Out of the blue, a violent flow of raindrops began to hit the ground, wetting the tarred roads just outside the cold atmospheric apartment lot. The jagged lasers of silver light pummelled on the surface of the casements as the skies turned stygian dark, creating a blinding liquid fog. Jiyong averted his attention from the trickling downpour to the bouncy ball of happiness sitting just across him. He yanked a sigh, wondering why he’d let him in, in the first place.

Jiyong seated himself in a posture that principals would use when observing a lesson, arms intersected over his chest, foot impatiently tapping on the wooden floor, eyes scrutinising every movement that Seungri made.

Seungri, on the other hand, was quite a reverse to Jiyong. He was full of beans and perky, in high spirits that he managed to get into the house he’d always wanted to visit. “Has anyone ever told you that your house is a la mode?” He questioned happily without stopping his eyes from rotating around the apartment-fits-for-two Jiyong owned. “My place’s walls are peeling off and it constantly reeks of cigarettes.”

It was decent sized home, decorated in an old-fashioned style. Some of the wooden floors were carpeted and the remaining areas were not. The casements were put out of sight behind the auburn sheer curtains, flowing in the air softly because of the stalwart wind. Costly looking candle lamps were attached to the white walls of the house, providing the vintage feel to the space. On top of the fireplace were just a bunch of picture frames that caught Seungri’s attention; pictures of the Kwons.

He got on his feet from the cushioned wooden chair and stepped towards the photo frames. A content smile drooped from his lips as he brushed his fingertips on the dusty frame. ‘It really is you, after all.’

“When the rain stops, go home. It’s too risky.” Jiyong mumbled, rustling around in the blanket that he’d pulled out to keep himself warm during the drama marathon. “What is?” Seungri still hadn’t put down the frame, entirely captivated by Jiyong’s childhood photo.

“We’re risking my career’s lifespan. What methods did you use to break into this high-rise building? I need to file in a report, the securities are letting in a terrorist.” Seungri pouted his lips, slightly offended of the idea being called a terrorist. “I’m a South Korean, I even finished the army service when I was 21.”

Jiyong sniggered at what the flat television screen displayed; rerun of One Born Every Minute, thinking it was very cute of the husband to bring McDonalds for the wife when she was very nervy in the labour room. “As the answer to your question… your newlywed neighbours happened to have called me to be their photographer for their upcoming honeymoon, A meeting, you could say.”

He landed his next to the slouching deeper into the sofa Jiyong, staring at the male before he spoke again. “Yīnyuán hóngxiàn.” He murmured quietly, still revising the way Jiyong’s eyelids fluttered. “What?” Jiyong stipulated for an answer at the mention of the three foreign words. Seungri rejoined vaguely, “Red string of fate.”

“That explains a lot, thanks. What in the world of a difference does it make between saying a Chinese phrase and translating it?” Jiyong whispered the last part of his words annoyingly. “Well, according to a Chinese myth, ankles of those who are meant to be are knotted with an unseen red thread. This string permits them to meet one another in a certain situation or help each other in a particular way.”

Jiyong scoffed and ragged at Seungri, “So you’re trying to imply that we have that thread because you helped me and that now, we’re meeting again?” He laughed it off and pulled the blanket closer to his chest as the weather started to get chillier. “It could be true.”

“I’m sorry not sorry, I don’t roll that way and I like me some curvy bodies.” Jiyong proclaimed, palms circling around his chest region to support his declaration. “Does gender really carry some weight? We love who we love, love is about how we feel about each other, not the gender.”

“Even if I were to like guys, I wouldn’t go for someone like you. Loud-mouthed and tremendously clingy.” He poked Seungri’s forehead, causing the younger to widen his globes of eyes as a spontaneous effect. “You said a different thing when you were eight years old.”

Seungri’s words were blocked from Jiyong’s hearing, due to the bullets of raindrops pounding against the glass plane. He watched in awe as the older fella’s gum would reveal itself when he laughed, and how only the upper set of his perfectly horizontal teeth would show as his lips burst into a smile.

The wail of the skies, as if the  heavens were torn and came down to Earth to parade its sorrow, struck a chord to Seungri’s brain cells. The recollection of his childhood days, and also the occurrence that happened on a day like this, when the rain poured down from the sky and harshly fall on the ground.

“Twenty-six, twenty-seven..”

Little Seungri swayed his legs impatiently on the bench at the bus stop. He looked up at the darkening skies and worries casted over his face. He knew by the time he finished counting to one hundred, he wouldn’t be able to find his friends’ hideaway.

“Mom will get mad at me.” He frowned in discontentment, vividly picturing the scene he would be stuck in, in his head. He sighed and kept on counting, qualms of getting drenched in rain and receiving a big scolding for that plagued to his mind.

