𝙄𝙉𝙁𝙀𝙍𝙄, minchan

3. the benefactor

                CHRISTOPHER BANG IS in love with being alive.

All day, he does nothing but surf. He spends his mornings and evenings in the water, visits his little store in between that. He's all puppy smiles and cheesy jokes because his life is just perfect like that. He wants nothing else. He needs nothing else.

Chan, on the other hand, drowns his sorrows in the salty ocean that raised him. When that isn't enough, he puts that little waste of oxygen he calls a body to some use by selling fruits and collecting mail for neighbouring elders. He has trouble falling asleep every night because all he dreams of is his mother, a breathing corpse of dead eyes and pale hair, or her beloved wife whose death came peacefully, expectedly, but just as painfully. He wants the world. He needs the world.

And he, whoever he truly is, hopes to have those two sides unite at some point. To be a complete, content person with a past, with a future, with stories to tell and people to love. With a life worth living and a family worth dying for.

Until then, he settles for Jeongin.

"I think this is crazy," Jeongin mutters flatly, unimpressed eyes gazing into the ocean as Chan shrugs next to him.

"Could be. I won't know until I try, right?"

"Cool, but do you have to, though?" the boy hushes out. There's a pout to his lips that Chan knows is the residue of being told be can gain everything if he just acts cute. "I was perfectly content watching 'Friends' back inside."

"Oh, I bet you were." Chan can't help his smile as Jeongin only rolls his eyes. He's adorable. "It won't take long. I just want to make sure."

Jeongin simply runs a hand through the mess of bleached silver hair on top of his head and laughs humourlessly. He's against it and he wants Chan to know it. He doesn't want to explain why exactly he minds it because that would mean showing actual emotions and that 'fucking sucks'.

"Whatever. If you drown out there or accidentally step into a parallel dimension, I'm not getting you out, you can bet on that." Jeongin's face is scrunched up in suspicion. "Just be careful."

Chan punches his shoulder lightly. "Aw, look at you. You love me after all, don't you, Innie?"

"Yeah, right. I just don't feel like feeding Bella when you kick the bucket, that's all."

His tone is as flat as ever, but the red flush in his cheeks can't be just from the wind.

Chan decides to leave the conversation at that and grabs the navy blue surfboard before stepping forward. The ocean is warning him with restless waves, and he greets it with a smile. He can do this.

In a matter of minutes, Jeongin is far behind, arms probably crossed over his chest in all the worry he's always trying to hide, but Chan is in the water. Both of his feet are stable on the surfboard and he shifts his weight forward to gain speed. If he turns around, he probably won't even see Jeongin anymore.

He can almost taste the adrenaline on his tongue. It's sweet and it's red hot and the skies are blue. The ocean appears greener the more he looks at it, until a small wave that he fails to catch washes over him and it's all white.

After Lee Minho dropped him off a few nights ago and Chan unlocked the door his house, he was surprised not to be greeted by Bella right away --- usually she'd be barking at him while he fumbles with the lock, only to tackle him the moment he's inside and give him thousands of disgusting (and adorable) licks. It was only when he stepped into the living room and saw the silver haired boy asleep, cuddled up on the couch with the puppy, an almost empty bowl of popcorn on the table and the TV still on, that he realised the reason for that.