[J01] UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN (9:13 A.M.)
Prompt Code: J01
Title: Until we meet again (9:13 a.m.)
Rating: PG-13
Side Pairings (if any): none
Warnings: none
Word Count: 2313
Summary: The world is stuck in the infinite time loop. Kyungsoo and Jongin fall in love through dreams, but to stop the time from reverting again they will have to meet. Soon Kyungsoo discovers that finding his way to Jongin will be much more difficult than it might seem.
AN: This is my first ever fic so I am very sorry if it is not too great but I was really trying my best. And hey, there always has to be a first time right? :) Mods of the NODTT, thank you so much for allowing me to participate in this exchange, I will be forever grateful. My recipient, thank you for the wonderful prompt <3. I tried to stick to it as closely as I could but I know I deviated a few times just trying to make the story work better (and probably failing). If I had more time I would probably rewrite it. Also I am very sorry if grammar and punctuation are not on point, but English is not my first language. Nevertheless I hope you will enjoy it at least a little bit :)
Kyungsoo started falling.
It felt like infinity.
The gravity pulling him downwards and making his insides stir.
Windows of buildings passing him and familiar faces staring deep into his eyes.
Voices of people he knew echoing inside his head painted vivid pictures in front of his eyes.
He looked down and suddenly he wasn't falling anymore, he was flying.
The city of thousand lights stretched underneath, far away but so close at the same time.
He saw someone else.
Flying alongside with his arms wide spread in a clam flight, black hair fluttering on the wind.
The stranger's voice was calling his name.
KyungSoo turned sharply to face him.
He lost balance and started falling, the sound of the stranger's voice ringing in his ears.
Everything went dark as he smashed into the ground.
---
9:13 a.m.
Kyungsoo opened his eyes to a blue sky and grey clouds covering patches of its surface in a thick layer and leaving others empty, allowing rays of sunshine to warm their way through towards the surface of the earth. Next thing he registered was the feel of wet grass against his bare arms and around his ankles where his socks ended. His senses started coming back slowly, however his vision was still blurred and his hearing dulled.
Wind carrying the sound of hundreds of cars passing by along busy streets ruffled his hair slightly as he sat up resting his palms on the moist ground. He could feel the warm impression of the sun’s rays on the bare skin of his palms but there was also a slight chill to the air, suggesting that it was still morning.
Kyungsoo stood up to his feet. He started walking down a pebble path passing through the middle of the park, the stones under the soles of his shoes clinking silently. He turned to his left to see a girl, maybe a ten year old, crouching on a pink blanket and playing with a little doll house. On his right he could see a small brown speckled dog chasing tiny birds in the tall grass that heaved with his movements. Farther away in the distance he saw an old fashioned car standing on the sidewalk. It's perfectly polished windows and azure body reflected the shimmering sunlight in all directions glistening in front of Kyungsoo’s eyes and blinding him slightly.
He decided to walk on while trying desperately to remember why he was here and trying to recognise which part of the city he was currently in. In front of him he could see cars passing by along one edge of the park. Maybe I can find some kind of street sign there. In any other direction the park just stretched endlessly so Kyungsoo chose to follow towards the street.
The leaves of the trees around him rustled quietly and glistened in the sun rays creating intricate patterns of light against the blue sky. KyungSoo walked on with his head raised high lost in this moment of beauty and fascination. He didn’t notice the car approaching him at full speed. He heard screams of people and a piercing screeching of tires. His eyes instinctively flew to the ground to, instead of the green grass or pebbled path, find the black asphalt of the road.
Suddenly the time slowed down. Kyungsoo looked to the right to see in front of his eyes a slowly approaching shining azure patch of light. Seconds later everything, including the car in front of him, gave place to persistent darkness.
9:25 a.m.
---
He was standing in a dark room.
Only a small lamp placed on a square table was throwing a circle of light on the floor.
A lonely chair stood beside the table but it was not empty.
Kyungsoo noticed the familiar locks of black hair.
