Dawn o’clock in the morning and the town is slowly awakening by the amount of people who are ready to live their lives for the day even when the sun doesn't make an appearance yet. Some are already in their cars and some are riding the motorcycles, filling last night's empty roads. There are a number of school children and high school students who wait for the bus by the road while some of them are waiting near the yet unopened gate of their schools.

As he walks towards even further from his house, he spots the newspaper vendors with loads of paper on their motorcycles, making their rounds around the neighborhood. Sometimes they can hardly be seen by those who are driving because the newspapers cover their headlights and the darkness is engulfing their presences from the eyes but with the help from the street lights along the road, the blurry silhouettes which can be seen from far soon turns out to be solid figures from a close distance.

His destination shortens as he leaves the busy road and enters the small footpath. From somewhere among the trees, he can hear crickets sing its sweet song, which can be heard pleasantly as the other insects join in. Choruses of chattering echoes all around him, giving him a sense of accompany.  However, he has to leave the peaceful sounds behind as he steps past the trees and comes onto the road.

He can see groups of students, wearing the same uniform and heading to the same direction. He spots his friends from the other classes and his close acquaintances before exchanging "good morning" with that genuine smile of his. He continues to walk pass the other students and thankfully the guard has already open their school gate. He comes across the guard and exchanges a smile as a token of appreciation for his hard work.

 

He walks across the assembly point and heads towards the building of his class, but as he climbs up the stairs carefully, he doesn't stop at his class' level and instead, he goes up to the rooftop. That is his usual morning routine, as he always comes to school early and since his friends won't be in class until the last second before the school bell rings, he decides to spend the time to himself before the day gets busier.

He opens the door to the rooftop and the dark shade of serenity sky canvas welcomes him. He walks towards the safety rails in front before he leans forward on it, using both of his forearms to support his body weight. The darkness starts to light up as the sun rises on the eastern sky. He can see the first crack of sunlight against the dawn. Soon the day will begin.

He looks out over the sky and a flock of birds start to fly across it, adding the extra touch to the picturesque view. As the sun starts to rise more and more every seconds, he starts to feel an optimistic feeling building inside of him. The morning breeze comes and goes but every time it hits his face, he can feel himself smiling from it. Soon, the dawn-colored town becomes kaleidoscopic, from a serenity-hued into multicolor scenery.

He inhales deeply, feeling great and motivated before he sets off to his class but then something at a corner of the rooftop catches his attention.

 

There, he sees a couple of bad-conditioned and most likely unused desks and chairs, which were never there before. He walks closer to that corner and pulls the chair closer to one desk that looks decent enough before taking a seat. He scans through the desk to find it incapable of using anymore since it doesn't balance due to one of its shorter leg, so he takes out a pen from his bag and scribbles on it. A little vandalism won't hurt, right?

7:06AM – This was never here before and since it's not in a good condition, so why not? ㅋㅋㅋ The moment where the sun breaks through the dawn is always the same yet so different every day and I will never get bored or tired of watching it for my entire life as it gives me strength to start my day. Thank you for granting me another day to live.  

He closes his pen and appreciates his artwork on the desk before his friend peeks through the door behind him and screams over.

"Seungcheol-ah! Let's go! Or do you want to see Sangmin Seongsaeng-nim turns into his super saiyan mode again because I don't…"

He looks back from where the voice comes from and decides to continue his art collection tomorrow.

"Coming~"

 

**********

 

Seungcheol goes to school the next day, as usual as he always is but with an additional of this new feeling inside of him that makes him excited. He can't wait to catch today's sunrise and expresses his gratitude through his little art again. He climbs up the stairs with that happy steps of his and that bright smile of his and instead of going straight to the rail the moment he walks in the rooftop like he always does, he goes to the desk; getting ready with his blue pen in his grip and thinking of a perfect way to describe today's sunrise.

But once he arrives at the desk, even under the dark, dusk and serenity-filled sky, he notices that there's another handwritten scribbling jumbled together with his with the help of the light from his phone.

