Work Text:
By the time Jaehyun steps out of the museum’s front doors, the sun has long since disappeared. He’s immediately met with the sounds of heavy rainfall, droplets pummeling away at the concrete steps just a few inches away from the toes of his shoes. The arching doorframe does well to shield Jaehyun from the rain though, giving him time to sort the papers in his hands before swapping them in favour of the umbrella in his bag.
The rain is heavy, but there’s little wind. The glow of the streetlights can be seen in the water glistening atop the sidewalk, illuminating the city in a manner reminiscent of moonlight. Jaehyun steps into the downpour, making sure the umbrella is covering his bag, and starts walking towards the main street.
The nearest bus stop is directly across the street from the museum, but very few buses run at this hour. The next closest stop is a twenty minute walk away, and Jaehyun knows to make the trek there instead.
It’s usually quiet at this time of night, but the unfortunate weather makes the city appear more desolate than ever. The usual prowlers – drunk businessmen being shooed out of dingy bars or college partygoers on seemingly eternal benders – are nowhere to be seen, for even they seem to know when not to get in the way of Mother Nature.
The only signs of life are the occasional cars that speed down the empty lanes on the road, the red hues of their backlights a stark contrast against the off-white glare of the streetlamps. Jaehyun does best to avoid these cars, though, as they often pay little attention as to what, or to whom , they splash when their tires roll through huge puddles on the side of the road.
As if on cue, the flare of two headlights peek over the horizon on the opposite side of the street, the lights becoming more and more blinding until they’re not anymore, splashing Jaehyun’s shoes with a couple of drops of muggy rainwater. As Jaehyun blinks a couple of times to readjust his eyesight, however, he notices another movement out of the corner of his eye. This time not a car, but a boy.
The boy, who doesn’t look to be any older than Jaehyun himself, seems to have gotten what Jaehyun managed to escape, his entire body dripping with water from the neck down. He’s standing under an awning with his left arm outstretched and a large painting held dramatically, almost comically, away from the street, as if this boy would rather die than have his canvas be ruined. Jaehyun watches as he inspects the painting for any signs of damage, subconsciously breathing a sigh of relief along with the boy when there appears to be none.
Even so, a worried expression takes over the boy’s face again as he looks up at the rain, his bottom lip caught between his teeth and his hands clutched tight onto his canvas. Jaehyun, who would usually keep his head down and mind his own business, can’t help but feel sympathy for this poor boy, with his sopping wet clothes and precious work of art and seemingly no umbrella, and takes this as his cue to approach him.
The sound of nearing footsteps pulls the boy out of his worry, alarm flashing over his face as he shields the painting behind his body. His eyes dart around before finally landing on the figure of Jaehyun approaching him from the dark, and he instinctively takes a couple of steps back.
“Who are you?” The boy asks, eyes narrowing at Jaehyun. “What do you want?”
Jaehyun doesn’t say anything yet, but takes a few steps forward to join the boy underneath the awning, closing his umbrella as he does so. The lighting from the adjoining building allows the boy to see Jaehyun’s face better, and Jaehyun tries his best to put on a reassuring expression. The boy seems to relax slightly upon seeing someone his own age, but his hands still have a vice-like grip on the canvas.
“Sorry if I scared you,” Jaehyun says, grimacing. “I saw what happened just now. That painting seems to be really important to you and you don’t seem to have an umbrella, so…” He nudges his umbrella towards the boy.
“Oh!” The boy exclaims, surprise taking over any remaining fear in his body. “That’s very nice, but I’m okay. I wouldn’t want you to get wet, either. I’ll just wait for the rain to stop.”
He smiles at Jaehyun, a reserved little smile that just barely reaches his eyes, but it brightens up his whole face. It makes him look young, at least younger than Jaehyun initially thought he was, and Jaehyun is overcome with a strange feeling of wanting to protect the boy.
Jaehyun looks skeptically up at the sky. The rain hasn’t let up at all since he left the museum over almost ten minutes ago, and is only likely to get even worse, if the thunder rolling in the distance was anything to go by. The boy seems to realize this too, the look on his face returning to unease as he watches the rain hurdle onto the ground.
