The mornings after were pretty much normal, or so they seemed. At first, the two didn’t exchange any words, they just passed by each other like normal neighbors; sometimes they smiled and waved, or they stole a glance here and there.

Mirai was getting bored of this; she thought he was a nice person. They ended up going to the same school, so she saw him every day on the hallways. Hoseok was the new guy, so people didn’t really talked with him. They kept their distance. Mirai saw that and at first she kept her distance too, but later, when they met in the mornings his smile faded away, it was always replaced with just a wave and nothing much; quite sad she thought.

Hoseok might or might not be feeling well recently. He is having these strange and insupportable headaches that come out of the blue and sometimes even knock him out. They stop as soon as he sees her; bizarre he thought.

They woke up one day; it felt normal again. Mirai’s bruise was still there, and no matter how many unguents she put on it didn’t go away, so she let it slip away like that, since there was no pain. Hoseok’s headaches slowly stopped, lately.

Mirai couldn’t take it anymore, so when they left the house that morning she said it was high time to start talking. Hoseok was saying his goodbye to his mother, and she just nodded without saying a single word. She said goodbye too, but her mother replied.

As they both were on the path walk now, they exchanged their morning wave without a smile. Mirai saw the opportunity and took it.

“Hey there, new boy.” She said smiling and moving towards him.

“Oh, hey there, smiling neighbor.” He said skimming a smile.

“Mirai.” She said, blushing a little at his remark.

“Hoseok, nice to meet you.” He replied with the same smile.

It was silent after that. They started moving towards the school. The wind was slowly blowing, it was getting chilly lately; November was coming, then winter with Christmas. Soon the exams were here and they were going to graduate and start a new life. But, were they now?

Reaching the school gates safely, with their usual glances at each other, as if they were some awkward old couple who had an argument and didn’t know how to apologize because of their ego. Mirai broke the silence, when a butterfly appeared again. It was floating around, silently dancing in the sun, with the leaves and the trees as his audience. A small butterfly, just like the one they saw in their dream that day.

“Oh a butterfly!” she said with her finger pointing in its direction.

“Yeah, a butterfly.” He said back chuckling a little. She skimmed a smile and then continued.

“Did you see it too?”

“What?”

“The golden butterfly.”

He was silent, knowing about what she had asked. Knowing about what he had seen or thought he did, but it was a dream; the butterflies flying around, when the time stopped, the golden and black butterflies.

“Maybe.” He replied shortly.

“You know,” she said looking at that butterfly, “I felt as if I was going to die.”

“But you didn’t” Hoseok completed her sentence.

“No I didn’t.” She replied. And then turning to him and smiling with a small glow in her eyes, Mirai said, “A golden butterfly saved me.”

“A golden butterfly, you say?” Hoseok said back, thinking about that day again.

“But you see, that day, I found a bruise in a place I never touched.” Hoseok started to doubt if it really was just a dream; her bruise, his headache, the butterfly. They are connected, he thought.

“It’s just a bruise; you could’ve gotten hurt and forgotten about it.” He brushed it off, trying to stop thinking about that day,

“It never happened, it was all a dream.” They both thought, but never said it.

“I’m not like that…” Mirai said a bit lingering with her eyes away from him.

“I didn’t say you are, it happens, it could’ve easily got away.” Hoseok said trying to lighten the mood.

It was starting to get strange. A weird atmosphere was setting. Another butterfly came to dance in the sun. They were flopping around and occasionally they were dancing between the two, trying to say something, as if they were a sign that all of these were happening with a reason.

“Yeah maybe…” she said, looking at the butterflies swaying around them.

The bell rang soon after. They started heading for class; students were rushing to get it time. Teachers were at the gates waiting for them to close; the chilly morning was slowly fading away.  

Noon came fast; lunch was just as usual; a hoard of people in the cafeteria, Mirai was sitting at a table with her best friend, silently eating, and Hoseok was alone in a corner listening to music. He spared her a glance and she just smiled back. Sina caught that and raised her eyebrows in a coyly way.

“It’s not like that~” Mirai said laughing. Sina stayed silent, and just raised her hands up in defeat.

Some weeks had gone by. November has set, and the mornings were chillier than normal. Hoseok and Mirai were now friends; occasionally visiting each other. They started talking more after that morning; they knew things about each other now, like what color they liked or their favorite food, or their favorite songs; normal stuff.

Hoseok was a funny person; Mirai was funny too. They blended well together. Hoseok danced for her sometimes, Mirai enjoyed drawing so she drew his portrait and gave it to him.

“Hey, Hope!” She said one Sunday morning.

Mirai liked giving him nicknames. He was always bright and every time she felt down and Sina wasn’t there to help her, he made her smile again. Mirai was sad lately, and it never occurred to her why. Sina was silent, her classmates never talked again after that “dream and butterflies” day. It was strange, it felt bizarre, but neither of them cared. They were okay and that was all that mattered.

