Chapter Text
The day was cold and bloomy, the birds hadn’t sung today, his alarm hadn’t rung, his phone wasn’t charging by his bedside table as he thought it was. The warm, summer day he thought he was going to have was definitely not happening. The white shirt he had placed in the washing machine was now soft blue. He had dropped his favorite mug on the floor, as he was trying to make himself a cup of coffee. His previously blue hair was beginning to fade, and he just knew that it was a matter of a few days, before his hair would turn green. It clearly just wasn’t his day.
Jisung was a nice person, he wasn’t always happy but he really tried to. Ever since he was a child, he had been complimented on his positivity and determination to thrive. Even if he wasn’t feeling so good, he would be there for others. He was the go-to person when any of his friends were sad, because he was a good listener, and because he experienced sadness quite often. It was hard for him to make friends, and he was generally a very shy person. But still, once he opened up, he would do anything for his friends, like walking extra for coffee just because the store was Hyunjin’s.
That’s how Jisung found himself walking ten blocks, with his phone’s battery completely drained, his previously white shirt now a weird shade of blue that he hated. He sighed deeply and cursed himself for not double-checking whether his phone was actually charging or not, he didn’t like going places without listening to music.
He got to the café rather quickly, desperately begging whoever was making his day go this bad to just stop. He entered the cozy coffee store and was greeted by the sweet scent of baked goods and Hyunjin’s giant smile. How he had the energy to smile so brightly at 8 in the morning, was beyond Jisung’s comprehension. He walked to the counter and waited in line, nodding to the rhythm of the song that was playing in the store.
Jisung gave his best friend a smile and ordered an iced americano. It wasn’t his favorite, but he still liked the kick of energy he would get after drinking one. Something told him that he would be needing the extra energy. He thanked Felix, one of the baristas, when he handed him his cup and turned around to leave.
As if Jisung’s day wasn’t already the worst day a human being can possibly have, as he was leaving the store, he ran into a stranger, resulting in him dropping his cup and spilling coffee all over himself.
“Great”, he mumbled in annoyance. This day couldn’t possibly get any worse. “This is just… great”
The stranger stared at him, mouth gaping, clearly wanting to say something, but not knowing what.
“Shit, are you ok?” He finally asked.
Jisung looked down at his stained shirt and the empty cup, surrounded by a puddle of coffee and ice, and then looked up at the stranger.
But, oh, boy. He shouldn’t have done that. The stranger was arguably one of the prettiest men Jisung had ever seen. He looked very intimidating. He had these eyes, so dark they seemed to never end. His lips were pressed together in a thin line that made him seem even more intimidating. His hair was a rich shade of brown, and it fell on his forehead. Not in a messy way though, he had clearly styled it that way purposely. Jisung looked at the stranger’s shirt and realized the coffee had stained it.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t paying attention, I didn’t mean to...”
“Hey, hey.” The stranger cut him off and smiled. Suddenly, he wasn’t as intimidating anymore. Those deep, intense eyes were now curved cutely, his smile big and genuine. “Don’t worry. I know it was an accident. You don’t need to keep apologizing.”
Jisung stared at the floor; his cheeks and ears turned crimson red.
“Can I buy you a coffee? Since you dropped that one… You seem like you need it.” Jisung wondered whether he should feel offended or grateful. Did he really look that bad? The stranger must have noticed the conflicted look on his face because he quickly added. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude,” he smiled softly, but nervously “I meant that you seem to be having a bad day. Wait, no, that also sounds really rude.”
“It’s alright! I know I look like a mess.”
“I didn’t say that you just seem to be very tired.”
The stranger sighed, “C’mon, let me buy you breakfast.” He insisted.
“But what about you? Your shirt is stained because of me. I think I should be offering to buy you breakfast.” Jisung argued.
The pretty boy smiled in a way that made him look ten times prettier. Jisung smiled back, tiredly, and held the coffee store’s door open. The stranger thanked him and the blue-haired boy could have sworn his smile had gotten bigger. They walked in, side by side, neither of them looking at each other.
Hyunjin chuckled as he saw his best friend walk in again, this time with a stained shirt and a pretty boy beside him.
“Back again so soon? Did you miss me that much?” Hyunjin teased, causing his friend to roll his eyes. The boy cleared his throat and looked at Jisung.
“What are you having?” The pretty stranger asked. Hyunjin stared at them with a raised eyebrow and a teasing smile.
“Yeah, Jisung, what are you having?”
Jisung looked at his friend and blinked. Once. Twice. Three times.
“Uh… I don’t know, I don’t want you to waste any money on me.” He finally said.
