Jongdae carefully combed his black hair with his fingers, making sure there were no unseemly knots. He wanted to put forth a semblance of diligent upkeep. As shallow as it sounded, appearances mattered and the last thing he wanted was to be seen as a slob.

The mindless repetition of the action was also quite therapeutic, which helped ease his nerves.

But it never felt the same as the times she used to run her delicate hands through his hair whenever he laid his head on her lap as they watched movies together in the living room. It had always felt so soothing whenever her thin fingers danced over his scalp, gently untangling any tousled strands with ease and practice. She would comment on the softness of his hair, laughing brightly and joking that she should snip off several locks to donate for wigs.

“Think of all the people without hair you’ll help!” she pointed out after he protectively covered his head.

“Well, yeah, I guess that’s true, but it’s not like I’ve got that much hair either,” Jongdae countered. “I have just enough for myself. And you don’t want me to be bald, right?”

She grinned mischievously. “Who knows? You might look pretty hot as a bald guy. Should I get some scissors right now and see?”

And then he’d push himself up so that he could capture in a sweet kiss, effectively stopping her from making more jokes of turning him bald.

Jongdae didn’t realize he was touching his lips until his gaze suddenly focused on his reflection in the mirror and he let his hand fall to his side while pursing his mouth into a straight line.

In less than an hour, he was going to open the door that she had closed for him six months ago.

This was the chance he had been anxiously waiting for, ever since they had walked away from each other with tears streaming like waterfalls down their faces while they clutched their chests, hearts smashed into millions of pieces.

Time was supposed to heal wounds and although Jongdae no longer woke up in the middle of the night with stains of salt dried on his thin cheeks from crying himself to sleep, shivering from the cold of being alone, he was still tormented by the memories of his past with Park Yunseo.

Four years of happiness hung over Jongdae like a dark cloud, only serving to taunt him with reminders of the precious relationship that he no longer had.

But now, he had been presented with a rare opportunity to undo the mistakes he had made in the past. He would be able to right the wrongs that he had committed out of ignorance and foolishness, and regain a love that he never should have given up on in the first place.

Yes, today was the day he and Park Yunseo would rekindle their love. And by this time tomorrow, everything would be as it always should have been.

--

She was already sitting at their favorite booth, nestled in the left corner farthest from the door and relatively secluded from the rest of the coffee shop. Many hours had been spent conversing, flirting, and working at this table throughout their relationship.

Jongdae still remembered when he had first taken Yunseo to Midnight Rain. Funnily enough, it had stormed that evening on their fifth date.

Two weekends ago, Yunseo had mentioned craving pasta after Jongdae recounted spaghetti, gnocchi, linguini, ravioli, penne, and other Italian noodle dishes being provided by craft services at his current filming site. Her craving inspired the idea for their next date, which Jongdae meticulously planned since he wanted to make the best impression possible. He could tell that Yunseo, although noticeably interested in him, was somewhat wavering in whether or not she wanted to commit and become exclusive with him. Jongdae didn’t know what it was, but something was holding her back and keeping her from making the leap to putting an official label on their relationship.

Since the window of golden opportunity would only stay open for so long, Jongdae knew that this fifth date with Yunseo would either tip the scales in his favor or condemn him to being a lonely bachelor forever. An overdramatic reaction, one might say, but he could feel the sparks dancing between them. He knew that she was the one. And he refused to allow this precious chance to slip through his fingertips.

On the night of their date, Jongdae picked her up from her apartment an hour after she had finished work in order to give her enough time to dress up for the occasion. When she stepped into his car, looking like a beautiful rose in full bloom in her sleeveless red lace cocktail dress with a waterfall hem, Jongdae couldn’t help but stare at her with sparkling eyes and his mouth dropped open. “You’re… You’re gorgeous,” he breathed out. His heartbeat sounded like a drum in his ears, its rhythm steadily increasing in speed and volume.

“Thank you,” Yunseo shyly answered as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her right ear. “You’re looking quite suave yourself.”

