{NINE.i}
{pt.3 of Highschool Lovers}
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Joohyoung swears the warmth spreads through their palms, tightly pressed against each other. Wanders through his own fingertips and straight into his stomach, where it lives on as the soft shine of a candle in...
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"Hey." He feels the vibration against his hair more than he hears him. "Joohyoung? I think your mom is calling."
He shakes off the drowsiness clinging to his eyelids and mindlessly pats around, searching. Jiho giggles and stops him with a touch on his wrist. He's smiling so sweetly that Joohyoung would think he might still be dreaming half of it, if he wasn't so familiar with that sight.
Jiho places the phone in his hand. "Here."
"Oh. Thanks." Joohyoung laughs at himself and takes the call. "Hi?"
"Why aren't you reading your messages?" is the first things she says. He hears kitchen noises in the background, tap water running and the click of the refrigerator door.
"Sorry. I must've fallen asleep." He only realizes now how dim it is in Jiho's room. The curtains have been pulled aside, but the sky outside has taken on the colors of faint pastel shadows. On the PC screen, only the screensaver greets him, the protagonist Ashitaka and his red elk from Princess Mononoke venturing through the forest on a narrow path of dirt.
They've been watching My Neighbor Totoro a second time, at Jiho's request, and maybe it's because Joohyoung has already seen it or maybe the movie is just so much the manifestation of peace and whimsical comfort that he nestled his face into the crook of Jiho's neck at one point and promptly drifted off.
"What do I do with you," Mom sighs on the other end. "I was about to call the police. I thought you got yourself kidnapped. Don't do that ever again."
"It's not like I can control how long— fine, yeah, I'll do better." He throws up his hands in frustration. Next to him, Jiho giggles again, eyes crinkling up all fond and soft and Joohyoung can't help but laugh along under his breath. Mom probably thinks he's making fun of her right now. He doesn't feel like explaining though.
"Anyways, am I in trouble? Did I miss something, was I supposed to be home by now?"
"You're in trouble the next time you disappear from the face of the earth like that. And you also forgot to run the washing machine. No, don't bother, I've done it myself now. My question was — I'm going up to your brother in an hour with some kimchi. Do you want to come with me?"
"Do I have to?" he whines. "I'm kinda comfy right now."
"Who said I was forcing you? Just stay here, then."
"Fine. Bye."
"Stay safe, okay?"
"Yeah, bye."
Joohyoung hangs up and drops his phone in his lap. Jiho makes an inquiring noise.
"She just wanted to tell me she's visiting my brother at uni. I could've gone with her, but I said no. She always comes back at like three a.m., so I'll have the apartment all to myself for the next while."
