They stood outside the gate of a house located behind a church. The sign on the gate read 'Sunny Hill Orphanage'. Seunghyun pressed on the intercom and waited. In his hands, he held two bouquets of flowers, one of white lilies, another of red roses.

"Can I help you?" A lady's voice came through the intercom.

"This is Choi Seunghyun. I've come to visit."

"Oh Seunghyun-sshi! Come in!"

As soon as the passed the gate, they saw a middle aged lady dressed in a nun's outfit standing at the door, holding her arms out, ready to greet her visitors. Seunghyun ran over into her arms, returning the hug plus an affectionate peck to her cheek.

"Sister Jung." And he handed the bouquet of white lilies to the nun.

"Seunghyun-sshi, it's always good to see you. The children love it when you visit, you know. Especially the girls, you've got them infatuated, you naughty boy." The nun chuckled, obviously delighted to have the handsome man visiting. Then her face turned serious. She looked at the bouquet of red roses in his hands, "he's so lucky, that ray of sunshine. Does he still…?"

"Yes, sister."

"Good." She turned to Jiyong. "How are you, sir? I'm sister Jung, I'm in charge of the orphanage."

"I'm fine, thank you. I'm Jiyong." The thin man bowed respectfully.

"Good, good. Well, then, go on ahead. I have to tend to the garden."

Seunghyun took Jiyong's hand and led him to the back of the house where the backyard was converted into a cemetery.

Seunghyun laid the bouquet of roses on the grave of a certain Kang Daesung and once again continued his story.

"He was an orphan. Abandoned by his parents due to his condition and taken in by the orphanage…"

***

It was late one night when they broke into the orphanage.

"Shh… We don't want to wake anyone." He whispered to the frightened elder.

Moving stealthily, they rounded the house, reaching a vast garden. Daesung let go of his hand, walking away from him into the landscape.

And it was a sight to behold.

The breeze brought the garden to life, sending a small flurry of leaves and petals blowing, the sky was clear and the moon shone bright. Indeed, the darker the night, the brighter the flowers radiated and the clear sky gave way to twinkling stars illuminating the colors brilliantly. The figure in white walking gracefully as the garden swayed gently, stopping before a statue of an angel.

For that moment, it was just Daesung and the angel.

The flowers danced around them but the two were still. The younger bowed his head, hands clasped together and prayed to the angel. This was the first time Seunghyun had seen anything as holy, a pure soul bared in this solemn ceremony.

Cherubim angels, they guarded sacred place, sacred beings. Maybe Daesung was guarded by one too.

Was it possible to fall in love with someone so deep that your heart aches?

That your senses are filled with nothing else but that person?

Because his was aching when he looked at Daesung.

Because his whole mind was filled with only Daesung.

Shaking himself out of a trance, he took out his handphone and took short video before he could miss the sight.

They younger turned and gave him a mischievous grin, jogged to him and tugged at his arm. Seunghyun was rather reluctant to follow.

Would they be caught by the owners?

"This is my home!" Daesung laughed light heartedly as he pulled Seunghyun along, seemingly able to read his mind.

"I thought you live alone?"

"Yep, I can't stay since I'm over eighteen but this was where I grew up. I come back here often to play with the kids or sing to them."

"You were raised here?"

"Yes, I was probably left here due to my condition. It's not easy to care for someone like me, you know."

"Weren't you upset about that?"

"Not really, I have always known that I was different from other children. I haven't met my parents, I don't know them, so I don't hold any grudge towards them."

Just how much kindness can a person have? The younger doesn't seem capable of hurting or hating anyone.

If Seunghyun was in his shoes, he'll probably hate the ones who abandoned him, hate himself and hate the world. But Daesung was not him. He doesn't want Daesung to be just another hateful person in this world full of sins.

Pulling Daesung back, letting the younger fall into his arms, Seunghyun said his prayer under the watchful eyes of the Cherubim angel.

"Don't change. Don't let anything change you. If god is watching, you are surely meant to be given wings."

"Then you are surely sent here to watch over me."

Their lips met in a languid kiss.

And the flowers danced under the moonlight in celebration of a blossoming love.

