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Jaehyun has been living in this small town for his whole life. But after this summer it will be over, he will move away to Seoul and obviously Jaehyun was scared, afraid of the unknown.
But it was okay, because for the moment it was summer and summer meant that he didn’t have to think about it.
He tore his gaze away from the wall facing his bed and looked through his window. He was surprised with some lights coming from his neighbour’s bedroom. ‘Yuta must be back from university’ he thought. Jaehyun didn’t dare to look any longer and so he reached for his phone that was somewhere on his bed, in the middle of his sheets and scrolled aimlessly through his social medias.
☽☽☽☽ ☾☾☾☾
Jaehyun was already here when the first guests started to arrive to Johnny’s welcome back party. Best friend privilege… of helping to put everything in place in order for Johnny parents’ small house to held a crowded party. Jaehyun was anxious. And he couldn’t say why because he will most likely know everyone at this party. But yet he couldn’t get the feeling to go away.
Jaehyun smiled at Johnny when his best friend offered him his first drink of the night and took the red cup. Johnny stayed with him in the kitchen for a while before he was called away because apparently the sound system had some kind of problem. Jaehyun didn’t mind, he had all the time to talk to Johnny. He took his second cup and went around the house.
The party was rolling smoothly, Jaehyun couldn’t tell how many drinks he had had but he was not drunk yet though. On his way from the kitchen to the living room he bumped into someone. Yuta. “Oh Jaehyun” the older greeted cheerfully and then proceeded to put his arm around Jaehyun’s tense shoulders, clearly he had gotten his fair share of drinks already.
“Hey hyung! How are you?” Jaehyun asked with genuine curiosity.
“Happy! So happy Jaehyun I can’t even tell you! That first year of uni is finally over and I’m here to fucking celebrate it ! I don’t know if I’ll remember it tomorrow though… But right now I don’t care.”
“That’s great for you hyung” Jaehyun laughs airily and Yuta follows squeezing his arm around Jaehyun’s frame.
“Do you wanna come with me?” Yuta asks after calming down and some thinking
“Sure where?” Jaehyun replies immediately
“Right now... the kitchen because my cup is empty” Yuta giggles “and after.. maybe somewhere where people play drinking games, what do you say?”
“I’ll follow you”
And so he does.
Jaehyun and Yuta spend the rest of the party together going from drinking game to the kitchen to the dancefloor and then to another drinking game before they have enough and deem it reasonable to stop so that they can sober up before driving.
“Do you want me to bring you back home?” Yuta asks after they found a place to sit in the garden with a whole bottle of water for each one of them to drink. And Jaehyun accepts the offer.
“Thanks again hyung” Jaehyun says as he gets out of the car.
“Don’t mention it, you literally live right next to me Jaehyun…” Yuta rolls his eyes and Jaehyun chuckles.
When Yuta locks his car, Jaehyun waves at him and starts making his way towards his own house. Yuta smiles and gives him a two fingers salute before crossing the patch of flowers in front of his house and opening his front door.
When Jaehyun arrives in his room, without waking up his parents successfully, he looks at Yuta’s room which is still lit. He finds the older boy still dressed in his party clothes, sat down on his bed which faces the window and scrolling on his phone. He thinks that with that particular lighting Yuta looks especially beautiful tonight. As if sensing the stare on him, Yuta looks up and smiles as soon as he meets Jaehyun’s eyes before getting up and walking into his bathroom.
Jaehyun closes his shutters and goes to his own bathroom, rushing through his routine in order to hop into bed faster.
☽☽☽☽ ☾☾☾☾
The day after, Jaehyun wakes up groggy but without a headache and that’s already a win. He looks at the time because it’s a reflex, but doesn’t really care because it’s a saturday and it’s the fucking summer break.
In the middle of the afternoon he finally opens his shutters “Jung Jaehyun!”. Yuta.
He looks up and sure enough the older is standing at his own opened window and pointing a finger at him, a huge grin on his face.
“Yes?” Jaehyun inquires, unsure if he is in trouble or not.
“I have a friend throwing a party tonight, do you wanna come with me?”
“Sure why not” Jaehyun shrugs.
“Great!” Yuta says and gives him a huge smile before walking towards his door and exiting his own room.
Jaehyun stares at his back and then at the closed door before plopping down on his bed again.
