Lavender Bubbles °• Changjin

○ 5 ○

Changbin rotated the umbrella in his hand, twisting the rubber handle around in his grip to shake off the pooling slosh of water as the misty spring rain above pelted onto the glossy fabric hung above his head while the other clawed the energy drink. The drips slamming into the cover of the umbrella, before dripping off in globs from the metal arms to assault his skin and clothes beneath with the gentle breeze. The soft beige sweater he wore bunched at his elbows. It protected him from what little spits of water the protection above his head didn't save him from, the dribbles of the refracted liquid staining the clothing with dark spots more rare than frequent.

He meandered down the narrow strip of the familiar sleepy sidewalk, the rain around puddling and collecting to wash the wads of gum stuck to the cement as it rushed down to the gutters lining the border of the sidewalk. The drains gurgled. Spitting up the collection of knocked blossoms and leaf clumps which wouldn't be choked between the slots of grating, bucketfuls of that sloshing rain river swirled in careful tides entrapping the foliage as lost sailing boats in a whirlpool. Their current swept, until the moment a car zooming down the streets disrupted their curl. It's wheels raced through the lakeside . The water splashed onto the sidewalk. Changbin managed to lurch back in time to not be caught in the tidalwave.

He sidestepped around the new intrusion puddling the sidewalk, lightly sipping on the energy drink as he traveled the last of the distance to the boba shop. His fateful, eternal destination, awaiting for him at the end of the way.

As he neared the distance, a silhouette made itself apparent in his sight. Their shoulders rounded forward as they typed away on their phone glowing gracefully against the subtle frown on their features, body sat and leaned back against the wall of the shop, their curled form barely hidden by the poor excuse of an awning the building's roof edge acted as. He pressed himself against the wall behind with the drops of rain coursing down on his hunched being, his feet tucking closer underneath his seat as he tried to pull them away from the invading drizzles of summer weather.

Changbin quickened his step, near to a jog as he approached the person slumped by the boba shop. The closer he came, the more he could make out; The light dip of his frown and the phone pressed against his ear as he sat there alone. When he was close enough, Changbin slammed to a stop and tilted the umbrella over their head.

Hyunjin's eyes widened for a moment as his trained stare pulled from the floor to glance up at the umbrella above him. Then to Changbin, patiently holding the covering over him as his own shoulders became soaked with the rain.

Changbin murmured, "The hell do you think you're doing loitering outside the boba shop?"

"I thought it opened an hour ago," Hyunjin admitted, a sheepish smile wiggling on his lips as he moved the phone's receiver away from his lips to hang up the call he sat on.

"The website hasn't been updated to our new times, they were changed last week to fit boss's schedule more," He explained, the words earning a light hum of realization as the tips of the young businessman's shoes tapped the gum filled concrete floors beneath him. Changbin glanced the other over, raking in the cramped posture and details of that usually stressed face turned into another one of those timeless scowls that never shrugged off. Even when he smiled up at Changbin, the worry-riddled gestures bled through again. Cautiously, Changbin sipped on his energy drink as he interrogated, "Why are you still here then? Do you need your boba fix that badly?"

Hyunjin laughed at the comment. He nodded, "Yeah, I guess I do."

"Something is seriously wrong with you."

"I think so too."

Changbin noted the thin layer of the business attire and the lack of jacket, or umbrella. He sighed as he lowered the canopy to the other. Hyunjin glanced between him and the handle, eyes still wide with puzzlement as he attempted to understand what he was attempting to do. Up until the moment Changbin violently shook the umbrella at him to transmit the message to him without needing to open his mouth and Hyunjin hesitantly took the handle from his hands to hold above his own matted hair, damp with the few drops of rain that chose to skirt around the building's top to soak him. Even as the threads protected him, Hyunjin continued to stare at him with a gentle bafflement. Seriously, did this man never have anyone give him an umbrella before? Did he never check the weather?