PHONING... Sparks.

PHONING... 𓂃 ࣪˖ sparks.

Watching the fireworks with Yeonjun, nothing is as sweet as the final comedown.

જ⁀➴♡ wc 700 : drabble ✧ fluff , comfort

It was raining on the day that you met Yeonjun. With your hair wet and tangled, with droplets of water sliding down your cheeks like crystal teardrops and the uncomfortable feeling of sopping wet clothes clinging to your body.

It was in the midst of the longest you had gone without human contact when you met him; without the soft, conceding warmth of someone else's skin. The rain felt much colder alone.

You began to crave it after a while, missing the comfort one could provide. Missing the ability to obsess over the most trivial things they shared with you.

The small things like a hand on your shoulder or breakfast with company in the morning seemed much warmer in the past of your recollected memories.

When you met Yeonjun, it had been in the middle of wondering how long it would be before you’d lose all recollection of that love.

It was in the lobby of the office’s building the two of you crossed paths, both seemingly recovering from the torrential downpour outside.

Maybe it was the position you were in at that time of your life, or maybe it was just his smile.

You realized that there was penance in yearning and the poverty that comes from pining for someone, rich only in the love that you gave away.

It was in the first time meeting him that you came to realize, sometimes the loneliest place to be is in love.

It changed the more you saw each other. Two strangers shaking from the rain somehow agreed to reunite in any weather, to experience it all together.

It was one sunny day when he took your trembling hands in his, placing a gentle kiss to your wrist as his eyes peered up at you with devotion.

“You’re safe with me.”

His touch was sweet like a memory of something long gone and you wanted to fold yourself into his arms like origami to stay with him forever, perfectly placed in his heart.

He tells you how precious you are to him and that he will spoil you with love if you allow him to.

It happened just like that.

One day you met him and for some inexplicable reason, you felt more connected to this stranger than anyone else.

No matter how you tried to find the reason, to understand the importance of your meeting, you always came up short.

Perhaps it was because Yeonjun carried an angel within him in your eyes.

Yeonjun, an angel sent to you for some higher purpose, to keep you safe during a perilous time.

To heal and gently put back together a heart that he did not break.

Regardless of the reasoning, you made the conscious decision to trust him.

Even if he came hand in hand with pain or suffering, you decided to risk it all for his smile.

Finding that the reason for his presence in your life will become clear in due time.

And as you grew to love him, you came to realize that his purpose isn't to save you but to show you how to save yourself.

And once this was fulfilled, the halo lifted but the glow in your heart remained all the same.

After the fireworks come down, the smell of gunpowder lingered and his arm pulled you into him, bodies coming together. Overwhelming your senses now with only him.

“It's so dark right now, I can't see any light around me.”

In the darkness, you felt the wind catch in your hair as your nose twitched at the cold.

The hushed whispers around you were drowned out by your favorite laugh, his lips coming down to press against your forehead gently.

“That's because the light is coming from you. You can't see it but I can.”

You had always thought that the feeling of joy Yeonjun gave you was a prelude to something wonderful— something greater than yourselves.

Like seeing a shooting star or getting a text from an old friend when you weren't expecting one, the unexpected but welcome development of love— the swift, surprising transition from nothing to everything.

A fleeting feeling that held a world of promise.

And then the light pierced through the dark as the rain stopped falling, leaving only the sparks of the fireworks behind.

And all the while, he held you whispering his confessions of love under them all.

જ⁀➴♡ phone in ᝰ.ᐟ

PHONING... 𓂃 ࣪˖ carnival.

Essentially becoming a shut-in due to your extreme fear of crowds, your friends are determined to take you out and show you how much fun things can be.

selected: [ yeonjun's song.] replay? ✧

જ⁀➴♡ wc 1k ✧ fluff , humor , comfort

As you inch closer to the front of the line, the rhythmic clinking of the cars ascending and descending fills your ears.

Standing before the entrance, the worker looked at you expectantly before glancing at the boys behind you. You turned to face them and they all gave you an encouraging smile, each one as sweet as the one before.

“So, who’s it gonna be?”

Looking at each of them, it felt almost impossible to pick just one. The feeling that everyone was waiting on you made you even more anxious, the idea of annoying the people around you getting your nerves up even more.

“Hey, Y/N it’s fine. Take your time.” Taehyun commented.

The small smile he gave you was enough to have you letting out a sigh of relief.

Catching Yeonjun’s eyes, a smile made its way onto your face as you motioned for him to come over.

Despite trying his best to act cool, it was obvious how excited he was by how quickly he chucked his panda plush at Kai and hustled over to you with a fist pump to the air.

“Hell yeah!”

His eagerness made you laugh, nerves subsided for the moment as the two of you stepped onto the open-air gondola, the familiar feeling of anticipation creeping up on you.

Yeonjun smiled at you as the attendant secured the safety bars and gave the two of you a friendly wink.

Embarrassed, you looked to your other friends who gave you both a thumbs up with toothy grins. “Ah… I’m not living this down, am I?”

Yeonjun gave you a confused look, a pout present on his lips. “What’s there to live down?”

With a lurch, the Ferris wheel began its slow ascent and you laughed nervously.

In regard to all of his friendly flirting, you tried your best not to fall for it but it had become increasingly hard as the years passed.

You wondered if your friends had picked up on that.

“Nothing…” your voice trailed off, wondering if he had picked up on it.

As the two of you were raised higher and higher, the world continued to move on down below you.

The sounds of music came up to meet you both and fill the silence, mixing with the gentle creaking of the ferris wheel as it turned.

“I missed you, Y/N.”

“Hm? You’ve been with us all night, Junnie.” The nickname made his cheeks flush as he prayed that you didn’t notice, clearing his throat.

“I mean, I invited you because I wanted to spend time with you but I know it’s been a lot for you. I hope you’re not mad at me.”

“Why would I be mad…?” Your voice trailed off, trying to understand what he had meant.

It didn’t take long before you came up with a theory, a small smile making its’ way onto your face as he avoided eye contact.

“Are you jealous, Yeonjun?”

After so many years of smooth talk and cheesy pick up lines, you had to admit that it was cute to see him a bit shaken simply due to not getting much attention from you.

Yeonjun groaned, “do you have to ask it like that? I’m not jealous.” He smiled, turning to you.

“Do you want me to be jealous?” His playful demeanor was back in no time and you hummed, tapping your chin gently in a display of pretend deep thinking.

“Hm… do I?” Your playing along was enough to make him scrunch his noise as he leaned in.

You jumped slightly in surprise and he laughed, “I was just gonna whisper something to you.”

“A little warning next time?”

Yeonjun mocked your action from earlier, tapping his chin gently before shaking his head.

“Hm… no!”

“Rude…” you mumbled, looking away.

“Well, since you won’t let me whisper it,” he started.

“I love you!” The carriage shook as you jumped again, heart following suite as your hands found their home over his mouth.

You shot him a glare and looked around, as if someone could have heard that from how high you were.

Yeonjun laughed as he pried your hands off of his mouth and your cheeks burned in embarrassment.

“What’s wrong with you?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!”

“I had to tell you some way.”

“There are better ways…” your mind was racing as you went over the three words.

How confidently he had yelled them to the world, unashamed and so certain.

It’s true that Yeonjun loved to get under your skin and make you unsteady, he found your startled expressions the cutest.

