sanctuary | yang jungwon

6

"Jungwon!"

The boy who was walking down the hallway turned around after hearing a familiar voice call his name. A smile unconsciously broke across his face upon seeing Sunoo running to his direction. Jungwon noticed that he had tied his hair up, causing his short ponytail to bounce with his every step, and couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

"What's with the hair?" Jungwon asked, reaching up to fiddle with Sunoo's stump of hair. He thought it made the boy look like a plant.. of sorts.

"It's cute, isn't it?" Sunoo replied, creases appearing at the corner of his eyes due to the cheeky grin stuck on his face.

Jungwon hummed in agreement, laughing at his best friend's cuteness as the pair walked towards their class. Despite only being apart from him for a couple days, Jungwon couldn't express how much he missed spending time with Sunoo.

In his once monotonous life, Sunoo was Jungwon's first taste of happiness.

He remembered how he first met Sunoo when he was only 7 years old, at the playground that was near both of their houses. Sunoo was sitting on the rusty swing, munching on a peach that was in his tiny hand. Jungwon watched adoringly as his cheeks seemed to puff up at every bite the boy took, looking as if he was animated.

Jungwon really wasn't the best at making friends, and so he had close to none. Despite how badly he wanted to approach the boy on the swing, he just couldn't bring himself to. He was afraid — afraid of taking the first step, and afraid of the potential rejection. Jungwon remembered letting out a sigh, disappointed in himself for letting the fear take over him once again.

That was until he heard the gravel on the ground crunch behind him, signifying the footsteps that were making their way into his direction. Jungwon remembered turning around, and feeling his heartbeat quicken when he saw the 'peach boy' running up to him.

Oh, the nostalgia.

"Hi! My name is Sunoo!" The slightly shorter boy had cheerfully exclaimed. He smiled at Jungwon, fumbling his hands in the small plastic bag that he was carrying.

Jungwon watched as Sunoo poked out his tongue and furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, before finally pulling out another peach.

"Would you like it?" Sunoo offered, his eyes melting into a sincere smile. Jungwon felt tears starting to pool in his eyes, as he extended a shaky hand to take the fruit from him.

For Jungwon couldn't remember the last time somebody had smiled at him.

So when Sunoo did, Jungwon could feel his heart expanding so much that it could have burst at any second. His body was buzzing alive, and for the first time in months, Jungwon remembered feeling.. happy.

"Thank you," Jungwon softly mumbled, taking a small bite of the peach to Sunoo's pleasure.

Raising up his peach to be aligned next to Sunoo's face, Jungwon giggled softly. Sunoo blinked his eyes in confusion, wondering what his new friend was suddenly laughing at.

"I'm sorry, it's just funny how... you kind of look like the peach," Jungwon answered, no longer able to hold back his laughter. His chest was erupting in joy, and at one point had to clutch his stomach because of how hard he was laughing.