Work Text:
This was wrong as much as it was beautiful. Soobin rubbed his hands together in a futile attempt to gain some warmth. His knuckles were blue. His lips too, in an eerie contrast to the vast white of it all.
As he, Yeonjun and Kai stood in the middle of this cold lake, time seemed to halt.
Are we done for? Kai thought. But only for a second. This can't be it, he thought, scanning their surroundings. White.
Soobin kept rubbing his hands. Yeonjun seemed sturdy enough, if it wasn't for his deadly pale face. "Come on", he said eventually, his voice giving away.
"Where should we go?" Kai turned around once more. White on white. Snow under and around them. And the sky was so heavily clouded that it mirrored the ground - a thick blanket that could block out existence itself. At least there was light here, from wherever.
"Just... just straight forward, i guess? I mean... we have to meet something, right?" Yeonjun nodded back, reluctantly. They had to do something. Or else....
Together, they stepped out into the vast nothingness, making the piles under them crush dangerously. Yeonjun grabbed Soobin's arm, wanting to help out. The taller boy was visible shivering now. "You okay?" he asked. Maybe a bit silly, regarding the fact that Soobin's eyes weren't even able to focus. They darted around like he was trying to locate multiple sounds at once.
Kai continued forward. There had to be a way out of here, there always was. He'd find the others for sure.
"Taehyun? ... Beomgyu?" wind was howling from afar. Once they will have reached it, it would be even colder.
Better than no change, right?
Right, Kai thought. They were wandering around aimlessly for a while now. Without any clear direction they'd be stuck in the middle of this … somewhere. What was once their safe space would cage them in eventually. He couldn't let that happen. So Kai decided, set one foot forward and went for it.
"Hey - wait!" Yeonjun snapped from behind him. He would have cought the other if it wasn't for Soobin on his side. "We shouldn't separate yet!" was the last thing Kai heard as he picked up speed towards the swirling snow before his friends could follow.
With each step, realization and the low temperatures crept inside his heart. Settled there to make him think.
All five of them could sense something happening for weeks, but not put it into words.
Their island has fallen asleep under their running feet now. And finally, with their latest visit,
glazed over and froze the exit. This was the first time their surroundings changed this drastically. Still it felt like a reminder of.... what exactly? He could sprint through the snow as fast as he wanted. He could run towards a goal or away from his fears and wouldn't know a difference. Kai felt like he could search all he wanted and would still forget about something important. But the only way was ahead, right?
"Kai?
Stop!"
the distance made Yeonjun's voice come through as a distorted cry. Soobin couldn't really run in his confused state, so they remained as two grey figures in front of the hazy, white canvas.
Run, Kai! Yeonjun's voice felt like a ghost from a dream. Change is coming! So it was rather easy now to ignore him and focus on the wind and his own steps. Kai would find something. Someone. He had to, and then they could figure out a solution together.
He let the snow hit him directly. Once the empty ground cracked audibly, Kai started leaping. Drowning out the sound from behind him. Come watch a spectacle.
Now far away, the other two boys were stuck, quite literally. The taller still a shivering mess, putting his attention to everything and nothing at once. "You hear them too, hyung?" did he mutter like a broken record. In the midst of wind, hitting snow and general confusion, his sensitive hearing proved to be a curse. It could have been hours ago when all boys came here to expect lush greenery and wildlife. When they were seperated and scattered across a sea of pale death. When Soobin started to talk about or with someone. Kai and Yeonjun paid it no mind before, but now it bugged Yeonjun just the tiniest bit.
That, including Soobin's sudden, unbearable heaviness. Yeonjun's hand frantically ran up and down the other boy's back, while he quielty cussed into the horrible weather. Why was it so damn cold, now out of all times? Why did they decide to visit again, at this point?
He needed a distraction. They needed to move. Ignoring Soobin's words, Yeonjun pushed his heavy feet through the snow. One step. And another one. Let this be over soon, he thought.
Yeonjun didn't mean to show it before, but he was exhausted. There was a churning in his stomach reaching up into his ribcage. Unlike Soobin's hearing, the physical dicomfort came gradually. A persisitent, dull sensation. Pressing into him, squeezing out the air. He felt like something unspeakable was feeding off of him and not for the first time. Still, he took a step. Okay, just one another. Breathed in, grabbed Soobin's arms in a protective hug and dragged him along.
Second step. Third step. "KAI?!" he croaked. Only whiteness stretched out before him.
