Chapter Text
𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯
𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩
𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦
𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦
𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴
𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴
𝘐𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯
𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦
𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦
𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥
𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴
Beomgyu frowns while reading the first page of the notebook over and over again, hoping to find something in between the lines. Even if it's just a small hint, a glimpse into the thoughts of this person. Everything would do fine. Unfortunately, all the parts can't be put together to form a complete picture. What does the 'silent garden' even mean in the first place? It could be a room, a house or a place. It could also mean an empty state of mind inside of the head. Or maybe something Beomgyu hasn't thought of yet. It could have plenty of meanings just like the amount of languages all over the world. But in order to get a clue who wrote that, he needs to understand it first.
✿❀✿
It has been already 3 months now. A lot of students attended a trip to Jeju Island right before the holidays between the semesters. So did Beomgyu, and he was looking forward to it. He wanted to walk bare feet over the sandy beach while all he would see is an endless expanse of blue all around him, smelling the fresh air which isn't contaminated with exhaust gases, watching the waves crashing against the rocky shore. In his imagination, it was like heaven on earth.
But what should've been a time of healing turned out into some kind of trauma.
It was late in the evening when the blonde got an unpleasant message from home on the third day of their stay. All he wanted was to go for a walk, to be alone for a moment, to just have some time to think. And he always liked it to go for a walk when his mind was restless. The sound of the wind caressing the leaves of the trees around him and the fainted sound of waves in the distance really helped to calm him down a bit. Yet, he was lost in thoughts while walking in an unknown direction. He neither payed attention to the rocky road in front of him nor to the slope right next to it which ended into a river. Everything happened in the blink of an eye and suddenly all he could feel was how the stream pulled on every part of his body, pulling him deeper until he couldn't see the surface anymore. While fighting for his life and air to breathe, the blonde was sure he was done for. Mentally he already said goodbye to the world and apologized to the ones dear to him for leaving so early. But luckily god had another plan for him. He remembers the feeling of strong hands, pulling him out of the water. And before he passed out he could catch a small, blurry glimpse of his lifesaver. But he still can't remember his face. Just dark wet hair, broad shoulders and a deep voice in the distance.
When the blonde gained consciousness again he already was in the hospital for quite a while. The doctor told him he was fine, that he just swallowed a lot of water and that he wouldn't suffer from permanent damages. When Beomgyu asked how he was found, they said a man called an ambulance. But he wasn't to be found when they arrived. The blonde had to stay one more day and after some final check-ups, he was discharged from the hospital. It was then when a nurse gave him the notebook. She said it was with him when he was found and assumed it belongs to him. Beomgyu didn't say a word back then. He just nodded, knowing the notebook must belong to the person who saved his life. He hoped to find a nametag inside or something else to help him to find the man. Which wasn't the case. But when he took a closer look at the cover of the notebook, he could see that there was a familiar sign on it. Surprisingly, he knew exactly where it came from. It was the logo of his university. At this time he thought it was fate. That he has to find and thank him for what he did, for saving his life. Beomgyu really was grateful and even if he would never talk to him again he wants to do so at least once.
✿❀✿
The blonde releases a breath he didn't know he had been holding inside of his lungs for so long, massaging the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. The first thing he did when he woke up from a dreamless sleep was grabbing the notebook, still half-blind. While his eyes got used to the brightness of the rising sun, painting his whole room in warm colors. He started reading again. He's sitting in his bed, still in his light pink pajama he likes the most. He could have washed up first and get changed but he always thinks a good amount of sleep clears his mind. Until now that didn't help a lot to gain more knowledge about the poem. But it's worth a try he thought.
𝘙𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 !
Beomgyu glances down at his phone next to him on the bedsheet. A picture of him and Soobin, posing with a victory sign on the screen appears. Lately, he always wakes up before his alarm goes off. Maybe because the sun rises so early these days, floating his apartment with light through the - not so small - window in his bedroom. He turns it off before rolling from the bed. A silent yawn escapes while he walks bare feet into the living room where Toto immediately starts to chirp as he entered. The green exotic bird is already wide awake, flapping his wings in excitement.
"Good morning buddy, slept well?", the blonde smiles, sticking a finger through the bars of the aviary to carefully caress his belly. His feathers feel soft on his skin. Since the bird became a part of his family, he couldn't part from him anymore. Therefore he was very happy that his parents allowed him to take the parrot with him when he moved out. Thanks to it, he doesn't feel alone at all in this huge apartment.
Beomgyu spends most of the time in the morning either playing with Toto or deciding what to wear.
