Work Text:
- Prologue -
1973
“Renjun! Table 7 please!”
Renjun responds in an instant and heads to the service area where a new tray now sits. With a smile, he grabs it and walks briskly towards the seventh table, just a few tables on the right, where a family of five is.
“Table 7, your food is here.” He gently settles the tray on the table to take out the dishes one by one. “Order is complete, have a nice meal.”
Before he leaves, the little kid, probably not more than six years of age, pulls his apron and looks at him with what Renjun could perceive as sparkles in her eyes.
“You’re so pretty.”
“My, not as pretty as you, princess,” he replies, delighted, and with a wink, carries the tray back to the service area.
His coworker in the cooking area takes a peak on the small window and chuckles. “Our pretty Renjun got another fan again.”
Renjun scoffs and leans on the wall beside. Looking over the bustling diner as usual, the tables are mostly filled of families and friends having pleasant chatter over the diner’s greasy meals. The bright LED lights across the rooms, hot pink and electric blue as his boss calls it, sparkly checkered black and white tiles, and yellow faux leather seats all make the diner very attractive to its patrons and newcomers alike. Apart from those, the visuals of the service crew with their cute uniforms is surely one of a kind.
Usually, waiting tables are for their female staff with their nicely tailored dresses. However, their boss thought Renjun would be a nice addition given his beauty, which he isn’t wrong; Renjun has gotten compliments and people asking him out just by being the diner’s lone male waiter.
His shift ends after the final table assigned to him leaves; he heads to the staff room to change into his clothes and finally remove the neon pink jumpsuit and polka dot waist apron. Someone knocks on the door, a head popping out. It’s his coworker earlier.
“Hey, wanna join us at a disco later?”
On some days, he would love to join them disco dancing, drinking, and hanging out with people. But unfortunately, tonight is not the best timing given that he is tuning in on the tv series he’s looking forward to every 8pm. He cannot afford to miss a single episode.
“I might have to pass, Haechan.”
“Alright, get home safe. Join us next time; it’s a command,” Haechan pouts and points at him, demanding. It makes Renjun laugh.
His new coworker is very friendly and upbeat. It annoys him most of the time because he loves to gossip during work hours and shower him with random compliments, but Renjun can’t deny that Haechan is a comfortable person to be around.
“Yeah, next time. I promise.”
Renjun takes the bus on the way home, which is full of people who have places to be. As he listens to the radio blasting on its poor built-in speakers, there’s one song that piques his interest. He tries to take note of the lyrics on his tiny notebook so he can perhaps buy it on tape if he has enough money.
⏳
2023
Donghyuck bolts out of the classroom as soon as his professor ends the class. Truthfully, he won’t be rushing like this if only his professor starts the class on time and not before the grace period ends then still run through the entire course in 90 minutes. To make it worse, it’s his major. He really does not have the option to drop it unless he wants to delay his graduation—totally off the table.
Fortunately, the bus arrives on time and the traffic is not as bad. There are relatively fewer cars around the metro than usual, probably because of the rising gas prices, and quite a handful of passengers are on board too. Donghyuck watches them to pass time and tries to figure if they are a student like him or a working adult. He arrives to a conclusion that it’s more of the latter as most of these people seemed to be in 'work' clothes.
When he accidentally meets eyes with someone, he hurriedly opens his phone to not seem like a weirdo. His fingers automatically goes through his TikTok feed, scrolling further until he ends up tuning in on a video explaining the possibility of time traveling.
“Arriving at Apgujeong station.”
Donghyuck snaps back to reality upon hearing the name of his station; hurriedly pocketing his phone to alight the bus. The walk towards the company usually takes about ten minutes. Although he makes it in six after brisk walking. Just in time before his shift. With three minutes left to spare, he spends the entire time catching his breath and relaxing in his cubicle.
“Hi Donghyuck, did you study the code? We have a sprint in an hour by the way.” His manager, Wonwoo, drops by in front of his desk, cradling a mug of freshly brewed coffee from the pantry.
Looking up, he gives a double thumbs up, along with “I sure did.” The response is deemed fit by the superior who gives him a nod and a reminder to prepare, before going to his own desk just a few tables across from him.
Despite only being a student, Donghyuck is proud to have bagged an internship in one of the rising startups in the gaming industry. It is on his program course list to have an internship by junior year but given his ‘stellar performance’ according to Wonwoo, he was offered an opportunity to continue working as an intern after finishing the required 300 hours credit.
He boots up his desktop and opens their shared kanban board for this game they're currently working on. It seems daunting to juggle academics and work at the same time, while still maintaining to be a normal young adult with a social life, but he gets it done. There are difficult days, of course, but as the saying goes—turn your passion into a profession—an avid gamer like him is definitely at home in this type of setup.
Their scheduled sprint starts shortly after and Donghyuck focuses on the tasks assigned to him. Unlike other interns who print documents, get paperwork signed and buy coffee for everyone, his manager involves him in the entire process so he can learn and exercise his fresh learnings from his classes.
Once he transfers the task card from Testing to Approval, he heaves a deep sigh and leans back on his office chair. Wonwoo will take care of the approvals. Feeling accomplished, he chugs the remaining red bull on his desk and props both of his feet on his desk.
“Yo, Donghyuck!”
Mark, his fresh grad full-time colleague, rolls his chair to face him and props his hand for a high five that he instantly responds to. “Good job today, man! We went ham on that one.”
Donghyuck grins. They really did; if this trend continues, they might be able to push it out in the market very soon. His second project in this company.
Wonwoo drops by their area again with a satisfied look like all of them. “Alright guys, that was a pretty awesome sprint. How about some drinks?”
Thoughts of his early class the next day and his desire to end the day already with a good sleep comes to mind, part of him wants to decline but given his position as an intern, he really does not have the leeway to do so.
“Let’s go!” another colleague yells and they eagerly pack their stuff as their shift comes to an end.
They end up in a chicken place downtown, one of their usuals, and Wonwoo buys them two cases of beer. Someone, Donghyuck cannot recall who, ends up ordering a few bottles of soju to spice up their drinks and they pass on shots of somaek around.
His team likes to dote on him quite often as he is the youngest, which is sometimes nice, but right now it’s the opposite since he is getting served glasses after glasses on the guise of ‘being an amazing intern’. By the tenth glass, probably? Donghyuck is out of it, so he politely lets Wonwoo know that he desperately needs to go home and prepare for his class in a few hours.
He still makes it in time for the last bus and walks home with some difficulty seeing straight. He lives in an apartment complex near his university so get-togethers like these during workdays are alright since there’s no commute on the way to his first class.
While brushing his teeth, he notices the lights flickering and stops to look around.
Huh, that’s weird. Did he forget to settle his electricity bill? That’s impossible, he always pays as soon as he gets the billing statement.
With a frown, he makes a mental note to ask his landlord about possible wiring problems and resumes his nightly routine.
⏳
The morning after a night of fun and drinking is always the worst. And today is not any better.
Donghyuck groans when his alarm blares across the room. He does not even remember setting up his alarms before sleeping but thankfully he did, or else he’d be scrambling on the way to class. With barely opened eyes, he pads outside the room to get ready for the day, head throbbing
Making a beeline for the bathroom, he somehow spots something on his peripheral vision—someone on the couch—when he passes by. He rubs his eyes and yawns, the sleep still not fully out of his system.
Wait.
What?
Donghyuck stops on his tracks and turns quickly to double check if he is seeing things.
He isn’t.
There is an actual person, a stranger, sitting upright on his couch and looking at him with a blase expression.
Huh. Donghyuck rubs his eyes again, maybe he’s still asleep and this is some sort of a meta hyper realistic dream or a side effect of hangover.
It seems impossible that he met this person last night and invited him over; he looks at the person’s body and at his own, and confirms that he does not feel strange so that rules out sex. But he’s so sure the door was locked, he heard the ding and the machine whirring when he entered the room last night. His unit sits pretty up in the apartment building, there is no way for the stranger to creep in through his windows. There is no way…
The said stranger then smiles placidly. “Good, you’re finally awake.”
Donghyuck’s eyes squint as he tries to figure out if this is a dream. He pinches his arm, it hurts, so no… he’s awake. And there’s someone who probably watched him sleep.
“W-Who are you?” he stutters, hair raising on his skin. “How did you get in here?”
What if the guy is a ghost and his apartment is haunted? That could explain the flickering lights last night.
The ghost furrows his brow and stands from his seat. Donghyuck then notices that the ghost is smaller than him with a cute half bangs hairstyle, which makes him look a bit young yet the fashion style kind of gives it away. It seems like this ghost must have died decades ago judging by the fitted printed long sleeved polo with zipper and bell bottom jeans. The whole ensemble is so flashy and pink, making Donghyuck frown deep. Not really a huge fan of colored fits.
But if it’s a ghost, why visit him of all people?
“I should be asking you the same thing. Who are you? Where am I? Why am I here?” He takes a step forward while looking around. Donghyuck takes two steps back for safety.
“Are you a ghost?”
“Are you kidding me?” The said ghost scoffs, clearly looking offended. “Do I look like a ghost to you?”
Donghyuck is now even more confused. The ghost does not seem to be a ghost after all and it only means that there is a complete stranger, a human, inside his house right now.
“Just to be sure…” he gulps, looking for any signs, “ did we fuck last night?”
The stranger rolls his eyes and sighs. “Why do you keep replying to my questions with your questions? This is annoying.”
Taking a good look at Donghyuck from head to toe makes Donghyuck – who is freshly woken up, in his bed hair and comfy loose shirt and boxers – very conscious. “To answer your question, no. I’m not stupid. Why would I fuck you? You’re not my type.”
Okay, ouch? That is a blow to Donghyuck, the guy is kinda pretty after all. Anyways. He scoffs, not letting himself lose.
“As if you’re my type. Your fashion is so outdated. It sucks.”
“Wow, fuck you! Don’t you know this is the latest trend right now?” The stranger flaunts his outfit and even fixes his collar.
“The latest trend? Yeah, during the Beatles for sure,” Donghyuck snorts, but instead of taking offense, the other pauses and loses all color in his body.
“What do you mean? Of course it is. It’s 1973...”
With a scrunched brow, Donghyuck quickly replies with the current year being 2023, which makes the man in front of him back away, eventually sitting back on the couch. He waits for any reply but he only gets silence.
After a while, the man looks at him and asks, “is it really not 1973?”
Donghyuck shows him his phone which has the calendar app open. The other takes a good look at the screen, his hands reaching to touch the device but Donghyuck immediately snatches it away.
“What is that thing?”
“Is this some kind of modus?”
They both ask at the same time. The guy swiftly replies to his accusation with a roll in the eye. “What modus?”
“I don’t know…” Donghyuck trails, “maybe you’re just a sneaky thief and this is your plan to lure me into giving you all my stuff.”
The stranger looks visibly offended, rendering him speechless. Donghyuck then adds, “what if this is just a prank camera, will I be on TikTok?”
“What the hell is a tiktok?”
It’s now Donghyuck’s turn to be offended. “You don’t know TikTok?” He places his hand on his waist while the other points at the man. “Wow, you are seriously going on with this 1973 act huh…” He shows his phone again but before answering the prior question, he asks, again.
“How did you even come here inside?”
With a sigh, the stranger stands up and goes to his bedroom.
“Hey! Where are you going!?” Donghyuck asks frantically and quickly chases after him. The guy stares at his wardrobe before turning to him.
“Look, I honestly don’t know how but I probably came from there,” he says while pointing at the wardrobe. A huge brown wardrobe that seems a bit old, sure, but only because Donghyuck got it from his family’s house along with his other items, just to save a bit of money from buying overpriced items in the furniture shop.
Donghyuck’s mouth slackens. “Are you fucking kidding me? Do you think you’re in Narnia!?”
“What is Narnia?”
He closes his eyes, heaves a deep breath and tries not to lose his cool. It is too early in the morning to be this stressed over a weirdo in his house, his head is pounding not only because of his uncured hungover but this too. He still has a morning class in a few minutes and he has no plans of missing that.
“You know what, let’s stop this nonsense. Go out.”
When the stranger does not move, Donghyuck takes it upon himself; he grabs his arm and pulls him along until they reach his door, which he opens wide. “Go, please leave while I’m still kind.”
Donghyuck barely makes it in time for his class. Thankfully he does, because his professor suddenly hands over a pop quiz. He didn’t study at all nor did he remember the last lecture’s topic, but it is fine. It’s more for attendance anyway.
He does the rest of the day as per usual. Although sometimes, he cannot help but recall the weird encounter he had with the random crazy stranger in his house.
Was that person sick in the head, or was he really getting filmed for a prank or some sort of a social experiment? Donghyuck is still wondering how the man ended up in his apartment in the first place. He is a hundred percent sure the door was locked and no windows were broken when he checked. Coming out of his wardrobe is insane; who would even believe that—
“Yo Donghyuck?”
He snaps back from his reverie and turns his attention back to his seatmate. “Yeah?”
“Dude, are you okay? You seem out of it,” Mark asks worriedly but Donghyuck assures him he is fine and that he just got distracted with a random memory flash.
“Oh yeah, I get that. I have those sometimes too,” Mark chuckles awkwardly, “anyway, about the game design…”
⏳
The streets of Seoul always look busy, especially at night where everyone is alive and wants to relax after a hard day's work. Lights coming from the establishments beat the streetlights as the bus drives through the weekday traffic. Donghyuck watches the advertisements playing on the huge billboards whenever the stoplight is red.
“Approaching Gwanak-gu Office station…”
Donghyuck swipes his card and heads out once the door opens. Living in the outskirts of the capital is different; gone are the bright lights and flashy billboards, though there are still some, it’s mostly small buildings and local businesses.
His stomach growls and he suddenly remembers that he has not yet eaten. Buying a takeout or ordering in is too expensive; he hasn’t received his pay yet and does not want to use his allowance as much. He thinks about his pantry in the apartment, but soon realizes that his last grocery run was almost a month ago, so he’s surely running out of stock. Not like he buys ingredients anyways. He just buys ready-to-eat ones because they’re easier, cheaper and since he doesn’t know how to cook, it’s like a blessing that food companies have bestowed to people like him. Thus on the way home, he makes a quick stop at a convenience store to stock up on his ramen packs. He really needs to start eating healthy.
There’s a commotion in the store when he heads towards the counter to pay. The poor part-timer seems to be arguing with someone whose basket is full of food and other necessities.
“I’m very sorry but we don’t accept that—”
“What do you mean?” The customer asks and waves his bills, “this is cash, this is money. Why can’t you accept it?”
This voice.
Before Donghyuck could even consider either hiding in the store or making a beeline to the doors, he gets spotted much to his demise.
“Oh? It’s you!”
Donghyuck tries one last attempt to get out of it. He looks around as if there is another person inside that the message might be for.
“Hey! Do you hear me?”
Yeah, he should’ve just bolted out.
With a forced smile, he looks up and meets eyes with the weird stranger from yesterday. The part-timer sighs, obviously not getting paid enough for this. “Excuse me, do you know this person?”
“I don—” He doesn’t even get to finish.
“Yes! Yes, we do! I came from his house, right?” The stranger wiggles his brows, a smile of relief now painted on his lips. He’s still wearing the same outfit, albeit a little crinkly and looks a bit different now compared to yesterday.
“Thank god,” The part-timer drops her shoulders and looks at him, pleading. “Sir, he’s paying for his items with this… play money.”
“Hey, this is real money. I just received my pay two days ago!”
Donghyuck heaves a long, low sigh. Placing his own items on the counter, he fishes for his phone to open his digital wallet. “Please add his items with mine.”
After getting their items placed in separate bags, he grabs the stranger by his arms and politely bows as they exit. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”
“What the—you did not pay!” The weird stranger shouts, thankfully there are no other customers in the store. The secondhand embarrassment is too much for Donghyuck to handle. “Why are you letting him go, miss? He didn’t pull out any money.”
Realizing he can’t go home yet, they eventually arrive at the park close to his apartment. He lets go of the weird stranger’s hand and sits on the bench. There are quite a few people around them, mostly couples who are either playing with the manual exercise gears or chatting on the other benches.
Truthfully, Donghyuck does not know why he is with this person again. He should have just left him there, in the store, and acted like he didn’t know him when he was put on the spotlight earlier.
There is a soft thud beside him and he spots the other settle down on his peripheral vision. A few moments of silence pass before any of them speaks.
“How come the worker let you go like that?”
“Huh?” Donghyuck hums, playing with the stone on the ground with his foot.
“You didn’t pay her. Are you a thief?” The accusation makes Donghyuck turn his head so fast. That’s rich coming from someone whom he accused just yesterday morning. Instead of replying that though, he takes a good look at the stranger who is now eyeing him with curiosity and a bit of… worry?
“I did pay,” Donghyuck pulls out his phone and waves it, “through this.”
The stranger opens his mouth in wonder. “It’s the thing again.”
“Yeah… it’s a phone?” Donghyuck’s head tilts in confusion. Is this person really unaware of what a phone is? Come to think of it, he seems to not know a lot of stuff and has an accent that Donghyuck does not recognize. “Where are you from?”
The stranger looks at him warily but replies with a place Donghyuck again does not recognize. He opens his phone to look it up but there are no results from his maps app.
“Wow, is that a map in a phone? I thought phones are only used for calls.”
