ii.

1949

 

The two of them laughed out of excitement as they walked, hand-in-hand. It was hot outside, and they were both still in their tuxedos, but they didn’t care. They were excited to finally start their new chapter together.

“Come on, Jong!”

The two of them were walking so fast they were practically jogging at this point, both exceedingly giddy and excited to get to their destination. Kyungsoo tugged on his husband’s hand, trying to get the taller male to walk faster.

“Why don’t you always have this much stamina, huh Soo?” Jongin asked the other male playfully as he picked up his pace. Kyungsoo laughed, and pretty soon he felt himself literally being swept off his feet as Jongin picked him up, causing him to give a yelp of surprise.

“Jongin, I know we just got married, but you don’t actually have to carry me bridal-style, you know.”

But despite what he said, Kyungsoo smiled and wrapped his arms around his husband’s neck, placing his head on the taller male’s chest.

Jongin chuckled, nuzzling his nose in Kyungsoo’s hair as he walked. “This is more romantic, though, don’t you think?”

Kyungsoo kept on smiling, but didn’t say anything, instead choosing to close his eyes so he could bask in the happiness he was feeling right in that moment.

 

Jongin was his now. Well, he’d been Kyungsoo’s for over ten years and vice versa, but now it was official. Now, Kyungsoo had the papers to prove it.

 

After a few more minutes, they arrived at their destination. Once Jongin was standing in front of the old, now not-vacant house, Kyungsoo jumped back down onto the ground. He grabbed the taller males hand, squeezing it as he took in the house in front of them. This place was finally theirs.

It wasn’t easy, getting ahold of it. It had been vacant for so long, and there was a lot of paper work. There was still a lot of work that had to be done, and a lot of money would have to go into it, but Kyungsoo didn’t care.

He looked up at his husband, laughing when he saw the tears in his eyes too. To any other person, buying a house was just buying a house. There wasn’t supposed to be anything really sentimental about it. But to Jongin and Kyungsoo, getting this house meant everything. This was where they first met, ten years ago.

 

 

i.

1939

 

Here’s Do Kyungsoo, piloting his famous dirigible!

It was a sunny day, and little second-grade Kyungsoo spread both of his arms out into the air like an airplane as he ran down the side-walk, his leather aviator helmet on top of his head and his round leather goggles covering his eyes, as they always were.

He had just left the movie theatre after seeing what he claimed to be the best movie he’d ever seen in his life about his very favorite explorer from America, Charles Muntz. Consequently, his imagination was on full blast, even with sound effects (courtesy of Kyungsoo himself).

He hurdles Pike’s Peak!

Kyungsoo jumped over a small rock.

He hurdles the Grand Canyon!

He sped up, using more strength to jump over a crack in the sidewalk.

He hurdles Mount Everest!

Kyungsoo ran over to the closest tree stump he could find, and with all his strength, ran as fast as he could around the tree stump, then continued on with his adventure.

He… goes around Mount Everest!

Is there anything Do Kyungsoo cannot do?

“As Charles Muntz says,” Kyungsoo said to himself, “Adven-”

“ADVENTURE IS ALWAYS OUT THERE!”

Kyungsoo stopped in his tracks, looking around to see where the voice could have come from.

“LOOK OUT FOR MOUNT RUSHMORE!”

The voice sounded like it came from the old vacant house coming up on his left. Kyungsoo had always avoided that house, because it scared him. The windows were boarded up and there were always weeds in the front yard. But now he just had to go inside, because whoever was in there was now shouting lines from his new favorite movie!

 

Kyungsoo walked up the few steps to the broken front door, which was already hanging open by it’s hinges, and walked inside, looking around as he did so. He didn’t see anything at first, but once he walked in a little more and turned to the right, he saw a boy.

The boy was wearing an aviator helmet and goggles just like Kyungsoo was, and he was wearing old patched up overalls. Kyungsoo could see just a tiny bit of the boys dark brown hair peaking out from underneath his helmet.

It seemed as if boy had turned the entire living room into a make-believe dirigible cockpit. Kyungsoo didn’t think the boy had noticed him quite yet, because he was still shouting things, and was currently steering what looked like a rusty old bicycle wheel as a makeshift steering wheel.

“ALL ENGINES AHEAD FULL! LET’S TAKE HER UP TO TWENTY-SIX THOUSAND FEET!” The boy had yelled to nobody in particular, steering the wheel in one direction. “It’s a beautiful day today, winds out of the east at ten knots. Visibility… Unlimited.”

The boy grabbed what was supposed to be a pair of binoculars, but was actually just two coke bottles taped together.

“Oh! There’s something down there! I will bring it back for science!”

Kyungsoo turned his attention away from the boy briefly to look at the wall right next to him, and all over, there were newspaper clippings of Charles Muntz. Kyungsoo’s hero! He was too distracted by the articles of his hero all over the wall that he didn’t hear the boy step away from his fake steering wheel.

