I've always wanted to know how the world came to be, how life is created and, what my destiny is. Many questions flood my mind, it's endless. I ask myself questions as a child, I still ask them now. Time changes and I wonder about different things.

I open my eyes to see a large, light blue canvas decorated with soft clouds. My fingers wrap around a bundle of the green grass that cushioned me. Nothing blocks my view from the tallest hill, except for a few birds flying across. Laying here, at peace, I lift my hand up towards the sky.

Will I ever be able to reach it?

I love my sky, which spreads on for miles and miles. My sky is light blue, my sky has clouds, my sky is beautiful.

I turn my head to the right just a little bit, shifting my eyes away from the daylight sky that I first thought was the only one that exists.

This sky is dark blue, sometimes pitch black. Instead of clouds, it's sprinkled with tiny, sparkling lights. Stars. They never move like the clouds in my sky, but they dance in their spots constantly. Twinkling.

I see where the skies meet. It's where the border is. No one, not even the most powerful people from day and night, are allowed to pass over.

Why are there rules to separate us?

Everyone in the daytime cannot cross over to nighttime, and the same rule applies to the night people as well not to cross into daytime. From my own knowledge, no one has ever crossed, but if someone does, the punishments are harsh and critical. The consequences are unknown but no one dares to find out. "Don't cross over." It's such a simple rule yet-

I want to go to the night side.

I bite my lips. If I would have said that sentence out loud, I would be in massive trouble if someone heard. But I didn't tell a lie, it's the truth.

Yes, the daylight sky is very beautiful, providing me a sense of safety whenever I needed comfort. It, like a blanket, gives my heart warmth on sad days. But the night sky...

The night sky is enchanting. It is alluring, whispering for me to surround myself within its dark shadows. The twinkling stars call me over to dance with them. Would I even survive if I were to step into it's territory? Would I die, not from the punishments that I would receive, but from the darkness and the cold?

I sit up, stretching my arms. At the bottom of the hill, I see a couple walking by, hands joined. An invisible bubble of happiness protects them.

At this thought, I glance back to the night side, where only silence resonates. I stood, taking a few steps forward before leaning onto the healthy tree nearby. I clutch my mother's necklace that hung around my neck. Right before it was time for me to leave my parents at the age of 18 to continue life on my own, my mother gifted me this. It represents the love between she and my father. A good luck charm is what she simply called it. I remember her soft chuckle, her wishing for me to find someone.

Looking at the night side, another question invades me and I tried to push it away and I can't stop the idea from coming to mind and-

"Is my soulmate waiting for me on the night side?"

I instantly cover my mouth. I can't imply that I want to go there. I desperately want to, feeling desire surge in my chest but I swallow the feeling down. It's the best option for me.

"That's crazy."

I jumped slightly when I hear a voice behind me. When I saw that it was only my friend, I sigh in relief. "You shouldn't have startled me like that."

Yoongi, who I have known since childhood, walks to the tree and stares at the night sky in the distance. His hands are tucked into his yellow hoodie and his blonde hair almost covers his eyes. "Seokjin, I heard what you said."

I look down, knowing that I can't deny anything. Once Yoongi is on to something, you can never escape. I learned that it's best to be honest with him, most of the time. Besides, he already knew about my interest of night.

"It's a bad idea," Yoongi said, turning to look at me. I've heard him say this multiple times before, or something along those lines.

"I know," I replied. I know but I can't let that dream go. I tried.... or at least I tried to try.

"It's dangerous," my friend says in a low voice. He looks over his shoulder just to make sure that no one else is listening.

"I know," I repeat. Our conversations of this topic are always like this. In the end, I know that he is only looking out for me. He always has, despite me being the older one.

"We can't pass the border anyway," another person says, specifically Hoseok, who appears from behind Yoongi.

I give a firm nod towards them, not wanting to go back and forth.

Hoseok knows more about the area. Yoongi and I first met him when the two of us moved here together. He was the first to show us around, and we quickly became friends.

"I understand," I say, but the two didn't look convinced. "Honestly! What I said just a while ago was just... just nonsense."

