The metallic river of cars and buses and trains surged with unprecedented urgency. 
That's how every day was-each seemed more important than the last and everyone acted with growing haste and impatience. 
And those people, caught up in the motions of the city without realizing the redundancy of the cycle, came to Seoul with the idea that it would be an adventure, that they could look up into oblivion at night and think, this is it, I'm at the heart of it.
But the lightless sky offered no comfort when it's observer had an impending fear that it would be all he would ever know. 
Do Kyungsoo was staring at the glowing aura of the buildings outside with disdain. There was no privacy with everyone living in such close proximity, and he hated the intimacy. 
In the glossy reflection of the window, he could also see his family gathered in the living room behind him. His mother and father were on the couch whispering to each other,and his brother Xiumin was in the love seat, half lip syncing a Girl's Generation comeback song, half dozing off. A year ago, Xiumin had gone to college and swore to never return. And here he was, with his mouth agape as sleep finally consumed him, as if he had never left. 
The doorbell rang. Xiumin's nose twitched and mrs. Soo stood up, staring at her son-who hadn't turned away from the window-before getting the door. A doctor entered, looking like god in his white lab coat. 

"Do, you're being very rude," Mr. Soo said between a fake smile, bowing and shaking Dr. Hahn's hand. He nudged his eldest son, who rose immediately and bowed deeply several times, in a daze, before falling back into the familiar fabric of his couch. Dr. Hahn approached Kyungsoo, who could see him opening up his mouth to say something like, "I know what you're going through." 

"I have come upon your parents request to help you understand your options," he said. 

Kyungsoo didn't move. He was dreaming, as most people do when they look out windows. In his head, earth became a marble as he drifted through space. There was no way of controlling his movements, which was exactly what he wanted. As he floated, he imagined that the weightlessness must be what people experience when they jump of off a building. But up here, gravity could not pull him onto the concrete; he felt invincible. His shoulder brushed up against a meteor or a comet, but it was warm like a dying star. 

"Kyungsoo." 

When he realized he was feeling the doctor's clammy palm through his shirt, strange sound escaped his lips and he spun his head, startled. 

"Sorry," he muttered as his wandering mind settled back into reality. 

"At my office I informed you about an alternative, correct?" Dr. Hahn asked, his formality seeming painfully forced. 

"I don't want the procedure."

"Well, sure it may have possibly adverse affects, but there is a 60% chance that this could prevent you from going completely blind." 

"I thought about it," Kyungsoo said, wanting to be left alone, "and I still don't want it."

"You know it's late, maybe he's not ready to make the decision," Mrs. Soo said folding her hands on her lap. 

"No, I'm telling you, I'm not going to change my mind." 

"Do you want to be blind?" Mr. Soo asked. 

"I've accepted it. And I don't want to spend my last days of sight stuck in a hospital." Kyungsoo was turning eighteen soon and would finally be out of his parents' hands. For now, they still held power over him that was backed by the law, and he had to be careful. 

"Ok if you want to go to bed you can, we're just going to talk with Dr. Hahn for a bit," his mother said, practically begging for him to leave. It wouldn't matter how much he 'slept on it,' there was still the 40% chance of failure that nagged him. 

Xiumin was waking and he rubbed his eyes. His parents and the doctor were in the kitchen, their faint murmuring barely audible through the wall. His first thought was to find Kyungsoo and when he went to his room, his bed empty and Xiumin smiled. That boy, always trying to escape. Now, he finally had a reason. 

Kyungsoo was sitting on the edge, his feet dangling over the bustling night sidewalk thirty stories below. The smell of potato swirls wafted up from the vendor on the corner and he had to restrain himself from leaning forward any further. When he heard his brother open the door to the roof he felt a wave of heat rush to his cheeks. 

"You didn't visit." 

"You knew I wouldn't."

Kyungsoo knew his brother wouldn't come back if he didn't have to, and that's what made him so angry- he knew and still expected a miracle. 

"I'm here now though."

"You have to take me away." 

"To what, my dorm? I'm in school," Xiumin said. 

"Who are you trying to convince?" 

Xiumin laughed, sliding next to Kyungsoo. He felt himself reach to ruffle his brother's hair, and stopped himself. They were getting too old for that, and it hurt in places he didn't know existed until that moment. 

"I found a roommate about a two days drive from here. It's a little town. It's refreshing." 

"Sounds good to me."

"I can drive you there, but not any farther. My roommate and I planned a trip. We leave on Friday," Xiumin waited for Kyungsoo's response. Receiving none, he continued. "For china."

"But you can take me that far?"

"Yeah, are you listening? What are you going to do there by yourself? Wait around for your world to get dark?" 

Xiumin felt the affect of those words, though Kyungsoo's face didn't show any hurt. 

"I'm sorry," Xiumin said, the air going stale. 

"We'll leave tomorrow morning." 
 
Bags were thrown quietly into the trunk of a mini SUV as the sun decided to reveal itself, and Kyungsoo smiled to himself. His heart pulsed with excitement and the possibility of anything.