---

 

 

 

The Rewrite

 

 

 

He freaked out after what Baekhyun had told him. Before the brunette could even retort, Kyungsoo had run away, leaving the other in a rush—feet nearly tripped over everything he came through. He fell anyway; thirty steps from the oak tree.

Apparently, Baekhyun wasn’t the type to give up easily.

“Stop following me, Baekhyun.” Kyungsoo groaned as he tried to get on his feet again.

“I’m not.”

“Then what are you doing here in front of me?” he sighed.

“I thought ghost would stick to one place only. Go back to your tree.”

“Euuww,” Baekhyun grimaced, “I’m not a ghost and jeez, that’s so lame Kyungsoo. Did you even read books?”

Kyungsoo breathed out a deep sigh. His mind wasn’t ready for this. He had spent his whole energy trying to keep up with the in his life. Meeting Baekhyun was not a part of the plan.

“I’m not in the mood for this Baekhyun.”

“Hear me out for once, and I’ll leave you alone.”

Kyungsoo eyed the other male in front of him carefully. That pen was still in his hand.

“Why do you want to be the tree?”

He stayed silent, calculating whether he should answer that question or not. The fact that Baekhyun knew what he had thought didn’t bother him as much as what he thought he would.

He turned to his left and walked closer to the nearest fence. The water in the lake looked calm underneath the moonlight; it dragged Kyungsoo back into his own little world again.

“Because I want to erase my mistakes and start a new life,”

“You know you can’t erase the past, don’t you?”

“I know, I know it way too well.”

“Say, what would you do if I told you that you can rewrite your past?”

Kyungsoo snorted as he put his hand on the fence.

“Nothing,” he tilted his head and looked at the brunette, “that is simply impossible, Baekhyun.”

“Even after meeting me, you still think that it is impossible?”

“You? I’m not even sure if you’re real or not.”

Baekhyun beamed before he disappeared from Kyungsoo’s eyes, leaving a taken aback Kyungsoo in a daze.

“What do you think that strange pen can do for you?” Baekhyun asked from behind. He had his cheek rested on his palm as he leaned on the fence.

“The answer will still be nothing.” Kyungsoo turned to face the brunette. He lifted one of the other’s hands, and put the pen in between Baekhyun’s slim fingers.

“Please take your pen back and stop bothering me, Baekhyun.”

He saw a smile appeared on the other’s lips before he turned to leave.

He gasped,

 

The pen was still in his hand, even after he handed it over to Baekhyun.

 

“It looks like the pen had found its new owner.” He heard Baekhyun whispered into his ears.

“So what say you, Kyungsoo? Would you take this one of a lifetime chance and rewrite your past, or will you still walk away from me?”

 

 

The thing about imagination was there was a thin line that separated the fantasy with reality. As much as it was easy for one to be slipped into his own imagination, he could easily get himself back into reality. However, in certain occasion, when one is too indulged in his own wild fantasy, he forgot about reality.

Kyungsoo seriously felt like his mind had slipped out of insanity, because even after he tried so hard to get himself out of the loop, he didn’t think he had budge at all. He thought his mind was imagining things.

“Stop trying so hard Kyungsoo. This is not your imagination.” He heard Baekhyun’s faint voice somewhere in between the quiet melody of the wind and his footsteps.

The brunette was nowhere to be seen but his voice remained in Kyungsoo’s head. He still had that strange pen hidden inside his coat’s right pocket; the pen that Baekhyun claimed can rewrite his past.

“You have to start believing it first, or the magic won’t work.”

Magic,

Does it even exist in the first place?

 

“The process is simple, Kyungsoo. You will be given three choices, and you just have to choose only one. Keep in mind that your choice will determine the ending; whether it’s good or bad, everything depends on you. Interesting isn’t it?”

It was interesting, Kyungsoo would admit that. His curious mind urged him to give it a try, to be bold once and do something beyond what human can actually do.

But can someone really rewrite something that had already happened? The question lingered in his mind, insisting for an answer but Kyungsoo could give none.

“But remember Kyungsoo, everything you do has consequences and this is not an exception.”