As he was close to fifty, a tirade of the skies’ teardrops fell off like billions of diamonds.  6 year old Seungri was terrified. Terrified of the sound produced by the raindrops when it drummed against the roofs of the bus stand. Terror began to invade Seungri’s instincts as the strong breeze that carried rain droplets with it hit his body, saturating into the article of his clothing, leaving him drenched.

Just then, a loud crack like a firework show on 4^th of July echoed across the road, deafening any ears that heard it. Seungri brought his hands close to his ears, covering it as he screamed in alarm. Thunders were like a monster that hide under his bed, something to be dreaded of. Though his mother told him countless of times that thunders were incapable of hurting him, Seungri was still afraid of the fearful quaking sound.

 He locked his eyes tightly, eyes that were damp of tears. He wanted nothing but to jump in his mom’s secure embrace, but he couldn’t. The heavy, merciless downpour limited his eyesight, causing him to not be able to tell what was down the road.

He was dead frightened, soaked up and freezing. It was also close to dinner time, and he still hadn’t eaten since lunch.

‘Am I going to die?’ Green and raw Seungri thought.

Nobody was around and soon the dusk will break. The thunders and heavy rain were one thing, the fact that the bus stand didn’t have any light bulbs meant the place would be very shadowy soon. He wrapped his arms around his tiny frame, wishing that by doing that, it would help to lessen the coldness he was feeling.

“Mind if I take a shelter here?”

Seungri’s body jolted up in surprise upon hearing a voice at the end of the bus stand, who?

The gloomy weather caused Seungri to not be able to see who the owner of the voice was, but he could tell the boy was at least his age and he was also marinated in rain.

Without thinking any further, the foreign boy took the empty and wet seat next to Seungri, plopping down and instantly smiled at the frightened boy.

“The forecast lied. They said it’s supposed to be a sunny day today, but look, I’m all wet!” He said in a cheerful tone. Seungri couldn’t say anything, he watched the boy with his teary eyes while holding back the cries that was stuck in his throat.

The loud booming sound that petrified Seungri roared again. “Yahh!” He shrieked, without him noticing, he leaped and quickly enfolded his arms around the boy sitting next to him.

“That one sure was loud, are you alright?” He asked out of concern. Seungri nodded his head and hugged him tighter, feeling scared if the rays of lightning would appear soon. The other boy seemed to be perplexed, but he pulled Seungri so that they both would be in a comfortable position before returning the hug.

“You scared of the thunder?” The younger nodded, not letting go of the boy’s body.

“The sound of it..” sighed Seungri, and he continued to bawl as another ground-shaking thunder was leashed.

“It’s all good. There’s nothing to be scared of, I will protect you.”  Seungri stopped shedding tears and sobbing as he could feel the boy hugging him tighter and ruffling his hair delicately in an awkward but kind sense. Their clothes were wet and he wasn’t feeling any warmer, but he didn’t care, as long as he had a place to feel secure in.

Seungri looked up at boy in awe, before asking naively, “Can you win if you really fight the baddie thunder?”

Before he could answer the younger, they were both silenced by another bang of thunder. Surprisingly, both of them yelped by reflex. Seungri was bewildered.

The boy could see Seungri was lost in confusion, and he started to feel embarrassed.

“I will practise to be stronger. So strong that the thunder will cower away when they see me!” He declared confidently, Seungri stayed quiet in his embrace, dazed.

“But.. you won’t always be here to protect me when Mr Baddies come.” Seungri’s eyes began to pool, he dreaded that he would lose this new friend he was about to make. Truth be told, none of his friends were as cool as this foreign boy.

“No, no. I will always be here to look after you when these bad guys come. I promise,” he convinced.

Though he was convinced, Seungri still looked doubtful, and the older of the two noticed Seungri’s hesitation.

“If that’s the case, how about we marry each other?” The boy stated his scheme, like it was the cleverest idea in the world.

“Marry?” Seungri questioned, puzzled.

“Yes, marry. That ensures that we can always be together, so that I can always protect you.” He said, tightening the hug.

A smile hung on Seungri’s lips as he nodded. In the dark, he could see the face of the boy—gummy smiling widely.

“I want that to happen!”

“When we grow up, I will pull out a ring to you and we’ll live happily like my mom and dad!”

“Will you buy me lots and lots of candies when we’re married?”

“For sure! Promise me okay?”

“Okay, I promise!”

Pinky fingers hooked together and with that, a promise had been formed.

It was silly, Seungri thought, to be holding on to such a childish oath. They fell asleep, until their parents picked them at the bus stop. And since that day, Seungri had never seen or heard of the boy ever again. Isn’t it asinine, to make a vow with someone when you don’t even know their name? When you barely know anything about them.

