Elevator

"Thanks God," murmured Jungkook under his nose. Yoongi said nothing to this, as if Jungkook's words slipped away unnoticed, but reached for the straps of his rucksack and pulled the thing up. Jungkook took his own backpack. "Better be ready for a rescue team than not," he said as an explanation. He needed to say something simple and common to cover his obvious relief, because he suspected Yoongi to find another meaning in that words of gratefulness — even if Yoongi seemingly let them pass unheeded. Yoongi could think Jungkook is happy to stop their conversation more than to end up their imprisonment. "Good news for your knee and for your stomach," said Yoongi. "And praise to the service team guys. It only took them half an hour." Of course Yoongi knew the reason of Jungkook's relief. He knew his younger friend better than anyone. There were times Jungkook thought Yoongi knew everything at all. But now any recollections, needs and deeds were replaced with the urgency to leave the place. When the elevator stopped, and the signal clicked to inform passengers that the doors are opening in a second, both Yoongi and Jungkook were ready to go out. To their surprise, when the doors shifted sideways, it was darkness outside and no-one waiting for them. It was obvious nobody was going to check if they are breathing still. Nobody cared. "How strange," said Yoongi, who stayed right next to the entrance. "And what is more strange, we haven't reached the floor level. It'll take about half a meter's step up to go out." "Nice," said Jungkook. "It couldn't be much crazy. I always want an adventure to last a little bit longer, but only in case I watch it on a cinema screen. Do you think we're still on Earth?" "Gravity haven't been changed as far as I can say," answered Yoongi. "But if we were delivered to some parallel world..." "Hey, you, alive or not?! Try to go out!!" The hoarse and unfriendly voice — more an order than an offer — came from the depth of the apartment building, maybe two or three floors below. "Electricity is partly off, climb out and go home, stairway is attached yet, hell with it!!" "What stairway?.." started Jungkook, but Yoongi gestured him to shut up and shouted outside: "We are landing, guys, do not switch anything on for a minute, please!" Then he looked back at Jungkook and said: "I'll climb first and help you. Give me that stuff of yours." Jungkook handed him the backpack. Yoongi took it, swung on his shoulder with a single move, grasped both sides of the cabin's doorway and easily climbed out. Jungkook followed him and left the cabin with a minimal help from outside. "Hey, guys, we are free as a sea breeze!" informed Yoongi aloud, quickly trotting to the stairway and leaning over the railing. "Then blow yourselves as far from this damned shore as your guts allows!" came an annoyed answer, and then something heavy, metallic and definitely born to irritate started to scratch and screech a couple floors below. Jungkook looked around and spotted a "6" mark on the wall to his right. "As I remember, we both wanted to go to the twelfth," said Yoongi, looking back at him from the stairway. "Yeah," answered Jungkook, hoping it sounded merry enough. "Come, I'll help you go upstairs," said Yoongi. "This kindness is excessive," answered Jungkook, trying his tone to be polite and firm at the same time. "I am able to use stairs as easily as pavements. It only could take a little bit longer with my bad ligament." "I meant exactly the same," said Yoongi. "Come, take my hand. You always took it when you plumped into something." "I taught myself to deal with plumps and swamps with no help from without," answered Jungkook with a badly hidden defy. "It won't be help then," said Yoongi. "Let us call it an additional service given for free." ------ All the way up they kept silence. Electricity came back when they reached eighth floor and never switched off anymore. The elevator was revived by the time they reached eleventh, but none of them asked his partner to change their method of locomotion. When the "12" mark shawn itself on the opposite wall, Yoongi handed Jungkook's belongings back to him and said: "I'm going to finish my daily tasks by this delivery, and since it's too late, too tiring and obviously too emotional, I won't ask you to go out and take some drinks. But if you only... Call me back one day when you feel it. I'd like to chat a little in some quiet place with good beer and snacks. If it happened that we ended up in the same town at the same time already..." Jungkook felt himself uneasy. "I don't know, Yoongs," he said, fixing his mask one more time. God only knows which time it was in a row — and why it was so essential to hide his face from his friend. As if Yoongi could read something important there, which Jungkook wasn't able to understand and explain himself. "Sorry, Yoongs. Don't know it right now." "I'm not asking for now," answered Yoongi. "I'm asking for some time in the nearest future. Or maybe... Are you alone yet?" Jungkook didn't want to confess. Awkward story of his past with its faults and disappointments seemed way better than his present loneliness. But he was unable to lie to his old friend, it was absolutely senseless to lie, because Yoongi could see Jungkook through and through, no matter what words Jungkook used, what postures he tried to perform and what shields he covered himself with. "Have you changed your number?" asked Yoongi. "I haven't." "Why?" "Because of Tae. I'm not sure his new relatives let him have any privacy and I'm not sure he suffers from it. If I won't call him, he'll be able to call me instead. But if I'll try to get in touch out of blue through a different number, it could be considered suspicious." Yoongi sighed. Jungkook hoped it wasn't a bitter sigh. "My number is the same too," said Yoongi. "Pull it out of your blacklist. If you feel it possible, of course." "I'll think," said Jungkook, going to turn away. "Thanks for a support today. I really need to go, sorry." "Then go. Good night, Bun." Jungkook paused in surprise. "You just called me Bun," he said. "Am I?" asked Yoongi and shrugged. "I remember I called you Bunny, but you grew up so much since then." "Bye, Yoongs," said Jungkook and raised his hand in a farewell. Yoongi nodded. Jungkook turned and went left by the corridor, while Yoongi went the opposite direction. Distance was rising between them with every step, but then Jungkook remembered something, stopped abruptly and turned back on the spot. "Yoongs!" he called. Yoongi stopped and turned backwards too. "What happened to you?" asked Jungkook. "Your face". Yoongi was silent for some time, then answered: "Long story short, I clashed with a guy who had absolutely different views on some questions I raised up in my second album. To tell the truth, that accident was a peak of my success. The album never took any reaction hotter than that. I went for collabs after that, but only got more troubles with my copyrights. Being a delivery boy is a good opportunity to shake a crown off one's head and free their mind from any thoughts of a world domination." Then Yoongi winked and went away. ------ One last thing Jungkook did before crumpling to his bed was changing status of some number he blacklisted many years ago. The number was added to the tiny list of closest friends again. Yoongi had reverted to the most rightful place he always deserved.