The sun was shining brightly through the sheer curtains that covered the large windows, but Taemin didn’t mind. He was used to waking up with the sun, and he loved how it was making its appearance earlier every day as the weather slowly warmed up.

He was debating whether to get up already, or stay in bed a while longer. But then Luna, with her long black fur and her bright green eyes, hopped on the bed and settled between his legs, making the decision for him. He chuckled lightly, loving how his cat liked to cuddle before she would start begging for food.

He tapped on the mattress next to his face to try and make her come closer, and after a few seconds, she was rubbing her face on his cheek. Taemin petted her body and remained mindful of the few knots in her fur—he’d have to brush her today.

He extended his hand and ran it along the sheets of the queen-size bed as he searched for his phone that had to be in there somewhere. He knew he should have put it on the bedside table, but as usual, he had fallen asleep while he was reading something and had lost his phone in the sheets.

A victory grin formed on his face as he found it, but it was directly followed by a grunt when he realized it was almost out of battery. He checked the time—it was still early in the morning, he was in no rush—and plugged it before putting it on the bedside table.

Luna finally meowed and Taemin decided to not make her wait any longer. He got out of bed in a swift move and walked to the kitchen, letting out a yawn. He grabbed the kibble and her bowl—with her paw print painted inside of it—and gave her her breakfast.

While he was at it, he put some fresh water in the coffee machine and pressed the button to heat up the water. He also grabbed the watering can and filled it up. As he opened the glass door to the balcony, a fresh gush of air entered the apartment and made him shiver. It was still chilly in the morning despite the bright sun.

He watered all the plants and inspected them for anything suspicious, and was relieved when he couldn’t find anything sketchy. They were all still thriving, even after five years of inconsistent care—he wasn’t that good with plants, unlike Kibum used to be.

With the glass door closed after him—he didn’t want Luna to jump off the balcony—he went back into the kitchen to make himself a well-deserved cup of coffee. As he brought the hot liquid to his mouth, his gaze wandered into the well-lit room, and like every morning, it landed on that horrendous painting that hung proudly on the main wall of the room.

Even after almost ten years of looking at it every day, he wasn’t sure what it represented. There were a lot of bright colors on the canvas, but there wasn’t any definite shape, and some of the colors clashed weirdly and hurt his eyes if he stared too long.

That morning, he focused on the bottom right corner, where the mix of paint had turned into a muddy color that should have had no business in a kitchen, but it was redeemed because there was Kibum’s name written in gold letters over it, along with the date he painted that masterpiece—his words, not Taemin’s.

But Taemin never had the heart to tell his late boyfriend that he hated that painting, and Kibum seemed to like it very much. So much so that he decided to hang it on the wall of the most prestigious room of their apartment for everybody to see.

When Taemin had confessed that he didn’t understand the meaning of that painting, Kibum had chuckled and told him that he’d get it with time—but ten years later, he still didn’t. And Kibum wasn’t there anymore to give him any clues, he realized with a sigh, like he did every morning as he drank hi