Yúyīn- part B

Haruto was a simple guy. He got into the university through a scholarship, his academics seemed to be going well, he was good at sports, he used to practice kendo but didn't pay much attention to it after middle school, yet he could still kick some ***. He had a perfect body with hard washboard abs, the sharp short bangs over his forehead almost touching his eyebrows. He was overall a dreamy guy with deep black eyes and upon a closer look though he looked slightly mature for his age. Haruto did harbour his inner child, also, there were things that only a select few knew about his family.

Haruto was adored by his close group of friends. He would laugh with them and enjoy his youth yet when no one's looking at him he would be lost in thought in a world of his own, dazing and daydreaming about food and oceans, sometimes feeling empty for lacking the courage to share his feelings with anyone else, there was Ikku, yes, who he shared his honest feelings with but he didn't want to trouble Ikku more than he already did with all his crazy antics. He knew very well that Ikku was very patient with Haruto's moods. For Haruto, Ikku was a friend that comes once in a while, like Halley's comet. Haruto wanted to be grateful for everything he had right now but something wouldn't add up, he couldn't feel it, it bothered him now and then, he thought of it as simply a phase of growing up which would soon pass.

Haruto was swiping through his playlist whilst clinging on to the handles for support inside the metro coach flooded with people. He noticed a man from the corner of his eye whose height came to his ear lobule level, scooch next to him when the train took a halt, desperately trying to find his footing. The train took a sharp turn that abruptly pushed the passenger in the direction of the turn and pinned Haruto to the cold metal wall with the leaner man being crushed into his arms forcefully. Haruto was about to push him off, and the lean man who was being held in Haruto's arm was trying to free himself too. Haruto looked at his neck and noticed the slender neck with brown strands of hair sticking to his sideburns and the neck, a 'koi fish' shaped tiny birthmark hidden inconspicuously beneath the strands of hair. When he slowly realized the face of the man in front of him a slight blush passed under his cheeks. He was trying to make sure if his heart skipped a beat. It was the stranger he had met a few days ago on the beach. Ayumu noticed that Haruto was already looking at him by the time he met Haruto's eyes.

"Umm... sorry, I didn't mean to crash into you" Ayumu bowed his head apologetically. He found his footing again and was standing steadily next to Haruto.

Haruto let Ayumu switch places with him allowing him to stand next to a pole to support himself.

"Ah, thank you, you didn't have to though..."

Haruto said in a quiet tone that it wasn't much of a deed and that he doesn't need to thank the taller man. Ayumu could hear the faint sound of music from Haruto's headset. "I like Super Junior too," said Ayumu and smiled faintly.

Haruto was rather surprised at the stranger's sudden declaration. An unknown shrill passed through Haruto's chest. He didn't know then that it was just the beginning. Also, he had a fetish for long necks but he never knew he would take a liking to a guy's nape. He laughed at himself inside.

'Oh boy.'

Ayumu wasn't expecting any response and he was already gazing outside the window looking at the streak of lights and the landscape that went past them in a flash yet he kept his gaze steady as if he were searching something. He leaned into the wall behind him and looked dazed enough to Haruto.

Haruto was captured by this stranger's demeanour and something about him drew his attention, it was the cold look on his face, the face you hide when you are falling apart inside but hide it deep within you to get by through everyday life, however; it shows up unexpectedly when you're doing minor tasks, its weight only to go unnoticed. Haruto wondered why he kept making this face, and why he is so bothered by that expression.

'Maybe I'm reading too much into this situation.' He advised himself.

He wanted to blame his feelings on the OneRepublic song- 'If I lose Myself'- playing on his phone, though he could hear it only faintly.

"Yeah, I like SJ... Also ONE OK ROCK and Flow," Haruto had a long list of artists he listened to, as long as he could enjoy the beat and the feeling carried by the music, the language didn't bother him. He said this while scratching his cheek with his index finger in a typical embarrassed way while slightly looking away for a second and then bringing his eyes back to look at the shorter man to check if he had heard him well enough to respond.

Ayumu diverted his gaze towards Haruto and smiled and answered cheerfully letting go of that cold look. "Is that so?! I also listened to ONE OK ROCK and I loved 'Ikijibiki', also 'One Way Ticket' is my favourite. And Flow is amazing!" Ayumu smiled with a natural blush that made Haruto's heart tremble for the third time. Haruto had a lot of friends who were refined, handsome men and fun to hang out with, and some of them had captivating personalities; however, he couldn't recollect if any of them had this pretty captivating aura around them. Haruto was curious about the mark on Ayumu's neck, it was slightly under his ear and his hair covered it as if to keep it hidden from the world unless looked at closely.

