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A dream… I don’t think I have one. I wish adults would stop asking me that. I just do as I’m told, I make my parents happy, but I wish I had friends… Well, it’s not like anyone would want to be friends with me anyway. Not with the secret I have to keep… But I guess I do have a dream after all. I want to know if the legend is true, if starts only shine as you meet people you love, just because I don’t want to die knowing my sky was dark my whole life.
“There’s nothing on the floor to look at,” a kid said. He had to be around the same age as Mingi. “Raise your head up.”
Mingi looked up just enough to see the kid’s face. He had the brightest smile Mingi had ever seen, even though his eyes seemed as empty as his.
“… Why? What is worthy to look at other than the floor?” Mingi asked. He usually doesn’t engage in conversations, but it was the first time someone went out of their way to acknowledge him, so he was curious to see what the kid really wanted.
“Hmm… That’s a good question. What do you think is worthy?”
“… The starry sky.”
“Your sky has a lot of stars?”
“No, it doesn’t. It’s completely dark… That’s why I think it’s worthy, because it’s hard to get to see it.”
“Then maybe I can be your first star, and you can be one of my stars too! Doesn’t that sound great?”
“I guess it does… I’m Mingi, what’s your name?”
“It’s Yunho. Nice to meet you, Mingi!”
“Nice to meet you too.”
As days passed, Yunho and Mingi started hanging out more often. Mingi found himself enjoying Yunho’s company, something he didn’t expect would happen. They didn’t do much; they talked, looked at the people passing by, and stole apples from the trees.
“Do you know these Halazia followers?” Yunho asked, biting the apple he had recently stolen.
“It’s hard not to know them.” Mingi replied. For some reason, that question made him feel nervous.
“You know what I mean! Well, my friends and I are planning to stop them.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! We’ve found the place where they hang out to make plans and stuff. Did you know they have a stupidly big metal ball hanging from some chains?”
“Why would they have something like that?”
“We don’t really know yet, but we think it has to do something with their magic. Maybe they get it from there.”
“… Can I help you guys?”
“You want to?”
“I have nothing to lose. Maybe they can finally disappear.”
“Okay, then! They’re actually waiting for me, so you could come meet them.”
“Sure.”
Yunho’s friends are actually nice people. San is a bit dumb, and Seonghwa puts himself down way too much, but they’re nice. It feels warm, is this what having friends feels like? This warm feeling made the next four years a blur, but I don’t mind it.
Hongjoong was so excited when he found out we wanted to stop the Halazia followers, he even dragged Wooyoung with him. I wish I had siblings, I want to feel what Hongjoong and Wooyoung feel. It took a bit more to convince Jongho, he’s a pacifist, after all. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to fight, I feel bad for those who upset him. The last one to join us was Yeosang, because his dad is one of them, but he’s made it very clear from the beginning that he hates him and wouldn’t join them in a million years.
But, God, why do I have to be the worthy one? Out of all people that tried, it had to be me? I just wanted to end it all, and now I have this stupid burden, this secret that would mess everything up if they somehow found out about it.
“Mingi? Are you okay?” Seonghwa asked. “You seem a bit out of it.”
“Ah? Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking.”
“But this place is starting to be way too small for us.” Wooyoung said. It seems like they were arguing about something, but Mingi wasn’t paying attention.
“Yeah, I know, but it’s the only thing we can afford right now,” Yeosang replied. “We are already suspicious on our own, it’d only be worse if they find out we’re working together.”
“But what about your father? Doesn’t he own this cottage?”
“Well, yes, but even if he finds out we’re hanging out here, he can’t accuse us of anything. Unless he spies on us, which isn’t something he usually does.”
“Anyway, what did you two find out?” Hongjoong asked. He hated seeing the others argue, and always changed the topic when necessary.
“Well, it seems like one of them has a different type of magic than the others.” San started explaining. Now Mingi was fully paying attention.
