Breathless (Chensung)

19

Chenle glanced over at Jisung, who seemed to have paled considerably since they had landed at the airport. They were going to be picked up by Jisung's parents, which did make him quite nervous.

After all, they were the ones who had told Jisung that being with Chenle was not enough.

Chenle swallowed hard and put a hand on Jisung's back as if to steady him. "Are you scared?" Chenle asked him quietly.
Jisung nodded, some of his hair flopping into his eyes. Chenle smiled affectionately, reaching up to move it out of the way. "Don't worry, I am too," Chenle admitted. "She doesn't know about us, right?"

Jisung shook his head. "No, I didn't tell them anything," he said softly. "I'm worried they'll react badly."

Chenle pursed his lips. "Your parents care about you and love you so much. I think they'll be okay with it."

Jisung looked at Chenle. "You're so certain of it...I'm scared whatever bad happens it'll affect you too. Just like last time."

"We're not going through another last time, okay?" Chenle said firmly. "Whenever you have an issue, you tell me. And I'll do the same, okay?"

Jisung nodded wordlessly.

After a couple more minutes, Chenle could hear a faint voice calling out for Jisung, and he nudged Jisung, who looked like he was out of it. "Jisung, your parents," he said, seeing the familiar faces (as familiar as he could remember them from 4 years ago) get closer to him.

Jisung's parents stopped in front of them, and Chenle gave them a small bow.

"Jisung, you didn't tell us Chenle would be here too," Jisung's mother said, her eyes darting between them.

"He's the one who brought me to Shanghai," Jisung said.

"Oh," his mother responded, looking as if she had connected the dots. "Oh, I see. So Chenle was the one with you."

Jisung's dad smiled faintly at Chenle. "Nice to see you again, Chenle," he greeted. "You've grown up a lot."

Ms. Park smiled (whether it was genuine or not, Chenle couldn't tell) and pointed to an exit. "We're parked over there. Jisung, is Chenle staying over?"

Jisung nodded. "Yes, if that's okay?"

Ms. Park nodded. "Of course. He brought you to a whole other country and back safely, so we're indebted."

As they started walking ahead, Chenle nudged Jisung. "You didn't tell them I went with you to Shanghai?" he asked incredulously.

Jisung shook his head. "Sorry, I got too scared," he said quietly.

Chenle sighed. "I can't believe your parents let you go."

"Well, I didn't tell them until I was already there," Jisung said sheepishly.

Chenle laughed. "You're really something," he said. "Well, I don't think your parents are upset about it. That's good, isn't it?"

Jisung shrugged. "I hope so."

---

Chenle flopped on Jisung's bed first thing when they were sent to unpack their items.

"Hey, get to work," Jisung said, using his foot to kick Chenle's.

"Ugh, I'm so tired," Chenle said, his voice muffled by the mattress. After a short while, he felt a heavy weight fall on top of him, and he knew it was Jisung.
Jisung snuggled into him, then moved to the side so Chenle could change his position to meeting him face to face.

"Are you ever going to tell your parents about us?" Chenle asked quietly, calmly looking at Jisung.

Jisung averted his eyes. "Yeah…yeah, I think tonight." Jisung sighed. "The quicker the better."