A/N: I wasn't expecting to be done with this so soon. But I guess stuff cropped up in my life, made me depressed, and got me into a writing mood. This story wasn't even meant to be sad in the first place.

Loosely based on the (12 year old) Chinese pop song 流星雨 by Taiwanese boyband F4. This is the song and these are the lyrics. Feel free to listen to the song while reading this. I think it suits the theme :)

Ever heard of it before? It's classic. I think just about all Chinese (no matter which country you're from) would've at least heard it once before. F4 was like the H.O.T. of Taiwan during that era. It's that popular.

Word Count: 1722 words

Edit: Credits to x--tenshii from Scarlet Footsteps Request Shop for the chapter banner! ^^

hellobabyyoucalled ♥

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July 2061, right smack in the middle of the sweltering Summer in South Korea. The Halley’s Comet was going to pass by the Earth once again.

“Here would do, Jae Min yah. This is the exact spot I would like to be.” I instructed my great-grandson firmly. He relinquished his tight grasp on the handles of the wheelchair and took a few steps back to allow me some personal space.

I craned my neck and looked up and was not disappointed by what I saw. Like a painting set on an ebony black canvas, magnificent streaks of silver stretched across the night sky, complemented by a smattering of tiny, shining grey stars in the background. I sat observing the scene before me with big, watery eyes, while Jae Min stood behind me, keeping watch of me silently while appreciating the breathtaking sight as well.

“This was the spot your great-grandfather and I watched the Haley’s Comet together.” I spoke out of the blue, startling Jae Min out of his reverie. He immediately came up to my side and squatted down so that he was at eye level with me. “It was seventy-five years ago. I was your exact age then, you know? I was in my last year of middle school, just like you, while he had barely entered university.”

