patient • chensung

10 • caught in the moment

"Eomma, appa look! It is a spider-man wall!"

The small boy, of about three years old hopped up and down, hair bouncing with his steps as he gasped at the tall structure. Rubbing at his eyes to prepare the best puppy eyes he could give, he spun on his heel and clasped his hands together, falling to his knees as he cried out, "Please, please please please can I go to spider-man?"

The young woman bit the inside of her mouth nervously as he eyes darted to the man beside her, who had a similar expression to the woman. "Go on," she murmured.

That was all the boy needed before jumping up in ecstasy as he headed over to the climbing frame.

"It's dark," the man stated.
"It's 10pm," the woman replied.

They both nodded at each other, clasping hands in one another's, never leaving eye contact.

"It's time," they both whispered together.

"Spider-man's not here!" the young boy whined, pulling himself down carefully from each rope as he gradually got off the climbing frame. He winced at the small rope burn in the palm of his hand yet simply shrugged it off and turned to face his parents.

"Should we go home-"

The boy's black eyes widened. "Eomma? Appa?"

He ran to the previous spot that his parents had stood, and kneeled down, where he found two rings.

The boy may have been young, but he wasn't dumb. He knew what these rings were. He saw them whilst being placed on their owner's hands.

"Eomma, Appa, are we playing hide and seek?" he called out, holding the rings for safety. When no response came, he rubbed the tears forming in his eyes away aggressively and put on a smile.

"Oh, is it my turn to hide? Okay!"

And so the little one scurried off to the cluster of trees near the outside of the park.

It was pitch black at this time of night, so he did not anticipate the large roots protruding from the ground. He didn't anticipate him falling face first, shoe caught onto the root.

They were playing hide and seek, but the boy couldn't help but wonder a week later, in the exact same spot he'd been in before,

'When will you come and find me?'

••••••••

Jisung couldn't sleep after he awoke with an abrupt gasp in the middle of the night. He needed to get away from this room, the caged room with one small window and no other source of freshness.

The slapping of feet against hardwood floor echoed around the fourth floor, the occasionally loud interactions with the stairs and Jisung's foot as he continued his way up the stairs, the glint of the object in his hand reflecting from the moonlight.

"Chenle?" he called out, pushing the door open to make his appearance.

In the large queen bed in the back of the room was a small lump, formed with pillows, and the slight contractions from the male cocooned inside.

"Pretty," he murmured.

Jisung stood by the side of the bed for a solid few minutes, simply admiring the blonde angel who lay in front of his eyes. He looked too delicate to touch.

Which is why he brought his item carefully to the elder's neck.
Gliding it across gently.
Piercing it quickly as he set to begin his artwork. This one wouldn't take too long, he thought as he carved the letters quickly yet precisely. 'P.C' he wrote, a ghastly smile casting over his pale lips.

This time, however, the chinese awoke abruptly. He winced as he shot up, back straightened whilst his eyes adjusted themselves.

He rubbed at them vigorously. "Jisung?" He queried, almost already knowing that it was the boy who was with him.

The said male quirked an eyebrow at his name being called as if to say, 'what?'.

Chenle brought his hand up to his neck, feeling as if a billion sharp daggers were piercing through him. It was never this painful, he knew that, but why did it hurt so badly this time?

"Again," he simply breathed, ignoring the relentless slicing through his skin, burning throughout him. He brought his hand back down, only to find three fingers smothered in blood.

Jisung nodded. Almost hesitantly this time though. "I had an urge, and I really couldn't help it, I'm sorry," he explained, trying to find any excuse for the elder to forgive him.

"Look, I know I practically offered myself to you, but is there any other way to relieve your stress? Absolutely anything and it'll happen, name it."

Jisung paused.

"There is one," he barely whispered, so that Chenle alone could hear it.

"Yes?" the latter encouraged.

And in the next second, the older found himself to be pinned down flat on the bed, arms caged upwards as his client pushed him further into the mattress, his nose just a hair breadth away.

The familiar chocolate brown eyes stared him down, although not in any form of judgement, or cruelty, something that Chenle was yet to discover, really. He could feel the warmth of the purple haired's fanning on his pale skin, goosebumps rising in place. Their heartbeats were unevenly beating against one another and increasing as Jisung leans further down to his doctor, not wasting another moment before closing the distance between the two.

It wasn't fireworks, like Chenle thought his first kiss would be like. It wasn't like butterflies erupting in his chest like the books say. In fact, it was quite the opposite. The feeling was as if everything was finally falling into place, just like how the satisfaction is when you fill a bottle of water to the rim without spilling a single drop.

He didn't know why, but the feeling of the taller's soft lips moving on his made him feel at peace, at ease. But when Jisung moved his hands up Chenle's abdomen, he softly pushed him back, to the position they were in a few minutes ago, noses touching.

"Is that what you want?" the chinese queried, his breath uneven.

The ends of Jisung's lips tugged up. "The next time I kiss you, the only taste on there should be of me, not chapstick, not anyone else, just mine."

After a long pause, the sound of the silver knife clattering to the floor was heard.