CHAPTER 2

Its night, Jinwoo's first gig at the cafe already ended. He watches as Seunghoon walks away after closing the cafe with a skip on to his walk, leaving Jinwoo alone on the pavement just like the first time he set foot on the building. He can’t help but feel bad for making Seungyoon work extra hours when it was obviously he wanted to spend time with Taehyun, but he was assured that he didn’t mind the extra money. Maybe Jinwoo should consider working on weekend afternoons as well, but he doubts his throat could take it. He’s still only just a beginner, and this is the first time he sings in front of so many people for so long. Thankfully, he didn’t get as nervous as he’d thought he’d be, mostly because most people were focusing on their own lives and food rather than listening to him, despite the few scattered claps after every song. If not for nervousness, the only thing keeping Jinwoo from making this into a full time job is his throat. He’s not used to singing for so long.

Jimwoo smiles as he counts the dollars in his hand, its enough to buy him an actual meal. He wonders if he should save up until he can buy some sort of cooler to keep meat and bread, or if he should invest on a blanket that will keep him warmer than the one he currently has. Jinwoo thinks about how he’ll handle his first night alone, and he doesn’t notice Minho as the man sits beside him.

“Do you live far from here? I can give you a ride, if you want.” He says. Jinwoo ahs in surprise.

Jinwoo clears his throat. “I can walk there by myself, its all right. I just need to go to the train station.” He says softly. “...W-Where is the train station?”

Minho gives him a questioning look, but he doesn’t comment on it. “Come on, I’ll take you. Have you ever rode a motorcycle before?” He asks, and Jinwoo shakes his head. While he doesn’t mind Minho taking him, the idea of riding such a dangerous looking thing doesn’t appeal to him. On the other hand, Jinwoo doesn’t have the energy or the voice to make another excuse. With Minho’s help he puts on the spare helmet and grabs onto the man’s waist.

Jinwoo doesn’t even have time to register how warm Minho’s body is because right now, all he can focus on is the breeze against his face as they make their way through the city. As a child, he was used to taking a bicycle or a boat everywhere and he managed to get really good at using both of them, but he learned never to use something that had a motor like this before, its different. And a lot faster. He yelps in surprise every time they take a bump on the rode, and he can feel Minho laughing against him because of it. There’s a feeling, one he can’t easily describe in his gut and it can’t be anything other than a... crush. Jinwoo hopes he can make him laugh more often.

They arrive at the station only a few minutes later. “See? If you walked from the cafe to here you would’ve taken at the very least twenty minutes. That wasn’t so bad, right?”

Jinwoo laughs, but he can’t deny he’s still shaken. He grabs his backpack and bows. “No, it wasn’t. Thank you so much.”

“Any time, I can take you tomorrow too if you want. I live in this direction anyway.” Minho says, and Jinwoo thanks him once more, and it takes him a while to register the fact that he has to turn away. He bows again awkwardly, trying to walk far enough for Minho to not notice that he doesn’t really have anywhere to go.

He sits on the corner of a wall, where there’s a nearby light and a water fountain. This is enough, its not that dirty either and there are a few other people in his same situation lying fast asleep nearby him. There’s a bathroom that he can go to nearby, and a vending machine that sells one of his favorite snacks. He has no idea why he’s crying when he’s perfectly fine.

‘You’re better off than a lot of the other people here, at least you have a job.’ Jinwoo tells himself as the tears continue. He has to press a hand to his mouth to stop himself from waking anyone else from sobbing too loudly, it's completely embarrassing. Jinwoo hides his face in his jacket and takes a deep breath, trying to calm down. It reminds him of the day he ran away, where this happened as he rode his bus to the city. It was much worse.

His head shoots up at the feeling of someone watching him, and for once its not just him being paranoid. Jinwoo calls out Minho’s name, but he can already hear the motorcycle driving away.

*

When the next gig starts, Seunghoon gives him a cup of tea with honey and lemon for his throat. This is the fourth day its on the house, no matter how much Jinwoo insisted that he paid. As much as he hated being such a bother, at least now his throat felt good enough to sing all night once again. Seungyoon was out that day, he had promised Taehyun they were going to do something that Jinwoo didn’t remember, probably dinner and a movie. This time he was left to sing with instrumentals on his phone to back him up, and now he had no choice but to ask Minho to take him to the train station once more.

They didn’t talk or even speak to each other that day, not even when Jinwoo had breaks between songs. Again. If he was being honest, Jinwoo wouldn’t speak to himself if he was in Minho’s position. He knew he was homeless now, people like him weren’t looked up to. Minho could think he was an addict or an unwanted child. Either way, Jinwoo can’t think about it now. He’ll just walk home by himself tonight and try to save up enough money for a bicycle instead of being such a bother all the time.

