Across the street stood a tall boy with dyed blond hair. He watched the headlights of cars as they drove past him through the lenses of his sunglasses. The sun was going down but lights still illuminated the city. For tourists the city was incredible and completely wonderful, seemingly running on the hopes and dreams of the wide eyed and naïve people, but they didn’t know that as maybe they were one themselves. For Sehun, though, the city was dull and colourless. He was so disenchanted by it and yet he still hadn’t left. No one knew him, really. Giggly girls would wave at him and smile coyly and guys would pretend to know him to get closer to said girls. He was anonymous; just a stranger passing by, or at least that is how he saw himself. He didn’t want to be noticed as a friend of a friend or the boy next door. Sehun yearned to be the unknown, but to others he seemed so mysterious and only peaked the curiosity of others more. And maybe unknown to Sehun,but he attracted people so easily. Just by the way he stood and held himself to the colour of his hair and the way he gazed through his glasses.

Sehun wasn’t one of those people who tried to be different but really loved all the attention. He had a natural charm and charisma that attracted people to him. He really didn’t care all that much about how people saw him because really he saw no use in it. Sehun didn’t care about small talk and useless friendships, and he didn’t think he needed them. However, Sehun craved for something, or someone. Maybe just something to stop the cloud of boredom that loomed over him; or someone to fill the gaps hidden behind his perfected persona.  

He walked across the bridge alone as the sun set behind the lake below. Other people also walked across the bridge, but it didn’t really matter; they didn’t bother him, and obviously why would they. Sehun stopped and looked over across the water. It was like a mirror for the sky; stars from above were reflected in the gentle ripples and waves. Nostalgia overcame Sehun; he remembered when him and his mother used to walk along this bridge as an escape from their crumbling lives. But Sehun had come to hate nostalgia because all it gave him  were false memories and useless wanting for what once was; and due to this his memories had become warped and tainted by his hatred. Sehun didn’t want to think of his mother or the past he used to have. They were no longer significant to him.

Suddenly, a girl rushed into him, knocking him out of his thoughts. Sehun looked down to see that with the collision the girl had fallen and was now lying on the ground. The girl sighed in annoyance, but it was directed towards herself rather than Sehun. She looked up and noticed that the person she had walked into was standing above her staring.

“Oh, um, I’m sorry” she muttered as she got up and brushed herself off. She looked up at his face and smiled in apology. Then she did something that surprised Sehun, it was utterly harmless but still shocked him. All she did was pull a piece of fluff from a strand of his blond hair. Noticing how stiff Sehun had gotten she quickly pulled her hand away and murmured another apology. Quickly, she stepped around him and started walking away until Sehun grabbed onto her arm. He didn’t know why, but no one had surprised him like that before, and maybe it was just normal behaviour but it affected him in a weird way. He didn’t like it.

“Why did you do that?” he demanded. The harsh tone of his voice made the girl flinch, and immediately he regretted it. When had he forgotten how to communicate with others? “Uh I mean” he hesitated “um who are you?” With the lack of words he just smiled weakly at her. What was he doing, he thought to himself, he was was mean and now he is shy? But the girl just smiled back at him.

“I’m Kim Minhee” She replied and held out her.

“I’m Oh Sehun” He said as he took her hand and shook it.

“Well it’s nice to meet you Sehun” Minhee said whilst smiling. “I’m sorry for walking into you and about your hair, I didn’t mean to offend you” Sehun just shook his head, as if to say it didn’t matter. “Well, maybe I’ll see you around. Bye” She waved at him then proceeded down the bridge. Sehun watched her for a moment before turning and walking away himself.

When had he become so unfamiliar with talking to people? He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, then leaned back into his chair. He had talked to someone yesterday. Sehun thought to recall the details of the conversation but the small talk had bored him. It was with a girl, and she was flirting with him. He was fine then, but that was probably because she was doing all the work. But that girl today, he thought, Minhee. She hadn’t thrown herself at him or commented on his looks, in fact she had barely even looked at him. And with his hair; Sehun brushed his hand over where she had touched briefly. He huffed; why am I like this, he thought. To be honest, it was annoying him, and what annoyed him even further was just the very fact that it annoyed him. It was an unusual series of feeling for Sehun. He didn’t like getting bothered over things, so often times he just blocked these inconveniences out.

Sehun blinked his eyes and rubbed his temples. An ache was brewing like a storm in his head. Maybe sleeping on his problems would clear his mind.

