“Are you okay?”

Hearing the lift’s mechanism come to a startling halt, I drew a sharp breath as soon as the lights had stopped flickering.

We were stuck in the elevator.

Quick flashes of possible escape routes and calls for help struck me and an automated rush of adrenaline started pumping throughout my veins. Then I was self-reminded that our fingers were still interlaced, and I wasn’t so sure anymore if the chemical reactions taking place within me were really caused by the elevator fault.

I was in the middle of an unscripted confession, and I thought maybe the malfunction was trying to save me. I wouldn’t have known what lines to utter next otherwise.

So with a shaky “yes, I’m okay”, I waited and stood still. “Are you?”

The darkness had blinded me completely, but somehow a protruding smirk felt visible beside me.

“Never been better.”

A hiccup escaped through my orifice and heat rose up to my cheekbones. I was more than sure that my face was flushed, and became even more grateful of the obscurity.

The malfunction really was trying to save me.

One would’ve thought that being stuck on an elevator in the dark would cause the poor victims to panic and cry endlessly for help.

Yet there we stood side by side, cheeks flushing and adolescent hormones somewhat enraged. The butterflies inside had gone nuts.

I was a happy mess.

And I was pretty sure he was, too.

“Did you mean that?” my bestfriend asked, giving my hand a light squeeze. In the euphoria I was left in a daze, so it was difficult to come up with a feasible answer right then and there.

“Mean what?”

That wasn’t feasible at all.

Kyungsoo started chuckling, and in the darkness, I could practically see his cheekbones rise to form a sheepish grin. I found myself doing the exact same thing. For a few good minutes, our smiles lingered within the limited space, hearts beating in tune with each other’s. No verbalisations of any feelings were mandatory – the silence spoke on our behalf – and it was beautiful.

It seemed as if our chaotic affairs that took place the last two months were slowly being dissolved in the moment. I wondered if those were stepping stones – requisites that we both had to go through in order to come in reconciliation this way.

Then I had to break the pristine reunion of our sanity upon realising that we needed help getting the hell out of there, although some part of me was almost reluctant to.

“There must be an alarm button somewhere,” I squeaked.

Without letting go, we both fumbled about the controls and buttons, feeling each one with brushing fingers as if we were reading Braille. Each time our skin interacted, rapid jolts of bliss tapped at my nerves, directly attacking my heartstrings.

As we were momentarily blind, neither of us was intending to land a finger on the same button. My left hand still held his tightly, but now that all four hands were connecting us, my senses went into a state of ambiguity, uncertain of what I should do next.

But Kyungsoo’s next course of action revealed that he was feeling clearly the opposite.

He gently sweeped the fingers of my right hand with his left, lifted them up to level with his lips and planted on them a soft kiss. He used my hand to give his cheek a light , and even though I could see nothing, I still closed my eyes to breathe in the moment. His supple skin against my fingers felt only sweeter by the second, so I let loose and used my own free will to caress.

“Hyemi-ah.”

Rich, thick velvet embedded in his vocal chords were soothing to the bones. Unbeknownst to Kyungsoo, he was feeding my euphoria.

“Yes?”

He took a deep breath. “Your hands,” he whispered, “they’re warm”.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

“Hyemi-ah.”

I stopped his cheek. If he kept voicing out my name that way, I’d be in danger of losing grip.

I couldn’t say anything, so, gulping hard, I swallowed the saliva that had gathered in my mouth due to lack of speech.

Taking my hand away from his face, he asked me to slowly lead his hand towards my cheek. Caught in confusion and bemusement, I did so. As it landed on me, I gasped, completely letting my guard down to let anything in, come what may.

Kyungsoo was returning a favour and felt my cheek in the same manner as I felt his. Only this time, he was gentler and sweeter, tracing his fingers along as if he were searching on a map.

Then his exploring came to a halt when I felt his affectionate touch on the edge of my mouth.

He was searching for my lips.

Do Kyungsoo was searching for my lips.

“Hyemi-ah,” Kyungsoo sang my name for the third time, “what I’m going to do next – I absolutely mean it.”

Once again, although a pitch black smoke of nothingness surrounded us, I closed my eyes and primed myself for what I knew was going to happen next. I held my breath as I sensed Kyungsoo coming closer and closer and…

…closer.

Do Kyungsoo was kissing me.

This time, there were no frenzied butterflies emerging from the pit of my stomach. Not a faint sound of anything at all could be heard, and instead of a nipping breeze biting onto my skin, Kyungsoo was emitting soothing warmth. I thought I blinked, but I was still blind – it was the best I could fathom. I was completely in my senses, kissing back with my own willpower. The state I was dwelling in I could definitely call a state of grace; all ever so precious that I had control over it with my own hands. It was unbelievably exhilarating. I caught myself looking for fireworks and unicorns, but the next few seconds were definitely worth more than superficial signs.

They were worth more than anything, because everything was real.

My fingers still ever so tightly intertwined with his, I found myself stepping backwards and towards one corner of the small space. Kyungsoo slid his free arm around my waist and invited me closer to him. The temperature within the tiny, open gap hovering in between our bodies grew incremental, almost teasing and begging to be closed. Our contact was neither hungry nor timid; rather it was a perfect combination of both. There I stood, safe and secure in his arms, pain fleeting, and the purity of our bliss promising permanence.

I was the one who pulled away, short of breath and drunk on elation. With my body still against the corner, Kyungsoo’s forehead found mine.

“So I’m going to ask again,” he began to speak with a husky voice, “did you mean that?”

I threw my arms around his neck longingly, in the same way that I had when he kissed me in his bedroom. In remembering so, that memory no longer had an agonizing effect on me, because during that moment, I knew we were both braver.

“I did, and I always will.”

Kyungsoo held me closer and tighter until our bodies were touching. The feeling was foreign but it only made me forget even more that we were stuck and helpless in a lift.

It appears it was doing the same for him.

“I’m sorry for being a pathetic coward.”

“What are you sorry for? We were one and the same,” I replied in acceptance of his apology.

“But… don’t you want to know when I knew?” Kyungsoo suddenly chimed, puzzling me a little since I had no idea what he was asking about.

“Knew what?”

“That I’d fallen madly in love with you?”

I still had a hard time being able to process that those words were really coming out of his mouth.

“Okay, I’ll ask. When did you know that… you’d fallen madly in love with m- with me?”

And I had a hard time being able to process that those words were really coming out of my mouth.

“Do you remember when we watched the stars?”

“Of course, I remember,” I smiled. How could I dare forget?

“I said the stars were pretty,” his nose touched mine, “but when I gathered courage and decided to hold your hand… it was prettier… and I thought, that moment surpassed all beauty.”

And with that, my lips found his again, and I lost myself in chaste passion.

I was definitely a happy mess.

Neither of us was expecting that we would reconcile in such a peculiar place, and it taught me one thing: eyes had to close in order for hearts to open.