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No one expected this to happen, nobody was ready for the gravity to stop.
But it happened…
It was a normal day, there was nothing special about it. And just like everyday Renjun woke up, just a bit late. But he was so used to it happening that he wasn’t even bothered by it. He moved through his apartment with grace, being so used to the layout of his small flat.
It didn’t take him long to get ready and soon he was walking through the busy streets of Seoul with his head buried in a book he got from Jisung.
He was so focused on it that he didn’t notice the previous owner of the book running in his direction. Jisung slowly run up to his older friend and caught up with him, now walking slowly next to him.
Renjun only took a small glance in his direction, a small smile blooming on his face, before he returned to his lecture. He tried to focus but the feeling of the other’s gaze studying his profile was too distracting.
‘Do you like the book?’ Jisung finally asked, he tried his best to hide his nervousness. He knew it was hard to impress Renjun, especially when it came to astrology.
Renjun finally fully looked up from the book and scanned his friend’s face, easily noticing Jisung’s pink flushed ears and sparkly eyes staring right back into his. He closed the book gently and pressed it close to his chest.
‘I do actually, I’ve never seen it before and it’s written pretty well.’ he said with a smile. His eyes were fixed on Jisung. He couldn’t stop his smile from growing when he saw his ears turn into a deeper shade of pink, almost red. The younger boy looked away quickly, trying to hide his reaction but they both knew it was too late.
And just like that with no more words spoken, they continued their walk toward their university. Maybe it was the hard beating of their hearts that made them think their steps were lighter, maybe it was the earth changing around them.
Only a few minutes passed from when the last bell rang through the campus, signalizing the end of lectures, but Jisung was already sitting on a small wooden bench in front of Renjun’s department. He was enjoying the light breeze on his face and the heat of sunlight that shone on him.
He took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air. But when his lungs filled up he couldn’t help but furrow his brows, was there something in the air? His lungs felt heavy, almost as if there was not enough oxygen in them.
He probably would spend more time analyzing it if it wasn’t for a small hand to ruffle his hair, making him open his eyes, that he unknowingly closed. It took him a second to focus his vision but when it finally sharpened he felt a smile bloomed on his face.
‘Were you waiting for me?’ Renjun’s melodic voice filled the younger’s ears.
Instead of answering he only nodded his head and slowly stood up from the bench. He stumbled slightly only for Renjun to place his hand on his friend’s shoulder, a small sense of worry growing in his chest.
‘Are you feeling okay?’ he asked Jisung who was now looking at his own feet with confused eyes.
‘Do you feel weird as well?’ Jisung asked Renjun instead of answering his question.
The older only looked at him for a second, forming an answer in his mind, when a sudden shake made him stumble. He could feel his heartbeat speed up as everything around him shook.
Jisung who was standing next to him was just as confused, maybe even more. He kept looking around, seeing almost in slow motion as other students run around him, their screams tore through the air like a sharp knife.
The two stood there for seconds before Renjun finally regained his senses. He quickly grabbed Jisung’s hand and pulled him with him as he run through the campus.
‘Jisung move, it’s an earthquake!’ he shouted over his shoulder at his younger friend who was still looking around, his eyes moving faster than ever.
That’s when he noticed something that made his blood run cold. Something was rising in the air, at first he thought it was just dust being moved by the movements of the ground. But it wasn’t dust, those were small rocks, slowly drifting away from soil and into the air.
He looked back to look at Renjun who was busy leading them through the crowd of people. Jisung could feel his heartbeat, his lungs burning. He already knew what was coming and he knew that there was nothing he could do.
He felt his hand gently fall from Renjun’s grasp, his steps halting. He could feel people rushing to safety around him, their screams almost muffled by the sound of his own heart. He felt like he was drowning. He barely heard Renjun’s voice calling him.
‘Jisung, move! We have to go.’ Renjun screamed at his best friend who was standing still in the middle of the sea of bodies. He could see his glossy eyes, but he was too panicking to care about them.
‘It’s not an earthquake…’ Jisung said under his breath as he looked up, his burning eyes now focused on Renjun’s face.
‘It’s the gravity.’ he continued, his voice hoarse. He felt a tear drop from his eyes but it didn’t fall down his cheek, instead it flew upwards slowly.
It all felt like a dream, his body started to feel lighter and lighter. The screams around him dying down but he knew they were still there.
In his panic he could only see Renjun, his face flushed from lack of air in his lungs. He was trying to reach his hand toward Jisung’s but his every move felt slowed down.
When his feet left the ground Jisung closed his eyes, too scared to look around. The last thing he felt was a warmth in his hand, after that he could only feel his body flying away, just like the air around him. And soon after… he couldn’t feel anything anymore.