The next morning was gloomy and mellow, reflecting Sehun's mood perfectly. He looked at the ceiling above his bed. One day, he had decided it would be a good idea to paint it black, so that is how it remained. When Sehun was younger he dreamed of being a poet. Many people had told him he had a poet’s soul; curious, questioning and restless. Of course Sehun didn’t like the idea of souls; he thought that people were telling him that it wasn’t his own and that someone had had it before him, but he took it as a compliment none the less. They used to tell him that he saw things differently to others, and sometimes this angered him because they were calling him out for being different, but, almost sadly, Sehun knew what they meant. He saw, and wanted to create, things that reflected him. And that’s why he painted the ceiling black; it would always remind him to search for reflections of himself in things. That’s probably why he stayed in the city, and maybe why he was so captivated by Minhee the day before.

As he walked down the road his mind wondered yet again to Minhee. Sehun didn’t have many friends but not because he didn’t see the point in having them, it was just that he found it hard to find quality company. But, on the other hand, he hadn’t tried to find anyone. There was no one who would ever really know him, because, he thought that you would have to know someone for years before you really know each other. Maybe he was looking in the wrong places. That thought though was quickly dismissed as he was only looking in places he thought were his reflections.

Today, Sehun hadn’t really planned where he was going. He was walking aimlessly in hope of finding something amazing. It was a habit for Sehun to find himself walking and somehow his feet would always lead him to the same place, but today he found himself somewhere new. Well not entirely; usually he would end up on the city bridge but today he was below the bridge. At first he thought that it wasn’t as significant as when he looked at it from above, but then he thought about how he had become part of the view that he often looked upon. And when he looked down into the murky water of the tide and saw what he always seeked, his reflection. Swirls of dirt and dust flowed across the image of his face. Sehun raked a hand through his hair and was comforted by the fact that his reflection did the same also. He knew it was stupid, but a part of Sehun was scared that somehow he would lose himself; that he would no longer recognise the face that stared back at him. Shaking the thoughts out of his head he continued to walk along the river bank.

The ground was dampened by the water from the river so his feet sunk slightly as he walked, which caused him to walk a little faster than normal. Above the sky was beginning to clear. The clouds parted to make way for the bright afternoon sun that made the river glow and sparkle. Sehun had always like the way that light seemed to dance across the river and blend with it, enhancing its beauty. He also liked the shadows of the fish below and how they couldn’t be seen yet were so apparent from above. Like some people; some people who you know are there but don’t really see. Maybe Minhee is one of those people, or maybe Sehun was thinking too much about it and the Minhee was just really normal. Sehun thought, maybe he’ll never see Minhee again but in a way that didn’t seem likely to him. Sehun wanted to see her again, just to find out more.

For the next few days Sehun continued with his life. Occasionally Minhee would cross his mind and he would be brought back to wonder about this stranger. Stranger. A mere stranger had peaked his interest and somehow consumed his mind so suddenly, but then some people are just like that, aren’t they? Before a word was even spoken. Minhee was one of those people; such a perfect stranger. Sehun thought to himself, was he like that to all the people who swooned over him? But he didn’t think that she was the same, for some reason. She just seemed so ordinary, and kind. There was nothing completely remarkable about her from what Sehun had seen, but maybe that was the remarkable thing about her; she wasn’t remarkable. Sehun scoffed at his own thoughts. What was he thinking? His own mind didn’t make sense to him.

He sipped at the warm coffee he had just bought. Sehun had wandered away from the center of the city and in between the buildings of side streets, and come across a small coffee shop art gallery. The building itself was small and old with only enough room for a few tables. The inside was more modern with white walls and laminate floor. Sehun was sat in the corner; he looked at the wall opposite to him. Drawings and paintings and sketched were laid out across it. One image caught his eye; an image of a girl floating. Sehun looked at it; there was no colour which stood out amongst the bright and vivid art next to it and maybe, she wasn’t floating; she was drowning. He then looked again, but at the whole wall this time. Together, the artwork all combined to form one image. The girl was drowning, and everything else on the wall had originally been black or white but had been painted over; she was suffocating in the colour and chaos that had been pushed upon her.

“Do you like it?” A girls voice snapped him out of his mind. He turned to look at her, Minhee. Out of all the places, it was such a coincidence that he found her here.

“I do” He replied, a smile pulling at his lips. He looked up at the wall, admiring the work for a while. As he stood next to Minhee in silence, it didn’t feel awkward, it was if they had known each other for a while. “How are you, Minhee?” Sehun asked warmly, still looking at the wall.

Minhee thought about his question. She had a feeling that Sehun didn’t like small talk too much. “I’m tired” She replied simply. Then, Sehun turned to look at her.

“Why are you tired?” He asked her calmly.

