Chapter Text
Life is full of visible grains of enigma.
In the eyes of SU, life seems to be full of puzzles, life is a mystery and also a beacon of beauty—which literally—might be difficult to explain. In his eyes, life is not just living and breathing, setting foot on the expanse of the earth, interacting with other people and realizing their goal that has been formented since childhood.
For SU, life itself… is a journey.
More precisely, a very long journey. The journey of seeking experiences, lessons, identity and even… the meaning of life itself. SU always had deep thoughts. In the journey of his search, he hopes that he will be able to find the beauty of the most essential enigma in life itself.
A writer.
That was SU's profession in life. He was born as a very philosophical man. For him, a different perception can be viewed from all sides. Although in the eyes of his friends, he is known as a man who is quite humble, friendly, full of curiosity and very selfless, the grey haired male is actually a person with a fairly complex way of thinking.
The Master of the Arts in Writing.
That was the highest reputation he could get in his career as a writer. A master in the world of writing. He published a book titled 'Dystopia', which observes and showcases the lives of impoverished people who endured countless hardships. His name has become increasingly known among public readers and the books he has written have always been ranked as Best Sellers.
Now, he wants new inspiration, yet still with the theme of the philosophy of life. However, SU doesn't want to write a cliché piece of work. He wanted to find a new color. He wanted to find a new theory of life that could be applied universally. A fairly simple thing that can actually give birth to a complex set of enigmas which were previously unthinkable. SU wants to find something more.
Beauty.
He wants to examine the essence of beauty inside the personality of every human being.
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A cafe.
The place seemed to be a regular stopover that SU would always visit; whenever he wanted to find inspiration. A cup of coffee and a laptop are two things that faithfully accompany the grey haired writer for the next few hours.
Staring at the cafe's waiters who were passing by and also some customers chatting at their respective tables—their conversations were actually enough to make SU's mind stimulated. Just by listening to those discussions, SU can think of many qualities about the personality each person has.
However, for some reason, out of the many people he was paying attention to at that time, none of them were able to attract his full attention.
Some high school girls sat at a table. They must be talking about teenage romance and gossiping about some handsome boys in their class. Then, there's an old man who seems to be trying to unwind by drinking a black coffee that contains the highest level caffeine amongst the other kinds of coffee. And the office lady who also seems to be facing a financial dilemma. She must be the backbone of her family. A breadwinner of the family.
All of those are just cliché daily problems of life.
"Why isn't there something unique?"
SU muttered silently with a resigned expression while inspecting everyone in the cafe. There is nothing special with the sight he was looking at the moment. Again the same routine. And staring blankly at the laptop screen only made SU even more discouraged.
"As long as I haven't found the right one to be my resource for inspiration, then I won't be able to produce any writing..."
With a frustrated look, SU sighed and rested his head on his closed fist, stretching his cheek in the process. His fingers seemed to be playing with his wireless mouse in a lazy rhythm. He didn't realize that the song which was being performanced by the cafe band at that time was nearing the end point. And the sound of applause from several customers made SU's daydream shatter.
"Alright. Hope you all enjoyed the performance that the Anti Entropy Band has just presented! The next performance will be a solo! Give "Flame Chaser" a big round of applause!"
The applause erupted again as a tall man with snow white hair started to step onto the stage with an acoustic guitar in his hand. SU, who was sipping on his cup of coffee at that time—started to widen his eyes in shock.
'Is that… Kevin!?'
His heart began to beat so fast as he couldn't believe his own eyes. It'd been five years since they graduated from high school and they never saw each other again. They used to be best friends but suddenly, Kevin cut all contact with SU and mysteriously disappeared.
It made SU feel so devastated as he tried to search for his best friend. His call never received any answer. And now, fate seems to have reunited them both in an unexpected situation.
Those fuchsia eyes turned at the sight of the albino singer as he already underwent so much change. Kevin looks so different from his highschool self. He looked more like an adult now. The once prince at Senba Academy now became a King with a dominating aura and mysterious persona.
His body looks so much more athletic with all those muscles hidden beneath his black jacket. Those piercing blue eyes looked even more cold than before. It sent shivers down SU's spine as he never saw how cold Kevin could look like, like he did right now. His best friend was always so kind and full of warmth back then.
Now, his presence feels so fierce as if he didn't give a damn about this world anymore.
SU wondered, what made Kevin drastically change in the last five years?
Among all other jobs or professions...
'Why did Kevin become… a cafe singer now?'
The thought never crossed SU's mind before that Kevin would choose this path. He thought that his best friend would have became a professional Basketball player in the future. This is just so unexpected. He’d known that Kevin had a golden voice back in highschool but him choosing the singing career over Basketball was just so out of character for his best friend.
There must be a strong reason behind it.
SU started to put his cup of coffee on the table, leaning back on the cushion of his chair with his arms folded across his chest. His fuchsia eyes were fixated on the albino male who was currently adjusting his mic and sitting on a chair—which had been provided by the cafe staff.
If he tried to stare more intently at his best friend, Kevin's face would look ten times more handsome than SU could ever remember. His black leather jacket looked too well. He looked so hot in it, making SU suddenly feel flustered. And nothing made the grey haired male even more stunned than when Kevin started to make his fingers dance on the strings of the guitar he was carrying.
The resulting melody was so beautiful.
And the golden voice echoed by the man seemed to be able to completely anesthetize SU's thought process.
The whole audience is in awe. SU even froze with a look of disbelief. This gorgeous man—who they referred to as The Flame Chaser—continued to echo the strains of his song with his golden voice. In the history of his entire life, SU has never heard of a male singer with a vocal range as godlike as Kevin. His tenor voice is so emotional and deep. His resonance is able to thrill the hearts of everyone. The way the albino man echoed the lyrics of the song in a very poignant tone seemed to be able to attract SU's full attention. He couldn't begin to describe how this new Kevins personality was so different from his high school days.
The more he looked at his best friend, the more Kevin seemed to be hiding something more. SU couldn't analyze it. The white haired singer is just truly enigmatic. His personal entity is like a circuit of a network with many branches whose origins can't be predicted.
The song is getting into the climax. The chorus is echoed by Kevin once more with a fairly high pitch. Just as those fingers plucked the strings of the guitar to sing the final melody, those azure eyes suddenly looked up, aiming straight at SU.
Frozen.
SU froze for a moment. His brain seemed unable to function properly. The albino male was staring intently at him from the stage. Their eyes locked. And the cold and sharp gaze seemed to be able to reach the bottom of SU's intuition.
Did he recognize SU?
Did he recognize the grey haired male as his long lost best friend?
So many rhetorical questions fluttered through his mind as the eye contact didn't last long. In the end, Kevin started to leave the stage when the performance he had ended.
Everyone in the cafe clapped again, feeling amused by the stunning singer. SU was silent as he didn't say anything. He couldn't even clap. There was a mysterious charm that made him carve the albino male into his mind. Even if they only looked at each other for a second, those azure eyes seemed to be able to make SU intoxicated for his presence more.
The grey haired writer's search has ended.
Kevin is the one that he searches for.
He has everything SU needs right now. It's been five years since the last time he saw him. All those drastic changes awaken the wave of curiosity inside SU. With all the mysterious vibes and the undefined personality possessed by Kevin, SU believes that he is finally able to find the beauty that he has been searching for.
They had been separated for so long. Did Kevin miss him the same way SU did?
No matter what happens, SU will definitely find him again. He will not let his greatest inspiration go far away. With high determination, the grey haired man got up from his chair and walked out from the cafe. Optimistic smile formed on his lips.
His journey in chasing his light starts now.