 

“Who are you?” The boy asked, invading Kyungsoo’s personal space, causing Kyungsoo to jump nearly a foot in the air with a scream.

Before Kyungsoo could do as much as tell the boy his name, the boy started talking again.

“Didn’t you know that this was an exclusive club? Only the best explorers get in here. Do you think you got what it takes? Well DO YOU?”

Kyungsoo cowered into himself, intimidated by the close proximity of the boy.

“Alright, you’re in!” The boy gave Kyungsoo a huge grin, and Kyungsoo noticed that his two front teeth were missing.

The boy offered his hand for Kyungsoo to shake, but Kyungsoo just looked down at it, still too scared to move. He’d never been the most outgoing. The boy visibly softened in front of him.

“Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you.”

The boy took off his leather helmet, revealing his messy, dark brown hair, going off in all sorts of different directions. He looked down at his overalls, where an assortment of bottle caps were pinned. He unpinned the one that said ‘Grape Soda’, and moved to pin it onto Kyungsoo’s shirt.

“You and me, we’re in a club now. We’re in this together, forever and ever. Got it?”

Kyungsoo, who still hadn’t said a word to the other, smiled and nodded.

“Oh, my name’s Jongin, by the way.”

“K-Kyungsoo.”

 

Later that day, Kyungsoo found himself still playing with Jongin. They had been reenacting the piloting of Charles Muntz’s famous dirigible, when suddenly Jongin had disappeared, coming back with a big scrapbook in his hands.

“Kyungsoo, what I am about to show you is something I have never shown to another human being. EVER. Not in my whole entire life.”

Jongin looked so serious it made Kyungsoo think he would die if he told another person about whatever Jongin was about to show him.

“You have to swear on your LIFE you won’t tell anyone,” Jongin said, “Cross your heart. Do it!”

Kyungsoo rose one of his hands in surrender as he frantically drew an imaginary X over his heart multiple times.

“Now behold… My Adventure Book!” Jongin shoved the old scrapbook in Kyungsoo’s face to show him the cover of it before he sat down on the ground, motioning for Kyungsoo to do the same.

Once the two were comfortably sitting, Jongin opened his scrapbook to the first page. And there, on the first page, was a picture of Charles Muntz from what looked like an old newspaper.

“When I grow up,” Jongin started, “I’m going where he’s going. South America!”

Jongin turned to the next page, where there was a map of South America.

“D’you know where I’m going to live?” Jongin asked.

Kyungsoo shook his head no, but he was pretty sure he knew.

Kyungsoo’s suspicions were confirmed when Jongin turned to the next page, revealing a picture titled ‘Paradise Falls’ with a picture of a hand-drawn house glued to the top. Kyungsoo would’ve known what the place was even without the title. It was his dream to go there, too.

“Paradise Falls, a land lost in time. I’m gonna move my clubhouse there. And once I get there, do you know what I’m gonna do?” Jongin asked as he turned to the next page. On that page, in big, messy handwriting, were the words ‘STUFF I’M GOING TO DO’.

“Well, I’m not sure yet. But all the pages after that are saved for the adventures I’m gonna have! Only, I don’t know how I’m going to get to paradise falls… Wait! I know! You can take us there! Swear you’ll take us!” Jongin pointed at Kyungsoo, “Cross your heart! Cross it! Cross your heart!”

Once again, Kyungsoo was scared into crossing his heart multiple times.

“Good. No backing out now, okay?”

All Kyungsoo could do was nod.

 

They haven’t separated since.

 

 

ii.

 

They’d started working on the house immediately. Immediately as in, the second they walked into the house, still wearing their tuxedos. There were saws and planks of wood waiting for them as soon as they walked in the door.

They had a lot to do before they could actually paint or furnish the house, considering a rather large portion of the second story floor was just a gaping hole, but that didn’t matter. There was nothing Kyungsoo and Jongin couldn’t fix when they were together.

A good carpenter can fix anything too.

The renovating didn’t take very long at all. It was finished in about a month, and that surprised Kyungsoo because the house was in such terrible shape before they started. Since they couldn’t actually sleep in the house during the renovation process, they stayed at Kyungsoo's parents house. But during that time, they spent a few of their nights snuggling in a big sleeping bag on top of the big hill behind their new house.

Kyungsoo remembered when Jongin took him up the hill for the very first time. It was a summer day back before their fourth grade year. Kyungsoo had instantly fell in love with the spot on top of the hill, because there was a big tree that he could climb on, and the view of the city was beautiful.

At night, it was the perfect place to stargaze, too. The leaves of the tree were out of the way enough, so they could still see the sky above them while they lay on their backs. The first time they had stargazed together was during the summer before their last year in middle school. They had kissed for the first time that night, and Kyungsoo realized he was in love.

 

Once the renovating process was over, the house was ready to be painted. And since this was their dream house, they decided they were going to paint it the way they'd always wanted to.