“The giant sphere isn’t the source of their magic, it’s the thing that gives that person the different magic.” Jongho added. “They also said that it would take another six years to find a new heir.”
“Do… do you know what kind of magic that person has?” Mingi asked. “Or who that person is?”
“No, we just know that it’s stronger than Power… Hey, is Yunho alive?”
“Yeah, he’s just asleep,” Seonghwa replied. “They have him do all the chores and stuff and has literally no time to sleep.”
“Maybe we should cut these hangouts short so he can have time to sleep.” Hongjoong said. “Or, just don’t talk about this stuff when he’s asleep.”
Their hangouts were daily and, even though not everyone could make it every day, they made sure to keep going to the cottage.
Then it happened.
Yeosang’s father went to check on the cottage since neighbors had told him they’d seen people breaking in and were worried something could happen to his family, besides having another reason to go there. The worst part is that they didn’t notice him standing in the doorway for five minutes, so they kept discussing their plans without a worry.
“So this is what you’ve been doing?! Plotting against us?!” he screamed, startling everyone.
“Dad?! What are you doing here?!” Yeosang asked. Everyone backed off except him.
“That doesn’t matter! You’re a disgrace to this family, Kang Yeosang!” Yeosang’s father slapped him so hard he fell to the floor.
“Get your hands off of him, you asshole!” He managed to land another hit before Jongho could push him away, standing between Yeosang and him.
“The others will know about this, and I’ll make sure the punishment is appropriate.”
“And what are you going to tell them?” Yeosang asked, getting up. “That your son is plotting against them? They won’t like that, and they’ll kick you out and force your Power off of you just to make sure this won’t ruin their plans, and you don’t want that, right?”
Yeosang’s father looked at him for a moment, before getting out and slamming the door with such force the entire cottage started shaking.
“Are you sure he won’t say anything?” Jongho asked, checking on Yeosang.
“Yes, I’m sure. He cares a lot about his image, he wouldn’t let this ruin it… But this means we can’t hang out here anymore…”
“It’s okay, we can find another place.” Yunho said, trying to shift the mood. “As long as no one else finds out we’re on this together we should be fine.”
Everyone wanted to be hopeful, but this was a hard blow, and it was just the beginning.
For weeks, every place that they used as a hideout would be discovered in days, either by neighbors complaining about the noise or by suspicious people that would start to show up after they’d settled down. They started to get tired of all of this, and it started to show: less frequent hang outs, using excuses to not discuss their plans…
Then one day, Mingi and Yunho were heading to their new hideout. They were quiet, both of them had a lot on their minds, but Mingi really wanted to talk. However, when he went to look at Yunho, he saw him with his head down, looking at the floor. Yunho, the one that always told Mingi to keep his head up, was looking at the floor, looking defeated and exhausted. That sight made Mingi realize something. He already knew, but that reassured him it was the right decision.
This is my fault. Everything is my fault. Everyone would be happy if it wasn’t for me… I knew it, that I would ruin everything, and yet I stayed with them. I should leave. Yeah, I’ll leave, I’ll leave so I won’t ruin their plans anymore. I should’ve left sooner, but I enjoyed their company. How greedy of me… Someone with a secret like mine shouldn’t be able to enjoy life…
When they arrived at their hideout, under the bridge, everyone was there. Maybe it was just a coincidence, or maybe it was because it had been a week without complaints or weird people showing up. And because of that, they decided to spend the night together. Their last night together.
A few hours after sunrise, Yunho got up before the others, and the first thing he noticed was that Mingi was gone. He didn’t want to freak out, so he looked around just in case Mingi had gone for a walk or wanted to be alone for a moment. After thirty minutes of looking around and not finding Mingi anywhere, Yunho started freaking out, so he went back to the bridge.
“Hongjoong.” Yunho said, trying to wake him up. “Hongjoong!”
“Wha- what? What? What happened?” Hongjoong asked, startled, still half asleep.
“Mingi’s gone.”
“Wh-what do you mean by ‘gone’?”
