The ambience every time he walks back home is really mysterious; he can't put any distinct description for it, but maybe the closest he can say is that the neighborhood is always eerily quiet, too quiet for his liking. It used to be very lively before he would see a few people his age jogging along the street, the elderly going out for a walk either in a group or by their own while reminiscing their old memories, countable amount of middle-aged women and men heating up the engines of their transportation before heading off to work early in the morning and he would always exchanges greetings with them, but now…

These days, everyone seems to be in their own world, only giving attention to themselves, and Jihoon can’t help but get swept away by it. No more exchanged smiles and greetings, in return he just gets blank and indifferent stares. He is not a fan of wearing hoodies and earphones, but after so long, he can't be bothered by the absurd changes and unknowingly he starts to buy those things that shut him from the society.

And today is no different from the other. He has a pair of earphones stuck in both of his ears and the sentimental playlist in on shuffle, blaring loud, hindering his sense of hearing. A hoodie Is hiding his curly, sunkissed-brown hair, and it's covering half of his vision to keep him from any unwanted distractions as he heads home. Jihoon looks up once in a while to find the trees along the sidewalk becoming empty as the dried leaves strewed on the ground.

He stops in his track when a golden leaf blew past his sight, floating along the twirling course of the wind as it lands lightly on his shoes, feeling that chilly and autumnal wind gusting against him. He doesn't know what it is but he feels there is something growing and blooming inside of his arid, deserted heart. Maybe he looks down on earth too much, that he forgets to look up and appreciate the living things in his surroundings.

 

As he looks around to feel that positive aura, a sharp light shone so bright he had to cover his eyes and looks away as it's blinding him. A few seconds after, he averts his attention back to the direction of his house and sees two workers carrying a full-body mirror out of a truck. The reflection from it accidentally interrupts him yet attracts his attention at the same time.

He walks closer and studies the situation to find a family moving in the empty house next to his as people start to help out by carrying other boxes and things from the moving truck inside. He also spots his dad and his stepbrother, Seokmin in the crowd.

"Hyung," called Seokmin. "What perfect timing! Come here and give us a hand."

"Yes, come and help us, Jihoon…" said their father and Jihoon doesn't have to be told twice.

He walks closer to their new neighbor's front yard when suddenly he feels a strong force pushed his back. It's not strong enough to cause him to fall down. He turns around and readies himself to shoot a glare at the rude person but his facial expression softens when he sees the taller guy tilts his head a little to the side from the big box he's holding in his slightly muscular arms.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there…" the taller guy says and Jihoon would have been offended by it because did he just imply that I'm small, but the smile plastered on the guy's face calms himself down.

"It's okay…" replied Jihoon and he returns the smile at the guy. Jihoon doesn't know what's gotten into him because suddenly he initiates a conversation with a stranger when he never actually took the first step before.

"Do you want some help with that?" he asks when he can see the other having a hard time trying to hold the big box.

"Oh, thanks!" and Jihoon feels relieved because he can't see the guy's dazzling smile when they are being separated by the box between them. They both carry the box inside of the house, settling it down at the living room. There are so many different sized of boxes scattered in the living room, some are still tapped neatly while some come undone and he calculates the amount of the time needed for the family to get everything done in this house before he heaves a sigh.

That's a lot of work to do.

"Hey, thanks for that…" the guy interrupts him from his thoughts and Jihoon looks at him only to find that dazzling smile again.

"No problem."

"I'm Seungcheol, Choi Seungcheol." said the guy as he holds out his hand which Jihoon gladly accepts and shakes their hands together. Jihoon managed to roam his eyes around Seungcheol's face to catch that natural black hair which complements Seungcheol's fair skin; those black shining orbs with the long eyelashes and that faint pink natural blush on his cheeks as he smiles at Jihoon leaves him speechless.

"Lee Jihoon. Just call me Jihoon… and I live next door." Jihoon points at the direction of his house and Seungcheol nods happily.

