The smell of rain wafted through the air, the park sprinkled in its remnants like morning dew. The sun filtered through the trees in the early afternoon, droplets still misted in the air bending the light and casting a rainbow in the sky. Myungsoo let out a content smile as he shook beads of water from his umbrella, the rain stopping not long ago.

He had a busy morning, going to the bakery, dropping by a flower shop to buy a bouquet of lilacs and then visiting his brother. He was on his way to pick up his pictures from the store, the quiet street rather busy for the time of day when he turned and froze to the spot.

His gaze fell upon a girl standing just outside the cafe, her eyes fluttering closed and pink lips curving into a gentle smile. Pale skin and wavy hair, she tilted her head to the sky and took in a breath of rain tinged air.

Time stilled around him, his own eyes widening and his lips parting. There was a sudden thrum in his ears, like his heartbeat had suddenly relocated in his body. Everything felt surreal, like a scene straight out of book, painted elegantly on a realistic canvas.

Suddenly everything was moving again, as if someone had hit the play button and the girl turned around, Myungsoo’s hand automatically reaching out as she walked inside the cafe.

.

Small eyes slowly blinked, lashes following its path as Sunggyu watched the painted mist in front of him. It had just stopped raining and Quzah had just gone out to paint a rainbow in the sky. The sun was strong in the afternoon as it passed the clouds and brightened the world beneath it.

Sunggyu felt him before he heard him, not needing the rustle of sound to know he had company.

“You are always watching him,” came a smooth voice.

Sunggyu spared the figure a glance, Woohyun’s raven hair and white smile as polished as ever.

“You should live a little, Sunggyu.”

The taller male shot him a look, a quirk of the brow but Woohyun’s attention was no longer on him.

“Oh, it seems he has found someone.”

Sunggyu turned back in time to feel the explosion of emotions, almost taken aback by the strength of the boy’s feelings.

“It does not seem like it will end well,” Woohyun commented calmly, eyes unblinking.

Sunggyu didn’t need Woohyun to know that. Everything played out at a speed fast enough for only them to pick out the strongest emotions, the final emotions and Sunggyu tightened his jaw.

“You cannot do anything,” came Woohyun’s voice again, almost soothingly.

He hadn’t realized he had tensed, turmoil rolling off his shoulders in waves and Sunggyu took a deep breath.

“Sunggyu, you have to let this play out.”

“No,” he whispered between clenched teeth.

“Sunggyu,” Woohyun’s tone was firm, “calm down. You cannot intervene. You cannot change their courses.”

“No,” Sunggyu replied stubbornly. “I’m not changing it. I want to give him a choice.” He took a breath. “I won’t let him go through it again.”

Sunggyu heard Woohyun expel a sigh before there was a touch on his shoulder.

“Even if you wanted to intervene, Sunggyu, you cannot. You do not have enough energy for it. It is dangerous—”

“Sixty seconds.”

Sunggyu’s eyes were hard and Woohyun paused. The determination behind Sunggyu’s words practically radiated off him like an aura, his attention not once leaving the scene in front of him.

“All I need is sixty seconds.”

.

Myungsoo walked in, eyes taking in the chic layout of the cafe as he chose a seat in the middle, in full view of the cafe’s small kitchen. His attention moved to the girl as she busied herself with a drink order, the smile not once leaving her face as she worked. She briefly looked up and caught his gaze, her smile widening in a polite acknowledgement before she continued with her work but the small gesture was enough to make his heart flutter.

Myungsoo absently spun the ring on his finger and looked down at the table. He blinked in surprise when a certain fragrance wafted to his nose, above the smell of freshly baked goods and coffee typical of the cafe.

Suddenly Myungsoo was hit with memories, emotions and feelings he didn’t know he had.



She likes his cooking. The smile that lights up her eyes is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. Her hair is soft, her lips are soft, her skin is soft and merely makes Myungsoo want to treasure her that much more.

The emotions are enough to burst through his chest, the amount of happiness he feels too much for him to keep inside. She’s warm against his side, a slight touch on his palm as fingers thread through his. They fit perfectly.



Myungsoo inhaled in surprise when a waitress gently prodded him for an order, and he flustered, he asked for the cafe favorite. Myungsoo touched his ring again, looking down to the metal band on his ring finger before he felt another surge of emotions.



She asks about his ring and he gives her a smile, thumb already absently caressing the band. He gives her a matching ring, sliding it onto her ring finger and watching her smile through her eyes. The warmth in his heart spreads to his fingertips and all the way down to his toes, the light chasing away all the dark shadows he’s kept deep down inside. Myungsoo has never felt this happy.

It’s peace. Blissful and almost ethereal.

The fall is just as intense, maybe even more so.

