The days spent after Jongin and Baekhyun’s sudden confessions were nothing short of heaven. After the incident, the two could never be seen without the other. They became inseparable, even more than they had been before, and that was saying a lot. Most of their time together now comprised of laughing together in the summer sunlight and recording pieces in record time, while transitioning all the way until the night where Baekhyun would take his time humming sweet nothings into Jongin’s ear until they eventually fell asleep together, arms wrapped securely around each other’s shoulders.

As Jongin and Baekhyun lay together one night, sharing slow, languid kisses under the covers, Jongin truly felt that eternity was the only thing left in the world that he could ever need.

But eternity was something that they never could have had from the beginning.

-

Jongin had been worried from the start of the day, though he wasn’t sure why. It was simply a nagging feeling that constantly prodded at the back of his mind every since he got up in the morning and lead Baekhyun out to town on an impromptu date. Jongin tried his best to keep his mind centered towards his music box, but that uneasy feeling always stayed steady in his mind like an itch he couldn’t scratch, or like a fact he couldn’t remember. Unfortunately, all it took was one simple phone call for everything to rush back full force, knocking the air out of his lungs and squeezing his heart until he burst.

Jongin was in the middle of watching Baekhyun press a shell to his ear, complaining about the fact that he couldn't hear the ocean, when a distinct buzz was felt in his back pocket. With a smile on his face and not a care in the world, Jongin answered the call without checking the caller ID. “Hey Jongin,” a deep voice was heard through the receiver.

“Oh hey, Chanyeol,” Jongin replied with a smile as he chuckled into his fist as Baekhyun haughtily dropped the conch into the sand and stomped away.

“Hey, I was just calling to remind you of something I figured you must’ve forgotten about.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“Jongin,” Chanyeol’s voice was laced with all seriousness, “do you happen to know what day it is today?”

“Umm… Saturday?” Jongin replied offhandedly as he chased after Baekhyun who smiled as he waded into the shallows where the sand met ocean.

“No, Jongin. I don’t know how to break this to you but it’s day 27 today. Your trial will end in three days.”

Baekhyun turned back towards Jongin, only to have his smile drop as he saw the other frozen on his spot, with his phone glued to his ear. In that moment, the waves crashing against the shore weren’t the only things that broke.

-

One of the worst feelings in the world was having the one in your arms, weeping their heart out and knowing the fact that there was nothing you could do to help it. Jongin was a shivering mess in Baekhyun’s arms and although Baekhyun could not cry real tears, he figured maybe it was for the better that way. If Baekhyun could cry, then the tears would surely overflow and fall forever, unable to contain his sorrow for the near future.

The two had headed home swiftly after Jongin received that certain phonecall. Baekhyun was confused to say the least, and only when Jongin sat him down on his bed, eyes full of desperation and unbelievable sorrow, did Baekhyun understand the barriers that had always been present between them. Baekhyun was never meant to stay forever, no, and they were never supposed to become so unconditionally attached to each other the way they had. But it was in silent and mutual agreement, that neither of them regretted one second of it.

Baekhyun and Jongin had inevitably fallen asleep together that night in rolling waves of tears and murmurs of soothing words, assuring that everything would be ok even if in their hearts, they weren’t as sure as the words that they so confidently spoke. The next morning too, was spent together, both unwilling to get up and leave their safe haven that was under the warm covers. It seemed silly, childish even, but Jongin felt that if he were to leave where he lie with Baekhyun’s head tucked under his chin, breathing in even puffs of air, he would have to face reality and the consequences of their situation, which none of which, Jongin was prepared for both physically and emotionally. So for the whole day, the two of them stayed in bed together, rolling around and playing with each other’s fingers, trying to forever embed the feel of each other’s touches in their memories. Jongin gazed at Baekhyun’s face and traced every little crease, every little bend and curve of his features and sighed as he painted a picture in his mind, which embodied everything that he was, everything that Baekhyun meant to him. He hoped that it could be kept forever. And for the umpteenth time that day, Jongin could feel the prick of tears at the back of his eyes, only to have Baekhyun lean over and run his fingertips over his jawline, brushing any stray tears away. “Don’t wait anymore, please…” And Jongin’s heart sped up at the familiar melody of Baekhyun’s voice. It was a song he was still working on that he had shown Baekhyun one of those long nights.

“Take my heart instead… 

if I were a different man… 

I would set fire to all the changed wounds that you and he made…” Baekhyun leaned down to press a kiss against the apple of Jongin's cheek. 

