Just like every other morning, Jinyoung opened his eyes to the darkness of his room. Any light from the outside was blocked by a thick curtain he put over the only window in his room beside his bed, except the little that managed to escape through the narrow crack. He groaned as he pushed himself up from the bed and yawned to his palm. He pushed the curtain slightly to the side, taking a peek to the sky outside. He sighed. It was cloudy, which meant there was a high possibility of snow, which brought cloud in his mood too. He didn’t necessarily hate snow, he was just afraid that it might ruin his plan for the night.

He sighed again at the thought. Having such a bad mood as soon as he woke up wasn’t a good start of the day, and it usually would lasted the whole day. The thought of being gloomy all day made him lost his will to do anything. He shifted his eyes to the other side of the room, catching the clock ticking on the wall. It told him that fortunately there was still three hours until his afternoon class at one, so he didn’t have to be in a hurry. He could even sleep for another hour if he wanted. He contemplated it. Maybe sleeping again would make him feel better. But what if he didn’t woke up on time and became late to his class? It would just make his mood worsened. And his stomach started to rumble, so he opted for food. Maybe eating a good food would do the job.

He shoved his blanket to the side and put down his feet on the floor one by one. He walked to the door, thinking what he should eat. However as soon as he opened it, a delicious smell hit his nose. Following the smell, he was brought to the kitchen. On the kitchen cabinet beside the stove, he spotted an omurice accompanied by a post-it note. He pulled the note off from the plate and took the it closer to his eyes so he could read it since he didn’t wear his contacts.

In the world of safe hues, like black, red, and white, yellow shouts: “Look at me, I’m happy!” :)

P. S.: Don’t forget to heat it up in the microwave before you eat ^^

Only then he realized that on the omurice, there was a smiley face drawn with ketchup. It was so childish and funny he laughed so hard. Who knew Im Jaebum had a cute side like this? He put the post-it back to where it was put before and went inside his room again, looking for his phone. He took a picture of them and sent it to Jaebum with the caption:

Thanks for the meal~ I’ll eat it well :)

After that, the drawing on the omurice seemed to be plastered on his face. He couldn’t stop smiling. He smiled as he waited for the microwave to beep. He smiled as he ate, even chuckling sometimes as he tried to picture what kind of face Jaebum made when he drew this. the notes again. He smiled as he took a shower and hummed pieces of any bright songs that came to his mind.

저 태양처럼 baby // Like that sun baby
환한 미소로 내 맘을 녹여줘 // Melt my heart with a bright smile
저 태양처럼 baby // Like that sun baby
환하게 나의 하루를 밝혀줘 // Shine brightly into my day

“Did you get infected by some kind of weird disease? Or did you drink the wrong medicine this morning? You’re grinning so much it’s disgusting,” Jackson said, throwing him a weird look as he sat beside him in their class.

Jinyoung just shrugged and continued humming. Jackson looked like he wanted to ask further, yet was stopped by the arrival of their professor. The great mood he had still didn’t disperse even as he noted down the guests’ orders in the restaurant he worked at, and it seemed like it was so obvious from the way Wonpil stared at him when he got back to put the orders.

“Did something good happen? You keep smiling it’s weird,” Wonpil asked curiously.

“What’s weird about smiling? I always smile when I’m working, it’s part of our job anyway,” Jinyoung answered in an attempt to avoid the topic. However, Wonpil just wouldn’t budge.

“No, it’s different,” he said, shaking his head, “today it’s not the polite business smile being glued on your face. It looks like your face is about to break with how wide you’re smiling, I bet your cheek is going to feel sore by the end of the day if you keep it up.”

Jinyoung felt the heat crawling up to his face as he averted his eyes away, pretending to double-check the order. “Stop exaggerating, I’m the same as always.”

Suddenly, a teasing grin was formed on Wonpil’s face. “What? Someone manages to make Park Jinyoung blush? Who’s that incredible person? Is it the new roommate Jackson told me the other day? Whoa, I really need to meet this guy.”

“Shut up and quickly make the dishes, the customers are waiting,” Jinyoung said, wanting the conversation to finish as his cheeks were on fire already. Wonpil seemed like he wouldn't back down, fortunately to his relief, a new customer passed through the door so he could escape.

