watching the downpour embraced eleven p.m. seoul, kim taehyung realised he had fallen for this city like rain on pavement. the lights, the people, the future — slowly but surely, it became a newfound reality he forgot was only a dream. 

and with jeon jungkook sitting by his side, taking small sips of banana milk upon his beautiful existence, every moment spent together was even more magical.

i'm sorry for not feeling sorry at all, taehyung breathed to no one in particular, though it was indirectly spoken for his mother and the nation of silla he unintentionally left behind. please understand that my mind is a mess, but i'm trying regardless.

thousands of questions were fluttering inside his head, begging to be answered as the rain came into a halt. he knew there was something grave behind these incidents — all these time traveling sequences he never knew existed. what he received from his past was nothing but oppression and denial, when all he ever needed was certainty.

just why was it so difficult to comprehend?

stopping his feet from tapping the ground, jungkook stood up from his bench and threw his milk carton over the nearest bin, eyes glancing at the older man before looking up to the empty road. they were currently taking shelter under a bus stop — the exact same bus stop where they last parted as a couple.

a blinding light suddenly attacked their peripheral visions, signalling that another bus was yet stopping by to pick up its night owls. without further due, jungkook reached out his hand to be held, as if it was a reassurance that he would protect him with every last bit of his conscience. "let's go, hanbok man."

"huh?"

jungkook paused for a laugh, obviously aware that they were repeating the same confusing cycle all over again.

"this is the last bus, and i'm taking you on an adventure," he reached out his hand even further, in which taehyung eventually took after a minute of contradiction.

taehyung watched jungkook leading them inside the vehicle — he never knew a rectangular-shaped iron could actually to replace his precious horses, though he wasn't complaining — and pressing a thin card against a small monitor, most likely a futuristic form of payment for using the accommodation. it would be a lie to say he wasn't thoroughly amused.

seconds later, they were seated at the very back of the bus, with taehyung sitting by the right window and jungkook on the opposite. despite of the chilly night air that cascaded their bodies, it was also the season of being lost and found, where the moon was calling and a heart meeting its half.

it was funny how taehyung had been taught  to act preserved to the strangers he had never met ever since he was little, and yet here he was, being more than willing to go anywhere with the man he had only encountered twice.

how hypocritical was that?

none of them exchanged words throughout the ride. tall buildings soon disappeared along the way, with small houses and pine trees greeting them instead. it was evident that jungkook was surely not taking him to the mountains, considering that the roads they'd been taking were all going downhill. 

but everything turned crystal when he heard the crashing sounds of the ocean.

they were going to the beach.

later they arrived, with stiff limbs clogging their figures as they had been seating for nearly three hours. it was when taehyung appreciated how jungkook didn't hesitate to explain that midnight shenanigans had always been his all-time favourite, considering that the younger man was practically born and bred in busan, a small port city full of wonders.

"have you been to the beach before?" jungkook opened a conversation, in which taehyung accepted with a happy nod. "well, do you like it?"

"yeah, i think it's both calming and alarming at the same time. it keeps me grounded, i guess?"

"and why is that?"

throwing his body over the pastel sands, taehyung fluttered his eyes shut as he imagined the stars rooting for their collision, hoping that he wouldn't get transported back anytime soon. 

"i look at the shore and feel certainty. i am safe, from whatever can reach me, until the water moves closer and says hi to my feet. it is when i focus on the sea, following its sounds and rocking waves, i realise that after all this time, everything has always been full of uncertainty." 

"hmm, i like the idea of that," jungkook hummed before joining him. "it kind of resembles us, you know— how we pushed and pulled against fate . . . and yet still manage to find each other again."

"you're overreacting."

"no, i'm just comfortable at being cheesy with you."

taehyung then opened his eyes, furrowing one of his brows in bewilderment. he swore he had never heard the word before. "what's cheesy?"

"ah, i forgot that you're from silla," jungkook played along, smiling as wide as possible. "don't think too much, it's not the word you should worry about."

"okay,"

"okay."

"okay—"

"shut up, hanbok man, we're not hazel and augustus," he hummed for the second time, followed with an underlying giggle.

"who are hazel and augustus?"

jungkook laughed, hard, with taehyung on his mind and daecheon beach before his eyes. oh, just much i love it when the city sleeps and i'm still thinking about you. 

never in a million years they believed they would meet such special people in their stagnant lives — especially not in a matter of two meetings that consisted of only a few hours — but for that, they were thankful. 

because if it wasn't for jungkook, taehyung would still be living his daily routine of strategising wars and politics, invading the areas he didn't bother checking just to justify the worth of his kingdom. and if it wasn't for taehyung, jungkook wouldn't have found his muse in fine arts, the sole reason why he should express what he truly felt regardless of their gender roles.

and after all, it wasn't about the mutual benefits they received from meeting each other. it was about completing the spaces between their hearts, seeping through the cracks and healing the wounds they never knew could be healed.

it was about letting themselves paralyzed between the moments, axises of the past and the future . . . and whatever they beheld. 

oh my god, my writing sucks lol. 

i was thinking about a simple date in the park, some cliche shit like that. but i figured this story shouldn't be that simple, so why not include a midnight beach date? i admit it was a little bit cheesy on taehyung's part, but since he is literally centuries older than jungkook, his romantic sides should be adjusted to when he was born. also let's not forget that kook is a fine arts student here. hehehe.

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