“He’s, just, gone. I can’t find him anywhere.”
“Well, maybe… he just went home.”
“No, you don’t get it. I was up all night because I couldn’t sleep, I would’ve noticed if he had left. I know I would’ve noticed.”
“Then… I can look around a bit more and you can go check if he’s home?”
“Okay, yeah.”
As Yunho expected, when he arrived to Mingi’s house, he wasn’t there. Mingi had already told him he lived alone, which made everything more unsettling. When he returned to the bridge, Hongjoong was already there, and San and Seonghwa were up too.
“He isn’t at home?” Hongjoong asked, and Yunho shook his head.
“I mean, he has to be somewhere in town, right?” Seonghwa asked. “There’s no way he managed to leave overnight.”
“But why would he want to leave town?” San also asked. “The only thing that would make sense is that the Halazia followers might’ve caught… him…”
There was a long silence, they tried to process what San was implying without panicking.
“Okay, we really need to find him now.” Hongjoong finally said, starting to wake up the others.
They spent the entire day looking for Mingi, everyone looked everywhere, but it was like he had just disappeared without a trace. Eventually, they gave up looking for him, but they still wondered what had happened to him.
“You’re back at last. Did you enjoy playing pretend, honey?”
“I’m sorry. I won’t leave again. I promise.”
“Good. It’s fantastic that you finally understand your purpose here.”
It had been six years since Mingi disappeared without a trace. Yunho was walking around, not really going anywhere. Suddenly, he noticed someone in a brown cloak, walking in the opposite direction. The person had their head down and, in Yunho’s mind, that meant they had to be Mingi. They couldn’t be anyone else. Yunho ran to catch up to that person, but stopped when they sat down on a bench and took the hood off, revealing an older lady. Yunho sighed and, on impulse, he went to sit with her.
“Do you mind if I sit here?” Yunho asked. “I just want some company.”
“Well, of course, young man.” The lady replied.
Yunho sat down and they started chatting. The lady kept asking the typical questions older people asked young adults: if he had a job, if he had a girlfriend, or any kids, if he was happy…
“Do you know this legend? The one that says that the stars shine based on your loved ones?” Yunho asked.
“Oh, yes, I do. It surprises me that it’s still around.”
“Do you believe in it?”
“It’s complicated. I believed in it my whole life, but I have no way of knowing if it’s true, so why should I worry if it isn’t? The stars either exist or not, and they are the ones who love you, not the dots in the sky. You shouldn’t have to worry about that, young man. Just believe in your heart, not in an ancient text.”
“That’s one way to think about it… But I like to believe in it, because my favorite star keeps shining bright.”
They kept chatting for a while, until Yunho noticed a person sitting on the bench next to them. They were wearing a black cloak, the one Halazia followers wore, so he made up some excuse to leave. Little did Yunho know that the person sitting next to them was Mingi. But it made sense, the hood covered his entire head, there was no way Yunho could know it was him.
“His favorite star… There’s no way he was talking about me.” Mingi thought, looking at Yunho when he was far enough. “I wonder if he still has hope… After all, my star should still be shining… And his is still shining too.”
Mingi didn’t want to keep thinking about it, so he got up and returned to the Halazia followers’ hideout, the cave in the mountain; no other place could fit a giant floating sphere. After all, it was “fate day”, he had to be present, whether he wanted it or not.
The process was simple, the ones who desired Will, that kind of magic San and Jongho found out about a long time ago, would stand under the sphere, the purest form of Will, and they’d confess to the Halazia followers their dreams and ambitions. Then they’d take the chains off the sphere, letting it fall. Either the sphere would keep its physical form and crush the person, or it’d find them worthy and would give them Will, vanishing for a while.
It was a long “fate day”, a lot of people wanted to try their luck, bad luck, as no one was worthy so far. Mingi felt like he was going to throw up, so he started thinking to distract himself.
