Chapter Text
monday, 7:15 am
~ 🍦 ~
i don't remember the first time i met the boy with stars in his voice, and that's pretty weird, right? aren't you supposed to keep in mind the first meeting with the person who turned your life upside down? but then, does the universe remember seeing its first star being born? last night in my sleep i asked him. he just shrugged and lovingly stared at all the shimmering galaxies spread on his robe. and i figured it wasn't that important, so i brushed this worry off my shoulders and continued to listen to my star humming while he scribbled into his notebook.
the pale winter-sun had tangled itself in his blonde-dyed hair, having dragged itself out from behind the clouds only for this occasion. his nose is buried in the usual huge pastel-pink scarf, looped around his shoulders over a black coat. sitting on the uncomfortable bench, his form is hunched over to protect himself from the cold, but his reddened hand moves swiftly over the paper.
"good morning, byeol." i say my usual line, keeping my equally usual distance of two meters, standing right under the bus-sign. his humming doesn't stop, only raises its pitch as he looks at me, smiling warmly. then he returnes his focus to his notes, humming dropping back to its original tone.
scientists discovered stellar sound waves, that stars make noise, did you know that? like earthquakes, these star-quakes are vibrations which can be recorded. the universe is woven through with billions of singing stars and harmonizing galaxies. even though when you're floating in space you're not hearing anything at all.
he is like that. my hearing, my whole being is tuned to his melodies, even though nobody else seems to hear them. just like right now. there are other students waiting at this bus-stop, all shivering, stomping their feet, looking still half-asleep or happily chatting, but nobody seems to have noticed that a star sits right in their midst, doing something so mundane like last-minute homework.
i might have to mention that we'd never actually talked to each other. i don't know his name and he never asked why i call him star. i've never heard him utter a single word. we are both just there, a humming star and its listener, and it was good, it was enough.
but it's this morning, when the bus arrives and everyone eagerly rushes inside and star gets nudged by a couple of impatient shoulders, causing him to puff out his cheeks in slight annoyance, that i decide that it isn't enough anymore.
~ ⭐ ~
i remember clearly when i first met the boy who makes me think of my favourite ice cream, because every morning i meet him anew. i never get tired of our endless first meetings. in fact they're the reason why i became a morning person in the first place. guess nothing is as effective against sleepiness than a fast beating heart.
i notice him long before he opens his mouth. his hands are resting in the pocket of his oversized grey hoodie, which means he is relaxed. when he's nervous he crosses his arms over his chest and nibbles at his lips. yesterday he was nervous and i would've loved to know why, but of course i didn't ask.
i've never seen him wearing a jacket or a coat, by the way, but he doesn't seem to be cold.
"good morning, byeol." he finally says and gives me an excuse to look up at him. mint-green hair pokes out from under the black beanie with a big bobble at the end. the melody in my head changes when our eyes meet. quickly i drop my gaze back to the hated homework before it gets too overwhelming.
if i'm a star, then i want to pull you into my orbit.
~ 🍦 ~
i look for him inside the bus, but like star i'm more on the shorter spectrum concerning body-height, and i cannot get up on my toes because the damn vehicle shakes too much. it's maddening to have him so close, to have his hum tugging in my chest, but being unable to see him.
the sudden desperation surprises me, mingling itself with a thread of fear. as if by deciding that enough is no longer enough, a whole galaxy erupted inside me, unable to be contained by mere skin and bones.
dear universe, how do you find your way through ngc 2440?
but i'm not sleeping so he doesn't answer.
when we get off the bus i see star briefly, because the sun gently caresses his hair to wish him a good day. i wish i could do the same. instead send a smile to the back of his shoulders.
that's the last i see of him that day. we get swirled into different directions of the huge area that is the campus of our university.
"higher physics" with an instant coffee-cup next to me.
"methods of modern astrophysics", trying to measure my own new galaxy through formulas on the laptop.
lunch-break at the usual table, stealing food off my friends' plates.
falling through numbers and symbols and diagrams.
another cup of coffee and my friends accepting that there's no sensible conversation to be had with me today.