There was this field that smelled of love and of butterflies being chased.

 

A field that Jongin often came to visit in his spare time.

 

He sat in the golden clearing, the hue of the wheat field casting shadows upon the days he lay there motionless; watching the clouds roll by endlessly, the summer sun glowing with patience.

 

He loved just laying there, pretending like nothing around him existed. Letting the gentle wind run its course through his dark hair.

 

It tickled him sometimes.

 

Crinkling his nose whilst in a smile, Jongin lost track of the hours he spent unmoving; waiting, watching, unwinding nostalgia.

 

He didn’t know why or how; but he would just stay there.

 

Jongin would just be there.

 

Sometimes, there disappeared and Jongin would just simply be.

 

There was this world away from everyone he grew to love; a world with summer rain and sunny fields and singing in the wind.

 

A world known to him as the closest he could come to discovering Eden.

 

Paradise.

 

On those rough rainy days, Jongin would hide underneath the black walnut tree off the edge of the field.

 

He would close his eyes and listen to the rain, how it would sing lullabies and caress him slowly.

 

How the charismatic smell seemed to permeate every fiber of his being after the weather let up.

 

The raindrops would cling themselves onto the leaves of the darling tree, hanging on and resting before floating away into the land of dreams.

 

Jongin wished that sometimes, he could just go with them.

 

Their infinite cycle of going up and coming back down; so predictable, yet so different every time.

 

You never know where you’ll land and yet, you’ll always come back down.

 

The inevitability was calming in a way.

 

On the days when the weather was nice, Jongin would sit down and catch the flowers drifting with the breeze with his arms outstretched, fingers lacing themselves within the petals and vibrant colors.

 

They were all so pretty, so alike, yet also very temporary.

 

They only lasted as long as you held them.

 

Yet, when Jongin let go, they would begin to float away again; kissing his fingertips as they said goodbye.

 

On and on, Jongin would catch cherry blossoms that managed to levitate with the breeze, letting them dance around him for a second before he blew them away.

 

One time a petal landed on his eyelashes.

 

Jongin smiled that smile with the crinkle in his nose before the delicate leaflet followed the clouds onward.

 

I guess you could say they kissed his eyes too then.

 

Through all of this, Jongin’s favorite was what happened when the nightfall closed the sun.

 

What happened when Jongin would lay down during midnight and count the stars that danced above him.

 

He would usually lose track.

 

Not leaving heart, Jongin would get right back again and start all over.

 

The numberless galaxies within his reach as he gazed up at them.

 

They would say hello sometimes. Cast him a twinkle and a wink before staying still again.

 

Almost like they were afraid of something.

 

Afraid of being caught.

 

But Jongin was just Jongin and he had no intention of letting anyone or anything into his world.

 

Contentment was found in the moments you spend awake with life; the way the grass felt underneath your fingertips, the way the moon woke up to help you see through the night, the way the trees swayed in the wind silently.

 

Everything was golden.

 

Everything was sweet.

 

But one day, Jongin sees a man that seemed to like the color of the rain just as much as he did.

 

Jongin eyed him suspiciously at first, wondering how did this other find this particular place and what on earth he was doing here when there were millions of other places to be instead of just this.

 

Jongin didn’t mean it like that though.

 

This place wasn’t just this.

 

This place was everything and nothing at the same time.

 

It made perfect sense to him in his head.

 

But if he were to share these thoughts with someone else, he might be deemed ludicrous.

 

Jongin was used to being a little strange.

 

And that was why he couldn’t let this stranger in.

 

His voice would take the sunshine away.

 

That was exactly the moment when this unfamiliar doe-eyed boy made his way over to Jongin.

 

He blocked the sunlight as he smiled, radiant teeth and everything, directed in respective to Jongin.

 

And Jongin swore that his beauty resembled that of summer rain.

 

Jongin cleared his throat, eyebrows scrunching at exactly what on earth this guy was doing just standing there smiling at him like an idiot.

 

It was beginning to get a little creepy.

 

“You come here a lot.” The wide-eyed newcomer said, extending a hand to Jongin underneath his gaze. “My name is Kyungsoo.”

 

In fright of being rude, Jongin silently took Kyungsoo’s hand into his, casting a shy smile in his direction.

 

“Hi.” Was all he could say.

 

Kyungsoo laughed, voice prettier than that of the monarchs Jongin used to let repose on his fingers in the spring.

 

“You’re funny.” Kyungsoo smiled, lying down next to Jongin on the field and staring up into whatever the other was staring up into.

 

An awkward silence followed, but Kyungsoo didn’t let it get to him.

