Burnout ⊗ Jeongchan

②① City on the Hill

Their ride was fairly silent afterwards. Jeongin recoiled into his tightly padded turtle shell, hands fiddling with anything he could touch, teeth chewing on anything he could bite. Within reason. Although he could feel the few unsaid words staling the air between them, neither of them chose to make a comment to upset the uncomfortable balance.

Somewhere between twelve and one in the morning, just about when Jeongin was falling asleep in the passenger seat, they reached the apartment building in the distance. It was a bit shorter then it seemed, but nonetheless larger then the majority of buildings in the city. The complex had a polished look to every windowed facet it possessed and a refined edge to the glass turning door they approached to lead them into the main lobby. As he stepped inside, Jeongin had never felt more out of place at a high class area as he did in that moment. It even smelled like clean and shiny.

Chan led them to an elevator, tucked behind what looked to be a fake plant up until the point Jeongin pinched the end of the lush foliage and immediately realized his finger punctured through veins of the delicate leaf. The older quickly pulled him into the elevator before anyone caught on to the newly formed hole. As they waited silently in the elevator to reach the next floor, Jeongin's vision became blurred. He hurriedly wiped the wetness away from his eyes when he heard the resonant ding, mumbling a quiet apology to the plant as he scurried behind Chan to an apartment door.

Chan unlocked the door and toed it open, letting the younger walk in before joining him inside and promptly shutting the door closed behind them. He gestured around, "Make yourself at home. A bit empty, but..."

His voice became drowned out as Jeongin glanced around the house in wonder. Everything screamed money. From the unusually open space to the minimalist but modern design to the flat, everything about it felt expensive to an extend that didn't have a limit. Jeongin almost didn't want to touch anything. All of it was so pristine, it felt as if he would lay his hands on the walls and suddenly it would crumble from the speck of dirt he accidentally contaminated it with.

Jeongin spun around a few more times, his trance being shattered apart when Chan mentioned, "There's a balcony-"

"A balcony?!"

The older recoiled back at the sudden shout. He nodded in amusement and pointed to a glass door on the wall farthest away from them. Jeongin shot from his spot, sprinting in the direction that Chan had motioned to. He threw the sliding door open and stepped out on to the balcony. They were definitely a lot farther off the ground than the elevator ride let on to, the cars and traffic below being nothing but tiny ants in comparison to his hand. It was a perfect view of the skyline, the tall buildings rising around it, the blinding lights beaming and reflecting a haze across the outlines of the city.

Jeongin gripped the metal railing harder. The city felt different from this angle. He felt like a giant, or a King, turning his nose up to all his subjects that scurried below and served no other purpose then to please his every fiber. Then being dragged back to reality when a car horn blazed in the distance, and he remembered he was among the loyal subjects not too long ago.

He was scanning the sky when he felt a brush against his shoulder. Jeongin casted his gaze down to Chan, the older leaning over the railing to look at the worker ants below. When he had arrived out here, who knows, but he had already positioned himself next to the younger like he had never left his side.

And he had to admit; this moment was too perfect. The endless night sky speckled with few stars, the gentle midnight breeze swaying their hair back and forth, the bright city lights illuminating and casting shadows to accentuate his perfect features against the illustrious background, it was all so beautiful. Jeongin felt his heart rate pick up. In the moment, as he gaped at the older, a certain realization clicked into place.