Things started falling into place. They weren’t quite there yet, but he was almost ready.

Jongin decided that he was going to open that box today. He would be lying if he didn’t admit that he didn’t miss her. He did. But she was doing what she had to do. And he was doing what he had to.

He still felt lost, but he had immersed himself in the feeling. Chaeyeon couldn’t draw him out of this one. He had to do it himself. He had to prove that he could.

He let the music flow through him, not following some set choreography but making it up as he went along. And then a soft melody comes on, and his breath catches in his throat. There was something so bittersweet, moving, and poignant about it. It was like finally finishing a year-long project, or running through the rain.

Or watching the lithe shape of a rare, Chinese white dolphin jumping over the waves.

Jongin just stands and listens, and before he knows it, his body was moving without his control. It was like he was possessed, but every footstep, every note engraved itself in the soft tissue of his brain.

And when it’s over, he sat on the ground, panting, and he dialed a number on his phone.

“Hey.”

“Can you do me a favor, Tao?”