alien blues

love.

It was a beautiful autumn day, rich and warm with red and orange.

as the hustle and bustle of life surged around him, jungkook took a deep breath and prepared for his run. there was a chill in the air, but when he walked out of the shadows he was enveloped in the sun's golden rays.

he took a few steps to assess how his new running shoes would be. they weren't the most comfortable yet, but he hoped to break them in that day.

alien blues pulsed through his headphones as the first beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

jungkook took in the sights around him, the beautiful fallen leaves and quiet streams. this was his oasis, his safe place. nothing that bothered him could follow him there, through the winding trails.

sounds of children and excitement filled his ears as he slipped his headphones back into his bag. jungkook stopped at a bench on the outskirts, away from the people.

he settled down on the wooden bench, pulling his bag up to his lap to unzip it. a swig of water and two bites of a jerky stick later, jungkook pulled out a plastic container.

it rattled loudly as he peeled the lid off, taking a handful of its contents. he sat the handful down near the base of a tree, then hurried back to the bench.

jungkook did this at three more trees, then took a break to check his phone and text his mom back. as he was packing up his bag, a shriek echoed across the park.

his head shot up, looking for the source. a group of parents crowded around a metal slide and he ran over to check it out.

"is everything ok?" he asked, jogging closer to the group. there was a little boy crying at the bottom of the ladder, holding his knee.

an older woman smiled and shook her head. "he's alright, it was just a slip. thank you for asking."

jungkook nodded and started backing up, not wanting to intrude as a stranger. he grabbed his bag and slipped his headphones back on.

as he was leaving the park to head home, jungkook stopped at the public bathroom to freshen up. a group of boys barged loudly into the room, laughing and jumping around. jungkook quickly finished up and rushed outside, taking off in a sprint to start his journey home.

he'd been running for at least five minutes when someone grabbed his shirt, causing him to immediately stop and fall backwards.

"what the f-" he muttered, looking back at whoever had just grabbed him out of nowhere.

a wide-eyed boy with pink hair stood there, holding jungkook's bag. "i'm so sorry, forgive me! i saw that you left this in the bathroom and was trying to catch you." the boy was visibly panting, sweat running down his face.

jungkook got up and took the bag, bowing. "thank you for finding me, sorry you had to run all that way." he laughed, looking at the boy. "that was a fast pace for me, how in the world did you catch up?"

the boy laughed and shrugged his shoulders. "adrenaline does crazy things sometimes. and," he stopped, pointing at jungkook's bag, " i desperately needed to know why you have a container of acorns in there."

jungkook blushed, clutching his bag to his chest. "nothing, it's just- it's weird."

"well yeah, but i assume it's less weird if you explain it. oh, i'm yoongi, by the way." the boy said, holding a hand out.

they shook hands, awkwardly making eye contact. "i'm jungkook. uh, i collect the acorns i find while on runs and take them to the trees in the park." jungkook breathed, "the city cut down the acorn-bearing trees but there's still wildlife there... i just get so sad thinking about the animals looking for food that isn't there."

yoongi laughed again, a warm, full sound. jungkook smiled at the ground, knowing how weird he sounded.

"i think it's cute," yoongi said, brushing a hand through his strawberry hair. "i expected it to be weirder. but you just love animals."

jungkook blushed more, avoiding eye contact. "thanks, uh, i do love them."

there was a brief moment where neither of them spoke. jungkook looked at the sky, admiring the clouds.

yoongi cleared his throat, causing jungkook to look at him. "it was really nice to meet you, jungkook."

"of course, it was nice to meet you too, yoongi." they began to part ways, each going the opposite direction. jungkook took a few steps before turning around. "hey!"

"yeah?" yoongi questioned, slowly looking back.

"can i, uh, have your number?" jungkook mumbled, bright red as he took in the smile on yoongi's face.

"i thought you'd never ask," yoongi smiled, handing jungkook his phone. "here you go."

jungkook took it, stumbling over the keyboard. he finished and typed his name, followed by a ♡︎. then he texted himself and gave the phone back.

"thank you so much," jungkook bowed again, smiling like a maniac. he had just gotten the phone number of a cute boy, who also thought he was cute!

yoongi sent another text to jungkook, smiling goofily at the phone. he looked down at the message, heart beating fast.

yoongi: hey cutie ♡︎

jungkook hearted the message, then prepared to part ways once again. it was different this time. though they had spent so little time together, jungkook felt like they were good for each other.

"bye, i'll see you later!" yoongi said, giving jungkook a quick hug.

jungkook froze, cheeks furiously red. "b-bye! see you later!"

he picked up his pace again, turning up the volume on his headphones.

he felt beautiful.

he felt free.