“Hey, what do sprinters eat before they race?”

“What?”

“Nothing. They fast.”

It takes a while for her to get the joke, but once she does, she snorts. Her laughter fills my ears, chewing at every piece of my body until my legs go numb. My heart beats like a drum solo, and my eyes are fixated on only her.

We’re so close to each other, the proximity between us are basically nonexistent. We’re so close… My eyes go from her eyes to her lips. So close that I could just…

I swear I can taste the grilled chicken from earlier. Her lips are soft and juicy, just how I imagined them to be. My hands go from her waist to her face, cupping her cute baby cheeks as I deepen the kiss.

My lips are on hers,

and then they’re not.

The first thing I see when I open my eyes is the Creator, unhappily sitting on his almighty throne in a room blinded by white. I close my eyes and frown, knowing that this conversation wouldn’t be good.

“Hello, Jongin.” The Creator lifts his lip up for a polite smile, and I bow in respect. “I’m sure you know why you are here.”

I sigh, fully aware of my punishable actions, and bite my lip. “Yes sir.”

“Then let’s get right to the point, shall we?” The Creator rose up from his chair and took steady steps towards me before finishing, “You have broken the second rule of the Imaginaries.” In my head, I roll my eyes. Yes! I know that! Thank you for pointing that out!

“Therefore, I come to offer you a deal.”

I stop my ranting and soak in his words. A deal? My eyes light up in hope. Maybe he’ll let me be with her.

“Either I erase her memories of you and you become invisible again, or I create a boundary between her and the imaginary world, and you and the human world.”

I curse myself for getting my hopes up. I just broke a law, why would the Creator grant me a wish?

Erasing her memories of me and becoming invisible again… I’d hate to go back to that stage. Even if I do everything to make her notice me again, we’d end up in this same position. I’d hate for her to not remember me, and I don’t think she would want for the Creator to erase her memories of me either.

Creating a boundary would be the most painful option, but it would be for the best. At least she would know I exist. At least she would know that I am thinking of her every single day. At least she would know that we are looking at the same sky, sun, moon, and stars.

But , it’s gonna hurt so bad.

Mustering up all the courage I have, I get myself to speak in a faltering voice, “I’d like the second option.”

The Creator walks back to his throne and puts on a sad smile. I look away, not wanting to see his sympathy. “Very well, Jongin. Your wish is my command.”

This time, I actually roll my eyes.