“Knock knock — I’m letting myself in.”
 

    Sehun opened the front door to see that nothing had changed since the last time he had visited. Luhan was still on the couch with his face planted within his palms, moping and groaning about his pitiful life.
 

    “I know you’re too busy being a useless idiot, but today’s the day. She’s finally leaving.”
 

    “Leave me alone, Sehun.”
 

    “Why?” he goaded on. “So you can keep sitting around here like dead weight?”
 

    “Sehun, please.”
 

    He walked over to the couch and sat next to his friend. Continuing to test Luhan’s patience, Sehun clapped his cheeks. “Cold fish. Your face looks like a cold fish.”
 

    “Sehun, I’m serious!” His frustration had exploded, elbowing Sehun’s arms away from him. His expression was perturbed, but his eyes were forlorn. 
 

    Sehun stood up, finally done joking around. It was time to get serious. There was only one chance left, and this one final chance could not be lost. Not this time.
 

    “Okay, I want you to listen to me, Luhan. Okay? I’m going to say this loud and clear, so perk up those ears and dry those eyes because Sehun Oh is going to slap some sense and sensibility into your romance-less and pathetic life.”
 

    “Thanks for being so compassionate,” Luhan sighed.
 

    “No problem, buddy. Okay. See the time? It’s seven in the evening. Her plane leaves at eight o’clock sharp. The plan’s simple: chase her down to the airport like in the movies, find her, make up, and kiss. End of scene, roll the credits — done. Simple. Easy. So, what do you say?”
 

    “I say you’re probably as impractical as ever.”
 

    Sehun crossed his arms. “Better to be a romanticist than a realist. Life’s more fun that way.”
 

    Luhan sat up and sighed. “Sehun—”
 

    “Do you love her or not?”
 

    He was taken aback by the sudden, serious question. “Well...yes.”
 

    “Then hop in the car and let’s get to that airport.”
 

    “You’re insane.”
 

    Sehun shrugged, turning around so that his back faced his friend. He walked to the front door and opened it, letting the cold air rush in. Turning his head back, he glared at Luhan.
 

    “Sure you won’t regret not trying?”
 

    Luhan couldn’t answer. He looked down, not being able to bring himself to look at him directly anymore. A few seconds passed, and then the door clicked shut. The cold air stopped flowing in. An engine outside roared to life.
 

    “Leave, for all I care,” Luhan muttered to himself. “That’s what everyone’s done to me already.” 
 

    He got up and trudged himself to the hallway. The door to his mother’s room was left ajar as always. She had probably heard their conversation. He knocked softly and let himself in.
 

    His mother waved her hand to tell him to come to her side. He did so, sitting down on her bedside as usual, holding her hand while letting his eyes wander about the room. The streetlamp outside flickered incessantly, light letting itself come in and out through the window in a vexatious rhythm.
 

    “I have yet to meet this girl that you like.”
 

    Luhan turned to look at her. “I’m afraid you won’t have the chance to, Mom.”
 

    “Oh, but I might. That is, if you try.”
 

    He furrowed his brows and sighed. His eyes wandered down to his feet and slowly closed. Suddenly, her hand was on his chin, turning his face toward her direction.
 

    “Luhan. You’ve had so many chances. I don’t want you to regret something you’ve never brought yourself to do.”
 

    “Mom—”
 

    “Love is something I want you to have most. Forget a job you enjoy doing or a father you’ve always wanted to have. Those things don’t even compare when it comes to this love you have for this lady. I want you to know that.”
 

    Luhan didn’t speak. He knew that she had more to say.
 

    “I’ve seen the way you look when you talk about her. I’ve never seen you happier, and yet, you’ve never told her anything. Luhan, become an honest man. It’s time that you stop avoiding the people you love and start finding a way to let them come into your life like they should’ve had to long ago.”
 

    “And what if she doesn’t accept me anymore? What if she runs away like everyone else has in the past?”
 

    His mother squeezed his hand and then let go. “And what if she accepts you? What is she’s the one destined to live by your side forever? Are you willing to let such a possibility slip from your grasp so easily?”
 