“You ready?” Kyungsoo asked as he carried as many buckets of paint as he could to the front lawn.

“I’ve been ready since the second grade.” Jongin grinned, also lugging tons of paint cans to the front lawn, “What about you, Baby Soo?”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes at the dumb nickname, but nodded as well, “Been ready since the second grade.” He echoed, “Do you have the plans with you?”

Jongin nodded, setting his paint cans on the grass before jogging back to the truck they had borrowed, and then jogged back with the old ‘Adventure Book’ in his hands.

Kyungsoo smiled, gently taking the scrapbook from Jongin and opening it to the page of ‘Paradise Falls’, where the little picture of their rainbow house was drawn and glued to the paper.

“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this,” Kyungsoo chuckled, looking up at Jongin.

Jongin just smiled before leaning down to peck Kyungsoo on the cheek.

“I can, let’s get started.”

 

A week later, the couple stood in front of their now painted house proudly.

“Well, it’s definitely very multicolored, just like we wanted.”

The once faded brown house was now an assortment of reds, yellows, purples, greens, pinks, and blues. It was silly, it looked like it came right out of a children’s book (and technically it did), but Jongin and Kyungsoo couldn’t care less. This had been their dream since they were eight years old.

Jongin looked away from their new house and down at Kyungsoo, a fond look in his eyes. “I’m so happy.” he said quietly.

Kyungsoo smiled, “I’m happy too.” he said, looking up at the taller.

“Just think of all the adventure’s we’re going to have here.”

Talking about having adventures in a house may have sounded childish to anyone else, but it made Kyungsoo smile. He placed both hands on Jongin’s cheeks, leaning up on his tip toes and pressing a chaste kiss to tallers lips.

 

“Oh!” Jongin suddenly broke away from the kiss with a big grin, “I just remembered something. You haven’t been inside the house today yet, right?”

Kyungsoo shook his head, “I haven’t gone in since yesterday, why?”

They still weren’t living in the house, despite the fact that the inside was perfectly fine now. They wanted to wait until they had finished painting so they wouldn’t have to worry about moving furniture around to get easier access to the walls.

“Come with me.” Jongin took Kyungsoo’s hand and led him towards the front door.

 

“Okay, Soo, close your eyes.” Jongin said, walking behind Kyungsoo and putting his hands over his eyes, just to make sure he couldn’t see anything.

“Alright…” Kyungsoo said, feeling himself be blindly led through the house and into what he guessed was their living room. Jongin stopped moving and lifted his hands away from Kyungsoo’s eyes.

“Ta-da! Two chairs, that we are going to keep forever and ever. We’re going to grow old in these.”

Kyungsoo stared at the chairs in awe. Jongin moved forward to sit in the one on the left, making himself comfortable.

“What do you think? I chose them out myself. They’re really comfortable, if I do say so myself.”

“I love them Jongin, I really do.” Kyungsoo chuckled, moving over to the seat Jongin was sitting on, and sat in his lap instead of going over to his own chair. Kyungsoo wrapped his arms around Jongin’s waist.

“Thank you, Jongin.” He said quietly, leaning his head on his shoulder.

Just knowing that Jongin had bought these chairs thinking of their future together made Kyungsoo the happiest man in the world. Buying two chairs is such a simple thing, and most people wouldn’t associate it with the future, but in this case, Kyungsoo did. They were going to have these chairs forever. They were going to grow old together in these very chairs.

“You’re welcome, Kyungsoo.” Jongin smiled, kissing the top of his husbands head, “Anything for you.”

 

 

iii.

1953

 

It was the first day of spring, and the married couple decided to go on a picnic. The weather was nice out, surprisingly, instead of cold, and the sky was dotted with innocent clouds. It definitely wouldn’t rain on them today.

Jongin rushed up the hill, carrying the blanket that they’d spread on the ground to sit on, while Kyungsoo trailed behind, carrying their little picnic basket full of food. They decided to set up their little meal right next to their tree, where they had etched their initials into the trunk years ago. Kyungsoo put the basket on the ground, and the two straightened the blanket over the grass on the top of the hill.

They didn’t bring a lot, just a few PB&J sandwiches and some soda. It was very simple. They didn’t talk much while they ate either, both of them just sat there in a comfortable silence, enjoying each others presence. Kyungsoo rested his head on Jongin’s shoulder, while Jongin rested his hand on Kyungsoo’s thigh. They were happy.

 

When they were done eating, they decided they wanted to stay up on top of the hill a little longer. They were perfectly fine up here, on the top of this hill, in a little world of their own. They put all their trash into the basket and moved it off the blanket, so they could pull the blanket out from underneath the tree and have a better view of the sky.

They lay down on the blanket next to each other, and Jongin let Kyungsoo’s head rest on his arm. Kyungsoo linked his hand with Jongin’s as the two of them looked up at the sky.

