It all started with a blue chalk. A beautiful sapphire blue shade of that. Just a tiny one he had seen on the ground one day and decided to see what it did. At first he tested it on the asphalt just like everyone else, realizing that he could actually create something. It wasn't life, but it was something. There were lines popping out from the gray ground, and those lines could be connected in so many ways possible. His first pictures looked like the fish he had in a tank back home, but on the long run what he ended up drawing was a figure of another boy. A boy he named Donghae. One that had to be drawn with a blue colour and that Hyukjae thought smelled like the sea.

If you asked him - Donghae wasn't his creation, but someone that Hyukjae considered as a friend. Day after another he came back to visit him. It was always the playground yard, so some of the bigger kids would often smudge the drawing and just laugh at the poor boy who just let it happen. Many times he watched as the cool kids came and stepped on his drawing, maybe even taking the chalk away from Hyukjae. 'That's so embarrassing!' They told him. 'Weirdo!' They called him. He felt bad, yes, but never gave up though.

Soon he just became what we know as the "weird" kid, doodling all kinds of stuff around the place. No one understood why, but soon enough they stopped asking. Hyukjae never gave any answers for them to pick on. He didn't bother about their nasty comments, nor did he even consider stopping his habit of drawing. Donghae never went away either, even though his picture was smudged many times before. Donghae was always always with Hyukjae anyway, even though he wasn't on the ground. He was in Hyukjae's mind, mostly. So, in the end it didn't matter how many times Hyukjae drew him.

As time passed, some of the adults became a bit curious too. Either it was them or the rain - the drawing would eventually disappear. 'So why even bother?' they thought. That's why they tried to get rid of these reappearing images and texts saying Donghae. No, stop it, Hyukjae had said to the teacher. He had promised to do it all over again as many times as needed, so wiping it off never helped. Like a grown up he had asked the adults to give up. Then he had walked away and went on to draw a new figure, each time with the same lines and facial features as the one before it. If you could even say that a picture of a child had recognizable features anyway.

Some wondered, what happened when he ran out of chalk? Well, when he was out of chalk, he would rely on her mom to buy new ones. If that didn't work, he'd steal from the kindergarten itself, or his big sister. Sometimes he got caught, sometimes not. Not that it mattered though, since a chalk thief wasn't really on the top of anyone's priority list. Sometimes there were long breaks when Hyukjae didn't have anything to draw with, and so he had to wait until it was his birthday or Christmas. There was even a gap of months at one point when the asphalt stayed relatively clean. When he finally got his chalks, no one really questioned him anymore when they saw the little monkey boy drawing alone in the corner, drawing again. It had already become a normal sight.

If you thought about it really hard, it was actually a bit worrisome. Donghae was the only friend he kept blabbering about and the only being in the world that he considered as his friend. It was all the same until the sketches suddenly stopped. His parents thought it was all over, but boy were they wrong. No more should Donghae be in the asphalt, was what Hyukjae had decided. Next time the picture reappeared on a wall. It wasn't really necessary to do so, but Hyukjae felt he could get to know this fairytale boy a little bit better if they shared the same height. And as he aged, came also the chances of having access to more chalk and bricks. Monthly pocket money was his saviour, just like the nearby back alley of the building.

At school it was all transferred to plain paper after the first grades. Misunderstanding became too much of a problem, and messing the brick walls just wasn't allowed anymore. Now Donghae had to get just a bit smaller to fit inside exam papers, notes and everything possible. That's how Hyukjae had spent all of his time with him, staring at the little drawing on the back of a test for example. With more drawing also came skills, and after some years Donghae's face had a change too. No more button-eyes or straight-line mouths. In art class appeared a beautiful sketch of a boy that was years before drawn as a ball that resembled a snowman. Now he had brown locks and beautiful, but sad eyes. Hyukjae was more than glad. Not only because Donghae had an actual face now, but also because the art teacher complimented his style. At least he felt a bit better about himself.

