v. Morning Dew
i. Abstract | ii. Too Abstract | iii. Abstraction | iv. Abstractness
Morning Dew
Yoochun liked sitting in the backyard. No one could see him there because there was a high fence. And because no one could see him, no one could talk to him. He liked sitting in the backyard with his Rubik's cube. His Rubik's cube was a secret. He didn't lie about it because no one asked him about it but he didn't tell anyone because if mother found out she'd take it away from him and he didn't want that.
Junsu knew about the cube because Junsu was the one who gave it to him for his birthday. Junsu said that the world record for fixing it was six seconds and ever since Yoochun got it his personal record had only been 28 seconds. That was a week ago. He liked it. It was hard, but it was logical. He could do it. Mother would take it away from him because his therapist had told him that he shouldn't do to many math problems and instead that when he was upset or bored that he should play with the dog or talk to someone. Yoochun didn't like that. He liked the dog but he liked the math problems too. He didn't like to talk to people at all.
He sat in the backyard on the ground with his Rubik's cube. Junsu had been away since his birthday because he was having exams and he had to spend all his time studying because he couldn't memorize things like Yoochun could. Today was the day that Junsu would come again.
The doorbell rang and Yoochun put the Rubik's cube in a flower pot before standing up and going inside to answer the door.
“Hello, Junsu.”
“I missed you,” Junsu said. “How have you been?”
“I have been fine, thank you.”
“Kiss?”
“Okay.”
Yoochun tilted his chin up and let Junsu press a kiss on his lips.
“Where is your mom?” Junsu asked.
“She's at work. I was sitting in the backyard with your present.”
“Really? Did you manage to fix it?”
“Yes.”
“Really? Show me.”
They went to the backyard and Yoochun got the cube out of the flowerpot and showed it to Junsu.
“That's amazing,”Junsu said. “I used to play with that thing all the time and I never managed to fix it and you have it for a week and it's done.”
“I fixed it forty-six times,” Yoochun said and Junsu looked at him.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“So you won't mind if I mess it up again? You'll just fix it right?”
“Yes.”
Yoochun watched as Junsu turned the sides of the cube messing up the colours before handing it back to Yoochun. “Go ahead.”
Yoochun accepted it. “Will you time me?”
“Oh, sure,” Junsu said and took out his cell phone. “I'll count down from three. Three, two, one...”
Yoochun started. Red should be with red, blue with blue, yellow with yellow, orange with orange, white with white, green with green.
“I'm done,” Yoochun said. “How long was that?”
“Jesus Christ, Yoochun, you're like one of those people!”
“I don't understand what you mean. How long was that?”
“Twenty-seven and a half seconds,” Junsu said. “That's amazing. And a total turn on.”
“I don't understand.”
“Never mind. Want to go up to your room?”
“Okay.”
When Junsu asks if he wanted to go up to his room it meant that Junsu wanted to have sex. Yoochun liked sex but he didn't like all the questions Junsu asked him afterwards.
“I love you,” Junsu said. “And I know you love me too. I just know it. You love me too right?”
“I don't know.”
“You want to be with me right? You don't want to lose me right?”
“I don't know.”
“I could be leaving for college soon. That would mean that I can't see you as much anymore.”
Yoochun didn't answer because it wasn't a question.
“Would that make you sad?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want me to stay?”
“I don't know. Is your college far away? Mine is close by.”
“Your college is hard to get into. I'm not as good in math as you are. I'm not as good in anything as you are in math.”
Yoochun didn't answer because it wasn't a question.
“If you tell me that you want me here, I'll stay. I'll apply to a college nearby and we can stay together.”
“I am telling you to stay.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you,” Junsu said. “You don't know how much this means to me. I love you.”
Yoochun didn't answer because there wasn't a question.
Junsu had said that if Yoochun managed to fix the cube under ten seconds he'd bring him to a special place. Yoochun didn't like surprises but Junsu promised that it was a nice place, not far away and not with a lot of people. Yoochun's record was nine and a half seconds after the second week.
They were walking down the street, hand in hand and Yoochun was staring at the pavement.
Yoochun always looked at the ground when he was in a public place, because if he'd look up he'd see a lot of people he didn't know and a lot of signs which didn't make sense. Foreign things made him want to go home and do math problems or play with his Rubik's cube.
Junsu stopped and squeezed his hand. “We're here.”
Yoochun looked up and saw a door with a sign above it which had a pink poodle on it.
“It's a shelter for stray dogs,” Junsu said. “There are lots of cute puppies inside. Don't you want to play with them?”
“I don't know.”
“They have a big yard where the puppies get to play. We can just watch them from a distance,” Junsu said. “Is that okay?”
“Okay.”
They went inside and it smelled like the basket mother had bought for their dog at home.
At the other side was a door that led to a grassy field and Yoochun followed Junsu outside again. There were seven dogs in the field. Three were black, one white and brown, two brown, one was completely white and one was white, brown and black.
There were two women sitting in plastic chairs right next to the door.
“Hey, mom,” Junsu said and Yoochun looked at the lady who Junsu spoke to for a long time. This was Junsu's mother. Yoochun had never seen this lady before.
“Hey son, who's your friend?”
“This is Yoochun,” Junsu said. “Junsu meet my mom and that's my aunt.”
“It's nice to finally meet you, Yoochun. I've heard a lot about you. For one, that you love dogs.”
Yoochun wasn't comfortable. He didn't like talking to strangers and this stranger was talking to him a lot.
“Can we just hang here for a while?” Junsu asked. “We won't take long.”
“Of course, honey.”
Junsu pulled him further into the field and the white dog came running up to them. “See this boy, Yoochun? This is my dog.”
Yoochun knew that Junsu had a dog but he had never seen Junsu's dog.
“You can pet him. He's really nice.”
Yoochun stuck out his hand and put it on the big white dog's head. The dog sniffed him and then licked his palm. Yoochun wiped off his palm onto his pants and touched the dog again. It was soft and it was nice.
“Do you like him?” Junsu asked.
“Yes.”
“I think he likes you too.”
Mother had taught Yoochun that eavesdropping was bad, but no matter where Yoochun stood in the small hallway, he could hear Junsu and his mother talk.
“I can see why you like him Junsu, he's a handsome boy, but there's more to a person than looks. He's not normal.”
“You think I only like him for his looks?”
When people raise their voices it means that they are mad. Junsu was mad.
“Junsu, you're a busy kid. You have a lot of friends, great ones, but this...”
“I don't want to listen to this. You don't know what you're talking about. We're leaving.”
“Will you be home tonight?”
“Don't count on it.”
Junsu came into the hallway and Yoochun looked at the floor.
“What's wrong?” Junsu asked.
“You are angry.”
“I'm not mad at you.”
“I'm not normal,” Yoochun said.
“Don't listen to her. She doesn't know you. If she did she'd know that you're better than normal, okay?”
“I don't know.”
“Come on, we'll go back home. Give me your hand.”
“I don't want to hold hands right now,” Yoochun said and put his hands deep inside his pockets.
“O...okay. What did I do? I didn't lie to you, I swear. I don't think the same way she does. Please tell me what's wrong...Yoochun.”
“I don't want to hold hands right now.”
“Fine. Let's just go home.”
When Yoochun got home mother was already there so Junsu left. Mother asked what they had done that day and Yoochun told her about Junsu's mother.
Mother said she didn't want him leaving with Junsu anymore.