He wanted to make you question everything you had ever believed about love.

“Hey,” his voice was gentle as he placed a hand on your shoulder. “You don’t have to say it back.”

There wasn’t a moment that you had to think about it before repeating the words back to him.

This boy who made you feel reckless and out of control, despite all of your anxieties and fears.

The one that you were infuriatingly yet inexplicably drawn to in front of you with the cutest smile.

“I love you too, Yeonjun.”

And he smiled, pulling you into him and peppering kisses all over your face as if it were some form of skin care.

All the love he had been holding in finally being expressed in some small way beyond words.

Yeonjun didn’t want you to love him because he was good for you or because he said and did all the right things.

He wanted to be the best for you, the best friend he could be but the last thing he wanted was for you to love him because he seemed like everything you had been searching for.

Playful comments and flirtatious banter were only attempts to signal that to you, he wanted to be the one you didn’t see coming.

The giggled coming from you subsided as he finally came to a stop and stared at you, that dorky smile still on his face.

In the silence, you almost shrunk under his gaze as he let out a sigh of relief and put a hand over his heart.

After, he threw a fist in the air. “I totally won.”

You laughed, covering your face in embarrassment as the silence fell over the both of you again on your descent.

“Y/N, I don't want to be the reason why you can't sleep at night, from now on I want to be the one who lulls you to sleep.”

જ⁀➴♡ phone in ᝰ.ᐟ

PHONING... 𓂃 ࣪˖ To All The Boys.

Chronicles of the crumpled pages of poetry detailing past attempts at love can be found in the trash of your bedroom where you’re not a woman, but a girl instead. Through all the desperate yearning for love, only one flame was strong enough to make it out.

જ⁀➴♡ wc 2k ✧ angst , fluff , txt ot5 x reader

Dear Huening Kai,

I’m not really sure how to start this letter. I hope this finds you well seems devastatingly distant and cold, like I’m writing a business letter. I never wrote you a letter before, everything that we shared had been in the form of hushed whispers in the back of the classroom. Notes, surely I had written hundreds through the years. Eventually though, your desk no longer belonged to you and my notes found their place in the trash.

The final note, just as short as all the others had three words. I’m sure that you can guess what they were. My hands were clammy and the lettering was shaky but even still, I held that note close to my heart. I waited much longer than I should have— after the first week it should have been obvious that you weren’t returning to our sacred corner of the world.

I’m not sure why I’m writing this now after having crumpled that note away, hidden away inside of that class binder you’d scribbled on. The doodles made the both of us laugh in the moment but looking at them now just makes me miss our schooldays.

Anyways, these are the things that I want for you that I never got to tell you.

I want you to be happy. I want someone to know the warmth of your smile and to feel the way I did when I was in your presence. I’m sure you haven’t thought of me at all since you left but you saved my life back then by being my friend. I hope that I could have made you as happy as you made me.

When school was absolutely dreadful, we found each other. When everyone picked me last, you had always sought me out first. Maybe that’s why I believed you were the first boy I ever loved.

I want you to know how happy you made my years and though your leaving really did hurt me, in the end, I was better for it. I don't know if what we had was just puppy love, but if it wasn't, then I hope to never to fall deeper in love than I was with you.

Because of you, I know I’m too fragile to bear it.

My love has abandoned me, do with that what you will.

Love,

From, Y/N.

Dear Kang Taehyun,

Do you remember our first day? When I first saw you I was convinced you would be the romantic lead to finally convince me to take another chance at love. When we first spoke, I quickly came to realize that you weren’t— you were yourself and somehow, that was worse. Because I loved you more than any idealized version of you I had ever known.

Anyways, that first night the fog lifted and all around us were trees linking hands, like children playing. It reminded me of a boy I had known in my youth and suddenly I was 16 years old again desperately holding my feelings to my chest, afraid to speak as if the moment would slip away once more.

And somewhere along the way, messy confessions of admiration written on ripped out binder paper became carefully lettered confessions on parchment paper, sealed beautifully with wax only to never be opened.

Our first night, when you stood by the door, conflicted, as I sat there with my knees tucked under my chin, smiling. Then through the window, over the horizon was the most beautiful sunsets I had ever seen. Soon, your breath was on my neck as compliments spilled from your lips in a whisper. When I shied away from your touch, the first boy to touch me, you told me I looked lovely and for the first time in my life: I had felt it.

I sometimes think about the fragility of glass— ofbroken shards tearing against soft skin. The prickly feeling of tears as you’d stare down at the red glossy blood beginning to seep out.

It was almost painful how you respected me— how you accepted my rejections with a gentle smile.

And in truth, it is the transparency of the glass that kills you. The pain of seeing through to something you can never quite touch and the sting that followed after.

Your arms around my waist, the cold wind coming through the window howled as the sea whispered with the scent of sea salt filling the room. That night had felt so intimate and special to me, how welcoming you had been to my fear.

When the morning came, you were off and the sea continued to whisper your name.

Come back to me.

Love

From, Y/N.

Dear Choi Beomgyu,

I gave you the best of me— the year, the days, the hours. Precious little, in turn you’d given, like nutrients for a wilting flower. A last minute attempt at nurturing a broken heart. It had worked for the time. For that, I’m grateful.

I never said those three words to you— I wasn’t sure if I would be able to bring myself to. For anytime I had gotten close— to this idea of love— it had slipped away just beyond my reach.

I want you to remember my lips beneath your fingers and how you told me things you never told another soul.

Always the mood maker on camera, those glimpses into your soul that you had provided me were more special than you could have ever imagined.

Every moment between us had been captured with your camera. Now, I can’t recall if I had ever looked into your eyes without that thing in my face. For the sake of the memories, I let you have it. How dearly you loved that camera, I eventually hoped that could be me.

And those rare moments without it, on the quiet hood of your car as we sat looking up toward the sky were the ones I would remember forever. How you traced circles into my back as effortlessly as you would change the camera’s lens.

And my heart would skip at the thought that you were maybe, just maybe, beginning to know every inch of me as much as you knew that camera.

I want you to know that I have kept sacred everything you had entrusted in me and I always will.

Now I do wonder if there will be a morning when you'll wake up missing me as much as I missed miss you. I guiltily found myself hoping that some incident in your life would have finally taught you the value of my worth, that some poor girl much stronger than me would say the words that I longed to and mean it for the moment— only to break your heart in the end.

And you would feel a surge of longing, when you remember how I was good to you.

If that day ever comes then I hope you will look for me. I hope you will look with the kind of conviction that you’d always shown me, searching for me in every passing face.

Because I want to be found again. And I hope it’s you and the secrets you shared who find me.

Love

From, Y/N.

Dear Choi Soobin,

Have you forgotten me?

Please tell me what you've heard, in passing between mutual friends’ gatherings and in memories dug up by algorithms beyond your control.

I guard your memory jealously because with you I'd placed my worth. Because after losing so much— you seemed so perfect. I was ready to give it all up. Everything.

I was officially half out of my mind with love.

And I didn't think twice about what I was throwing into the fire, as long as I could keep it burning for just another minute— if only I was allowed to sit awhile longer beside its pale glow with my head on your shoulder while your gentle hums lured me to sleep.

That was how I loved you in the end. With my body cold and shuddering, empty hands over smoldering ash, counting out the minutes for your return.

