“Myungsoo.”

 

His lips quivered, his hands shaking. He shook his head, refusing to go anywhere. The elder women sighed, placing her hands in his trembling shoulders. “We’re not going to the hospital again, Myungsoo.” His head snapped up, facing his mother’s solemn face. She smiled at the slightest.

 

“Someone wants to be your friend,” she says. His ears perked up, as if hearing something foreign. His face perplexed, as if trying to figure out a puzzle. She nods at the slightest, offering him a meaningful smile.

 

“Come on, it’s rude to be late.”

 

He slowly nodded, and got up. His mother sighed in relief, thankful that he was complying.

 

 

He squinted eyes, his pupils constricting to get used to the blinding lights. The sun is pretty, he thought. The windows beside him were wide and tall, allowing much sunlight to bathe in the area. It left Myungsoo warm and in awe.

 

“Hello.”

 

He blinks his eyes once. Twice.

 

She chuckled at his reaction, and offered her hand to him.

 

“Hello, Myungsoo.”

 

She smiled amiably, reminding him of the warm sun outside. He raised his hand as well, following the woman’s action. He could see her eyes twinkling, before it turned into like crescent moons.

 

“I’m Minmin.”

 

Myungsoo then thought, she was like the sky – for she held both the sun and the moon.

 

 

Minmin’s smile grew more evident as she observed the portrait before her. “You really like black,” she remarks. Myungsoo sees her pointing at the black he had made. He nods, grinning. A sudden idea pops in the lad’s head, so he zips his bag open, rummaging through its contents. The lass watch him with a fond smile, waiting patiently for what he has to show her. He gives her a cheeky smile, and (rather proudly) shows the stuff inside his bag.

 

“Oh my,” she gasps.

 

His laugh resonates through the whole room, seeing how flustered she seemed. He then took the drawing pad from Minmin’s hands, and drew again.

 

“You like plaid, too?”

 

He nodded. He then pointed to his shirt, as if showing off. “You’re obsessed with a lot of things, I see.” Myungsoo sheepishly rubs his neck, as if he was found guilty. “It’s not a bad thing, so don’t worry about it.” She smiles at him, patting his head.

 

“It means you value some things better than others.”

 

Myungsoo does not fully understand what she says, but he nods nonetheless – he knows she was praising him.

 

“Well, now let me show you something.”

 

She takes back the canvas from him, and flips it to the next page. She borrows the color pencils from him, and faces her back against him. “No peeking, Myungsoo!” she screams. The boy falters back in his seat, dejected. He leans his head on the palm of his left hand, gazing at her back. He takes notice of her cascading raven black hair, flowing down in bundles that seem to never end. He never really notices, but her hair actually shines under the sun. Myungsoo thinks that her hair seems soft and velvety, and he couldn’t resist but to it –

 

“I’m done!”

 

She turned around, a wide smile evident in her face. Startled, Myungsoo swiftly hid his hand under his back, hoping she did not see what he wanted to do. Fortunately for Myungsoo, she does not seem to notice, and still held a proud smile in her face. The boy glances at her drawing, and raises one eyebrow. He looks at her in confusion, wondering what he is supposed to see.

 

She nearly smacks the sketchbook to his face, if not for her good demeanor. “Look at the dress,” she says. Myungsoo then sees her sketch – a red wine, high neck sleeveless dress, with a golden choker adorning the neckline. It was simple, but it still left Myungsoo in awe. The girl chuckles seeing his astounded face, and pinches his cheeks.

 

“This is my obsession.”

 

The lad looks distastefully at her, and her laughter fills the room.

 

Myungsoo then pictured the stars twinkling – just like her laughter.

 

 

Myungsoo rubbed both his hands together, trying to make himself warm. He glances at the blanket of snow around him, making everything seem white and serene. Minmin then takes a seat beside him, handing him a cup.

 

“It’s hot chocolate, make yourself warm.” She smiles amiably, taking a sip of her own. Myungsoo follows suit, and scalds his tongue in the process. He quickly places down his cup, and fans his tongue, attempting to cool it off.

 

Minmin giggles, and hands him her water bottle.