This person is very weird, Donghyuck is sure of this. But he tries to reason it out and understand; maybe he is from a very remote province that somehow has not been industrialized or has been out of touch with the current trends. That seems to be the case given his lack of knowledge and experience.
“This is a smartphone, a phone for short. You can do a lot of things with it aside from making calls,” Donghyuck tries to show a bit of his phone’s features, from texting a random message to his friend to opening his camera to take a photo of the stranger and show it to him.
“Oh—what? Is that me?” He gasps, obviously fascinated. “You can take photos with this little thing? A colored one too? That is stupendous.”
The fascination on the stranger’s face keeps Donghyuck on going. He explains the essential apps he has on, including how he was able to pay earlier at the convenience store. They have become too engrossed in the wonders of a piece of technology that time passes; Donghyuck only stops talking after hearing his stomach growl. Right, his dinner.
“Okay, I think I have to go.”
Donghyuck stands up to leave but the look of confusion on the stranger’s face keeps him from taking a step. “Do you know how to go home?” The stranger shakes his head, making him sigh. “Alright, I’ll take you to a motel so you have a place to stay for the night.”
Through his phone, he tracks the nearby motel from where their current location is. It’s a fifteen minute walk and the small building welcomes their sight. Donghyuck pays for an overnight stay but before handing out the keys, he shares to the stranger how to commute by bus to Seoul Station where he could ask the information booth how to return home. Reaching out to his wallet, he also hands him a few bills enough to make it to the station and probably buy a one-way ticket to any parts of the country.
“That’s it, uh, take care… I guess. Hope you find your way home.” Donghyuck scratches his head and smiles awkwardly. He has taken a few steps towards the door when he remembers something.
“By the way, what’s your name?” He has to at least know who has bugged him for two days now.
The stranger looks up at him. “I’m Renjun.”
“Cool, okay. My name’s Donghyuck.”
⏳
The days pass like a blur.
After that weird encounter, Donghyuck goes back to his daily routine. Attending his classes. Going to work. Eating. Sleeping. Then repeat.
There are a few times he thinks about it, especially when he opens his wardrobe to pick up what to wear. It still baffles him how the stranger, Renjun, has entered his apartment without a key nor ruining his door or windows. Sometimes he finds himself staring at the wardrobe inquisitively, checking all sides just to confirm that it is in fact intact and undestroyed. Upon much thought he has come to a conclusion that sometimes, things are better left just the way it is.
Which is surprising, honestly. Donghyuck believes in research, the methodology of finding cause and effect. As a developer, he has been trained to be a problem-solver with creativity juices and unending curiosity. Despite that though, there are just some things that could not be explained and maybe, Renjun is just like that. Weird.
“Hey, are you still there?”
Donghyuck picks up a bowl from the drying rack, shaking off the remaining water after having washed it just a few minutes ago. “Yeah, sorry, I’m cooking. So… you were saying?”
There’s an audible sigh from the other line and Donghyuck can already picture Jaemin rolling his eyes. Being one of his longtime friends has gotten his antics memorized.
“Cooking? You know how to cook?” Jaemin’s voice raises a pitch higher in pure disbelief.
Donghyuck laughs, “Damn, give me some credit. I just don’t have the capacity to hone my skills. Yet.”
Jaemin leaves the topic they were initially talking about in favor of nagging him with his poor living choices, again. They are same-aged friends but his friend has always felt the need to always remind him to eat nutrient-rich meals which is obviously not found in his staple ready-to-eat ones. At this point, Donghyuck just shuts up and lets his friend talk; he really appreciates the thought, actually, even if they split ways to study in different universities. “You know what, I really have to tell mom to make extra kimchi for you next time she sends me one. And I should go over there to teach you how to make your favorite kimchi stew,” Jaemin continues to ramble, already making plans in his head.
All the while, Donghyuck takes a spoonful of his freshly cooked instant ramen. In his defense, he added vegetables in the form of canned mushroom and green onions, as well as egg for protein. It’s already fancier than his usual cheese ramen. He tells Jaemin as such and only gets another round of litanies.
“What if you come over here and let me cook you a proper dinner. We can catch up over drinks too, how does that sound?”
It sounds awesome. Donghyuck is not one to reject an opportunity, particularly free food. Jaemin makes a pretty neat meal. However, he looks at his window; the lightning strikes then comes the piercing sound of thunder shortly after. He might have to pass on this offer since he does not like going out when it’s raining hard outside. Jaemin understands but tells him that he can’t say no next time.
“Right! Now onto what I was saying earlier…”
They continue to chat about Jaemin’s boy problems, their plans for the summer break, and other trivial things. Time flies fast and pretty soon their call ends when one of them starts to sigh, but not with a promise of meeting very soon.
Donghyuck prepares for bed but a doorbell stops him. That’s odd. He is not expecting anyone, especially this late in the evening. One look at his screen from his peephole camera tells him that it’s his neighbor so he opens the door a bit.
“Oh hi, Mrs. Park. What can I do for you?”
The lovely old woman who lives next to his apartment greets back with a wave. “My dear, I just arrived from a night out with my friends,” she winks and chuckles. Donghyuck does the same albeit a bit awkwardly. “When I met this poor young man in front of our entrance. Asked him if he’s a new tenant, but apparently he is looking for you? He only mentions your name and how he wants to see you…”
Donghyuck misses the next thing his neighbor is saying as soon as his eyes fall to the person next to her.
“Renjun?”
There Renjun stands, drenched from the rain, his colorful clothes wet and dripping on the floor. His round eyes are looking back at him, hopeful, and Donghyuck can see him shiver when a soft gust of wind passes by.
“Hi,” Renjun chirps back quietly.
Mrs. Park claps her hands, smiling. “Oh well, I won’t keep you guys any further. Your friend must have been very cold.” She gives Renjun a few doting pats before waving goodbye and going to her apartment next door.
They stare at each other for a few more moments. Donghyuck is mostly in disbelief, but seeing Renjun’s teeth clacking woke him from his senses. He does not want anyone to get sick, especially because they waited for him outside the pouring rain.
“Get in, it’s cold outside.”
As Renjun settles himself on the couch, Donghyuck pads to his bathroom to get him a fresh towel. “Here, do you want to take a hot shower?” He suggests, looking at the state of his wet clothes. How many days has he been wearing the same outfit?
Biting his lip, Renjun nods and stands up, accepting the towel. His eyes travel to Donghyuck and around the living room. Hesitantly, he asks, “the bathroom?”
“Right, it’s this door,” Donghyuck points at the white door next to his kitchen. “I’ll run your clothes in the washer…”
“Okay.”
Donghyuck is given a moment to think about the entire scenario. When he dropped Renjun off in the motel after giving him tons of guide to go home, wherever his place may be, he clearly wanted to not do anything about him anymore. Their first meeting is strange as it is, in which he still can’t bring himself to understand how it happened. He does not expect to see him again, and in this state too.
Knocking twice, he speaks, “Here’s a change of clothes while yours are still yet to dry.” Renjun opens the door enough for his hand to grab them. He whispers a curt thanks and Donghyuck adds, “I don’t know if it fits your size but uhm…”
Renjun comes out a few minutes after, freshly showered and drying his hair with a towel, and stands awkwardly in the middle of the living room, waiting for Donghyuck.
“Water?” Donghyuck hands him warm water, hoping it will further help him warm up as well.
Renjun accepts with another soft thanks and takes a sip, all the while Donghyuck takes a good look at him. Without the fancy outfit, he looks different. But in a good way. His soft features, round eyes and full cheeks, gives off the impression that he is young; Donghyuck won’t be surprised if he is just in high school. His shirt hangs loose on Renjun’s smaller frame too but he chooses not to dwell much on it.
“So, what happened? I thought you'd gone home.”
“About that…” Biting his lip, Renjun smiles timidly. “I got lost? I forgot how to… the buses are very confusing,” he then explains how he tried to follow Donghyuck’s instructions the morning after but immediately lost his confidence upon seeing the various bus numbers and signs. It would’ve been easier for him if he had a phone and used the maps to navigate, Donghyuck thinks, but Renjun obviously does not have one nor does he know how to even use it. Thus, he ended up spending a few days roaming around.
“This is the only familiar route to me… so I went here,” Renjun mutters, playing with his fingers.
Donghyuck sighs. At this point, he does not have much of a choice. The rain doesn’t seem to stop very soon and he could not just let Renjun stay in the motel until he figures out how exactly he can go home.
“Alright, you can stay here for the night.”
The response is instant: Renjun beams and bows in almost ninety degrees. “Thank you, I really owe you.”
The sunlight filtering through his curtains and hitting him straight on the face wakes Donghyuck up. Usually his alarm does the job but upon checking his phone to check the time, in fear that he might have been late for his class, he realizes it's the weekend. That explains why he doesn’t have any alarm on.
Without much thought, Donghyuck plans to sleep in and recharge after a tiring week, snuggling his favorite pillow and smelling the faded fabric conditioner. However, his sleepiness washes away the moment he hears a commotion outside. Huh.
Right. He has a guest.
Yawning, Donghyuck reluctantly rises upright on his bed, slouched and still sleepy, and blinks for a few times before rubbing the boogers off his eyes. It takes a clanking of utensils for him to finally get up, stretching as he walks outside.
He is greeted by the sight of Renjun in the kitchen with his back turned, busy doing something in front of Donghyuck’s stove. Renjun takes off the ladle from the pot and places it on the counter, moving swiftly to get the chopping board where he has sliced something that oddly looks like tofu. Donghyuck watches him clumsily go around his kitchen, chopping ingredients, stirring the pot, and getting a taste of his dish. Initially he thought of telling him off for going through his house again yet the sight is fascinating; Donghyuck has not seen his kitchen this busy, given that he does not know how to cook, unless Jaemin pays him a visit.
It’s when Renjun goes to his fridge on the other side of the room that he finally notices Donghyuck, who has been standing quite stupidly in the middle of the hallway. “Oh! You’re awake,” he chirps, smiling brightly on a morning which Donghyuck couldn’t fathom. How can someone be energetic early in the day?
“Uh, sorry about—like, I used your kitchen without permission,” Renjun scratches his head and goes back to stirring the pot. “I thought of making you breakfast to thank you for letting me sleep here.”
Well, that’s new. Donghyuck is never fond of eating breakfast, and has never eaten a meal as early as eight in the morning. Ever since he lived alone, he has not bothered doing so, mostly because he ends his day too late and never has enough time to sit down and eat before his first class. Jaemin already surrendered on nagging him about it, but reminded him to at least eat an energy bar so his stomach won’t grumble mid-class. Donghyuck doesn’t. If a cup of iced coffee is breakfast then maybe that counts?
“It’s okay. But how did you—” Donghyuck gestures on the stove and the ingredients left on the counter. He does not remember shopping for anything apart from his simple easy to cook meals recently, so it’s highly unlikely that those came from his fridge.
“Ah, right. I did buy some with the leftover money you gave me.” Well, Donghyuck did not notice that last night. His mind was far too into the fact that they meet again after thinking everything has been resolved. So Renjun has already planned to cook breakfast.
How thoughtful of him.
Speaking of, the man finally finishes cooking, turning off the stove and asking him if he has extra bowls and utensils. Donghyuck points to the cupboard where he has a set that only gets used if Jaemin comes over.
Their breakfast is eaten in complete silence. Renjun has served him a kimchi stew and rice, and it takes all of Donghyuck not to tear up. He has not eaten arguably his favorite food in a long, long time, much less a homemade one too. Renjun probably is not aware of what’s happening despite checking for reaction ever so often like a kid waiting for validation, a praise of some sort. They certainly don’t know each other, only two—okay, now three—meetings and have only known each other’s names, and well, Renjun’s hometown, if that’s counted. Donghyuck is sure he hasn’t mentioned his favorite food. Maybe Renjun could tell he loves ramen if he has taken a look in a cupboard full of his freshly bought stash, but that’s about it.
“Thank you for the meal,” Donghyuck says, finishing his second bowl, and Renjun watches him drink the last bits of soup from the bowl with a satisfied smile. Sometimes, the best compliments don't need to be said.
“Okay,” Donghyuck starts. He needs to know his guest apart from his name after all. “Tell me about yourself.”
It seems like the first day in grade school where the transferee introduces themself to a class full of curious kids, or a blind date that Jaemin has probably set him up twice now. Renjun must have been taken aback based on the expression on his face, so Donghyuck clears his throat. “I mean, we’ve technically had a sleepover now and I’ve paid for your stuff, not that I’m counting by the way. I want to know your age, year level, and like… how did you end up here, in my house, in Seoul.”
Renjun nods.
Donghyuck learns that Renjun is apparently not a highschool student but is the same age as him, twenty-five, although his height and overall facade does not give off the same vibe. Or maybe, Donghyuck regretfully concludes, he might just look quite old for his age too, the stress and lack of sleep punishing his otherwise considerable good looks.
However, unlike him, Renjun did not go to college. His last educational attainment was highschool and he headed straight to work after getting his diploma. “College was expensive, especially for my dream job, so I had to suck it up and start earning to pay for my own bills.”
Understandable. Pursuing a bachelor’s degree makes a huge dent in everyone’s wallets, bank accounts, credit statements, whatever the means of payment is. Donghyuck just grew up knowing he’ll go to a university and attain a degree before he could crawl into the world of adults.
Renjun chuckles at that and says something along the lines of: “That’s silly. A paper concluding the amount of years you’ve spent particularly studying something does not mean that much once you start working.”
Point taken. But such a belief has been long ingrained in the society that not paying interest to studying makes you a bad person. Donghyuck does not even know what he’ll be doing if he is not attending his classes; he surely wouldn’t be able to land his current internship if not for his university credentials. Maybe he would be a pro gamer? Esports is a huge thing right now anyways. Anyways, he brushes off the interesting thought.
Talking about work, Renjun then shares more about the various jobs he has done before working as a server in one of the famous diners in the country. He says the restaurant name but Donghyuck frowns, it does not ring a bell. If it’s famous then he should have seen it, or have heard about it through ads around the metro or on the websites he frequently visits.
Donghyuck unlocks his phone to look it up. Maybe he just does not know it exists or it’s a famous one in the province. Just like searching for Renjun’s hometown, he too does not find much about it on Naver.
“Sorry, I don’t want to erm… gaslight you, or something, but are you sure about the restaurant name? Because I can’t find it anywhere.”
That seems to get Renjun’s attention. His smile from recollecting his memories slowly turns into a mild frown, confused. “That’s impossible. I just went to work…” he trails for a bit, calculating, “about a week ago?”
A week ago. Donghyuck tries to refresh the page in hopes it would show up a vast selection of results but to no avail. He clicks the suggested search instead, something similar, and ends up in a page featuring a restored newspaper issue. There, on the bottom corner of the page, is a small advertisement about the best fried chicken in town.
“What did you say the year is, like now?” Donghyuck asks as he remembered one of the first among the many arguments they had on their first encounter.
Renjun blinks.
“It’s 1973…” he trails off, getting even more confused.
Huh. That’s funny. Donghyuck checks the date on the cover page of the newspaper.
August 25, 1972
He mentally blacks out.
“You’re from 1973!?”
Donghyuck exclaims, his brows almost reaching his hairline, completely at loss for words. Renjun looks at him pointedly as if he said the most natural thing in the world.
“Yeah? I already told you the first time…”
Sure, Donghyuck should have seen it coming, judging by the weird sense of fashion Renjun adorned for days. The confusion and overall lack of knowledge with the trends. Who doesn’t even have a phone nowadays? Who hasn’t watched Narnia? Hell, who does not even know how to ride buses? (The TikTok one is quite excusable; those who get it, get it but like, Donghyuck respects those who don’t nonetheless.)
Yeah. Of course it would be a person from the past. The person literally in front of him.
The moment Renjun mentioned the year 1973 upon trespassing his apartment, Donghyuck should have known by then that it wasn’t some prank. But let’s cut him some slack. It passed his mind because he’s more preoccupied with the fact that there is a literal stranger in his house and he’s just woken up.
Speaking of which. “So you're saying… you came out from the closet?”
That’s a terrible way to put it. Renjun rolls his eyes at him, clearly unimpressed.
“Yes, I was supposed to go to a disco party but I just…” Renjun uses his hands to make waves, probably a gesture of some sort and sighs. “The next thing I know I opened the door and you’re sleeping there, snoring even.”
Suddenly, the TikTok video he had watched days ago pops in his head. It sounds surreal but it’s the conclusion he can arrive at. Gasping, he points a finger at his guest. “You’re a time traveler. Woah.”
Renjun shrugs. “I guess you can say that.” He further goes into explaining that he did not plan this at all; he is not a scientist who worked in making a time machine nor is he a witch who can cast spells. Just a normal person who would have been out vibing to disco songs.
“So like, you’re just a collateral of someone playing with time,” Donghyuck whispers. As if the someone he’s mentioned can hear them. Though honestly at this point, he can never be sure with anything.
He throws Renjun more questions, about his time, what the 70s or 60s was—is like, what is the trend, how he spends his free time, what are the games back then, all of which the other enthusiastically answers, looking faraway, happy to recollect his memories.
It’s quite odd. Renjun recollects memories that just happened to himself a few days or years ago, but to Donghyuck it has been decades since. He could not even believe that some of the things he had seen in old movies were real and were actually experienced by someone in front of him, moreso a same-aged person too.
