The night was quiet, save for the rhythmic chirping of crickets. A lone figure stared up at the star-sprinkled sky, clad only in a flimsy grey sweater that did little to warm his body from the chills. He then stared down at the phone he was cradling, his numb fingers gingerly prodding at the screen.

Choi Seungcheol was a man of success, already a high-flying businessman despite his young age of seven and twenty. You could see his manly features everywhere - on magazine spreads, billboards, on television screens during interviews and more. Smart, sharp and very alert of everything around him: these were the basic traits Seungcheol prided in himself.

For a man who stood tall, for a man who was ranked in the top ten rich businessmen of South Korea, for a man who had so many achievements under his belt; Seungcheol felt tiny and humbled as he stood pensively on the rooftop of his countryside villa.

The villa was beautifully crafted by none other than Yoon Jeonghan, an architect b with ideas of elegant grandeur that went unnoticed by both his peers and the monotonous public. Yoon Jeonghan, hidden from the public eye, was also Seungcheol's former lover.
The villa had been built back when the two were together and very much in love. In fact, the villa was built according to Jeonghan's blueprints for the dream house he wished to share with Seungcheol for the rest of his life. With that thought driving him, he had materialized his dream and had poured his heart and soul into it. Seungcheol smiled bitterly to himself as he lay down on the rooftop, the phone still in his hand as he gazed up at the stars.


They would often do that together - gazing up at the stars while lying on the rooftop, their arms pressed together and fingers twined. Jeonghan would point out all his favourite constellations and rant about them for long minutes. Even after seven whole years of listening to Jeonghan's explanations and rants, Seungcheol could only recognize the North Star and the Orion. In contrast to his half-hearted attempts, the male now desperately tried to remember the constellations and stars' names. He closed his eyes and heard Jeonghan's voice in his head, excitedly chattering away. The words were a garbled mess and Seungcheol let out a low sigh, silencing the voice immediately.


Seungcheol felt miserable, how could he not? He never gave it much thought back then; but only now did he realize just how Jeonghan's light touches made life bloom within him. Where was that life now? Where were those light touches, the head resting on his shoulder, the shy smiles, the sweet kisses, the late night conversations about everything and nothing? For a really rich businessman, Seungcheol felt poorer than ever.




There were quite a few things about Jeonghan that always stood out. The way he looked effeminate and delicate with his long hair, for example; but was strikingly manly and strong in every way. Or the way he knew when to take things lightly, but also knew where to draw the line. Or the way he'd fawn over his lover but also make sure the other wasn't feeling suffocated by the attention - he knew Seungcheol never liked too much attention unless it would benefit him in the longer run. There were just so many things that seemed simple but meant a lot to Seungcheol. 

Like how Jeonghan would curl into his side during the long winter nights, wisps of his silky hair tickling Seungcheol's firm jaw. Or how he'd always tie his hair into a messy bun during the summers - he absolutely hated having long hair during the season, but Seungcheol would always convince him to keep it just because he loved the way Jeonghan looked with long hair.

Jeonghan also had a certain habit that was unique to him: he'd never text Seungcheol with emoticons. Well, except one.
Every single morning at nine thirty and every single night at ten, Seungcheol's phone would buzz with a message. He'd open his KakaoTalk messenger and find a hideous character popping up - a brown bear dressed in a suit, with sunglasses propped on the top of its head. It also sported a golden-yellow afro and was blushing.
There was just something about the character that Seungcheol would find creepy the longer he stared at it. He had pleaded with Jeonghan to stop sending him the character on multiple occasions, but nothing deterred the long-haired male from religiously sending the character to his lover twice every single day. This had been going on ever since Jeonghan had downloaded the application onto his phone for the past five years.

Seungcheol used to hate how Jeonghan spammed him with the character, always left with a sour expression that lasted a few minutes after receiving it. Hell, even his cake had the character on it one year! Not to mention the phone cover and shirt gifted to him by Jeonghan, that also sported a blown-up version of the blasted character. Seungcheol had sworn never to wear the shirt, never to use the cover yet here he was; the shirt hidden by the grey sweater and his phone encased in the same cover he'd cursed five years ago.



Yoon Jeonghan had, in his years spent with Seungcheol, taken a lot of things. He used to steal Seungcheol's shirts every other week, teasing the male by wearing nothing but those shirts and roaming around the house nonchalantly. He even loved sneaking a bite from the other male's breakfast every morning, squealing with delight and shielding his own portion of food to make sure no revenge was taken.

A bat swooped by as Seungcheol was lost in memories and he gasped, his hand clutching the fabric just above his heart and feeling the fast pace. Something pressed into his wrist and he brought his hand up to his face to inspect it - there were three hair ties snug on his wrist and his breath hitched.
Seungcheol had a habit of keeping hair ties on his wrist, rushing to Jeonghan