hyunwoo hates grocery shopping. actually, 'hate' is a vast understatement. he loathes the idea of getting out of his house just to buy groceries since he has been so reliant on his mother back when he was under a roof with her. it can't be helped now. it has been 5 months since he has moved into his new apartment. it's pretty spacious -- hyunwoo's excuse for his lack of furniture. this is his 5th time grocery shopping so far, and he still can't seem to get used to it. he drags his feet across the pavement as he holds several large plastic bags of groceries in his two hands, ear pieces plugged into his ears. today he decides that he'll just walk home instead of boarding a bus since the excessive amount of meat and snack he bought is enough to burn a hole in his pocket for 2 weeks.

the weather was good, for a change. it was breezy and slightly chilly, compared to the heatwave that came and went ever so frequently for the past month. his ballad playlist has been playing ever since he left the grocery store and the roads were calm and quiet -- the perfect conditions to have a nice little stroll back home. at least he thought it was, before a red haired boy interrupted his 2 seconds of comfort with a light tap on his shoulders. the latter looked troubled, stuttering over his words multiple times while he fidgets with the piece of paper in his hands.

"e-excuse me, sorry to bother you b-but," the red haired boy unfolded the piece of paper in his slightly trembling hands. "do you happen to know the place- i mean directions to this place?" he says as he shows hyunwoo the contents of the paper.

hyunwoo studies the information carefully before it hits him that it's right by his place. he nods, a small smile, hardly noticable, plastered on his face.

"yeah, it's actually right by my place. would you like me to lead you there since i'm on my way home?" hyunwoo asks, nodding his head in the direction of his house.

"s-sure. thank you!" jooheon stutters as he bows his head slightly, a light shade of pink spreading over his cheeks gently.

jooheon hesitantly scoots to hyunwoo's side after realising he's lagging behind. sadly, that only made things much more awkward, given that the pavement was narrow and they were literally shoulder to shoulder. hyunwoo broke the awkward silence with a question after realising jooheon's attire, a grey coat, denim jeans and a knitted scarf around his neck. the baggage jooheon was dragging with his left hand was a jarring implication that he was obviously not from around here.

"so," hyunwoo cleared his throat. "are you new here or are you travelling?"

hyunwoo's sudden question only earned him a startled "oh" from jooheon before the latter scratched his head in shame of his absentmindedness. "i'm travelling- no wait, moving, i mean. i'm sorry," he chuckles under his breath. "i'm attending college here so i'm living with my cousin. he isn't at home right now that's why i kinda needed help. i'm sorry if this is too much to ask for-"

hyunwoo shook his head softly, his lips curved into a gentle smile. "no, it's alright. i'm on my way home, after all. so i thought i'd help. no biggie, really."
honestly, hyunwoo doesn't even know why he offered to send him to his destination. being kind is one of the many reasons, but on a lazy saturday where weather conditions are favorable, he'd rather enjoy his walk home with his self-compiled music than to be stuck in a situation where he's responsible for a stranger's whereabouts.

 

***

 

hyunwoo checked the piece of paper numerous times, switching gazes between the unit number and the printed piece of paper.
"well, it seems like this is the place." hyunwoo says as he returns jooheon the piece of paper. "do you want to check if anyone's at home?" instinctively, hyunwoo reaches for the doorbell, only to be stopped by jooheon.

"wait," jooheon's hand fumbles in his pocket only to sigh. "i forgot i only have the keys to my room, not the gate."

jooheon shuffles slowly towards the stairs, sitting on the steps before flipping his phone out to check his notifications. hyunwoo steals a quick glance over jooheon's shoulders, seeing the lethargy written all over his body posture and the dissapointment painted obviously on his face. he doesn't know why, but hyunwoo feels bad for this red haired kid he just met, and that's not very 'hyunwoo' of him. normally, hyunwoo wouldn't give two s about how other people lived their lives, including the burdens they carry or the hardships they face because in the end, he believes that everyone goes through them, just in different ways. he decides to sit beside the aforementioned boy and have some small talk with him. if that'll take away the heart-wrenching expression he has, hyunwoo decides 'why not?'. after all, it is a saturday and he doesn't really have anything to attend to.

