Somewhere between assignments, reports, and busy shifts at a restaurant downtown Youngjae found himself yearning for a better atmosphere to work in. Somewhere where he can feel free, unlike the way he felt all cramped in his dorm room alone, yet productive, unlike at the library where the need to feel productive was so strong, he ended up only thinking about being productive itself than actually doing his tasks at all. (If that made any sense.) So the boy took it upon himself to make his way to a small park just outside of campus where he settled himself down on the ledge of a fountain, coffee and donut placed neatly by his side. Once comfortable, he took his amber laptop from his simple messenger bag and adjusted the orange beanie on his head.

                He found this change of setting a bit easier to concentrate in, for whatever reason. Maybe it was the fresh air or the minimal sounds that helped him focus a little easier, the perfect balance of silence and noise that had his brain wanting to join in on the job. Whatever it was, Youngjae’s fingers tapped away at his laptop faster than they ever had before. This essay seemed to go by miraculously.

                With a sigh, the boy leaned back slightly, stretching his arms over his head and cracking his fingers as he decided to take a short break. He glanced down at his donut and finished the few bites he had left of it before taking a sip from his coffee. He was quite proud with the progress he had made with this report. He really couldn’t remember the last time he’d ever been so productive before.

                “Wonderful weather out here, don’t you think?”

                Youngjae looked up in surprise at the foreign voice, meeting eyes with glasses-cladded ones that peered down at him in a friendly manner. The twenty-year-old furtively glanced over his shoulders for a moment before gazing back up at the stranger, confirming that indeed, he was talking to him. “Oh, uhm—” Youngjae swallowed, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. “Y-yeah,” he stuttered, not used to being approached by attractive strangers. Youngjae would be lying if he didn’t feel the least bit shy.

                The stranger smiled a smile that reached his eyes, whiskers and all as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and took a seat right next to the other on the fountain. “Clear skies, bright day. Not too cold out. It’s just one of those days that makes you want to spend it outside.” He grinned at Youngjae before slipping his hand out of his hoodie pocket, revealing an…orange.

                Youngjae stared down at the random fruit in confusion. “Y-yeah,” he stammered again, awkwardly watching as the other began to peel the orange. “The breeze is quite pleasant today.”

                The stranger gestured for the napkin Youngjae held with his coffee. Youngjae glanced over at it in confusion for a moment, wondering what the man wanted with it. The boy bit his lip and handed him his napkin, watching as he discarded the pieces of skin from the orange into the tissue, forming a small pile. When he was finished, he wrapped the peels neatly within the napkin, casually slipping it back into his hoodie pocket without a word of explanation. “Would you like some?” he asked, offering Youngjae a slice of his freshly-peeled orange.

                Youngjae eyed the fruit wearily, shaking his head in refusal. “No thank you,” he said, “I just drank this coffee. It might sit strangely in my stomach.”

                The other laughed a little but nodded nonetheless, plopping an orange slice onto his tongue. “Not too many people like citrus fruits,” he suddenly commented, breaking Youngjae out of a momentary trance to instead focus mainly on him. “They think they’re too sour—” He smacked his lips in a satisfying manner, “—too messy.” Youngjae watched as little droplets of juice trailed down the other’s arm, flinching at the inevitably sticky feeling. “What do you think?” He turned to look at Youngjae, whose breath caught in his throat as his eyes met captivating ones.

                Youngjae quickly looked away. “I agree,” he admitted, hiding his face behind his coffee. “I don’t like the way they make my hands so sticky, or the way the peels get stuck between my fingernails. Sometimes they don’t get peeled thoroughly enough and they leave you with a dry and empty taste.” Youngjae glanced back up at the stranger but quickly averted his gaze to the ground. “They can be a bit sour.”

                The other man let out an apprehensive hum and shrugged, adjusting his frames. “To each their own.”

                 There was silence between them after that as Youngjae stared at the man for a little bit longer than necessary. He quickly tore his gaze away, a slight heat in his cheeks as he coughed, fidgeting a bit to relieve the awkward tension he felt. “So uhm…” He cleared his throat before glancing back up at the other man. “What’s your name?”

