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Hongjoong can feel the waves of heat coming off the pavement the moment he sets foot out of the building, a small groan leaving his lips. He had waited until the sun wasn’t so high up in the sky to take the much needed trip to the grocery store. It had been three days since they ran out of instant noodles, his roommates and his main source of survival, and he had been chosen as the one to leave the comfort of the air conditioning to bring them more. To this day, Hongjoong doesn’t know why he still puts up with Wooyoung and Yunho, worst roommates ever.
He loves them, though. That’s what he thinks as he makes his way towards his destination, hoping it’s not too crowded and he can make his way back home quickly. The possibility is high, since it’s mostly full of college students, being so close to campus, but now they’re on summer break, and the big majority left for their homes, or are out on trips to the beach.
Hongjoong isn’t that lucky, he’s broke and working part time in the local cafe. Not his ideal summer break, but not that bad either, most of his friends decided to stay around too, and the job is easy, not that tiring and helps him pay the bills.
He never said being a music major would be easy, did he?
As he nears the grocery store, he casts his eyes to the horizon. An unusual wind blows fallen leaves against his shins, and his hair off his face, it’s a little bit darker and grey clouds start to gather. He knows it well, he’s about to face a summer storm so he better hurry.
The task was easy: grocery store, instant noodles, home. Anyone with more luck than Hongjoong would make it in twenty minutes at most, but it seemed like the Universe opted to play tricks on him that day.
The grocery store wasn’t as empty as he thought it would be, it seemed like way more people than he could have guessed were too broke to enjoy the beach or go home. And then everyone seemed to have a preference for chicken flavored instant noodles, leaving him with the vegetables, meat and shrimp options, and those were ending quickly! He tried asking Yunho and Wooyoung which ones they liked, but they were either far from their phones or decided today was Hongjoong-Must-Suffer day, because none picked up or even read his messages. And that made him waste around five minutes, until he decided they would have to live with meat flavored instant noodles until the next trip to the supermarket.
He was adding the tenth packet to his basket when he felt someone stop beside him. “Oh, damn...” Hongjoong lifted his gaze to the newcomer, the voice itself was familiar, but the dejected tone along with the English expression brought a small smile to his lips.
There was this exchange program in their university, and more often than not they were faced with a new student from another country. It was a fun experience for everyone, they could teach and learn another language, another culture, and for Hongjoong specially it was an enriching experience. Later he could translate all that into his art, his music, and make the most out of it. They all usually stayed for six months to one year, that’s how long the program was, and that’s what got him policing himself to never get too attached to any of them, they’d leave at some point and Hongjoong was done with people leaving.
The guy beside him was one of those cases.
They were both music majors, but Hongjoong was one year behind him, and they met through Wooyoung who was friends with one of the guys this guy was friends with. Hongjoong remembers being tipsy in a backyard, sitting on some pillows to listen to his friends telling jokes and funny stories, until Wooyoung showed up. It wasn’t new to have Wooyoung bring them people he had just met, dragging them to their group of friends and forcing them to interact, but there was something about this guy that picked Hongjoong’s interest instantly. He couldn’t point what exactly, maybe it was the way he dressed - clearly a straight man - or the way he looked almost shy as all eyes fell on him. “This is Changbin, we studied together in middle school,” Wooyoung pointed to one of the guys and continued “and this is an exchange student from Australia, his name is...”
“Chris!” Hongjoong said, more to himself than to actually call the other, but through dark curls the Aussie manages to look up from where he’s crouched, a smile instantly gracing his features and almost knocking Hongjoong’s heart off his chest. “Joong, hi!” His voice is soft like he remembers, and it brings a smile to Hongjoong’s lips instantly.
