being alone, to some people, is a scary thing. hyunjin, however, has long learned to enjoy his own company. the concept of being by himself; he doesn't really mind it. in fact, he enjoys the perks that come with it.

he likes drinking tea alone, eating alone, reading alone, riding the bus alone. he isn't, by any means, a loner. he isn't an introvert either, by the way.

it's just; hyunjin finds comfort in being by himself. it gives him time to think and set his busy mind free from all the stress in the world.

which precisely describes why he's currently sitting at a park not very far from home on a saturday evening instead of being out partying with his friends, with a book in hand and just constantly reading for what's probably a few hours now. his eyes are starting hurt. he yawns, before finally closing the book.

hyunjin sighs in content, taking in the quietness of his surroundings as his gaze darts around all over the place. it comes to a stop as his eyes land on a boy sitting three benched away from his, silently and absentmindedly staring into the distance.

hyunjin knows the boy. actually, "knows" is a stretch. it's just, he usually sees him sitting at that same spot when he walks back home from school. and every time hyunjin catches a sight of him, he's always with the company of another boy who looks a tad older than the both of them.

sometimes he would be smiling, sometimes he would be laughing softly at probably a joke that the older boy makes. conclusion is; he is almost always never alone, so it makes hyunjin wonder why he is now sitting on the bench alone, mostly likely unaware of the fews fallen leaves that rest themselves on his hair due to the big tree behind the bench.

something in his head urges that he should go and talk to him. and after some internal monologue, hyunjin stands up, his book long forgotten, before walking towards the bench where the other boy sits.

once there, he stands awkwardly as the other doesn't seem to notice or acknowledge his presence. his lips are pressed in a thin line as he contemplated whether or not he was making the right decision by coming over.

"uh hello?" he exclaims, a little bit unsure at the end.

the boy turns to face him with a surprise look plastered on his face, "are you talking to me?"

hyunjin's face scrunches up in what is akin to embarrassment as he scratches the back of his head in an awkward manner.

"i see you here a lot so uh- i thought i should come and say hi. i'm hyunjin!" he rambles, extending a hand out for a handshake, which unfortunately, is left unreturned as the other boy continues to stare at his face without a word.

a few seconds pass by before hyunjin drops his hand back down.

"is handshake uncomfortable to you? i'm sorry-" he mutters before getting cut off by a loud gasp.

hyunjin whips his head to see an absolutely mortified look on the other's face as he begins to apologize profusely.

"oh my god, i'm sorry! i must have seemed very rude to not respond to your handshake- it's just- you see, i can't really see- i mean- i-" he pauses as another horrified look spreads across his face.

and then it's quiet as he's completely frozen after the burst of word vomit while hyunjin is too shocked to say anything.

a moment passes by before he finally clears his throat and speaks up.

"um actually, i cannot see you. wait- what i mean is that uh- i'm blind. yeah- that's it. i'm blind and i can't see which is why i wasn't aware of your handshake. also, i'm seungmin, by the way." he holds his hand out and this time, hyunjin does the same, shaking it softly with his own hand.

"would you like to sit down? if you don't mind sitting next to me, of course." seungmin asks.

hyunjin nods, forgetting for a brief moment that the other boy cannot see him, before eventually sitting down on the space beside him.

"do you come here often?" seungmin asks another question. hyunjin hums softly.

"sometimes. i pass by here everyday while walking home from school, though. and everyday, i'd see you here sitting with your friend. speaking of which, where is he today? why did he leave you here alone?" he asks back.

seungmin laughs lightly. "you make it sound like he made a grave mistake. anyway, that's chan hyung. something came up all of a sudden so he can't accompany me."

still unconvinced, hyunjin adds, "but still, how could he leave you here alone to fend for yourself when you ca-" he pauses just in time to stop himself from finishing, upon realizing how insensitive he sounds.

"that was stupid and insensitive- i'm sorry!" he exclaims. seungmin chuckles before brushing it off.

"it's alright, i know you mean no harm. he was actually making a fuss about how he couldn't just leave me here. it took awhile for me to successfully reassure him that i'll be fine on my own."

hyunjin mutters a small "oh" at his explanation.

"so where do you live? is it close?" hyunjin asks, breaking the silence.

seungmin nods. "i live a couple of blocks from here. there's a park nearby as well but i like it here."

hyunjin's eyebrows furrow in curiosity and confusion.

"why so?"

"it's much quieter here. it gives me comfort, somehow." seungmin smiles a little.

hyunjin smiles as well, "me too. i feel calm being here."

they sit in silence for awhile, listening to sound of birds chirping as seungmin grabs onto the sleeves of his sweater, pulling it over his fingers whenever the wind blows a bit too strong.

seungmin freezes in surprise as hyunjin suddenly leans in. he feels the other boy reach out and grab something from above his head. after that, hyunjin grins and holds up a few dead leaves, forgetting for a moment that the other cannot see anyway.

"i saw these on your head awhile back but forgot and only remember about them just now."

seungmin's ears turn red in embarrassment as he mutters a small "thank you".

they almost jump when someone suddenly yells seungmin's name. hyunjin sees a guy running from the distance before stopping as he reaches where they're sitting.

he pants and bends down to catch his breath, before looking up, his face brightening at the sight of seungmin.

"seungmin! i'm back! sorry for being gone for so long!" he exclaims, completely unaware of hyunjin's existence.

"hyung, calm down. you sound like you just ran a marathon." oh by the way, this is hyunjin, my new friend."

he finishes, pointing at hyunjin. it's only at that moment that older boy notice him sitting there. a big smile spread across his face as he exclaims again, this time even louder than the first, before abruptly pulling hyunjin into a tight hug.

"hyunjin! it's nice to meet you! i'm glad seungmin finally made another friend!"

seungmin pouts at his words, making the both of them chuckle.

"hey, you make it sound like i have no friends!" he retorts.

chan chuckles a bit more and sits down at the other side of seungmin before giving his forehead a hard flick.

seungmin almost screams. "that hurts."

chan laughs again. "my dear cousin, what i meant is, minus me; two friends aren't enough. what are you going to do if there comes a situation where neither felix nor jisung are presented? that is why i'm so happy you made a new friend."

seungmin huffs but doesn't protest because he's fully aware that what chan is saying is true.

seeing as to how he has reduced seungmin to silence, chan stands up and turns to hyunjin.

"anyway, we have to go now or auntie is going to worry since we've been out for so long. thanks for looking after my cousin, hyunjin!" he says, bidding the younger boy a goodbye.

seungmin stands up as well and turns to his right side to face hyunjin.

"it was nice to meet you, hyunjin!" he exclaims enthusiastically before getting dragged away by chan.

chan turns back, yelling. "bye, hyunjin!"

seungmin turns back as well and waves happily. "see you tomorrow, hyunjin!"

---

enjoy my word vomit that I had been writing since like 9pm until almost 5am (I had to split the story into four parts bcs it ended up being much longer than anything I've written before but anyway enjoy the first part!!) (also the grammar is a mess the plot is a mess this story is a mess it I I'm sorry)