poems by the shore

o9

he bites the inside of his cheek, a bit happy of the boy's question. he nods. jisung lets his eyes fall to the ground as he plays with the hem of his shirt.

once their hour of karaoke ends, they gather their things and leave the room to hyunjin's apartment. their hands graze each other as they walk side by side.

butterflies play in jisung's stomach. he wonders if hyunjin feels the same.

they walk in silence, jisung mumbling something about the moon but hyunjin doesn't hear him. he looks a bit caught up in his thoughts. jisung steps a bit closer to him, curious if it'll snap him back.

it does.

hyunjin stops walking, jisung mimicking, and they stand still looking at each other. "what?" he asks. jisung shakes his head. "you looked like you were zoning out."

"oh, no. i was just thinking."

they continue.

"about what?"

hyunjin dismisses it. "nothing. i don't have any extra sheets so you can sleep on my bed. i'll take the couch."

he stutters, "it's okay! i can sleep on the couch. couches are comfy, so it's okay. it's your bed anyway, so you should sleep on it."

the boy chuckles and ruffles jisung's hair. "it's fine. you're the guest. you can sleep on my bed. it's no problem." he blushes and scratches at his nose, trying to hide his pink tone.

hyunjin drops his hand realizing jisung's reaction. his cheeks grow warm and tries to avoid looking him in the eyes. cafe lights, apartment bulbs, and street lamps shine softly as they reach the complex and hyunjin types the passcode.

they slip in, taking their shoes off, the door closing and locking the moment they do. jisung steps slowly into the small living room connected openly to the kitchen. he looks to his right and sees two doors, one hinting to a bedroom and the other to a bathroom.

he wonders to himself he lives alone? there's not much of an indication that someone else lives with the boy. "there anything you want to eat? i know it's late but i can get you something small."

jisung shakes his head. "i'm good. thank you." hyunjin smiles and takes a water bottle from the fridge, drinking nearly half of it. "i'm going to shower really quick. make yourself at home," he smiles, going off to get clothes and his towel, then locking the bathroom door behind him.

he leaves jisung by himself to look around. curiousity strikes him heavy and he goes to the fridge, finding only bottles of water and few condiments. he looks in the cabinets, again only few condiments.

jisung stops just before hyunjin's room. he's going to sleep in there tonight anyway. still, he should wait for hyunjin.

touring wouldn't be immoral.

he steps in, a wooden frame and soft mattress with covers laid over it in the corner, a desk sitting at the window. hyunjin's dresser stands just beside his closet that seems to be hungry for more of a wardrobe.

a shelf of picture frames decorates the space between the desk and dresser. jisung takes a frame with a photo of hyunjin and a dog playing happily in a yard. he hadn't seen a dog when he walked in.

the bathroom door opens but jisung doesn't move. why is he so intrigued by a picture of hyunjin playing fetch with a dog?

"what 'cha doing?" hyunjin asks behind jisung, drying off his hair.

he jumps. "nothing," he answers, putting the frame back on the shelf. jisung wants to ask about his parents, but now he's wondering if it'll be a sensitive topic.

"do you want ice cream? there's a baskin robins down the street," hyunjin suggests. not a second passes before he agrees and they're on their way to the ice cream shop.

hyunjin hesitates before asking, "what's your favorite ice cream flavor?" jisung says he doesn't quite have a favorite, but he likes 'mom is an alien'.

"my friend likes that one, too," he smiles. jisung nods, curious who the friend was but not asking as he thought hyunjin might introduce them one day.

one day. does he want to know him or be by him for a long time? perhaps.

they go into the shop and look at the options on the menu on the upper wall. jisung already knows his choice but waits for hyunjin.

their eyes lock. "you know what you want?" hyunjin asks. he answers yes.

they place their orders, hyunjin saying jisung's and paying for both. "i could've paid for myself," jisung huffs. "it's okay. when i slept over, your dad cooked so i'll pay. you can get next time."

next time? his heart flutters, happy there'll be a next time.

eating their ice cream, they head back. some trickles down jisung's arm and hyunjin takes out a napkin he took before leaving, wiping his elbow and hand clean. "thank you," he hums through the melting ice cream.

hyunjin types in the code and they toss the cups and spoons in the trash after finishing them. jisung mumbles he'll be back, washing his arm from the sticky feeling the ice cream left. when he comes out of the bathroom, he sees hyunjin resting on the couch, typing away on his phone.

jisung can't see the name at the top. hyunjin replies a bit quickly, his thumbs tapping like something crazy had just happened. "that your friend who likes 'mom's an alien'?" jisung asks, hyunjin shutting his phone instantly.

he chuckles nervously. "yeah. i told him about you, how you like that flavor too."

he told his friend about me. he tries to not let his feelings show. hyunjin scooches aside on the cushion and asks jisung if he'd like to watch a movie before bed, only if he's not tired yet.

"sure. what movie?"

"what kind do you like?"

"i don't have a favorite. anything's fine."

hyunjin thinks for a moment, remembering there was a movie he'd been meaning to watch. he asks if jisung's okay with it and the boy answers he is, so they settle onto the couch and hyunjin's laptop sits on the small table before them.

the movie starts, a voiceover introducing one of the characters. they slowly fade into the scene riding their bike. jisung recognizes the film playing. he hadn't looked at the title before, assuming it was something else.

how would he have known hyunjin wanted to watch this film?

he can't control the blush that invades his skin. jisung brings his knees to his chest, hugging his legs. hyunjin kicks his feet on the table and inches closer to jisung.

"you cold?" he asks. the boy hesitates but lies and says he is. maybe covering himself in a blanket will keep hyunjin from getting closer, if he's not cold. he pauses the movie and goes to his room to get a cover.

he comes back and holds his hand out. jisung takes it and covers himself to his chin. hyunjin chuckles beside him, the movie playing. "you could've told me and i would've gotten you a blanket earlier."

jisung smiles sheepishly, "it's okay."

they continue watching, every so often hyunjin getting closer. it'd be a lie to say jisung isn't leaning in himself. slowly their legs touch, a blanket shielding their skin from each other.

he doesn't feel cold anymore. jisung takes the cover off and sets it aside, the warmth of hyunjin's skin touching his thigh. they sit like this until the scene shows two boys standing before each other, one inching closer to the other until their lips connect.

jisung glances over as inconspicuously as possible and sees hyunjin flushed a deep red. he looks back at the screen but quickly averts his gaze to his knees just below his chin. "i'm kinda tired," hyunjin mumbles.

they agree to go to bed and stop the film before anything else happened. "you got my," he stutters. "a blanket. okay. um, good night."

jisung smiles awkwardly. "night. i'll see you, in the morning." he wants to sound like everything between them is normal and that he doesn't feel this way for hyunjin, but he can't help but get butterflies every time they're together.

he likes the butterflies.