Chapter Text
It's the summer of 2014.
It hadn’t been long since Jaekyung turned 17, and he was already in trouble. It’s his third time back at the principal's office this month, right after getting caught holding a fight against some other students from his class.
Teachers have repeatedly tried to contact his father to discuss their concerns about his behavior, but it was impossible; he was a very busy man, apparently. They eventually grew tired of calling and decided not to intervene anymore.
Despite popular belief, Jaekyung’s academic performance wasn’t deficient at all. He had nice grades actually, but ever since he’s gotten involved in fights with his classmates, teachers have focused more on that aspect; for heaven’s sake, his detention hours are close to surpassing his regular class attendance. He could definitely do better, and everyone knew it, but his incompetent teachers didn’t seem to care enough and continued letting the issues slide as long as it didn’t affect the overall group’s progress. How inspiring.
The teenager had just arrived at math class after a long checkup at the nurse’s office, showing the teacher a note justifying his tardiness. Of course, the teacher wasn’t pleased with the interruption, but at least she let him sit down. He could hear his classmates whispering about his unruly appearance, as well as the multiple band-aids on his face and arms, but Jaekyung didn’t pay much attention to it, not only because he didn’t care, but worrying about gossip would be giving them the attention they wanted and he wouldn’t submit to it; he knew his truth and that was enough.
His body was remarkably tired and aching from the pain, and his mind couldn’t and wouldn’t keep up with the complicated math problems the teacher kept writing so loudly on the blackboard, so he took a deep breath, sat back and decided to look at the window to his left, supporting his head on his hand while he waited for time to move on faster. There was a convenience store across the street, he had watched some of his classmates cross the street at recess to buy snacks if the school menu wasn't appealing enough. A boy with brunette hair was outside the store, his gaze glued to the floor while he hid his hands in his pockets as an older man expressed his dissatisfaction towards him.
«Seems like that’s his boss. He must’ve screwed up at work», the teenager thought, interested in the unknown guy who, after watching his boss enter the store once again, pulled out a pack of cigarettes. «He looks so young, isn’t that illegal?»
The brunette guy lit a cigarette and poured the smoke out as he sat on a bench at the corner of the store, next to the garbage alley. His gaze was still lost on the ground, clearly tired; it was bad enough having received a callout from his boss on his first day—embarrassing, even. His head lifted to look at the school building in front of him, finally noticing some dark eyes that seemed to have been watching him for a while, tilting his head with curiosity.
Jaekyung quickly hid his face with the hood of his jacket, ashamed of being discovered. He stared out the window once again at the store guy, who smiled at him from afar, signaling him with his cigarette to pay attention to his class. The teenager shook his head while yawning falsely, proving how boring the class was; the guy laughed at his expression, once again signaling him to focus. All it took was for the brunette to make a move with his head pointing in a certain direction for Jaekyung to realize something.
«Has class already finished or why can’t I listen to the teacher?»
He slowly turned his face to his side, meeting face-to-face with the teacher, watching him with extreme anger as the entire classroom began to laugh at him. The final bell rang, and everyone else packed their bags to go home, but he didn’t dare to get up, knowing what was coming next.
"Since you have so much time to waste, I doubt it’ll be a bother for you to stay and clean up the whole classroom before you leave."
Jaekyung sighed, shook his head, and went to the cleaning room in search of a broom. Back at the convenience store, the brunette laughed softly, throwing out his finished cigarette and stepping on it, ready to continue his day after his short break.
☆
An hour later than everyone else, Jaekyung finally left the school building, completely exhausted from overworking his already aching body. He checked his phone for the time.
It was ten past six.
Checking both sides of the street before crossing to the other side, he asked himself whether it was a good idea to see if the store guy was still there or not. The sun would set later than usual, as it always did during the season, and despite his visible weariness he didn’t want to go home yet; that cold, silent place didn’t have the characteristic welcomeness of one either.
It wasn’t enough being bullied and excluded at school, he couldn’t find warmth and company in his own house as well. His father never arrives to greet him after work or have dinner with him, leaving the housekeeper as the one in charge of taking care of him, alongside all the household chores she is responsible for. The teenager was grateful to have her back home, despite everything, she made sure he received the special attention his own blood relative couldn’t offer him, yet he couldn't help thinking he served as a sole burden to the poor woman. Why was it so hard to find someone who wouldn't push him aside or belittle him?
“Hope your teacher didn’t punish you so harshly.” He heard a voice not so far from him. It was the brunette guy from before, coming out from the garbage alley with a smile. “Although I did try warning you that she was there, I'll admit it was still very funny.” The guy entered the store, heading to the counter.
