when you wake up | sunki

three.

Sunoo isn't in the mood to pack things when he steps into his new flat, and all he does is take the items out of the plastic bag before leaving them on the counter, stepping back outside. There seems to be a sort of rooftop area he saw earlier while waiting, and the night sky is welcoming enough to justify some exploration of his new surroundings.

The apartment block is five stories, no elevators, but a clean tiled staircase connects the fifth floor to the roof area, and he shoulders the metal door open with a soft creak. There's no installed lighting up on the rooftop, but the glow from the streetlamps are bright enough that he doesn't need a flashlight to see where he's going.

The ground is smooth cement, dusted with fallen leaves but clean. Sunoo expects someone must be regularly upkeeping the area, or it would have fallen into dilapidation a long time ago. As he nears the parapet that faces the front of the building and the road, he makes out the silhouette of someone sitting hunched over on top of it, and he hastens his steps to yell out.

"Come down from there, you could fall, it's not safe!"

The person looks back at the sound of his voice and the streetlights cast a glow over his face, lighting up his features as Sunoo reaches him.

"Hey, come on down, if you want to sit, sit down here instead," Sunoo points to the lower ledge of the wall that he supposes can function equally well as a long bench.

The boy doesn't answer for a few seconds, but he seems to change his mind. "I'll stay here for just a while."

"Alright," Sunoo gives up, sitting down on the ledge. "Don't slip, be careful."

The next few beats of silence carry a quiet laugh from the other boy, soft enough that Sunoo isn't entirely sure he didn't imagine it himself. He doesn't quite know if the boy has any interest in sustaining a conversation, but the tension between them in their current predicament is too high for Sunoo to be any sort of comfortable.

The boy moves from his position after five minutes or so, turning around and letting his legs dangle so they can touch the floor again. For a second Sunoo thinks he's about to get up and leave, but after a moment's hesitation the boy sits down beside him.

"What's your name?"

His voice is youthful, with the lingering hint of boyishness that has yet to leave him altogether.

"My name is Kim Sunoo," Sunoo answers. "What's yours?"

"I'm Riki." As he plays with the floppy sleeve of his long flannel, Sunoo can see the white edges of medical bandages over his collarbone and one of his arms. "I don't recognise you. Did you just move in?"

"Just today," Sunoo says. "I suppose I won't be here for long, though. A month, a month and a half at most."

"Hm? Why's that?"

Sunoo laughs with some awkwardness, trying to figure out how to explain his situation away. "Ah, it's a long story and a lot to talk about..."

Riki sits back and offers a smile. "I have time, if you do," he answers. "My mother told me a problem shared was a problem halved, so go ahead, tell me all your problems."

"What happened to you?" Sunoo changes the subject out of the blue, gesturing towards the area of Riki's exposed collarbone that was covered by the bandages. "Did you fall, or something?"

"Car accident."

"Ah..."

That was worse than I thought.

"I'm so sorry about that. Was it recent?"

Riki nods, pulling the collar of his flannel to conceal the bandages again. "I just got back from the hospital today."

"Then maybe you shouldn't be wandering around on your own yet," Sunoo says, concerned. "Is your mother at home? Your father? You should rest up while you're still recovering."

"My parents both died in the accident."

Sunoo decides then and there that this is no doubt the absolute worst first meeting he's ever had with someone. He nods, forcing a smile to alleviate the tension.

"I'm very sorry for your loss..." he begins. As expected, one is usually quite unsure of the right reaction to someone falling into sudden orphanhood. "Will there be a funeral? I can accompany you to it, or I'll help you with anything you need-"

"There won't be. My sister died in the accident too, so I have no family members left."

This is really becoming worse and worse by the minute.

Sunoo is wholeheartedly certain that starting this conversation was the worst idea he's ever had in his entire life. Not because he doesn't care about Riki's family dying, but because he genuinely doesn't know how to react and he knows that Riki can tell.

"I'm so sorry. You're really young to..." Sunoo knows it's already happened and he can't change reality, but he just really doesn't want to say the words 'lose your whole family'.

"It's alright. Things happen." The sarcasm is so thick that Sunoo can audibly hear it, but Riki doesn't say it in a scathing way. "Circumstances suck, I guess. You don't have to apologize for it."

"If there's anything I can do, I'll be glad to help you with it," Sunoo offers. "I live at apartment #02-03 and I won't be out too often."

The silence drags on between the two boys at the rooftop before Riki speaks again. "Actually, there is."

"What is it?"

"Can you meet me here tomorrow, at midnight?"

"Is there a particular reason?"

"No," Riki answers. "I just don't want to be alone."

There is so much raw emotion in the other boy's last sentence that Sunoo immediately feels bad for questioning it. "Of course. Tomorrow at midnight, okay?"

"Okay." He looks down at the watch around his right wrist. He must be left-handed then; most people don't wear their watches on their dominant hand, given it makes it difficult to write. "I have to go now. I'll see you."

Sunoo checks the time. 00:55. Nothing special.

As he makes his way back down the four flights of stairs to his apartment, he realises suddenly that he didn't ask Riki how old he was, but on hindsight he supposes the boy can't be more than one or two years younger than him.

He sees the supplies he'd bought earlier still sitting on the table, but he's too tired to bother with packing it away today. The new apartment building seems to have its fair share of interesting inhabitants, and he can't help but look forward just a little to the rest of his stay here.