Chapter Text
Despite the clashing and fighting that seemed to define their lives, Sieun’s run-ins with Seongje were few and far between. They occasionally crossed paths at random places like the PC bang he’d been dragged to, or across the street when he wandered too close to Union territory, but otherwise Keum Seongje was nothing more than a bad taste in Sieun’s mouth. Sieun wasn’t upset by the Seongje sized void in his life, rather it pleased him. There was no need to research ‘How to remove cigarette smoke from school uniform’ or put up with the boy’s reckless behavior. Sieun was content with staying out of as much trouble as possible, and that’s exactly what Seongje was.
He had gotten out of cram school when he came across the boy. It was drizzling, light enough for his old grey hoodie to shield, yet enough to fill the night with a muggy haze. Most days, Sieun would head straight home, trudging along the dimly lit streets and crashing into bed for another sleepless night. Tonight, however, a gnawing pang in his stomach detoures him to the small convenience store placed across from the cram school, enticing wired students to spend a few dollars on cheap ramen and chips.
He steps inside quietly, headphones nestled in his ears in an attempt to ward off anyone looking to make conversation. Ramen sounded alright. Or maybe instant coffee that would aid in his late night studying. Sieun browses the aisle half-heartedly, letting his stomach guide him to the cheapest snack he could find.
“Cats can’t eat ramen, do you want me to fucking kill the thing?”
The brash voice cuts through the soft classical music playing in Sieun’s headphones. He unfortunately instantly recognizes the voice. Poking his head around the endcap, Sieun watches an animated Keum Seongje argue with the underpaid cashier.
“You don’t even have tuna here? What fucking convience store doesn’t have fucking tuna?” Dressed in jeans and a black hoodie, Seongje stands at the front counter waving his arms in frustration.
“I don’t know dude, try the store down the block.” The cashier replies in a bored tone, clearly not in the mood to indulge the heated boy in a debate.
Sieun closes his eyes from a brief moment, internally praying that he’ll open them to a Seongje-less shopping experience. Instead, the familiar voice grows louder as he emerges from the ramen aisle, instant noodles nestled in the crook of his elbow.
“Whatever. Grab me a sausage or some crap. And nothing spicy! I’m trying to be heroic, not rack up a vet bill.”
As Sieun hesitantly makes his way up to the register, he prays that whatever crazed situation the other boy has gotten himself into is enough to distract him. He watches as the disgruntled employee grabs the nearest plain sausage wrapped in plastic, a white flag waved. He didn’t blame the kid. If it was him face-to-face with a lunatic like Seongje he too would choose the easiest path to freedom.
See, Keum Seongje was unique. He didn’t back down from little things and more often than not, was actively looking for an excuse to escalate a situation- even over a can of tuna. The boy throws down a few crumpled bills and snatches the sausage out of the cashier's hand, still muttering about vet bills under his breath. As soon as he turns around, Sieun knows there’s no stopping an interaction between the two.
“Newbie? Didn’t take you for a late night snack kind of guy.” A sly smile dances across Seonje’s face, as if they were old friends.
Sieun rolls his eyes, pushing past the taller boy and placing his ramen on the counter. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Seongje linger, watching him closely. He pays quickly and beelines for the exit, a tall shadow follows behind gingerly.
“Woah, slow down Newbie. What’s the hurry? Don’t want to chat?”
In a shallow attempt to ward off the crazy that was Keum Seongje, Sieun rattles the plastic bag holding his ramen, hoping the boy will get the hint. He doesn’t, obviously, and begins to trail behind him.
“Don’t even wanna see my new friend?”
“No.” It comes out a bit blunter than intended, but after hours of learning equations Sieun is in no mood to entertain whatever scheme Seongje is up to.
A quick tug to the arm ruins any hope of getting back home at a (somewhat) reasonable hour, and suddenly Sieun finds himself in the alley next to the store. In any other scenario a dark alley on a rainy night would mean trouble, especially when his only company is a guy from a school he’s sworn to despise. Tonight however, is different. Instead of being thrown against a brick wall and getting his stomach punched, Yeon Sieun is being led towards a little brown box. Its once rigid exterior now soft and malleable, caving in at the top from the rain. The box, no bigger than a backpack, had definitely been discarded for weeks. Inside, Sieun can barely make out the silhouette of a tiny black animal.
“Found it on my way home. Usually would just keep walking but with the rain and shit…” Seongje trails off, crouching down to hold out a hand to the shivering animal.
It was sort of fascinating. One second you're buying $3 instant ramen, and the next you’re in a dark alley watching your supposed arch nemesis make kissy noises at a kitten.
In another world it might even be a bit endearing. Sieun shakes the thought out of his head, grounding himself back in reality. The cat stretches lazily and saunters out of the box to meet Seongje’s outstretched hand, nuzzling into it as if they were lifelong companions. A wolf and a cat, what an image. The irony of the situation was not lost on Sieun. Never in a million years would he expect to find himself in this situation, awkwardly hovering over the Union’s best fighter cozying up to a soft furry creature.
Seongje reaches for the sausage stuffed in his hoodie pocket, carefully unwrapping it. The cat sniffs the air and completely emerges from the box. A small smile ghosts the taller boy’s face as he lets the cat pull the treat out of his hand.