Baekhyun’s slightly husky voice echoed in his ears, reminded him of the risks unfolding before him. Changing your past mean you’re playing with time, and it’s a dangerous game to play with. Kyungsoo knew that much.

He hadn’t made his choice, hadn’t heard of the third option yet. He knew it won’t be easy; it was written all over Baekhyun’s face when the brunette explained everything to him.

 

 

“My name is Do Kyungsoo.”

 

“I’m...My name is Jongin, Kim Jongin.”

 

 

Kyungsoo let his feet lead his way down the road. He tucked his hands deeper into his coat’s pockets, seeking for some warmness in the small space. The wind was chilly and the breeze was cold, it distracted Kyungsoo from whatever he had in his busy mind.

He figured that he needed something warm to keep his mind in place; something like warm drink or warm place could do it. He still had a few dollars left in his wallet. He looked up from the plain road and felt his eyes brightened up at the sight of an open coffee shop at the end of the road, exactly what he was searching for.

“There is this one coffee shop that I used to go since I was eighteen...”

Kyungsoo stopped abruptly in his track. There was something familiar knocking over his heart the closer he get to that coffee shop. He couldn’t recall ever went to that shop before, but the sense of familiarity was begging him to differ.

The coffee shop had a big wooden sign on top of its main entrance. The sign read a simple ‘Like a Home’, which he assumed as the shop’s name. There were big glass windows on each side of the entrance, showing the inner side of the shop. The left window—the one Kyungsoo is standing at— held a wall counter on it with six occupied seats, all except for one seat near the wall.

Kyungsoo didn’t know why the person sat beside that empty seat caught his eyes in an instance.

He found himself walking into that shop a few seconds later, fingers gripping onto the pen in his pocket unconsciously.

 

 

 

Kyungsoo ordered a single cup of warm white coffee. He didn’t really adore his coffee to be pure black and flunk with bitterness. Instead, he loved his coffee with cream; the taste of milk and coffee together felt like heaven in his mouth.

He tapped on the counter, fingers dancing on the cold surface as he hummed a rhythm. The shop was slightly warmer than the empty road, and it looked welcoming—just like a home.

Kyungsoo did not plan on staying though, he just needs his warm coffee and then he’ll be off to the street again. He really needed an escape from the crowd; humans and their selfish needs. And judging from the almost crowded shop, he doubted that he will ever find his peace there.

But then, the moment he got his coffee from the cashier, and turned to leave the shop, his eyes caught the empty seat he saw earlier. That seat was placed at the far corner of the shop, in front of the big glass window, right beside a lone figure of a man.

Kyungsoo still remember that stranger. His eyes were empty and it compliment well with his blank face. In one glance, the stranger looked exactly like a lifeless soul. Kyungsoo didn’t know why said stranger had his eyes fixated at the moon shone brightly in the night sky—he had seen him before he stepped into that coffee shop.

He found himself to be in dilemma not long after that.

Should he leave or just sit at that empty seat?

Should he?

“If you choose right, then everything will be alright. But if you choose wrong, then everything, I mean everything, will burn to ashes and you won’t see the end of it.”

 

Kyungsoo honestly thought that the whole choosing thing was unfair.

How could one know which decision will lead to a bad end when he couldn’t pick what is wrong with either one of them?

 

Kyungsoo placed his cup almost too gently on the counter, a soft thud could be heard when the cup’s bottom touched the wooden surface. He took a seat, and peek a quick glance at the stranger sitting beside him. That man had his shoulders hunched forward, his hands crossed as he lain them on the counter while his eyes staring at the moon blankly.

Kyungsoo did not know why he found the sight to be amusing.

The stranger had a slightly tanned skin, but underneath the moonlight, his face had looked slightly blue—or maybe it was just his mind playing trick with his eyes. That man hair was bleached with grey—in a glance, he nearly thought it was blond but it wasn’t.

He knew it was rude to stare at strangers, but Kyungsoo couldn’t force himself to look away. He was mesmerized by the sight before his eyes.

“If I say that the moon reflect myself a lot, would you find me weird?” That man voice was thick but soft at the same time. He still had his eyes trained on the moon, and Kyungsoo’s eyes widened at the sudden question.

