Chapter Text
Jooheon started mentioning his imaginary best friend shortly after his 6th birthday. Shortly, meaning 5 minutes after he celebrated turning six. His mother would hear him mumbling to himself but chalked it up to nothing but him being a learning toddler. That changed however when they received a formal introduction through Jooheon asking them to cut another slice of his birthday cake for his friend ‘Kyunnie’
“Kyunnie?” Jooheon’s mother asked slightly confused
“yes. He’s my bestest friend” Jooheon exclaimed excitedly, oblivious to his parents taking him in disconcertingly
“and where is he honey?” Jooheon’s dad chimed in
“he’s right here” little Jooheon happily pointed his fork in the direction of the empty chair to his left while facing his dad on his right. Moments passed before anyone spoke. His mother growing slightly uneasy at her toddler mentioning someone who is clearly not there but all worries were dispelled when his dad finally broke the silence.
“Oh your imaginary friend? Right, of course he can get a slice” with a smile, he reached for the cake, cutting a slice, even to Jooheon’s, for ‘Kyunnie’. The worried expression left his mother as she took the rest of the cake from the table, replacing it with the gifts they got for Jooheon. Immediately, the cake was abandoned in favor of the first gift that caught his eye, a big box wrapped in shiny yellow wrapping paper decorated with honey jars. His father moved his plate just in time as he dove over the table for the box, his little hands not quite grabbing it properly on the first try. As soon as the box was secured in his grasp, he got to work on the wrapping paper, ripping it to shreds excitedly. In the box was a brand new model of his favorite transformer bumblebee. As seen on TV! Jooheon has been expressing his excitement for the toy ever since it was first advertised and since he was practically raised on the cartoons, it was only fitting that his parents pulled through for him to have it on his birthday. Soon, the other two gifts were forgotten. Jooheon hopped off the chair, running around the dining room table with his Bumblebee.
“I’m bumblebee and I keep the peace around here” Jooheon stated using his best bumblebee impression
“stand up and fight, what are you? Yellow?” his dad chimed in
“uhhh duh” Jooheon replied before bursting in a fit of giggles along with his dad. His mother sat by the table enjoying the scene but not wanting him to forget his other two gifts
“honey dear, remember you have other gifts, you have all day tomorrow to play with bumblebee” Jooheon safely set his new best friend on the table before climbing up and reaching for the second box. Like the first, he excitedly ripped open the wrapping paper revealing a large stuffed bumblebee; soft and fluffy to the touch with dimples embroidered into its cheeks to match its owner. The bee was dressed in black overalls with Joohoney embroidered into the breast pocket. Jooheon held the bee up to the light, looking at it intently before exclaiming
“He has dimples like me!”
“That’s because he is you dear” his mother explained as Jooheon excitedly poked away at his replica’s cheeks.
“Come on open the last one then you can go ham for the rest of the day” his dad gently nudged the last gift towards him and like the others, he tore at it just as eagerly.
The third gift revealed a new pair of custom sneakers with Jooheon’s name etched in the side. His dad had to hold him back from putting the shoes on immediately, knowing he was going to wear it to school Monday. Knowing their son, he was going to wear them until he couldn’t and they didn’t want to deal with asking him to take them off to shower on a weekend meant to relax.
After a second serving of cake, Jooheon went outside to break in his new toy as his parents cleaned. He ran across the expanse of his backyard as Changkyun sat quietly on the door step. Jooheon happily flew bumblebee over his mom’s hibiscus, around his dad’s shed, under the swings and even through the railings of the back porch all while doing his best robot impression. His mom supervised him from the porch door, while his dad cleaned up the shreds of wrapping paper and the slice of untouched cake before joining her.
“Hi” he murmured, arms snaking around her waist. She couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face at her husband’s antics
“Hi” she whispered in return, turning her head to meet him with a small peck on the lips
“How long do you think Kyunnie will be around?” he gently rested his chin in the crook of her neck, eyes trailing Jooheon running about outside
“Well, he’s been around since last year so I don’t think Kyunnie is going anywhere for now”
“Last year? I thought he showed up march” he paused to lightly nip at her neck “Do you even know his full name or is it just ‘Kyunnie’? ” he added, peppering her shoulder in light kisses
“He said it’s Changkyun and there seems to be a lot of peculiarities you miss about honey. Remember when you thought his favorite color was green?” she giggled as she felt her husband’s movements come to a halt
“How was I supposed to know it was yellow this whole time?!” he asked incredulously
“For starters his bedroom” she could almost see the puzzle pieces moving in her husband’s head as he rested it against her shoulder
“And his book bag and school supplies”
“Alright I get it” he tried throwing in the towel but she was having far too much fun
“His cutlery and gadgets” she felt his tighten around her waist in defeat
“Come on…” he sighed
“And his clothes” that was the final nail in the coffin as he spun her around and kissed her smug grin away
“I get it, it was rather obvious. No need to salt the wound” he gently nuzzled his nose against hers before lengthening his grip on her hips so that she can continue to watch their son parading around the backyard
Changkyun watched this exchange from the doorstep. He looked up at the first mention of his name and didn’t bother to look away after that point. He first met Jooheon in the park when Jooheon was on his way from school. Changkyun prefers to remain unseen, though that can be achieved regardless of where he stood, he hid amongst the shadows between the trees at the far end of the park. Not too secluded but a fair distance away from the crowd of giggling kids. He managed to collect a hand bag full of acorns in the early morning so he could try to feed the squirrels when they finally showed up in the afternoon. This is how Jooheon managed to sneak up on Changkyun.