The night they met was more like a blur in Hongjoong’s mind, felt more like a collective dream than reality. They were introduced because Wooyoung thought it was funny he knew so many music majors, most that aimed to work with the same music style even. He remembers he exchanged a couple words with Changbin who soon left with the excuse he needed to check on his friend because they left him alone and he wasn’t good with crowds. Soon, though, Hongjoong found himself immersed in a very professional conversation with Chris, learning about how the music major was in Sydney, and what Chris wanted to do when he graduates. He soon learns that Changbin, Chris and the guy he didn’t get to meet are a hip hop trio, and that they perform sometimes in the local bar. The hours fly by and they exchange Soundclouds, recommend songs they like to each other and Hongjoong makes a mental note of how deep Chris’ dimples get when he laughs.
He’s adorable, but he’s also leaving at some point.
“People bought all the chicken ones,” he complains, adding the shrimp flavored noodles to his basket before he stands up. They’re the same height, Hongjoong notices when he nods and points his own basket. “We share the same pain, but at least you’re not the guy I need to knock out for some chicken flavored noodles!”
Chris laughs whole heartedly, feigning relief with a hand on his chest. “Oh thanks! I wouldn’t want to get in trouble with you,” and it’s cute that he said that, because Hongjoong has this feeling he should be the thankful one. In a sleeveless shirt he can see Chris’ arms are bigger than he remembers. “I didn’t think it would be this crowded here, I thought people would go home.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Hongjoong mentions and starts heading to the cashier, dropping a chocolate bar in his basket as he walks, he deserves it. Chris is following him, and only stops to get some mints before they’re both in line. “I guess everyone is saving up these days.” He completes and Chris nods.
He sighs as he adds another mint to the basket. “I would’ve gone home to visit my family, but I have so much going on here. I’m working on new music with the boys, and they both decided to stay, so I did, too.” Chris smiles fondly when he talks about the boys, Changbin and Jisung, he learned later.
“I’m sorry, you must miss your family a lot.” Hongjoong takes a step forward, he’s next in line. “How long until you’re back for good?” His question is an innocent one, he’s just making conversation, he tells himself. It’s not because he’s curious or hoping for anything. And even if he did, this is the straightest guy he has ever met, they’ll be great friends at most.
Chris chuckles and looks down, nodding his head to sign Hongjoong the cashier is calling him. He mumbles a “sorry” and moves ahead.
Hongjoong waits by the door, not because he’s using this excuse to spend more time with the guy he didn’t bother exchanging contacts at that party because he’s dumb and he was drunk, no. It’s just because he’s polite. Chris joins him soon and the second they step outside the wind blows harder, the plants on the sidewalks shake and leaves are all over the place. “Seem like a storm is coming,” Chris says first, “are you heading to the dorms?”
“I am. Are you?” He asks and Chris nods. They start walking together in a brief but comfortable silence. “I hope we don’t get caught in the rain.”
Because the last thing he needs is to see this handsome man with wet hair and clothes clinging to his skin. “We might if we don’t run...”
“It’s too hot to run,” Hongjoong whines and elicits another one of those amazingly contagious laughs from Chris.
He shakes his head but doesn’t change his pace, still smiling he bumps his shoulder against Hongjoong’s in a playful manner. “It’s not that hot yet. I heard temperatures are heading higher tomorrow, a nightmare for people that don’t like summer.” Chris raises an eyebrow at him, the attitude that makes Hongjoong get back at him by bumping his shoulder against his too.
“I don’t hate summer,” he defends himself after a gasp of indignation, “I just don’t see the appeal of summer if I’m not by the beach drinking cocktails. Sounds unfair I have to work while people have fun.”
Chris hums in though and chuckles. “We should have some fun-“ he’s interrupted by a thunder and the first droplets falling over their faces. “Should we run or is it still too hot?”
Hongjoong scrunches up his nose at the suggestion, waving his hand to say something about how they’re not that far from the dorm buildings, and how they can make it. But obviously, before he even puts the words out the rain starts to pour harder. “Are you serious?” Is the only thing he gets to say before Chris’ giggles fill his system and he has his free hand taken.
In a second they’re running.
