Work Text:
It takes exactly three seconds to fall in love,
It's either a stranger you met for the first time.
Or your friend that suddenly felt like an entirely different person.
In the quiet bedroom of Jeon Wonwoo, the young man sat, cross-legged with his nose buried into a book. His spectacles nearly slid off his nose bridge as he was too engrossed with what he's reading, but he pushed it back up immediately out of reflex. There he was again reading alone, nothing new. It was totally normal for him to be seen reading this particular book continuously, finishing a volume before proceeding to the next. The author of the book must feel honored to know that he has a devoted reader like Jeon Wonwoo.
Word after word, page after page, he reads through it intently. He was eager to finish the book to the very last, not missing any single detail.
What he wasn't aware of where the wall clock's ticking arms as it moved to six-forty-am, he remained still, unfazed of the delay he's causing. He carried on reading the book, until his bedroom door flew open.
"Jeon Wonwoo won't you hurry? The school bus is waiting outside yet you still didn't get to prepare yourself!" His mother's voice boomed throughout the enclosed space causing him to halt his reading session in an instant.
He jolted up, as his head snapped towards the clock. It said '6:40 am' twenty minutes before school starts.
"Wonwoo! The bus just left you, you better run to your school." His mother warned, helping him wear his uniform, though sloppily, they managed to do it within a good three-seconds.
Wonwoo hurriedly sprinted down to the house's front door before slipping on his sneakers. He had a half-burnt toast hang by his teeth as his breakfast while he was running late for school. His button up uniform was open, revealing the white undershirt he reused from yesterday, and his belt was wrapped halfway through the pants' waistband causing him to hold it up.
"Mom, dad. Bye!" He wore his silver spectacles before running out of the house.
Indeed he loves reading books along with understanding sophisticated words, however, punctuality wasn't a word that existed in the midst of Wonwoo's vocabulary. Countless people greeted him as he was running down the streets, snickering at the sight of the profusely sweating high school student running late.
'6:47 am'
Luckily, his house was just a few blocks away from his school, hence how he catches up. But when he was about to storm inside his classroom looking wasted, he saw a tall boy his age standing parallel to the door, grip tightening around his backpack nervously.
"Uh-- hey?" Wonwoo approached the kid rather impolitely, scowling at him. "You're in my way. Move." He demanded pushing his way through the small space, then stepping into the classroom filled with unruly hormonal seventeen-year-olds.
He flopped down the arm chair then threw his bag off from his aching shoulders, finally proceeding to read the part of the book he hadn't got to read. But the deafening sound of the students made him think otherwise. The annoying squeals and giggles of his female classmates blended almost completely with the bothersome wheezes and occasional screaming of the males, blaring distastefully in the teacher less classroom.
Sighing, he brought out his phone instead then scrolled through the previous text messages his friend sent.
From: Mango .-.
Wonu I'm back in Korea! I hope we can meet again someday!!
Sent yesterday 06:27
He smiled at the text, remembering how this short, scrawny friend ran up to him excitedly when they were children.
From: Mango .-.
I'm transferring to your school! I'm finally going to meet you again after 7 consecutive years!
Sent yesterday 14:12
That, made Wonwoo freeze. Nevertheless, he began to scroll again seeing something that caught his attention.
From: Mango .-.
I'm in your school right now!! Find me!!
Sent today 06:59
His eyes widened in surprise. Finally he's going to see his best friend that he hadn't seen from years once again. They only had contact with each other through messaging, since they barely had any time for video calls. But even though they had each other's phone numbers, their text messages don't last long.
-
The petunias Wonwoo adored, bloomed ravishingly in varied colours. It was strikingly beautiful; the rainbow garden was bathed in light. He plucked one, making it rest inside the warmth of his palms. There was something about the flowers that the Korean boy loved, though he couldn't pinpoint what the reason was.
He brought the petunia under his nose to sniff the scent he always longed for. The sight looked like a painting: A seven-year-old Jeon Wonwoo stood, smelling the flowers. When the sun rays shone on the ravenette, his hair's colour appeared lighter. His surroundings were the garden in a rainbow galore, having petunias in different colours sway with the wind from side to side.