“Okay, where did you study?” He asks, hopeful that the school still exists to this day. Fifty years is not that old for an educational institution, he argues; his university has just celebrated its 101st founding anniversary. Surely, high schools are the same. Right?
As soon as Renjun mentions the name, Donghyuck is once again on his phone to fact check. To make sure first that it existed, and perhaps if it is still actively running. Renjun peeks at him, marveling at how capable such a tiny thing is, then goes on to share how libraries used to be the venue for knowledge. “People who want to learn something go to libraries. I see now people have the library in that… one rectangular device.”
He isn’t entirely wrong. Anyways, much to his luck, Donghyuck finds out that the school is still up, and interestingly just nearby his place. He switches to his maps to get directions while rushing to his bedroom. The sudden movement puzzles Renjun as they have been discussing at the dining table for quite a while now.
“Why? What’s happening?”
Donghyuck goes out of the bathroom after cleaning himself up and looks at Renjun. He grins, excited about his plans for the day.
“Get ready, we’re going out.”
Apparently it’s just a couple streets away and the walk did not even take half an hour. Donghyuck spent the entire time listening to Renjun’s rambles about his life from the past. He does not understand it because there is just a stark generation gap between the two of them, but still he tries his best to chip in every now and then with the knowledge he has accumulated from consuming old pop culture.
“What do you mean you don’t know Michael Jackson? Wasn’t he also famous back then?” Okay, this one is quite appalling. He puts on a scandalized look, exaggerating the gasp as soon as Renjun said that he has not, not even once, heard about his favorite singer.
“Maybe he still hasn’t hit it off before I, you know, left.”
Alright, that makes sense. Forgiven.
Renjun then gets distracted by the surroundings — the tall buildings, the small but nicely maintained parks, the cars — and goes on to comment about how vastly different it has become from the timeline he came from. He also has lots of questions and Donghyuck patiently answers each and every one.
What is that? How does it work? Why was it invented?
When they arrived at the destination, Donghyuck honestly expected Renjun to recall the place in an instant. But then again, maybe like the rest of the world, it has also greatly changed over time.
“This right here was-is your high school.”
“Eh, really?” The confused squeak Renjun lets out is cute. Donghyuck watches his eyes becoming wider and wider, his lips breaking into a wide smile as he takes in the view.
A sense of pride surges in him like a gust of a wind; he has shown Renjun something familiar to him. That somehow, despite losing a lot of things from the past in this timeline— Donghyuck’s present—he still has something to hold onto.
“Can we go inside?”
Donghyuck does not see why they can’t. It’s the weekend after all which means the school is empty and quiet, void of any students roaming around, having the best time of their lives. Moreover, Renjun is an alumnus, surely it will be fine.
When they get inside the campus, Renjun is quick on his feet, looking around and murmuring loudly to himself. His monologues vary from fascination to confusion, and Donghyuck can’t help but chuckle as he watches the man from behind. Unlike Renjun, he is just walking slowly, taking in the surroundings and observing the said man who’s already quite far from him.
“Woah, look at this!” Renjun motions for him to come to which he does, jogging a bit to close the gap. They look silly on their tiptoes, taking a peek inside a classroom, as if they’re teenagers again. “They have those white boards now,” Renjun says while pointing to the projector screen.
“That’s for the projector.”
“Projector…” His voice trails off as he absorbs another foreign word. Donghyuck chuckles, amused, and explains how it’s used.
They go throughout the campus; Renjun shows him the first and only building in this school before and excitedly babbles about his high school life. Apparently, he used to be a part of the school choir and hated the physical education subject the most. This encourages Donghyuck to share a bit of his background too, pointing out how he also liked to sing, but instead of joining the choir, he was once in a school band with his classmates.
It’s fun. Talking about each of their high school lives, a distant memory Donghyuck treasured a lot. There are differences in teaching style, but the overall experience is still the same. Both of them were teenagers who attended classes just to hang out with their friends and flirt with their crushes.
“The sunrise,” Renjun mutters. In this position, with his head resting on his arms, lying flat on the open field, the sky – clear and beautiful.
They were so into chatting that they failed to notice how time passed by so fast – the darkness slowly hiding the bright sky. They better head out soon and so Donghyuck leads both of them to the gates with satisfied smiles. Once they’re outside, he suddenly feels his stomach growl.
“Dinner?”
The restaurant they got in is small and quaint, barely noticeable unless you focus on the handwritten poster stating their menu. It only has a couple of tables, seven based on Donghyuck’s count, and the walls have photos of people, possibly customers or the owner’s family, and one nicely done flower painting. There is also a television mounted on the corner but it’s turned off; he doubts if it is still working given the unit looks old. What was it called – CRT TV?
An old woman hands them the menu which is just a simple laminated handwritten list and smiles warmly. “What do you want to order?”
While waiting for the food, they resume chatting but this time over the different foods and the trending snacks in their own generations. Donghyuck shares that he’s taken a liking to bubble tea lately since the traumatic event of tasting Jaemin’s very odd coffee order, much to Renjun’s bewilderment.
“The tea… it has bubbles? Is it fizzy like soda, but tea?”
Donghyuck laughs and shakes his head. “No, it’s sweetened tea with milk. The bubbles are just tapioca pearls.”
“Pearls?” Renjun’s head tilts and Donghyuck could be convinced he has a cat with him right now. Anyways. How does he explain it, he’s losing his words.
“I’ll just order us next time.”
The sound of a bell ringing distracts them from talking. Renjun searches for the source and when he spots the old lady reach for a table full of food, which might be theirs, he immediately stands from his seat. “That looks heavy - I’ll help you carry it.”
“Oh you don’t have too, young man, but thank you.”
Renjun gets wrapped up in a conversation with the owner while eating their food and even offers her to eat with them much to the woman’s amusement. Donghyuck hears them talk about the restaurant as it seems like Renjun is very interested in knowing the history behind this small hole in the wall downtown, how it started, when it opened, and what foods they have served throughout the years. He must be reminiscing from his personal experience, Donghyuck muses, observing the two easily hit it off like they’re same aged people. Well, technically, they could be. Maybe that explains it.
The lady, who Renjun has learned the name - Aunt Dahee - excuses herself after getting called by her husband who is apparently the one who mostly cooks in their humble business. Renjun resumes eating but looks up to face Donghyuck eventually. “What? I can feel you staring.”
A smile creeps on Donghyuck’s lips. “Nothing. Just amazed. You hold conversations well.”
Renjun beams at the compliment and starts rambling on how similar he and Aunt Dahee are in terms of experience and love for food.
“So… I have a proposition to make.” Renjun plays with the spoon by scraping the toasted rice on the bottom of his bowl. When he peeks at the man sitting in front of him, he finds Donghyuck already looking at him with a raised brow, waiting.
“Uhm, so you know… I don’t know how to go back to my time, hence I don’t think I’ll be disappearing from here very soon.” Pursing his lips, Renjun locks eyes with him.
Donghyuck thinks his eyes are round and sparkling, pleading, like a lost cat.
“So what if I live with you…”
It’s a good thing he is yet to munch on the food on his chopsticks nor he is yet to drink from his cup because Donghyuck would surely choke on it.
But he still does, with his spit unfortunately. “What?” Being the only thing he can mutter as he struggles for air and takes a swig of the ice cold water.
“Like, we live together for the meantime, at least.” Renjun clarifies. Hopefully, the blush forming on his cheeks is not too red and noticeable; or if it does, Donghyuck hopes Renjun thinks it’s because he has just fought for his life. “Until you know, I can go back home.”
That sounds fair and not a bad idea at all; Donghyuck spares himself a few minutes to mull about it. He is the only person so far who knows about Renjun’s accidental time travel and he doubts people will believe him anyway. Been there, done that, or something. His wardrobe also may be one of the gateways Renjun has, who is he to deny him that. And moreover, he is cute so that’s a bonus.
Okay, let’s ignore that. Not part of the reason at all. Nope.
Donghyuck must have physically shaken his head to disperse those totally unnecessary thoughts because Renjun pouts, defeated. “Oh, okay. I get it if you don’t want to.”
“No, no, no—” Donghyuck waves his hand frantically. “It’s fine. I think it’s alright.”
The relief that settles on Renjun’s face immediately changes once he adds: “but on one condition. Or okay, maybe two.”
⏳
Living with someone is odd. Donghyuck has never lived with anyone since he moved into his apartment in his first year in university. It’s only been a few years, sure, but he has already settled in this normalcy that suddenly breaking it tips him off. A bit.
Because well, Renjun is not that bad of a roommate.
He is quite good, actually. He knows how to cook which is such a huge plus. He is neat and organized, Donghyuck is not that. He’s just busy, he argues to himself.
Essentially, it’s as if he is not there. Kinda?
Maybe Donghyuck just has a hectic schedule nowadays, with midterms coming up and their new game is in its last stages of beta testing before it gets revealed to the market. The level of focus he has to give on both things are stressing him out, honestly. But what can he do - it’s just how the world works. Grind culture is inherently ingrained in our society that not working hard is seen as bad and lazy; people expect a lot from you, from everyone, and you just don’t want to fail them, yourself. It’s exhausting, really. But hey, he likes his major and his job is cool. The pay is alright. So maybe that cancels it out, most times, during pay days.
The moment he accepted Renjun’s proposal to live together, he laid out two conditions:
One: they split everything.
And everything includes the rent. Given the fact that Renjun does not have his old job in the diner and the bills on his wallet are rendered useless in this economy, he is forced to find a source of income. Donghyuck honestly thought it would take him a while to land a job in the ruthless society that puts educational attainment on a high pedestal. However, it seems like Renjun has truly charmed the married couple in the restaurant where they ate before, because he gets assigned as a server.
“Maybe having someone young and pretty around will attract more customers.” Renjun proudly quotes Aunt Dahee when he announced his job. Despite the surprise, Donghyuck can’t really disagree with her; Renjun indeed has an appeal.
Anyways.
Since they’ve split the rent, this also meant splitting everything in their apartment in two. Well, not technically. Donghyuck has brought him to the grocery to shop for his own essentials and to stock up on food as he’s not eating for one anymore. A scowl paints on Renjun’s face when Donghyuck grabs a handful of his usual ready-to-eat kimbap and dosirak.
“What?” He asks, cradling a box of ramen, prepared to defend it at all costs.
Renjun winces, eyes darting back and forth to Donghyuck with his box of instant noodles and the cart with more junk food than what is allowed. “I don’t think that’s healthy.”
Donghyuck is aware, alright. He knows that he’s eating more sodium than vitamins, if that even makes sense, but what can he do? He doesn’t know how to cook to save himself.
He sheepishly says as such to Renjun who chortles, nodding. “Yeah, I figured. I can cook though, so maybe you can lessen these?” A couple packs of dosirak are placed on his arms, he does his best to hold all of them.
They end up buying more fresh food with some ingredients for the dishes Renjun plans to cook for the next two days. Living alone, Renjun had taken it upon himself to prepare a meal plan ahead of the week so he already knows what he needs to buy during his grocery runs. “I’ll prepare a list tomorrow. Are you allergic to anything? Any food you hate? Any preferences?”
The next morning Renjun shows up with a neatly written meal plan complete with the list of ingredients per dish. Donghyuck dies a little bit inside, trying his best to keep a huge smile from etching on his face.
Donghyuck has also drawn an imaginary line on the spaces in his apartment. His spare room which used to store his household stuff has now turned into Renjun’s room, albeit lacking a proper mattress as he only has a foldable one for Jaemin’s unexpected sleepovers. His room is of course out of bounds, unless Renjun wants to inspect his ‘time machine’ wardrobe in which he needs permission first.
Second: Renjun shouldn’t bother him at all.
Donghyuck considers himself a pretty busy person. Juggling academics and work is not an easy feat, and he’s a graduating student on top of it all. Therefore, he does not have the capacity to deal with distractions. Especially in the form of a time traveler. Renjun agreed, nodding with his whole chest, convinced that he wouldn't be a bother. At all.
Well maybe, uhm, most of the time…
A knock on the door takes Donghyuck’s eyes away from the screen. He’s currently on his second or maybe third – he has lost count – can of red bull, eyes red and dry from almost kissing the laptop since he needs to find out how to tweak his code and solve the logic error.
There’s a few beats of silence followed by a soft, “Donghyuck…” on the other side.
“Hm?” Donghyuck hums. “What do you need?”
He can feel Renjun hesitate on the other side of the room. But the man eventually asks for help with directions to Aunt Dahee’s restaurant. Nobody wants to show up to their work late; it’s his first day tomorrow after all.
Donghyuck sighs. “Come in.” The door immediately opens on cue and Renjun pops in, clad in Donghyuck’s white shirt that’s obviously a few sizes too big on his tiny frame. He makes a mental note to take him shopping in his free time. If he’s going to stay here for a while, Renjun needs to wear his own clothes; Donghyuck is already running out of garments and at this rate his laundry bill will be higher than usual. Renjun also does not suit his boring monochromatic outfits.
He ends up drawing on the back of his notebook – apparently he still has one, he thought he had fully switched to digital note taking by now – just to illustrate a map to and from the diner. It’s like they’re in grade school again, getting taught how to draw maps and follow directions. If Renjun had a phone this would be easier.
On second thought. “What’s the time of your shift?” He asks Renjun who looks up as he tries to remember the store’s opening hour.
“9 o’clock, I think,” Renjun ponders. “I need to help uncle cook.”
That’s too early. Shops usually open at 11 in the morning. Maybe he can’t drag Renjun with him after all.
“Why?” Renjun blinks. His lips form a pout whenever he’s curious. Donghyuck belatedly thinks if Renjun is aware of this. Is this perhaps intentional?
Donghyuck shrugs and hands the piece of paper to him. “Nothing.” He turns his gaming chair back to face his laptop, prompting Renjun to walk out of the door. But before he completely exits the room, Donghyuck mumbles. “Good luck on your first day.”
By the time he gets up and prepares for the day – his professor canceled today’s class because her daughter is sick – Renjun is nowhere to be found in the apartment. He must have left for work already. Donghyuck hopes he managed to get there in one piece.
When he goes back home after work, however, Renjun is still not here. Which is kind of weird. He remembers the restaurant was about to close when they went there to eat. It’s already around an hour and the walk back to his apartment shouldn’t be more than half an hour. Did he get lost?
Donghyuck grabs his coat he has ditched on the sofa and leaves to find Renjun. He’s half way through the destination when he hears someone shout his name and he quickly snaps his head towards the direction of the voice. There Renjun is, sitting idly outside the convenience store’s patio – the same place where they met again after Renjun fought with the cashier.
“Thankfully I spotted you!” Renjun grins, giddy. “I can’t find my way back, which is stupid by the way, because I have it memorized.” He goes on rambling about how he’s not supposed to get lost but it is just difficult to recall after a hard day’s work. “Oh well, hi! How was your day—oh? What are you doing?”
Donghyuck doesn’t know what came over him but he grabs Renjun’s arm and briskly walks with a direction in mind. “Where are we going?” Renjun keeps on asking but follows anyway. “Can you at least hold me properly? It kinda hurts.” Donghyuck feels sulk dripping on Renjun’s voice despite looking ahead so he adjusts his hands to hold Renjun’s wrist softly instead.
The city is bustling and very much alive late at night. Donghyuck spots the electronics store, bright with flashing LED lights, the words sale in big red letters rolling on the LED sign. The clerk on the stall greets them warmly with her best customer service smile. “What can I get for you? New phone?” She gestures on the array of various units on the stand and Renjun gasps, eyes twinkling in wonder.
“These are all phones? They all look the same,” Renjun notes and honestly, he’s right. At first glance, the models all have black rectangular screens, even their backs look a bit similar.
Donghyuck ends up buying a newly released mid-range phone that the clerk kinda persuaded him to buy. She’s probably gunning for the commission coins. He gets the grind, plus the phone is not bad at all. It’s decent and exactly what Renjun needs – nothing too flashy but still reliable. Donghyuck just closes his eyes when the clerk punches the order and swipes his card. The purchase surely makes a dent on his account but it’s fine. It’s alright, he tells himself. For the better good.
“Here,” Donghyuck hands the paper bag to Renjun who tilts his head but accepts it nonetheless.
Their trip extends for a bit longer than intended because Renjun has so many questions about everything around the busy streets of Seoul. And Donghyuck, well, he gladly answers to the best of his abilities. So Renjun won’t ask anymore. For the better good.
At home, he gets bombarded with more inquiries once Donghyuck told him the phone is his.
How do I make a call?
Oh? Oh no! Is this broken? The screen suddenly turned black. Should we get a refund or replacement?
What are these buttons at the side for?
Can this also show that map thing you used before?
Internet, what is that? How is that different from WiFi though, is it the same?
Safe to say Donghyuck didn’t get much sleep that night. Going through the entire functions of a smartphone and teaching how to use basic apps are harder than it looks. It feels like he is giving lessons to his grandpa, which is to be frank, similar to Renjun’s age. The grandpa he’s with now though looks young and cute, furrowing his brows and pouting while trying to follow Donghyuck’s instructions.
Renjun fortunately gets the hang of it. Somewhat. Donghyuck has ever so kindly pinned the location of the diner on Renjun’s map to make it easier for him to remember the way. Real-time location might be too much but given what happened that night and Renjun’s unfamiliarity with the neighborhood, he still turned it on. Just to be safe.