"We get to see each other a lot, then…"

Jihoon hums in return and looks away from Seungcheol's dazzling smile as he breaks the handshake. He wonders if Seungcheol ever get tired from smiling too much but he doesn't mind since gets to see that smile every day from now on. Jihoon halts his thoughts, What am I thinking? I can't be easily swept away by some random guy's smile. I need to get myself together.

"Y-yeah…"

"Would you mind to help me with the rest?" Seungcheol asks as they head out of the house, looking at the amount of boxes at the front yard.

"I think I'll help out…" Jihoon looks to the side and smiles at the taller guy shyly before he steps down the small amount of stairway, leaving Seungcheol behind the front door.

 

**********

 

The dark sky outside doesn’t scare him a bit. He decides to open every single light bulb and lamp located in each and every corner of their new home to avoid the feeling of loneliness. Seungcheol had the new place all to himself the whole day, trying to organize their things. Being the eldest in the family, he has to carry a lot of responsibility than just being the first born; his dad is always gone to god knows where and only comes back when it’s very late. Seungcheol’s pretty sure he’s dad’s still trying to accept the cruel reality of being cheated by the person he loved the most. It was beyond Seungcheol’s imagination that his very own mother would commit such an act. They were always lovey-dovey, like nothing was wrong everything was perfect but then again, anything can happen.

Seungcheol is trying his best to fill in his parents' position to give the best for his brother, Choi Hansol. Thank goodness, Hansol is also doing his best on his part to lessen his big brother's burden by being the most understanding family member that he can. Even if one day, their father decides to leave them to fend for themselves    heck, Seungcheol wouldn't care. He can just find any abandoned place in the city enough for the two of them as long as Hansol is with him; yeah that matters the most to him, Choi Hansol.

Hansol is too young to be going through this kind of and Seungcheol would do anything to protect his only one blood.

Speaking of Hansol, where is he?

Seungcheol puts down the box filled with their family albums on the floor – when he already told his father to get rid of it, but maybe it's unbelievably hard to do so. He fishes his phone out of his pocket to give the younger a call when suddenly a thunder booms so loud that it made Seungcheol jumps. Heavy downfall follows after and it worries Seungcheol even more since Hansol is not home. He keeps on calling the younger until the call is connected.

"Where were you and why aren't you picking up my calls?"

"Sorry hyung… Seungkwan invited me to come over and watch his band mates practice at his garage. I promise I'll go back home as soon as we finish."

"Hansol-ah, just stay there until the rain stops, okay? I'll pick up you later…"

"Thanks hyung! You’re the best~" and Seungcheol can hear the genuinely happy tone from his brother which makes him feel at ease every single time. Hansol being happy is his priority, even if it meant sacrificing his very own just to see Hansol smile.

"Behave Hansol-ah…"

"Yeah, hyung…" and Seungcheol hangs up but what he doesn't expect is a knocking on the front door. Seungcheol stands still on his spot, hands holding his phone tightly and his legs shake a little. Suddenly, fear takes control of his entire body. He continues to look at the door with his eyes widening as the knocking continuously banging from the outside. He is even more scared since it's raining heavily and thunders strike like gunshots which makes everything very horror movies-esque like the ones he used to watch with Hansol.

Oh shoot!

Seungcheol musters the courage in him as he steps towards the front door with caution; trying to not make any squeaky sound on the floor and tiptoe carefully once he reaches at the front door. He looks through the peephole and prays silently that it's not a burglar or murderer or anyone with a bad intention. He disregards such horrific thoughts and quickly turns the doorknob around. The door opens and he sees a very familiar figure drenched because of the sudden downpour.

"Jihoon…?"

He looks at the smaller, examining every inch but Jihoon doesn't move or anything; he didn't even look up to meet Seungcheol's scared plus worried gaze. Seungcheol walks closer to Jihoon and gently holds Jihoon's cold chin and pushing it upwards slowly, making their eyes meet. Seungcheol knows what's going on without having Jihoon explain.

"Let's get change before we go…" said Seungcheol as he grabs onto Jihoon's wrist, pulling him inside before locking the door and heading upstairs to where his room situated. Jihoon follows obediently and waits quietly as Seungcheol rummages through his box of clothes before throwing his gray hoodie and a pair of blue jeans with patches on it into Jihoon's arms. Seungcheol settles his orange hoodie and his black, ripped jeans.