Suddenly, a warm wind gushed throughout the land. The strands of his hair flew in different directions and the petunia that settled within his pale hands flew out of his grasp. Petals flew around before his eyes were covered by his disheveled hair.
Brushing his hair back with his little fingers, there, he saw something-- someone that stood out in the midst of the beautiful flowers.
Under the sun dazzling without compare, an adorable brunette stood. It was a thin little boy looking shorter than Wonwoo, he wore a hat that has skin made of silk. Wonwoo's eyes went up to the hat that rested on the little boy's head before having the wind slowly lift it up. It flew to his direction along with the colourful petals.
He chased the hat in complete bliss, his smile was from ear to ear. When his steps gradually felt lighter on the grass, the tips of his fingers grazed against the hat. Maybe it's part of the experience, the wonderful feeling of being a child, chasing something that caught his attention and running with the petals that flew by.
Once he got ahold of the hat made out of silk, he faced forward then felt something spark in him.
It took exactly three seconds.
It was almost surreal, like a dream. The owner of the hat stood before him smiling. His short brown hair fell above his eyebrows, and although he looked fragile and smaller than Wonwoo, his eyes had the reflection of the world as if, he carried it with him. It was only a brief moment when both their eyes met, and Wonwoo was in a daze. His heart raced when their hands lightly made contact because the stranger went up to him and got his hat back.
"Thank you for catching my hat. My name is Kim Mingyu, and you are?"
-
"Jeon Wonwoo, I know your legs are long but don't run ahead of me!" Mingyu whined at his long-legged friend who gave him a hard time to catch up to his pace.
It had already been three years since they've met, yet Mingyu still had no time to grow taller than his friend. Hence, his short legs.
"But you never told me you were going to China! Until I had to over hear it from your parents!" His tall friend retorted, unconsciously letting his feet lead him to a place they frequently visited.
Jeon Wonwoo was sulking, because the sudden news caught him off-guard. Imagine, you had this friend for three years that made you feel emotions that created great impact to your life, this friend of yours always told you the important information about him, but not about his departure to another country. And you just had to know about it the day before he's leaving. How would you feel?
"Wonwoo, I didn't have the guts to tell you because I knew you would act this way.--"
"But if I knew then I wouldn't have--"
"Won--"
"Why did I just have to know about it now when you're leaving tomorrow?!"
"Hey listen, all I will have to do there is study for a few years-- or months! Because my parents will collaborate with the Wen and the Xu for work-- I guess? But I swear it will just be for a short time." Kim Mingyu tried to convince his friend that they will only be away from each other for a short while, in order to calm him down.
Fortunately, Wonwoo seemed pretty convinced at the younger's words, giving a mere nod as a response.
When the soles of their shoes made contact with the grassy ground, they looked around to find them back in their favourite place. The garden filled with hundreds of petunias.
Although Wonwoo was still disappointed, the corner of his lips twitched up into a smile when he stood admiring the view. When he suddenly felt a light tap on his shoulder, he looked back to see Mingyu, handing a book to him that looked rather thick and had a hard bound cover.
"What is this?"
"It is my favourite book! If you read this and finish until the very last word in the very last page. I am positive that I'll arrive to Korea by that time. Just read it." Mingyu reassured him then tip-toed to pat his head.
-
"Liar," Wonwoo muttered under his breath. He stared at the book cover, seeing a number on the upper left hand corner. '17' indicating that it's already the 17th book released. After waiting for seven years, he believed that Mingyu would come back after he read the last word of the last page in the first book. But instead it took him seventeen books to finally arrive back to Korea.
He hadn't realised that the whole class including the teacher was dead silent, staring at him while he examined the cover of his most prized possession.
"Uhm, earth to Jeon Wonwoo? You have been staring at that book for approximately five minutes, not even noticing that the transfer student had already walked in and have all your classmates head turned towards your direction. Including mine." Their teacher decided to break the silence.
Once he heard his teacher call for his attention, his head snapped up only to see the same tall guy he pushed away earlier standing in front coolly, unbothered by the stares he gets from the others. Wonwoo noticed all his female classmates (along with the feminine males) ogle over the hot transfer student standing like a model, tall, handsome, with a killer smile.
