intellectual » k.n.j // #LostStarsAwards2k18 #COWA2018

xv

> euphoria

"Her name's... [Y/N]." Namjoon kept his head lowered, avoiding the older's questioning gaze. "Are you sure you're not telling PD-nim, hyung?"

"No." He answered firmly and Namjoon sighed with a little relief.

"So, uh... I met her at the Han River last October, when I took a walk and all of you went to church."

Seokjin remembered, but he didn't went to church. He went to the supermarket.

He saw Namjoon sitting by the Han River until someone came and sat next to him.

"Actually, I didn't go with them," Seokjin uttered, "I went to buy ingredients. And passed by the park for a while and YOU were there."

Mouth sealed, Namjoon fiddled with his thumbs harder, the cafe seemed to be a bit colder.

"Only I didn't asked you about it because I thought you know her."

"I do... now."

Seokjin sighed, "Do you realized how dangerous this is? You gave her your number— it might leak and---"

"No, hyung. She isn't a fan anyway."

"Even so---" Seokjin's sentence was cut short when Namjoon's phone rang and the both of them froze on the spot until he decided to take the call.

"It's her," Namjoon whispered, and Seokjin rolled his eyes.

"Nam--- I mean, Kyle!" She said cheerfully, "I know you're busy and stuff but can you hear me out for a second?"

Confused, Namjoon glanced at his hyung and said, "Sure, I guess."

"So uh, I read this book,"

"Uh-huh,"

"Translated in Korean! I can't read in English, you know that— It's written by Mi--- Mitchi Aleubom? Something like that. It had been existing for a long time and I've heard that it's going to have a sequel next year, I'm not entirely sure."

"What is it called?" Namjoon caught himself smiling, looking at Seokjin who looked down and sipped more of his coffee.

"The Five People You Meet in Heaven."

Namjoon stopped breathing for a second.

"Kyle?"

His eyes were wide in shock, like a strong gust of wind blew across him for some unknown reason.

Uneasy. That's how he felt.

"I'm here," He mumbled.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I was doing something." He added in a fake chuckle though he knew she'd notice it.

"Oh," Her voice faltered as how he expected it, "Maybe we could talk about this in another time?"

"Yeah, but I'll give you a heads up when I get to read it."

"Fantastic," It was weird because another chill crept up his spine, but this time, it was the distinct feeling that she smiled. "I'll be hearing from you then. Take care and drink ginger tea, okay?"

"I will, [Y/N]. Take care too."

And she hung up.

Seokjin, with an evaluating stare, asked "Why her? Of many people you can meet on the street and given a chance to?"

Sighing, his lips crept into a contented smile, "She makes me see things I couldn't."

The older sighed, defeated, and drank his latte to the last drop.

"Let's go back, hyung."

"We should." Seokjin propped up from his seat, a weak smile on his face. "Did she recommended you a book?"

Namjoon, who also stood up and started to walk to the door, stopped in his tracks and gave him a reluctant look, saying "Yeah, called The Five People You Meet in Heaven."

"I say we buy it," This time, his weak smile turned back into his energetic, widespread lips.

"H-hyung?" Namjoon wasn't sure if he heard him right.

"I don't really read, you know that." Seokjin held the door and let the younger out of the coffee shop, then stepping outside with the door chiming close. "But  I want to see how much impact that book had to recommend it to you. You're specially picky in books even if you'd pick up anything and read it."

"That's vague but I guess you're right."

The night was starting to buzz with life, the cool autumn wind cool enough not to break into a sweat and enough not to be chilly. Street lights started to glow and it's just... perfect. The perfect night for a stroll, the perfect night to eat chicken and beer, the perfect night to let your mind wander, the perfect night to feel... liberated. There's something that started to stir inside of Namjoon, a wiry sensation so vividly that gave him the feeling that he can do anything.

Maybe, in a sense, euphoric?

He gazed through the high speed cars, their screeching tires booming through the entire district, leaving Namjoon in a faze, his eyes following Seokjin's figure in front of him, slowly fading in white light.

Weird enough, he's wearing a white parka, the hood draped down from his nape and its pristine glow glistened under Seoul's reviving night life.

The stoplight still glared red towards the pedestrians waiting to cross, but there's one who was unfazed.

A step, his boots seemed to lost friction, and his feet will not stop at any given moment. A rhythm, that's what his feet were making. A rhythm any euphoric soul would have in their hearts.

"Hyung?"

Seokjin was lost in thought, his ears blocked all the stimulus outside him, disregarding the signal by that ever glaring red light, and took a step on the road.

"Hyung!"

Namjoon's eyes widened in shock. A chill went down after another and another, euphoria slowly turned to paranoia in a sense that he thought of the consequences, the outcomes...

A rush of adrenaline was all he needed, he grabbed Seokjin by the wrist and pulled him back in all of his strength, sending the two on the pavement with a loud thud.

Then, the lights turned into a comforting green.

~
AN UPDATE?!?!

I CANT BELIEVE IT EITHER. i hadnt written anything in 4 months and having written this despite of it being a total rewrite was amazing.

and in fact, the night was perfect, really perfect.

and it's the new year, so enjoy the new chapter and new cover!

happy new year!

-iris