They change their garments on the spot and Seungcheol grabs his wallet along with his keys from his study table. He swiftly holds Jihoon's hand and drags him out to the garage where his land rover parked. They both take a seat inside of the vehicle with Seungcheol's driving and as soon as they drive out of the garage, the heavy rain starts hitting on each side of the land rover furiously.

 

Seungcheol knows exactly what Jihoon is going through; as he already lived next to his nosy neighbors for a few weeks, he came to learn that Jihoon's family is similarly broken like his too. He recognizes it all too well, the agony and anguish he sees in Jihoon’s silent eyes. It breaks every single structure of human stability and to perform rationally. The loneliness Jihoon is experiencing, he went through it too, but despite it all he does not want Hansol nor Jihoon to go through the same pain or at least less depressing than what he has been through.

When they finally drive to a clear highway, Seungcheol looks to his side and sees Jihoon cuddling his legs on the passenger seat. The young man was looking at the rain drops decorating the window. His short fingers following the racing drops. He decided to raise the temperature. He looks at Jihoon one more time before he reaches for his phone and dials the previous number. He informed his brother that he won't be home, maybe for a few days and asks Hansol to sleep over at Seungkwan's house for the time being. Hansol doesn't ask any question because he understands it very well, since Seungcheol used to go out for a drive to clear his mind a few months ago.

He looks at the dashboard before flicking the signal light on, and drives to the left heading towards the gas station. He slows down when they reach an empty pump and stops the car.

"I'm going out for a while. Don't go anywhere." Seungcheol says sternly but with a soft tone and leaves before Jihoon could even answer.

He enters the tiny store and passed by different aisles before reaching the one he was looking for. His hands grab whatever chips attract his attention, from colorful salted potatoes to sour flavored chips. Next, he grabs a variety of canned coffee and heads to the cashier with much difficulty. He places the items on the counter and the boy in the uniform starts to scan and push random buttons before announcing the total amount. Seungcheol pays the exact amount but added a few more bills and gestures to the pumps outside. The boy nods in understanding.

Seungcheol walks out of the store, examining the inside of the land rover and feels at ease when he sees Jihoon. He heads for the passenger's side. He knocks on the window, signaling Jihoon to lower it and the man inside complied. Seungcheol hands over the plastic to his neighbor. Jihoon takes it in confusion but Seungcheol quickly ruffles the shorter’s hair, leaving him bewildered.

"We're gonna have a proper meal once we arrived somewhere..." Seungcheol says with that reassuring smile of his and Jihoon just finds it so breathtakingly beautiful. He feels that blooming sensation in his arid heart once again. Seungcheol always seems to do that to him, making his heartbeat increase tenfold with only his dazzling smile and Jihoon can’t help but be addicted to it.

Seungcheol walks over to the other side of his car to fill the gas and Jihoon couldn't take his eyes off the taller guy, not even a second.

 

Jihoon looks out of the window, the heavy downpour finally showing signs of stopping. He wonders how it would feel like to see the midnight sky and probably some signs of beautiful brightly lit stars without the wet window blurring his view. What he doesn’t expect is the window lowering down, with a curious look he fixes his gaze at Seungcheol’s hand.

Jihoon smiles, Seungcheol could easily read him and make him smile.

The cold wind comes breezing against his face and his small figure too, his hair swaying rhythmically. Instead of feeling deeply affected by the sudden coldness, he feels fresher as a new founded emotion takes over him. He looks around the road to find out that they're in the middle of nowhere; a long and clear-free highway with a vast open desert-like environment.

Unknowingly, he reaches one of his hands out of the window to feel the breezy soft wind against his palm. It goes in between his fingers and he loves it. A small smile forms on Jihoon’s small precious face and it is crazy how little actions from the younger could make Seungcheol smile too.

 

And if you like midnight driving with the windows down...