And eventually, like all the love before, I had to realize that you weren’t coming back.

There I sat by the sad pile of ash only accompanied by a lukewarm, bitter tasting beer. You had complained that my wine was much too sharp.

Even with you gone I found myself trying to cater towards your taste. Yet despite the arguments we would have, mostly at my own fault, I prayed for the moments you would come back and drag me back home with you.

You showed me the particular kind of suffering to be experienced when you love something so deeply that you end up burning yourself too close to the flame. A tender sacrifice.

Like bent and broken feet of a dancing ballerina, it was in every considered step I took in the opposite direction of you.

If I ever felt like home to you, it was because you were safe with me. I want you to know that most of all.

Maybe in another time, I could have been your home. I don’t know anymore.

Love

From, Y/N.

Dear Choi Yeonjun,

It was in you that I had found everything I ever loved before and more, all at once.

Everything I had lost returned to me once more as if to remind me of what I would never have. Or maybe you were sent to give me hope again.

It was in the pained silence, comparable only to the lost song of a mermaid, I had come to terms with the fact that it was the first option.

At the place where you found me, under the half-moon and its half-light of the park. You said, if only you had met me there that night. Maybe we could have found our way. If we had met later on as more developed versions of ourselves, we could have stood a chance.

And I laughed, with no humor at all. Because at our age, it felt I had no more time to wait.

I learned something about sadness after that day, you ruffling my hair to comfort me before walking away without a goodbye or see you soon.

You showed me insanity like an open window, seven storeys high as I stared to the ground far below, teetering on the edge. And it was just as terrible and as beautiful as you and I.

Because I loved you— and I had finally said it, after so many years of chasing. I admitted to you: you were my everything.

With your arm around my shoulder as you entertained a group of people I couldn’t bother to remember the names of, I found myself looking up at you with pure adoration.

Suave and cool, you seemed to be everything love had told me I needed. Because with you, I was revered as well. Even to everyone around you: to be loved by you, I must have been special.

When your face fell at my confession, guilt evident on your face— I came to realize I must not have been special enough.

And you said pure bliss was a storm cloud, just before the rain would burst into the night sky, like a thousand aquatic stars-and not one single moment before.

And you were right. You were right about it all.

Love

From, Y/N.

Dear, ▇▇▇▇

There were letters that I had wrote you that I gave up sending, long before I stopped writing. I don't remember their contents, but I can recall with absolute clarity, your name scrawled across the pages.

I could never quite contain you to those messy sheets of ink. I couldn’t stop you from overtaking everything else, writing for hours on end only to feel overwhelmed all over again at the building tower of papers in the trash.

Because any other letters written to all the boys I had loved before were never quite as visceral as yours.

I wrote your name over and over— on torn scraps of paper, on binders and on the back of my wrists. On mirrors as I stared back at myself, eyes puffy and wide with tears.

And I carved it like sacred markings into trees and thought of adding my own, only to realize how utterly and pathetically in love I must have seemed.

Passersby in the park would smile and whisper behind their hands: how beautiful was a girl in love?

To have carved your name into the trees and the tops of tabletops, you must have been so incredibly special. How lucky you were to be loved by me, they must have thought.

Sometimes when I read a book, parts will lift from the pages in an anagram of your name. The words on the page would move themselves around, shuffling in some twisted dance to fade into you. Like a code to remind me it's not over. It was never over.

And in the end, I find myself returning to you. Only you. In this first letter: the one that I’ll finally send, I’m lending my heart to you in hopes you’ll return to me.

Because as I was, and as I am— as I will always be,

I am completely and utterly yours.

And so I am sending this: baring my soul and heart to you. It has been beaten and bruised after all this time.

All I can hope is that you can learn to become very, very careful with this fragile heart. And in turn I will reflect all of the pain I have experienced throughout these years onto you, as it has been purified into this new form of love.

I’ll be waiting at our spot. Come find me.

Love, your Y/N.

Happy 5 year anniversary, my TXT. ♥︎

જ⁀➴♡ phone in ᝰ.ᐟ

PHONING... 𓂃 ࣪˖ carnival.

Essentially becoming a shut-in due to your extreme fear of crowds, your friends are determined to take you out and show you how much fun things can be.

path unlocked: [ star song.] replay? ✧

જ⁀➴♡ wc 1k ✧ fluff , humor , comfort

As you inch closer to the front of the line, the rhythmic clinking of the cars ascending and descending fills your ears.

Standing before the entrance, the worker looked at you expectantly before glancing at the boys behind you. You turned to face them and they all gave you an encouraging smile, each one as sweet as the one before.

“So, who’s it gonna be?”

Looking at each of them, it felt almost impossible to pick just one. The feeling that everyone was waiting on you made you even more anxious, the idea of annoying the people around you getting your nerves up even more.

“Hey, Y/N it’s fine. Take your time.” Taehyun commented.

The small smile he gave you was enough to have you letting out a sigh of relief. “I think…”

As they looked at you expectantly, you frowned. There was no way that you could choose just one of them without feeling bad for leaving the others out.

“I think… I-I don’t think I want to go on it anymore.”

Turning to the attendant with an apologetic look, you gave a quick apology before walking away, ushering the boys out of the line.

“Y/N? Are you okay?” Yeonjun asked, looking back with a concerned look toward you.

“If you’re too overwhelmed we can head out,” Soobin started.

Shaking your head as the six of you find a place behind a nearby tent, you shook your head. “I’m fine! I’m having fun!”

Kai tilted his head slightly at your tone. It was fairly obvious you had became overwhelmed, even if you refused to admit it.

Your heart was coming down from the anxiety of holding up the line as you looked back at the ride, seeing the couples and families climb aboard.

In truth, you didn’t want to go on it that badly but the embarrassment from not being able to make such a seemingly simple choice had you flustered.

“Why don’t we get out of here anyways?” Taehyun offered.

You gave him a quizzical look, fiddling with the end of your shirt. “Where would we even go?”

Beomgyu shrugged, “why don’t we just go look at the stars?“

The suggestion was simple but it had caught your attention, looking up. All night the carnival seemed to distract from the natural beauty around you.

A part of you felt ashamed for not taking a moment to appreciate them.

Taehyun nodded. “Soobin still has some blankets in the truck, I think.”

“That I do,” Soobin said with a huff. “My poor napping blanket.”

“Come on, you big baby. I’ll wash it when we get home.” Yeonjun said, nudging the taller boy as he let out a huff.

You laughed, shooting him a grateful look. “Thank you, Soobin.”

As your group of friends began to weave through the carnivals crowd for the final time, the chaos began to fade into the distance.

Taehyun and Kai’s gentle hold on your hands had you sending them grateful looks.

Laughter and the faint echoes of carnival music lingered in the air as you all left behind the colorful lights and bustling rides.

Excitedly, Beomgyu walked backwards as he continued to ramble about a topic you couldn’t follow at all.

Seemingly, him and Soobin were arguing over who was better at the game they both played.

“Quit fighting!” Yeonjun called after them.

Ahead, the wide field was bathed in the soft glow of moonlight.

Even with the music in the distance, it was peaceful. Tall grass swayed gently in the breeze.

There was a rhythmic whisper that accompanied all of your footsteps as you found an area to settle down at.