Jongdae’s ears turned pink as he sat up straighter while his grip on the steering wheel tightened in order to conceal how much his hands were shaking. He was dressed in a suit with a black bowtie. Nothing too special, since there wasn’t as much variety in men’s formal wear as there was in women’s and Jongdae wasn’t exactly the most fashion-conscious person around either. He had decided on the bowtie, since he usually wore neckties at events and he had wanted to do something different for his date. But after seeing how stunning Yunseo looked in her dress, Jongdae was starting to wish that he had chosen a necktie instead. The bowtie made him look too boyish in comparison.

“I especially like the bowtie,” she then continued with a grin, as if she could hear his thoughts. “It adds a lot of character to your outfit.”

Hearing that immediately bolstered Jongdae’s confidence and, as they began recounting their day at work to each other, his nervous energy gradually melted away.

At seven-thirty on the dot, they arrived at an upscale Italian restaurant that Jongdae had booked a reservation at. Yunseo marveled at the white flower bouquets that hung over several tables and the cylindrical lanterns that emitted a soft peach-colored light throughout the building. She then gasped out loud when she spotted a small tree that was planted in the middle of the restaurant. It stood proudly as the centerpiece, covered in fairy lights and white petals.

“Can we sit next to it?” Yunseo asked, staring at Jongdae with big eyes full of anticipation.

He glanced at the waiter who was leading them and luckily, the other man understood Jongdae’s unspoken plea and duly pointed at an open table that was near the decorative tree.

Once the couple was seated, another server arrived with the first of their five-course meal that Jongdae had ordered beforehand when placing their reservation.

And just like that, dinner went as planned, to his relief. Yunseo eagerly gobbled down her prosciutto and pea farfalle pasta, bathed in creamy garlic-parmesan sauce, and exclaimed that this restaurant had cemented itself as one of her favorites—now, all she needed was the money to afford it on a regular basis. The wine was exquisite, the conversation was deep, and Jongdae’s heart was full as he listened to Yunseo animatedly narrate the time her older brother swam with sharks on a dare when they were on vacation in Australia with friends.

After finishing their dessert—for each, a slice of tiramisu and a scoop of vanilla gelato—and leaving the restaurant, Jongdae proposed that they stroll through a nearby park that had fairy lights strewn over the trees. “You really liked the tree that they had inside, didn’t you?” he observed with a smile as he pointed back at the restaurant.

She giggled and nodded. “It was so ethereal. It made me feel like I was in a fantasy world.”

“Then you’ll really like where I’m about to take you next.” It was pure coincidence that he had already prepared to take Yunseo to this park and Jongdae could feel his body buzzing with anticipation at her reaction once she was surrounded by dozens of dazzling trees.

But it was when they started heading to the park that, out of the blue, the weather decided to wreak havoc on Jongdae’s carefully made date plans.

The downpour was sudden and fast, not at all predicted by the weather forecast. Jongdae quickly shrugged off his suit jacket and used it to shield Yunseo from the rain as best as he could. But with limited coverage and no umbrella, since neither had thought to bring one, the two of them were getting drenched by the second.

Fortunately, not long after the heavy rain started, Jongdae spotted a nearby coffee shop that was named Midnight Rain. He quickly ushered Yunseo to their newfound shelter and upon entering the establishment, the waterlogged couple instantly drew attention from the other patrons who were all dry and pristine.

“There’s an empty table over there,” Jongdae murmured as he pointed to the isolated booth with his free hand. His other arm was securely wrapped around Yunseo, keeping her huddled against his body for warmth and privacy. “C’mon, let’s sit down.”

Within minutes, there were two mugs of piping hot chocolate in front of them, which Jongdae had insisted on ordering and paying for. Several damp towels were also on the table, given by a kind employee so that the couple could dry themselves off as best as they could.

But Jongdae’s head hung down, his lips uncharacteristically downturned. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to look at the fairy lights, Yunseo. I know how excited you were about seeing them.”

“It’s not your fault it started raining so suddenly, Jongdae,” she kindly said while shaking her head. As she moved, several drops of water flew from her semi-wet hair and Yunseo laughed when a couple of the droplets landed directly on Jongdae’s face, causing him to slightly balk and scrunch his nose. “We’ll just see them next time. You said they’ll be at the park until the end of the month, right?”