7:06AM – This was never here before (I thought you're the one who brought it up) and since it's not in a good condition, so why not? ㅋㅋㅋ (and since you're starting it, I'm joining too but the blame is on you, thank you~) The moment where the sun breaks through the dawn is always the same yet so different every day and I will never get bored or tired of watching it for my entire life as it gives me strength to start my day. (You should see where the sun finally heads back home, leaving the world in rose quarts hue and dusk starts to conquer the rest of the day, it's absolutely breathtaking…) Thank you for granting me another day to live. (and for granting me another chance to finish my day)

He smiles to himself as he discovers that there is another person who spends their time up here other than him and his friends because he always thought that this spot is always theirs to spend and to have a conversation with the mysterious person in such a way makes him even more interested in knowing and talking to the other person.

Seungcheol drops a reply to the mysterious person.

6:30AM – Well, thanks to whoever brought this up because hey, we get to have this conversation, but isn't it unfair that I have to take the blame when you're in this too? If we ever get caught, I'm not going to get punished alone ;) I got here earlier than yesterday, so I'm going to wait for the sunrise.

6:57AM – Ah~ that's the feeling. You can never beat the feeling of being grateful after been given another opportunity to live your life again. Thank you for giving me another day.

 

Seungcheol admires the soon-to-be their everyday life journal before he walks back to his class. Once he gets into the class, he sees two of his close friends; Jeonghan and Joshua talking actively at his place on the other side of the class by the window and finally, they notice his presence once he gets closer to them because they're too engaged in the conversation, they didn't notice him earlier.

"Morning~" greeted both at their friend.

"Morning… What are you guys talking about?" asked Seungcheol.

"About yesterday's practice… you know, we were doing great during the practice but   " A sound of the door being slammed to the side a little louder than it should be suddenly alarms the whole class about their homeroom teacher. "   let's talk about it later." said Jeonghan as he heads back to his place along with Joshua and Seungcheol nods back in return.

As the classes go through that day normally; it's the first time in Seungcheol's life he feels the time is ticking away slowly as he can't wait to see the reply tomorrow morning. It somehow becomes something he's looking forward to the next morning other than the sunrise and it's definitely another good way to start his day.

6:30AM – Well, thanks to whoever brought this up because hey, we get to have this conversation, but isn't it unfair that I have to take the blame when you're in this too? If we ever get caught, I'm not going to get punished alone ;) (but how exactly you're going to make that happen since we both don't know each other? ^^) I got here earlier than yesterday, so I'm going to wait for the sunrise. (what time do you usually arrive at school? gosh, you're… not normal…)

6:57AM – Ah~ that's the feeling. You can never beat the feeling of being grateful after been given another opportunity to live your life again. (and you can never beat the feeling of being grateful after been given another second to end you day in a happiest way possible.) Thank you for giving me another day. (and hopefully another night to come.)

 

And the next day…

6:45AM – Oh, I'll find you somehow ^^ (that's kinda creepy, stay away from me…) Since I'm a sunrise lover, I can't afford to miss any every single day, that's why… (but that's still early though… and since I'm a sunset lover, I can't afford to end my day without appreciating any) I've been doing this for almost a year now, that's why I was kinda surprised to know that there's another person who's using this hideout… (I don't remember on how long I've been doing this, but maybe it's time for us to share and maybe there's another person who's reading this without us knowing, who knows…)

 

And the next day…

6:37AM – I get here a little earlier… oh, the more reason for me to find you ㅋㅋㅋ (seriously, I'm starting to get scared of you, stalker!) who knows maybe one day, we get to meet by accident but since we don't know each other, we just ignore…? (what are you trying to imply here? Do you really want to know me? Maybe we can start off by telling our gender, because I don't know if I'm talking to a guy or a girl here…) Or maybe we already know each other…? o.O (I don't think any of my friends or people that I know would spend their time up here other than me, so you're most likely not someone that I know…)

 

And the next day…

6:49AM – Don't be, I'm a nice person once you get to know me ^^ (this somehow makes it impossible for me to believe you) yeah, I do want to know you, or maybe I don't sound genuine enough to you? X) (I hope you're being genuine because tbvh I've been genuine since the beginning) For start, I'm a guy and I assume you're a girl since you're… using… a… pink-colored pen?? (that's kinda rude, you know, stereotyping everything that's pink must belong to a girl… I find pink a very nice color and nothing is wrong with that…)

 

And so, the routine starts to cycle the same way ever since then…

Seungcheol eventually spends the rest of his days waiting for the new messages on the desk every sunrise until he realizes that he is starting to take note on the small details about the guy; how the guy scribbles lazily but still make an effort to reply every single one of his messages, how the guy lacks in emoji usage, how the guy sounds serious and no fun but that's probably just him through text.