Feeling accomplished, Donghyuck goes through the rest of his day fairly smoothly- his project submitted on time and free from bugs, and the new game on the hands of the marketing team for promotions. This only means he has spare time to play League. And he thinks he deserves it.
Jumping to his chair, he boots up his computer and rings up his gaming friends for a few rounds of ranked game. They won the first game in swift fashion, not even letting the enemy touch their base towers, getting the best KDA on his team which is a feat given that it’s been a week or two since he last played. He’s just too good at this.
In the second game, he picks a different champion, Ezreal, his favorite marksman, in the drafting phase, and stretches his neck and arms while the map loads. There’s a clash on the mid lane and like a good teammate, Donghyuck quickly comes to aid but when he arrives, his phone suddenly rings, loud and very distracting.
“Wait guys,” Donghyuck grunts through his microphone. He thinks of rejecting the call but it ends before he even gets his hand on it. Oh well, he’s back to the game.
He has just used his ultimate on a 3v2 when his phone rings again. One glance on the phone he sees Renjun’s contact name.
“What?”
“Help!” Renjun screams on the other line, prompting Donghyuck to hit recall to the base.
“Why? What’s wrong?” Donghyuck rapidly types up a message to the chat — brb got an emergency call. “Renjun, are you still there?”
“Yeah, I have a question. So sorry for asking this, I know you already taught this but I forgot okay so I need your help.” Renjun rambles again. Donghyuck wishes he goes to the point, he doesn’t want to go AFK for too long. They’re in the late game and every second counts. “Okay so… how do you send a text again?”
Really. Donghyuck wants to drop the call but Renjun adds: “I have to message auntie that I bought the ingredients but there’s none of the brand uncle wants for the seasoning mix.”
“Can’t you call her?”
“But she doesn’t like to be called during work hours.”
“Fine,” Donghyuck resigns. Typing another message this time on his discord channel with friends — sorry might take a while.
Renjun finally gets it after a quick review and a text sent by Donghyuck to make him locate where the messaging app is. Thankfully, his team is winning by the time he comes back or else he would have been reported by his friends for going AFK mid game. However, luck is apparently not on his side because in the next games, Renjun kept on asking for help with anything under the sun. Much to his demise.
But Renjun slowly gets it. Donghyuck makes sure he does. He makes it a personal agenda that Renjun gets to ask him questions and know hows before their day ends, kind of like a sit down Q&A session. Renjun tells him about his day in between questions, from talking about the recent discoveries he’s had with modern living to complaining about the rude customers at the diner.
“Also, can you believe it? Kimbap roll is now 2000 won! What the hell is that, so expensive!” Renjun crosses his arms. “It used to be 200 won, this is absurd.”
After telling him to lessen the number of calls, Renjun opts to send him texts instead. In some ways, it is way better than receiving blaring calls mid game but Renjun has developed this habit of spamming texts when Donghyuck does not reply as soon as possible.
From: Renjun
Hey
How do I know where the subway is again
Auntie told me there’s lots of libraries here
How do I search for the places
I know Naver ok
I tried using it but it doesn’t show anything
Help please
Donghyuck peeks at his professor. She’s busy writing sample code on the board. Turning back his attention to his phone, he quickly loads up a search of all libraries within Seoul and sends the result to Renjun.
To Renjun:
[You sent a link]
I’m in class. Plz.
From: Renjun
Oh my god
I forgot!
So sorry!!
And thank you!!! :D
Renjun’s text messages became less frequent as days passed as he probably got the hang of using his phone. Donghyuck still does receive some ever so often; some rants from Renjun about the differences he noticed from his past and the present, and some questions here and there. Today, he is asking about an app.
From: Renjun
What is a katok?
Someone asked me for my katok at work
Told him I don’t know that so he asked for my number instead
He said I’m cute :”>
Well, would you look at that – Renjun is getting hit on by his customers. It’s no surprise though, Donghyuck kind of understands why the customer would take the chance. Renjun is pretty to look at, a bit clumsy and so noisy but that’s a part of his charm. Anyways, Donghyuck has to run another sprint with his colleagues in five minutes so he quickly lets Renjun know that it’s an app and that he’ll install it for him later at home.
It also turned worse when Renjun discovered emojis and gifs. He has now flooded their chat with a slew of recent emojis he has found on the keyboard, or if not, he sends good morning and motivational messages in gif, complete with cursive font, sparkling decor, and blooming flowers.
From: Renjun
Hi Donghyuck 😄👋
Look at this emoji 🧋
It’s the one you bought us before right 🤔🛒💰
The sweet one 🍯😋
To Renjun:
Yes, bubble tea
From: Renjun
Aha! Bubble tea 🥰
Where can I buy one? I got paid today 🤑
Really, so much for not bothering him. Donghyuck finds out he does not really mind at all though. In fact, he enjoys Renjun’s barrage of nonsensical messages. For entertainment value purposes, of course.
⏳
Given his part-time work at the diner, Renjun mostly dedicates his time to research during the weekends. He hunts for each and every library in the city and stays there in the science and fiction sections for the whole day. Since he does not have any valid ID – in this timeline at least – he cannot take home the books he wants to borrow; but his trips are not in vain because Donghyuck has taught him how to take photos of the pages he’s interested in.
Donghyuck joins him some time when he’s free. He leads their trip for that day by not only holing themselves to libraries which to Donghyuck are too ‘old school’ but he also helps gather more information through interviewing scholars. Some of these people might have the exact thing they need to travel back in time. They have studied a lot, more than them for sure, they know better.
“It’s scientifically difficult to execute an experiment about time traveling. After all, it requires a human participant, not just rats, so we can make sure it really works. Our department is highly against such methods.”
Renjun’s demeanor visibly deflates at the professor’s answer. Donghyuck sighs, understanding, and pats his back. It’s not the answer they are looking for, but he can’t do much about it. Standing up, he thanks the professor for her time and motions Renjun to do the same, albeit a little monotone and enthusiastic compared to his initial greeting.
The walk outside on the university campus is quiet and solemn. Donghyuck lets his company feel discouraged, it’s valid after all. Renjun huffs every five seconds and kicks the poor rock on the gravel sidewalk. If Donghyuck looks at him for long, he can visualize the long face Renjun’s making, his frown reaching the floor.
“Hey Renjun, are you listening?” He asks after talking about the people on the field. They’re probably training for the upcoming university league.
The said man hums but his eyes remain casted on the floor, still kicking the rock softly.
This won’t do. Donghyuck is not used to a sulky Renjun. Grabbing his arm, he decides that it’s enough research for today. Renjun does not even complain as he gets dragged, he stays limp and follows idly. Donghyuck could only shake his head.
They end up in an underground arcade. The place is packed and full of students and adults alike, looking to spend time and have fun playing games. Donghyuck thinks the arcade is just a casino for kids, judging by the amount of money people also spend here. But hey, fun is fun. And Renjun needs it right now.
Speaking of, Donghyuck glances at him and finds that his eyes are unfocused, distracted by his thoughts. He does not even notice Donghyuck leaving him to buy coins; he’s just left standing there in the middle of a busy arcade with people passing by him.
“Renjun?” The snapping of his fingers must have woken up Renjun from his reverie because the other blinks and slowly looks around.
Neon lights of mostly purple and pink illuminate the entire place. LED lights blinking and sound effects blaring from the various games. There are people, lots of them. Some are hollering, celebrating and collecting tickets and prizes, while some are whining from defeat. Renjun’s eyes stop at him, stunned.
Donghyuck grins. “Welcome to one of my favorite places.”
He gives a brief introduction on the arcade and shows the various games around. Explaining how some games work requires lots of patience because Renjun does not seem to get it at first, but after trying it himself, thankfully he figures it out. Somehow.
“What!? Again?” Renjun whines, slamming his palms on the console the same time it shows the words ‘YOU LOSE’ in big flashing letters, as if further taunting him. “This machine is rigged! I don’t like this.”
Donghyuck laughs heartily, clearly enjoying Renjun's constant loss. Renjun stomps his way to the next game, frowning but waiting for Donghyuck’s instruction on how to play the game. Cute. Donghyuck shakes the want to pinch his cheeks, instead he eggs him further, wanting him to pout more.
Out of all the games they played, Renjun has only won a handful of times. He has resigned from playing fighting games and lightgun games, claiming that it requires intense hand to brain coordination skill – as he calls it – which is unfair for beginners like him. After scoring 16 points on basketball and getting owned by Donghyuck on air hockey, he has also declared that he is not into sports. Donghyuck is just laughing at him.
“I thought you’re supposed to cheer me up. Why are you making me even more pissed?”
Donghyuck shrugs. Maybe he is indeed enjoying this more than Renjun. “But you’re smiling now, that’s still a win for me,” he replies, pointing out the upturned lips and brighter demeanor. Renjun just rolls his eyes.
Renjun does, however, murder him in a few rounds of DDR. It seemed like he’s a natural at this, despite awkwardly fumbling on the steps, even beating Donghyuck’s so-called pro moves of holding the handles from behind.
Luck seems to be on Renjun’s side too. Donghyuck’s eyes widen as the claw lands on the bear plushie and successfully grabs it up, slowly moving to the hole to drop it. All the while, Renjun screams, absolutely delighted to win, jumping from joy.
“I got it! Look,” Renjun shows off his newly acquired prize. “It’s fluffy and kinda resembles you too.” Giggling, he pinches the plushie’s nose and heads to the next claw machine.
It takes Donghyuck a few seconds to follow.
“Thank you.”
Donghyuck turns to Renjun who is munching on a bungeoppang ice cream, his new-found favorite. On his other arm are prizes he has won from the claw machine; he has won a lot of times that it raised suspicion from the crowd, making the arcade manager politely escort them outside. They just burst out laughing at the cold alleyway after making eye contact.
“It’s nothing,” Donghyuck quips, taking a bite of his own ice cream bar. “Let’s try again next time. We’ll figure it out soon.”
⏳
Donghyuck has since then helped Renjun by researching at home. Opening countless tabs on his browser after searching the keywords time travel, past to present, time machine, and even AI just to make sure on various scientific journal repositories and archives. If Donghyuck from a month ago would be told he’d do extensive research for related literature and studies, about time traveling no less, he surely would be laughing in absolute disbelief.
But alas, here he is right now, curled up on the living room floor, laptop close to overheating from the amount of open tabs, slouching on his coffee table. His eyes have been glued on the screen for hours now, reading through passages, trying to see if any article will lead them to something, anything.
“Tea?” Renjun softly mumbles, placing a cup of freshly brewed drink in front of Donghyuck. The intricate floral aroma seeping from the hot water wafts Donghyuck’s nose. His mind slowly begins to ease. “It’s Jasmine. Helps you relax and boost your brain power.”
A faint murmur of thanks comes from Donghyuck’s lips but he remains focused on finishing this article. Just one more and he’ll take a break.
Ignoring the feeling of Renjun sitting down next to him and watching him study, he skims through the last few paragraphs, patiently checking for any relevant information.
A deep sigh. “Sorry,” Renjun says.
Donghyuck swiftly turns to face him and the sudden motion gets him woozy for a few seconds, so he closes his eyes and pinches his nose. “What? Did you do anything in the kitchen?”
The other shakes his head. His fingers are fidgeting and his lips are close to being chapped from the pressure of being bitten. “No – I’m just, I feel sorry for making you work so much for this. You could’ve been doing more important, more enjoyable things, but instead you're stuck here helping me.”
“Hey, Renjun,” Donghyuck starts, low and gentle. “Look at me.” Renjun does not do it, eyes rooted on the wooden floor. “This is okay, it’s alright for me, hm? I don’t mind at all. I mean yeah, it’s not the funnest thing to do but I want to help you.”
They might have not started in the bestest ways, but Donghyuck is lying if he says Renjun has not grown on him. Renjun with his quirky and upbeat personality is such a huge contrast to him who likes boring, mundane stuff. His eyes look at everything with wonder and Donghyuck swears that they are sparkling, as Renjun was born with stars in his eyes. With how amazed (and annoyed, sometimes) he is with the present world, Donghyuck begins to appreciate the things he has grown up with.
“Also, it’s a favor for me, you know. I get to live alone again.”
The upturn of Renjun’s lips is close to a smile, though not quite. But Donghyuck does not give it much thought. Instead, he grabs the cup of tea and inhales the scent for a while before taking a tiny sip. The hot water burns his tongue a bit.
There’s no recent remarkable progress with regards to research as days pass by.
Although, there is an obvious development to their living situation.
Renjun has truly taken the role of becoming the cook of the house, the chef as he likes to jokingly call himself. Every day he wakes up early to prepare breakfast for the both of them, as well as Donghyuck’s lunch if he does not have morning classes and would just lounge in the apartment before he clocks in for work. Sometimes, Renjun also sneakily tries to dish up a lunch box for Donghyuck. Totally not impressed when he found out that his roommate skips lunch or buys cheap take-out.
“That’s a poor excuse for a meal – no nutrients, nothing good in those.” Renjun is affronted at the sight of fast food stalls when they went out once. For another day of research.
Renjun has also gotten closer to the old married couple who are also his employers. Donghyuck finds it endearing to see Aunt Dahee even treat Renjun as their son. Which is, well, somehow weird since she is actually far younger than him. But anyways — technicalities.
There are times where Renjun would bring home dinner from his shift. Either uncle has made too much food or Renjun has learned a new recipe. Donghyuck prefers the latter because Renjun cannot contain his giddiness as soon as he steps in the house, eager for Donghyuck to have a taste and to hear his thoughts.
“Hmm,” Donghyuck takes another bite. Today is stir-fried octopus. He’s sure Renjun spent a bit here; seafood is much more expensive than other meats.
“So?” Renjun’s eyes are wide and inquisitive. Donghyuck wants to crack a joke, maybe tease him a little bit to get a cute reaction out of him. But he also does not want to ruin Renjun’s excitement.
Licking the sauce from the spoon, he grins and gives a thumbs up. “Delicious, thanks Renjun.”
“That’s chef Renjun!”
Donghyuck chuckles fondly. “Alright, chef Renjun.”
The apartment has also started becoming tidier. All because of Renjun, too.
Before leaving for work, Renjun cleans the house (everything except for Donghyuck’s room) by running a robot vacuum that he calls the evolution of mankind. Curtains drawn wide to let in the warm and bright sunlight, Donghyuck’s morning has become bright, brighter.
A stark contrast to how it was before—cluttered and dark. He likes it. There are signs of life in his home now.
One night, Donghyuck goes home after an exhausting day. His sprints ended up becoming unproductive because of the unclear description of their creative team about their new game. His thesis adviser also sat him down on a consultation session about his progress. Frankly, he does not want to deal with it; his brain is fried. Maybe he needs to abandon it for a few days, maybe that will help him pick up the inspiration again.
The sight of Renjun sprawled on the couch and eyes trained on the TV screen welcomes him. By now it has become a regular occurrence. Ever since Renjun figured out that the ‘black flat rectangular piece’ of electronics is a television, he has hogged it every chance he gets. Moreso, when he learned about the existence of streaming sites, claiming it another amazing invention that should have existed in the past.
“That’s unfair, I was always on a rush after work because I had to tune in on my favorite show. And now, you’re telling me I can just stream it at my own pace and watch a variety of stuff in one go?” Renjun complained after Donghyuck’s tutorial on how to navigate through Netflix, both on the TV and on his phone.
Donghyuck’s arrival must have been heard by Renjun despite the loud noise coming from the television. “Oh, you’re home.” He greets but does not leave his eyes on the screen. “Dinner?”
“Already ate.” Which is not entirely a lie. He had a quick meal with Mark in between their work. Though he opts to not reveal that it’s just a piece of store-bought kimbap and noodles.
Slumping on the couch, he lets out a deep exhale. His muscles lay flat on the soft cushion. Much needed after a whole day of walking around the city and sitting in front of his desk. Donghyuck stares at the television and belatedly notices the series Renjun is watching right now.
“Really? Bridgerton?”
Renjun looks at him pointedly, the first time he has taken his attention from the episode. “Why not?” Crossing his arms, he pouts and tilts his chin up. “It’s nice. I like it.”
Donghyuck honestly does not have a problem with it. He too has watched it before, thought has not stayed in the loop after finishing the first season. It’s just surprising to see Renjun watch international shows, impressive that he has now acclimated to subtitles.
His obvious lack of response ruffles Renjun’s feathers further, taking it as a teasing. “I’m invested in Daphne and Simon’s love story.” He huffs. Rolling his eyes and going back to watching.
As the next scene unfolds, Renjun’s favorite characters show up and Donghyuck watches how his attention is stuck on the story, eyes bright in expectation, cheeks faint from blushing.
“Look at them,” Renjun murmurs. “Your grace,” he copies the speaker, complete with English accent and gestures.
Something tugs Donghyuck’s insides, fondness trickling from the smile unintentionally creeping on his face. “I can’t believe you’re an English speaker now.”
Grabbing the remote, Renjun pauses the episode to show off his newfound skills. “Certainly,” he pronounces with a grin and brags: “You know I’ve memorized one whole line.”
“Shoot.”
Renjun clears his throat and prepares to recite his piece. But before he does, he locks eyes with Donghyuck.
“Why do you think I went into that garden? If you would have only looked at me this week for longer than two seconds, you would have seen. It is you I cannot sacrifice. I burn... for you.”
⏳
It’s two hours past Renjun’s end of shit and there is no sight of him in their apartment.