Yeonjun and Taehyun set out the blankets as you and Kai gently nudged each other, pointing out the stars you could already see much clearer.

Soobin and Beomgyu seemed to continue their previous antics as they stumbled around chasing each other.

The scent of earth and grass filled the air and you took a deep breath in, finally feeling your heart settle for the first time that night.

The faint aroma of the carnival treats were finally left behind and as you sat down, Beomgyu basically crashing down next to you, you laughed.

You had once heard a story once about lovers who kept finding each other, no matter how many times the world came between them.

Even when they were cursed for the rest of eternity, transformed into stardust and placed scattered far apart throughout the galaxy.

Parts of them still found each other in the vastness of space.

In this story, rather than previous lovers, you had seen your friends.

Your bodies were made of stardust, and you were hurtling through space and time, toward the most beautiful collision. Yet each and every time, no matter what— you would find each other.

The night sky stretched endlessly, a canvas adorned with countless stars. Tired conversations ensued until you were all lying down, laughter subsiding into a familiar and comfortable silence.

Nameless stars gracefully stretched across the heavens, a river of light that seemed to flow from one horizon to the other. Endless.

In this moment of awe and wonder, you found yourself hoping that this moment could be endless as well.

Each star seemed to twinkle with its own secret, beckoning you to explore the mysteries of the cosmos.

You, Soobin and Yeonjun began to make up names and stories for the stars as Taehyun stifled Kai’s laughter in attempt to not wake a sleeping Beomgyu.

The air was crisp and clear, carrying with it a sense of tranquility that enveloped you all like a warm embrace.

In this moment, surrounded by the vast expanse of the night sky, you were reminded of the beauty of the universe.

No matter how overwhelming things had gotten, no matter how big and scary the world truly was— you would always find yourself back here in this familiar patch of grass with your friends.

With Soobin’s tired head on your shoulder and Beomgyu fast asleep on your thighs.

The gentle hum from Yeonjun and Taehyun accompanied by the squeeze Kai had given your hand.

The contented chatter of crickets and the slow, rhythmic song of cicadas.

If you could describe happiness, it would be that moment the universe had conjured up for you.

Served to you like some sort of cosmic apology for all that you have been through, and all that you had missed out on.

If you could take from all the possibilities, that moment would be the one you would always choose to bring into fruition.

And yet, you were well aware that the world spun too quickly and it turns too slowly as you waited and waited for the moment to transact into memory.

Eventually, the day would come when you could no longer tell the difference between this memory and a dream.

You found your own eyes growing heavy as your hand stilled in Beomgyu’s hair, coming up to your mouth to stifle a yawn.

Despite the acknowledgment that this, too, would end, you found the timeless connection of the stars omnipresent in your friendship.

As the stars watched over you all, unwillingly drifting to sleep together, a part of you confirmed what you had always known.

The six of you would always find each other, no matter if it was a dream or a memory.

There was nothing to grieve over in this moment. There was just love.

“Do you think there is the possibility of you and I?” The star asked.

“In this lifetime, is that too much to hope for?”

“There is something so delicate about time, so fragile.” The moon had started.

“If nothing ever comes of us, at least I have known this feeling, this wonderful sense of optimism that you have gifted to me.” The sun chimed in.

“You have given me something I can always keep close to me—to draw from in my darkest hour like a ray of unspent sunshine.” The moon commented.

“The love we share, it will be carried on by us through generations. It will be passed on and felt, the pieces of each other that we have borrowed and spent will be remembered.” The sun had finished.

“No matter what happens next, I will always be glad to know there is someone like you in the world.” The star said.

“Thank you for loving me.”

જ⁀➴♡ phone in ᝰ.ᐟ

PHONING... 𓂃 ࣪˖ Break My Heart Again.

The only thing that could ruin your nights with Taehyun was the harsh reality that peeks in with the sun the morning after.

જ⁀➴♡ wc 2k ✧ angst

The morning sun gently filters through the curtains, casting a soft glow across the room as you sit at the table across from him, sipping on a steaming cup of coffee. The air was filled with a sense of calm and tranquility, the lingering warmth of last night still palpable between you.

The crease by his eyes when he smiled at you before looking down toward his phone almost had your head spinning and if you weren’t seated, you swore you could have fallen over.

There was a quietness to the moment, the only sound being the gentle hum of the coffee maker and the occasional clink of your ceramic mug against the tabletop.

The mug in front of him sat unmoved, half empty as remnants of spilt coffee dried on the rim with the time it remained untouched.

As you took another sip of your coffee, you stole a glance at Taehyun, the same small smile playing at the corners of your lips. Something in the way he leaned into the palm of his hand had you mesmerized. Your best friend, Taehyun, ever the beauty.

Maybe that was what it was that made you head over heels for him: that sense of familiarity in the way you looked at each other, a silent acknowledgment of the connection you shared.

One night, after all of the longing glances shared there had been a moment when the two of you crossed the line of friendship into something more. Not friends anymore but not quite lovers.

Nothing felt like yours anymore after that. Every little thing that defined you; the small sentimental trinkets he had gifted you from his travels, your car keys that had now become lonely with the departure of your apartment key. The pin codes and passwords you memorized like the back of your hand, always knowing he would be there to meet you on the other side.

They all felt like you, at one point in time. Your spare apartment key that had been thrown on his own keychain for when he would come over for sacred friend dates was now used only in the late night. Eventually, the pin codes you had memorized for him during the day faded from your mind as he made sure to meet you at the door, quickly punching it in himself to sneak you in late at night.

And more than anything else, your phone number— the one he boldly asked for that night you met, amidst a sea of your friends, under a sky of talking satellites and glowing stars. You hadn’t missed the look of surprise on their faces, especially Beomgyu’s as his eyes peered up at you from behind his cup.

Across the table, Taehyun looked up from his phone incessantly again and returned your smile. There was a warmth in his gaze, a silent reassurance that despite the fleeting nature of your encounters, the moment was one you both savored. It was in his eyes that you had found that shred of hope you desperately clung to like a kitten stuck up a tree.

As you continued to drink your coffee, you found yourself lost in thought, reflecting on the events of the previous night. Despite the uncertainty of what the future may hold, there's a sense of contentment in knowing that for this brief moment in time, you were exactly where you were meant to be.

The sun casted long shadows across the room as you sat together, lost in your own thoughts.

Taehyun had always felt like home, maybe it was the years you had spent getting to know each other and memorizing his most unnoticeable habits but you could never imagine a day going by without thinking of him.

Though you always knew that was love, it began to feel like a curse.

The peace was broken by the scratch of his chair against the floor, excusing himself from the table as he wordlessly made his way to the sink. The sound of cold coffee being poured down the drain had you swallowing as you watched him place his cup in there.

The air of familiarity he carried with himself in your apartment began to make you feel sick. He was your best friend yet when he was here, this place was almost like his second home.

With a quick ‘see you later’ and a gentle kiss to your forehead, he was off and suddenly you had lost your appetite.

Something that should feel so sweet, saved for the person you wanted to cherish so carefully instead felt like a mark of shame.

You were sure that he pitied you— that must have been it as any kind of affection outside of the bedroom began to feel like pity.

There were times where you had shared moments and everything felt right. Long before this arrangement began and you never spoke out loud of your admirations, his hands felt much more sure of their actions.

