Peeping
Flower Boy Next Door
The wind blew the curtains open and the sunlight kissed every crevice of the tiny apartment. The kettle whistled as the water boiled. Youngjae pushed at the thin throw, stretching his aching limbs as he forced himself to get up.
Forcing himself to get up just to see him. He emptied his plastic bottle and refilled it with the new boiled water, tucking it under his winter jacket to keep him warm. He couldn’t afford to spend on heating when he was always broke with his meagre salary.
Youngjae jumped when his alarm went off and he rushed to the window, pulling his binoculars along. He stood there silently and waited for the man to appear.
“Three, two, one.”
Youngjae knew that it was pretty creepy that he’d memorized the handsome man’s schedule but he had to entertain himself somehow. He pulled up his yellow binoculars to his eyes and blinked his eyes repeatedly to get rid of the sleep in them.
Youngjae’s lips curved upwards into a small smile when the man came out of his room, giving his dog a kiss.Youngjae rushed to get his bread toasted like the handsome male was doing. He watched as the male pulled out an expensive bottle of cream cheese, grimacing at his own cheap jam.
“I’ll just have to make do.”
Youngjae followed the male’s actions throughout the morning. Youngjae even went to the extent of running on the spot while the handsome man jogged on his treadmill. Youngjae observed his neighbour as though he were a tv show.
His eyes never left the man (at least till he went to shower that is). Youngjae waved at the man as he left for work, feeling as though the handsome male actually knew of his existence. Their ‘intimate’ moment was ruined when Youngjae’s phone rang at an ungodly volume.
He sighed when he saw the i.d, ransacking his desk to find the post-it with a message for the woman on the other side.
“Good Morning Miss Kim, how am I needed?.....Yes, I’ve sent in the papers.......Yes, Mr Jung has approved of my work.....That is all......W-wait! Miss Kim, I was just wondering whether you could send in my p-paycheck, it’s been delayed for two weeks....You can only pay me a quarter of it?....N-no there’s no problem. I guess I can accept a quarter of it for now. Yes, thank you Miss Kim.”
Youngjae sighed and slid his phone across the desk. He knew his bank account was basically empty and he was barely scraping along to pay for his rent. Youngjae pulled his wallet from his bag and he winced at the single ten dollar note.
〆(・∀・＠)
Daehyun rummaged through his bag as he tried to find something useful. He knew he’d kept a bar of chocolate somewhere in his bag but it seemed to have disappeared when he needed it most. He threw his bag onto another seat as he pulled his rucksack up to him, his hands exploring the contents of the bag. He knew he’d hit jackpot when he pulled out his Nintendo and loaded in the only game he had.
“Sir, are you planning on cleaning this up?”
Daehyun looked up when he heard the voice of the stewardess talking to him. He flashed his infamous lady-killer smile and he had the woman in the palm of his hand.
“I’m sorry, love. I’ll clean this up right as I finish up something.”
Daehyun snorted when the stewardess stumbled away giddily after nodding a million times. He pushed all his things off his lap and squeezed through the tight aisles, searching for the crying child. He grinned when he saw the sobbing boy and bent down next to him.
“What’s wrong little fighter? Are you bored?”
Daehyun cooed when the boy nodded, wiping his tears the moment he realised who the man standing in front him was.
“I think I found something for you. I hope you like football because it’s the only game I have.” Daehyun shot a grin at the boy as his tiny hands reached up for the Nintendo in Daehyun’s hands. He chuckled as the boy showed off his new toy to his mother, muttering about how it came from ‘Jung Daehyun’.
“Thank you, sir. My son is a huge fan of yours.”
“It’s my pleasure, darling. Have a nice flight.”
〆(・∀・＠)
Youngjae flipped open his ancient laptop, gliding his hands over the half-spoilt trackpad. He clicked open the single file on the desktop, his eyes scanning the words as he went through the paragraph again. He let his fingers float above the keys on the board as his brain tried to formulate his thoughts into proper sentences.
That Man.
He speaks to someone who can’t hear him.
He looks at someone who can’t see him.
He gives his love to someone who can’t love him back.
Just to feel like he’s connected to that someone,
He gives himself away without getting anything in return.
That Man.
Youngjae saved the paragraph and shut his laptop. His eyes took a peek at the empty home opposite and he gazed at the sleeping dog on the floor with a sad smile.
“Maybe one day he’ll know me.”
〆(・∀・＠)
Daehyun grabbed his luggage from the boot and dragged it behind him. Rain drops crashed against his jacket and wet his hair as he took quick steps towards the condominium, in need of shelter.
