Chapter Text
“Ya! That Totodile won’t stand a chance against that Weedle’s Poison Sting.”
After a brief second in which Jisung jumped off the ground and let out a cringe-worthy squeal, his flight-or-flight instinct kicked in.
His mom had warned him uncountable times about that thing, ‘stranger danger’. Don’t talk to people you don’t know, don’t accept anything from anyone, don’t just run off with someone. Also, if you don’t eat your veggies we’ll sell you to strangers who will force you to. For some reason, that was a really common one.
However, as Jisung went over all the scenarios he had been warned about, none of them particularly related to what he had found right in front of him. Maybe he didn’t have to flight after all. The threat had turned to be a boy around his age, for starters, which drastically contradicted with all the versions of older, creepy men his mom had the creativity of describing on multiple occasions. Moreover, while it was true that the boy was offering Jisung something, he didn’t believe a piece of Pokémon advice would be comparable to a bunch of candy.
Well. Actually, he would fall for the advice just as he would take the candy.
Having a terrible sweet tooth was a great disadvantage in life. Not only because of his susceptibility to being kidnapped, but also because of health issues and all of that. But who could blame a nine-year-old for wanting sweet treats from time to time? And what if Jisung deserved a daily ice cream bought on his way home with his own hard-earned money?
Jisung came back to reality, where the boy standing there hadn’t moved, even after being faced with the awkward silence between them. Was Jisung supposed to say something? By the way those dark eyes were observing him, maybe.
“Thanks,” he muttered. Then, because he was a bit shy, he looked down at his Nintendo. “I’m not trying to catch it, though.”
“You’re not?” the boy sat down next to Jisung, his face still devoid of any emotion, save for a slight arched eyebrow behind his glasses.
Jisung saw that questioning eyebrow and suddenly understood something that would come out to always be true about himself: a spark of teasing would be enough to activate a defensive response from him.
“Actually, I already have one, I’m looking for a Oddish or something,” he lied, like a liar.
The boy raised his arm and pointed at Jisung's Nintendo in confusion, forearm grazing his shoulder.
“Still, you shouldn’t do that during the day. Oddishes appear at night.”
Mhm. This kid new what he was talking about. You wouldn’t guess his knowledge by his appearance, since he had no trace of Pokémon merch on him. However, it is true that the plain cargoes and a long-sleeved tee with various t-rexes plus his glasses did indicate some level of nerdiness. Jisung was way more obvious about it all. He not only had a Bulbasour hoody on, gifted by his older brother as a birthday present, but he’d also brought his Nintendo to a playground. He was a full-on nerd, according to his brother, and he was supposed to feel ashamed about it too.
He could handle being a nerd if he got to play his HeartGold every day.
Just maybe not right now. Right now he was interested in getting to know the boy next to him. A plausible friend! Jisung couldn’t waste the chance, since he didn’t usually have many of those.
They spent what it felt like hours talking about their achievements in the new HeartGold (Jisung’s version) and SoulSilver (the boy’s version). He told Jisung that he’d gotten the game as a late Christmas present – he had begged his parents to cancel any other presents to save for the new release – and so, by this point, he was waaay more advanced than Jisung. Not only he had a Gengar, which Jisung would have sold his soul for at this point, but he also had a Munchlax!! He was so nice, he even told Jisung how to cheat and get all the starters. Jisung’s brother was going to freak out.
“What’s your favorite Pokémon?” Jisung finally asked at some point.
The boy adjusted his glasses and looked away, deep in thought.
“If we are talking about HeartGold/SilverSoul then Lugia, of course. I do like Hitmontop just because he dances,” he chuckles to himself, covering his mouth. “But my ultimate choice has to be Lucario.”
Jisung felt relieved that the other boy didn’t pretend to be tough and say Charizard or something. Instead, he admitted he liked a dancing weirdo. Also, Jisung new that last Pokémon very well, since he had a huge poster of it in his room, given by his oldest brother as a consolation prize for not being allowed to play the previous game due to him being too young. This HeartGold was the first Jisung owned by himself.
At some point of the conversation, after Jisung admitting his favorite was Esmolga, a flying squirrel that reminded him of his silly nickname, they started an argument about legendaries. At no point of their conversation did they agree, but they still kept on talking about Pokémons the whole time. Neither of them seemed to be tired of it. For Jisung, it was nice to express all his thoughts and feelings about his hyperfixation to someone who wasn’t annoyed by it.
The whole thing ended with the boy expressing their only agreed-on fact: “You can be Latias, I’ll be Latios.”
And Jisung was completely fine with that. This boy was actually his best friend now, so it made sense they would be the Latias and Latios pair!
This actually reminded Jisung he should ask for his new bestie’s name, because it would be very pertinent information at this point.
He was about to do so when the boy surprised him by getting up close to Jisung and putting a finger to his lips. Jisung immediately zipped it.
And then, to Jisung’s surprise, the boy raised his long sleeve to uncover the coolest thing he had ever seen. A tattoo. Of freaking Abra.
“How?” Jisung whispered, not sure if he was allowed to speak out loud about such an amazing discovery.
The other boy giggled, mirth shinning in his bright eyes. Then, he shrugged just because he knew how cool he was at that moment. The surge of jealousy Jisung felt was unmatched.
“It’s a temporary tattoo.”
Jisung rolled his eyes and dropped the whispering and mystery by waving his arms exasperatedly.
“I know what it is! My brother has those. But my mom doesn’t let me do it.”
He knew that he was pouting but he didn’t really care, not in front of his brand-new best friend. They were close like that.
“They’re washable,” the boy was frowning like that simple fact was enough to convince Mrs. Han.
Ha, he didn’t know a thing about Jisung’s mother.
“I knowww! But she won’t let me wear them. Believe me, I’ve tried.”
The boy shook his head, trying to cover his sly smile while digging in the pocket of his jeans. “Well, that’s a shame, because I have just the tattoo for you…”
Jisung’s heart actually dropped. He could feel it on the tips of his toes.
“You don’t,” he shook his head, trying to convince himself this was too good to be true. He could feel his fingers starting to shake from excitement.
“I do. Look.”
A tiny piece of shinny paper was being held in front of him. The cute black, white, and yellow squirrel that he loved so much had been made a tattoo. And he was so lucky to be able to behold its beauty in real life…
“I can’t- I can’t put it on,” Jisung’s heart was breaking piece by piece as he spoke. “My eomma would actually murder me dead.”
“You don’t have to. You can keep it safe until you’re allowed to.”
That was a great idea, actually. Wow, this kid was smart as heck. Jisung took a moment to look up from the tattoo into his eyes. They were brown just like his, but they were also so vastly different. Sharp and calm, lacking emotion but emotional at the same time. This guy was cool.
Jisung mustered all his grateful feelings and put them into his, “Thank you.”
He put it inside his Nintendo and closed it carefully, to then put it inside its Snorlax-themed case.
The boy was observing his safe-keeping gesture with a neutral face but, somehow, Jisung knew saw some fondness hidden behind his gaze.
Now was the perfect time to exchange names.
“YA, SUNG-A! EOMMA HAS BEEN CALLING YOU FOR AGES. DINNER IS READY LET’S GO.”
Jisung’s soul dropped as he automatically jumped up.
“I’m sorry, my- they are calling and, you know, I need to go.”
“It’s cool,” a half smile reached his pouty lips.
“See you around!”
But the boy never answered Jisung. And not only Jisung never asked for his name, but he never saw him again.