“I think so, but let me double-check later.” The ends of his lips then curled back up into a wide grin. After all, Yunseo had insinuated that they would continue seeing each other. That meant she probably liked Jongdae enough to pursue something further with him. At least he hoped that was the case.

At any rate, it was a good sign of things to come and Jongdae wasn’t going to let some silly rainfall ruin his perfect date night with Park Yunseo.

As the rain pattered against the windows, the young pair spent the next hour good-naturedly laughing about their misfortune and discussing their favorite rainy day activities while sipping their hot chocolate. All in all, not a bad conclusion to what could have been an absolute disaster.

Once again, a tad overdramatic, but Kim Jongdae wanted nothing less than the best for Park Yunseo.

Since that unexpected incident, Midnight Rain had acted as a haven for the couple during their relationship and Jongdae didn’t realize how much he had missed coming to the coffee shop until he saw Yunseo sitting at their usual spot, as if they had never separated in the first place.

Once she spotted him, Yunseo eagerly waved him over. Jongdae sent her an awkward half-smile as he walked over and took his seat across from her.

She looked as stunning as ever, dressed in a pale yellow sundress that was decorated with a pattern of white daisies. Her long dark brown hair was plaited into one thick braid that rested in front of her right shoulder. Her eyes were bright and her lips were turned up in a smile.

Pain slashed Jongdae’s chest when he realized that he couldn’t remember the last time he had properly seen her smile. The last few months of their relationship had been so turbulent with fights, tears, anger, and sadness. Seeing her smile right now felt…foreign in the sense that he hadn’t witnessed this familiar sight in what seemed like forever.

“Sorry, did you wait long?”

Yunseo shook her head. “Don’t worry. I got here around five minutes ago. What do you want to drink? I’ll go and order for us right now.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll order,” Jongdae said, already standing up. “I was the one who asked us to meet, so I’ll take care of this.” Before Yunseo could protest, he quickly asked, “What do you want?”

She lightly bit her bottom lip, knowing that there was no point in arguing over something so small. They had already done that thousands of times before finally breaking up in the end. After a few seconds, Yunseo answered, “I’d like a lavender espresso, please.”

“Okay, I’ll be back in a few moments.” Jongdae walked up to the counter and ordered Yunseo’s lavender espresso and a choux cream latte for himself. He was glad that the employee at the register wasn’t someone he recognized, since he didn’t want to have to explain why he and Yunseo were suddenly back at the coffee shop after half a year of radio silence. Especially since that meant having to explain that they had broken up in the first place, leading both of them to avoid Midnight Rain and the memories associated with the coffee shop.

Within minutes, Jongdae was carrying a tray with both drinks on top and he carefully set it down on the table to prevent any liquid from spilling from the full glass mugs. Yunseo quietly murmured, “Thanks,” before picking up her lavender espresso from the tray and taking a few sips of the sweet flowery drink.

Likewise, Jongdae also gulped down some of his creamy coffee before placing the mug back on the tray and looking at his ex-girlfriend. She smiled at him and he felt his heartbeat quicken as he slowly scanned every familiar facial feature of Park Yunseo.

She was as beautiful as ever with her large dark brown eyes that twinkled like stars in the night sky and her pale pink lips that he used to kiss every day when they were together. She was still incredibly adorable with her soft cheeks and the dimple on the left that he used to playfully poke. She was breathtakingly elegant with her thin, straight nose and pointed chin that he used to trace his fingers along whenever they cuddled on the couch.

Seeing Yunseo in front of him again, Jongdae couldn’t believe he had ever let go of her. He had to remedy that mistake and now was his opportunity to do so. But as she looked at him expectantly, Jongdae scratched the back of his neck, unsure of where to begin.

There was so much to unpack after six months of no contact that had followed four years of sharing their lives together. He honestly didn’t know how to start this heavy conversation. Especially since miscommunication had been one of their downfalls in the end.

Since his hands were feeling stiff, Jongdae absentmindedly cracked his knuckles and was then reminded of an old friend he had met through Yunseo. “So, um, how’s Chanyeol been these days?” He knew he was just delaying the inevitable, but at the same time, a bit of small talk never hurt anyone.

