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Summer filled the world in bright greens and reds and yellows and oranges and blues and pinks and every other colour that stood out vividly from shop windows to flower beds. The heat wafted up from the pavements and mugged up the interior of the train that Daehyun had to catch to get to and from work. Summer was a lot more fun, he realised, when you actually had a summer break. He'd only just started his job, which didn't give him much of a break, and it was had to deal with the long journeys in the heat. He was beginning to wonder if singing in a high end restaurant, regardless of the good pay, was worth the extensive travel he had to endure.

Surrounded by kids travelling home from college, Daehyun inched further back into his seat and kept his eyes on the view outside the window. The rolling hills and fields had a slight yellow tint as autumn edged closer with each day. Sweat clung to his skin a little where the train heated up more with the presence of more people, and he thanked his foresight to pack a loose top to change into after being in his uniform all day. He let his eyes close for a moment as the heat overtook him, drowning in the muffled babbling of students chattering about the start of their new term.

The train slowed to a halt at a station about half an hour into his journey and a number of fresh-faced students boarded. He eyed them up a little, slightly jealous of the long holiday they'd just had, when his eyes fell on one person in particular. His breath caught a little.

He was beautiful. His skin was soft, smooth over the gentle curves of his face and decorated with a few small moles. His soft looking dark hair had been cropped and swept to one side, the edges hugging his fluffy cheeks. The sweetly curved nose, pretty lips and long beautiful eyes made Daehyun wonder if some sort of young model had stepped into the carriage. Only the way the boy slouched against a handhold and scrolled through his phone, unnoticed by everyone else, did Daehyun conclude that he was in fact no more than just a very attractive student.

He's probably really popular, with lots of cool friends, Daehyun thought. For some reason this caused a twinge of distress inside him. That's what you get, he chided himself, for falling for strangers. But it was fine, he assured himself, to fall a little bit in love with a stranger you'll likely never see again. That's what life was for. It was full of little wonders, little uplifts to keep you going during dull times.

Much to his surprise, the boy was on his train the next day as well. Another little wonder, another little uplift. These wonders and uplifts continued as he realised that the attractive stranger was taking the same train home as him almost every day. It was a nice familiarity, something to look forward to when he really wasn't up for the travel, a little ray of light during cloudy days. It was always a bit of a sad sight to see the guy alight at his stop, but the hour until he got home was not long enough to sink into despair.

Autumn rose up from the grounds and charred the world into a blaze of reds and golds and oranges and browns, dried up the fields and breezed cool winds through the cities and over the countryside. The bitter air tinted with the smell of earth and the cinnamon spice on everything he consumed filled Daehyun's senses. The train was cooler these days, less need for windows to be left open, but not quite cold enough to merit all of them being locked shut. He spent his journey picking bits of dead leaf from his hair and clothes.

The attractive stranger had started to notice their similar travel patterns. There was short moments of eye contact where the other noticed that once again Daehyun was on his train. These moments sent small jolts through him that he pretended not to notice as he smiled warmly back. The smile was never returned. He continued to let his mind imagine what sort of person this guy was. Some cool city guy,too hardened by the industrial life to notice anyone else. Sometimes he let his imagination run a little too wild. An alien from another planet, disguised as a human, here to take over the world by wooing hoards of screaming girls. With these little stories rolling around his head, he continued on with his daily life.

Winter blanketed over autumn, darkening the colours and covering the dead leaves with glitter. Windows bloomed with frosted fern patterns and the ground crunched beneath footsteps. The cold nipped and bit at any bare skin, leaving a flush of pink on everyone's cheeks, and brought with it nights full of howling winds. Amongst the chaotic beauty of it all came the festive season, full of people shopping. The train became busier than ever.

One particularly busy day, Daehyun had found himself unable to find a seat immediately. He'd stood, unbothered at first, until more and more people boarded. By the time the half-hour stop came by, there were so many people he couldn't even tell if his travel companion had even boarded. They were jostled about and with each stop people boarded and alighted.

The train reached a stop a fair way into his journey and ground to an awkward, jerky halt. Someone bumped into him with a muffled “Ouf! Sorry, sorry about that,” and he looked down to see who it was.

The boy's fluffy brown hair covered just over his eyes and the high collar of his cosy sweater obscured his lower face. It was an odd angle to look down at someone, from behind no less, but something about him seemed familiar. Daehyun smiled and instinctively placed a hand on the guy's shoulder to keep him stable as the two were pressed together by the crowd of other people. He only just caught the mumbled thanks, and barely controlled the smile that pushed at the corners of his mouth.

The train jerked suddenly, and he barely managed to grab the other guy before they all fell over. The boy turned a little to mumble out a quick thanks, and it was this change of angle that suddenly clarified who he'd been holding onto.

“Hey,” he said, before he could stop himself, “You're the guy who's always on this train this time in the evening, right?”