“I thought we’re gonna hang out tonight, a lit night out!” Doyoung sighs

“I have something I need to do tonight” Jaehyun continues walking

“And what is this? Juice??? I thought you’re buying me a beer, this isn’t lit at all” Doyoung complains again

“It’s healthier, and stop saying lit!”

It’s a Saturday afternoon when Jaehyun called Doyoung that instead of going to a bar like he promised they should just hang out at the park in the city since the weather is nice today. Doyoung of course complained since he’s not at all an outdoor person and would prefer not to leave his gaming hours, but he came after Jaehyun said that he’s still buying him a drink. Although the reality of the drink Jaehyun bought for him is quite different than what he thought.

“What are we doing in a park anyway? What is there to do? Walking? Are we having a date?” Doyoung scoffs but still walking with Jaehyun

“Enjoy the weather, you know you need to go out more. And yes, we’re totally on a date right now” Jaehyun laughs which Doyoung replied with an eyeroll

“I.am.tired, can we look for a seat please? I want some ice cream too looking at all these kids eating made me want to have one too….” Doyoung look around the park as they walk, looking for a bench for them to sit maybe, until his eyes spots a familiar figure “yo, isn’t that your girl over there?”

“What girl?” Jaehyun look at the direction in which Doyoung is looking at until he saw her “yeah, it’s her, wait, no she’s not my girl, shut up Doyoung, what is she doing here alone?”

“I don't know if you know, but everyone is allowed to go to the park” Doyoung says sarcastically which Jaehyun replied with a mocking tone following what he said, earning him a smack on the head from Doyoung, “Should we go say hi?” Doyoung continues

Jaehyun thinks for a second since he want to say hi to her, but at the same time Doyoung is with him and he don’t know if it’s the best idea as of now, but since he thought Doyoung don’t know about his interest towards the girl he just nod and walk towards her direction in which she was sitting.

“Hi..” Jaehyun says carefully when he’s closer, not wanting to surprise her.

“Oh hi! I know this voice, Jaehyun??” The girl puts down her book and looked at the direction which Jaehyun’s voice came from

“It’s me, I was walking around and I saw you her-” says Jaehyun when Doyoung clears his throat earning a side eye from Jaehyun but Jaehyun complies anyway, “Actually Doyoung saw you and he told me. He’s here with me now, I don’t know if you remember him”

“Of course I remember him! Hi Doyoung nice to meet you again” she said

“Hi,  the same for me! we didn’t get to actually talk because I NEED to go, didn’t I Jaehyun?” Doyoung emphasis on the need which Jaehyun just replied with a “yes” plus an elbow to Doyoung’s ribs

“Well then it’s nice meeting you guys outside of the library” she laughs but oblivious to what Doyoung implied about Jaehyun,  “what are you guys doing here?” the girl then ask.

“Oh we were just walking around, hanging out, just buying Doyoung here the nutrients he need since all he drinks are sodas” Jaehyun says

“Yeah, what can I say, I have no choice when he asked me to hang out with him, lonely guy needs a company and I’m the only one who would say yes, out of pity” Doyoung said while sipping his juice making the girl chuckle, but Jaehyun only replied with an eye roll

“Are you here alone?” Jaehyun asks the girl

“No, I’m with with my neighbor, he drove me here, said I should get some fresh air while the weather is nice” she shook her head and explains “he said he wanted to get us some ice cream, so I’m waiting for him here”

“Do you mind if we sit here with you? Doyoung here has been complaining about being tired the whole time” Jaehyun asks

“No, of course I don’t mind!” She taps on the bench gesturing Jaehyun and Doyoung to sit

Jaehyun, Doyoung and the girl was chatting and occasionally the girl laughed because Jaehyun and Doyoung kept on bickering about things. Jaehyun then spots a tall guy with brown almost orange-ish hair color coming their way.  Jaehyun almost ignored the guy until he saw the guy staring at both him and Doyoung with an almost confused look and come closer to where they are.

“Hey, here’s your ice cream” the guy handed the ice cream carefully to the girl’s hand

“Oh Taeyong, you’re here, thank you so much” she took the ice cream from his hand while he helped with her ice cream spoon “Also, this is Jaehyun and Doyoung, they go to dad’s university” she introduced Jaehyun and Doyoung

“Ah, I see, I was wondering earlier, but hey it’s nice meeting you guys, my name is Taeyong” Taeyong shook both Jaehyun and Doyoung’s hand one after another.