“All of them are so stupid, why would you want to give up your life for something like this…? And to believe Yeosang’s dad thought he was close to being worthy… Hating your son and abandoning your family for some stupid cult is very worthy-like, of course… I wonder if Yeosang knew he’d try.”
Suddenly, someone else arrived.
“… San?”
“Well, this is getting interesting.” One of the members said.
“Hello, my name is San, and I’m here to inherit the Will. You might already know who I am.”
“I see you’ve had a change of mind. Good on you.”
“I guess I did.”
Mingi knew that San didn’t have a change of mind. San wasn’t like that. He had figured they already knew what Will was and how to obtain it, but he didn’t expect San to be someone who would give up on their life for some stupid power. San was a bit dumb, but not that dumb.
“Very well, then. What are your ambitions? Your dreams?” Another member asked.
“I just want my friends to be happy. All of them. I want them to live happy lives. For them to feel loved, free, and to always be able to be themselves.”
“Let’s see what the own Will thinks about that.”
They took the chains off once more. Mingi couldn’t bring himself to look, not if it was San, but he didn’t hear the sphere hit the ground, and the whispers around him forced him to look.
“I guess we’ve found our new heir. You’ll be hearing from us very soon, San.”
San nodded and left the place as fast as he could.
“Fuck… they must be planning something big…” Mingi thought. “But I don’t think the others know San came here today… I have to make a choice. I hate making choices, but I have to…”
At night, Mingi went around the town looking for San. He wasn’t too worried about San figuring out who he was; he wouldn’t recognize his voice, and he would be fine as long as he didn’t take off his hood. After a while, he found him walking on the bridge, not too sure where he was heading.
“Excuse me.” Mingi said, grabbing San’s arm. He was nervous as fuck, but he needed to appear collected.
“Oh, you’re one of them. You were there this evening… What do you want?”
“I know you’re not on their side, so I want to explain everything to you. Everything about Will.”
“Why would you do that knowing I’m not with you?”
“Because I’m not either. They have to wait a year until the sphere recovers its physical form, and only then they’ll acknowledge you as the official heir. I’m here to train you before that happens. Because you need to learn how to use the magic. And because that’s the only way to defeat the previous heir.”
“… Okay, then. Where would be a good training spot?”
“The forest. They never go over there, and it’s calm at night. It should be perfect.”
They headed to the forest. Mingi was still really nervous, but knowing San was willing to cooperate helped him relax a bit. Once there, Mingi started explaining simple stuff, like basic spells, defense tactics…
“Another thing, I don’t have the same magic as you, but I should be able to teach you enough to fight the other heir.”
“It’s okay, I can always try stuff on my own.”
Mingi trained San for a few weeks, and he was progressing very fast. One evening, San was walking around with Wooyoung and Jongho, when suddenly a Halazia follower attacked them. San sensed it and blocked the attack by instinct, which startled Jongho and Wooyoung.
“H-how did you…?” Wooyoung tried asking.
“It doesn’t matter. Stay behind me.” San replied.
“You’re still against us… I knew you guys were working together… We can’t have someone like you own Will.”
A fight started between San and that person. San was managing it well, but attacking and protecting Jongho and Wooyoung was testing his ability. As expected, he lost focus for a moment, but Mingi arrived just in time. The good news was that Mingi managed to block the attack, the bad news was that, by running and using the magic, on top of receiving the attack, he accidentally blew his hood off.
“Fuck.” Mingi thought. There was no way they wouldn’t recognize him, his phoenix hair is unmistakable.
“Mingi?!” San asked.
“Run!”
“But-”
“Just run! I’ll take care of this!”
San did as Mingi said, taking Wooyoung and Jongho with him. Fighting that person wasn’t a problem for Mingi, so it was an easy fight for him. The only thing he regrets is letting that person run for their life.
“Well… I guess I’m homeless again. This is far from ideal, but they’re safe for now…”
After realizing that, once again, he had nowhere to go, Mingi decided to stay under the bridge until he could find a better place to stay. At night, he went to the forest. He didn’t really know why he went there, but it wasn’t like he could go anywhere else.
