nepenthe // p.jisung

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Jisung dragged his feet back up his driveway, unaware of the small grin on his face. It was dark out when Jisung finally made it back home. Taeyong was waiting at the front door, leaned against the frame. He, too, was smiling.

"What took you so long, Ji?" Tae asked his dongseang. Jisung stopped and looked at his hyung almost eye level. Despite Taeyong being older, Jisung had just under an inch on him.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been out for an hour and a half. Weren't you just going to get the mail?"

Jisung almost completely forgot about being locked out after realizing there was no mail. He suddenly bubbled with irritation.

"Well, if you wouldn't have told me to get the mail, I wouldn't have been stuck outside."

Taeyong glanced down to Jisung's feet and let out a small laugh. "Where's your shoes? What about the mail?"

"IT'S SUNDAY! There's no mail!"

"Then why did you go out like you were going to get it?"

"You told me to," Jisung's patience was running out. He spoke through gritted teeth.

   "Tell me," Taeyong started, but stopped. He hid his face as he let out a puff of laughter. "Tell me why you were out so long."

   Jisung narrowed his eyes at his giggly hyung. "I went on a walk to the creek."

   Taeyong waiter for more. When a silent second passed, he prompted Jisung to go one. "And...?"

   An agitated noise left Jisung. He hit his hands and his legs, throwing his head back. Taeyong waited patiently. Jisung looked back at Tae and rubbed the side of his face.

   "I walked there with someone."

   "Mmhm?"

   "With Akina..."

   A celebratory chuckle left Taeyong as he slung an arm around Jisung's shoulders. "That's what I'm talking about. Look at you; you're learning things. I'm—"

   "Just stop," Jisung interrupted, sliding out from under Tae's arm. He carried his heavy feet up the stairs and into his room.

   Jisung quickly ran through his nightly routine. The last light was turned off, and Jisung slipped into his comfortable bed. He was filled exhaustion, but he couldn't fall alseep.

   The last few hours kept playing in his head. All the way from going to get the nonexistent mail, to going to the creek, to arriving home.

   "I know your friend, Haechan," Akina began as they walked together. "He sits next to me at one of the art tables."

   "Really?"

   "Yeah. On his other side is Chenle, then Ten. They never get anything done.

   Jisung let out a breathy chuckle. "I'm not surprised by that." After a second, he asked, "Do you ever talk to Haechan? Or Chenle and Johnny?"

   Akina shook her head. "Not really. Although, sometimes Haechan asks me questions like what I did the day before or how my weekend was. He likes to compliment my art." She gave a small shrug. "Just simple things."

   Jisung slowly nodded his head. He didn't realize her and Haechan had that much connection, even though it wasn't a whole lot.

   "He also asked me to call him by his real name: Donghyuck."

   This surprised Jisung even more. Haechan would always have people he wasn't close to call him 'Haechan'.

   Jisung and Akina neared the bridge. They leaned over the rail to watch the water flow under them. A couple of small fish could be seen swimming with the current.

   "I wonder where this creek starts," Akina broke the silence. "Or where it ends. Do these fish even know where they're going? What if they swim down the stream, but end up somewhere they didn't want to be?"

   Jisung didn't know how to respond to the thought. All the times Jisung came to the creek, he wouldn't ever wonder so deeply. He usually came to clear his mind by throwing rocks.

   "I don't want to be one of those fish caught in the current." Akina's statement brought Jisung's eyes in her direction. "I don't want to be caught in something not knowing where it goes."

   "True," Jisung spoke, "but sometimes you just have to put your trust into something."

   Akina slyly looked over to Jisung. "Do you trust me?"

   No words left him. Jisung was taken aback.

   Akina's face softened. "Sometimes it's just hard to put your trust in the unknown."

   The corners of Jisung's mouth turned up. He had his arms rested behind his head as he faced his ceiling. The way she could just so easily come up with these ideas on the world made him feel something different. It was almost like he could get a hint of the world in a different perspective.

   Jisung tossed a pebble into the water, cascading ripples across the slow-moving water. Akina dropped down to the ground and let her legs dangle off the side of the bridge between the bars. Jisung copied.

   Akin's eyes drifted over to the orange, red, purple, and blue sky. "It really looks amazing, the sky."

   "I always wandered what makes each sunset so unique each time," Jisung added, trying to put his mind in a state of thought like how Akina's was.

   Akina nodded. "I think about that, too. I like to think that it's all the artists who have died. They each get an evening to paint the sky with as many beautiful colors as they want. That's why sunsets can look so different from day to day."

   "I really like that."

   Akina looked back down to the water. "I love art so much. I hope someday in the future, I'll get to paint the sky." Then, her gaze connected to Jisung's. "What's one thing you love, Jisung?"

   Jisung blinked. It wasn't something Jisung was normally asked by anyone. Yeah, relatives would always ask him what he did for fun or his hobbies, but no one had ever sat down and asked what he loved so sincerely.

   "I love dancing."

   Akina seemed to brighten. "Do you dance? Or just like to watch it?"

   Jisung nodded. "I dance."

   "That's really cool. You'll have to show me sometime... if you ever get locked out of your house again while trying to get the mail on Sunday." Akina cracked a smile.

   Causing Jisung to smile himself at the dark ceiling. Looking over at the clock, he realized he's been up for about another hour. He huffed and turned onto his side, forcing his eyes to stay shut.