flipped :: markhyuck

4 | books and boys

'four

as soon as he turned fifteen, haechan's parents finally allowed him to walk to the library alone. he was ecstatic from his new-found independence; the library was what instigated his willingness to move from his nostalgic hometown of jeju after all.

haechan usually liked walking home with mark - not explicitly with, but with - by trailing behind his footsteps at a safe distance, watching mark's every move as he shoved earphones into his ears, all the way until they separated ways at their very street. 

however, today had to be an exception. he figured that he and mark were on good terms; the older boy hadn't dated anyone after jiwoo, and haechan was grateful for it as it gave mark less of a reason to avoid him.

he stepped in front of the familiar building, but he felt nowhere near the same. he walked in alone and saw scattered individuals digging through shelves or studying, and he smiled. walking over to the counter, he greeted the librarian.

"hello," he beamed. "do you have any books to give out this week?"

"ah, yes," the librarian nodded as she turned in her chair to the cabinet. "where are your parents today, haechan?"

"they've let me come alone," he said proudly, and she chuckled.

"that's exciting for you," she said, handing him a pile of books with minor damages. "you know, i've asked the library to put aside the old books for you."

"thank you," he smiled, taking the pile. "i'll be here a lot more now, so be prepared."

"no worries," she replied, before hesitating. "and haechan... thank you for doing so much for the library. your efforts to raise funds for us is really helpful, especially since barely anyone your age comes here anymore. i'm scared of what might happen to this place..."

"hey, stop saying things like that," he pouted. "that can't happen while i'm still around, so you have nothing to worry about."

she smiled and nodded. "go along now. i'll see you around."

he nodded as he walked inside, turning into his favourite aisle: the science fiction books. he loved reading stories about artificial intelligence, and had been scavenging through the same aisle ever since he discovered it.

however, unlike other days, there was someone inside the aisle. the boy sat against the bookshelves in the exact spot haechan wanted to check, reading a manga with some other books scattered around him on the floor. 

the sight aggravated him. how could he leave the area so messy? why did he not just go and read on the seats? what made him come and sit here?

"excuse me," haechan piped up, making the boy - who could not have been any older than him - look up from his book. "uh... do you mind moving? i want to look at the books that you're... on."

he stared at him blankly before standing up and pausing. "wait, are you lee haechan?"

"how do you know my name?" he frowned.

"we're in the same grade. my name is renjun," he replied, and haechan could hear his slight accent as he said, "i just moved here from china at the end of last year."

"no wonder i haven't seen you around," he pondered. "your korean is pretty good."

"i lived in jilin," he informed. "most of us learn korean there."

"that's cool," haechan nodded, and the two boys simply stood there quietly.

"i'm going to go sit in another aisle," renjun announced before he turned and walked the other way without saying bye. haechan wanted to stop and tell him not to sit inside the aisles as it was his newly-discovered pet peeve, but decided against it since they had just met. instead, he picked up the books which had previously surrounded the chinese boy, and placed them back into their shelves.

realising he didn't have enough time to read a new book before making it back home in time for his allocated curfew, haechan headed towards the exit, raising an eyebrow as he spotted renjun sitting at a table, a stack of comics lined up next to him.

haechan smiled as he walked out of the library.