“He’s doing well,” Yunseo answered with a beam. “He and Junmyeon are planning to officially open their chiropractic clinic next week, so he’s been running around trying to get everything ready for that.”

“Oh, wow, that’s great to hear.” Jongdae had been asked to shoot promotional material for Yunseo’s older brother when Chanyeol first decided that he wanted to start his own private clinic with his best friend instead of joining an established practice. That had been a year ago, right after he had passed his board exams and earned his license.

If it had been anyone else asking, Jongdae would have declined the request, since he had stopped taking on freelance projects after breaking into the film industry five years prior. Yeon Jung Hoon, a critically acclaimed director, had chanced upon Jongdae’s work at an indie film festival when the young male was fresh out of university. At the time, Jongdae was collaborating with other aspiring filmmakers who had been his classmates at school. It had been a complete of luck getting his first major project accepted into the film festival, since most people had to try and fail multiple times before their films were given a chance to be seen by industry professionals.

The good fortune had continued when Yeon Jung Hoon approached the amateur cinematographer after the film screening with an offer to hire him as a crew member for the director’s next movie, which an excited and star-struck Jongdae had accepted in a heartbeat. That job offer had changed his life, opening doors that he had previously only dreamt of walking through. Since then, he was always booked and busy with working on a feature film or two, so Jongdae didn’t have the energy to expend on short projects that wouldn’t do much for his resume anyway.

But he couldn’t refuse a request from Yunseo’s older brother. And he honestly would have done it anyway, even if Chanyeol hadn’t been related to Yunseo, since the two males were friends and Jongdae missed doing these small-scale projects.

However, Chanyeol had cut off all contact with Jongdae once he found out his younger sister was no longer in a relationship with the cinematographer, understandably so. Jongdae still remembered the first time he had met the elder Park sibling, how the other male had towered over him with his extra twelve centimeters of height, making it very clear that Jongdae was to never break Yunseo’s heart if he didn’t want the chiropractor to “accidentally” break his spine.

“You’re joking, right?” Jongdae chuckled nervously, keeping his arms hidden behind him so that Chanyeol wouldn’t be able to see how much they were shaking.

But the tall male’s devilish grin only widened, showing off his pearl white teeth. “I never joke when it comes to the spine. That would be unprofessional of me.”

“Shut up, Chanyeol!” Yunseo hissed while hitting her older brother’s arm. “You’ve made your point! Stop scaring him!”

“If your boyfriend is already intimidated by a little threat like this, that just means you need better taste in men, dear sister,” Chanyeol loftily commented.

Jongdae squirmed, knowing he wasn’t doing a great job of impressing the taller male. Especially since Jongdae knew that it would be a piece of cake for Chanyeol to crush him, based off of the size of his biceps. They were three times the size of Jongdae’s stick-like arms. He wouldn’t stand a chance against Yunseo’s older brother in a physical fight. Or a mental fight, for that matter, considering how much studying Chanyeol must have done in order to get into medical school.

Yunseo reached out and grabbed Jongdae’s hand, gently squeezing it as she stuck out her tongue at her older brother. “You’re so annoying, Chanyeol. I wanted you to meet Jongdae so you could become friends with him, not bully him.”

“It’s my job, dear sister,” he drawled. “After all, we don’t want any nasty boys thinking they can get away with taking advantage of you.”

“The only nasty boy I see around here is you,” Yunseo retorted while wrinkling her nose. “Weren’t you wearing those pants yesterday?”

“Just because my pants are all the same style doesn’t mean I’m wearing the exact same pair every day,” Chanyeol said, scowling as his younger sister snickered. “Give me a break. I’m in medical school. I don’t have time to worry about laundry and fashion.”

Meanwhile, Jongdae was relieved to finally be out of the hot seat and it was more enjoyable now to watch the siblings taunt each other. But the cinematographer’s happiness was short-lived once Chanyeol glanced over at him and then drew himself up even taller than he already was.

