Safe Haven. (JJP FF)

xxxii: a drunk prom revelation

Hello, Apologies for the hiatus and long chapter ahead! Do enjoy..

It's the twentieth, and students are still
panicking, delaying, talking about choosing a prom date. The air is very chatty, and the attention is removed from Jinyoung. At home too, everything seemed to bitterly turn back to normal, it's bitter for his aunt who hasn't seen Nam for a week, spanning all her attention on Jinyoung.

It feels uncanny, Woon had left him too, not bothering him in noticeable ways, or just bullying in general. Everything seemed too mortifyingly silent. As if a grand, unlucky jumpscare would be waiting behind all this good luck.

And Jinyoung has been prepared for them since day one. Not prepared, just, he is ready to embrace all the curses and bruises, not retaliate. Just accept.

But he's still unsure of whether Jaebum would be willing to come out to a whole school, by going to prom with him. Jinyoung was ready for the consequences too, if Jaebum had declined the offer, because, you know, coming out to a whole school is a very overwhelming thought.

And an even petrifying experience.

Screw it, Jinyoung thinks at first, he's known to be the fag of the school, so a prom won't affect much, would it?

But then came the thought of Jaebum. So much could change for him in a night. He had wanted Jaebum to enjoy his last year of high school, partying and enjoying.

And so Jinyoung thinks screw it, once again, because he doesn't want Jaebum to experience such disaster. He's already had his fair share of life-destruction from his parents' side.

But of course, the day came, and before that came Jaebum, who had been contemplating to the extreme, about the pros and cons, but a prom with Jinyoung outweighed every con point. And so in the last minute, asked Jinyoung out.

"Jaebum... Won't it... Affect you?"

"Won't what affect me?" He asks.

"I... I mean the prom... You'd be exposing yourself to the.. school as.. as-"

"-As your boyfriend." Jaebum finished.

He paused, then began.

"I'd be exposing myself as nothing but your boyfriend, and if they judge, let them. The world, our worlds don't revolve around them, or what they think." Jaebum said, pretty much sticking to his decision, like a child.

The silence in the air hovered once again.

"But.. it's up to you, if you want to go to prom with me, and... We'd dance-"

"Yes." Jinyoung said with a zealous tone.
"I would love to be your prom date."

Jaebum was taken aback by the abrupt answer, he'd never thought Jinyoung would say yes. It seemed so unreal, that Jinyoung was willing to go to prom, even when everyone bullied him for the same reason. It didn't quite settle in Jaebum.

"Are you sure?" Jaebum re-evaluates.

"Yes. A hundred percent." Jinyoung confirmed.

Jinyoung doesn't care much about the rest of the students, he's not harming anybody else, just because he's gay. He just wanted to have a prom. That's completely harmless and doesn't require anyone's permission. All he needed was Jaebum by his side, and he'd be blissfully happy.

The blooming in Jaebum's stomach, the amount of happiness that came to him, tugging vigorously at the hooks his lips, the fact that Jinyoung said yes. Everything was absolutely ethereal.

Sure, maybe it doesn't make much of a difference in the universe.

But to Jaebum, it made all the difference.