𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐘 𝐊𝐈𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐒

𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋.

𝙝𝙮𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙣//𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙨𝙩

"come on, jeongin," hyunjin dragged me out of the door and into his car, "i promise it'll be fun. i've got a surprise for you."

"what kind of surprise?" i asked, knowing very well that there was no chance whatsoever he'd tell me. 

"i don't know," he shrugged his wide shoulders, "i guess we'll have to find out, huh?"

jumping into the passenger seat, hyunjin manoeuvred his well-loved pickup truck out of my driveway and drove down towards the highway. the sun's golden glare compelled him to pull down the shade, purloining that honey hue from his smooth skin.

"where are we going?" the silence hanging in between us was getting sticky, almost suffocating the words in my throat. i wanted to speak, to ease the awkwardness, but no matter how hard i tried, the words couldn't find their way out. every time i tried to organise them into a sentence, they'd rearrange themselves into a nonsensical way before they could even leave my lips. 

"it's part of the surprise," he glanced over to me, and i felt my face flush with colour. 

there's something about that damn smile that makes me feel like the world isn't a bad place after all. that although things haven't been great for me, for us lately, with time everything's going to fall back into place. 

fall back into place. 

at that moment in time, i don't think i wanted anything more in the world than that. for everything to be just the way it was, before i started unironically questioning the reason of my very existence. 

"you okay?" hyunjin freed a hand from the wheel and squeezed mine, "you seem a bit quiet, that's all. is everything alright?"

truth be told, i was fine. i was perfectly fine, until he asked that question. until he offered to listen, like he always does. i guess that's why i'm not afraid anymore, because i know assuredly that i've found the right person who can cure me. what's killing me softly is that he doesn't know how much he means to me, and i never seem to be able to find the right words.

"innie?" he prompted me again, eyes riveted on the road ahead until he descried the single lonely tear patiently making its way down my face, "holy sh—moly jeongin, i had no idea, i didn't mean to upset you."

"i'm sorry, i didn't want want this to happen," i couldn't even meet his eyes as he swerved the car into the emergency stop lane. 

"no. don't you dare apologise for something that's not your fault," hyunjin didn't even hesitate to lift my chin up with his fingers and look straight into my soul, "you're allowed to not feel at your best all the time, innie. the good days wouldn't feel so memorable if we've never experienced bad days, just like precious stars like you can't shine without darkness. and it's okay to cry, don't let anybody ever tell you any different. the reason why i'm telling you all these things is because i don't ever want us to change: you're my home, my happy place where i get to be sad if i feel like it. you're so special, jeongin, more special than you'll ever realise. i guess that's why i'm here then, to remind you of that every single day."

my hands felt snug and warm in his, and my mind comforted by the sincerity of his words. heart slamming out of my chest, i watched in stunned silence as he brought our intertwined hands up to his lips and kissed them softly. 

"where i'm taking us is really beautiful," he murmured, still holding onto my hands, thumbs stroking rhythmically over mine, "do you still want to go there? we can always spend time together at home."

"no, it's fine," there was no need for hesitation there, i wasn't going to let this ruin our evening together, "let's not waste any more time and have fun!"