Ontae #11 can you hear me #15 shooting star

Warnings: someone died (sobs I’m sorry!!!)

Continuation of Chapter 24

Jinki sat on the rooftop of the rented cabin in the country bundled in a blanket, not sure if his nose was running from the cold or all the crying he had done.  He sniffled and kept his eyes on the night sky.  He had heard about the meteor shower a couple weeks ago and decided that the timing was going to be perfect for him to get out of the city for a few days.  It was too much of a coincidence to really ignore, the biggest meteor shower in a decade lining up with the one year anniversary of Taemin’s death. 

Jinki took a shaky breath when he saw the first shooting star.  He checked his watch and it wast just after midnight.  “Wow…one year today.”  His voice echoing in his ears.  “Hey duckie…” He laughed at his own foolishness.  “Can you hear me?  I guess if there was any chance that you could it would be now right?”  

He took a deep breath the cold air stinging his throat.  “I miss you.  I had to move out of our place after…”  It physically hurt him to say that Taemin had passed or died out loud no matter how much time went on.  “…it seemed empty without you in it.  So I got a smaller place on the other side of town.  Don’t worry, I brought Crush with me.  I couldn’t leave her behind.”  He smiled.  “She’s doing well, misses you too I think.  Always did you like you better.”  He pouted and laughed thinking about when they bought the pet turtle.  How tiny it had been, fitting in the palm of Taemin’s hand.  

He pulled the blanket tighter around him as a shiver wracked through him.  “I’m assistant editor now.  So that’s something…good…right?”  He sighed.  “Nothing seems to matter as much since you’ve been gone though.”  Tears started to fall again as he watched the meteor shower get heavier.  “I swear I don’t cry that much anymore.”  He patted his cheeks.  “It’s just…you know the anniversary and all.”  

Jinki sat there through the rest of the meteor shower talking out loud to Taemin.  About the past year, about some of his favorite memories, things he missed.  As the last of the stars fell he stood up to go inside.  “No matter how much time passes duckie, I’ll always be a barnacle  Clinging to you and holding onto every memory I can…”