They headed down a small path surrounded by trees and bushes, guided only by the slight shimmers of moonlight coming through the waving trees, illuminating their road. The sound of crackling branches echoed as Jisoo took each step while being pulled along by a long haired boy, whom he could see was beaming with excitement despite the darkness. The sight of mysterious shadows passing through the rustling bushes made Jisoo increasingly nervous. He occasionally shuddered and unconsciously squeezed the other's hand whenever a bug would buzz pass his ears. Jisoo thinks back on how he ended up in this situation in the first place. 

It was a cool summers day and the group was sent on a vacation to an unfamiliar island to take some photos for their new album. While the purpose was for work, they took this chance to spend some quality time together and relax.

The members were on a bus having an intense discussion about activities they would do later that day. Hands shot up into the air one after another waving like a bunch of eager children as suggestions were being thrown out left and right.  

Jeonghan chuckles at his energetic friends. He fiddles with his golden locks and looks out the window, his mind gradually slipping away from the conversation as he enjoys the scenery flashing by.

Sitting beside Jeonghan, was Jisoo, who watches as his long haired friend dozes off. For a moment, he notices a glimmer of excitement in Jeonghan’s eyes as if something had caught his attention but soon enough, he had started nodding off. Jisoo decides to not dwell on it and thought Jeonghan probably saw a deer or something.   

Soon, the bus began to slow down.

"Jeonghan?"

Jeonghan snaps out of his trance when he felt a sudden pat on his knee.

"Hmm?” the drowsy boy turns to his friend, lids half shut.

“You alright?” Jisoo asks, his brows furrowed slightly in concern, "We're about to get off.”

“O-oh, yeah, got it!" Jeonghan stutters. He wiggles in his seat to readjust his position and flashes his usual smile, assuring Jisoo that he was fine.

Jisoo smirks and pats Jeonghan’s knee a few more times.

“Stay awake, Jeonghan-ah!” he teased, resulting in a light nudge to his arm. 

After getting off the bus, their director notifies them that they had until dusk before their first photoshoot begins. Since there wasn’t much time left before then, the members decided to just do some exploring on their own.

Clouds scattered while the sun began to set. It didn’t take long before all signs of daylight disappeared. The crew completed their shoot for the day and had started packing up all the equipment, readying to head back to their hotel.

While following behind the rest of the group, Jisoo feels a tug at the back of his shirt. Startled, he turned around, puzzled eyes meeting Jeonghan’s.

"Hey come with me." Jeonghan whispers with a playful grin on his face.

“Ah, but the others—“

“Shhh! Just come with me!”

And before Jisoo could say anymore, Jeonghan had grabbed his wrist and pulled him along, quietly sneaking away without anyone’s notice.

Their trip was silent, but their hands were now entangled. Jisoo had already lost count of how many steps he took or how long they’d been away from the rest. It was nerve-wracking and he could feel his palm getting sweatier against Jeonghan’s. But before Jisoo could regret his decisions even more than he already had, their walk came a halt.

Right when Jisoo was about to look ahead to see where they were, Jeonghan abruptly jumps before him, clamping his face with both hands, covering his eyes.

“Close your eyes, Jisoo! Don’t peek!”

Jisoo was confused, but wordlessly nodded. He did as he was told and lowered his head. He feels Jeonghan’s warm hands pull away from his face then takes hold of both his own, tugging him along, slowly guiding him towards wherever. Jisoo could feel the summer breeze brush against his cheeks and rustling grass tickling his ankles as he awkwardly took each step.

After a few small steps and stumbles, they stop. Jeonghan lets go of Jisoo’s hands and circles around him.

"Look, Jisoo.” Jeonghan breaths, a little too close to Jisoo’s ear, sending shivers down his spine.

Jisoo opens his eyes, slowly adjusting his sight to the scene before him. He was in the middle of a fairly open field of grass, illuminated by the wispy white moon. Abundant tiny, faint green lights flickered and danced rhythmically around them. It takes a moment for Jisoo to realize they were fireflies. Jeonghan chuckles and skips past, spreading his arms.

“I thought of this when we were on the bus.” Jeonghan says as he takes a deep breath with a joy filled expression, making a spin while looking up. Jisoo watches as the wind grazes through Jeonghan’s silky long locks, brushing across his face then back into place.

“I’ve always wanted to go stargazing. You can never see this many of them so clearly in Seoul.” Jeonghan sighs.

Jisoo notices the small hint of disappointment in Jeonghan’s voice. “Yeah,” he agrees, “neither in L.A.” He smiles as he thinks of his hometown and raises his head.

