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Jisung never thought that he could ever be one of those teens that hates his mother, but god, does he hate his mother in this moment.
“Jisung, I’ve told you countless amounts of times, we simply cannot afford to buy you a skateboard on a whim like this,” his mother says sternly, looking up from her work. “It is going to wait until Christmas and that’s final.”
Normally, Jisung would stop nagging at the mention of waiting until Christmas for something he wants. He prides himself in his patience. But Christmas is in December. And December is cold. Cold means Huang Renjun won’t be at the skate park to watch Jisung do a Blunt Fakie first try and fall in love with him. Time is money. Or love, in Jisung’s case.
“Mom, you don’t understand–“
“I think I understand well enough, Jisung,” his mother sighs. “If you want to go hang out at the skate park so badly, ask your brother for his razor scooter. He hasn’t touched it since he was thirteen, I’m sure he’ll be willing to lend it to you.”
Jisung tries not to let his inner bitchy teen fly loose again so he closes his eyes. Takes a deep breath. Nods. Opens his eyes.
“Okay, mom. Thank you.”
He leaves the dining room and heads to the stairs, stopping in the hallway to flail his arms and pretends to punch the wall. Another deep breath. He climbs the steps and taps his knuckles on his brother’s door.
“Yeah?”
“Can you think of any cool tricks to do on a razor scooter?” Jisung is speaking before he’s fully opened the door. “Also, can I use your razor scooter?”
Hyunsik spins around in his chair, eyebrows furrowed. “Only nine year olds try and do tricks on a scooter.”
Jisung flops onto the bed. “Great. Thanks.”
“Why are you asking anyway?” Hyunsik comes closer, jerking his body to roll his chair to the bed. “Is there a girl you’re trying to impress or something?”
Jisung flushes red. “No.”
“That’s such a lie! You’re blushing so bad,” Hyunsik leans back in his chair and rolls right next to Jisung’s face. “Is it Sooyoung? Minsoo? Personally, I prefer Minsoo–“
“Oh my god, no, it’s not a girl,” Jisung pulls himself into a sitting position. “Just let me use your stupid scooter and stop asking so many questions.”
“Fine.” Jisung smiles and stands to leave the room. “But, you need to tell me who you want so badly to impress when you get home.”
He rolls his eyes and leaves Hyunsik’s room. A muffled “You better tell me!” sounds from the other side of the door as Jisung skips down the stairs and into the garage. The scooter is buried behind an old wardrobe that his sister left behind when she moved out, and Jisung feels like he barely manages to pull it out in one piece. He checks the time. It’s only half past four, and Renjun stays at the park until six. He grins. He’s got plenty of time.
“Mom, I’m going to the park! I’ll be back in time for dinner!” He calls, foot already out the door.
“Wait a minute!” He hears the pattering footsteps of his mother coming down the hall. “Where is your helmet?”
“Mom, I don’t need a helmet to ride a scooter.”
“I know at least two kids who have gotten hurt because they didn’t wear their helmet on their scooter,” his mother disappears into the garage and Jisung hears something clatter on the ground. She swears. “Your brother was one of them!”
“Mom, please, I need to go–“
A helmet gets plunked in his head in a rather painful fashion and his mother grins up at him. “There you go. Now you can leave,” her lips twitch and she disappears again. “I almost forgot the knee pads!”
And so, Jisung finds himself scootering to a skate park to impress his crush donning a bright green helmet and matching knee and elbow pads. He considered sitting on the sidewalk and crying, but his eyes get puffy when he cries, and Renjun can’t know that. He makes his journey two blocks south all while silently cursing his mother, and freezes at the entrance.
There he is.
Huang Renjun. The senior who accidentally kicked a ball into Jisung’s head last spring and whose apologetic smile made Jisung’s heart race and face flush pink. Huang Renjun, with his black hair and white hoodie and bright orange shoes. Huang Renjun, who can do a kick flip and ride a rail with so much grace that Jisung feels like crying all over again.
