Running to You | Park Han + JL + Steven | Haneulz + Stejay AU

Chapter 19: Over the Last Lights

A hush had fallen over the courtyard, long after the festival ended. Tables were folded, booths dismantled, and banners rolled up tight like souvenirs of a day too full to process just yet. Confetti clung to the concrete like party afterthoughts. The breeze had picked up again, cool and hushed against the backs of two figures still standing beneath the string lights hung across the open quad, swaying slightly with the wind.

Han balanced on a chair, arms outstretched as he reached for the final row of paper lanterns threaded between the canopy of festival netting. JL stood a step away, arms lifted, waiting to catch anything that fluttered down.

"You know," JL said, his voice easy and amused, "I thought being the most agile on the team would mean more glory. Vaults. Extra relays. Cool stunts." He caught a paper lantern as it dropped. "Not this."

Han passed him another bundle amidst a small shower of confetti, not looking down. "We're the only ones who can reach the top without falling. Be proud."

"I am. Proudly exploited."

Han chuckled. JL loved the sound of his laugh. It wasn't something Han gave easily, but he seemed to do it around JL more and more. 

JL looked up at him with a grin, only half-focused on the paper lanterns in his arms. That sound made something twist gently in his chest, like a balloon pulled by the wind.

The team had disappeared hours ago. Woongki left with a flourish and a scarf wrapped around his head like a celebrity in hiding, declaring he needed "three days of silence and face masks." Shuaibo and Chih En had peeled off earlier, citing laundry and recovery stretches. Steven had promised to return to help, but that had been thirty minutes ago. It was just them now.

JL dragged another chair beside Han's and stepped up. They moved in tandem, fingers working over pins and string, folding signs and streamer cloth into neat layers. It wasn't awkward. It was the kind of stillness that came only after a day well-lived, the exhaustion seeming to cement it into your memory forever.

"Did you cook a lot growing up?" JL asked, brushing away a bit of glitter from the banner in his hands.

Han glanced sideways, hands still working. "I lived alone during high school. My parents worked overseas, so I handled groceries, meals, dishes. Everything."

"Me too." JL chuckled softly. "I had to learn fast. At first, the gas range scared me."

Han looked down. "Microwave expert?"

"You're looking at the instant noodle king," JL replied, puffing out his chest before shaking his head with a grin. "Cheese, egg, and if I had extra allowance -- spam."

"Chef's kiss."

"I know, right."

They reached for the same streamer at the same time, fingers brushing. JL didn't flinch, and neither did Han. They just paused.

"I actually thought about culinary school," JL said after a moment, his voice almost confessional. "Before all this. I wanted to learn pastry at one point."

Han passed him the streamer. "Same. Thought about it. For a while."

JL blinked. "Really?"

Han nodded. "Simple food. I like pasta. Aglio olio. Garlic, oil. It's uncomplicated."

JL stepped down from the chair, arms full of streamers, and tilted his head. "You strike me as a garlic and olive oil kind of guy."

Han smirked slightly. "And you strike me as someone who adds chili flakes to everything."

"I do," JL admitted proudly. "How'd you guess?"

Han shrugged. "Your energy."

JL laughed, stepping back and dropping the streamers into a crate. "That's your polite way of calling me unhinged, huh?"

"You tripped four times today. Flirted with someone's dad. Caught your apron on a doorknob and nearly flattened a customer."

"Okay, I added spice to the situation. It's on-brand for me."

Han shook his head, but the corners of his lips tugged upward again. JL had a way of dragging the smiles out of people without even trying. That was part of what made him dangerous -- not just the speed or the looks, but this unfiltered honesty that made you feel like you could tell him things you hadn't told anyone else.

They lowered the last lanterns into the crate. JL crouched to secure the lid, fingers brushing over stray glitter like he was trying to stretch the day just a little longer. 

He came across a piece of metallic confetti, looked at it for a second, and tucked it carefully away into his pocket. 

Han watched him put it away, thoughtful.  "Are you always this sentimental?" he asked.

"Only after festivals and concerts," JL replied. "And when I absorb sugar syrup through sheer osmosis for four hours."

That earned him a full laugh from Han. JL's chest ached a little with how much he liked that sound.

They locked the supply closet and stepped back into the clearing. The stars were bright tonight, the string lights above them still glowing faintly as if reluctant to be shut off. JL kicked lightly at a stray piece of crepe paper on the floor.

Han folded the now empty boxes beside him, then straightened up. 

JL looked at him -- really looked. The clean lines of his profile, the way his hair fell across his brow, the calm in his eyes, the hidden intensity just beneath the surface. Han was always moving forward toward his goals, and JL... always felt like he was running away from them. 

A warm gust of wind swept through, ruffling JL's hair. He squinted up and turned to reach for the key to lock the last crate shut -- only for it to fall from his fingers and clang against the pavement.

Han turned slowly, bent down to pick it up the same time JL did. They straightened up, facing each other, JL holding the key.

JL held it up with a sheepish smile. "Add that to the highlight reel."

Han, ignoring the key, suddenly stepped closer to JL, their chests nearly touching. Han's long, slender fingers, strangely not out of place despite the muscular arms and toned body, reached around JL's temple and curled around the lobe of his ear, slowly tucking the hair back. 

For a moment, JL couldn't breathe. The world stopped. Everything went dead silent, and there was a ringing in his ears. It felt like all the blood was rushing to his head.

Han stepped back, his fingers softly grazing JL's cheek, and the world turned again. He held a piece of confetti between his fingers. His eyes never left JL's face. 

"It was stuck to your hair."

JL couldn't speak. His mouth was dry, and his throat seemed to have forgotten how to function.

"...Th-thank you," JL stammered. He broke eye contact, face hot, his ear tingling from where Han had touched it. He started turning the key in the last crate's lock, not knowing what else to say.

JL's heart was thudding in his chest, and he was sure it was unbearably loud in the deafening silence. His knees felt like buckling. He didn't dare look at Han's face, afraid of what his expression might say. JL didn't want to know, and yet he was dying to know. 

They walked the rest of the way side by side, the lights behind them winking out one by one as the campus powered down. 

They walked side by side, not touching, not speaking. Whatever had passed between them still pulsed in the silence. And it would keep pulsing, all the way home.