For centuries, stars had captivated the human race; a mystery, never quite being fully unravelled but known by all. Tiny, glistening, against a blanket of navy, stars could tell stories of great beasts in the night sky, could reveal what the future held or aid a lost traveller, showing him the way through the darkness. Stars were the window into the universe; a fleeting glimpse into the unknown. They were the light in the darkest of places, when all other lights had gone out.

And to Kyungsoo, they were enthralling; completely ethereal.

He would spend his nights lying on his back, his head tilted to the sky on the bank of the Han River; the gentle lapping of the water against the embankment a soothing lullaby. The night was beautiful - and it was only just beginning.

It took only a glance before Kyungsoo was intrigued, but a smile before he was utterly mesmerized. On most nights, Kyungsoo was alone on the bank of the Han River; the city slept, his only company were the creatures of night. But this particular visitor was unlike any other.

“What are you doing out so late at night?”

Kyungsoo sat up. Wordlessly, he stared at the stranger before, finally, he found his voice.

“I could ask you the same question,” he replied. “I am out here every night.”

The stranger’s eyebrows raised, a hint of curiosity glittered in his eyes. “Every night?” he asked. “Even when it snows?”

With an inward sigh, Kyungsoo tilted his head up to the heavens once more. He had not expected anyone to be out this late, especially not when the last nights of autumn were less than tepid.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo said slowly, trying his best to show the stranger that he was in no mood to talk. “Every night.”

To Kyungsoo’s surprise, rather than leaving, the stranger took a seat on the grassy riverbank next to him, tilting his own head up to the sky. Heaving a heavy sigh, he sat there, an unreadable expression on his face.

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” he murmured after a long silence had passed between the two, his gaze still fixed on the stars above, suspended seemingly magically upon a blanket of navy. “When I look up at the sky, I feel … Weightless. Like all of my burdens have washed away. It’s like looking into a completely different universe. Is this why you are here every night?”

Kyungsoo didn’t respond. He wasn’t entirely sure how to. Instead, he remained silent. That was exactly what he felt when he was out here; exactly what entranced him. Turning to face Kyungsoo, the strangers lips tugged upwards into a kind smile.

“I’m Jongin,” he said, extending a hand to which Kyungsoo – reluctantly – took. “It’s nice to meet you, er-”

“Kyungsoo.”

Jongin’s smile widened as he shook Kyungsoo’s hand before getting to his feet. Shooting one last glance up at the night sky, he turned, starting up the embankment.

“Kyungsoo,” he called. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

With a quiet sigh, Kyungsoo allowed his shoulders to slump in defeat as he watched Jongin’s retreating back, gradually growing smaller against the horizon.

“I’m here every night.”

The sky began to lighten, the moon beginning its final journey behind the horizon to places that Kyungsoo could only dream of someday visiting. Picking himself up off the ground, Kyungsoo stretched, his muscles aching in protest. He had been sitting down on the hard ground for far too long. The night had been beautiful, but it was not the stars that had captivated Kyungsoo. It was the stranger with the smile: Jongin.

All around him, the world seemed to slowly awaken; the birds once stirred in their nests, calling out to one another shrilly. The town buzzed with life, those who rose with the sun hurried about the streets, getting themselves ready for the day ahead.

Try as Kyungsoo might, however, he could not seem to shake Jongin’s smile from his mind. Jongin’s warmth seemed to envelope Kyungsoo and he felt as though he had known the stranger all his life. Shaking his head furiously, Kyungsoo stuffed his hands into the pockets of his thin woolen jacket, shrinking further back into the material to escape the morning chill.

With his eyes trained to the frosty ground, a small smile played across Kyungsoo’s face as the nights events replayed in his mind.

Jongin was intoxicating; enticing. And Kyungsoo? Kyungsoo was curious. He loved the unknown and was determined to unravel the mystery that was Jongin. 

Heaving a heavy sigh, Kyungsoo sat with his knees drawn up to his chest, his head tilted backwards; wide eyes trained to the sky. The night was chillier than the last, and Kyungsoo that with every nightfall following, it would steadily grow colder.

