Honey, it's warm in here (Jiyong)

[Jacob Tapper]

It was November first and, while it was thus no longer Halloween, one could say the weather outside was indeed frightful. Snow was falling in large clumps, accumulating thickly on the ground to obscure road and grass alike. Leaves, colored but still clinging to their branches, were weighted down with frost, and icicles had begun to form on the eaves of rooftops. The thermometer had dipped below freezing, a harsh wind punctuating the cold with blasts of freezing air. While students might later gather in the courtyard for typical snow activities – from building snowmen to sledding down hills – for now campus was mostly empty as everyone tried to avoid going outside for any reason. One might think Halloween had flipped a switch in the earth’s atmosphere, for how instantly fall had turned to winter – but such a sudden onset of bad weather was characteristic of Vermont this time of year.

The fact was, Jacob Tapper was completely unaware of the snowstorm going on outside. He hadn’t been planning on emerging from his room the day after Halloween anyway, and his blinds were shut to keep out the morning light. He had spent the morning nursing a hangover (but of course someone had spiked the punch – he hadn’t done it himself, but had made sure it got done), but by noon he was already feeling much better. Becoming antsy, he decided he craved some company, and with his roommates conveniently elsewhere, such company would come in the form of his little friend Jiyong Kang.

“Come over and watch a movie?” He had texted the other boy. The Korean had probably learned by now that Jake’s requests were more like statements of expectation. Perhaps the brunet wouldn’t have sent the invite had he looked outside. But maybe he still would have.

He was showered, but the transdimensionalist hadn’t felt like getting dressed. He now lounged on the couch in a tight black tee shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants – which, unlike how most people wore sweatpants, were not very baggy on him. The remote was in his lap, his feet up on the coffee table, as he half-watched an episode of Scandal. He was killing time until his younger companion arrived, then they would decide what to watch. Or Jake would decide.

[Jiyong Kang]

It was Jiyong’s first snow since coming to America, and he was amazed by just how thick and heavy it was. Back in Korea, they’d gotten snow on occasion, but he was far enough south in the country that it usually wasn’t too bad. He didn’t even really have heavy enough clothing to be appropriate for the weather, since it had been such a pleasant summer and fall so far and he hadn’t expected such a sudden change. And so he was dressed in several layers as he sat inside Hammel’s cafeteria, having rushed through the storm several hours earlier in order to get breakfast.

It was lunchtime now, and he hadn’t yet decided to be brave enough to go back to the dorms. It wasn’t that far of a distance, especially if he ran, but it just didn’t sound pleasant if he didn’t have to go. Jiyong was hoping the snow would lighten before too long and he could go back, but for now, he was trying to decide what he wanted to have for lunch.

He was just about to pick out a couple of dinner rolls when he got Jacob’s text, and he immediately brightened and quickly texted back. “Be there soon!”

Not wasting time, the teenager quickly stuffed his pockets with rolls, several single-serving-sized bags of chips, and a couple apples (at least wearing all of these layers gave him plenty of room to fit things). With that, he rushed back out into the cold despite the freezing temperatures. His hyung needed him!

By the time he finally made it to the dorms and up to Jake’s room, his teeth were chattering from the cold and he was doused in quickly melting snow (which was also quickly soaking into his clothes). “H-hyung, I am here!” he announced with a slightly quivering voice and a knock on the door. “I have f-food!” Not great movie food, really, but Jiyong didn’t know that.

[Jacob Tapper]

The show he was watching had actually turned out to be pretty good, so Jake had quickly lost track of the time that had passed since he had texted Jiyong. Not that much of it had gone by, though, when the younger boy's voice could be heard on the other side of the door, followed by a knocking on same said door. The Korean boy's voice sounded shaky, but Jake had just figured his friend had come running at his text. And that was just fine by him.

Hitting the 'mute' button on his remote (force of habit, really, since there was no actual need to mute the show just to let Jiyong in), Jake hopped up off the couch and headed over to the door. Swinging it open, he saw Jiyong soaked to the bone and red in the face. "Whoa..." He muttered, looking the honey-fingered kid up and down. He looked worse for wear, that was for sure. Jake still hadn't come to learn that it was snowing, but he saw all of the white flakes on Jiyong's jacket and it didn't take him long to put two and two together. It didn't occur to him to feel guilty, though, since it wasn't like he controlled the weather. He just controlled who ran through it to get to his building.