“Hey.” Someone behind him said.
“… Why are you here?”
“Because you’re the one training me? Where else would I go?”
“… How did Wooyoung and Jongho react?”
“They were so mad at me… And also hurt because I went behind their backs.”
“That makes three of us. You could’ve died, San.”
“I had a feeling I wouldn’t.”
“Did you tell the others? About me?”
“Not yet. I don’t think they’d believe us anyway.”
“And about you?”
“Well, Wooyoung did. At least they understand we have a better chance to win now.”
“I wonder how they didn’t notice your white eyes before.”
“My eyes are white now?”
“Well, now I can see why. Let’s not waste any more time. Tonight’s training session is important.”
Even though using magic required focus, they kept talking as they fought.
“Are you going to come back?” San asked.
“I don’t know…”
“You should’ve told us, it would’ve been fine. You shouldn’t have left. Look at Yeosang.”
“He wasn’t the one with Power, San.”
“They miss you. We all miss you-”
One of Mingi’s attacks made San fall to the ground.
“I told you to keep an eye out for ground attacks.”
“I know… But I got closer to you this time.”
“Yes, you did… I’ll teach you how to kill Halazia followers now, since you’re going to act faster now that they’ve found out, right?”
“Can’t I just, you know, kill them?”
“It isn’t that easy. Look.”
Mingi helped San get up. Then he made something that looked like a floating black seed appear in his hand.
“This is my Power, yours should be white because it’s Will. I can summon it because it’s mine, but to summon someone else’s you must weaken them first.”
“So that’s why I have to fight first?”
“Exactly. That way you can make sure you can summon it. To kill someone, you just have to destroy it. Crush it, break it in half, whatever.”
“You can give someone else’s Power to another person?”
“Well, not really, that doesn’t work with Power. There’s one last thing you can do, you can take Power and turn it into Will. That automatically kills the person you took their Power from, so that’s why we wait until the sphere recovers its form. Then you can give that Will to someone else.”
“Okay, I’ll have everything in mind… Just one thing.”
“Yeah?”
“I want you to be there when we go attack them.”
“Why?”
“Because we said we’d do it together. If you don’t want the others to know you’re there, that’s fine, but I want you there.”
“… Okay. I can arrive earlier and take care of the stronger ones.”
“Great! I’ll make sure to tell you when we’re going to attack… And, please consider coming back. We don’t blame you.”
“Are you sure about that? I mean, it’s… it's my fault Yeosang’s dad found out about us. He was looking for me. You guys were lucky I was in the bathroom.”
“But that’s not your fault, Yeosang’s dad is… was a horrible person, regardless of whether you were on the same team or not. Did it set us back? Maybe, but you're not the one to blame. Please, just keep it in mind, they won’t be mad, I promise.”
“… I will.”
“Mingi, before you go, I want to know more about them.”
“Sure, ask away.”
“I was wondering, am I the only one with Will now?”
“Uh… oh, no, you’re not.”
“But I thought they only had one heir or something like that.”
“Well, being the leader and having Will isn’t the same thing. You see, the giant sphere, the one that gives Will, that’s Halazia’s physical form. It takes six years for it to regain its physical form, and once that happens it’s just a matter of time before it becomes too unstable and disappears completely.”
“And that would mean that the source of Will would be gone forever.”
“Exactly, that’s why ‘fate day’ exists. A person is chosen to keep the Will in them every six years, which results in several people having Will. That’s why every ‘fate day’ is followed by elections, so the followers can decide which member with Will stays and which member… dies. They didn’t hold any elections because it was you, they see you as a huge threat.”
“Okay… and who’s the heir right now? We never got to find out.”
“It’s… my mom, she’s been the leader for decades, so she’s still considered the heir. I can take care of her.”
“If you want, I guess, but if you need help just scream for me.”
“Sure, I will.”