Kyungsoo wasn’t sure for how long he sat, the icy water of the Han River lapping at the embankment lulling him into a state of drowsiness. But when something warm was draped over his shoulders, Kyungsoo jolted awake, his eyes wide and alert.

“Relax,” a familiar voice chuckled. “You looked cold.”

Realising that Jongin now stood over him and a thick woolen blanket was now wrapped around his shoulders, Kyungsoo looked away, flustered. “Thanks,” he muttered as Jongin took a seat on the cold ground next to him.

Offering a kind smile in response, Jongin let out a loud sigh, leaning back on the grassy slope, his body propped up on his elbows. “I didn’t miss anything good, did I?”

“No,” Kyungsoo replied, puzzled by Jongin’s question. “You haven’t missed anything, actually.”

“Good,” Jongin grinned. “I’m glad.” Turning to his side, Jongin fished around in his knapsack, withdrawing his hand a few seconds later, fingers clasped tightly around a long silver cylinder. Kyungsoo watched him curiously as Jongin twisted the cap off before tipping a steaming liquid into the metal cap. “Here,” he said passing the hot drink to Kyungsoo. “Something to warm up with. I hope you don’t mind tea – it was all that I had.”

“Tea is fine,” Kyungsoo said softly, taking the thermo flask’s metal cap – that doubled as a cup – from Jongin’s hands. “Thank you.” Bringing the cup to his lips, Kyungsoo hesitated. There was only one cup. “Would you like some?” he asked.

Shaking his head, Jongin leaned back on his elbows once more, tilting his head up to the sky.

“I’m fine,” he said simply. “It’s you who needs to keep warm, though. I wouldn’t want you to get sick.”

Exhaling quietly, Kyungsoo lifted the cup of tea back up to his lips; the familiar, bitter scent of ginseng reached his nostrils.  Jongin was full of surprises. A long moment of comfortable silence passed between the two before Kyungsoo placed the empty cup in his lap.

“Jongin?” he asked quietly. “Will you be here tomorrow, too?”

“Only if you want me to be,” the other replied. A broad grin on his face. Kyungsoo pondered this, before finally responding.

“Yes,” he said, tracing a fingertip around the rim of the metal cup. “I do.”

Wordlessly, Kyungsoo sat on the grassy embankment. His mind buzzed with questions to ask Jongin, but he couldn’t seem to find his tongue; whenever he did, a string of incomprehensible babble escaped his lips. Each time, Jongin would offer him a warm smile and Kyungsoo would fall silent, at loss for words. But Jongin hadn’t so much as moved a muscle for the past quarter of an hour, Kyungsoo had observed, and immediately he began to panic.

Was he boring Jongin? Perhaps he had made him angry – or embarrassed him somehow?

“Jongin?” Kyungsoo called uncertainly. No response. “Jongin?”

Jongin’s body slowly began to tilt to the side, his head coming to rest against Kyungsoo’s shoulder and immediately, he froze. “Hey! What do you think you’re-?”

 Slow, rhythmic breathing reached Kyungsoo’s ear and he let out a quiet sigh. Turning his head slightly to the side, Kyungsoo was able to study Jongin: the way his face relaxed and the way his eyelashes brushed across his cheeks – the way his plump lips were slightly parted, even as he slept.

Resting the urge to lecture him, Kyungsoo’s eyes softened. Carefully, so as to not wake the other, Kyungsoo unfurled the thick woolen blanket that Jongin had given him, instead, wrapping it around the sleeping figure.

“It looks like it is you who needs to keep warm,” he said softly, repeating what Jongin had told him earlier. “I wouldn’t want you to get sick.”

Jongin stirred in his sleep, pulling the heavy blanket closer to him; his face nuzzled into Kyungsoo’s neck. The blood rushed to Kyungsoo’s cheeks as he watched Jongin sleep. Not only was he interesting, Kyungsoo never knew what he would do next.

But above all else, Jongin was more breathtaking, more magnificent than any night sky.

For three weeks following their first meeting, Jongin had joined Kyungsoo stargazing, the spot on the Han River embankment was something they called their own. Each night, Kyungsoo would feel giddy at the thought of meeting Jongin. His face would flush a deep shade of scarlet whenever he would spot Jongin’s silhouette sitting on the grassy slope, his heart would race the second Jongin would look up at him and smile.