***

Jiyong hand the phone back to Seunghyun.

"And we came back, many times. He sang to the children and we played games. Many if them were disabled, abandoned by their families. All they needed was love, something that Daesung gave generously. He was that kind of person, because he was one of them."

"I cannot measure up to him in all aspects. Am I never going to be good enough?"

"No, you can't, Jiyong. But neither can he to yours. Don't bring yourself down, you've been doing that. Once you start thinking about bad things you won't stop."

'Do you really love me?' It was a question that keeps surfacing in his mind. He was certain that Seunghyun did love him but when he learned what extent Seunghyun had loved Daesung, insecurity crept in.

It was ugly.

He was appalled by that ugliness in him.

Would Seunghyun abandon him if he sees that?

He disliked himself, disliked the fact that he pried open Seunghyun's past, the past that Seunghyun had tried to protect him from. The only thing he had acomplished was to hurt himself despite Seunghyun trying to protect him from it.

Far from disliking Jiyong, Seunghyun found it amusing to see Jiyong struggling with himself. It was new to him. And new is good, it means he learned another thing about his lover. He had always known that Jiyong was self-assured, straightforward, strong-willed, yet he can be flexible, acommodating and Seunghyun admires him for those qualities. Now he can add something else to that list.

He does loves Jiyong, really.

Daesung became his memories but he was still creating new ones with Jiyong. One day, they might look back and relieve these memories, but for now, he will treasure the one who stands beside him.

He kisses the head of the shorter man, hugging him back to chest, hoping that this will put Jiyong a little at ease. He could feel Jiyong relax his body, that little display of affection putting Jiyong's unease to rest.

"Come on, let's go to the beach."

~~~

They boarded yet another bus, it was a long trip, nearly an hour and the sun is beginning to set.

Seunghyun took out his earphones, handing one side to Jiyong. The singer's vioce was soothing, strong and conveyed the emotions of the songs well.

Jiyong knew that voice well.

He heard these songs often when he went over to Seunghyun's place.

"Hyunnie, who wrote his songs?"

"He did. He had been writing them for years, but was clueless how to go about getting them recorded. I got Dongwook to pull some strings, since he had a lot of contacts. And we met DJ Kush. He not only recorded Daesung's album, he produced it too. Said Daesung had potential. Dongwook, Youngbae and myself took care of the funding. Youngbae was fond of him, you know. He doted on Daesung a lot, 'my little brother', he would say."

This time, he drifted off into the past by himself as the song 'missing you now' begins to play.

This was the very last song Daesung had recorded.

***

To fulfil one's dream, perseverance is the key.

They persevered and it finally paid off.

It was tough, juggling between their jobs and Daesung's limited time before sunrise but they made it. Since Daesung already had his songs prepared, it took the just under six months to complete the recording.

"I'm so happy!" Daesung exclaimed turning in circles with arms wide open. The street was empty at four in the morning, walking Daesung home becoming a habit for Seunghyun. "I have a boyfriend and a good friend. It's more than I can ask for. Thank you, Seunghyun."

"And you deserve better, Daesungie."

"It's enough for me. My dream is close to becoming real and I am no longer lonely." Daesung looked up at the stars, he released a sigh, his expression unreadable.

'I want to be even closer to him.' A small smile formed, so did the courage within him.

"Will you stay tonight?" It wasn't easy for the words to leave his lips, he wasn't as eloquent as the elder but he had managed to pull himself together.

It was rare that Daesung made the first move, he was shy and easily embarrassed when it came to intimacy.

They shared gentle kisses along the way, fingers tangled and exchanges of knowing smiles.

There was no loudness, no urgency, only tenderness as they joined. The room was filled with soft gasps and barely audible moans, the exchange of 'I love you's and hearts melded into one as they rocked against each other.

***

It was a moment in their past that he could never share with anyone.

Especially not to Jiyong.

Not with the amount of hurt he had already inflicted onto his lover.

Sorry about the long wait. I hate my work work! Hahaha.

The story doesn't seem to flow smoothly, I have no idea what went wrong, so I'm posting just as it is.

 2 more chapters till the end!