It was just another sunny afternoon. Jongin was ever so grateful to the guy who had invented air-condition because it was hot as hell outside, heat wave after heat wave crashing in over Seoul. He lived in a small studio apartment but then again he didn't need much. As long as he had pen and paper nothing else mattered.
Jongin lived to write stories. He didn't care to publish them to the world, he just needed them out of his head or else his world of imagination would come crashing down. The stories he wrote were colourful, attentive to detail but never did they involve such a thing as love. It hadn't always been like that though. Once all he could write about was pink clouds, wanting of forever and of a certain heart-shaped smile.

 Byun Baekhun, an old friend from high-school had come to visit. Jongin cared much for the elder male. He had been there for him when he was at his lowest, held him until Jongin's tears had finally dried up, leaving his eyes red and his face numb. He was very grateful. Time spent together with Baekhyun was easy, almost lazy. Jongin's small TV-screen would be on mute, while he would write and Baekhyun would take turns in watching the screen and watching Jongin write.
Truly, this day was just as any other day spent together with his best friend. Or so he thought.

Baekhyun lifted his glass of chilled ice tea to his lips only to stop mid-motion. He looked at the screen, then looked to Jongin. "Isn't that... huh." Baekhyun un-muted the TV, making  Jongin lazily look up from his papers that were scattered all over the dinner table. He found Baekhyun's face in an expression of wonder, pointing a finger at the handsome face filling the small TV screen. Jongin trailed the finger with his eyes, his lips parted slightly. He knew that face all too well.  He kept his eyes fixed on the screen, blinking in disbelief. "...This was Do Kyungsoo reporting live from Seoul."  The young man on the screen disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. Jongin realized he had been holding his breath the entire time, letting out a small breath of air along with a small smirk. "So you finally made it." He half whispered, smiling to himself.

---

"I'm sorry, but you can't sleep here." An apologetic voice filled Jongin's ears as he was struggling to wake up. He found himself with his forehead lying on his left arm, pencil still clutched in his right hand. "...Sorry." he muttered, barely audibly. He carefully sat up feeling his body tense from the cramp in his left arm. He sighed as he tried to blink the sleep out of his eyes, unaware that he was still being watched. "Are you a writer? It's quite good. Very erm... poetic." The voice came from behind him, the same one that had awoken him moments earlier. He shifted his head to his right to find a male face inches from his own, leaning in to read his silly scribbles. "Erm... No. To both that is." The other male stood up straight with a confused look in his eyes. "I mean. I am not a writer and this." He gestured to the mess of papers hiding the table. "This is not good. It's just I have to get these stories out of my system or I can't seem to concentrate on anything else..." Jongin's voice trailed off. Why was he explaining himself? Jongin scratched his neck uncomfortably, collecting the papers in a neat stack before  standing up to leave. He didn't leave though. Someone was blocking his path. The small man before him was wearing a white shirt tucked into black dress pants covered with a black apron. On his chest the name Do Kyungsoo was engraved on a nametag. His curly brown hair  was a bit messy but on the same time styled to perfection. His milky white skin made his plumb pink lips even more appealing. Jongin unconsciously his own lips before letting his eyes meet with the other males. For a moment he was mesmerized. Completely taken in by two big, sparkling, chocolate brown orbs. For  what seemed like forever they just stood there, looking at each other until Jongin could feel the awkwardness sifting out of the both of them. It was first then he remembered where he was.

Jongin worked in a kindergarten. He liked kids more than he liked grown-ups because grown-ups had no imagination. Everything was in black and white while a kid's mind was all rainbows. At work he had suddenly had the urge to write but the kids' constant noise had made it impossible for him to do so. As such he had taken an early lunch-break and almost run to the nearest café, ordered coffee with milk, settled into the nearest booth and  let his pencil draw out the story from his mind.

