Chapter Text
Jisoo awoke in a cold sweat, his heart trying to escape from its constricting cage and jump right onto his shaking hands. It’s been the third time that he’s had that dream, that same exact dream.
He was running through a street, people rushing past him in the opposite direction. His hands had grabbed at them, trying, hoping, desperate to see if one of them was him, but to no avail, he was met with smooth, featureless faces devoid of any emotion. He had to keep running, he had to find him.
This dream was no different from the two other ones before it, ending with him at the corner of a street, a big, white house with big windows and a brown, looming gate on his left, and a big park on his right. And a boy, tall and lanky, had been standing in front of him. The dim orange light of the streetlamp had given his ivory skin a soft, orange glow, his dark hair reflecting the starless sky above them. His eyes were round and youthful, paired with a sharp nose and lips the colour of mulled wine that were stretched into a small, charming smile that knocked the wind straight out of his lungs and into the cold summer night.
He had been waiting for Jisoo.
Jisoo had been looking for him. He had found him.
-
And then Jisoo wakes up.
Palms sweaty, warm bile rising in his throat and tears threatening to spill from his brown eyes, his heart running a mile a minute. He takes a glance at the alarm clock on his bedside table.
7:41 am, in acid red, blinking as each second passes. As if it was mocking him.
Definitely way too early to be up on a summer day, he thinks to himself. He draped his heavy, fluffy comforter around him and got up from his bed after roughly ten minutes of just staring blankly at the corner of his dresser, his mind a puddle of warm orange and mulberry red. As he stepped into the hallway, he could hear the sizzling of cooking oil and the glorious smell of bacon and eggs.
Shuffling into the kitchen, the source of the wonderful aroma came in the form of his roommate’s boyfriend cooking up breakfast, his back turned to Jisoo as the boy swayed his hips to the beat of an old Wonder Girls title track that was playing from a phone nestled into a red solo cup, assumably to amplify the sound through their tiny old kitchen. Jisoo smiled at the sight, clearing his throat and greeting the boy a 'good morning’.
“Morning, hyung! Hansol’s still asleep, but I’m sure he’ll be awake within the next hour. There’s some coffee in the machine if you want some,” Seungkwan babbled happily as he flipped both the bacon and the eggs onto a plate and handed it to Jisoo, the older shooting him a grateful smile at that. Seungkwan only winked at him, grabbing his phone, throwing the apron onto the table and heading out of the kitchen (“I already ate, so feel free to stuff yourself, hyung!”), presumably to wake up his sleeping boyfriend in the other room. Jisoo chuckled at the boy, the house really does feel more lively when the kids are around.
He grabbed a fork from one of the kitchen drawers before sitting down on the stool by the island. As he munched on the (crazily good, Seungkwan should really become a chef) bacon, he found himself pondering over his dream the previous night. He wondered who the boy that kept haunting his dreams was, and why he felt so determined to find him. As he effortlessly replayed his dream in his head, he didn’t notice the footsteps that padded sluggishly into the kitchen door behind him. It was only when a hand had patted his shoulder and a very lazy “Morning, hyung,” had greeted him, that he had snapped out of his daze. Jisoo turned around just in time to see his other roommate, Chan, nearly trip over his forgotten comforter on the kitchen floor. The boy - thanks to his fast reflexes, the result of his current interest in taking a mixed martial arts class after Minghao had quote-unquote “hurt his pride by telling him he had the self-defense skills of a chicken” - had luckily caught himself before he face-planted into the ground.
Jisoo stifled a laugh before offering his hand to the younger, instantly getting a glare and a loud “It’s not funny, hyung! You should really stop dragging your blanket out of your room and leaving it here! I really almost broke my nose the other day!” The look on the boy’s face was one of pure exasperation, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit shameful at his actions.
“Alright, I’ll try to keep that habit in check. I’m really sorry Channie,” The younger’s face pinched even more in annoyance at the nickname, but he could never stand making his hyung feel bad. Chan eventually just let out a heavy sigh and began to make his way to the coffee machine again.