The drops are heavy and fall hard against his body, the uneven pavement making it easy for puddles to form and splash under his feet and soak his sneakers and his socks. It’s like a whole puddle is forming inside his shoes, squelching sounds so loud he’s not even sure who it’s coming from anymore. “I hate running!” He shouts over the sound of the falling rain and the faint thunders in the sky, and the more they run, the heavier it gets.
“Do you want to stop?” Chris asks and slows down his pace a little, Hongjoong will die before he admits this is more comfortable for him, but he’s not fit enough to run in the rain with both hands occupied. “What’s the use of running?” He asks Chris, “we’re getting wet anyway.”
“If we run,” he starts and slows down, shouting over the sound of thunder and water hitting the ground at full force, “we stay out less time and get to shower sooner, less chances of getting sick.” He slows down even more, gradually until they’re just walking.
Hongjoong notices, though, that they’re still hand in hand and Chris didn’t move an inch to change that. He can’t even deny his heart skips a beat when he looks at this handsome man holding his hand, his dark hair all wet and sticking to his face with droplets falling down his eyelashes, it shouldn’t be a nice view, but it is. Hongjoong still remembers how they laughed together at that party, finding out how similar they were, their dreams and work methods, the word soulmate echoed in his head more than once back then.
Good thing he still had control over himself, even with the alcohol in his blood.
And still, completely sober and soaked in the rain, he feels more drunk in this feeling that he has been trying to repress since that night, more than he was after all the beer and suspicious colourful liquids his friends kept handing him. He’s not in love, that would be reaching out too far, he just has this nagging inside him, telling him this would be a good idea. It’s this feeling that makes him blurt out, eyes on Chris’s and full confidence coming over him, just now noticing they had stopped walking completely. “What if I want this to last a little longer?” The rain hammers down as if wanting to drown every single sound, heavy and slapping against their clothes, giving them the feeling that layer of fabric isn’t even there. Another thunder echoes in the distance and Hongjoong has half a mind to think that maybe standing there isn’t even safe.
Chris stares, and whatever he says ends up drowned by the rain, just like Hongjoong’s question when he tastes the cold droplets on the Aussie’s lips and the hand that left his pull him closer, resting on the small of his back. The plastic bag with all the instant noodles falls to the floor along with the one Chris was holding, and Hongjoong’s hands slide up to the broad shoulders, resting on dank fabric. Chris moves his cold lips against Hongjoong’s, and suddenly the only source of warmth is their tongues touching, moving against each other to elicit a small sound from the younger, one he hopes Chris wasn’t able to hear under all that rain.
When they pull back, air lacking in their lungs and lips tinted red, Hongjoong makes sure to take in every detail, from the way Chris looks at him with hooded eyes to the droplets beading his hair, falling down his face to run past his lips. Those lips he just kissed but already longs for again. “We could be struck by lightning,” Hongjoong mumbles, his thoughts making a u-turn before it short-circuited with the newfound knowledge that Chris isn’t - in fact - straight. He almost melts, because there’s a small smile on those plump lips, a dimple showing.
“I thought I had been struck by it already,” he says, closer and louder over the rain. They don’t speak much on their way back, Chris takes his hand again and the plastic bag off the sidewalk, and when they arrive at the dorm buildings the rain has stopped already. The silence that follows when they find themselves ready to part ways is deafening and a little awkward. If it wasn’t for the casual birds singing and the faint sound of someone listening to music in one of the apartments, it would be almost unbearable. It feels stuffy again, the dark clouds had started to dissipate and small rays of sun started to come through to reflect on the puddles left around.
“So,” Hongjoong starts as they once again stop walking. Chris still has their hands clasped together and turns his whole body to face him. “I should get going...”
He nods. “Yeah, sure. I should too. I have to feed the little demons,” he giggles and that’s the most adorable sound Hongjoong has ever heard. He reminds himself he shouldn’t get attached, this is an exchange student, Chris is temporary and Hongjoong doesn’t want to have his heart breaking because of someone going where he can’t follow. It’s hard though, when he feels that tugging in his heart that has been bothering him since that night, and now that he knows how it feels to be in his arms everything feels worse, the tugging stronger and that voice inside him screaming that he should give this one a chance. “Go feed your babies! I have to feed mine too, you have no idea how they get when they’re hungry” he shakes his head as they both laugh.
