Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Finals and deadlines. Two things that held the most control over Jinyoung’s life these past few weeks. It made him change his routine, eating habits and priorities.
It was also the reason why he had to take the last metro home, at 2 o’ clock in the morning. This wasn’t ideal as the few people on the metro were drunk from partying. Tonight was no different.
Jinyoung put his earplugs in, his shield against people trying to get something from him, and grabbed his book. He sat in the seat next to the window, put his left index finger on his temple and his left thumb on his cheek and held his book open with his right hand. He had to remain in this position for only half an hour, trying to concentrate, and he’d be okay.

Jinyoung was deep into his story when he felt a thump in his seat. He carefully, oh so slowly, glanced to his side to see a guy, about his age, drunk enough that he should be worried what to do if he were to pass out. But he wasn’t going to pass out soon as he was extremely loud. Jinyoung wasn’t playing any music in his ear plugs, but even if he did, he could hear this guy loud and clear.

‘’Oh reading! Good idea!’’ The other male shouted, more to himself than to Jinyoung. Jinyoung tried to ignore him best as he could, thinking that if he paid him no attention, he’d eventually leave him alone.

‘’What are you reading anyway?’’ The guy shouted again, looking over Junior’s shoulder to read. Jinyoung gave him an annoyed glance, hoping he would receive the message, but the other man didn’t seem to notice.

‘’English, I need to be more sober to be able to read that.’’ He convinced himself, crossing his arms and slouching even further into his seat.

‘’Ah he can’t hear me, he’s got ear plugs in.’’ He said to no one in particular.

The man passed out, waking up after five minutes.

‘’Still reading?! Must be a good book.’’ He remarked. Jinyoung could not believe that this guy had lost so many brain cells he couldn’t even take a hint.

‘’What is it about? Is it a juicy romance novel?’’ He tried again. ‘’You must be smart, reading English this late.’’ This guy was getting uncomfortably close. Jinyoung looked out of the window, hoping that something out there would feel his misery and help him escape. He could feel the hot, intoxicated breath of the man radiating onto him.

‘’You know, I read too. But with my ears, and the story has a melody. Songs are stories, too!’’ The man claimed. Jinyoung had to rise his book up to his face to hide that he had to do his best not to laugh. This guy was pretty funny, he had a certain charm about him.

Then he passed out for the second time.
Jinyoung’s stop was next up. He normally wouldn’t mind leaving drunk people where they were on the subway, the station attendants would take care of them. But Jinyoung felt bad for him. This guy wasn’t so bad, he just wanted to talk about his book. He was about his age so maybe he went to university too, which meant he would have to go to school tomorrow, too.
Jinyoung decided to help him, putting away his book and doing something he felt just slightly uncomfortable about. He slid his hand under the other male’s jacket, feeling whether he had a wallet anywhere. He hoped it was in his jacket because he really didn’t want to check the pockets of his jeans. But in the breast pocket, he found what he was looking for, a leather wallet with cards inside. He took out his travel card, ID and student ID.
‘’Jackson Wang’’ It read on the ID. On the student ID it read that he went to the same university as Jinyoung.

‘’Finals are next week and this guy is black-out drunk on a Wednesday.’’ Jinyoung clicked his tongue in disapproval. The student ID also stated which dorm he lived in on campus, which was a convenient detail.
Jinyoung swung his backpack onto his shoulders and held both his and Jackson’s travel passes in his left hand. He put Jackson’s left arm around his neck, supporting him with his shoulders. Jinyoung’s right arm went around Jackson’s waist.

‘’1, 2, 3- up we go.’’ Jinyoung counted, hoisting Jackson onto his feet. He took a moment to find his stability as the metro stopped, moving the both of them towards the door. He kept walking, swiped the cards and, with great care and difficulty, moved both him and Jackson through the gates.
On the escalator he took a good look at him, what made him so special that he would want to go through this much trouble to help him. He must have a sweet personality if he was that nice under influence. And his face wasn’t a nuisance to look at, either. The warm yellowish glow of the streetlamps reflected beautifully on Jackson’s white hair. Jinyoung took a moment to appreciate this.
He then walked with him from the metro station to the campus apartment blocks, taking breaks every ten minutes. Luckily, as they attended the same university, he wouldn’t have to walk very far from Jackson’s apartment to his own.

He dragged him into the elevator and pushed the button for the second floor.