Seungcheol grows an interest towards the guy, he would be lying if he said that he doesn't want to meet the guy in real life, but that probably have to wait since he doesn't want to scare the other. Maybe once they get closer than this, they can start knowing each other by giving other information like age, class or something general, but that defeats the whole fun in doing this.

Keeping this anonymous (other than the gender just to clarify on the matter) is the sole purpose of it when they can just meet each other either on sunrise or sunset since they already know that much, but maybe, sharing this kind of experience is more than enough.

Maybe, he doesn't have to approach the guy in real life and approach him in this world of theirs is a better option, so Seungcheol casually takes the lead one morning and the replies he get the next day makes him smile to himself contently.

6:54AM – Hey, you know… I start to appreciate sunset more because of you as I walk back home after my part-time job… (tbvh, me too… I start to look up the sky as I walk to school every morning) I get why you favor sunset (I understand why you look forward to see the next sunrise) but I still go for sunrise. (while I'm here, still vote for sunset)

He knows for sure now that they both share the same feelings towards sunrise and sunset but both are too stubborn to admit it and once he realizes it, he somehow knows that he can share anything with the guy, literally everything; about studies, about decisions, about everyday life; they should be sharing more about themselves anonymously because they both are now being completely transparent and open towards one another.

But, Seungcheol is still afraid to take the next step.

 

**********

 

The school bell rings throughout the whole area; finally it is lunch break time. Seungcheol goes straight to the cafeteria with Jeonghan and Joshua to get in line as fast as they can so they can head back towards their building and spend the rest of the break time at the rooftop as they usual do.

Seungcheol remembers the day he noticed a pink-colored scribbling on the desk earlier that morning, and so during lunch break, he told his friends to enjoy their lunch at their usual spot on the rooftop instead of going at the corner full of unused desks and chairs. He doesn't want his friends to know about it, not yet. Jeonghan has a slight curiosity since he is the one who called Seungcheol that morning thus he saw Seungcheol at that corner, looking at this one desk, but there's probably nothing suspicious enough about it.

Maybe he was checking on it…

The sun is up straight above their heads once they walk out of their building, shining brightly in the clear, blue sky but the fluffy clouds manage to filter out a great amount of sunlight, making the whole weather at that time pleasant and calm. Once in a while, the wind comes gushing through the shady trees, the nicely-cut grass, and the blooming flowers before it blows against their faces.

Seungcheol walks slower in order to appreciate the nature reacting all around him as he wonders what it would be like to talk about other part of the day with the mysterious guy than sunrises and sunsets.

 

Once they reach the cafeteria, the line is not that long; giving them enough hope to make it in time to finish their lunch at the rooftop so they hurriedly join in the queue. While waiting in the line, the three close friends are gossiping about their foreign English teacher when suddenly a loud thud not that far from them, stealing their attention. They look to the direction to find a group of three guys gathering around another guy who is currently on the floor, with a big brown stain on his uniform.

Seungcheol doesn't want to interfere but once he sees one of the guys starts to pour more chocolate milk on the other, he runs to join the scene.

"Hey, knock it off!!" said Seungcheol firmly as he glares at the standing ones.

The guys look back at him to find that light blue-colored nametag on Seungcheol's uniform which indicates 'a third grade student' and once they realized that, they quickly bow down at Seungcheol before leaving the scene, not wanting to go against a senior. Seungcheol has to control his façade because he finds it embarrassing now all the eyes in the cafeteria are looking at him. He nearly forgets the one on the floor.

"You're okay?" asked Seungcheol before he turns around to check on the other guy.

