Fingertips graze her lips with a type of tenderness that sends small vibrations through her entire body. He holds her gaze and she peers shyly into his half-moon eyes. A smile dances on his face while she caresses his face with tremoring hands. He grabs them and holds it in his own.

            “You’re shaking,” he says with a light teasing tone.

            She wants to pull away but he holds them only stronger. He traces the lines on her palms to soothe her but it only makes her shake all the more.

            “Is this real?” the question brushes much like the autumn wind rustling through leaves. It falls from her lips and floats gently to reach his ears.

            “Do you want this be real?” he asks her. His eyes never leave her, starting from the top of her forehead to trace to the tip of her nose and finally landing on her cherry stained lips.

            She faintly hears the sound of laughter in the background and the pattering of feet running but she is only consumed by the man who sits in front of her.

            Her nod is but a slight shift of her head.

            He smiles at her and cups her face in the warmth of his hands. Pressing his lips affectionately on hers, she inhales and takes in everything from him.

            “I love you, Bae Suzy,” he confesses with all of his heart.

            She can feel her heart tugging towards him as he stands and offers a hand. She takes it and he lightly pulls her to his feet.

            A rush overcomes her and suddenly, he seems taller than she remembers. She looks down and sees him standing a few centimeters off the ground. Her brows furrow and she peers up at him again.

            He has turned and is now starting to run forward.

            “C’mon, let’s go!” he calls back towards her.

            She tries to move her feet but they only propel her forward while he runs upward into the vast blue sky.

            “Oppa!” she cries, reaching out to him.

            He doesn’t seem to hear her but she sees laughter bursting forth from his mouth. “You’ll have to run faster or you won’t catch up!”

            Pressing her feet firmly on the ground, she pushes off but gravity brings her back down.

            “Oppa, I can’t! I can’t get into the sky like you!”

            He has now risen further than ever, growing smaller in her vision.

            “C’mon, Suzy! Come fast, before you can’t catch up!” his voice is faint but she hears him calling to her.

            She runs forward faster than ever but she is never able to leave the ground. Tears spill from the corner of her eyes in frustration at the fact that she is behind him.

            “Oppa, don’t leave me!” she screams between her sobbing, “Baekhyun Oppa!”

            Her dream is shattered at the sound of metal clattering to the floor. Suzy is jolted awake and her heart bolts at the sudden sound. The metal can which held her wet paintbrushes were now spread across the floor after falling from the table. Her friend stands at the door with an embarrassed look on her face.

            “Sorry,” she says, bring a finger from her forehead towards Suzy in apology.

            Suzy feels the rise in her heart rate. She conceals it by slowly getting up out of her seat and rolling her head to get rid of the kink. Together, both she and Min clean up the mess off the floor.

            “Are you okay?” Min asks softly, not quite meeting Suzy’s eyes as they straighten out the other half completed canvases which balance precariously on the table.

            Suzy blinks in confusion, causing a tear to roll down her cheek. She reaches up and brushes it with her fingers. They return wet and tinged with green. Suzy lets out a small laugh. “I slept on paint again, didn’t I?” she muses.

            They are standing at the art studio where Suzy had spent all last night in. Her completed painting stands at the corner and Min walks over to it.

            Min tries to read what Suzy is thinking but the other has her head turned away. “You stayed here all night to complete this?” Min inspects the painting closer.

            It depicts a girl standing shyly in front of a body against a background of red, pink and purple. The boy had his back towards the observer and he stood with his hands behind him holding a bouquet of flowers. The painting showed an innocent love between the two but when Min squinted her eyes, she noticed two circles that were put on the back of the coat the boy was wearing.

            Min raises an eyebrow and points it out to Suzy. “Are those bullet holes?”

            Suzy in the meantime had stood hypnotized in front of the painting. A strange feeling is stirring in her heart as she looks at what she had painted. It brought forth the memory of Baekhyun standing in front of her with flowers after their first date. It led to the memory of their first shy kiss after. It made her remember the pain she felt from her dream.

            Another tear perches at the corner of her eye and she turns to brush it angrily away.

            Min is still standing in front of her, now watching Suzy with concern. She could guess why Suzy is crying and trying so hard to mask it. Suzy had only ever shed tears for one person and this painting brought back the reminder that this person was no longer around her.

            “I’m not sure what that is,” Suzy laughs nervously, “It was quite late last night. My mind does weird things when I am sleep deprived.”

            Without further explanation, she grabs her bag and heads out before any other memory can shake her.

            “I’m going home to shower,” Suzy says without looking back, “Sorry about the mess of the studio. I’ll be back later to clean it.”

            Her last words choke and Suzy escapes before Min can see the tears that fall consciously down her cheeks this time.

<< >>

3. 2. 1. Boom.

Making the entrance of the century, the three horses gallop into the square where the three beings are strapped on.

White. The stallion neighs and throws his head back, unsure of where to go next. But a loud snap makes it head to the right and it brings it hooves down on the ground. Its rider’s body has been punctured with holes and the smell that emits from it is horrendous. For the first horsemen is called Pestilence.

Red. Its mane has been dipped in the blood of its enemy. It limps as the giant beast follows in step behind the stallion, a battle scar from its recent fight. His rider flails at a sharp right turn, causing the spear attached at the arm to clash with the helmet. For the second horsemen is called War.

Black. The man is but , showing his skin pulled taunt over the ribcage and bones. He carries the pair of scales with his stomach plastered on one end and the other tipped with bread. For the third horsemen is Famine, but this man can no longer fill his hunger seated upon the black horse.

There is a final horseman. The fourth’s name is Death. But why does it need to exist, when it is so very much alive in the other three?

Excerpt: Written - Three Horsemen

            Everything from his desk was moved into the presentation room that allowed him more space to work. Papers of the current case overlap with the papers from the older file. They are grouped in a way only the creator can understand and it is Mark who stands before it.

            Picking at his lips with a hand, his foot taps rhythmically on the floor as he continues to scan what he has laid out in front of him.

            He knew something had been bothering him since he ret