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After eight in the evening, the third floor corridor of the university dorm was usually quiet. Most students retreated to the library, buried themselves in studying or scattered into cafés around campus. But that night, the wind was unusually strong. Tree branches slammed against the windows, and even inside the building there was a constant low howl. The air felt cold and tense.
Namjoon sighed as he stared at the books spread messily across his desk. He was trying to study but the rhythm of the wind outside kept breaking his focus. When his desk lamp flickered once, his pen slipped from his fingers.
“No… not now. Please don’t do this to me again,” he muttered.
The dorm’s old electrical system, however, ignored his plea. The light went out completely.
A collective “Aaaa!” echoed through the corridors.
Another blackout was occurring again.
Namjoon closed his eyes and took a slow breath. He didn’t like crowds. During power outages, everyone poured out of their rooms, bumping into each other, shouting, panicking. But staying alone in the dark felt even worse, it was claustrophobic.
He pulled his cardigan over his shoulders and headed toward the stairs, keeping his phone light dim.
When he pushed open the rooftop door, cold wind hit his face. The sky wasn’t filled with stars, but a pale moonlight filtered weakly through the clouds. It wasn’t much but it was still beautiful.
The rooftop, of course, was crowded. One group sat on the ground playing cards, another sang with phone flashlights raised, some people struggled to keep their hats from flying away.
Not wanting to get lost in the crowd, Namjoon went to his usual corner. He leaned against the low wall and crouched down. The cold concrete seeped into his legs, drawing a quiet sound from him.
It wasn’t the complete silence he wanted but at least it was away from most of the noise.
He had just closed his eyes when a shadow moved toward his corner. Namjoon looked up, unable to make out who it was at first, no phone light illuminated their faces but the moonlight carved sharp lines into their features.
It was Kim Seokjin.
The dorm’s most well-known, most beloved student. The one whose laughter echoed through the halls, the one no one ever had a bad word for.
“You’re here,” Seokjin said, slightly out of breath. “I knew it.”
Namjoon blinked, surprised.
“You were looking for me?”
Seokjin sat down beside him. The wind brushed his hair to the side.
“Yeah. You always come to this corner.”
Namjoon felt a bit embarrassed. He wasn’t used to anyone noticing his small habits.
“I… don’t like crowds.”
“I noticed,” Jin said with a smile.
There was no judgment in his voice. He was so calm.
“You need a place to calm down.”
“Do you come up here to calm down too?” Namjoon asked.
Seokjin laughed softly.
“I usually come here to calm other people down.”
That was true. Seokjin managed crowds, reassured panicking students, walked around with a flashlight calling out, “The stairs are on the left!” He was like the dorm’s unofficial parent.
But tonight was different. His face looked tired, there were faint shadows under his eyes, and his smile didn’t fully reach them.
Silence settled between them. When the wind blew harder, Namjoon crossed his arms while Seokjin shoved his hands into his pockets.
As long as they didn’t speak, the wind did. But the silence wasn’t uncomfortable. It felt like the kind shared by two people who weren’t strangers anymore, who were beginning to understand each other without words.
Seokjin spoke first.
“I’m really tired today.”
Namjoon nodded to show that he was listening.
Seokjin took a deep breath.
“It feels like everyone expects me to always be okay. Always smiling, always positive. Sometimes I just want to breathe. But I can’t tell anyone that.”
Namjoon swallowed.
“You can tell me,” he said softly.
He turned to him, eyes looked faintly glassy.
“That’s why I wanted to find you,” he said.
“You don’t force anything. People don’t feel like they have to prove themselves around you. They can just… exist.”
Namjoon’s breath caught.
No one had said anything like that to him in years.
“That’s why I’m here,” Seokjin continued. “Can I stay next to you for a bit?”
Namjoon bit his lip.
“Stay,” he said. “Stay as long as you want.”
Seokjin smiled lightly.
“Careful. I’ll hold you to that.”
