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"Tell me, Jieun, what is it about 'love' that makes us act in such ways?"
"To be honest, there are so many types of love that it's difficult to account for them all. You see, Geon, most people have a craving for a connection...and sometimes it drives us positively, but other times, negatively."
"And what would your observations be?"
"Well sometimes 'love', as a romantic notion, can be mistaken. Running head-first into a relationship simply because you find the other person physically attractive isn't a great idea. Taking the time to get to know the other party, no matter how attracted you are at first, is a 'must'. And of course, you need to know who exactly you're planning on going out with!"
"And Jieun-"
Mark switched off the radio in a huff. "Preacher," he grunted, but the lady wasn't wrong. He was just hurt that the boy he liked turned him away. He knew he shouldn't have told him about the headaches. Donghyuck must have pieced things together after explaining his job and reevaluating what exactly the field was. It was definitely no mistake that a fully healthy person had happened upon the secret place, and it probably spurred a realisation in Donghyuck that it was impossible for his prior assumptions to be correct. "Damn it," he grumbled.
He flopped onto the couch and let out a prolonged sigh. His head seemed to be aching again after the walk back home in the beating sun. His eyes flitted over the window, where sunlight was pouring through and heating up the house. The radio clicked every now and then to cool down.
"I wonder..." he sighed and covered his face with his palms, leaning his head down on his tucked-in knees. "How long do I have left?"
He still wasn't scared. Somehow, the realisation gave him no feelings of sadness, or in fact, anything at all. Indifference, yes. It hadn't quite hit him yet. He lay back and let out a dry laugh because, as depressing at it was, the only person he would care to tell his issue about would be Donghyuck, who would without a doubt be there when he did pass on. He would be the last person he saw. Mark wouldn't mind that.
He looked over at the soundless clock on the wall which read noon and decided that despite Donghyuck urging him to leave for his own good, he would just visit him. There was no cheating as far as Nature was involved. He couldn't just prolong an inevitable fact of life. And plus, the only person he cared about was Donghyuck and if he had to spend the rest of his day alone, he'd surely be lonely.
"Tell me, Jieun," he chirped sarcastically to himself, "do you think my love is a good idea?" He was wandering around the house at this point, collecting up an apple to snack on on the way. "I don't know him very well...but I feel like he knows me the best. Is that strange?" The radio clicked again in an unintended response. "Yeah, okay. Love doesn't have a timetable. It happens unexpectedly, and let me tell you," he paused, halfway tying his lace, eyes raised to the window and the natural light, "this love is very special. He's the 'moon to my tide'." A small smile settled on his face and he shook his head slightly, resuming tying his lace. "Fireflies, I tell you. I'd never seen them until I met him."