He approached the table as the stranger raised his head.
One look at his full lips made Kyungsoo’s heart stop.
One glance at his dark eyes caused a surge of electricity to pass through Kyungsoo's body.
“Who are you?” his trembling voice almost completely distorted the words.
“Jongin.” a simple statement followed. It was the same voice he has heard so many times returning in his dreams.
Kyungsoo tasted the name on his tongue.
It felt so familiar.
He wanted to say something more but the words failed to leave his lips.
“Until we meet again, Kyungsoo.” the stranger said.
KyungSoo started walking in his direction outstretching a hands towards Jongin's own.
Just as their fingers met Jongin’s silhouette vanished into thin air.
---
9:13 a.m.
He was in the same park again, lying on the grass and looking at the sky. He stood up quickly looking around. Nothing has changed. The sun was still shining and the morning dew on his palms felt identically cold and refreshing.
Kyungsoo walked down the same pathway. The small girl to on her blanket, the dog running through the grass and the blue car - everything remained unchanged, exactly where it was before.
He approached the same road and came to a halt at the same crossroads. Standing on the very edge of the sidewalk he stared with disbelief as the same blue car started and following the road around the park drove past Kyungsoo at full speed. Right where he had stood before.
He looked as the car receded only to disappear in the distance not long after. Looking down at his hands and legs just to make sure it is still there and fully functional he chose to follow in the direction where the car disappeared.
He turned right on the crossroads.
Walking down a crowded street he took a while to think about what happened. I died. Or did I? Somehow he was back here again. In the same place. At the same time. Kyungsoo remembered the flash of blue from before he lost consciousness, he also remembered Jongin. Jongin with his wonderfully full lips, velvety voice and black messy hair that covered his forehead in a cascade of locks. His name, as well as everything else about the strange man, felt so weirdly familiar it almost scared Kyungsoo.
He shook his head. I can’t think about this now. I need to find out where I am. Kyungsoo looked around and somewhere far away in the distance he spotted a signpost with small neat letters running across it.
Walking quickly towards it he didn’t notice a tall man who drew a gun from his black duffel bag. The time slowed down for a few seconds as the bullet left the barrel and slowly flew in Kyungsoo's direction. When it was just a few meters away it disintegrated into pure matter as time reverted again.
9:30 a.m.
---
They were sitting at the table and the lamp was throwing long shadows on both of their faces.
Jongin was now looking straight at him and piercing Kyungsoo's soul with his dark eyes.
“What happened?” KyungSoo’s voice was wobbly and unsure.
“You almost died. Again.” Jongin sounded almost amused. “But the time managed to revert itself before.”
“What now?” asked Kyungsoo.
“Next time try to turn left. You have to find me.” Jongin answered simply.
“I don’t know how.”
“Just follow your heart.”
This time as the room vanished their hands were interlocked under the table and Kyungsoo didn’t feel that afraid anymore.
---
9:13 a.m.
Next time the procedure went much faster. He got up and almost not paying attention to the girl, the dog and the blue car he jogged down towards the street. The sidewalk was bustling with people and the paved road was bustling with automobiles just as it was before.
This time following Jongin’s advice, he turned left.
The street went on in the shade of tall and broad trees alongside the park fence. Soon he reached a square surrounded by countless identical four storey buildings. A stone statue placed in the middle on a tall pedestal seemed to look at him ironically with eyes that resembled Jongin’s. Seems that everything reminds me of him now
He closed his eyes and inhaled the air trying to calm his heartbeat. Follow your heart. Jongin’s deep voice still echoed in his head. He took a sharp turn left into a much narrower alley right between two old buildings with red, brick walls and small windows situated on both sides. A once green metal doorway at the end of a small passageway to his right attracted his attention. He approached it slowly feeling an unfamiliar feeling in his chest arise as his heartbeat quickened.
The door opened with a quiet squeak revealing a round staircase that was winding up to the very top of the building. Kyungsoo dragged his hand over the carved wooden railing and, step by step, started to climb up. The higher he went, the quicker his heart was beating and the quicker his footsteps became.