    Luhan stared at her while trying to absorb his mother’s words. Sehun had pointed out the same reason. A chance like this— would he let it go? She wasn’t gone yet. She was still on Parisian soil. Would he sit here and wait for her to leave just like that?
 

    Luhan stood up tall and proud. “No. I’ll try...I’ll do what I can, Mom.”
 

    With that, he rushed out the door and said a quick farewell. He swung his coat around his shoulders and slipped into his shoes, looking at the clock ridiculing him from the far side of the room. Five minutes past seven. He had time. He would need to call a taxi somewhere on the next street and rush over to the airport as quickly as he could if he wanted to make it in time.
 

    Swinging the door open, Luhan stopped in his sudden rush. The cold air bit at his face as his breath fogged up part of his vision. The car that had roared to life just minutes before had never actually left his home. A tall figure leaned against its side.
 

    Sehun looked up and snickered. “Your mom finally slapped some sense into you?”
 

    Luhan laughed in disbelief. “You can rub it in my face later. Let’s go.”
 

    “Aye aye, Captain.”
 

    Both of them got into the car and shut its doors. Luhan’s smile was his way of thanking his friend. Sehun hit his shoulder as he started to drive.
 

    “Ah, don’t get me all sappy. First thing’s first— let’s get your woman.”
 

____________________________________________________________________________________

    7:15
 

    It seemed all too familiar: an airport full of wandering souls rushing to and fro in a frenzy of time. Fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, cousins, grandparents, friends— everyone was heading home for the holidays to reunite with their families. They would come home to find loved ones awaiting their arrival with a warm fireplace to sit around and freshly baked cookies to eat with a handed-down recipe of hot cocoa just a sip away. Home for the holidays. Seohyun envied them all.
 

    After having her luggage checked in, she walked around for awhile, eyes flitting around to take in the atmosphere. Suho stayed loyally at her side, not daring to leave her for even a second. These last few moments with each other had to be remembered for as much as possible until who knows when she would return someday. 
 

    Seohyun stopped walking for a second and tugged at his sleeve. “Suho, I have a question.”
 

    “What is it, Seo?”
 

    “Would it be better if I stayed?”
 

    “You know I’d say that it’d be nice if you did.” He half-smiled at her. “But it’s all on you, Seo. It’s your decision. Either way, I hope you find what you’re looking for wherever you choose to go.”
 

    She nodded and let out a sigh. “You’re too nice to me, you know that? Thanks, though. You’re the only true friend I’ve ever had.”
 

    Seohyun’s eyes started to tear up as she went in for an embrace. Suho’s body stiffened at first, but his arms were soon wrapped around her as they held each other equally as tightly. As she let her grip on him loosen, Seohyun stepped back and took one last look at her friend.
 

    “I guess...this is it,” she breathed. “Bye, Suho.”
 

    “Bye.”
 

    She grabbed her bag and held it close with one hand and waved with the other. The whole room was lit so brightly that the dark of the night through the windows seemed like it was from another world. 
 

    “I’ll keep in touch!” she finally called out before disappearing behind a line of people. 
 

    She sighed, ready to climb aboard on her journey to a new life— again. All by herself, she was left alone to wander once more in this world. Seohyun wondered when she would ever get to settle down, to live a life of her own, to live a life without leaving the people she loved around her one after another. 
 

    The screens of the security check line beeped in a monotonous tone as people flowed through one by one like an assembly line. Seohyun fiddled with whatever she could put her hands on, twirling her hair or pulling on her bag. She’d have to do this every so often, whether it be to London, Tokyo, Berlin, or whatever city was next on her trek in the fashion world. Traveling around the world like this— she didn’t think she could get used to it. Perhaps this wasn’t the life she was meant to live.

____________________________________________________________________________________

    7:30
 

    “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
 

    Sehun sighed. “Well, it is the holiday season. Traffic like this is to be expected.”
 

    “It’s the beginning of December,” Luhan pointed out. “Christmas isn’t even around the corner yet.”
 

    “Every day in December is Christmas day when you live in a big city like this.”
 

