peach starbursts ━━ h.hj + k.sm

0.2

seungmin pov 1

Contrary to widely held beliefs I think that Tuesday is the worst morning of the week. Monday just feels like a bad dream but Tuesday is when reality sets in and you realize you're dragging yourself another 4 day until the weekend with the only end goal of eventually getting the fuck out of the situation you're in.

It was far too early to be awake but my dumbass got used to showering in the morning and I needed to iron my uniform and the bus leaves a good half an hour before school starts, so I turn off my alarm and fumble for my light in the pitch black room.

In the shower I remember that we have new neighbors today and I hope to god they don't have a kid who goes to my school. Social interaction isn't my strong suit in the first place and forced socialization because of schooling overlap and living proximity is definitely not in my wheelhouse. If they went to the same school we'd have to take the bus together and just thinking about the possibility makes me want to kill myself.

With a carefully timed schedule I am able to iron my uniform, get dressed, way overpack my school bag and grab a cereal bar from the kitchen with plenty of time to get to the bus stop. I flip up my hood as I walk out the door, turning up the volume on my headphones as I drown out the rest of the world with my carefully constructed Day6 playlist. As close the fence behind me I hear the fence belonging to the house directly to the left of us close as well, and I look up to see a tall boy of about my age waving to a woman (who I assume to be his mother) standing in the doorway. He turns around just as I see him, and his smile is so white and straight it's like he got it directly out of one of those magazine toothpaste ads.

"Oh! You must be our neighbor! We just moved in, my name is Hyunjin," he says, cheerfully, and reaches out his hand to shake mine.

It takes me a couple seconds longer than it should to react, and a couple of seconds too late I stick out my hand awkwardly and respond,

"Yes! Hi. Seungmin."

"It's nice to meet you Seungmin. I'm actually looking for the local bus stop, I'm catching a bus to school but I haven't previewed the route. Do you happen to know how I can get there?"

His monologue seems almost rehearsed, like he knew he would have to ask someone and practiced beforehand. That being said, I have to resist the urge to scowl, this is exactly what I was hoping to avoid. It doesn't help that he's outgoing and absolutely gorgeous, two traits I absolutely do not possess.

"Sure," I mumble, and then clear my throat to speak louder, "I'm going there anyway, I'll show you around."

"Wonderful!" he chirps, and seems not to take notice of my headphones as he launches into the story of his move here.

"We've been looking at this neighborhood for a long time but I've heard that there was a terrible house that held a lot of college students and we didn't want to have to deal with that. I think they moved out recently, maybe we're living in their old house, but either way I'm glad they're gone. I haven't moved since I was so young and I didn't realize how hectic it was! There are so many boxes in my room and I don't even know where to begin. I want to find the things I use everyday but it turns out there are so many more things that you use everyday than you'd think! Some of the boxes were put in the garage even though we told the movers exactly what boxes to put in the garage and which ones to not put in the garage but they didn't seem to be listening. We had to drink out of measuring cups this morning, and not like the glass ones that you measure liquid in but the ones you use for flour and stuff that come on a ring. We even had to take the ring of so we could ... " he trails off as he notices my demeanor for the first time.

"I'm talking too much aren't I? I need to fix that," he says defeatedly, and somehow it tugs at my stomach. He unexpectedly triggers me protective instinct and I find myself feeling like I need to shield him despite only just meeting him.

"No don't worry," I say, surprising myself, "I like listening. I'm just quiet."

"Okay," he says, and he says individual words just as quickly as he says sentences, like he has so much to say but he's always on a time limit.

"Well tell my if I do start talking too much," he finished, and launches back into his vocalized train of thought. He talks a lot but it's oddly comforting, he's not talking about anything heavy, just things that he's processing. He must be one of those people who processes things out loud, which is strange for me because I don't do well with talking to people. I don't really like sharing what I'm thinking, mostly because there's always so much going on in my brain at once I can't put it into any coherent order vocally. I learn along the way that he's not going to the same school I go to, which is simultaneously a relief and kind of a loss. It's pretty obvious he doesn't do well with silences and so I'm sure he'd like the bus I ride because it's always busy and loud with people getting on and off. His school is on the other side of town, one I've heard of but rarely been to, and he goes off on a tangent about what he's heard about the school. Apparently the sports and STEM programs are great but there's a social hierarchy that's hard to break. He doesn't seem interested in cracking the system though, and he strikes me as the kind of person to float around groups without a solid cohort of people to hang out with. We're such polar opposites in every way I've seen today, and it's oddly magnetic. You want to talk to him because you know he'll keep talking, and you want to hang out with him because he won't ditch you.

I start to realize that I want to get to know him better, a feeling that's odd for me on several different levels. It takes me a while to take an interest in people, and I tend to hang out with people who are like me, awkward and socially inept, getting through high school with incredible grades and hopes to graduate early.

When we get to the bus stop he listens patiently to my instructions on which bus to catch and which stop to get off on, and then asks me to repeat it so he doesn't forget. I tell him again, surprisingly charmed by his intent and earnestness, and I end up giving him my email so he can ask me any questions. It feels oddly intimate, even though it's not a phone number or even a social media account, but it ties me to him in a way I didn't expect to be excited about. It takes me a painfully long time to come to a familiar place with people, I'm a little bit overly cautious. But when I met Hyunjin something just clicked, and it didn't feel too weird to provide him an outlet with which to keep in touch.

As he walks away towards the bus stop he smiles widely and waved at me, and I wave back at him, smiling to myself.

_________________

three updates in a day what is happening to me

this has been surprisingly fun to write i hope you all enjoy it

feedback is always apprecaited!