ateez - in his mind

fifteen

Changbin couldn't sleep that night. The idea that the first person he ever fell in love with was now on the run from the government created an anxiety within him that he never knew he could feel. It made him feel sick and restless.

It was sometime in the middle of the night when he couldn't take it anymore, leaving his bedroom with a pillow and blanket in hand. He decided he would lay on the couch and watch some TV for a while to make himself tired. The shows that were still playing at this hour were not entertaining and boring, so Changbin took to his phone instead.

He scrolled and scrolled through every social media app he could think of, but nothing could shut his mind off from the thought of his friend. Then, he began to scroll through his camera roll. Countless pictures of him and his friends, his dog, and scenery from family road trips could be seen. But one picture caught his attention.

It was him and Hyunjin from their trip to the amusement park. They had huge, silly hats on, with their hands touching to make a heart towards the camera. Both of them were smiling as bright as the stars. The trip was exactly a year ago from today, he realized. He smiled softly at the fond memory, wishing he could turn back time so that none of the events that followed this day would happen. He wished he could live in that moment with Hyunjin forever.

As he was reminiscing on the memory of him and Hyunjin, a small tapping noise could be heard from the kitchen window. The same window Hyunjin climbed out of hours ago. Changbin sat up in fear and placed his phone down on the couch's arm rest. When he heard the window open, he slowly stood up, afraid of who would be trying to break into his house during a time like this. Except, it wasn't someone trying to steal from him.

"Holy fuck, Hyunjin, what are you doing here?" Changbin whispered once Hyunjin rounded the corner to the living room. Hyunjin just laughed quietly at his friend's reaction. "I thought you said you were coming tomorrow?"

"Well, it's about three AM right now, so technically it is tomorrow," Hyunjin said, a small smirk on his face. Changbin could tell he was trying to hold in his laughter, likely because he was still hiding from the government and wanted to remain quiet. That's when Changbin could see Hyunjin's slight limp, and the tiredness in his eyes.

"How long did they chase you?" Changbin asked while Hyunjin set his backpack down on the floor. He hobbled over to the couch, next to where Changbin stood, and sat down with a loud, exasperated sigh.

"After I left here, they saw me running a couple blocks down. I lost them over by the marketplace, the one where your mom worked," Hyunjin responded, still breathing quite heavily. Changbin thought about his mom and how exhausted she used to be whenever she came home from a day at the market. How she refused to use any of her money to get a taxi ride home. Hyunjin must have been running for miles.

"I'll um... go get you some ice for your foot," Changbin said before leaving the living room. He didn't like how Hyunjin refused to break eye contact when he spoke. He didn't like how he felt. So, he quickly sprinted to the kitchen in the most panic he ever felt. Changbin just knew that Hyunjin was laughing to himself in the living room. As he was wrapping the ice in a towel for Hyunjin, he heard him from around the corner.

"Hey, wasn't this picture from a year ago today?"