At last, the taller seemed to focus on something. Slightly below him, to his right. Yeonjun didn't see a thing. No Kai. Not Beomgyu or Taehyun either, so it didn't matter. Uncertainty and concern painted Soobin's face in all kinds of colors.
Time and distance lost meaning now that Kai was running through the bright void. It felt exhilarating and slightly off. But change WAS coming, he felt it!
With each leap, he could basically taste the blue of hope on his tongue! Smell the grass and see the tree again, imagined blue birds and squirrels and colors, as if an old memory was projected onto his vision. It was only in thought, but the eternal path in front of him became more manageable by the second. Oh yes, running was a good idea. Because eventually, all things have an end!
That's right.
//
Calm.
oh,
so silent.
The wind has settled. The snow tugged in the sleepy wolrd.
As if the sweet ending caught up, cleaned the scenery and said good night. Wouldn't be new to him.
With tranquility coming from the familiar feeling, he moved as if led gently. No hurry. Because from the distance, he already sensed it.
Mine.
Whatever was there stuck out like a sour thumb, like a thorn on a stem, painted white. Tucked in bed, like their island.
Whatever was there couldn't mutter anymore. It was red and blue and pale when seen up close, hands shielding from noise. Poor boy, he thought. He would be even poorer in a minute. But there was no helping it, no help for him. But something else that was neccessary. The boy above him stretched out his arm and gently patted Soobin's snowed-in hoody. The taller was laying on his side, arms draped his head with pale fingers on his ears. Everything was in good reach, the search didn't take long. Without much remorse, the other boy opened the correct pocket to reveal a small, blue object.
He hurried his fingertips across the special surface.
And it stung.
That was surprising every time. Blue and foreign it seemed to glare up at him in protest. Nearly made you think that the magic die had a soul or something. As if that mattered to him.
The small thing was trapped tightly in his palm. As if absorbing it's surroundings, it cut through the boy's fingers in ice cold sharpness. No blood, of course. The die couldn't harm. Just radiate the feeling. Wow.
Swiftly, he put it in his jean pocket and stood up again. The motion was abrupt enough to make Soobin's body tumble over just a bit more, so that he was facing the sky, the other arm falling to the ground limply. No longer protected from whatever he once heard, he looked just like a big, confused bunny.
The other could basically read the taller's lips. He would have felt guilty if it was a different him.
One that wasn't stuck in their mess right now. Someone who knew less.
Goodbye for now.
//
Oh. my. god!
Kai saw something! And it wasn't white! What a contrast!
He crossed the last bit of distance quickly, nearly falling over himself in his fresh adrenaline rush. With impatient hands, he grabbed onto a doorframe. A door, in the middle of this somwhere!
Finally an exit! Oh.
And it was open too!
How many doors did he have to step through before? As he took in the grain of the dark wood in front of him, Kai entertained the thought that maybe that was his thing. Finding doors. Was this waiting for him? He knew he would find something eventually. All worth it now.
Like a surprise visit, some heat returned to him in the form of tears. Relief. He grabbed the frame hard, like it would disappear again. His door.
Hunched down to catch his breath and regain composure.
At last, he turned around , his target held tightly.
Noone was waiting there.
"You ... you hear that too, right? Hyung, please. Someone--" Soobin choked out.
Yeonjun could barely reply. He had finally stopped walking, returning to lean into Soobin in an attempt to warm both of them now. Guilt pressed him down. As he, the oldest of the group, saw himself responsible for … more. He shouldn't have allowed for all five to seperate. He shouldn't have allowed for Kai to run off. He shouldn't just stand still and do nothing, but hell, what could he do? At least not leave the one person next to him alone, he thought. If he went now...
His stomach hurt familiarly. Not to mention the headache that started just recently. Yes, he wouldn't mention that. There was goddamn snow smacking his face, who wouldn't get a headache?
Deafeated, he asked "You think Kai found something?". No cohesive response. Soobin continued to frown at that one spot on the horizon. Where there was nothing.
"Something is wrong, hyung, listen..." Yeonjun attempted a laugh. “Really? You don't say.”
His patience ran out. Ever so eagerly this place wore him down. Forcing the corners of his lips upwards hurt. His hand which landed on Soobin's head hurt. Did any of this happen before? His feet killed him. He carefully patted at the dark hair. Even this ached.
Kai will find a lot of things, if you want him or not.
"There-- There it was again."
"Shhhhh."