Trails of sparkling stars scattered across the night sky, varying in different sizes and forming unimaginable shapes. It was a sight they could only see through monitors when they were in the city. Jisoo felt an indescribable amount of tranquility while gazing upon them; his breath was taken away with all the stress that had accumulated during the past few weeks.

Jeonghan makes his way out into the clearing and sits himself down, motioning for Jisoo to follow and do the same.

Joining him, both boys flop down on the grassy bed and laid side by side, soundlessly enjoying the starry sky. Unfortunately, they were interrupted by the vibration of their phones and realize the others have probably noticed their disappearance.

“Should we answer?” Jisoo asks, half-heartedly. He didn’t have any intention of leaving this place just yet. It’s been a long time since he felt this relaxed and certainly did not want to end it so soon. He could already hear Seungcheol scolding them later, but he wasn’t too bothered. He did feel a little guilty though, since the others must be worried.

“Nope!” Jeonghan chirps and turns to Jisoo with a mischievous grin plastered on his face, "Let's just see how long it takes them to find us."

Jisoo agrees as they exchanged playful snickers.

“Jeonghan hyung!! Jisoo hyung!!”

The couple could hear echoes of  Seokmin’s voice from a distance. That kid’s voice never ceases to impress them, but they knew he was nowhere nearby.

“What if they never find us?” Jisoo mutters.

“Then we’d have to stay here for a while, just the two of us.” Jeonghan chimes.

Jisoo chuckles at the idea. There was no way the others would leave without them in the first place though.

Bringing his attention back to the sparkling night sky and the tiny glowing insects fluttering around him, an overflowing urge to sing runs through Jisoo. He wants to sing songs to describe his surrounding. He wants to express how he is feeling right now. He wants to serenade the person beside him. Unknowingly, he begins to hums while thinking about how nice it’d be if he had his guitar with him.

Jeonghan shifts to his side, and looks at the humming boy who was deep in thought. He slowly inches his hand towards Jisoo’s spreaded palm, lightly running his finger on it, drawing squiggles as if writing something.

Jisoo grins in amusement as he enjoys the slightly ticklish, yet relaxing sensation. He glances at the other boy who was completely indulged in scribbling on his palm. Playfully, he clutches his hands, taking ahold of Jeonghan’s fingertip, causing him to let out a small yelp of surprise before releasing it. Jisoo stifles a laugh as Jeonghan’s cheeks heat up due to the sound he just made.

Unsatisfied with being the only one embarrassed, Jeonghan swiftly rolls over and positions himself above Jisoo, hovering over him and  pinning him down. He gazes intently into Jisoo’s eyes while the other stares back, somewhat shocked, somewhat flustered.

"Hey Jisoo, you know what's sparkling more than the stars right now?" Jeonghan asks, keeping his tone as serious as possible.

"What?” Jisoo gulps.

"Your eyes." Jeonghan replies, biting his lips to keep them from curving up.

Jisoo’s eyes widened as he gapes at Jeonghan, completely dumbfound. He could feel his face flushing, his cheeks burning red with embarrassment.

“...Oh my god, why do you always do this!” He snorts while bringing his hands up to cover his face, half embarrassed for himself and half suffering second hand embarrassment from Jeonghan.

Then they both broke into a fit of laughter until Jeonghan’s arms had gone weak from laughing and decided to lean down and rest himself on Jisoo, his head right besides the other’s neck. They could now feel each others movements more than ever; their breathing, both messy but in sync and the way their hearts pounded rapidly from excitement.

With it right before him, Jeonghan stares temptingly at Jisoo neck but couldn’t resist the urge to peck it. He then feels a hand slide up his arm, pulling him upwards; his eyes meeting the pair of sparkling cateyes, both knowingly looking into each other full of affection. And then Jisoo slowly pulls him closer, smooths back his hair and puts their foreheads together, keeping their lips just millimeters apart.

“ehem!”

The two jump from the sound before simultaneously turning their head towards the source. It was Jihoon, brows knitted together and glaring at them distastefully. There was a slight hint of embarrassment in his expression. Seokmin, who wasn't far behind, turned his head to hide his laughter.  

A long pause followed before Jeonghan broke the silence. "Ah, looks like we’re caught.” he sighs, slowly standing up and looks down dejectedly at Jisoo while holding his hand out to him.

“Yeah…“ Jisoo groaned, irritation clear in his tone. He took Jeonghan’s hand and dragged himself up as well.

As they quietly follow Jihoon and Seokmin to regroup with the others, Jeonghan and Jisoo both thought they’d definitely continue where they left off of when they get back, even if there weren’t any stars and fireflies.