CREATURE → JIGYU

six

mingyu, newly christened, shows jihoon his books and takes him on another tour of the garden, holding his hand the entire time, the soft pad of his thumb rubbing circles into jihoon's skin. he answers jihoon's questions with shy giggles and curious inquiries of his own, eyes sparkling with wonder and skin glowing in the sunlight. holy.

and after jihoon is sent on his way, back into the city and back to his dim little apartment— after jihoon lies awake at night, plagued with dreams of glitter and fruit— he decides to go back.

("it was incredible, seokmin, he— plants bloomed for him, he takes care of that garden all by himself. and he was so, so pretty. he glowed! i think i met a god."

"don't be irrational," seokmin frowns. he's evidently shocked, but it wouldn't have surprised jihoon if he still believed him wholeheartedly. "well, even if you did see him...")

with time still left in his vacation from work, jihoon can't go about his day without thinking about mingyu. when he lies in bed with the sun streaming through his window blinds, he's reminded of how warm he felt in the garden. when he eats breakfast, he misses the berries mingyu fed him.

and he questions. he worries. is mingyu really alright by himself? will jihoon ever see him again?

his troubles culminate into another hiking trip. seokmin offers to accompany him, but jihoon politely declines. he wants to explore the forest on his own in order to make sense of it all, and while he loves seokmin, he doesn't trust him to keep this to himself.

after an hour of aimless walking, jihoon thinks he's going to get lost. he doesn't know how to reach the cabin from the trails, and when he tries to find the places from his memory, his surroundings only become more unfamiliar.

he does, however, find himself following the sound of running water. breaking away from the trees, jihoon finds the same river he found mingyu at the first time he came to the forest.

this time, he stops at the nearest rock jutting out from the beach and sits at the edge of it. the water is pleasantly cool against his skin when he dips his fingertips beneath the surface. it glitters in the sunlight just like the first time he saw it.

jihoon notices some fish swimming in the deeper part of the water, and he holds still in hopes that they come closer, but they ignore him. disappointed, he plays with the water and sandy bottom for a little longer.

at one point, he swears he notices the water following his movements. he shrugs it off as a trick of the eye, but is quickly taken aback when the waves reach up and meet his fingertips when they come closer again.

"what the—"

he draws his hand away, watching as the river rushes along as if nothing had happened. jihoon's jaw hangs open. had he seen it wrong?

"you came back!"

jihoon whirls, standing up and coming face-to-chest with none other than mingyu. he looks up and finds the tall boy grinning.

of course it had been him. these things only happen around mingyu; now jihoon is sure that it has something to with him and that it wasn't an allusion at all.

"you're still here," jihoon sighs.

"of course i am, silly," mingyu laughs. jihoon is breathless. "how lucky is it that we meet at the river again?"

jihoon turns and looks at the water again, almost expecting a rouge wave to rear up and drag him away. mingyu is still watching expectantly when he replies. "incredibly. what brings you here, anyway?"

"i should be asking you that question." he points to the line of trees that hold the forest back from the shoreline, "i was nearby in the trees, and i saw you by the water's edge. i thought... i thought you might be lost."

"i was looking for you," jihoon blurts.

mingyu's face reddens and he barely contains his smile. "oh," he mumbles. "that's very thoughtful."

jihoon smiles. it's so easy to make mingyu blush, and it makes jihoon want to fluster him more often.

"i don't mean to invite myself, but... i was hoping to see your garden again," jihoon requests. "if you allow me, that is," he adds.

"oh, of course you can! you are wonderful company, i would love for you to visit..." mingyu trails off. and then, as if thinking he misspoke, he flushes further and looks down.

jihoon doesn't want him to feel as if he shouldn't desire his company. mingyu shouldn't have to restrain himself in front of jihoon.

trying to encourage him, jihoon takes his hand. "then we should go then, shouldn't we?" he says.

mingyu stares at their hands for a moment before blinking out of his stupor. he tugs jihoon towards the forest.