“Baby don’t cry, tonight, 

after the darkness has lifted. 

Baby don’t cry, tonight, 

it’ll be like nothing ever happened….”

And just like that, day 28 was lost forever.

-

It was some time between the wispy ribbons of his dream, and the alertness of his mind in consciousness that Jongin shot up, realizing that he had wasted one of their only two days together, and vowed to make use of the 24 hours they still had remaining, up until the last second.

So that was how Baekhyun found himself woken up in the early hours of the morning, where the sun was just beginning to peek it’s rays out to mark the dawn of a new day, by Jongin who wore the brightest smile he had ever seen. “I want to spend every last second of light I still have with you, out there in the world.” And those words were all it took for Baekhyun to take his hand, ready for the day that spread out before them.

-

Jongin took Baekhyun to the beach. It was a place full of irreplaceable memories for the two of them so it felt right to spend the only time they had left there. It was here that Baekhyun learned of happiness, sadness, anticipation, worry, and… “Jongin?”

Jongin raised his head to look at Baekhyun, whose hair caught the orange light of the falling sun in a celestial glow. “Yes?”

“…I,” the music box's expression froze for just a second as he made his own secret resolution, “I’ll always love you.”

“I’ll always love you too, Baekhyun.”

“No matter where I am, no matter what happens.”

“We’ll keep each other in our hearts.”

… it was where Baekhyun learned the power of love, and letting go.

-

Jongin and Baekhyun fell asleep, tangled in each other’s embrace, to the sound of the waves melting into a roaring applause.

-

On the morning of day 30, Jongin missed the feeling of Baekhyun’s body pressed up to his. Jongin frantically searched the house for any sign of his music box, not caring how much the entire house was overturned. It reflected his own sanity at that moment. Eventually, Jongin found a lone CD on the kitchen table with a small note.

PLAY ME

He was on the verge of panic and hysteria, but against better judgment, Jongin found his CD player, carefully inserted the disc and pressed play. “Jongin-ah…” Was the first word he heard, crystal clear as Baekhyun called to him through the speaker. “I’m sorry, Jongin. It hurts, everything hurts so much,” and Jongin winced at the amount of pain laced in his voice, “but I know… I know that it will hurt even more the longer we are together… the closer I’m here until the deadline.” Jongin could barely hear the recording over the sound of his hammering heart pounding blood into his ears. “So, Jongin, I left before you… I hope that you will forgive me for being selfish just this once. I can't bear to see your broken smile anymore. I will always love you. I want you to be happy, ok? Goodbye Jongin, thank you for everything, and this is my last gift to you.” The recording cut off as a light melody kicked in and left Jongin speechless. “As if I were reborn as a child who doesn’t know anything… I thought it was a dream, so I closed my eyes and opened them again…”

It was because of this song, that Jongin was able to find his dream again. It was this song…

“I ride the soft wind into your world… 

I go right next to you, and you ask where I came from. 

You asked so innocently, so I answered that it’s a secret. 

Because if we just walk together like this… 

wherever we go, it’ll be heaven…”

… and now it had been completed.

-

It felt like Jongin was a broken man. After Baekhyun’s sudden departure from his life, he no longer had the will to do anything anymore. He didn’t have the heart to chase after his music box, knowing that he was now probably long gone to who knows exactly where. But that didn’t stop Jongin from constantly seeing little traces of his former lover everywhere, from the spare blanket he kept thrown across the cushions of the couch, to the way the birds would peck at his window every morning as if waiting for a certain someone to come out and play. Time passed quickly, although he didn’t keep track anymore, being too lost in his own longing and depression to remember much of anything else anymore other than his own internal pain. If anyone who knew Jongin before could see him now, they wouldn’t have been able to recognize the crestfallen frame of the once proud man.

Before he knew it, the day of his own departure from the little ocean town was approaching soon. Without many thoughts, Jongin automatically packed up his belongings into his suitcase, body functioning without command. He had nearly finished fitting everything in and it was only when a clattering broke through his daze, that Jongin reached down to pick up what had fallen and realized it was Baekhyun’s CD. It was the last remnant he had left of the other. Then suddenly like a train crashing full force into him, Jongin was bombarded with thoughts and memories of Baekhyun—he remembered their first meeting in the rain, their first kiss, their first birthday together, and Baekhyun’s voice:

“You told me that if you truly love something, then you should pursue it…”

That was what he told Baekhyun. That was what Baekhyun believed in. Gripping his hands into tight fists, and slamming them down onto the ground, Jongin decided that was now what he was about to do.

