the friendship code

|chilling morning|

Lee's POV:
The night was not particularly refreshing. All in all, I managed a full five hours of sleep. Far less than normal. Ahn sometimes teases me with the nickname sleepy koala because I always sleep quite long. I can't help it if I'm in a bad mood all day without sleep and take every opportunity for a nap.
But I just can't sleep anymore. Maybe it's just the jet lag and the time difference between New York and my home country. I think it should be around 10 am now. I'm usually awake late at this time. Jojo is also starting to look like he's going to wake up soon. Shortly after that, he was already licking my face. He does this every morning since the incident in summer. I let him do it for a few minutes before pushing him aside. Which is not exactly easy with his size. After successfully managing to get Jojo off of me, I sneak into the bathroom. After my daily morning routine and a quick shower, which I usually rarely do, only when I'm simply too tired to do so in the evening, I quickly finished my morning ritual. As I exited the bathroom, I was promptly met by Jojo with the leash in his catch. It seems that Jojo is in a hurry. I quickly threw on my jacket, slipped on an extra pair of thick socks, and finally into my shoes. As I walked by, I wrapped my thick scarf around me, pocketed a pair of keys and my headphones and cell phone, and put on my favorite beanie. At the door, I put Jojo into his dog sweater as well, since it's cold as ass outside and also snowing heavily, and hooked up the leash.
Well prepared against the cold we stepped in front of the door. Brr is that chilly this morning. At the nearest tree, I let Jojo relieve himself. During that time I check briefly how far it is from here to Central Park. According to Google maps only 15 walking minutes. That's okay. I thought it would be further away. I quickly cleaned up after Jojo and threw away the poop bag. Then we set off. I saw some nice photos on the net, perhaps I'll get one or two good shots. And the sun hasn't risen yet at this hour. That should make for some nice shots in this weather. Once there, we strolled along some of the main paths in a relaxed manner. To be able to enjoy this moment of peace undisturbed, I switched my phone to flight mode. Who should want me in the early morning already what of me? The whole thing got better when I listened to my favorite Spotify playlist through my headphones.
In the meantime, isolated rays of sunlight could fight their way out from behind the thick cloud cover. These transformed the small drops of ice on the branches into small shimmering crystals sparkling in the light. I quickly take a few pictures of the ephemeral masterpieces of nature. Amazing. Too bad I don't have my camera with me. So the pictures would be even more brilliant. For me, every day could start like this. Although I was wrapped up thickly, the cold slowly crept into my jacket. Plus, it felt like my nose was going to freeze the next moment. Shivering, I pulled my scarf up over my nose and decided to warm up a bit in one of the nearby cafes. Jojo seems to need that too. He's been shivering for a while and is looking for my warmth. Well then on. We will surely find a cozy place.
On the way out I saw from afar that at a crossroads a crowd of people and a small platform. Mhm. What are they setting up there? My curiosity displaced the rising cold, so I approached the place. As I get closer, I notice one of the technicians hamming it up. Seems like the tech doesn't wanna go the way he does. In the corner of my eye, I see that he most likely forgot to plug in a cable.
L: "Maybe you should plug the cable in all the way. Might help."
T: "Huh? Oh yeah. Thanks. And I've been wondering the whole time why the thing doesn't run. You can be stupid, though."
In our little conversation, a few people joined us from behind, where one put his arm around me. Slightly startled, I flinched from the sudden touch. Later I turned to this person and was astonished. Next to me, as if from nowhere, was my childhood buddy Johnny. After the moment of shock, I greeted him with a big hug. What I didn't know at the time was that we were being filmed the whole time. I didn't realize that until later.

J: "Hey. What are you guys doing here? And especially in this early and cold weather?"
L: "I'll blame it on jet lag, and Jojo has received the call of nature. What about you?"
J: " Hahaha. I believe you. We wanted to perform our latest song live here. Unfortunately, there were small difficulties with the construction. Fortunately, they are solved. How long have you been here?"
L: "Since last night. Yashua kidnapped us here. That's why I'm here. And was the victim of a surprise attack on my person right after we landed."
J: "Oh dear. You?!? And surprises?!?! That always never matched well. Did it have a positive ending?"
L: "Honestly yes, but not quite."
J: "Ok. What was the downer?"
L: " CNCO was there. That's the good part. Unfortunately, BTS, too."
J: "OH. That's not so pleasant for you. Was that the owner?"
L: "Yup. Yashua set the whole thing up. And now I'm more or less stuck with BTS and CNCO. Can only hope that time goes by as quickly as possible and I can get my peace back."
J: "Oh gosh. Don't be so pessimistic all the time. Maybe these days will be the best of your life."
L: " Well I don't know."
J: "Yes you do, where's the old adventurous Lee? In the old days, you would have said yes to things like that without thinking."
L: "That Lee doesn't exist anymore."
J: " YES, THERE IS. It's still there somewhere deep inside you. It's just you letting your fears intimidate you."
L: "You know it's not that easy."
J: "True. But you really should at least try to leave the past behind you as well and not let what's happening influence the rest of your life. Now is the right time to show your bullies that you don't care about what they did to you. Otherwise, you'll be fueling their triumph even more than you already are if you keep this up."
L: "Maybe you're right. If only it weren't so hard."
J: "Not maybe. Just do it. And you'll see that not everyone is like these idiots. There are also true angels among the many big and small demons. You just have to let them be and open your heart. That way you'll also find the people who won't harm you."
I nod in hesitation. Maybe it is time to leave the past behind and look ahead. But the wounds of my battered soul will take years to heal. But as grandma always said, every wound heals faster with a little love. She even said that about the smallest scratch you got when you were playing as a child. It made me miss her.
J: "Come here. You know you, I would never judge you for what or who you are. But I can't just watch you withdraw more and more."
Lovingly, he pulled me to him and hugged me tightly. He hasn't changed much over the years. Is still the concerned, protective big brother to me. And that's what I love about him. But our peaceful moment was short-lived when a voice behind us said.
Jae: "Hi you two. I didn't see you. Johnny covered you with his size. The giant."
J: " Hey. Don't get naughty with me. I'm older than you, after all."
Jae: "Yeah. Yeah. Boomer. Would you be up for hanging out with Taeyong, Johnny boy, and me later?"
L: "I'd love to. Maybe somewhere warm. We're both pretty frozen."
J: "Sure. Do you want to wait here or go ahead and find a cute place and we'll join you?"
L: "I'm going to get something warm to drink and warm my hands. I want to see you guys live in person. Not always just on video or live streams."
Jae + Johnny: "Cool. See you in a bit then. It's going to be a moment here before we can get started."
L: "Alright."
The day hardly seems to get any better. I happily stopped at the nearest coffee shop and ordered a hot chocolate and another warm cupcake in between. After a few minutes, my order was ready. My fingers were stiff from the cold, so it hurt a little to move them. Only with an effort, I get the cupcake to grasp. But the warmth of the chocolate alleviated the discomfort after a few seconds.