I waited a long time for you to

Hold your head up and look straight at me

 

 

Every single day of the year, Kyungsoo never failed to look down from his window. He would for that certain human with his eyes staring intensely. Never in his whole existence had he have seen a bronze skin shimmering as the crisp light from the sun touches it. Kyungsoo sighed as his gaze followed that human as he goes down the subway station, hoping that by any chance that he would look back at him. It would be hours again until he sees that man again. Oh, how he loved to watch the gentle moonlight reflect on him.

 

Jongin was his that human’s name as he heard a guy called Sehun yelling at him for being late for their class.

 

On the Sundays of spring, he loved how that man’s eyes sparkled when he’s playing with his dogs, two white- and one brown-colored toy poodles, at the nearby park.

 

Kyungsoo would have reddened cheeks under the summer sky as he takes a glimpse of those toned arms and legs the (his) human preferred wearing sleeve-less shirts and shorts. He would fan himself and swore that it’s just the weather that’s making him feel hot. (‘O come on, you little !’ Baekhyun scoffed at him one time. ‘We all know how you would strip him with your eyes! Don’t even try to deny it!’ Kyungsoo definitely needed as new best friend. Why was he even friends with this guy?!)

 

How he wished to pick up the fallen orange leaves stuck on Jongin’s hair when he walks down the park. He would gladly warm those gloveless hands as the autumn passes by.

 

And then came that winter he’s been waiting for.

 

 

I waited a whole year for this day

I feel like I’ve been frozen

 

 

Kyungsoo was not a human. He was neither a spirit nor a deity. He’s just a snowflake with a very intricate pattern.

 

Once a snowflake graduates from the academy, an annual initiation was conducted. Newly-graduated snowflakes were sent to a mission that they have to fulfill every first snowfall of the year. That was to fall from the sky, then melt in the ground or in any surface. Once landed, their movements would be limited to hand movements and talking, depending on the surface they landed at. If they fell in a concrete ground, they have no choice but to wait for them evaporate back to the clouds since they would not be able to walk. All of these must happen within 8 hours. During the earlier winters, almost all snowflakes returned to their homes in the sky. They were “immortal” in a sense. But as the human population grew, snowflake casualties rose over the years. It was an unexplained phenomenon to their community on how a snowflake would never return to the sky when he or she lands on a human skin and subsequently melts on it.

 

No one knew what happens after a snowflake melts into a human skin. No one knew how to stop this so-called curse of the human skin. Every year, the elders would remind the young snowflakes, especially the first-timers, to carefully plan out how they would land safely while avoiding any contact to human skin (they can land on their clothes but never ever on the skin).

 

 

Today I’ll gather my courage and approach you

 

 

“Aren’t you afraid?” Baekhyun pried on Kyungsoo, who was busy staring at Jongin through the window of their dorm room.

 

“Of never coming back here.”

 

Kyungsoo turned his head to Baekhyun’s direction, leaving an inch or two away from each other. He could see the genuine concern of his childhood friend.

 

“Honestly,” Kyungsoo turned away with his eyes shaking. “I don’t know.”

 

Baekhyun wrapped his arms around his friend’s torso, hugging him from the back. “You’re the best snowflake in the academy. No one knows the laws of physics better than you. Of course, you’ll be back.”

 

Kyungsoo sighed and lowered his head. It took another second for Baekhyun to get where this conversation was going. His jaw dropped while his eyes almost pooped out from their sockets. “Unless…!”

 

The owl-eyed snowflake tried to release his self from the other’s arm but he just failed as Baekhyun tightened his hug. Oh well, he would just prepare his ears for an hour-long lecture from his friend.

 

“Are you nuts?!” Baekhyun suddenly released his friend and let the other kneel down, sitting on his heels. Baekhyun pointed at Kyungsoo with his mouth opened but no words escaped from him. He then paced around the room, occasionally flailing his arms up in the air.

 

Kyungsoo, still kneeling, just followed the other with his eyes. “Oh, come on, Baek. Stop being so dramatic.”

 

Baekhyun stopped and turned to Kyungsoo with that ‘are-you-ing-serious-?’ face. “Wow…WOW! Me? Being dramatic? WOW!” He gave a slow-clap at Kyungsoo who was now rolling his eyes at his friend. “Of course, I’ll be dramatic! You’re basically doing a suicide mission, you owl! You’re really planning to spend your melting hours on that human’s clothes?! For what?! What will you get in return?! I get that he’s hot and extremely good-looking but is he really worth it? He doesn’t even know that you exist!”

 

“But I am the best--”

 

“Shush! Yeah, yeah, you’re the best snowflake when it comes to calculating the exact time to jump to land safely, considering also the wind speed and all that physics stuff if slept through in class. But Kyungsoo! This is real life, dude! We only have a one-shot to jump with us returning safely. What if you get blown away by the wind and land to a human skin? Or got shaken off and become stuck on a human’s hand? What would you do then?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

Baekhyun launched himself his kneeling friend. “What would I do if I lost my best friend?”

