twelve hours » jaeseong

[nine hours]

They arrived to a park, and Inseong and Youngbin grabbed the food and a blanket from the trunk of the car.

"Picnic!" Inseong cheered in a way that made Jaeyoon's heart grow wings of its own. His childlike joy was endearing.

It was a warm day, and Jaeyoon reveled in the way the sunlight felt against his skin. But he reveled in the way it highlighted his new friends' features, too. Their voices were louder and carefree among the sun and flowers of the park.

They found a spot near a small man-made river and Inseong struggled to open the blanket. Youngbin and Jaeyoon watched him, giggles overriding any urge to help. However, Jaeyoon finally grabbed the other end of the blanket, and it gracefully opened up and floated to the ground.

He smiled at Inseong on the other side, and Inseong smiled back. Jaeyoon thought it was beautiful. Time seemed to suspend as their gazes locked and their smiles turned into something heavier. Why hadn't he noticed how pretty mortals were before? It would've saved him from this dazzled, blindsided feeling.

Maybe it was only certain mortals, he mused as they spread their snacks on the blanket and sat down.

He and Inseong sat right next to each other, their shoulders brushing as they ate and laughed. Jaeyoon thought his skin was going to be burnt when he looked later. That "later" didn't even include any thoughts of his mission.

The sun and his expanding chest had chased them all away.

"Open wide!" Inseong sang, and Youngbin obliged. Jaeyoon giggled quietly as he watched.

"Married," he remarked under his breath, but Inseong heard him and shoved him over.

"Fight Jaeyoon and you fight me!" Youngbin cried, over-dramatic. Jaeyoon sat up in time to see him get pushed over, too, and for some reason he couldn't stop laughing.

Then Inseong was shoving food at his cheek, missing his mouth entirely, and he was retaliating and Youngbin was egging them both on.

After the food fight died down (from which no one had been spared), they relaxed on the green grass. People buzzed around them, but Jaeyoon felt like he and his friends were in an entirely different plane. He didn't want that moment to end.

Especially when Youngbin took out his phone and played music that seemed to emulate the uplifting mood. Jaeyoon knew it was cheesy but he felt like he was flying and self consciously wiggled his shoulders to make sure his wings were still hidden.

Inseong began to softly sing along to the songs, and Jaeyoon closed his eyes and let the sound wash over him. He understood mortals' silly perceptions of heaven now, which was funny because he never had before.

He leaned against Inseong, a small smile on his lips. Gold and pink streaks swirled behind his eyelids, softly exploding like fireworks and starting anew as the music swelled and quieted. It was beautiful.

When he opened his eyes, the streaks were still there. Sure, he had to squint to see them in the sunlight, but it was like they were in their own bubble.

The pink streaks were new. He couldn't identify where they were coming from or who they were attracted to. Gold typically meant unrequited, hence Youngbin's feelings for Inseong. Pink was the most wholesome kind of love; the kind that was the basis of Jaeyoon's job.

However, he found that puzzling over the pink love was erasing his smile, so he pushed it out of his mind. As soon as he did, the lazy contentedness returned.

But it wasn't in his job description to make friends. He should've realized the pink love for what it was - a warning.

an: so i casually finished writing this