xᴅɪɴᴀʀʏ ʜᴇʀᴏᴇꜱ ː

ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴꜱ ꜰᴏʀ ᴀ ʀᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ - ᴊᴜɴɢꜱᴜ

lost your job because you stood up for yourself. your cat ran away. your nail broke. everything's going perfectly fine for you. haha. how could things end up being this terrible?

you sigh, leaning your head back against the wall of your bathtub. a nice bath would get your mind off of things, right? oh, how wrong were you.

the silence was actually making you think more of it. besides, bath time was usually when your cat would climb up and accompany you.

there is no cat.

"fuck this," you groan, draining the bath water and stepping out of the tub—goosebumps forming onto your skin upon feeling the brisk air touch your skin. throwing your sweatshirt over your greasy hair, as well as some black puma joggers. facing the mirror above the sink, you take in your appearance; stressed.

eye bags, chapped lips, acne. every worst possible feature. things are surely looking up for

gripping the sides of the counter, your head hangs low as you desperately fight the urge to cry. the silence overtakes you again once the water finishes draining.

gulping, you grab your phone to check the time: 12:34am. you shove your phone in your pocket and make your way towards the front door.

you don't know how long you've been walking, but it must've been a while because you find yourself at a park. it's obviously empty at this hour. a single streetlight is keeping the park awake.

reaching the swing-set, you sit on it slowly, the dampness felt through your joggers, but you didn't care. sighing, you slouch as your feet move the swing slightly, never leaving the ground.

it's quiet, but the soft sounds of the wind rustling through the trees is relaxing; therapeutic. closing your eyes, you inhale deeply, releasing a shaky breath.

"you seem stressed."

the voice catches you off guard, your eyes opening quickly. you see the stranger, a man, walking towards you, and take a seat in the swing next to you. his presence is oddly comforting.

"it must be something that was bothering you all day," he says, staring off at whatever was in front of him. he sighs, pursing his lips into a smile as he turns to you; small dimples on display. "when i have days like that, i always remember the saying 'everything happens for a reason."

your eyes search his. the dim light from the streetlight allows you to make out most of his face, but it's still hardly visible. his eyes, seemingly dark, hold sincerity. everything happens for a reason.

"whatever happened to you, whatever's been in your head all day, there has to be a reason for it. things don't just happen just to happen."

you hum, leaning onto the chain of the swing. he's looking out again.

"i like to think that our lives are already planned out. that every decision, every obstacle, every... path you cross with others, it was destined. fate, i guess." he turns to you. "like now. here we are, in an empty park, at god knows what time, just talking. what are the odds we both found ourselves at the very same park?"

he smiles after noticing your hesitation. inhaling through his teeth, he leans back into the swing. "i talk too much."
"no," you say, fiddling with the part of the swing that attaches to the chain. "i like hearing you talk. your voice is comforting." he lets out a breath.

"i'm y/n," you say, reaching out a hand. the boy looks at you, the same smile from earlier present on his face. he takes your hand. "jungsu."

"well, jungsu," you start, grabbing your phone from your pocket and opening spotify. "let's let whatever's bothering us subside for now. if everything happens for a reason, then us listening to taylor swift at 1:58am must mean something, right?"

jungsu laughs at your remark. his laugh has so much life in it.
"yeah, definitely."

you shuffle your swiftie playlist and toss your phone in the rocks between you and jungsu. gripping the sides of the swing, you rock back and forth.

"i bet i can go higher than you."

jungsu scoffs. "you're on."

and you laughed and talked until the sun joined you both.

it's been two weeks since everything happened, and you're desperately trying to find a new job, and your cat.
you've sent out so many fliers, and every night you walk around calling for him, but he's nowhere.

and your job hunting is getting nowhere. you've saved up the money to set up your own hair salon, but there are no places available for rent, or to buy. working with others isn't an option, obviously. seriously, how did you manage to get yourself in this predicament? you had one fall out with your coworker, and now no one wants to hire you.

groaning, you toss your phone onto your bed. a knock on your door, interrupts your thinking. walking out of your room towards the door, you open the door as they knock again.
"i'm coming, damn, who is it-?" jungsu?

"hello, i saw your fliers. i found this... cat. y/n?"

your eyes shift to his arms. coco.

"coco! oh my goodness! my baby!" you take coco from jungsu's arms and cradle him closely towards you.

"thank you so much, jungsu. i've missed him so much." jungsu smiles. "yeah, of course. is he the reason you were upset that night?"

you nod. "part of it." he stands there awkwardly. "would you like to come in?"

"if you don't mind."

you motion for him to come in, and lead him towards the kitchen. he takes a seat at your barstool.

"would you like something to drink? eat?"

"water?"

you nod, fixing him a glass. "so, how've you been? have you fixed the thing that was bothering you?"

he nods, placing the glass down onto the counter. "yeah, things worked out for me. i didn't think being in a band would be that enjoyable."

"oh? a band?"

"long story, but it wasn't my plan to be in one. but like i say, everything happens for a reason-"

"-everything happens for a reason," you overlap.

jungsu smiles. "have you been thinking that way?"

"trying to. it must be true, though, because my cat running away brought us back together again."

"cheers to coco."

you laugh. "cheers to coco."

"what do you do? as a job?"

you sigh, placing coco on the ground, and leaning against the counter.

"should i have not brought that up? i'm sorry."

"no, it's fine. i used to work as a hair stylist, but a lot of shit went down, and now i'm trying to start my own salon, but things aren't working out too good."

"salon?" he asks. "my friend wants to start a salon, but she doesn't have anyone else to help with her."

his eyes widen, a smile on his face. "hey! maybe you could work with her?! i could message her about you, and even give you her number."

"seriously?! you would do that?!"

"obviously. what are friends for?"

you roll your eyes, your smile widening. are you friends?

"i'll do it under one condition, though: you have to dye my hair on my first visit."

you raise a brow, crossing your arms. "that's it?"

"and, you have to accompany me on a date this weekend. it you're free, of course." jungsu smiles, leaning forward slightly.
you bite your lip to try to hide your smile, but ultimately give up once you feel your cheeks heat up.

"okay, deal."

"all right!" he yells, high-fiving you. "can i schedule my appointment now?"

"jungsu, the salon isn't even open."

"there's gonna be a line of costumers. i want to be the first one!"