oh my boy! | sunsunjake

Chapter 7

Gingerly
~ I am here for you ~

After dinner, the two rushed upstairs after being shooed away by the mother of the house. They wanted to assist her with the dishes, but all they could do was bring the plates and have their butts kicked.

Currently, they are playing rock, paper, and scissors. Whoever wins chooses if they take a shower first or last. From being indecisive, they could not bring themselves to pick an answer and would often ask the opinion of the other– only to take themselves back to square one.

It was a never-ending saga of,

"Should I go first?"

"Do you want to? I'm fine with any."

"Just pick, yes or no."

"...You choose."

"Okay, one more. Whoever wins showers first."
Sunoo was already gritting his teeth, hoping that this was the final play of rock, paper, scissors. The repetition of chants began to give him a headache, causing fumes to escape his ears.

The thing is, he wanted to lose. It wasn't because he did not want to shower. He did not want to shower YET. It was this sort of thing he couldn't express that he needed someone to do it before him.

Their hands formed into fists. The final game began.

"Rock."

"Paper."

"Scissors."

"Shoot!"

Whatever the result was, one did not know whether to feel pleased or irritated, but he left the room with his clothes after scratching the nape of his neck. At least he would not be the smelly one after a cold wash.

Jake sat on the chair, checking his phone from time to time. Knowing Sunoo incredibly well, he expected that he'd take at least twenty to thirty minutes. Was it too long or ordinary? Well, that didn't matter to him.

Out of curiosity, he began to scan the younger boy's room, admiring how it fits well with the owner. He's been there since before as a child whenever Sunoo's mother invites him. But the invites grew lesser as they grew older in age.

The room didn't change as much besides the now larger bed and a wall filled with pictures. The curious boy decided to trudge his way to the wall and view each photograph, like what he did downstairs.

There were Polaroid pictures of himself with Sunoo, the said boy with his friends, and a bunch more he had yet to meet if he was willing to. What was eye-catching was a torn, dented picture. It was not ripped in half but purposely yanked to remove a single person out of it.

Like a normal being, his interest grew. Whom could this mysterious person be? Was it someone he knew? Someone he had crossed paths with? As the questions kept on coming, the more his eyebrows furrowed.

Was it such a good picture that Sunoo had to keep it on? That question was rather useless as it was taped to his wall regardless.

He walked back to the chair, not wanting to lay on the cleanly made bed with his dirty uniform. Though the bed did seem inviting, out of courtesy and self-control, he glued himself to the seat and hoped that Sunoo would exit the bathroom already.

Five minutes had passed, and no sign of him coming out yet. He chants to himself repeatedly that "patience is a virtue... patience. is. a. virtue." As he does, he sinks into the cushioned chair, eventually dozing off.

It was about ten in the evening, and his sleep schedule was nearing. Of course, his eyelids begged to stay closed amidst the glaring light hitting his face. He felt at peace in the room. The cozy feeling was also the cause of his quick-turning slumber.