“Hyukjae…?” Donghae mumbles blearily, shivering as he reaches out for the familiar warmth. He frowns when he turns to find the empty place next to him on the bed empty.

“Hyukjae?” Donghae calls out more loudly, and soon enough, he hears the hurried footsteps down the corridor.

“Yes, Hae? What’s wrong?” He smiles when he hears the worried voice before it even enters the room.

Donghae looks up in surprise when he sees Hyukjae.

“Hyukkie, I haven’t seen you in that Batman shirt in ages.” Donghae laughs, hands curling around Hyukjae’s shirt as he leans for a good morning kiss.

Hyukjae grins. “And what’s with your hair? It's been years since you styled it up, it's like those high school days again.”

Hyukjae only smiles, shamelessly diving in for another kiss, before forcing a rather unwilling Donghae to get out of bed.

“We’re taking the train today?” Donghae asks curiously, wondering why Hyukjae would let him wander around in the cold. Usually, with this weather, Hyukjae would be forcing him to let him drive him everywhere.

But of course, Hyukjae has had him bundled up in so many layers of jackets and scarfs before he could even step outside.

“Hyukjae, I look like a fat penguin.” Donghae pouts and Hyukjae laughs, pulling Donghae into a hug. “You’re so cute, babe.”

Donghae frowns at that, snuggling deeper into Hyukjae’s side.

“Remember, Hae?” Hyukjae suddenly says as they are nearing the train station. “Remember when we used to take the train after school even when we were supposed to go straight home?”

Donghae laughs, holding Hyukjae’s hands tightly.

“Of course. We were rebellious kids, after all.”

As they sit quietly on the train, Hyukjae gently runs his thumb along Donghae’s hand. Donghae peers curiously out of the window.

“Where are we going?” Hyukjae brushes the bangs out of Donghae’s eyes, wrapping the scarf around him even tighter. “Don’t you recognise this place, love?”

Donghae thinks for awhile, before his eyes light up.

“Everland!” Donghae screams in excitement, as they reach the entrance of the amusement park. Hyukjae smiles, snapping a few pictures of Donghae as he pulls Hyukjae along.

The first stop is always the cotton candy stall, and Hyukjae wipes away all the bits of sugar at the corner of Donghae’s mouth.

“Do you want some?” Donghae asks, mouth full of the fluffy cotton. Hyukjae only smiles, and shakes his head. “You can have all of it, love.”

They share a box of popcorn and some fries before Hyukjae decides that they have to stop eating before they end up throwing up after a ride.

“Are you sure, love?” Hyukjae frowns as Donghae points excitedly to the Viking ship. Donghae nods his head, bouncing up and down in excitement.

Before Hyukjae can respond, Donghae has already dragged him towards the queue.

Donghae laughs as Hyukjae sits on the floor, dizzy after the ride.

“Why are you laughing at me?” Donghae grins, squatting down beside Hyukjae who is wearing an absolutely adorable pout.

“I wasn’t laughing at you, babe. You’re just so cute.” Donghae says, handing Hyukjae a bottle of water. Hyukjae groans, he’s never been good at handling rides after all.

“Go, Hyukjae!” Donghae screams so loudly that everyone around them is staring at them. They’re at the games booth, and Hyukjae is trying to shoot all the bottles down so Donghae can have the giant tiger plushie.

The next second, he feels Donghae crashing into him, his hands wrapped around him tightly.

“We did it! We did it, Hyukkie!” Hyukjae grins, placing the soft toy into Donghae’s hands.

“It’s getting dark.” Donghae says sadly, and Hyukjae wraps his hands around his shoulders.

“Don’t look so sad, Hae. I’ll bring you here again another day.” Hyukjae smiles encouragingly, patting the shorter’s head gently.

“One last ride?” Donghae asks, and when Hyukjae sees what he is looking longingly at, he agrees.

“It’s beautiful.” Donghae breathes. He feels the warmth of Hyukjae’s hands that are wrapped around his waist.

Hyukjae presses a kiss on his cheek. “Yes, you are, love.”

Donghae flushes at that, gently slapping Hyukjae’s arms in embarrassment. “No, silly. Look at that.”

And Hyukjae has to agree, as he looks out of the ferris wheel, that it is indeed beautiful.

The lights of the amusement park are contrasted against the night sky, and he can see a million stars glimmering in Donghae’s eyes.

Beautiful, indeed.

They lean in, and Donghae lets out a shaky breath as Hyukjae pulls their bodies together even closer.

Do you remember, love?

Their lips merge into one as their cabin reaches the highest point, and they pull away smiling, gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes.

This was where we first kissed.

The most beautiful thing in this world is your eyes, Donghae remembers Hyukjae saying that to him countless times.

But as he stares into the chocolate orbs in front of him, he kisses Hyukjae’s eyelids which are now closed.

You are the most beautiful in my eyes.

“It’s so spicy.” Donghae mumbles as he stuffs the tiny piece of deokbokki into his mouth.

“Your spice tolerance has just gone lower,” Hyukjae retorts, as he chews on his piece as well.

Donghae pouts at that, but opens his mouth as Hyukjae feeds him another bite.

“So adorable,” he hears Hyukjae mutter and he stuffs another piece into Hyukjae’s mouth before he has finished chewing. He laughs as Hyukjae struggles to chew the new piece, and Hyukjae playfully wraps his arms around Donghae’s neck, stopping him from feeding him further.

The old lady who is serving them smiles fondly, looking at the beautiful couple in front of her.

“Remember, love? Do you remember the first time I asked you out? I was wearing this stupid batman shirt and I was shaking so bad. I nearly cried when you agreed.”

Donghae laughs at that, letting Hyukjae guide his tired body along.

“Remember how I got us lost on the way to Everland? I was so embarrassed, but you were excited just the same.”

Donghae smiles, recalling every single bit of what Hyukjae is saying.

“Remember how you dragged me to all the rides, and how I threw up after sitting on the Viking ship? What a way to make a first date memorable.” Hyukjae chuckles.

“I remember, Hyukjae…” Donghae murmurs sleepily, but the smile on his face remains.

“You brought me to the same deokbokki stall,” Donghae lets his head rest against Hyukjae’s shoulders, and he finds it harder to continue walking. “The ahjumma still remembers us.”

Hyukjae pulls away, bending down to let Donghae hop on his back.

They continue walking home - it’s been so long since they walked home from the train station together, with Donghae being too weak to walk long distances anymore.

“Thanks, Hyukjae.” Donghae mumbles, his eyes almost closing.

“Thanks for letting me remember.”

As time runs out, we often worry about the future. We wonder about what’s going to happen, whether there will be a next day.

But most of the time, we want to remember. We want to hold onto whatever that’s left. For the past is always there, but the future…

It is unknown.

As they walk home that day, it’s cold and the wind is the strongest it has ever been in that month. But strangely, Donghae only feels warmth in Hyukjae’s arms, nuzzled into his strong back.

6. I want to remember what we were like when we were younger... Let’s recreate our first date.