He tries not to notice Minho as he sits down next to him, but the man has a gift that makes everyone notice him easily, an amazing presence. He lets himself glance and even if it only lasts a second he can't help but see how gorgeous Minho looks in the moonlight. Jinwoo was taught to enjoy pale skin, but as his gaze wanders over Minho's neck, he catches himself his lips. Minho turns his head to face him and Jinwoo wonders if he thinks the same about him. Does Minho look at him and think that, for some unfathomable reason, he's in love with a someone, another man, that he just met a few days ago?

That would be ridiculous.

"Do you still need a ride?" He asks, still looking at him. His voice is soft, not mocking as Jinwoo thought it would be.

Jinwoo nods, not really knowing what to say. Maybe Minho doesn't know either, but he's thankful for his lack of questions. He gets up on the motorcycle again without a second though, holding tightly on to the other man's waist. This time, Minho waits until he's settled in, and Jinwoo takes his time to appreciate the warmth emiting from Minho's body.

Jinwoo closes his eyes, he supposes he should be memorizing the way there, but he wants to enjoy this opportunity while it lasts. He can't expect Minho to take him to the station every night and he did think about getting a bicycle. As the steady lull of tire against pavement almost drives him to sleep, but as they abruptly stop to let a car pass, Jinwoo realizes that doesn't look like the way he usually takes to go to the train station.

"I'm taking you to my place, you can sleep there without having to worry about, y'know... being murdered while you sleep." Minho says, noticing Jinwoo abruptly releasing his grip on his waist. Seeing as he can't tell Minho to stop, let alone give up an opportunity like this, he holds on to Minho's waist again. He should be worried, he should be a considerate person and tell Minho that he doesn't want to impose on his life, that he doesn't want to be a bother. Then he thinks about what the fact that he's going to Minho's house and actually sleeping there. Instead of thinking of the consequences, whatever they may be, Jinwoo lets himself rest his head against the other man's back.

*

The apartment is small, but Minho manages to make it seem comfortable. Theres a shelf filled with figures of superheroes and anime characters, the coffee table is covered with unfinished drawings along with empty take away boxes. "Sorry if I haven't been able to clean up I usually just save it 'till the end of the week- I'll just..." Minho starts to grab all the trash he can and throws it to a bag in the kitchen, ashamed about the mess.

Jinwoo takes off his shoes and places his jacket a lot with Minho's. "Its fine. Even if it wasn't, I shouldn't complain, I mean, you're letting me stay here." Jinwoo smiles at the portraits of a younger Minho on a shelf. He stares at one where Minho and another girl are eating together, smiling at the camera, and he can't help but notice that there are other pictures where she's in as well. She's... pretty.

"That's my sister." Minho says behind him, still picking random unwanted drawings to throw away. Haven't seen her in a while." He mumbles.

Jinwoo lets out a sigh of relief, not a girlfriend then.

Minho picks up some pillows from the floor. "You can sleep in the sofa, its pretty confy, way better than the floor."

"Its perfect, thank you."

Minho clears his throat. "You can also sleep with me, if you want. It gets cold." Jinwoo doesn't know if he's being sarcastic or not, he doesn't answer to not make a fool of himself.  He doesn't notice Minho's smile turn into a disappointed, thin line.

He tries out the sofa and sinks into it instantly. There's a sudden realization that this is the first comfortable place he's sat on in two weeks. The bus that he took to the city had horrible chairs, then came the pavement and floors he's slept on for the past days, not to mention the stool he has to sit in for hours to sing at the cafe is hard wood and nothing else. But here, in Minho's apartment, he feels at peace. Jinwoo closes his eyes and moves his body until he's resting on the sofa, already getting ready to sleep, except the pillow feels a harder than the rest of the sofa.

"Jinwoo, you ok?" Minho laughs above him. Its not a pillow.

Jinwoo raises his head from Minho's thigh and blushes. "Ah, sorry!" Minho only smiles, and for a moment Jinwoo wonders if he's actually letting him rest his head against his thigh.

He lies down down on the sofa again, this time with his head is on a actual pillow and next to Minho's thigh. He hears the quiet noise of the television, some drama that Jinwoo already watched. He incredibly tired, he's already drifted off when Minho throws a blanket over him. Minho lets himself Jinwoo's hair only when he's sure he's is fast asleep. He looks like an angel, innocent and calm, Minho wonders if he slept like this in the floor of the train station. He doesn’t want to wake up Jinwoo to ask him if he wants to move to his bed, the man has been through too much, the last thing he needs is for someone to be in love with him.

"He's beautiful," Minho thinks, turning off the light and forcing himself to go back to his room. He dreams of soft spoken words and pale skin against his own. The clock reads 3 am when he wakes up because of it. Minho buries his face in his hands, realizing that he’s completely gone for the man who sleeps in the room next to him.