 

“Drink this, it’ll be better.”

 

He hurriedly gulps down mouthfuls of water, attempting to salvage what’s left of his taste buds.

 

“Slow down, Myungsoo! You’re going to choke yourself at this rate.”

 

He obeys as she orders, and caps back the bottle. The boy gives her a grateful smile, and looks at the scenery before him. Only a few people were out, some looking merry like how Christmas was supposed to be, and some dejected as how Scrooge was in his storybook. The snow was pouring down gracefully, following the rhythm of the winter wind. He reaches out his hand, catching a snowflake in his mitten. A small smile plays in his face, admiring the intricate substance in his hands.

 

It is beautiful, Myungsoo thinks.

 

A breeze suddenly blows the snowflake away from his grasp, the beauty joining the rest of the pile at the ground.

 

He shivers at the slightest, blowing hot air to his covered hands. He then wonders why he was outside in the first place.

 

“Myungsoo.”

 

He immediately responds to the voice, perking his head up. There was a cheeky smile in her face, and the lad had a bad feeling about it. He suddenly felt an impact against his chest, leaving the poor boy aghast. Much to Myungsoo’s irritation, she started roaring with laughter.

 

A devilish smirk then makes its way to his face, as he stared intently at the lass. Not liking his gaze, the girl immediately makes the run for it – escaping from his wrath. Their laughter mixes with their foggy breaths, as they raced in the snow. Too consumed with the chase, Myungsoo could not keep his balance with the ice. He then slips out of balance, and he could feel his legs somehow twisting. She gasps and hurriedly scurries to the boy.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

He nods, trying to stand up. A yelp escapes from his lips, as he felt his legs experiencing an excruciating pain.

 

“We’ve got to go to the hospital, I think you sprained your ankle.”

 

Myungsoo’s eyes widen, and he shook his head disagreeing to her. He pulls his arm from her grasp, facing the other way. Not in a millennium would he ever want to go to that place. Suddenly, he could smell of antiseptics, and white walls surrounding him, closing him in. His breath becomes heavier, as he covers his ears, trying to block out everything about the feared place.

 

Stop, he thought to himself. Please make it stop.

 

“Myungsoo!”

 

He does not realize he was already in her embrace, his tears dampening her thick clothing.

 

“I’m here, I’m here,” she whispers.

 

Myungsoo recollects the lesson he learns of galaxies – of how big and majestic they were.

 

And he thinks it perfectly describes her heart.

 

 

It was a rainy day, now that Myungsoo recalls. He shared an umbrella with his mother, and proceeded on to the dreary place. Although he was wearing his favorite color, he felt anything but elated. “Come on Myungsoo, it’s our turn.”

 

He nods his head, and follows his mom’s footsteps. Myungsoo sees flowers – lilies, baby’s breath, and roses of the sort, adorning the frame of a portrait of a man. The man’s eyes were similar; it emanated the warmth of the sun as well.

 

After paying his respects, he saw the girl cladded in all black. Her eyes were bloodshot, and empty. Her hair was disheveled, but it looks like none of her concern right now. He feels his heart wrench at the sight.

 

Sensing the male’s gaze she looks up. “Hello,” she croaks, dry. Myungsoo offers a small smile, and bows to her. She returns the gesture, and she forces a small curve of her lips.

 

“Thank you.”

 

He was then escorted out of the room by his mom, and all he could do was steal glances of her every now and then from outside.

 

Myungsoo was then reminded of the earth beneath him – strong and sturdy, like her.

 

 

“Here!”

 

She hands him a white box with a red bow on top. The lad’s face contorts, not grasping what the box was for. She presses her lips to a thin line, and pulls his hands out. The lass places the box in his outstretched hands, and urges him to open it. Uncertain, yet enthusiastic, he pulls the ribbon away, and opens the box. His eyes sparkled, seeing a camera inside.

 

“You’ve been a good friend, so I’m giving this to you as a gift.” He carefully lifts the camera up, as if it was a fragile vase. Minmin laughs good-naturedly, Myungsoo never failing to amuse her.