The wooden door at the end of the staircase seemed weirdly out of place but he pushed it open without hesitation. He slowly exited through the roof onto the roof illuminated by the morning sun. The view was breathtaking. The sea of rooftops outstretched in all directions with an exception of a green square of the park in the middle.
Kyungsoo decided to approach to edge to take a better look at the environment beneath. He didn’t know that the tile he was about to stand on was not firmly attached to the rooftop surface. Kyungsoo lost his balance and as he fell through the edge, time slowed down again. Seeing the ground approaching him in slow motion, he wanted to scream but no words escaped through his throat.
Just a few seconds before impact the world around him him dissolved into darkness.
9:53 a.m.
---
Kyungsoo sat down by the table and tears started flowing down his cheeks.
“I’m scared” he mumbled.
“Why?”
His voice was underlined with fear when he answered “That next time I might really die...and never see you again”
Jongin leaned forward looking deeply into Kyungsoo's eyes and his thumb caressed the others cheek wiping away the tears.
“I will always be there for you.”
As their lips met softly Kyungsoo’s eyes closed to the darkness.
This time the darkness was tinged with a familiar shade of brown.
---
9:13 a.m.
Kyungsoo went up the stairs leading to the roof for the second time. His heart wobbled in his chest as he made his way towards the far end overlooking towards the south. The sun was rising farther and farther above the horizon over the centre of the city visible in the distance. Walls of skyscrapers were shining brightly, their windows illuminated by the morning light.
Then he saw him, standing on the edge of the roof, his silhouette sharply cutting off from the bright sky. As Jongin turned around to face Kyungsoo his hair fluttered on the wind.
There were no words between them, just two pairs of eyes staring into each other as if trying to find the meaning of life, right there, in each other. The time stopped. Cars passing on nearby streets were immobilised, people on the sidewalks froze in their tracks and the animals were suspended in their movement.
However Kyungsoo didn’t pay attention to all of this. Before he knew it his lips were on Jongin’s, melting onto them, as their bodies fused together. Their tongues met in a frantic dance conveying much more than just plain physical desires as Kyungsoo poured his soul and all his fears into Jongin’s body. His hands found support on Jongin’s chest and below his fingers he could feel a quiet but rhythmic heartbeat. He was no longer just a vision to him.
They separated after a while, smiles imprinted on both of their faces.
“I finally found you.” whispered Jongin while his fingers traced lightly over Kyungsoo’s cheeks and neck.
“I could probably say the same” Kyungsoo giggled but soon became serious again, brushing one of his hands along Jongin’s chest.
As time stood still in this very moment, their beating hearts were the only things that still seemed to obey its laws. And standing in this silence Kyungsoo’s heart suddenly understood.
“I...think I am in love with you.” Kyungsoo whispered, dropping his eyes to the ground as the blush on his cheeks grew stronger with every second.
“I think I can beat that.” Jongin said as his lips curved into a small smile. “I’m pretty sure I knew I loved you long before I met you.”
As they stared into eachothers eyes, the city below them came to life again.
Second by second, minute by minute, and hour by hour time reverted back to its old rhythm, marked by the harmonic beating of Kyungsoo and Jongin’s hearts, as the clock on the nearby church tower struck ten.
10:00 a.m.
---
Kyungsoo started falling.
It felt like infinity.
The gravity pulling him downwards and making his insides stir.
Windows of buildings passing him and familiar faces staring deep into his eyes.
Voices of people he knew echoing inside his head painted vivid pictures in front of his eyes.
He looked down and suddenly he wasn't falling anymore, he was flying.
The city of thousand lights stretched underneath, far away but so close at the same time.
He saw someone else.
He saw him.
He saw Jongin.
His Jongin.
Flying alongside with his arms spread wide in a clam flight, black hair fluttering on the wind.
Jongin didn't need to call his name.
Their hands linked in the air as they flew on together through the neverending night.