poems by the shore

o4

the sun sets and they wave each other good bye, the waves trying to nip at their heels before they leave the beach. jisung stops just shy of the street to his dad's apartment and watches until hyunjin turns a corner. he continues and types the key code in, slipping into bed.

ignoring the few grains of sand that paint his calves and arms. his phone buzzes with a call from felix. he answers. "dude, what've you been doing that you can't text me back?" jisung blushes lightly, thanking his friend for not facetiming him.

"i was at the beach," he says, getting clothes ready for a shower. his friend gasps, "were you with mysterious guitar boy all day?" jisung nods then mumbles yes.

felix giggles and asks what they did, how their day went, where they went. jisung tells him vaguely their day at first then begins rambling about the most intricate of details: what time of the day they were at the beach, what the boy's surname is, how his smile was enthralling as the sun set before them.

felix cuts him off, "so, what i'm hearing is you already like him."

"shut up. i barely know him."

his friend laughs softly, asking what he'll do tomorrow. jisung answers he'll likely stay in and watch anime. "are you really or are you going to watch howl's moving castle for the twenty thousandth time?"

jisung chuckles and wishes felix was right beside him so he could push him off his bed. "shut up. it's a good movie!" he smiles and lets silence be between them for a moment. "how was your day?" he asks. felix answers with nothing exciting.

"i went to a pc cafe, but it wasn't as fun without you." he can picture the freckled boy pouting. "oh, and your mom stocked up on my favorite yogurt." he can hear the elated dance felix does.

of course his friend would still visit his place when he's not there. "was my mom home?"

"yeah. she got scared 'cause she heard me type the code in. she almost hit me with a bat too," he says nonchalantly. he laughs and shrugs, "she's a single mother with two kids. can you blame her?"

they laugh, letting it fall and sigh. "hey, i'm going to shower. i'll call you back when i get out," jisung says, taking his towel and clothes to the bathroom.

felix hums in reply and the line cuts, jisung showering and letting his mind run with all that he and hyunjin did earlier in the day. he blushes as he turns the shower head off and slips his towel around his waist.

dressing, he can't stop thinking about how sweet he looked today. why does he find him so interesting? jisung dries his hair as he calls felix again, tossing his towel aside after and lying on the edge of his bed.

their conversations buzz once again, talking about any and everything until the code's being typed in. jisung sits up and angles his head to see through the crack in his door.

"i think my dad's home," he murmurs, standing and going out of his room to see his dad hanging his coat.

he'd left felix clueless in his room. "hey," he says, finding a spot beside the kitchen counter. his dad looks his way and smiles. "how was your day bud?"

jisung goes on and on, being sure to leave hyunjin out. "that's good. you spent it alone?" his dad lets the corners of his lips fall. the boy hesitates. "yeah, but it's okay. it was nice."

slightly relieved, his dad nods. jisung asks if his dad won't have work tomorrow, and he says he does. "i'm off the day after, though. we can go out to eat in the city."

jisung agrees, a bit excited to spend the day with his dad after so long. he excuses himself and goes to take a nap before preparing them breakfast later. the boy slips back into his room, picking up his and felix's conversation.

they hang up when he's called for dinner and text all night until the sun slowly rises.

◌

he sits up, his blanket draped over his legs in a crumpled mess along with his hair. the ac buzzes since the early morning to cool the apartment in the warm summer. jisung rises, brushes his teeth, showers, and dresses in joggers and his favorite hoodie.

trudging to the couch and plopping, his hair trickles onto his hood as he surfs through channels. he gives up and puts howl's moving castle as background noise while he rummages through the fridge for breakfast.

jisung fills a bowl of cereal with oreo o's, pouring milk and takes a spoonful, sitting on the kitchen counter watching the film.

an hour passes and he's lying on the couch, hugging a pillow close until the movie ends. he sits up and turns off the tv, looking for something to do. his mind wanders. he wonders what hyunjin's morning looks like.

does he shower every morning like jisung? how much does he eat for breakfast? is he a morning person? what does his morning voice sound like? jisung bets it sounds as sweet as when he sings.

the boy gets his mind of hyunjin by doing busy work. he washes the dishes, sweeps the apartment, starts a load of laundry, reorganizes the fridge, hangs the laundry to dry, puts in the second and last load, and goes out to buy some groceries.

it's almost like he hadn't left home in incheon, since the two apartments look quite similar in cleanliness. it doesn't bother him, though. he does the majority of the chores back home either way.

on his way back to the apartment, he catches a glimpse of hyunjin, his guitar slung over his shoulder, coming his way. he slowly comes to a stop, standing a step from the boy's feet.

"hey," he smiles.

"hey. you need help?"

a bag's strap slips off and he's holding it by his pinky. he blushes and says he's okay. "my dad's place's not too far away," jisung hums, stepping around hyunjin.

the boy doesn't let him pass without taking the bag's in jisung's right hand, offering his help again. "it's fine. i can hold them," he says, trying to get the bags back.

but, hyunjin doesn't let go. he smiles, "it's okay. i don't have anything to do right now, anyway." they stand still for a moment, jisung nodding gingerly. he continues walking to the apartment, hyunjin trailing close behind.

his mind wanders again.

he's only really known this boy for less than two days, and he's already going to visit his apartment. not his apartment. he's only stayed there for as long as he's known hyunjin, so it's not too bad. is it? would his father be okay with him bringing a stranger home?

well, sort of stranger.