*Myungsoo POV*

He casted me a quizzical glance and set his own mug next to him on the floor.

“Uh, sure. Go on.” He rubbed his hands together and blew at his fingers to keep them warm.

“Well, before I start, you have to promise to not say anything or do anything until I’m done talking.” Damn this was going to be so hard to explain to him.

He let out a small laugh. “Sure, L. But this is sounding a little weird, what’s the matter? Are you in trouble or something?”

“No, of course not.” I gave him a look.

He giggled. “Good, then there’s no cause for me to worry. Go on.”

I took a deep breath and racked my brains for the best way to say it. I bit my lip as I slowly constructed the most tactical approach to break it to him.

“Uhm, you know Myungsoo… passed away, right?” I started slowly, studying his expression carefully.

His expression remained blank and hard. “Yeah. Why?”

“Well, where do you think people go after they… pass away?” It felt so weird talking about my own death.

“L, what are you-“ He faltered when he saw me giving him a look, “hmm… I guess they go to heaven if they’ve been good, and hell if they’ve been bad?”

“Then, do you believe it’s possible for some special ones to be given a second chance, to be sent back down to Earth in another body to fulfill their destiny?”

“L, what does this have to do with what you’ve got to tell me?” Sungyeol raised an eyebrow and laughed.

“Just answer the question first.”

“Hmm… maybe? I’m not too sure myself.”

“What if I told you that Myungsoo was one of the special ones, and is now somewhere on Earth?” I my chapped lips, glancing nervously at him for a reply.

His face remained that of a blank canvas, completely blank. This worried me. What if he goes crazy after I tell him? What if he gets mad? What if he doesn’t believe me? What if-

“It’s you, isn’t it?”

Great I knew it, he’d be mad and wouldn’t- Wait. What?

“… How did you know?” I ask after some mental struggle to form a coherent sentence after my initial shock.

He shrugged. “I guess deep down I’d always suspected that, but yet the thought seemed so wild, so unbelievable that I thought I’d really gone crazy missing him. Eventually I labeled it as a coincidence.”

I gaped at him unbelievingly. “You really don’t doubt me, or feel weirded out in any way?”

“To say that I’m completely not weirded out would be a lie. I mean, how often do you hear of people getting… reincarnated, in a way?”

“True, but I thought you’d be freaked out and get mad, or just wouldn’t believe me.”

Yeol smiled. “Truthfully it’s all kinda unbelievable but hey, Myungsoo or not, I still love you.”

My heart stopped and my cheeks flushed. I glanced sideways at him with a smirk.

“Say that again?” I asked playfully.

“W-what? No! You heard me the first time.” He stammered, obviously flustered.

“Ay, say it again, I didn’t hear it properly the first time.” I teased cheekily.

He shoved me headfirst into the snowbank. “Aish, shut up!”

I cackled and flung a handful of snow onto his face, causing him to splutter in disbelief and mock rage.

“YAH! IT’S COLD!” He shrieked while clawing clumsily at the snow on his face, flinging them in my direction.

I laughed hard as I snuck up behind his and tackled him into the snow, causing him to squawk and flail wildly, falling face-first into the snow, putting his previous efforts of getting the snow out of his face to waste.

After a while more of playing in the snow, I got tired, chest heaving.

“Truce! Yah!” I hollered, only to have Sungyeol pounce onto me, sending us rolling in the snow again, some snow even making its way into my snug coat and causing me to shiver involuntarily.

I pinned him under me, and his eyes eyes closed, still laughing with glee at his success.

I let my eyes trace his features. His bangs, now clinging to his sweaty forehead, his long eyelashes, cascading and creating tiny shadows on his high cheekbones. His sharp nose, now reddening due to the cold. His defined jaw. I let my fingers trace his jaw, touches like caresses of the wind. His eyes cracked open at that.

His lips. His beautiful lips, the lips that I have been lusting for ever since I resurrected. I’ve waited to capture those lips for close to a year now. And I will wait no more.

Slowly, I leaned in. His eyes fluttered close as I neared, his eyelashes grazing my cheeks. As I pressed my lips against his, I swear I heard him catch his breath. Taking it as a positive sign, I pressed my lips harder against his, and he finally kissed back.

I missed them so much. It was torture, really, being nothing but a friend to him. I wonder how I’d survived it back then when I was crushing on him, but we weren’t together then. He was so close, yet so far. He was next to me, so close, but only as a friend, so far.

I’d almost forgotten what it felt like to have his lips against mine, him in my arms, to have him mine.

I felt something wet hit my cheek, and I thought it was snow. But as I pulled away, I realized that Yeol was crying.

I grabbed him by the shoulders. “Yah, what’s wrong? Why are you sad?”

He managed a weak laugh through the tears. “I’m not sad. I’m just so happy that even though you were taken away from me, we managed to find each other again.”

My heart softened at his words. I cupped his face gingerly and wiped off the tears.

“I promised you, didn’t I? I promised you, that nothing can ever keep us apart. Death isn’t an exception.”

He nodded, hiccupping.

I tangled my fingers in his hair, using my free hand to pat his back, trying to coax him to stop crying.

“I have something else to tell you.”

He looked back up at me, clearly puzzled. “What else is there?”

“Well, Brice is kinda an angel? A reaper from heaven. He was the one who had stuck by my side in heaven.”

His eyes widened. He definitely had not been expecting that one. “But… Sungjong…”

“Yeah. Brice managed to persuade the higher ups in heaven to let him be a human again. Just for Sungjong.”

He sighed dreamily. “Woah. So sweet…”

“But does Sungjong know?” He asked, his brows furrowed with worry.

“Yup. Well actually every one of the Infinite members know about Brice and I. Except you.” I said sheepishly.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Mind explaining why?”

“It was one of the rules! I was not allowed to tell you who I really was, until you fell for me. If I didn’t succeed within a year, I’d be gone.” I explained frantically.

His expression softened and he smiled. “Ah, I see. No wonder you didn’t tell me.”

I sniffed his hair deeply, ignoring the snow covering my face.

“Oh yeah, L?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”