 

“Umm...” he began again, side-eyeing Jongin who seemed fixed on the skies above, watching the clouds roll by quietly. “What exactly are we staring at?”

 

Jongin counted the seconds that ticked by, glancing at the male beside him with hair that matched the undertones of the wheat field.

 

The strands seemed to sway with the wind like the growth of the plants around them.

 

Jongin decided that Kyungsoo’s hair was also very pretty.

 

“Don’t you see?” Jongin began hushed. “The clouds, they’re whispering secrets.”

 

Kyungsoo found that response rather odd, casting a look over his shoulder at Jongin before following his eyes upward again.

 

But if he looked at them harder, maybe even turned his head and squinted, Kyungsoo could see it too.

 

Kyungsoo lay there, listening to the peaceful soft mutters of the billowing masses above them.

 

They were whispering.

 

Whispering lullabies.

 

Kyungsoo stared at Jongin wide-eyed and entranced, how could this guy notice such minute details?

 

It was the first time Jongin smiled at Kyungsoo, returning the same darling look that the latter casted onto him earlier.

 

Kyungsoo smiled back, turning away and looking up.

 

“They make pictures.” Kyungsoo said, observing one above that came into view. “Like that one.”

 

It was Jongin’s turn this time.

 

“Bear.” Jongin replied, drawing his hand up and retracing the cloud as if magnifying the curves and edges that he concurred into a picture.

 

Kyungsoo looked confused.

 

“No.” He said, giving Jongin an amused look. “Unicorn.”

 

Jongin thought that Kyungsoo was a little weird.

 

But alas, he looked again and tried harder, fitting the shapes together until he finally saw what Kyungsoo was talking about.

 

The tail and front horn were so blatantly obvious, along with the legs that fissured out into what looked like a strange form of cotton candy.

 

“That one there.” Kyungsoo started up again, pointing to one that blew in from the slight breeze. “That one is Nemo.”

 

“Ne...mo?” Jongin asked, turning onto his side and staring directly at Kyungsoo who was looking skyward.

 

“Yeah Nemo. My hyung-nim likes that movie a lot.” Kyungsoo stretched out, leaning his head over his crossed arms.

 

“Hyung-nim?” Jongin asked again, genuinely curious this time as he noticed how Kyungsoo’s eyelashes seemed to sway every time he blinked.

 

He noticed how long they were.

 

“Yeah hyung-nim!” Kyungsoo seemed enthusiastic, turning onto his side to face Jongin for the first time.

 

The summer’s pollen danced around Jongin as if welcoming him as part of the field.

 

“His name is Donghae. He’s really sweet.”

 

Jongin cocked his head at that.

 

What was it like to have a hyung-nim?

 

Kyungsoo flipped onto his back once again, aware of how Jongin still seemed a bit lost.

 

“Chewy dipped oreos!” Kyungsoo started the cloud naming game again as a whole new set floated right above them.

 

“Butterfly!” Jongin retorted.

 

“Dried mangoes!” Kyungsoo followed suit.

 

“Alphabet soup!” Jongin tried again, laughing as he realized just how ridiculous and crazy they both sounded right then.

 

But it didn’t matter.

 

It was the right kind of crazy.

 

“Alphabet soup?” Kyungsoo brought up, casting an odd glance toward Jongin’s route. “What type of mess-”

 

“They’re there!” Jongin promised, one hand reaching toward the infinite cloud. “Look! The letters, they’re moving.”

 

And Kyungsoo looked again.

 

But this time he saw nothing.

 

“You’re really weird, you know that?” Kyungsoo said, leaning over and plucking up a shard of grass on the field. “I like you.”

 

“You’re weird.” Jongin uttered in reverse. “You look like raindrops and glow like the sun.”

 

“Stuff like that.” Kyungsoo tried to reason out, eventually confessing that throughout this entire time, almost everything Jongin had told him either didn’t make sense or was a puzzle in its own.

 

Jongin grew sad.

 

Kyungsoo stopped.

 

“But I guess it’s just you so no worries!” Kyungsoo attempted to cover up, not failing to see Jongin’s face get more and more somber as he was going along.

 

Jongin stood up and began to walk away from Kyungsoo.

 

He thought Kyungsoo actually understood for a moment.

 

The boy who couldn’t see alphabet soup but saw unicorns.

 

The summer breeze was lying to him.

 

“Stop! Wait! No!” Kyungsoo rushed to Jongin’s side, right in front of his face.

 

“I’m sorry!” Kyungsoo wailed. “I didn’t mean it! You’re not weird. You’re just different! I think you’re really strange but-”

 

“The seasons change!” Jongin retorted, pushing Kyungsoo away from him. He was beginning to get angry.