However, his two friends were right, it was indeed weird. Why did he felt so happy over such a little thing? Or maybe because it was Jaebum? Jinyoung shook the thought away, and tried to focus so he wouldn’t make any mistake in taking the order.

--

Jinyoung checked his watch as he moved his legs quicker, ignoring the snow that fell on his hair. It was already half past eight. He pushed through the crowd to reach the spot where he was awed by a duo’s performance two months ago. He actually wanted to come last month too, however his father got sick so he had to go back to his hometown. That was why he was more determined to come today and watch from the very beginning, even more so because there was something he needed to confirm. However, the universe seemed to want otherwise.

The part-timer who was supposed to work the shift after him was held back thanks to the snow that fell heavily in his are. He couldn’t refuse the manager’s request to stay longer until the part-timer came, though fortunately with additional pay. However, because of that, he finished at eight instead of six thirty, meaning he couldn’t watch the duo performed from the beginning. Now he could only hope that they wouldn’t cancel their performance. He breathed in relief when his ears finally caught a familiar voice, and a familiar figure that was circled by a crowd, confirming that his suspicion was right.

Jaebum was there, standing on the center of the flock, still making small talk between their performance with his audience together with his partner. The first time Jinyoung had his suspicion that Jaebum was the same person as the performer was when he heard the other sung in the bathroom. It sounded awfully familiar and it kept itching the back of his mind until one day he caught Jaebum dancing in his room when he thought no one was home. Jinyoung might forgot his face, or in a haze about his voice, but he would never forget the entrancing way his body moved. Just like what happened before him now.

As soon as music started flowing through the girl’s fingers, Jaebum’s gaze changed. And when her crystal voice cut through the air, he started moving.

The moon was yellow and the night was young
A smile brought us together,
And I was wondering whether
We'd meet again someday.

The moon was yellow and a song was sung,
That vocal inspiration gave me the inclination
To give my heart away!

Here we are! Is our romance to continue?
Will it be my luck to win you?
May I look that far?

Ah! My love is mellow and my hopes are strung,
Around that cupid fellow,
Behold! The moon is yellow,
And the night is young

The song was ended with a loud cheer from the audience, and Jinyoung clapped with all his might. It was incredible. They were singing the classic musical song with their own rendition in R&B style and it sounded so good. Jinyoung somehow felt pride filling his heart when he heard it, knowing such an amazing person that could move many people’s heart was his roommate. However, it changed to worry that mirrored Jaebum’s face as the boy whispered something to his partner, who nodded agreeing to whatever he was saying. After the cheer had calmed down, Jaebum turned back to the crowd.

“We’re so sorry to inform you that we had to end early since the snow has gotten heavier.”

He smiled as the crowd whined in protest, Jinyoung included. “We truly apologize. Thanks for watching us tonight. Please be careful on your way home and don’t catch a cold. See you next time.”

Jinyoung sighed in disappointment. Well, on the positive side, at least he was able to watch one song from them. He stayed as the crowd dispersed, watching Jaebum and his partner packed up their instruments and equipment, contemplating whether he should call out for him or not. However he looked busy, talking and laughing with the girl. Jinyoung didn’t want to disturb them, so he his feet to leave, even though he didn’t get farther than fifteen steps before his elbow was tugged. He stopped and turned around to find Jaebum, bending down and panting, the white cloud puffed out through his mouth failed to veil the brightness of his smile.

“Glad I can catch you,” he said.

“Jae…”

“I have to go back,” Jaebum cut him off, still heaving for breath. “Wait for me at that restaurant. Let’s have dinner and go home together.”

Jinyoung’s eyes followed the pointed finger to a cafe only three meters from where they were standing, and nodded.

“Great,” Jaebum brightened up, as if that was still possible. “I’ll be quick. See you later!”

Jinyoung, still stunned by the unexpected event, could only let his eyes tailed the wide back getting farther away. Only after it disappeared he moved his feet and walk to the mentioned restaurant. The circle lamp sign at the front said ‘Simpson Tang’. Wait, did he choose this restaurant because of its name? Jinyoung chuckled. Jaebum and his obsession for The Simpson would never broke up.