“That cloud right there,” Jongin said, pointing to a particular cloud in the sky, “Kind of looks like a turtle.”

Kyungsoo chuckled, but agreed with the man nonetheless, “Yeah, it kind of does.”

Kyungsoo closed his eyes and smiled. I’m so lucky.

 

 

iv.

 

Jongin got a job working for the local amusement park as a photographer. It was about time one of the two got a job. Their parents couldn’t pay their bills forever. Besides, if they were going to be adopting a child, they needed a steady income of their own. Of course, after only one week of Jongin having his new job, Kyungsoo couldn’t stand the idea of being home alone six days a week anymore, so he got a job too. He was now a cashier for one of the small restaurants inside the park.

It was a stretch, trying to get a job at the same workplace as his husband, but as usual, it worked out. Things always seemed to work out when it came to Kyungsoo and Jongin.

 

 

iii.

 

Jongin chuckled, “And look, that one looks like an elephant with wings!”

Kyungsoo squinted his eyes, searching for the cloud that Jongin was pointing to. But he couldn’t find it. However, there was one particular cloud that caught his attention.

“Hey Jongin, don't you think that one looks like a baby?” Kyungsoo asked, pointing up to the baby shaped cloud in the sky.

Jongin visibly lit up upon seeing the baby shaped cloud, “Yeah, it does. Actually… all of the clouds kinda look like babies.”

Kyungsoo knew it was impossible for every single cloud in the sky to be shaped like a baby, but Jongin was still seeing it nonetheless. Was their sign?

Jongin desperately wanted a child. He would talk about it a lot, especially before they went to bed at night. Kyungsoo wanted one too, but they didn't know if they were ready to become parents yet, so they both agreed that they’d wait for some sign from the universe to tell them when they were both ready to adopt a baby.

“Kyungsoo?” Jongin asked, turning his head to look at him. Kyungsoo could tell they were thinking the same thing.

A smile spread slowly on Kyungsoo’s face as he nodded. No words were exchanged, they weren’t needed. They were going to adopt a baby.

Jongin choked out a laugh, pulling Kyungsoo closer him.

“I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

 

 

v.

 

Well, things didn’t go exactly as planned.

They had found the perfect baby, a beautiful little girl that they both loved and grew attatched to after visiting her a few times.

Unfortunately, they weren't the only couple who had their eyes on her.

Kyungsoo should’ve know that trying to adopt the same child as another couple wouldn’t end up well.

Especially when said other couple was heteroual and already had kids.

The agency had told them that they could try again to adopt another child, but Jongin wouldn’t have any of it. The only little girl he wanted had already been taken from him. Kyungsoo wasn’t so sure if he wanted to try again either. The process was long and hard and it seemed like gay couples hardly had any priority at all in any of the adoption agencies.

Maybe they could try again someday, but right now, they couldn’t handle it.

 

Jongin was sitting on a chair out on the front lawn with his eyes closed. Kyungsoo just watched through a window from the inside of their living room, because he didn't know what to do. They had grown so attached to the child after visiting her so many times, and being told they couldn't have her because she was going to someone else felt so wrong.

Jongin wasn’t recovering very well from it. Kyungsoo didn’t blame him, but he didn’t want to be sad anymore. He didn’t want Jongin to be sad anymore. This was just one of the many obstacles they’d have to get over in their lives. But Kyungsoo didn’t know where to start to make it better.

But suddenly he remembered. He got up from his position near the window and ran up the stairs to their shared bedroom. Once he got there he slid the closet door open, and there it was, sitting on top of the small shelf they had installed for extra storage. He pulled it down from the shelf, and dusted the cover off with a swipe of his hand.

Jongin’s Adventure book. Kyungsoo felt himself tearing up, because this was his oppurtunity to make everything okay again. They hadn’t talked about Paradise Falls in a long time, both having forgotten about it in the recent years, but this for sure would make Jongin happy.

Kyungsoo held the book firmly in both of his hands as he descended down the stairs and out the door to the front lawn, where Jongin was still sitting. Kyungsoo slowly approached his husband, keeping the adventure book hidden behind his back. When he got to Jongin, he kneeled down next to the males chair and gently placed a hand on his cheek.

Jongin slowly opened his eyes and looked down at Kyungsoo, who was looking up at him with a soft smile. Kyungsoo brought the Adventure Book out from behind his back and placed it on Jongin’s lap, and Jongin let out a shaky sigh as he felt the cover of the scrapbook with his fingers.

He looked back down at Kyungsoo again, who was still smiling at him as he crossed his heart, reminding Jongin of what he had promised him all those years ago. Jongin nodded, smiling as tears fell from his eyes while he crossed his heart as well.

Jongin was the light of Kyungsoo’s life. He wasn’t going to let that light burn out.

 

 

vi.

1954

 

“Soo, look what I got!”

Kyungsoo, who was sitting in his chair that Jongin had bought for them, turned his attention away from the book he was reading to look up at whatever it was Jongin had.

