Wednesday

They were sitting, they were sitting in the strawberry swing

And every moment was so precious

Strawberry Swing by Coldplay

“Well, I guess he’s not coming today after all,” Kyungsoo thinks to himself as he looks at the ‘closed’ sign. He was still wiping the already clean tables, trying to give himself an excuse to stay just a little bit longer.

Fifteen minutes after the store closes, he hears a knock. He immediately lets Jongin in, almost enthusiastically. They exchange greetings and Jongin just stays quiet after that. A few moments after that, he finally breaks the silence filling the room.

“I think you’re a really good person, you know, Kyungsoo?” Jongin leans against the chair.

“Yeah? Thanks, nobody has ever told me that,” Kyungsoo was just standing, leaning against the wall.

“Sure are. Why don’t you take a seat or something. Sorry for barging in on you again, I just—” Jongin’s voice was cracking, and he covers his mouth, looking down.

“No, it’s fine, really,” Kyungsoo goes near Jongin, a look of concern filling his large eyes.

“Really? Thanks a lot, Kyungsoo.” Jongin smiles, but Kyungsoo could tell that it is obviously forced. The quiet boy sitting beside him expresses all his thoughts in his eyes and actions. And all Kyungsoo could see was sadness.

Suddenly, Jongin begins to cry.

“I’m sorry, it’s just that..I’ve been having a really rough day,” Jongin cries quietly. “A rough week, actually.” Jongin does the thing he always does, which was staring into space. Kyungsoo had now known that whenever he does so, it means that Jongin’s thinking.

“Woah, sorry to hear that. You can let it out or something. I’m all ears, really.” Kyungsoo feels himself falling for the vulnerable guy, who acts much like a little kid.

“Well to start things off, I’m kind of gay, if you never knew. And I have...” Jongin gulps, having a hard time breathing. “No. Sorry. I had a boyfriend, and he dumped me last Monday, but then I asked for a second chance. I told him I still loved him and all that , and he called me again yesterday, which was the reason I left. He told me that we should meet up.” Jongin pauses for a moment. “--And, it was crazy you know? A two-year relationship isn’t some kind of thing you can cook up overnight. But yesterday, he said it to me straight. He told me some hurtful things, and all I could do was nod and leave. My life has been like, a total mess. I’m really sorry. I just needed someone to talk to about this. You can kick me out now, I mean yeah, kicking me out--that would be totally fine.”

“That’s quite…a lot,” Kyungsoo inhales. And the worst part of it is the fact that I can’t do anything about that, he thinks to himself with much dismay. “But I think you shouldn’t involve yourself with that guy anymore, and I know that’s kind of hard to do, but you’ll get through it someday.”

“Have you ever had this sort of thing happen to you? A bad break-up, I mean.”

“Well, no. Seeing as though I’ve never actually been in an actual, real relationship,” Kyungsoo averts his eyes and feels embarrassed.

“R-really? How old are you? And that’s a good thing, if you ask me. Save yourself up for someone special, y’know?” Jongin awkwardly nods at his own statement.

“Yeah. I’m 19, I work part-time here.”

“Wow. I’m 18,” Jongin smiles. “Hey, I think I feel better now. Like, a lot better. I don’t really have much friends I can talk to this about, so you helped a lot.”

Kyungsoo couldn’t help but be amazed by the boy. He hardly knew him, but Jongin seemed like he was extraordinary--the way he talks, the way he keeps silent, the way he hesitates, and the way honesty flows out of his mouth so smoothly. “Hey, if you haven’t eaten yet, we can go grab dinner somewhere. To take your mind off of things.”

“You’d do that for me? Wow…Sure, thanks by the way,” Jongin replies.

-----------------------------

“What are you looking at?” Kyungsoo playfully says to Jongin, who has been staring at Kyungsoo for quite a while now.

“Nothing,” Jongin smirks. “Say, what do you like to do?” Jongin asks, eating his bulgogi.

“I’m actually relatively new to this place here. I wanted to start a new life, since all I did back then was party, get drunk, and pass out.” Kyungsoo replies, taking a bite out of his donkatsu.

“Now that’s something,” Jongin chuckles. “You’re doing a pretty good job with your, um, rehabilitation.” They both laugh at Jongin’s remark. “What made you want to change, though?”

As Kyungsoo swallows, his mind goes somewhere else, trying to conjure up a reasonable explanation for Jongin. But seeing how honest the other boy was, he figures he can be honest with him too, even if it meant giving Jongin a bad idea of who he was. “Well…” Kyungsoo taps his finger on his glass. “I was a bad kid, and I was with the wrong people--wait no, scratch that. I made bad decisions. And I got caught up in a drug thing during a party I attended once. The cops came, and they told my parents, and the school kind of scolded our whole year level since those were the people who came to the party, and it was all too overwhelming for me. Then I saw how depressing my life was. So, when I graduated High School, I decided to move here. It’s been going well, though working part-time jobs during a supposed break isn’t that much of a paradise. But hey, you gotta start somewhere.”

“Amazing,” Jongin states, looking at Kyungsoo as if he had just saved thousands of people from a fire or something. “I can’t believe I met someone like you,” Jongin continues. Kyungsoo feels his face get warm and he's sure he's blushing right now, even though he is trying his best not to.

“Enough of that,” Kyungsoo bashfully smiles. “What’s your story then? I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before last Monday.”

“Well, my ex and I used to take trains and stop at places we’ve never been to before. Getting lost and stuff. So that was what I did last Monday, but this time I did it alone. It was my first time doing it alone. But I’m glad I did, because I found such a nice place. So last Monday I was walking around here, getting lost as some people would put it. Checking out the shopping districts, market places--I even found a quiet hill facing a vast forest around here, I think. And late at night, that was when he dumped me. And I just felt sad, dragging my feet around, until I saw the café.” Jongin gulps down water, his throat dry from talking, something he isn’t used to yet.

“Wait…” Kyungsoo stops to think for a bit. “You don’t live around here? Why do you keep coming back?” Kyungsoo has no idea why Jongin faithfully comes to the shop every night.

“You’re good company. And I’m willing to travel over a couple of cities for you.”

Kyungsoo knows that Jongin means that in a friendly kind of way. But he couldn’t help wishing it meant something more; he couldn’t help thinking that maybe he had a chance of being with this guy. It was all clear to him now, although falling in love with a stranger within three days has never crossed his mind until now. Kyungsoo was far, so far from even understanding Jongin’s entity. He knew that Jongin wasn’t over his ex-boyfriend yet, because during those times when Jongin would share his experiences with his past lover, Kyungsoo could see the happiness in Jongin’s face as he reminisced, and the sadness that follows at the end of his stories.