Donghyuck usually is not the type to get worried. The last time Renjun came home late was because he got invited by the married couple to have dinner with them. The man texted him, very apologetic since he didn’t get to prepare dinner for Donghyuck. It’s fine though. He just ordered-in (Renjun wouldn’t know if he doesn’t leave any trace).
Furthermore, Renjun now has a phone unlike the first time he arrived late. If ever he will be late, he immediately sends a message to let Donghyuck know. His real-time location sharing is turned on as well and Donghyuck is confident that Renjun knows the neighborhood like the back of hand. Getting lost is definitely out of the picture.
However, today is different. Renjun has not sent a message, nor has he called. His pin from a few minutes ago indicates that he is still in the restaurant.
Okay. Slumping on the couch, Donghyuck tries to calm himself. Maybe Renjun is just preoccupied at the moment. Their restaurant is probably closing or there must have been last minute customers.
Just to be sure, he sends another text.
To: Renjun
[8:23 PM] Hey, what time are you going home?
[9:29 PM] Everything alright?
A few moments pass.
There is still no reply from Renjun. This is very weird. A click on the number prompts a call and it connects – so his battery is not dead – but remains ringing for a few minutes before the automatic voice prompt starts saying, “Sorry, the number you called is busy at the moment. Please try again later.”
Donghyuck’s lower lip is almost about to bruise from the pressure of his teeth gritting it. Okay, fine. Try again later.
Maybe he’s just overreacting. So what? Renjun is his own person. If he’s not busy with work, maybe he’s busy learning another recipe from uncle. Or, maybe someone is hitting on him.
His stomach sours at the thought.
He tries calling again. The line rings and rings again. Donghyuck is worried the other line is busy again, but it gets picked up. Finally.
“Hello, Renjun, just wanted to check—”
“Hello?”
Donghyuck does not get to finish because the person on the other line does not sound like Renjun at all. After hearing the man say he is Renjun’s uncle from the restaurant, the tension from his shoulders ease but not for too long.
“Are you his friend? Renjun is not feeling well.”
The response is automatic — Donghyuck jumps up from the couch and bolts to his room, quickly fetching his jacket while still on the phone with uncle, who has been talking about Renjun’s condition.
The usual twenty minute walk turns into ten with Donghyuck sprinting towards the restaurant. While waiting for the pedestrian light to turn green, he notices the poorly tied shoes he put on in a rush. He has not even brought anything with him apart from his phone. But that’s not important.
What matters most is seeing how Renjun is doing.
His heart is pounding so fast – both from the nerves and from running a few kilometers – as he arrives in front of the door. From the window, he can see the lights are still on but the sign says closed. A few knocks on the door reveal the old man, uncle, who has been waiting for his arrival.
“Come in. Renjun is upstairs with Dahee.”
The sight when he opens the room upstairs pierces his heart. There Renjun is, lying on the mattress, peacefully asleep. If Donghyuck did not know, he wouldn’t have guessed that Renjun is sick. But then again, the bowl of water and washcloth beside him tell otherwise.
Aunt Dahee appears from behind, surprising him who has stayed rooted on the doorframe. Afraid to get inside and break Renjun’s peace.
“Oh, Donghyuck. You’re our Renjun’s housemate, right?” The woman asks, placing down a newly refilled glass of water. “Minsu must have told you about it. You must be worried tons, I can imagine.”
She begins recalling how she noticed being less cheerful than usual when he came in for work, but shrugged it off since she initially thought it’s normal to have off days. However, an hour before their closing time, Renjun faints in the backroom and she only notices after looking for him. “I tell you the shock I felt seeing the poor boy lying on the cold floor, I thought it was something worse!” She exclaims while clutching her heart. Donghyuck was not there when it happened yet he too can feel his heart clench at the thought.
Renjun was scorching hot when the couple aided him upstairs. Donghyuck finds out the reason why they were not able to answer his call earlier. “Minsu, my husband, we closed the shop in an instant because we’re so worried for him. We wanted to bring him to the nearest hospital but he kept insisting it’s not needed.”
Aunt Dahee looks at him with pleading eyes. Donghyuck understands what she wants to imply but truthfully he is on Renjun’s side on this one. As much as he would also like to give Renjun professional medical attention, it’s quite impossible to do it without the hospital asking for his ID which Renjun does not have.
“I’m so sorry for the inconvenience this has also caused—”
“Oh no, no, no. Not at all,” she tut-tuts, dismissing his apology, and looks at Renjun. “He is like family to Minsu and I now. He is not an inconvenience at all.”
The feeling of heaviness in Donghyuck’s stomach somehow gets replaced by a warm and light feeling. He too looks at Renjun with a faint smile on his face. “I agree with you, Aunt Dahee.”
Their chatter must have made quite a noise enough to stir Renjun from his slumber. His eyes slowly flicker open, forehead scrunching as he takes in the surroundings and searches for the source of commotion.
“Hyuck?”
“Renjun,” Donghyuck exhales. His feet move on his own because he just finds himself kneeling to face Renjun. His hand must have a mind of its own too for it brushes Renjun’s forehead to check his temperature. But his eyes though, they never left Renjun’s own. “Are you feeling better?”
“Quite,” he croaks.
Nodding, he takes a hold of both Renjun’s hands, somehow liking how warm it feels from his cold ones. “Let’s get you home?”
The couple did not want them to leave; Aunt Dahee even proposed for them to sleep over for the night, if they both don’t want to go to the hospital. However, that is too much of an offer so they politely decline. She did not want to back down until Uncle Minsu spoke and handed them a thermal bag. “Get home safely. I cooked a rice porridge you can eat for later, just heat it up.”
Given the late hour in the evening, there are no more taxis around which is annoying. Of all the times he would much prefer to take a cab home and there is none in sight.
Renjun finds his reaction amusing and chuckles, messing with his hair. “It’s alright. We can just walk?”
They do walk for a while but Donghyuck has his eyes on Renjun on the way home, watching him like a hawk, waiting for any signs of distress.
“You’re creeping me out,” Renjun points out.
Donghyuck shakes his head. This is not okay. Renjun is walking slower today and the spring breeze is too cold. “Hop in,” he says after walking a few steps ahead and crouches, offering his back to Renjun.
“No, you’re crazy.” Renjun tries to walk past him but Donghyuck only walks further ahead and does not stop crouching when the other walks away again. “This is totally not necessary. I can walk just fine.”
In the end, Renjun loses. Donghyuck is just way more adamant than him. Carrying someone on his back is all new to Donghyuck who does not even hit the gym. His only work out are the walks he does, more calories burned if he needs to run and avoid getting late. But this is fine. He struggles for a bit but it’s okay.
“You should just put me down,” Renjun whispers.
Donghyuck only adjusts his hold on the other’s thighs by bouncing lightly as a response. This makes Renjun hug him tighter, arms around his shoulders.
The walk home is spent in relative silence. Their neighborhood being quite far from the main city proper means the nightlife is not as busy. The streets are fairly quiet, only a handful of people walking perhaps to their homes, and shops have mostly closed. Renjun snuggles his head on the crook of Donghyuck’s neck, making him pause for a bit, surprised from the sudden warmth on his nape.
When they reach the apartment, Renjun demands to be put on the ground, not liking the thought of their neighbors spotting them in piggyback. Donghyuck does not mind though but he obeys nonetheless.
“Good night,” Donghyuck starts after making sure feels comfortable on the bed. He has placed a pitcher of water on the floor next to him (they really need to buy a proper bed frame) and a fever patch on Renjun’s forehead. They have bought it at the drugstore on the way home, much to Renjun’s dismay because those patches are supposed to be for kids.
“Good night, Hyuck.” Renjun smiles at him.
The morning after, Donghyuck wakes up early to heat up the porridge from uncle. Instead of calling Renjun for a meal, he knocks on the door and peeks inside, finding the man already awake and scrolling on his phone.
“Breakfast, you need to eat so you can take the medicines.”
Renjun seems impressed at the breakfast by the table and Donghyuck feels proud seeing the smile on his face. “How are you feeling?” He asks, placing his palm on Renjun’s forehead to feel his temperature. Still too warm for his liking. He makes a mental note to buy a thermometer later.
“Better than yesterday, I guess.” Donghyuck nods and urges him to keep eating. They talk about how each of their days unfolded yesterday. Renjun shares how he felt sick since the morning but still decided to go work, thinking he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Donghyuck felt bad that he wasn’t able to spot it as well, but then again, he remembers that his class started much later than Renjun’s shift so they did not catch each other in the apartment.
“Speaking of class, don’t you have a class today? CS 180 was it?”
Donghyuck does. Renjun is even right on the exact class name, which amazes him. He had shared his class table just in case Renjun might need to contact him for anything, he knows where to find him if it’s an emergency or when not to bother him that much if it’s just a random thought. Memorizing the classes is something he didn’t expect but appreciates.
“I won’t go,” he replies and playfully does a salute with a wink. “I’ll be your nurse today until you’re in good health again.”
Renjun does not like the idea of it but again, he does not stand a chance once Donghyuck has put his mind on it. So instead of arguing, he lets him be.
Donghyuck heads out after a while, claiming that he has to prepare for their lunch. It makes Renjun giggle. “Looking forward to today’s lunch, chef Hyuck!” He teases, knowing full well that his roommate is not as skilled in the kitchen.
To this, Donghyuck huffs and pointedly looks at him. “Just wait! I’ll be serving you a Michelin star worthy dish.”
“Are you busy? Can you quickly help me with something?”
The person on the other line laughs, unamused. “Wow, hello to you too, my dear best friend. I’m doing fine. Thanks for asking!”
“Jaemin.”
“Donghyuck,” Jaemin chirps back, pressed. Though there is an obvious lilt in his voice so Donghyuck is sure he is not really that pissed. “What? I’m busy getting tanned here — involuntary by the way. I should have packed a huge bottle of sunblock, gosh why is the sun frying me.”
Donghyuck does not let his friend start mumbling about his excursion trip for class – okay, he is interested but not now – so he cuts him mid rant to ask for help. The main purpose of this call anyway.
“Sorry, I know the sunburn must be awful but can I have your recipe for samgyetang? You know the food for the sick.”
The gasp Jaemin lets out is loud and totally over the top; Donghyuck puts his phone away from his poor ears until his friend stops with his exaggerations.
“What? Did I hear that correctly?” Jaemin spouts. If they’re face to face right now, Donghyuck is sure he is already getting teasing eyes and wiggling brows from his friend. “First of all, you are asking for a recipe. Are you gonna cook? You?” The way Jaemin keeps on enunciating the word ‘you’ makes him want to smack him even if he’s across the continent.
“Uhm, yeah?”
“Wow,” Jaemin breathes. “And you want to cook the sick stew? Are you sick?” He then goes on talking about how Donghyuck should take care of himself better and how he would like to fly back to Korea if only this trip does not impact his final grade a lot.
At Donghyuck’s silence though, Jaemin infers. “Or,” he gasps again. “Do you have someone right now? You?”
Donghyuck does not want this conversation to go further. Knowing his friend, Jaemin would not stop until he got it out of Donghyuck’s own mouth. Technically he does have someone, though as a roommate? A new friend? What is Renjun even to him?
“I have to go. I, I’m in class right now. Talk to you later, Jaem.”
Despite Jaemin’s protest, their call ends and Donghyuck heaves a sigh. He just has to wait for Jaemin to share the recipe; even if his friend is dramatic at times, he still follows through with Donghyuck’s requests. For now, he puts away the chicken from the freezer to let it thaw.
Samgyetang normally takes an hour to prepare and cook, but with prep alone Donghyuck almost takes an entire hour. Stuffing a chicken is just too advanced for him; he totally did not think this through. Oh well, it’s fine. Donghyuck thinks he did a pretty good job even if the chicken looks awfully butchered. What’s more important is how it tastes – we don’t eat with our eyes, contrary to popular belief.
Renjun thankfully enjoys his dish. Slurping the soup and munching on the chicken meat with animated sounds. The astonishment etched on his face never leaves as he devours two bowls, the same way Donghyuck’s smile never falters from watching Renjun eat.
“That’s delicious, Hyuck. Are you sure you don’t know how to cook?” Renjun burps mid sentence, making him blush. Donghyuck does not mind, in fact he loves the sound of it which only means he really liked the meal. “Hm, I think you’re just acting like a shit cook just to make me do it.” Renjun hums, suspicious.
Donghyuck grins with a wink. “I’m really a newbie, but that’s a huge compliment.” Once he starts cleaning up the table, Renjun moves to help but only gets turned down. “Oh, no, no, no – you go back to your room and rest. I’ll take it from here.”
Honestly, Donghyuck has planned to take the whole day off in order to nurse Renjun back to health. However, work really knows no boundaries it seems, as his phone unexpectedly rings in the middle of preparing the damp cloth to reduce the fever. There’s a meeting in an hour, and it’s highly encouraged to attend. Something about meeting with a potential client.
With a defeated sigh, he responds that he’ll be there and gloomily walks to Renjun’s room. The latter who picks up his change in demeanor asks what’s wrong, but he could only shake his head and sigh once more. “I have to go to work.”
“Uhm, yeah?” Renjun supplies as a matter-of-fact, not getting Donghyuck’s point.
Donghyuck pouts. Once he’s sure that Renjun has placed the cloth on his forehead, he starts dressing up for the meeting that could’ve been held online, or better yet done through an email. But what does he know, he’s just a lowly intern. Before heading out, he reminds Renjun to contact him if anything goes wrong or if he needs anything
Renjun chuckles and nods. “Aye, aye! Get back home safely,” he says, giving a thumbs up before shooing Donghyuck away when the latter tries to open his mouth again.
Thankfully, his fever breaks on the same night. Donghyuck has gotten back home after a grueling two hour meeting and immediately checks Renjun’s condition, this time with a newly bought thermometer from the drugstore nearby the office. The relief that washes from his inside shows from his face and it seems like Renjun has caught sight of it.
Beaming, Renjun’s hand reaches up to ruffle his hair, then goes down to cup his jaw. His thumb rubbing Donghyuck’s cheek affectionately. His eyes are full of gratefulness and Donghyuck wants to get lost in it. “Got the best nurse and chef around me for a day, of course I’ll heal up pretty quickly.”
⏳
Renjun’s curiosity is endless.
Donghyuck kind of expected the queries would die down once his friend has acclimated with the present surroundings and introduced to general knowledge.
Well, that clearly is a mistake. Renjun has never stopped asking about the things he notices, as well as the things he randomly thinks about. Up until last week he was very into the royalty stuff – regency period as he calls it – all because of binge watching both series of Bridgerton. He has roped Donghyuck into conversations spanning from how the society looked like before and how it would be nice for the era to make a comeback.
“I think it would be cool to wear those outfits they had on the show, don’t you think?” Renjun gushed, practicing a curtsy beside Donghyuck while on their way to the ice cream parlor that he has greatly craved.
Donghyuck indulged him, of course. At first he thought of it as mundane and uninteresting, but Renjun’s questions pique his curiosity as well and he finds himself getting lost in his thoughts some time, while walking on the way to class or having a debate with Renjun.
Now though, Renjun is once again filled with inquisitiveness.
“I wonder how different clubbing is at today’s time,” he babbles after scrolling through his nth video from his TikTok fyp. His eyes look far and his smile widens, getting lost in reminiscence. “I miss dancing at disco clubs every Friday after work with my colleagues.”
Donghyuck, who is playing a round of Kart Rider beside him on the couch, shrugs and admits: “My bet it’s nothing too different from yours. The drinks have probably modernized a bit and the songs in the club are based on the latest trends, but the people are still there to have fun and get wasted.”
“You make a fair point.” Renjun has now completely removed his attention from his phone and is into this discussion. Donghyuck tries to finish the race as soon as possible to give his full participation. “I want to experience it though. You know, I’m one of the best dancers in the club?” Renjun brags with a lilt in his eyes.
The race ends and he, as always, wins first place. Quitting the app, Donghyuck then turns to face his friend and smirks. “Yeah? And they say I have a high alcohol tolerance.”
“Wanna bet?” Renjun snorts. Donghyuck’s grin stretches wider, the ends of his lips almost reaching his ears.
“Oh, you’re on.”
They end up going to Hongdae with Donghyuck’s lead. The nightlife is busy. Streets are crowded with people, both locals and tourists roaming around to eat, shop and have fun. Renjun asks Donghyuck if they are really in the right place since he has been here a handful of times and has not seen any bars or clubs around the area.
“Trust me, we just need to walk for a bit more,” is Donghyuck’s only reply.
A few turns and blocks after, a different sight welcomes them. Gone are the bright flashing street lights full of cafes and stores, it’s now a row of various buildings, some have an obvious sign that indicates that it’s a club while the others only have a couple of LED neon lights and a sketchy looking door.
Donghyuck takes them to one of the famous ones, judging by the line of clubgoers waiting in front of the entrance. Their outfits are hip and trendy, some even sporting provocative clothes. Donghyuck felt underdressed with his typical black ensemble despite replacing his loose pants with fitted one. Renjun though, Donghyuck would like to think the man has really blended within this generation, while still keeping his things colorful. He really looks good.
Inside the club is a huge contrast from outside. For one, the air is definitely humid in spite of the air conditioners on the ceiling blasting cool air. The space is dark, only illuminated by bright strobe lights, and loud from the rowdy people and the music blasting from the speakers. It’s crowded as expected, Renjun has a firm hold on Donghyuck’s arm, afraid to get lost within a sea of people.