    Luhan ran his hand through his hair and leaned against the car door. He would never make it in time. There was an endless pileup of cars lined up around the airport no matter what direction it was in, from the back or from the entrance— it didn’t matter. The array of glistering lights and the disquieting symphony of honking cars were driving him insane. With an adrenaline rush this strong, he had to move. It wasn’t even an option anymore. He had to go. He had to run.
 

    Opening the car door, he jumped out while slamming it back shut. As the window rolled down, Luhan could see Sehun’s bewildered expression from the other side as he leaned forward to talk.
 

    “What are you doing?” he yelled.
 

    “I can get there if I run,” Luhan clarified. “This traffic won’t let down until it’s too late.”
 

    “Okay, but are you seriously gonna run there?”
 

    “Yes.”
 

    “You’re insane, you know that?” Sehun rolled his eyes in exasperation.
 

    Luhan smiled as the cold air nibbled at his face. “Yea, I know.”
 

    With that, he bolted from where he was standing and weaved his way around the still stream of cars. People honked their horns and yelled from every direction, but Luhan couldn’t have cared less. His eyes were fixed upon the building ahead, shining brilliantly against the night sky: Charles de Gaulle Airport. While running, the frozen wind rushed against his entire body, pumping up the adrenaline in his system. His strides grew farther and farther apart with each foot landing on the ground, the airport coming closer and closer in sight.
 

    You’d think him crazy. He’d think so too. But Luhan was determined to persevere once more, for it was all he could do at the moment. If Seohyun had kept her ground before, so could he with his desires. 
 

    The number of people on the sidewalk started to grow, and soon enough, he was nearing the airport’s entrance. Nothing could slow Luhan down as he threaded his way through dodging passersby and leaped over pyramids of luggage. The airport was massive, so he decided to go through the main entrance and wish himself the best of luck.
 

    As the front doors opened, Luhan stopped in his tracks. An ocean of people flooded every visible space of the room, figures going adrift from one side to the next. It was impossible to pinpoint a single figure in the midst of this hysteria. 
 

    Luhan needed a miracle to find her.

____________________________________________________________________________________

    7:48
 

    “Now boarding eight o’clock flight 129— Paris to Tokyo.”
 

    Seohyun looked up at the sound of the speakers. For once, her flight wasn’t delayed an hour or three; it was actually right on schedule. She stood up and watched the first-class passengers line up for boarding, trailing behind them leather suitcases or silk and satin carry-ons.
 

     As she walked towards the line, she looked around the room. It was an endless hall lined with rows of windows along its arched configuration, no light to be peeking through as it was in fact a winter night. No snow dotted the windows either; it was just pitch black and empty behind the glass. 
 

    Seohyun pulled out her boarding pass and passport, mimicking the people to the front of her in the line. One lady checked each individual’s papers. She would take them in her hands, squint down through her glasses, nod her head indifferently, and hand them back to the passenger while giving an empty greeting to the airline’s flight.
 

Seohyun frowned at the colorless and mundane atmosphere that she could feel surrounding her.
 

    “Next.”
 

    A stranger from behind nudged her to move forward, clearly impatient. Seohyun apologized for failing to pay attention, and shrunk away from the restless line of first-class snobs. She walked forward and presented her pass, watching the lady examine it with the same inanimate look in her eyes.
 

    She handed them back to her. “Enjoy your flight.”
 

    Seohyun nodded and stepped off to the side to put her passport away and back into her bag. Letting the other strangers pass her by, she took her time ping and zipping and ping and zipping. Her eyes darted to each person who crossed in front of her, trying to see if by their expressions there was anyone as dithering as she was. But it was futile; there was no one as unsure as she was in this situation.
 

    Seconds turned into minutes, and soon the line of passengers was coming to an end. Many of the people who had boarded had eyed Seohyun and had wondered why this woman was standing off to the side like so. To tell the truth, she wasn’t sure of herself either, but she was unknowingly waiting for something to happen— something that she wouldn’t have expected either.
 

    But nothing came. She was waiting for nothing. The lady from earlier walked towards Seohyun, and begged her a question.
 

    “The plane will be leaving soon, madame.”
 

    Seohyun bit her lip. “I know.”
 

    “Do you need a moment more, madame?”
 