He stepped out of the doorway so Jiyong could come in, before closing it behind him. "Uh, you cold?" He asked, heading over to the window by the couch to open the blinds. "Holy crap," he exclaimed, eyes widening at the sight of all of the snow coming down, getting pushed this way and that by the heavy gusts of wind. There seemed to be at least a few inches on the ground already, with no sign of letting up anytime soon. "Glad I stayed in today," he deadpanned, seeing as how he'd only been able to stay in because Jiyong was willing to brave the bad weather.

"Guess you could be here a while," he commented, as he flopped back down on the couch. "Well, that's okay," he added with a reassuring smile. It wasn't like he had anything else planned, and he liked spending time with the boy who seemed to genuinely look up to him. He remembered his manners then - his mother would scold him for not offering his guest something to eat or drink more immediately - so he stood up again and headed over to the little kitchen area. "Um, do you want something to drink?" He asked, opening up the fridge. He wasn't observant enough to know if Jiyong was freezing to death or extremely uncomfortable in his wet clothes or whatever the case might be - but he figured he was quite the good host for offering a beverage.

[Jiyong Kang]

Jiyong’s cold, achy face lit up once the door opened and Jake appeared before him. “H-hyung!” he greeted brightly through still chattering teeth. “It is cold outside. Lots of snow.” As if it wasn’t obvious by his appearance. But he didn’t mind running through it to come over – hanging out with Jake was always fun! And Jiyong usually learned something new about being a man and American habits. Because his hyung was cool!

“A-a-a little cold, yes,” he replied as he gladly stepped inside and shed his soaking coat. It obviously wasn’t built for the snow. His pants were still wet, but hopefully they would dry out as long as he stayed in the common room where it was warm. Jiyong supposed he could go run and get another pair to change into in his dorm, but he was already here! He shuffled over to where Jake was standing by the window, nodded enthusiastically at the sight. “It is good, yes. Snow is… Very wet and cold!” he announced the obvious. But totally worth braving through to see the older boy.

“I do not mind!” he chirped, moving away from the window with a smile. “As long as hyung also do not mind.” Jiyong settled down next to his friend on the couch, beaming dopily up at him, until Jake hopped up again to get refreshments. “Oh, sure!” he agreed; the offer of a (hopefully) warm drink was definitely a welcome one. “Oh! I also bring snack!” he announced, bouncing up to skitter over to where he’d left his jacket on the coat rack. Jiyong began rummaging through his pockets, pulling out the chip bags, the apples… And the really squished, mushed dinner rolls that didn’t look so roll-y anymore. “Ah… well, I have chips and apples,” he said weakly, holding out the offering to his older friend after hiding the ruined food back in his pockets. “You like cheeto, yes?” Jiyong had decided he liked them after Jake had offered them to him a few weeks ago.

[Jacob Tapper]

Jake's casual disinterest in anything that didn't directly pertain to himself, combined with Jiyong's reluctance to come off as weak, kept the brunet oblivious to how cold and wet the poor boy really was. Jake knew now that it was snowing, though not having gone outside himself, he didn't understand how blustery and freezing it really was. Any shivering or chattering teeth on the Korean boy's part was, for now, unnoticed by the older male.

It was for that reason that the beverages Jake produced in his hands as he pushed the fridge door closed with his butt were not, in fact, warm. Indeed, he held two cans of Pepsi in his hands, offering one to Jiyong, though he brought it back to his chest when he saw that Jiyong's hands were also full. He put the cans down on the kitchen table then, so that he could inspect his dongsaeng's offerings.

Apples and a few bags of cheetos. Well, those could do: Jake liked fruit since it was healthy and kept him looking fine, and cheetos were always tasty and he knew Jiyong had come to like them. He had popcorn, though, which he felt was a better movie snack. He could throw that in the microwave once they'd decided what to watch, though. "Cheetos," he replied, again correcting the boy's negligence of the pluralization. "I like cheetos, yes," he added with a nod.

It was then that he noticed the boy's shirt had dark splotches in several places and, upon reaching over and rubbing some of the material between his thumb and forefinger, came to find that the spots were moisture. Jake had a flashback to his mother telling him to get out of his wet clothes after coming in from the rain before he got sick, and he figured he should pass on that worldly knowledge to his young protege. "You'll catch a cold if you hang around in these wet clothes," he instructed, not realizing the boy's pants were also soaked. "Do you know what a cold is?" He asked, wondering if that was an American expression Jiyong had yet to be exposed to.