Eighteen Months Later

Jongin wakes to the sound of his 7:00AM alarm bleeping.

Today is Tuesday.

Jongin rubs his eyes, tired, and moans.

He swings his long legs over the side of the bed and slips his feet into the fluffy bunny slippers waiting for him every morning.

He stands up.

Then, Jongin makes his way over to the window, where the shades were shut.

In one swipe, he brings the shades rustling up in an irritating sound of plastic against plastic.

Light shines brilliantly into the dark room.

There, waiting for him, was a new pink post-it in the center of the window and parallel to the walls and the floor.

Sometimes it was wet. Sometimes it was dry. Sometimes it was hot, and sometimes it was cold.

Whether it was raining or windy or sunny outside, there would always be a post-it waiting for him.

Jongin found comfort in this. But every time he gazed upon the small pink square, he would feel a tingling spark of relief and surprise that Kyungsoo was still writing to him.

It had become a habit. Jongin’s habit.

Wake up. Put on slippers. Go to window. Open shades. Read post-it.

His fingers clench the window ledge, and Jongin pulls up the window. He reaches out with one arm and catches the bottom of the fluttering post-it.

He pulls on it gently, and the post-it comes loose.

Jongin quickly pushes the window down and sits down on his bed to read the small slip.

Good morning Jongin!~

Today feels like a good day. I always wondered, Jongin, do you like to draw? I think that drawing is the best thing in the world. To be able to capture a moment on paper feels like I know a secret no one else does. Sure, a camera can do the same thing… But it isn’t really the same thing. Do you know what I mean? I guess probably not… One day, I wish I could draw you. Of course if you don’t want to, then I definitely won’t!! I hope today feels good for you too.

                                                                                                                                                                                                   Sincerely,

                                        Do Kyungsoo

Kim Jongin feels a soft smile crawl across his face. Only Kyungsoo could make him feel this way. He wonders what it will be like to spend a day with Do Kyungsoo. He imagined them going to the zoo on a sunny day. Kyungsoo would ask him timidly, “Do you know what it feels like to feed a goat?” Jongin would shake his head and say no. Then Kyungsoo would—

Jongin is jarred back into reality by his phone.

The ringtone feels too loud for his quiet apartment.

He looks at the caller ID.

It’s his girlfriend. Jongin slides his finger across the screen and answers the call.

“Oppa! 12:30PM by the Italian restaurant we ate at last week?” Jihyun calls excitedly from the speaker.

“You could’ve just texted me that.”

It comes out sharper than Jongin intended.

“Oh… Sorry…” she apologizes, disappointed.

Jongin’s eyes widen, and he freaks a little. “Nononono, I didn’t mean it that way. I was just kind of busy, you know. But yeah, okay.”

“Great! Yeah, I understand. See you later~ I love you.”

“Yeah, love you too.”

Jongin hangs up, and silence descends again.

He holds the note in both hands and sighs. He didn’t think he could really spend a day with Kyungsoo without feeling guilty.

Guilty for no reason, his mind tells him.  

No matter how much he wanted it, it would still just be wrong for his girlfriend and him.

His slender eyebrows twitch.

Kim Jongin gives up at the confusing tangle of rights and wrongs in front of him.

He stands up, and pulls open the small drawer at his desk.

Inside, there is a stack of used pink post-its. He carefully presses the newest one on top, making sure the corners match.

Jongin runs his long fingers over the thick mass. The papers crinkle like leaves.  

They were all here. From the very beginning; the first post-it Kyungsoo ever put on his window.

Jongin glances at his watch and does a double take.

HOLY SH*T.

He shoves the drawer back in.

Throwing on a shirt and pulling on some pants, Jongin grabs his bag and runs out the door.

Well, whatever. This was a typical Jongin morning.

Do Kyungsoo likes to watch the night because it is when he feels closest to himself.

It’s an intimacy thing.

With his back leaning against the cold window and a scarf wrapped tightly around his neck, Kyungsoo crosses his legs and closes his eyes.

When everything is dark, the light is visible.

As his eyelids blink open, he looks down at the small number people in thick parkas, hurrying about quietly.

He wonders if he could be like them. A normal person.

Then, out of the blue, Kyungsoo hears the distant sound of a window being pulled up. He tenses.

A few minutes later, the window closes.

Do Kyungsoo sits there, holding himself back, savoring the fact that he knew there was a note from Jongin just one floor below him.

He doesn’t think that he will ever get tired of this.

Deciding that he wanted to read it now, Kyungsoo unfolds his legs and rises to his feet.

He grips the hand rail and walks down the stairs he has grown so familiar and fond of.

Kyungsoo catches the bottom of the fluttering post-it.

He pulls on it gently, and the post-it comes loose.

To Do Kyungsoo:

I’ve never really drawn anything seriously before, actually. But I don’t think I could draw worse than Kris Wu (someone I know). But...I think I understand. Dancing is quite similar for me. By the way, Kyungsoo, one day, I want to dance for you.

                                    Sincerely,
                                    Kim Jongin

Do Kyungsoo’s heart pounds quicker, and he rereads the last sentence. A silly grin full of pure amazement and happiness floats on his face.

He likes this feeling.

He really does.

No matter how much he wishes to know Kim Jongin and see him everyday face to face, he thinks that this is enough.

Kyungsoo wishes that this will continue on forever.

He folds the post-it carefully, and sticks it into his back pocket, the green tip peeping out.

Jongin always uses a variety of colors, but they were never pink.

That was Kyungsoo’s color.

He begins to climb the stairs back upstairs again.

Tomorrow morning I’ll put up a post-it.

Then tomorrow evening he’ll put up a post-it.

Then the day after tomorrow…

And the day after that…

And the next, and the next, and the next…...

Kyungsoo's past will be revealed later on in the story, when Jongin finds out

I hoped you liked this chapter.

btw, comments are loved and treasured~