Yeonjun's head coupled with how his stomach made him feel like fading in and out of consciousness. Was he seeing stars or needles in front of his eyes? Was the snow even real? He couldn't tell.
He just grasped onto the knowledge that their precious, safe world was turning on them. Like a hurting memory you regained after many, many blind years. When you didn't know the bliss of ignorance until it was gone. How many times did this happen to them? And now it felt like shattering. The wind cut along their ears like death threats. Like a rough song. His stomach wanted to implode, but Yeonjun had to stay strong. Had to be responsible as the oldest. Had to save at least one of them. So he pressed his lips together and readjusted his grip on Soobin, the poor freezing guy.
Unconsciously, Soobin's hand reached out for something in his pocket. The smooth texture was calming to the touch.
Let go.
Just let go.
It's over soon.
"No." He whispered.
//
The next one wasn't far away, just snowed over as well. He wasn't propped to his side like Soobin, but instead flat on the ground. If it wasn't for the big red patch in his middle, he might have missed the young man entirely. The stark contrast was mocking. Provoking him to hurry and come closer. He obliged. The ground boy's face was frozen in a grimace from the mess on his torso.
He should have seen this coming, the dummy.
Whatever. He reached down.
Held onto the fragile looking crown on Yeonjun's head without batting an eye. It was thin and glassy, smooth and cold to the touch.
Like a snow queen, it made the body look even more dazzling, reflecting and splitting whatever mystery light had mercy on these fools. The younger boy held it tight and tugged.
Mine.
And tugged.
And tugged some more. Pressed his knuckles into the older boy's scalp and let the shards dig into skin. It hurt awfully, but he didn't mind.
Except for his goal, everything seemed white. Snow on his view.
He pulled with some more dedication, thinking of who he needed to find next.
With a sudden jerk, the crown came out like deep-rooted flowers. Deliciously cracking. Leaving enough red lines on his pale hands. Now the stark contrast was on him too.
He looked at his new possession, wondering how this fragile thing could be glued to Yeonjun's head like it fought for it's life on there. As if that thing too refused him. A burden to one, a resentful tool to someone else. It baffled him, really, how this world, this place that was meant to protect and please them would try to manipulate them in such a way. You started, so why can't I? You destroyed us first.
Deeming this debate fruitless, he returned to his task.
The old king was of no more use. Finally freed from the guilt, shame and duty, at least symbolically.
So he continued. Two missing.
Did they survive? Would they understand him?
The clearly wouldn't recreate what he did as he was the only one who could grab the circle.
He was the one who could take a look across their sky and see the holes. Maybe that's why nothing here liked him anymore. The painfully cold die inside his pockets felt like a comfirmation, so on he went.
To where the black started. Where the world's ends met and the circle could be turned. The other two must have been closeby.
//
Kai made a cautious observation of his discovery. Behind the pitch black wooden frame, a cave stretched out and winded around a corner. He took as step back. Then to the left, around the frame. Even leaned around to examine the backside. Looking from there, it was all white still. No cave stretching out from there, just the other side of a slim door. So... a pocket dimension? He couldn't believe it. Amazing. A surprise in this dull place.
Kai didn't hesitate.
Head-first, he duck into the door's world. On the spot he had to lift up his hands and cover his eyes. The dim cave was filled with crystals, refracting the light from outside in a dizzying manner. The colors started as skyblue, but as Kai took first brave steps and loosened his arms, he noticed how the glassy fragments changed to tones of purple and pink, magic radiating off the walls. To keep balance and push through small holes here and there, Kai had to grab hold of the colorful diamonds.
Some patches where rough and easy to grab, while others made him wince in pain when his fingers dug into sharp edges.
He looked to the sides. Surprising or not, his fingers were already calloused and red. But something made him blink in shock. Some liquid stuck to the walls. Painted the path ahead. Just to make sure he wiped a finger through it and examined it up-close. Red. Goodbye to his prior excitement.
Carefully he moved on, watching with focus how some of the crystals were no deep blue or purple but a concerning red, partially smeared with the overly suspicious fluid. They were sparse and seemingly special, scattered in the sea of blue. So someone was here already? So someone got hurt? Very badly?
"Hello?" he mouthed shyly, his eyes darting from one corner to the next. then louder. Like the light, his voice bounced off the walls and made him shiver.
He looked back to his old path. Noone there. Looked back to his front. All of a sudden, he felt like he just entered the mouth of a beast. That the further he'd go, the closer he was to something horrible.
Continue?