“Woah that’s so cool!” he heard a tiny whisper come from behind him, as if trying his best not to startle him nor the squirrels. Changkyun flinched slightly, momentarily spooking the squirrel he was feeding, before slowly turning around confused.
“You can see me?” he asked, voice barely above a whisper
“Yeah. You’re kinda obvious too since no one else over here and there’s these bunch of squirrels around” Jooheon paused, oblivious to Changkyun’s shocked expression at the confirmation that Jooheon can see him, before scooting closer to get a better look
“How did you get them to like you? I’ve been trying for weeks. Can I?” he gently sat next to Changkyun, shoulders brushing, as he pointed to the bag of acorns between Changkyun’s crossed legs. Changkyun blinked himself out of his stupor before nodding. Jooheon took and handful of the acorns and looked at Changkyun for directions.
“Just put your hand on the ground and let them smell, they’ll start eating when they know you’re not mean” Changkyun instructed and Jooheon followed diligently. A brown squirrel scuttered close, sniffing Jooheon’s hand curiously. Jooheon gasped and smiled flashing his dimples excitedly. Changkyun watched as Jooheon’s eyes lit up as the squirrel started nibbling on one of the acorns in his hand. Changkyun gently placed a few more acorns in Jooheon’s hand to keep the squirrels’ attention on him seeing how happy it made him to finally be able to feed the squirrels. They stayed put for 10 more minutes, the squirrels had their fill and went their separate ways.
“You should probably get home” Changkyun pointed out, dejectedly. He just met the boy and wanted to him to stay longer but it’s getting late and Changkyun knew better than to delay him.
“Oh yeah you’re right” a pause. He stood up and brushed off his overalls and knees. He reached for his backpack before turning to face Changkyun again “hey, you wanna come over?”
“I uh…” Changkyun trailed off. He was giddy with both nervousness and excitement. Sure he was happy to spend more time with his new smiley friend but sleep over’s usually need a parent’s permission, how can he explain to Jooheon that he doesn’t….
“Sure!” he spoke up, startling Jooheon a little. Jooheon smiled and extended his hand to help him off the ground. Changkyun took the helping hand. Once up off the grass, he expected Jooheon to let go, instead Jooheon squeezed his hand and smiled at him as he lead the way out of the shadows and presumably, the way home. Changkyun felt his tiny face heat up and he stared at the ground to avoid staring into Jooheon’s dimples. He only looked back up when Jooheon was in front, actively dragging Changkyun along.
‘His cheeks are so round’ he thought to himself. He wanted reach out and poke on as he watched Jooheon animatedly talk about how he’d introduce him to his parents. He was pulled from his thoughts when he noticed Jooheon staring at him with his eyebrows raised
“Huh?”
“I asked what your name was”
“Oh. It’s Changkyun” Jooheon paused, committing the name to memory before he lit up and squeezed Changkyun’s hand again.
“I’m Jooheon…” he trailed off as if he had an idea “Can I call you Kyunnie?” he asked head tilting to the side. Changkyun felt his face eat up for the second time as he nodded so fast his head might fall off. Jooheon chuckled and resumed their walk.
Since then he’s been by Jooheon day in, day out. They’d hang out together at the park before coming home together. Jooheon’s parents have been extremely nice to him despite the fact that they couldn’t see him but he was grateful to them still. He shook his head lightly and walked over to Jooheon, who has finally seemed to run out of battery.
The sunset catches Jooheon under the giant chestnut oak tree in his back yard huddling his knees and drawing in the dirt. Changkyun sat across from him, always the observer, eyes following the intricate patterns little Jooheon manages to trace in the dirt. The reality creeps its way over Jooheon as the day went by in regards to Changkyun. The way he can see Changkyun so clearly and feel him but it’s almost as if his parents are pretending not to. It’s almost as if they can’t see him at all. Worried, Jooheon stops drawing and looks up at Changkyun
“Kyunnie, why can’t my parents see you?” he asked, pouting as he tried to make light of the situation. Changkyun simply shrugged in response, nonchalant as a 6 year old can be
“No idea. Only time will tell”