    She looked up and stood up straight. With an exhale, she gave the lady a hesitant smile. “No, there’s no need. My mind is made up.”
 

    Seohyun pulled on her bag and started to walk. 

____________________________________________________________________________________

    7:56
 

    The amount of people failed to dwindle as Luhan found himself pushing through the crowd in a rash effort to find her. It would be a challenge, for he hadn’t seen her in weeks. To know even what she was wearing would have at least helped him in his search, but he was at a loss here. Blindly, he continued to make his way through the crowd.
 

    There was a counter nearby full of rambunctious people screaming at frantic staff members. There was no order whatsoever, so Luhan took this chance to his advantage. As he slipped his way towards the front, he tried to catch the attention of one of the employees. After awhile, one finally came over.
 

    “Yes, sir?” he puffed.
 

    Luhan leaned over the counter, eyes unyielding. “A flight to Tokyo— when does it leave?”
 

    The man typed on the computer after muttering something under his breath. “There is only one flight to Tokyo tonight.”
 

    “When does it leave?”
 

    “It’s leaving right now, sir,” he replied. “Flight 129— Paris to Tokyo. Eight o’clock.”
 

    “The time now?”
 

    Impatient, he sighed. “Seven fifty-eight, sir.”
 

    Luhan’s shoulders dropped and so did his gaze. His eyes darted around the floor in an effort to assess the situation. “No, that can’t be right—”
 

    But the staff member was already gone, probably assisting another needy customer elsewhere. Luhan slammed his hand on the counter and turned around, not ready to give up yet. There could have been a chance the flight was delayed or that the man must’ve read the wrong flight. She could still be here. If that chance was still open even the slightest bit, then Luhan wouldn’t give up yet. 
 

    He pushed to the center of the room, stumbling on suitcases and bumping into strangers along the way. Once he made it, he inhaled sharply.
 

    “Seohyun!”

    The strangers surrounding him turned around for a second or two, glaring and giving piercing stares at the disruptive man. But Luhan didn’t care. He’d never see these people again anyway. The only thought running through his mind was her and her only, like a tantalizing poison running through his veins. It became a need— a need that he had to fulfill. 
 

    “Seohyun, where are you?” he yelled again.
 

    Not a single face that could have been hers turned around at his voice. Yelling so recklessly was rather useless of him, but he was desperate. As he looked around the sea of strangers, his eyes caught a brilliant scarlet peeking through amongst the crowd. The color looked familiar to Luhan, so he ran towards it. Scarlet—a scarlet coat—that was what he remembered. Luhan knew that color anywhere. It had to be Seohyun’s scarlet red coat.
 

    He tapped the woman’s shoulders. “Seohyun, I—”
 

    His voice trailed off as the stranger turned around, only to reveal that it wasn’t her. The woman looked bewildered and eyed Luhan up and down.
 

    “Sorry, I thought you were someone else,” he apologized quickly. 
 

    The woman nodded her head but quickly fled the scene. Luhan watched her go and sighed. He was so sure that that was her, but his hastiness had gotten the best of him. 
 

    As time ticked on, Luhan became too overwrought to listen to the strings of reality tugging in on him, telling him that what he was waiting for would truly be a miracle and a miracle only. And how often do miracles happen in this world? Almost never. Luhan’s frantic searching around the room gradually turned into blind gazes from a distance, lost and obscure. The hope he had lost was eating him up inside, up all the adrenaline and energy he had once had just before.
 

    The clock in the center of the room read half past eight. The number of people was beginning to dwindle, and Luhan was left by himself amongst the crowd, standing alone in the center of the floor. All the things he had wanted to say, all the things he had wanted to clear up, the only chance he had at changing his life once and for all — they were gone. He clenched his fists, digging his nails into his skin, and then released his grip after a heavy sigh. Luhan stood up and didn’t bother to look around any further. He wanted to go home.
 

    As the sliding doors opened, a rush of cold air came gushing through, swarming around him in spirals and swirls. He pulled his collar to his mouth, protecting the little warmth he had left on his face. The cars were still piling in, traffic visible from the eye for what seemed like miles. 
 