“It’s something we can put all our spare change in. It’ll help us save up for Paradise Falls!”

Jongin was holding a big glass jug with a piece of paper stuck to it that read 'PARADISE FALLS'. He carefully set it on the table, seemingly proud of what he had found. “What do you think?”

Kyungsoo smiled. Things were looking up again; neither of them were moping around the house in misery anymore. It was hard at first, but they slowly started letting go of what could've been, and instead looked forward to the future, like they always had.

“I think you’re right. It’ll serve as a good reminder that we need to save money.” Kyungsoo chuckled and stood up, pulling his wallet out of his pocket. He took out a few quarters and dropped them into the jug with a satisfying clunk.

“It’s a good start, wouldn’t you say?” Kyungsoo asked, closing his wallet and putting it back into his back pocket. Jongin nodded and walked behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist.

“I love you, Kyungsoo.”

Kyungsoo turned around in Jongin’s hold, wrapping his arms around the tallers neck, giving him a kiss, “I love you too, Jongin.”

 

 

vii.

 

They still had those two chairs that Jongin had bought right before they moved in. They still sat in them, every single day, whether it be for when they had free time during the day to read a book, or when they just wanted to sit together and talk about their day.

Often, during the winter, Kyungsoo would abandon his chair in favor of sitting with Jongin, cuddled into his lap underneath a blanket as they read a book together or watched TV.

Kyungsoo loved those chairs. Even as time wore them down, even when their style turned outdated, he still loved them.

He loved them through the 50’s.

The 60’s.

The 70’s.

He even loved them through the 80’s, and the 90’s.

 

 

viii.

1999

 

Today was Kyungsoo's and Jongin’s fifty year wedding anniversary.

Fifty years ago today, when Jongin was eighteen and Kyungsoo was nineteen, they got married. Now, Jongin was sixty-eight and Kyungsoo was sixty-nine. They met roughly sixty years ago. They had known, even since then, when eight year old Jongin told nine year old Kyungsoo that they were in it together forever and ever, that it’d stay that way, whether it be as friends or as lovers.

Most things between them were relatively the same. They still went to work every day at the amusement park, and they still sat in their two special chairs. The biggest difference was how they’ve aged. They were no longer the young, newly married couple that they used to be. Kyungsoo’s hair was no longer brown but was now completely gray, and Jongin’s hair was no different. Their once smooth complexions were now wrinkly, showing their age throughout the years.

Most people, when having their fifty year anniversary, throw a big party, welcome to family and friends. But Jongin and Kyungsoo didn’t want that. This was private, a special day for just the two of them.

Their plan for the day was to have a little picnic on top of their hill and spend the night stargazing, something they used to do all the time. They hadn’t come up the hill as often as they used to, because old age has made certain things involving climbing up hills a lot harder, but they still did for special occasions such as this, despite it getting harder as the years went on.

 

As usual, Jongin was ahead of Kyungsoo, carrying the blankets while Kyungsoo trailed behind with the basket. This time, it took them a little longer to get up the hill, but they made it nonetheless.

They spread the blanket out on their usual spot on the ground, and the two sat down with the basket in between them, both trying to catch their breath.

“We’re old.” Kyungsoo laughed, reaching into the basket to pull out their classic PB&J sandwiches.

Jongin laughed with him, “Yeah, we’re definitely old. But hey, you want to know something?”

“What?” Kyungsoo asked, handing one of the sandwiches over to Jongin. Here they were, sixty-eight and sixty-nine years old, still eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

“I still love you, even though we’re all old and wrinkly.” Jongin leaned over to peck Kyungsoo’s forehead, and Kyungsoo smiled.

“Fifty years, it’s a really long time.” Kyungsoo said, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

Jongin nodded, “Including the time when we we’re kids, so far, we’ve spent about eighty-five percent of our lives together. Isn’t it crazy, to think that two people can spend that much time together and not get sick of each other?”

Kyungsoo shrugged, “If it were any other couple, then maybe. But it’s you and me. We’ve always been together and there hasn't been a single day in the past fifty years that I wished we weren’t together, Jongin, because I love you more than anything else in this world and I want nothing more than to be with you twenty-four seven.”

Jongin smiled, pulling Kyungsoo close to him. “Me too, I love you too.”

 

They didn’t end up stargazing for very long. Old age also apparently makes it difficult to lay comfortably on hard surfaces, such as the ground. Jongin’s back had been bothering him lately, so they both agreed that maybe they should go back to the comfort of their own home.

They make it down the hill without too much difficulty, Jongin carrying the blankets and Kyungsoo carrying the basket, and once they were back inside their living room, Jongin had another idea.

He set his blankets down on his chair, and walked over to the old portable wind-up gramophone that they had received as a wedding present. A record was already in place from the last time they used it, so all Jongin had to do was wind it up and place the needle on the record.

