Jongwoon was a beautiful creature. Born out of brightness and the burning stars. As Life, he was a force to be reckoned with, with his kindness and beautiful smile, wide-eyed wonder for the world and an all-encompassing love for his creations. He shines the brightest overlooking his children - the parents' tears of joy after a successful birth or a cat's tentative mewls at his newborn litter. His touch brings life — a wilting rose or a dying man, he is life. 

Kyuhyun was darkness. Just like Life, Death was born out of stars. Surrounded by shadows and the abyss, he was always around, watching and waiting. He was cold, but not heartless; reticent, but not absent; serious, but not cynical. It was not up to him to be born into this life, this life of taking other's away. Yet, it is what it is. He tried to be as merciful as possible, but sometimes, the universe would not be as kind and patient to allow everyone's end to be painless. His touch brings death, people resist and hate him, but why fight the inevitable? 

They avoided each other. Somehow, it felt natural to do so. Life and Death, Death and Life — how will a friendship work out between them at all? They did not hate each other, no, but neither did they feel the need to go out of the way and befriend each other.   

It was going to be the day of a total eclipse. Humans poured out onto the streets to witness the temporal union of Sun and Moon. Couples kissed under the gloomy glow and kids cheered joyously around their parents. Not only was it an exciting day for humans, but also for the two antitheses. Jongwoon took joy in seeing his creations fascinated and happy, Kyuhyun simply appreciated the beauty of the eclipse — yin and yang, a beguiling amalgamation of the dark and the light. Perhaps opposites do attract? 

Kyuhyun has always bore some sort of a faraway admiration for Jongwoon — his kindness, his love for all of his creations, the very fact that he is the genesis of all things living, these mesmerising creatures each with a mind of their own — and seeing him up-close felt like a punch in the gut for Kyuhyun. Sometimes, he feels guilty for having to take away Jongwoon's creations, to end their existence and consciousness, but that's the circle of life, the balance of universe, isn't it? 

Jongwoon recognised the importance of Death, all things come to an end, as do the lives of all his children. Yet, he cannot bring himself to see past the fact that Kyuhyun was the embodiment of the ends of his creations. If he could, he would selfishly wish for his creations to be undying, he would wish to see them blossom and grow, transcending and challenging time. He was sure they would thrive, that's just how they were — strong, adaptable and beautiful. But time is their demise.  

As Sun and Moon drew closer and closer, Kyuhyun watched in serene contentment as Earth slowly gets shrouded in warm, yet gloomy darkness. He loved the juxtapose, for it suggested that light and darkness are meant to co-exist together. In fact, light shines the brightest in darkness and neither is darkness overcame. 

Jongwoon saw Kyuhyun in his peripheral vision during the solar eclipse. He noticed that Kyuhyun was always lingering in the background, trying to blend in with the shadows as if he wasn't already a creature of the night. He would always observe from afar, with a reserved composure and some kind of deep-seated melancholy. Jongwoon wished that Kyuhyun would smile more, talk more. Death was a distant enigma that he could not wrap his head around despite the nature of their jobs and existence being the different sides of the same coin. 

Turning his attention away from his children for a moment, Jongwoon watched as Kyuhyun stared at the eclipse in quiet appreciation. He looked pensive, he always does, it was almost as if he carried the weight of the world on his lonely shoulders. Maybe he does. 

Jongwoon continued to observe. This time, Kyuhyun turned his gaze to Earth, more specifically, the people, his creations. Curiosity peaked in him. What interest does Death have in his children? Malice, he supposed. Of course, what else? A fury of protectiveness arose in him. 

Yet, as Jongwoon inched closer to the dark figure, what he saw was a gentle smile. A face of benevolence and reverent appreciation was hidden under the dark cloak. His stomach lurched. 

Kyuhyun looked on at the humans — his proud creations, with a tenderness that he would expect from himself and himself only. It almost felt humane. 

In that moment, Kyuhyun looked up and their eyes met. As if Jongwoon was not already scrambling to grasp the new revelation of humanity in his antithesis, their stare spoke of curiosity and bewilderment from Jongwoon, and the same tenderness from Kyuhyun, as echoed from his earlier attentiveness on the humans. 

Time was meaningless in the eyes of the two entities, thus it was a useless measurement of how long they held each other's gaze. An eternity would have passed and they would have been none the wiser. To Jongwoon, perhaps it was a study, a mutual scrutiny between the two antipodes, to size each other up and second-guess the other's intentions. 

But to Kyuhyun, it was simple. It was always simple when it comes to Jongwoon. 

It was Kyuhyun that turned away. Jongwoon jumped, as if he was jerked out from a trance. 

- 

He was always watching. 

Kyuhyun liked to watch Jongwoon as he cares for his children with his genial, warm smiles and sweet whispers of compliments before he sends his creations to materialise on earth. Each creation bore a part of his personality, and there were so many humans on Earth! Kyuhyun was always so enraptured and so besotted. Like Icarus, he drew closer and closer to the light. And so, he fell and fell and fell, too. He yearned to uncover the different sides of Jongwoon, but he knew that Jongwoon wasn't fond of him, ambivalent at best, towards him and his destruction of his creations. He could never bring himself to blame it on Jongwoon even though it wounds him to be in constant distance. One step forward, two steps back. It was a dance Kyuhyun was familiar with when it comes to Jongwoon. He had convinced himself (not) to somewhat resign to the pining, faraway admiration that he had become so attuned to since eons ago. 

He never bothered to hide his love. Jongwoon was never close enough to see it anyway.

That was until the day of the eclipse. Jongwoon had come close, too close. Their eyes met. And for a moment, Kyuhyun basked in the rarity of the unusual closeness and connection. Oh, how he felt like a man in the desert, parched and thirsty and now he's drowning, drowning in his presence and warmth, and he can't breathe.  

Suddenly, a startling fear struck him and it was as if cold water was doused on him. He broke away. No no no, he might see, Jongwoon might figure it out. He fled. 

He fled to his dark little chamber. The longing and pain felt so raw and fresh, like the simple encounter had uncurtained the longing he had tried so hard to forget. He had kept this little adoration in a bubble, well-enclosed, yet as apparent as a day. Like a dramatic Victorian man, he fell to his velvet bed and sobbed. Crimson tears poured from his eyes, staining his face with tangible evidence of his yearning. 

He sobbed and sobbed, just as he yearned and yearned for Jongwoon's warmth. 


-
 

"If I am to perish by the power of fire," he whispered quietly, choking back on his sorrows, "at least let that fire be yours".