His tongue darted out to swipe over his icy chapped lips as he pressed the elevator button. He tapped his foot on the floor impatiently as the lift took its time to reach the ground floor. He perked up at the ding from the elevator and practically ran in when the doors slid open.
His fingers tapped at the keyboard on his phone as the lift ascended. He picked up his luggage once more as the ding went off again. He dragged his feet across the carpeted floor in the hallway towards the fifth house on the right.
His smile grew bigger when he saw the figure standing in front of the door. He opened his arms and the tall man pulled him into a hug, his warmth engulfing Daehyun. Daehyun grinned when he saw the gummy smile he missed so much.
“Yongguk hyung! I’ve missed you!”
“I’ve missed you too squirt and I’m not the only one. Seyong’s been trying to call you but he said you won’t pick up.”
“Well tell him not to leave me alone in a country just because he misses his boyfriend if he wants me to pick up.”
“Dae, you know I don’t have feelings for him right? I swore to not ever fall for someone my squirt likes.”
“Well he definitely prefers you over me.”
“It’s just a phase, Dae. He’s still young and he’ll get over it. Also, what’s not to like about you?”
“Can we not talk about this anymore Guk? I’m starving.”
“Aren’t you always starving Dae?”
“An athlete has got to eat to do well.”
〆(・∀・＠)
Youngjae dragged his feet along the wet pavement as the rain padded down on his hoodie. The harsh cold bit at the tip of his fingers as he fumbled for his keys. He tried to be quick because he knew his eye candy was already home and according to the time, he was most likely preparing dinner (something Youngjae enjoyed watching because he had a thing for guys who could cook).
Youngjae dusted off the remaining rain droplets as he stepped out of the elevator, padding his way to his apartment. Youngjae struggled as he tried to push the key into the hole, his hands trembling for the cold.
“Youngjae?”
Youngjae yelped and dropped his key. He quickly dropped to the floor and grabbed his key, rushing to open the door. His cheeks burned as his next door neighbour tried to speak to him again.
“Are you okay Youngjae? You look cold. I’ve got some hot cocoa in my place if you’d like, you know, to kill the cold.”
“N-no thanks, Jaebum. My apartment’s warm enough.”
Youngjae didn’t wait for Jaebum to reply. He practically ran into his apartment when the door finally opened and slammed it shut.
“That was close.”
Youngjae evened out his breathing as he dropped his groceries onto his desk and made his way to the window. He looked out the window only to find the apartment empty despite the lights being on. Youngjae indulged in peeling and cutting an apple while he watched the apartment for any sign of life, only to be met with his neighbour’s dog waking up to adjust its position.
He popped a slice of the fruit into his mouth as he kept his eyes trained on the different rooms in the apartment, desperately searching for his eye-candy. He took a sharp intake of air when the front door finally opened and he saw his eye-candy dragging luggage into the living room.
Youngjae watched with a cocked eyebrow when a stranger stepped into view. The stranger had chestnut brown hair, full lips that looked like cushions and foxy eyes. Youngjae had to admit that the male was extremely good looking but wasn’t as good looking as his neighbour (he was just being biased, really).
Youngjae bit his lip in jealousy when he saw his eye-candy hug the stranger but he calmed down when he saw them pull away from each other. His eye-candy gave the stranger a tour of his apartment and he seemed to be showing the stranger to his room before rushing him back out to prepare his room for him.
Youngjae pulled his binoculars up to his eyes and watched his eye-candy bend over to adjust the bedsheets in the guest room, the muscles in his arms becoming more prominent as he stretched his arms to reach the other side. The man went to the wardrobe to get something and disappeared from Youngjae’s sight.
Youngjae pouted when he lost his eye-candy again. He searched the whole room with his binoculars but to no avail. His eyes travelled to the living room in search of the man. Youngjae found the stranger’s feet instead. He let his eyes travel the stranger’s body.
Youngjae rose the binoculars slowly and stopped at the stranger’s face when his binoculars lost focus. He turned the gear above the eyepiece, the focus going in and out.
Youngjae screamed when the binoculars finally focused. His gaze met a pair of eyes staring right at him. His binoculars fell with a large thud and he followed along with the them and fell to the floor.
He peeped over the window, back up to the apartment and Youngjae whimpered at the sight. His eyes met the fiery gaze of the stranger.
Youngjae watched him as he mouthed his words.
“I am watching you.”
word count: 1,830
A/N: Kind of a filler chapter. I’ve changed the story up a bit but it doesn’t stray too far from the original. The first episode was pretty much like this so I hope you guys understand if it’s still lack luster ^_^
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