With time,
the number of sparkling diamonds declined, and now they were mainly red. What was once a rather narrow path opened up to stretch out endlessly again, filled with void. A black lake, an inverted picture to the frozen-over lake outside. In here it was calm. Kai didn't dare open his mouth again, to not hear an even scarier echo bouncing back. Here and there, some crystals still needed to be dodged. They caught light from an unseen source. Or maybe that was magic? Talking to him.
Move, Kai.
No, not this one.
He took another step into the dark emptiness. Like looking into an abyss, if it wasn't for the colorful decoration. Black, some blue and purple, lots of red eventually.
Maybe they should have listened to Soobin.
Dodging one crystal, nearly falling from another, Kai moved on.
Maybe Soobin heard things more clearly than him. And maybe with some prodding they could figure out some sense together. Just like Taehyun saw more clearly. What was Kai good for again, he wondered. One step more into black. Was it more like soup or fog? Did it have edges or ends? he couldn't tell.
It doesn't matter. The circle will turn with or without you.
Ah yes, Kai had to continue. One thing he could do was persevere. Yeonjun and Soobin were still waiting outside somewhere.
After a while, the void stretched out and reached into his head. Through his eyes, down his tongue, along his legs. It was dragging along his limbs like it was trying to trap him there, where there was nothing. The thought deepened Kai's frown. Just imagine being locked away for eternity in senseless darkness. In short, Kai was seeing nothing and feeling weaker by the second. Stopped for a moment to close his eyes and just breathe. In this nowhere where the crystals have lessened, the dread increased. Calm down, Kai.
In.
He tried to remember the wind from outside as if it's been years. The frozen lake. Tried to image the sky in any color other than white or pitch black. How did it start.... How would it end... A name hang loosely from his lips but didn't form. No matter how much he tried to recall, his anxiety didn't allow any thought to be heard.
Out.
Any sound except ---
Carefully.
he opened his eyes. Lifted his eyelids reluctantly, as if that would help him hear it more clearly.
Syllables.
Or wimpers.
Somewhere in front of him.
His eyes searched for a focus point in this nothingness. So really, someone else? Would he be able to get to them without his sight?
He reached out and tumbled with nothing to hold onto. So he had to take a step as well. Regaining his balance, Kai moved again with hesitance.
Ah yes, so that's what happened.
Someone was clearly talking now. Muffled, yeah, but Kai could tell for real. Some light from wherever met a smooth surface in the near. The boy approached.
Wood. another door he could grab. Doors for him. They must be his thing.
so he grabbed it. And behind ....
//
He snorted into the wind. Fingers felt numb and legs hurt. What a fantastic round.
He had to hurry and get the others now, just to make his heart find peace.
As the bruise darkened under the sharp crown in his palm, as he got kind of used to the piercing of the die, he had reached the first door.
Warned left and right by the diamonds, he quickened his pace.
"Let's see..."
further inside he went, right into the obscure beast.
One of his steps landed awkwardly on a dark corner, crashing him into purple and blue. The crown clinked loudly against the sharp diamonds.
Watch out, they said. He didn't give a shit. Just grabbed the crown with his left hand and searched for balance with his right.
Continuously,
meeting the familiar void like a big puddle. But now, frozen. like this round.
"...how I will find you this time." His voice rang stable through the cave, but inside he trembled like a child.
He felt something. Didn't like it.
In a hurry, he slipped through another bad step, letting his bad hand glide along the crystals.
Huffing up clouds of air which where enlightened by whatever.
Searching nervously.
Somewhere. “You promised you wouldn't leave me.”, he muttered under his disturbed breath.
Eagerly grabbing at whatever floor and wall he could find, he at the same time tried to ignore the persistent magic the diamonds radiated. Because oh please.
He definitely has seen enough of this blue. Got sick of it. It was so exhausting at some point. Disappointing. Come on.
The only blue he wanted was the sky.
Across the puddle swept his feet. He scanned the emptiness till his eyes met something specific.
Made him stop.
Ah yes. Familiar.
No need to add a broken promise to his collection.
Amidst the beauty of blue and purple, there he lay. Like another prince.
Or a broken bird. In a flower-formation, the sharp edges of crystal held another boy softly in the blackness. Blue in memory. The colorful lights bounced off of his hair and face and made the young man lying there look just the more ethereal. Highlighted the silver of his head. His pretty nose. His knowing eyes.
The onlooker chocked back any reaction.
He was sick of blue.