They kept training together for a few days, until San finally told him when they were going to attack. That day, as Mingi said, he showed up at the mountain earlier. San was already waiting for him.
“The others will be here soon.” San said.
“It’s okay, I’ll get inside and start fighting. I know the others will be able to take care of the rest, so you just need to find the one with white eyes.”
“Alright… let’s do this.”
Mingi went inside and, shortly after, the others arrived.
“Do we need to review the plan or are we good to go?” San asked.
“Let’s just go. Waiting will be worse.” Hongjoong replied.
“Let’s do it, then.”
They went inside the cave and started their attack. Mingi wasn’t wrong, everyone was doing okay against the Halazia followers, with San just having to destroy their Power. San couldn’t find the other heir, but suddenly, he heard Mingi scream his name.
“Who was that?” Yeosang asked.
“Just focus on fighting, I’ll go.” San replied, going to where the scream came from.
San ended up at the same place the sphere used to be, now only the chains were there. Someone with a white cloak and a mask was standing there, and Mingi was on the ground, not moving. The mask covered their entire face except for one eye, white as San’s, so he assumed it was Mingi’s mom, the other heir.
“So we finally meet.” San said, the other heir didn’t speak. “So you won’t talk. That’s okay. It’s another distraction I don’t need to worry about. Bring it on.”
The other heir was definitely stronger than Mingi and used some attacks Mingi hadn’t taught San, but he expected that. The fight was long and tiring and, for a moment, San thought he wouldn’t be able to win, but one final blow made the other heir, already exhausted, lose balance and fall to the ground. San quickly got on top of them, making sure they couldn’t attack.
“This stupid cult ends with me.” San said, being able to summon the other heir’s Will and immediately breaking it.
“So… there was one thing… I didn’t tell you.” The other heir said, taking off their mask.
“… Mingi?”
“The ones with Will can… switch their light magic for dark magic… That way no one knows they’re the ones with Will. Now you know… why I couldn’t tell you guys… right?”
“Mingi?!”
San looked at the Mingi that was on the ground; it was just his cloak, which was placed in a way so it would seem like he was on the ground.
“I’m glad you won… thanks to me.”
“Mingi, please! Don’t say that! I can fix this… Mingi, please… Mingi, talk to me…”
“They just keep coming, we can’t deal with them alone, San.” Seonghwa said, who arrived with Yunho.
“Please… just say something… I won’t be mad, I promise…”
“San?” Yunho asked, approaching him with Seonghwa, just to see Mingi’s lifeless body under him. “… Mingi?”
“Just one word, a noise… Please, Mingi… Please…”
Seonghwa just stood there, frozen, San kept trying to wake up Mingi, while Yunho…
Yunho fell to the floor, shaking. San, Seonghwa, the fight, nothing mattered to him anymore. In that moment, he could only see Mingi's body. That wasn't supposed to happen, he wasn't supposed to find him like this. All that time he knew Mingi had to be close, that he had never left, but the hopes of reuniting were gone. And not only that, Yunho's hopes of confessing, of building a life together with Mingi, were gone in an instant.
“This can’t be happening…” Yunho said, repeating it over and over, crying.
“… Wait, Seonghwa, bring one of them here! The one you hate the most! It’s better if you’ve already fought with them.” San suddenly exclaimed.
“O-okay!”
“Be quick!”
Not even a minute passed before Seonghwa returned with one of the followers, already badly beaten up. San punched him in the face just to make sure, and then he took his Power from him.
“Okay, it worked. Now…” San pressed his hands together as hard as he could without actually touching the Power and, when he opened them, it had turned into Will. “Great! This has to work.”
San put the new Will near Mingi's chest, absorbing it. The fact that he could do that was a good sign, but he didn’t know if it would work. After ten seconds that felt like ten years, Mingi opened his eyes.
“What…?” Mingi asked, before San hugged him as tight as he could.
“It worked! I’m so glad it worked!”
