Quiet | Seungjin

47

"If you need anything, anything at all we're just fifteen minutes away. You can call me at any time—I don't care if it's midnight—I'll be here."

Seungmin looked at his mother standing in front of him and sent the woman a small smile. He took a step forward and carefully wrapped his arms around her neck, whispering, "we'll...be okay."

Mrs Kim held her son as tightly as she could, taking in his scent one last time before they had to part for the night. When the two separated, she quickly brought a hand up to brush the tears off her cheeks. "Oh..." she started, her voice wavering as she spoke, "I didn't know this was going to be so hard for me."

"They're going to be just fine," Mr Kim spoke up before wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulder, "we love you...both of you."

A quick smile flickered across Hyunjin's face as he made eye contact with Seungmin's father. The words meant a lot to him...but the fact they trusted him enough to move in with Seungmin meant a lot more.

"We should get going or I don't think I'll ever get your mom out of her," the man continued.

"Bye," Seungmin called out before they could leave, "...I love you."

"I love you too, honey, so much. Make sure you two get something to eat tonight—we've done a lot of heavy lifting." his mother answered.

They exchanged the last goodbyes before Seungmin and Hyunjin were officially alone for the first time in their apartment.

"We're going to have get takeout—we don't have any groceries yet," Hyunjin muttered when he realized they had almost everything but food, "do you want to go shopping with me tomorrow morning? We can go early before the stores get busy."

Seungmin nodded before slowly spinning around in a circle, examining every inch of the new space. He definitely needed some time to get familiar with their apartment...but otherwise he thought it was a nice space. It was big enough that it wouldn't be cramped but small enough that the layout didn't overwhelm Seungmin.

But most of all there was a sense of freedom that came with the expanse of unfamiliar rooms. There were memories of past occupants etched in the walls, but to Seungmin, it was a fresh start. Of course it would take some getting used to before he was completely comfortable in the new apartment, but it was different.

After it happened, Seungmin had to switch bedrooms because for quite some time, he couldn't even walk down the hallway where his old bedroom was. And despite that change, the house he grew up in would always carry some semblance of that night no matter how many years passed. There was no way to get it out of his mind completely, but this was almost a new beginning.

"We have a lot of unpacking to do," the elder voiced, noticing Seungmin looking over the stacked up boxes all around them.

"We have...have..."

"The weekend?"

Seungmin nodded.

"I don't think we should really worry about anything tonight though. We've got all the furniture set up anyway." There was a stretch of silence between them as Seungmin's eyes continued to roam around the living room. Instead of trying to get his attention verbally, Hyunjin reached out and gently laced his fingers in Seungmin's, guiding him over to their sofa. "There was something I wanted to figure out though."

Seungmin let out a small hum, his hands fidgeting with the elder's as he looked up expectantly.

"I know there's two bedrooms—and I think it's a good thing for us to have our own spaces—but I was wondering how you wanted to sleep? I know we've laid together before...but I'm not really sure what you're comfortable with."