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It’s silly, Qian Kun thought to himself as he hiked through the greenery and muddy pavement that brought back many fond memories to the twenty year old male. But the Chinese male could not help but find himself tracing his old forgotten steps back to the cabin he used to go to over the summer many years ago with his family. He reminisced the good old fun times of when he was younger – the smell of nature, the sight of greenery and the clear blue sky and Lee Taeyong.
Lee Taeyong was Qian Kun’s first love. Taeyong was like every summer romance that Kun would often read from webtoons and pann posts and had hoped that someday he would experience something similar. Little did Kun knew, he had experienced his own summer romance with the said male. But summer romance were never meant to last forever. When summer was over, Kun had to go back home but Taeyong could only stay because that cabin was his home where the male’s grandparents had been living in all these while. And even when they had promised to keep in contact, it was hard when technology weren’t as advanced as it was unlike today’s world and sometimes letters that were sent could not be received by the other. In the end, they lost contact and grew out of remembering each other as they grew both grew up.
Kun shifted his senses back to reality when he heard a distant music playing, something in between a classical music piece to a pop song and soon followed by a figure dancing. It was certainly weird and sceptical for Kun. He’s technically in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by Mother Nature, so it was definitely weird to see someone dancing, much more when Kun could not see the other person’s face despite the distance – obviously Kun had seen a similar situation from the webtoons he has read before; something like this would only come out of a horror story or thriller, the least. Even so, Kun had decided to go off-track to follow the dancing figure because his instinct was telling him to do so, just as they’ve been telling him to go back to the cabin he had visited many years before. Though Kun had certainly hoped that it wasn’t some dumb move like that one character in every horror plot that would play Mr. Daredevil aka Mr. The-Cause-Of-Everyone’s-Death.
The figure kept dancing his way through the woods and Kun was certainly mesmerized. The figure had reminded him of someone – of Taeyong. Kun remembered how he would sing for Taeyong and the other male would twirl around to his singing. They were young, certainly but they had always had dreams. Taeyong wanted to be a dancer while Kun had wanted to be a singer, if not, a performer. They had even made a promised with one another that someday when they get big with their dreams, they would find each other and work a sort of collaboration with one another. (We all know that dreams had only meant to be a dream for the two when both Kun and Taeyong had lost contact. And for the fact that Kun now works as freelance detective, hence one of the reason why he is back at this cabin).
The cabin that Kun had once spent his summer many years back for when he was younger is now in sight to the young detective except it was now down in ashes – burnt and only to remain as a form of happy memory. Kun had to take a double take just in case his sight was playing with him. But it wasn’t, despite wanting for it to be otherwise. This was indeed the location of what was once a cabin filled with childhood memories to Kun but now, it is a building of ashes on ground.
“Qian Kun?” someone called the young detective out, a voice in which Kun had not recognized.
Turning to his back, he sees the same figure that was dancing earlier that had lead him here. And even more shocking, Kun had not noticed the presence of the other person when he had saw the cabin, or more like it felt like he was alone all these while. Eventually, the figure came close, forming a more visual and realistic persona for Kun to briefly identify the other.
“It is you. Remember me? The boy who used to dance when you sang to your favourite Chinese song”, the figure smiled as Kun looked entirely confused and taken aback.
“Lee Taeyong?” Kun managed to mutter out softly, eyes blinking at the sight of the familiar looking male.
“That’s me” Taeyong smiled, the ends of his lips grew wide to his cheeks.
“But how?” Kun slowly approached the male, examining the other male’s matured look in comparison to how Kun had remembered the latter. The older version of Taeyong had sharper facial features; big doe eyes, pinkish lips, cheekbones and jawline possible more defined than any Greek God statues Kun had once saw in a museum in Greece during his holiday a few years back.
“What do you mean how?” Taeyong asked, tilting his head to exaggerate his confusion.
“You… you died”, Kun muttered softly. “I read about it on the newspaper.”
Taeyong smiled bitterly. “My soul isn’t at peace.”
Kun looked at the male, not knowing what to say or not knowing how to express himself for the fact that the other male, who was once his childhood puppy love who is now dead, is right in front of him. Taeyong continued for Kun instead.
“I needed to see you… before I move on. That’s why I sent the signals through your dreams.”
“Oh”, Kun had only managed to utter, recalling the few dreams that involves Taeyong and their childhood that he had the past few nights that lasted for weeks before it bugged Kun to go back to the cabin.
Taeyong smiled bitterly once again. Kun had remembered how he had always hoped he would never have to see Taeyong smiled like that or for the other male to show any pained expression.
“What happened?” Kun asked curiously.
Taeyong looked at Kun sadly before looking down, toeing his shoes against the ground but no holes were made.
“There was a break-in. We tried protecting ourselves. We did, of course. But we didn’t know about the light explosives the scum had set up. The door was locked as usual, like how we keep it locked every night before we sleep… so it was too late to escape”.
“Oh… I’m sorry”, Kun mumbled softly, rubbing his nape with guilt for making the other male recall.
“It can’t be helped. You wouldn’t know when it had happened. But it’s the thought that counts, so thank you”, Taeyong smiled slightly.
Kun remained in silence, not knowing what to say without thinking about the burned down building behind him.
“But hey, enough about me. Now that I’ve seen you. I don’t have a lot of time. So tell me, what are you up to now? What have you been? Are you still singing? Where do you live?” Taeyong spoke in rapid speed as Kun could only catch some of what he is being asked about.
“Wait- What do you mean by you don’t have a lot of time?” Kun asked, looking at the other male.
“Ah… Well, the only reason why I’m still here… it’s because I wanted to see you for the last time. And I made a bet with God” Taeyong laughed then continued. “Now that I’ve seen you… I don’t have a lot of time before I move on, really”.
Kun stared at Taeyong. They’ve just seen each other. They couldn’t honestly be parting already though Kun knew it was impossible for the other to stay. Taeyong was after all… dead.
“So tell me about your life now. I have to know if you’re still singing, the least”, Taeyong frowned.
“I… I don’t sing anymore, Taeyong-ah” Kun spoke softly. “I’m a freelance detective, working on weekdays and mostly undercover to spy on people who pay me”, Kun spoke with hinted bitterness.
“Oh. Well, I supposed that’s life”, Taeyong smiled. “You see, I turned out to be a dancer though. I thought the kids here to dance… well, before I died at least”, Taeyong laughed softly, rubbing his nape as he said so.
“You’re totally better off being a dancer than anything”, Kun smiled at the latter.
“True”, Taeyong hummed softly. “Hey Kun?”
“Hm?” Kun looked at the other male.
“I have a request. A short and simple one, actually. Can you grant my request?” Taeyong asked.
Kun blinked, noticing that Taeyong was feeling ‘different’ but nodded. “What is it?”
“Can you sing for me? Just one last time. Also because we promised we would collaborate somehow when we younger” the slowly fading male chuckled.
Kun stared at the male but nodded once again. He took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of fresh Mother Nature and kept his eyes closed, an old habit of Kun when he starts singing. Slowly, he began singing to the same tune of a Chinese song that Kun had once sang to Taeyong long ago.
Taeyong smiled. The familiar tune of what he used to hear when he was younger washed upon him as he reminisced their younger days. The days where Taeyong was still alive and how he used to dance to the sound of Kun’s singing. And Taeyong does the same thing. He started dancing as Kun kept singing. Kun knew the other male were dancing as the breeze blew against his face just like how it was back in the days. And with that, Kun sang and Taeyong had danced together for the first and the last time.
By the time the song had ended, Kun fluttered his eyes open and to the sight of nothing but greenery and the blue sky. Taeyong was gone.