‘’Wow, this guy is a deep sleeper.’’ Jinyoung stated, all the tugging didn’t even cause as much as a stir from Jackson.
He took him to the front door and opened it with Jackson’s pass. He looked inside and found that Jackson’s apartment had the exact same plan as his own, just different interior. A one-bedroom apartment with a tiny bathroom and kitchen, big enough to stand in. Although the kitchen had cupboards, they clearly must be empty as the sink was overflowing with dirty dishes.
He took Jackson to the bedroom and dropped him unceremoniously onto the bed. There he encountered a creative use of storage, too, as Jackson’s whole wardrobe lay strewn across the floor.
Jinyoung took a moment to find his breath and went to the kitchen to look for a glass of water and two aspirins, this guy was going to need them tomorrow morning.
When he returned with the medicine, he slipped the cover from under Jackson and put it on top of him, tucking him in to prepare him for a good night’s sleep.
Jinyoung was about to leave when he glanced one last time at Jackson. He was cute, really cute. Jinyoung decided to grant him the opportunity to meet him again, leaving a note to help him on his way.
He then left for his own apartment, tomorrow he had somewhere to be.

‘’Aaaahh..’’ Jackson put his hand to his head. Whatever he did the night before, he had to pay for it with a headache that deserved its own place on the Richter scale. He slowly got up from his comfortable bed, on his nightstand he found a glass of water and two aspirins. He looked down to find he was still wearing the clothes he wore yesterday. Jackson patted himself to see if everything was still there. But he quickly found his keys, phone and wallet with everything inside.

‘’How did I get home last night?’’ He asked himself. He gratefully took the water and aspirins and noticed a little note next to them.

‘’University café, 14.00, Murakami.’’

‘’This must be a note from the person who took me home.’’ Jackson thought. ‘’How cryptic.’’ He looked at the clock. 12.30. Enough time to take a shower and get to the café.
Under the shower he began thinking about the person who took him home.

‘’Who are they? Why would they take care of me like that, do I know them? And what did Murakami mean?’’ He closed his eyes and tried to go back to last night. Jackson remembered getting onto the metro, but things were blurry. He did remember that he was preoccupied with what the person next to him was doing. Did it have something to do with a book? He kept churning about why this person wanted to meet him again.

‘’Did they think I’m cute?’’ He thought as he turned off the water and put a towel around him. He took extra long to do his hair and pick his outfit, whatever impression he left with the person yesterday, it wasn’t a good one. He had to fix that.

Jackson locked his apartment behind him and got onto the elevator. Impatiently, he pressed the button for the ground floor multiple times, he was getting excited. He got out of the building and started walking towards the university café, which wasn’t far from the apartment blocks as it was a common ground to meet people from the university.

He jogged a little when he saw the front door of the café. He pushed open the door and saw many people drinking coffee, chatting and laughing. He looked around, trying to find something that said Murakami. He walked along the sides of the room, guessing the person must be sitting next to a window. Then Jackson spotted a black, white and red book cover in the crowd. The reader put it in front of himself so his face was obscured. Jackson focused his eyes and read in white block letters ‘’MURAKAMI’’. He couldn’t get there fast enough, stopping himself a couple steps before the other male.

‘’So Murakami, huh? What’s it about?’’ Jackson said smugly.

Two dark brown, intelligent eyes appeared above the book, smiling at Jackson.

Chapter Text

‘’You look like you could use a drink.’’ The intelligent, dark brown eyes gave a mischievous glint. Jackson sat down in the chair opposite the man, not blinking or averting his eyes.

‘’Are you the one who took me back to my apartment?’’ Jackson bluntly blurted.

‘’That I did.’’ The other put his book down.

‘’Well what happened? Did I do something stupid?’’

‘’Not really, you passed out before anything happened.’’

Jackson heaved a sigh. Thank god, he thought. He looked back up at the other boy and took a good look at him. His dark hair and eyes made him look like he knew something about you that you didn’t want him to know. He dressed smartly and held himself in a proud manner.

‘’Let me introduce myself, I’m Jinyoung.’’ The other boy started.

‘’I’m Jackson, I can’t thank you enough for taking me home safe last night. Is there anything I can do?’’ Jackson was ready to get up to get the both of them some coffee, the least he could do, but before he got up out of his chair, Jinyoung already got ahold of his sleeve.

‘’Actually there is something you could do.’’ Jinyoung held his words back, the confidence faded a bit, as if he hesitated. He glanced to the side, deciding what to do.

‘’You can tell me, really.’’ Jackson assured.

‘’Well.. If you aren’t busy this afternoon, would you like to go out with me?’’ Jinyoung let go of Jackson’s sleeve, letting him free to choose. Jackson looked at Jinyoung with a curiosity. Did he really just ask him on a date, after what happened last night? Jackson felt a warmth welling up inside him, resulting in a big smile on his face.

‘’Yes I would! Wherever you want to go!’’ Jackson’s excitement was clearly visible, his face lit up and he trampled his feet like a little kid. Jinyoung leant back into his seat, happy with the outcome.

‘’Well there is one place.’’ Jinyoung began. But before he could finish, Jackson was already on his feet, ready to go. Jinyoung, too, got up and put his book back into his bag. Together they walked out of the café, Jackson following Jinyoung like a little puppy.

‘’Where are we going?’’ Jackson asked full of anticipation.