    Something cold nipped at Luhan’s nose for a split second and then disappeared. He blinked as the tingling sensation started to dot around his face, as if frozen raindrops were kissing his forehead and cheeks and nose and mouth. Luhan looked up at the sky and watched an abundance of delicate snowflakes float down, fluttering around him.
 

He was absolutely mesmerized for some unknown reason, just to see the simple magic of snowfall at night.
 

    Luhan’s temporary enchantment with the snow died out as he slowly drifted back into reality. The cars in front of him honked incessantly while the people around him ran to and fro in a sort of race for time. Everything around him was in motion— in full speed — except him. He stood still and turned around, only to find that there was a second figure not caught up in the delirium of the night as well.

    She stood still and unnerving not too far away from Luhan, clutching a bag close to her side. While the people around her dashed and scurried, she—like him—also stood unmoving against the backdrop of frenzied strangers. Her eyes showed a mix of bemusement and despondence as her gaze didn’t dare break his.
 

    “What are you doing here.” It sounded more like a statement than a question.
 

    Luhan opened his mouth, but only his breath came out.
 

    Seohyun’s expression saddened. “What are you doing here.” 
 

    Luhan took a few cautious steps toward her, still not breaking their gaze. Once he was finally in front of her, he took a deep breath to steady himself. “What...what are you doing here?”
 

    “I’m here to leave,” she stated as a matter of fact. “This is an airport after all. Not that it should matter to you much what happens to me.”
 

    “I thought your flight should’ve left already.”
 

    Seohyun looked down, but her voice was bitter. “Well, how would you know? Why would you care?”
 

    “I came here not too long ago to catch up to you. I searched the crowd. I asked everyone, but no one wanted to help.” Luhan struggled to find his words as he paused to his lips. “I asked when your flight left, and they said at eight, but it was eight when I got here. But I kept looking because I felt that you still had to be there. I called for you and looked for you and waited for you, but you never showed up, so I had given up hope. But now...you’re here. In front of me. Right now.”
 

    “Luhan.” Seohyun’s expression lightened up from the embittered look she had on before. “You came all the way here...to look for me?”
 

    Luhan nodded, not knowing what else to say. 
 

    She swallowed and waited for words to come out of . Seohyun inhaled and looked back up at him. “You were right, though. My flight did leave.”
 

    “Did you miss it?”
 

    “No. I didn’t. Not exactly,” she confessed. “I left it right before it could take off.”
 

    Luhan tilted his head, not sure he quite understood. “Why...why did you come back then?”
 

    She sighed and hugged her arms. “Traveling endlessly. Running hectic schedules. Not being able to settle down. I don’t think a life like that is meant for me, so I decided to stay. Although, I don’t know what’s in store for me here in Paris if I stayed.” Seohyun shrugged and looked back down. “All I want is to belong somewhere. I don’t want to become the world’s temporary piece of art, vanishing and disappearing before people’s eyes just like that with no real purpose in life. I want to settle down just like any other human being. I want to live life happily. I want people that love me to be by my side forever. I want that. I want a life like that. Just like that.”
 

    Luhan wanted to comfort her, but he knew that he wasn’t in the position to be doing such a thing, In fact, he was probably the farthest person in the position to do such a thing. He kept words of pity to himself, and tried his best to think of other words to say. She was here, after all. This was his chance to confess everything.
 

    “It was...interesting...to run into you,” Seohyun said in an awkward tone. “But I guess I’ll be going now. I already called Suho and—”
 

    “I’m an idiot.”
 

    She raised an eyebrow and turned towards him. “Excuse me?”
 

    “I’m an idiot,” he restated, “and I’m sorry for being one.”
 

    Seohyun continued to stare at him. “Is this an apology?”
 

    “I know I’m not good with words, but please listen to everything I have to say. I’m not one to talk, and I don’t deserve to even say these things to you. But could you promise me that you’ll hear me out? Just this once? After this, you don’t ever have to see me again if you don’t want to, and I’ll respect that. So, will you promise me that you’ll stay and listen to me?”
 

    Seohyun’s eyes widened. She nodded her head.
 

