gone days| jeongchan

one

the brushing of jeongin's feet against the concrete was inaudible as every light step brings him closer to his destination. with both hands tucked into the wide pockets of his jacket, the place has become visible from barely a few feet away.

the sidewalk was being illuminated by the streetlights accompanied by the brightness coming from both inside and outside of the different food and shopping establishments around the streets.

the street was neither empty nor crowded, and was somehow peaceful in spite of the murmurs from different people here and there. jeongin went on with a few more steps as he let his feet lead him towards a familiar place.

finally arriving, jeongin feels the coldness of the metal bar as his fingers wrapped around the handle, slightly pushing the glass door to make way for his slender body. the nice aroma of coffee beans made its way to wooyoung's nostrils, making the boy sniff the smell in unconsciously. cold air immediately greeted him, the icy blast of the air conditioner enveloping his body as a few strands of his hair gently tap against his forehead.

like the streets, the café had most of the tables occupied, but it was relatively quiet inside, with most of the customers being in their computers, and with some just considerate enough to minimize their volumes.

similar to most cafés, the place was dimly-lit and had a relaxingly dark interior and different kinds of comfortable chairs and couches. wooyoung headed straight towards the counter where he didn't even have to look at the menu and just simply order two cups of medium iced americano.

grabbing the buzzer, jeongin slides the change into the tip box before heading towards the table closest to the window. he sits down and heaves a soft sigh before looking outside the window, his eyes roaming around the busy night life in the city as he leans his back against the chair. there were different stores ranging from boutiques of regular and designer clothes, different restaurants and food stalls outside, and some other completely random establishments like pet shops and different clinics. there were different kinds of people outside, all ranging from high school students who are still in their uniforms to young employees who just got off of work.

nothing new. same old night life as jeongin clearly remembers, except there were more younger people, seemingly more liberated and have more savings than he was when he was their age.

jeongin was snapped out of his reveries with the blinking of the buzzer's red light, indicating his drinks were ready. he makes way to the counter, going around the scattered tables until he reached the claiming station where he exchanges the buzzer for two precious cups of americano. he bowed slightly to the barista, muttering a small "thanks," before turning around and walking back to his table.

jeongin sits in the same position as before, placing the two cups on the table before fishing his phone out of his pocket, checking for any messages but there were none, much to his dismay.

letting out a small huff, jeongin puts his phone on the table as he turns it off. he places his elbow on the table and rests his chin on the palm of his hand, a little frown forming on his face.

he waits a couple more minutes, his hand tapping against the table, the other on his cheek with the same rhythm. he bobs his leg up and down under the table, his thigh touching the bottom of the wooden surface.

more time passes, the moisture on the outside of the plastic cup now dripping, wetting the table, while jeongin shifts his position again before finally unwrapping the plastic straw and poking it against the hole in the center of the plastic lid. he wraps a paper towel around the cup to keep his hands dry before placing the tip of the straw in between his plump lips.

jeongin lets out a small, "ahhh," before placing the cup back down, the amount sipped was rather small, yet it was enough to ease the building dryness in his throat.

the boy shifts his body once again, placing one leg over the other lap, his back now more comfortably leaning against the backrest of the chair, both his hands occupied by his phone and a cup of coffee.

a few minutes have passed since the young man's arrival, his leg now bouncing up and down while he scrolls through the different social media applications he had in his phone, the different posts and photos helping slow the building of boredom in him down as he starts to get a little impatient.

about a few more minutes into the waiting game, the bobbing of jeongin's leg had become more intense as he had already consumed about one-fourth of his coffee before putting it back down onto the table, the scrolling on social media becoming less and less entertaining by the moment as the posts across his feed were somewhat a repetition of the same posts he'd scrolled through earlier today. he instinctively bites the inside of his cheek, exiting the site and proceeds to just stare at a photo of the beautiful sunset from where he lived in busan--the device's home screen wallpaper-while scrolling sideways between the apps.

he eventually grows tired of his leg pointlessly bouncing on the floor and stops, leaning forward to reach for his americano. savoring each gulp, wooyoung tilts his head to the direction of the door as he hears it open, his eyes landing on a familiar man: his skin was white, but not pale. he was of average height, his arms covered in a black long-sleeve shirt, paired with ripped jeans and a pair of comfy-looking sneakers of the same dark color. the bottom part of his face was covered with a mask that was, you guessed it, also black.

jeongin raises his hand almost immediately but slowly, stopping shyly midway. the man in black looks around for a split second before his eyes land on a familiar set of fingers wrapped around a mobile phone on the side. he makes way towards the said table as wooyoung puts his arm down rather quickly, the smile on the man in black's face noticeable through his eyes despite his mouth being covered.

he carelessly pulls the chair towards him, slightly cringing in his mask at the screeching sound. he settles in front of the younger, pulling his mask down before reaching for the untouched straw, poking the center of the plastic lid. "hey, jeongin." he greets with a small smile before putting the plastic straw in between his lips. unlike jeongin, he doesn't wipe the moisture off the cup and slightly panics as the water drips down, hurriedly placing his palm right below it as he places it back on the table, wiping his hand and lap with a paper towel, letting out small flustered noises in the process.

jeongin quietly chuckles at the older's clumsiness, "hey, chan."

✧