Chapter Text
At age 5, Jeno meets the love of his life.
He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s going to love the adorable Chinese boy that moves into the neighborhood to the stars and back for the rest of his life.
The little boy is tiny, so tiny that Jeno and his best friend Jaemin assume he’s younger than them. He turns out to be exactly a month older than Jeno, and Jeno can’t help but marvel at this and think it must be fate.
The boy’s laughter reminds Jeno of the wind chimes on his porch, and Jeno can’t look away from the boy’s little snaggletooth that makes him look like a baby kitten.
His name is Renjun, and because neither Jeno nor Jaemin can pronounce more than simple syllables at this age, Renjun becomes their Junnie.
At age 7, Jeno learns to dance.
He’s always looked up to his older brother Donghae, and he’s beyond excited when his mother finally agrees that he’s old enough to join his brother’s dance classes.
When he enters the studio downtown as a student, he brings Jaemin and Renjun with him in hopes that they get to dance together.
Donghae teaches hip hop, and Jeno is adamant that he takes his brother’s class. Jaemin’s interest is piqued as well, and Donghae’s more than happy to take another student.
Renjun finds that his interests lie in a more graceful type of dance, however, and he transfers to the ballet class that starts and ends a little later than Jeno and Jaemin’s.
Jeno’s a little bummed about it, but he soon finds that the pros outweigh the cons.
Since they all live so close together, their parents have them walk to and from the studio together, and this means that Jeno and Jaemin have to wait a bit for Renjun.
They don’t mind—in fact, they kind of look forward to it. They get to watch from the side window with other dancers’ siblings and parents, and Jeno thinks Renjun was made for ballet. Or perhaps, ballet was made for Renjun.
Afterwards, they get to have ice cream at the parlor next door with Donghae—to Donghae’s amusement, the flavors the three kids always pick make up Neapolitan ice cream—and Jeno and Jaemin walk Renjun home.
When they cross the street, Jeno makes sure Renjun is holding both his and Jaemin’s hands with his tiny ones.
At age 9, Jeno finds out what love is.
Donghae gets engaged, and Jeno is suddenly seeing things through a different lens. Donghae’s betrothed lights up his world, and Jeno can’t remember his brother ever being happier.
When Jeno asks his brother about love, Donghae patiently tells him that this particular kind of love starts with a crush. The crush can be on anyone—it can be on a stranger, a mere acquaintance, or even a best friend.
The last option rings in Jeno’s head, and when Donghae further explains that wanting to spend the rest of one’s life with their crush is one of the many definitions of love, Jeno’s mind lands on Renjun.
Donghae laughs as his little brother sinks into deep thought, and he ruffles Jeno’s hair as his eyebrows furrow in concentration.
In class, Jaemin tries to ask him about crushes, and Jeno blushes bright red. He wonders in panic about how his best friend could have possibly known about how he’s been thinking of Renjun recently.
He shakes his head frantically in response, avoiding Jaemin’s eyes and shoving his lunch into his mouth to waive further conversation.
At age 14, Jeno thinks he’s in love.
Their dance studio holds recitals yearly, and this time Jeno, Jaemin, and Renjun get to be part of the older batch of performers.
Through hours of practice and striving for perfection, Jeno and Jaemin get selected for a performance together—just the two of them—and it’s something unheard of at their studio which is actually for the gifted.
They kill it on stage, and when they get off, Renjun’s waiting with two large bouquets that his tiny hands can barely carry.
Jeno is enchanted when Renjun gives them a gigantic smile, and he feels his face mold into a big grin of its own automatically.
Renjun races forward and thrusts the flowers into their hands, launching himself into their arms and laughing when Jeno and Jaemin drop everything to carry him properly.
Renjun presses sweet kisses to each of their cheeks, and Jeno’s heart takes off and runs.
The adrenaline is getting to him—Jeno feels like sprinting up the building’s stairs to the roof and yelling at the top of his lungs. He doesn’t know what it means to feel this way, but he’s had a suspicion for a while.
His heart’s been trying to tell him something, and Jeno thinks it’s time to listen.
At age 15, Jeno knows he’s in love.
