#and by analysing the grammar i actually get it off that panic

[coffee-without-anesthetics]

coś stoi w rogu pokoju.

patrzy.

na mnie?

nie patrz na mnie. nie na mnie. masz okno, wyglądaj za nie. czy masz oczy nawet? czym patrzysz? na co?

nie na mnie. proszę. nie ma mnie. nic nie widzisz.

czego brak w mym umyśle jest mną. kogo tu nie ma, tego nie zobaczysz.

nie patrz. błagam.

blask mnie chroni. lecz ile da rady? nie zawsze będzie świecić, a co dopiero mi pomagać.

ludzkie oczy dostosowują się do ilości światła w danych miejscach. to ma oczy. dlaczego nie miałoby również się dostosowywać?

król karol i królowa karolina. chłop o imieniu grzegorz brzęczyszczykiewicz. gdzieś jest stół z powyłamywanymi nogami. w szczebrzeszyn i trzcinie chrząszcz.

czego nie widzisz cię nie zrani.

a ty jesteś niewidoma z zamkniętymi oczami.

[shanghai-lu]

Late Night Strolls ~ Jung Jaehyun

For:  정재현 - NCT

Type: Drabble / Scenario 

Mood: Fluff / Wholesome

Word count: 1505

[ I rewrote the original one as I wasn’t completely happy with it, and I opted to try something different and push myself with the redone one ~ (●^◡^●) ]

During your holiday to Italy together, summer had been in full swing, making the hot days nearly unbearable outside, so you and Jaehyun decided a late-night walk sounded like exactly what you needed.

He held your hand as the two of you walked lazily down the cobblestone streets. The cool breeze ruffling through the leaves of the trees lining the sidewalks, and playing gently with your hair, goosebumps appearing on your arms, but you don’t mind it.

A few people pass you - couples, families, and groups of friends - all making the most of the beautiful evening, cast in a warm orange glow from the streetlights. The moon sat high, stars twinkling brightly as the neighbourhood, with its quaint restaurants and buskers filling the air with the smell of wine and the sound of laughter and chatter, took its time going to bed. 

Soft jazz played from a balcony a few buildings away. Jaehyun hummed along, now swaying your entwined hands slowly back and forth as you continue your stroll. You walk through the neighbourhood for a long while, away from the crowds and restaurants and into the quieter streets of the antique, picturesque district.

“Wait.” he stopped suddenly, looking around him puzzled. 

“I think we took a weird turn somewhere...” he trailed off, turning to look at the buildings and streets behind him, then ahead of you two, still holding your hand. 

He was right. You had been so busy enjoying the cool evening that you didn’t focus on your last couple of turns. This part of the neighbourhood, if you were lucky enough to still be in the same neighbourhood, was sparsely lit, empty, just the moonlight bouncing off the windows of the old stone buildings. 

“And we left our phones on charge back at the guesthouse...”, you add with a slight whine, frustrated at yourselves, and now also attempting to analyse the buildings around you for any sign of familiarity. “Should we try and trace back?” 

He takes a moment to think about it, subconsciously tightening his hold on your hand. “I-I think so. Yeah. Let's try that. I think we took 2 lefts and a right... no wait… 2 lefts and 2 rights…wait no one left...one right?...right?...” He bit his bottom lip, frowning, a lost look in his eyes, as he tries to remember. 

You knew it was a serious situation, lost in an unfamiliar city at well past midnight, but a part of you couldn’t help but just be happy to be with him like this. Just the two of you, exploring and adventuring together, seeing each other in a different context outside your normal daily routine.

“Don’t worry, let’s just turn back and take it one turn at a time, okay?”, you smile calmly in an attempt to keep your own growing panic and nerves hidden and start walking in the direction from which you came, lightly tugging on him to follow. He smiles weakly, clearly a bit panicked as well, and so pulls you in closer to him, steps in sync.

After a few corners, you think you know where to go next as you step to take the turn to one direction, but Jaehyun steps to take the other.

"This way."

"No, it’s this way."

"It’s this way. I feel it."

"You feel it?"

He nods and tries to pull you to follow him. But you stand firm, sure it was the other way. You don't recognise any of the buildings or objects in that direction.

"Jae, I really think it's this way. Look, I don't remember seeing those benches lined like that. We would've had to walk past them. I would've remembered having to get out of their way."

He sighs, scrutinising both directions again. He remembered benches. You didn't.