When they park in front of Yuta’s house that night, Jaehyun finally musters the courage to ask him the question he’s wanted since they got into the car.
“Do you want to go and grab some McDonald’s with me? I’m hungry”. He doesn’t want the night to end just yet.
“Sure thing, let’s go” Yuta puts the key into the ignition again. “You could have offered when we got into the car though” Yuta smirks.
“Sorry” Jaehyun replies sheepish. Yuta only smiles, although it seems like it’s a smile made for himself only so Jaehyun adverts his gaze and looks at the streetlights.
☽☽☽☽ ☾☾☾☾
Somehow they end up spending all the other nights of the week together. At the house of one or the other, ordering in and playing games all night or just staying together while they look at their phones. On Friday, Yuta asks him if he wants to go to another party, one hold by a close friend of him that for once Jaehyun doesn’t know but Yuta convinces him to go anyway because “it would be boring without you, come on”. On Saturday, they once again go to a party.
On Sunday night Yuta proposes to go to a hill where they would be able to look over the whole town. Jaehyun doesn’t believe such a place exists because the town may be small but not that small. However he goes because it’s Yuta.
They ordered pizzas to take away before riding up there. They are eating it, sat down on the hood of the car when Yuta speaks “What do you think people are doing right now?”
“I don’t know? Sleeping? Working for some? Watching some tv shows or series or animes or dramas for others? I don’t know, what do you think?”
“Well, you see that house with the Christmas lights still on?” Yuta turns his head towards him, pointing at said house and Jaehyun nods “I think the parents are looking at some old movie while the youngest children are already sleeping and the oldest children are in their rooms scrolling through their social medias while listening to some music. It’s boring.” He insists on the last word and it makes Jaehyun chuckles so they laugh together, softly.
“What would you want them to be doing then?”
“I don’t know, they could wake up the children and get the teenagers out of theirs beds to pack because they decided to go on an impromptu vacation? I mean, it’s summer aren’t you supposed to be free and careless when it’s summer?”
Jaehyun shakes his head “They may have jobs you know?”
“Well it’s boring” Yuta repeats, petulant and Jaehyun chuckles again.
It always impressed him, the vision Yuta had on things. He didn’t think like other people and Jaehyun thought that life through Yuta’s eyes must be more interesting. There wasn’t place for negativity coming from other people, Yuta always made sure to chase it away and above all there was so much love for the people he cares about. Jaehyun had witnessed it several times and yet he never got used to it because there was always a surprise with Yuta.
“What are you thinking?” Jaehyun frowns, having troubles to get out of his head but then he eases it and looks up to Yuta already looking at him with fondness
“Nothing”. Yuta lets it slide
“Okay” he shrugs “shall we try to find our houses? or better the houses of our friends and guess what they are doing?” Yuta looks at him expectantly.
“I don’t think we can actually see them from here hyung”
Yuta tsks and so Jaehyun indulges him with a huff.
☽☽☽☽ ☾☾☾☾
The second week of summer break they still spend every night together.
On Friday night there is another party. They are both drunk and they make out on the dancefloor. The next morning they remember it and it’s okay.
On Saturday night again a party. They don’t make out. But they get out in the garden and they find a calm spot where they can talk. Only the two of them. For Jaehyun it has always been only Yuta.
They are intoxicated.
“I’m scared” Jaehyun has always been comfortable around Yuta.
“What of?” Yuta asks, worry written all over his face.
“Of everything : leaving the only town I’ve ever known, leaving my parents to live on my own, to move in a fucking big town, to feel lonely in Seoul… I’m scared of uni too, I don’t want to have to meet new people.. what if they don’t like me? What if I don’t make any friends and stay alone?” Jaehyun looks up at Yuta and it’s then that he realizes that he has started to tear up, so he wipes it away aggressively still looking at Yuta who is staring at the sky.
“It’s okay” a pause “I’ll be there for you, you will go to SMU right?” he doesn’t wait for an answer, he knows it, Jaehyun told him the second night they spent together “I was scared too” he briefly looks at Jaehyun before looking at the bottle he is holding in his hand.
“What changed?”