"You can now begin introducing yourself." The teacher said, her lips curving up into a warm smile.
But Wonwoo couldn't care less. He continued staring at his book, distracted at the thought of Mingyu finally going back to Korea. 'He can't be taller than me right? No that can't be. Last time I checked his head was just by my shoulders.' He thought, chuckling a little.
"Why are you laughing to yourself?" A soft voice cut him off of his trance. He turned his head to the seat beside him only to see his new classmate occupying it. "I believe you were too focused looking at your book to even notice that I just finished introducing myself that's why you don't know my name, and the teacher made me sit next to you because the chair next to you is vacant." He added.
Wonwoo sneered, not liking the presence of his new seatmate. He was lucky enough to be assigned to sit at the back where he had no seatmates, but now, there, the new face sat.
"You got a great taste for books." The transferee started a simple conversation, complementing the book in the other's hands. "That book isn't that popular nowadays, how did you manage to read until the 17th?"
"Well, long story short, a friend of mine who departed to another country gave this to me then told me that if I finish the first book, he will come back. But here I am still waiting when it's already the 17th book." The ravenette sighed, thinking of his best friend's whereabouts.
"Well I don't think you still have to wait for him anymore." The brunette whispered to himself almost inaudibly and just gave him a warm smile before facing at the front, listening to the subject's lesson.
"Pardon?"
Dismissal soon came and all the students began sprinting out of the campus happily. The whole day, Wonwoo had no idea to find Mingyu. He spared a glance at the latest message Mingyu had sent him and looked for anybody that looked like his friend in the hallways, but to no avail, he didn't see any scrawny brunette shorter than him anywhere.
Until, he saw the tall transfer student pass by him.
"Yo' transferee!" He called out, making the other turn around.
"Did you see anybody here that is short and scrawny with chocolate brown hair?" He asked, hoping for an answer. After all the transferee was a head taller than most of the students, which makes him see everyone clearly.
"Sorry, no." He replied briefly, before walking away.
Wonwoo slumped his shoulders in defeat, that's it, he gave up looking for his friend. Fate will probably just let them meet in the future unexpectedly. When you think about it, a lot of changes must've happened to Mingyu for seven consecutive years. Maybe that's the reason why Wonwoo can't find him, thus, he walked out of the campus along with the students.
After a few moments, finally, his house was now a few steps away. He looked at his sorroundings in delight, observing the children playing around, the stray dogs being fed, and the couples being sweet to each other. It's too bad that Kim Mingyu isn't here with him enjoying the open air. It would have been nice to witness him running around, chasing the leaves that moved with the wind, and the birds that flew when he was only a foot away.
As he was walking, he saw a familiar garden. An idea popped up in his mind which made his pace become quicker when the minutes had gone by. He hoped to see Mingyu to be standing in the garden, waiting for him in the midst of the petunia flowers, looking ethereal as he can ever be.
However, when he finally stepped inside the familiar grassy ground. To his dismay, another boy stood. There stood the tall transferee, Wonwoo's new seatmate.
"What are you doing here?" He had blurted out.
"Fancy seeing you here, Jeon Wonwoo. Don't you remember me?" He beamed a smile.
"No. I don't remember knowing anybody like you. I don't even know your name." He retorted, causing the smile of the other falter into a frown.
"So, did you already find the boy who you were looking for?"
"No." He answered curtly, looking down at the book's cover have the afternoon sun's rays shine over it. It settled within his hands as his grip was tightening around the book. Perhaps, he will meet Mingyu again once the final volume of the book is released.
He looked up to see the taller giving him a sad smile, face clearly seen under the bright sunlight. The familiar brown hair fell above the latter's eyebrows, as a beautiful pair of eyes stared back at his. He was in a daze, just staring at the other. Strangely, the sight made him recall the flashbacks of his first meeting with Mingyu in this very garden seven years ago.
Then that was the cue for something to spark within him. The tall brunette's facial features made him feel strangely nostalgic for he looked awfully familiar.
Suddenly, a warm wind gushed out having colourful petals fly around the area. Then in a split second, he felt something lightly touch his lips.
It was the lips of the other on his.