“Is that matcha ice cream? Where did you get them??” Doyoung suddenly asks Taeyong

“Uh...you just go straight from here and near that fountain over there you go right and around the corner there should be an ice cream truck” Taeyong explains

“Oh man, ok, Jaehyun wait here, I’ll go buy one for us” Doyoung doesn’t wait for Jaehyun’s answer and just leave to get his ice cream

Jaehyun stares at the man in front of him: Taeyong is shorter than him, and his shoulders are way more narrow. Jaehyun feels confident at that, but Taeyong's face is a totally different story. Strong brows right on top of big and expressive eyes, a straight nose, and a strong jawline… he is definitely handsome.

Jaehyun feels inferior at that. But he remembers the girl sitting with them was blind: should it matter how either of them look?

But wait, why is Jaehyun so conscious about it?

“So, Taeyong,” Jaehyun directs at said guy. “You guys are friends?”

“Oh, right. Jaehyun was it?” Taeyong replies, and his lips disappear as he smiles with his teeth out. Jaehyun silently cheers at that. “Yeah. We go a long way back. We're neighbors, actually. For as long as we've known.”

Taeyong nudges the girl with his arm, and she joins in on the conversation.

“Yes, neighbors. We were playmates back when we were kids.”

“Oh, that's cool,” Jaehyun can't really think much of a reply. He looks at Taeyong as he turns his head sideways. There's a deep scar right by his right eye, marring his otherwise flawless skin. Now that the light catches his face better, Jaehyun sees a slight breakout on his cheek, too.

That makes Jaehyun feel a bit better about himself. He wonders why he's turning this into a competition.

To end the awkward silence, “So, Jaehyun. What do you do? Work? Uni?” Taeyong asks and Jaehyun quickly turns his head to the other direction; it would be weird if he were caught staring.

“Oh, uh. I'm in uni. A business major.”

“Ah, I see.” Taeyong turns to the girl in between them, “Makes me wonder how you became friends with this girl right here.”

“Wow, Taeyong. Always a gentleman,” she replies sarcastically, but in a joking way. Jaehyun feels a bit iffy about their playful banter.

Taeyong's hair looked super fried, too. From all of that coloring maybe.

“Oh, I met her in the library.” Jaehyun replies a bit strained. “Just a few weeks ago.”

“The one she frequents in? Ah, how come I've never seen you before? I drive her there sometimes.”

“Oh,” the girl adds to the conversation. “He always stays in there until later than I do. Doing homework. Jaehyun seems to be a very hardworking guy.”

She turns her head to the general direction of where Jaehyun's voice was coming from and offers a smile. Jaehyun feels himself straighten his back and puff out his chest a bit.

At the same time, Doyoung comes back with their ice creams. Doyoung’s is green tea, Jaehyun’s a plain vanilla with peaches as toppings.

“Hey, what'd I miss?”

“Oh, nothing much. Doyoung, right?” Taeyong says as he looks up at Doyoung's standing form. He eyes him from head to toe for a second, then moves a little to make space right beside him. Doyoung takes the spot, and Jaehyun sees Taeyong close the space between them, legs touching each other's.

“Yeah. Taeyong?”

“That's me,” Taeyong replies, and from then Jaehyun tunes out his friends’ conversation into a white noise.

Jaehyun thinks, why does he feel wary of this Taeyong person? It's not like he's stealing anything from him. But why does Jaehyun feel so inferior to him? Sure, maybe he and the girl have known each other much longer, and are closer friends than the girl and he would ever be but… Wait, where was he going with this again? Jaehyun loses his trail of thought.

“Jaehyun.”

“What?”

“Ha, figures,” said girl replies to him with a mischievous smile. “I could hear you thinking from over here.”

“Oh, um,” Jaehyun is taken aback and fumbling for words. “Did - did you say something?”

Her playful grin turns into a gentle one, as she says, “I was asking you what flavor your ice cream was.”

“Oh. Vanilla,” Jaehyun replies.

“Wow. That's… I didn't expect you to be so plain,” she laughs a bit, and before Jaehyun could protest, adds, “Since you're so into the arts and all, I'd have expected your taste to be a bit more eccentric.”