-

Jongin took a deep breath. He was currently, right outside the door of Chanyeol’s shop. The paint on the wood looked more peeled from the last time he had been here, but he rapidly dismissed such thoughts and raised his hand to the handle, turning it and entering the semi-empty building. Jongin was surprised but relieved to see that unlike his previous visits, Chanyeol was already there behind the counter, hair as wild as ever and eyes as responsive as he eyed Jongin, marching towards him, in amusement. “I’m not leaving here without Baekhyun,” Jongin announced when he was within talking distance. Except the only response he got from the shopkeeper was a hearty and deep laugh.

“It’s about time you showed up. I was beginning to think that you had given up on my Baekkie.”

Jongin dismissed the close term Chanyeol used and reiterated himself, this time making sure he stood up with confidence. “I said, I will not leave here without Baekhyun so I don’t care what the price is, I am going to buy him.”

At these words, Chanyeol turned serious and his lips went into a firm line. “Are you sure, Jongin? Are you positively sure this is what you want? Even if you could afford to buy Baekhyun, which is highly doubtful, is that the way you want to live? You are a human, and he is not. How are you going to spend the rest of your life with someone who’s not human?”

These words cut Jongin and nearly knocked him over but he remained firm. “I don’t care. I love him, no matter what he is.”

“But inevitably, you will grow old without him. You will one day pass on without him and leave him forever. Is that what you want, Jongin? Can you deal with such a one sided sacrifice?”

Jongin felt the air getting knocked out of his lungs at Chanyeol’s accusations because they were true. He had never thought of it that way before. Now his decisions were beginning to collapse on themselves and he felt his will wane. “I—“ He tried to formulate a reply. Was this it? He could never ask for such a lonesome future for Baekhyun if he could help it. Was he being too selfish for his love? Baekhyun had already made his own sacrifice, was it time for Jongin? But before he could delve more into the matter, Chanyeol spoke out with a softer, kinder voice

“Look, I can see that you love Baekhyun very much, even if I agree or disagree, that is the undeniable fact. I’m not trying to get you to give up on him, no, Jongin, I’m trying to tell you I have a proposition. I can turn Baekhyun human.”

At these words, Jongin’s head snapped up and his heart filled with hope, hope that maybe everything could work out in the end after all. But he was not allowed to speak as Chanyeol gestured for him to sit. “Take a seat, Jongin. Listen first to everything I have to say, and then make your descision.”

Jongin nodded. He would do anything to have Baekhyun back.

“I had expected this all along. You see this? Everything I have worked for around me has always been to make other people happy; I work a labour of love. For hundreds of years, I’ve been at this, hoping that my creations would be able to bring the light back to those who needed it. And even after all this time I knew, I always knew that there would eventually be one fool who would end up falling in love with one of my creations,” Chanyeol side-eyed Jongin with a pointed look, which the latter didn’t know of since he was too busy digesting the information. “So to prevent situations like this, I made sure that there was a way for them to turn human, only one way.”

“And what’s that?” Jongin dared to ask, his body unable to stay still, shifting in his seat.

“I can accept that it’s possible to love objects and creations, but it was never my intention to do so. To make sure there was always a way to bring them back, better and more real than before, you must prove yourself. You must prove your love and loyalty to Baekhyun, so I know that he will always live happily together with you, by giving up your most prized possession.”

-

“You must give up your most prized possession, that is the only way.” Chanyeol’s words rung endlessly in Jongin’s mind after he left the shop in a daze of muddled thoughts. He was sent home with the words, “come back tomorrow with your decision,” and it was coincidentally the day he had to leave as well.

Sitting on his bed while gazing out the large window towards the sea, Jongin thought. He knew already his decision regarding the sacrifice. He would give anything to have Baekhyun back because he was all that he needed anymore. So now, he just had to decide just what he was going to give up to have him back by his side. Various lists of material items went through his mind, though nothing seemed to amount to any importance in the end since he could always buy another one. He started to shift towards other things, such as his friendship with Luhan and even his dreams of becoming a dancer. He loved Luhan, he really did, but he knew that if it were to come to that, Luhan would be able to live happily without him. He was already successful as a person, and Jongin swore he had caught the Chinese boy eyeing a certain sleepy-eyed backup dancer quite a number of times now. Regarding his dream… well the only reason he even had his dream now was because of Baekhyun. He could be happy without dance if he had Baekhyun.

Baekhyun.

It was always Baekhyun in the end.