And of knowing. Was sick of recalling the pasts.
He ran ahead instead. Grabbed the limb boy's arms harshly and shook. "Taehyun?"
His eyes were still open, one drowned in ink just as dark as their surroundings.
As if it was part of this void, decorated with a beautiful star in the middle. He looked like a man who found the dull truth. Whoever put him here must have had a thing for sadistic art. It was beautiful. Just like back then when Yeonjun...
With shaking fingers the boy above him checked Taehyun's breath, clumsily touching the his mouth. Nothing.
Checked his pulse. Nothing? he couldn't tell from his own panic. The void was to loud now. The rush in his ears deafening. He was feeling sick for real now. To still himself, he hardened his grip. Leaned closer. He shook Taehyun until they rocked back and forth together.
no way.
Just how many times now?
no way.
Just in how many variations did he have to watch this happen? His had was hurting.The light was disturbing. Taeyhun didn't close his eyes, didn't respond, while the other verbalized the onslaught of emotions.
no way.
So many times and still--
"No!"
Tears threatened his face. He fell down on Taehyun who was still slightly warm. He couldn't believe it.
Taehyun - he knew something and left with it.
Again, just a bit too late.
Something along these lines had to happen, right?
But was it his fault that he still felt sick? At least once he wanted his story saved.
His hands reached around the other boy's neck and shoulders as the crystals around them glittered in warning. For him to watch out or to leave. To not redo his mistake, to not touch what was meant to be unreachable. But he didn't budge.
Tears broke through. The drops refracted the light eerily and retraced an old path on the boy's face.
Oh, the decision was made, no matter how often he cried in the progress.
The moment it all went white and cold, he knew what had to be done. Before that, even.
All along he knew how to restore them if they hit the end.
Had looked into the cat's eyes just often enough to find a pattern.
In the blue, black and purple, a tint of red errupted.
Transformed their space into a sad rose.
//
The circle will turn.
Kai froze on the spot. Leaned more into the back of the doorframe, making himself smaller in order to hide. Someone was sitting there, just a few meters away.
Crouching. Holding something. Someone.
Hush. It will be over soon.
The view was insane.
Nested in a pile of glowing red sat Beomgyu, the diamonds flooding him and an unmoving Taehyun in dangerous light. To make matters worse, Beomgyu's face was a mess. Staring ahead like a goner, he didn't pay attention to Kai at all. In his hands, an arrangement of glassy shards completed the glittering and refracting picture.
It was beautiful.
Right?
Right?
He had to snap out of it! What was Beomgyu doing?
Building up his courage – or fear – he took a risky step forward. And he would have screamed for the other boy, if it wasn't for a different noise.
Something sharp right in front of him.
A crack, maybe.
He had to blink multiple times from Beomgyu to his feet, then back again. And indeed - starting from the red crystals, spreading out around the couple like a fan were splinters, cutting the black into mirror-like shards. The cracking came closer to Kai now. Shockingly piercing his ears with sounds that shouldn't belong here. Shouldn't belong anywhere. Hurting his eyes with an image he would have gladly avoided.
Just like that, reality got ruptured, one shard at a time.
Beomgyu finally raised the remnants of a glassy crown in his hands. Trying to be funny, he turned it so the opening was facing him like a round window, into another reality maybe. And with childlike curiosity, he glanced through.
Remained frozen for a while, until something caught his attention in it and made him lift his hand in wave.A familiar friend. A fleeting smile. Kai could just watch as their inexplicable situation crept up on him. Beomgyu was still not facing Kai's direction, but as Kai didn't dare to step any closer in fear of being seen, he couldn't tell who Beomgyu was waving to. Some splinters of their surroundings came dangerously close to Kai's feet.
Another response to the mystery-person followed. Some mouthed words.
Kai needed to change shards.
As if giving an answer, the red of the diamonds around Beomgyu started flaring up.
Not like the boy minded.
Goodbye to you too, I guess.
Instead, he now diverted his eyes and brought the shards to the top of his head.
As the crown touched hair, their reality was barely held together. Kai across from him tried to dodge even more splinters and cracks, holding onto big enough shards while his periphery was turned into a messed-up chessboard. He slipped and landed on the fragmented "ground", hard. Still, with eyes big as saucers, his gaze was glued to Beomgyu.
Like a king he was sitting there.
Like he dared to strike down a god.
Again.
