black, white, and everything in between. 

one of the possible reason for this phenomenon was that this was the way the heavens punished mortals for sinning. the world would be shrouded with black and white until such time that one finds and meets his other half, the one destined for his soul. this was a pairing decided by the deities. once fixed, no power on heaven on earth could ever alter such bond. some would think of this as a reward, or as a way of making life better. after all, if it was this easy to find your partner, then what more should you do? 

however, humans know better than that. 

this is pure agony.  

the determination of the right one for you based on the reaction of your rods and cones, lead to pain, unsatisfaction, and sometimes even suicide. some people spend years of their lives roaming around in order to see greens, yellows, blues-colors that they only read about in books but never experienced personally. some people have it easy. in as early as childhood, their thirst for hues are quenched. down-trodden ones pair up, enduring all the grays together. as for the unfortunate ones, they wither in old age, never having known how brightly fire can burn. 

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kim jongin opens his eyes and squints at the sunlight. 

he overslept, again. 

he isn't in his room, again. 

"about time. you've been out of it for two and a half hours," oh sehun nags at him, again. he sits himself to soak in his surroundings. jongin finds himself lying beneath a giant tree. he remembers it all now. a while ago, he accompanied sehun around the campus grounds in order to find a suitable spot for sehun to continue his readings. sehun has always been the diligent one. 

"can you please explain this concept to me? i don't get why you should increase your current income with last year's overstated ending inventory," sehuns taps his paper with a pencil. 

"last year's ending inventory is your current year's beginning inventory. now if last year's ending inventory was overstated, then your current beginning inventory would be overstated, too. an overstatement of beginning inventory would result to an understatement of net income since they are inversely proportional with each other. thus, to correct your current net income, you have to add the amount of the prior overstatement." jongin explains while examining sehun's face for signs of confusion. thankfully, he finds none.  jongin waits. there's always that extra minute of silence one needs to analyze information.  "oh, i get it now, thanks," sehun slams his book shut and shoves it into his backpack.

"why are you so smart? if i only had your brain, i wouldn't have been studying this hard." jongin doesn't say a word, watching sehun pack up his belongings. 

there are things he would never tell anyone: how consistently he tries to wake up at four in the morning to review previous lessons and read certain topics in advance, how great it feels to walk down hallways and hear people whisper about his achievements, how studying is the one thing he knows how to do well, and how pathetic it is when he fails to appreciate being the highest in every exam when all he sees is that one single mistake he had. he never tells anyone how challenging it is to be happy. it seemed to be a concept that was applicable to everyone but him. 

"care for some bibimpab? it's on me, come on,"  jongin allows himself to be towed away by the clingy hands of his closest friend. 

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the eatery, being a block away from their campus, is b with the young and their overflowing backpacks, and spilled liquor on wooden tables. too-loud coversations, too-wide smiles on pasty faces, shoulders brushing, hands intertwined, lips pursed, the scent of spices merging on air. being in this environment, he should feel as part of it as the stained glass windows protecting the scene from the world as they know it, but all that is present is detachment, the truth that he does not even know where is it that he wants to be, just that is isn't here. 

"as i was saying, you're one of the lucky ones," this was said in between bites. it is normal of sehun to throw manners out the window. "the latest consensus said that only five point ninety-one per cent of the total population could see in colors now, and this was in pairs. do you know how hard it is to find your soul mate? this is making my head spin. i'm getting older but all i see is black and white." 

"it isn't that simple, you know, i don't even have an idea who this supposed soul mate is. the people i know so far see in monochrome," and it's true. jongin has a theory that he must have met the so-called the one when he was still a kid. the problem was his parents were the kind to travel to places, leading to jongin to experience different cultures, see varied faces, encounter people. one of them must be the one, the one that gave him the very thing others search their entire lives for. the one who gave him color, and the reassurance the he will never be alone, never end his life without appreciating the blues of the sky.

"it would be easier if there was a sign when you see him. like maybe the hues would be more vivid, or something of that sort."

"that would be too much. isn't it enough that you know the one for you is out there,possibly listening to your favorite song, or watching a movie they would soon introduce to you? i think asking for that would be selfish."

"how come?"

"being able to see in color is already a priviledge, but i don't think it ends there. i think one of the challenge is being able to keep that person close to you,"

sometimes, his friend does this thing called making sense and it's times like this when he appreciates sehun's eccentricity, appreciates all that sehun has to offer. 

could it be sehun?

does he want it to be?

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