They let go of each other’s hands, and his feels empty already. “Today was nice, even with all the rain,” Hongjoong adds, smiling at him.
“I’d risk saying the rain made it even better.” He shrugs and sighs. “Hongjoong, I have to tell you something,” Chris starts, smiling and looking away like a kid that has just done something he shouldn’t and is now too embarrassed to face his parents, “after that night I asked Binnie - Changbin! - to get me your number with Wooyoung. It’s been sitting on my phone ever since and I never got to send you a message or anything, I thought it would be too invasive since I could have asked you directly and didn’t. Would you mind if I texted you?”
He’s surprised to say the least. Surprised and flattered, but also confused because Wooyoung never told him anything, never mentioned Changbin asking for his number. “I-“ he starts and then laughs, looking down and shaking his head because this sounds like the beginning of something that will surely hurt a lot when it ends. “I don’t mind, you can text me, but today...” he takes a deep breath and looks at the man standing in front of him. “You’re nice. Nice to talk to, nice to look at, nice kisser-“
“Just nice?” Chris interrupts him with a cocky grin.
“Great! You’re a great kisser,” Hongjoong corrects himself, rolling his eyes even though a small grin is on his lips. “But you’re temporary and I don’t want to fall for you, I don’t have time to deal with heartbreaks.”
“Temporary?” Chris tilts his head to the side, looking briefly confused before the realisation of what Hongjoong is saying hits him. “Oh, I never got to answer you! I’m not temporary!” He laughs and it’s Hongjoong’s turn to look very confused. “I transferred here, I’m not part of the exchange program. I’m not going back to Australia, not now, not when I graduate. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Oh.” It’s all Hongjoong manages to make his mouth come up with because his brain is divided between panicking and throwing a party. He runs his fingers through his hair, droplets falling over his already wet face, and he feels a bit like an idiot for presuming Chris was an exchange student who would leave. “In my defense, Wooyoung said...”
“I know! I know!” He nods a few times and takes a step towards Hongjoong to wipe some of the drops falling down his face, running his thumb along his cheekbone. “I should have corrected him, but he was drunk and I was worried about Jisung the same amount I was interested in knowing more about you. Then Binnie left to find him, and I could focus on you. I was distracted, it didn’t even cross my mind I still had to correct him.”
Hongjoong nods and smiles back, part of him relieved he could at least try, because Chris wasn’t going anywhere. “You can message me all you want, Chris.” He states, because why not? If he broke his heart, at least he wouldn’t have to cross an ocean to beat him up.
“Chan. You can call me Chan, it’s the name I use here,” he giggles again and this time the warmth it gives Hongjoong doesn’t come followed by a wave of worry.
He closes the door behind him, and it’s hard to kick off his sneakers, they’ve become one with his feet. He’s aware he’s leaving wet footprints all over the wooden floor, and the moment the air conditioning hits him his whole body shivers.
“You’re soaking wet!” Wooyoung shouts from the other end of the living room when he sees him. “Go shower right now, hyung! You’re dripping all over the floor!” He makes his way towards him and Hongjoong groans as he hands him the plastic bag.
“I got caught in the summer storm, geez! Stop screaming!” He shouts back but Wooyoung just shoots him to the bathroom. “The disrespect,” he mumbles on his way there. It’s weird to take a warm shower in the middle of summer, but he does anyway. He recovers the feeling in his fingertips and his face, washes his hair and dries it. He’s tired and relaxed when he drops his body on his bed, and is almost falling asleep when a ring signalling a new message gets his eyes opened again. He pulls his phone off the bedside table and smiles to himself.
Unknown Number
how about getting dumplings tomorrow night?