‘’The library, I’ve got something to show you.’’ Jinyoung answered with an equal amount of excitement. He had to be honest, Jackson didn’t expect to go to the library. But since it was what Jinyoung wanted, he would go. He grabbed Jinyoung by the arm and half-dragged him along. Jinyoung wasn’t used to Jackson’s way of doing things, but laughed and followed him along.

At the library Jinyoung walked straight to his favourite section. There he picked out books with covers the same colours as the one that he was reading in the café.

‘’This is my favourite writer, I love the way he explains strange things matter-of-factly and that the main character keeps complaining during their strange adventures, that they want to go back to their normal lives with their very specific pleasures. It is so out of touch with any reality anyone has but almost everyone can find something they can relate to in his books.’’
Jinyoung explained excitedly, taking out books and showing them to Jackson. He leafed through the books to read him sections. He did this so quickly that it seemed at random, but as Jackson listened he understood what Jinyoung meant.

After Jinyoung explained every book in detail, Jackson knew that he wanted Jinyoung to talk about his favourite things to him for a long time. When the other boy wasn’t looking, Jackson quickly grabbed another copy of the book he saw Jinyoung reading earlier. He was determined to read it and find out all the wonderful things he heard the dark-haired boy about. Jinyoung was slightly out of breath, he talked so much and so fast that he couldn’t keep up with himself. He surprised himself with how much he had to talk about. Jackson used this silence to introduce his passion.

‘’If you want, I’d like to show you my favourite things. It’s a music store, I can show you some songs that’ll make you feel the same way as those books made you feel.’’ Jackson said.

‘’You did tell me last night that you like stories with a melody.’’ Jinyoung grinned, it was now his turn to follow Jackson.

They walked off campus, crossed two roads and turned into an alley. A dimly lit shop with albums stacked to the ceiling, loomed up from the darkness.
Who buys albums anymore, how can this shop still exist? Jinyoung thought.
But Jackson moved around in this (limited) space as easily as Jinyoung had done in the library. He picked albums here and there, careful not to have anything come crashing down, and put them in a CD player with headphones attached to them. Instead of explaining what the music did to Jackson, he let Jinyoung find out himself as he put the headphones on him. The first track gave him the sensation that he was flying. The soft music building up into a great symphony made him feel as if he could conquer anything. When the track was finished he was back in the music shop again with Jackson, back on earth.
The next CD went in and this time the music carried him along as if he was being read a story to. He could feel the emotions the composer went through. Jackson stared Jinyoung intently in his eyes, seeing if the music resonated with him. When that track finished too, Jinyoung was just as speechless as Jackson had been in the library.

‘’And? What do you think?’’ Jackson started. But before Jinyoung could open his mouth, the blond-haired boy already began his analysis on what he considered good music. Jinyoung smiled, feeling warm and happy inside. Outside it was getting dark but the dimness of the lights inside gave a comfortable glow. He crossed his legs put his index finger to his temple and his thumb to his cheek and listened to Jackson talk. When he finished, Jackson picked up the first album he had Jinyoung listen to, walked to the counter and came back with it in a bag.

‘’Here, I want you to feel the way this music makes me feel all the time.’’ Jackson stated and he pressed the bag onto Jinyoung. Jinyoung took it with gratitude and together they left the shop for campus.

Jackson walked Jinyoung to his apartment. The both of them had their hands in their pockets against the cold, Jackson had his arm linked through Jinyoung’s. It was dark and the lights were on everywhere, leaving a romantic atmosphere, for as far as that was possible in a student dorm.

‘’I had fun, see you around on campus.’’ Jinyoung said.

‘’I had fun too, see you soon, I hope?’’ As Jackson turned away to leave, the dark-haired boy planted a kiss on his cheek with the speed of lightning. Jackson stopped and took some time to register what just happened. He then brought his hand to his cheek and felt it burn. He glanced sideways to Jinyoung who scrunched his face into a wide grin. He then turned, opened the door and quickly closed it behind him.
Jackson was left to think about this gesture. He left for his own apartment, thinking about Jinyoung. He actually didn’t have to think much as the boy was all that was on his mind. In bed he planned their future together. He then remembered the book he loaned from the library. He picked it up and started reading it with incredible speed.

The next day, Jackson made his decision. He was determined about it and it was all he thought about when getting ready. He practiced what he was going to say and left for Jinyoung’s apartment. He walked in a straight line to the dorm complex, muttering words under his breath. He took the stairs two steps at a time and knocked at the door.

When Jinyoung opened the door, the sound of the album Jackson bought him yesterday, flowed towards him: ‘’Hi Jackson, wha-‘’

 ‘’I have a million things to talk to you about. All I want in this world is you. I want to see you and talk. I want the two of us to begin everything from the beginning.’’ Jackson carefully quoted, knowing that Jinyoung knew exactly where the quote was from.
Jinyoung looked at him in disbelief, then his eyes started to sparkle and his smile made his whole face glow.
He jumped forward into Jackson’s arms.