A/N: I DO NOT KNOW.

It gets more crowded as Kris walks further. He comes across a cluster of foreign travelers consisting of two old-looking people & maybe teenagers— perhaps they’re one big family. One of them, an old man, white hairs standing out in the midst of black hairs, wrinkles starting to leave faint marks on his forehead, & a camera hanging from his neck, asks him for directions.

“Excuse me? This..” He pulls out a piece of paper a piece of paper to show Kris the name of the place he’s looking for. It’s a well-known 4-star hotel. “Where?” The man looks at Kris with a tense expression in the hopes that Kris would understand what he means. The other people he asked probably did not understand him, or vice versa.

He recalls the location & simply guides the man “If you go straight from here & turn right just before the stoplight over there, you can see this hotel just after the second yellow building.” He smiles at the stranger after giving him the directions & the stranger seems surprised by his fluency in English & even sighs in relief. He was born in Canada after all. “Oh, thank you so much” he smiles back, gathers his family & walks to where Kris directed him.

✺ ✺ ✺

“I’m gonna miss you.”

“Don’t be silly, it’s not like we’ll never see each other again.” his soothing voice calmed Tao a bit & he leaned in to kiss his forehead. “For now, you can just hang out with Luhan & Sehun.”

“But I’m always out of place with those two. Even Kyungsoo’s leaving. I’m gonna be all alone.” his pout made Kris fret a little.

“Then come visit me during your holidays if you can, alright? I’ll miss you too.”

“Yes I will. Remember to always wear the necklace I gave you okay?” 

As a graduation gift, Tao bought them a pair of couple necklace from a boutique. He was saving up the whole year in order to afford the gift he’s been wanting to give him.

“I will. Always.”

After graduation, Kris, Baekhyun, & Junmyeon, along with Kyungsoo, all spent their summer on job-hunting. For Lay, job-hunting was unnecessary since he was the heir of their family business. For the rest, however, fortunately it didn’t take them long to find an initial job they liked. Baekhyun went for a marketing job while Kris, Junmyeon & Kyungsoo got accepted in the same company of fine art.

The three of them decided to rent a small apartment at that time just so they can have a place to stay in atleast until all three of them save up enough to buy themselves their own home.

Kris would often call Tao who was always busy since it was their last year of college.

Initially, they would chatter for hours with him telling Tao all about his new experience with his new job & how he was so happy he didn’t have to worry about exams & all those things & Tao would always reply with 

“That’s great to hear~”

“So how are your exams coming along?” 

“Good, I can manage them. They’re all basic stuff we learned last year anyway, no big deal.”

“Nerd.” 

“Imbecile.”

“What does that even mean?”

“See. This is why your nickname is BenBen.”

He snickered. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“What are you doing?”

“Drawing”

“Ppffttt!”

“What?!!” 

“Nothing, nothing I just—” Kris could not control his laughter & laughed for another 10 seconds before he finally explained why he was laughing to Tao who seemed pissed “Sorry babe, I just remembered those times when we used to draw each other & your drawings of me would always look hilarious.. pfftt!” Again, he failed to stay calm.

“Whatever.”

“Hey, are you pissed?”

“Bye” he threatened to hang up, making Kris panic. “Wait! I’m sorry okay, but I always find your drawings really cute. Honestly.” 

“K.”

“Hey”

“What?!”

“Are you still mad?”

“No” Though his tone didn’t seem sulky, Kris knew he was still pissed.

“Yeah you are”

“You’re bad.”

“Is what Mr. Kim Jongdae would say when he sees your drawings, get it?! get it?!? Pffffttt!!”

He let Kris finish laughing before saying “Ugh, I hate you”

“I love you too, babe.” he sighed “I just missed teasing you”

Tao couldn’t help but blush at what his boyfriend said. “I miss you too” & they both sniggered.

“We should sleep now, it’s almost 3 am” 

“Okay, goodnight~”

“Goodnight, sweet dreams~” they both hung up & drifted to their own dream land.

That was how their conversation went pretty much every night. If they had time, they would talk more— sometimes, until 6 in the morning. But it didn’t take long before they eventually ran out of topics & Tao became busier with their finals approaching closer. Phone & video calls became less often & shortened, until talking to each other became a seldom thing.

