Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

tentative orange

it was a perfect day. it always was. it was bright and warm like how it always starts. 

it was summer and sungyeol was lazing on the beach with his friends, out to enjoy his vacation to the fullest before university started again. 

sand fights, beach volleyball and attempts at surfing during the day. pool parties, bar hopping and unrestrained clubbing to pass the night.

it was at one of those clubs that sungyeol first saw him.

he was young, though not much younger than sungyeol, and clearly there for the same reasons as sungyeol. 

he was also handsome. very handsome, with dark hair and piercing eyes, cheeks without a single blemish and lips in a perfect bow. 

myungsoo was his name, as sungyeol was quick to uncover. 

and myungsoo was the name that was falling from sungyeol’s lips that night amidst the heat and the silky bed sheets.

touching him was like realizing all you ever wanted was right there in front of you

-

burning red

they thought it would be over as soon as it started. just a fleeting encounter, a nice memory to carry with them back to reality.

but what started as a summer fling soon turned into more. from strangers to friends to lovers, it was fast and consuming.

if you asked their friends they would’ve laughed and said blink and you’d have missed it. it was outrageous but indisputable.

myungsoo never thought it was possible to be so fond of someone, so quickly. myungsoo loved sungyeol’s cheeky grins when he was up to no good, his soft smiles as he danced around the room to a melody only he could hear in his head and his tiny smirks when he was satisfied with something. and most of all myungsoo loved sungyeol’s wide, carefree smile that showed off his gums, that paired with his large deer eyes, made him look so innocent when he was anything but. 

for sungyeol it was as if he met his true love from a previous lifetime. the way myungsoo stared at him when the other thought sungyeol wasn’t looking. the way myungsoo’s sweet words and warm embraces never failed to bring sungyeol up when he was feeling down. the way myungsoo’s eyes sparkled and his dimples came out as he spoke about the things he loved; photography, acting and cats, to name a few. 

everything came down to only one thing for both boys. that thing was love. a sort of blazing, passionate love that lifted them up to the highest levels of heaven.

although it came crashing into their lives, their feelings were sincere. sungyeol and myungsoo loved each other wholeheartedly, both ingrained into the other as if they had known each other their entire lives.

memorizing him was as easy as knowing all the words to your old favorite song

-

inky blue

then winter came and brought with it destructive storms and the biting cold. 

with the same speed that sungyeol and myungsoo’s love had grown, it perished. 

suddenly it wasn't all sweet and dreamy. the perfect picture shattered, only to leave the broken pieces of two hearts on the hard floor. 

myungsoo stopped following sungyeol around like a puppy. he stopped clinging to sungyeol every chance he got. 

sungyeol stopped trying to make myungsoo laugh with his silly antics. he stopped coming around to make sure myungsoo ate. 

instead their encounters burned in a way that caused more pain than pleasure. fights full of harsh shouts, hurtful words and anguished tears replaced the previously idyllic connection they had.

the norm became thunderstorms every night, leaving sungyeol to toss and turn restlessly until he fell into a fitful sleep while myungsoo succumbed to unconsciousness on top of a soaked pillow.

fighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there's no right answer

-

lonely grey 

it was calm after the storms passed by. it was calm but it was dark and grey. it was despondent and empty.

their break up was dramatic and abrupt, not unlike the way sungyeol and myungsoo had first gotten together.

people around them could barely believe their eyes. the couple, who had seemed so wonderfully matched, were now  back to being strangers. 

sungyeol went back to his old life, chose to forget myungsoo. myungsoo pretended everything had just been a dream and now he had woken up.

but it’s impossible to just erase such a profound period of their lives, no matter how short it was. the stories, the adventures. the laughs and the tears. the love they had fervently shared. 

around every corner, behind every door, through his lenses no matter where he looked, myungsoo saw shadows of the beautiful man he loves.

in the dark of the night, or perhaps the early hours of dawn, sungyeol could feel the ghost of soft fingers and whispers along his skin.

no matter what they did, they could not forget.

regretting him was like wishing you never found out that love could be that strong

Chapter Text

“No.” Sungyeol replies flatly, expression unamused.

“Yeol, come on. It’ll be fun, I promise!” Sungyeol’s friend and roommate responds.

“Blind dates are never fun, Woohyun.” Sungyeol scoffs back.

Woohyun throws his hands up and sighs dramatically as he falls onto the couch beside Sungyeol.

“Just trust me this one time. Just this once! I swear on my life it will be worth your while!” Woohyun grabs onto Sungyeol’s arm and pulls his best puppy face, even though Sungyeol has long since become immune to it.

“If you don’t go, you will regret it like you regret breaking up with that--”

“Okay, okay!” Sungyeol hurriedly cuts Woohyun off before he can finish his sentence. “Stop right there Woohyun. I’ll go, now will you get off me already.”

Woohyun is up in a flash, grinning winningly. “I’ll tell you the meeting details later but just remember, he’s tall, broody-looking and most likely dressed in all black.”

-

“Hyung, seriously?” Myungsoo whines after hearing Sunggyu’s proposal to send him on a blind date.

“Yes seriously Soo. He’s Woohyun’s best friend slash roommate, so I can assure you he’s not a creep. Anyways, I’ve met him a few times before and he is totally the perfect match for you.” Sunggyu answers earnestly.

Myungsoo takes in Sunggyu’s resolute countenance and huffs in surrender. “Alright if you say so, Gyu-hyung.”

“I do say so!” Sunggyu replies. “You haven’t dated since you left university. This can’t go on.”

Myungsoo hums as his mind flies back to the wild times of university, mood sinking immediately.

Sunggyu glances at Myungsoo in concern. “What happened back then? Didn’t you have someone you really liked?”

Bright smiles and pearly laughter fills Myungsoo’s mind.

“Yeah, there was.”

-

You know the open courtyard in the middle of the shopping centre? There’s this small garden in the corner and a turtle statue hidden behind it. That’s the meeting place. Just stand beside the turtle.

The meeting place is quite random and somewhat out of the way. There’s a square garden filled with greenery and a stone turtle sitting behind it on the pavement. Sungyeol stands by the turtle as instructed, shifting awkwardly as he watches people walk past on the other side of the garden.

Sungyeol examines the texture of the leaves hanging near his face as he waits for the mystery person to turn up. He’s in the middle of figuring out whether the tree was actually real when a surprised gasp grabs his attention. Sungyeol turns his head and is met with a handsome man.

Tall, broody-looking and dressed in all black.

A perfect description for Kim Myungsoo.

Sungyeol laughs in disbelief. Out of all the people Woohyun could've set him up with, it was Myungsoo.

Myungsoo's face breaks into a smile naturally in response to Sungyeol's laugh. Even after all these years, Myungsoo was still in love with Sungyeol's beautiful gummy smile.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Myungsoo says, the only thing that comes to mind after the surprise of seeing Sungyeol again.

Sungyeol chuckles. “Right back at you.”

There’s silence after that; a comfortable silence filled with all sorts of words that want to be said.

But there’s one line that is at the tips of both Myungsoo and Sungyeol’s tongues.

I miss you.