MIXTAPE | hyunin ✓

nine

Jeongin covered his ears as the thunder roared overhead, causing him to immediately curl up into a ball.

He took a quick look at the clock and pouted. Half an hour had passed since Hyunjins' last message and he was starting to think that maybe the boy was just playing with him and his naivety.

But, before he could question him any further, he heard his doorbell ringing and immediately leaped off the couch and ran for the door.

Before opening the door, he combed his hair with his hands and when he opened the door, as promised, Hyunjin stood in front of him.

"You really came!" Jeongin exclaimed, beaming from ear to ear as Hyunjin stood awkwardly by the door. "Oh! Come in! Make yourself at home hyung!"

Hyunjin nodded, leaving his wet umbrella outside the door along with his shoes as he entered the house which practically screamed Yang Jeongin with how it was dressed in pastels, much like the boy himself.

"I-I have some pasta if you're hungry! We can eat toge-" Thunder crashed followed by a bolt of lighting, so close to Jeongins' window that Hyunjin was sure that it could have entered easily. Jeongin yelped and covered his ears, squatting on the floor and returning to his ball like position, his eyes tightly screwed shut.

Hyunjin stared at the boy for a second before kneeling down in front of him and pulling him into his arms, his entire body shaking as another round of thunder and lightning attacked.

"How do you sleep when it rains like this?" Hyunjin asked, covering Jeongins' ears for him while Jeongin clutched onto the material of his shirt for dear life, Hyunjin now fully sat on the floor with Jeongin between his legs.

Jeongin shook his head as a particularly loud round of thunder almost shook his home entirely, his grip on his shirt tightening as he nuzzled even more against Hyunjins' chest. 

Hyunjin sighed and wrapped one arm around the boy while the other covered his ear and ensured that he was still leaning against his chest.

"Is this what Chaewon usually does when she comes over?" Hyunjin asked, pulling Jeongin even closer to him.

"N-no. I-I usually only ask her to come over when the rain stops," Jeongin stammered, slowly letting go of Hyunjins' shirt. "I-I crumpled your shirt. I'm so-sorry hyung."

Hyunjin looked down at his own shirt and true enough, it was crumpled.

"It doesn't matter right now."

Jeongin tried to move away from Hyunjin but as thunder crashed once more, he found himself unable to move, stuck between his arms. "Are we going to stay on the floor forever?" Before Jeongin could reply, he felt himself slowly being lifted up and brought over to the couch. 

Once he was sat on the couch, he shifted away from Hyunjin, thinking that he was being far too clingy to someone he barely talked to. Hyunjin sat down next to him and tried to fix his shirt but just as he was doing so, the thunder outside intensified, causing the boy next to him to return to his ball like position, legs fully pressed against his body and his hands covering his ears. 

In that instance, Hyunjins' entire cold act melted further, pulling the boy onto his lap and wrapping his arms around him tightly. "It's alright. You're alright," he whispered, feeling Jeongins' arms wrap around him. 

And, for a second, Jeongin felt as though he were teleported back to a time years ago whereby he was being held the exact same way that Hyunjin was holding him then, with arms wrapped tightly around him as he pressed his head against the persons' chest, comforting words being whispered to him like some sort of lullaby, slowly lulling him to sleep. 

Whenever it rained, Jeongin was brought back to a time when he had been left all alone, a helpless child not knowing what he did to deserve it. When the thunder crashed and the lightning struck, he remembered the little boy crying alone in the park, praying that someone would come save him. And, no matter how many years had passed, that memory still played in his head, scarring him and paralysing him whenever he heard so much as any sound that resembled thunder. 

"Hey, it's alright. I'm here," Hyunjin whispered, feeling his shirt slowly get drenched in tears as he ran his hand through Jeongins' hair, the other arm still hugging him tightly. "I'm here."

Jeongin wanted to speak, wanted to ask him why he had been so cold only to suddenly be so warm towards him. But no words left his mouth and all he could do was nod, shutting his eyes and letting Hyunjins' oddly familiar warmth engulf him. 

After a while, Jeongin had fallen asleep on Hyunjins' lap and the rain had started to subside. Hyunjin looked up at the clock and saw that it was half past 1am and with a sigh, he placed his head in the crook of Jeongins' neck. 

Strawberries. 

He smelled distinctly of strawberries. 

Hyunjin smiled to himself, closing his own eyes and letting himself relax a little despite the weight on his lap, the sleeping boy still practically glued to him. 

"After all this time, only you can make me act this way," he whispered, their arms still wrapped around each other. 

Hyunjin felt his heart race when Jeongin shifted slightly, afraid that the boy had woken up and heard him but to his relief, he was still fast asleep, his head resting peacefully against Hyunjins' chest as though he were a pillow. 

Hyunjin sighed, moving his head back so he could properly look at Jeongin. "You really haven't changed much have you?" With one arm still firmly around Jeongins' waist, Hyunjin ran his fingers through Jeongins' hair, a faint smile on his face as he gently tucked some longer strands behind his ear. 

He leaned back against the sofa, his head resting on the back of the sofa as his arm returned to hugging Jeongin. 

"I miss you Innie," he murmured, openly saying what has been on his mind ever since he first saw that Jeongin was going to be acting in the same movie as him. "God, I missed you so, so much. I'm sorry for being so cold towards you but I...I don't want to be hurt again Innie. I don't want that and I'm sorry that I'm too afraid of being hurt that I can't even rekindle our friendship properly," he apologised, his grip instictively tightening around Jeongin. 

"I'm a coward aren't I?" Hyunjin let out a soft laugh, thinking about how harshly he had been treating Jeongin only for the younger to still invest time into talking to him. "I can't even tell you anything when you're awake but here I am making myself feel better by saying it all now. God, I'm such a coward."

"But...  this is nice," he muttered, placing his head back in the crook of Jeongins' neck, the familiarity of it all making his heart feel whole again as he closed his eyes and slowly felt himself falling asleep, hugging the boy who had never once left his mind ever since he first saw him in the park on a rainy day. 

.

how was this chapter? 
HONESTLY I HOPE IT LIVED UP TO EXPECTATIONS HAHA 
but if it didnt IM SORRY :((

alsoo, if you guys are from wattpad and you dmed me, PLEASE TELL ME YOURE FROM WATTPAD bc theres a lot of suspicious ppl nowadays and am scared ;-;

also pt 2, im currently trying out an apply fic and itll be out soon so i rly hope some of yall read that too when it comes out :D