It was as if the time had stopped, the petals halted from flying with the flowers that stopped from swaying. Wonwoo stood still, surprised at the boy's sudden actions. It felt like hours before the other pulled away, staring down at him.
Then it hit him, this whole time he was talking to Kim Mingyu.
"W-why did you kiss me?" He cringed at the stutter. Heat formed up on cheeks causing Mingyu to chuckle.
"I kissed you because you looked too stunned to move. I just had to cut you off your trance, sorry." Mingyu gave a soft laugh that sounded like music to the older's ears. His features became manlier after all the years they have been away from each other, and he finally grew a head taller than Wonwoo.
The older just gave Mingyu a look before asking, "Mingyu is that really you?" A cute smile unknowingly formed on Wonwoo's lips. Showing Mingyu the smile that he had been been missing in the past years they had been apart.
When he first stepped came back to Korea, the very first thing he did was to inform Wonwoo about his arrival excitedly. He was very excited to enter the school Wonwoo had been studying in.
When he saw a figure running late in the hallways, a grin lit up his face because he already knew that familiar raven hair and the same face structure. Mingyu knew it was Wonwoo from when he first saw him rushing up to the classroom sweating profusely, about to be late for class.
Then at the time he introduced himself as the transfer student, he took the chance to observe Wonwoo who was spacing out alone in the back of the classroom. He observed that his friend that did change a lot, in fact, Wonwoo became even more beautiful after all these years. From his perfectly sculpted lips and pointed nose, to his sharp yet attractive gaze. Although Wonwoo had some drastic changes from when they last talked to each other, he will never forget what he felt for Wonwoo.
Mingyu never forgot what he felt during the day they first met. When he was just walking around and saw a beautiful garden, he saw a kid his age smelling the flowers as the bright sun made him see his features clearly. He still remembered what happened during that time, when his hat flew away from him, Wonwoo took little strides running to his flying hat and the flustered look his friend gave him when their hands gently grazed against each other because he reached out for his hat.
-
"Kim Mingyu, don't get lost. We're just going to move the boxes in the house." His father stated, lifting boxes before walking into their new home.
Mingyu stood in front of the house, having it difficult to adjust in the new atmosphere. He was too used to the loud bustling noise of the busy streets in Seoul, and not the serene province air the blows around. Taking small steps back, a small crack came as his heel came in contact with an object lying on the ground.
Turns out it was just a stem of a flower.
He bent down to pick it up but he saw a trail of petals from the flower leading to a place between two houses. Out of curiosity, he followed the flower path, and saw something that absolutely made him pause and stand in awe. It was a gorgeous garden filled with colourful flowers, and butterflies. He took in the sight, eyes wandering in every corner in the area.
But what made him more astonished was another boy his age, standing approximately a few meters away from him while smelling the flowers. It almost looked like a dream, a beautiful dream playing right before his eyes. His jet black hair complemented his pale complexion, and his sharp gaze was perfect for the mysterious aura he brought.
Mingyu was too stunned to move, unaware of the accessory resting on his head swoosh away with the wind. Panic flowed through his veins as his fingers slowly caressed the top of his head noticing that his hat was now missing. But fortunately, the good wind is on his side today.
He looked up to see the same boy he was marveling at, handing out his hat with an awkward smile.
By habit, he smiled back at the stranger lightly grazing his fingers against the other's while taking his hat back.
He swore that he could last a day merely staring at the latter's eyes. It is absolutely beautiful, too beautiful for a human to possess.
Snapping back to reality, he smiled enthusiastically at the taller, waving his hat in front of his face.
"Thank you for catching my hat. My name is Kim Mingyu, and you are?"
-
Before, it was Mingyu who raises his heels from the ground then stands on his toes to reach to Wonwoo's height. But now it's Wonwoo. Wonwoo tiptoed in front of Mingyu through eye level and just like how it happens in the movies, petals resumed flying everywhere in the garden, and the beautiful eyes that lovingly stared back at his put all the stars to shame.
Then that was Wonwoo's cue to lean forward, sharing another kiss, this time with feelings.
Three,
Two,
One!
It took exactly three seconds.
And within those three seconds,
Wonwoo fell in love,
And so did Mingyu.