poems by the shore

io

jisung lays in bed, hyunjin's blanket pulled up to his nose. he hears him shuffling on the couch and sits up. the blanket rests in his lap.

he stands before he can think twice and takes the cover with him, holding it out to hyunjin. the boy looks over and asks what he's doing. "here. i'm kinda warm."

"oh, you can just leave it on the bed then."

jisung shakes his head. "you look cold." hyunjin smiles, his knees pulled to his chest as evidence. before he can sit up to get the blanket, jisung's laying it over him. he's sure to cover every inch below hyunjin's chest. "good night," he hums and goes back to the room.

he lays in bed again, now his knees pulled to his chest. it's not like it's freezing tonight, but the ac is a bit high and jisung's shorts aren't helping.

the floor creaks softly with hyunjin walking into the room. he rummages through his closet and finds an extra blanket. it's a bit tattered but a cover nonetheless. he holds out the blanket jisung had given him.

"i forgot i had an extra blanket," he chuckles. jisung takes it but says the blanket he'll use is a bit frayed. "it's okay. i'll see you tomorrow. night, jisung." he has no choice but to accept it and says good night.

jisung lays in bed, hyunjin's blanket pulled up to his chin. why is his heart fluttering from a daft blanket exchange?

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the curtains are pulled open, light flashing bright in his eyes. he throws the blanket over his head. "five more minutes?" hyunjin laughs softly. jisung huffs and sits up, yawning while rubbing his eyes with his palms.

"i have an extra toothbrush, so if you want you can use the bathroom."

he nods and trudges to the bathroom to clean up before heading home. as he brushes his teeth, hyunjin walks to the doorframe. "you want breakfast?" jisung thinks for a moment and hums sure.

he spits the toothpaste and hyunjin suggests the cafe by jisung's. "okay," he smiles. they agree they'll go once they're cleaned up, but when jisung goes into hyunjin's room, he finds the boy resting out an outfit on his bed.

"it's okay. i can just wear what i'm wearing now," he says a bit nervously. hyunjin doesn't budge.

they go down the steps and down the street, hands grazing each other again, jisung dressed in hyunjin's clothes and his own in a tote bag he lends him.

walking in silence until they reach the cafe, jisung can't stop the butterflies that roam from the boy's clothing on his skin. he doesn't know why it makes him giddy. all he knows is that he hopes he won't have to give them back.

hyunjin holds the door open for him. he orders them cheese cake and watermelon juice. jisung tries to pay but to no avail. "it's okay. i can pay," hyunjin hums happily.

they sit at a small booth beside the large windows and let the clinking of their forks on plates fill in the silence. "you slept okay?" hyunjin asks. jisung nods.

"how about you? with your tiny blanket?"

he smiles and says he did. "how are the clothes? do they fit fine?" he blushes, trying to avoid jisung's gaze. "yeah. the shirt's a little big, but it's okay. i like," he stutters. "over sized shirts."

they turn away from each other, doing their best to not catch each other's eyes. hyunjin clears his throat and says he'll walk jisung home when they're finished. "my dad's probably already going to work now," he thinks aloud, realizing he hadn't wished his dad a good day at work.

he types away at his phone, telling his dad to be careful and take care of himself to which he gets a reply of okay and to do so himself. "so, if you want," he trails off.

"you'd be home alone?" hyunjin mumbles, curiosity laced in his words.

"yeah, but it's okay. i'm usually alone back home after school, so i'm used to it."

hyunjin offers his company, saying he has nothing to do today. jisung finds it odd he's not busy yet again. it doesn't seem like he lives with anyone. does he have a job to pay for his apartment? felix texts him.

he says they only have a couple more days before they get to see each other. jisung checks the date. the freckled boy is right. he forgot their summer break is only a week.

"we can go to the beach, too. maybe no guitar today but we can watch the sun set later?"

jisung accepts quickly. when they finish, they make their way to his place and slip in after punching the code. "you want to watch something?" jisung asks after sitting in silence for a couple moments and having put his clothes away, returning hyunjin's bag.

a little hesitant from yesterday, hyunjin says, "sure. "

they sit on the couch, the film playing on the tv. two middle school boys record themselves in a large and empty building. "would you ever go there?" hyunjin asks.

"you've seen this movie?"

he nods. "yeah. it was my favorite for a while."

"ah." jisung hums. "i might, depending."

"on?"

he twiddles with his nails. "if i go alone or with someone."

hyunjin almost suggests they go while the sun is out one day, but when he notices jisung's reactions throughout the movie, he decides against it. he knew if the boy were to go to gonjiam, he'd be scared shitless.

he thinks to himself he could hide behind me, or hold my hand if he'd get scared. hyunjin looks over and sees jisung hiding behind a pillow. the scene was at the part that one of the women becomes possessed.

he can hear jisung nearly panting. "we can pause or stop," he says. before jisung can reply, he jumps from the woman whispering the room number. hyunjin pauses the movie where the screen stays black.

"are you okay?" he asks, trying to check behind the pillow. jisung puts the pillow down and laughs. "yeah, i'm fine. i just get scared easily."

hyunjin sighs. "oh, okay. i'm sorry. i probably should've told you about any jump-scares." jisung shakes his head, his brows knit together. "no, it's okay. you didn't have to pause it."

"you sure?" he asks. when jisung smiles as a yes, he continues the film. jisung hides himself with the pillow for a few more scenes, a smile playing at hyunjin's lips. why does jisung look cute like this to him?

after the movie, they decide to go down to the beach. jisung hadn't realized he didn't change when they got back to his dad's apartment. they're sitting before the shore, watching the sun, when hyunjin points out the boy's still wearing his clothes.

jisung chuckles nervously, his face flushing the color of a grapefruit. "i guess i got distracted," he murmurs. he wonders by what, by me?