Jongin frantically looked around for a watch as he cussed under his breath. "It is 8 PM..." Kyungsoo, the waiter could guess from Jongin's wild expression that it was the time he needed to know. A look of surprise etched itself on Jongin's face as his eyes adjusted to the cute male again. "Oh. " He snorted. "I guess I am in no hurry then." Jongin laughed bitterly to himself, realizing his lunch-break had been due over 7 hours ago. He fell defeated back into the booth, placing the papers back down, pulling out his pencil. The waiter tried to suppress a chuckle but failed. Jongin noticed and shyly smiled at the waiter. The waiter made a small bow before leaving Jongin to himself again. He sat there, pencil in hand but the rest of the story would not come to him. It was as if his mind had been swept clean. Frustrated he put down his pencil and sighed heavily. Looking around while trying to steal a glance at the waiter, he noticed that the café was completely empty. He glanced at the door. The sign on it said "open" which would mean the writing facing the door for outsiders to read said "closed". Jongin slowly shook his head not sure if this was a mistake or whatnot. Before he knew it the waiter had placed a cup of coffee with milk in front of him. Jongin flashed a confused look before asking:"Excuse me but are you closed?" Do Kyungsoo fidgeted with his apron, his weight shifting from foot to foot. "Actually... The café closes at 6 PM on Mondays..." Do Kyungsoo shyly  bit his bottom lip. "You passed out 30 minutes after you got here, I just didn't have the heart to wake you." Jongin couldn't stop smiling at the cuteness coming from the waiter. "But you did wake me in the end." Jongin said teasingly. Kyungsoo's lips turned into a heart-smile. "You were starting to talk in your sleep so I thought it would be for the best." Jongin's cheeks blushed a pale shade of pink at the information. He had been talking in his sleep ever since he could remember and it was always, always something embarrassing that would leave his lips. Jongin let his forehead meet the table with a loud bang, not caring about the pain. "... What did I say?" Kyungsoo let out a nervous laugh before he sat down opposite of Jongin. "You said something about... Erm... Riding on a flying unicorn...?" Jongin didn't dare look up from the table. Now that he thought about it, images from a dream started gathering in his mind. He let out a small grunt of embarrassment, slowly looking up when he heard the other males ringing laughter. "I thought I'd wake you before you'd be riding out into the sunset on fluff and rainbow coloured poop." Jongin started laughing. He wasn't sure why. There was just something unordinary about Do Kyungsoo, that or it was just his comment about rainbow coloured poop. "I'm sorry but I kind of got to reading some of your stuff while you were sleeping." The waiter looked nervously down on his hands, softly biting down on his own lip again. "This?" Jongin let surprise wash over his face. He had never let anyone read any of his scribbles before, mostly because he knew they were stupid, not to mention incredibly childish. "I'm really sorry. Well, actually I'm not." Kyungsoo retrieved the top page from the stack of paper and smiled to himself. "It's wonderful." Jongin looked in disbelief at the small man. "Thank you." They sat in silence for a minute or two, just studying each other's faces. "Wait. You said you closed at 6 PM right?" Kyungsoo gave a small nod. "And it is 8 PM? I'm so sorry!" He quickly stood up and deeply bowed to the waiter. "I should get going. I'm sorry for wasting your time." Jongin quickly took out his wallet, grabbed a few notes and placed them on the table before he bowed again to leave. At the same moment he felt a surprisingly strong hand on his wrist keeping him from leaving. He looked at the smaller male confusion painted across his face. Kyungsoo quickly let go of his arm. "It's okay. Really I don't mind." Kyungsoo jumped out of the booth. Jongin cleared his voice "... Are you going to kill me?" Kyungsoo's eyes flew open, turning even bigger. "What? No!" He let out a small laugh. " But I would ask you to get something to eat with me." His hand clutched the back of his neck nervously. "I would love to read the rest of your stories." Jongin only managed to stutter a low: "Okay." Before Kyungsoo took his hand. "I'm Do Kyungsoo." "Jongin. Kim Jongin." Still holding onto each other's hands, Kyungsoo smiled happily at Jongin. "It's very nice to meet you. Rider of the unicorn."

The next months Jongin spent in a dream. Every day he would meet with Do Kyungsoo. He would write while Do Kyungsoo would read all his ridiculous writings. Kyungsoo told Jongin how he wanted to become a reporter, telling stories from all over the world.

Sometimes Kyungsoo would come to the Kindergarten reading Jongin's stories to the kids. He would act out all the parts in different voices enchanting the children. And Jongin.
Kyungsoo made the stories come to life. And Jongin knew. He just knew that Do Kyungsoo had taken his heart. His silly, rainbow coloured heart made up from fluff and unicorn poop.

Yet somehow he couldn't find it in himself to confess his love. The other seemed oblivious to his feelings no matter how much more pink and more fluffy Jongin's stories became.  But the again. Jongin only needed Kyungsoo by his side, whether it be as a friend or a lover didn't matter. It didn't matter. Right?
 

