It was the brink of dawn, and the autumn breeze whirled throughout the streets that morning. The vibrant green leaves were now gradually taking on a subtle hue of mahogany. Mickey opened his eyes to see himself still laying on top of Jungha's wide chest. His head moved to the retraction of Jungha's pecs, for every breath Jungha took. The room was still and silent. Mickey slowly got up to take a generous look at his friend. He carefully studied the outlines of Jungha's face, from his deep brows, to the bridge of his chiseled nose, and down to his pink lips.
Mickey somewhat envied Jungha, wishing he possessed more manly traits. He wished he could have been more outgoing, and more outspoken like Jungha. Mickey looked back at everything that had happened since he came here. He pondered to how Jiang, Rain and Jungha were able to speak their minds so freely without guilt. He continued to gaze at Jungha for a second longer.
Jungha appeared like a child in his sleep. He looked the purest in this state. Even with his dashing and robust features, it was all softened when asleep. Mickey saw Jungha as loud and overbearing at times, but at the end of the day he was just kid feeling lost and hopeless. Suddenly, Jungha let out a grunt and turned to his side. Mickey was a bit startled thinking Jungha had caught him staring.
Mickey then woke Jungha up, "Jungha… Jungha…"
"Ngh…Huh? What is it?" Jungha said, still dazed.
"Rainie and I are working at the market today. You can stay here and leave whenever you want, but I have to get ready and leave," Mickey explained as he got up from the floor.
Jungha grabbed Mickey by the ankle, "Wait, can I go with you? I'm sure Rainie would be more than happy if I went in her place."
"Alright, wash up and get dressed, we have to go soon," Mickey tossed a sweater at Jungha, "It's cold this morning, you can wear one of my sweatshirts."
Before putting it on, Jungha took in a deep whiff of the clothes.
"Don't worry, that one's clean. You think I would give you a dirty shirt?" Mickey commented.
Ha! You really think I'm smelling it to see if it's dirty? I'm trying to ingrain your scent into my mind. Jungha said to himself.
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The market on a Sunday morning was always peaceful and laid-back. Mickey's grandparents drove them to their stall, and then left for the garden. They unpacked the fresh produce and began setting up the place. Mickey taught Jungha everything he needed to know, from inspecting vegetables, to arranging them on the counter.
Mickey crouched down, using a knife to cut off the bottom stems of the cabbages. He handed a big metal bucket to Jungha, "Can you fill this up with water? There's a fountain near the dock. You can get clean water there."
Jungha took the bucket and headed off to the harbor. Fishermen were hauling their catch from their boats to their stalls. Jungha spotted the fountain at a corner. He placed the bucket down and turned on the faucet. The water ran cold and harsh, splashing back up when being filled. Once full, Jungha steadily rushed back.
He placed the bucket in front of Mickey, "Phew… here you go! The water is pretty cold over here, it's almost like touching ice!"
"Thanks," Mickey proceeded to submerge his hands along with the vegetables into the water.
In disbelief, Jungha wailed out loud, "W…wait! Isn't the water extremely cold!? You're going to lose your fingers!
Fixated on his responsibilities, Mickey spoke in a calm manner, "Stop overreacting. You get used to this kind of water when you work here long enough."
"Doesn't it hurt? Aren't your fingers freezing right now?"
Mickey took a second to think about it, "To be honest, I'm so use this temperature, my fingers just lose sensation when in contact with it."
Jungha watched as Mickey dunked every single head of cabbage one by one into the bucket. He was amazed at how diligent Mickey was, but at the same time he felt bad for seeing Mickey's fingers suffer. Every time Mickey's hands emerged, his fingers were redder than before. Jungha wanted to take Mickey's hands and warm them up with his.
"Oi, are you just going to stand there and watch me?" Mickey remarked.
Coming back to his senses, Jungha replied, "Uh… What do you need me to do now?"
Mickey gave him more tasks and within an hour the boys were finish setting up. It was a slow day with not many customers. Mickey was glad though, he felt Jungha would have been overwhelmed if he came to help on a busy day. It was the afternoon and the streets were more barren than that morning.
A young lady whose family ran a clothing store, came to chat with Mickey, "How's it going, Mickey? Did you get to sell a lot today?"
Mickey shook his head, "Not that well. The place is more empty than usual. I'm guessing you have no luck over there as well."
The girl happily replied, "Sadly, yes. It's really slow today and my parents are thinking about closing early. So, I thought I should chat with you for a bit before we go."
Jungha was a few feet away, but he overheard the whole conversation. His face could not help but glare at them.