“Hey, Mi~” Hoseok said back, opening his window to hear her better.

“Wanna come over?” She said motioning for him to come down from there.

“Why?” He yelled as he was getting a sweater on.

“Just come.” She said laughing.

They did this a lot in the last days. She yelled from her window and Hoseok came out. They were in her room, listening to music, sometimes talking about school, or just life in general. They had their conversations; they shared some of their wounds. Mirai had boyfriends, and they all cheated on her; Hoseok had friends and some backstabbed him. Even so, when they were together, they forgot all that and laughed.

A knock on Mirai’s window and Hoseok opened it and let himself in. He skimmed the room for a place to leave his shoes; he found one near the door. As he went there, the door opened and Mirai’s mom came in. Hoseok was panicking a bit. He was in his pajamas, with only a sweater on, his hair all ruffled up and Mirai was nowhere in the room. The window was open as a slight breeze filled the room; oh god, he thought.

“Oh hi there honey.” She said giving him a warm smile.

“Uhm, hello ma’am.” He said straightening his poise and trying to look as normal as he could. They didn’t do anything but he found it strange to be in a girl’s room this early on a Sunday morning, especially since he was here last night too.

“I bought you two some tea and breakfast.” She said, leaving the tray on Mirai’s desk and then heading towards Hoseok she began.

“Take good care of her.” She said as she ruffled his bed hair, as if trying to fix it. Hoseok blushed like a tomato. They were just friends he wanted to say, there was nothing going on he wanted to say, but he didn’t. He would be lying if he said he didn’t like Mirai.

It happened after a week; he was dancing in his room when he saw caught her outside, watering the flowers on her front door porch. Mirai was smiling and humming a song he didn’t know, but found out after, she was watering the flowers when some butterflies appeared out of nowhere and started flying around again. She rose from the ground and laughing she started dancing with the water pot in one hand and some scissors in the other one. Her hair was flying all over the place, long and black, her figure pirouetting along with the hum she was singing, the butterflies making it look like a scene taken out from a children’s book. It all happened so fast that Hoseok didn’t know what to do; she was there, but she was out of his reach. He was just a normal guy who enjoyed dancing and monkeying around. He was just a simple boy, but for him she looked like a princess.

He couldn’t reply because Mirai came in. She smiled when she saw her mother has brought breakfast for two and that Hoseok was only in his pajamas.

“Mom, don’t ruffle his hair.” She said grabbing his hand and drawing Hoseok closer to her. Hoseok stumbled and almost fell off with Mirai too. But to his surprise, he landed on her chest, Mirai holding him tightly and patting his soft hair.

Her mother laughed and giving up she left the room. Mirai then straightened him up and giving him a warm smile while grabbing his hand she just leaded him toward the food.

“Let’s eat.” Mirai said taking a toast from the tray. Hoseok nodded and took one too.

It was silent; he enjoyed the silence, Mirai was just like a baby when she ate; assembling a little hamster when chewing on her biscuits. Hoseok decided to break the silence this time.

“So, why did you call me here?”

“I felt lonely.” She said finishing her bite.

“You felt lonely last night too.” Hoseok said placing down his food.

“When I’m with you I feel happy.” She said back taking another bite.

“You shouldn’t say things like that.” He said, stretching his hand and patting her head, only to slowly start playing with her hair.

“Why?” She shoots back.

“Because I might fall in love with you.” Hoseok replied softly.

“And why is that bad a bad thing?” She said giving him a big smile.

“I might be a bad guy and cheat on you.” He said laughing.

“You won’t cheat on me…” She said pouting a bit.

“Yeah… I know…” He replied as he got up from his chair.

He forgot the window; she didn’t notice. The wind was making the room chilly; Hoseok took a sit on her bed, Mirai came soon after and occupied the one beside him.

It was a routine; it started after they got close. When Mirai felt lonely and Sina didn’t answer her phone, she would call on him and then they will sleep like this; embraced in their warmth. It was the mornings after that felt awkward; Mirai was always the first one to wake up. She always went to the bathroom first, only to look at herself in the mirror and find the bruise that never healed away. Hoseok would wake up after some time, with insupportable headaches. It was as if the world was collapsing, the pain was inhumane, and it was unbearable. He would shiver with pain, sweat like crazy; it was as if the universe was trying to kill him. He went to the bathroom, where Mirai was, she gave him pills to ease the pain.

“Why don’t we go and see a doctor?” she asked the Saturday morning, when the pain occurred again.

“It will pass.” He said holding the sink and almost keeping his balance.

“But you’re in pain.”

“I’m with you so it will go away.” He said with a faint smile.

It was strange; the world changed but they stayed the same. People were not talking anymore. Everyone was silent, only Mirai’s mother was talking once in a while. Weeks went by fast. Winter came around. They were one again hugged tightly, but this time in Hoseok’s bed. He cracked the window open because they felt hot.

