Shooting Stars ★Yeonbin★

★night three★

"What the fuck is a Jun anyway? I never said you could shorten my name kid..."

Soobin's eyes are fixed on the wispy puffs of breath that form from his 'o'-shaped lips, trailing out like the cigarette smoke from the man beside him. Imitating, perhaps soon he'd accept a taste if it was offered. Burning tobacco never smelt quite so sweet.

Combined with the wooly grey blanket that's draped over his shoulders, and Soobin's world is strikingly warm; in every sense.

It seems that maybe, just maybe...

Yeonjun's heart wasn't completely made of coal after all.

"Are you homeless, Jun?"

"Pssht you fucking kidding? Do I look fucking homeless to you kiddo?!" He spits, snapping his head to the side, his eye twitching in annoyance. "Do I stink or something? What the fuck are you trying to say huh? Little shit!"

The smirk on the boy's face only makes Yeonjun want to push him off the edge there and then, wooly blanket and all. Perhaps teach the kid his last lesson in manners.

"Look kid, I have a home, I just don't fucking like it there. Although you're starting to piss me off, so maybe it ain't so bad!" Yeonjun snaps.

That stupid smirk only grows wider, followed by an obnoxious snort.

No. Pushing him off the edge would be an act of kindness; one that he certainly doesn't deserve yet.

Soobin suddenly hops down onto the gravel, fixing the blanket around his pale neck like a cape. "Well if I'm that annoying", he whistles, "I guess I'll leave you to it Jun!" His eyes glint as he turns towards that shadowy exit. Soft footsteps accompanied by the sway of a song, humming the same disjointed tune from last night.

Yeonjun lets out a long dramatic sigh. The kid looks even more pathetic when he's hunched over in a blanket, legs buckling from the icy air that slashes at his bony exposed ankles. Even the strands of his fluffy hair seem to be vibrating as though they were ripples in the ocean, the fading figure painfully quaking as he shuffles away.

Maybe it was too much; the kid is fragile.

"Soobin! Get your scrawny ass back here, it's fucking lonely out here on my own!"

Bingo.

The crunchy sound of pressed stones comes to an abrupt stop. Soobin turns back, dolefully blinking at the silhouette of the feisty raven-haired stranger.

The image was perfection; the lights, the smoke, the sheer insignificance of the lone figure sitting on the edge of the world. It was worthy of being snapped and hung up, encased in an ornate marble frame above a wealthy Parisian's mantle.

Or better still - on the ceiling above Soobin's bed.

"Maybe you should learn to love loneliness Jun." He calls out as Yeonjun swings his legs around to face him. "It's better to be alone. It makes you stronger!"

Yeonjun grips the puffy jacket in his fist, skipping towards the huddled boy and stopping just a hands-width away. He sucks in a deep drag of his cigarette and breathes out, "is that why you threw your phone away last night?"

Soobin's eyes slide off again, distracted by those sparkling city lights. It's almost as though they're waving their glittery barbs at him, speaking to him in hushed tones, whispering for his attention.

"... I don't want anyone holding me back."

Such softly spoken words, and yet the gravity of them was enough to make Yeonjun stop in his tracks. He couldn't help but stare at the beautiful boy, watching as his pretty lips barely move to let out his deep, sorrowful yet bizarrely poetic words.

"I don't want to be reminded that people exist... and that they know I exist on this planet with them. It's just simply..."

He pauses, a slight crease forms between his eyebrows as his anguished heart openly bleeds. He suddenly gazes up into Yeonjun's black lackluster eyes, matching them with his own murky brown orbs.

"I don't want to be remembered Jun."

The stillness is unbearable. The white noise from the distant car engines seemed to vanish and be replaced by a thick cloud of insipid air. Yeonjun doesn't even want to stamp out his cigarette for fear of breaking the itchy silence; a torturous serenity that he's slowly drowning in the longer the boy stares at him.

And then there's a grin.

Those devil-like dimples appear across Soobin's cheeks and darken as he quietly chuckles, the sound goring itself into the cold dead starless night. "But I bet you'll remember me, right? I'll be your lollipop boy... I don't mind that at all, not one bit!"

To say that Yeonjun is disturbed is an understatement. He's now convinced that the kid is delusional, living in a warped world of make-believe. How he could flitter between light and dark in the blink of an eye, was completely beyond him.

"Yeah yeah Soobin the lollipop boy. I guess it's got a nice ring to it." He mumbles, still caught in the heated glow of the kid's uncannily joyful features.

"Hey, can I see something for a second? It won't take long." Soobin pipes up, his spindly hand jutting out from beneath the blanket to latch onto Yeonjun's arm, forgetting what lay on the pale fleshy surface. He runs his fingers over them. Welts. Silky and soft as though they were woven from snow, yet monstrously defined, a beautiful curse to one's outer husk.

He instantly retracts his hand with a hiss as he feels the chill on the raven-haired man's skin. "What's wrong with you? I gave you my jacket to wear! Not to hold like a briefcase!" Soobin quakes, that cute little crease between his eyebrows reappearing.

And it was Yeonjun's turn to smirk.

"I like the cold. It makes me feel alive." He beams, taunting, satisfied when he sees the frown deepen. "Maybe you should learn to love the cold. It makes you stronger, Soobin."

The boy huffs in defeat, yet it's as clear as day that he isn't at all bothered by the combative banter. If anything, it's the complete opposite. "I'm as strong as I need to be for my purpose. Anything more is just a waste." He says with conviction, his eyes radiating with valor.

The hand reaches out again, only this time successfully capturing Yeonjun's pasty white arm and dragging him back towards the ledge at lightning speed.

"Hey what the fuck kid! You wanna do it, you're on your own a-and give me my fucking blanket back!"

"Shush, you talk way too much!"

They stop at the edge, panting from the sudden rush of moving limbs. The garden of glass and shimmering lights welcome them back, but neither of them have any time to simmer as Soobin spins around. His warm delicate hands come up to rest on the sides of Yeonjun's face, his blanket flutters to the ground.

"Soobin what the fuck-"

"I said shush!" Soobin sucks in a shallow breath, then presses his lips tightly together. He instantly starts to shiver, but the chilly midnight air is but a thorn in his side as he leans his face closer.

Maybe the kid's never been kissed before. Perhaps he wants to experience one of life's simple pleasures before he takes his final leap of faith.

After all, he is incredibly beautiful, and Yeonjun can't help but stare at those heart-shaped pouty lips that are now so close to his own. He can almost taste them.

"Are your eyes a-always like t-that?"

And Yeonjun can taste them now, just a hint. Sweet, so sickly sweet that he feels the lights begin to rupture behind the boy like metallic grapes in an inky blender.

"Like... what?" He exhales, unconsciously licking his own parted lips, his chilled fingers winding around the boy's waist in anticipation.

"I d-don't know but..." Soobin rapidly flicks between both of his obsidian eyes, his shivers mutating into violent tremors that rattle against Yeonjun's face.

"Your eyes I... I f-feel like I'm f-falling into them."

★★★

15/07/22