Chapter 3 (1/1)

After his mom had pestered him with questions about how his day went, Youngjae finally managed to slip away from her and into his room, going to bed at a decent enough hour of the night. Morning came faster than he would've liked, but he still forced himself to roll out of bed and get ready for school on time. The walk to school was longer than usual, dragging on as if an extra mile of sidewalk had surfaced during the night.  The day seemed as unending as the walk to school, classes seemed interminable. After what seemed like eternity, it was finally the last class of the day, and, opposing his usual attitude, he rushed to the class he had been itching to go to all day. "You're in an unusual good mood in my classroom today," the teacher raised an eyebrow. Youngjae shrugged, taking his usual seat in the desk closest to the door. The teacher reluctantly nodded as the rest of the students filtered in the room. "Well, I hope it won't be too disappointing when I let you know today is a make-up day," the teacher added sarcastically. Youngjae laughed a little as the teacher turned to go sit down at his desk. He shook his head, smiling to himself, and pulled out his headphones, pushing them securely in his ears and turning his music to mid volume.The clock ticked ever so slowly, and Youngjae tried to swallow a restless feeling stirred inside of him as the minutes drew to a close and the end of the school day neared. He closed his eyes, trying to keep his mind off of the boy. With his eyes closed, time seemed to stand still, although he knew it only moved faster.  Eyes resumed their position on the light, unwavering as usual. The clock seemed  louder today, the noise echoing inside his eardrums, tugging his eyes away from the light. He stood up and walked over to the clock, not even hesitating to lift it from it's nail and take it down. Turning it over, he pulled off the back panel and took out the batteries. The noise ceased.  "I'm going out mom, I'll be back in a few hours," Youngjae said happily, his heart pounding so earnestly he thought it his mom could hear it from the backyard."Okay, just be back before dinner, where are you going?" She hollered to her son who was practically already out the door. Noticing his homebody facade had been lost completely, she laughed seeing her son so anxious to leave, curious about who could have captured her son's attention enough to make him like this."I'm doing my community service project, I'll be back before dinner don't worry," he added, slipping on his shoes, grabbing a jacket, and rushing out the door. His mom hurried in, unconvinced but willing to let him leave, watching his busy self dash out. "What's your project?""Visitation, I have to go, I love you," he shouted, running down the sidewalk, away from his house, while he struggled to put on his jacket, unable to hear his mom's laughing 'I love you too' as he ran off. He sped down the road, crossing over to the other side, turning corner after corner. The breeze tickled his back, lifting his heart out of his chest, and it fluttered off to another place, leaving him breathless. His pace refrained from decreasing until the pavement transitioned into gravel and the trees thickened and canopied over the road. Youngjae slowed to a walk and a nervous smile spread across his face. He knew he wasn't going to be expected to return, at least by the boy, and probably wasn't going to be welcomed warmly by him either. However, the thought of seeing him again made Youngjae feel restless, almost excited, and he wasn't turning back; he felt drawn to help the boy.The trees swayed, sending waves of calmness washing over him,filling him to the brim. His hand found the door knob before he knew he was at the door, and he walked in. The nurses smiled at him as he entered, turning to the stair case, taking it two at a time. The clock, hung back in its spot, stayed silent, the batteries discarded in the trash can. He sat once again, on the edge of his bed, feet dangling just above the cold tile floor, eyes focused intently on the light until a flicker of movement caught his attention. The movement came closer until it was right in front of his door. His breath caught in his throat as the door opened and the visitor stepped in. Without a word, he clicked the door shut behind him and sat on the bed next to the boy."So what is your sir name?" The visitor asked, tilting his head to glance at the boy, who seemed unfazed by the question."Jung," he answered softly, not meeting his gaze."Jung Daehyun," Youngjae smiled at the boy who was fiddling with his hands, as if captivated by the complex structure. " Mine's Yoo," he offered, leaning back and taking in the room fully for the first time. "Nice to meet you Jung Daehyun, your room is very stuffy," Youngjae stated, scrunching up his nose. "That's because the windows don't open," he replied softly as always, dropping his hands in his lap. Youngjae exhaled a soft laugh, glancing back at the window that was sealed shut. Daehyun took a breath and turned to face him, "Why did you come back, Yoo Youngjae?" He tinged the sir name with something just south of a sarcastic tone, as if it were a joke."I wanted to," he looked over,meeting Daehyun's eyes, and smiled a small, warm smile, then glanced back out the window. Daehyun felt something stir inside himself, something that had been buried deep inside and hidden away, neglected since far before the eight months he spent locked up in his current housing. "I think you need a new clock, Jung Daehyun," the comment took Daehyun by surprise. He saw the other staring at the stationary hands of the clock and glanced at the trash can where the batteries had been thrown.Youngjae slid off the bed and went over to the clock, taking it down from its place just as Daehyun had done hours previous to the visit. He turned it over in his hands a few times, looking it over from front to back, before he slid off the battery panel and smiled. "It just needs batteries," he turned back to Daehyun and smiled, showing him the empty space that batteries had occupied only a few hours before. Daehyun blinked, unsure of how to respond to the smiling boy. Youngjae looked back at the clock, shaking his head as he sli