somewhere only we know | huang renjun

021 | we don't have to rush, but we could still race.

!we don't have to rush, but we could still race.

"WE SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS," i said, staring down at the great big pile of clothes in the corner of our bedroom. "is there a laundromat around here? surely we're gonna run out of clean clothes soon."

"yeah um, hold on," renjun said, pulling out his phone. "let me have a look."

i waited a moment while renjun fiddled with his mobile and i glanced around to find a bag to put all of our dirty laundry inside. as yucky as it looked just sitting in the corner of the room, it kind of smelled as well – i'm surprised neither of us had done anything about it for the two whole weeks we had been away already.

"i found somewhere, it's only a few blocks away. we can walk," he suggested, looking up.

"let's go then!" i handed him a small bag of laundry and kept the other in my own hold, and we both headed downstairs and out to the street. once we stepped outside, i noticed the sun beginning to set.

"wait, what time is it?" i asked.

"it's 6, why?"

"what time does the laundromat close? are you sure we'll get there in time?"

"it's open 'till late, it's saturday," renjun explained. "we don't have to rush," he continued, looking around at the empty street, "but we could still race!" i could barely process his words before the boy took off at full speed down the street, flinging the laundry bag over his shoulder and looking back at me cheekily. "come on, y/n, you're not gonna let me win, are you?" he yelled with a grin.

i accepted his challenge, lurching myself forward as quickly as i could to catch up with him. honestly, i surprised myself with how fast i was going, and i think i surprised renjun too. he got a big head start, but two blocks down i caught up to him, flinging myself around the corner without looking back at the hopeless boy i left stumbling behind me. "better run faster if you want to win!"

"hey!" he called out, nearly sulking. "you're going the wrong way!"

i slowed my steps and started to turn around to run back to him, but before i could he rushed past me with another cheeky grin.

"just kidding!" he yelled out as he continued zooming down the street.

"that's not fair!" i yelled back with a laugh.

i sped up, trying to catch up to him again, but i was too late. a few meters ahead of me, i watched him walk inside the laundromat, sticking his head out the door to give me a wink before entering. i rolled my eyes and soon walked in behind him.

after we were finished it was nearly 7, which meant it was already dark outside, but that wasn't going to stop me from getting payback.

"can't catch me now that i know the directions!" i yelled out, and without warning i took off down the block again. renjun was quick to catch on, racing down behind me. i was well in front of him for the first block, but after a minute i could hear his footsteps light on the concrete getting closer until he really was right behind me. i felt a pair of hands grip around my waist while i ran, forcing me to let out a squeal as i slowed down. i dropped the laundry bag and renjun picked me up and spun me around on the footpath, taking full advantage of the power he had now that he'd caught up.

"i caught you! you said i couldn't!" he cried out, putting me down but still refusing to let me go. "and now i've got you!" he teased playfully, squeezing my waist. he spun my body around to face him and began to tickle around my waist, causing spurts of uncontrollable laughter to fall out of my mouth.

"renjun!" i screamed out, unable to stop giggling.

he ignored my pleas and continued, moving his fingers up and down my torso just lightly enough to make my skin jerk as he tickled. he copied my laughter, denying any chance of mercy for at least thirty seconds, before he finally gave in and released me. he pulled his hands away but rested one palm on my shoulder, leaning his head into his arm as a safety net while he continued almost crying from the laughter.

our giggles soon died down, leaving us both out of breath and leaning on each other for support.

"you're annoying," i teased, still catching my breath, "but that was kind of fun."

renjun chuckled to himself. "this might be my favorite saturday i've ever seen," he announced. "you know those days you have, and you just think to yourself, 'i'm always gonna remember this'?" he asked. "this is one of those days."

i smiled up at him, nodding in agreement as he opened his mouth to speak again.

"i want you to keep that memory, too."