so hyunwoo shifts beside jooheon, putting his grocery bags down a step below him before nonchalantly introducing himself. "i'm hyunwoo. your typical college graduate without a life," he says as he stretches out a hand for a handshake.

surprisingly, jooheon smiles at his gesture, or maybe his words. hyunwoo doesn't know why, but as soon as that pained expression is rubbed away from the other's complexion, he feels much more at ease.

jooheon reaches for hyunwoo's arm, shaking it lightly before returning the much needed introduction he owed. "jooheon. i'm from abroad because i'm offered a scholarship in a college here. i'm not very familiar with this country and all since i'm here alone and my family's back at home, which is why i'm staying at my cousin's. but now that he isn't here and he isn't picking up my phone calls..." jooheon's voice slowly trails off.

"how long was your travel here? you must be tired, aren't you?" without waiting for a reply, hyunwoo asks him, "my apartment's just a few levels up, you can rest there till your cousin comes if you want to." it really isn't like hyunwoo to suddenly be so caring and concerned.

"t-that's too much to ask," jooheon looks away shortly after. hyunwoo momentarily forgets the fact that jooheon stutters and gets his tongue tied in just the few minutes of talking to him.

"it's alright," hyunwoo stands up, patting the red haired one lightly on his shoulders before picking his bags of groceries up from the ground. "i live alone anyways and it gets kind of lonely. i don't mind at all. let's go." hyunwoo knows that's a lie blaring right in his face. if anything, hyunwoo prefers solitude and isolation. he doesn't find it lonely, he's just that kind of person.

jooheon follows suit, a little dazed by hyunwoo's benevolence. nevertheless, jooheon appreciates every little bit of it. pretty impressive of a stranger, jooheon thinks to himself.

 

***

 

"it's pretty plain," hyunwoo states as he unlocks the door, opening it and slipping out of his slippers before setting his groceries on the dining table. he isn't a really orderly person, as you can tell. hyunwoo proceeds to the couch shortly after, signalling jooheon to come over while he reaches for the remote on the coffee table.

jooheon follows behind him shortly, removing his shoes while he observes the house. he mutters a "that's okay" as he plops onto the sofa, right beside hyunwoo. hyunwoo notices jooheon's short yawns since the time they've been walking. not to mention jooheon's obvious dark circles and the way he shuffled sleepily which was an obvious giveaway of his lethargy. hyunwoo flips through channels, seemingly unsatisfied with the programmes featured. hyunwoo doesn't know why, but he feels his heartbeat accelerate the moment he realizes jooheon slowly dozing off, his head inching closer to his broad shoulders slowly before it lays there softly and unconsciously. hyunwoo's palm starts to get clammy as his hands starts sweating. he wipes his hand over his thighs repeatedly. of course he couldn't just nudge jooheon awake, that'll be rude especially given that today is hyunwoo's longest streak of being a decent warm human being. so hyunwoo sits there, staring at the cooking show he wouldn't watch under normal circumstances, feeling a strange sort of comfort. hyunwoo's unsure whether he wants this moment to last or end quickly.

that is, until jooheon is jolted awake by the vibration from his phone -- a call from a contact named "hyungwon". jooheon hastily swipes his finger across the screen of the phone, picking up the call.

his voice lights up from it's groggy state earlier. he ends the call shortly with what sounds like a "i'll be right there!" and all this while, hyunwoo was just listening intently, feeling a little disheartened that this encounter as a whole is already coming to an end. in which jooheon will live with his cousin, attend college, live his own life, and hyunwoo will just be another person that came and went in his life. jooheon gets up eagerly, bows slightly to hyunwoo (hyunwoo thinks his gesture gave a very disciplined rich-kid vibe) before slipping into his sneakers and taking his bags with him. he doesn't forget to shout a "thank you" to hyunwoo on his way out.