Even from the outside, he could see most of the interior thanks to the big windows facing the street. It looked warm and cozy, dominated by wood except one side of wall and the floor that was made of concrete. He went in and choose a table beside the window, so he could see Jaebum coming. He ordered a drink and asked the waiter to leave the menu, saying he was waiting for someone.

That someone came about half an hour later, white snowflakes scattered contrasting the black hair. Jinyoung smiled at him when he saw him, which was returned back brightness multiplied.

“Have you ordered?” Jaebum asked as he sat across Jinyoung.

“Only this drink. I haven’t ordered food yet.”

“Alright then, let’s order quickly. Ah, I’m so tired and cold and hungry I thought I’m gonna die.”

Jaebum called the waiter and ordered. Jinyoung looked outside the window, watching people passing by the restaurant. Or not. His mind was totally distracted by the staring from across the table. He ignored it at first, but at the end he sighed and turned to look at the owner of the stare.

“What?”

“So you watch me,” he said, sounded amazed by that fact.

Jinyoung nodded, “Only the last song, though. I was late because of my part time job.”

“Since when did you know? Jackson told you?”

Jinyoung shook his head. “I watched you perform once before Jackson introduced you to me, and I only confirmed it was you  tonight. Never thought I could befriend a star someday.”

Jaebum laughed. “What star? We just perform here once in a while for fun.”

Jinyoung knitted his eyebrow, puzzled. “Don’t you and your partner want to be professionals?”

Jaebum chuckled. “Of course not. We never seek to be professionals, we only like to sing and make people happy. We both have something we want to do more, so performing was just kind of hobby. Maybe some of the performers there would be stars someday, but not us.”

Jinyoung hummed in understanding, remembering the time he saw the other painting at the campus studio. He averted his eyes from Jaebum, knowing what he was going to say next was so embarrassing, yet he still wanted to say it because he loved his performances so much. So he did. “It’s still a pity though. For me, you’re the brightest among any other performers there. If they’re stars, you’d be a moon, since you’re brighter than them. I’d say you’re the sun, the brightest of all star, if only I could see it. But I can’t, and I can see you, so you’re the moon for me. A yellow moon, just like the song you sang.”

His cheeks felt like it had exploded. He waited for a response, but there was nothing. After a few minutes of silence, he started to regret his daringness. Even after the waiter brought their side dish, there was still nothing. He decided to just screw it and looked up, finding Jaebum frozen with gaping mouth, eyes wide. It was so funny if he wasn’t so embarrassed he would’ve laughed his guts out. And Jaebum did just like that.

Jaebum laughed so annoyingly hard tears was falling down from his eyes while Jinyoung was ablaze with embarrassment. He wished he could turn back time or maybe just get into nothingness, clean and easy. He stood up, wanting to escape as soon as possible. He would rather starve than being in this place right then. However, before he got to take another step, a firm hand grabbed his wrist, forbidding him from going. He glared at Jaebum who was trying to suppress his laughter to speak.

“I’m sorry, don’t get angry. I don’t mean to laugh at you. Please sit down again.”

Jinyoung was going to jerk his hand away and just leave. He, however, couldn’t reject the puppy eyes Jaebum beamed on him. So he slumped back down on his seat, staring at the wrist Jaebum kept holding, waiting for the other’s explanation.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t laugh because I think what you said was funny. I laughed because you think just the same thing as I do.”

Jinyoung finally lifted his eyes to look at Jaebum, confused. Jaebum smiled softly, releasing the wrist he was gripping tightly only to slide his hand down to gently hold the hand attached to it.

“I’ve always thought you’re like the moon since the first time I saw you. You’re so beautiful you’re shining softly in the most serene way possible. Just like the moon,” Jaebum smirked, “and for your information, moon is my favorite star in this universe.”

Jinyoung’s cheek started burning again for a completely different reason. After all this time he should’ve been immune to his flattery. This one, though, somehow managed to break through the barrier and affect him. Fortunately, at that moment, the waiter came bringing their dish. He quickly pulled his hand from Jaebum’s, giving space for the waiter to put the heavy pot of budae jjigae down. The skin Jaebum touched felt as hot as the smoke puffing out from the stew.

