Fifth Encounter: The Long Walk Home
Yet still later Sunday
The four of them said their goodbyes at the door, Tae and Ga-Woon heading uptown to Ga-Woon's house, while Kun escorted Jung-Woo to the more low-income side of town. The majority of the trip was spent in silence, both pretending their best that they were walking alone and someone else happened to be taking the same route as them. The first words spoken were when they were three blocks away from Jung-Woo's, and Kun's route home split off from the dark-eyed boy's.
"This is where you go home, right?" Jung-Woo asked, flatly. Kun looked down the road Jung-Woo took, then the one he would.
"I'll just follow you the rest of the way." Kun shrugged. "It isn't that far, and that way Tae won't talk my ear off next time I see her."
Jung-Woo snorted, "I'll be fine, it's just three blocks."
"I know you will, you aren't a frikkin' baby, but in case you get jumped by twenty guys, I don't want Tae and Ga-Woon to blame me. Besides, my house isn't far." Kun idly wondered why he was making excuses to follow Jung-Woo to his door.
"It's far enough." Jung-Woo stated, crossing the street without waiting for Kun as the light changed.
"You know where I live?" Kun was surprised.
"Of course I do, my parents used to shop at the grocery store your parents owned."
Kun searched his memory for any recollection of Jung-Woo. It dawned on him, a young dark-eyed, light-haired boy who would come in with his parents every now and then. Shy, he was the only child that never tried to play with Kun. He seemed to remember Jung-Woo also coming in alone sometimes a bit before Kun's parents sold the store. He distinctly remembered his mother asking where Jung-Woo's parents were, once. Jung-Woo remained silent, and the question was never asked again.
"How'd they die?" Kun asked, gracelessly. Jung-Woo raised an eyebrow at Kun, face angry for a moment before passing back into apathy.
"Isn't that a kind of tactless question?" Jung-Woo commented. Kun just shrugged. To his surprise, Jung-Woo answered.
"The big train accident four years ago, they were on the train that derailed and crashed into traffic. Two of the ten immediate fatalities."
"I remember seeing that on the news. That was bad."
Jung-Woo shrugged. "If it's your time to go, it's your time to go."
Kun found his questioning continue, his curiosity winning out despite his better judgment otherwise.
"Weren't you a little young to live alone after that?"
Jung-Woo sighed, thinking of just ignoring Kun. But then Kun would probably persist or find a way to make himself more annoying.
"My parents owned the apartment building. The new owners knew them and took pity on me, letting me stay in one for free until I could get a job, and now I mostly just pay for utilities." He shrugged. "And Tae's mom always makes extra food for me, so I don't have to spend much on that."
Kun hummed. "Must be lonely living by your self. Of course, you probably have 'sleepovers' with your boyfriends all the time."
"Not as many as you and Ga-woon have, no doubt."
'Oooh, zing.' Kun thought, a little thrill coming up instinctively. He let Jung-Woo win that one out of respect for him not backing down. Kun was weak for people who didn't back down no matter who they were talking to.
Soon, though, they got to Jung-Woo's apartment and his door. Kun took his box and held it for him as Jung-Woo unlocked his apartment door. When Kun continued to stand there, Jung-Woo let out a long-suffering sigh.
"Go. Away." He said, without any hint of propriety.
"No goodnight kiss?" Kun asked, faking a wounded tone as Jung-Woo snatched the box from his hands.
"Why are you insisting on bugging me?" Jung-Woo asked, finally, turning to face Kun. His voice never raised above normal speaking level, no matter how annoyed he was.
"Hmmm... I think it's because... you make it interesting." Kun's small smirk was a wicked one. "Everyone else is predictable. You actually still surprise me from time to time."
"From time to time?"
"Well, not all the time."
Kun flinched back as a fist suddenly came up right to where his nose was a second ago and held there.
Jung-Woo glared at Kun with his dark eyes. In daylight you could tell they were dark brown, but at night, the shadows made them appear as black as the sky. "...You're really annoying." He said, voice deadpan. He began to lower his fist, starting to turn to go inside his apartment. Two could play at that game, though. Kun grabbed Jung-Woo's wrist and pulled the lithe boy against himself, Jung-Woo's body stiffened at the surprise physical contact, but he didn't flinch as Kun lowered his head to Jung-Woo's for a kiss, stopping less than an inch away from the other boy's lips.
"So are you." Kun breathed, finally.
He was expecting the punch that came afterwards, though. Left hand, of course, Kun was holding his right hand by the wrist. Kun blocked the punch with the palm of his hand, but it took enough concentration to allow Jung-Woo to yank his wrist free, which was the original intent. Before Kun could say anything else, Jung-Woo yanked his apartment door open and slammed it shut behind him, leaving Kun alone in the night air with the box of leftover cake where it had fallen at his feet during the struggle.
!Genki Talk!
Just a note, chapters are slow coming now and will probably be on hold until around mid-March. I've got finals coming up for Speech and Psychology and can't really allow myself many distractions if I want to get higher than a B+. After that, we should return to regularly scheduled wackyness. Just wanted to alert any readers following to this. I AM NOT ABANDONING THE FIC.