Standing in front of his huge closet, he's looking at the wide selection of fabrics, pulls clothes out, tries them on, just to throw them onto the bed behind him. And repeated this progress until he's satisfied with how he looks. The final outfit consists of a white sweater with a blue stripe on the collar and his favorite black jeans. The blonde likes to look neat, it makes him feel comfortable. He puts on some white sneakers before leaving his apartment, his brown leather bag pressed onto his body as he walks down the stairwell. Luckily the university is nearby, so he can just walk to it. Taking in the morning sun and still clear, fresh air on his way while a light breeze gently cradles his blonde hair which caresses his dark brown eyes underneath his bangs. With those long, thin legs and his tiny waist, he nearly looks like a model on the catwalk. And he's well aware of it.
The semester holidays were over. The blonde visited the university even while they were on break to study, so the road he has to take is still familiar to him. But what's more important is that the other students are coming back from their vacation today. so he finally can properly start to search for the owner of the mysterious notebook. The evening before, he literally spammed his best friend he signed up with for the same university on Kakaotalk, remembering him about the importance of his 'mission'.
From afar the blonde already could see a tall figure, with even longer legs then himself at the front gates of the campus waiting for him. Eyes fused with the display of his phone, not paying attention to his surroundings. And he wouldn't be Choi Beomgyu if he wouldn't take advantage of this. Slowly he sneaks up to the brown-haired boy, stops right behind him and has to stand on his toes in order to puff right into the taller's ear. Soobin jumps out of his skin, flailing his arms around as if he got stung by a bee and almost drops his phone. Hand on his chest he turns around, eyes wide with an expression as if he had just seen a ghost.
"Ya! Are you crazy?", the taller pouts, frowning in frustration because he just embarrassed himself in front of the other students who passed by.
The blonde couldn't help but let out an high pitched laughter at that exaggerated reaction. Soobin really never fails to put on a good show and that's why Beomgyu loves it to tease him like that.
"I'm sorry but I couldn't resist. You literally invited me to do that. You should pay more attention to your surroundings, Soobinnie." The blonde says, wiping a tear from the corner of his eyes.
"Glad I could entertain you."
"Ahh, c'mon don't be like that. It was just a joke, okay?" Beomgyu replies. He links his arm with Soobins to drag him along the campus. To the displeasure of the brunette, he really can't be angry with the blonde for long. Sometimes he's just kinda annoyed with himself because Beomgyu is well aware of it. Said boy, has already taken the notebook out of his bag and leafs through it again. Since that day he always has it with him, even when they just met to hang out. He must have memorized every single letter by now but still keeps reading it every day. The boy kind of grew an obsession with the book and Soobin isn't quite sure if he likes that. But since it means a lot to the blonde to find his unknown savior, he decided to help him out as much as he can. Soobin himself isn't sure if they are able to find him. If he doesn't want to be found the chances are pretty low.
"So what's your plan for today? Any suggestions where we should start?"
"Well...", the blonde hums, "Since they sell those notebooks at our store we should start there. Even if it isn't very promising we could ask the employee if someone bought a notebook like this recently."
"I don't think they will remember every student who got one of those. And even if they do, I guess a lot of students already bought one."
Beomgyu rolled his eyes at the taller one. "Do you have a better idea then?"
As he expected the brown-haired boy didn't say anything else. Without a word, Beomgyu let go of Soobins arm and walks past him. He knows that his friend is right. But what other clue does he have? He had to start somewhere. Otherwise, he will never find him. Soobin follows right behind, even if he thinks it doesn't lead to anything. And the blonde appreciates it. He knows he always can count on the taller one regardless of how weird his ideas are. Like back then when Beomgyu was already twelve years old and still believed he could design a teleporting car. Soobin never said it was a dumb idea or that it's impossible. Instead, he supported him, told him if there was one person in the world who could pull that off, it would be him. Nowadays Beomgyu knows it's impossible. But he still thinks it would be cool. Meanwhile, the other boy walks right beside him again just like always, with a hint of a smile on his face.
When they reached the store, an oppressive feeling formed inside the blonde's stomach after they walked in, door closes automatically behind them. He looked around the store and Beomgyu feels his body tense when he makes eye contact with the cashier who greets the two boys with a smile and a small nod. He looks curious and Beomgyu can't blame him since they just stayed there for a while, doing nothing except scanning the shelves next to them. The smaller can feel Soobin's looking at him in confusion, waiting for him to take action. But instead, the blonde grabbed onto one of the sleeves of the taller boys sweatshirt and pulls him in one of the small corridors behind the shelves.
"What are you doing?"
"It's kinda weird...", the blonde murmurs, not looking into the taller one's eyes, instead scanning the tiles under their feet.
"What? What do you mean 'it's weird'?"
"How do I ask him? 'Hey, can you tell me the names of the students who recently bought this notebook? ' I would sound like a god damn stalker or something."
"Wait.. are you for real? This isn't the right time to throw your confidence overboard, Beomgyu. Just ask him!"
