a/n: i'm sorry i've been MIA u______u it's study week for exams so im swamped /sobs hopefully this will tide you over until i have time after exams! thank you for all the love and support so far <3

The next day is cloudy. Jihoon thinks it reflects his mood.

Jihoon watches Seungcheol from behind an oversized coffee mug, as the older reads the news on his phone while he eats cereal.

“Where to?” Seungcheol asks halfway through his bowl. Jihoon just smiles and wordlessly holds up the car keys.

Seungcheol raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t ask, just finishes his breakfast and gets into the passenger seat beside Jihoon.

The playground is empty when Jihoon pulls up to it. Seungcheol looks out the car window, confusion all over his face.

“You remember this place?” Jihoon asks as they get out, the sound of the doors slamming echoing in the quiet morning air.

“It's familiar, but I can't seem to remember….” Seungcheol is looking around, probably for something that will trigger his memories.

Jihoon laughs a little, but his heart is sinking in his chest. Seungcheol doesn't remember this place, even though they…...

“Our old school is a block that way,” Jihoon points in one direction and Seungcheol’s mouth opens slightly in realisation, but not the realisation Jihoon is waiting for.

“We had our first date here,” Jihoon says.

Seungcheol remembers then. The nervous hand holding, Jihoon sitting on the swing and smiling brightly at Seungcheol’s lame joke. That was the first time they kissed - Seungcheol bending over to press his lips against Jihoon’s as he sat on that red swing set.

Seungcheol goes pink, flustered, and guilty, and a little embarrassed. He had been the one who took Jihoon here, he had been the one who held Jihoon’s hand first, right by the slide. He kissed him on the swings just on the other side of the playground; and yet he didn't recognise this place.

It was the place where Jihoon showed Seungcheol his first composition, when they were only just becoming close friends. The place where they practiced soccer when Seungcheol wanted to try out for the team and couldn’t kick a soccer ball to save his life. The place where Seungcheol comforted Jihoon when they got back test results and Jihoon hadn’t got the results he wanted. It was where they met when they had different after school clubs and meetings - they only had a few hundred metres that they shared on their walks home, but they would always wait for each other to walk together. It was almost like they couldn’t walk those few hundred metres without the other by their side.

That playground is where Jihoon and Seungcheol opened their high school results together, colliding in a bone-crushing hug when they realised they were both going to do what they had applied for.

It's a place of a thousand memories.

Jihoon goes over to sit on the swings and Seungcheol sits down on the other swing beside him. They slowly swing back and forth on their toes, silence spinning out between them.

Jihoon is the one who breaks it.

“Remember when Soonyoung was trying to train for a marathon in our second year? But then he sprained his ankle trying to do those mountain stairs,” Jihoon says. He doesn’t look at Seungcheol. He can’t bear to think that maybe these memories don't mean anything to him, like they still do to Jihoon.

“Junhui and Minghao had to help him down all the stairs after,” Seungcheol murmurs. Jihoon chances a glance, and Seungcheol is smiling.

“Junhui complained for days after,” Jihoon says, chuckling.

“What about the time Jeonghan got a love letter?” Seungcheol says. “He was so flustered, but also really happy.”

“It gave Jisoo-hyung the courage to finally ask Jeonghan-hyung out though,” Jihoon recalls and Seungcheol laughs.

“Yeah, those two had been dancing around each other for ages,” Seungcheol murmurs. “I'm glad they got together. They match each other so well.”

Jihoon smiles ruefully. “That’s what they used to say about us,”

Seungcheol doesn't answer. Silence spins out between them again.

His stomach breaks the tension though - rumbling loudly. Jihoon feels the laughter bubble out of him unknowingly.

“It's only been a couple of hours since breakfast,” he says, grinning. Seungcheol is frowning at his stomach, like he's mentally scolding it for growling.

“Morning tea?” Seungcheol asks, the lilt in his voice hopeful. Jihoon laughs again.

“Let's go find food, then move on. There's a couple of other places I want to visit today,” Jihoon says, getting to his feet. Seungcheol grabs his wrist before he can move away though.

Jihoon stares at Seungcheol’s warm hand wrapped around his wrist with expertly concealed surprise. “I'm sorry for not recognising this place,” Seungcheol says. Jihoon hasn't raised his eyes from Seungcheol’s hand at his wrist. When was the last time Seungcheol touched him? Willingly? “I remember now,” Seungcheol is still speaking. Jihoon just nods dumbly and hopes Seungcheol can't feel his rapidly increasing heart rate.