A part of you wanted to tell him not to bother coming back if he couldn’t admit that there was something— but that idea of giving up on him was somehow worse than pretending you were fine being just friends.

The first time you had broken up the arrangement, it proved difficult to remain friends. Knowing glances and brushing touches, it was hard to pretend he didn’t know you more intimately than anyone ever had.

The worst thing yet, your number would always belong to him. Buried somewhere deep in his missed calls, collecting dust, you knew that it would always be there. You could never bear to get rid of him.

Even with the amount of rust accumulated between the lines of communication, the memory of all the words exchanged seemed to keep them from ever being completely severed.

Once you had told him to leave you alone completely. Despite knowing that was the last thing you wanted, he decided to respect your wishes with a gentle kiss to your wrist and no goodbye. The worst thing about Taehyun would always be how gentle he was, how he always knew the right thing to do to hurt you so deeply.

Hurting you was never what he wanted, even if you could never understand that. Maybe your mind would try and convince you that it was true but in the end, he would always be a mystery.

Unsurprisingly, it had been you who broke that promise you begged him to keep as you contacted him through one of your friends. It wasn’t your proudest moment but with Kai being more than willing to help you rekindle your ‘friendship’, you couldn’t find it in yourself to refuse, even if it was selfish.

As happy as he was to hear from you, Taehyun felt much more concerned. These swings in your mood had become more and more frequent and he found himself a bit distressed. Despite the rational part of his brain wanting to pry and get you to admit the truth, he decided to let himself remain cautiously optomistic for the two of you.

You weren’t ever aware of Taehyun’s feelings for you, selfishly you were too wrapped up in your own mind and anxieties to ever notice.

The first time you had gotten a glance of how he felt was the first night you had found yourself in his bed since the silence. Lying on your stomach with your feet in the air, your eyes were glued to the tv as his hand found its’ way onto the back of your thigh, stilling your movements.

“You know I would have answered you, right?”

The sincerity in his tone had you furrowing your eyebrows in confusion, a pit growing in your stomach at the idea of another argument. Even while knowing he would never argue with you on purpose, you were unfortunately growing increasingly aware of your own ability to cause arguments.

“…Huh?” Hesitantly you pushed yourself up, turning towards him on your knees. His hand fell to the bed as you looked down at it, still extended toward you despite your skins new absence.

“Those months we stopped talking. You called me.”

The pit in your stomach tightened for a moment as the embarrassment hit you, your face heating up.

“I thought you deleted my number?” You asked, nervously reaching out for his hand. His touch was enough to comfort you.

“No matter how many times I erased you from my phone, I’d still recognize your number.”

A wide smile made its way onto his face and he let out a small laugh, seemingly growing shy. The slight purr behind his laugh had you smiling yourself as you moved closer.

“Yeah?”

“Of course, because it’s an extension of you.”

Even though there was nothing particularly romantic about that sentence, you found yourself unfortunately aware of just how in love with him you were and the growing possibility that maybe, he had felt something for you as well.

The series of twos and ones he grew to memorize like the dips of your waist and the curves of your hips, despite your minds’ constant attempts to remind you there was no feelings behind that memory game he seemed to play, you found yourself clinging to the idea that there was.

To you, memorization was the purest form of love.

Taehyun’s hands pressed into the small of your back was now something you would remember forever, similarly to the scent of the room you’d first met when the world seemed to tilt on its’ access.

Numbers that were reminiscent of two contented cats, curled together like a pair of speech marks.

It was that time of night where the city seemed to quiet down and all you heard were the chirping of bugs outside as you stared down at the table. A porcelain plate, its’ intricate designs only disgraced with a cold slice of half-eaten pie.

Despite wanting to, you couldn’t find it in yourself to eat the rest of it. All you could think about was how much better it had tasted when he was across from you.

The second time you had caught a glimpse of how he felt had also been the second time you had broken off the arrangement.

Your head fell into your hands with choked out sobs, a feeling a shame and disgust at the overwhelming feeling of love. Surely, that was the worst feeling among all.

The guilt was not even close to being able to combat the love you had for him.

Even with the pathetic show of distress you found yourself in, his hands broke you down as he pulled you into him gently.

“If I can never hold you or kiss you again, I can live with that.” He said.

The sentence alone broke your heart but even still, your grip on his shirt tightened as you buried your face into him deeper.

Too caught up in your sobs, you didn’t notice the shaky breath he let out before continuing, “but I can’t stand the idea of us not speaking again…”

You tried your best to calm your breathing, wishing that he would just say what you wanted to hear. After all of this time and distress, if he could just finally say it: everything would be okay.

That was what you convinced yourself, at least— blaming him was better than acknowledging the truth. It was both of your faults: you were both just too afraid.

“Can you at the very least, allow me that one thing? I never want to go back to the time before I met you.”

With that, his hands that seemed to break you down held you like water in his hands. The words felt healing, even knowing that you were slipping through the cracks.

Yet even with how painful you knew it would be— knowing you’ll never truly get over him, when you looked up to see the sadness for the first time in his own eyes, you agreed.

It wasn’t his fault, it could never be his fault because no matter how many times you said the arrangement wasn’t working: you were always the one who ran back to him.

After that night, it wasn’t long before you were calling him with mascara running down your face after crying over how you miss him or showing up outside his dorm with lipstick smudged from some drunk douchebag you couldn’t bother to remember the name of.

And with the hurt and concern in his eyes making you shiver under his gaze, you’d pull him in and his own heart would stop as the realization would hit him all over again of what he had started back then never truly stopped.

You wondered what would go through his mind if one day he had dialed your number to find it had been disconnected.

There were one too many times you’d considered the act, running away to some other city where you couldn’t run back to his arms. That self-destructive dance the two of you seemed to find yourself trapped in because being something was better than nothing.

You wondered if his imagination would race with thoughts of what new city you had run to and who was sharing your bed if not him.

Something that could be fixed with three words seemed so unsolvable to the two of you like a rubiks, refusing to make the next move due to fear of complicating it more.

Taehyun wasn’t one to make reckless decisions but when it came to you, he found himself regretting being too prideful to admit how he felt in the beginning.

When you agreed to be friends with benefits, he silently found himself clinging to the hope that you liked him as much as he had liked you, because regardless of what he had said: all he wanted was you.

Maybe if he had been honest about the relationship he wanted back then rather than trying to find some middle ground, you wouldn’t have grown to feel he was disingenuous.

Similarly to how Taehyun changed what was yours, you had taught him how much of your lives were interchangeable, how little was truly his as well.

Not only someone else’s— your ring tone, his songs, your words, his proposition and your broken heart. Those were the things you inherited by choice or by chance.

And it was never your choice to love the other.

So until one of you gains the courage to break the cycle of yearning in silence or impossibly falls out of love between the sheets, you’ve agreed to drink your coffee in the mornings and allow the other to break your heart once more.

જ⁀➴♡ phone in ᝰ.ᐟ

PHONING... 𓂃 ࣪˖ 7 hours ago.

After finding Kai on the outskirts of your kingdom, the two of you develop a bond stronger than any passage of time.

જ⁀➴♡ wc 4k ✧ fluff

On the outskirts of the tranquil kingdom lied a familiar sun-kissed, magical field. The air was crisp and cold as vibrant wildflowers sway in harmony with the gentle breeze. Kai’s eyes felt heavy as he tugged on the sack thrown over his shoulder.