He glanced around them, confirming himself that the stranger was talking to him, and not to another people.

“Uhm...” his tongue was glued to his mouth, and it took awhile before he finally uttered a reply. “No, I won’t”

“Because I really do think that it reflects me so much.”

The stranger’s voice felt oddly familiar to Kyungsoo’s ears.

 

 

Kyungsoo took another gulp, enjoying the sweet tastes of the wine in his tongue. He peek a quick glance to the man standing beside him. The glass on the other’s hand was still full and unattended.

“You don’t seem like you’re enjoying your drink.” He commented.

Jongin looked up at him with puzzle eyes, “Ah, you mean this?” he asked as he lifted his glass. The younger one pursed his lips slightly as he studied his own glass.

“I rather have coffee than this, to be honest.” Jongin’s voice was low and steady, with a hint of shyness hidden between his quick glance and awkward laugh. Talking to Jongin, in Kyungsoo’s eyes, was like talking to an awkward and shy teenager, not an adult with important position like he was supposed to be.

“Oh, so we have a coffee fan here.” There was a smile sipping through his plump lips, creating a heart shape smile. It made the other to laugh shyly.

“There is this one coffee shop that I used to go since I was eighteen. I’m not sure whether it was because of the taste or I just simply feel the need to make it a habit to spend my time there whenever I need an escape from my own life.”

“You still go to that shop now?”

“Of course, it reminds me of who I used to be before all of this started.” The younger’s finger draw a circle as he pointed to everyone in that formal party.

 

 

“It’s beautiful but can’t be touched.” He watched as that man held out his hand and placed it on the window as if he was reaching for the moon.

“It’s too far to reach, and so it stays alone in the dark without anyone to accompany him. I always find the moon to be so pathetic and lonely.”

Somehow, somewhere along his lines, Kyungsoo knew that he wasn’t talking about the moon anymore.

“But sometimes, isn’t there are stars that accompany the moon?” Kyungsoo replied silently.

“That what makes it even sadder. Even the lonely moon has the stars by its side.”

Kyungsoo felt his chest clenched at the other’s words.

"Have you ever imagine the moon to fall helplessly to the ground?"

"Uhm... No, it's far beyond possible, isn't it?" he asked softly, afraid that he might asked wrongly.

"It's not..."

"Mhmmm...?"

"It will fall someday, sometime... Because it's too lonely up there."

His eyes caught a glimpse of the clothes that the stranger wore underneath his coat.

“Is that—”

“Hospital clothes? Yes, it is.” That man replied shortly. He had turned around and was facing the shorter man, leaving the sight of the lonely moon in the far sky.

That man had looked sad and lonely even then.

“Did you just—”

“Ran away from the hospital? Yes, I did.” Kyungsoo honestly, couldn’t find it in him to be mad every time the other man cut his words short.

“But, why?”

“I just need an escape —a getaway from that colourless room. It’s too white, too empty in there.” Kyungsoo assumed the latter was talking about the hospital room, but he said nothing to that. He heard a screech sound underneath their chair and that man was back to face the window again.

“Uhm... Are you sick?” he felt like smashing his own head straight to the counter when the question slipped through his mouth.

“Brain tumour, second stage...”

Kyungsoo held his breath for a second, he felt bad for even asking it.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It felt good actually, to have someone to tell this to. So, thank you for asking.”  That man glanced as he gave a bitter smile to him. Kyungsoo thought that man had looked so lonely, right there and then. He made him wanted to embrace the other into a hug, patting the other’s back and tell him that everything would be just fine —when the truth is, he knew it was just a lie.

“There’s a countdown in my head.” That man added after a few minutes had passed. “I could hear a tick in every clock. Tic-toc-tic-toc... It sounded like a ing old clock hammering into my head.” He breathed out, “The end is still a long way, it’s still in it earlier stage anyway, but the waiting is unbearable. Especially when you know there’s nothing waiting for you at the end.”

“I want to break the clock. I want to put an end to it, or else I’ll die from the waiting. I’ll die before the clock stopped ticking.”

