EIGHTEEN | minsung.

chapter 8

summer, 2017

the early morning sun hits his face as he places the cup of hot coffee on the table. the early ruckus from downstairs had woken jisung up and he couldn't bring himself to sleep again as much as he try, not with all the light evading his room.

jisung yelps out a loud yawn for the fifth time this morning, the gentle gust of wind at the rooftop making him all fuzzy and warm.

he takes a sip of his cup so as not to feel sleepy again, only to be greeted with the alarmingly burning feel of the coffee on his tongue. and it was like he's woken up all over again.

mornings have never been this quiet before, with an exception of roosters echoing almost like nature's clock alarming the world it was day. those noises could be heard so regularly that it became familiar and as normal as the sun's rising or setting down, or how the moon takes over the night; such things that became unquestionable because it's always repeated. those things that could stay the same for a long period of time. and if monotony were a person, jisung believed that it would hardly exist.

maybe it only seemed normal because we see it every day. maybe we take things for granted believing it would stay with us forever. and in the end, maybe we're all just entitled human beings as if the galaxies revolved around our kind alone.

the latter stood up, holding on to the rooftop rails as he sighted the quiet neighborhood. he directed his gaze to the adjacent house and saw a man there seeming as if he's getting ready for a walk. jisung adjusted a little closer to get a clearer look on the man's figure.

his eyes widened alertly at both the realization, a little more alarmed than the hot coffee on his tongue earlier, more woken up than its aftermath burn.

why is he there? jisung furrowed his brows in curiosity, trying to find an answer to his question. what is he doing there? does he have a friend there? why does he wake up so early?

organizing his thoughts at a time, he inhaled a small gasp at what seems to be his newfound discovery. what if he lives there? was he my neighbor all along?

"oh," he sighed at the possibility. "that would suck."

it was around ten in the morning when he decided he would visit his friend's house. the place was a light walk around town as he had visited it so many summers ago, but he brought his bicycle just in case.

jisung stepped out of his house, closing the gate after positioning his bike outside.

"meow."

jisung flinched at the sudden sound. his reflexes urged him to step away until his back hits their cold, hard gate.

he looked for the source and saw a small tabby cat watching him with green and intimidating eyes.

"meow," there it is again.

jisung kneeled down, observing the feline being. he was uneasy when he first attempted to touch it, but the cat leaned into his second touch and it made the boy relieved and lessen his guard.

"you must be lost, aren't you?" he said to the cat as if it would answer back.

"hmm, let's see." the latter noticed a yellow leash attached to the cat's neck—which he then realized was a collar and on it were written letters all in the uppercase format. "do you mind if i see your collar, little guy?"

"meow."

"dorio," jisung read the letters. "this must be your name." he smiled as an idea formed into his head. "okay, dorio. i'll be right back. please stay where you are."

jisung opened the gate and hurriedly went to the kitchen finding for something. he came back with a bowl full of cat food, which was the only one left inside their cabinet.

but by the time he came back, dorio was nowhere to be found.

—

"it seems like you're going on vacation, huh?" jeongin asked his friend, his hands placed at the top of the shelves.

"i wish." jisung replied dully while he contemplated the decision of choosing the blue soap bar over the green.

"with all the groceries in the cart, where are you going then?"

"well, mom said we could need more stocks." the older adverts his gaze to the younger, "seungmin will be staying here starting sunday."

"seungmin," the other boy repeated. "the quiet one, right?"

"he's quite the dandy fellow but he's nice." jisung said matter-of-factly. "and well, loud whenever he pleases."

he starts walking towards the counter followed by jeongin holding three bags of chips.

"hey," the cashier greeted. "in a shopping spree?"

"hi," he laughed nervously. "y-yeah, it looks like it."

"that looks fun."

"i guess so, huh?"

"it is." hyunjin faced him after placing the last item on the shopping bag. "have a great day, jisung."

he smiled, "i already have."