He was about to leave the house, hair wet with the mist of the shower and his dancing shoes at his feet when his aunt stopped him with an apologetic smile.

-Nini, could you help me deliver these baskets?- she said, pointing at two really big hampers full of fresh baked bread. –I wouldn’t ask you, but four arms are better than two-

-Sure auntie- he replied with a sneaky smile.

Taking a walk wasn’t that bad of an idea, the wind drying off his hair and curling them into soft locks, the sun enhancing his honey like skin and the smell of the bread directly in his nose, making his stomach grumble.

-Don’t worry- chuckled his aunt –At home we’ve plenty of loaves left for lunch-

The sea in the distance was an azure expanse, all sparkly under the light of the morning. If he had been able to paint, he would have captured the stunning landscape on canvas but all his artistic abilities had gone into dancing, leaving him lacking in the drawing department. He remembered he had once seen his mother paint in the old veranda, her gaze lost faraway and her smile full of hope and distant memories. He had never seen her looking more beautiful than in that moment.

He had always wondered if he looked like that while dancing, if his passion and love shone through his skin like his mother.

Their destination was one of the town’s biggest houses, owned by the Jung family. He remembered the spouses had a daughter but he had never been interested in playing with the little girl with long black hair who was always surrounded by praising adults.

And there they were, in the mansion’s living room, sat in front of a tiny cup of tea while Mrs. Jung was going on and on about her back ache with his aunt attentively listening and recommending her some herbal massages who could cure her persistent pain.

Jongin was just looking around, trying to find something interesting to watch while waiting for the end of their dreary conversation. The house was very pretty, decorated with an harmonious sense of style by expert hands. On the cupboard, he noticed, there were many awards for singing competitions, recently polished. He guessed they belonged to the Jung’s daughter.

-Are you watching the trophies?-

He suddenly snapped back to reality.

-Pardon?-

Mrs. Jung was looking at him with sparkly eyes and a proud smile.

-Those are all Soojung’s. She won a lot of singing competition, gaining even a scholarship, my little darling. She had always wanted to become a famous singer, since she was just high like this- she said, pointing at her knee.

Something in Jongin’s stomach twisted. Had he ever heard his parents talk about him in such a proud way? He couldn’t remember the last time it had happened. He realized with a sting of jealousy that every corner of the house was covered with something that reminded everybody of the Jung’s daughter: photos, drawings, little child’s creations, kick knacks… it was one entire museum of family affection.

Jongin started feeling sick, his breathing getting heavier and his face sweating a bit too much, so he asked to be excused and ran outside. Taking his inhaler out of his pocket, he breathed out and took two shots of the medicine, closing his eyes and trying to slow down his heartbeat.

Everything was fine.

The wind was gentle on his skin and the sound of the distant sea was chanting in his ears like a siren’s call. When he felt confident in moving again, he started walking towards the beach. Like all the others, it was a beautiful day, sunny weather and salty air, with flocks of seagulls trying to fish out their lunches off the water.

When he arrived, something caught his attention: there was a boat in the surf, gently rocking in the thin water. Her drift had been removed and inside there was a pair of oars, like someone was expecting him to go somewhere.

-Do you like my boat?-

Jesus! Jongin seriously thought his poor heart was on the verge of collapsing. Taking another shot from his inhaler, he slowly turned around just to see two crescent peering at him and two lips pursed in an attempt of keeping a chuckle inside.

Kyungsoo was looking up to him, his hair and skin wet and little droplets trapped like pearls in his black locks and lashes. Jongin had to bite his lower lip to keep his face from heating up and his mouth to begin sputter nonsensical words.

He was stunning.

-You…- he said, regaining his composure –You almost gave me a heart attack. You have to be careful!-

The raven boy tilted his head to the side, forming a mute question with his eyes.

-I have weak lungs- he explained, not adding anything else.

It still burned him every time he had to explain, so he had simply stopped doing that. Not saying much people understood not to ask more questions, even if sometimes it was not enough. He had some encounters with people who had tried to get inside his head and made him tell what he was thinking. Why are you always sleepy and distracted? Why don’t you talk to me? Why are you…

And so on, in a spiral of questions that never ended because he had never replied.

So it came as a big surprise when the young man just smiled and nodded, without saying anything.  Something about the way he moved, his tiny and thoughtful gestures, enchanted him. Air didn’t exist around Do Kyungsoo, he just moved between molecules, in a dimension that wasn’t exactly aligned with his and made it difficult for Jongin to reach his hand like he wanted to.

