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“Seungminnie, wake up”
The heat that Seungmin feels on his cheek is the first thing that Seungmin notices. He reaches for his glasses that he had laid down next to his pillow before sleeping but he finds neither his rounded frames nor the pillow itself. In fact, he is not even on a bed but rather a mound of sand.
Scrambling to a sitting position he takes in the desert landscape surrounding him, fearing that making a sound will attract unwanted attention. But as he looks closer, into the horizon there is nothing besides the miles of sand dunes in sight. He quickly gets to his feet, not wanting the sand to fill into his shoes, but he realizes that he is still wearing his pajamas, barefoot and all.
“Good, you’re awake” a familiar voice calls out from the side, causing Seungmin to whip his neck around, “now you can draw me a sheep, Seungminnie”.
“Hyunjin where are we?”
“That is not important,” the voice answers. Taking short glances, he is most definitely Hyunjin, or at least a past version of him. His long hair is golden as it was throughout the second half of the last year and his face and voice are instantly recognizable, “if you please Seungminnie, draw me a sheep”.
“What the heck is going on?”
“Draw me a sheep, Seungminnie,” he persists, tone unchanging and unphased by Seungmin’s steadily infuriating reaction.
In times of mysterious confusion, Seungmin is prone to question everything until it start making sense to him. Normally he might want to throw hands with whoever is being this difficult, but not when said someone is clearly his friend Hyunjin, standing in a colorful coat over a loose white outfit belted at the waist with a golden sash- wait no that’s what Seungmin wore on DeKiRa. Now this is weird.
“Why are you wearing that?” he bickers, “you’re gonna start sweating Hyunjin”.
“I am not Hyunjin,” the man who looks and sounds exactly like Hyunjin says blankly. There’s an innocence to his tone that Seungmin doesn’t recognize to be the same tone that Hyunjin would use when teasing himself or Jeongin.
“So you’re a prince then?”
The prince says nothing but smiles.
“Can I call you Hyunjin? You look like my friend Hyunjin.”
The prince again says nothing.
“Fine. Prince , is this some sort of dream?” Seungmin questions, “I’m dreaming right?”
“It does not matter,” the prince replies, “please, draw me a-”
“I’ll draw you a sheep if you’ll shut up about it,” Seungmin sharpens his tone before softening it again when the prince flinches slightly, “where do I draw this thing, do you have a pencil?”
The prince lifts up the flap of his coat and retrieves an unreasonably small sized sheet of paper, slightly larger than a sticky note but significantly smaller than a sheet of A4. From the other side of his coat he retrieves a wooden pencil then holds out both items to Seungmin.
“Thanks…” Seungmin mutters, bowing slightly as he takes the two items from his hands, “what does a sheep look like, does this have to look good?”
“Any sheep will do”.
Seungmin pouts. Hyunjin’s never been this difficult to talk to before.
Lightly, Seungmin presses the tip of the pencil into the paper which rests upon his other hand’s palm. He starts with a fluff of butt then adds a rounded head and stick legs and feet. For that extra mile of detail, he shades in the circular head. It looks more like a sheep compared to any other animal.
He shows the prince his drawing.
The prince shakes his head, “sheep have ears”.
Seungmin quickly adds in two dark ovals for ears at the top of the head.
He once again shows the prince his drawing.
“Sheep have eyes too”.
Seungmin blinks at the other and takes a sharp breath. He takes a look at the blackened head of the sheep. Holding the paper again he jabs a pencil through it to achieve one eye. He takes another stab to add in the second eye.
“This sheep had its eyes poked out, it won’t be any good”.
“What happened to ‘any sheep will do’?!”
“You deliberately poked its eyes out, I wasn’t banking on that happening”
“I get it my sheep is ugly, I’ll start over.”
He flips the paper over and takes a short frustrated sigh. He begins again with the cotton butt which is a lot fluffier than the last one. He then draws in the lengths but instead of recreating his first drawing he positions the feet so they face a different direction. Instead of drawing another head he draws a slightly smaller butt to make its tail in the center of its body.
“Sheep,” Seungmin hands back the paper sternly, “we’re looking at it from behind”.
The prince takes the paper and holds out another hand for the pencil, which Seungmin obediently returns as well.
“This is perfect,” the prince exclaims. He tucks both of them into the non-existent pockets within his coat, “very cute too, thank you Seungminnie”
“So where are we exactly?”
“I know that I have made it to Earth”
“...Is that supposed to narrow it down?”
The prince smiles contently.
“How do I leave? I’d rather go home”
“Are you not already on Earth?” the prince raises his brow.
“I would like to wake up now, you’re being annoying”.
“But you get to see me, Seungminnie,” the prince says with a smirk, “stay a while”.
“Fine.”
And so Seungmin takes a seat on the sandy terrain.
“Wouldn’t you prefer to sit in the shade?” the prince says, “I know you’re not a fan of sweat Seungminnie”.
“What shade are you-”
Seungmin follows the direction of the prince’s extended finger as it points over his head. Behind where he sits is an old propeller plane, somewhat buried in the sand.