Kyungsoo bit his lower lips. His hands were shaking underneath the counter. He didn’t know why he could feel the mutual feeling in his gut, the conscience that he too knew that there was nothing waiting for him at the other end.

He was lost in his own thoughts that he didn’t realize that the stranger had rising up from his seat. Kyungsoo looked up from his laps frantically, eyes looking at the stranger like they were about to pop out of its socket.

“Wait!”

The stranger stopped in his track when Kyungsoo tugged his coat’s sleeve.

“Where are you going?”

That man gave him a rather sad look, but he replied with a rather firm voice. “to where I’m supposed to be now.”

Kyungsoo let go of the sleeve and the stranger walked away with a bitter smile plastered on his plump lips. Kyungsoo felt a part of his heart emptied when he watched the stranger disappeared into the dark street.

 

 

They were deep in their conversation when Jongin took his phone out of his black slack’s pocket. The light on phone’s screen was blaring repeatedly, alarming the younger man with his incoming call.

“I’m sorry, but I need to take this call.” Jongin bow apologetically. “It was nice talking to you.” He said rather shyly before he dashed out of the hall.

Kyungsoo watched the other man disappeared in the sea of people before he felt a tuck on his sleeve, and before he knew it, he was dragged out of the hall as well.

“The hyung, why did you drag me out of there?” he asked, annoyed by his best friend’s sudden bluntness.

“Are you nuts? Why where you talking to him?!” Kyungsoo frowned upon seeing Luhan’s panic expression.

“What are you on about? I was just talking to one of the guest here, what’s wrong with that?”

“I swear Kyungsoo, if you’re doing this on purpose just to torture me, I’ll kill you, because damn it man, I suffered enough!” Luhan was whispering to him, but his tone was firm and high.

“Are you high or something, hyung? I can’t comprehend a word that you’re saying now.”

Luhan grasped on both of his shoulders as he said in between his gritted teeth.

“You don’t know who is he??”

Kyungsoo blinked, “He’s Kim Jongin, the biggest shareholder of the biggest company in this citty —Wait, why are you freaking out about him?”

“Because he’s one of the crash’s victims, Kyungsoo. He was inside that damn taxi that I almost crashed into.” He could sense the panic spreading in every word that his best friend was saying.

“What—so he’s still alive?” Kyungsoo couldn’t help but to feel a rush of relieved wash over his face.

“Yes, he is still alive and he’s living his life in ing luxuries.”

 

 

Kyungsoo felt a lump stuck in his throat as he was reminded of what Minseok had told him one year ago.

“He was in a coma for two years and his family abandoned him because they couldn’t afford to pay the bills. Maybe that was why he looked so lonely there.”

He definitely thought that karma is a , a mean and rude .

 

 

Kyungsoo sat on the same seat for another one hour, and he only left when one of the workers told him they were closing the shop. He walked out of the coffee shop with heavy steps and hunched shoulders.

The pen was still in his pocket.

He stood in front of the main entrance blankly, confused as to where he should go.

He didn’t have a home to return to anymore.

Kyungsoo bit his lips as he took out the pen from his pocket. His heart felt stuffy and his head felt light.

He had known what the third option now and he had to make his decision as soon as he could. Everything felt like a big burden on his shoulder now.

He tilted his head to his left; he knew there was a hospital just a few blocks from here. And he had an instinct that Jongin was staying there. He stared at the empty street for a good three minutes before he took a left turn and walked quietly down the street.

 

 

—

 

 

Kyungsoo collapsed on the ground, eyes widened bigger than usual as he gasped for air. His chest was clenching painfully, and he couldn’t find the courage to utter a word when someone came running to his side.

There were bloods on his face, a fresh splatter of blood right on his face, but he couldn’t bring himself to wipe it away. He was too shocked, too traumatized by what he had just seen.

He heard noises; the sound of people screaming and murmuring around him but he couldn’t bring himself to look up at them.

He couldn’t because his eyes were fixated at a single figure laying flat on the ground, a few steps away from him. It was a man, a dead man. The corpse’s legs were spread flat on the cold surface of the ground; his arms were bent painfully on his back and another one above his head. His neck was twisted in an awkward position while his opened eyes were looking straight to Kyungsoo’s.

