Jiseok Short Story Collection

vibration

The air of a languid summer afternoon hangs heavy in the waiting room. Cool air-conditioning drifts through, but thanks to the packed practice schedule that has gone on for days, Jiseok’s shoulders are visibly more slumped than usual.

He leans deep into one corner of the sofa, staring blankly at the floor with his usual sleepy-looking expression. Huge headphones hang around his neck, spilling music loud enough to fill the space around him. Because the volume is set high to suit Jiseok’s hearing, the intense, heavy bass leaking from outside the headphone unit thumps steadily through the quiet room.

"Jiseok, are you really tired?" I set my phone down and asked, moving my lips big and clearly.

He quietly studies my lips, then soon nods with the gentlest, most harmless smile in the world. Instead of answering, Jiseok subtly shifts over and moves right up beside me on the sofa. The moment he sits next to me, the heavy low-end vibration pulsing from the headphones he’s wearing travels through the cushion and straight into my body. The cozy tremor of the bass, going thump, thump in steady heartlike beats, strangely calms me down.

Jiseok carefully rests his head on my shoulder. The weight of his whole body going limp and dropping toward me feels pleasantly reassuring.

"Just... let’s stay like this a little." he murmurs softly. The vibration from the headphones and his low, gentle voice mingle together and tickle my chest.

I quietly reached out and carefully brushed back his soft hair. His warmth against my fingertips, the gentle pulse of the beat spreading through the sofa, and the cozy lighting surrounding us. Jiseok seems to like my touch, closing his eyes and leaning a little deeper into my arms. The flashy, fierce tiger-like gaze he had on stage has long since disappeared. What’s by my side now is simply my beloved person, the one who loves my warmth most.

He opens his closed eyes just a little and looks up at me, giving me a smile with soft, charming dimples. The moment I meet that gentle gaze, all the noise of the busy world is erased, and only the warm vibration connecting the two of us fills the room.