day 12
9.20 pm
lee haru

night in the woods

we sit on the pond's edge
with soaking wet clothes
shivering bodies
and our chests heaving
trying to catch our breaths

jeongguk lets out a cute chuckle
before standing up and heading into the house
coming out later with two towels in his hand

without a word
he leans down and wraps a towel around my body
catching me off guard
"you're gonna catch a cold"

we sit like that for awhile
side by side
the stars twinkling above us
just like the night we slept in the back of the rover

before long
we're both laying down on the grass
staring up at the sky

"don't they remind you of us"
he says suddenly, breaking the silence

i furrow my eyebrows
"what about us?"

"we're like lost stars
trying to light up the dark
and yet we're just two people
in the middle of millions of others"

"at least we're somewhere in there"
i turn to lay on my side
putting an arm under my head as i
stare into his eyes

he turns too, and our eyes lock
his lips part into a shy laugh
"you actually look really cute up close pinky"

i sigh dramatically
pouting my lips and puffing my cheeks out
"it's tough you know
being born looking as perfect as this"

"hmm you have a point
i find my looks a little hard to bear sometimes
you see, i'm just too handsome"

makes me wonder if he's a narcissist himself

"god"
i slap him lightly on his arm
and switch my gaze back to focus
on the stars in the sky
"you're too full of yourself"

"as if you weren't
i was just showing off because you were"

"it was a joke
please don't think of me as a narcissist"

we head back inside
after another hour of debating

jeongguk manages to
hog the bathroom before i can
resulting in me locking the door from the outside
and loud bangings from the inside
as he demands for me to let him out

after that's done
we go to managing our sleeping area

jeongguk, despite his ego and grudge
after the bathroom incident
offers to sleep on the couch outside
for the sake of a girl's privacy

but the weather is awfully cold
and there is no way he would be
able to fit into that couch
in a comfortable position for the night

and so after 10 minutes of me
laying down on that big queen sized bed
contemplating my choices
i tiptoe out of the room
and let out a soft "i can't sleep"

"why?" he asks with half lidded eyes

"because i'm alone
and i know it's weird but
i just need someone to hold onto"
i say, trying to make up some smart excus
i can't possibly let him sleep out here
in the freezing room

"and also
we're in the middle of the woods
i get scared sometimes
there might be wolves you know
or ghosts, or vampires
or all those paranormal shit"

a smile crosses his face
and i feel the heat rising to my cheeks
he enters the bed with me
and the rain starts to fall outside
causing pitter-patters on the roof

a gush of wind sweeps through my body
and by instinct i wrap my arms around him
feeling the warmth of his body against mine

he doesn't stop me, instead he says
"goodnight, pinky" in a hushed whisper
while i feel his fingers stroking my hair

he feels like home
he smells like home
and that is enough to lull me to sleep tonight

"goodnight
jeon jeongguk"