Baekhyun was the most precious thing in his heart and Jongin knew it. So what if… the only way to keep Baekhyun, was to let him go? But that didn’t make any sense! How could Jongin give up Baekhyun if he didn’t even have him anymore? What a contradiction that was! The only Baekhyun that Jongin even had left was locked deep in his heart.

The Baekhyun that was locked deep inside his heart.

Jongin realized in that moment, with a trembling heart, just what he was going to give up to have his love to become eternal.

-

“Are you absolutely sure about this?” Chanyeol’s voice asked in upmost concern at Jongin who had turned up the first thing the next morning with his proposition.

“Yes.” And it scared Chanyeol, the amount of conviction that was in Jongin’s voice as he said that one word. Jongin was currently lying on a small laboratory chair in the back of the building—a place that Jongin could never have dreamed existed. The bright light above him stung his eyes but that was not the reason that tears began to form around their corners, threatening to spill.

“This is honestly hurting me just watching you. I cant even imagine what you’re feeling right now,” Chanyeol admitted, knowing that hiding things was pointless now at this stage of things.

“I know, but it’s ok as long as we can be together,” Jongin whispered, hands trembling.

“You really believe that even after you forget Baekhyun, even after you lose your memories of him ever existing, you’ll still end up together?” Chanyeol’s voice was raised in disbelief but also in awe.

Jongin nodded. “Either I never have him again and die longing for him forever, or live on, forever not knowing what I’m missing. I have nothing to lose Chanyeol, as long as Baekhyun will still know me, I believe in him. I believe that he will find me again, and I know I will fall in love with him again and again.”

Chanyeol could say nothing more and nodded. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.” Jongin closed his eyes and clenched his fist. The last thing he remembered was the way Baekhyun looked just before he fell asleep all those nights ago, looking down at him with loving eyes as his beautiful voice faded out into darkness.

--

A month had passed ever since Jongin returned from his long trip that Kris and Luhan had sent him on. He was utterly astounded to see that he had managed to complete a full mini album list of songs when he couldn’t remember doing any of it. In fact, he didn’t even remember any of his trip aside from the few days he had just arrived there, exploring the house. It was all so strange to Jongin, and he didn’t understand just why he always had this nagging feeling at the back of his mind that what had happened in his memory gap, was important. But nothing he did could make him remember.

Upon his arrival, he was bombarded with questions from Luhan, asking where this certain “Baekhyun” was. What had happened to him, where he was now, but Jongin just blinked and shrugged him off. Jongin didn’t know any Baekhyuns. But what puzzled him even more, was how Luhan furrowed his eyebrows at his cold response and cursed the unknown person for being “untrustworthy afterall”.

Nothing explained the way his heart leapt up to defend the boy he didn’t know.

-

Jongin was leaning against the outside of the dance studio, under a small outcropping of roof, which protected him from the heavy rain as he took a ten minute break from practicing inside with Luhan. He had headphones covering his ears while playing Luhan’s newest single, Angel, when a voice broke through his own music, singing the same tune. Jongin’s gaze travelled up towards a boy standing beside him, who had been looking at him while he sang.

Jongin’s heart began to beat uncontrollably and his throat went unexplainably dry as they locked eyes. “Hello,” he croaked, not knowing why his body was reacting the way it was in response to the other’s presence. But the boy didn’t mind as he smiled softly while holding a hand out to catch the falling drops in his palm.

“Today is my birthday, you know?”

“Oh, is it?”

“Yes,” the boy sighed, turning towards Jongin with the most happy, yet unreadable eyes.

“I’m Jongin,” Jongin blurted, face turning pink at his outburst. But the boy just laughed the most beautiful laugh Jongin ever heard.

“Hi, I’m Baekhyun, and I’m yours.”

Author's Note:

What did (◡‿◡✿) I just (ʘ‿ʘ✿) write (ʘ‿ʘ )ノ✿

Omg it's finished OTL I am so happy rn tbh haha I am so sorry for throwing in like 625 plot twists at the end ((ok not really but)) halfway through I just looked at myself and went really? really?? this is what I planned?? /leaves computer

/comes back 

In any case I hope you enjoyed it ^^ I tried a lot of new things in this story.. not sure if yay or nay so I shall wait to hear your thoughts ^^;;

And last thing~ although i ask this everytime and fail at it miserably, I really want to hear what you guys want to see me write next! Suggestions are always open :D Pairings, AUs... I always need inspiration from outside sources haha dont be afraid to talk to me, really

Thank you all for reading this story > 3 < I really love you all <33