Seungcheol can't believe his eyes as a familiar embodiment that the guy is giving reminds him of a particular person but he doesn't quite sure where he meet that person before.

His eyes start to examine the guy's features once he crouches down to be on the same level and he quickly memorize everything in a spur of moment; that bubblegum pink hair with neatly-cut fringe covering the forehead, that one-line thin eyesmile, that cute and well-craved nose, that twitching lips before it gets bitten slightly at a corner, that flat-plane cheeks with no hint of chubbiness, that round jawline which starts to grow sharper as the age grow older.

His eyes roams lower to catch the nametag in a soft lilac color which indicate 'a second grade student', one year younger than him and the simple yet eye-catching name; Lee Jihoon.

The younger looks back at him, bowing down slightly and a faint 'thank you' can be heard before he stands up and runs away out of the cafeteria, leaving Seungcheol dumbstruck and speechless on the floor. Seungcheol wants to go after the younger, but soon his friends come to his side with a plastic full of their foods and drinks. He doesn't want to show how disappointed he feels when the younger left him but he knows no matter how hard he's trying to hide it, his friends can see it right through him.

 

Ever since that day, Seungcheol has been eyeing throughout the cafeteria to find that familiar embodiment again because he feels like he knows the younger named Jihoon by heart. There are a couple of days where he spots Jihoon in the cafeteria, either eating with his friends at the furthest table on the other side or buying some food before heading out of there and whenever he tries to approach the younger, the younger runs away too quickly to his liking.

He doesn't know why Jihoon avoids him so much when all he wants to do is asking how the younger is after the incident, asking him if the bullies keep on bugging him again and if they are, he finds himself wants to give a helping hand to the younger. To be honest, he doesn't know why he feels that way.

Seungcheol sighs.

 

One morning, after spending sleepless night thinking about how to approach Jihoon, he decides to share this matter with the anonymous guy. They have been 'messaging' one another every day without fail; they're comfortable with each other talking about how great sunrise and sunset are and how it changes every single day, and something tells Seungcheol that it's time for him to make that first move, to share about their lives.

And finally, he did.

I have this thing that bothers me a lot. I hope you don't mind telling you this because I think you're my friend and even if you don't want to be, it's too late for that X) There is this guy, I don't know what I did wrong to him but he keeps on avoiding me for no reason. Like seriously, if he has a problem with me, why not say it straight to my face instead of running away? I've been trying so hard to help him, but I guess he doesn't see it that way. I don't know why, but this guy feels   

Seungcheol doesn't know if he should be totally honest with this anonymous guy because it would definitely scare the hell out of him if Seungcheol tells that this guy who's been avoiding him is reminding Seungcheol of him and it's absolutely weird to why Seungcheol feels that way. Even Seungcheol thinks it's weird to be feeling that way since they don't know one another other than their gender.

Seungcheol looks down at his message of the day, reading it once again to make sure that he conveys the whole story the same way as he feels but at the end of the incomplete sentence, he doesn't know if he should cross it out or just leave it be…

The surrounding starts to brighten up as the sun rises from its slumber, adding colors to the world and giving life to the creatures. He turns around to look at the beauty lies before his eyes.

Yes, that's right. If anything goes wrong after this, they can start again from the beginning. Seungcheol bites his lips and scribbles the rest of the sentence before heading towards his class, waiting to see the reply the next morning.

I don't know why, but this guy feels… familiar?

 

Next morning comes by and Seungcheol is nervous as he climbs up the stairs heading towards the rooftop because what if he finds it creepy and doesn't reply? He opens the door slowly and quietly as to not make any noises that might disturb anyone within the place.

Okay, he's just being a complete mess because there's no one going up here at this hour other than himself. He walks towards the table to find that his message is untouched. No pink-colored scribbling jumbled together with his blue-colored ones like he expected it to be, but then he finds a long, neatly written reply under his message and that brings the smile on his face.

I have this thing that bothers me the most. I hope you don't mind me telling you this because I think you're my friend and even if you don't want to be, it's too late for that X) There is this guy, I don't know what I did wrong to him but he keeps on avoiding me for no reason. Like seriously, if he has a problem with me, why not say it straight to my face instead of running away? I've been trying so hard to help him out, but I guess he doesn't see it that way. I don't know why, but this guy feels… familiar?