"Yeah! Hahaha, You seem well, I was worried over nothing," said Haru.

"Eh?! Sorry I-- I don't understand" Ayumu asked him with a confused face and raised an eyebrow.

"No, it's nothing." Haru chuckled. "I'm Furuya Haruto, nice meeting you." Haru beamed.

"I'm Ashida Ayumu, nice meeting you too." While shifting the bags from one hand to another Ayumu moved the conversation further. "Haruto-san, So you are a university student? Waseda university?" continued Ayumu learning back a little.

"I'm surprised that you could tell in the first look, people say that I look a little old for my age. Rather mature." Haruto seriously thought about it while rubbing his chin.

Ayumu covered his lips with his fair slender fingers over his slightly parted moistened pink lips, that were enveloped by the long sleeves of his black coat, bringing out the contrast quite well. "Ah, I understand why would people assume that..." He glanced at Haruto and checked out his handsome features, he couldn't downright say that Haruto was handsome, people are so sensitive these days that they get offended over a compliment because it came out all of a sudden and generalization is not such a good idea.

"Also" gestured Ayumu "You're wearing your university's jersey." He removed those fingers away from his lips exposing his smile.

"Eh?" Haruto checked himself absent-mindedly adjusting his back-pack hanging over his right shoulder "Yup, you are right! I belong to Waseda University, Creative Science and Engineering department!" A teensy tiny bit of pride ran over his face with his chest puffing up which disappeared almost immediately. "Ayumu san... Are you a University student too? First-year? Designing?"

"Me? Oh no, I have to stop you there, I'm elder to you." A wave of embarrassment passed over Ayumu, he was the shy type and never the one to boast over his looks but he was grateful for what he had been blessed with. Ayumu continued in a low tone "I am a university student alright, pursuing my Master's in Management studies. Though I--" Ayumu paused before he finished his sentence.

'I don't have to necessarily tell him that I took a year off... I got carried away because of his demanding eyes.'

There it was, the distant look back on his face while he answered about himself.

Haruto wasn't shocked or taken by surprise when Ayumu said that he was older than him, he came to terms with it because some individuals had those good genes engineered in them and there were a few in his circle of friends rather it was becoming a trend with people striving to look younger than they are due to the disjoint beliefs in the society over perfectionism, not that Haruto saw anything wrong with it, we can work on ourselves if we want to as long we kept our obsessions in check.

Haruto nodded his head in agreement to self. "I am a junior majoring in Mechanical Engineering, so that makes me a year younger than you in age, right?" Ayumu hesitated before nodding his head in acknowledgement which didn't go unnoticed by Haru. But Haru didn't push it further for one thing he understood was that the person beside him was a man of many mysteries.

"Ashida san, you look young for your age, just the opposite to me I guess" in a sincere tone. Meanwhile, the electronic toned announcement was made inside the cabin announcing the upcoming station in two minutes; the announcement was displayed and made audible when the station was nearby giving the passengers enough time to settle themselves to leave the train.

Ayumu looked at the display and checked for his stop, it was almost there, he looked back at Haruto to answer his query "You see I went to work at my granddad's farm for a while and interned in marketing... well to be precise, for a year. Now, I'm part-timing and studying so I am actually two years senior to you. Anyways, my stop's here and I need to go. Nice meeting you, good luck with your university." He smiled cheekily and bowed slightly indicating that he must end the conversation for now.

"You too Ashida san, good night." Haruto bowed his head similarly in response.

Haruto realized that he had to move aside to make space for Ayumu to move ahead. Ayumu made his way through the crowd surrounding him as the people automatically made space for the passengers getting off at the next stop. Ayumu thanked his stars for the civil travellers this time because sometimes the rush was so bad that there isn't any place to move around and you end up missing your stop.

Haruto could smell chocolate faintly mixed in with the sweet scent of Ayumu's sweat. It wasn't a strong smell, just a passer-by scent that hits you once and then withers away.

Ayumu turned around and waved and disappeared after the doors opened. Haruto kept his eyes on him as long as he could, then he carefully plugged his earphones and browsed through his playlist as 'For You' by SJ continued. Haruto felt a little lonely in his heart and carried on with the night.

"Is it not so much of a coincidence that you live just two stops away from me, stranger? Nope. Ashida Ayumu san." Haruto whispered under his breath. "Will a chance meeting repeat itself? Probably not."

 Yúyīn: The remnant of sound that stays in the ears after the sound has stopped. 

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