-
cheolie
> jisoo
> hong
> jisoo
> josh
> my man
> where r u
joshie
oh <
sorry cheol <
be there in a bit <
problem at home, sorry :( <
cheolie
> hey
> its cool man
> take ur time
> i’ll be here by the park
> oh wait
> i just saw a friend of mine
> probs be talkin to him when u get here
> we’re by the big fountain
> see u later man
> :))
joshie
ok i’m on my way anw <
see u :D <
Jisoo sighed, pulling on his worn out sneakers by the door with a huff. It’s not that he wanted to be late to his hang out with Seungcheol, it’s just that he had been caught up in a situation,
(“Hey! That’s not fair, you cheated! Hyung!” Chan had abruptly pulled on the sleeve of his hoodie, pointing at the older, louder boy on the sofa, “Oh stop being such a baby, it’s not like you would’ve had a chance against me even if I hadn’t cheated-“ Seungkwan rolled his eyes, flailing the controller around. “See! So you did cheat! Hansolie hyung! Your boyfriend’s a big cheater! Jisoo hyung, help me out!”)
that he had absolutely no control over (“Seungkwan, stop cheating, that’s not good. Chan, kindly let go of my sleeve before you end up ripping it. Hansol, wake the fuck up and keep an eye on these two kids. I’ll be back by 8:00, and if I get so much as a text from Sol that you two fought again, no pizza for you two when I get home,” he had to glare at Seungkwan to get the boy to stop hitting Chan with the CD case, who had been cowering behind one of the couch cushions for protection, and glare again at the boy that was lazily draped across the sofa on his phone).
Seeing as he was so late, Jisoo opted to run from his apartment complex all the way to the park by the main road. It wasn’t that far, but it was far enough that he had broken a sweat. As he neared the park, it was no surprise that it was filled with children running around and parents trying to stop their kids from face-planting into the ground. He could already make out the large fountain in the middle, a mop of blond hair just beyond the upward gush of water. Keeping his eyes on his friend, he didn’t notice that he was heading straight into an unsuspecting passerby. By the time he realised, he had already crashed into the stranger, both of them toppling onto the soft grass below them. The man, who quickly regained his composure (and his balance) had offered a hand to Jisoo, the latter taking it with his own. When both of them were rid of vertigo and pieces of grass that were stuck to their coats, Jisoo dared to glance at the stranger he so gracefully ran into, only to find the man gone, already walking away from him in the direction he had come from.
“Excuse me, hey!” Jisoo yelled, making the man halt in his tracks, his white sneakers digging into the soft dirt. Seeing as the stranger had heard him, Jisoo continued to yell out his apology, “I’m really sorry for running into you! I wasn’t really looking where I was going!”
The man only looked over his shoulder, his dark hair swaying in the wind and obstructing his face, but Jisoo heard his voice clearly despite the distance between them.
“It’s alright, see you soon. ”
Then he proceeded to walk away, hands in the pockets of his coat, his hair continuously being tousled by the strong summer wind.
Weird, Jisoo thought, did he just say ‘see you soon’? He shook his head, and made his way back to the fountain to meet his friend.
-
Choi Seungcheol has been friends with Jisoo since they first met in the 7th grade, always having each other’s back. Even now that they’re halfway through college, their friendship had only grown stronger - thanks to the endless video game nights and convenience store triangle kimbab runs - and they’ve found themselves always having deep talks about whatever had been bothering their minds at the time. They’d usually meet up at the coffee shop just across campus, or that one computer shop Cheol and Wonwoo always hang out at, or here - the park.
“Hey Josh! What took you so long? My friend just left, bummer, I really wanted to introduce you guys,” Seungcheol patted the space next to him on the bench.
“Sorry, I ran into some guy on my way here, didn’t even get to apologise properly,” He sighed, the scene playing over and over in his head like a broken record. His friend only patted his shoulder in an attempt to console him, before bringing up the reason of their meeting.
“So hey, what was it that you wanted to talk about? You sounded so anxious on the phone this morning that I got worried. Did you have that same nightmare again?” Jisoo had told his friend about the re-occurring dream he had been having in the past two nights in a row. He never really thought of it as a nightmare, but Seungcheol said that if he woke up in tears, then it wasn’t really a good dream, either.
“Yeah, and it was a lot more vivid this time, too. My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest. I almost threw up all over my bed.”