“Like what?”

“Like, maybe… Pistachio with rock salt and cheese, but with some kale bits on top and ketchup on the side… And a pineapple. An entire one. The yellow of the pineapple symbolizes gratitude.”

“Funny,” Jaehyun says ironically, but somehow a genuine smile finds itself on his face. The way she rambled on was slightly endearing.

“Just kidding,” she lets out a small giggle.

“But no. It's vanilla, but with sliced peaches as the topping.”

“You like peaches?”

“I guess you could say that.” Jaehyun scoops up a slice and into his mouth. After he's swallowed the piece, he continues, “I guess I liked it so much, that's why my childhood nickname was ‘Peaches’.”

“You must have been a cute kid then,” she says to that and Jaehyun feels himself heating up.

“Oh.”

“You know, your voice is really deep, but you seem like such a big softie, Jaehyun.” She once again turns to Jaehyun, and their gazes meet for a split second. From the tone of her voice, he knows she meant that as a good thing. “You know, for being Mr. Big Business Major and all, it seems like such a big contrast.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. It makes me curious how you actually look like.”

“Oh, um.” Jaehyun's never really had to describe out loud his physical appearance before. This is going to be hard. “Um, I'm around… 180cm the last time I checked for a medical check-up during the semester. I… don't think I'm skinny or muscular, maybe just right. I also dyed my hair brown a little over a month before we met. Doyoung dared me to. He tells me my skin is really pale, too.” Jaehyun was running out of things to say, but luckily the girl seems satisfied with the description.

“Wow.”

“Wow?” Jaehyun asks, a bit confused.

A long pause, before she replies. “You're tall,” matter-of-factly.

“I'm not the tallest guy in class but,” Jaehyun relaxes, “Yeah, I think my height is a bit above average.”

“Now I'm glad I have something to visualize, whenever I speak to you.”

“Yeah?” But then Jaehyun suddenly remembers what she said just a while ago. “You said a while ago… Yellow. Does that mean you… know what colors look like?” Jaehyun hopes he isn't overstepping boundaries as he asks, but he figures they were close enough friends.

“Y - yeah… Kind of.” The girl stares off into the distance. It takes her a few seconds to continue. “Vaguely. I kind of remember how they look - how it feels when I looked at certain colors - but I lost my vision early on into my childhood. So I don't really know what they look like anymore. I just… sort of remember the sensations that come with them. Sorry, it’s hard to explain -”

“No, no I totally get you. It's like… the feeling you get when you look at a painting.”

She breaks out into a smile, relieved as if talking about her condition was still something difficult for her. Jaehyun is glad they were friends enough to confide in each other.

“You're right, Mr. Music-and-arts-is-my-passion.”

As she said that, the sun behind her casts a halo on top of her head, and the wind blows into the tendrils of hair on the sides of her face.

The breeze brings with it a scent of flowers from a patch of garden a few feet away from where they were sitting.

The grass is green around them, and the screams of joy from the children in the distance seem louder than before.

Jaehyun breaks out of his reverie.

“...Hey, could you excuse me for a bit? Just,” he struggles to get his phone from out of his tight front pocket, “Gotta make a note on my phone.” She nods a yes.

Jaehyun types out into his Notes app and hums a melody.

‘Even though you paint me

With a thousand different hues,

And even though they clash

You still manage to make me beautiful.’

“Hey,” Taeyong's voice breaks through the silence. “We have to leave soon,” he says to the girl beside him.

“Oh, is it time already?”

“Yeah, I have to start my shift earlier today.”

Taeyong stands up and takes her by the arm to help her get up.

“Bye, Jaehyun. And nice talking to you again, Doyoung.”

“Yeah, it was nice meeting you, Doyoung.” Taeyong picks up her bag and her walking stick, and holds her by the hands to give them to her. “Oh, and Jaehyun, too,” he adds almost as an afterthought as he turns back, like he forgot he was there in the first place.

Jaehyun and Doyoung nod and wave their goodbyes, but Jaehyun feels his stomach drop at what he sees before the pair leaves. He sees the girl’s hand on Taeyong's upper arm as they walk, Taeyong pulling her close. He sees them laughing to each other, too, like they were talking about some inside joke that only the two of them knew.

Jaehyun sees red.