"What you reading?"

-

Cafe Chokland flooded with business officials and RISD students this time of year - Just for a sandwich and scone, Brown students wouldn't bother to make the four block treck all the way down to Westminster Street - Except for Jongin.

Even though it was a clustered, small, overly busy, corner cafe, Jongin seemed to like the atmosphere it encompassed. Maybe what kept him attached was its stationing across from Haines Memorial State Park.  Maybe it was Theresa, the woman who took orders and always had a Taozi Tea and a smile ready for him when he entered on Wednesdays. It could have been the forced cheap smile he loved to give in response to the infinitely unanswered question, "How's the studying going sweetie pie?" before he was sent to wait for his food like everyone else. He got no special treatment. So maybe the real reason was because all of the workers at Cafe Chokland were like Theresa - sweet, homey, caring, cheerful all the time, seeming like they gave a . Actually, it would have been comforting - if he could feel comfort.

-

"A book." Jongin replied to the korean speaker behind him as he sat at the window counter.

"A book about what?" They egged on, taking no time for Jongin to take a breath. 

Why do people have to be so ing curious all the t- Jongins thoughts were interrupted when the speaker pulled out the stool next to him, the posts screeching harshly against the linoleum.

Raising his eyes to look at the imposer of his personal privacy, he didn't react to those eyes he thought of at least 86399 seconds a day. Instead, he imagined the taste of nostalgia building up at the back of his throat from the screeching chair posts... He used to hate that sound; now he just pretended he remembered the nauseating vibration against his ear drums.

"Life." He finally responded, eyes narrowing at the intruder before widening. Bambi eyes... He realized who it was instantly, no longer distracted by the false pretenses of his past.

Kyungsoo looked no different from how he did the last they'd met a few weeks ago. His hair was neatly groomed, though his clothes were messily stained. He wore an identical outfit from the one he wore that day, a polo and a pair of skinny bermudas  His outfits were nice, as in the way they it his fragile figure - though it was unfortunate that they would never rid the acrylic plastic that would forever hang from their fibers. Actually, they were much like those wide eyes, Bambi eyes, forever wide that light clinging to its cells.

"That's impossible." Kyungsoo said quite bluntly. Jongin's eyes scanned over Kyungsoo's pale skin and thin limbs, the pure white ribbon that hung from his bony wrist. As his eyes wondered the exterior and interior of him as a whole, Kyungsoo's cat, Kabuki, stared up at Jongin with expecting eyes. He leaned back on his white hind legs and then surged forward, up onto the counter, heading towards Jongin's eternally uneaten Shanghai Wrap. Not even flinching, Jongins eyes stayed on Kyungsoo as Kyungsoo spoke, blanking out on his words accidentally, as Kabuki helped himself greedily. Finally snapping out of his small trance, he focused back into reality, back into Kyungsoo's apparent banter though he wasn't talking at all. Raising his eyes up to Kyungsoo's Bambi ones, he furrowed his shapely brows at Kyungsoo's curious gaze.

Leaning back Jongin murmured "Well I don't think it is.." his eyes watching Kabuki. Kyungsoo shrugged, pursing his lips for a moment before taking Jongin's plate with his wrap and his chips, took his tea and lifted his cat under one arm.

"Well..." He started. "All to their own," nodding before he stepped down from the stool and smiled in a way that could have jump started Jongin's heart. From that very second, he couldnt care less that Kyungsoo took his food, his drink, gave it to his cat and walked away. He couldnt care less that he had different views than his own or that he would have probably refuted if Jongin brought them up. All he cared was that Kyungsoo picked up on him- How'd he know...?