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The night was still, the warm summer’s day had fallen away and without a cloud in the sky, the heat had drifted away with it – beyond the atmosphere – leaving behind the chills of a summer’s night. Jinki watched as he was washing the dishes, his eyes fixated on the figure in the house opposite. There a man sat, his knees bent and legs crossed at the ankles. His porcelain skin shimmered under the fluorescent moonlight and plush, pink lips whispered words he could not hear. Deep, brown, shining orbs reflected the stars above as he gazed intently – with his small mouth still mumbling the inaudible words. Jinki imagined for a moment, that he was wishing for a shooting star or maybe he was singing a soft and melancholy tune. The expression upon the small man’s face was solemn and conflicted. His bare knees looked smooth and delicate as they almost pressed against the cold window pane, blue shorts fanning out around his toned thighs. A large, baggy white T-shirt fell lightly to cover his lap, creating the illusion of beneath the draping sheet. If it wasn’t for the small dips of blue that Jinki could see framing his behind, he would have nearly choked from the thought alone. His hands felt crinkly and worn as he finally broke his gaze from the ethereal figure to notice his hands had stopped moving, allowing the grimy, potato starched water to soak into his hands unwillingly. With a sigh he drained the water from the sink, moving his hand beneath the hand wash pump to rid himself of the starchy layer across the pads of his fingertips. He raised his eyes once again towards the figure, reaching to his right for the towel to dry his hands. His heart and hopes dropped as he noticed the man had retreated away from the window, back into the featureless room that Jinki couldn’t see into. As with every evening this week, a single candle took his previous position, flickering until the early morning hours.

Jinki’s obsession with his new neighbour only heightened throughout the following weeks. Every morning he would exit the same time as his neighbour, trying to catch his eye and strike up a conversation only to be denied as the slighter male never once looked up from the floor or from the keys in his hand. They would both get in their cars and go their separate ways to work, Jinki sighed again – would he ever be able to talk to the man?

Now, don’t misunderstand Jinki’s intentions. It wasn’t like he wanted the other man in some primal and ual way. It was more like a longing to make him smile, to brighten his days and take away the pain he saw on his features every evening at that forsaken windowsill. He began to watch each night, imagining the words slipping from those perfectly plump lips. Words of pain, calling out slow when the lights are down low. Wishing for someone to take him away, to rescue him from the lonely nights and routine days. Once again, that single candle burned long into the early hours – the only glow in a pitch black room.

It wasn’t long until the world decided to throw Jinki an opportunity. He was away from work this week, he had decided to take his annual leave despite not really having any grand plans besides a few dinner dates with friends. He was just surfing online when he heard a knock at the door. Standing from the kitchen table he noticed the post man with a large package tucked under his arm – he wasn’t sure he had ordered anything and so he approached with an inquisitive manner.

“Good morning sir, I was wondering if I could leave this package with you? It’s for number 39 over the road.” The polite and slightly greying man asked.

Jinki’s eyes lit up at the realisation. “Of course!” He said a little too enthusiastically before he coughed and offered a reassuring smile. He carried the large package inside and thanked the delivery man before closing the door and finally taking a look at the brown, cardboard box.

“Mr Kim Kibum…” Jinki mused as he read the address aloud, he finally had ‘pretty neighbour’s’ real name. It suited him somehow too, Kibum – very to the point and sophisticated. Either way, Jinki was excited because he knew that beyond the white PVC door, was a red slip of card with the words ‘We tried to deliver your package but you were unavailable. It has been left with your neighbour at: number 38.’ He grinned to himself as he began to put a plan into action.

At 4.56pm on the dot, Kibum’s white Toyota pulled into the driveway opposite. He walked up the path and opened the door to number 39 as he normally did. Around five minutes later however, Jinki saw the other man approaching with a rectangle of red in his hand. He quickly scuffled around, turning off the oven and then he heard the inevitable knock at the door. He paused for a few seconds in the kitchen, before finally going to answer it.

“Hello?” Jinki questioned as he came face to face with his beautiful neighbour who looked even more astonishing up close.

“Uhm, hi. I got a card saying you took in a package for me?” Kibum phrased it as a question and Jinki could clearly see that the other man was nervous and shy.

“Oh yes, of course. It’s Kibum right? I’m Jinki. It’s nice to finally meet you.” He spoke with a charming smile as he extended his hand out towards the other. Kibum took Jinki’s hands in his own soft ones and shook ever so lightly. His grip was firm but gentle and once again this was just another part of this man that Jinki thought seemed to fit so well.

“Nice to meet you too” Kibum trailed off awkwardly.

“Please, come in for a minute whilst I get your package. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting, I was just baking.” Jinki commented as they both entered into the large kitchen to the left of the hallway.

“No, not at all. It’s fine. Really.” He spoke as his eyes wandered around in awe at Jinki’s kitchen. Not a moment later, he was pulled from his thoughts.

“Would you like one? They’re fresh out of the oven.” Jinki asked with a blinding smile, his disarming nature automatically shining through.

“Oh no, it’s fine. I still have to eat dinner yet.” Kibum responded with a polite shake of the head.

“I insist…here…” Jinki pottered about the kitchen for a few moments before he turned around with a foil wrapped stack of cookies. “…take these, I can’t eat them all anyways. You can have them after your dinner and it will save me some calories.” He grinned again, all bright and breezy. Kibum couldn’t really refuse again without looking rude and so he nodded and gave a small thanks. Jinki then pointed to the table where the brown box stood and offered to carry it to Kibum’s house – again, insisting that it was a little heavy. The cold breeze was back again and it blew straight through Jinki’s thin t-shirt and bristled against his bare feet that were only covered in a pair of slippers as he carried the box across the threshold of Kibum’s house. Kibum himself was still donning his usual work attire, topped off by the foil wrapped baked goods as he closed the door behind them, directing Jinki to place it in the hallway for now. With that they bid goodbye for the evening and Jinki walked back through the cold, never happier than in this very moment.

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From there on in, Jinki would ‘bump’ into Kibum every morning on their way to work and would make sure to engage in pleasantries and small chit chat. He came to find that Kibum was actually quite the talker and that he didn’t know many people in the area since he was new. They talked frequently as neighbours until one evening when Kibum invited him round for dinner – wine and chicken – and Jinki was sold; Kibum was pretty much the most perfect person on the planet.

It was one blustery day in October though, that he finally cracked. He had watched Kibum the previous evening, the same as always (only at a farther distance now that Kibum knew Jinki lived here) as he sat in the window, mouthing words and staring into the night sky – only to find that lone candle burning upon his retreat. They were enjoying an evening of wine and movies in Kibum’s living room, trying to unwind from the stressful week at work when Jinki brought it up.

“Can I ask you something?” Jinki was quite brazen and it may h