“Kyungsoo, dance with me.” He grinned, holding a hand out for his husband to take.

Kyungsoo took Jongin’s hand, and let Jongin pull him in close, placing his other hand on Kyungsoo’s hip. Kyungsoo placed his other hand on Jongin’s shoulder, and the two began swaying side to side in time with the music.

“Jongin, I love you so much.” Kyungsoo said softly, closing his eyes and leaning his head on Jongin’s shoulder.

Jongin kissed Kyungsoo’s temple before resting his cheek on the top of his head. “I love you too, Soo. It’s been a wonderful fifty years with you.”

Kyungsoo and Jongin were so busy dancing the night away, that neither of them even thought to spare a glance at the old, now very dusty jug sitting on the middle shelf of their bookcase.

 

 

ix. 

2013

 

They were sitting in their chairs, reading their books, which was something they did often now. They sat in their own chairs, because Jongin’s body was too old to hold Kyungsoo up in his lap anymore, and Kyungsoo didn’t think he’d be able to get up into Jongin’s lap in the first place even if he tried. But it was fine, because they were still together, holding hands from their separate chairs as they read.

Jongin was now eighty-two, and Kyungsoo eighty-three, but they tried not to think about age much anymore, because they believed they still had all the time in the world.

“Hey Kyungsoo? I’m sorry to ask this of you, baby, but could you go upstairs and get the new book we bought last week? I’m done with this one. It’s upstairs on our dresser. I’m really sorry.”

Kyungsoo nodded and kissed the top of Jongin’s old, wrinkly hand before letting go and going to the stairs. Jongin’s back had all but given up on him in the recent years, so he wasn’t able to walk up and down the stairs as easily as Kyungsoo still could. Kyungsoo didn’t mind at all, having to help Jongin up and down the stairs in the mornings and at night, or having to go upstairs for him every so often if he needed something, but Jongin hated it. He felt bad that he always had to ask Kyungsoo to help him up the stairs or get things at the top of the stairs since he couldn’t do it by himself anymore.

Kyungsoo took his time going up the stairs, because it wasn’t as easy as it used to be for him anymore either. The smart thing to do would be to move their bedroom downstairs, so they could avoid any possible injuries from falling down the stairs, but they were both too stubborn and they wanted everything to be the same as it had been for the past sixty-four years.

Kyungsoo reached the top of the stairs, and walked over to their bedroom. The book, like Jongin said, was sitting on top of their dresser. Kyungsoo looked at the cover, and smiled. It was a typical Jongin book, filled with adventure and-

Kyungsoo froze.

Adventure...

Keeping the book in his hand, he walked over to the closet and slid the door open. There, on the old shelf, was Jongin’s Adventure Book, sitting there all dusty and forgotten.

Kyungsoo set the new book temporarily on the shelf as he pulled the old scrapbook down, wiping as much of the dust off as he could before opening it up to the first page.

They hadn’t talked about Paradise Falls in years. They had stopped putting money in the jug a long time ago. As life went on, their little adventure had been left completely forgotten.

Kyungsoo flipped through the page of Charles Muntz, their long forgotten hero, as well as the page with the map of South America, and stopped at the page of Paradise Falls, with that old, little drawing of their clubhouse glued to the top.

Kyungsoo promised Jongin he’d take them there. Over seventy years ago, he promised. Kyungsoo had crossed his heart, and Jongin had told him no turning back.

It may be a little late, but he’d keep his promise; he still had time.

Kyungsoo placed the Adventure Book back in it’s place on the shelf, and picked the new book back up as he made his way to the stairs once again, a smile playing on his lips.

“Sorry, love, I got distracted.” Kyungsoo said as he handed Jongin his new book and settled back into his seat.

Jongin just gave him a smile, “It’s alright. Thank you.”

Kyungsoo loved Jongin’s smile. Even after all these years, it was still stunning.

 

“Jongin, do you think you could make it up the hill?”

The previous day, Kyungsoo had managed to sneak out to the travel agency without his husband knowing, and he had bought two plane tickets to South America. It wasn’t cheap, but the price didn’t matter to him anymore. All that mattered was that he and Jongin were finally going to go on their adventure.

Kyungsoo had prepared a picnic basket earlier this morning when Jongin had still been asleep, and he kept the two plane tickets safely tucked inside. He was hoping the two of them could have a nice lunch up on top of the hill one last time, and there he would show Jongin the plane tickets.

Jongin smiled and nodded, slowly getting up from his chair. “I think so. I don’t know how much longer it’ll be before we can’t make it to the top anymore. What's the occasion?”

"Don't worry about it." Kyungsoo chuckled and picked up his pile of already folded blankets and handed them to Jongin, who leaned over to kiss Kyungsoo’s forehead before walking to the back door. Kyungsoo grabbed the basket and followed after him, and the two made their way over to the big hill.