-Can you row?- asked the raven boy.

-Yeah, but slowly. Why?-

-I thought we could go take a little trip-

And so they were, one oars each, leisurely sailing in the sapphire water, leaving lazy trails behind them. While Jongin was counting his breaths, trying to keep himself as calm as possible while rowing, Kyungsoo was just looking at the horizon in front of them, on hand on the oar and the other in the cold water. The dancer noticed with concern how blue his skin was turning around his fingers, but kept quiet, not wanting to disturb the peaceful state of the boy.

He wondered which thoughts were crossing his mind, what were those kaleidoscopic eyes seeing.

When they reached a the point where they coud only see the shore faintly in the distance, Kyungsoo stopped rowing and so did Jongin. They stayed like that, seated in the tiny boat in silence, with their legs spaced to one another.

Jongin was ridiculously bigger than Kyungsoo, making him look like a tiny bird inside the nest, but his gaze was so much fiercer, stronger.

-You know- Kyungsoo said, breaking their perfect silence –You’re my precious secret. I haven’t told anyone about you, and I won’t. If anyone finds out they’ll only spoil it-

Jongin looked at him in disbelief. His voice was so much saturated with sadness it was difficult to bear the weight of it.

-Kyungsoo- he whispered, almost afraid to talk –Are you ok?-

He leaned in, placing one hand onto the other’s. His skin was so cold, fading from pale pink to red and violet on the tip of the fingers, but the smile on his lips was one of the warmest he had ever seen.

-I am now- he said, grinned quietly. –I have moved here from not far away, but it wasn’t a pleasant change. I never wanted to move, never wanted to start again my life in an unknown place like this so I had decided to don’t talk to anyone. I got in lots of fights with my mother and father and kept my mouth shut whenever I was forced to go out with them. You are the first nice thing of this all experience-

Jongin was sure he was going to burn from how hard he was blushing. He knew it wasn’t good for him to have his heart beat at that rate, but he couldn’t stop it. His eyes were glued to the other’s, reflecting his stunned expression like glass.

He had to say something, but his tongue had lost all its abilities to move, leaving him wordless and coughing behind his hand.

-Thank you- he then muttered softly.

He threw his head to the sky, evading Kyungsoo’s gaze, looking at the clear blue above them.

-It’s nice, isn’t it?- he asked, with a hint of a smile on his lips.

Kyungsoo looked at him, slightly confused by his reaction, but his mouth curled into a grin when he understood. A heart-shaped happiness.

-Yeah, it’s pretty nice-

When he returned home, he felt exhausted. His muscles were aching and his stomach was empty, but his heart… for the first time in years, his heart felt full.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thought this was the end?

Tiny hands stretched upward, trying to catch all the bubbles that were running to the surface. Water in his mouth, water in his lungs.

He felt suffocated.

When he was little and he had not yet been diagnosed with asthma his father had thought it was a good idea that his five years old son started doing some sport, so he was enrolled in one of the local swimming pools near home.

He was scared as hell, looking at all the other toddlers like they were the enemy in pocket form. Wrapped in swimming trunks too big for his minute body, he tested the water with his toe and jumped back: it was freezing. Still, he didn’t want to be that boy who always cried in situations he didn’t like so he entered along all the other students.

First time his head went underwater, he hated it. It wasn’t salty like the sea near Chara-san’s house and he felt his body a lot heavier than there, not being able to float very well.

-Jongin, you’re slowing everybody down. Try to clap your legs faster, it will make you float better-

He tried, really, but after half an hour of lesson his body began to give signs of subsidence and his head started spinning like a merry-go-round. Suddenly, he wasn’t able to move his legs and arms anymore, nor his mouth and nose to breathe. His light body began sinking in the chlorinated water, his eyes closing and his thought nullifying in an instant.

That was when he realized it for the first time: his body would betray him. He didn’t know when or how, but it would.

And as things seemed to be going, that day didn’t feel that far away.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

I know, how cheesy was I with the fake ending? I wanted to add some suspence since I'm taking filming classes but it only really works in movies *sad laugh*. Anyway, i really can't seem to escape dreamy and misterious character, even when I don't mean it 

And yes, Krystal is going to be a character in the next chapter ^__^