But it’s fun, so far. They find themselves in front of the bartender, sharing a bar stool since every table is taken. It’s only the two of them anyway so tables are not their priority. The bartender greets them amicably, looking over at them with a huge grin.
“What can I get for you lovebirds?”
Renjun flushes upon hearing the nickname while Donghyuck tries to correct the mistake. “Oh, no, we’re—”
“Surprise us with your favorite,” Renjun interrupts, having kind of recovered from getting shy earlier. The bartender likes his answer and winks, immediately preparing their drinks.
Donghyuck looks at him dumbfounded; it makes Renjun giggle. “It’s fine, maybe we’ll get a discount or more alcohol in the glass.” He playfully winks as well and grabs Donghyuck’s hand that has been locked on his hips ever since. Ah, so that’s why the bartender misunderstood.
They get served with glasses of negroni, which is not bad at all. Renjun looks over the dance floor as he sips on the cocktail, impressed with the energy of the crowd. Eventually, he finishes the drink and goes to order another batch for them, but this time his choice is long island iced tea. Donghyuck gladly drinks with him, speaking loudly to hear each other over the bustling club noise.
Once they’ve warmed up with probably two more drinks, Donghyuck invites him to the dance floor, a sly smile painting his face. “Let’s see the best dancer in the 70s.” He snickers, raising the hand that’s interlocked with Renjun’s own to make the latter do a twirl.
Renjun bursts into a fit of giggles, the alcohol probably taking a toll on him, but abides nonetheless. “Watch me,” he mumbles and Donghyuck does. Of course. Even if he’s not told to.
Listening to the music, it takes no less than a second for him to start feeling it come to him, like blood flowing naturally through his veins. Renjun sways to the beat, letting his body be in tune with whatever the DJ is putting on right now. His last club might have been disco but music is universal and Renjun loves to give a performance.
Donghyuck is in awe. So Renjun is really being truthful when he bragged about it earlier. The way he moves his body is flawless, cute even, at times when the DJ is remixing and it catches him off guard. He knows the people surrounding him have their eyes on Renjun too, he is too bright for this dim place. Although he understands, he does not like too many eyes preying on his friend, an itching feeling on his skin. His instinct acts before him, already coming close, too close to Renjun and starts dancing with him.
Renjun does not mind. At all. In fact, he must have liked it because he leaves no gap between them, skin on skin, Donghyuck’s breath fanning his nape. It sends Donghyuck to go overdrive, totally unexpecting the skinship but welcoming it nonetheless. Loving it even.
Few beats more and god knows how tight Donghyuck’s pants have been right now. Is Renjun even aware of what he’s doing, dancing, grinding behind him without inhibitions? Beads of sweat fall from Donghyuck’s temple but it’s not just from the humidity but from mere restraint. The alcohol in his system makes him want to lose control and blissfully succumb to the moment.
Just then, Renjun turns around, eyes closed, singing along to the lyrics. His hands wrap around Donghyuck’s neck and Donghyuck basks in the breathtaking visuals in front of him. Despite the dimness and flickering lights, Renjun’s beauty stands out.
His heart almost explodes from surprise when Renjun suddenly comes close to his face. But the man leans to his ears to whisper. “I want to drink more.” A mix of relief and disappointment stirs in Donghyuck’s guts. He’ll deal with this later.
It’s going to be a very long night.
By the time they get home, Donghyuck once again has Renjun in his arms, this time not on his back for safety reasons and this time too drunk to be walking by himself. It was a good decision that he stopped drinking by the 7th, or was it the 8th glass, even if he can still drink more. Taking Renjun’s teasing for not withholding his title of ‘high alcohol tolerance’ is far better than both of them passing out on the cold cement road of Seoul.
A groan comes out from Renjun after getting unceremoniously dumped on his bed. Before he fully succumbs to sleep, Donghyuck forces him to finish an entire glass of water. Renjun surely has to thank him tomorrow.
Donghyuk has gotten up from sitting on the bed and about to prepare for sleep, when a hand stops him. Renjun’s hold is loose, he can shake it off if he wants to but he lets him.
“Come here,” Renjun murmurs with his eyes closed, voice laced with drowsiness, and tugs Donghyuck’s arm. The latter is about to remove himself but Renjun tugs a bit harder this time and whines softly, “Please?”
Perhaps it is also the alcohol deciding for Donghyuck because he follows Renjun’s plea and makes himself fit on the double-sized mattress. A tiny squeal from Renjun is heard, and Donghyuck believes it’s one of his favorite sounds now. Their limbs end up lacing each other in comfort as sleep takes over.
Yeah, Donghyuck is surely blaming the alcohol on this.
⏳
Life is indeed full of surprises.
Donghyuck wakes up normally — brushing his teeth, washing his face, all that morning ritual. But instead of being greeted by the smell of breakfast emanating from the kitchen, there is none. No food on the table, no mess on the counter, no signs of cooking at all. It’s a bit unusual especially since it has already been a routine, but it’s fine. He brushes it off and thinks Renjun must have gone to work earlier than usual, perhaps to run an errand from the married couple.
There are no texts from his phone, however. That makes him tilt his head but then again, it has happened before. For a moment Donghyuck becomes worried that Renjun might have passed out again somewhere but that’s a silly thought. Renjun looked fine last night when he learned how to play League and was absolutely terrible at it.
He checks the map just in case and finds out that Renjun’s pin is nowhere to be found. Huh, that’s also strange and certainly has never happened before. However, Donghyuck decides not to overreact and think about it. Maybe Renjun is running out of battery so he turned the data off, or he just didn’t want to turn it on at the moment.
He just has to wait. Yeah, sounds like a plan.
The day goes and passes like a blur but there are still no signs of Renjun anywhere.
The clock ticks midnight. Still no messages from Renjun. Donghyuck tries to dial his number but it does not connect, which only means Renjun’s phone is turned off. For what reason, he does not know at all.
Donghyuck does not get a blink of sleep that night, waiting by the couch for the ring of his phone, for the beep of the door lock, for Renjun to come back. But there’s none. His heart is racing from his mind spinning possible scenarios where his friend is at the moment. And he does not like all of it.
He needs to try and find him. The first thing he does is pay the restaurant visit. However, he only gets an odd look from Aunt Dahee who is just as confused as him.
“Haven’t heard from our Renjun since – how long has it been – ah, two days ago?” She says, a hand on her hip. “I thought he’s just sick. Why is he not with you?”
Donghyuck would like to know as well. Where is Renjun?
He tries all sorts of places Renjun has come to love in the neighborhood but to no avail. Filing a report for a missing person in the police station is not on the table because Renjun does not have an updated, verified ID with him and it will only pose more questions from the police that Donghyuck is not ready to answer. He certainly cannot admit that his missing friend came from the past, that's why he does not have any sort of identification papers.
Oh.
Right.
The thought that passes by is so sudden that Donghyuck has to find a nearest bench to settle the incoming panic coursing through his gut. All he can taste is acid. Surely, that can’t be real. They have been looking for solutions and there are no positive leads yet. Hence, it is definitely impossible for Renjun to suddenly time travel back in time.
Going home to his apartment has never felt this cold and empty. There is no Renjun hogging the couch to binge watch another series he discovers on Netflix, no Renjun cooking random dishes he finds on YouTube, no Renjun asking about how he is after a tiring day at work, no Renjun suddenly creeping on his door to inquire about the most mundane things on earth, no Renjun making sure he’s eating nutritious food…
No Renjun.
Donghyuck dreams of Renjun that night. The setting is unfamiliar to him, no tall skyscrapers nor many cars on the highway. One blink and he’s in the diner from Renjun’s endless stories. He finds Renjun there, wearing his colorful uniform as he has described it, happily serving meals to hungry customers. The smile on his face is genuine and Donghyuck thinks it’s the prettiest smile he has ever seen.
When Renjun turns to glance over his side, Donghyuck locks gazes with him. It does not last long because Renjun does not seem to recognize him, though he looks again one more time but at the moment, when they hold eye contact, Donghyuck feels himself burn.
Waking up panting and damp from sweat, Donghyuck looks around and by the window. The full moon looks so bright yet so lonely that night. Sleep does not come to him again after that.
Maybe… Renjun has truly returned home.
Donghyuck has come to hate the thought because if it’s that easy for Renjun to go back then why did he not do it already on the first day they’ve met? Why did he have to pull Donghyuck along and make him research ways to go back when he has known it all along?
It frustrates Donghyuck too. Why was he such a fool to believe in Renjun’s lies? What if his early suspicions are true and Renjun is just a scammer who leeched off him and slowly stole under his nose? At this point, he is not sure what the truth is anymore.
Bottles of soju are scattered on the floor. His thesis be damned, he can get back to that later. His adviser can surely understand that he is not in the mood right now. His graduation can wait.
His doorbell rings and Donghyuck bolts to the door, heart hammering on his chest, a mix of nervousness and giddiness bubbling from it. He opens the door wide, expecting to see Renjun in the flesh again.
But that’s not Renjun.
“Can you at least act like you’re excited to see me?” It’s Jaemin, who already heads inside his apartment. The slow, heavy throb comes back once again.
“Were you expecting someone else?” Jaemin pulls out the things from the bags he brought with him, all from his trip but Donghyuck couldn't care less. “Aha, see I’m so sure you have someone! I sensed it from miles away after our call. Now, I’ve cornered you and I’m gonna get every juicy info until you’re all wrung out.”
Turning around, only then Jaemin gets to take a good look of the surroundings and most especially of Donghyuck. “Oh no,” he gasps faintly and rushes to come close to Donghyuck, who remained rooted by the doorsill.
“We can drink, yes, let’s drink,” Jaemin suggests and leads his friend to the couch.
Drinking in silence is not new to them. Whenever one is feeling under the weather, they drink sitting next to each other, waiting until they’re ready to talk about it. More often they end up listening to each other’s stories, but there are times where they don’t speak at all. And that’s okay.
Two bottles of soju later, Donghyuck finally begins to share the thoughts that have been bugging him. Jaemin learns about the name Renjun whom Donghyuck has grown close with this semester, omitting the fact how they met.
“It was all good, you know? Then one day, he just vanished.”
Jaemin opens another bottle for them to share and refills Donghyuck’s mug who gladly chugs it like water. “So, he ghosted you?”
“No, not like that.” Donghyuck tries to think of how to put it without revealing so much about Renjun’s secret. Huh, why is it even a secret anyway? “I mean… maybe.”
A few beats of silence pass. Donghyuck talks again after taking a swig, this time full of frustration, of how Renjun was unfair for not saying goodbye, for not letting him know it’s all over. Jaemin just listens. At this point Donghyuck does not care if his best friend gets it or whatever he thinks about the whole story.
Once he’s done, Jaemin clears his throat. “Can I ask you something?”
“You’re already asking though.”
He rolls his eyes. “Did you guys date? Or like, were you two exclusive?”
Donghyuck shakes his head right away and it causes his head to spin. “What - no! He’s just someone I know…” He trails off, thinking about it further. That does not seem right. “I mean, no, we’re, uh, friends.”
Jaemin does not reply after that and continues to take a small sip of his water. He has long stopped drinking but Donghyuck has not noticed as he’s become fully inebriated, fully lost in his thoughts.
“But a friend… it does not seem right as well…” Donghyuck mumbles, feeling a pang in his heart.
Donghyuck finally takes a shower after getting tired of Jaemin’s constant check-in texts and calls. He needs it anyway, his skin feels sticky and his hair has surely collected lots of grease. Once done, he speedily heads to his room, having forgotten to bring his change of clothes with him. Not that someone will see him anyway.
Opening his wardrobe, though, he sees something else.
“Renjun?”
“Donghyuck!”
Renjun jumps from the wooden furniture to envelope him in a bone-crushing hug. The surge of warmth comforts Donghyuck, seeking more in the crook of Renjun's neck, arms wrapping tightly on his small waist. He's real and he's here.
"Where did you go?" Donghyuck croaks, his own voice broken from lack of sleep and binge drinking. Hopefully Renjun doesn't notice.
"I suddenly went back in time. My time. I don't even know how it happened or what exactly prompted it. The moment I woke up, I'm back there. And I..." Renjun rambles, sniffing. “I thought... I thought I’ll never come back here. I didn't even get to say farewell to you.”
Donghyuck hears sobs coming from Renjun while he stays still in complete disbelief. Lots of questions are running in his head but he’ll get to those later, for now he comforts Renjun, hugging him back. Tears unknowingly pooling from his eyes too.
It strikes Donghyuck right then.
To him, Renjun has definitely, especially become more than a friend.
⏳
The stars littering the night sky lightens up their way to another place that Donghyuck has been wanting to show Renjun. Ever since knowing about Renjun’s hobbies, he has searched it to see if there are still a few up and running establishments during his time. To his luck, there is one within the outskirts of Seoul, by the north side.
“Are we there yet?” Renjun asks for the third time. Donghyuck has suddenly dragged him outside while he’s in the middle of trying on his latest clothing haul from the thrift store. Renjun grumbles about barely having time to think about his outfit. Donghyuck thinks he looks just fine, beautiful even. “Where are we even going?”
Instead of answering the second question, Donghyuck looks at his phone to check for directions. “Almost there. One more stop.”
They alight at the final station of line 9, walking briskly because he miscalculated the time. Renjun whines, not liking the sudden extra physical movement, but keeps up with Donghyuck nonetheless.
“Tada! We’re here.”
From the usual tall skyscrapers and bright lights, the neighborhood they’re in is oddly similar to theirs, although a bit old. The buildings are not modern looking, minimalist with big glass windows, instead they are all hanok with some touch of modernity. In front of them is a movie house, though dated, is still open judging by the light coming from inside.
Donghyuck pulls Renjun who remained rooted, eyes busy marveling at the things around him. There is only one ticket booth which is manned by a man who is fairly young for such an old theater.
“Two tickets please.”
After getting caramel popcorn and nachos - both of which are Renjun’s pick - they excitedly head inside. Quite the contrary, the interior is well-maintained, with a nice movie screen and comfy looking chairs, though still with hints that they’re a bit rustic than those typically found in huge cinemas.
Surprisingly, they’re not the lone people in the small room. There’s a few heads already seated near the front and from the looks of it, they seem to be old people. Which makes sense, the movie screening for today is a remastered 60s film after all.
“I can’t believe I’ll get to watch this,” Renjun beams, leaning on the chair. “Did you know I wasn’t able to watch this when it was released around five years ago?”
Donghyuck knows. Renjun, ever a loquacious, has shared the story of how he saves up a few coins at the side so he can watch interesting films at the movie house. He had only gotten to watch one, though, because the ticket price was too steep for a mere waiter like him.
The movie is not the one Renjun has watched. Donghyuck had made sure of that, contacting the owner days before to ask about their movie lineup for the week. Tonight’s movie is just ideal because it’s around Renjun’s time – it is a relief that Renjun likes it.
The man has all of his attention on the movie, eyes never leaving the screen. Because of this, he has smudges around his mouth from blindly feeding himself. His cuteness is too unbearable, Donghyuck wonders if he’s aware of it. There are some gasps, mostly exclaims of delight at every romantic scene.
Donghyuck, on the other hand, has been watching too, of course. Though at times, he just finds himself staring at the one beside him who is so absorbed in the film. He likes the tiny squeals Renjun does, likes the stars on Renjun’s eyes, likes how expressive Renjun’s face is, likes how easy for Renjun to lose himself in whatever catching his interest, likes the way his cheeks move while munching on the food.
He likes Renjun, so much.
When the movie ends, Renjun is out of the fictional universe and back to reality again. This means he is about to spout a long commentary of his thoughts, like a movie review of some sort, and Donghyuck is as always ready to listen.
“That movie was brilliant! I love how the lead was so direct with her wants and her emotions. And the confession scene at the end? I almost cried.” Renjun then starts sharing his amazement at being able to see the movie again and how the technology has progressed so much. Donghyuck chuckles while listening as they walk home; Renjun talks about something that happened to him just years ago but for him it has been decades since.
The stars are missing in the night sky but the streetlights are fine. They were able to make it to the last scheduled trip of the subway and are now walking to the familiar neighborhood.
A drop.
Donghyuck looks at Renjun animatedly and acts out his favorite scene from the movie. When he was asked what scene he liked best, he could only say the same because honestly, he does not remember anything apart from how adorable Renjun looked – looks right now.
A few more drops.
“Do you feel that?” Renjun inquires, whipping his head from the drops. Before Donghyuck could reply though, a low rumble of thunderstorm comes and along with it are the increasing raindrops.
Both of them look at each other, totally unprepared for the rain. Donghyuck swears he has not seen any rainfall advisory today. The weather app stated a clear, breezy sky all throughout the night hence his decision to leave without bringing an umbrella.
Oh well, life is full of surprises indeed.
Trying to save themselves from getting rained on, he grabs Renjun’s wrist and runs fast, towards the direction of their apartment. “Let’s go!” Donghyuck exclaims, his other hand trying his best to shield his whole body, or better yet his face from the incoming rain.
Renjun guffaws as he gets strung along by Donghyuck. Unlike the latter, he does not bother covering himself.
A flash of lightning strikes followed by the roaring thunder, which unfortunately only causes the rain to pour harder. This time, both were drenched in the rain, Donghyuck’s hands not doing much.