“Well I went there.. to Seoul I mean… and I moved in with Johnny and the next day we went to SMU and the next day and the next day and… I guess what I mean is that I got used to it? And also you quickly understand that there was nothing to be scared of, it’s only a new school and new people : you did it all your life already, people just make a big deal out of it for nothing. As for missing your parents, of course you will but only in the beginning, the feeling soon gets away because deep down you know it’s only natural to leave the family house and get your own. Also you don’t have to make new friends, although a lot of people will want to be yours I think... But anyway, in the end, you wouldn’t have time to stay afraid if you don’t want to miss out…” he shrugs
“But I’ll have nobody”
Yuta frowns “I already told you, you would have me and Johnny” his tone is sharp
“It’s not the same, you won’t be in my classes and you will even less be my roommates” Jaehyun’s tone is soft.
“We’ll be one call away”
“Really?” Jaehyun asks hopefully
“Of course really” Yuta nods, though if it’s meant for himself or for Jaehyun the latter couldn’t say.
“Okay” Jaehyun whispers and takes a sip of his drink.
☽☽☽☽ ☾☾☾☾
The third week is the same. But with a lot more making out.
It all started Monday when they went out to eat an ice cream in the middle of the night.
Careless.
“Hyung, isn’t it weird how we never got that close before? Like we were friends sure but we never spent that much time together…”
“Nope” Yuta pops the p.
“No? No we weren’t friends or no it’s not weird?”
“No it’s not weird” Yuta giggles and Jaehyun quirks an eyebrow. Yuta grins, steals a bit of Jaehyun’s ice cream with his spoon and resumes “I believe there is a time for everything in life Jaehyunnie”
“What do you mean?” Jaehyun keeps eating his ice cream, walking alongside Yuta.
“Well, if we were neighbours and a bit friend before it’s because it wasn’t the right time for us to become…” he tries to find the right word but comes up with nothing “for us to get closer and have what we have now… But isn’t it better? To let time have its own pace? We should never rush into things… I think that if something is meant to be then it will happen but if you make it happen then the result is not the same : you may not be ready for that thing, or you could ruin it when if you had waited you could have had the thing and happiness” he shrugs, eating a spoon out of his own ice cream “so yeah we should just let time be and wait. There is a right timing for everything and it’s very important to not miss it.”
Jaehyun doesn’t answer and thinks about what Yuta told him just now while they keep walking, now in silence except for the hustle and bustle of the town at 2am. He stops abruptly and Yuta stops in his track not even a second later.
“Can I kiss you hyung?”
Yuta looks surprised, but it’s soon replaced by a look of delight. He puts his ice cream out of the way and so Jaehyun does the same coming closer to the older.
☽☽☽☽ ☾☾☾☾
On Friday, another party.
And on Saturday, another one except that this time they go to the party of someone they both don’t know. It’s the party of the friend of a friend of the person that invited them but it’s okay, they are together.
It’s not.
When they get there, they both don’t like the vibes of the party but now that they are here they agree to stay at least one hour and a half. Perhaps it’s only because they know no one. However they don’t make it past the first hour.
Jaehyun is waiting in a quiet corner of the living room for Yuta to come back with their drinks when a boy approaches him. He ignores him, thinking that if he does so then the boy won’t even bother to come closer but he is wrong. The boy starts talking to him and Jaehyun doesn’t want to be totally rude so he gives him short answers wondering what’s taking Yuta so much time. He starts to get fidgety and the other boy notices, asking him if he makes him uncomfortable with a smirk. When Jaehyun doesn’t answer he starts to get even closer and it’s annoying Jaehyun. When he puts his hand on the wall, right next to Jaehyun’s ear the latter snaps taking hold of the boy’s wrist and pushing it away forcefully. Obviously the boy doesn’t take it well and he bares his teeth. But before the boy could do anything, Jaehyun hits him in the jaw and starts walking away. However, before he could really get away, the boy grips his shirt and holds him into place, Jaehyun is about to turn back to face the boy and asks what’s wrong with him when Yuta arrives from his left and immediately grips the boy’s wrist, then forcing him to release the grip he has on Jaehyun’s piece of clothes. Yuta glares at the boy.
He takes Jaehyun’s hand in his own and they run away from the party.
On their way back to Yuta’s house they stop to have some McDonald’s and then they spend the night together.
☽☽☽☽ ☾☾☾☾
They spend many more nights together after.