Aiden knew he was avoiding the situation, but could anyone honestly blame him. He wanted nothing to do with Felix and Changbin, but it was difficult to not run into them when he left the house. Seoul was not a small city, hundreds of thousands of people lived there and visited at any given point in the year. It should be a rare occurrence to run into the two, the odds were so low. And yet Aiden found himself dodging, hiding, and running when he spotted one of them.

 

He knew they needed to talk - to address the situation that happened but the pain was still fresh in his heart and all Aiden wanted to do was just feel better and move on before he confronted the cause of his pain. He really wished that Changbin and Felix would understand that.

 

Slipping between the bodies in the packed arcade store, eyes scanning the area for something to do. His attention was drawn to the small crowd that was forming around the Dance Dance Revolution machine. Aiden hadn’t seen one of those in such a long time, it was a blast from the past and he was surprised this place even had it. As he approached, he could hear a voice over the booming music of the machine and he slipped himself between small gaps to get a clearer view of what was going on.

 

“Thank you for your support. Chose my next song and I’ll do it on hard. Watch me beat this machine and get the highest score!” The boy that stood before the machine was talking fast - almost as fast as Changbin - his eyes wide as he scanned the crowd. His cheeks were chubby as they stretched in a smile and Aiden was reminded of a squirrel. He was pretty cute. Someone from the crowd shouted a name that Aiden didn’t quite catch and the kid pointed towards that person.

 

“Excellent choice! Here we go!” He said and climbed back onto the platform. Putting in his coins, he selected the song and difficulty before getting into position. He was poised, ready and as the song started, Aiden’s eyes widened at how fast the arrows came raining down, the direction and different beats that they stood for. And this guy hit every single one of those arrows. Perfects we’re flying left and right and Aiden felt his heart swelling with such admiration. As the song came to an end, the guy hit each arrow perfectly, spinning around and bowing as his perfect score flashed across the screen. The crowd around him cheered happily, giving out praises before they slowly trickled off to do their own thing.

 

Aiden stood there still in awe, watching as the guy entered his name so he could have the top score. Han. Well, that was a unique name. Aiden bit his bottom lip as he stepped closer, grabbing onto the safety rail of the platform lightly. “You’re amazing!” His voice startled the other, and he watched him turn around with wide eyes and a hand over his heart.

 

“, you scared me.” He laughed with a slight bow. “Thanks, did you enjoy the show?”

 

“Yeah! I’ve been we seen someone move like you before.” Aiden praised him. “You got the best rhythm I’ve ever seen.”

 

“Thanks, man, maybe I can teach you.” He chuckled.

 

“I’d love that. My name is Aiden.”

 

“Jisung, but my friends call me Han.” Introductions finally out of the way, the two stared at each other briefly before Jisung hopped off the platform and leaned against the railing. “So, Aiden, how are your basketball skills?” He asked.

 

“Decent,” Aiden answered with a small shrug of his shoulders. “Why?” He asked.

 

“Think you can beat me?” Jisung asked.

 

“You’re on.” Aiden grinned and pushed off the railing and headed for the basketball game near the back of the arcade center.

 

Three hours later saw the boys sitting outside a fast-food restaurant, stuffing burgers into their mouths as they laughed about everything and nothing. Aiden found Jisung’s company wonderful. The older male was filled with jokes, insights, and a strange way of viewing life that always managed to bring a smile to his face. They clicked well and Aiden was excited to see how their friendship would bloom over the coming months.

 

“So why are you alone on this wonderful day?” Jisung asked as he swirled a fry in his ketchup and mustard mixture.

 

“I could ask you the same thing.” Aiden counter, eyes watching Jisung with curiosity.

 

“I asked you first though.” Smirking, Jisung lifted his eyes to stare at Aiden. “So?” He asked. Aiden looked away quickly, a sigh leaving him as he picked up a fry and ate it slowly, taking his time to savor the salty goodness on his tongue. He was procrastinating and he knew it.

 

“I needed to get out and enjoy life. So I decided to go to the arcade.” He said after a few moments of debating on how to tell the other.

 

“Ah, you don’t have any friends though? You seem really nice, I’m surprised you didn’t come with friends.” Jisung commented, watching the way Aiden flinched at the comment and raising a brow in curiosity. “Something happens?” He asked.

 

“It’s complicated,” Aiden said quickly as he grabbed a handful of fries and stuff them in his face. That’s all he wanted to say to his new friend. He didn’t want to be rude, but it wasn’t Jisung’s place to pry into his life like that and Aiden didn’t feel comfortable sharing that painful memory. He just wanted to forget about it.

 

“I’m sorry.” Aiden lifted his gaze to look at Jisung, a soft whine leaving as he saw the frown plastered on the other’s face. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

 

“It’s fine,” Aiden assured him, giving him a small smile. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. So, why were you here alone?” Aiden decided to shift the focus from him to Jisung.

 

“Me?” Jisung asked as he leaned back in his chair, arms rising above his head as he stretched. “Well, my family just moved back here from Malaysia. Starting my second year at a new high school in a week and I have absolutely no friends.” He said and laughed. “So I decided to come to the arcade and let off steam and just enjoy myself before hell begins.”

 

“Hell.” Aiden snickered and laughed, covering his mouth before he could spit food everywhere. “You don’t know the half of it!” He snorted, coughing as a piece of his burger went down the wrong pipe. Smacking his chest, he grabbed his drink and drank about half of or before coming back for air, coughing once more and finally clearing out his windpipe. “Holy Jesus.” He gasped.

 

“Dude, it wasn’t that funny, no need to die.” Jisung chuckled. “But are you alright?”

 

“I’m good.” Aiden croaked out, giving him a thumbs up.

 

“Thank god. I would hate to lose my first friend over a stupid comment.” Jisung huffed, a tiny smile on his lips.

 

“Don’t worry. It takes a lot more to get rid of me. Trust me, I’m like a parasite. I attach myself to you forever.” Aiden said and reached over the table, the tips of his fingers touching Jisung’s arm in a light grip, teasing him. Jisung laughed at that and shook his head.

 

“Just remember to pay rent.” He said.

 

“As long as you remember to feed me once and awhile.” Aiden winked at him and Jisung snorted with laughter.

 

“No problem.”