forest || minsung

5

minho found the quiet in the forest comforting. he came here a lot, just listening to the wind passing through the branches of the trees and the birds singing high up in the air. it eased his mind.

every time he felt scattered and lost, he came here. it was better than any alternative he had come up with so far, even though it required him to walk to the other side of town. he was fine with that. he didn't really know why it all calmed him so much. maybe because the forest was stunningly beautiful, as opposed to the rest of his bleak life.

he always made sure to get out of this place well before it got dark, because a forest at night turns into woods. all that is beautiful turns into the dire monsters his mind created. he did not want his nightmares to become reality.

his sunday was too boring, too irrelevant to describe.

as usual, he somehow managed to get to school in time and follow class. he tried not to doze off when his teacher started explaining the next project. 'this next project is gonna be a creative one. you are very free to do what you want, but i want you to write some text. you can make an article, story, poetry, a magazine, a poster, whatever. as long as there are at least 75 lines per person, you're fine. you will be graded on creativity and originality, quality, layout and collaboration. it's therefore highly recommended to team up with someone, otherwise you will miss all marks for it. the deadline is in three weeks, you will get some time in class to work on it as well. good luck.'

minho sighed. fuck.

jisung, however, was positively thrilled. he nudged minho, who had voluntarily sat next to him this time. 'wanna work together?' he whispered.

minho slowly turned his head towards him. he wasn't really feeling it, but he could use the marks for collaboration well. his grades in english were not exactly great.

'sure,' he said. jisung was beaming. jesus.

'do you have an idea? of what we could do?'

minho shook his head. 'didn't you like poetry?'

'i do.'

'i guess we can do something with that? except if you have a better idea of course. i'm open for suggestions.'

'no, poetry is perfect. have you ever written some?'

'not really, i barely even know english. but you would be able to help, right?'

jisung smiled brightly. 'of course.'

that was settled then. he wasn't planning on letting him do all the work, but having someone to correct your mistakes was a comforting thought.

he would like to get to work immediately, but where to start? he tried to remember if he had ever read poetry, but he didn't get any further.
'could i read some of your poetry? i don't really know how to begin.'

jisung's eyes widend. probably not, then.

'no, sorry. maybe later, sometime, but it's kinda embarrassing you know.'

minho shrugged. 'alright. i'll go to the library after class to find some.'

his partner nodded. 'i'll go with you.'

the rest of the hour they brainstormed on a theme, but didn't really get very far. just before class ended, minho looked up to see his teacher staring at the two of them, a hint of a smile on her lips. he gave her a questioning look before going back to work.

'have you ever even read poetry?'

'uhhhh...'

they were walking towards the school library. it was in a seperate building, and the sun was shining outside. the rays of sunlight hit his face. he wanted to hide, but at the same time never move away from the light above.

'i can only remember one, called a paper, a person, a promise. i liked it.'

jisung raised an eyebrow at him. 'you read the perks of being a wallflower?'

'yeah..'

'i didn't think you to be a reader. you're full of surprises.'

he laughed quietly. 'i used to be. it has been years.'

'what changed?' he asked. but minho didn't answer. he wasn't sure how to explain his lack of interest in everything he used to love, or the neverending boredom that haunted him every day, to someone he had only met a few days ago.

they arrived at the library, minho holding open the door for jisung. the latter smiled triumphantly when he held open the next door for the former. he shot jisung a look. together, they started looking for poetry bundles.

'what about this? the cover looks nice.'

'rupi kaur? hmm.. sure, take it with you.'

they found a few more and took the books with them.

'we still haven't decided on a theme.'

minho sighed. 'love?'

'possible, but cliché. i think it'd be a good idea if we took like .. a metaphor.'

'a metaphor...'

'yeah, like, the sun, or the clouds, or outer space.'

'a forest.'

'or a forest.'

'could we do that?'

jisung considered it. 'yeah.'

'nice.'

'i saw you walking towards the forest the other day, but i don't think you spotted me, i was walking behind you. you go there a lot?'

truth is, minho had seen him as well that saturday, but hadn't felt like interacting.

'yeah, i like it there.'

jisung nodded. minho wasn't sure what else to say. they parted ways with few words.

back home, he let himself fall onto the bed. minho had to admit, his english partner wasn't so bad. looking over the day, jisung had behaved decent. but he was afraid of him. he didn't really want to become friends. he was afraid of caring. he would be cautious, keep a safe distance.
the next two days he wouldn't have english class, so he could gracefully avoid him at school.