“Don’t think I forgot about you, squirt,” Yunseo’s older brother said, his lips quirked up into a dangerous smile. He stepped closer to the shorter male, causing Jongdae to gulp audibly as he looked up at Chanyeol again. “As long as you treat Yunseo well, we’re good. Just remember that there are very painful consequences if you hurt her.”

“Yes, of course,” Jongdae nervously answered as he surreptitiously rubbed his sweaty palms against the hem of his shirt.

Despite how intimidated he had been during their first meeting, Jongdae wished he could have maintained his friendship with the chiropractor. As far as friends went, Chanyeol had been a good one. But the tall male’s loyalties were clearly strongest with his younger sister, which made perfect sense, considering how much Chanyeol doted on Yunseo in between all of the teasing.

Sending his ex-girlfriend a half-smile, Jongdae wryly commented, “I’m surprised Chanyeol didn’t come after me once we broke up. He must hate me.”

Yunseo winced before taking another sip of her lavender espresso. “He’s definitely not your biggest fan anymore,” she slowly admitted. “He was actually planning on confronting you after I told him we broke up, but I begged him not to. I didn’t want any more fights to occur and I already felt bad about ruining his friendship with you.”

Jongdae shook his head. “It’s not your fault we aren’t friends anymore. I didn’t really try to save our friendship either. But if he does forgive me in the future, you can tell him that I’m open to being friends again,” he said, smiling ruefully.

“I will,” she promised. Yunseo’s gaze then traveled around the coffee shop and she remarked, “It’s been a while since I last came here. I’ve missed Midnight Rain a lot.”

“Me too,” he murmured while nodding in agreement. “The coffee that the interns bring isn’t half as good as what they serve here.”

“Yeah, the coffee at my office isn’t so great either. I’ve been drinking more tea lately though, which is a good thing since it’s a lot healthier,” she said while beaming brightly. “I feel so much more productive and energetic nowadays, but I suppose that could also be a placebo effect.”

She did look brighter and happier, a stark contrast to how she had looked when they parted six months ago.

In fact, sitting here with Yunseo right now was like traveling back in a time machine.

It was easy to forget that they had been apart for half a year. It was easy to forget that they had left each other devastated and brokenhearted.

As he stared at her, Jongdae was only reminded of how much he still loved Park Yunseo and how happy they used to be together. Letting her go really was the worst mistake he had ever made.

After taking another sip of her lavender espresso, Yunseo’s gaze suddenly alighted on a young woman who was carefully carrying a slice of chocolate cake back to her seat. She looked like she was in her early twenties—most likely in university, based off of the textbooks and papers stacked messily on her table. “Do you remember when we tried baking a birthday cake for Chanyeol as a bet?” Yunseo asked, nodding towards the girl and her dessert.

“Yeah,” Jongdae’s lips curled up into a smile, “he kept insulting our baking skills, just because we accidentally over-mixed the dough when we made cookies that one time and they ended up not being as chewy as he wanted them to be.”

“We didn’t do that much better with the cake though,” she said, cracking up into laughter. “It was such a mess.”

“What is going on in here?” Chanyeol suddenly appeared at the doorway, his eyebrows raised as he surveyed the messy kitchen. The room was completely covered in flour, baking soda, cream, eggshells, and colorful frosting.

“Uh, happy birthday?” his younger sister answered sheepishly as she turned to face the tall male. She mindlessly patted her hands against her apron, causing a cloud of white particles to burst, which made Jongdae cough. “Oops.”

“It’s fine,” he wheezed. “I thought—” The cinematographer let out another wheeze. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be here until six,” Jongdae finally managed to say to Chanyeol.

The taller male walked over to the flour-covered microwave and swiped a hand across the white surface to uncover the machine’s clock, grimacing slightly as he did, before answering, “It’s almost six-thirty, squirt. I even gave the two of you extra time, since I figured something like this would happen.”

“We just got carried away trying to make the perfect cake for you!” Yunseo then waved her hands around the colorful birthday cake while beaming brightly at her older brother. “See? Look at how pretty it is!”

Despite how messy the kitchen had become in the process, Jongdae was proud of how well he and his girlfriend had made the cake in the end. Even though they had messed up several times in their beginning trials—including not warming up their ingredients to room temperature which made them difficult to mix, adding the flour too early which deflated their batter, and over-mixing their batter, amongst other mistakes often made by baking rookies—the couple had finally created a fluffy cake that had structural integrity and a relatively sweet taste.

