CREATURE → JIGYU

five

"what is your name?" jihoon says. he almost cannot believe he has gotten this far without knowing the boy's name. that should have been the first thing he asked.

they're sitting in the cabin, which is just one room furnished with a kitchen, a bed, a bookshelf, and a table. plants overflow from their pots at every windowsill, and the books have worn leather bindings as if it they came from an ancient library.

the sheets on the bed jihoon is sitting on are white and adorned with a pattern of blue flowers. the boy had pleaded for him to make himself comfortable while he rinsed off the berries they collected. he's still standing by the sink, trying to dry them off with a cloth.

he turns to jihoon briefly before concentrating on the berries again. "a name? i don't have one."

this is truly bizarre. jihoon meets a tall, handsome young man sleeping on a rock in the middle of a forest. he lives in a beautiful single room cabin and can talk plants into growing food for him. he doesn't have a name? jihoon should call him god.

"that's absurd, everyone has a name."

"well, i do not," he says gently. "and if i do, i don't know what it is. my mother only called me 'little one.' she never called me anything else. 'little one, go fetch me some cabbage leaves. thank you, little one. you are so happy today, little one.'"

the boy dumps the berries into a bowl and pads across the room. he sinks onto the bed beside jihoon, and there's a lingering sadness in his eyes. he offers the bowl to jihoon.

jihoon takes a berry.

it is better than any he's ever had.

"i don't think i could call you that," jihoon says. he takes another berry. "have you never thought of naming yourself?"

the boy looks sullen as he, too, eats a few berries. "what is the point of a name if no one is around to call you by it?"

fate must be cruel. it must know something that jihoon does not; know every deep desire of his that even he is not aware of because in this moment, sitting on this bed in this beautiful forest beside an equally beautiful boy, jihoon never wants to leave.

i could be around for you, he thinks. i could call you whatever you want me to.

it's a surging need to fall into the wide, innocent eyes of the boy that watch him take berries like they are a humble offering, like jihoon is a superior creature he has never seen before and feels he must serve.

jihoon doesn't want the boy to serve him. he wants to take care of this boy, to listen to him talk about how he lives, to give him everything he wants because he deserves it all.

"would you like a name?" jihoon asks, a little distantly.

the boy merely hums. it sounds like an affirmative. hesitantly, he reaches out and places his hand over jihoon's, stopping just short of holding.

"what about mingyu?" jihoon suggests. it sounds like a nice name, something that suits his face. "mingyu."

"mingyu," the boy echoes. "mingyu. i like it."