Renjun pulls his hand and stops walking. Donghyuck halts his run and turns to look back, finding the other to be smiling widely, eyes partly closed from the water dripping on his face.
“Why don’t we just enjoy the rain?” Renjun suggests. “There is honestly no point anyway.”
That’s true. Donghyuck pants from the dash he just did and looks at how silly they must be right now. Two grown adults in the middle of the road without any umbrellas. The streets have long died down, midnight has already struck probably a few minutes ago. So it’s fine. Donghyuck thinks. It’s been a while since he has played under the rain anyway.
“Tag, you’re it!”
In a blink, Renjun has sprinted a couple of meters away from him, shaking with laughter as he looks back at him. “What? Try catching me. Bet you can’t!” He sticks out his tongue and even does a little teasing dance.
Donghyuck clicks his tongue. “You’re totally gonna regret saying that!”
Donghyuck zooms fast and puts his arms in front, ready to catch Renjun, but the man is able to avoid him by a second, turning around and making a beeline to the post on the other side. Renjun’s laughter is contagious and Donghyuck laughs as he chases him on the narrow street.
“See? I told you,” Renjun taunts, his giggles replaced by quick pants. The pause of air is taken advantage of by Donghyuck who bolts towards him but to no avail.
They chase each other for a while. Renjun is just too elusive, or maybe Donghyuck is just not trying hard enough. When he does, he makes a sneaky dash from Renjun’s behind, finally catching him, arms looped around his thin waist.
“Gotcha,” Donghyuck says and, with his hold, lifts Renjun and turns him around.
Renjun faces him while still giggling. “I just gave up,” he reasons.
Donghyuck is stricken once again with how beautiful Renjun is. Despite being drenched in the rain, he still is the most gorgeous man Donghyuck has ever met. Renjun’s eyes turn into crescents from glee and Donghyuck loves to get lost in them. And so his gaze never leaves his, which the other has come to notice.
“What, is there something on my face?” He wipes his right cheek but Donghyuck grabs his hand to intertwine it with his. This makes Renjun look up at him again, but this time he does not let go.
“Pretty,” Donghyuck mutters. His other hand reaches up and cups Renjun’s face.
The latter flushes pink and Donghyuck can feel the warmth radiating from Renjun’s cheek, so he gives it a gentle rub with his thumb. From his eyes, Donghyuck briefly gazes on his lips, wet from the rain, and locks eyes with him again. Renjun instinctively licks his own lips from the attention.
A surge of warmth swims within Donghyuck. He cannot keep it within him anymore. His mouth parts and says the words that have been long wanting to get out from him.
“I like you, Renjun.” A whisper. “So much.”
It takes a few moments – seconds, minutes, nobody knows – before Renjun replies, a soft mumble, but Donghyuck hears it as clear as day.
“I like you too, Hyuck.”
Who pulls the other is quite unsure, but they find themselves closing the gap and sealing their feelings in a long awaited kiss.
Donghyuck does not care if they look silly. Here in this moment, under the pouring spring rain and in the middle of the familiar road, he wants to bask in it.
They don’t get a chance to dry themselves off upon returning to the apartment; they’re all over each other as soon as the door closes, the lock automatically turns and makes a beep. Renjun gets pinned on the door by Donghyuck who is crowding him, leaving no space in between them. Donghyuck kisses like he’s burning, eager and wanting, and Renjun lets him take, receive all he is willing to give – and my god, Donghyuck desires. So much.
Spending a few moments locking lips in the doorsill while all wet from the rain proves to be not ideal when both of them slowly start shivering from the cold, heater still not turned. They weren’t even able to turn on the lights.
Reluctantly, Donghyuck parts ways and his obvious frustration at fumbling for the switch causes a soft chuckle from Renjun. “Easy, we have all the time in the world,” He teases while biting his own swollen lips.
A click and Donghyuck rushes back to claim Renjun again. His hands travel down the curve of Renjun’s hips to his plump thighs, leaning more until he gets a good grip of both to lift Renjun up, drawing a hushed moan from the man.
Renjun wraps his legs around Donghyuck’s torso the same way he does with his arms on his lover’s shoulders. This close, it feels so new, so intimate. Donghyuck wants to tear off every piece, hindering them from touching skin to skin.
Inside Donghyuck’s room, Renjun gets softly laid down on the plush bed. Donghyuck removes his top and throws it on the floor, all the while he is being watched by Renjun under him. Once he’s also ripped off all the buttons from Renjun’s polo, he immediately seizes the gap and drowns himself in the sweetness of Renjun’s lips. Down to his neck, leaving bites like a bear starving for a meal.
He will never ever forget this. Renjun feels so good, so plush, so delicious. Donghyuck could get lost in the heat of his body.
Steadily the desire consumes him, the fire in his gut needing to be quenched. Panting, he removes himself from Renjun and looks at him straight in the eye. Pleading, but still wary.
“Renjun, can we…” He trails, his head nothing but thoughts of Renjun under him. “I want you so bad, please. Baby.”
That night, that time, that is the closest they’ve been. Donghyuck loves it, loves how Renjun feels, every cry, every moan, and every movement. He lets his feelings speak for himself and be felt by the person he’s with, unable to stop professing his love until the end.
⌛
Days after have been full of dates.
Donghyuck feels so giddy waking up in the morning, heading straight to the kitchen to wrap his boyfriend in a warm back hug.
His boyfriend – it sounds so surreal. Blushing at the thought of calling Renjun his, as if he is like a teenager going through adolescence again and having his first crush reciprocated.
Renjun lets himself be embraced. Donghyuck has gotten addicted to wrapping his arms around his waist, arms, shoulders – his clinginess has unleashed and Renjun lets him, sometimes cuddles with him too.
Instead of going to the libraries, their weekends have turned into dates. If they’re both tired, they laze in the apartment for the whole day, cuddling on the couch to watch Netflix (Renjun’s pick) or fucking on the bed (Donghyuck’s pick). Sometimes, if they are feeling it, they go out and have fun, Donghyuck taking Renjun to places he’s never been to much to the latter’s delight.
“Wow! Hyuck, look at that!” Renjun yells, looking far away, amazed at the spectacular sight in front of him.
Today is an amusement park kind of date. Donghyuck has bought them tickets to the biggest park in the country, after Renjun talked about missing the neighborhood carnivals that usually come visit by this time of the year.
Donghyuck puts cat ears on Renjun’s head, who blinks and touches the headband, confused. He looks cute and perfectly matches Donghyuck's bear one. “Hyuck?” He asks, a teasing lilt on his voice which makes Renjun flush profusely.
“Baby…” Renjun mumbles, soft and shy.
Donghyuck grins. God, he’s so whipped. “That’s more like it.” Scanning the guide map, he checks the nearest rides they can try first. “Now, how about we take some photos by the tree then ride the Hurricane?” His hand entangles on Renjun’s own and gives it a light tug, before wiggling his brows. “What do you think, baby?”
Renjun does not say anything and lets the bashful upturn of his cheeks speak for him. Under the bright sunny summer sky, both of them enjoy the exciting and fun attractions around the park. Donghyuck has found out another fact from Renjun that day: his boyfriend is a thrillseeker who loves hair-raising, shout-inducing rides. They really match perfectly, it seems.
Donghyuck has also brought Renjun on an out of town trip. Throughout the semester, he has set aside a part of his internship pay for emergency and leisure funds. He thinks this trip is worth the purchase, so without further ado he plans ahead of time, once again behind Renjun’s back, wanting to surprise him again. He just loves how animated Renjun gets with his surprises, the astonish look on his face is something Donghyuck wants to keep and always see.
However, Renjun does not like that Donghyuck is again the only one who pays for everything after being told to pack for an overnight trip. The couple debates about it during the entire bus ride to Gangwon, which in the end, Donghyuck caves in and lets Renjun pay for a portion of their expenses.
“I’m also earning from my job, you know. I want to treat you too,” Renjun huffs, pouting. A lethal move. Donghyuck can never win against that.
Before hiking to the campsite, they take a stop on the foot of the mountain to shop for snacks and pick up some camping essentials. There are a few groups of people with them too, families, friends, and couples alike. Donghyuck has never tried an overnight camping trip before hence he’s looking forward to it, moreso since he’s with Renjun.
“You can just stay here while I go pay for these and ask the guide for tips on setting up the tent.” Donghyuck instructs, holding a basket full of food and equipment. Renjun nods and motions for his boyfriend to go ahead before the line piles up.
All alone, Renjun takes in the fresh air surrounding them. As expected, the smell is different and much, much better. Seoul is nice, sure, for it has big buildings and advanced technology, but nothing beats the comfort of being close to nature. Donghyuck is truly thoughtful and a genius for taking him here.
People watching is also his favorite thing to do. He observes the groups of people who, like them, are making last minute shopping prior to going up the mountains. A couple of kids are playing around, their high pitched squeals as they chase each other and pick the flowers on the ground make Renjun smile.
Hmm… Donghyuck is taking a while. The line must be long.
Figuring out how to kill time without using his phone – they’ve both promised to turn it off since this date is also them touching grass outside, something he himself found from TikTok – Renjun looks around and reads the various signs on the shop’s wall. One board explains the history of the mountain, the folklore behind it and the naturescape that can be found surrounding it. Renjun becomes hooked on reading the lover’s tale of Ming who turned himself into a mountain to protect the land of his beloved who sadly passed away from unknown illness. Without warning, his hand is snatched and before he could complain, in front of him is a man, dressed in handwoven pieces of cloth, gawking at him with a mix of both fascination and displeasure.
“You should not be here.” The man states, examining him from head to toe.
Such an unkind stare pisses Renjun off. He tries to pull his hand away and rubs his wrist when the man frees him from the grip. “Excuse me? Who are you?”
The man, with eyes so huge a shrivel runs through Renjun’s spine, does not look away. It makes Renjun very uncomfortable. Why is Donghyuck taking so long?
“You don’t know but I know you’re not from here,” the man replies. One of his hands attempts to touch Renjun again but he bats it away. “Go back to your own time, young man. You’re ruining the balance just by being here.”
A million thoughts rush through Renjun’s mind upon registering the man’s words but his mind turns blank, unable to say anything. Does that mean…
“Hey, baby, sorry for making you wait. The guide took so long to teach me… Or well, you know, yeah maybe it took me so long to get it. But it’s okay, I’m now a pro camper don’t fret! Also can you…” Donghyuck trails off after noticing his boyfriend rooted on the ground, breathing heavily and eyes unfocused. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
Like a flick of a switch, Renjun goes back to his wits and promptly shakes his head. “Nothing, just imagining the folklore I just read about this place. Did you know…” He distracts not only Donghyuck but himself from the fear creeping in his skin.
That can wait. Renjun will deal with that some other time. For now, he has a camping date with the love of his life.
⌛
Renjun is weird these days.
Ever attentive to his lover, Donghyuck has quietly observed how Renjun becomes distracted over time, laughs less and less and speaks curtly. Whenever he talks about random things, he has to ask if Renjun has heard his monologue because he just looks from afar, lost in thought. Even the topics that he used to like, Renjun has not actively discussed them. He turns the Netflix on but Donghyuck is sure the entire episode just plays on the background of Renjun’s mind.
There is surely something bugging him. Donghyuck wants to find out and ask him about it because he wants to help, to let Renjun know that he can unload on him — that’s a part of their relationship, isn't it?
Yet he does not open it up. No matter how it bothers him that Renjun is clearly not okay, Donghyuck does not want to force him to talk. He’ll wait until Renjun goes to him and lets it all out.
However, it does not last long. While watching Renjun cook their lunch, Donghyuck panics when the blade of the knife almost slices his boyfriend’s finger instead of the potato on the chopping board. “Watch out!” He yells before slapping the kitchen tool from Renjun’s hand. The steel falls on the sink, a loud clunk resonating from the impact.
“Renjun, hey,” Donghyuck quickly turns him around and looks at his face first then to his hands, checking if he got cut. “Are you okay?”
Renjun blinks and gazes back at him. His pale lips croak out a hushed: “Yeah.”
“That was dangerous. Please always be careful.” Donghyuck’s one hand caresses his cheek while the other does the same with Renjun’s right hand, the one that almost got an injury.
“Sorry…” Renjun trails and looks down. Donghyuck asks if they can just order in since he seems distraught only for Renjun to turn it down and persist cooking. He’s almost done anyway.
The meal is eaten with relative silence. Donghyuck cannot help but keep his focus on Renjun, wanting to ensure that he won’t spill his drink, break the porcelain bowl, or something. Whilst Renjun has his whole attention on his rice bowl, probably feeling the heavy stare in front of him.
Donghyuck cannot help it anymore. The elephant in the room must be addressed or he’ll go insane.
“Baby, is there something wrong?” He starts, hoping Renjun is now ready to share, even a tiny bit. Anything.
Shaking his head as a natural response, Renjun remains focused on the rice grains in front of him. Donghyuck sighs but lets him be.
“I met someone…” Renjun begins, fiddling with his chopsticks. “He knows I’m from the past.”
Donghyuck stills at that. Totally taken aback. “Did you tell him yourself?”
“No, I just – I was just reading the board when he grabbed by the arm and told me he knows where I’m from,” Renjun recalls. His hand rubbing his wrist from the phantom memory. “And he said… he said that I should…” A pause. He’s trying to get his words out of his mouth but it must prove to be a difficult task.
Donghyuck sees how Renjun tries to recollect what happened. So it was during their camping; no wonder Renjun seemed to be out of it despite being excited about it on the way.
Renjun’s eyes are moist. “He said I should not be here and I’m destroying the balance.”
It takes quite a while before Donghyuck gets back his bearings. Pursing his lips, he tries to be pragmatic about this. “Don’t mind him. He’s just probably playing with you.”
“But he knows that I traveled through time,” Renjun insists. “How can that be a prank?” A tear falls from his eye. He sniffs, trying not to cry by blinking continuously. “He surely knows something about time traveling. Maybe this is it, Donghyuck. Maybe we should hear him out.”
Donghyuck does not know. Frankly, he does not want to believe it ever happened. Truth be told, he stopped researching time traveling methods a few months ago, ever since he caught feelings. He knows deep inside he dislikes the thought of Renjun leaving him – the time Renjun almost did cemented the thought in his mind.
But he does not have much of a choice, does he? They need to at least give that man, whoever he is, a chance. Maybe this is the solution they’ve been looking for.
On the back of his head, Donghyuck wishes it was all just a fluke.
Trying to look for the man proves to be an arduous task.
According to Renjun, he lost sight of the man the moment Donghyuck came back from the shop, hence he was unable to ask for his name nor his contact.
The couple goes back to the camping site, unfortunately this time to investigate. Asking around for any leads of a man – who could probably be in his 60s or 70s, tan skin, and bald head – leads them to nothing. There’s more than 50 million people in the country, how can they find that person with only knowing how he looks. Surely, asking for a facial composite and posting it across the cities is stupid, the man is not a criminal and he does not want to trigger the police to be on their tail or something.
Renjun slouches the moment another passerby tells them no. It’s half past noon and the sun is beaming hot above. They should take a break for now.
“How about we eat lunch first then go again?”
As they look for a nearby restaurant, Renjun's eyes light up as he spots someone from the other side of the road. He almost dashes towards the man, but Donghyuck reels him in, pointing at the pedestrian lane.
“Mister! Mister!” Renjun calls out, jogging as he does. Donghyuck keeps up with his pace and soon finds himself in front of a man in worn out clothes.
The man is unfazed by the sudden interruption and scans Renjun from head to toe. Is he checking his boyfriend out?
“I have questions, if you could please help me.”
Without further ado, the man responds with not here and motions for them to follow him. He leads them back to the mountains and for a second Donghyuck thought they’d go back to the campsite, however, the man turns and heads straight to a rocky terrain, surrounded by trees and vegetation. A small hut welcomes his sight by the end. This must be the home of whoever this man is. Donghyuck rules out the odd feeling of following someone to a forest.
Inside the house are stacks of books on so many shelves. There’s candles everywhere, even on the wooden floor, and Donghyuck worries about fire safety for a brief second before moving to where Renjun is.
The man introduces himself as Kun and tells them not to call him mister from now on. “I don’t like it,” he says. Apparently, he’s not just a random man who happened to know Renjun’s origin, but he is some sort of a shaman who practices cosmic powers.
“I felt it when I saw you. You have this huge cosmic energy that is obviously not from here,” Kun explains their first interaction. “The reason I told you to go back is because your energy is causing an effect in this current timeline. It has been sucking everyone else’s to make you stay here.”
Donghyuck does not understand what all of that means but he figures it must be something bad given the grim expression on the shaman’s face. He asks Renjun how long he has been staying in the present and at his lover’s reply, the frown on Kun’s face just gets deeper.
“What is your intention for traveling here?” The shaman inquires, which makes Renjun shrug.
“I actually don't have any? I didn’t even expect this to happen.”
At that, Kun raises his brow in complete interest. A mix of shock and curiosity kind of replaces the scowl by a small margin. Donghyuck watches the shaman go through various expressions as Renjun shares his story, from his last day in the past to meeting Donghyuck for the first time, all without knowing how it happened.
“You also got lost for a few days, I mean – came back to the past,” Donghyuck adds on, supplying what could be vital information.