In purple and red, the rose was basically glaring at him to stop this chaos, flooding him and Taehyun's body in color. Glass and crystal. Ice shards across his head and on his shoulder, growing ever so persistenly. More and more, they seemed to overgrow Beomgyu and his humanity. He was going cold.
Like a tyrant, Kai thought.
He looked determined. Done. As if his mouthed goodbye was meant to the whole world.
For the last step he reached into his jean pocket.
The die wasn't exactly excited about the recent events, so it still tried hard to resist intrusion, spilling blinding blue against all shades of red. Red like Yeonjun's wound. Red like Soobin's knuckles. Red like Beomgyu's hands. Red like magic turned mad. The die didn't like that color. Still cold and cutting through his mind, the object between his fingertips defied him.
Not for long. Because blue was but a memory,
a memory to return to.
The circle was taken and turned.
Kai could barely close his eyes in time for the ground to give out under them.
Let's play this again.
After an eternity
he reopened them.
Blue was now the sky.
For a second,
Kai struggled to recall how breathing worked.
His mouth just opened and closed uselessly until his body went into auto-pilot, forcing air into his lungs.
With great exhaustion, he dragged his elbows to his sides and pushed. Pushed his head upward, his shoulders, his back. What just happened? It was a haze.
Sitting up, grass rustled from under him. He couldn't decipher it.
Soft.
Green.
Inviting.
No clouds in sight, but birds in the distance. In front of him, a large tree stood, lush and familiar, casting shadows onto him and someone else. Vision filled with colors so diverse and bright that his eyes stung.
Where did he come from?
Someone next to him shifted from the motion, readjusted their position and wrapped an arm leisurely around Kai's waist. It was Soobin, having fallen asleep on his book and clumsily leaned onto Kai. So at peace.
The circle
All calm now. Kai could swear that remnants of wind ghosted along his ear. But really, all was quiet. Comfortable.
I'll move it for us....
The others were gathered around in relaxation. Yeonjun, with a satisfied expression, leaned back against their tree to rest in it's shadow. Beomgyu and Taehyun were facing the glaring sun, without any protection whatsoever. As if they needed the light to burn a lingering cold. Beomgyu was even wearing a sweater! Kai felt warm already from watching.
Slowly,
very slowly, his muscles relaxed. Green was pleasing to the eye. Was this a dream? Who would mind if it was?
//
"Gyu"
Beomgyu didn't move. Right now was just too comfortable. He rested his head on Taehyun's stomach and thought of candy. Translucent and colorful. They should stop by the convenience store and buy a bulk of stuff. Fill their stomachs with something sugary and exciting. Chocolate bars and rice cakes.
"Do you hear things too, from time to time?"
Silence insued.
Maybe they should just get ice cream instead?
Beomgyu absentmindedly grabbed his sleeves and pulled them over his palms. The fabric was soft. Warm. What a silly question. He didn't want anything cold for the next weeks or so.
"Because sometimes", Taehyun licked his dry lips in contemplation, he was being serious "I think I hear ... words? Like muttering? I must sound crazy....". But Beomgyu just smiled.
"...and Soobin hears them too." Taehyun added.
At last, Beomgyu looked up, straight into his eyes. What he saw was someone on the brink of realization. But Beomgyu didn't want to see anymore.
"You dummy." he giggled. "I don't hear anything. You sure you slept enough?" he teased, putting a sneaky finger under Taehyun's chin. He'd buy candy. Tae was eye candy. His snickered at the cheesy thought.The other had to move around but tried awkwardly to keep up eye contact.
The ground was warm. The picnic blanket, his sweater, the bodies, the sun.
All was warm and colorful. Harmless sounds and pleased faces. All was calm. Safe even. Many reasons to smile today.
He fought for that, Beomgyu thought. This was for him now.
After a moment of silence, Taehyun lay back onto the grass and huffed, accepting his temporary defeat. Put his covered arm over his face to block the sun. Beomgyu could recall fondly how he moved the red pen across the cast sometime in the past. And he'd do it again no problem.
His thougths travelled back to candy. The translucent kind. They were red too.
and purple and blue. That could have been reflecting the sunlight from right here.
Yes, why not. From this beautiful, clear sun, directed straight at them. From the rounds which where fine, he thought. Maybe the safety of today followed him everywhere? Now they were safe. The dark and the light wouldn't collide for another few months. Bliss. Bliss to the ignorant.
From a few meters away, he could sense Kai glaring at him and didn't care. Right now, the world was beautiful.
... as many times as we go wrong.
//