That what happened when you fell of a five floors hospital’s building.

 

Kyungsoo felt his whole body shaking with fears.

 

He had just witnessed a man committing suicide.

 

The said man landed a few steps away from him...

 

But what made Kyungsoo’s eyes saw nothing but pitch black, was because he knew that dead man.

 

It was Kim Jongin.

 

 

Kyungsoo felt dizzy and lightheaded. Every single things in his life was in replay, tormenting his head repeatedly.

 

 

“Why? Why did he kill himself?!”

 

“...Because he doesn’t want to watch himself dying alone.”

 

“But why...? He was dying, wasn’t he?”

 

“Can’t you see? He was lonely and lost.”

 

“But isn’t it still the same. He still died alone.”

 

“It’s different, Kyungsoo. The waiting and the loneliness were haunting him. Those are actually the ones that will kill him first. After that he will be nothing but a lifeless body waiting to be deceased. He knew that, can see it right after he was told about the disease. So, he ended it himself.”

 

“That—that was a stupid thing to do.”

 

“Weren't you were trying to do the same thing too?”

 

 

Kyungsoo dropped the pen, fuzzy words were written in his squiggly handwriting. He had made his choice.

He collapsed for the second time,

 His world was spinning and his body felt light.

Too light,

 

 

—

 

—

 

—

 

—

 

Kyungsoo woke up with a painful neck and loud knocks on his house’s door.

His head felt dizzy and light, he shrugged it off as he rubbed his eyes slowly. He continued to stretch his hands slowly, taking his sweet times to chase away the sleepiness despite the continuous knocks on his door.

“Kyungsoo!” a voice shouted desperately behind the wooden door.

“Kyungsoo, please open the door now!”

His eyes widened when he registered the voice. It belongs to his best friend, and he could feel his heart beating nervously at how desperate the other had sounded. He scrambled through the stairs in hurry, feet almost tripping onto one another before he reach the final step.

The door was opened in a flash, revealing a skinny young man with a pair of deer eyes and a bleeding forehead.

“Hyung! You’re bleeding!” Kyungsoo shouted with a panic voice. It was louder than he had intended it to be.

Luhan looked wreck and terrible. There’s an open wound on his head and cheeks. The blood made a trail on his face, and it dripped on his shoulder. His eyes were half closed and unfocused. In one glance, anybody could tell that he wasn’t in his right mind at that moment.

Kyungsoo caught him right before he falls on his knees.

“Kyungsoo, you have to help me.” His voice was desperate and strained, god knows for how long he had been crying. He clutched on Kyungsoo’s arms desperately.

“Hyung, what happened? We need to get you to the hospital n—”

“No!” Kyungsoo realized that something was terribly wrong when he felt the grip on his shirt tighten. “Please, don’t take me to the hospital. I don’t want to go there!”

“But why, hyung? You’re hurt, you need to get treatment.” His voice was soft and comforting. He had his hands wrapped around the elder gently, fingers drawing circles on the other’s back to comfort him.

“Kyungsoo-ya, wha-what should I do?” Luhan cried as he loosened his grip and looked straight into his friend’s eyes.

“I-I think...I’ve killed someone,”

Luhan’s words were low, like a whisper that was not meant to be heard. But Kyungsoo heard them clearly. He heard every single word that escaped from his best friend’s mouth, and he could feel his heart racing furiously, almost at the same pace as the other.

 “Yu-you what?” His voice was shaky, eyes widened in disbelief.

Skinny fingers dug their ways into his white tee, along with desperate sobbing from the elder. Kyungsoo remained rooted despite the way Luhan was clutching onto him like the latter’s life depends on him.

“I swear it was an accident! I didn’t see them coming,” Luhan cried frantically.

His eyes were swollen and red, his nose was running, and the tears made a total mess of his face. For once, Kyungsoo felt lose. He didn’t know what to do, didn’t even dare to ask what Luhan had actually done.

“We tried to avoid each other, I saw the taxi driver made a turn after he saw me coming. I didn’t see the rest, the next thing I know was that the car flipped, it ing flipped before it crashed onto the nearest storey building!”

 

 Kyungsoo heard a click in the back of his mind.