“I’ve been working on things” Minhee said. She looked down at her hands and then smiled. “I’ll show you”.

Sehun followed her around the corner and up some stairs. He was surprised when he found a bedroom. Or more like an art studio with a bed in the corner.

“Do you live here?” He asked. Maybe it wasn’t such a coincidence that he had found her here.

She was crouching down by the wall plugging something into a socket.

“Uh, yeah, I do” Minhee replied, almost nervously. She walked over to a table where a lamp was placed. “I’ve been working on this thing for a while now and been trying to get it right.” She pointed to the ceiling. Shards and shapes of glass were carefully hung, but there was no image or picture, just glass. Minhee pulled the lamp and shined the light towards the glass. She moved it around a bit until she was happy, then pointed at the wall opposite. Sehun gasped when he saw. The light shined through the pieces of colourful glass to form a picture of the wall.

“I was inspired by the ancient Korean and Chinese temples” She said. The image displayed was of a temple, with vibrant blues, red and yellows. It really was quite amazing to see. The pieces of glass were so strategically placed to make this beautiful art; some things aren't apparent at first, like the fish that swam in the river.

Sehun smiled, “I really like it”. Sehun didn’t usually express his opinions so openly, but what he saw was so unique and reflected what he wanted so easily.

“I have to go close the shop now” Minhee hesitated to a moment “but you can stay, if you’d like” Then she skipped down the stairs and back into the shop. Sehun looked around for a moment. The walls were very plain but everything seemed so full, but not suffocatingly full; just not empty. He walked down the stairs to the shop and sat on a chair by the old window. He was careful not to lean on them because they looked like they were going to break if force was put against them. It was such a fragile place, but filled with so much wonder.

Minhee waited for the last customers to leave then turned a sign on the door around from open to closed.

“There” she sighed “I’m glad that’s done”. She turned to Sehun and smiled. He got up from where he was sitting and walked closer to her.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” He asked, a little shy. Minhee seemed to notice his shyness and nodded her head.

They walked between old buildings and darkened alleyways. Sehun had never really explored this part of the city before but some places seemed familiar, and he couldn’t quite work out why.

“Do you like art?” Minhee asked to break the silence.

“Yeah, some of it.” Sehun replied.

“I was wondering. I saw you looking at my wall downstairs. I don’t think many people really see the big picture in the end, but, from what I saw” Minhee stopped to think over her words “it’s just like we saw it the same way. I mean, have the same interpretation of it”. Sehun recalled how the girl seemed to be suffocating in the chaos that she had been taken under.

“I think it reflected how I felt, or what was around me, when I created it” She said. Sehun liked how she created art to portray her feelings; in that sense, they weren’t so different.

“Don’t most people see that?” He asked. Minhee immediately shook her head.

“No, not really. They just look at the pictures”. She continued “but, I think, that’s ok because it’s hard sharing your work to others, isn’t it?” Sehun thought for a moment before nodding his head. He was a bit of a secretive person; no one had been to his home, or seen his work and no one really knew much about him. And for some reason, he felt like he would be ok sharing that information with Minhee; this stranger he knew nothing, and everything, about. As he thought about it, Sehun realised that Minhee had shared a big part with him, even if there were no words; she still allowed him into that part of her. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal to her, or maybe it was, but to Sehun he was glad that she allowed him that.

They continued walking and eventually found themselves at the edge of the city bridge. Instead of walking over it, they sat on a bench at the start of it looking over at the river. Sehun looked over at Minhee of the bench beside him. Her dark hair flew around her face gently in the subtle wind and her legs were pulled towards her chest. She looked so soft and fragile in that moment.

“How long have you lived here?” Sehun asked snapping Minhee out of her thoughts.

“Hmm a few years, but not long.” She said, looking out over the river. “I moved on my own from another city where I grew up. You?”

“I moved here when I was very young, with my mother” He replied, looking at Minhee. Sehun was born in a town that was far from the city.

“Your mother?” Minhee questioned, turning to look at Sehun also.

He nodded his head. “Yeah, when my father left my mother and I moved here, and so this is where I grew up” Sehun hesitated when talking about his parents. He didn’t care for his father because he had left them selfishly. Even though Sehun tried to block out thoughts of his mother, he couldn’t see her as one who had betrayed him anymore. “But my mother left me, a little while ago” All the anger that he had towards his mother left him as he spoke the words. He looked up at Minhee, who sat listening next to him. He smiled; he had thought that telling people would make his problems worse but just seeing how Minhee had listened to him made him at ease.