 

“We can be friends!” Kyungsoo groaned for the final time. “I’m sorry I really am!”

 

Jongin couldn’t believe this.

 

Can rain really fall twice in the same day?

 

Jongin counted his lucky stars.

 

If this one didn’t work, he didn’t know what would.

 

“Fine.” Jongin deadpanned.

 

He turned around the opposite direction and began walking toward the big black walnut tree at the rim of the field.

 

Kyungsoo followed diligently.

 

“Well alrighty.” Kyungsoo’s eyes grew large as he eyed Jongin’s backside, confused as ever before.

 

That was fast.

 

They arrived at the base of the tree, Jongin sitting down on one side as Kyungsoo took the other.

 

Jongin noticed how the leaves seemed to fall in peculiar patterns, one landing not quite so far away from the next.

 

Then again, summer was supposed to help sustain a leaf’s life attached to the vines of a tree.

 

Could the seasons really be changing?

 

Jongin took hold of one that seemed to fall particularly slowly, and another and another.

 

He grabbed at a newly cut root at the bottom of his feet.

 

“So tell me again what your name was?” Kyungsoo asked innocently, albeit embarrassed he didn’t have the guts to ask it before. “I think I lost it.”

 

“Kim Jongin.” The other replied, winding the root around in a circular motion.

 

Kyungsoo let him be.

 

“I like ice cream, do you?” Kyungsoo started again, not at all finding his question the least bit bizarre.

 

“No.” Jongin replied, too busy pressing the leaves perfectly into the root to match a particular standard.

 

“My favorite is chocolate.” Kyungsoo went on anyways in awe at how fast Jongin can easily move on. “I like crushing oreos and putting them into the bowl sometimes.”

 

What is with this kid and oreos?

 

Nonetheless, Jongin still found it rather cute that Kyungsoo would take the time to do something so meticulous.

 

Jongin began to weave the roots around in a disc-shaped motion.

 

Kyungsoo continued being Kyungsoo and went on with the atypical questions.

 

“So what do you like about being here so much?” Kyungsoo opened up another subject, watching the ants about a foot away from him carrying a miniscule piece of bread back into their hill.

 

Jongin didn’t respond at first.

 

He thought about it a moment before quietly whispering;

 

“The field is home.” Jongin says. “It’s warm, quiet and sweet. The stars are a good place to sleep under sometimes.”

 

Kyungsoo was surprised.

 

That was the first time Jongin said something that actually made sense.

 

He was impressed; of course, he’d never say it out loud.

 

“Where do you live?” Kyungsoo asked again, leaning his back against the harsh bark of the tree.

 

If he listened very very carefully, he could hear the water running up the trunk.

 

“There.” Jongin stopped what he was doing for a moment to point in the direction of the only road leading away from the field.

 

“Umm...I’m pretty sure all of us live in that direction, sugar.” Kyungsoo voiced out, not at all shocked that Jongin goes back to being as unusual as he was in half a second.

 

“Sugar?” Jongin piped up, fingers hanging onto whatever he was winding and twisting.

 

“Yes.” Kyungsoo delivered, wondering why Jongin questioned everything that came out of his mouth.

 

At this point, Kyungsoo thought Jongin was a little bit crazy.

 

“There’s a yogurt woman in front of my apartment.” Jongin started, picking up his slack and getting right back onto the task at hand.

 

So far, only a few more twigs here and there and the look would be done.

 

“Oh yeah?” Kyungsoo wondered where this would lead to. “Tell me.”

 

Jongin looked over to Kyungsoo whose back was still against the walnut tree, breathing in the smell of the golden field.

 

“She sells yogurt sometimes.” Jongin dwindled on, making nimble movements with his fingers. “I buy whenever I can.”

 

“Do you like it?” Kyungsoo relates, having seen the yogurt woman in front of his apartment complex several times. Of course, they probably weren’t the same woman.

 

“The strawberry ones remind me of you a bit.” Jongin goes on as he recounts how the sweetness just seems to melt inside his mouth. “They’re sweet.”

 

Kyungsoo takes this as a compliment, at least, as much of a compliment as a compliment can be in Jongin’s book.

 

With that, Kyungsoo looks over at Jongin.

 

Jongin looks over at Kyungsoo.

 

Kyungsoo clears his throat.

 

“You remind me of beefsteak.” Kyungsoo jokes around to lighten the air. “It’s tough on the outside but when you get into it, it’s actually delicious!”

 

Jongin gives Kyungsoo a horrified look.

 

“That’s not what I meant!” Kyungsoo blushes. “You know it too!”

 

Jongin just laughs with the air as he stares at this weirdo beside him.

 

He notices it again.