 

“Hyung... Hyung look at me,” Kyungsoo grabbed his best friend’s chin and held it up to face him. Luhan was choking on his own breath by then.

“Where was the crash happened?”

“A block away from your house.”

Kyungsoo tried to stand up, dragging his best friend along with him. It was almost a futile attempt, but he succeeded in making both of them standing on their feet. Luhan was still a panting mess beside him while his mind was racking ideas to save his friend.

“Did you go straight to my house after the crash?”

He saw Luhan nodded, and Kyungsoo was fast to grab his car keys, leaving a blank Luhan by his door. He was about to get out of the house when Luhan grabbed his sleeve.

“The driver is dead when I reached their car.”

He grabbed a hold of Luhan’s hand and intertwined their fingers together.

“Hyung, it’s okay. Everything will be okay, you have to trust me.”

Luhan gulped nervously as he looked straight into his friend’s eyes.

“We need to go and check them now. If we’re fast, we might save the other one’s life. Come on, hyung. We need to hurry!”

He dragged his friend to his car, and the latter was fast to unlock the door and get inside the passenger seat. Kyungsoo started off the engine as fast as he could and the car speed along the neighbourhood road.

 

They arrived at the crash scene in six minutes, and the car was still left unattended on empty road.

Kyungsoo thought his heart was about to stop beating when he saw a bloody Jongin laid unconsciously on the backseat.

“Hyung, ing call the ambulance now!”

 

 

It’s funny what life could offer you sometimes. There were times when they gave you nothing but sweet cotton fluff, and you’ll be all in toothy smile because you were wondering,

Could life be any better than this?

But then, there were times when life offered you thunders and storms, it will destroy every single ounce of what you hold dear, of what you cherished with your whole life.

Life was that cruel,

And life was that wonderful.

It might be one of the reasons why Kyungsoo is standing there, behind that glassy window of Jongin’s personal ward.

He watched as the younger one’s chest rose up and down in a slow rhythm. An oxygen tube were pluck into his nose, helping him to breathe; acting as a lifeline to the younger man. Another machine stood proudly beside Jongin’s bed, handful of wires connected to the younger’s slim wrist.

Kyungsoo heaved in a deep breath at the sight before his eyes.

It’s been two months since the accident, and Jongin hadn’t yet to be awake from his coma.

Kyungsoo knew he won’t be waking up anytime soon, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop visiting the latter.

He had met Jongin’s family a day after the accident, had apologetically got down on his knees to ask for their forgiveness in his friend’s place. He offered to pay everything that Jongin needs, and he was also the one who suggested moving the younger man to a better hospital.

It was everything that he could do to lessen their burden, to stop them from leaving Jongin when he most needed them.

He had seen the understanding looks on their face, and how relieved they were when he said he would pay for the bills.

It was the least that he could do for Jongin,

And yet, he couldn’t stop himself from coming to see him almost every day without fail. Somehow, he had become a familiar face to Jongin’s family and also the hospital staffs.

“Thank you, thank you for everything you had done for my son.”

He couldn’t ever forget the tearful face of Kim Jongin’s mother when he visited him a few days ago.

Jongin was not lonely anymore.

 

 

Luhan sat calmly in the blue metal chair. His hand rested comfortably on the empty counter. Kyungsoo was sitting on the other side of the counter, lips smiling earnestly to his best friend.

There was a clear glass wall separating them both, Luhan used to look restless behind the wall but that was years ago. Now, looking at his best friend, he thought Luhan looked more composed, calm and he swore, he never seen his friend smiling blindingly liked that.

“Kyungsoo, I’ll be out in three months!” He chirped as he let out a small laugh.

Kyungsoo beamed happily to him. He had his hand rested on the clear glass wall.

“I can’t wait for you to get out of this place.” He said excitedly.  “In all honesty, I’m getting bored of seeing you in that orange clothe. It doesn’t suit you, you know?”

“ you. I thought you said I look good in these two years ago.”

Kyungsoo cackled loudly, earning a flick on the glass wall by Luhan. “I just said that to win your heart, hyung. You looked so ing depressed back then.”

