Breathless | HakJoon ✅

Exhale

The weekend had come and as per usual, my mom had come in with honey tea and breakfast. "Don't bother getting up." I groaned audibly as I hated when she did this. It made me feel helpless when I'm clearly not. It's not like I can't walk and grab things on my own. I furiously wrote down my complaint and hoped she'd get the message. "Alright. I'll stop. I'm just worried, okay...?" She quietly left my room and I had lost my appetite. I placed everything to the side and went over to my computer. I didn't feel keen on going out, but I knew one of them would drag me out anyway. As if one cue, Jacob had send a text asking if I wanted to hang out.

I leaned against him as we sat on the bus in transit to our destination. "I heard it's a really good place. Let's hope it's not packed." "I would've preferred to be at home catching up on my shows..." We dismounted the bus and I followed behind Jacob who lease the way. I found myself running into Jacob then wondered why he stopped. "Juyeon?" I looked over and saw Juyeon paused in the doorway. "Oh, hey. You two came as well?" "Yeah. Can we sit together?" "Sure. I'm sure they won't mind."

And just like that, I found myself sitting in a booth with 3 others, excluding Jacob. "Juyeon, who else is here?" "Oh, Jacob and Hyunjoon." I noticed Haknyeon had gasped a bit and shrunk back in his seat at the mention of my name. Was there something wrong with me? I felt sadness welling up inside me until Haknyeon handed me a colorful book. "Don't open it at all. Not until I say so." We all looked at each other in curiosity. "I mean it." He somehow managed to sense me opening it and I immediately close it.

Everyone talked to each other and I felt left out. They seemed to have forgotten my presence and I felt hurt. I couldn't possibly keep up with text to speech nor writing at the speed they were going at. I slowed down as they kept walking ahead. I turned around and headed back to the bus stop that would take me close to home. I sat down and wondered if they even noticed if I was missing. "There you are." I looked up and saw Haknyeon standing near me. "How'd you know?" "Your scent. I noticed it grew fainter, so I followed it along with your sounds." It amazed me even with knowing how he did it.

"Why'd you separate from us?" "I felt like an outcast." He tried to nudge my side but missed and ended up on my lap. I froze as my body temperature rose. I wanted him to stay there. I wanted to hold him tight. "Seems like I missed huh..." He sat up and the warmth on my lap instantly vanished. I missed it. "Do you really want to go home?" "No. Why? Are you inviting me out?" "Indeed I am. Now let's go." He held out his hand and it took a moment for it to register. He wanted to hold hands. "We'll go wherever you want, okay?" "And vice versa." I held his hand tightly and felt the blood rushing to my face once more.

I looked back at Haknyeon and wondered how he felt about me. "Hyunjoon." "Yes?" "What's it like, being able to see?" "It's a daily adventure for your eyes. You go places and either relive the moments or create new ones. It can evoke all sorts of emotions as well. It's different for everyone, so this is just my opinion." I felt him grip my hand tighter then slow down. "For the first time in years...I want to be able to see more than ever."