“At least one of us got to laugh about it,” Jaekyung mumbled, following him inside the store. There wasn’t anyone else around.
“So what's your name, little one?” the oldest asked, checking the screen with all the cameras in the place, watching how the student took a ramen bowl and added hot water to it, letting it sit for some minutes.
“Joo Jaekyung,” he gave a flat response, reaching for something to drink at the cold drinks aisle, “And I'm 17, so don't call me like that.”
“Jaekyung… that's a nice name, little one.” He commented, completely ignoring his request.
"Yeah? At school, I’m often ridiculed by others saying it's a girly name.” The youngest slapped himself mentally after letting the information slip out of nowhere without previous thinking. The brunette noticed this, offering him an empathetic smile.
“Well, it is commonly used for girls but I think boys can use it as well, and it suits you. Sounds pretty.”
“And what’s your name?”
“Kim Dan, and I'm turning 19 soon, so please refer to me as your hyung.” Dan imitated the boy's previous tone. «It’s just a year or two, that’s nothing,» Jaekyung thought.
“Too short.” He said as he approached the register to check out, equally ignoring his comment.
“Which makes it easier to remember. Okay buddy, a bowl of spicy ramen, two packs of strawberry gummies, and peach-flavored iced tea, that’ll be ₩3000.”
Jaekyung paid a bit more than he should, watching Kim Dan write something down in a notebook after counting the money and saving it in the cash register. Despite being older than him for a couple of years, he had soft features that made him look younger, even better than other guys he knew—not like he maintained a close relationship with anyone around his age either. «Still, he’s too pretty to be a boy…» Jaekyung felt strange thinking about it, mentally throwing those thoughts out of his mind.
«I mean, boys can be pretty too but I’ve never seen someone so pretty… Am I being weird? God, what am I thinking—»
"Done. Here's your change—”
“Keep it, I don’t mind. Think of it as a tip.”
“...Right, thank you. Enjoy your meal, Jaekyung." The brunette smiled once more, grabbing the money and keeping it in his pocket as he grabbed a water bottle to drink. Jaekyung sat down not so far from the counter so they could keep on talking.
“How long have you been working here, by the way? It’s the first time I’ve seen you here, and I’m not much of a regular but even I know.” He asked as he took a big bite from his ramen.
“So that’s why you were watching me earlier, huh?” Dan looked back at him. “It’s my first day here, but I used to help my grandma with selling stuff before, so I just had to learn how to use a cash register and I was in. I’m working because I want her to rest, she’s getting older and she shouldn’t be working that much anymore. It’s scary… I mean, I got my first scolding after a guy told my boss I was ‘too slow’ to give back his change, that's so stupid! Can’t you wait a goddamn minute? I’m trying my best here.” A chuckle was heard from the teenager, who tried covering his mouth. “Oh, come on now, I’m being serious here!” The brunette frowned at him.
“Sorry, sorry… Didn’t mean to laugh, but guess we’re even now.” Jaekyung offered a tiny smile at him, with flushed cheeks and swollen lips from the spicy noodles. Dan could feel his face burning as well. “I think it’s cool you’ve assumed that responsibility, but aren’t you supposed to be at school too?”
“Not at all! I graduated last year but I’m preparing for admission exams. I'd suggest you start studying as well.”
“So you’re working and studying at the same time? That sounds exhausting. Do you ever have time to go out with your friends or something?” Jaekyung asked.
“I don’t have friends.”
“Oh.”
They both remained silent for a while, Jaekyung feeling ashamed for asking in the first place, but didn’t know if he should apologize for it or not. As he finished eating, he noticed the bittersweetness behind the smile Dan gave him before he got lost in thought, writing something more in his notebook. As soon as he was done writing, he closed it once more, drank another sip of water, and decided to resume the conversation.
“I did have some people around but they’ve moved on, you know? Well, you’re a senior so maybe you’ve heard about this before, but after school ends everyone goes their own way to achieve their dreams. Some may study abroad, some start working right away, and others take some time to think through what they wanna do. Some may have the money and resources to get anywhere they want in life, and that’s alright, but when you’re someone who has been living off of the efforts of a poor old woman for eighteen years… your path becomes rough, longer, and limited, especially if you have big dreams.”
Jaekyung never took the time to think about what he would do after finishing school, especially since his path was already planned for him beforehand: inheriting his father’s business, even if he didn’t want to. He wasn’t interested in being part of a company or anything related to working in an office, but what else could he do? He wasn’t good or skilled enough at anything.
“Do you have any idea what you want to be in the future?” The youngest decided to ask.