Myungsoo feels as if his heart is being torn apart at an agonizingly slow rate, the pain burning a trail in his chest. She gives back his ring, her voice cracking at his name. So Myungsoo tries to be the strong one as he holds her in his arms, her tears soaking into his shirt.

But he has to let go even if it’s the last thing he wants to do. The warmth disappears and is quickly replaced by a chilled gnaw, leaving a cold burn in its wake. His eyes are blank and he’s at a loss for words and when she sighs, his heart stops.



Myungsoo scrunched his nose at the sudden smell of lilacs as a sound resounded in the back of mind, similar to a single tick of the hand of a grandfather clock, a single minute going by. He was snapped out of his reverie when a coffee cup was set on his table, his gaze moving upwards just as she bowed politely to him.

She was beautiful, even when her image flickered to match those of his memories, the warmth and cold fluctuating in intensity of each recollection. She turned away to attend to another customer, and Myungsoo lowered his eyes.

With resignation, he pulled the metal band off his finger and set it down beside the untouched coffee. He stood up and headed to the door, a mere step from the entrance when a touch on his shoulder made him turn.

He could hear the ticking of the grandfather clock, time spinning in his mind as images raced to catch up and Myungsoo took a moment to calm himself. He glanced down to where his ring lay on her upturned palm, and finally looked up to meet her eyes.

She was beautiful.

.

Sunggyu opened his eyes to a sky that was forever clear. He sighed and continued to stare, too tired to move a muscle from his position on the grass. The soft chuckle from his right made him turn his head in surprise, gaze falling on the figure standing sideways in his vision. He should have felt the other's presence, and yet he hadn’t— he was too drained to even do such a little thing.

“Hello, sunshine.”

Sunggyu frowned and turned his gaze back on the sky, ignoring the obvious twinkle in Woohyun’s eyes.

“What—” Sunggyu swallowed as his voice came out dry, “did he choose?”

There was a short pause and Sunggyu could feel the other’s stare.

“He chose to let go,” Woohyun replied softly.

His voice permeated through the silence, expanding and disappearing into the empty air.

“I see,” Sunggyu said absently as his eyes fluttered closed and sleep claimed his mind.

When he woke up, Woohyun was still there. Sunggyu could feel him now, a presence that reminded him of the warmth similar to that of Myungsoo’s heart.

“How long was I out for?”

“Twenty four hours,” came the smooth reply. “If you mean down there—”

“Long enough,” Sunggyu finished with a curl at the edge of his lips.  

He pushed himself into a sitting position, leaning back onto outstretched arms as he regarded his companion. Woohyun was now seated as well, in front of him and just a little to his right.

“I thought it’d be impossible.”

“But yet you tried it anyway,” Woohyun remarked, face unreadable.

“I can’t believe I managed sixty seconds.”

“You did not,” Woohyun said quietly, and Sunggyu slowly turned to face him, eyes narrowing at the words.

There was a pregnant pause before the taller voiced his thoughts.

“Why?” Sunggyu furrowed his brow.

Woohyun clearly hesitated, as if he was collecting his thoughts in order to form his answer. “The same reason you went down in the first place.”

“No,” Sunggyu whispered, turning his eyes away. “I love Myungsoo.”

Woohyun remained quiet, the duo letting the silence settle and stretch as time flew by in the world beneath them.

“Why?” Sunggyu asked again, his voice soft. “Why did you help? You could have...” ...disappeared.

Their eyes connected and Sunggyu didn’t think he was imagining the galaxy of stars reflecting in the shorter male’s brown orbs. "And so could have you," were the words left unsaid as Woohyun blinked before sending him a tight-lipped smile.

“You are always thinking about him. Someone needs to think about you.”

Sunggyu had forgotten the feeling of being embarrassed because he’d become used to feeling all his emotions through Myungsoo. He looked down as he felt Woohyun inch himself closer until they were sitting side-by-side.

“He seems happy.”

Sunggyu looked back up to see Woohyun gaze directed in front of them, where Myungsoo was arguing with a taller boy his age. In contrast to his actions, Myungsoo was indeed, happy.

“I do not think you have to worry about your brother anymore.”

Sunggyu watched as Myungsoo gave up with a pout and wrapped his arms around the taller boy’s shoulders, his face content.

It was odd when a similar feeling of warmth unfurled somewhere deep in his core. Was it Myungsoo? Sunggyu glanced to his right where Woohyun was still quietly watching the scene, the flutter of his lashes and the curl of his lip easy to make out and suddenly it wasn’t so hard to differentiate Myungsoo’s feelings from his own. It had been a long time since he felt his own heart flutter in his chest.

“Yeah,” Sunggyu replied softly, a smile easily finding his lips.


*