Meanwhile, the cake decorating had been Yunseo’s painstaking labor of love. On top of the cake, there was a stethoscope made out of thick black and gray frosting that surrounded ‘Happy Birthday, Chanyeol’ written in red icing. Yunseo had also planned on adding a spine made out of frosting, but realized that such a complex decoration was out of her expertise after she had gone through three tubs of white frosting and had only succeeded in creating dozens of amorphous blobs instead of vertebrae. So she had decided to go for a more minimalist design in the end and finished off the cake by piping a light blue shell border along the top and bottom edges.

“Oh, jeez, you really didn’t need to,” Chanyeol said with a snicker. He was about to ruffle Yunseo’s hair, but thought better of it and retracted his hand when he noticed how messy it already was. “Seriously, you two at baking.”

“We do not! How can you say that after seeing the cake?” she protested indignantly.

Chanyeol looked at his younger sister pointedly. “You’re really going to try and argue that when your kitchen looks like you had a food fight in here?” He gestured to the failed frosting creations that were scattered all over the kitchen, some dripping onto the floor. Dirty cake pans were piled in the sink and on the counter. Scraps of dried batter littered the counter and the floor. Puddles of milk also dotted the floor, somewhat covered by paper towels that were supposed to soak up the white liquid.

“Who cares what the kitchen looks like? The cake is what matters!” Yunseo insisted as she carefully picked up the birthday cake and marched it to the dining table. The table was already set up since they’d had the foresight to do that before starting to bake, just in case it took longer than expected—and it most definitely had—to bake the cake. “Dae, can you help untie my apron, please?”

“Of course, just give me a moment.” Jongdae quickly washed his hands and wiped them with a dish towel before joining the Park siblings at the dining table. He stepped behind Yunseo and carefully undid the bow of her apron before slipping the garment off of her shoulders and laying it over a chair. He then untied his own apron and set it on top of hers while Yunseo ushered her older brother in front of the birthday cake.

“Wait, are we eating it now?”

“Of course!” she chirped while grabbing a packet of colorful candles. “No time like the present for our present to you!” Yunseo ripped the packet open and tipped several candles onto her hand before using her elbow to gesture for Jongdae to help her again.

He duly grabbed two blue candles, representing how Chanyeol was in his twenties, and deftly placed them in the center, right above the tall male’s name. Once she set down the packet with the candles she didn’t need, Yunseo stuck five red candles along the outer edges of the cake. Jongdae then struck a match and carefully lit the candles while his girlfriend scrambled to turn off all of the lights, plunging the apartment into darkness. After returning to the dining table, the couple sang to Chanyeol, who listened with amusement but happily bobbed his head along to the catchy birthday tune.

Once the song ended, the medical student blew out the candles and grinned widely before saying, “Thanks again, you two. I really appreciate it.” Jongdae and Yunseo were about to relax, thankful that their hectic afternoon had concluded on a high note, when Chanyeol cheekily added, “But, seriously, please don’t bake for me anymore. I’d like to live long enough to get my degree, so at least my tombstone will have ‘Doctor’ engraved next to my name.”

They laughed again as they recalled how that evening had devolved into a chaotic cake-throwing fight after Chanyeol’s best friend, Kim Junmyeon, had shown up to join the birthday celebration.

After that, memories began resurfacing, one after the other, in quick succession.

And once more, Jongdae wondered how he had let go of this amazingly brilliant woman who injected color into his life.

Hours passed as they talked. It felt nice to chat like this and recount fond memories of their past. It was reminiscent of their previous coffee dates at Midnight Rain. Back when Kim Jongdae and Park Yunseo were still a dynamic duo, taking on the world together.

The two of them swapped story after story, playfully correcting details and going off on wild tangents before eventually circling back. Jongdae couldn’t remember the last time he’d had this much fun, especially since the last six months had been spent in complete despair. And hearing Yunseo’s familiar high-pitched laugh was absolutely invigorating; newfound energy rushed through his veins and he could feel himself brighten up more by the second.

