“I’m telling you, I saw him. He was crying,” Joshua followed his mother to the sink and placed his plate inside carefully, grabbing the sponge from her hand so he could wash the dishes for her. 

“Jisoo, honey, it was a dream,” his mother cooed, picking up the towel next to the sink and drying the plate he had washed. Jeonghan watched them interact, a small smile tugging at his lips. Joshua believed, at least slightly, that he was real. The moment their eyes met the previous night, Joshua was awoken by his alarm, and the dream had ended. Jeonghan didn’t have the chance to talk to him. But he was content now, knowing that he could.

‘It wasn’t just a dream, Joshua,’ Jeonghan thought, moving so Joshua’s face was visible. Jeonghan’s breath caught in his throat, and he subconsciously brought the back of his hand up to run down Joshua’s cheek, just barely. Joshua brought a hand up to touch his cheek, as if he could feel Jeonghan’s touch.

“I don’t know, mom. I keep getting this feeling that there’s more to it,” Joshua shrugged, moving to put away the dishes they had just cleaned. Jeonghan was so glad that Joshua was suspicious like this. 

“Anyway,” he continued, dropping the subject again, “what are you going to do today?”

“I have to go do some shopping. I won’t be home until around three. How about you?” Joshua shrugged at his mother. He had no real plans. It was a Saturday, and he wasn’t one for going out with his friends except on birthdays or other special occasions. His mother nodded at him and silently put her jacket on. He saw her out and locked the door after her before heading straight for the couch and flicking on the television.

Jeonghan decided to sit close to him, and waited patiently for Joshua to pick something to watch. He settled on an anime Jeonghan hadn’t heard of before. Jeonghan wasn’t really that interested in watching the show, though, and so he watched Joshua instead. He studied the way his brown hair rested softly on his forehead, and the way his kitten-like lips curved into small smiles when something funny happened on the television. He observed his habit of lifting his hand to cover his mouth when he laughed, and widening his eyes during moments of suspense. He also watched as Joshua’s eyes began to droop, his long eyelashes moving like little butterfly wings, before resting in a close. Joshua had fallen asleep. But Jeonghan didn’t want to intrude on his dreams this time. He would save that for the upcoming night. Instead, he just wanted to continue watching Joshua, completely amazed at how beautiful the boy looked, and immensely certain that there was a piece of heaven hidden in Joshua, because only heaven was supposed to bring him the peace that he had brought him. 

Jeonghan realized then that Joshua was someone he wouldn’t mind watching forever.

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Joshua woke up about an hour later, in what Jeonghan thought was probably the most endearing way possible; his eyes fluttered open and he stretched his arms out in a big yawn before rubbing his right eye with his fist. Joshua stood then, headed for the door, and in an air of immense focus on the boy, Jeonghan followed. Jeonghan was wondering where they were going, but Joshua didn’t seem to have much of a schedule anyway. Jeonghan wondered if he even had a destination, based on how many times Joshua had stopped in his tracks, simply to pick little flowers he found on the grass on the side of the sidewalk.

Jeonghan followed anyhow, and listened in awe as Joshua hummed softy, burying the hand that wasn’t holding the little white flowers in the pocket of his jacket. Jeonghan thought that when he went to heaven, he had seen the most beautiful thing possible, and he believed this firmly, until he looked at Joshua. Joshua managed to look absolutely stunning, simply dressed casually with his hair undone, and the effect his beauty had on Jeonghan almost scared him, had it not been such an incredible feeling. Jeonghan never wanted it to go away.

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Jeonghan saw a building in the distance. It had been tall and the bricks seemed to have been painted white, with a golden cross standing tall at the top. Joshua was going to church… But why on a Saturday?

Jeonghan followed as Joshua wordlessly walked towards the church, and continued to follow when, to his surprise, he didn’t enter the church, but rather, walked around it. He kept himself exactly one step behind Joshua, and was thrown slightly when he had seen over Joshua’s shoulder that they were approaching the cemetery behind the building. They approached a small, but delicately carved tombstone, and Jeonghan watched Joshua’s slightly dampened expression as he placed the little flowers he had picked amongst the others that were there. Only then did Jeonghan read his own name from the stone.

“Hi, Jeonghan,” Joshua began, speaking quietly as he crouched in front of the grave, “I hope you’re enjoying heaven,” he smiled softly. Jeonghan placed a hand on Joshua’s shoulder, but Joshua didn’t react.

“I know you didn’t know me, but I think we could’ve been good friends. I would’ve been honoured to have been your friend,” Joshua continued, now smiling softly without a trace of the sadness he had donned just moments ago.

“I know you probably have no idea why I’m here. We never met. But, I can’t really explain it… I feel like you’re around me all the time.”

Jeonghan almost laughed in spite of himself. 

‘That’s because I am,’ Jeonghan thought. 

“I saw you in my dreams for the past couple nights, and I felt like you wanted to say something to me. Ah,” Joshua’s cheeks turned pink, “I’m going crazy, aren’t I?”

Jeonghan smiled serenely;

‘No, Joshua, you’re not. I want to talk to you. This time I’ll do it right, I promise.’

Joshua’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. 

“Anyway, if that’s true, I hope you visit my dreams again tonight. I’ll be waiting to talk to you. I hope you’re doing well. Your mother misses you, you know? And I… I can’t say I miss you, since we never met, but it feels like I should. I feel like you should still be here… Like we should’ve met. I’ll get going now, but I really hope this isn’t the last time I’ll be talking to you. Goodbye, Jeonghan.”

Jeonghan made sure to pick up one of the little flowers from his grave before turning on his heel and following Joshua home.

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This one was a little longer, yay! I hope you guys are enjoying the story. I'd love to know your thoughts on what's going to happen. My next update should be sometime tomorrow.