Exhaustion took over his body as he let out a huff, eyes narrowing under the beating sun as he stared off into the distance at the kingdom drawing near.

Another one of his days was spent fulfilling quests of people around him, days beginning to blend together from his lack of sleep.

Even still, the rays of golden sunlight danced upon the emerald grass, casting a warm glow that illuminated the enchanting landscape. A smile tugged at his lips though as he thought of you.

Butterflies flit and fluttered among the blossoms of the land you were so proud of, adding an ethereal touch to the serene scene.

The kingdom of Hyrule was a haven where time seemed to stand still, inviting everyone who entered to bask in its radiant beauty and find solace in its' peaceful embrace.

Kai held himself back as he slid down the steep indent, rolling ankle meeting the bottom of the rugged mountain. The dense forest he had just came from still teeming with life and the songs of creatures unknown to him filtered through his ears.

Despite this, the sun beating down on him causing the sweat to pool on his pale skin didn’t phase him as he thought of you and the castle where he knew he would be able to rest his head.

You, the princess and future ruler of Hyrule but aside from that, Kai’s trusted friend.

It was known that you had been too busy with directing your kingdom’s construction efforts to be formally crowned as you were supposed to and so your taking of the title of ‘Queen’ had been stalled for quite some time.

Citizen’s speculations suggested you simply couldn’t handle the pressure and preferred to bury yourself into your research and studies, spending much more time shut away behind books. Not that they necessarily minded, you still tended to your royal duties as you needed and were regarded with much respect in the realm.

Beyond all the speculations and folklore created around you and the royal family you were tied to, no one knew you as well as Kai.

The two of you had met what felt like ages ago, the first day you could remember stumbling upon a boy who couldn't speak.

You were unsure if he couldn’t or wouldn’t, any questions inquiring about his family or friends met with a steady silence.

It was in that silence you seemed to pick up on his own confusion, the realization dawning that he wasn’t quite sure of much himself.

In taking him in, it didn’t take long for you to agree to help him discover who he was and possibly reunite him with his family.

Despite how well he seemed to fare on his own, you found yourself growing increasingly enamored with the boy and extended as much help to him as possible.

From Kai’s perspective it had been a particularly exhausting day when you, a young girl who had never heard a single melody in your entire life approached him.

Leaning down to see what the boy was hunched over, him shying the slightest bit away from you to protect himself.

“What’s that? Won’t you show me?” The air of familiarity in which you spoke with threw him off the slightest bit.

You were close to his age but you carried yourself with a confident air, despite being so far from civilization.

The air was alive with the melody of a birdsong and the rustle of leaves. The crackle of the fire in front of him pierced his ears and he whipped his head around to see if anyone else had come.

Strangely enough, it had just been you. With nothing to protect yourself but a book in hand, in that moment he made the quick judgement that you were the slightest bit ditzy.

The scent of wildflowers and pine trees filled his senses, it had been too long he had been traveling and he hadn’t the faintest idea where he had wounded up, having lost his map long before he could remember.

The walls of the kingdom could be seen from miles away, the ruins of ancient civilizations fallen past littering the path to its’ entrance like picture frames.

Despite the ruins, the kingdom itself remained untouched by the passage of time. Peering eyes remained focused on his hands, shaky as they covered something from your sight.

When you were met with no answer, you hummed and sat yourself down on the ground across from him. “You don’t talk?” You asked.

Kai thought for a moment before shaking his head. It wasn’t that he couldn’t, he was just the slightest hit apprehensive when it came to strangers. Not that anyone could blame him.

Sunlight filtered through the canopy above, casting dappled shadows on the earth’s floor and illuminating secret glades nearby.

The thing he had been protecting so dearly you eventually found out had been a music box, something delicate and treasured throughout his life.

A small, pink music box that was said to hold every song in the world. Curiously, you asked him to play a song for you.

Despite his fuzzy memories attached to the music box, his heart had told him to protect it and always keep it close.

Something so delicate in a world such as his must be protected.

Even so, he smiled hesitantly and played you his favorite song.

Kai watched while your face lit up with wonder as the music filled the sky and the poetry of the keys moved you in a way you had never felt before.

It wasn’t unnatural to hear the humming of strings throughout the kingdom as people played for their enjoyment but to hear a song tethered to the cranking of the winds’ gears somehow sounded much more beautiful and refined.

It hadn’t even dawned on the both of you that night began to fall, a shiver running down your spine at the thought of anything showing up unexpectedly.

“Why don’t you come back with me?” You offered.

“You can have a nice, full meal!” Clapping your hands together excitedly, you brushed yourself off as you waved back toward the kingdom.

Kai’s eyes wandered toward the fire in front of him and the sad excuse for a soup he had attempted to make, his pale cheeks flushing red.

Despite his wanting to decline out of embarrassment, the growling of his stomach quickly betrayed him.

The hesitance in his eyes was obvious and despite your age, you found yourself reading him as clear as your favorite book.

You kneeled down, reaching for his hand slowly. When he didn’t pull away you took it as a sign, gently grabbing it and holding it in your own with a smile.

“It’s not charity. You showed me something precious to you today, so I want to treat you. Think of it as a trade, okay?” For the first time in a while, Kai found himself smiling and he nodded.

“Okay…” His voice was quiet and you almost didn’t catch it. The sudden response had you ecstatic as you pulled him up, him stumbling to his feet.

Underneath that tree, the two of you formed a friendship that would last for years to come.

Kai would play his songs for you day after day and you would sit by him quietly, never seeming to mind that he would only speak to you through song.

As the two of you grew older, he seemed to talk more and more. Some days it was less often than others, not that you’d ever point it out. With his age, Kai had taken on many more quests and adventured out more often.

Spending more time away from the kingdom, you found he’d always return from these adventures completely exhausted. Of course, you let him know that there was always a warm bed waiting for him at the end of the day. Even still, you could tell that all of his hard work had taken a toll on him.

On days where he was particularly silent, you found him seeming much more drained physically and emotionally.

With this lack of speaking, seemingly stemming from the responsibility he had placed on himself at such a young age, you were quick to realize that Kai was the type to silently carry his own burdens.

The last time you had heard him break this silence was when you called him to one of your research stations, anxiously chewing on your nail as you stared down at the map in front of you.

After so many years you’d finally managed to track down members of Kai’s lineage— or at least, that was what you had hoped. Stowed away in Hyrule’s sister country of Labrynna you had heard whispers of a story that seemed to match exactly with what you had known of Kai.

Brothers and sisters searching for a young boy to match his exact description when you had met him. Of course, it dawned on you that it could be any other boy with a similar appearance so you decided to pay a visit yourself to be sure.

A boy and a music box.

The last thing you wanted was to get Kai’s hopes up for nothing, you were sure that would break the both of your hearts.

When you were younger you had grown fond of adventuring out beyond the kingdom, much to your fathers’ dismay. The issue lied in your own ability to defend yourself.

Knowing this, Kai agreed to help you in training to get stronger.

Traveling through sprawling deserts with tranquil lakes, you found yourself excitedly scribbling out poorly made drawings of its’ beautiful landscapes and jotting down notes of things you’d wanted to show Kai and discuss with him later on.