As he looked at her, Jongdae was reminded again of why he had fallen in love with Park Yunseo. She was talented, kind, strong, and beautiful. She was the one spinning the earth beneath his feet. Her laughter was infectious and her aura was radiant.

The realization brought him back to one of his fondest memories with her and he wished with all of his heart to return to that particular moment when life was simpler and happier.

The couple was sitting atop a grassy knoll, the sun already dipping down as the sky gradually faded from vibrant reds and oranges into a dark navy blue. Yellow and white lights were beginning to illuminate the dark city below, a dozen new twinkles appearing every few seconds to combat the growing darkness.

This was one of their favorite things to do together: climb a hilltop overlooking the sleepless city and gaze at the stars above. If they had enough free time, like they did today, then they would try to catch the sunset as well. For Jongdae, it was a chance for him to study light patterns that he could replicate in his work. For Yunseo, it was a chance for her to escape dry lines on blueprints and brown building models that surrounded her every day.

Although they enjoyed watching the sun slip behind the tall skyscrapers and the moon climb up until it was overhead, nothing beat seeing the stars pop out one by one and form dazzling constellations that changed with the seasons. Despite the heavy light pollution from the city, the two of them still did their best to detect their favorite constellations.

Right now, she was staring, transfixed, at a wispy gray cloud that drifted along. Her eyes were shining, bright as diamonds, and was slightly open and quirked up into a smile. A soft breeze blew around them, causing several stray strands of Yunseo’s long hair to float and flutter about.

She looked absolutely ethereal.

He didn’t know what made him say it, but before he knew what was happening, the words, “I love you, Yunseo,” slipped out of his mouth.

There was a pregnant pause as they both realized what Jongdae had just declared. His mouth turned dry and he could feel the back of his neck starting to warm up. As the seconds ticked by, agonizingly slow, Jongdae began to sweat and he internally cursed himself for jumping the gun. He really needed to learn how to keep his mouth shut. Now she was going to think he was a creep and break up with him, and then he would never find happiness ever again and he would be a single loser for the rest of his life and—

“I love you too, Jongdae.”

He looked at her in astonishment, unable to believe what he was hearing.

Meanwhile, her eyes were now trained on the grassy ground as a strawberry blush bloomed across her cheeks.

After several seconds of shocked stillness, Jongdae was able to choke something out. “Do you… Do you really mean it? You—you love me as well?”

Looking up, Yunseo chuckled at his bewildered state and playfully punched his shoulder. “Of course I do, silly. I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.” She then tucked a lock of hair behind her right ear as she gazed at the brilliant cityscape. “Besides, you said it first,” she continued, a note of shyness coloring her tone. “Why is it strange to think that I reciprocate your feelings?”

“I—I—“

When her boyfriend couldn’t stammer out anything more than that, Yunseo looked back at him again and laughed some more. “Are you really that surprised?” she asked, moving closer to him so that she could snugly wrap her arms around the stunned male. “Is it that far-fetched of a scenario for you to comprehend?”

“N-no…”

“You don’t sound very convincing, Dae,” she lightly teased. “I guess I’m not showering you with enough love. I’ll have to change that.” Yunseo hugged him tighter, resting her cheek against his chest.

Jongdae mentally tried to calm his rapid heartbeat, but his head was too far up in the clouds to process anything more than Yunseo’s admission of love. That sentence, that beautifully melodic sentence comprised of five words, replayed like a broken record in his mind.

Yunseo loved him. Park Yunseo loved him. Park Yunseo loved Kim Jongdae.

It was everything he could have ever wanted and more. The woman he was in love with loved him back. She loved him. She said it. She loved him.

“I—I promise to make you the happiest girl in the world, Yunseo,” he finally managed to verbalize as he tilted his face down and brushed his nose against her soft brown hair. “I love you so, so much.”

“I’m already the happiest girl in the world because I’m with you, Jongdae,” she softly answered before tilting her head up and letting their lips meet in a sweet kiss.

What he wouldn’t give to rewind back to that time and freeze that moment, especially knowing that it would all end years later.

♈♈♈