“It’s nearly two in the morning, the buses are going to stop running soon. At least let me walk you to your stop,” Jaehyun says, poking the umbrella out of the awning’s way and opening it up with a flourish. “See? There’s more than enough room for two.”
The boy laughs, eyes crinkling into little crescents. Little whiskers form atop his cheekbones. It’s a very pretty sight.
“It’s not me that I’m worried about, it’s not like I can get any more soaked than I already am. I’m more worried about my painting.”
“I’m sure we can make it work,” Jaehyun reasons, grinning. He jerks his head towards his umbrella. “We better get going before we miss the buses entirely.”
The boy nods, carefully shifting his canvas underneath an arm before picking up his backpack from the ground and hoisting it up onto one shoulder.
“Let’s go.”
☂
It’s an awkward fit, with the painting taking up most of the umbrella space, leaving Jaehyun and the boy crowded under the edges of the umbrella. They’re moving quite slowly so as to not get the painting wet, and one of Jaehyun’s shoes squishes uncomfortably every time he takes a step. Still, Jaehyun can’t bring it upon himself to be upset, not when the boy had looked so relieved when the canvas fit completely under the umbrella, and how he’s still eyeing the painting so carefully to make sure all of its corners are covered.
It’s quiet for a bit, the steadiness of the rainfall punctuated only by their uneven footsteps, before the boy speaks up, turning his gaze away from his artwork to glance at Jaehyun.
“Thank you for doing this, seriously, you’re a lifesaver. I’m Chenle, by the way.”
“Jaehyun,” the taller boy replies, awkward silence stretching out for a moment before he continues, “what’s the painting for, if you don’t mind me asking?”
The boy – Chenle – perks up at this question, his posture straightening just a little. “I’m a visual arts major,” he says, chest puffing up a little with pride, “this is one of the main pieces for my final portfolio. It’s almost done, I’ve been working on it for weeks.” He maneuvers the painting around so that it faces Jaehyun.
Jaehyun had caught glimpses of the painting earlier, but Chenle had been so preoccupied with making sure the painting was dry that Jaehyun hadn’t gotten the chance to take a good look. He didn’t want to seem rude either, in case Chenle was one of those artists who were touchy about letting others see their unfinished pieces.
Now that he’s been given full permission to ogle at the painting, however, he can’t seem to draw his eyes away. The figure of a young child sits on what appears to be a rowboat, looking wistfully back at the twinkling lights of an urban skyline contrasted against an inky night sky. Even though the child’s expression isn’t visible, the sense of longing is so nearly tangible, and it makes Jaehyun feel homesick for the first time in a very long time.
“It’s my hometown, you know,” Chenle says, eyes staring somewhere around the tips of his toes. Jaehyun swears there’s a hint of a blush on his cheeks. “Shanghai. It’s so pretty, especially at night.” He sighs before finishing, “I’ve been missing my family lately.”
Jaehyun hums empathetically and nods, because somehow the exact feeling Chenle’s describing radiates from the painting. “It’s beautiful,” Jaehyun says, voice coming out more unsteady than he’d expected. He clears his throat before continuing, “I work at a museum and I see a lot of art, but this is really something else.”
Chenle flushes even deeper, eyes still avoiding Jaehyun’s, and maneuvers the painting carefully back around so that it’s once again hidden from Jaehyun’s view. “Thank you,” he says, a shy but proud smile appearing across his face as he finally darts his eyes over to glance at Jaehyun.
Then the smile is gone, and open curiosity sits on Chenle’s face as he tilts his head to look at Jaehyun straight on. It startles Jaehyun, who freezes for a moment under the direct attention.
“Wait, did you say you worked at a museum?” Chenle asks, voice buzzing with interest.
“Yeah, just a few blocks down. Why?” Jaehyun replies, his own voice mirroring Chenle’s curiosity.
“No way! I go there all the time!” Then, a tiny frown creases Chenle’s face. “How come I’ve never seen you before?”