Deep inside Labrynna teemed with life inside its’ hidden village where the inhabitants carried on traditions passed down through generations. The village had a captivating beauty about it and you couldn’t help but find it fitting for someone like Kai to originate from there.

Once you had arrived, asking around had led you to a cozy cottage, its thatched roof adorned with ivy and moss, blending seamlessly with the surrounding verdant foliage. The village itself was a stark contrast to the deserts surrounding it.

Hesitantly, you swallowed the lump in your throat and knocked on the door. When the door opened you were faced with a girl, seemingly only a few years younger than Kai. It didn’t take much longer than a moment of studying her face to confirm the two were related and your heart began to swell.

You didn’t want to ruin the surprise so you had opted for an excuse for your appearance, some nonsense about Hyrule’s trading system reaching out to merchants of their partnering kingdoms.

All of the training you’d sat through came in handy as you rambled on and on about exchanging goods ranging from exotic spices and textiles to precious metals.

Kai’s sisters who you later learned to be named Lea and Bahiyyih seemed interested as the younger one happily engaged with you in conversations about her finest gems she’d accumulated over the years.

The cottage exuded an aura of warmth and tranquility, its walls adorned with quaint wooden shutters painted in hues of earthy greens and rich browns. The occasional pink foliage littered the area, you assumed by Bahiyyih’s touch.

Lea seemed much more hesitant yet she still offered you some tea, mentioning that she knew of some boys who may have been interested in trades as well.

The four boys, you later learned, had been friends of their missing brother.

The crackling fire filled the air with the scent of cedar wood as you were brought back to the night you had met Kai.

As you studied faded photos around the cabin, a photo of the boy you knew all too well had caught your attention, standing between the two girls with a toothy grin.

Something you found particularly captivating was the familiar, small music box held in the youngest girls’ hands.

Kai’s smile radiated that same warmth even through the faded photograph, your heart swelling at the sight of what he once had. You knew that he always yearned to return home, even if he couldn’t quite remember how he had gotten lost in the first place.

When you had returned to Hyrule that day, you were saddened to find that you had missed Kai’s return before he set off for another quest. You were sure he was off exploring the deepest cave somewhere quite a distance away.

The table of your research station had been littered with papers from your travels, those drawing and notes previously hidden away for Kai’s return.

The map of Kai’s home was now covered with detailed markings, warnings and notes scribbled across the top of it all leading to the circled area. Papers with notes tucked inside detailing a description of the newly familiar cabin and its occupants just in case he had somehow gotten lost.

There wasn’t a doubt in your mind that he would be able to find him though, seeing how people seemed to gravitate toward him. Kai always seemed to find himself exactly where he needed to be, you noticed.

A hand placed on your shoulder had you jumping, hands instinctively moving to cover the map as you whipped your head around. You found Kai, a confused look on his face that you read clear as day.

A sigh of relief escaped you as you smiled, growing embarrassed of how lost you had gotten in your thoughts.

“I know that it’s been years and you seemed okay with the prospect of giving up but…” your voice trailed off as you rolled the map up, gently placing it inside a protective sheath.

Kai tilted his head slightly and his hair fell in front of his face. You smiled a bit as that, wanting to reach up brush it out of his face. You’d noticed that it had grown much longer than he usually kept it when he was here.

“I found them, Kai. Your sisters.” For a moment he stilled, almost as if he had completely frozen up.

Concern filled your gaze and you stepped forward, holding the map close. “Kai? Are you alright?” Your words were smooth and soft, as if trying not to scare a frightened animal.

For the first time ever in the years you had known him, Kai laughed. The sound was loud and quite obnoxious, unlike anything you had ever heard from the boy and your eyes widened in surprise.

Despite the unfamiliarity, you found his laugh to be much better music than anything he had played for you before.

“Sisters,” he let out a deep breath and he looked down at your hands wound tightly around the map. He reached out, placing his over your own.

Kai wasn’t one to initiate physical contact yourself, the unfamiliar warmth causing the blood to rush to your cheeks. “Will you come with me?”

A part of you wanted to cry at the overwhelming care in his tone, how gently he asked you to follow him to his home.

Regrettably, you knew you had to deny this request.

“Unfortunately, I’m needed here.” He frowned for a moment before shaking his head, that wide smile crawling onto his face again.

“Sisters,” he repeated. A laugh escaped you this time as he said it. “Yes, Kai. Sisters. You have some friends there as well, I’m sure everyone in the village will be ecstatic to see you.”

As he took the map, he placed its’ sheath down at his side gently. Curiously, you spared him a glance before you turned to grab something else.

The delicate pink music box was held in your hands, finally going to be returned to its’ rightful owner. Before you could turn around to give it to him, you felt a pair of arms wrap around your waist.

The feeling of his warmth against you had your heart skip a beat as he buried his face into your neck. It was almost like he was starved of touch with how tightly he held onto you, as if he believed you would slip away any moment.

“Thank you, Y/N.” And there it was, the way your name had slipped off of his tongue so perfectly as if it was exactly where it belonged.

The lack of mentioning your title reminding you that you were simply yourself to him and nothing more.

It was these incredibly rare moments you cherished so dearly.

Every sensation felt almost heightened with him so close and you attempted to clear your throat, head spinning. No amount of conversational training could have prepared you for the absolute fool you became when it came to him.

That encounter had been months long passed by now and eventually became a distant memory. No matter how much time passed though, it would always be etched into your mind as the moment you found what love had felt like.

Even after all the time had passed you never grew tired of waiting, confident that he would return when he was ready. In fact, rather than growing bitter, your excitement only grew as you found yourself wondering what stories he would share with you.

Despite the occasional whispers in the kingdom due to his drawn out absence, you hadn’t found yourself concerned with it much. A part of you always missed him but he had promised to return and because of this, you trusted him.

Kai had agreed to return at a set time and place; seven months from the day he had left, beneath the seventh tree in the kingdom’s olive orchard.

Excitedly you rushed about, wondering if you had looked presentable enough. It was a foolish thing to wonder about, especially as Kai had seen you through all of your different phases and accepted you wholeheartedly.

Even still, you found yourself childishly hoping for everything to be perfect.

When you arrived promptly, you waited. As time passed you began to check your time keeper, wondering if your mind had been playing tricks on you.

Checking it every so often but even still, there was no sign of him. You began to question your memory for the first time in your life, wondering if all of your notes and countdowns had somehow been mistaken.

Was it the seventh tree or the tenth?

As foolish as you knew that you were being, you still wondered and decided to check, just in case.

As you made your way over to the tenth tree, Kai finally arrived at the seventh, tiredly leaning against it.

Confusion grew on his face as he studied his surroundings where you were noticeably absent.

The kingdom’s mystical monuments in the distance seemed to peek over the walls ahead, remnants of a bygone era. The trees above the both of you stood strong against the passage of time.

Kai waited before deciding he must have had the wrong tree and perhaps it was another where you were supposed to meet. He mentally scolded himself as he was sure Lea would have done for making you wait.

Meanwhile, you had arrived at the fifty-sixth tree, where Kai was still nowhere to be seen. Your strong facade seemed to fade with time as you found yourself wearing your disappointment on full display.

The both of you began to drift aimlessly around the olive orchard, almost meeting but never quite. Hundreds of questions passed through the both of your minds, had it even been the right day? Perhaps he had come a day early or a day late.