“Try to get yourself stuck behind those metal bars, and then you’ll know why I’m so depressed, idiot.”

He saw the older glared at him before he too cracked into laughter. Kyungsoo felt a wide smile spread on his thick lips.

“I bet I didn’t look that good at those times.” Luhan added as his laughter died down and it was replaced by a smile—mirrored his friend’s smile.

“Honestly, hyung... I can’t wait for you to be out. I missed you.” Kyungsoo’s smile had never faded from him lips.

“Idiot, I missed you too.” He beamed at Kyungsoo as he leaned closer to the glass wall.

“And Kyungsoo,”

“Mhmm...?”

“Thank you for never leaving me alone. You make everything feel less terrifying for me, because I know I had you by my side. I did not regret, even for a bit, for turning myself in like you told me to.”

“Hyung...”

“Thanks dongsaeng,”

If it wasn’t because of the glass wall that was separating them from each other, Kyungsoo could have gotten his hair messed up by his closest hyung.

 

 

Kyungsoo sat on the white chair quietly —the one that they usually had for the patient’s visitor. He had been sitting there since the last three hours.

Jongin’s parents had left awhile ago, saying that they have to go back and prepared some stuff for Jongin’s youngest brother; he would be attending the college soon and they had not yet prepared anything for him.

Kyungsoo rubbed his eyes slowly, trying to chase away the sleepiness that was starting to seep into his conscious mind. He yawned for the third time, before he let his head rested on the bed, just beside Jongin’s pale hand.

He looked at the other’s pale face, studied at how long the younger’s eyelashes were, and how plump he lips had looked like. Kyungsoo thought he liked Jongin’s sharp jaw line the most, it different from his. He felt a smile seeping into his lips before his eyes were lulled to sleep.

 

—

 

He was brought to a dreamland, a place where he could see an old oak tree standing proudly on top of a small hill. He reckoned feeling like the sight was familiar to him.

He walked closer to the tree and saw a wooden bench underneath it. A young man sat crossed legs on it; a strange pen was in his hand while he tapped it casually to his laps.

Kyungsoo thought he had seen that man before, had talked to him, but he couldn’t remember when or how. He saw the man looked at him with a proud smile and a knowing nod.

And that was all he could see.

 

—

 

 

“Sir,”

“Ex—excuse me, si—sir...”

Kyungsoo stirred awake almost too abruptly, his back nearly bumped onto the chair. He thought he heard a soft weak voice before he opened his eyes. He panted, shoulders hunched forward as he tried to catch his breath.

“Do—do I know you?” his head snapped to his left, and before he knew it, his eyes were locked with a pair of beautiful dark brown eyes.

“Jo—Jongin!” he sputtered out the name incoherently, like a kid just learned how to speak.

“Where am I? And why are you here?” The other man looked puzzled and confused, but Kyungsoo couldn’t help but to draw a smile in his lips.

One sincere smile, and it helped the other to loosen up a bit.

“My name is Do Kyungsoo, and you’re at the hospital now. I don’t know if you remember this but you were involved in a crash two years ago.” He explained calmly.

“Two—I had been here for two years??”

Kyungsoo nodded as a reply.

“Were you here all the time?” It was odd, but Jongin thought that the other’s present felt familiar and comforting.

“Kind of,” Kyungsoo offered another smile as he got up on his feet. “I’ll call the doctor; they will get you checked up. Oh, and I’ll call your family as well.”

Jongin was just looking at him with a blank face, seemingly trying to digest everything into his mind. Kyungsoo wouldn’t blame him though, being asleep for two whole years did that to people. They took time to process everything presented to them in one piece. Their body wasn’t use to it after resting for too long.

He was about to leave and call the doctor when he felt a thud on his sleeve. He tilted his head and saw Jongin fingers grasping on his shirt.

“Kyungsoo-shi?” Jongin called out carefully, unsure of the words coming out of his own mouth.

“Mhmm...?”

“Thank you for being here with me, whoever you are to me.”

Kyungsoo thought he would melt right there and then when he saw the younger’s awkward and shy smile.

 

 

He was twenty-two and Jongin was twenty when they had their first coffee together.

 

 

 

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