jisung stared at the entrance to the han river park. he bit his lip, lowering his foot down to take a step, but hesitating before it could reach the ground. a sense of unwarranted paranoia encapsulated him. it isn't safe here.

he started to back away, afraid of who or what kind of thing could be facing him along the river. as expected from jisung, he backed into someone, turning around to apologize. "i-i'm so sorry, i'm-" until he cut himself off. a switch clicked in his mind.

a boy with black, shaggy hair, with headphones resting on his neck. zhong chenle. "it's alright. wait...you go to my school...i think? jaesung? something or other? fuck." he shook his head as if in denial of his poor memory.

"it's park jisung..." jisung politely corrected, slightly intimidated by chenle's sunglasses and designer clothing which screamed inferiority.

chenle snapped his fingers, realization hitting only after he heard the name. "right. uh, why are you here alone?" jisung opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself, social battery too low to explain anything. "quiet guy, aren't you? well, okay." he kicked at one of the small patches of overgrown grass.

"chenle! jisung!" the two boys turned towards the voice, ningning approaching them with a wide smile. "chenle, i guess you've met jisung."

ningning sprung herself into chenle's arms. jisung shifted his focus to the floor, not wanting to seem disrespectful for staring at them. they must be together.

jisung cracked his knuckles, rocking from left foot to right foot. the concept of a relationship intrigued him, yet he believed he was better off without anyone. not because he didn't want a partner, he just thinks nobody would be satisfied with him. it was a result of self hate that he couldn't reel himself out of.

ningning's expression softened after making eye contact with jisung. "well, i've just dedicated this meetup to you and chenle. feel free to talk, hang out...whatever." on their expressions, she rephrased, "i mean," he leaned close to chenle's ear.

"listen, ji. this kid has no friends. he's a loner. at least just be nice to him, and you can complain to me at home." a shiver of uneasiness ran down chenle's spine. was ningning doing the right thing? maybe jisung just wanted to be alone. "just imagine. you can leave this kid at the park after talking to him for awhile. don't give him your number."

chenle thought for awhile. the image of him rejecting jisung's ask for his number, a possibility of ruining jisung's day, it made chenle not want to talk anymore, so he fell into silence, responding only with a seemingly careless shrug.

ningning chuckled. "you've got this, babe." after a beat, she pressed his lips to chenle's cheek, nonchalantly sauntering back into his car like it was no big deal. jisung faked a silent gag.

chenle's face was blazing red. a saccharine smile soon was stretched to his cheeks. "sh-she..." he whispered, hand touching where ningning had laid her lips on seconds ago.

jisung checked his watch, figuring that he wasn't out of this situation anytime soon. chenle spun around, stupid grin still plastered to his porcelain skin. "so uh, what do you wanna do?" he asked, residual giggles pouring out of him. jisung pressed his lips into a thin line.

"i-don't know, maybe like a walk...?" he meant to say, yet it came out in a whisper. thank god chenle heard it.

"yeah. yeah, a walk is cool." chenle nodded, tone breathy.

the two boys walked in the park, chenle bopping his head to his music, while jisung was flinching at every slight breeze; he hated the outdoors. "why do you think ningning wanted to introduce us?"

jisung stared ahead, focus locked on the cherry blossom tree. "i'm not sure...he said that we would be good friends, i think." chenle mulled at that, scratching the back of his neck. "you two seem to be....together?"

chenle's face ignited into deep red once again. "n-no! definitely not! she probably doesn't even like me back.." he awkwardly adjusted his jacket.

jisung shot him a glare that screamed 'you dense bitch'. chenle raised an eyebrow. "she clearly likes you, what're you talking about? she literally just..kissed you."

"that's just a friend thing," chenle scoffed, clearly in denial. he noted jisung's unsurprised expression. "right?"

jisung sighed. "chenle, either i'm weird or i just don't have any friends, but that is not a friend thing, last time i checked." at that, his eyes widened. he wasn't expecting to become so comfortable with chenle on the first meeting.

chenle crossed his arms. "but she's never showed, like, real interest in me. he never asked me to be her boyfriend." jisung facepalmed.

"she doesn't have to ask you to be his boyfriend to like you! maybe she's just...scared of rejection?"

"you think so?" at that sliver of hope, chenle's face lit up. jisung averted his gaze from the other boy, breaking their eye contact.

"i'm sure." after all, who wouldn't be?