“What about this, I’ll buy you breakfast, and as a thank you, you must stay and chat with me” The pretty boy proposed, smirking. Jisung stood there, mouth agape, not knowing how the fuck he had gotten himself into this. “You can buy me breakfast too if you really want to”
Hyunjin held back a laugh, finding the situation very entertaining. “So a caramel macchiato for Jisungie.” He said.
“Hyunjin!” Jisung whined. He was used to Hyunjin’s teasing and usually, he would tease him back. He knew his friend meant well, he just wasn’t in the mood to be teased today.
“What? If you accept, you’ll get to have a breakfast date with a very pretty boy. I don’t see anything wrong with that.” His friend fired back, smiling cockily.
“Fine. What will you have?”
“Oh, so you’re accepting?” The boy gleamed. “Then I’ll have an iced coffee.”
“Anything else?” Hyunjin asked, with his best customer service voice.
“A slice of that godly cheesecake Wooyoung hyung bakes.” Jisung looked at the boy, “What about you?”
“I’ll have that, too.”
They smiled at each other. Hyunjin just stared at them blankly. “A name?” he asked while holding a transparent cup, meant for the stranger’s ice coffee.
“Minho.”
Minho.
That’s a pretty name, Jisung thought. Now that he was thinking about it, the boy seemed very familiar. Not necessarily his face, but the way he acted, how he talked and smiled; in a way that seemed almost arrogant, but not quite. Almost as if he knew how good looking he was, but he still had a pinch of humbleness to him. It felt to him as if they already knew each other, a certain sense of familiarity washed over him. Maybe it was the way his mouth produced such a smooth, soothing voice. Or perhaps it was the way he stood, shoulders back, neck tall, but lips curved in a soft smile. Something about him made Jisung think they had met before. He shook his head in an attempt to get rid of his nonsense thoughts.
They sat down in a booth. The booths were —in Jisung’s mind—the best part of Hyunjin’s store. The sofas were a dark beige, made of a very soft and cushiony fabric. Jisung found them very comfortable. Comfortable enough to forget the pretty boy, Minho, for just a second. They also provide a little privacy, the sofas enclosing them, hiding their bodies from the rest of the customers.
Minho looked at Jisung with a strange expression. He didn’t know what it meant, which made him a little uncomfortable. He was usually good at reading people, yet the look on Minho’s face was unknown to him. It soothed him, to be able to tell what people thought just by their body language, it helped him feel less anxious. Minho started a conversation, clearly trying to break the awkward silence that enclosed them like a thick fog.
The young strangers talked about everything and anything that morning. They talked about their favorite things; Minho really enjoyed dancing, watching anime, and autumn. He liked to read, especially mystery novels, and enjoyed walks along the Han river.
Somehow, these things did not sound like news to Jisung. He kept finding himself thinking of how all of those things seemed familiar, almost as if he had done them himself.
He hadn’t, he was sure he hadn’t, yet it was all so vivid, so close to him.
“What?” Minho asked.
“Huh?”
“You’ve been looking at me weirdly for the last five minutes.” Jisung let out a sigh. “What’s on your mind?”
“Nothing, I’m just tired, I think.”
And so Jisung told him about his favorite things. He told him about how much he liked horror movies and how his favorite season was winter because he liked to wear hoodies and beanies. He told him about his studies abroad, and how much he missed his family.
The boy watched that same expression of familiarity he had a few minutes ago suddenly creep on Minho’s face. Neither of them said anything about that, yet it was stuck in their minds.
It was all Minho could think about as he made his way back to his apartment. Those weird, almost fabricated memories, kept flooding his mind, bothering him, filling him with unanswered questions. The thing about Minho, though, is that he liked mysteries, and most importantly, he liked getting answers. That thought calmed him as he rested his head upon his pillow.
It was all Jisung could think about as he watched Hyunjin’s lips move, telling him something he couldn’t hear. His mind was lost in the very lucid memory of Minho laughing, running through the deep green forest, teasing him, telling him to hurry up. But it wasn’t a memory, though. He wasn’t very good at visualizing thoughts, so it really made no sense to him that he was able to imagine such things. It made him uneasy.
That night, the two boys went to sleep with each other in their minds. In their sleep, they saw each other, but they didn’t look the same. Minho’s hair was a dirty blonde, and Jisung’s was a washed-out grey. They talked comfortably, cuddling on a red couch Jisung didn’t recognize. They seemed to be very used to each other; even when they were silent, they looked peaceful.
Peaceful.
White, cold, foamy waves washed Jisung’s feet. A warm summer breeze ruffled his hair and filled his lungs with warmth. He could hear Minho's hypnotizing laugh next to him, as he complained about how cold the water was and how much it tickled him. They played for a while, splashing water at each other’s faces, getting their clothes wet. Laughter filled the sweet summer air. Everything was how it was supposed to be, it felt right. They were where they were meant to be, everything was in its place.
Minho awoke.