“It was 9^th February 1986. We sat side by side and watched the Haley’s Comet go by over our heads without a care for the world.”

~~~

“Hey, psst, Sung Jae! Yah, Yook Sung Jae, wake up!” The addressed boy pried an eye open and glanced around his darkened bedroom blearily, trying to identify the source of the voice that roused him from his sleep. He spotted a familiar bob of brown hair outside the balcony and tossed his futon aside, climbing out of bed unsteadily. He opened the window to find Min Hyuk squatting precariously on a branch of the old apple tree, drumming his fingers against the side of the house impatiently. “Took you long enough to get up. You were sleeping like a log and now my legs are cramping up. Come on, let’s go.”

Min Hyuk shuffled back to make space for Sung Jae as the other headed into his closet to grab his coat. When he returned, the younger swung his gangly legs over the edge and hopped onto the branch. It creaked and groaned under the additional weight and the two teenagers froze, breaths caught in the throats as they braced themselves for the loud snap they were sure would come. It never did and they shimmied down expertly like they’ve done so many times before.

Min Hyuk and Sung Jae landed on their feet nimbly and dusted their hands. The former turned abruptly and began heading down the deserted road, leaving the younger to scramble after him. “Yah, hyung, where are we going?”

“I don’t know, but let’s just get off this street first. I just saw the kitchen light from your house switch on and I don’t want to be caught.” Min Hyuk quickened his pace when he saw that the fifteen year old had caught up. “This could be charged as the kidnapping of a minor in court, you know.”

Sung Jae snapped his head back to see the silhouette of his mother standing by the window of the living room, observing them with crossed arms and a pseudo-annoyed expression on her face as they attempted to sneak away. The fifteen year old grinned sheepishly and waved back after being caught. “Too late for that, hyung. My ma’s up and she’s watching us try to slink away.”

“Eish,” Min Hyuk winced as he slowly turned around to face the other’s mother guiltily. “Uhm… Hi, auntie. What are you doing… being awake at this time? I’ll… Uhm, bring Sung Jae back safely! Bye!”

Min Hyuk caught hold of Sung Jae’s wrist and broke into a run, dragging the younger away before either of them could face persecution. Sung Jae’s mother clucked her tongue and shook her head in mock disapproval before turning off the lights once again and going back to bed, leaving the two boisterous teenagers to themselves.

“Hyung, I know what we can do. Follow me.” When they reached the cross junction, Sung Jae changed courses abruptly and took them to the open grass patch situated behind the neighbourhood playground. They didn’t stop until they reached the middle of the field that was free from any obstruction. Sung Jae settled down and patted the ground beside him, motioning for Min Hyuk to do the same. “Hurry up and sit down! It’s going to start soon!”

Min Hyuk had barely gotten himself comfortable when Sung Jae let out a crow of delight. “Omo, hyung, it’s starting! It’s starting!”

The elder traced his line of vision from the arm Sung Jae had pointed upwards to the shooting star that crossed the dark sky. The single streak was followed by another, then another, until the entire sky was painted with silver. It was a meteor shower. Sung Jae, the fifteen year old boy who had been fascinated by astronomy since young and thought the world of the sun and the moon and the stars, had brought him to watch a meteor shower together.

Min Hyuk turned towards the younger but was swiftly shushed before he could open his mouth as Sung Jae shuffled closer to his side. “Don’t talk. Let’s just enjoy the gorgeous sight for now.”

”Do you know what this is? It’s called the Halley’s Comet, hyung. It’s really pretty, isn’t it?” Min Hyun could only continue to ogle at the night sky and ooh and ah at the spectacular meteor shower, ignoring the racing of his heart as Sung Jae rested his head on the elder’s shoulder. “Ever since I found out about it I’ve always wanted to come watch it with someone special. You’re special to me, Min Hyuk hyung. I just want to let you know that.”

The two boys fell asleep under the stars that night, locked in each other’s embrace. The sun had risen way above their heads when they woke up next morning. Both were late for school, and neither could care less. The time spent together was what mattered most. It was obvious to everyone but themselves the special feelings they had for each other, but like any other deserving individual they too got their happy ending. Min Hyuk mustered up the courage to confess to the fifteen year old on his birthday, and Sung Jae took that leap of faith and accepted the confession.

“Hey,” Min Hyuk waited for the addressed boy to turn towards him before continuing to speak. “Remember that meteor shower we watched together in February? Let’s go watch it again the next time round, not as best friends, but as a couple. What do you think?”

“The Halley’s Comet only comes around once every seventy five years, silly. I think we’ll both be a bag of bones by then. Most people only live to see it pass by the Earth once in their lifetime.”

Min Hyuk fell silent in contemplation at his beau’s words. “You’re right. Seventy five years is an awfully long time, Sung Jae yah. I don’t have the confidence in myself to love someone that long, but I guess only because it’s with you, I believe that we can make it last. I just hope that I can be physically present by your side then, too.”

Why did you have to jinx it, hyung? Maybe if you hadn’t said that, you would be watching this year’s meteor shower together with me. You’d always been conscious of the fact that you were five years older. What for? It doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re old, it just shows how mature and responsible you are when you’re with someone overgrown and childish like me. You’re the down to my up, the calm to my excitement. We balance each other out perfectly.

Do remember our ridiculous first meeting as well as I do? I was four, and you were nine. We were each playing at the neighbourhood playground by ourselves when you clumsily tripped over a tree root, pulling the innocent bystander that was me to the ground with you. We literally, fell on each other. That’s right. We fell on each other, we fell for each other, we grew up, and we grew old together.

Our families had been nothing but supportive of our relationship. They thought we were made for each other. We really were, weren’t we? We seemed to be synchronised right down to our thoughts and ideas. I remember proposing to you at the playground from our childhood, after which you told me you’d been fantasizing about our dream wedding just a few days before.

From visiting the bakery for cake testing to the florist to the dropping by the bridal shop to have our suits tailored, we planned the whole event together. We even chose our outfits for each other, and held the ceremony in our backyard. Until today the memory of it still remains lucid in my mind. You’d looked all but perfect in that black tuxedo I picked out for you.

Then there was the time when I wanted to adopt. That night you took out the envelope containing the profiles and statistics of toddlers from the local orphanage, and we snuggled on the couch and perused the information together. Of the laminated photographs of the twenty children you had prepared, we only had our eyes on Missha.

It was almost psychic. One look into her wide doe eyes had both of us falling for her and we just knew that she would be the one. You took leave from work and we headed down to pick her up from the shelter the very next day. It was the third most joyous occasion in my entire existence, right behind your confession and acceptance of my proposal, and raising Missha together with you was nothing short of a blessing. I couldn’t have asked for a better husband and father in my life. Thank you for being there for me through thick and thin.

~~~

“The Comet looks exceptionally bright this time round, Jae Min yah. I wonder if your great-grandfather is watching it well from Heaven.”