“Stop! You’re so ugly,” you screech, rolling around the grass from laughing so hard.

Hoseok doesn’t though. He continues to dash towards the huge oak tree the two of you have been laying under for the past hour, trying to run up it.

“You won’t do it, Hobi,” you shout, sitting up. “There’s absolutely no way that you can get up to that branch without using your hands.”

When Hoseok slips down for the third time, you can’t help but to crack up again. “Okay fine, maybe I can’t do it right now, but just watch! One day, I’ll climb this tree and you’ll rue the day you doubted me,” he argues, sitting back down beside you, leaning against the tree.

“Alright, jungle-man Hoseok,” you snicker. “I’ll be waiting until then.”

Night has fallen and the stars have begun to make their appearance on the stage that is the sky, joining the moon in its performance. The summer air is crisp and smells like a medley of flowers. It’s a little chillier than it was before so you pull your legs in and wrap your arms around them, trying to conserve whatever warmth you had before.

“Are you cold?” Hoseok questions, not even waiting for an answer to drape his jacket over your shoulders.

“I was,” you laugh. “Thanks.”

“No,” Hoseok stares at you and smiles. “Thank you.”

A part of you swears he was looking at your lips, even just for a second, but you rid your head of the thought. “For what?” you prompt.

“Tonight,” he grins, shifting his gaze to what lies above. “Whatever tonight was, I guess.”

You lean back and let out a contented sigh. “I feel the same way.”

“No, but like seriously. Thank you,” he continues, eyes still focussed on the sky. “Truthfully, I’ve been feeling really lousy lately with all this stress building up and I think today it just got too much. Too many people, too many conversations, too many fears, too many emotions, too many things to keep up with… I think I burned myself out from trying to stay so positive all the time,” he whispers, closing his eyes.

Hoseok’s smile finally falters for the first time tonight and what feels like the first time in forever. There was not even a trace of a smirk on his lips. Hoseok smiled a lot and that made you smile too. Everything he did subconsciously made you smile. Hence, with his face was void of any emotion at this moment, only having dark circles and shut eyes on display, it dawned on you.

Perhaps you were too blinded by your own happiness that you didn’t notice that his grins were just a forced tug of the lips. He feels lonely sometimes too; he faces hardships just like anybody else. He isn’t obligated to feel certain emotions for the sake of others.

Hoseok is a lot of things, but a robot is not one.

“Then don’t,” you blurt out. Your hands clench into fists from frustration; frustration that Hoseok refused to express. “Don’t burn yourself out. If you’re unhappy, say it. Do something about it. You don’t owe anything to anybody.”

“I’m sorry, I think I got too heated,” you grimace, relaxing your body. “I just… want you to be happy.” you trail off.

“Thank you,” Hoseok whispers, as he gives a small smile. A real one, you think.

It’s probably midnight by now but you don’t think you care. You thank Seokjin in your head and watch clouds float by, wondering if you would ever be blessed with another night like this. Everything felt perfect.

Hoseok hums your name and you immediately turn to face him, awkwardly tucking a piece of hair behind your ear.

Every time he said your name it felt like your heart would jump out of your chest. It was a foolish wish, but whenever you heard it come out of his mouth, you wanted him and only him to say it.

“Your friend confessed to me the other day,” Hoseok says all of a sudden, your face going pale. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot but it’s like, what have I got to lose right? What do you think?”

A silence falls between the two of you, save for the sound of your heart shattering resounding in your head. The park is calm as the moon shines down on the earth, all of the stars in the world shimmering from the distance. When you look at Hoseok, it looks as if a halo forms at the crown of his head as he’s basked in moonlight, eyes fixated on the glistening sky above.

Everything is beautiful and you hate it. It’s as if the heavens were reminding you of things you never forgot. No matter how close you are to perfection; you’ll never have it.

Hoseok would never be yours.

 “They say that if you look someone in the eyes for three minutes, you’ll fall in love,” you mutter under your breath, drawing Hoseok’s attention away from the stars.

“Yeah?”

“So why is it that every time I look at you, it feels like my heart is breaking?”

The night is far too stunning for you to hurry back to Namjoon’s house; too wonderful for you to call your best friend in a shaky voice.

Tonight is too magnificent for you to have your heart broken, after finally believing you had a chance.

Life was too cruel sometimes.