Jinhwan has never even imagined going outside with Jiwon. Jiwon should stay in hiding if he doesn’t want to surrender himself to the authorities. Not to mention the “great amount of danger” Jiwon will put him in if Jiwon gets caught when he’s with him. It’s everything that Hanbin has warned him against when he asked the doctor about the possibility of the three of them going somewhere outside. But then again, it’s not like “this” is totally “outside”. They’re technically still in their building, Jinhwan muses to himself as he absentmindedly watches the rolling numbers displayed on top of the tube’s door.

Still, Jinhwan can’t seem to erase the look on Hanbin’s face as he fixed the too-big bucket hat on his too-small head. He inwardly berates himself for not recognizing it sooner, despite seeing that expression countless of times. He’s just assumed it was sadness, but now he understands it’s longing—it’s longing that colors the sad smile on Hanbin’s face. And he now understands this longing is for him.

Jinhwan mindlessly touches the fabric of his hat, and he only realizes they’ve arrived at their floor when he sees that Jiwon is already outside the tube, motioning for him to come out with a hand extended towards him. 

Jinhwan almost doesn’t want to leave, but he can’t just ignore Jiwon’s excitement when he announced to him that they’re going somewhere so the boy can show him something, especially not when he just recovered. So he steps out from the tube into an unassuming corridor with nothing but a metal door at the end.

It looks like they’re going there since there’s really nowhere else to go. 

Jiwon offers his hand for him to take, and Jinhwan notices just how easily he does it, if this huge smile on his face is any more indication, and it’s just so without the hesitation that he’s sure Hanbin will drizzle the gesture with.

Jiwon tugs on his hand as he leads them to the door, and Jinhwan feels the urge to look back at the tube like he’s left something behind.  And he has, in a way.

They’re at the door now, and Jiwon has one hand on knob. It only needs pulling and they’ll be there.

“You ready?” Jiwon asks, and Jinhwan looks at him and gives him a smile that’s barely there. Jiwon returns the smile threefold.

Jiwon turns the doorknob and pulls the door. The cool breeze blows in, and Jinhwan realizes he’s actually not ready when they walk through and the view spreads itself out in front of him. This is what they came here for. 

It’s nothing new, Jinhwan would like to tell himself; he’s seen this from below. It’s just that he hasn’t expected it to be this exquisite from 132 floors above the ground. In front of him, sky cities tower over their neon town against the backdrop of the navy blue skyline like calculated splatters of paint on a plain canvas. Jinhwan catches sight of hovering pods making rounds around the cities, some of them trailing from the city into the slow traffic on ground.

A few buildings away, a lone pod whooshes past, catching Jinhwan’s attention and directs his eyes on the countless lit buildings that stretch as far as he can see. He wonders what lies beyond all the lights. 

None of this can be seen from Jinhwan’s usually short commute to and fro the convenience store, not when his view is limited by towering buildings that he’s mostly left with just a hint of the sky.
Jinhwan finds that his breath is caught in his throat, and he’s unable to voice out a reply when Jiwon asks him, “What do you think?” 

The cities are visibly alive, and it’s pretty, but it’s also very unlike what Jinhwan had in mind. A sense of insignificance floods over him, and he wants to tell Jiwon it’s beautiful, but the view is such an attack on his senses that he just lets his silence answer for him. He looks over at Jiwon who’s looking right at him, and he wishes as a gush of wind blows past them that there are three of them there on the roof instead of two.

Jinhwan wraps his arms around himself, and he understands now why Hanbin made him choose the thickly-padded jacket. He also now understands Hanbin’s disapproving look when he insisted to forgo it.  Immediately, he hears Jiwon’s system whir louder and the boy laughs, his eyes turning into crescents. Jiwon then fetches a square device from his backpack and sets it down on the floor. It stretches and unfolds into a tent that reaches until Jinhwan’s waist. 

Jinhhwan looks at Jiwon, and the latter motions for him to get inside through the opening. Jiwon follows shortly after, crawling on all fours and sitting down cross-legged beside Jinhwan.  When he’s settled, Jiwon presses a button that makes the tent disappear so it looks like they’re still out on the roof except it’s toasty without the harsh wind and their bottoms are cushioned by some padding. Jinhwan imagines it’ll be nice to have Hanbin with him this moment and they’ll enjoy a warm cup of coffee even though it’s late at night and Hanbin will have to go to work the next day. He also imagines it’ll be cramped with three people inside, but he’ll bet the tent’s expandable. 

Jinhwan notices the backpack still on Jiwon’s back. “Aren’t you going to take that off?” He asks.

Jiwon looks over his back, taking note of the weight of the battery inside that’s plugg