𝐍𝐎 𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐁𝐎𝐖𝐒 | 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐆

chapter 1; midnight run

3 am in Seoul was a hard thing to explain.

it was so calm and peaceful in certain places, while in others not so much.

for han jisung though it was the best part of the day.

the serenity of the sound of silence, only accompanied by the occasional car passing by or the footsteps of another teenager like him just trying to find calmness and comfort in the skatepark.

he came here every day, well, every night specifically ever since he had turned 14. he was now 17 and he still spent every night here.

he had dropped out of school, he had no parents or family so it didn't really matter to him. jisung had a decent job, as decent as he could get with middle school qualifications.

currently he was a barista at a small café down the street from his apartment.

it paid him well enough to support his cigarette addiction, feed him and pay his rent.

currently the teen's thoughts were occupied with how beautiful the sky was and he wished to become one with it, a cigarette in his hand, sat down on the grass next to a bench, laying his head on it.

"hey." he heard a voice say behind him and he looked up, thinking it was another cop.

instead a teenager who looked barely older than him was staring at him.

"do you have a spare cigarette?" the male asked.

jisung sighed and pulled his cigarette pack out before giving him one.
he expected the other to just thank him and walk away, but after saying thanks, the guy sat down on the grass as well, being on the other end of the bench.

"what's your name?" he questioned.
"han jisung, yours?"
"i'm lee minho."
a small pause followed, the two taking drags from their cigarettes.

"how old are you?" jisung asked.
"18." minho replied, tilting his head over to look at him "you?"
"i'm 17." jisung answered and another pause followed.

"do you come here a lot?" minho questioned.
"i do. i have been coming here every night for the past 3 years." he said "and you?"
"mmm, sometimes, i come here when i feel tired." the older answered.

"what do you do when you are here?" jisung asked quietly.
"i smoke and think. sometimes i find someone to talk to and sometimes i go for a run."
"a run?"
"have you ever gone on a moonlight run?" minho asked.
"a what?" jisung turned to look at him now.
"running through the night, not caring about a single thing." he said and smiled quietly at him.

"i've never tried that." jisung answered and the other male smiled, looking over at him "wanna try it now?"

jisung stared at him for a bit.
was he seriously considering going with this stranger to do an activity he'd never done before? it could be fun, so he thought.

"why not?" he laughed quietly and got up, snuffing his cigarette out.

minho stood up, looking over at him before he spoke again.
"hold my hand." he said and held his hand out to jisung.

the younger male took his hand and before he could do anything or say anything, they had already taken off, running, hand in hand as the cold air brushed over their skin and messed up their hair.

jisung looked up, observing the city and then the sky.

the lights in the city were even more striking, even more magnificent today of all days. they were twinkling happily, just like the pair's eyes.

the fresh earthy scent throughout the park was even stronger now that they felt happy and not so lonely.

for jisung, this practical stranger was making the stars shine brighter, the moon illuminate everything so stunningly, every small thing more noticeable, meaningful and memorable.

but he wasn't sure as to why.

after a while of running, they stopped near some steps and jisung sat down, panting heavily while minho rested his arms behind his head.

"did you like that?" the older of the two asked and upon receiving a nod, he smiled.
"then. tomorrow, same time, same spot?" he asked.
"sure thing." jisung said and minho smiled.

"fuck, i'm tired, you're a fast runner." minho said and sat next to him "jisung, do you have your own place to sat at?" he asked.

"yeah, i do, why?" jisung questioned.
"is it nearby?" the older asked, receiving another "yeah, why?" before he smiled a bit "can i stay over at yours for the night? my place is pretty far from where we are." he said.

jisung stared at minho, bewildered how calmly the older was asking him that.
it was as if they were the closest of friends, not just some people who met an hour ago.
was jisung really going to let this stranger in his house?

"sure. you can crash at my place. i don't mind." jisung answered and minho smiled lightly again "lead the way then, i am exhausted, man."

the younger got up and started walking, too tired to care how stupidly he was behaving.

but to be fair, he didn't have much one would wanna steal.

it took a short while, but soon enough, the pair was in front of a small apartment building.

jisung unlocked the main door and walked up, minho following behind him.

the building was visibly quite old and not taken care of much as the paint on the wall was all scraped off and patchy, looking like it was last painted at least 20 years ago.
the whole place reeked of cigarettes and alcohol, the faint scent of weed present as well.

upon walking into jisung's place, the atmosphere was rather different.
his apartment contained one bedroom and bathroom, a livingroom and kitchen that were joint to save space along with a small balcony.
it still carried the heavy cigarette smell, but along with it, the sweet aroma of vanilla was present.
jisung was a big fan of baking ever since a friend of his had showed him how to make good brownies and today he had made vanilla cookies.

the pair walked further in and jisung put his phone on his couch "i only have one bed so if you don't mind either of us taking up the couch." he said and minho hummed "i can take the couch, i prefer couches to beds anyways." the older answered before he paused "may i have a cookie?"

"oh, uh, yeah, but i don't guarantee they're amazing, i made them in a rush before work." jisung warned and then went to his room, changing into a hoodie and sweatpants, before putting some down on the couch for minho to change into.

"i don't know what you were talking about, those cookies are crazy good. you should open your own bakery." minho commented, coming back from the kitchen with three cookies in his hands.

"oh, thanks, but no. i have another dream to achieve." jisung answered and laughed a bit.

"hm, what's that?"  minho questioned "let's talk about that tomorrow? i'm tired and we should save some more topics for tomorrow." the younger answered, giving a smile as he went to the bathroom, washing his face and brushing his teeth before he checked on minho again, the other crashed out asleep in the livingroom on the couch

with a small sigh of relief, jisung laid down on his bed, closing his eyes and drifting off to dreamland.

a/n - this is the first chapter and honestly, i don't have much planned for this book so let's see where all this will lead us.