“Hey gorgeous.”

Myungsoo froze in his tracks. Usually he could predict if he was going to get a visitor or not since he could pick up their thoughts from miles away. But in one case, it didn’t work.

“Sungjong? I thought you were gone.”

“I was, but I came back to play. Don’t tell me you’re not happy.”

Sungjong sauntered towards him, swaying his hips sensuously. Myungsoo tried to block out the image that made his heart race.

“Sungjong, this world is going to be destroyed! Everything will be gone.”

The young man stopped. The smile on his face was replaced by a stoic look.

“So?”

“Haven’t you seen them? Do you want people like him disappear? Do you really want apocalypse for earth?”

Sungjong didn’t make any move. He simply looked on, unblinking.

“You’re better than this Sungjong.”

“You know what happens if they capture me – I get stuck in this body, I lose my powers as a star. I was destined to fall from the heavens but I’ll do everything to prevent it. I’m not going to let that stupid book rule my future.”

“I know,” he said emphatically. “I know but isn’t that better than whole race being wiped out?”

“Is it?” Sungjong’s voice was hard. There was no emotion on his face.

“Maybe you are destined to be a human Sungjong, maybe that’s what will bring the best out of you.”

Sungjong raised his eyebrows, shooting him a glaring look.

“You can stay with me. You can be with me. We can be together forever. It doesn’t matter to me if you’re a star or not – I – I love you.”

Sungjong puffed his cheeks and exhaled slowly, rolling his eyes.

“We have been through this,” he said in a bored voice. “It’s sweet and all but we can’t be together.”

Myungsoo pleaded with him for a long time but the younger wouldn’t listen. He argued angrily and accused him of taking the Sungyeol’s side.

“I’m not taking any sides, I just want humanity to survive.”

Finally, exasperated by the conversation, he simply left. Myungsoo watched him vanish and felt the familiar emptiness engulfing his heart.

Sungyeol checked the time in the makeshift sundial he had crafted. It was almost time.

So this is how we die.

He looked beside him. Woohyun was standing there, looking at the sky. When he looked down and turned his head, their eyes met.

“I’m sorry Woohyunnie, I couldn’t protect you.”

“Hey, I was a part of this quest too, and I failed as well. Besides, there wasn’t anything we could do.”

“If only I hadn’t mistranslated the quest…Sungjong was right there,” Sungyeol said bitterly.

“Stop beating yourself up. If I could recognize the tattoo on Sungjong earlier, we wouldn’t have been in this situation.”

They both sighed simultaneously. Stars were erupting in the night sky – they wondered which one was Sungjong. There was one thing Sungyeol was still curious about and he wanted to know the answer more than anything else.

“Did you have a crush on Sungjong?”

Woohyun scratched his head nervously. Sungyeol assured him that he wouldn’t get mad. It was the end of the world after all.

“Seriously, no. but I do have a crush on someone else.”

Sungyeol had never known that, which was surprising since he thought he knew everything about his best friend.

“Who?” he asked, cocking his head to one side.

Woohyun leaned forward and captured his lips. He was taken by surprise so he couldn’t react – he simply stood very still. His head felt like erupting.

Wha-what’s going on?

“I don’t mind if you think I’m weird now since we’re dying anyways,” Woohyun said, cupping his cheeks with his hands.

Sungyeol placed his hands over Woohyun’s.

“You – you like me?”

“Yeah, I can’t resist your iness.”

Sungyeol made a face.

“Are you even serious?”

Woohyun leaned in, making their foreheads touch.

“Totally.”

They gazed into each other’s eyes for a long time. They lost track of time and space and simply felt each other’s presence.

“This is a nice way to die,” Sungyeol finally whispered.

“Don’t you have something to confess too?” Woohyun asked with a sly smile.

“M-me?”

Woohyun raised an eyebrow, letting go of his face. Shaking his head, he said, “I’m disappointed. I read your diary.”

Sungyeol hit him lightly on the head. Woohyun yelped.

“Idiot!” Sungyeol chided, before pulling Woohyun closer for another kiss.

The truth was he had liked his best friend for a long time now but he was so freaked out by the idea that he had never confessed. He blushed, thinking about all the things he had written about Woohyun in his diary.

And he read it?

But he really enjoyed the moment, tasting Woohyun’s lips. They felt so real on his, so special. He wished he had done this earlier. If he had known that the quest would turn out this way, he would have simply locked his door and kissed Woohyun for seven days straight.

“Wow, you’re one aggressive kisser,” Woohyun said, wiping his mouth as he panted slightly. He stopped smiling as something in the sky caught his eye. He pointed it out to Sungyeol, who nodded his confirmation.

“Yes, that’s the comet. This is it.”

They breathed deeply.

Woohyun turned to face Sungyeol.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Kiss me.”

Sungyeol didn’t need an invitation. He wrapped his arms around Woohyun protectively.