Jungha's staring caught the girl's attention, "Oh, I haven't seen you here before," She glanced back at Mickey, "Is he one of your other cousins?"
Mickey laughed, "No, he's just a friend who's helping out today."
"Ah, I see. Well, it's nice to meet you. I should get going now. Ciao!" Before leaving, she leaned over and whispered to Mickey, "Your friend there is pretty cute. He's almost as handsome as Jiang. Is he single too?"
A huge smile was on Mickey's face, as he playfully shooed her away.
"What, are you jealous now?" The girl teased and gleefully skipped back.
Mickey watched till she reached back to her booth. For some reason, he felt a pair of eyes burning through the back of his skull. He turned back to see Jungha, who looked like his mood was soured.
"What?" Mickey said, aloof to the situation.
"You two seem pretty close… How come you don't act like that with me?" Jungha asked in a childish voice.
Mickey sarcastically chuckled, "She's just a friend, and how do I act like when I'm with her, huh?"
"You seem to like talking to her and actually enjoy her company."
"Stop acting like a kid. I enjoy your…uh…presence too," Mickey lightly kicked Jungha's leg, "I'm nice to her, because I like girls with that kind of personality."
One of Jungha's brows rose in suspicion, "Oh? What personality do you like then?"
"The innocent, yet feisty kind," Mickey answered, jokingly.
"I'm feisty! And I can be innocent at times too. So be nicer to me," Jungha retorted, holding a big grin on his handsome face.
Mickey bonked Jungha on the head with a long radish and laughed, "Stop saying stupid stuff!"
Jungha then placed his arm around Mickey and sat him down onto the wooden stool. He pointed out two girls from afar looking at clothes, "Do you see those pretty girls over there? Say, which one is your type?"
Mickey squinted to get a better view of the young ladies. The girl who appealed to him was the one with long brown hair, wearing a simple blouse and skirt.
"The taller one in yellow. She seems to be my type, I guess. What about you, Jungha?" Mickey felt a bit embarrassed saying such things, knowing he did not fancy girls in that way.
It's normal for guys to talk about stuff like this. I just have to humor him. Mickey said to himself.
Jungha took a minute to decide, and made his decision, "Hmmm… The one I like, is the one wearing the white shirt."
Utterly confused, Mickey looked over at his friend with a worried expression, "Jungha… Are your eyes, okay? The other girl is wearing light blue, not white," He waved his hand across Jungha's face.
Jungha saw how genuinely serious Mickey was. He could not contain his composure and humorously chuckled. His shoulders slightly bouncing up and down, while he shook his head in amusement.
"What's so funny?" Mickey was completely dumbfounded.
Jungha then wiped a tear of joy from his face and patted Mickey on the back, "It's nothing."
What's up with this guy? Mickey wondered.
Jungha got up and took a long nice stretch. He pulled out his phone out of his pocket and looked through it.
"Hey Mickey, Ai is going to meet me here at the market. She wants me to show her around. Will you be okay being here by yourself?"
"I'll be fine. There's not much left to clean up. Thanks for helping out today, I really appreciate it, Jungha. Make sure you take Ai to the fun places around here!" Mickey said, putting on a front.
"I should be the one thanking you, for letting me stay the night at your house. Also, let me give you back your sweater!" Jungha began taking it off.
Mickey stopped him, "No, it's going to get cold again, you can give it back to me tomorrow at school."
Jungha appreciated the kind gesture, "If you say so. Well then, I'm off! See you later, Mickey!"
Mickey watched Jungha disappear into the distance. Something began tugging inside of Mickey. What was this feeling that stirred inside of him? A bit of jealousy, sadness and confusion mixed together in his gut. He was the one who told Jungha to apologize to Ai and make things right with her, so why did he feel the way he did?
Don't be so stupid, Mickey… He shook off this feeling and resumed finishing up the day.
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Mickey came home later that evening. He was tired and weary from work. Once he opened the front door, he was greeted by Rain. She was struggling to keep balance while holding a laundry basket. It was piled with dirty clothes that towered over her head.
"I'm doing a big load of laundry tonight for the family, so you've better give me whatever you want clean for this week!" Rain demanded.
Mickey did not respond. He was too exhausted. Rain notice little to no life in Mickey's dark orbs. She placed the basket down and proceeded to unzip the sweater Mickey wore.
"My goodness, Mickey! Look at all the dirt and mud you got on your sweatshirt! Be more careful next time. I'll wash it for you, so don't worry. You're lucky that you didn't get your undershirt dirty. Do you know how hard it would be to get stains off a white shirt?