After looking at both roads repeatedly, you also start to question if you didn’t remember any benches. Truthfully, you weren’t all that focused on your surroundings before. You could easily have been oblivious to any obstacles.

You sigh, lifting your hand up in defeat muttering “Okay, okay you win, you win but you better be right.”

Jaehyun smiles, turning you to face him completely, stepping closer and wrapping his arm around your waist. He leaned down to give a quick kiss on your cheek.

“And what if I’m wrong, mhh? You going to punish me?” he teases playfully, holding you even closer. You turn your head in an attempt to hide your efforts to supress a grin and pray he can’t feel your racing heart. “Mmh? Mh? Mh?” he repeats teasingly, leaning in closer to your lips each time. Still with your face turned to the side, you feel yourself about to give in to him completely, as you usually do. When he gets into these playful moods, you always find yourself feeling nervous, overthinking how to keep up with his games and teasing, never knowing what the right way to respond would be.

“No kisses.” You blurt out, just as his lips are about to graze yours. He pulls back, slightly confused.

“No kisses?”

“Yeah, if you’re wrong then no kisses.” You slowly turn to face him with a small smirk. A spark of unfamiliar confidence mixed with competitiveness rests in your chest. Jaehyun was clearly rubbing off on you.

“For how long?” he asks cautiously.

“Mmhh….” You feign having to contemplate. “As long as it takes for us to get back home.”

He catches on that you’re trying your hand at toying with him and it causes a massive grin on his handsome face. He looks off to the side, trying to reel in his thoughts and hide the effect its had on him, and you are fully aware. You rarely tease, or take the lead, never having the assurance to do so, usually just going along with everything. But there’s something about the atmosphere of the evening, the uncertain circumstances giving you a dose of adrenaline.

“Actually, make hugs and any form of physical affection off limits too.” You taunt as you pull out of his embrace and your hand out of his grip on it, backing away from him. He laughs, shaking his head before reaching out a hand for you but you dodge him by taking quick steps backwards. A playful, competitive glint shimmers in his brown eyes. He strides towards you with determination, but you turn around and start running down the dimly lit cobblestone street, giggling but trying not to make too much noise to not wake the residents.

The scene plays out in slow motion in your mind. You look back and find him laughing while chasing you, hot on your heels. You sprint forward, but there is no chance that you could ever outrun him, but you’re going to make him work for it a little.

You run as fast as you can down to the end of the long street, wind whipping around you, through your hair, your side stinging, but just as you're about to turn a corner you’re yanked back by an arm wrapped around your middle, pulling your back into a hard chest, lifting you slightly off the ground with the motion. You can hear his heavy breathing behind your ear and feel his heart racing just like yours. You tilt your head back to rest it against him, closing your eyes and focusing on calming the burn in your lungs. The run had warmed you up, the cold breeze now fresh relief against your flushed face. He kisses you on your jaw repeatedly.

“So mean.” He mutters with a smile. “And surprisingly fast.”

You scoff lightly. His innocent kisses trail down, wet, soft, to your naked shoulder, and you hum happily.

Hands back to being entangled, the two of you continue your stroll. At another crossroads, you remembered square windows, while he remembered rounder ones. This time he’s the one to give in.

After every disagreement about which way to go, the loser would get a soft, warm kiss, either on the forehead, or cheek, nose, or lips as a sort of compensation.

As much as you liked getting kissed at nearly every corner, you tried, really tried, to find your way back to the guesthouse but in the end a friendly local, just arriving home themselves, had to give you directions, albeit it took a few minutes through all the broken English and very broken Italian. And to be fair, you took quite a few wrong turns in your absent-minded wandering and playful, light-hearted bickering about which way was home, and ended up on nearly the opposite side of the neighbourhood.

With a clear path in mind of how to get home, you both calm down, the nerves of feeling lost completely gone, and the calmness of the night settling in again. Still holding your hand lovingly, rubbing small circles on the back with his thumb, he leans down to whisper with a happy smirk "We should get lost together more often."

Xx

I have never been to Italy, and so have very limited knowledge of the architecture, weather and landscape of the cities and villages there, so please excuse any inaccuracies on that part. (´∩｡• ᵕ •｡∩`)

If I made a few errors with grammar or spelling, feel free to correct me~ Also, if you need credit for the photos used please let me know :)

Hope you have a lovely day!

- Lu ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