nepenthe // p.jisung

_7_

"All I'm saying is that I wish it was possible, and legal, that I could marry these hotdogs," Chenle said, taking another bite out of his third hotdog so far.

"Chenle," Mark started, not sure if he should laugh or roll his eyes, "that... that shouldn't be something you wish for."

Chenle made an annoyed noise. "I wish the rest of us could've came. It's the fall festival, literally everyone is here."

Jisung looked back at Chenle and Mark, who walked behind him, side by side. "They just had last minute things."

The three boys passed by all the food trucks and booths set up in the local park. Chenle wasn't kidding: pretty much everyone had shown up. The autumn festival was a big deal around here.

Jisung scanned around the scene. People walked by, smiling at the group. Jisung nodded at them, smiling back. He recognized them as friends of Akina. Two guys, one tall, one short. A girl, who was a junior this year, followed close behind. Her hair was dyed a bright, turquoise color and cut into a bob. She must have changed it over this last week while fall break was going on. It was medium and platinum blonde

Maybe Akina couldn't make it, Jisung thought. He felt a pang of disappointment as he curved around the road so they could see the whole other row of booths.

Somehow, it managed to catch his eyes, like when you see a small, shiny object in the corner of a room. Jisung did a double take before realizing who it was. Jisung actually felt warmer from this discovery.

Akina sat alone, over at the swings, away from where everyone else was. She lightly pushed off the ground and tilted back to watch that big, puffy clouds through a clearing between the trees that tried to reach out and touch the sky.

Jisung stopped walking, also causing both Mark and Chenle to stay put.

"You guys keep going," Jisung told his the two. "I'll find you guys later."

Jisung pushed off the ground and started in the direction of Akina.

She noticed him, rather quickly. Today, she gave Jisung a real smile; nothing forced about it. It was a smile that could easily spread from person to person; so contagious, and Jisung seemed to be one of the ones weakest to it, causing him to return the expression.

Akina reached her hand over, tapping the swing next to her as a signal for Jisung to take it. She didn't have to tell him twice.

"How's the festival, Jisung?" Akina asked.

"You should see for yourself." Jisung pushed his feet off the ground to start his swing. Akina followed.

"I'm seeing enough from here," she quietly replied. "There's so many people, I'm afraid the crowd will swallow me up."

Jisung chuckled. "Come with me. I'll make sure the crowd doesn't get to you."

Akina beamed. "JiJi- I can call you that, right?"

Jisung nodded, already feeling a happier spark inside him, and she hadn't even finished.

"JiJi, how come we never talked before?" A small laugh escaped Akina. She covered her mouth, shyly. "You're such a great friend." She stuck out her feet, skidding to a stop so she could jump out of her seat. "Show me the magic at this festival."

Jisung hopped off his own swing, leading Akina towards the tents. Jisung wasn't sure what to start with; there was so much. Jisung ended up with buying the both of them the best kinds of fair food.

Over the speakers that hung around the park came the sound of music. Jisung scouted the area, looking for the stage where a band was supposedly playing today.

"Welcome everyone!" someone spoke into the microphone over the sound of a drum beat in the background. "I'm Jae, here with the rest of the band, Day6. I hope you all have a good time today. I also hope you enjoy the music while you're at it."

Akina's expression brightened. She swallowed a bite of her food before speaking up. "I know them!"

"Really? I don't know if I have," Jisung replied.

Akina gasped, dropping her trash into the garbage can. She wrapped her hand around Jisung's wrist, starting to lead him towards the crowd around stage.

"Then it's my turn to show you the magic at the festival."

Jisung tensed under the touch of Akina's hand against his wrist. He followed as she brought the two of them closer.

As cool as the band was, Jisung couldn't help but watch Akina instead. She moved to every beat the music carried, not necessarily dancing, but also tapping her hand against her leg, or clapping. She would occasionally dance during the chorus. It was obvious to Jisung that she had a heart for music, as did he.

Jisung had to admit: they had some good songs. Jisung found himself tapping along to the beat, but his ear opened up even more when he caught Akina singing along.

It was a different kind of voice, but the unique sound just made it even seem even more angelic. He almost said something, but feared that she would stop if he did. So, he just listened.

The sky wasn't really noticed until later. Akina had looked up at, a hint of disappointment crossing her face. Jisung looked up as well. The bright sky was now covered by a tint of gray, and darkening clouds hid the sun away.

Jisung felt a drip of rain fall on his nose. He wiped his face and his heart dropped a little.

"Due to the outlook on rain coming in," the band started, "we'll be continuing later tonight if it clears up. Thank you!"

Akina pouted. Jisung watch a rain drop hit her forehead and roll down the side of her face. People cleared away from the stage and tried making their way to a dry place.

"Shouldn't we find somewhere to escape the rain?" Jisung asked, squinting as it started to come down faster.

Akina held out her arms and tilted her head to the sky. Her pout had disappeared, and a hint of a smile tugged at her lips.

"I love the rain," she whispered.

Jisung pushed his damp hair back, watching Akina walk forward. She held an arm out and seemed to grow happier with the change of weather. She soon started running through it. Jisung found himself to be amused by her actions. Akina didn't care about the people who glanced at her as she ran by, giggling.

Jisung took off after her, loosing up and starting to enjoy the rain himself.

Akina jumped into the air, spinning while coming down to face Jisung. Her hair was plastered to the side of her face from being soaked. Jisung pushed his back again, laughing at the two of them.

The little make-up Akina was wearing was being washed off. Black smeared around the corners of her eyes. It was messy, but a beautiful mess. Still picture perfect, especially with her smile pulling it all together.

Never in Jisung's life had his heart felt this full.