CREATURE → JIGYU

ten

jihoon rubs his eyes with a heavy sigh. it's already dark outside the office windows, but the light of his computer screen isn't doing him any favors.

neither is the ringtone he set for seokmin going off beside him. jihoon fumbles around his desk for something cold to press to his forehead to relieve his blooming headache, but when he only finds a mug of lukewarm decaf coffee, he just answers the phone instead.

"hyung! i'm craving noodles. want to have dinner together?"

and so, with his work bag slung over his shoulders, jihoon steps out of the office building to find seokmin waiting for him, bouncing on his toes with a light grin on his face.

they walk to seokmin's restaurant of choice in content quiet, the younger's arm slung over jihoon's shoulders. it's comfortable. it's easy to be comfortable with seokmin when the city looms so large over their heads.

"are you going to the forest this weekend?"

jihoon gulps from his glass of water. it's already friday night, and he feels like he's at the end of his rope. he sees mingyu in his sunny garden, palm overflowing with his favorite fruits, and is comforted.

"i guess so," he reasons. it'd be almost cruel to leave mingyu waiting another week without knowing when he will return.

he's like a puppy, and a week is long enough to leave him on his own.

"that boy really has you bewitched," seokmin says. "i still can't help but worry you don't know what you're doing."

"you haven't met him, though. trust me."

"i'm just worried about you, is all. you can't hide from work anymore..." he nudges his food thoughtfully. "i missed seeing you, too."

jihoon thinks for a long time. outside the window, the city is loud and gray and distant. but mingyu is warm and colorful and kind. the garden is warm and earthy and sweet. jihoon loves it there.

he loves seokmin, needs seokmin in his life to keep him sane, especially while living in the city. jihoon hates his job and hates the stress it gives him. his apartment is small and his wage is mediocre and his friends are few.

but with mingyu, none of that matters.

"seokmin," jihoon asks, "do you ever wish things were different? like we could live in a different universe?"

the younger man hums. his brow furrows and he admits, "yeah. but... i think it's too late for us."

jihoon does return to the woods. as saturday dusk falls over the sky, he steps into the woods, following the windy dirt trail until it gives way to the sounds of rushing water. mingyu lays curled up in a patch of overgrown grass, almost the exact place that jihoon left him in. his hand is cupped over the ground; a flower grows into it. his eyes are unfocused and glazed over with boredom.

when he sees jihoon, he sits up, grin splitting his face.

"jihoon? is that you?"

he comes closer until only a foot separates them. he looks down at mingyu, at his smile and beautiful eyes and messy hair speckled with blades of grass.

jihoon holds out his hand and says, "of course, darling."

and mingyu yanks him down to join him, wrapping his arms around him and nuzzling into his hair, holding him to his chest as if he's a teddy bear. jihoon's yells of protests melt into fits of laughter as they roll around in the grass together.

"you came back," mingyu sighs once they've settled, jihoon petting his hair, combing the strands back into place with his fingers. he sounds awestruck, appreciative— as if he didn't think he would keep his promise of returning.

the sky is smeared in pinks and yellows and oranges. the air is cool as the water trickles by, the sun dipping behind the trees. but the real beauty is laying beside him, hands running over his skin as if to reassure himself that he's real.

"i did," jihoon says. "you're worth coming back for."