How can you say that?! I don't think we have to write it down to make it clear that we're already in the 'friend' stage because we've been doing this for weeks now and I think it'll be so rude if you don't consider me as one. If he keeps running away from you, then there's definitely a reason why he does that. Or maybe he is shy that you've been following him around, or, or maybe, he doesn't need your help? I don't know… You should try a different approach since the previous one doesn't work out… Familiar? Wow, don't tell me you found your soulmate because isn't that what it feels like? To feel familiar even though you don't know much about the other? Haha! Who is this guy? I'm suddenly curious to know more…

 

Seungcheol feels thankful as the anonymous guy considers him as friend too and when he wants to know more about Seungcheol's matter makes him happier. He takes out his blue pen to tell the details and his anonymous friend seems to be interested in solving this mystery too… until…

I met him a week before… In a cafeteria... and the first time I look at him, I don't know why I feel like I know him… Like seriously, the moment I look at him, he feels so familiar…

Wow, man~ This is not some cliché storyline to a movie, right? Because come on, seriously?

I'm being 100% serious here! He was in a trouble and I wanted to help him, but then he ran away before I can even talk to him to know if he's okay…

Oh, sorry. What kind of trouble? Maybe it's personal to him and he doesn't want to drag you?

I'm not sure about that, but I can't just stand still and doing nothing while the bullies keep on disturbing him, what's worse is they even humiliated him in the middle of the cafeteria during lunch break…

What did the bullies do? Did you stop them?

I don't know how it started because I was talking with my friends while waiting in line, and that's when I heard noises and the people around me kept on whispering stuff… I didn't want to interfere at first, but once one of the bullies started to humiliate the guy even more, I felt angry so I walked up to them and stopped them...

Oh… You sure?

Yeah… why?

How is this guy looks like…?

He has this bubblegum pink-colored hair, his eyes are small but I find it cute… I don't know, he really feels familiar to me like I have known him for so long, but I swear, I never met him before…

And you've been following him because…?

Because I want to know if he's doing okay, you know, if the bullies are still bugging him and all…

So, you're worried…?

Kinda, yeah…

Why? Why are you worried about this guy…?

Just because…

Just because…?

He reminds me of someone…

Oh…

 

Seungcheol feels something wrong when his anonymous friend replied him with a simple "Oh…" because what is he supposed to say now? Does his friend feel uncomfortable talking about this? He doesn't want his anonymous friend to feel that way.

Hey, did I say something wrong?

But he doesn't get any reply when he comes to the rooftop the next morning. Maybe he shouldn't have shared the bit of his concern with the anonymous friend of his, because not everything is supposed to be shared when they don't know anything about one another than their gender. Maybe the guy doesn’t like the changes in their everyday conversations.

Seungcheol sighs.

 

**********

 

The darkness starts to take place slowly, filling the colorful, kaleidoscopic world with darker shade of the dusk as the sun starts to set on the western sky. He can see the few last cracks of sunlight against the rose quarts and serenity-hued sky.

He looks out over the sky and a flock of birds start to fly back to where it comes from, adding the extra touch to the breathtaking view. As the sun starts to set more and more every seconds, he starts to feel a melancholic feeling building inside of him. The evening breeze comes and goes but every time it hits his face, he can feel himself being dragged away with it. Soon, the dusk-colored town slowly becomes monotonous with a mixed of darkness and city lights.

Despite being a sunrise lover himself, Seungcheol comes to appreciate sunset because of this particular friend of his. Before, he can't understand why people like sunset because to him, sunrise is better since it motivates him to start a new day, bringing new pages to the story of his life, but now, sunset becomes one of the important time in his days as he can reflect on himself after going through the day by looking at it.

Everyone has their own opinions and point of views, he realized that now. He should keep his mind open to the new things that come in way to see life in a different angle and a better picture.

