Chapter Text
The street was no different than the first time Jisung saw it. Same purple and orange sky. Same building silhouettes casting barely there shadows against the empty road. The same streetlights, perfectly spaced to keep Jisung from tripping over his own feet.
He turned back to get one final look at the cafe. The lights were completely off, the cat drinking boba out front no longer inviting people to come inside and grab their favorite tea. Jisung wondered what would happen if he came back to that shop one day.
Chan hummed softly as they walked down the street. The song was somewhat familiar to Jisung, though he could not remember the name. It was a soft melody, both sad and reassuring at the same time.
“I hope you get along well with the other guys,” Chan said after humming the song’s final note.
Jisung’s stomach began to ache. “Other guys?”
“Yeah, there’s a few others,” Chan said. “They’re cool. I helped them get settled when they first arrived the same way I’m helping you now.”
Jisung grabbed his arm tight, knuckles turning white under the pressure. “Do they all live with you, too?”
Chan’s eyes widened and he shook his head fiercely. “Oh no, sorry not like that. Most of them did at one point, but now we all have our own places. Felix and Jeongin still live in the same building, though.”
Jisung’s grip on his arm eased up ever so slightly. He knew he had to calm down, but that’s always easier said than done. Right now, he felt he just needed some space to breathe.
The sound of bubbling water reached Jisung before he even saw the park up ahead. It was darker than the street, only parts of the trail showing under the small lanterns evenly spaced along the side of the pavement. A fountain stood proudly in the dead center of the park, illuminated with its own internal blue and purple lights.
Before Jisung knew what he was doing, he was already halfway across the street. He vaguely registered Chan’s footsteps behind him. It didn’t matter as much at that moment. The only thing that mattered was getting to that fountain.
Mist softly sprayed Jisung in the face once he was close enough. The cold felt good against his skin. Chan stopped a few yards behind him, allowing Jisung the space he needed in that moment.
He didn’t know how long he stood like that, eyes closed standing next to the fountain ledge. Time didn’t seem to matter as much in this world, a thought that was both reassuring and slightly unnerving.
Something splashed in the water only a few feet from where Jisung stood, causing him to jump and fall right on his ass.. At first, he thought it was Chan. When he looked up, however, Jisung locked eyes with the most beautiful man he had ever seen.
This stranger’s dark brown hair hung in his face ever so slightly. The lights from the fountain danced across the soft lean features of his face. He did not look away from Jisung, though his expression was unreadable.
Jisung forgot everything, even his own name for a brief moment. That was, until he felt the cold water seep through the butt of his jeans. In an instant, the dreamlike state he had been in since he first arrived was shattered.
“Wh-what the hell was that for?” Jisung stammered, his voice raising louder with each word.
The stranger reached down to pick something up from the water. It was a large round rock. “I was trying to skip this across the water.”
The man’s soft mumbled words made Jisung’s heart flutter, though that could have easily been the anxiety from almost getting smacked with a rock the size of his fist.
“You could have hit me!” Jisung knew he was yelling at this point, but couldn’t bring himself to quiet down.
“I didn’t though,” the other man said, his face still expressionless. His eyes moved down Jisung’s body and Jisung felt his cheeks heating up under his stare. “Do you know that your clothes are getting wet?”
“Yes I can feel that, thank you very much,” Jisung snapped.
The stranger didn’t respond, but didn't offer to help him up either. Instead, his gaze shifted to look at something behind Jisung.
“Oh shit,” Chan said as he ran up to Jisung. “Are you alright mate?”
Jisung looked at Chan then looked back at the stranger. “I’m fine,” he said. “Can you help me up, please?”
Chan extended a hand to Jisung and yanked him to his feet. Jisung tried to shake some of the water from his clothes and looked around to confront the annoyingly beautiful stranger, but he was already gone.
“Who was that?” Jisung asked, still looking around to try and spot a final glimpse of the stranger.
“I’m… not sure,” Chan admitted. “I haven’t seen him around before.”
Jisung huffed and looked back down at his clothes. They were almost completely soaked. A chill started sneaking its way into his bones.
“You’re shivering,” Chan said. “Come on, my place is only a block away from here.”
Jisung nodded, teeth chattering against each other. “Do you know where I can get more clothes?”
“Don’t worry about that,” Chan said, taking off his own coat and throwing it over Jisung’s shoulders. “I’m sure there’s already some in the room waiting for you. That’s just how it works in the Nowhere.”