Yoongi raised a brow. "Well, I hope so."

Hoseok smiles and starts to talk about his day. I'm grateful that he changed the topic. Before we left for home, I peeked at the night sky one last time.

~~~

I blink, feeling exhausted. Lately, I've been struggling to get a good night of sleep. It's a bit odd but I push it aside. Perhaps I am just a bit overwhelmed, or stressed.

A soft breeze blew into my bedroom and I take a deep breath in. I exhale as the curtains sway gently from the wind. The quietness is interrupted by the loud ringing of bells, located on the border of day and night. I used to enjoy the sound of them, but they soon became rather annoying as I became an adult. They ring to signal when it is time to sleep and wake up. The sweet chimes stop soon and people begin to wake and chatter and laugh outside, greeting each other. I pull myself out of bed, heading to the bathroom to wash up.

Once the tub is filled with warm water, I pull my clothes off and slipped in. Massaging my shoulders, I relax as the water soothes my body. I fall in deeper, until my nose is barely above water and my toes peek out from the end of the tub. 

Nowadays, my curiosity has grown immensely. So, I ponder about my friends' warnings. "Don't think about it. Don't think about it," I think to myself.

Suddenly, I sit up straight, splashing water out of the bathtub. This feeling won't leave me alone, I can't let it be. I think I know what to do. I think I know a way to suppress my wants just a little longer.

Kim Namjoon.

~~

Sophisticated, intelligent, and cultivated is what the man before me is. I stood among the many book shelves, filled with so much knowledge of the world. But even they can't answer all of my questions.

Namjoon sits alone at a desk, flipping pages as his sharp eyes take in the words scripted into beige paper. Every once in a while, he'd adjust his glasses to rest higher on the bridge of his nose. His hair is nicely combed back, not a single hair is out of place. I brush my fingers through my brown hair, washed but not as groomed.

I must hurry if I want to speak to him. Although I've never spoken to him much, only a few times to make us acquainted, I became well aware of how much he knows about... lots of things. It surprised me at first when I discovered that Namjoon is a knight, patrolling the area, including the border. His job and hobbies makes him the perfect person for me to ask.

"Excuse me," I say quietly, not wanting to sound too intruding.

Namjoon looks up from his book, taking his glasses off and setting it aside to stare at me. Really, I would never expect such a man to be working as a knight. In my mind, he fits being a scholar or something else similar to that.

"Yes?"

I don't know what to say, I haven't rehearsed my little speech to myself beforehand. How do I ease my way into letting him tell me more about night and, perhaps even taking me to the border? That last part is a far stretch though, and is unlikely to happen.

"May I ask something from you?" I ended up saying, hoping that I really didn't meddle with whatever he is doing. Namjoon nods at the chair next to him and I pull it out before taking a seat. 

"I don't see why not. Make it quick though. My shift will start soon." He shuts his book close, gently laying it down on the desk.

First, I ask about what his job is like, what he does and what he sees. I get disappointing answers, normal answers. Not surprisingly, he doesn't mention the border or anything related to it. I press on, trying to get him to say something about it.

Namjoon stands up in the middle of one of my questions. I felt a sense of offense; how could he just walk away from me mid sentence?

My frown turned into confusion when he comes back. In his hands is a thin book, and judging from the tattered cover, I can see that it's mighty old, almost ancient.

"No need to ignore the elephant in the room, Seokjin," he says, his arms stretched outwards to hand the book to me. I didn't understand what he meant but once I open the book to the very first page, I didn't care about this random elephant talk anymore.

"I know this is what you came for. I am so good at reading that I can read your mind," he says with a playful smile, joking. I gave a single, dry laugh, before feeling the page with neat, handwritten text. I must handle it with care; it looks like it can turn into sand if I brush it any harder.

"I must say," Namjoon places his hand on his hip, "You are like an open book, Seokjin. I'm sure you heard this already, but you must be cautious. I've given you a secret, if you can detect what it is. Also, it's taboo to speak too much about the other side."

"But why?" I couldn't help myself. "Did the people there do something wrong? Was there a historical war between day and night?"