And now, Sehun didn’t want to go back to the boredom and loss of his own mind. In those simple moments, Minhee had helped him just a little. But he was afraid. He was afraid that he would scare her off, or that she would think he was creepy. Maybe she was just being nice and normal, and Sehun was overreacting and freaking her out. But then Minhee placed her hand on his arm and smiled warmly at him.

“Stop worrying so much” She said with slight humor in her voice. Sehun relaxed under her hand. She laughed when she looked at him. “I’m not going to run away, Sehun. I like you” Sehun smiled at her and let out a breath. When had he turned into a weird tense fanboy?

“Do you want to go do something?” He asked innocently. Minhee nodded her head.

“What do you fancy?” She asked. Sehun thought for a moment.

“Ice cream” He replied. Minhee laughed and got up from where she sat. Sehun hadn’t had ice cream in years. She took his hand in hers and they walked to the shop to buy some strawberry ice cream.

Sehun and Minhee continued to see each other more often. They spent their time talking, walking or just sitting in comfortable silence. It was as if they had known each other for ages. Sehun found himself opening up more to Minhee. He wasn’t afraid of being rejected by her anymore and it put him to ease. He wanted to spend more time with her because she made him feel free and calm. Minhee had unlocked the rusting locks to his swallowed feelings. One day when Sehun sat in her coffee shop he looked towards the girl on the wall. Maybe he was like that girl and all the feelings and moments he had that were locked up inside him were like the vibrant mess she was drowning in. But now the colours around and  within him were starting to calm down and be released.

Minhee had just finished cleaning her shop after closing it. Sehun was sat at the table in the corner; the one he sat at the first time he came here. A thought crossed his mind. Minhee had never been to his house. She had never asked because she thought that it was something personal to Sehun, but now he thought that he should take her there.

“Hey, do you want to come back to mine?” he asked. She looked up from where she stood by the counter, slight shock crossing her face.

“Yeah” she said, smiling “that’d be nice”. Sehun smiled. He was happy, no more rejection.

“Alright then. Are you ready? Let’s go” He was enthusiastic about taking her home, it was almost child like. He wasn’t sure what the relationship status between them was but they didn’t think it mattered, and maybe Sehun wanted to go further.

They walked hand in hand down between the now familiar buildings, passing by the river and bridge. They reached a tall modern apartment block. Sehun pulled Minhee inside and they walked up the stairs to the 6th floor. Opening the door, Sehun stepped inside and Minhee after him. The inside didn’t really surprise her that much because she felt like she knew Sehun. However, it was a lot brighter and more open than she had expected. There wasn’t a lot of colour but the whole place still gave a bright feeling. Sehun looked at her face, calculating her reaction. She didn’t seem uncomfortable, so that was ok.

Sehun lead her to sit on his bed.

“Thanks, Sehun” Minhee said, her voice light. Sehun turned and smiled at her.

“That’s ok” he replied softly. Suddenly, Sehun realised how close he was to Mihee; she realised as well. Minhee looked up into Sehun’s eyes; he seemed so happy at that moment. Sehun looked down into Minhee’s eyes; she seemed so soft at that moment. Hesitantly, he leaned down just slightly towards her, then stopped. Minhee moved ever so slightly towards him. Being more bold, Sehun leaned and brushed his lips across hers, then pulled away. He looked at Minhee; she looked perfectly calm, maybe a little shocked and blushed, but still calm. Carefully Sehun moved his hand to caress her neck gently. He moved closer to her again and kissed her lightly, and to his joy she pulled him closer. Sehun moved his other hand to her waist to bring her towards him. Minhee buried her hands in his hair, pulling him closer still.

Things progressed quickly. Sehun pulled Minhee onto the bed so she was laying down. He was placed on top of her, his hands in her hair or on her waist. The kiss was more passionate, but was still soft. Sehun feared that he would hurt Minhee accidently. He stopped kissing her lips to trail down her jaw line and to her neck, placing warm kisses. gently on Minhee’s sensitive neck skin Sehun smirked at the sound of her quiet whimpers.

“Sehun” she called and he hummed in response. Sehun left kisses along Minhee’s collar bone, his hands just sliding up her top. She placed her hands on top of his, wanting him to stop. Sehun moved away and looked at her.

“Not now, Sehun” She spoke softly. He thought that maybe he did something wrong, but she didn’t look discomforted. “I just don’t want to right now” Minhee told him. Sehun nodded and laid down next to her.

She cuddled up next to him with her head on his chest, looking up.

“I like your ceiling” she said, half jokingly. Sehun chuckled and pulled her closer into him. The fell asleep in each others arms and it was the happiest night of Sehun’s life, so far.

Yay. I've finished it. It took so long. Tell me feedback and if you'd like me to write a part 2