“Oh, so you actually remembered everything I told you… That didn’t happen before…”
When San was done hugging Mingi, Seonghwa launched himself to the ground and hugged him.
“Why did you have to leave?! This didn’t need to happen!”
“I’m so sorry… I didn’t know how to deal with it…”
After a few seconds, Seonghwa stopped hugging Mingi too. Yunho was still in shock, trying to process everything that had just happened, but he went to hug Mingi too.
“I missed you so much… Don’t disappear again, okay? Not now that you’re alive… again.”
“I won’t, I promise… You said more of them arrived, right? Let’s show them what we’re made of.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” San suddenly said. “What happened to your mom, then?”
“Oh, I took care of her the moment I got inside… Ah, you mean because of my Will? The elections did happen, but they didn’t kill me because I was her son.”
“What are we talking about?” Seonghwa asked.
“It’s not important right now. Come on, let’s go help the others.”
San helped Mingi get up, and they headed to where the others were fighting. They were actually doing pretty good, they just needed San to kill the guys. With Mingi helping them too, they finished in no time; no one else with Power remained.
“Mingi?!” Hongjoong and Yeosang asked at the same time.
“Hi… it’s good to see you again…”
As expected, both of them went to hug him. Wooyoung and Jongho waited until Yeosang and Hongjoong stopped bawling before they hugged Mingi too.
“Why did you leave?” Hongjoong asked.
“I… was the one with Will… I thought you’d think I was a traitor or something if you found out, so I just left…”
“He had to die and revive to realize we would’ve been fine with it, and we would’ve found a solution.” Seonghwa said.
“You died?!” Wooyoung asked.
“We can have this conversation later…” San replied. “I think we should let the town know that the cult is gone for good.”
“Oh, yeah, we should do that.”
As they went around telling everyone that the Halazia followers were gone, Mingi started narrating his fight with San as if it was a play. He managed to make the others laugh, but he also got scolded for not saying anything sooner. The others also shared the struggles they faced by being seven people living in a one bedroom house, but now that they didn’t need to hide anymore, they could have their own places. Just a few days after the attack, the town was already livelier.
A few weeks later, Mingi was walking around, with his head down. He wasn’t feeling bad anymore, it was just a habit.
“There’s nothing on the floor to look at, raise your head up. But I guess old habits die hard.”
“Hi, Yunho.”
“Where are you going?”
“Nowhere, actually. I was just walking.”
“Can I walk with you?”
“You can always walk with me.”
They didn’t do much; they talked, looked at the people passing by, and stole apples from the trees.
“We still have to catch up on a lot.” Yunho said, biting the apple he had recently stolen.
“Well, you know we can talk whenever you want.”
There was a long silence after that. Both of them had a lot on their minds.
“You know, I don’t think the starry sky is worthy to look at anymore.”
“You don’t? What is it, then?”
“You. Your eyes. Your smile. You’re worthy to look at, Yunho.”
Yunho didn't reply, he just stared at Mingi, who stared back at him and, for a moment, time seemed to stop around them, as if they were alone in the world. Everything was asking for it, so they did it. They kissed. It was a kiss both of them were yearning for ages, and it finally happened. It wasn't pretty or passionate, it was just a powerful gesture, that showed the love they had for the other.
“Well, you now have plenty of time to look at me now that you’re back.” Yunho said, sharing another kiss with Mingi.
“I know, and I will take my time to appreciate you every time I look at you. Oh, and just so you know, this isn’t because I don’t think the sky looks pretty. My seven stars are the most precious thing in my life, and I wouldn’t want it in any other way.”
“I’m glad, then, because my seven stars are the things I like the most too, and I wouldn’t want it in any other way either.”
If someone asked me if I had a dream now, I’d tell them that I don’t, because it became true. I still can’t believe it, but it did. My sky isn’t dark. It isn’t full of light, but I’m pretty sure I have the best stars in the sky. I don’t have a secret anymore, and I have seven amazing friends, my seven stars, and a beautiful boyfriend, the brightest one.