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"Well Taeyong," Doyoung began, his hand outstretched the older as they stood up. "It was a pleasure to meet you, and hopefully we can share lunch again sometime soon."
Taeyong nodded to the invitation after reading Jaehyun's passive expression.
"That would actually be nice," the student added as his friend shook hands with the Taeyong.
Jaehyun had to admit, the lunch had gone smoothly with less embarrassing moments than he had initially thought there would have been.
All in all, the experience had been pleasant.
He offered the adult a small smile, encouraging him to speak for himself, and with a quick 'that sounds good', the trio decided to split ways. The two boys went back to the campus for their next few classes of school, and Taeyong to an unplanned destination.
He didn't really have anything to do that afternoon, and while going home and having a nap sounded nice, his need to be by his friend was stronger.
He didn't know how long he had truly been there, but somewhere along the way, Taeyong found himself standing by the bridge that looked over the view of the river.
He sometimes did this; stand right where his friend had stood that fateful, guilt-plaguing night. He wasn't quite sure why he did this to himself, why he stood here to try and grasp what had made it such an attractive spot for his friend to end his life, but after paying his respects to the deceased boy, and finding another young one tempting a similar fate, he had to try to understand why.
Why was it him who was left behind with no hint as to what he wanted to accomplish with his life?
As he watched the gentle lapping of the water against the banks, he couldn't suppress the small sob that all these thoughts evoked.
His throat was raw and his heart was aching. It was aching with the feeling of loss. Moments like these had occurred many times before since the other's departure from the world, and still Taeyong could think up hundreds of 'what ifs' even if he knew that doing so would not change the reality he lived in.
Thoughts of a certain brunette suddenly came to mind as he envisioned their first encounter. The boy had been standing by this very bridge, his hands clasped tightly around the metal railing and his eyes looking up to the stars.
Had the sight not reminded him of his own tragic loss, then maybe he would have stopped to admire the handsome young man.
"Jung Jaehyun," he whispered quietly, his voice being carried with the cool winds that had picked up as the evening drew to a close.
He wondered where the boy was now that the hours had ticked by. He knew what that meant...he enjoyed the student's company.
He enjoyed chatting over coffee with the younger. Every morning he would wonder if he'd see him that day.
Maybe it was because Taeyong didn't have very much to do with his life, and that this boy had been the most exciting thing to happen in a while, but even so, the thought of seeing Jaehyun made Lee Taeyong giddy.
He looked up to the stars with a smile that didn't hold back, didn't cover his inner turmoil, and he actually saw the stars smile down on him. They were just like the friend he had lost; they burned brightly while they showed, and brought a light to the darkened night.