    “I’ve always been the outcast. I’ve always been excluded from everything and everyone, so I’m used to being alone. I’m used to people not paying attention to me and not wanting to be associated with me. I’m used to that. And when people say harsh things about me, it used to hurt me. But now I’m used to that too. I know it sounds pitiful, but living life being the outcast is a life I can bear— a life I don’t mind living.
 

    “And then you came along. I met you by chance—I remember that night at the airport—and you opened up to me, a stranger, so comfortably and without hesitation. You never had a problem talking to me; in fact, you’re the only person in my life that’s ever wanted to talk to me. You’re the only person in my life that’s ever made me feel like I didn’t have to be the outcast. I’ve never met someone that wanted to love me as much as you did, and I’m a sad excuse for a human being for letting you go, for pushing you away.
 

    “And here I am, standing in front of you, trying my best to do whatever it takes to bring you back. I want you to be with me again; to talk with me again; to love me again. I know that’s a lot to ask for, but I’d give up anything to have you love me the way you did before. Because I love you. I love you, Seohyun. I love you.”
 

    Luhan’s voice sounded of a kind of firm and abiding resonance, no longer fragile and weak to the ears. His words were resolute, and he felt a weight being lifted off of his chest as the words he had been holding in for so long were finally set free. 
 

    In front of him, Seohyun stood still. Her expression had not changed since the beginning of Luhan’s confession, much to his surprise. Her eyes were still wide, but she didn’t seem moved at all.
 

    Luhan exhaled deeply into the frigid air. “That’s all I had to say to you.”
 

    Seohyun continued to stare at him.
 

    “Thank you for keeping your promise. I guess I’ll be leaving now, then.”
 

    Luhan bowed his head as a final farewell and took one last look at her for all that she was. She was beautiful as always, he thought. Her and that scarlet red coat. He took a step back and turned around. What was done had been done.
 

    “Idiot.”
 

    Luhan was shocked to hear her voice; it sounded like it was about to crack. He turned around only to see her staring accusingly at him, eyes b with tears. She bit her lip and tried to hold back as much as she could. 
 

    “You say all of that to me, and you just turn around and leave?” she cried. 
 

    Luhan continued to look at her, not knowing what to say. His hands fidgeted at his sides.
 

    “Don’t you get it?” Seohyun’s eyes gleamed and glistened from the tears, some spilling over and down her cheeks. “The whole reason why I missed my flight—the whole reason why I came back—is because of you!”
 

    Luhan walked towards her, almost rushing his steps. Finally just mere centimeters away, their breaths warmed up the space in between them. 
 

    “Idiot,” she repeated. “You’re so dense.”
 

    “If all I do is keep making you cry this way,” he said, almost a whisper, “then calling me an idiot is an understatement.”
 

    Luhan reached up his hands to her face and brushed away the tears with his thumbs. Her cheeks were warm to the touch as his frostbitten fingers twitched at the sudden contact. She noted Luhan’s apologetic expression, eyes almost hurt when he looked at her, skin cold and ivory like the snow trickling down around them. The gap in between them started to warm up, started to close, and soon wasn’t there at all. 
 

    As he held Seohyun’s face within his hands, Luhan’s lips met hers ever so gently. Her lips were warmer than he had expected, smooth and supple to the touch. Nothing had ever felt so right, so dulcet, as their warmth engulfed the air around them. Although cautious at first, they soon became lost in their kiss, having long desired each other’s touch for what had seemed like forever.
 

    In that moment, she seemed so fragile to him, so delicate, and the need to protect her rose up within him. She was finally his, and he would never drive her away from him again. 
 

    As their lips parted, both of them breathed deeply into the air. Luhan couldn’t take in what had just happened, but a smile soon formed on Seohyun’s face. She encircled her arms around him for a snug embrace and buried her face in his chest. 
 

    As his arms wrapped around her in return, Luhan placed a kiss at the top of her head and rested his chin on that very same spot. “Am I still an idiot?”
 

    “I’m the idiot here,” Seohyun said, closing her eyes, “for loving you.”
 

A/N:

THIS CHAPTER WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT TO WRITE.

But hopefully it was worth it? ;A;

Please comment below! I love reading all the comments; they mean so much to me. ^^

One more chapter, so hang on tight. And thank you for giving so much love to me and this story. <3