 

***

 

for the rest of the evening, hyunwoo has been scrolling through his tablet, searching for interesting hip hop tracks to add to his workout playlist. he lies on his bed, facing the ceiling, holding the tablet right in front of his face. countless warnings from his mother never seems to do it, the tablet falls flat onto his face everytime anyway and hyunwoo's really close to getting spectacles since his eyesight seems to be deteriorating. in actual fact, he doesn't have anything better to do. his projects are all pretty much completed (except for the final touches he swears he'll do when the semester break is coming to an end), he doesn't have any chores and his life seems stagnant as it is now. for the first time, his schedules are close to empty and he's begging for a chance to go out with his friends.

hyunwoo scrolls through his contacts, pressing on the 'recently called' tab and phones his friend.

he waits anxiously on the other end of the line. all he wants is to get out of the house and get some fresh air without looking like a loner, really. and maybe he wants to get today's experience off his chest.

"hello," he says as the reciever picks up the call. "hey bro, are you free to catch a drink or something?"

"yo man what's up," kihyun answers. "ah , i can't- i'm sorry man. is there anything you want to talk about or something because we can do it on the phone while i'm still at home."

"ah," hyunwoo sighs softly, making sure he isn't audible through the line. "if it's fine with you i guess. for the most part, i'm just really bored but i feel really ... not myself today. you know?"

"mhm?" kihyun sounds, a sign hyunwoo knows he's not paying that much attention and is probably doing something else simultaneously.

"normally i'm this common platonic guy anyone would encounter anywhere, right?" hyunwoo continues, in which he gets a mere "yeah" from kihyun. "apparently now i feel like a saint, i even lead this new boy in town stay over for a few minutes until his house keeper- cousin, i mean- returned home."

and suddenly there was silence, a little too sudden and long for hyunwoo's comfort. he figures maybe his experience wasn't meant to be told, it only made the whole situation seemed much more exaggerated and awkward than it was.

kihyun breaks the silence, his voice suddenly shooting up in volume, probably due to his surprise. "wait what- you invited some stranger into your house?!" kihyun continues. "and you wouldn't even let me come over just because 'you have lots of cleaning to do'."

"yeah, yeah i know," hyunwoo mumbles. "it's just that now he's gone and i feel weird. then again, i know it isn't like me to be like this."

kihyun cackles at the other end of the line, continuing his statement in between breaths when he tries to calm down. "maybe you haven't had your daily dose of caffeine." kihyun finally stops laughing, taking in a large breath of air. "anyways, i'm pretty sure it'll go away soon. if it doesn't bother you tomorrow, it's probably something small. i've got to report to work now, see ya."

kihyun ends the call.

and that's how the rest of hyunwoo's day went -- just hours of bickering to himself, scrolling through his endless playlists and possibly reading trending gossip about idols online (he normally doesn't, but he takes the content he can get when the world is running out of 'real' news). he happened to chance upon an interesting manhwa after months of ditching titles because of their boring content and predictable storylines.

thankfully, the hyunwoo's progressed through 78 chapters of the manhwa so far. at least somethings distracting him from his thoughts, he thinks to himself. hyunwoo's been so immersed that he hasn't the noticed the moon replacing the sun minutes ago. a ring on his doorbell jolts him back into reality, where he realizes it's already past 7. he tucks his phone into his pocket before heading out to see who's at the door. hyunwoo's bad habit of not checking through the peephole has lasted through years, but it's not like any bad experience of opening the door to a bunch of advertisers has thought him anything. he opens the door, expecting some salesman to intrigue him (or try to) in a new cellphone contract. hyunwoo is caught by surprise when he sees the same red-haired boy -- jooheon, if he remembers his name correctly -- standing outside with an average sized lunchbox in his hand.

"hello again, i hope i'm not bothering you or anything i," jooheon glances to the floor immediately, as if it's a natural instinct. "i thought i didn't thank you properly so i brought something small to express my feeli- i mean gratitude."

hyunwoo can't help but smile at his little actions. it's been a second too long that hyunwoo has been waiting for a moment like this, and he obviously isn't going to let it slide.

"ah, come in," hyunwoo greets him with a wide grin, opening the door to a wider angle.

hyunwoo guides him to the dining table, just a plain square wooden table painted white, no longer than a metre or so. since hyunwoo lives by himself, all the furniture he owns mostly cater to 1 or 2 people. that doesn't include his bed though, which could probably fit a whole family.