He looks at his phone to keep himself up to date with the flowing time. 6:15PM. The sun has already set but there's not a single sign of this anonymous friend at the rooftop. Since it's probably going to be their last day to spend like this, Seungcheol thinks it's better if they can finally meet up in real life before their everyday conversations come to an end.

Or maybe not.

 

Seungcheol starts to walk towards the door, taking all the disappointment and regretful feeling with him on the shoulders before the door cracks open slowly, making that squeaky noise. Seungcheol has to stop on his track to look up and he automatically holds his breath as that familiar bubblegum pink-haired guy stands in front of him, looking surprised to see him at that time. They both stay silent, trying to comprehend everything and understand every single piece to the whole puzzle.

No wonder I can feel that familiar embodiment the first time I saw him.

His anonymous friend who happens to be the same guy he's been following, is now standing in front of him.

His eyes start to do the scanning again for a confirmation to assure himself; that bubblegum pink hair with neatly-cut fringe covering the forehead cannot be mistaken again, that one-line thin eyesmile that he can never get enough of, that cute, well-craved nose, that slightly dry, chapped lips, that flat-plane cheeks with no hint of chubbiness and that round jawline that starts to grow sharper are enough to prove that the younger is going to look hella amazing once he reaches the peak of his beauty.

Someone has to break the silence and the staring game, a sigh of relief can be heard coming from the younger once Seungcheol initiates.

"Hey~"

"Hey..."

They both feel awkward to find that they already met in real life accidentally despite the fact that they want to continue living as friends anonymously. It's amazing how fate acts and plots their lives in a remarkable and astonishing way.

 

They both can't take the silence anymore as they laugh the next second.

"I didn't know I would find you here…   " said Seungcheol. "   if only I knew about this earlier, I would've followed you here every evening…"

"You, stalker…" replied Jihoon and they both laugh at the comment.

"So… why were you avoiding me this whole time?" asked Seungcheol bravely and Jihoon looks away before answering the elder.

"Because I'm not good at socializing in real life…" answered Jihoon weakly.

Jihoon plays with the sleeve paws nervously as he waits for the elder to reply, but Seungcheol continues to look at him attentively. That gaze Seungcheol has been giving him ever since they met at the cafeteria makes him feel small, he can't helped himself other than running away, but there's no point of it now since their secret identity has been exposed to one another.

Jihoon had a guess before that Seungcheol is the guy behind the blue-colored scribbles on the desk when the guy started to talk about their encounter at the cafeteria and when the elder wrote... 

"I don't know why, but this guy feels… familiar?" 

"He has this bubblegum pink-colored hair, his eyes are small but I find it cute… I don't know, he really feels familiar to me like I have known him for so long, but I swear, I never met him before…"

"He reminds me of someone…", he literally felt shivering all over his body because he is not talking about me, right?

Jihoon actually feels the same way when Seungcheol comes to help him out on that day, like how can the person signifies the sunrise embodiment because whenever he sees the elder, he feels that warm and bright sensation, and when Jihoon knows something must be wrong for him to feel that way, he keeps on avoiding the elder on purpose.

He looks up after staying quiet for a minute to find Seungcheol's gentle eyes are on him and for the first time ever, he sees that genuine and bright smile of his and he smiles at the elder back, making his eyes disappear even more.

 

“Dawn and dusk are just illusions because the sun is either above the horizon or below it. And that means that day and night are linked in a way that few things are there cannot be one without the other yet they cannot exist at the same time. How would it feel wondering to be always together yet forever apart?”

 

And there they are, finally meeting one another; they can be together now…

Jihoon intentionally comes later on that day, missing the sunset because something tells him to do so but then, he doesn't know that the elder would be up here at that evening. Jihoon wonders how it would be like to spend the rest of his time with the elder.

Seungcheol speaks up just the moment when Jihoon opens his mouth to say something.

"Say... let's catch the sunrise together tomorrow morning…"

"I can't promise you on that, but I'll try…"

"Stop avoiding me already, Jihoon-ah…"

Seungcheol pouts and Jihoon had to laugh it off, to hide the red blushes on his cheeks.

 

---

Well, I don't know about this but I tried my best :) anyway, they both look good in their new haircuts /smells like a comeback is just around the corner/