Namjoon pushes his finger to his lips, silencing me. "Like I said, we shouldn't speak so lightly about the subject. My shift has already begun, so we can talk again another time. I suggest that you read at home, alone, to answer your own questions."

"I'm just curious," I state. Namjoon nods.

"Ah, of course you are," he wipes his glasses before putting them back on, pushing them firmly into place. "Let me tell you something, take it as a warning if you must."

"What is it?"

Namjoon walks pass me, saying something low and because he walked by so quickly, I almost didn't catch it. But I heard.

"Curiosity killed the cat."

~~

I want to see stars so badly. Not from afar, I want them to be directly above me. The book that Namjoon gave me mentioned drawings that the stars make in the night sky. Like clouds. They shape into things too, like a fluffy bunny. But the stars' drawings are always there. Clouds, on the other hand, change shape all the time.

The book didn't give me much information, it had everything that everyone pretty much knew. I stuff the book into my drawer and open my closet. Grabbing my softest sweater, I walk out of my home.

My legs carry me for an hour until I reach the end of the rows of houses. Beyond that is only a large field of grass and then trees until the border. Even though where I am standing is still day territory, no one seem to ever come this close.

My home is farther now, so I take my time to sit and rest, to stare at the darkness ahead of me. I wished I had brought some paper and I pencil to sketch the image, to imagine what it would be like to live in such a place.

Soon enough, bells rang, startling me. They were closer, so way much louder as well. I didn't realize how much time passed and I needed to go home. At the same time, I didn't, since it would be another hour long walk back. Pushing myself to stand up and go back, I sigh in defeat after a couple of minutes.

I turn my back to the night side and began to walk home. Everyone is already fast asleep, the entire area became quiet. Even I was exhausted, remembering how I didn't get enough sleep from the previous nights.

I had just begun to walk but a sound stops me. No, it wasn't a sound. It was more like... many sounds. It was so faint, I was confused since everyone is already sleeping. Where could it come from?

My ears were what I focused with the most at the moment, wondering where these sounds came from. I realized that they get slightly louder when I go nearer the night side. It sounded like... people. I know that there are people there but they were almost never mentioned.

Before I knew it, I made it halfway through the clearing. So it's not that night is always silent. One side is always asleep while the other is awake. With everyone asleep right now, could this be my chance to see what's on the other side? What's hidden? What can I explore?

"Stop it right there!"

I froze, frightened. I'm almost up to the trees now, even closer to the border.

I turned and see Namjoon, who came up and takes me by my arm. His grip is firm and I feel myself drift away from my dream. I couldn't believe what I almost did. I could be the first ever person besides officials to see night.

"Seokjin, I told you to read, not to go over there," Namjoon reprimands me. We got back to the houses and I pull my arm away, crossing them.

"I did. And my questions weren't answered," I furrow my brows, thinking that I've been lied to. "That book is old information, a basic guide and nothing else."

Namjoon shakes his head. He better not say any weird elephant, cat, whatever talk. My only desire is to be under the night sky.

"You didn't read all of it," he pats my shoulder. "You ought to look deeper, that's all."

The knight sends me off after that talk. He actually insisted on escorting me home, but I refuse. He only let me go after I promised not to cheat him and come back.

Irritated, I slam the door shut behind me when I got home. I am already more than an hour behind the sleeping schedule, adding to my cranky mood. By the time I got to my bed, I think about what Namjoon said.

I didn't read everything? I read every word on every page! The book is pulled back out from my dresser and opened in my lap. Flipping through the thin pages, I don't see anything unfamiliar. Letting out an angry growl, I throw the book into my closet. It hits the wall with a thud before falling to the ground, it's spine barely holding on.

When I calmed down shortly after, I felt bad for mistreating the book. Walking over to it, I enter the closet. Right when I bend down to pick it up, the closet door shuts and locks, trapping me inside.

I pound on the door, straining to break it open. It was no use. Things just can't get any worse, can they?

After a while of endless shouting and trying to get the door open, I give up, hoping to try again once everyone is awake.