He guessed, as he grew older, he holding on to the childhood promise and went on with his life. He stopped searching for traces of the boy and made believe that it was just another childhood plaything. He figured the foreign boy will never come back on, riding a white horse, like how he’d always pictured. Moreover, he supposed there were better things in his life he needed to catch up with. Even so, questions like:

Where is he now?

Does he still remember our promise?

Will he love me if fate says we should meet again?

It wasn’t long, until one day, a familiar gummy smile popped before his eyes, on the television. Just… that time around, the gummy smiling person grew older, and didn’t look as warm as Seungri thought he’d be.

That was when he decided he should everything and anything to make Kwon Jiyong keep his promise, to protect him forever.

“Knock knock. Is Mr. Lee Seungri still alive or has he died?”

A flick on the forehead and Seungri disintegrated from his dreaming fizz. “Aw, he’s still alive. I was just about to kick you outta my house if you were dead for real. You weren’t blinking for quite a while just now.”

“That’s no proper way of treating guests.”

Jiyong rolled his eyes, “Oh hey Mr. Lee Seungri. You crept the life out of me by stalking me, and almost made me lose my job. Sure, I’ll treat you like the Queen.”

“You could at least turn on the floor heater or something. It’s freezing cold.” Seungri carped. “It’s too fancy to be asking for a cup of tea, you could’ve at least offered me warm water.” He continued to niggle, jutting his lips out.

“Fine,” Jiyong gritted his teeth and tossed the blanket he used over the younger’s head. “Now shush up, I’m watching the “Okay?Okay.” movie. And don’t you dare drool or do anything to my blanket.”

“A picture should be fine, right?”

“No.”

“Oppa, how about we take a selca? I won’t bother you after that.”

“No.”

“Okay, a picture of you?”

“No, Seungri, I said no. Ugh, I was talking to you, now I missed the whole “It would be a privilege” line.”

Seungri pouted his lips, toying around with the strap of his camera bag. “You ain’t no fun.”

“That’s the way out,” Jiyong responded while pointing to the door, eyes glued to television screen. “You’re welcomed to leave, and, please sit at least 20 miles away from me.” He inched away after noticing Seungri was sitting too close to him, way too close to his liking.

As if god was moving around furniture up in heaven, an abrupt strident thunderous sound of thunder striking was heard. Seungri was bombshell-ed and startled at the same time. Absent-mindedly, he clung onto Jiyong’s sweater for defence.

“Yah yah yah, you’re a grown up man!” Jiyong protested before shoving him away. “What is there to be scared of?” Annoyed, he kept on shoving the younger who wouldn’t budge. “Aish, I wish I could get rid of you.”

“Why?”

Seungri finally liberated the older, before verbalising in a shaky voice.

“Why can’t you remember me?”

“Why would you bother making a promise if you aren’t going to keep it?”

“Why did you give me false hopes?”

“And mostly, why am I being like this? Following you around even when you wouldn’t even spare a glance at me?”

Jiyong’s eyes grew extensive at the sudden confession. “Hey, what’re you on about? Did you drink at my neighbour’s house?”

“Can’t you remember me? The kid you made a promise with?”

Bells started to ring inside Jiyong’s head.

“If that’s the case, how about we marry each other?”

“Sometimes I wonder if this is all really worth it. I stalk you because I hoped to be noticed by you, so that you can fulfil your promise.”

It all began to piece together in Jiyong’s lane of memories. The eventful meeting, the promise, everything.

“It’s you..?”

He took a closer look at the guy next to him; examining him. He gasped, realising that Seungri had the same tired looking eyes the guy of his dreams had. Canine tooth that stuck out and also his lips formed pretty corners when he smiled.

No way..

He was lying,

he was lying when he said he loved curves. He was lying when he said he adored female’s chest.

Frankly, he was mad when he woke up in his warm bed. He was mad that his appa carried him home when he had no chance to ask for the boy’s name. And he spent almost every single day being haunted by the boy’s ambiguous features.

Seungri was his thoughts before he sleeps away every night.

His muse.

Distractedly, Jiyong’s hand reached out to touch Seungri’s face. “It’s really you?”

“It really is m—“

Just when Jiyong laid his fingertips on Seungri’s jaw line, finally being able to caress the younger, the door jerked open, revealing an eye-smiling blonde.

“Er… am I disturbing you?” The blonde head breathed out anxiously, eyes widened in shock as he stared at Jiyong, with ‘what is going on’ written all over his face.

“I’m taking my leave,” Seungri grabbed his belongings, muttering his words. “And oppa? You can’t get rid of me. Your president hired me to be your personal V.J for a programme coming up. Good evening.”

Desperately in need of VIP friends, can anyone talk to me on my twitter? ;__; such a forever alone.

And this chapter is corny cos I was eating a corn when I wrote this. (I AM SO FUNNY *not*)

https://twitter.com/swiftsyongie