One day, at a café, Jongin found himself writing again. Although this time it wasn't a story at the tip of his pencil but Kyungsoo's name encircled in hearts over and over again. He had completely spaced out when a familiar voice snapped him back to reality. With the speed of light he flipped over the paper covered with Kyungsoo's name and looked towards the well-known figure coming up to greet him. "Jongin!" The small man's face was covered in a grin that made his eyes turn into half-moons. Jongin sighed at the sight. If only Kyungsoo was his he thought. "Jongin! You're never going to believe it! I have received an internship at a major news station!" Jongin's face lit up. "That's great! Congratulation!" He stood up as Kyungsoo threw his arms around Jongin, hugging him tight. Reluctant to let go Jongin finally found the strength to release him, tousling Kyungsoo's hair. Kyungsoo smile faded ever so slightly. "Yeah... The internship is in Seoul but it will take me all over the world. I'll get to go to Europe, America, everywhere." Kyungsoo sat down at the table Jongin had sat at. He noticed the turned-over paper. "What's this? Are you writing a new story?" he said while trying to flip it over. Jongin threw his fist a little too hard against the table, not caring about the puzzled look on Kyungsoo's face. "How long? How long will you be gone?" He took the paper and hesitantly crumbled the paper into a ball. "I... I don't know. Maybe 3 years? Maybe more..." Jongin nodded. "Okay..." He opened his mouth to say more but nothing came out. Instead he frowned his brows together, turned around, threw the paper ball into a waste-bin and walked away.

Kyungsoo sat there, silent, too hurt to get up. A small part of him had hoped that Jongin would come back and tell him not to go. Fought for him.
Becoming a reporter had been his dream ever since he was a kid running around in his father's suit jacket that reached down to his knees while interviewing his family about the  situation of the world or what was for dinner. But Jongin. If it hadn't been for Jongin, he wouldn't have hesitated in taking the internship. He would gladly have left everything behind to fulfil a lifelong dream. Yet here he was considering to stay. Kyungsoo had fallen in love with Jongin the moment he read his stories. They had moved him, touched his heart and yet he had never had the guts to tell Jongin how he felt. He wanted to. And damn it he needed to!

But what if Jongin didn't love him back?

No. Why risk it? Kyungsoo could not throw away something he had wanted for so long. Jongin... was only a boy he had known for a short while. No, he had to go. Kyungsoo stood ready to leave but  something made him slow down. He glanced a few times at the waste-bin before subtly looking inside to fish out the crumbled paper out of the trash. Kyungsoo earned a few disapproving gazes but when he saw his name encircled in a heart, a smile lit up Kyungsoo's face.  Crushing the paper to his chest he started running.

Jongin was back at his apartment. He threw his notes onto the floor and slid down the door. He shouldn't have run away. He should have confessed. He should have told Kyungsoo to stay with him... He should have... He had to find Kyungsoo. Jongin determinedly rose from the ground and pulled his door open only to stop dead in his track.... Do Kyungsoo was standing outside his door, out of breath sweat dripping from his forehead. When Kyungsoo's breath came to he stood up straight confidently walked towards Jongin, cupped his cheeks and gently pressed their lips together in a cautious kiss. And then another. And another. Until cautiousness was pushed aside to make room for passion.

A swirl of different emotions blast through Jongin and before he could stop himself, Jongin had picked up Kyungsoo and carried him towards his bedroom.

Together they lay embracing each other. Jongin had an arm around Kyungsoo whose head lay on his chest. "Tell me not to go." A whisper escaped Kyungsoo's pink lips. Jongin held him tighter. He really did love Kyungsoo. Painfully much. And so Jongin took a deep breath. "I can't." Tears rolled down his chest where Kyungsoo nodded against his skin.
Next morning not a word was shared. Kyungsoo got dressed, Jongin walked him to the door. Before he left, Kyungsoo turned to look at him and somewhere between unspoken words, hope was evident in his eyes.

'Wait for me?'

'I. Can't.'

-

Jongin got up from where he had sat for the past two hours writing. He looked through his papers, grabbed a few and stormed off, out of the apartment, into the streets of Seoul. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, ignoring the scolding heat from the unmerciful sun's blinding rays. Not knowing whether his heart was beating frantically from the exhaustion of running or from the excitement of seeing Kyungsoo again. When he finally came to a stop his vision was blurry. Desperately he searched for a KBS van in his surroundings. There! He slowly set into a run as he watched the camera men pack away their equipment. But before he could reach the van it set in motion and drove off with a sweaty, desperate boy chasing its tail.

Jongin could no longer breathe, tears prickling his eyes. He couldn't run anymore and he let his legs give out underneath him, falling to the ground.

He just lay there. Who knows for how long. The papers clutched in his sweaty hand on top of his chest breathing in hard. He sighed, letting the tears threatening to spill, fall from the corner of his eyes. "Pabo. Pabo pabo pabo." Jongin scolded himself for not leaving sooner. For believing he would actually make it in time but most of all he scolded himself for letting Kyungsoo go. For letting him go, knowing in his heart he would wait forever if it came down to it...