He can’t look like a complete loser in front of Huang Renjun.
Almost angrily, Jisung pulls his protective gear off and stashes it in the bush by the gate. He ruffles his hair, straightens his jacket, and enters the park as coolly as he can on a razor scooter. Renjun’s best friend, Lee Jeno, is the first to notice Jisung’s appearance. He smiles sweetly, but nudges his pink-haired friend who giggles at the sight of the scooter. Jisung is absolutely mortified. And then he catches Renjun’s eye.
He’s almost certain his heart has stopped beating. Renjun is glowing, and he smiles so brightly at Jisung that it restarts his heart and he can breathe again. Renjun kicks his board up and begins making his way toward him.
Wait, what?
“Hey! You’re Jisung, right?”
“Uh,” Jisung’s brain has shut down. “Y-yeah, how’d you know my name?” His face is on fire.
Renjun giggles and Jisung wonders if it’s possible to be in love with teeth. “It’s kind of hard to forget the kid whose head I kicked a ball into, isn’t it?” He circles him, eyeing the scooter, and Jisung wants to collapse into a heap of embarrassment. “I’ve seen you at the park a lot lately, but never with a board or anything.”
Jisung gulps. “I’ve only just begun. My mom won’t get me a skateboard until Christmas.”
“Do you know any tricks?”
“Yes.”
No he doesn’t. Jisung wants to whack himself in the head with the scooter. The only thing he knows he can do is bump his ankles painfully into the deck and manage not to cry. But Renjun smiles widely up at him and it gives Jisung more courage than he should be allowed to have.
“Will you show me? I’ve never seen anyone do tricks on a scooter.”
Jisung agrees. His heart is pounding in his chest because he knows this can’t end well, but Renjun is so excited he’s hopping around his friends, who’re looking on suspiciously. Jisung can’t fool them all.
“Don’t you need a helmet?” The pink haired boy’s voice rings through the park. “You're going to get hurt without one.”
“No, I’ll be fine-“ Jisung refuses to wear his stupid green helmet and look like a dork in front of Huang Renjun, no matter how much Mr Pink may want him to.
“Here,” Renjun scampers up the side of the bowl with his own black helmet hanging from his wrist. He reaches up and secures the helmet on jisung’s head, clipping it under his chin. “You’re not getting hurt because of me again.”
Heat crawls up Jisung’s neck and onto his face. “Th-thank you.”
Renjun smiles one more time and slides back down the wall to stand back with his friends. Jisung pulls on the straps of the helmet and racks his brain for a trick he could possibly do. He remembers being seven and seeing Hyunsik do a trick where he jumped from the top of the bowl and spun the scooter in the air. It seems easy enough.
Jisung steps back to build momentum. He’s positive he’s going to die. He places his foot on the deck, takes a deep breath, and kicks off.
The trick isn’t easy. He lifts his feet from the deck when he jumps off, but his hands let go for a split second as well. He manages to grab back onto the handles, but he lands wrong. The front wheel of the scooter pops off and Jisung lands hard on his knees, smacking his head against the concrete.
His ears are ringing but he can hear the pounding of footsteps running towards him. Their voices are muffled and Jisung blinks up at Jeno, who has crouched beside him. Mr Pink stands next to Renjun, laughing.
“Shut up,” Renjun scolds. “You probably made him nervous because you were trying to freak him out.”
Jisung is humiliated.
“Are you okay?” Jeno cups Jisung’s face in his hands, eyes wide with concern. “You shouldn’t be doing a tailwhip from the top of the bowl when you’re just learning.”
Maybe Jisung should fall in love with Jeno next. His chances with Renjun are shot.
Renjun leaves Mr Pink to kneel beside Jeno and nods solemnly. “He’s right, you hit your head pretty hard. It’s a good thing I gave you my helmet.”
Jisung‘s head is pounding, but he smiles weakly. “You’re right, thank you.”