I hugged my knees as darkness surrounds me. With nothing else to do, I decided to try to sleep. I only tucked my head into my arms comfortably when I see a small glow in the dark. Reaching out to the soft light, I find myself bringing the book back to me.

Why is the book glowing? To be more specific, the words are glowing. But they say something else, more things. It's like a whole other book.

~~

When I awoke from my slumber, I see that the closet door has magically opened again. Could this house be cursed? It didn't matter to me as much as what happened earlier. I felt my head, and it amazed me to know that I've sleep peacefully again.

It must be the dark. I've never had such sweet dreams. My energy is boosting from within myself. I raise the book up, only to see that it became ordinary again. Holding it up close, I examine it again.

Does it only glow in the dark?

To test it out, I place the book back into the closet. Not wanting to lock myself in there again, I make sure to step out. Then, I close the door until there is only a tiny crack, big enough for me to look through.

And yes! It did indeed glow!

I bring the book out again, cradling it in my arms. Namjoon mentioned that this was a secret. Him being him, reading all the time, he must have discovered this as well. I wonder if there are others who know this. If there is anyone, they've done a great job of not saying anything.

The book consisted of more descriptive images of the geography of night, details of how the people's daily life works, etc. There is a major problem with labor though. Almost everyone there must work to survive, which we say people don't need to do. Besides that, I enjoyed every part of it but the end left me a bit puzzled.

There wasn't much said on the topic, but apparently, those who broke the rules and cross over to the other side are punished. That part I already know, but I never thought that there was anyone who ever did it. However, the punishments threw me off.

'A man from the night who broke this single rule to see the day received punishment that kept him where he is suppose to remain. He is the origin of the night's stars. Sentence 'til eternity, his soul is scattered into the million stars we have now and he will never be able to see daytime again.'

I then assume that the formation of clouds comes from something similar to the man turned into stars. My shoulders slump down. If it is like this, then it's hopeless for me. 

If I were to cross, what would become of me?

~~

Hoseok and I walked together to Yoongi's house. As we did so, I can't stop looking at the sky like usual. There is only clouds and the color blue as the background. That's it.

I gasp when I tripped over something. Hoseok caught me just in time, grabbing my arm. I briefly thanked him, and he smiles back.

"Seokjin, why are you in such a daze lately?"

"There's just a lot in my mind as of now," I said quickly.

Hoseok gives me an unconvinced look. "Hm-mmm."

There was a moment of silence before I had to ask out of the blue, "What do you think about the clouds?" It was almost like he knew that I was going to say something like this.

He points up to one. "That one looks like my bed."

"No, not like that," I say, putting his arm down. "I mean like, what do you think created them?"

"Why does it matter? They're just clouds," he shrugs.

"What if it's some kind of magic? What if it's a person?" I exclaimed, thinking back to what I have read.

Hoseok looked at me like I am insane. "Isn't it just part of nature? Seokjin, are you feeling sick? Dizzy?"

I sigh. What am I thinking? Of course what I'm saying would sound delusional.

Once we arrived at Yoongi's place, he invites us in. Today is a free day for all of us, so we decided to just spend some time together.

Yoongi cooked up some ramen for the three of us. We catch up with each other, but I couldn't say much about myself. My quietness didn't go unnoticed because Hoseok starts to poke at Yoongi. "See? He's been like this for a while."

"Eat, Seokjin," Yoongi says. It sounds like an order, which I didn't really like.

"I am. It's delicious," I say.

"You only took a sip of the broth," Hoseok pipes in. "Why are you thinking about this night time thing so much? I don't think it's helping you."

Yoongi agrees, "He's right. You have got to pull your head out of the clouds."

"We keep warning you over and over. It's dangerous." said Hoseok.

"Just stay here. How hard can it be?" said Yoongi.

"Don't leave."

"Please don't tell me that that's what you've been planning to do, Seokjin."

"Will you two get off my back?!" I shout, hitting the table with my fists. The bowls rattled, a chopstick rolls off of the table. I hate it when we get into arguments. I feel like I am the one who's starting it. "Just mind your own business."