--

The street to their neighborhood was empty by the time they got back. It was quiet except for the crunching sound of their soles crushing the frozen snow. The snow itself had stopped falling, yet Jinyoung could still feel the air freezing the tips of his fingers. He brought both his hands to his mouth and blew his breath on them, trying to make them warmer.

“Where’s your gloves? You don’t wear it?” Jaebum asked, his voice was laced with concern.

“I did, but I left it at my workplace. I forgot since I was too much in a hurry.”

Jaebum furrowed his brows. “What made you rushing so much?”

“I didn’t want to be late to watch you perform, which I still did anyway,” Jinyoung chuckled.

Jaebum stared at him for a moment before taking off one of his gloves, to Jinyoung’s surprise. He snatched his right hand and put on the glove. Then he grabbed his bare hand with his own and put them inside the pocket of his jacket.

“There it is. Warm, isn’t it?” Jaebum grinned to the stunned Jinyoung. Jinyoung tried to pull his hand from that warmth. “You don’t have to…”

“It’s okay,” Jaebum said, tightening his grip. “It’s because of me anyway, so let me compensate you. Shouldn’t let my biggest fan getting frostbites, should I?”

Jinyoung pouted. “Stop mocking me!”

Jaebum just laughed. He started walking again, dragging Jinyoung along with him. He started humming, melting the silence with his honeyed voice. After a few steps though, Jinyoung tugged his hand, making him stop. Jaebum stared at him confusedly while Jinyoung steeled his will. He was done with contemplating.

“There’s something I want to ask.”

Jinyoung rummaged through his sling bag with his gloved hand, finding one object that had became important for him with time. He took out a black bucket hat from his bag, holding it out for Jaebum to see.

“Is this yours?” Jinyoung timidly asked. So many failure had drained his courage and hope so much, which he had gathered pieces by pieces to ask this question one more time. What if he was wrong again? Where else should he search for him? He stared as Jaebum smiled.

“So you still keep it.” Jaebum said, gazing fondly at the hat. Jinyoung smiled in relief.

“So it’s really yours? I’ve been searching for its owner to return it back. I’m so glad I finally find him. This hat should be back to its rightful owner.”

“And it’s you,” Jaebum said. Jinyoung was about to protest, but Jaebum stopped him. “I’ve already given this hat to you, so you’re its owner. I’ll never take back what I gave out, okay? So keep it.”

Jinyoung looked endearingly at the hat. His mouth curled into a smile as he said thank you. Jaebum just smiled back and continued walking.

“So that was our first meeting,” Jinyoung said. Jaebum laughed.

“Ddaeng! You’ve got the wrong answer.”

Jinyoung stared at him, dumbfounded. “If it’s not that time at the corridor, then when?”

Jaebum chuckled again, which had started to annoy Jinyoung. He liked the sound, though. “Are you really curious?”

Jinyoung stomped his foot, irritated. “Fine! If you don’t want to tell me, it’s okay. Suit yourself!”

“Whoa, whoa, be patient, I never say that. I’ll tell you…”

Jinyoung looked at him, filled with hope.

“... if you go for a date with me.”

__________________________________________________

P. S. :

So the note was quoted from JOY SEWING, "Why a yellow dress is more than a yellow dress", Chron, January 20, 2016. The song Jinyoung sang is "Like That Sun" by Day6, and the one Jaebum and his partner sang is "The Moon Was Yellow" by Frank Sinatra. So what do you think of this chapter? Do you prefer me keeping with the fluff or going angst? I kinda have this urge to make an angst because I just finished Just Between Lovers drama and I can't get it out of my head *sob* I want to keep this story as a fluff though *sob* Should I find a way to kill this urge or just go with it I'm so confused >,<

Okay sorry for the rant. I'm writing this at 3 a.m. so I'm kinda in a crazy state. Forgive me. And thanks for reading! (Gosh I almost end that with question mark maybe I should really sleep now)

Thanks again! Forgive me if there's any mistake or anything lacking from this story :))