 

Climbing up the hill was different this time, Kyungsoo realized as he reached the top of the hill. Kyungsoo always used to be the one trailing behind Jongin, but this time, Jongin was the one trailing behind Kyungsoo. Not to mention, Kyungsoo was already at the top of the hill, whereas Jongin hadn’t even made it halfway yet.

Kyungsoo was just about to call down to see if Jongin needed help, but suddenly the whole world around him stopped.

All Kyungsoo could hear was his own heartbeat as he ran down the hill as fast as he could, to his husband who was now curled up on the ground, his hands clutching at his heart.

“J-Jongin?” Kyungsoo managed to choke out as he reached the other male, crouching down next to him.

“Jongin? Look at me baby, what’s wrong? Where does it hurt?” Kyungsoo frantically tried to get Jongin to look at him, but Jongin’s eyes were squeezed shut in what Kyungsoo assumed was pain. He found one of Jongin’s hands and squeezed it as tightly as he could, hopefully letting Jongin know he was there.

Kyungsoo was trying to stay strong for the both of them, but he couldn’t do anything but sob as he watched his husband, his best friend, his lover, his everything fall apart right in front of him.

“P-Please, Jongin, I can’t lose you yet. I can’t… Please hang in there, Jongin, for me, please…”

 

Kyungsoo didn’t know how, but somehow, he’d managed to call an ambulance in time for them to get Jongin to the hospital. The paramedics told him that it was okay, that they would be able to help Jongin for now, but he would be very weak.

When Kyungsoo entered the hospital room, it took all of his strength not to break down at the sight in front of him. Jongin was sitting there on his hospital bed, a small smile on his lips as he flipped through the pages of his Adventure Book, sitting in his lap.

Back at the hill, Kyungsoo thought he was losing Jongin, yet here he was, sitting right in front of him, looking as beautiful as ever. Pale and weak, but still beautiful. Kyungsoo slowly made his way over to Jongin’s side, and he pulled up a chair so he could sit at Jongin’s bedside.

“Hey,” Jongin said, closing the scrapbook and setting it on his bedside table before holding his hand out for Kyungsoo to take. His voice sounded so weak, but Kyungsoo tried not to think about it.

“Hey,” Kyungsoo replied, taking Jongin’s hand in his own and leaning over to give him a chaste kiss.

They didn’t say much. They just sat there in silence as Kyungsoo held Jongin’s hand in both of his, his eyes closed as he begged God not to take Jongin from him. They weren’t finished yet. There were still so many things they could do together, so many more things they could accomplish, despite their old age.

“Don’t cry, Soo.” Jongin whispered, rubbing his thumb over the backside of one of Kyungsoo’s hands. Kyungsoo just shook his head.

“I’m sorry, Jongin.” Kyungsoo cried, “I’m so, so sorry. I let you down, I didn’t keep my promise.”

Jongin furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head, and Kyungsoo thought he could see tears forming in his eyes as well.

“Kyungsoo, you may not have taken me to Paradise Falls, but what you gave me instead was much, much better. You gave me a long and happy life with you. I’ve been the happiest man in the world ever since the day I met you. You’ve given me love, you’ve given me support, you’ve given me everything, more than I ever could’ve asked for. You’ve given me a life full of laughter and kindness and love, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Not even a trip to Paradise Falls.

“We’ve known each other for seventy years, Kyungsoo, seventy. And we’ve been married for over sixty of those years. How many other couples can say that? How many other couples can say that they’ve done as much as we have, how many can say they’ve been as happy as we have? You and me, Kyungsoo, we’ve been in this together, forever and ever, and I told you we would be the day we met. I don’t care about Paradise Falls anymore, Kyungsoo, because our whole life together has been better than any adventure I ever could’ve had.”

Kyungsoo was sobbing by now. They’ve had a long and happy life together, and this was natural. Dying of old age was to be expected, but Kyungsoo was not ready.

Jongin used the some of the little strength he had left to move to the other side of the hospital bed, holding the sheets open with one of his arms.

“Lay with me.”

Kyungsoo nodded, wiping his tears off with the back of his hand as he crawled, with some trouble, into the small space in the hospital bed next to his husband. It was childish, and Kyungsoo wasn’t even sure if they were allowed to do this, but he couldn’t care less.

Kyungsoo didn’t want to be left alone. He didn’t want to be left here, all by himself, while Jongin left him to go somewhere better. Kyungsoo held onto Jongin’s hospital gown as if his life depended on it, as if somehow, it would keep Jongin here with him, forever. Jongin wrapped his frail arms around Kyungsoo, and pulled him in close, allowing Kyungsoo to breathe in Jongin’s scent one last time.

Kyungsoo wanted to remember this. He wanted to remember every second he and Jongin had ever spent together, but he especially wanted to remember this moment. Jongin holding him in his arms, their foreheads touching as they looked closely at each others faces, trying to memorize every freckle and every wrinkle.

