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It was a nice summer day at the lakeside picnic area.
Probably saying that the day was nice only came from him being a bit too nostalgic over the memories.
It was in the least bit nice. Hot, humid, clammy. Too many people congregating around a smoking barbecue and swans circling any neglected piece of sausage like vultures would to dead animal carcass.
Jisung has always have a weird fear towards birds, caused by that one time a seagull chased after him because he was holding a box of freshly made chips.
And although he was a ‘big seven years old’ , or at least that was what his mom would say to him everytime he ran back to the house crying because a sparrow landed too close to him, he would still cry when a sparrow landed too close to him.
Jisung thought by distancing himself away from the picnic he would be getting a bit of peace. Not only from the birds, but also from the noises and screams of other kids that his parents’ friend brought along.
It was too hot of a day to hang around kids who wouldn’t stop pestering him to play tag with them.
But sitting by himself at the nearby bench was proving to be a bit boring for his six years old brain. Jisung was starting to wish that he brought one of his comic books with him when he saw Jaemin half running, half skipping, and half tripping over a dip on the grass towards his place. “Your mom opened the ice cream box,” he said while giving an unopened pack of chocolate ice cream lolly to Jisung, “I wanted to take two for us but I know it’ll melt. So eat it quickly! The chocolate ones always run out the fastest.”
Jisung sometimes wondered when it first started, what caused Jaemin to always somehow finding his way to stick next to him during family functions. Or maybe it was because he was the one who sticked with Jaemin first? And then every single time after, it was done out of the sense of familiarity over their first meeting at the stuffy and incredibly boring Chinese buffet place.
Not that he was complaining or anything. Striking a friendship with someone two years older than him, who also happened to have the same taste in comic books (and who always seem to wear the same kind of printed shirts that Jisung’s older brother wears that he oh so wanted), always made Jisung feel slightly cooler than the rest of the kids.
But just when they were starting to chat about whatever show they watched earlier this morning, a blurry vision of a white blob and a long stick topped with something yellow entered Jisung periphery and he panicked.
Okay, maybe it didn’t happen that quickly. Maybe Jisung was able to contain his emotion for the first five seconds, not wanting to look un-cool in front of Jaemin. But when the swan was proven to really be targeting the food items held in their hands, and not just one strolling aimlessly doing whatever it is that swans do, Jisung completely lost his cool and tried to scramble away as quickly as he could.
“Get it away, get it away! I don’t wanna I don’t wanna Idon’twannaidontwannanononononono,-” in the middle of his almost tearful ramble, Jisung somehow managed to made his way around Jaemin and squeezed himself between the older boy and the corner of the bench, putting Jaemin between himself and the winged beast.
The swan didn’t stop though, it didn’t seem to be afraid of the sudden movement and the loud laughter of Jaemin mixing with Jisung’s scared sobbings.
“It’s just a swan! Are you seriously afraid of swans?”
Not thinking much about what he thought was nothing but Jisung’s childish antics, Jaemin encouraged the animal to come closer, offering his ice cream to it, which only caused Jisung to whine even louder.
“They bite! They biteeee! ”
By that point Jisung was actively punching and kicking Jaemin on his back, his instinct telling him to go and sacrifice his friend as a shield so that the demonic hellspawn couldn’t get to him (but even in that moment filled with pure instinct, Jisung was still able to have this one clear thought to not let any of his ice cream drippings fall onto Jaemin’s t-shirt).
And true enough, Jaemin only got to understand where Jisung’s fear was coming from when the huge bird snatched his lolly from his hand. The shock from the strong snap and the glimpse he took of the rows of gnarly teeth was enough to cause Jaemin to let out a high pitched scream. And that led to Jisung also letting out a high pitched scream because he thought the swan had bitten one of Jaemin’s fingers clean.
In between all the chaos, Jisung didn’t realise he dropped his ice cream to the ground. He also didn’t realise that Jaemin had managed to shoo the creature away from them. He didn’t realise Jaemin also gingerly picked up the fallen lollies from the ground and tossing it to the nearby bin, afraid that the presence of sweets will only bring even more attention of the truthfully terrifying animals that swans are.
Jisung didn’t realise all that because his vision was blocked by his open palms. However often his mother told him that he was a boy all grown up, he had no desire to stare death right on its face, thankyou very much.
It wasn’t until Jaemin gave his shoulders some taps that Jisung knew his friend still has all ten fingers with him. And not until Jaemin pulled his hands away from his face that he realised the extent of Jaemin’s deeds.
“It’s gone, it’s gone,” Jaemin kept patting Jisung’s shoulder, the littlest bit of giggles made its way to his pitiful observation as Jisung frantically tried to wipe the tears collecting at the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand, “the swan is gone.”
Jisung tried not to pout in the face of these barrage of hardships, because his mother told him only babies pout. And he didn’t want to look like a baby in front of Jaemin. But Jisung was already in a sort of teary mess by then and he couldn’t care less. Besides, he wanted Jaemin to feel bad, so he said his protest with a really pronounced pout on his lips, “you waste our ice creams.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
“You know I hate birds and you still teased me.”
“I don’t know you’ll be so afraid of them.”
“You know I am,” he then crossed his arm, and huffed out a loud puff of disappointment. Finding the opportunity of throwing some cranky fit, Jisung was trying to push his luck with Jaemin. Maybe he’ll feel guilty enough to walk back to the picnic area and get replacements for their thrown ice cream.
What he got for his attempt at guilt tripping Jaemin was not ice cream. It wasn’t even another try at apologising. Or a dismissive laughter accompanied by a shove to the shoulder.
What Jisung got was not ice cream but it was something similar. Something sweet. He got Jaemin’s cool lips pressing against his. It happened so quick that if it wasn’t for the faint taste of chocolate when Jisung instinctively licked the slightly ticklish sensation off with his tongue, he wouldn’t have actually believed it.
“My dad… does that to my mom everytime she’s mad.” Never before has Jisung saw Jaemin being flustered. No, wait. He wasn’t flustered, he was flushed . Two cheeks blooming and that grin in between. There was nothing, not in his demeanor that screamed of a heartthrob in the making, that said anything about being unsettled.
Jisung, Jisung on the other hand, was both flushed and flustered.
“I see that it’s working.”
Jisung tried to deny the smile on his lips with a shake of his head. Also, he was suddenly reminded of an old horror tale that his father would tell him on days when he misbehaved.
Of how babies were made.
With kisses and storks. Storks. Those monstrous beasts with long sticks for legs and long, sharp beaks. For a while it made his list of feared things grow as he added babies to it, feeling absolutely sure that they would still have their stork guardians lurking nearby.
But weirdly, at that moment in a balmy summer afternoon, even after he has just survived an attempted attack by a rogue swan, Jisung felt the urge to once again pout his lips. Feign a fake sense of irritation. Throw a major tantrum, probably.
‘It won’t be a problem,’ he thought. Dad told him that only a true love’s kiss will call the storks. And a true love’s kiss tastes like lemons, he said.
Jaemin’s kiss tasted like chocolate ice cream lollies.
So then Jisung pouted, and huffed, and harrumphed out an annoying, “I don’t feel any different.” Tempting fate and giving the least bit of care to the risk of having a stork knock on his window tonight.
Kiss me again.