 

“I’m sorry it looks old, since it used to be my father’s.” She sheepishly rubs the back of her neck. His eyes widen, and he hurriedly puts the camera back inside, and shoves it to her. He turns the other way, not daring to face her. “Myungsoo,” she chuckles, holding his shoulder. He shook her hand off, and remained his ground. She bit her lip, not used to his stubborn attitude.

 

“Myungsoo, I sincerely want you to have it,” she utters. “My father gave it to me to continue his work as a photographer, but I’m not cut for it.” Minmin could feel his shoulders relaxing, and she took it as a chance to turn him around to face her. “I’ve seen the photographs you’ve took when Sungyeol lend you his camera.”

 

She opens the box.

 

“I saw how happy you looked when you were snapping pictures, and how much you really wanted it.”

 

She takes out the camera, and places it on his hands.

 

“They were breathtaking, and I want you to keep doing that.”

 

Minmin squeezes his hand, hoping to give him some encouragement.

 

“Continue doing what you love – show people the beauty in this world,” she stares straight into his eyes.

 

Myungsoo then realized her eyes were of the ocean – they were deep.

 

 

“Wow.”

 

His friend awed at the pictures displayed in the gallery. “When did you take this?” He shrugged, taking a sip of the coffee. He nearly spurt his coffee out, fanning his scalded tongue. “You’re an idiot,” Sungyeol sighs, taking out his water bottle. Myungsoo quickly jugged down the cool water, hoping to salvage his tongue.

 

‘I didn’t sleep waiting for the perfect timing, I remember getting a fever after that.’

 

Both men were looking at the snapshot of the sky – just about sunrise, where the moon still remained visible as well. Myungsoo chuckled seeing his friend’s fascinated expression. ‘Who’s the idiot now?’ Sungyeol gives him a glare, before moving on to the next photograph.

 

“This is cool,” he says, the whole wall was covered with the portrait of a sea, making it seem as if it was an aquarium.

 

‘Of course, it’s my work of art.’

 

The older scoffs.

 

“Getting cocky now are we?”

 

He shrugs.

 

‘A cocky handsome photographer.’

 

Sungyeol rolled his eyes, and nonchalantly walks to the next picture in display.

 

“This is a cute place,” he comments.

 

Myungsoo had taken a picture of a café with a space theme, which he had found when he accidentally strays the way to his hotel in Japan. He looks at the neon sign of which he had taken a picture of – Galaxy.

 

‘It’s a pretty cool place; we could go there sometimes. Take Chayeon with you too.’

 

Myungsoo swear he could see his friend’s cheeks reddening for a split second much to his amusement.

 

‘Okay, lover boy. Here’s the next photo.’

 

He leads Sungyeol to the next room, and he could hear the discreet curses directed at him. He chuckles, and turned off the lights.

 

“What the hell, Myung-“

 

He left his sentence in midair, once again in utter amazement. Myungsoo pushed his mouth closed, clicking his tongue. But, he himself could not deny that this was a jaw-dropping one. It was a portrait of the stars – Myungsoo had especially ordered for the glow-in-the dark effect on his photograph, since he had wanted to really depict the view of the stars.

 

“You are mad.”

 

Myungsoo snorts at the older.

 

‘Thank you for the compliments, kind sir.’

 

“But, seriously, how did you freaking made it glow?” The younger takes out his wallet, and takes out several bills from his wallet, waving it in front of his friend’s face. Sungyeol grimaces, and punches his arm.

 

“Sneaky bastard.”

 

Myungsoo smiles as if innocent, and proceeds to turn on the lights once again.

 

“She would’ve loved it you know,” he said.

 

The younger smiles bitterly, and nods weakly.

 

‘I know.’

 

He pushes the switch on.

 

‘These are photographs of her, after all.’

 

Minmin had saved him from drowning to his own distress, yet he could never really return the favor. The camera, he realized, was a legacy from her – to avoid others from doing the same as her.

 

‘You’re mean Minmin.’ He looks on the series of shots he had taken – the sky, the stars, ‘Galaxy’, and the ocean.

 

‘You left before I could tell you, you meant the universe to me.’

 

Happy birthday Mel! I hope you liked it!

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day!