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Jisung looked down at his hands, his heart swelling with pride as he stared at the boarding pass he was holding. Finally, he thought. He was finally going on that trip to Beijing that he had always dreamed of. Jisung was only 17 but he had been saving up all the money he’s gotten as gifts and however much he had earned working part-time as a cashier at the convenience store near his house. All his hard work had finally paid off because he was now here, at the airport, awaiting to board his flight to Beijing. After what seems like forever, he finally snaps out of his reverie, heading towards security.
Security check was pretty much a blur to Jisung, his mind still in awe of the idea that he’s actually going to Beijing. After finding his departure gate, he sets off to find something to eat. All this excitement had caused him to forget to have a decent meal and now his tummy is angrily reminding him of that fact. What should I eat? I guess I could get some kimbap from the convenience store.. or maybe a burger? Some fries would be nice too.. Jisung looked around as he continued to contemplate what to eat.
Once again lost in his own thoughts, he collides with someone smaller than him, the shock causing him to drop his phone. He immediately crouched down, frantically picking his phone up and inspecting it for any damage. “I’m really sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” He looked up, finally noticing the boy that bumped into him. He’s really cute, Jisung thought— “thanks”—or well at least he did. He looked back at the other, noticing the blush on his face, beautifully contrasting his lilac locks. Jisung thinks he’s probably in a similar state right now, having just made a fool of himself in front of said cute boy. Realizing he’s still crouching, he finally stands up straight, his action made him realize how he kind of towered over the other. Cute boy™ cleared his throat, “Again, I’m really sorry,” he says, pausing for a second before finally walking away. Jisung stares at Cute Boy™’s retreating figure, beating himself up internally for not asking for his name or even responding at all. He sighs, checking his phone for the time, cursing internally as he realizes he doesn’t have much time.
Sweaty and panting, Jisung thankfully makes it back to the gate just in time for boarding. Once he gets to his seat, he immediately turns to face the window, earphones plugged into his ears. He chose this seat in hopes of avoiding any awkward small talk or interaction at all with the person who will be sitting next to him for the next two and a half hours. “Hey! It’s you!” Jisung looks up, startled by the loud statement. He’s shocked to find Cute Boy™ smiling down at him as he worms his way into the middle seat next to Jisung. “My name’s Chenle, by the way,” Cute Boy™-- Chenle—exclaims. “Jisung,” he responds back simply. Internally, Jisung’s panicking. One one hand, he’s thankful for the opportunity to hopefully redeem himself in Chenle’s eyes. However, given his awkward personality, this is basically a nightmare to him.
Before the plane even makes it into the air, Chenle immediately launches him into a flurry of questions. This is initially overwhelming to Jisung, however, he soon warms up to Chenle. He finds the other easy to talk to and he carries any conversation pretty well, much to Jisung’s relief. He also finds it quite funny how Chenle’s basically interviewing him.
“Where are you from?”
“Seoul.”
“Oh cool, I’m from Shanghai but I’m visiting relatives in Beijing. How about you? Why are you going to Beijing?”
“Oh, it’s just been a lifelong dream of mine to go.”
“Lifelong dream? How old can you possibly be?”-- Chenle laughs at this—“I’m 17”
“Really? I am too! But I’m turning 18 in November.”
This surprised Jisung, he wasn’t expecting Chenle to be older than him given his looks and personality. He finds himself pleasantly lost in conversation (or interrogation, maybe?) with Chenle that he doesn’t even realize they will land soon. As the pilot makes the announcement to prepare for landing, Jisung finds himself in a wave of sadness. He knows he should be happy he’s finally made it to his dream destination but Chenle’s been such a delight and he was hoping to have made a new friend. He’s suddenly snapped out of his sad thoughts by Chenle nudging his side. He turns to find Chenle handing him a slip of paper. He returns this gesture with a confused look and raised eyebrows to which Chenle responds, “I wrote my number down for you. If you ever needed a tour guide, I can show you around! For free!!” Jisung can’t help but return Chenle’s enthusiasm and wide smile with a smile of his own. Chenle was really something and he’d be quite the fool to turn this offer down.
Thus, Jisung spends every single day in Beijing with Chenle. Sometimes Chenle would meet him early in the morning to be with his relatives at night or he’d meet Jisung later in the day if his relatives had plans early that day. He was really touched that Chenle would even do this for him, a random stranger he bumped into at the airport and coincidentally sat next to on the plane. The enthusiastic and outgoing lilac-haired boy drew many looks whilst they were on their adventure. Usually, Jisung would’ve been uncomfortable by this but Chenle’s energy was definitely contagious and Jisung found himself going along with the other boy’s antics. Chenle took him to all the wonderful restaurants and tourist places he could think of. He also took Jisung to some less touristy places that brought him memories from his childhood. With each passing day, Jisung found himself becoming more and more smitten with Chenle. The lilac-haired boy with the sunny smile was just perfect to him in every way. He brought out the best in Jisung. He never felt more free and himself than he did on this short trip.
Jisung found himself back at the airport. Only this time, his heart was filled with sorrow for now, he was about to leave the place that gave him the happiest memories he’s ever made in his 17 years of living. His heart ached at the thought of never seeing Chenle again. He didn’t know if he could contact his number when he was back in Seoul. Unfortunately, Chenle had busy day yesterday so they were unable to meet like they had planned. Jisung understood this but he was deeply saddened by the thought that he wasn’t even able to properly thank and say goodbye to Chenle.
He just stood there for a while, phone in hand, contemplating if he should at least text the boy to let him know how much he appreciated everything Chenle’s done for him on this trip. He really didn’t have much time to think because suddenly, someone rams into his back and his phone is on the ground. He turns, ready to say something to whoever did that to him but his annoyance dies down as soon as his eyes land on Chenle’s radiant smile. “What are you doing here?” Jisung asks as he stares at Chenle in shock. Chenle’s smile only widens, happily answering back with “You really didn’t think I was going to let you go without a proper goodbye did you?” Jisung can only gape at Chenle as the other immediately pulls him in for a hug. “I’m going to miss you! But, I expect you to chat me up every day! Here’s my wechat id, okay? I’ll be back in Seoul some time soon. You have to come see me!” Chenle hands him another slip of paper with his wechat id written down on it. Jisung can only stare at the paper and back at Chenle fondly.
He surprises the both of them as he suddenly pulls Chenle in for a hug. “I’m going to miss you too.” Chenle quiets down at this, a smaller smile on his face. “I know. Now, go before your flight leaves you. Take care!” Jisung’s smile falters at this but he tries not to let it show. He sighs as he finally starts heading over to security. Jisung turns around one more time to find Chenle waving at him and smiling brightly. “Don’t forget to message me!” Chenle yells out which Jisung returns with a thumbs up. He’s saddened by the fact that he can’t really stall for much longer. He once again makes his way inside. The memories that they’ve made and the promise of meeting again and making more in the future keeps Jisung going. For he knows that Seoul may be his home but Beijing has his heart.