This year, Renjun gets selected for a prestigious solo performance near the finale of the show.
When Jeno and Jaemin finish their own joint performance—again—they stand in the curtains with Renjun’s proud instructor who had noticed his potential from the first day and cultivated his talent like her life depended on it.
Renjun’s wearing a flowy, glimmering costume that makes him look like part of the night sky. He glows as he takes his starting position in the darkness, and his grace is impossibly breathtaking.
Jeno finds himself enamored for the first time of many, and he can’t look away.
Renjun dances like an entity of another world, and Jeno wonders if the universe allowed one of its stars to join them on Earth the day Renjun came to exist.
Renjun’s radiance is fantastically stunning, and Jeno has never seen anything so beautiful in his life.
He wants desperately for the radiant boy illuminating the dim stage, twirling endlessly and perfectly.
If Renjun were willing to accept his heart, Jeno would give it to him entirely.
At age 16, Jeno tells Jaemin a secret that Renjun can’t know about, and his hands are shaking uncontrollably as he tells his best friend what he’s been keeping in his heart for a year.
“I’m in love with him,” Jeno begins.
“I want to hold his hand, kiss him, go on dates…“ Jeno confesses.
“I hope he loves me back,” Jeno whispers.
Jaemin encourages him, and all of Jeno’s wishes come true.
Renjun saying, “Yes,” is the best thing Jeno’s ever heard, and the back of his mind recalls his brother’s definition of love that he learned years ago.
He hopes he’ll get to hear Renjun say, “Yes,” again.
At age 17, Jeno takes the love of his life to prom.
Jeno’s bouncing off the walls the second he wakes up, and the day passes by in a blur despite how long it had felt as he waited for night to fall.
He fusses over how he looks for hours, wondering if his hair really does look good pushed back or if Renjun had just been quoting a movie when he’d told him so.
Jaemin rolls his eyes at Jeno countless times, but his best friend comes through each time he asks: “You’ll blow him away.”
When they get to Renjun’s house, Jeno watches as the love of his life descends the staircase toward him like a star slowly falling to Earth. He steps forward and sweeps Renjun off his feet when he gets to the last step, and Renjun giggles sweetly into their kiss as he holds him close.
“How do I look?” Renjun asks when they pull apart, his eyes twinkling bashfully.
“Beautiful,” Jeno breathes out immediately, completely smitten.
Renjun’s had his heart since they were 15, and Jeno knows now that he’s never getting it back.
“Like an angel,” Jaemin quips playfully from the side, and he pretends to stagger back when Renjun sputters and lands a smack on his arm with his precious little hand.
Jeno watches adoringly, reaching out soon after to take his beloved’s hand and spare his best friend’s arm.
The night is one of the best of his life, and Jeno’s never forgetting how Renjun let him kiss him under the archway of shimmering fairy lights, how they swayed to the faint music together in the venue’s rose garden, how Renjun told him he loved him for the first time.
At age 18, Jeno watches the love of his life deliver the valedictorian speech to hundreds of classmates, parents, and faculty, and he couldn’t be prouder.
Renjun and Jaemin, having been honored for their outstanding academics, are making their way off of the stage when the ceremony is finally done, and Jeno races over, not caring that his tassels are flying everywhere.
He brings them both in for a big bear hug filled with laughter, and he suddenly finds himself lifted into the air.
He screeches as Donghae launches him upwards, and when he touches back down he’s guffawing so loud with Renjun and Jaemin that he might just lose a lung.
The professional photographer hired for their graduation comes over to take their pictures, and the trio hold hands and their diplomas proudly as they beam at the camera. This milestone in their life is immortalized, and Jeno knows that things can only go up from here.
At age 19, Jeno gets his heart broken when he and Renjun have a huge fight that ends in tears and a separation.
The breakup is fueled by an inevitable avalanche of things that have accumulated over the years, and Jeno hates himself for being the reason why Renjun runs away from him bawling.
Jaemin doesn’t pick a side, and Jeno is thankful that he’s there for both him and Renjun despite the position they’ve put him in.