He wasn't crazy, even though getting rid of his imaginary friend wasn't possible. Donghae was still there, with him, even though Hyukjae did end up making a few real friends and getting on with life as puberty came. What followed after was once again an upgraded version of expressing one's self. Now, what was he doing nowadays? It had morphed into a graffiti. Not Donghae, but Hyukjae's skills in general. At home he had a drawing of the exact face he thought that would belong to Donghae, but outside he just doodled all kinds of versions of Donghae's name. His parents thought he had stopped since messing up public property wasn't really legal, but Hyukjae couldn't have cared less. He just wanted to think about new styles and textures. One graffiti had a galaxy effect, while some looked almost like made from glitter. Only thing that didn't change was the colour. It was always, always blue. A sapphire blue, to be exact. Hyukjae refused using any other colour than that for his most important friend. He continued like that through high school too. A small group of friends did accept his weird obsession, but no one was ever going to be more important than this abstract being. Obviously there were lots of lonely nights of Hyukjae crying himself to sleep while staring at a sketch - but next day he'd still smile and remember that Donghae could never leave him. Since he was never actually there.

One day was a bit of a surprise though. It was extremely interesting. There was a hangout place for all the graffiti artists and skater boys, and there Hyukjae had started spending most of his free time. One day he spotted an interesting masterpiece. It was really not that big so it was pure luck finding it - considering the fact that the wall infront was covered in spray paint. This one stood out since it was silver coloured. Shiny, pure. And it had the letters "Hyukjae" written. That's when a heart skipped a beat since the said man had never seen anything like it before. It was his own name, not written by him. He had just stared at it, snapped a photo with his phone and then tried to see if there was anyone who knew about it. No one did.

Days passed after that just like they had done before. Hyukjae eventually forgot it and thought of it as a mere coincidence. At first he had all kinds of theories, but since no answer came, he gave up. Maybe someone just wanted to play with him.

It was only some months after when Hyukjae once again had absentmindedly started to spray Donghae's sapphire blue name on a wall. This was his biggest try at that yet, and it caught some people's attention.
'Oh, who is he?' and 'what does that mean?' had been asked of Hyukjae. He said it was someone's name and nothing more. A third question arose of that by another teenager who skated at the graffiti hall every tuesday, thursday and sunday.
"How do you know Donghae?" He had asked, leaving Hyukjae confused. Usually it was: 'Hey, who's he and is he your friend?' but now this guy implied he actually knew about a boy named Donghae. Hyukjae had to think fast.

"I... uhh.. I have met him before. We have unfinished business going on." Hyukjae had answered, seeming like it was something really important. He hoped he could meet this guy by claiming they knew each other. It was worth the try.

"I would like to meet him again someday and get it dealt with." He then continued and the stranger laughed.

"I'll let you know? He has been here before, you know. I didn't know you guys had history. Is it about a girl?"

"No. Worse than that, I guess. It has gotten to the most personal level that any issue could." Hyukjae said lastly, making an impression on this dude. His own acting was quite good, he had to admit.

After that Hyukjae started waiting. He visited the hall almost everyday when he could. He also noticed a few more silver graffitis saying Hyukjae. It bothered him, really. He collected his courage little by little, until on the thirteenth day he asked a regular about it. That person said he had overheard a comment that it was a person named Donghae who made them. Hyukjae's mind exploded at that part. Unfortunately it always happened when Hyukjae wasn't there. But, hey, at least the said teen got really close convincing himself that something was happening.

Days, weeks.. even two months had passed again until one day this guy came half skating half running towards him.

"He's here!" The boy had said, panting. Then Hyukjae knew. He was here. Today.

"Oh.. Where?" Hyukjae asked when he was caught off guard, leaving his unfinished graffiti there. The skater boy took Hyukjae to the other end of the parking hall. When Hyukjae saw the figure spraypainting with silver, his heart started racing really, really hard. Was this actually happening?

"Donghae." The skater boy said to the other guy who turned around. Hyukjae's eyes widened, just like Donghae's. No, it wasn't possible. In no way was it possible!

"Holy ..." Hyukjae blurted out, feeling like he was about to pass out. This Donghae who had deliberatly sprayed Hyukjae's name all over the place looked exactly like he had drawn his imaginary friend. There was no mistake. He had done it so many times he could recognize it even in the dark with a blindfold on! The same sad eyes. Those same thin lips. That attractive nose and the deep colour of the eyes.

A silence took over them. Donghae inched closer. They both forgot the guy next to them who was having a time of his life. He thought he'd soon see a drama of some sort since Hyukjae had told him it was serious. Of course it was just a lie to get him to believe easier, but Hyukjae didn't care. Not anymore. His mind was busy now, and he felt like his stomach was flipping around.

"I.. think we need to talk in private." Were Donghae's hoarse words that sounded like a dream to Hyukjae's ears. What the hell.

"Yeah." Was his answer.

