He sat there alone, hearing the heavy rain pour down, eyes locked in the nothingness. His charcoal-orbs seem dead but no, he was just thinking. Thinking rather deeply.

Those warm, sunny days with him. Those times when they would hold hands and laugh endlessly through the day. His smile, oh, his gentle yet piercing smile, being everywhere in his haunting yet precious memories.

It was unbearable.

Hearing that laughter echo in his head endlessly, hearing those sweet, sweet words replaying in his mind over and over again... They were all enough to drive him completely and terribly insane.

His heart aches as he reminisced those haunting memories he treasured every so deeply. Although he would do mostly anything to give them up and forget them, leaving them away like dust, he can't. This tiny part of his would always get into the way, not wanting to let go.

His troubled and confused self.

The more he tries, the more it pains him. The more he tries to push them away, the stronger they come back to him, driving him at the edge of insanity. It was torture. No– it was more than torture. 

Remember what I told you.

He feels the walls close on him, the air getting thicker and thicker by every second withering away, making him gasp and plead for air. Just a bit of air will do. That's all he begs for.

When you feel like you're losing yourself, remember what I taught you.

He falls to the safety of the floor, curling up into a ball in attempt to calm his trembling self. He wanted to sob, but his body refused to let go of tears. Why was it so difficult–

...Don't forget.

Finally, he eventually ceases down, breathing heavily as his ajar mouth soon begins to quiver, attempting to talk. Slowly, he feels his breathing get even as words spilled out of his lips. "I-I'm Jung Taekwoon."

Just keep on going until you feel better.

"T-twenty-four years old, born on the tenth of November, year nineteen-ninty."

Do it so you won't completely lose yourself.

"I like sunny mornings... and animals. Early cups of latte in that retro themed café make my day. I am fond of reading melodramatic novels..." he went on as his eyes rapidly move and his body uncontrollably twitch. But soon, his voice trailed off as this particular memory, that gave him so much to remember, came back dashing towards him. And although it was pleasant, remembering it was definitely pure torture for the poor, confused man.

"And I–" he tried to start. "A-am madly..." he sobbed quitely. "In love... with–"

"–Cha Hakyeon." he finished as he slowly closed his eyes, the pain finally lulling him to a deep slumber.

Who.

That one word painfully wounded up in Leo's head. He tried stopping himself from reminiscing anything painful like that one word, but no, he failed miserably.

Who did you love?

It repeated countless of times. Leo could see it before his eyes, replaying in a crystal-clear scenario. It was pure pain– no, pure torture. Possibly more than torture. 

Dimly lit. Bottles stacked up on the shelves. The sound of faint laughter, giggles and random mumblings about this and that. Faint footsteps and snaps of fingers, tongues clicking in annoyance. There were numerous sounds he could possibly pick up that he can possibly state them bulleted style. But those were none of his concerns now.

This particular auburn headed dude sat quietly in front of the counter, gulping down bottles of alcohol with ease. Clearly, his face flashed something that says "I had a bad day". He flashed a grimaced expression, brows furrowed. His charcoal orbs were seemingly lifeless, locked on the bottle of liquor in his hands.  

"Another bottle here." he softly said, voice nearly inaudible.

"Hongbin-ssi, you've had too much." the bartended worriedly warns, a face filled with agony for the young man shown clearly.

"I don't care, just give me the damn bottle!" Hongbin angrily shouts, frightening the older bartended, who darts to the side to get the customer another bottle. Once he receives it, he easily gulped it down. 

All he wanted was to forget everything that happened earlier, to go to bed with ease and wake up thinking that everything was just a nightmare and having zero pressure on his shoulders.

If only things can be done that way.

Again, Hongbin gulps the liquor down and once he finishes, lets his arm fall down on the counter weakly, the bottle still in his hands. He unconsciously side eyes and spots this figure beside him, body clad in a loose gray sweater, his chocolate-brown hair purposely messed for style. Hongbin was obviously bewildered to see such a lovely male sitting right next to him. "The usual please." he hears the latter softly say, a faint smile patched on his face.

Oh, how his bronze-colored skin glimmered under the faint light in the place. Hongbin was definitely sure that the other's eyes radiated something unexplainable, but the pain just made him avert his gaze away and continue drinking. "Having a bad day?" he hears the tanned male ask. 

Slowly, he eyes the other, fury consuming him. Hey, with someone having a rough time, who wouldn't? " off and mind your own business." Hongbin angrily said, gulping down the alcohol once again. This time, he doesn't take a glimpse of the other male beside him until he finally notices that he was gone, just to learn that he has walked off minutes after he finished his drink.

What a waste. 

Days flew by before Hongbin can even cope up with things. After that night he spent trying to make himself drunk, he ends up having a terrible migrane the next morning, not even forgetting anything from the day before! In other words, everything was useless.

But fate seems to have taken mercy for the poor guy. He soon receives a call saying that he was scheduled to have a job interview the next day, and of course, that indeed made Hongbin jump in joy. He didn't waste any time and hurriedly prepared for his interview.

Things went smoothly and that was something strange for the dimpled male. Right after the interview, he promised himself to have a cup of latte in his favorite cafe down the streets of Seoul. 

Just as when he was about to reach the elevator, which was on the other side of this extremely narrow alley, he comes across someone extremely familiar, someone he had seen somewhere.

Oh, right–

He's the guy in that bar days ago. 

The only difference was that his hair was perfectly combed, his tanned body was now wrapped in a casual olive-green collared top, paired with black pants and leather shoes. Hongbin was greatly sure that a name tag that says "Hakyeon" was pinned on the left side of his top. He carried a few paper works and soon, his hazel-brown colored orbs met his, soon averted away. Hongbin, on the other side, didn't care much and continued his way towards the elevator.

Until the unexpected came flashing before them.

Having this hallway painfully narrow, only one person can pass at one time. Both Hakyeon and Hongbin took the same directions, eventually bumping onto each other occassionally. When Hakyeon would go left, Hongbin would accidentally pick to go right. It was the same when Hongbin picked to go left and Hakyeon would unconsciously go to his right as well. In the end, neither of them passed.

Slowly, Hakyeon meets Hongbin's eyes, eyes that were rather souless and cold. It made him curious that he was actually staring at him for a while until reality hits him. 

Hongbin, on the other side, accidentally raised his eyes to meet Hakyeon at the same time. The two shared a short moment to look directly into each other's eyes.

But reality was just a jerk when it hits them both. Hakyeon, embarrassed of his unconscious actions, hurriedly passed first, not sharing a final look to Hongbin as he continued walking further and further away.

Hongbin, meanwhile, stays still as he feels his heart skip beats and his stomach slowly be filled with butterflies. "... Hakyeon, huh?" he smiles to himself as he heads to the elevator.

Hakyeon? Oh, he felt the same.

They were both hit by love-at-first-sight. Hit hard.