“How are your headaches?” Mirai asked as she listened to his heartbeat.

“Better I guess…” As his heartbeat rose, she could sense it.

“So they are worse now.”

“Yeah…” He said kissing her head and patting her back slowly.

“Have you seen the butterflies recently?”

“They are here now, aren’t they?”

When his pain got worse, he began seeing butterflies where there should be no butterflies. Mirai helped with the pain, they decided to go to a doctor somewhere at the end of November, and the doctors said nothing was wrong. However, his pain never went away, it only got eviler. He would wake up screaming with pain, he would scream for his mother but she couldn’t help; the only comfort was Mirai.

“Why don’t you take more pills?” She asked once.

“Because if the pain goes away completely, you won’t hug me anymore.” He said back with a straight face.

“I will always hold you in my arms.” She said as she took his hand.

“You know…” He began saying but her phrase made his heart stop.

“I think I love you.” She said smiling as she played with his fingers.

Hoseok saw the butterflies in the room disappear. There was not even a single soul floating around. The room fell silent; Mirai was there on his bed with his hand in hers; Hoseok was in awe with what he had just heard. He didn’t say anything just grabbed her and took her in his embrace. She almost started crying. The warmth was overwhelming, the tight embrace was suffocating, and it was as if her air was out of her lungs.

“Say something…please.” She said as she tightened the hug.

He broke the hug and with a faint smile he got close to her face, resting his forehead on hers, and then with a slow whisper, he said.

“I know I love you.”

She whined and then began crying. Hoseok wanted to comfort her and make her stop crying because it hurts when you see your loved one cry. Yet, he holds it in and lets her cry her heart out.

When Christmas came, the butterflies were gone; it was all good. The atmosphere was back to normal again. The snow fell hard that week. It was as if the skies were crying buckets; it was white all over the place, the subzero temperatures were bearable; not too cold but not warm either.

“Hey, let’s go somewhere.” She suggested the day before Christmas.

“Where do you want to go?” He said as he drank his hot chocolate.

“There is a hotel around here, and I heard that from the rooftop you can see the stars and when it snows it feels like living in a fairy tale.” Mirai said sipping from her hot tea.

They went on many dates ever since she confessed. It was nice, they had fun, going to the aquarium, seeing the night sky near the Han River, drinking tea at the famous coffee shops of Seoul. They were just like a normal couple, except that his headaches began to kick in again and Mirai found some new bruises on her arms this time.

The morning of 24^th was all white. The snow fell hard that night; it was so cold this time, almost unbearable. Mirai woke up and taking her by surprise, a golden butterfly was flying around in her room. She tried to catch it but in vain, she realized she was chasing the air; there was no butterfly in the room, it was all in her mind. Hoseok saw it too, that morning, a golden butterfly flying around, but he didn’t try to chase after it or catch it; it was normal for him, to wake up seeing golden butterflies.

They met up in front of Mirai’s door. Hoseok bought her a red rose; Mirai kissed his cheek in gratitude. They left for their date. The air was loaded with a bizarre feeling; the snow started falling again, big snowflakes filling the space.

“Looks like butterflies falling from the sky, don’t you think?” Mirai said looking up and trying to catch a snowflake with her hand.

“Yeah, it does.” Hoseok breathed out.

They held hands; the road to the hotel was cold and they didn’t mind it. They reached the hotel and after renting a room they left their clothes in the room and they headed for the rooftop. It was freezing cold up there; yeah they had no coats on but they breathed in the cold air and then breaking the silence, Mirai said.

“This is all a dream…isn’t it?” Hoseok look at her and he knew what she was talking about.

A presence was behind them, a woman they recognized as Mirai’s mom.

“It is indeed all a dream.”

“The butterflies, huh?” Hoseok said.

“Butterflies?” She looked confused.

“Yeah, mom – if I can still call you that, the butterflies.” Mirai said holding his hand.

“Who knows…?” She said.

Then Mirai looked at her change its form, she turned into an angel. An angel dressed in a white dress, with long blonde hair, almost silver you can say; she stretched her hand and then a gun appeared in it.

“So this is it?” Hoseok said

“That day… was not a dream.” Mirai said, her eyes with a glint of tears forming

“It was reality. The time you live in now, doesn’t exist.” The angel said.

“But his warmth is real.”

“It’s not.”

“Her kiss was real.”

“It’s not.”

“Everything we know and everything we lived here is real.”

“It’s not”

The angel raised the gun, Mirai grabbed Hoseok and he hugged her. Mirai began crying, only sobs of It’s real, could be heard. He was patting her head and then time stopped again.

Golden butterflies were floating around again, the sound was no longer there, the time stopped and then a BANG was heard and it all faded to black. 

A/n: sorry, I have no idea what I just did T^T