Three Hours

Every night would be silent and full of peace, but not this time. Water trickled down the roof and windowsills, the thin branches of trees tapping lightly on the windows as the wind brushes against them.

Screaming could be heard from the apartment of Jongin across the hall, and the unit owner’s voice isn’t the only one present.

“What the were you even doing with Sehun?!” Jongin was furiously yelling, hands clenching in fists and face burning with anger.

“I told you, it was nothing!” The other screamed defensively with a hint of nervousness.

It was Luhan. He has been the partner of Jongin for barely 5 months, and the couple has done nothing together but fight over petty or serious things. It was a wonder, really, what kept them together.

“Nothing?! How could it be ‘nothing’?! You practically threw yourself over Sehun! I saw it with my own eyes, Luhan!” Jongin spat with disgust.

“Why the does it even matter to you?!” The pretty doe-eyed male was getting frantic and teary-eyed, and he didn’t hesitate to continue, “Can’t you see it, Jongin? We’re falling apart! Like we have from the very sta---“

“No don’t you even dare!” Jongin cut him off and stomped his way towards Luhan.

He wasn’t ready to have this conversation and he wasn’t ready to break it off if that was what Luhan was thinking. It was difficult to go through being lonely again. Even if they always fight, both males wouldn’t deny the fact that they felt an attachment to one another, but maybe it just wasn’t good enough.

Jongin aggressively grabs Luhan by the collar and crashes their lips together, but the latter suddenly pushes him away with an expression of dismay.

“Jongin! I can’t…do this.” Both of them look down as Luhan continues, “There’s no spark anymore. I don’t feel anything between us, not like the time we met back in 3^rd year and saw each other for the first time… It’s just not the same. I’m sorry.”

Jongin doesn’t speak a word and keeps his head down, looking at the floor. He scoffs bitterly and leaves his own apartment in a hurry, grabbing his jacket off the coat hanger and leaving a worried Luhan alone.

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It was a 3-hour drive to Kyungsoo’s place--- maybe even longer since the rain was pouring heavily and affecting the roads, causing traffic. Jongin didn’t mind though, all he wanted was to go there and stay for a while to ignore his pathetic excuse of a ‘boyfriend’ (or perhaps, an ex-boyfriend).

The windshield was getting blurry with all the water, the wipers struggling to get them off. It was difficult to see through the glass, but he didn’t care, his mind was set to reaching his destination.

By the time he pulls over to the front of Kyungsoo’s house, the rain was pouring heavier than before. Jongin pulls his hood up his head and exits his car, making a quick run for it to the front porch of the house before ringing the doorbell without hesitation. He eyes the place quickly and smiles to himself, memories coming back to him and sending a wave of nostalgic feelings.

At the porch in ordinary Sundays, Jongin used to sit on a rocking chair beside Kyungsoo sitting on his own, and they would joke together on how much they looked like an old married couple.

They honestly both wanted it, to grow old together, side by side.

He remembers how they promised that they’ll love each other forever.

Jongin snaps back into reality when he feels the front door opening lightly, a woman no older than 50 taking a peek at the small space before exclaiming a “Jongin!” and pulling the door wide enough, ushering him to come inside.

“Hey, aunty. How have you been?” Jongin asks casually with a small smile, taking his shoes off and putting them down by the door.

“I’m fine, Jongin. Thank you for asking--- oh! Your jacket is wet, I’ll dry it for you, dear” Kyungsoo’s mother replies while helping Jongin take the piece of clothing off. She holds the jacket and looks at him, tilting her head and eyeing him carefully, “What brings you here, anyway?”

“I’m here to visit Kyungsoo-hyung. I want to tell him some things.” Jongin shyly says, rubbing his neck sheepishly.

The woman’s gaze softens and she smiles gently, lowering her head down for a while before looking up at him with a brighter smile. “Of course. You know where to find him”, and heads off to the laundry room.

Jongin makes his way up to the stairs and turns to the right, spotting a familiar door he knows as Kyungsoo’s room. He doesn’t even bother knocking, just opens the door and comes inside without so much a word before closing the door behind him.

His eyes scan the room for a while and he lets out a small smile, relieved that the room never changed how it looks like until now.