Three weeks of twilight picnics on the riverbank, each one a surprise, prepared by Jongin. Three weeks of laughter and happiness – of complete and utter bliss. Three weeks of struggling to say goodbye at the close of each night, each farewell becoming more difficult than the last.

It took three weeks before Jongin was able to work up enough courage to ask Kyungsoo out, fearing the worst. But when Kyungsoo said yes, Jongin knew from that moment on, they would never have to say goodbye again.

Everything was perfect.

Their days were spent apart; Kyungsoo always had afternoon shifts at a small eatery near the brick house that they shared; he enjoyed working there. Both the staff and patrons were kind to him. Jongin worked in the paper mills on the other side of the city, the uneven roads and lack of transportation meant that he had to rise extra early to make it to work on time.

The time spent without each other was never a problem, however. Where the days lacked, the nights more than made up for it and more often than not, Jongin and Kyungsoo spent it tangled together under the stars in pure ecstasy.

Weekends were something they looked forward to most – the chance to spend the entire day with each other was too good of an opportunity to pass just by sitting at home. Instead, on the weekends, Jongin would take Kyungsoo hiking, way up in the mountains or through the wild heart of the countryside.

The first few trips left Kyungsoo breathless, gasping for air – he had never thought he was quite so unfit, but keeping up with someone as athletic as Jongin was always going to be a difficult task. Time and time again, Kyungsoo would scramble ahead blindly and end up losing his footing.

 “Ah!” he cried as his palms scraped along the gravel track. Kyungsoo’s face distorted in pain as he wrapped his fingers around his throbbing ankle. “It hurts! It hurts!”

Jongin was at Kyungsoo’s side in a heartbeat, his eyes full of concern. “Kyungsoo?”

“I think,” Kyungsoo rasped, his jaw clenched tightly, “I’ve sprained my ankle.”

 “Are you able to walk?”

Crinkling his nose, Kyungsoo struggled to his feet. Even with Jongin’s support, if Kyungsoo put any pressure on his ankle, he would cry out in pain. “No.”

“Then,” Jongin said, gently placing one arm around Kyungsoo’s waist, the other hooking just under his knees, sweeping him off his feet. “I’ll just have to carry you home then.”

Kyungsoo snuggled into Jongin’s chest; his ankle ached, but now that he was off the ground, it didn’t hurt quite so much. Kyungsoo turned his head to look at Jongin, burying his face in the crook of his boyfriend’s neck.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, his voice muffled by the thick fabric of Jongin’s jacket. “I ruined our hiking trip.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Jongin smiled, kissing the top of Kyungsoo’s head tenderly. “You didn’t ruin anything.”

“But I did –”

“No,” Jongin said softly, nuzzling Kyungsoo’s cheek. “Because now, I get to carry you.”

Kyungsoo sat by the fireplace, his leg propped up on a pillow and his nose buried in a book. On occasion, he would shift on the spot, only to yelp in pain as he strained the still tender muscles in his ankle.

From his spot on the window ledge, Jongin stared through the frosty glass and out into the wintery wonderland that stretched out before them; their small analogue radio sat on his knee, a serious  voice, mixed with the static of the radio, updated him on the movements of North Korea. There was something going on between the two nations and it made Jongin uneasy.

Jongin wasn’t sure what made him want to blurt it out, but he knew that the moment the words left his lips, he did not regret. It was the eve of their eleven month anniversary together as a couple and Jongin had surprised his boyfriend with a romantic, candle lit dinner.

His heart was aflutter throughout the entire meal – Jongin was far too nervous to even consider touching his food. Instead, he did not let Kyungsoo leave his eye; to Jongin, he was the most beautiful thing in the world and even watching him eat – Jongin would never get sick of it.

“Jongin?” Kyungsoo asked, setting his water glass down on the table gently. “Is something the matter? You haven’t touched your dinner – ”

“Kyungsoo,” he blurted, trying his hardest not to stammer over his words. “Will you marry me?”

