home, jaemin

chapter nine

"jiyoung?"

her head turned at the mention of her name as her shoulders immediately tensed and then relaxed seeing the familiar boy's face.

"oh, it's just you." she sighed.

"wow, i feel loved." chenle laughed, walking over to the bench she was still sat at.

sometimes jiyoung forgot that her new home was also the home of all types of benders. she watched as chenle swiftly swiped away some rain droplets and took a seat next to her.

"can't sleep either?" he asked.

she shook her head, "i guess it's just weird being in a new place. i never really thought about leaving my old home but i guess plans change."

chenle nodded in understanding. he knew what it was like to leave the only life you knew about behind to start a new one.

"it gets easier. i can tell you that," he tried to tell her, staring up at the sky with a sort of comfort that showed how relaxed he was.

"you think so?" she asked, still not removing her eyes from the water straight ahead.

"i know so. i moved here just a few years ago, actually. it was definitely new at first- you know, learning a new language and culture. all that sort of stuff. but i can guarantee i'd never do anything to change where i'm at now."

jiyoung nodded and looked over at the boy, just now realizing what he was wearing. a pair of gray sweats, a black shirt, and a black coat with no hood attached.

his hair was practically drenched.

"dude, you're gonna get sick," she said quickly, grabbed his wrist and pulling him up.

"where are we going?" chenle asked as she pulled him away from the bench and over the bridge.

his question was answered when she pulled him under an umbrella at a nearby convenience store.

"you should really wear a hood-" jiyoung was stopped mid-sentence when chenle slightly bent over and began shaking his head violently- sending water in every direction possible.

"there we go," the younger boy said proudly, ruffling his light brown hair up a bit with his right hand.

jiyoung was quiet for a second with closed eyes before opening them and looking at chenle, "you do know you're a water bender right? you could have taken the water out from your hair without soaking me in the process."

"aw, but that'd be no fun." chenle laughed slightly.

jiyoung rolled her eyes playfully and finally pulled her hood down. carefully she pulled the rest of her hair out and ruffled it a bit as well.

"want to get ice cream? i could really go for some ice cream right now." chenle spoke, already standing up.

jiyoung quietly laughed and stood up as well, following the taller boy into the conscience store.

walking inside, neither of them had realized the store was pretty full for some unknown reason. naturally, this led to jiyoung gripping chenle's coat and making herself close to him.

chenle didn't mind this or really pay any attention to her clinginess, as he remembered doing the same thing to his new friends when he had just moved to korea and was getting used to his new surroundings.

after grabbing his favorite ice cream from the freezer he turned his head downwards to the girl, "you're not gonna get anything?"

jiyoung shook her head no, "i didn't bring any money. didn't expect to meet up and go to get ice cream in the middle of the night."

"don't worry, i'll pay." chenle nodded, waiting for her to grab the cold sweet.

"no, it's fine. i probably don't need any ice cream anyway," she smiled.

chenle, unconvinced, squinted his eyes, "you sure?"

"i'm sure."

finally reaching outside, the two sat back down at the same table from before. jiyoung pulled out her phone while chenle spoke to her and ate his ice cream at the same time.

"he's literally crazy, i swear. he nearly killed me from a lightning bolt!" chenle recalled the memory.

jiyoung looked up at him with wide eyes, "really? park jisung? the same boy you said was too afraid to ask for more ketchup at a restaurant shot at you with lightning generation?"

chenle nodded quickly, "i know, i couldn't believe it either! we both just stood there in, like, shock or whatever. but when we told him parents they were like super proud."

super proud.

jiyoung had come to the quick realization that her new friends had all grown up with very affectionate and emotionally caring parents, clearly rubbing off on them as well.

they were each rich as well, which was really just a bonus to all of their visuals and kindness. they all seemed so proud of their parents and talked about how their parents were equally proud of them.

must be nice.

although jiyoung could say she loved her dad and thought he loved her back, she could never recall a time in her life where they just went out as a father-daughter duo and did things together.

he was always cooped up at home and only came out when he had to. he never really spoke to jiyoung other than to make sure she wasn't dying or something.

"anyways, yeah. that dream was super weird. i've never met anyone with the ability to use lightning. it's so rare and bizarre." he laughed.

"jeez, it's already almost three. i've got to get home." jiyoung stood up quickly, regretting it as when her vision went black for a moment.

low iron...

"need a ride? i drove over here." chenle asked sweetly, tossing his trash into a bin and wiping his lips of any residue.

"i mean, you don't have to if you don't want to."

"nah, it's fine. come on!"

jiyoung may not have known how to show it, but she was more than thankful for the new people in her life.

chenle focus oop 😏
i promise this isn't like random it plays into the story later on lmao

also sorry it's been so long since the last update. i've been swamped with school