_never again

Please meet me.

You made the grave mistake once. It was probably the most painful mistake you'd ever made. One you still found yourself regretting every moment.

And you weren't going to make it again.

---

Where are you?

Your shoes clicked on the concrete with each frantic footstep, the cold permeating the material of your coat with an unforgiving breeze. Breathing heavily, you ignored the constriction in your lungs.

You had to make it. There was no way you would turn back now. The second chance you'd been praying for – the one wish you held on to for years...

Two years ago, this was what you should have done. You should have taken the risk of being yelled at. Hell, the worst they could have done was give you detention and call your parents. This time, it was your boss yelling after you as you took off from a mediocre desk job that played no important part in your future.

A future you wanted to spend with him.

---

Are you coming?

This time you were.

Your feet hit the ground heavily, arms and legs straining as you climbed the set of steps along the side of the rundown building. Of course he would ask you to meet him here. The place held so many memories, came with so many emotions...

His voice floated down to you before you even made it all the way up.

The place was shadowed, the cloudy haziness blanketing the whole city kept out by the half-finished roof above you. There he stood, a few feet from the precarious railing, staring out over the buildings below with his hands stuffed into his pockets. Even among the greenery that had grown over the cemented ground, the weeds that rose up from the cracks... he looked perfect. A beautiful man standing amongst the grim, unsightly scenery. His warm, rich voice echoed all over, bouncing off the old metal and broken concrete and surrounding you with its magic.

Your expression and your pretty smile made me laugh sometimes... Your mistakes and your voice are so vivid to me... Where are you?

It took a moment to even realize you were crying. The sob wracked your body, shaking it so violently you were forced to curl into yourself. A hand came up over your mouth to muffle the sound, coming in contact with the stream of tears carving a path down your cheeks.

His singing halted instantly. The scrape of his shoe as he his heel echoed just as loudly as his voice. So did the shocked look on his face.

“___...”

Your chest tightened, and you shut your eyes, willing the tears to stop. Your jaw clenched against the urge to bawl and just reach for him.

When you felt arms come around your shoulders and pull you close against his body, your will shattered. You wound your arms around him, holding on as the sobs took over. Your body shook with the force of them, and you buried your face into his sweater to muffle the noise.

All he did was rub your back, humming in that familiar, soothing way he always did. He whispered your name, told you how glad he was that you came, how much he's missed you...

And it did nothing to make the tears stop.

“Taeil...”

His thumbs tenderly over your cheeks, wiping the tears away. “I'm glad you came this time...” He was smiling, a tiny, gentle smile that warmed you to the bone.

You touched his face, the tips of your fingers running against the curve of his jaw. He met the seeking trail of your hand, bringing your palm to his mouth for a soft touch of his lips. “I made a mistake,” you whispered, fighting back the tremble of tears in your voice. “I can't believe that you would still...”

When you trailed off and the weeping took over, he just nodded. “I needed to try. I thought maybe this time...”

“I'm sorry...”

He just smiled. “Don't be. Just promise me you'll stay this time.”

Your head was already moving before you could even recognize that you made the leap. But there was no way you were going to regret this decision this time. “Yes. Yes, of course.”

Taeil leaned forward, his eyes narrowing with the happy curve of his mouth. “You promise?”

“I promise.”

When his lips came up against yours in a gentle brush, all you could do was throw your arms around his neck, holding on as tightly as you could.

You were never going to let go again.

---

end note: Is Taeil's teaser not one of the most beautiful things you've ever heard?! *A* His voice~ Goodness, it's so gorgeous♥