Luminous • Jisung

13 • Figure

please rise for the president

• Chapter 13 •

"The movie was horrible," Cho-a noted as she followed Jeno and Jaemin out of the cinema, Chenle right next to her.

The young boy nodded, exhaled lowly in his current disappointment. 
"I'm sure Jisung and Renjun will be happy they couldn't join us."

As the two younger ones followed the two boys lazily, a small distance formed between them, leaving Chenle and Cho-a some room to talk.

Over the past couple of days, Cho-a already had the opportunity to get closer Jeno and Jaemin. However, she still didn't know much about Chenle. They hadn't talked much yet.

"Jisung must be happy either way considering he didn't have to babysit," she said almost in amusement yet quickly got a disapproving hum in return. 

"It's not like we are babysitting, we are just hanging out with friends," Chenle corrected happily, a gorgeous smile as he looked at Cho-a expectantly. "Or aren't we? Friends?" 

It took her off guard. Often being confronted with a lot of grumpy Jisung yet with very little friendly Chenle, she was surprised by his question. 

She didn't dislike it though. It made her smile as they stepped into the fresh night air. The days had been turning darker more quickly lately and the warmth of the summer was slowly fading away. 

"Friends," she repeated quietly as she watched Jaemin shiver slightly at the sudden cold breeze that crept past them. "Sounds great." 

In the light atmosphere that surrounded the friends, Chenle much like Cho-a barely felt the air around them. It was just Jaemin and Jeno who felt the cold the way other passersby did. 

The younger ones walked calmly, unbothered. 
"Aren't you cold?" Chenle asked, hands in the pockets of his trousers, glimpsing at the girl from the corners of his eyes. 

She shook her head. 
"I don't get cold easily." 

And it just caused Chenle to briefly stay silent. He just looked at her and wondered what that meant. Because surely, she could've just meant it in the banalest way possible. Yet surely, it could've been more than that too. 

So from within the quiet chatter around them, Chenle spoke with a calm voice, a subtle smirk gracing his lips. 

"Mind if I give it a try too?" he asked. Cho-a frowned as she tried to understand him, so the boy added to his words. "I want to figure you out too."

The innocent question felt sweet for a moment. Just a moment, before the girl paused, overwhelmed by the weight that gathered in the air around her. 

Suddenly the moon felt gloomy. The cold stung. Inside her grew the familiar dark, heavy feeling. She looked at Chenle. 

He didn't quite feel it yet. 

"You'll have to go," she said, eyes jumping to the side where blue lights flashed through the alleys between buildings, rushing to the scene nearby. Just as Cho-a looked back at Chenle, she saw the grey dust whirl up inside his brown eyes. 

A smirk spread across his lips. 
"I'll beat Jisung to it," he declared before the grey swept away all the brown and the boy disappeared into thin air. 

Just as he did, Jaemin and Jeno turned around in surprise as if they felt the younger boy's presence missing. 

"Huh?" Jeno asked voice oddly high pitched as he exhaled flatly. "Where's Chenle?" 

"Working," Cho-a replied briefly and stepped next to the older boys before she continued walking. "Let's wait over there." 

And they started walking towards the park bench the girl had indicated towards right away, yet they suddenly stopped. It wasn't because of anything they heard; it was the shadow that suddenly cast down onto them from behind. 

A shadow that appeared out of nowhere. 

Cho-a looked at Jaemin who turned around quickly, facing the figure behind them. Only now did the other two move too. Whereas the boys looked at the man before them, the girl glimpsed past him unimpressed into the direction of the scene too far away to spot. 

The place where Chenle was. 

"So you are the human boys that can see us, huh?" he asked, his voice dripping with amusement and its tone so low it was practically dragging over the ground. 

Jeno and Jaemin froze, whereas Cho-a kept staring ahead. 

What was she supposed to do? Where was Chenle now? Was he nearby? 

"What do you want from us?" Jeno asked rushed. He kept his gaze on the grim reaper before him, whereas Cho-a let her gaze drop to the ground. 

She didn't have to look him in the eyes. His appearance was unique, captivating. The short glimpse she got of him was enough to remember his face. Softly curved nose, full lips and a gaze that could kill - 

perfectly for the man whom it belonged to. 

Like pulled up by a string, a corner of his mouth moved up into an unnerving grin. 
"What I want?" he repeated mockingly, eyes jumping from Jeno to Jaemin passing by Cho-a who seemingly didn't even see the man. She looked lost in thoughts. 

He laughed. Low. Sickening. Then he raised a brow. 
"What do you think?" His head tilted to the side as he pushed his arm up, a clenched fist rushing towards Jaemin. 

The man moved way too quick for the boys to react to it. They barely noticed what happened, barely saw him make a move in the first place.

They only realized when the hand halted mere centimetres away from the boy's face. Stopped only by Cho-a's comparably small hand. 

She took a deep breath, pushed Jaemin back a little who looked at her with wide-eyes. 

Meanwhile, the man grew a frown so deep, it displayed his anger perfectly. 

Anger and irritation. 

Cho-a looked up at him, struggling to keep a calm composure with the immense force she was dealing with. 

He paused, looked at her intently. 

"Call Jisung," Cho-a ordered her friends, not sure how much longer Chenle would need before he would be back. And she knew already that she couldn't hold the man back for too long. 

"Who the fuck are you?" he questioned as he ran his eyes over her figure. 

"Do you want to find out?" she retorted provokingly. 

• Figure •