“A doctor, maybe. I’ve grown up around sick, disabled people my whole life. Humble, kind people who I’ve looked up to, and feel very grateful for their love and care, so I wanna take care of them as well. I know entering med school is very difficult and expensive but I don’t care! I’m studying hard to earn my spot, and if I do everything right I hope I can get a scholarship, so I need to ace that exam.” Dan answered with determination, almost naturally.
“What do you want to be, Jaekyung?”
He… didn’t have an answer for that.
When was the last time he had wanted something so much he knew he had to work hard to achieve it? He admits he was blessed with more privileges than the other kids but, compared to his classmates, he was far behind in everything. He never looked up to or felt inspired by anyone, not even his housekeeper who he deeply respected. He liked her, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be like her. Being the outcast, “problematic boy” he was, it was easier for others to give up on him than expect anything great from him. Of course, that was no excuse but he had hoped to have some time to think about it after he got out of that hell first.
If he didn’t know what to do in the future, he at least should answer with something he wanted to do right now, right?
Dan was drinking from his water bottle when he noticed how fidgety the young boy looked after the question, so he tried to rapidly change the topic. “Hey, it’s okay, you don’t have to answer if you don’t know yet—”
“I think I wanna be your friend.”
The answer caught Dan off guard as he choked and started coughing, his face turning bright red as Jaekyung looked at him with a startled expression. The boy went for some napkins so he could get himself clean if needed, but when he got back he heard Dan laughing, quickly confusing him. «Did I say something funny again?» Jaekyung first thought, his worries disappearing as soon as he heard the other’s voice.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry for that, I hope I didn’t make a fool of myself but that really caught me by surprise… You looked like a sad puppy for a moment and I was feeling very guilty for asking but then you said that and, hahaha! Anyways, let’s do it, it’ll be fun.” Dan said.
“Do… what?” Jaekyung questioned, still a little dumbfounded.
“Be friends, of course! That’s what you want, right?” The brightness reflected on Dan’s face as he awaited his response was enough to make Jaekyung smile back at him with the same hopeful expression, nodding and looking for his phone so they could exchange numbers and keep in touch.
After talking for a while (and getting excited over the fact Dan owned a BlackBerry in perfect condition), Jaekyung decided it was time for him to go home. Dan had to stay until his boss came back, so he waved goodbye to his new friend as he watched the dark-haired boy walk out of the store and call a cab home. On his way back, he decided to listen to some music, looking through the window as he thought about everything that happened today—positive things only.
He just made a friend, and a pretty cool one!
«Well, only if you consider working as something cool, but overall he seems very hardworking, nice and fun to be around, plus he seems to like me too so yeah, cool…» he thought.
As soon as he arrived home, he paid and thanked the driver for the ride, dashing to the door. He was received by the housekeeper, who was very worried about the hour he was arriving. “Young master, look what time it is! And what happened to your face, oh goodness! Was it those kids again? I swear…” she said as she closed the door behind them.
“Sorry noona, it wasn’t the best day today, so I wanted to eat some ramen to feel better. I promise to call you next time I take longer outside.” he quickly apologized, leaving his backpack on the living room couch as he lay down on it.
“You better! You can’t keep making me worried like that or else I’ll get older quicker… and I’m not even that old.” she huffed, sitting on the couch next to him. “Anyways, how was your day today, young master?”
“It was so-so, you know how it is, but then it got better, and you will never guess what happened,” he commented, feeling a little more excited at the end.
“Oh really? Enlighten me then.” she smiled, surprised over the unexpected change.
And Jaekyung started talking.
☆
As Dan arrived home, he was received by his grandmother, who hugged him as he took off his shoes. No matter how tired he may be, he would always feel at ease when he saw his grandmother, even after all these years. She was his safe place, his home, and everything he had, he had it all thanks to her.
“My precious boy, you’re finally back! How was your first day? Too heavy?” she asked as she kissed him on the forehead.
“Not really, everything was fine. There were nice people as well as rude people, but it was fine at last.” he smiled back, walking together through the small house until they reached the bedroom. He left his things on the floor and helped his grandmother sit down carefully.
“I’m very glad. Anything interesting happened today?”
The brunette thought it well enough before smiling softly, feeling his face flush while the events of the day played out in his head all over again. Maybe everything that had happened was a sign of upcoming good things in his life. His grandma noticed this and her curiosity peaked—something was definitely going on!
“Well? Aren’t you gonna tell your granny?” she asked once more, leaning closer to her grandson.
“Yeah, sorry! Well, how do I say this…?” Dan started talking, playing with his hands before he received a new notification. He searched for his phone and checked the message, laughing afterwards. It was a message from Jaekyung.
Jaekyung: see you tmrw after school?
Maybe this was the start of something new.
Dan: Sure !!! :-)
Something good for both of them.