ENCHANTED, kim namjoon

iii. ships in the night

III. SHIPS IN THE NIGHT

"How about we do a little Q&A and get to know each other a little more?" Baram suggested.

Just a few minutes of walking after meeting the two contemporary ballet dancers, the pair went on a tram with no particular destination in mind. They stood at the very back of the tram, watching the cars passing beside the tram. Sunlight poured inside, bringing a certain golden color between them that only highlighted the growing comfortability they had with each other. It was the color of dreams. A filter that made everything seem so light.

"We can ask each other the stupidest, deepest, weirdest, and most direct questions. But we have to answer with complete honesty."

Baram sat down and watched as interest swirled in Namjoon's dark irises. He sat down next to her, making himself comfortable by propping his arm up on the back of their seat since his shoulders were quite wide. She crossed her legs and leaned back into his arm, tilting her head at him. Upon seeing his expression, she knew him enough to know that he was already formulating questions in his head.

She grinned, "Do you want to go first?"

"Any questions, right?" Namjoon clarified, raising both of his eyebrows at her. She nodded, waiting for him to say his piece. "Other than earlier, when was the last time you held hands with someone?"

Although he was trying to be flirtatious, Baram only found his question adorable. She hummed, "A few days ago. I don't know if I should be embarrassed or not. My aunt was walking with me to the train station and we had to cross the street. The moment the light turned green, she took my hand and led me across the street. After that, she didn't let go."

As she recounted the events, a lock of her hair fell from its place behind her ear, getting in the way of his view of her face. He bent his arm, hesitantly reaching out to tuck it behind her ear but retracted as soon as she turned her head. She noticed his actions and did it herself, looking away as she tried to hide her smile.

"It's not embarrassing at all," Namjoon disagreed. "It's actually pretty cute if you ask me. Parents and parental figures sometimes forget we're not kids anymore. When I'm at home and I iron my clothes, my mother always tries to do it for me even though I'm more than capable of doing it myself."

Baram pursed her lips, "Mothers. That's just how they are and we love them for it. They do all these things that you should be grateful for and you find it hard to get mad at her whenever you disagree on something."

"Right? When you have parents who never fully contradict you or are a bit strict but still incredibly loving or supportive, it gets harder to complain even when they're in the wrong. So you settle for this passive-aggressive shit because you love them too much to get angry. I can't stand it."

She crossed her arms with a breathy chuckle, shifting on her seat so she was facing him. Namjoon gulped, pulling away the slightest bit, surprised by the proximity between their faces. Baram realized what she did and looked away, clearing her throat.

"Okay, my turn," Baram started. "What was an irrational fear of yours when you were a kid?"

Namjoon tilted his head, furrowing his eyebrows in thought. "I had this fear of falling asleep. Sometimes I still lose sleep overthinking about it."

"How can one be afraid of falling asleep? Sleep is everyone's best friend."

"Amen to that. But have you ever thought how scary it is that we can't pinpoint the exact moment we fall asleep? We just think of these scenarios in our head for who knows how long and eventually drift off. When does that happen? How long did it take for you to get there? What happens then? Not knowing how and when used to scare me so much as a child, but now I learned not to question it. Sleep is my best friend."