LOSE MY BREATH

LMB 8

8: Two worlds.

“--and that’s what we call bureaucracy in the modern world,” Jisung finished.

Minho nodded. “Mn. Reasonable.”

“You’d say that, wouldn’t you, Rule Boy.” He sighed. “The point being; if this kind of reality-travelling was widely known in my world, I’d definitely have to get a travel visa.”

They were outside on the porch, enjoying the warmth of the summer evening. The sky was looking a little pink, a little lilac, and Jisung thought he might’ve heard crickets chirping in the long grass by the forest line.

This was the kind of idyllic vision his adoptive mother had wanted to create in one of her summer houses. The peace back there was artificial, like a set made of plastic. Jisung could never truly relax there because she could start shouting at any time.

Here the peace was fully organic. No one knew about stocks or climate change or commuting via overpacked metros, and everyone acted like Buddhist monks without a hint of irony.

“It sounds organised.” Minho replied.

“What it is… is evil. Borders are fake. Just let me go wherever. Also, do whatever.”

“No.” came the answer, but it was not said harshly.

Jisung looked at the man's profile, which was always the perfect example of elegance. It was still surreal to see someone in real life who looked like they had been photoshopped. High cheekbones, straight nose, perfect poise and all. Black hair like from a shampoo commercial.

His own hair was undone, forming a dark halo around his head on the wood where he sat. Minho thought it was also improper, but he promised to keep it tied whenever they left the place, so he did not bother him about it.

“In my world, you’d totally be the type of person that wouldn’t jaywalk even if the road was completely empty.” Jisung said. “You’d just stand there, looking at the light until it turned green.”

“Perhaps Jisung should wait for the light to turn green as well.” Minho said, and Jisung snorted.

“You don’t even know what that’s about!”

“If it is something Jisung considers ridiculous and unnecessarily strict, it is most likely something he should do more.”

Jisung gracefully ignored it.

“You know what else you would do? Start doing your assignments as soon as you get them, like a sociopath." He said or passed judgement, more like.

Minho side-eyed him. “Acting promptly on the tasks you have been given is a flaw?”

“No, it’s a moral failing… of your character, specifically.” Minho exhaled through his nostrils, turning his gaze back to the sky.

“You know what else?”

Minho inclined his head.

“You’d be a total heartthrob.” Jisung said, grinning. “People would stop you in the streets and ask for a picture. They’d think you were a famous actor or in a boy band or at least social media famous.”

There was a line between Minho’s perfect eyebrows. Jisung supposed it appeared because half of the words he just used he’d had not explained.

“Wait, let me translate that. You’d be in demand. Wanted. Sought after. Everyone would want a slice of Minho pie.”

The line had vanished, but Minho was back to staring at Jisung with full force. But Jisung could not help himself! Minho was like a big red button that said, ‘Do not press me!’

“What’s your secret, Minho? Drop your skincare routine.” He asked. “Be honest, is there an ancient plastic surgeon hiding in this mountain?”

“Do not use frivolous words. Do not smile foolishly. Do not flatter.”

“It’s not flattery if it’s tru-- wait! ‘Do not smile foolishly’? Was that really one of the rules?” Jisung laughed. “This is unreal. Who was the guy who got fed up with someone for smiling too much? Were they tired of their life?”

“Excessive smiling shows fluttering.”

“Haha, am I fluttering, Minho?”

The glare turned back away from him, Minho’s posture rigid. “Is flirting incessantly not fluttering?”

“Who’s flirting?” Jisung asked, suddenly very aware that maybe he’d been, kind of, was.  Well, who would have blamed him, really? When Minho was just  there, looking like that.

Minho glanced at him almost incredulously, but then seemed to swallow whatever words he was going to say.

To escape facing any of it, Jisung pushed on like a steam roller. “Anyway, to get back to the original point-- bureaucracy. It’s very cool that there’s no paperwork here.”

It took a while for Minho to answer, but when he did, his voice showed no sign of his earlier anger. “There is paperwork.”

“What?”

“A disciple needs to make a report of a night-hunt they’ve attended, for one.”

“Ah, well, that’s no big deal. It’s more like schoolwork. You know how difficult it can be at times, for example, to open a bank account? It is crazy. Hey, have I mentioned how absurd the idea of a stock market is in general? Like, Minho, it is just so damned wrong!

He had not, so he recounted that one lesson to Minho, and neither of them mentioned anything about flirting after.