“Do you even know how to ride?” Mr Pink asks, cocking an eyebrow.
“Jaemin,” Renjun snaps. “Stop being an asshole. Go grab my board.” Jaemin turns away, muttering to himself. “I’m taking you home.”
“No, no,” Jisung slurs. “‘M fine, I’ll get home by myself.”
“That’s nonsense,” Jeno coos. “All that helmet did was keep you from cracking your skull open. You very likely have a concussion.”
Begrudgingly, Jisung accepts. Renjun wraps an arm around his waist and guides him toward the exit, shouting over his shoulder that he’ll be back in ten minutes. He grips his board in his other hand, using it to keep them balanced.
“My scooter…”
“Jisung, that scooter is fucked,” Renjun laughs. “Jaemin and Jeno will deal with it.” Jisung doesn’t like Jaemin. He makes sure to voice his opinion to Renjun, who laughs again. “Yeah, he’s kind of not nice to a lot of boys that talk to me. He gets jealous.”
Oh. He has a boyfriend.
“We aren’t dating or anything,” Renjun says quickly, as if reading Jisung’s mind. “He does have a crush on me, but I don’t like him. Jeno does.”
“There goes my backup,” Jisung mumbles. Renjun stops walking.
“Your what? Do you have a crush on Jeno?”
Oh god. “No! Not Jeno. I like someone else but I think I’ve ruined everything so he was my next choice,” Jisung is rambling; his head hurts so bad.
“Well, who’s your first choice?” Renjun’s voice is quiet.
“I just wanted to impress you,” the words are coming out before Jisung can stop them. “I wanted a skateboard so I could show you my tricks and make you like me but my mom made me wait and now I’ve given myself a concussion trying to look cool on a fucking scooter,” his face is in flames for what feels like the hundredth time today. “This is my house.”
Renjun is silent. He guides Jisung up the walkway and onto his front porch. They stand in front of the door for a moment, Jisung staring holes into his feet to avoid the eye contact Renjun is trying to make.
“Jisung, look at me.” He does. “You impressed me plenty today. No one is that bold their first time doing a trick like that. I admire your determination.”
Jisung wants to lay down. He unclips Renjun’s helmet and hands it over. “You probably want this back.”
Renjun shakes his head, a soft smile on his face. “Nah, these things are only meant to stand one major impact like that. It’s probably best you throw that away.”
Jisung winces. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it, you can pay me back,” Renjun wiggles his eyebrows and laughs. “My number’s on the inside. Just text me when you’ve got something in mind.”
Oh. Oh.
Jisung sputters, his face red, and Renjun laughs a little bit harder. He stands on his toes and presses a chaste kiss to Jisung’s cheek, far too close to his mouth to be an accident. He’s blushing when he steps back.
“I should probably get back to Jaemin and Jeno…” Jisung nods, still too stunned to speak. Renjun reaches down and squeezes his hand before jumping off the porch. “Tell your mom I’m sorry for nearly killing you again.”
This time, Jisung is the one to laugh. He waves sheepishly and watches Renjun hop onto his board and kick off, back to the park. When he’s no longer in sight, Jisung turns the helmet in his hand and looks on the inside.
you found me!!! please text my owner: huang renjun!!
82-185-5568-092
Jisung is quick to add the number to his phone and send a message.
Park Jisung [17:19]
when can i repay u for the helmet ?
Renjun texts back almost immediately. But when Jisung opens the message, he’s completely ignored the question.
Huang Renjun Who I Love [17:20]
[image]
I think I’ll just use this helmet actually
Jisung freezes. The picture is of the helmet and knee and elbow pads he’d stashed in the bushes by the entrance of the park. Renjun’s little hand is beside it, forming a thumbs up. Jisung is ready to block the number and hide when another message pops up.
Huang Renjun Who I Love [17:20]
Kidding!! You can pay me back during
lunch on Monday <33