Seungmin almost questions the situation but saves himself the frustration of not getting a proper response.
The two settled under the plane’s wings. From where he sat, Seungmin watched and listened to the prince’s stories about anything and everything.
From what he collected the prince was not from Earth, but instead lived on an asteroid no bigger than a house. The prince rambled on about how he loved watching the sun set: how the day would slowly fade into night, engulfing sides of his planet in darkness. Because the asteroid he lived on was so small, the prince could watch a sunset, then walk to the other side of his planet to catch another one. The prince recounted the day that he had watched 30 sunsets in a row.
It was on one day that the prince observed the sprout of a plant that he almost dug up, fearing to be a weed. But by watering and nurturing the plant, a rose bloomed. The prince named the rose Kkami, for it was beautiful but its thorns were capable of prickling the prince if he was not careful.
That day spent with the princereminded Seungmin of the nights that he had spent with Hyunjin before falling asleep. Listening to his thoughts, complaints, and excitement about their work or what was happening within the walls of their dorms. But again, this was not the Hyunjin that was familiar to him.
The two watched the sunset upon the desert landscape. The sky was filled with stars which the prince pointed out that on one of those stars was a rose that he loved very much.
When Seungmin woke up, he was still in the desert. The prince fell asleep on the sand, and just like Hyunjin, Seungmin’s few attempts to wake him did nothing.
Seungmin realized that perhaps he could pilot the plane and leave the desert to find someplace cooler or less barren. As he jumped into the cockpit he was instantly overwhelmed with the buttons and levers on the dashboard. The prince would rub at his eyes watching him clumsily climb back out of the plane. He helped him up after Seungmin lost his footing and fell on the sand.
Seungmin resigned himself to another day of the prince’s stories.
While the prince was happy on his planet, his rose was difficult. Despite all the love that the prince had showered the rose with, Kkami would refuse to do the same, more occupied with Kkami problems. As such the prince left his rose behind in search of answers.
Seungmin learned to not question the prince’s means of travel, ignoring the physical plausibility of leaping and flying between asteroids using a flock of migrating birds.
Each new asteroid was of similar size to the prince’s but home to a different occupant.
The first asteroid that the prince visited lived a king. With broad shoulders and an Australian accent the king spoke of all that he ruled: the universe and its people. The prince, who had loved sunsets very much, asked if the king could command the sun to set for his pleasure. The king denied his request but apologized for something that he could not properly control or was particularly responsible for. The prince left before the sun set on that asteroid.
The second asteroid lived a handsome man who was very full of himself. He claimed to be the best-looking person on his planet which was debatable when the prince was there with him. Instead of paying the prince any attention, the vain man would take selfies using weird filters and then ask the prince to compliment him. The prince left before the vain man could stuff tissues in his mouth when he didn’t praise him for his looks.
The third asteroid was unkempt and cluttered with empty bottles. There lived a tippler who spent his days and nights tapping a spoon against the sides of the bottles to create sad sounding music. The prince had asked him why he played such sad songs and the tippler replied saying that it was because he was sad. The prince then asked him why he was sad, to which the tippler replied saying that it was because the music sounded so sad. The prince left when the tippler asked him for a kiss to make him happier.
The fourth asteroid found a businessman who wore plastic pants. The businessman was obsessed with numbers and counted the stars that he apparently owned. The prince left after the businessman critiqued the way he talked, saying that his words were not clear and thus not markettable enough.
The fifth asteroid stood a lamplighter whose planet was as wide as he was tall (or short for that matter). His planet spun so quickly that each day was sixty seconds long. Every minute, the lamplighter would greet the prince a ‘good evening’ as he lit the streetlamp, and then thirty seconds later he would greet him a ‘good morning’ as he extinguished the flame. While the prince enjoyed sunsets, it was distracting to see so many while trying to make casual conversation. Seungmin thought that he was the most ridiculous character but the prince pointed out how selfless and devoted he was to his work. Despite the tireless days and nights that he would spend alone, the lamplighter hoped that his streetlight would be a source of hope for someone else.
The sixth asteroid lived an affectionate geographer with a deep sounding voice. The prince learned that the geographer knew nothing of his own asteroid because that was the job of an explorer, and that the geographer’s thoughts ran only with what others had told him. The geographer recommended that the prince travel to Earth, particularly a country by the name of Australia.
“Our hyungs are certainly very odd aren’t they Seungminnie?” the prince asked after accounting all six asteroids.
“Jisung and Felix are the same age as we are,” Seungmin points out.
The prince has no reply as they both fell asleep that night.
The next day, Seungmin was still in the desert. After waking him up, the prince suggested that they find a well because he is thirsty. On their walk there, Seungmin listened to more of the prince’s stories.
Shortly after arriving on Earth a fox appeared to the prince. The fennec fox had sharp eyes and the prince wanted nothing more but to pet the creature and call it cute multiple times. To the prince’s dismay, the fox was unwilling to comply.
“I am not tamed,” the fox explained.
“What do you mean by tamed?” the prince asked, “can foxes be tamed?”