Seungcheol let out a hearty laugh, playfully slapping his friend’s shoulder - “That’s TMI, Josh!” - and pretending to be grossed out by the unnecessary detail. Once their laughter had died down, Jisoo had continued his account of the dream, adding in everything he could remember. The houses, the people who were running, the boy. The boy who had cherry lips and hair darker than ebony, who had skin that glowed in the moonlight and round eyes that pierced into Jisoo’s and stared straight into his soul.
“You know what’ll cheer you up?” Jisoo shook his head, no, “A party! I heard Mingyu’s throwing one tonight, we should go! My friend earlier had invited me, and said I could bring anyone I want.” Seungcheol had begged, using the power of his ridiculously adorable puppy eyes and pouty lips to his advantage. Jisoo could never say no to that.
“Fine, but you’re not allowed to use the puppy face for another month.” Seungcheol only let out a loud and obnoxious hoot in return.
-
In just five minutes of being in the hot and heavy crowd of this college party, Jisoo had already lost Seungcheol, had been offered three suspicious looking drinks in red solo cups (which he politely declined), and has been thoroughly bumped and grounded into by at least five different people. He reminds himself never to get talked into going to another party ever again, at least until he recovers from this one. Jisoo wouldn’t really call himself an introvert, but he’d take a night of ordering pizza and watching Chan and Seungkwan fight over what movie to watch over an overrated, bad decision-inducing alcohol-intoxicated crowd of horny teenagers, any day.
He finally pushes his way to the kitchen, where he sees Seungcheol talking to Mingyu and Wonwoo, the couple wrapped around each other with no signs of embarrassment or shame whatsoever. The older spots him by the doorway and waves him over, immediately shoving yet another cup of questionable liquid courage into his hand and leading him over to the younger pair. Jisoo greets them with a smile, Mingyu giving him a hug - “I haven’t seen you in ages, hyung! Did you get paler? It’s summer!”- while Wonwoo just flicked his boyfriend’s forehead and also gave Jisoo a hug and a pat on the back (“Sorry about him, hyung. He was dropped on his head as a baby, never recovered.” “Hey!”). They had a few laughs after that, Seungcheol cracking a few lines and Wonwoo and Jisoo rolling their eyes at the dad jokes, while Mingyu unapologetically guffawed at the corniness.
Half an hour later, the four of them moving to the surprisingly empty couch in the living room, Jisoo excuses himself to go to the restroom. He knows where it is, but doesn’t try to correct himself as his feet lead him out the front door and into the cool summer night. It was significantly less crowded outside now, most of the people moving outside to watch the drunken karaoke match between Mingyu and Seokmin take place. He flinches at the loud (screeching) sounds coming from the house, and opts to walk through the empty streets of the unfamiliar neighborhood.
Enjoying the peace and quiet, Jisoo looks around his surroundings, taking in the large and grandiose houses in the vicinity. Obviously, this was a very well-off neighborhood, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit of envy as he walked past the big, detailed gates and shiny cars parked behind them. He turns right at the corner of yet another big, grand house, and stops.
This street, the houses, the street lamps.. they all look so familiar, too familiar.
Jisoo can already hear his heart pounding in his chest, as if wanting to make its presence known to the whole neighborhood. He wants to calm his breathing but how can he? How can he try to keep calm when he’s seen this very place before? When he’s so familiarised by that ‘beware of dogs’ sign hanging on the green gate of that third white mansion on the left? When he knows just how many streetlights this street has? (which is seven, by the way, one placed every two houses.) When he knows, feels, senses just exactly who is waiting for him on the other end of it?
Is this really it? Jisoo asks himself, Is this really how it ends? What if he’s not there? What if I’m met with an empty street? Am I dreaming again? Okay, I’ll count to three, and then I’ll wake up in my bed, safe and sound. He closes his eyes, as the anxiety begins to bubble in his chest, and starts counting.
One.
Cherry lips, pulled into an award-winning smile that steals the breath from your lips.
Two.
Ivory skin, a warm orange glow bouncing off of high cheekbones and a sharp nose.
Three.
Big, round, brown eyes, the beauty of the cosmos reflected in them, whispering the secrets of the universe and piercing an empty hole in his heart, boring into his own dark ones.
And then Jisoo starts running, his heart racing in his chest, feet pounding on the concrete, and tears building up in his eyes as he seeks the truths behind all of his unanswered questions.