Jeno confesses to his best friend that he’s totally, completely, and absolutely miserable without Renjun, that his chest feels like it’s been stabbed with a knife that keeps being twisted deeper and deeper with every day he spends apart from Renjun. Somehow, Jaemin looks at him in a way that says he understands—but how could he?
The next day, Jaemin invites him over to take his mind off of things, but instead Jeno finds himself trapped in a room with the boy that holds his fragile, vulnerable heart in his small hands and doesn’t even know it.
Renjun, unsure and hurting, just looks at him with teary eyes, conveying so much without a word, and Jeno swears up to the stars in heaven that he’ll make sure Renjun never cries again if it means he’ll have another chance with the love of his life.
He does get another chance, and he makes a promise of unconditional and eternal love to Renjun that he will never break.
This night is another of the best in his life because Renjun makes the same promise to him—sealed with a kiss that becomes a make out session on their best friend’s bed.
Jaemin comes back at some point, and he congratulates them by ushering them over to Jeno’s own house with an exasperated smile.
Jeno leads Renjun up to his bedroom and steals as many kisses as the other boy allows on the way.
He spends the night with Renjun in his arms, and Jeno wonders if the love of his life knows that his heart, which Renjun’s head lies above, beats only for him.
At age 23, Jeno tells Jaemin another secret that Renjun can’t know about, and he’s never been more sure of anything in his life.
“I want to marry him,” Jeno begins.
“I want to spend the rest of my life with him,” Jeno confesses.
“I hope he says yes,” Jeno whispers.
Jaemin encourages him, and Jeno enlists the help of his best friend in preparing for the most crucial night of his life.
At age 24, Jeno proposes to the love of his life.
Jeno’s nerves are going haywire, and he can’t stop fumbling with the ring that feels heavier than anything he’s ever carried in his life. He tirelessly inspects it, examining the beautiful engraving over and over every minute.
I loved you at five and I’ll love you at forever.
Nothing had ever resonated with Jeno more than when Jaemin had told him to choose those words for the ring.
Finally, Jeno gets to hear what he’s been waiting years for—Renjun says, “Yes,” to him again, and it’s another of the best nights of his life.
There’s another on its way, and Jeno waits patiently because for Renjun he would wait forever.
At age 25, Jeno marries the love of his life.
Watching Renjun walk down the aisle to him is like having his dreams become reality, and Jeno almost fails at holding back his tears when Jaemin rubs his back comfortingly.
Jeno reaches out for Renjun when he gets close enough, and he can’t remember his vows when his ethereal soon-to-be husband meets his eyes.
As he slides the silver band onto Renjun’s finger, his heart nearly beats out of his chest as Renjun makes him the happiest man alive.
They are pronounced husbands, and Jeno can’t hear anything besides Renjun whispering, “I love you,” right before they kiss.
The celebration of their union continues, and thousands of pictures capture their wedding night.
When they cut the cake, Jeno and Renjun are so giddy that the knife barely stays steady as they fall over one another in laughter. Their guests cheer as they feed each other a piece, and Jeno makes sure to steal a frosting-covered kiss.
During the toast, Donghae hugs Jeno tight and tells him how happy and proud he is, and Jeno can’t stop the tears that escape his eyes when he sees his older brother cry for the first time in his life.
Jaemin stands up, looks Jeno and Renjun in the eyes, and delivers a fantastic, emotional toast that leads to thunderous applause. Beside him, Renjun presses his face into Jeno’s shoulder in the aftermath of Jaemin’s words, and Jeno knows his husband’s heart is swelling with emotion just like his own.
The dancing begins, and Jeno twirls his mother across the floor.
He watches fondly as his father-in-law hands his husband over to his best friend for a dance, and Jeno has never felt so surrounded by love.
Afterwards, it’s time for the newlyweds’ dance, and Jeno takes Renjun’s hand in his before leading him to the center.
The room quiets and the lights dim, and suddenly it’s just Jeno and Renjun.
They perform a dance they created together, chasing the darkness with the light that follows them across the floor.
Jeno presses his forehead to his husband’s afterwards, closing his eyes as they sway from side to side so he can immerse himself in the best night of his life.