Kun places his chin on the palm of his hand, nodding once the story is done. “That’s unusual.” He pauses and mulls over the information. “I haven’t heard of that yet, although I have my suspicions.”
“What is it?” Renjun asks eagerly, at the edge of his heat.
Standing up, Kun dusts off his pants and moves to one of his shelves to pick a book. “I believe you’ve been summoned or you must have encountered a spell not meant for you. Either way, it’s none of my concern. My point here is you need to leave the present, and I can help you with that.”
“Why should he do that?” Donghyuck blurts out, surprised by his impulsive question as well, but he clears his throat, trying to make a stand. “I mean, the energy cosmic something couldn’t be that impactful, right? He has been living here for months now. I don't think it’s that bad.”
Kun glares at him, appalled. “What do you know, young man?” His finger points toward Donghyuck and scoffs. “You know nothing. You don’t know how it’s bad for the balance of the universe, especially with how there are two of him in this timeline.”
Two?
“So that means the present me is still alive?” Renjun gasps, bewildered. When Kun nods to confirm, Renjun wonders. “Can I meet him?”
⌛
All things considered, Donghyuck did not envision that he’ll be meeting two Renjuns at the same time. But alas, here he is now with Renjun (the one who time traveled, also his boyfriend) at the establishment where the other Renjun (the one living in the present, not his boyfriend, definitely old) could possibly be.
The nursing home has a humble appearance. Upon opening the gate, the couple are met with a simple walkway, past the garden of flowers on the right and what could be cherry tomatoes on the left. The entrance is painted white with vines of orchids around, creating a nice look.
After getting a tip from someone about the whereabouts of his present self, Renjun did not waste any more time and went on a trip to Gwangju, about three hours south of Seoul, to meet him. It’s not like they could kill the old man just for the sake of Renjun being able to stay in the current time; they’re not evil. Donghyuck couldn’t even dream of doing that. Instead, both of them pay him a visit just to see how the present Renjun is doing. Donghyuck is quite reluctant but looks forward to it at the same time, mostly wondering how Renjun looks when he has aged.
Sensing Renjun’s nerves, Donghyuck holds his hand and smiles. Renjun looks up at him and smiles back albeit a bit small while his hand finds comfort holding Donghyuck’s thumb.
Renjun takes a deep breath and walks up the entrance. He has not even opened the door when someone walks out of it, probably a care worker from the ID hanging on her neck.
“May I help you?” She asks, surprised at the presence of two young men.
“Hi!” Renjun beams. “Is, uh.. Huang Renjun here? We came to visit him.”
It feels bizarre to hear Renjun mention his name in third person but Donghyuck tries not to let it show. For sure it would be even weirder by the time he comes face to face with the both of them.
The employee’s brows scrunch for the briefest second before returning to her customer-friendly demeanor. “Mr. Renjun? He has not had visitors in a long while…” She murmurs to herself but Donghyuck picks it up anyway. “What is your relationship with our resident?”
Oh. They weren’t able to prepare for this one. Renjun just blasted off here the moment he received the info; they did not discuss potential scenarios such as this on the way.
“Uh… I’m his — relative. Yes, I’m his distant relative.” Renjun chuckles and follows her eyes which stop to Donghyuck’s. “Oh! This is my boyfriend. I wanted to visit grandpa after hearing that he’s here. Can I please see him?
Wow. Hearing Renjun call himself, well at least his present self, as a grandfather definitely tops the weirdest things he has heard in his entire life.
The care worker has the most unimpressed reaction upon hearing it, a streak of doubt painted on her face. Judging from her reaction, it seems like present Renjun has been abandoned by his relatives and was completely forgotten. Donghyuck saddens at the thought.
“I’m sorry you can’t. We have our visiting rules, you can check—”
“Please,” Renjun begs. “Just for once. I – I don’t think I have much more time later on.”
She is almost about to rebut, something about following the nursing home’s regulations, when there is a light cough from behind from behind.
“Jiyeon, why are you so grumpy again today?” The old man chuckles, walking towards them with the help of a wooden cane. “Let these kids visit whoever they want. We don’t get much visitors here anyway, it is okay.”
The care worker, whose name is apparently Jiyeon, purses her lips and nods. “What are you doing out here again, Mr. Huang? It’s not garden time yet.”
Mr. Huang? Renjun swiftly turns to look at the old man who only chuckles lightheartedly before clicking his tongue. Is that… him?
“Just wanted to check if my babies have grown well. We should talk to the plants here, Jiyeon. They’re all living things, you know? They like listening to us.”
Donghyuck’s mouth hangs open. Despite being decades older, Renjun is still as chattery as ever and it amazes him.
Jiyeon takes a deep breath before nodding and reminding the elder to not do it again. Glancing at both of them, she motions to their direction to ask the old man. “These guys are your visitors. Do you know them?”
The elder looks up from touching the leaves of the snake plant and locks eyes with Renjun. For a moment time seems to have frozen, both Renjuns of different timelines stare at each other in complete wonder. There’s a cold blow of the air, sending shivers on Donghyuck’s skin. He, too, cannot look away from the unique interaction happening in front of him.
“Yeah, I think I do.”
The visitor’s area is simple, a few tables around and a couch at the side with a TV set in front. Apart from the furniture, it is mostly empty and cold. The couple occupy the couch while the elder sits on the rocking chair beside. Nobody speaks for a while. Donghyuck does not even know how this conversation will go. Will Renjun (his boyfriend) convince his older self about time traveling or does he just want to know how his present self is doing right now? Does the man actually recognize his younger self?
“I actually do not know you, kids.” The elder Renjun confesses and chuckles. “Just told that so Jiyeon would let you in. Are you really my visitors though?”
His admission suddenly catches both of them off guard. Donghyuck thought they would be able to recognize each other, because they’re the same people. Surely, elder Renjun would still remember how he looked when he was in his 20s yet now he says he does not. Confusion courses through his face and looking at Renjun, he knows his lover wonders the same. Maybe it is indeed a fact that you forget more and more as you age.
Renjun clears his throat and smiles albeit awkwardly. “Yes, sir. We came to ask you something. Er…” Stuttering as he tries to come up with how to put it. “Uhm, actually we’re university students and as part of our class, we are required to write a story about someone.” Renjun looks at him while smiling and the shift to a roleplay stuns Donghyuck but he recovers pretty quickly.
“That’s right. We thought of visiting the nursing home to interview one of the residents, which is uh, you, Mr. Huang, in this case.” Calling the older version of his boyfriend like that sounds so odd. He hopes the alibi is convincing enough.
Mr. Huang – Donghyuck has decided to address the elder Renjun with this, not to mess with his head further – raises his brow and gives a tight-lipped smile after hearing their so-called purpose. “That’s quite unexpected, although I’m honored. Go on, what do you want to know about me?” His eyes dart to Renjun as he asks, rocking his chair as he waits.
Renjun gulps and starts asking his present self. His questions are mostly about how the old man has been through the years, though breaking it down by asking simple ones first such as how he ended up in the nursing home, where he worked, and what were his hobbies, to complex ones like what have been his goals in life and so on.
Interestingly, Mr. Huang gladly answers all of them, providing little snippets here and there about his life. Donghyuck enjoys hearing his stories. No matter how much he has aged, Renjun truly has his way of making conversations entertaining.
“Did you get married?” Renjun inquires, lip biting as he does.
The question piques Donghyuck’s interest. His heart pounds swiftly and loudly from the nerves, curious if Renjun had met someone else he’d be willing to spend his lifetime with.
“I did,” Mr. Huang beams, his eyes starting to sparkle at the thought. “I met this man who I call my soulmate…”
Looking far away, he starts telling them his love story, of how he met the love of his life.
In the 1970s, there was a newcomer in the diner he was working in. The guy was lanky and flamboyant, always liked to chatter during work hours and invite him to hang out afterwards. “Totally not my type, at first,” the old man chortles as he shakes his head. “I can’t believe I snubbed him out and flatly ignored his advances.”
Wanting to experience more in life, Mr. Huang took on an adventure when the opportunity opened, working abroad to expand his horizons. As expected, they parted ways and never saw each other again. However, their fateful encounter happened when he returned to Korea sometime around 1990. By then, his lover had changed or maybe his suppressed feelings just happened to resurface. Falling in love with him was too easy.
“We moved in together at my retirement home. It’s quite crazy actually because when you look at it, we’re already in our mid 40s but we’ve just gotten married. It’s odd, but we love weirdness.”
“Falling in love is not defined by age,” Renjun supplies.
Mr. Huang agrees. “You’ll never know when you’ll meet your true love.” He pauses, the smile that has long been on his face while he remembers turns sad. “I just wish I gave him a chance earlier. We could have gotten closer at work. Maybe then… maybe then we would have fallen in love earlier and spent a decade and more years together.”
Sadly, his beloved passed away in 1998 from illness and they spent every day before that loving each other to the fullest. However, realizing there’s nothing else left to do in his life, Mr. Huang sold his retirement home, donated his earnings to this nursing home, and decided to stay here in the comfort of fellow old people – as he calls it.
“I’m just waiting for my time,” he shares, laughing bitterly. Donghyuck does not know how to react to such a dark joke. “So you know, I can meet my beloved again.”
The heartfelt story renders them speechless, completely in awe of how much the old man has gone through in his 70 years of life. Donghyuck is glad to have the privilege of getting to know the parts, the past and the present, of such a lovely person. Renjun loves too much with his pure heart and he is lucky to also be loved by such a man. He just ignores the gnawing pit in his gut that if Renjun ever comes back to his time, the love of his life would not be him.
For his last question, Renjun wants to know. “Do you have regrets in your life?”
“Maybe meeting him too late was an inner regret of mine. But I can’t do anything about it now, don’t I?” Mr. Huang fixes his gaze on Renjun, raising his brow, before he looks at the window, where the sun is slowly setting down, the warm orange bringing in a nice color in the otherwise boring white room. “I just know we’ll meet in another lifetime. He’s my soulmate after all.”
On the way home, Renjun watches the scenery pass by in a blur, once again lost in thought. His reservedness is understandable, especially lately. Knowing how his entire life panned out in the future and meeting your future self is taxing after all. Donghyuck does not know what else to say and how to help, only lacing the fingers together and giving Renjun’s hand a light squeeze throughout the ride.
⌛
Donghyuck feels his heart get ripped in front of him.
Funny, how love is so sweet yet so so cruel. Renjun being the most beautiful thing that has happened in life is also the same person who will ruin it. The more that his feelings grow, the more he is digging his own pit, unable to climb back to the ground. Despite knowing that, Donghyuck never stopped watering it, letting his love foolishly flourish.
Now, his days with his beloved are numbered. Until the next full moon, Kun has stated it’s when the energy is the strongest, ideal for performing the ritual.
“Is there any other solution? Something we have not explored yet? Maybe the shaman can look for an alternative.” Donghyuck’s chin trembles. His vision has become blurry, his chest feels constricted. He does not want to give up. Not yet.
Cupping Donghyuck’s face, Renjun wipes the tears from his lover’s cheeks. Stream of tears running on his own, his eyes red from weeping. Regretfully, he shakes his head, an involuntary sob escapes from his trembling lips.
“I don’t want to lose you, Renjun…” Donghyuck pleads, frantic. Renjun places a gentle kiss on his forehead., shutting his eyes closed. A single tear spills from his cheeks and Donghyuck feels it mix with his own tears. “Can’t you stay?”
They still have time. And so they cherish it.
In the next few days, they blissfully forget the impending doom and go through their days back to normal. At least. As much as they could. Renjun cooks their meals and Donghyuck comes to his aid, now confident in his ability in the kitchen. Renjun engages him in conversations about the superficial world and Donghyuck gladly listens. Renjun explores the wonder he has not yet uncovered in this generation and Donghyuck guides him, answering his questions.
They spend feeling each other and coming as one at night and each waking day within each other’s warmth. Donghyuck loves how Renjun fits perfectly in his arms and Renjun loves how cozy Donghyuck’s hug feels. Donghyuck loves how he can make Renjun feel good, coaxing pretty whimpers from his lips, and Renjun loves how Donghyuck makes him burn, losing himself with every movement, every thrust.
Donghyuck holds Renjun’s hand, giving him a squeeze of assurance, as they stand up in front of the restaurant they have come to love. Quite expectedly, tears are shed and hugs are given when Renjun finally resigns from his job. He thanks them for everything and bids goodbye to the couple who treated him as their own son.
Aunt Dahee shushes him. “I don’t like farewells. We’ll see each other again, this neighborhood is just small. Got it?” Renjun just nods and chuckles bitterly as he gets engulfed in a group hug.
Printing photos has long died down since the world became even more digital, but for keepsafe, Donghyuck does it again, so he can have physical copies of their moments together, not just a memory on screen. Renjun has fallen for the photobooth in the nearby arcade so they take photos of various poses, using all frames and stickers available on the machine.
“We look cute here,” Renjun giggles as he pastes the photostrip on the wall in front of Donghyuck’s desk. In the photo, Donghyuck is hugging him from behind with a surprised expression while Renjun reaches to place a sneaky peck on his cheeks.
His wall that once was filled with post it notes from his classes is now decorated with their photos together. There is a framed photo of them at Everland on his desk. “Yeah, we look really good together.”
Time flows by so fast that just like that, in just a blink, they only have one day left together.
Dread wakes Donghyuck up when he feels Renjun’s absence in his arms. His eyes shoot wide open, flicking side to side, before running outside where he’s met with the sight of his lover placing a pot on the table.
“Oh? Good morning! You’re just in time.” Renjun greets him as usual and relief floods through him.
They plan the rest of the day on the table while slurping Rejun’s kimchi stew. This surely is one of the things Donghyuck will miss. Food tastes better if Renjun cooked it, and even more delicious if he’s eating with Renjun. Despite learning the recipe and having copies of it carefully handwritten by Renjun, Donghyuck is certain it won’t taste the same.
In the end, they hole up themselves in the comfort of their apartment, doing the most mundane things. Donghyuck basks in it. Millions of thoughts running a mile per minute course through him but he strives to push all of them down at the back of his head. He’ll just cross the bridge when he gets there. For now, his beloved is here and that is what matters.
“I’m gonna miss this,” Renjun blurts out, head laying on Donghyuck’s lap, playing with his hands. “It feels somehow comforting that the world will be this amazing. I wonder how I’ll go through the changes when I get back.”
The last phrase strikes a piercing arrow on Donghyuck’s already aching heart. He wants to tell Renjun not to bring it up, to let it be just another elephant in the room, to live one last day still joyfully unaware of what comes next. But what can he do – it’s the truth they have to face either way.
“You will become an amazing old man, that’s for sure.” He attempts to utter a lighthearted comment which makes Renjun titter, thinking of the present that they have met.
“Do you believe in the afterlife?” Renjun ponders. He never runs out of fascinating things to talk about.
Donghyuck gives it a thought but shrugs. “I think it exists.”
“How many lives do you think you’ve already lived?”
He does not have an answer to that. Instead, he asks how one even knows how many lives they have lived, how many more lives they will live, will they even remember their past lives.
Renjun pouts. “For me… I believe that we don’t fully remember but we get a sense of familiarity when we encounter a special place, event, or a person.” He stops fiddling and intertwines their fingers. “I wonder if we have met before, in the past, before you are reborn in this lifetime.”
Donghyuck smiles. He hopes they did and he was an important figure in Renjun’s past, just like how he is right now.
As the sun sets, the doorbell rings and Renjun finds himself receiving mail in his hands. Intrigued, he tears the envelope and in it is a letter with an oddly familiar writing.
Going through the message, he starts chewing on his lower lip. His heartbeat quickens as his body wracks with an onslaught of sobs and tears. At the final line, a loud wail comes out of him, he falls on his knees, covering his face with shaking hands.
Donghyuck arrives in an instant, rushing from the restroom. “Hey, Renjun, what’s wrong? What happened?” He wraps his lover in a comforting embrace as Renjun pours out his emotions on the cold hardwood floor.
“I think… I can continue existing in this time… Donghyuck, I can now stay here, with you. “
Relief, that’s all Renjun can feel. He could not believe it. Like a ticking bomb on his flesh, he has been living the rest of the days knowing the time counts down until it’s time for him to leave. For good. But now it’s been diffused and even though he feels sad at the cost, he is beyond thankful.
✉️
Dear Injun,
Or better yet, Huang Renjun.
I know you. The moment I saw you at the nursing home, I knew I was face to face with my past self. I don’t know what got to me, lying like that in front of you. It must be weird. Just like how I felt when we met honestly. I had forgotten how good looking I was back in the days.
I don’t know how you were able to come here and visit the future. Knowing all the consequences that come with it, I still shared with you our story. But please heed my request. I hope you don’t go back to the past. I know you and I know that given the chance you will try to make things ‘right’. I hope you don’t because I am fine with how things panned out. Regrets are part of life, we just learn from it and move on.
Instead, I want you to live our life to the fullest. Enjoy things, expand your horizons, get hurt, cry and continue pushing forward. Life is too short to keep thinking about the past, so let’s live in the present.
By the time you are reading this, I probably have met my soulmate again.
PS: I hope Donghyuck stays with you until this lifetime. He is a nice, loving guy.
‘Til then,
Renjun
Soulmates are fated. Destiny will find its way to make soulmates meet. Despite technically living in two timelines, Renjun and Donghyuck have always been meant for each other. No matter what, fate has brought them back together again. In their next lifetime.