With his eyes wide in shock, Kyungsoo stared at his boyfriend, his mouth agape, before finally he composed himself.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo breathed. “I will.”

The carnival was finally in town to celebrate the first few days of spring and Jongin watched as his fiancé bounced on the balls of his feet, giddy with excitement when the town square came into view. Kyungsoo had his heart set on the ferris wheel and the second his eyes fell upon the brightly lit ride, flags and fairy lights twisted around the long spokes in the center, Kyungsoo wrapped his fingers around Jongin’s wrist and dragged his fiancé through the crowd.

“We have the perfect view of the city,” he breathed when they reached the top of the ferris wheel. “Look! You can see our spot on the riverbank from here! Oh, and our house, too!”

“The riverbank?” Jongin murmured, wrapping an arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulder and pulling his fiancé into his chest. “We haven’t been there for a while, have we?”

Kyungsoo shook his head. “It’s been quite a long time.”

Jongin’s lips tugged upwards into a small smile. “What do you say we go get something to eat and then spend the night in our spot? Just like we used to.”

Kyungsoo’s cheeks flushed immediately which caused Jongin to laugh, placing a light kiss on his cheek.  “Just like we used to,” Kyungsoo replied softly. “I’d like that.”

Despite the cold winter nights left far behind them, the days were still dark, and growing darker still. Each night at supper, Jongin and Kyungsoo would eat in silence, nothing but the static-y crackling of the radio to fill the room.

Each night, a report on the movement of North Korea; death, destruction – disintegration. North Korea entered into a state of warfare, severing all ties with its neighboring nation and South Korea answered with troops and allies of their own.

It only took a second for Jongin’s perfect world to come shattering down around him. Deep down, he had known it was coming, but a part of him had hoped, prayed, that it never would. His dark eyes scanned the hastily written address on the front of the envelope, South Korea’s military insignia adorned the top right corner. Drawing in a deep breath, he turned the envelope over in his fingertips, lifting the seal on the back with a thumb.

Casting a quick glance into the kitchen where his fiancé busied himself with the pot of tea, Jongin forced a smile. He didn’t want to leave, but Jongin knew that he had to. He had to do his part to protect the country he loved – to protect the country for the one he loved.

It was strange, how something so small, so seemingly insignificant as a letter was able to rip his heart from his chest with ease and turn his entire world upside down. Slipping the enlistment letter from the envelope, Jongin read over it slowly, waiting for Kyungsoo to come busting back into the living room, his cheeks a healthy pink, his eyes full of happiness.

“Kyungsoo,” he murmured as his fiancé placed a steaming hot cup of tea on the table in front of him. Immediately, Kyungsoo’s face creased with worry. “There’s something we need to talk about.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes stung, his cheeks streaked with tears. His hands shook violently, his stomach churning. This wasn’t possible – it couldn’t be!

“You promised me we’d never have to say goodbye!” he cried, his voice and heart were breaking. “You promised, Jongin!”

“I’m sorry,” Jongin replied quietly, twisting his fingers uneasily. “This is beyond my control. I – “

Kyungsoo shook his head, burying his face into Jongin’s chest. He knew he was being selfish – Jongin had to do his part to protect the country. But war was war –Kyungsoo feared for his life. When Jongin wrapped his strong arms around him, Kyungsoo’s body was overcome with sobs.

“Promise me,” he choked. “That you will come back!”

Jongin remained silent for a long time before he managed to find his voice. “I can’t promise that,” he rasped.

Kyungsoo’s tiny, balled fist connected with Jongin’s chest weekly before it unfurled itself, grabbing at the fabric of his knitted jumper.

“Promise!”

Hooking a finger under Kyungsoo’s chin, Jongin tilted his fiancé’s head upwards, wiping Kyungsoo’s tears away gently with his thumbs.

“Kyungsoo,” he breathed. “I love you with all of my heart, and I will continue to do so until my last breath. Never, not even for a second, think that I don’t love you. I will come back, and when I do, we can spend forever together – you won’t ever have to say goodbye again.”

He paused, placing a kiss on Kyungsoo’s lips. “Everything will be okay, my love. I promise.”