Perhaps it was because their first meeting was by the river, but both Minhyuk and Chorong have always loved rivers.

Perhaps it was for that reason that Chorong found herself slightly leaning against the railing, one hand shoved in the pocket of her faded blue jeans while the other resting on the railing behind her for support, her back straight and her legs crossed, eyes staring at the streaming water of Han River, with the city’s landscape ambiguously reflected on its serene surface. Her nose was bitten red, and the wind felt cold when it brushed against her skin, but she wasn’t bothered by the coldness.

Perhaps it was because the weather was almost the exact similar as the one on the day they first met, that Chorong felt extra lonelier. It wasn’t that she wasn’t used to Minhyuk not being around due to his job, but somehow, that day she felt particularly aloof.

She stood on tiptoe, bending over a little as her eyes followed a passing bottle, wondering if it contained a letter to a darling someone from another somebody.  She was still on tiptoe, when a bicycle just swooshed behind her out of nowhere, causing her to lose her balance.

: :

Minhyuk felt his heart sank.

He couldn’t understand the sudden choking sensation that came out of nowhere, as if someone was gripping his neck so hard he could hardly breathe, leaving him gasping for air. He coughed, feeling his stomach twisted. He felt like throwing up, but then again, it disappeared just as instantly as it arrived.

“You okay?” asked his captain upon seeing his perturbed expression.

“Maybe,” replied Minhyuk. “Maybe not,”

The weather was turbulent outside, with the storm raging and dark clouds obscuring the view, just as his heart was.

: :

Just like what she had heard from some people, her whole life flashed out right before her eyes like a film without a sound. She remembered her lonely childhood before she met the boy with crooked grin and small crescent eyes which seem to vanish from his face each time he smiles. She remembered her times with him, growing from two little kids with no worries over the world, to troubled adolescents who had difficult times trying stay behind the thin line of their friendship, to adulthood where they finally were able to sort out their feelings toward each other. She remembered everything ― their joys and their sorrows, their laughs and their tears, their ups and their downs.

She gazed at the vast sky which had darkened without her realizing it, falling and falling like she has forgotten how to spread her wings and fly.

The deep waters parted and swallowed her whole. The liquid was cold against her skin and pierced her like a sharp blade as she closed her eyes, the silent movie ended a while ago.

: :

Minhyuk stared the dark clouds outside, praying and praying with all his heart. He heard the clamors made by the passengers as they, too, prayed and said every chant they could recall, while the attendants trying their very best to calm them down even though deep in their heart, they, too, were anxious.

The captain turned to glance at him, his face solemn. “Ready?” he croaked out, in the midst of it all.

“You sure you’re gonna do this?” asked Minhyuk.

Junhyung looked away. “They should know,” answered him. “They’re our responsibility,” he added. “Mine,”

Minhyuk nodded. “Hyung,” he called, trying his best to maintain the composure in his voice. “Is there someone waiting for you back home?”

A small smile appeared on Junhyung’s lips. “There is,” he replied. “Do you have someone as well?”

“I do,” Minhyuk returned his smile, but just like his senior, it didn’t reach his eyes.

“I see,” he said. “Okay, let’s do this,”

Minhyuk shifted his eyes back at the clouds, the sound of the heavy rain tapping loudly on the metal echoed in his ears. He took a deep breath as Junhyung prepared himself.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking,”

: :

Chorong woke up to a dull morning and a severe migraine. Her forehead was sweaty, despite feeling the cool morning breeze blowing into the flat, as she tried to recall the nightmare she was having just now. She realized her mistake of forgetting to lock the window the night before.

She turned to her side. Seeing Minhyuk dozing off peacefully on the other side of the bed, her lips curled into a relieved smile. She flopped back and pulled the faded marigold coloured blanket, covering her face as she returned to her slumber.