Soobin was right. Normally he just would've asked him but for some unknown reason, he feels nervous about it. It's not like he cares what the cashier thinks about him at all. Maybe it's because all of his plans he made over the past months in order to find his lifesaver are put into action now. After chewing on his lower lip for a good minute he let out a deep breath. There is no reason for his body to react like this at all. So he decided to just ignore it for now. As if he would let himself get overwhelmed by something like this. He's way too stubborn for that. But before he could even move from behind the shelves, a boy entered the store. The blonde hesitates again, he really didn't want to ask the employee about the notebooks in front of another student. That would be too much. He didn't want rumors about him to circulate that he's a creep. Sure, he wouldn't care much. But it didn't have to be like that if he could prevent it.
The boy quickly passed by, wearing an oversized black hoodie which makes it hard to even get a proper look of his face, but some light brown bangs can be seen under the hood. The blonde notices that he's constantly pulling at his way too long sleeves for some reason while his eyes seem to wander aimlessly through the store. Fashionwise, he literally was the exact opposite of Beomgyu. A hoodie combined with also oversized sweatpants and worn-out sneakers. He would never wear something like that in public. Yet, he doesn't judge people who do so. Clothes should make you feel comfortable after all. He just had to wait until the boy leaves the store, which gave him the time to think about his fashion in the first place while he did so. After some minutes it seemed like he had decided what to get as he took some items off the shelf in front of the counter, sleeves still pulled over his palms.
But when Beomgyu noticed what kind of notebooks the boy had in his hands, he had to look twice before his jaw dropped.
The boy was just about to buy two of the same notebooks like the one his unknown lifesaver had lost.
Actually the blonde expected the worst-case-scenario. That the employee wouldn't be able to help him at all and that he has to think it all over again. It's out of question that he's smart and ambitious, but even Sherlock Holmes would struggle with this lack of information. Excited he grabs onto Soobins arm, shakes him until the taller one has to stop him because he started to feel dizzy, placing both of his giant hands on the blonde's shoulders to stable himself because he was afraid he would lose his balance if the smaller keeps fidgeting around like that. Beomgyu ignored the sudden weight on his thin shoulders. He was way to focused on the boy who went to the counter to pay for his items, staring at him as if he was one of the seven wonders of the world. Speaking of being a creep: but he couldn't care less right now.
"Hey Minho, you're buying those again? You really take studying serious lately." The cashier smiles kinda proudly. He seems to know the boy - Minho - quite well when he talks to him so casually.
"Nah, my old man forces me. Can't do anything about it." The boy shrugs, puts the money on the counter and makes a hand gesture to signal that the employee can keep the change as he was about to hand it over to him. They just nodded at each other before the boy turns around to leave the store. It was hard to get a glimpse of his face because of the oversized hoodie he was wearing, but enough for Beomgyu to recognize him. He knew he had heard the name 'Minho' before somewhere and suddenly it hit him like a truck. He never paid him any attention before but he remembers seeing him in one of his lectures from time to time since he got scolded for wearing his hood more than once.
Beomgyu knows this doesn't mean he already found the person he's looking for. But it's a possibility and something he can work with.
"Come.", the blonde says, grabbing Soobins wrist and without even paying attention to the cashier anymore they leave. After Beomgyu dragged the taller one further away from the store he finally stopped, letting go of his friend's wrist again and turns around to face him. Soobin opened his mouth to say something but he stopped himself, knowing the blonde's facial expression means that he shouldn't do so. The fact that Beomgyu no longer cared to ask the cashier about the notebooks after he observed the whole situation just now means that he already made up his mind anyway.
"Listen, I know what you want to say and you're right. But it's at least possible that he's the one I'm looking for, right? And I know him. Well.. we share at least one course together."
Soobin shrugs.
"We got no other clue anyway. But didn't you say that your 'hero' had dark hair? From what I've seen the boy's hair wasn't dark at all."
" Mhm...", the blonde hums, thinking hard while playing with a streak of his hair, twisting it around his index finger.
"I mean...", he paused for a second.
"It's possible that he dyed his hair, right? Also, it was dark back then. Maybe I mistook it for dark hair because the lighting was bad and my vision wasn't clear anyway."
He looks up with an expectant smile on his face, forming his lips into the shape of a crescent.
Soobin can see the excitement in the blonde's eyes, even if he tries to somewhat hide it at least. And he's still willing to help his best friend out. He just didn't want him to be disappointed when it turns out that Minho isn't the one he's looking for. But for now he decides to play along with the ghost hunt. Honestly, since the accident Beomgyu quite changed a bit. He's more motivated and has found something that keeps him going. Seeing him excited like that for the first time after years is something Soobin is thankful for. It's not like he's an entirely different person or something like that. He always liked to play around and he didn't easily let himself down even when he had a hard time. Yet, the excitement he can see is different from before.