He continues to look around until he spots a small figure and the sight instantly makes him break into a bigger smile, quickly rushing to hug it.

“Kyungsoo-hyung!” Jongin pulls the figure closer to his chest, the world suddenly feeling smaller and they’re the only thing that’s important right now.

‘Woah there! It’s good to see you, too.”

Jongin sits on the bed and refuses to let go, his back resting on the headrest and Kyungsoo on his lap.

“, you have no idea how much I want to talk to you right now… I missed you so much, hyung. I miss you”, he smiles softly and caresses the sides of the fragile figure.

“I missed you too… You haven’t been visiting a lot recently, but do go on, I’m listening.”

“Hyung… You remember Luhan, right? I told you before that he’s my boyfriend now, and well… we fought today…”, he sighs loudly, obvious that he’s getting tired of fighting.

“What?! That’s horrible! What did you fight about?”

“I caught him cheating on me, hyung… Cheating! With that guy we used to be in class with back in 2^nd year… Sehun, Oh Sehun!” Jongin scrunches his nose disapprovingly and groans, throwing his head back to the headrest.

“Why would he even cheat on you? You’re--- you’re perfect…”

“I don’t even know why he would do that!” he exclaims angrily before softening his gaze to Kyungsoo “Aren’t I enough…?” his eyes dimming darkly with sadness.

“Jongin… you’re more than enough…”

“I didn’t break up with him yet, though…” he bites his lip and furrows his eyebrows as if he made a bad decision of not breaking things off with Luhan earlier. Maybe he should, maybe he shouldn’t.

He hesitates to speak, but he does anyway, “I feel like he never even loved me in the first place, and it makes me realize that I don’t love him too.”

The room was silent, save for the occasional thunder outside and pouring of heavy rain.

Jongin smiles gently at the figure and he mentions how he remembers Kyungsoo being afraid of lightning and thunder.

“Stop reminding me! Besides, I’m not scared of anything anymore…”

They talk for hours, with Kyungsoo listening to Jongin intently and the latter trying to listen back (if it wasn’t for the damn sounds outside, he swore he would hear Kyungsoo easier). After a while, Jongin is lying on the bed facing the side, with his arms around Kyungsoo pressing against his chest.

“You know, hyung, I really do miss you. More than anything, actually. I want to be with you twenty-four/seven, I want to do everything with you, I want to spend the rest of my days with you.” Jongin sighs softly and he feels tears prickling the corner of his eyes.

“We both know that that will never happen…”

He stops thinking for a while and Jongin takes a deep breath.

“Kyungsoo… I love you. I love you so much, and I wish you know that…” The pillow underneath his head is finally damp with tears.

“I love you too…”

Jongin falls asleep to the sounds of the pouring rain, the howling of the wind, the thin branches of trees tapping lightly on the windows, and faint, loving whispers. A small smile formed in his lips as he sleeps through the night in Kyungsoo’s room.

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Sunlight passes through the small gaps between the curtains of the windows, hitting the sleeping man’s eyes exactly as if trying to wake him up. It does the job precisely, succeeding in making the man scrunch his nose before fluttering his eyes open, only to squint at the trespassing sunlight.

Jongin widens his eyes when he realizes that Kyungsoo is not in his hold anymore, abruptly sitting up in panic to scan the room quickly. He relaxes when he spots him sitting atop the tidied, sturdy desk, his own jacket from last night folded neatly beside Kyungsoo.

The man doesn’t bother fixing his hair as he gets off the bed to casually walk towards the small figure, scooping him up in his arms and hugging Kyungsoo tightly again.

“Hyung… I’m sorry, but I have to go home now. I’m sorry for barging in, though---“ Jongin chuckles before continuing, “But I promise, I’ll visit you more often! I love you, hyung!”

His hug loosens a bit and his eyes start to sting again.

“I’ll love you forever, we promised didn’t we?”

Jongin sets Kyungsoo’s urn back down on the desk and his thumbs run through the letters engraved:

Do Kyungsoo

(January 12, 1993 – January 13, 2014)

“We promise.”

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A/N: Wooh! I actually got teary-eyed while I was writing the ending! *laughs* But anyway, this was the post that I saw that inspired me to write this oneshot.