You sat in the break room gawking at the 12 roses in the middle of the table. You were exhausted from Joshua. Actually, you were exhausted from your stupidity. Why had you said those thoughtless words to Joshua assuming he was going to do something? For God sake, he wasn’t Mingyu!!

You sighed and leaned over into your arms. It had been a while since the humiliation, yet you hadn’t finished collecting your face off the floor. In ten minutes, you were supposed to meet with Seungkwan, but you really did not have the energy to do so.

Seungkwan stood on the rooftop waiting anxiously for you. He stared at the door and hoped you would walk through the metal rectangle any minute now. He rehearsed a few lines and then coughed a few times out of embarrassment. This was the first time he was doing something so foolish.

When the door finally swung open, he witnessed your mouth drop with surprise.

The amount of balloons held within Seungkwan’s hands were so much that you were sure, with the perfect gust of air, it would lift him away. The white, pink and red mixed balloons swarmed around in the wind, waving at you fiercely as you slowly approached him.

“Seungkwan…why…why are you out here with so much balloons?” you asked.

“They’re for you,” he replied while handing both bundles to you. You gripped them with both hands tightly and now worried you would be the one drifting away.

“What do you plan to do?”

“Have you ever let this much balloons go before?” he questioned enthusiastically.

“No…why?”

“They’re message balloons,”

“Message balloons? There’s a message in these balloons?” you interrogated with an unconvinced laugh.

“Before you let them go…I just want to tell you that…I…I really enjoy my time with you,” he expressed in a generous tone. You watched him inhale before he added, “I hope we can remain like this.”

His eyes sparkled from the hues of the evening sky reminding you of how generous he had always been. His lips moved as if he was searching for words to speak but couldn’t get out.

“Seungkwan…I,”

He stepped forward, “I hope we can remain close. Just like this. The two of us.”

He was indeed very close at the moment. If he got any closer, you would be kissing the folds to his blazer for sure. The atmosphere grew silent and all you could hear was the faint sound of tires burning against the pavement from below.

“Don’t I deserve a hug for my speech? I practiced really hard you know?” he joked triggering you to chuckle in response. Were you supposed to reply? Your mind swam swiftly and then struggled, drowning in your thoughts as Seungkwan pulled you into an embrace. And then, you felt him bend slightly over to fit your petite body into his arms, tightening his grip around your ribs.

“Why did it take you so long to agree to give me a hug?” he inquired playfully but his tone was full of pouting sadness.

“Ummm…when can we let these balloons go?” you asked changing the subject.

Seungkwan reached one arm up to touch your long hair that dangled between your shoulder blades, “When you’re ready to let go, you can,”

“So…can I let go now?”

“When you’re ready,”

“Mmm…ok,” you responded and slowly released the balloons. The further they ascended into the sky, the more you wondered what message balloons were. As you watched the balloons spread from the wind, you realized they were actually attached.

The bundle from your left hand extended into a heart as it floated into the distance. Beside it was the bundle from your right hand that unfolded into a large-shaped U.

In Seungkwan’s arms, you stood there, allowing the last bit of air from your lungs to escape into the atmosphere. The moment was sweet and you felt as if your legs had lifted off the ground. You curled your fingers into your palms while your arms remained dangling at your sides. Then, without realizing it, you returned Seungkwan’s hug. In that moment, there was something inside of you that shattered, like the way the morale of a fortress would when seized by opponents in a warfare. 

The clock was already 8:30pm and you hadn’t budged from your seat in the break room. The