COTTON CANDY SKIES | JIKOOK ✔

[🍬] Thirty-five

"So your dad is leaving today?" Jeongguk asks quietly.

Jimin's eyes droop with a hint of sadness. "Yeah, I guess so. He hasn't come by yet, has he?" the boy asks while pulling his work arpon off of his waist.

"...No, he hasn't." Jeongguk studies Jimin's complexion.

There's a heavy sigh falling from Jimin's mouth as he takes a seat on the couch next to Jeongguk. He's staring at the ceiling with his head tilted back. His eyes flit back and forth with something akin to contemplation.

"He leaves tonight, right? It isn't too late to see him if you have some things you wanna say." Jeongguk places his hand over top of Jimin's shoulder, fingers swishing through the yellow fabric of his work polo.

The sunlight casts over Jimin's sullen figure, filtering in through the parted curtains. The warmth paints his skin gold, highlighting his naturally soft and cherubic complexion. And yet his eyes hold so much that differs. As Jimin lifts his head to peer after Jeongguk, there's water filming his fretful stare. His blond hair falls over his forehead and into his eyelashes, much like paintbrushes splaying their colour over a bland canvas. The severity of his confusion and solemnity is indiscernible.

"If he can't accept me for who I am, he doesn't deserve the person he wants me to be. I won't find clarity talking to him. Only when he tries to change will I visit. This is my choice." His voice is lacking, far from the vivification he typically evokes.

Jeongguk reaches out, brushing his fingers over Jimin's neck, instigating goosebumps along his skin. With a ginger push, he's leading the blond's head onto his shoulder. There's something akin to relief, parting Jimin's lips as Jeongguk's fingers skim through his summery hair, caressing gently over his scalp.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were certain of your choice. It's not like he's moving across the country, right? He'll never be too far if you end up changing your mind," Jeongguk brings up.

Jimin hums. His exhausting day lures his head into Jeongguk's lap. He cuddles in further against his thighs with pushed out lips and doughy cheeks. Jeongguk continues to draw his fingers over his arms, over his back and through his hair like some kind of relaxant. His eyes droop with fatigue, like being weighed down by an anchor that seeks ocean floor. The breeze whistles through the cracked window and eventually, his lids fall.

-

Jeongguk's realization that he has also fallen asleep is abated, the situation only sinking in as his eyes peel open. Somehow, he ended up laying on the couch alongside Jimin, the boy curled up closely in his arms. There's a comfortable weight lain over top of them, a soft blanket that rides all the way up to Jimin's pouty lips. Something savoury smelling wafts through the air, spiraling into his nostrils. His mother is pottering around in the kitchen, presumably throwing together something to eat.

His eyes roam from his mother, to the sleeping beauty in his arms, to the dark sky. Some of the streetlights are lit up, casting soft glows over the pavement. Jeongguk concludes that they must've fallen asleep for a few hours - well, Jimin is still snoring softly into the air.

Jeongguk uses the arm that isn't held down by Jimin's body, moving his fingers down the bridge of the boy's nose. The little section between his brows twitch and shortly his eyes lift open. Immediately their gazes connect.

Jimin wiggles around and yawns quietly. His toes stretch out from beneath the blanket and he hums contentedly in the warmth. His lips are jut out, glimmering as he's swept over them with his tongue. He blinks at Jeongguk, orienting himself. Jeongguk's smile is that of enamor as his fingers twist through the boy's blond hair, down the curve of his jaw.