Where was he? This was obviously not the usual hotel he would wake up in, the room looks cheap. Even the bed-

Ahh. Yeah.

Geojae.

He was in Geojae. With Seungcheol’s family.

He cried in front of the mother who obviously hates him. He must have been very pathetic. God, this was so humiliating. He knew coming here was a bad choice. Why in the world did he do it anyway? Well, served him right to even dare to dream of experiencing something he never deserve. Lesson learnt. He should go back to Seoul and live his life like he had been doing for the past five, six years – keeping his relationships shallow and meaningless.

Jeonghan looked outside through the window. It was already dusk; the sky was dyed with orange. The last ferry was five as he recalled, so going back tonight was not a choice. He should sleep the rest of the day off, get up early in the morning and leave. He swore he saw a bus stop on the way to the house. Hopefully the first bus is around 5 a.m., because he would not want to stumble upon the others on his way back. But, even if it isn’t, he would go out early anyway. Maybe walk around, anywhere but here would be nice.

‘You’re awake?’ Jeonghan cursed himself as he heard the familiar voice calling out to him. He could close his eyes and pretend to be asleep, but that would be more humiliating. He should pretend everything was okay, and endure this, like he usually would. He does it all the time, this should not be any different. ‘Yeah…’

‘Hungry?’ Jeonghan looked at the bedside clock signifying it was already past six. Which meant he had been sleeping for at least an hour, depending on when he lost consciousness. He could hear the others talking outside, and smell the lovely scent of homemade cooking, almost making him drool. But, he didn’t want to have to go out and face them. He would rather starve.

‘Uhn?’ he lifted his head as he felt Seungcheol’s hand on his shoulder. The alpha gave him his sweet smile, showing his dimple before suggesting, ‘Wanna go out for a breather?’

A breather? That sounds good. He needed a breather. He needed to get away. He needed space.

He needed to be away from these people.

He needed to be…

Alone.

Like always.

‘Sure.’ He answered softly, his voice hoarse. Biting his lower lip, Jeonghan got out of the bed, all ready to go out.

‘It’s almost sunset. We can view it not far from the house.’ Seungcheol explained, offering his hand which the omega chose to ignore. ‘If we wait a bit more, we’ll get to see stars.’

Jeonghan nodded, not actually caring about what was said. He just wanted to be out there, in the wide outdoor, ‘There’s no streetlight so we need to be careful.’

‘Okay.’

‘If you get lost you might end up in a drain.’

‘Got it.’

‘Here.’ Seungcheol again offered his hand, and this time, Jeonghan stared at his face, trying to read what he was thinking. His mother was obviously just outside the room, and she did not like him so why was the son doing this? To provoke her? Was him bringing Jeonghan to the trip a part of his rebellious plan for whatever reason? Was he being used?

‘So you don’t end up in a drain.’ The alpha laughed, as if answering his thoughts. Grabbing Jeonghan’s neglected right hand anyway, he dragged the man outside, casually calling out to his family to let them know he was going out. Jeonghan kept his head down, not feeling enthusiastic about appearing in front of the rest of the family hand-in-hand with Seungcheol. The sound of the woman’s voice actually made him jerked a bit, but what came out of her surprised him instead, ‘Don’t be too late or no dinner for you two.’

Jeonghan bowed at the two as a respectful gesture-

‘And don’t lose Jeonghan.’

His eyes turned wide. He might have heard that wrong. Was she worried about him? Why? Because she felt sorry for him? At how pathetic he was? Or was she just pretending in front of her son?

‘Jeonghan-yah, uri Cheol’s not good with roads so make sure to take note where you’re going.’ Mr. Choi advised, and behind them, he could hear a chuckle coming from Haneul. The older omega was on his computer, probably working. Another unsatisfied jab from his friend and Jeonghan was finally lead out. Seungcheol complained about how they always treat him like a child but the omega chose not to entertain him. More than that, he was interested in why they were pretending like nothing happened. Because he was sure he bawled his eyes until he passed out, obviously Seungcheol knows about it hence the stroll. Could it be that the mother didn’t tell the other two about what happened? If so, why?

‘Ahk-‘

‘Careful!’ Seungcheol hurriedly turned around and rubbed his head a few times. It took a while but Jeonghan finally realized he hit some branches right on his face. Now fully aware of his surroundings, he looked around, trying to figure out where they were heading. His first guess was that they were heading towards the beach but he doubt they would walk that far.

A park.

Seungcheol brought him to a park. On a hill. Where they supposedly able to see the sunset had they been there a few minutes earlier. Still, not caring about the missed opportunity, both the students sat, just staring at the remaining red before everything turns dark blue.

Everything was very silent.

The world was very silent.

The sound of cicadas could be heard, but that was just in the background, just like the sound of the wind brushing through the leaves.

He likes this. He needed this. Unlike the dead silence in his four walls on campus which suffocates him, he felt free. He felt like he exists. Even though he was alone, he was alive.

‘I once saw a shooting star here.’ Seungcheol’s low voice brought the younger male back to reality. Feeling his cheeks getting wet, Jeonghan quickly wiped it in hope that the other didn’t see it and laughed. Trying to pretend he was fine. Except he didn’t have to do that, because the other wasn’t looking. And even if he was, it was already dark his tears wouldn’t be as obvious. ‘Did you make a wish?’

‘I did. And let me tell you, it’s bull.’ The alpha annoyingly stated, ‘I asked for a new Nike shoes, never got them.’

That answer made the sad man laugh. He didn’t know what was so funny about it but he found that hilarious. To think that someone actually managed to see a shooting star and all he could think about was getting a lame pair of shoes. Such a waste of wish. ‘Hey, you try to think of something deep when that line came across you. It’s gone in a blink. For your information.’

‘But shoes?’

‘I was nine. Okay?’ Seungcheol eagerly defended himself, much to Jeonghan’s pleasure. He just love teasing the alpha. ‘What’d you wish for then?’

‘A family.’ He answered, honestly, without even thinking. Talking about his feelings was not normal, he would only tell them to his therapists, but he figured, why not. In a few days, he would break his friendship with the alpha anyways, and they would return to being strangers. This wouldn’t affect him at all. ‘Or my dad back. But I just told you my wish so now that’s impossible.’

‘Owh…’ there was a long pause. Seungcheol clearly did not know what to say. It didn’t matter, he was not expecting an answer. People lose interest once he starts getting emotional and burdensome. The guy was not any better. Everyone is the same – they only care about what benefits them.

‘That’s…’

‘It’s-‘

‘-not how shooting stars work. Don’t you ever read?’ Jeonghan looked at Seungcheol, his eyebrows burrowed. The latter was staring back at him, but it was already dark so he couldn’t make up his expression. ‘You make a wish when you see one, not before. It’s harder than it sounds. You get excited just seeing one and…’

He didn’t know how to take the man’s reaction. Was he ignoring his feelings? Should he feel offended? Because he wasn’t. But that could be because he was already numb to those kinds of treatments. Having his feelings ignored had already been a norm.

Maybe this was for the best. Because he would rather Seungcheol be like th