He's grateful that Beomgyu isn't living in fear now because of the accident and the trauma he got from it. Other people would break on something like a near-death experience. And Soobin knows that Beomgyu also struggles with it. When he looks back over the past few months, he hasn't gone swimming since then. Not even once even though it was really hot during the summer. Maybe his obsession with finding the person who saved his life is just his way of dealing with what happened.
Soobin smiles softly, putting a hand on top of the blonde's shoulder. He definitely got thinner, the taller thinks to himself before looking up again.
"I got your back, not that I need to tell you that. Guess you already have something in your mind? "
"Of course", he says, raising an eyebrow at Soobin as if it was something so obvious that it didn't even need to be ask for.
"We have the same lecture tomorrow if I'm not mistaken. Maybe I can ask him to lend me some of his notes to see if the handwriting is similar."
Just as Soobin expected Beomgyu already came up with a plan. He generally was really smart, always has perfect grades, rarely struggles while studying and is fast in solving problems. The blonde also helped Soobin sometimes even though they enrolled for totally different fields at the university.
"Sounds like a plan to me. Let me know if you need any help", he said, taking a glance at his phone to check the time after he struggled for a moment to take it out of the pocket of his blue denim jacket. Both of them came earlier today because Beomgyu insisted to do so. But they spent quite some time in the store before.
- [ 07:55 AM ] -
"We really should get moving for now. Otherwise, we miss our lectures. Not that it would be a big deal for you, but I'm different.", the taller pouts without really noticing it. He struggles a bit lately even though he studied a lot during the holidays and that kinda bothers him if he has to be honest.
Beomgyu takes notice of the sudden change of mood immediately, playfully hits Soobin's upper arm to cheer him up. After all these years of friendship, he can't hide his emotions from the blonde even if he tries to do so. He knows him way too well.
"Ya! You will be fine. You can't fail when I help you study. Pinky promise. I'm better than every tutor here. Those old geezers use learning methods that date back to the Middle Age just like themselves."
Soobin just laughs at that statement, being back to his normal self again as it seemed. The blonde smiles at him in return, links his arms with Soobins just to drag him along again for the third time today.
✿❀✿
The day passed by quietly after that. The two boys attended their lectures as usual, which Beomgyu just paid half of his attention to. He rather thought about a way to get Minho's attention. Unfortunately, he doesn't know anything about the 'hoodie boy'. He never spoke to him after all. If it turns out that Minho's handwriting is similar to the one in his notebook, he has to approach him no matter what. Since it seems like his secret lifesaver doesn't want to be found, for whatever reason, he can't just ask him about it. The blonde needs to get more information first. Otherwise, he probably scares him off or he would just deny it.
Soobin headed home first that day since Beomgyu had to stay longer because of a meeting with the student council. At first, he just joined with the thought of its nice look on his certificate later on. But he found himself enjoying the work there after a while. The other members are quite nice too. Even if he thought they are a bunch of snobs at first. But it turned out that they're actually a nice company. Especially the two he shares the head position with: Hwang Yeji and Wen Junhui.
The meeting was about an exhibition to attract new potential students and the student council was in charge of the planning just like every year. While Yeji took it a bit more seriously, Junhui liked to joke around from time to time, but not in a bad way. He has a good sense of lightening the mood if the discussions get too tense. Beomgyu was good at organizing schedules and stuff like this. So the three of them were a good match overall.
When Beomgyu left the campus it was already past six in the evening. All he wanted to do now was going home, take a shower and maybe eat something - or not - before going to bed. When he reached his apartment house, he could see a black limousine parking right in front of it, which stopped him from going any further for a moment. A young black-haired man, dressed in a fine suit got out of the expensive car and walked straight into the building without looking back. Who would have thought that some rich kid would live here too, the blonde thinks to himself as he keeps going again. It's not like Beomgyu's family is poor or something like that. He just can't stand it when people brag about their wealth. And the young man just now seemed quite arrogant to him.
When he entered his apartment he got welcomed by a loud chirping. After taking off his shoes, the blonde waddles happily into the living room, stopping right in front of the big aviary.
"I'm back Toto! You hungry buddy? "
The exotic bird flaps his green wings in excitement as Beomgyu fills his bowl, immediately starts picking up some seeds.
"Ya! Don't wolf it down like that. Where are your manners?"
Beomgyu watches him for a while before he decides to go take a shower and get himself something to eat afterward.
He pulled on his favorite pajama and couldn't wait to snuggle into his bed, curling up in the soft fabric of his blanket. He brought the notebook with him. But somehow he was more tired than he noticed, so he put it on the nightstand next to him. Tomorrow he would concentrate on finding out more about Minho, he thought to himself. But for now, he would call it a day. Eyelids heavy, he only managed to set his alarm for the next day and as soon as the sun reaches the horizon, his room was bathed in warm light while Beomgyu only could feel himself slowly drifting away before he completely fell asleep.