"Are you going to really try to leave though?" Hoseok asks, leaning forward to really look at my face for an honest answer.

"Yes! I mean no! I mean..." I stammer, trying to get a hold of myself. Hoseok places his hand on my arm. I take a breath before deciding to speak more slowly. "No. I don't plan to cross over. But truthfully, I would like to. But I won't do it. You're always babying me."

"You think I like babysitting?" Yoongi laughs dryly. "Really though. How old are you now?Why can't you just listen? We have all the freedom we want-"

"Well, that freedom doesn't allow us to cross the border, does it?!" I snap.

Yoongi throws his hands up, "That's the only exception! That's the only major rule that we must obey! Just one, Seokjin. For once I wished you weren't so dense and curious all the time! You're always asking stupid questions."

Hoseok starts to yell in a whisper at Yoongi but I can't hear. My face burned and I know that my ears are red too. Of course I was offended, and angry. I wanted to spit something back into Yoongi's face. I don't know what strong force held me back from doing so.

Instead, I stand up and left, slamming the door behind me. After the argument I just had with Yoongi, I felt like going as far away from him as possible. And because I am so angry, I went against what my friends said. It was pretty bratty and immature of me but I couldn't help it with the flow of things now.

My anger slowly died down in the one hour it took for me reach the border. Well, close to the border. Just the same spot like before, with the vast field then trees. Only this time, I went more to the west, just so Namjoon or any other knights and people can't catch me. There are slightly more knights on patrol than last time, probably because I was caught being too near last time. By the time I got to the trees, diving behind one to hide for a brief moment, the bells rang. I stay hidden behind the tree for a short while, just enough until I'm sure almost everyone is asleep.

Swallowing a lump in my throat, I carefully walked through the thick woods. Some parts of it is so thick that I have to feel my way through. When I finally got out, with scratches on my hands and arms, I see that there is another clearing. Only this time, I can see the official border right before me.

I've always imagined that it would be some sort of shiny, translucent wall but there isn't. There's literally nothing there. It's not even like there is a transition from day to night. It's just a sharp division of light and darkness. I'm surprised that with such a strict rule, there isn't a physical barrier too.

It was now that I also realize how nervous I really am. I haven't done anything wrong yet, but what if I somehow end up on the other side? The thought of being severely punished began to scare me a little bit, so I take a few, wobbly steps backwards until I am in the safety of the trees again. I sit down on a rock, gnawing on my bottom lip.

After taking the fact that I'm still okay in, I finally looked at night, which is closer than ever.

My eyes widen at the sight. Although dark, everything seem to be fairly illuminated. I thought that was pretty much it but then lights began to appear. Right, now that the day people are sleeping, the night folks wake up. Neon lights, pink, blue, green... they light up in tall buildings. I've never seen such thing since there wasn't really the need to have lights in the daytime.

There is a particularly tall building not too far away. I scanned it, starting from the bottom. Following the brick wall up, I noticed that there aren't any windows. Just when my eyes reached the top of the building, I caught a glimpse of someone. He disappeared so quickly.

Fearing that it could possibly be a knight or guard, I step back into the thickness of the trees. I thought about returning home but paused. What if this person is just a person? A local? Slowly and quietly, I peek out from the trees, looking at the building again.

A boy.

A boy, maybe a year or two younger than me, peeks back at me from the top of the building. He's not a knight or guard. He's a local for sure.

Ours eyes met.

His were stern and steady, yet there's a hint of curiosity in them. I thought his hair is black at first, but looking at it more carefully, it's only a very dark shade of brown.

"Hey! Get down from there!"

I thought that a knight had found me but it was the night boy who was spotted. Anyhow, I hide myself more.

The knight yells at the boy, who jumped from building to building. My stomach lurched; I was never good with heights. The boy must have escaped, due to the knight mumbling to himself quietly from the ground.

I've finally got the sense to return home, not wanting to be reported for my suspicious behavior.

The picture of the night boy, leaping in midair, couldn't leave my mind.