Stray Kids Drabbles

Duck, duck, goose

After a heated argument, I.N finds you at the river and hopes to make it up to you.

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You couldn't even remember what it was about. Everything happened so fast, it was a blur. Words were thrown at one another. Fists were clenched, tensions were high, and faces were scrunched with fury. In the heat of the moment, you grabbed your bag and stormed out of the apartment.

Things had been brewing between the two of you for a while. It was only a matter of time before someone snapped. You tried not to let your relationship with your boyfriend get to that point, but sometimes external factors built up. Neither of you were perfect at the end of the day.

A soft quack pulled you out of your thoughts. You smiled at the ducks bobbing down below in the river ripples. Once one began to quack, another started, and then another. Soon you were met with a chorus of them.

"Alright, alright, I hear you." A melodic laugh left your lips. You scooped a hand into the ziplock bag you were holding and tossed another handful of duck food into the Han River.

The group of Mallard ducks dived head-first to try and retrieve the grain. Their brown feathers ruffled and their bright green heads dived beneath the ripples. There was always a group of ducks here whenever you were here. Since you loved animals, they captured your attention.

After a bit of research, you ordered duck food online and had it shipped to your apartment. Ever since that moment, when life became too overbearing, you found yourself at the edge of the Han River duck watching. It took a few days before the ducks realized you didn't mean to harm them.

Watching their multi-colored buoyant bodies bounce up and down provided you with a sense of tranquility. Their beady eyes were always on you curiously or impatiently. They studied the unfamiliar being who gave them food with caution. Usually, humans stayed further up towards the bank.

Around them, you stayed quiet. When you spoke, you spoke softly so as not to alarm them. You were over ten times their size. One wrong move and you were sure you'd startle them and they'd swim away from the shore.

Their webbed feet kicked and propelled themselves towards the bobbing grains bits that had floated away due to the movement of the water. The longer you watched them, the more you found your heart rate returning to a normal speed. Your adrenaline had been high when you stormed out of your apartment.

Footsteps approached you and someone sat down next to you. You didn't bother looking over to see who it was. You knew just by the oily scent of french fries and beef. You threw in another handful of grain and watched the ducks go wild.

"I thought you'd be here," I.N spoke after a few moments of silence. "A few weeks ago, you said the Han River was your safety net. You said it was the place you went to clear your head."

You meekly nodded and continued watching the ducks. Your anger had dissipated by this point. It was replaced with a sense of guilt. You should have tried to take the rational approach instead of screaming at your boyfriend when things became heated on his end.

"Can I try to feed them?"

You glanced over to look at him. He sat looking at you with his legs crossed beneath him. His hands sat idly in his lap with a variety of silver rings on them. You side-eyed the ducks, but they didn't seem to mind his presence. The ducks were too preoccupied with the ziplock of grain in your own lap.

"You might want to take off your rings. Sometimes they get impatient and lunge. They like sparkly things and I learned that the hard way after one of them pecked one of my rings."