Jeno’s never forgetting how Renjun let him kiss him with their friends and family as their witnesses, how they danced in each other’s arms, how Renjun told him he loved him as he married him.
At age 27, Jeno and Renjun welcome little Jisung into their lives.
Jisung is terribly shy at first, but when he opens up to them, Jeno can’t help but think his Chinese nickname is quite fitting—Jisung is their little star.
Jaemin is named Jisung’s godfather, and he’d agreed to his best friends’ proposal without hesitation.
Jisung is the most adorable and lovable little guy, and Jeno and Renjun are delighted when he says he wants to be a dancer like them. They sign him up for classes at the studio downtown, and Jisung is adamant that he takes Jaemin’s class.
When Jeno and Renjun pick Jisung up, they invite Jaemin to get ice cream with them, and the three spend the next hour diligently listening to Jisung’s enthusiastic recap of his day.
Jeno and Renjun watch adoringly as Jisung, ever a sweetheart, tries to share his special triple scoop sundae with his godfather who accepts with a laugh.
Jisung comes back from school one day with a family portrait he drew in art class, and Renjun welcomes Jeno home with the biggest smile on his face as he urges their son to show off his artwork.
Jisung proudly whips out a picture of four people with dramatically staggering heights, and Jeno pretends to be affronted when Jisung points out that Uncle Jaemin is the tall one with the giraffe neck and Jeno’s the one that looks something like an Easter Island Head. Renjun is a very nicely drawn stick figure that has wings, and he holds the hand of Jisung, who resembles a smiling sunflower.
The picture gets displayed in their living room, and Jeno knows he’s going to tease Jisung about this endlessly when he gets older.
Jeno can’t wait to see his son grow up.
At age 30, Jeno fulfills his first definition of love and his promise to the love of his life.
Jeno, Renjun, and Jisung are warming up in the car after buying a birthday gift for Jaemin.
They’d gone to the art supplies store after dinner because according to Jisung, Uncle Jaemin loves art, so now there’s a nicely wrapped package of crayons and paint brushes tucked under Jisung’s arm.
Jeno doesn’t have the heart to tell his son that what Jaemin loves is him and that his godfather probably won’t have much use for the crayons and brushes that Jisung had so painstakingly picked out.
Beside him in the passenger seat, Renjun laughs as Jisung meaningfully buckles the package into the seat beside him, and he reaches back to pinch Jisung’s cheek fondly, eliciting a whine.
“Is everyone buckled in?” Jeno asks with a smile, looking into his rearview mirror to check on his son.
“Yes!” Jisung cheers, happily going for the high five Renjun offers him for taking such good care of himself and the present next to him.
As they make their way back home, they stop at a red light.
Jeno looks to his side and sees Renjun staring quietly out the window, his eyes glimmering beautifully like they always have. Jeno reaches over and takes his husband’s hand in his, bringing it to his lips to press a kiss to the back of it.
Renjun’s brought out of his reverie, and he looks at Jeno for a second before letting out an amused snort, a faint blush rising in his cheeks that still makes Jeno’s heart soar.
“Love you too, Jeno,” Renjun says, his voice soft because Jisung dozed off in the backseat a while ago, “and the light’s green.”
Jeno lets go of his beloved’s hand, releases the brake, and presses the accelerator.
Out of nowhere, there’s a bright light and loud honking, and Jeno knows what’s happening before it does. He throws his arm out to stop Renjun from flying forward, and he feels the impact of the oncoming light in full force.
It’s like catching lightning or being struck by a comet, and everything goes white.
In his last seconds of consciousness, Jeno hopes to meet everyone he loves again, and he wills whoever presides above to let Renjun and Jisung survive in exchange for his own life.
His soul slips away in the darkness, and hours later, his heart follows him to the sky, leaving behind his beloved son and a loyal star.
A new constellation emerges that night, a pair of stars intertwined by fate’s design and never meant to separate.
For the next three decades, the stars linger in the evening sky, shining down on the living and awaiting their final member.
When the constellation is completed at last, the stars rejoice, and the galaxy shines a little brighter.
The universe carries on, and when the sun rises, the stars are at rest.