“It’s been wonderful spending my entire life with you, Kyungsoo.”

“If I could have another lifetime with you, Jongin, I’d take it. If I could have another one thousand lifetimes with you, I’d take it.”

“Me too.”

“I love you, Jongin.”

“I love you so much, Kyungsoo.”

 

x.

2019

 

Kyungsoo, now eighty-nine, was sitting in his chair, reading a book, like the usual. Only this time, he was alone. For the past six years, Jongin hadn’t been sitting in the chair next to him.

It wasn’t easy at first. Even now, it still wasn’t easy, but at least he could get out of bed again. Adjusting to life by himself after having the love of his life by his side for over seventy years wasn’t easy. However he forced himself to keep going, because that’s what Jongin would want. Kyungsoo just kept telling himself that soon enough, they’d be together again.

Days like today were especially hard, because today is what would’ve been their seventieth wedding anniversary. Kyungsoo had woken up with a heavy heart, because he should’ve been celebrating this with Jongin, but Jongin wasn’t here anymore.

 

Kyungsoo still had Jongin’s adventure book. In fact, it was currently sitting on the bookshelf across the room, right next to the old, dusty jug labeled ‘PARADISE FALLS’. Kyungsoo hadn’t looked through it since the day he bought the plane tickets to Paradise Falls, and he’d barely even touched it after Jongin had it that one day in his hospital room. He didn’t want to look inside, just to see all those empty pages saved for an adventure that reminded him of the promise he never was able to fulfill.

Today was different, though. Something was telling him that he should look inside, not for any particular reason, but just that he should look. Kyungsoo slowly got up from his very old chair next to Jongin’s, and hobbled over to the bookshelf, where the Adventure Book was sitting, waiting for him.

He grabbed the scrapbook and walked back over to the two chairs, choosing to sit in Jongin’s this time. The pages were yellowing, he noticed as he opened it, and the edges were now soft instead of sharp.

The first page, just as he remembered it, was that old picture of Charles Muntz, now incredibly faded. He smiled, briefly remembering all the times he and Jongin had gushed over how amazing this guy was when they were young. He turned to the next page, to the map of South America. Kyungsoo ran his fingers over the map, chuckling when he remembered how Jongin had confessed to him one night long ago that he’d actually ripped the picture of the map right out of a library book. The next page, as he expected, was the picture of Paradise Falls.

Kyungsoo desperately wished he could go back in time. Back to when he and Jongin we’re still in their twenties, when they had decided to start saving up money for Paradise Falls. How could Kyungsoo allow himself forget? How could he let their dream slowly fade out of their world without Kyungsoo even noticing it? Why when he finally decided to fulfill his promise did it have to be too late?

Knowing there was nothing he could do about it now, Kyungsoo flipped to the next page. ‘STUFF I’M GOING TO DO’, in Jongin’s big, old, eight year old handwriting, filled the page. Kyungsoo expected the next page to be empty, because they’d never gone to Paradise Falls, but what Kyungsoo saw caused tears to instantly spring from his eyes.

There, all over the pages, were pictures of the two of them. Jongin must’ve done this when he was at the hospital, because Kyungsoo had never seen him adding anything to the old book. The pictures were in chronological order, and some of them were labeled.

The first one on the page, was a picture of the two of them standing outside of the church on their wedding day.

‘The day I got to call you officially mine. You looked so beautiful, I thought I was going to die.’

A picture of the two of them on Kyungsoo’s first day of work, both in their amusement park uniforms.

‘Our first day of work together. Hehe, we used to hate those uniform hats, remember?’

Kyungsoo flipped through the pages, looking at each picture closely and trying to remember each moment when it happened. They were both young and both so full of life, and if there was anything in this book that was forever etched into Kyungsoo's memory, it was Jongin’s face, his dark brown hair, his tall, handsome figure, and of course, his smile. His beautiful, beautiful smile.

There was even a picture of the little girl that they had almost adopted. Kyungsoo smiled fondly at the memory, even though they weren’t able to get her.

‘Our little girl. I wonder what she’s doing now…’

Kyungsoo looked through the last few pages, the two of them looking physically older and older with each picture shown. On the very last page, there was only one picture. It was the first picture they had ever taken together. It was on top of the hill, sometime during the 1940’s, when Kyungsoo had somehow gotten ahold of his mother's brand new camera without her noticing, and he wanted to show it to Jongin.

They were teenagers, and they were both posing with goofy smiles as Kyungsoo did his best to angle the lense at their faces.

Written directly underneath the picture in big, messy handwriting:

‘Thanks for the adventure, Kyungsoo. I love you.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a/n - welp, i hope you enjoyed that! i definitely did~ kaisoo gives me so many feels and i thought it was about time they made it to old age without some sort of tragedy ending their lives together too soon. thank you for reading! comments are hugely appreciated<3 follow me on twitter or tumblr if you want, make sure to stop by and say hi!

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