Tao did visit Kris at times & whenever he did, Kris would book a hotel room just for the two of them so they can have their privacy. However, not only did their conversations deteriorate, but also their love makings. Romantic kisses on the lips & neck were replaced by impassive physical contact. Their “I love you”s no longer held a strong meaning it once did & it seemed as if they were obliged to say it to each other everytime. They both felt the empty hollow that was almost missing— & that was love— but neither of them spoke about it, afraid that it would ruin the mood.

Kyungsoo, Junmyeon & Kris gathered in their small & unruly living room for a little drinking session before Kyungsoo would depart to the province for personal reasons.

After becoming tipsy, Kyungsoo gave up “I’m done. I can’t be drunk especially during the night.”

“Oh come on Kyungsoo just one more.. Wooh!” babbled Kris, already drunk.

“Hey Junmyeon sober this guy up will ya” he stood up, took his belongings “I’m off, see you guys” & shut the door, leaving Junmyeon in an awkward state.

He tried pushing Kris who was already leaning on him “Kris… ugh, get up don’t lean on me you’re too heavy.” He was also a bit tipsy which is why, after a few more tries of pushing away Kris, he ceased to make any more effort.

Moments later, Kris collapsed on the ground & started shifting here & there. Junmyeon wondered what was wrong

“C-cold… it’s so cold… blanket…” Spasmodically moving his hands in search for a blanket, he grabs the first thing that’s closest to the texture of that of a blanket. 

“Wait— That’s my shirt! Why don’t you just turn off the air conditioner!” unable to resist Kris’ strong grasp, Junmyeon found himself in an inappropriate position where he was above Kris, being subconsciously hugged. Both their faces were centimeters away from each other, so close that he could actually smell the stench of alcohol as Kris incoherently murmured. 

“Kris! Let go of me—” Though he didn’t like that fact that he was being subconsciously hugged tightly, he couldn’t help but notice Kris’ red, plump lips & couldn’t quite take his eyes off them. He tried resisting, but temptation overpowered him & he kissed Kris. Initially, he was going to go for just a mere peck but as the amount of pecks he gave Kris increased, so did his lust & before he knew it, he was passionately kissing him, unable to stop.

Instead of drawing back from the unfamiliar lips continuously brushing against his, Kris reciprocated the kiss until it turned into something more than that.

Clothes were tossed here & there & nearby cans fell as their flesh rubbed against each other.

“Aahh… mhmm… aaahh…” Whilst enjoying the pleasure Kris was giving him, Junmyeon wrapped his arms around Kris’ neck, unclasped the necklace Tao had given him & placed it inside one of the empty cans.

After reaching their , they both collapsed on the floor, huffing & puffing in satisfying exhaustion.

The lampshade that was lit in their living room & the beaming moonlight that lit outside their balcony were the only things that gave them lambency. 

They both lay side by side on the carpet floor that kept their backs warm. Junmyeon held Kris’ hand which he did not reject as Junmyeon expected him to do.

“Hey”

“Yeah?”

“Please break up with Tao” he pleaded & Kris couldn’t quite answer his question immediately.

“Why?”

There was a pause & Junmyeon used that short time to gather enough courage he needed to say, “I love you.” Normally, hearing those three words directed at you from someone else would make one shocked, however, Kris wasn’t surprised. It was as if he was expecting those words— as if he knew that from the beginning— & in fact, after hearing those three words that weren’t from his own boyfriend, his heart skipped a beat.

“You know I can’t do that, right? I love Tao & he loves me too.”

“Do you really love him?” he snickered “Stop lying to yourself. You stopped calling him & you guys hardly even talk these days. When was the last time you even saw each other?” Kris did not reply “You’ve even replaced your phone wallpaper of you & him. Heck who knows, he might be ing with his new dorm mate right now & totally forgot about you.”

Junmyeon’s words made him think for a while. Is his love for Tao really fading away? Is he still unsure of the answer— or is he just afraid of finding out the real answer? It’s been months since they last saw each other & Tao hasn’t even called him since then—nor did he even try to. At least a missed call or a simple text would do. But there was nothing. Even when he was the one who tried calling him, no one answered. The sweet voice that always said “hello” in a cheerful manner was no longer heard. Could it be that Tao had really forgotten him?

While waiting for Kris’ reply, he realized Kris wasn’t going to say anything anymore & let the silence consume them until the next day.