                The man bit into another orange slice, some of its juice trailing down his bottom lip in an amber bead, his tongue quickly swiping it away. He smiled. “Have you ever seen orange hair?” he asked instead of answering, staring at something straight ahead. Youngjae glanced over in time to see a woman walk by with vibrant, fiery locks tied up into a high ponytail that swayed elegantly with her strides. He blinked. “The color is quite brilliant, unique. Those with confidence pull it off better than those without. Have you considered it?” The man turned his head and met eyes with the other. “I think it would suit you.”

                Youngjae’s hand subconsciously reached up to touch his hair, taken aback by the sudden comment (compliment?). “I-I…n-no?” He quickly took another sip from his coffee once he saw the stranger’s smirk, eyes trailing away to anything besides the man next to him.

                “Perhaps a calmer, cooler color would suit you better,” the man observed apprehensively. “Although confidence is charming, I find the reserved types all the more enthralling.”

                Youngjae’s eyes widened as he slowly placed his coffee cup back down next to him, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. His hands sat on his lap idly as he stared down at his knees, hiding his face from the stranger beside him. “I’m not…” he trailed off, unable to think of anything else to say. He didn’t really know how to answer.

                But it didn’t seem necessary as the stranger continued. “Have you ever watched a sunset?”

                Youngjae paused, eying the man wearily, unused to the jumpy change of subjects before shaking his head. “I haven’t.”

                “You’re missing out,” the other stated simply, nudging his glasses back into place. “You should try it. It’s a sight you won’t forget.” With that, the stranger got up, plopping the final slice into his mouth with a satisfied grin. “It was nice meeting you…” he trailed off.

                “Youngjae,” Youngjae quickly said.

                “Youngjae,” the man repeated, a pleased smirk on his face. The way the man spoke his name left Youngjae strangely breathless. “Until next time,” he saluted, turning around with the same smirk and leaving, hands hooked around the edges of his pockets.

                Youngjae stared on, lost.

                He never got a name.

-

                The following week Youngjae finds himself at the same fountain, coffee cup in hand and a book in the other. It was a beautiful day, skies vast with perfectly sculpted white clouds of cotton painted heavenly above. Youngjae took a moment to admire the picture-perfect sky and breathe in the fresh, suburban air. He took a seat down in the same place he had the previous week, coffee set beside himself and book placed precariously on his lap. He laid his messenger back down by his legs, fishing through it momentarily in search for his glasses. Once found, he slipped them on, carefully pushing the frames up the bridge of his nose. With a few blinks to adjust, he picked his book back up, holding it close to his eyes as he opened it to his bookmarked page.

                Pages and pages past, and Youngjae had become so immersed in reading, his eyebrows creased in concentration, eyes darting back and forth with each line down the paragraphs that he didn’t even notice someone approaching him until a dark shadow spread itself across his book, making it difficult to read on. The boy frowned, eyes peering up from his glasses to glare at the intruder, only to drop his book to the ground in surprise upon seeing who it was.

                The man bent down and picked up the fallen book for him before holding it out for the other to take. Youngjae stared cautiously at the familiar stranger, taking the book back with tentative hands and a soft mumble of gratitude. The other man simply smiled before seating himself down right next to Youngjae, slipping his other hand out of his hoodie pocket and revealing yet again, another orange.

                He had only just begun peeling when Youngjae spoke. “Your hair…”

                The other raised his eyebrows before his eyes rolled upwards, as if he were trying to see what was on top of his head. He grinned, brushing his fingers through the messy locks. “I know. Not the color I expected, but I like it. What do you think? I think it looks nice.” The stranger began to peel his orange again, discarding the peels into a napkin he had brought with himself this time.

                Youngjae eyed the man’s hair, mildly fascinated by the sight. Dull pink. It did. “I…like it too.”

                The man broke into a foolish grin, peeling the last of the orange’s skin off and offering a slice to the other. “Want one?”

                Youngjae shook his head, gesturing towards his coffee cup beside him.

                “You know, Youngjae,” the man said, leaning back a lit