"what's this?" hyunwoo asks as jooheon hands him the lunchbox over the table.

"it's ... some kimbap i made by myself," jooheon sits diagonally from hyunwoo (it wasn't his fault the square table's side could only fit one body). "i thought of making them for my cousin since i just came but i figured i'd make extras for you."
hyunwoo eagerly opens the lunchbox -- the manhwa he's hooked on is merciless, stealing lunch and dinner away from him. 9 kimbaps set nicely in the box, filling up the box just right. the older wastes no time and gobbles the first kimbap like a beast, momentarilly pausing at his first bite just to savour the flavour. wonderment. a soft chuckle escapes jooheon's lips as he sees hyunwoo's reaction and for the rest of the silent 5 minutes, he has only been staring at hyunwoo devouring all 9 kimbaps, with no water breaks whatsoever.

 

***

 

weeks and months fly by like seconds and every day they found themselves together, closer than ever, talking like old friends. that is, until one day jooheon stands outside hyunwoo's door, tears streaming down his cheeks. hyunwoo can't help but become worried, the boy whose smile never falters suddenly stands in front of him, cheeks dampened by his tears.

i hope this helps him, hyunwoo thinks as he stirs up the hot chocolate in a ceramic cup before walking towards the living room, sitting right beside jooheon on the couch and putting the cup on the coffee table.

"some hot chocolate to get comfortable," hyunwoo starts. "mind telling me what happened?"

jooheon sniffs a few more times before finally clearing his throat from the tension he got through sobbing. "hy-hyungwon. he's back to his drinking habits." he answers between soft hiccups. "he throws fits and rages a lot these days and he vents his p-problems on me." jooheon lifts his sleeves up a little, to show the slight purple tinge on his skin, recieving a subtle gasp from hyunwoo who didn't want to make jooheon feel bad about his bruises.

"how long has this been going on?" hyunwoo holds jooheon's arms delicately, lightly caressing the back of his hand. he figured his bruises would still hurt if he caressed them.

"a little over a week..." jooheon looks down, seemingly calmer than he was when he stood outside, sobbing hysterically.

hyunwoo isn't good with words at all, he doesn't know how to comfort people through words, mainly why no one goes to him for advice. what he does know, though, is the power of the human touch, and he strongly believes that simple human contact like a hug may heal someone's pain.

"you should sleep here for tonight. don't worry my bed is big enough for two, let's go," hyunwoo says, only to be stopped by jooheon.

"but what if he f-finds out? i'll only make this worse." jooheon rubs his eyes.

"don't worry about it, alright? let's just sleep." hyunwoo leads him into the bed room, letting him plop himself onto the bed.

jooheon pulls the duvet over himself as he curls up like a foetus, his hands tucked under his head. hyunwoo gets up on the bed after him, resting his head on the pillow, against the headboard of the bed. he glances occasionally at jooheon and his now exposed bruises and wonders why jooheon hadn't told him sooner.

he's snapped out of his daze by jooheon's soft murmur, "aren't you going to sleep too? you need to rest."

hyunwoo complies, whispering an "ah, fine" before slipping down from his position to lie on the bed. it doesn't take long till jooheon's already fast asleep, his rhythmic breathing slightly audible along with the steady rising and falling of his chest. turning to face jooheon, hyunwoo doesn't realise the smile creeping up on his face. everything about jooheon through hyunwoo's eyes are perfect -- his dimples, his lips, his eyes -- damn, everything! he gently sweeps the younger's fringe away from his eyes, tracing a line softly and gently down to his lips, where he realizes what he's doing and pulls his hand back, embarrassed. for some odd reason, jooheon's 'sleeping face' brings some sort of weird calmness and tranquility in his mind. after minutes of gazing at jooheon's face (affectionately more than creepily), he comes up with a simple conclusion -- he might be in love with jooheon. so hyunwoo, making sure he doesn't startle or wake the younger up in his sleep, shifts closer to jooheon and gently wraps an arm around him. he swears he'll protect jooheon's smile as long as he's there.