Finally, you found yourself beneath the same tree— the seventh where you began, feeling lost and resigned.

A part of you felt like crying as you stared down at the ground, heel digging into the soft dirt.

It was barely a minute that you stood there before there was a tap on your shoulder.

It was him.

“You came!” Even after all of the time you had spent conditioning yourself to be sure of his return, having him directly in front of you after what felt like forever had lifted a weight off of your shoulders.

With your arms suddenly thrown around his shoulders, he stumbled back at the impact as a bubbly laugh came from your throat. You weren’t expecting a verbal response but surprisingly, it came

“Was there any doubt?” He asked, a new teasing tone in his voice as his hand came up to cradle the back of your head.

Your eyes closed for a moment as you took in his presence, not wanting to let go. The playful tone in his voice was new and you found yourself flustered at the newfound confidence he seemed to have.

Even after such a short time, he continued to grow. A part of you felt sad that you had missed it.

Reluctantly pulling away, you brought yourself to look him in the eye and study his face. It was exactly how you remembered it yet somehow it still felt different.

"Where were you?" You asked, "I feel like I’ve been searching all my life."

Kai’s smile softened as he grabbed your hands from his shoulders, bringing them down to your sides to hesitantly interlock your fingers.

"You stopped looking for me," he replied, "and I found you."

He said it as if it had been the most obvious thing in the world and you shook your head, just grateful for his return.

Despite all of the lost time he had to make up for, Kai never regretted stumbling upon Hyrule— upon you.

With time he realized that it was not just the natural beauty of the kingdom that captivated him but you and the sense of wonder that came with knowing you.

Looming on the horizon like a beacon of hope, stood Hyrule Castle. In the distance behind you it almost shadowed behind you like a crown, the fortress of stone and marble that serves as the heart of the kingdom and the place Kai had once called home.

His eyes looked past you for the moment as he studied it, its towering spires reaching for the sky, silhouettes against the backdrop of the suddenly setting sun.

“Do you remember the song that I played you the night we met?” Kai asked as he brought his eyes back to yours, catching you staring.

Sheepishly, you shook your head no.

“I don’t,” you confessed.

“But I remember every song I have heard since you left.”

When he asked you why, you took both his hands in yours and kissed them warmly. This time, it was the tips of his ears that blushed a bright red as you looked up at him through your eyelashes.

“I couldn’t wait for the day I could share them with you.” He hummed in response, nothing else needing to be said.

The two of you sat, ignoring the setting sun as you began to spill everything of the past month with the other. For the moment neither of you had any responsibilities— you weren’t a princess and he wasn’t a knight: you were simply those kids you had always been.

The familiar silence you were once used to with Kai was quickly replaced with the familiarity of his laugh, your favorite sound.

The way Kai would speak your name with gratitude as if it was the mantra of his soul. No matter how often you’d laugh and deny it, he knew it to be undeniably true.

Underneath the vast expanse of the dimming sky, Kai pulled out something from his pocket— an ocarina, cradling it gently in his hands.

Curiously you glanced at it. Kai’s love for music was something that you were well aware of but he always seemed much more reserved when it came to playing himself in front of other people.

“Since you don’t remember it,” he started.

“I’ll play it for you again.” His gaze fell with a sense of quiet reverence as he raised the ocarina to his lips, its smooth surface cool against his skin.

With practiced fingers he exhales as the familiar, almost haunting melody drifted into the air weaving its way through the night.

Each note resonated with a tenderness long forgotten, carrying with it the depth of his emotions. Your breath seemed caught in your throat as you were enraptured by the song.

And as the night fell, you knew that he had to go.

Regrettably, you allowed yourself to ask him for once thing.

“Do you think you can stay? Just tonight?”

The softness in your voice allowed him to peer into your soul, the beat of your heart reflecting in every word.

“Anything for you.”

In the stillness of the castle’s corridors late at night, the entrance to your bedroom stood as a silent sanctuary from the outside world.

The tall, ornately carved doors loomed like sentinels, polished wood gleaming softly in the dim candlelight that flickered from sconces lining the stone walls.

The two of you seemed small compared to the walls around you but even still, Kai stood tall and proud. He seemed the same but still so different.

A soft creak echoed through the corridor, breaking the silence of the night as you stood holding it open. The familiar scent of lavender and jasmine lingered in the air, mingling with the faint aroma of beeswax from the candles that cast dancing shadows across the room.

The scent that Kai had once regarded as his own home. “I’ll see you off in the morning then?” Your voice held a hint of sadness and Kai nodded wordlessly, lips pressed together in a thin line.

Despite his lack of expression you could tell that something was weighing heavy on his mind as well. Gently grabbing his hand in yours once again, you pulled him closer to you for a moment. “I really have missed you, I’m glad that you’ve found your home. Both of these things are true.”

It was easy for you to tell that underneath it all, Kai had that lingering regret of leaving you to return home. Some sort of guilt buried inside that he couldn’t seem to sort out and detangle in his own.

You gently raised your hand to cup his cheek and he melted into you, just as he had all those months ago.

“You’ll always be special to me, Kai.” Your voice was careful as you wondered how you could confess how you felt after all these years without outright saying it. Tip-toeing around the truth that you both knew.

“I hope that you can allow the simple miracle of your own presence to overwhelm you.” Kai’s eyes fluttered closed for a moment as your thumb brushed against his cheek, feeling the warmth radiating off of it. “You’re beautiful in ways that can't be described.”

A smile came on his face as the tension disappeared from his expression, eyes fluttering open to look at you with pure adoration.

“Goodnight, Kai.” You hummed, gently placing a kiss on his cheek.

When the morning came, you saw him off at the gates as you had agreed to let him go. Although you wished you had more time, you refused to feel sad as you thought of the moments you’d spent together.

Kai knew that the pair of you were eternal, even after all this time. Every quest would lead him back to you, as you were born to walk this world in intersecting lines. Every adventure would bring him back to your side, whether he had to travel for 7 hours or 7 months.

Deep inside, you thanked him for his gift of music and poetry he had brought into your life simply by finding you.

A whirlwind of emotions swept you off of your feet the day you met him, your feelings spilling out in waves just as the ocean had. How lucky you considered yourself to fall in love so young.

Similarly to this, Kai found himself eternally grateful for you finding him and showing him love because he had known nothing better since meeting you.

In all of his adventures, Kai had stumbled upon the ruins of numerous civilizations. He had read their musings about the Gods they worshipped and promises of heaven, endlessly conflicting descriptions of divinity.

Nothing seemed to be as true as what he had thought himself when he was with you. Kai knew that he was born with his heart already broken, his memories taken from him in fragments. But the world began in pieces and somehow made itself whole in the exact way you had shown him.

The day he met you, your smile seemed to be a blazing trail of light that show down from the heavens as your each word seemed to direct him to where the stars truly belonged.

The smile that had shown him the way had also blessed him with realization that he loved you, like some sort of secret only he was allowed in on. The secret knowledge that he was as hopelessly devoted to you as those civilizations had been to their make believe Gods.

Nothing in the world could stop the maddening rush that those three words he longed to say to you caused.

And so he’d practice saying them over and over until you met again to perfect them for you. For his love, with those words, he found himself becoming with divinity and in turn, one with you.

જ⁀➴♡ phone in ᝰ.ᐟ