“Cute, huh?” He turns to tilt his head up at Sieun, eyes glistening behind rain-kissed glasses.
For a moment everything is quiet. The rain has picked up a bit, softly pattering on the empty streets. In the silence, Sieun sighs and crouches down with an outstretched arm, softly stroking the cat, now preoccupied with devouring its first meal in who knows how long.
“Sure, I guess.”
“I’m taking it with me. Gonna name it something cool like Harley Davidson or whatever.”
“Harley Davidson?” Sieun can’t even attempt to hide the confusion in his voice.
“You know, like the motorcycle. Newbie there’s no way you don’t know Harley Davidson.”
“I guess…” Sieun trails off, the absurdity of the situation weighing on him.
They weren’t friends, barely even acquaintances. The only interactions Sieun and Seongje had involved punches flying and something to prove. Yet here they were, crouched in some dingy alleyway, huddled together in the rain.
“Hey, Newbie, sort of romantic isn’t in?”
And just like that, Sieun is pulled back to reality. Of course Seongje couldn’t be serious for more than five minutes. No, there was nothing romantic about the situation. Nothing romantic about being dragged off his course to the freedom of his room. Nothing romantic about being caught in the rain. And most definitely, nothing romantic about Keum Seongje.
Sieun pulls away, standing up quickly, letting out an irritated huff and rustles around for the umbrella previously discarded in his backpack. He can hear Seongje calling his name as he walks out from the alley, beginning his trek home.
—————————-
The next few days are mostly uneventful. Sieun goes to school like normal and attends- no endures- the god awful cram school hours his mom had signed him up for. The days are draining, but nothing out of the ordinary. He had grown to expect the usual pang of loneliness that came from his normal routine. Ever since the incident with Suho happened, Sieun often found himself falling into the melancholy of normal. School, homework, more school. All combined with sleepless nights and enough stress to kill a baby elephant.
It wasn’t like he didn’t have the opportunity to have fun, it just didn’t feel the same. Something about his best friend laying comatose didn’t exactly push him to live life to its fullest. He liked his new friends, too, though he would never admit it out loud. Their loud antics grounded him. Despite the weight of the world on his shoulders, it was nice to have people to distract him from whatever doom spiral his brain would regularly send him down.
And then there was Keum Seongje, a wildly non-consistent presence up until a few days ago. Sieun hadn’t seen the boy since their run in at the convenience store, yet he couldn’t help but think about him. About his stupid glasses and that stupid (yet admittedly cute) creature he found in the alley.
He hadn’t taken Seonje to be an animal lover, let alone someone who rescues strays off the street. It felt weird, almost voyeuristic. Before that interaction Sieun had chalked Seonje up to being a narcissistic asshole who enjoyed causing others pain, not someone who rescued cats in his spare time. He shouldn’t have been there, observing someone so out of character, in another world entirely.
It was another long day of school and cram school. Finally the day was finished and Sieun had a long sleepless night to look forward to. The medication didn’t help and whatever concoction Juntae had created for him usually fell short. To put it simply, Sieun was exhausted. As he left the hagwon, he couldn’t help but linger longer than usual, waiting for something he couldn’t quite place.
As if reading his mind, a voice pulls him back to reality.
“Fancy seeing you here, Newbie.”
Perched against his motorbike under a nearby streetlamp, cigarette tucked between two full lips, stood the man who wouldn’t seem to leave Sieun’s mind.
Sieun rolls his eyes. Coincidence or not, Seonje always seemed one step ahead.
“Didn’t take you to be a cram school kind of guy.” Sieun mumbles under his breath, approaching the lamp post hesitantly.
“Ouch, Newbie. I’ll have you know I don’t need a stupid cram school to get good scores. Magic’s all up here.” Seonje says, tapping his temple lightly.
“I bet.” mumbles Sieun, already regretting giving him the time of day.
“I’m here to see you, actually. Thought you might be hungry after all that studying.” Like magic Seongje pulls a strawberry milk and a triangle kimbap from his jacket pocket.
A strange feeling settles into the pit of Sieun’s stomach. For the longest time the only feelings he had towards the other boy was loathing and distrust. Yet here they were.
“Also wanted to see if you’d want to see our baby. You know, co-parenting is a two-way street.” A sly smile spreads across Seonje’s face, illuminated by the warm glow of the streetlamp.
“I don’t remember having a kid with you. Not hungry either.”
Sieun turns towards the direction of his home when a strong hand takes him by the wrist.
“C’mon Sieun-ah. Harley totally has your eyes.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“And you’re stubborn as shit. What, too good to play house?”
“Not at…” Sieun checks his phone, “10:15 at night, no.”
It’s Seonje’s turn to roll his eyes, as if Sieun’s response towards the absurd situation was unreasonable. Instead of arguing, he puts his cigarette and reaches for a spare helmet on the back of his motorbike. He passes it to Sieun, shoving the helmet in his hands and looking away momentarily, almost shyly.
“Well I don’t like taking no for an answer. It’s Friday, Newbie. What better things are you doing?”
The question echos in his head.
Truthfully? Nothing.
All Sieun had planned for the night was curling up in bed or cramming in a few extra hours of notes. Any other day he would refuse to entertain Keum Seongje, but tonight the weight of his loneliness seems to weigh heavier than usual.
“You get one hour.”