee or something. Whatever you want.”

Jongin is grinning widely now, stuttering out an excited “sure” and “that would be great” as he hands Kyungsoo his phone so the elder can type in his number, the actions reversed afterwards with Kyungsoo’s phone.

By the time they arrive at Jongin’s stop, Kyungsoo is blushing profusely from the way Jongin has stared at him with a goofy smile for the last few minutes of his commute, holding the standing bar with one hand and clutching his phone to his chest like it’s something precious with the other.

“I’ll see you soon, hyung,” Jongin says as he turns towards the door with a smile. He waves at Kyungsoo as the train leaves the station, and the elder can’t help but smile and wave back.

A month later, the commute back home still . There’s still too many people on the train, and it’s still too noisy, but at least now he always has a seat reserved by Jongin, and a hand to hold his too. The train ride passes much quicker these days, and there’s always something to look forward to, whether they get off at Jongin’s stop or Kyungsoo’s.

With spring looming just ahead, Kyungsoo thinks the flowers aren’t the only thing that’s beginning to bloom.

A/N: You can hit me up on my tumblr http://2muchgreen2feelblue.tumblr.com/. Send me prompts, and hopefully I can write it! (Nothing sad please, I'm as fluffy as they come.)