 

**********

 

Sunlight directly shines on his eyes, disturbing his beauty sleep he thought he never need before. He squints his eyes to get rid of the light but it doesn't go away so he decides to wake up from his sweet dream. He tries straightens himself up until he feels a light weight on top of his body. He looks down to find a patched blanket securely wrapped around his figure. For a moment he blinks the sleep away from his eyes and looks back up to find the reality he is in.

He is sitting on the passenger seat of a land rover wearing a gray hoodie that keeps him warm. As he registers the whole situation, his eyes wander around to look for Seungcheol but all he could see is a garden house. It is situated in the middle of a wide grass-covered land, completely different from the sandy runes he saw last night. He started to panic when he couldn’t find Seungcheol, so decided to hop out of the vehicle and look for his companion.

Thank goodness he wore his water resistant, black boots because he hates walking in drenched ones. As if on cue, he somehow feels butterflies inside of him when he remembers that the clothing he is wearing belongs to Seungcheol. Oh god, where is he?!

Jihoon walks a few feet away from the parked vehicle and looks everywhere when suddenly a familiar voice calls out for him.

"Jihoon!" he turns around to find Seungcheol looking happy while coming out of the garden house, waving at him.

"Seungcheol, sory  I'm sorry… let's head back home." Jihoon says apologetically. Seungcheol looks at him for a second before he smiles dazzlingly.

"We're already this far, might as well continue." said Seungcheol as he hops back in the land rover, leaving Jihoon speechless before he follows him inside.

"But Seungcheol-" suddenly the engine roared loud enough to stop Jihoon from continuing.

"But what, Jihoon?"

"I didn't bring any-" and Jihoon shows his empty pockets but Seungcheol quickly puts the seatbelt on for the shorter. With only a few moments of being so close to each other    too close for Jihoon’s comfort, though he doesn't mind because it's Seungcheol    Jihoon could catch the scent which belongs to the taller and he comes to like it. He wraps the gray hoodie tighter to catch that scent again when Seungcheol retreats to the driver side and drives off, heading to the closest town.

 

Jihoon doesn't know what’s gotten into him yesterday; suddenly he became emotionally unstable when he found his family photo of their summer vacation from three years back. Seeing how genuinely happy his parents were, how truly happy his mother was in the photo broke him apart to the fullest, scattering his façade. He doesn't know why his feet dragged him out of his house, going through the rainstorm, just to find some sort of comfort in any way.

But what he couldn’t understand is why he came to Seungcheol's front door, knocked nonstop just to see that dazzling smile again. He has been seeing Seungcheol on his way out and back to his house for the past few weeks and they only have casual, friendly conversations    so far from being close    which makes Jihoon confused even more. But it's probably Seungcheol's smile that he's after. Maybe that’s the reason why he smiles; it's been in a while since everything felt this right despite how chaotic his mind and heart are.

Jihoon doesn't realize how long he has been staring at the man beside him, when Seungcheol suddenly breaks the comfortable silence between them.

"Do I look that amusing for you to keep on looking?"

"S-sorry…" and Jihoon quickly averts his attention elsewhere, just the perfect timing as they come across a billboard saying, Welcome to Kissimmee then he remembers how Seungcheol has been driving since last night. He must be tired and sleepy.

"Hey Seungcheol, let's stop here… at KISS-a-mee   " Jihoon tries to pronounce the name of the place he never heard before "   you need some sleep."

Seungcheol doesn’t have to look at the shorter man beside him how caring he is. Anyway, Jihoon is probably avoiding looking at him after his comment earlier.

"First of all Jihoon, it's not KISS-a-mee, it's Ka-SIM-mee   " and luckily Seungcheol turns to look at Jihoon to find that visible pink blushes on the smaller's cheeks when he corrects the pronunciation "   and yeah, maybe after breakfast, we can stop by at a motel or something…"

"O-okay…" replied Jihoon weakly as his mind tries to accept the reality that he only has Seungcheol in this alienated place; he doesn't want to face the awkwardness between them once they reach a cheap motel to crash in for the day.

 

And if you like going places we can't even pronounce...

 

---

more chapters to come (maybe)