Jaehyun chuckles a little at this, endeared by Chenle’s naïveté. There’s at least a hundred employees at the museum, and even Jaehyun doesn’t know them all. “I do ceramic curating, so they usually have me at the back. We don’t usually get as many visitors as the other exhibits.”
“Ahh, that makes sense. I don’t really go there, either,” Chenle says, turning away from Jaehyun to start walking again. “I guess I have a reason to go now, then.”
The words seem to leave Chenle’s mouth before his brain can even catch up, and the implication of his words is clear by how the sides of Chenle’s neck start to redden. It makes Jaehyun blush a little bit too, and it’s his turn to stare down at his toes when he replies, “Yeah, I’d like that.”
They don’t speak again until Chenle’s bus stop comes into view, but their arms brush against each other the entire way, just a little more purposeful than before.
“Thank you again for this,” Chenle says as they take shelter under the awning, “I wish I could make it up to you.”
Something flutters in Jaehyun’s stomach, but he waves Chenle off. “It’s fine, really. I was going in this direction anyways.”
“If you’re sure…” Chenle says, glancing suspiciously around at their surroundings. They’ve left the busiest part of the main road, the only lights on the street coming from a distantly approaching bus. “But I know where you work now. What’s stopping me from sending you a huge bouquet of flowers to your office tomorrow morning?”
Jaehyun laughs, but then makes a face. “I sure hope not. I’m super allergic.”
“I’ll think of something else then,” Chenle replies, eyes twinkling with mischief as he steps onto the bus that’s just pulled up in front of them. Even though it’s only a couple steps from the awning to the bus, Jaehyun is careful in making sure Chenle and his painting are still covered by the umbrella.
“I’m sure you will,” Jaehyun says, raising his voice a little as Chenle retreats into the bus. Jaehyun watches as Chenle takes out his wallet to tap on the machine and stumbles a bit as the bus starts to move. He waves to Jaehyun through the window, eyes curved up once again into crescent moons, and Jaehyun gives a little wave of his own back.
There’s no reason to linger, especially not this late at night, but he stays at the bus stop just a while longer, wondering if he’ll ever see Chenle again.
☂
There’s no gift from Chenle when Jaehyun goes into work the next day, but Jaehyun wasn’t really expecting anything anyways. The disappointment is still there though, and it lingers throughout the week as Jaehyun finds himself getting distracted by thoughts of the boy, hoping somewhat inanely to cross paths with him again. The feelings slowly disappear though, and it isn’t long before Jaehyun finds himself completely immersed in his work again.
Then, on the day exactly three weeks from that chance encounter, there’s a knock on Jaehyun’s office door. His colleague, Johnny, enters, holding a very large rectangle covered in brown wrapping paper. Immediately, Jaehyun knows what it is.
“Some guy named Chenle left this for you at the front desk,” Johnny says. “He said it was a personal gift and to deliver it specifically to you. Although if it’s so personal, why didn’t he just deliver it to your house?”
Jaehyun laughs at this, taking the package out of Johnny’s hands and setting it on his desk. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you another time.”
Johnny raises an eyebrow, but he recognizes a dismissal when he sees one.
“I’ll hold you to your word, then,” he says, amused, and closes the door behind him as he exits.
Jaehyun hums absently after him, his attention devoted completely on the green post-it note stuck cleanly to the corner of the gift.
He carefully unpeels the note from the box, eyes squinting a little as he deciphers the thin, loopy handwriting.
I hope you like the painting, let me know if you need any help putting it up ;)
- C
A phone number is scrawled underneath the note, and despite the cheesiness, Jaehyun finds himself blushing anyways. He pockets the note for later and looks at the package itself. It’s a canvas, no doubt, the size even larger than the one Chenle had that night, and Jaehyun suddenly feels embarrassed at the thought of someone painting such a large work of art for him.
With clammy hands, Jaehyun carefully rips the brown packaging apart, unveiling the beautiful oil painting underneath of two boys sharing an umbrella in the rain.