‘Are you going to ever let me in, or should I just look for a public toilet?’ I exclaimed in annoyance, hitting the closed door of my own bathroom.

‘Man can’t have a single peaceful moment!’ I heard an outraged voice in response, and in a second the door became wide opened. I glanced at my friend and whistled quietly. Rebellious grimace came as a reply.

‘What? Do you envy me looking this good?’ He snorted, throwing a wet towel at me. Wet and, much to my dismay, stained in pink.

‘Key, what is this?’ I asked, when he passed by me and headed to the hall.

‘Oh, why are you so surprised? It’s just a bit more of eyeliner and, well, the new hat,’ he stated, studying himself in the mirror with a smile on his face.

‘Kibum, I’m not talking about you. I mean my destroyed towel!’ I exclaimed, but came to be ignored by my friend, who was clearly too occupied with fixing his already perfectly styled hair.

I studied him once again, and I had to admit he was looking extremely good, what was rare in case of Key, because he always paid so much attention to his looks, that I’ve never actually seen him looing bad. My friend was crazy over clothes, fashion, make up, accessories, and all of this weird stuff that guys usually ignored. Just like me. But this time he looked really good. Not comically, not extravagantly. Just good. Maybe even elegant? He wore a fitting, white shirt with black, thin braces, dark jeans that emphasized his slim legs and black hat, that contrasted with pink fringe, making the whole outfit look special.

‘Like what you see?’ I heard a malicious voice. Kibum finished fixing his hair and glared at me, mocking smile forming on his lips.

‘What’s the occasion? You plan on sneaking into a fashion show? If it goes well, I’ll read about you in the papers. I can already imagine the header: “Pink freak in a…” I haven’t finished my sentence, because Key pursed his lips, suddenly very disgruntled with my behavior.

‘I’m going to have a… meeting, if you have to know,’ he claimed, his fingers playing with earrings in one of his ear.

I was surprised with this sudden change in his mood. I must have lost my mind, because for a brief moment I was sure I noticed shyness in my friend’s eyes. It did not fit the Kibum I knew. However, the weird expression quickly disappeared, replaced by a mocking smile, that I certainly didn’t like.

‘And how are your affairs of the heart, my frog friend?’ he asked, watching my dropping expression with a wild satisfaction.

‘And how are your affairs of a bed, my pink-haired freak?’ I snapped back, as he was the last person on Earth with whom I’d like to discuss such topics. He seemed to be fighting with urge to stick his tongue at me, but managed to restrain. He put his hands on his hips.

‘Are you jealous? Maybe mister investigative would like to share his own experiences?’

‘I’m not…’ I started, but Key gestured with his finger, and shut me up.

‘Not yet, my dear. Not yet…’ he claimed, mysteriously. Then put his coat on and left the flat.

~*~

‘Taemin?’ I spoke, leaning on a balcony doorframe. A dark, slender silhouette was sharply contrasting with a winter landscape, that could be seen everywhere around. ‘Taemin, what are you doing?’ The silhouette made a slight movement, but that was the only response. The boy seemed to be way more interested in the cold wind, than in talking to me. I sighed silently, and stepped out of the warm inside of my flat, ignoring the frost that clenched my bare skin. I leaned on a railing, right next to Taemin, and studied his face, painted with a peaceful expression. My eyes travelled from ears, partly hidden behind long hair, through soft jawline, to shaped lips. The boy frowned, feeling my careful staring.

‘I’m listening,’ he replied with a quiet voice. His answer did not explain much. I kept on watching him, as he began to fall deep into his thoughts again.

‘What are you listening to?’ I asked, smiling at this specific kind of sensitivity painted across his face. He seemed to be attuning his emotions to the sounds that surrounded him. Sounds that were so common, that I barely noticed them, but for him they were building the image of this world. I raised my hand and tucked his hair behind his ear.

‘I’m listening to the city.’ He frowned, a little wrinkle forming on his forehead. He didn’t react to my tender gesture, probably lost to deep in his own thoughts to notice it. I was curious, what was on his mind. I tried my best to listen closely, but the only thing I heard were distant noises of cars. Nothing worth such attention, as was given by Taemin. ‘Look at the sky,’ he ordered, and I did as I was told to.

A beautiful view could be seen from my balcony, especially at this particular part of an afternoon that has already started to melt into evening. The day was quickly slipping by, plying the world with its final flare-up. The sky seemed to explode with diversity of colors. Shameless pink was playfully peeking from under the cover of shaped clouds, and gradually melting into gentle purple, eventually becoming a part of dignity of navy. Distant lanterns of stars were shinning shyly, as if they were not sure if it’s already time form them to appear on the sky’s territory. I was so delighted with this evening show, that for a moment I completely forgot about everything else.

‘Tell me what you see.’ Taemin’s voice pulled me out of this hypnosis.

I averted my gaze from the sun, and glanced at the boy that was standing right next to me. Flare of sunset painted his skin with gold, sharpened his features, and built up an unusual contrast on this familiar face. And suddenly this whole pathetic beauty of nature became unimportant, compared to the simple, melancholic smile, forming in the corners of Taemin’s lips. I wanted to carry out his request, I needed to show him the beauty that surrounded us.

‘Help me to hear… no, to see the sky.’ His unusual words made my chest ache, as if my heart was painfully reacting to the injustice of the world.

Without a single word, I turned back and headed to the inside of my flat in search for something. After five minutes I came back on the balcony and made Taemin sit on a chair that I prepared for him. Even though he was frowning, confused, he did not oppose to my actions, waiting for explanation. I placed his hands on the thing that I brought with me, and he touched it with his fingertips.

‘Paper? Why?’ His voice was skeptic, but not too sharp. I smiled, noticing his curiosity. He was trying to act indifferent, but ended up being intrigued. I pushed a brush into his hand.

‘Let’s paint a sky together.’ With those simple words, I pulled up my sleeves and opened a few paint tubes. I was in my element, finally.

‘What a childish idea… Does this make any sense to you?’ Even though Taemin’s words were malicious, they seemed to be only a mere attempt of downplaying my irrational behavior.

‘What color should I give you?’ I asked, ignoring his statement. I was expecting another dose of mockery, but the boy just bit his lip, clearly fighting with his own pride.

‘The sky is blue, they say…’ he started slowly, thoughtfully. ‘…but is it really true?’

Searching for an answer, I glanced at the rosary glow, painted across the horizon. One, simple word “blue” was certainly not enough to describe all those varied colors that could be seen on the evening sky.

‘No, that’s nonsense,’ I claimed lightly. ‘The sky can take every color. You should paint according to what you’re feeling.’

As I’ve spoken those words, concentration on the boy’s face became even deeper. He was giving a serious thought to the dilemma. I wasn’t even surprised. The sky was inaccessible for him. He could not touch it nor hear it. To him it must have been way more abstract and distant than to me.

‘Give me white, then,’ he eventually demanded, his voice confident. I extruded some paint on a palette, and dipped his brush in the white substance. Not waiting fo