The wish was granted soon enough and it didn't take long until they were behind a corner, awkwardly trying to think of what to say. Hyukjae had figured this human being knew something too, otherwise the brunette would've already ran away.

"This is crazy." Hyukjae started as the mature person he thought he was.

"I thought you'd say that. I was just about to say something similar."

"In no way is there a scientific explanation for this." He continued, hearing his heart thump louder and louder. He wondered, how was he even able to talk this fluidly? It was pure panic what he felt. A good one at that, if there even was a good panic to start with. What was more creepy than a drawn person come to life?

"This has to be a trick. Or a dream, at least." Hyukjae told himself more than anything.

"Nope."

"Then why do you talk like you know everything?"

"I'm just as confused as you."

Yeah, utter confusion, that's what it was. Followed by a silence that was interrupted by a few skateboard jump sounds from just around the corner. They were both still in the hall where all the noises made an echo appear.

"So.. Is he gone?" Now it was the brunette who started talking.

"..Who?"

"Ryeowook, the boy who brought you with him."
They both looked around.

"..I think so."

Another silence flooded their heads. It took a few seconds until the brunette named Donghae made a move, startling Hyukjae with it. He started walking closer, closer and closer. So close that Hyukjae almost took a few steps back, but before he could try that Donghae had already wrapped his hands around the fluffy coat that Hyukjae had chosen this morning due to the cold weather. There were faint snowflakes falling outside, and they could be seen from the slight window-like hole in the wall. Hyukjae held his breath.

It was weird, of course, but somehow it was the only logical thing to do. It felt right. There had always been this awful emptiness in Hyukjae's heart, and only at that moment he could feel it slowly filling up just by this gesture. At first it was just a few drops, maybe a taste of what human contact actually caused in him, and then a bit more when he realized he didn't want to let go. Unknowingly Hyukjae lifted up his arms too and hugged the man, grabbing his jacket tightly. He also buried his face in the neck area, finally being able to breathe and smell the sweet scent of what he had always thought as unreal. The cold winter air didn't bother him anymore. His whole body was wrapped in warmth and fuzziness.

”..Donghae..” He tried saying with his mouth, getting used to calling out that name. It was different from before. He knew he had always talked about this abstract being that wasn't really alive, but now it had a physical form that could think and talk, just like him. It had a meaning, and not just in his world.

”Seriously, I'm gonna kill someone if this is a prank..” Was a mumbled continuation of him. Donghae tightened his hold when he heard that. He was just as baffled as Hyukjae, but still felt the need to not let go just yet, if ever.

An outsider would consider it weird. Two guys, hugging the first time they even met. They didn't know each other personally, but still felt familiar in each other's embrace. It was just like they had done that before, and it was just like they had been friends for over 10 years or so. It just made sense to start with that. Hyukjae just didn't know why.

”I missed you..” Donghae whined, feeling like it was the right thing to say. Hyukjae chuckled at that, his voice trembling. He was about to cry.

”How can you miss someone you haven't even seen..” He asked, lifting up his head so that it was laying on top of Donghae's shoulder. He was staring at the pillars and graffitis on them, one covering the other in layers.

”Huh? But I do remember seeing you. Meeting you, talking with you. Playing with you.”

”...”

”I wouldn't if I hadn't come across an old photo of us. It was hidden and completely forgotten before I moved to a new house when I was a little kid.” Donghae explained slowly.

”..Why can't I remember?”

”I guess missing someone is worse than not remembering.. at least I think so..”

”Are you saying my parents literally denied your existence after you..had left?” At that point they both ended the hug mutually and continued to stare at each other. The warmth lingered there for a while.

”Did they?”

Hyukjae didn't answer, and that made Donghae's already sad eyes look even more miserable.

”I thought you had forgotten me.. well, which you practically did, yeah, but not by your own choice apparently..” Donghae confessed, feeling unsure afterwards. Hyukjae nodded.

”So you're living here now?” The mentioned boy quickly asked next and ignored the incoming awkwardness by changing the topic to something a bit more cheerful. Hyukjae wanted to believe him, he really did. It also made sense in a way why he felt so familiar in the first place. They had indeed met before. Right?

”Yeah. Do you want to..?”

”Yes.” Hyukjae interrupted midway since he already knew what Donghae was about to ask. The latter's mouth melted into a shy smile before talking again.

”Let me just pack my stuff then.”

When the few silver and blue spray cans were thrown into a backpack, they both set off to the direction of Donghae's apartment, not really knowing what they were getting themselves into.