"Jongin?" a velvety voice snapped Jongin out from his inner monologue. He slowly opened his eyes, the sun blinding him momentarily but out of the light he discerned a figure hovering above him. Slowly his eyes adjusted to the light, letting him take in sparkling chocolate-brown orbs and pink plump lips.

In a second, Jongin was on his feet, heart racing just as fast as when he had run. He was here. Kyungsoo was really here. Jongin wanted to hug him but didn't know if he had the right to, so instead he gave him a careful smile and a small bow. "I thought you were in the van. Why aren't you?" Pink tinted Kyungsoo cheeks as a nervous smile pulled at his lips. "... Actually I was on my way to your place... I just had to ... get something first." Shyly he presented Jongin with a  unicorn plush. Eyes as big as his own taking up half of its face. "On my trips, whenever I saw anything unicorn it reminded me of you, so my place is packed with these things. I wanted to give them to you when I got back but seeing as we were going to shoot so close to where you live, I didn't have the patience to go get them."  Kyungsoo took a small step closer while reaching for Jongin's hand. "I've missed you." Jongin eagerly took the smaller hand in his squeezing it tight. "You were right to let me go. It hurt... but you were right. This was something I had to do." Jongin lifted Kyungsoo's hand to his lips. "I'm glad." "Me too. Jongin I..." Jongin promptly handed him the curled up paper he had brought with him. "Please read it? And afterwards if you want to... Come see me and I'll tell you the end." Hugging the plush close Jongin turned around and left Kyungsoo standing alone.

Kyungsoo went back to his old place, disappointed and something else. 3 years had passed and Jongin could still make his heart feel overjoyed and frustrated all at the same time. Defeated, Kyungsoo fell backwards on top of his bed and pulled out the papers.   

"There once was a young boy who fell in love. He had dreamed of love for as long as he could remember but when lightning struck and love appeared, the boy feared to lose it. It became a secret rather than a truth and it pained him so. One day the boy received the chance to confess but he did not dare in fear of rejection. But then he learned that there was nothing to fear because his love was already reciprocated. Only... at the same time the boy he loved had to leave and a choice had to be made but only one choice seemed to have a happy ending. But not for himself. Had he asked his love to stay, regret would have shown its nasty face and doomed their love to fail. If he asked his love to stay true to him while gone, someone might end up hurting the other even more. Or... if he just let him go and didn't become a hindrance to a life-long dream... what else was there to do? And so the boy let him go his own way, so that he could be happy and meet new people, face new challenges and perhaps... meet someone else who would if possible love him just as much.
Time passed and the boy tried to forget but to no avail. Not until...."

"What?" Kyungsoo sat up in a flash. Until what? Had Jongin fallen in love with someone new? Kyungsoo rushed out of his apartment, he needed to know the ending!

"Not until what?!" Jongin was once again face to face with Kyungsoo as the man had entered his place with a frown on his face. Slowly, Jongin rose from his table, anxious for Kyungsoo's response. "Not until... he realised that he would never forget." Kyungsoo took in a deep breath of air and finally seemed to calm down. "Instead he would love him from a distance either far or near. Whether appropriate or not. Because he had known from the very beginning that there was only one for him." Jongin sighed deeply and with eyes cast towards the ground he finally said it. "I love you Kyungsoo. I still do. And I understand if you have moved on but I never did. And I never will." Before he could stop himself, Jongin kissed Kyungsoo just as gently as Kyungsoo had all those years ago. It tasted just as sweet as the first time if not sweeter. But the taste soon turned bitter when he remembered that Kyungsoo's feelings might have changed. Regretfully Jongin ended the kiss. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..." Instead of backing away Kyungsoo moved forward. Kyungsoo's embrace was warm and full of longing. It made Jongin feel... complete. "Jongin. I have been to three different continents. Met more people than most others do in a lifetime. And not a single person could ever make me love them because there was already someone else I wanted to share my happy ending with. I want to... ride off into the sunset with you. On a unicorn, on fluff and rainbow coloured poop." Kyungsoo laughed. "I love you Jongin. How could there be anyone else?" It took Jongin a moment to comprehend what Kyungsoo had said but in the end he stood wearing the biggest smile on his face. "So you're saying... You and I. We're going to live happily ever after?" Kyungsoo shyly nodded against his chest. "Forever and ever." "Always together." "I will be yours and you will be mine?" "Together until the end of time..."                 

A/N 
Aaarh I'm cringing just re-reading for mistakes xD