Unexpected Journey || Hoonsuk AU

Chapter 27 : Ray of hopes

Click! Click! Click!

The sounds of the camera shuttering filled Hyunsuk's ears. It sounds faints as the sound of the waves hitting the shore grew closer to him but he knows, the person with their camera is not too far from him. He's standing with both of his hands inside his pocket, watching the waves slowly crashing upon the beach. The sound is so calming, almost lulling Hyunsuk into a comfortable silence. His lips are slightly parted, feeling a slight chill breeze against the back of his neck and he shivers. He then changes his pose with his right hand tightly gripping his left arm to keep it warm.

"Hyung," he turns his head to the source of the voice. His hair flutter action of the voice that is coming from Jihoon. Instead of locking gazes with Jihoon's eyes, the camera lens pointed in his direction.

Click!

Didn't take too long a shot of himself was taken. He just looked at the younger guy and didn't say a word, letting him do whatever he wants. The gentle breeze continues caressing his skin making him goosebumps. He moves his gaze away from the younger one and looked back at the ocean.

"Ah, hyung. Are you cold?" Jihoon moves towards him until he's standing next to the latter. Hyunsuk turns his head at Jihoon again. He didn't say a word, just silently looking at Jihoon from head to toe. The taller male wearing a baggy beige color sweatshirt with black jogger pants and white sneakers. His hair is messy probably because of the wind. He then focused his eyes on Jihoon's face who is now tilting his head, waiting for Hyunsuk's answer. He is probably curious about what Hyunsuk has been thinking while looking at him like that. In Hyunsuk's eyes, Jihoon looks like a big puppy who needs his owner's affection.

He still didn't say a word.

"Uhm, hyung... You may go back to our room if you're cold. I still wanna take more pictures." Jihoon said with a smile in an attempt to break the ice between them. Although his words aren't true because surely enough he wants Hyunsuk to stay there with him, watching the sunset together. Hyunsuk just looking at Jihoon. No, he's more to stare, piercing  Jihoon with his eyes as deep as possible. A part of Jihoon who doesn't know what's on Hyunsuk's mind is now averting his eyes, trying to avoid those intense eyes.

"Uhm hyung, did I do anything wrong?" Jihoon asks when Hyunsuk still didn't take his eyes off him. How could he let Hyunsuk stare at him like that when he feels his face burning with nervousness? Hyunsuk then clears his throat,  moving his gaze from Jihoon, finally breaking eye contact with him.

"No," he answered. Short and firm. Jihoon just looks at him again, hoping to see something in Hyunsuk's eyes, that can tell him whether or not he was being truthful about his response. But Hyunsuk's eyes seem dull and unreadable. There is no emotion showing on his face, as usual.

"Uhm, well then but hyung you can go to-"

"Are you chasing me away?" Hyunsuk cut Jihoon off. His tone is flat, sounding angry, which makes Jihoon confused. What's happening now? Why does it feel like he just made a huge mistake here?
Jihoon shakes his head in denial. "No, of course not," he said with confusion written all over his face. "You see it's getting colder and you... you might want to have some rest," Jihoon continued, scratching his not-itchy head.

"I wanna watch the sunset," Hyunsuk said, his voice low and steady. He then trudges a bit far away to the beach, where the sand is completely dry. After that, he takes off his flip-flops and sits on them. Jihoon who just watching Hyunsuk's unimaginable action leaves him clueless. He doesn't even know how to react. He just stand there for a few seconds, trying to process everything before hearing his name being called by the latter.

"Come here already!" he shouted, making Jihoon flinch. Jihoon took a deep breath, forcing himself to get out of his thoughts and walk toward the older one. As soon as he reached Hyunsuk, the latter immediately grab his wrist, pulling Jihoon down on the sand. Jihoon yelps in surprise. Luckily his camera is hanging on his neck. "Sit, you're warm," said Hyunsuk, making Jihoon feel even hotter than he is now. He nods at the older one before sitting next to him.

They sat in silence, listening to the sound of the waves slapping each other and the seagulls cawing. Letting their eyes travel around the vast expanse of sea, with their mind wandering in different thoughts. Jihoon takes a deep breath. He who usually doesn't feel comfortable with silence is enjoying this moment. His messy thought feels like being sorted out. He never felt this relaxed ever since he met Hyunsuk. He glances at the person next to him, there just a few centimeters between their shoulder. He could feel the warmth radiating from the latter.

Jihoon smiles to himself. Suddenly, a seagull landed not so far from them. Jihoon didn't want to waste any chance to capture that moment, he takes his camera, and pointed it at the seagull, silently. His finger is ready to press the button when suddenly, the bird flaps his wings and moves away, leaving Jihoon speechless and frozen. He stares at the seagull's figure disappearing in the distance, with disbelief. Just when he thought he could get a close-up picture of the bird, it flew above him. He let out a heavy sigh.

Suddenly, a small chuckle could be heard. Jihoon quickly turn his head in the direction where the sound was coming from. Hyunsuk, who rested his head on his arm that was on his bend knees, facing Jihoon, chuckles.

The sounds of the waves suddenly stops and the sounds of crying seagulls faded away, the chattering sounds just now suddenly vanished. Jihoon's heartbeat increased with every passing second as he stared wide-eyed at Hyunsuk. The latter still put a smile on his face. 

Hyunsuk's eyes twinkled in the sun's rays. He looks so ethereal. So beautiful. Jihoon could feel his eyes start to burn, making him look away and hide his face. "Why are you so eager to take the pic of that seagull? There are a lot of them here," said Hyunsuk, bringing Jihoon back to life. Everything seemed to come back to normal after that. Jihoon lets out a sigh, rubbing his eyes with the back of his palm.

"Oh, yeah. You're right but it's such a rare sight to see a seagull that closes by his own accord. I can simply zoom them in or feed them food but it feels better when they fly close to us without us doing anything," Jihoon explains. Hoping Hyunsuk could understand him. His eyes are roaming around.

"When do you start taking photography seriously?" A sudden question from Hyunsuk, made Jihoon turn his gaze to Hyunsuk, surprised by the question. Not expecting the older to ask him the question. His lips twitched, as he was about to smile, happy that Hyunsuk is finally interested to know about him. He could see a bright chance before his eyes.

His lips parted slightly, answering Hyunsuk's question. Hyunsuk hummed at that response.

"It makes me happy. Through these camera lenses, I can capture the world and its beauty. From the sky to the ground, it's always beautiful to me and as a photographer, I want to show this to the world. Seeing it in the pictures will make them know how beautiful the universe truly is and the beauty that was hidden behind this cruel world. There are many in this world trapped in darkness, suffering with just one side of the ugly side. I always hope my photos will reach everyone, help them to move on, free them from their darkness and give them hope." Jihoon says with a soft voice. His gaze slowly fell back on Hyunsuk who was giving him a long silent look. Hyunsuk seems to be in deep thought as he listens to Jihoon. He then takes his eyes off Jihoon and faces in front.

"Oh, the sun was about to set," he said, which later received a response from Jihoon's camera clicking sound.