 

“Just trust me on this, Baek.” Kyungsoo hugged the sniffling Baekhyun so tightly as if it’s their last. “I promise that we’ll see each other again.”

 

A knock on the door signified the start of their mission. Kyungsoo released Baekhyun and helped the other stand on his feet. He cupped Baekhyun’s face, wiping the other’s tears while mouthing ‘ul-ji-ma’. Kyungsoo held Baekhyun by his shoulders and pushed the other lightly to lead the way out of the room.

 

Once outside in the open air, Kyungsoo looked around his village, at his friends, his colleagues, his former professors…his parents. Seeing his mother and father waving back at him almost made him change his mind. He turned his back to them after giving his heart-shaped smile. He hoped that they would see the parting letter he left above his nightstand.

 

Kyungsoo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt a tap on his shoulders. He opened his eyes and see Baekhyun giving him a thumbs-up. The best friends walked towards the platform. Kyungsoo locked his eyes on his target.

 

It’s now or never.

 

November 20, 2017, 8.05 PM. Kyungsoo jumped from the clouds for the first time.

 

 

Out of the countless coincidences

The wind pushed me by your side

 

 

‘Almost there,’ Kyungsoo said in his head with 500 meters away from his supposedly target landing spot. It was really tricky because unlike the other snowflakes flying down beside him, his actual landing spot was moving. He meticulously calculated the right weight of his body and garments to match Jongin’s walking speed. He considered the Earth’s gravity and the aerodynamics of his flight. And the wind was also helping him!

 

‘Lucky!’

 

 

It’s amazing, like falling out of the sky

With countless dots and only one person

 

 

November 20, 2017, 7.30 AM. A shrilling sound came from the closet across the bed. After living for a year or so away from his parents to study in Seoul really was a challenge for him. Without his mother opening his curtains, throwing away his blankets and kicking him out of his bed, waking up was a tedious task for him. His roommate and best friend, Sehun, gave up on him after of a week of waking him up before going to his own classes. After being scolded by the scariest professor who valued punctuality more than anything, he resorted on buying the loudest alarm clock and putting it inside his closet after setting the alarm the night before. This way, he would have no choice but to actually stand up to turn off the alarm. He would then go straight to the bathroom, taking a shower to start his day.

 

‘For weather report, the first snow for 2017 is expected around eight o’clock in the evening today. Lower temperature in Seoul is expected and all are advised to wear their winter clothes starting today. Now for the sports—’

Jongin turned off the television upon hearing his loud alarm clock. He ran towards his room to turn it off.

 

November 20, 2017, 8.06 PM. This day was nothing but normal to Jongin. For some reason, he woke up ahead of his alarm. Sehun left him an extra sandwich for breakfast. His pets were unusually behaved and did not scramble to follow him as he goes outside their apartment.

 

A kind lady gave him a free cup of hot chocolate on his way to the station. He was able to sit down on the train (but then he gave up on it for an elderly who gave him a ripe persimmon in return). He actually aced the pop quiz given to them before the start of his lessons. Chicken was served for lunch at the cafeteria (and the ahjumma gave him 2 pieces. Assa!). After their dance training, his coach praised him and asked him if he could participate for the dance showcase in the annual Christmas festival of the university.

 

 

See how you’re stretching your arm and smiling

You are so pretty

 

 

November 20, 2017, 8.07 PM. The first snow started falling from the night sky of Seoul. Jongin felt lucky again, seeing the first snow as soon as he emerges from the subway station. He reached out his hands, hoping to catch a few snowflakes.

 

 

From me to you, it slides

A shakiness that absorbs

I will melt slowly within it

 

 

Kyungsoo saw Jongin and prayed to the gods to have a safe landing on his clothes so he could spend the night with his crush. He was about to land softly on his shoulder when he sensed that Jongin’s tall lanky noodle friend was running towards them, accidentally trapping Baekhyun on his scarf. Kyungsoo could see his friend holding on for his dear life.

 

Due to this distraction, Kyungsoo failed to notice Jongin turning his body towards the direction of his friend. His turn created a small gust of wind—a wind strong enough to change Kyungsoo’s direction.

 

 

It must be a miracle,

How I fell on the edge of your collar

My feelings are falling whitely

 

 

Kyungsoo landed safely on Jongin’s clothes but not on his shoulders as planned. Instead, it was way better as he miraculously fell on the left edge of Jongin’s collar with a 2 millimeter gap from the human’s neck. He fixed his position, holding tightly on the cloth to avoid human skin contact. No matter how he loves likes Jongin, he still wanted to go home.

