lemon boy | seungjin

ten

"the whales start to beach themselves
tortoise shells tear away from their spines
it happens all the time, it happens all the time"

...

hyunjin finished eating his twix bar, & seungmin was still chewing his sour gummy worms. "can i try one? i've never had one before," hyunjin asked, & seungmin held out the bag for him.

he tried one, scrunching his face at the sour taste. "sour!" seungmin laughed, "duh, it says sour on the bag."

strangely, hyunjin's heart fluttered just by the sound of seungmin's laugh. he threw away his wrapper & they started to walk back to the park.

hyunjin could already feel seungmin warming up to him, to his surprise. he enjoyed hearing him laugh & seeing him smile. as they walked, hyunjin looked down at the baid-aid that seungmin had placed on his knee, & he smiled to himself.

they arrived at the park again, hyunjin going back to the swings as if he hadn't learned his lesson earlier. seungmin shook his head & sat down on the bench in front of the swings.

it was fairly quiet & peaceful in the park today, nobody was in the baseball cage or at the playground, except for the two boys.

there was a light breeze, & seungmin laughed when hyunjin's hair flew in his face as he swung back & forth. hyunjin smiled out of embarrassment.

after a while of hyunjin swinging, his legs got tired & he came to a slow stop for once. he went to sit on the bench next to seungmin, fixing his hair as he sat down.

"thanks for... i dont know, asking me to hang out today," seungmin said quietly, catching hyunjin off guard.

he smiled & examined seungmin's features, "of course. i'm glad i asked..."

seungmin stared at the leaves on the ground as he went on, "even though i said we weren't going to all the time, i just appreciate it... i can't stand being at home." he said, almost in a whisper. hyunjin listened intently, hoping his silence didn't offend seungmin.

"my parents..." seungmin tried to explain, but was clearly having trouble finding the words, "they're too much, you know?"

hyunjin nodded & hesitated before reaching his hand out to touch seungmin's. seungmin looked up at him, clearly not expecting it, but he didn't protest.

"i'll always try to understand you & be here for you. even if i can't actually help... i'll listen." hyunjin said, & seungmin gave a helpless smile in response, intertwining his fingers with hyunjin's. hyunjin blushed madly at this.

"& i need to apologize to you for being so...rude... & stubborn. i sort of admire the effort you put in to talk to me, even while i pushed you away... you didn't deserve that. i'm sorry," seungmin said.

hyunjin hummed, "thanks... i'm really glad i got the chance to talk to you again after i bumped into you in the store," he let out a soft laugh.

"i'm happy that we're friends," seungmin whispered.

hyunjin smiled at that, & gingerly laid his head against seungmin's shoulder as they sat in the warm breeze.

♡