As the wind eased, all that remained was the sound of their quiet laughter.
Seokjin pulled his knees up to his chest, absentmindedly playing with them, while Namjoon kept his hands clasped, stealing glances at him. They both wanted to speak, but neither was sure where their words might lead.
Once again, Seokjin broke the silence.
“Namjoon… do you not like me?”
Namjoon’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest.
“What? Why would you think that?”
“You always watch me from a distance,” Seokjin said.
“And when we make eye contact, you look away immediately. Sometimes it feels like I make you uncomfortable.”
Namjoon’s face burned.
“No! It’s not that. I’m not uncomfortable... I’m just… shy.”
“Because of me?”
Namjoon lowered his head.
“A little.”
Seokjin was quiet for a moment, then asked softly, clearly hoping for an answer he wanted to hear,
“Why?”
Namjoon opened his mouth, closed it, then tried again.
“Because… ever since the first time I saw you… I don’t know. You’re a bit too… impressive. Sometimes when I look at you, it’s hard to speak.”
Seokjin blinked.
“Is it like that now too?”
Namjoon’s throat tightened.
“Yes.”
At that, Seokjin’s shoulders relaxed. A small, fragile smile appeared on his lips.
“I thought you hated me.”
“How could I hate you?”
“I don’t know,” Seokjin said. “People sometimes think that about those who smile all the time.”
Namjoon shook his head.
“No. You’re… impossible to ignore and hate.”
Seokjin froze. That sentence lodged itself straight into his chest.
When the moon slipped out from behind the clouds again, Seokjin’s face became clearer. His eyes were deep, thoughtful and emotional.
“Namjoon,” he said gently. “You give off a strange kind of comfort.”
“Strange?” Namjoon whispered.
“Yes. Breathing feels easier around you. It’s… weird.”
Namjoon’s mouth went dry. His gaze drifted, unconsciously, to Seokjin’s lips.
The air between them grew heavy, their hearts beat louder. Even the wind seemed unwilling to interrupt it had gone completely still.
Seokjin leaned his head lightly against Namjoon’s shoulder.
“Can I stay like this for a bit?” he whispered.
Namjoon’s voice trembled.
“Stay… as long as you want.” He repeated.
Minutes passed. The rooftop eventually emptied completely. Still, neither of them moved.
At last, Seokjin lifted his head.
“Joon… do you ever feel lonely?”
Namjoon thought for a long time.
“Yes. Very much.”
“Me too,” Seokjin said. “But tonight… I don’t know. It doesn’t feel that way anymore.”
He gently held Namjoon’s arm with both hands, squeezing lightly.
“I want to keep talking to you.”
Namjoon’s breath caught. He couldn’t believe this was happening.
“I want to talk to you too.”
“You won’t push me away, right?”
“Never.”
Seokjin closed his eyes.
“Then I’ll admit it… Seeing you on this rooftop makes me genuinely happy. Maybe that’s why I’ve been secretly hoping for blackouts.”
“You’re my reason too, Seokjin.”
Namjoon felt like he’d forgotten how to speak. He kept giving the same answers, like a child just learning words.
Just as Seokjin was about to say something else, the entire rooftop flooded with light.
The power was back.
Still, neither of them moved. Even with the lights on, they kept looking at each other. They were no longer just two people stuck together because of a blackout.
Seokjin leaned a little closer.
Namjoon leaned in too.
The distance between them shrank to nothing but breath.
“Namjoon,” Seokjin whispered. “I want to see you. Whether there’s a blackout or not. I want to see you always.”
Namjoon’s voice was barely audible.
“I’ll come see you. Tomorrow, the day after… Even if the lights never go out again.”
Seokjin smiled, this was the most genuine smile he’d worn all night.
“Then I’ll be waiting.”
His fingers found Namjoon’s hand.
Their touch was light at first then their fingers intertwined.
The darkness was gone.
But their story had just begun.