 

Kyungsoo’s hair and eyelashes seem to flutter with the wind.

 

Jongin wishes he can touch Kyungsoo’s hair then.

 

“What are you doing anyways?” Kyungsoo scoots himself closer to where Jongin is sitting but not before the latter can take whatever is in his hands and place it on top of Kyungsoo’s head.

 

From there, Jongin catches another flower in the breeze, gently moving Kyungsoo’s hair behind his ear and placing the soft petals right along with it.

 

Jongin smiles at what he’s created.

 

Kyungsoo looks even prettier now.

 

“You’re pretty.” Jongin says all at once, stunned that he let those words slip out of his mouth.

 

Kyungsoo just giggles.

 

He adjusts the crown tighter onto his head.

 

“So are you.” Kyungsoo replies, bringing himself down and setting his head on Jongin’s lap.

 

“I hope you don’t mind.” Kyungsoo pauses for a second, but settles in comfortably when he sees Jongin just sit there.

 

Jongin thinks now that maybe letting Kyungsoo be his friend won’t be too bad.

 

“So...yeah.” Kyungsoo starts it all over again, letting the ebbs flow and making convo with his newfound friend.

 

Constant conversations.

 

“You would like Donghae hyung then.” Kyungsoo articulates, watching the flowers on the ground shift ever so slightly whenever a draft blew through. “He’s very pretty. Just like you.”

 

Jongin hides a shy smile.

 

“How is he pretty?” Jongin tries, intently watching Kyungsoo who seemed snug on his lap.

 

“His face is pretty and he’s sweet.” Kyungsoo then becomes aware of how the leaves of the crown hover perfectly over his eyes. Almost like framing them.

 

“Sweeter than yogurt?” Jongin asks, plucking a hunk of pollen away that landed on Kyungsoo’s eyebrows.

 

“Even better.” Kyungsoo says.

 

“What’s better than yogurt?” Jongin reciprocates.

 

“I don’t know. You tell me mister alphabet soup.” Kyungsoo jabs a finger into Jongin’s collarbone.

 

“Okay Prince of Sunlight.” Jongin expresses, getting lost in thought once more as he eyes the darkening horizon.

 

“Prince of Sunlight?” It was Kyungsoo’s turn to ask questions.

 

“You make the sunlight happier.” Jongin is at it again with the vagueness.

 

“Here it goes.” Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, smiling and reminding Jongin that it’s only a joke.

 

“When the sun is happy, it shines brighter. Kind of like you, a bit.” Jongin recounts the number of times the sun has shimmered just a little with the presence of Kyungsoo today.

 

Kyungsoo sees a monarch butterfly land on Jongin’s shoulder.

 

Jongin must be used to it, since he doesn’t even bat an eye.

 

“It’s getting late.” Kyungsoo excuses himself. “I think I have to go now.”

 

Jongin stands up and so does Kyungsoo.

 

Kyungsoo waves goodbye for a second, putting a hand over his head and remembering how Jongin made him a crown.

 

Grinning ear to ear, Kyungsoo says a warm “Thank you!”

 

Jongin’s eyes twinkle. The crinkle in his nose comes back.

 

“We can walk together.” Jongin proposes, and to that, the Prince of Sunlight beams right back at him.

 

“Okay then!” Kyungsoo says.

 

And onward they walk toward the dirt road exit.                    

 

The one Jongin pointed to earlier.

 

“I don’t live that far, just over the bend past the lazy river.” Kyungsoo motions with his hands in the direction of his apartment.

 

It didn’t matter whether he lived far or not.

 

Jongin would still walk with him.

 

They turn the arch that lead to the narrow road overlooking the river and the fading sunlight.

 

The moon will be here shortly.

 

“Today was fun.” Kyungsoo smiles again, walking side-by-side next to Jongin.

 

He thinks of holding Jongin’s hand but goes against it.

 

He didn’t want Jongin to think he was pulling any moves on him or anything of the sort.

 

“That’s me right there.” Kyungsoo stops their path of travel and walks a distance between him and Jongin.

 

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” Kyungsoo asks honestly, a look in his eye that Jongin can’t quite place.

 

“Same spot?” Jongin asks.

 

“Same time.” Kyungsoo replies.

 

“Goodnight Prince of Sunlight.” Jongin responds seriously, not knowing why Kyungsoo had become so giddy all of a sudden.

 

Crimson stained Kyungsoo’s cheeks as he tried so hard not to laugh.

 

The things Jongin say are just really cute.

 

“Goodnight Moonlight.” Kyungsoo waves again, disappearing behind the gate opening of the complexes.

 

Jongin doesn’t understand how he can be the moonlight of someone as beautiful as the sunlight.