Chapter Text
"Seungmin ah! Look at me" a young boy, not a day older than 18, was sitting with a guitar on his bed. His hair dyed blond. The glasses sitting on the crook of his nose looking like it would fall off any minute.
"I am!!" the other side of the screen was filled with giggles.
"Not through the lens?" a pout forming on the blond boy. "Come on. Focus on me" his whining rang throughout the quiet apartment.
"I am listening! Keep playing Ji" he said fixing the glasses of the other boy with his unoccupied hand.
"Why do you always have to record?" the blond boy grumbled under his breath, his fingers strumming the strings with practiced ease. Soon the room was filled with an unfamiliar melody.
"It's for the-" the voice behind the camera started speaking but he was interrupted.
"memories. I know. I know." a sigh escaping him. He was about to continue with his sentence, but stopped when a faint voice was heard.
"Kids! Dinner is ready!!" The voice was now very familiar to him.
"What do you think my mom made for dinner?" the excitement was evident on his face on hearing that food is ready. He seemed like energy was radiating off him.
"How will I know?" the boy behind the camera asked. This time followed by a chuckle. 'Ji ' carefully kept his guitar on the bed and then sprinted outside the room.
"Hey! Wait for me-" But before he could even finish, he was left alone in the room. "Just like always" No heat behind his words, just filled with fondness.
The clip ended. The next clip started to play and this time instead of the same blond boy, there was boy with cherry red hair peacefully sleeping.
"Seungmin ah. Wake up!" a hand slipped inside the frame nudging the sleeping boy.
"Five more minutes mom. Please" Seungmin, clenched his eyes shut and pulled the covers over his head, not even trying to wake up.
"First of all, I am not your mom" a laugh followed that sentence. "And no. Wake up. You promised me you will come with me to get the limited edition cheesecake. Come on" this time he pulled the blanket with full force and at the same time Seungmin removed the blanket and got up immediately causing him to fall on the floor. A gasp left him and he somehow managed to not let the camera drop on floor.
For a few second it was just a black screen. Then the camera lens was faced up again, showing Seungmin still on the bed fumbling around the night stand to grab his glasses.
When he finally wore them, his jaw dropped.
"Jisung?" he exclaimed his eyes focused on the camera. "Is that my camera?"
As if knowing what's coming next, Jisung stood up and ran out of the room, Seungmin also removed his covers and ran behind him.
For few minutes nothing was visible on the screen properly. Hazy surroundings due to the running and things said in the background like Seungmin's mother shouting "No running in the house you two" or Seungmin shouting "Stop running you coward!"
The screen went black again.
"Ah- you are going to break the camera! Don't handle it that way!" the screen was still blank but the voices were faint.
"I am trying! Got it" another voice replied back. "Now smile"
Soon a more mature looking Seungmin was seen in the frame wearing a graduation gown and cap, a bouquet in his hands. Posing for the video with a big smile.
After few minutes he raised his hand, motioning Jisung to stand beside him . The boy on the other side of the lens approached Seungmin's father, handed him the camera and walked towards Seungmin. He quickly took his spot next to Seungmin, holding his own bouquet and the graduation cap slightly bigger on him. Seungmin's unoccupied hand grabbed Jisung's waist, pulling him closer. Both of them looking at each other, smiling as if they were in their own little world.
Like always, the screen went black. This time there was no new clip. Just the laptop screen with a replay button. But on the reflection of the screen, there was Seungmin, tears running down his face much older than in any of the clips.
___
Just then the sounds of keys echoed through the apartment followed by someone opening the door. On instincts his eyes fell on the wall clock.
2:45 am.
Footsteps approached the living room. By then he made sure to wipe away his tears.
"You are late", he managed to say as soon as he saw the other entering the room.
Not expecting to see Seungmin awake at such an hour, Jisung jumped back. Noticing the presence of the other, he let out a small sigh. "Why are you still awake?"
"That doesn't answer my question"
Loosening his tie, Jisung sat next to Seungmin on the couch. "Cause that's not a question. That was a statement." Seungmin's glare shut him up. His eyes dropped to the floor.
"I already told you I will be late. I had dinner plans with Chan and Changbin."
"Yeah, I remember that. But so late? It's past 2 am Jisung!!" Seungmin raised his voice.
"I told you to come with me! Chan hyung invited you too but as always you didn't come." Jisung counter back, his voice rising too.
"We are already over this Jisung. They are your friends. Not mine. I don't need to be close with them!"
"But I am friends with your friends. Hyunjin, Jeongin, Felix. I literally talk with them always. Why can't you try being friends with my friends?"
"You are friends with Felix, Hyunjin and Jeongin because that was your wish. I didn't ask you to be friends with them" Seungmin's eyes never left the wall in front of him.
"Is it really wrong for me to want my husband to be friends with the people I really admire and care about?" Jisung's voice dropped few octaves.
"Care about, huh?" Seungmin let out a chuckle. "When will you start caring about me again? Or I don't deserve it?"
"What the fuck are you on about Seungmin?"
"Jisung. When was the last time we had dinner together? When was the last time we watched a movie together on our designated movie nights? The one we followed since we were allowed to stay over at each other's house. When did we last go on a date? Forget date. When was the last time we communicated with each other without breaking into a fight?" Seungmin took a deep breath after ending his sentence.
"Are you being serious right now?"
"Very serious Jisung."
The annoyance was evident on Jisung's face. He didn't even try to hide it. "Seungmin I have been busy! With work. It's not like I am going around entertaining myself. It's hard for me to manage all our expenses after you left the job! And as someone who just got this job, of course I don't get paid enough . I am stressed. I work overtime just to manage everything."
"It's getting hard for me too Jisung. Living in a apartment alone for most hours with a physically and emotionally absent partner. It has been hell for me too."
"Can we not? I am too tired for this Seungmin. Please" Jisung brushed his hand through his hair.
"Of course you are tired. You are always tired when it comes to me." With that Seungmin stood up, and stormed towardd their shared bedroom. The slam of the door echoed through the apartment.
After changing his clothes, he also made his way to the bedroom. He slowly opened the door and found Seungmin already asleep facing his back at him. He got under the covers and tried to fall asleep. But he couldn't. His head was a mess right now. He grabbed his headphones and plugged them in his ears.
Choosing his favourite playlist playlist, he soon fell into the dreamland. His last words being "I am sorry"
Next morning when he woke up, he reached out to Seungmin. It was an instinct. But just like the other nth days, the spot next to him was cold and empty. Letting out a sigh, he slowly got out of the covers and made his way to the kitchen hoping he will atleast see Seungmin once before leaving for work.
But the only thing in the kitchen was a plate of waffles. Jisung hated waffles. He never liked them. Jisung showered, changed into his work clothes and waited for Seungmin for about half an hour before finally swallowing the waffles with disgust and leaving for work.
It was 20 minutes after he left, when Seungmin entered the apartment with bags of groceries. He was humming a song under his breathe but stopped when he saw that the waffles vanished from the plate. "Where did my waffles go?"
Realisation hit him and his eyes went to rice cakes in the grocery bag. The ones he brought for Jisung because he never liked eating waffles unlike him. Tears formed in his eyes, blurring his vision. He slid against the wall, slowly letting his body fall on the floor. Soon the room filled with the sound of someone crying. Another misunderstanding coming soon and he didn't know what to do anymore.
When will everything go back to what it used to be?