“Anyone can be tamed so long as you establish ties”.
"'Establish ties'?"
The fox nodded.
"To me, you are still nothing more than a handsome boy who is just like a hundred thousand other handsome boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world . . ."
"I am beginning to understand," said the prince.
"If you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the sandscape down yonder? I do not like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating when it gets everywhere. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the color of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The sand, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the sand . . ."
The fox gazed at the prince, for a long time.
"Please--tame me!" the fox begged.
So the prince tamed the fox.
“I see a well,” the prince ends his story. He runs like a child to the stone structure, Seungmin too tired to run after him but smiles as the prince stumbles to the top of the sand covered hill.
The prince continues his story as they take turns drinking water from the wooden bucket.
The prince and the fox became very close. While the fox was not as fond of skinship as the other, the prince made do. The two spent their time playing and learning from each other; days filled with many hugs and laughter.
And then the hour of the prince’s departure drew near.
"I shall cry," said the fox.
""I never wished you any sort of harm," said the prince, “but you wanted me to tame you . . ."
"Yes, that is so," said the fox.
"But now you are going to cry!" said the prince.
"Yes, that is so," said the fox, “but I will wait for you to leave first”.
"Then I have done you no good at all!"
"You have done me good," said the fox, "because of the color of the sand."
The prince started to cry first. The fox wept only because the prince could not contain his sadness.
“You left him…”
“I did,” admits the prince. The two sit against the well as they stare again into the night sky.
“Why would you do that, you could’ve brought him with you? He’s a desert fox isn’t he?”
“He needed to stay where he was,” the prince says rather seriously.
“He’ll miss you,” Seungmin mutters, “Jeongin misses you so much, we all do, Hyunjin-”
“I miss him,” Hyunjin replies, “and I will miss you too Seungminnie”
“Huh?”
“I must return to my Kkami,” Hyunjin says.
“Wait when are you leaving?”
“Tonight,” he replies, “once you are asleep”.
“But how- how are you getting back? Where am I gonna go?”
“You will wake up without me,” Hyunjin explains, “and you will know where to find me”.
Seungmin has no words.
“If you watch the sunset,” Hyunjin continues, “I will be watching the same one.
“And if you look into the night sky, know that I am on one of those stars”.
That night they watched the sun set one last time. To help him fall asleep Hyunjin held Seungmin from behind as he dozed off.
Because of the size of the prince's coat, Seungmin was rustled enough to wake up when Hyunjin let go. He listened carefully to the prince’s footsteps as they disappeared behind him. Seungmin rolled over and carefully watched as Hyunjin walked off into the barren desert landscape.
Seungmin followed him quietly. His tracks were fresh in the sand, even with the cool wind of the night blowing through the dunes.
At last Hyunjin came to a stop, Seungmin was not too far behind him, but suddenly they were right next to each other once more.
“You shouldn’t have come,” Hyunjin says without turning his head.
“I wanted to.”
“It will hurt if you watch me go.”
“I don’t care.”
The two remained motionless as they stared into the sky, a star shining brightly above them.
There was nothing but a flash of yellow close to his ankle. He remained motionless for an instant. He did not cry out. He fell as gently as a tree does. There was not even any sound, because of the sand.
* * *
Seungmin jolts awake in the dark, breathing heavy, and covered in sweat. He sits up slowly and takes in the familiar surroundings of his shared room. He flings his blanket off of himself to counter the unbearable warmth that he’s confined himself to as a rush of cooler air meets the rest of his body. He tugs at the collar of his t-shirt, airing out the remaining heat building in his chest.
Minho left the heater running earlier that night due to Hyunjin’s absence which explains why their room is so warm. Seungmin is accustomed to sleeping with Winter bedding all year long because of how badly Hyunjin handles heat as he sleeps.
He successfully puts on his glasses after groping around his bedsheets, then looks under his pillow for his phone. After being momentarily blinded by the screen he reads the time off of his lockscreen: 3:19 am, which is way past his own bedtime, but not all of the members.
Not wanting to wake up Minho, he crawls slowly to his bed’s ladder before descending. When he touches the floor he waits a couple of seconds for Minho to resume his regular paced breathing in case he did accidentally wake him. While waiting Seungmin stares out the window which he can vaguely make out a few stars from the obscured view and decorated glass.
After confirming Minho’s slumber, Seungmin for another night sits on Hyunjin’s mattress before laying himself down on the sheets.
It’s almost pathetic how routinely Seungmin unlocks his phone to open up the conversation between him and Hyunjin. He types into the textbox and hits send.
Can’t sleep again...
He stares at the screen which will only make his eyes sting even more. He silently watches, tapping along the back of his phone case as he waits for something to happen. He curls into the blankets that he’s folded nicely for Hyunjin, not bothering to put them on since it’s already quite warm. He continues to state down his phone, grumbling just as the read receipt updates.
seungminnie
He weakly smiles as three dots in a speech bubble form on the left side of his screen. For a moment they disappear before they start back up again.
have you tried counting sheep yet