 

Jongin was facing Sehun and both students were planning to go to a ramyun shop to eat dinner before going home. From where he was, he could see Baekhyun, who by chance landed on Sehun’s right shoulder. The elder was waving at him and was obviously excited for their incoming adventure. Unlike other snowflakes that would be stuck on the ground or in other surfaces and just wait to melt, the two friends could actually see the nightlife in Seoul up-close.

 

Kyungsoo was amazed by all the streetlights they see along the way. He could not help himself to be in awe with all the lights sparkling, all the music being played in the shops they passed by, and all the performers who were busking in the middle of the streets.

 

 

It’s as if the world has stopped

My sight is full of you, everything is perfection

 

 

Jongin and Sehun decided to eat in a small ramyun shop ran by a very kind ahjumma. Both of them ordered their own serving of spicy seafood ramyun, perfect for the chilly winter night. They also ordered a plate of tteokboki and a bottle of soju to share.

 

Baekhyun was watching his friend enjoying how Jongin chows down on his ramen. He was happy that Kyungsoo was having his “date” with jongin after a year of pinning. He’s proud of his best friend for accomplishing his plan. Baekhyun believed that his being in the small ramyun shop with the other snowflake was only a coincidence, but Kyungsoo being where he is now was all due to his hard work of making such intricate plan.

 

Lost in his thoughts, he did not notice that Sehun kept on shrugging his right shoulder, feeling some itchiness on it. Sehun scratched his shoulder, making the poor snowflake to be stuck on the nail of Sehun’s left ring finger.

 

“Kyunggie!” Baekhyun desperately pleaded for his friend’s help.

 

“Baekkie!” Kyungsoo did not know what to do. He tried dragging his body to help his friend.

 

But to Baekhyun’s horror, he saw Jongin about to touch his collar to relieve himself from his sweat due to the heat of the spicy ramyun. “Oh no! Kyungsoo, watch out! Don’t move! Keep holding on the cloth! Don't mind me! I will be okay!”

 

All of Baekhyun’s warnings were left unheard by Kyungsoo as he was busy trying to crawl with his elbows to save Baekhyun. He shut his eyes tightly as Jongin’s hand came close with his collar.

 

The last seen that Baekhyun saw before melting in Sehun’s nails was Kyungsoo’s arm grasping for nothing as he fell inside Jongin’s shirt.

 

 

I go to your shoulders in a heartbeat and embrace you

It seems like I waited for you for a while

It’s almost unbearable for me to be filled with thoughts of you all day

You can count on me, I will land softly on you

 

 

If you would ask Kyungsoo if he regrets being trapped inside Jongin’s shirt, slowly melting on the other’s chest, his answer would be like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No, because I could finally feel the warmth of Jongin’s heartbeat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jongin felt a warm body snuggling to him. His nose was being tickled by hair. ‘Ah, must be the dogs,’ he tells to himself as he snuggled further. He felt an arm encircling his upper body—

 

‘Wait! An arm?!’ Jongin jolted up from his sleep. With his eyes all open, he sees a black mop of hair sticking out from his duvet. The body looked bigger than his three poodles combined. He lifted up the part of the duvet covering his lower half and felt relieved seeing his sweatpants intact. With curiosity out of the bag, he lifted the part of the duvet covering the boy. Again, his eyes almost popped out after seeing a (a very cute and squishy one) man.

 

 

Jongin ran down the hall, tugging along by the wrist the previously —now clad in Jongin’s hoodie only (because his pant won’t fit on the small guy)—stranger. The hem of the hoodie ended in the middle of his white, luscious thighs. Fortunately, Jongin had a spare pair of briefs that he never used before and gave it to the stranger in his bed.

 

“Sehun-ah, I found this guy on my bed and—” Jongin stopped on his track as he sees a puppy-like man dressed in what it looks like to Sehun’s favorite shirt, sitting in their dining room and enjoying a cup of hot chocolate. (Let’s call him “Puppy” first) Oh God, he’s also pants-less. “Oh, you have company.”

 

“Jongin!” Sehun hollered from the kitchen. “Sit down first while I finish cooking enough omelets.”

 

“Hi, Jongin!” Sehun’s ‘other friend’ greeted Jongin. (Oh, come on. We all know that Jongin’s the only one who could tolerate Sehun.) “It’s nice to meet you finally!”

 

The cute stranger hiding in Jongin’s back suddenly lunged forward, hugging the other who, in return, lifted “Cutie” (Let Jongin call him that first in his head because he is lame and did not ask for the smaller one’s name) and twirled him around. They seemed to have known each other before. Jongin tried to ignore the tightening of his chest.

 

“Baekkie!”

 

“Kyunggie!”

 

 

Tonight is a miracle

 

 

A/N:

Thank you for reading! Feel free to use any of the concepts in this fanfic. But please, don’t plagiarize.

 

I’m sorry, Sehun, for that one-liner.

Can someone do justice for Sehun? I won’t be able to make a sequel or SeBaek sidestory anymore because classes are starting again next week and this might be my last vacation. :(