Expectations [양정원/이희승]

《chapter 4》

Jungwon's hand was shaking, a constant tremor throughout his entire body, as he punched in the code to the dorm entrance. Another deep breath later, the door gave a melodic sound and unlocked.

He felt so anxious about what could be expecting him behind that door. It was the same colour as always, in the same place as always, and the same people as always possibly inside. 

But it was also not at all the same. Really, it felt as if the entire world had shifted. Like everything had become so entirely different in nature, that he didn't feel like he really knew any of it. A weird parallel universe.

But really, it was only him that changed.

He was the alien, but to him, everything else seemed foreign, like he had to get to know every object once more, to make entirely sure it was still real.

From the wardrobe, he hung his jacket on, to the wood marbling of the floor and the lights on the ceiling that he walked in, as he entered their living room, held a different vibe to them as they used to, when he had walked around within the same space not even a week ago as a puppy.

Now, now he felt like he was here for the very first time. Like the light seemed a little brighter. And the smell. The smell he smelled within every meter of their home was overwhelming his honed senses.

It smelled right. And for some reason, he knew exactly what, or better, who he was smelling. Like his brain had always known their scents but kept it secret from him as a cruel joke, which was exactly why it felt so wrong to him.

Even Niki had a smell. Light and soft, like babypowder with a hint of marshmallow. Even though it was the most softest of all, it seemed to be most prominent. He just knew Niki must be here somewhere.

"Niki?" Jungwon asked into the living room. 

A head turned towards him, almost hidden by the back of the couch.

"Hyungie, you're back!" And between all of the things that had changed, Niki was the only constant.

"You're back too," a sigh of relief threatened to escape him as he felt a wave of emotions rush over his exhausted body. The last week had taken a tall on him, and Niki's presence felt like the first breath of fresh air in a while.

"How long have you been here?"

Niki shrugged his shoulder.  "About an hour, I think. My flight landed early." 

"You know you could have sent us a message, I would have come home earlier." Jungwon frowned, somewhat unhappy noone had greeted the puppy back in Korea.

Niki just rolled his eyes a little and nodded.

"Yes, hyungie. I know, it's fine, though."

Being so close to the tallest little one again suddenly made Jungwon want to hug him. He had really missed them last week. Had wanted nothing more, than have them close to him during that borderline traumatic event.

However, Jungwon knew that Niki would find it severely strange for him to pull him out of his seat and smother him in a full-blown hug, for no apparent reason at all. So he didn't. Despite being a pack and skin ship very common, Niki was still a teenager after all.