THE LAST TRAIN °sʜᴏᴡᴋɪ°

Every day, small emotions start to bud

Kihyun thought Hyunwoo was weird. Not in the bad sense of things, but weird nonetheless. One of a kind, people would say.

And while Kihyun had never met someone like that, he also never lived like that. The artist came from an agitated town, with a lot of children, and buildings being constructed every two months. What would wake him up in the morning would either be his mother, his alarm, or the kids playing outside. Maybe the loud machines too, or even the circulation. There was always something so...Industrial; it wasn't something Kihyun had to admit being fond of but he just got used to it. All his life had been like that; hectic, full of adventures and sounds and stimulus. Again, it wasn't something he really hated- That was just how his whole life had been, and he had never been unhappy about it. Even more recently, when Minhyuk would be in the kitchen dancing to Twice's songs while cooking, and making way too much noise.

Here, everything was calm and relaxing. Emitted a peaceful, yet savage vibe that he found himself really liking. And, like stated previously, finding someone vibing to Twice's songs in the kitchen wasn't something he was unused of. However, there was this vibe about Minhyuk-One that screamed loud and expressive. Kihyun liked it, of course, that was probably why he fell in love with the man. Yet, there was something so different about seeing Hyunwoo, a 6ft tall built-like-a-tank-but-looks-like-a-teddy-bear man singing What Is Love? while making eggs. His singing was lovely, low, and to be honest, it really wasn't the type of music he would have expected the other man to listen to while making breakfast.

The young artist couldn't say he disliked it and slid behind the tall figure in front of the stove.

"Bet you're a jeongyeon stan."

Those words made Hyunwoo jump in fear, his heart stopping in his throat. Kihyun's loud laugh filled the whole kitchen, and the writer could now think about a hundred words to describe it. Boisterous, mainly. I should use that word in my story. It's a pretty word.

Then, the taller man shook his head to reconcentrate and smiled too. "Am I that obvious?" He then asked, and Kihyun laughed again.

"Yes. Did not expect that, though."

"Everyone has a hidden side, isn't it?"

"And yours is being a once?"

The whole conversation was so dumb it ended in laughter again, and they were soon set at the table to eat. A comfortable silence was winning over everything, and Kihyun could hear all the sounds of the forest around them. He always used to hate forests, silenced places, but it felt comfortable at the moment. It felt like peace.

"Hyunwoo, where are you heading with the food?"

The boy was indeed moving towards the door, plates in hand, and smiling at him. Kihyun was confused.

"Let's eat outside, desperate boy."

"Outside? I hope it's worth it because I'm starving."

Kihyun was pretty sure Hyunwoo's soft laugh was the prettiest thing he ever heard as he stepped a foot outside on this sunny morning. Once the outdoor table was settled, they both ate on it, and Kihyun had to admit he may have overreacted in his mind. The ambiance was kind of nice, there weren't too many insects, and the sounds of nature were definitely nice. He could understand why his new friend appreciated the quietness so much; meanwhile, he usually hated it because it let out all of his scariest thoughts. Right now, nothing but calm, peacefulness, and goddamn tasty eggs...

Wait, what's that buzzing sound?

"Hyunwoo..."

The latter was giggling quietly, a hand over his mouth. He felt half-guilty of laughing about that, but it was mostly harmless.

"Don't move, there's a bee around you."

The panic in Kihyun's eyes was worth the giggles, and at the moment, Kihyun felt like that idea had been the worst of his fucking life. He stood there, unmoving and panicking until Hyunwoo took some mercy on him and decided to make the poor creature fly away. As soon as it was out of sight, Kihyun let out a loud sigh of relief, almost ready to slap the shit out of the guy who laughed in his face one or two minutes in this extreme danger.

"You do know bees won't attack you unless they see a danger in you?"

Kihyun rolled his eyes. Yes, I know. But I see a danger in them. Shut up.

"You sound like my mom," was all he replied before the taller man looked at him and suddenly got up again. "You got something else there, don't move."

At those words, the artist flinched and tried his best to not move. He prayed whatever creature of hell that was on him at this moment would go away, and, then...

A slap on his back. The younger boy didn't expect it at all and flinched, watching his friend return to his seat with a seemingly innocent smile on his face. There was something behind it for sure, but Kihyun was obligated to focus on how the sun caressed his face and made every little feature of him come out. His plump pink lips, his sharp jawline, the little mole on the side of his left eye, and his small eyes that were lightened up by a little something. Unique energy.

Then, suddenly, something clicked in Kihyun's mind. Wait, but I never felt anything settle on me?

"Did-Did you just hit me so freely like this?" The smaller man looked horrified almost, and Hyunwoo truly couldn't help the loud laughter that came out of him. Kihyun's face and expressions were priceless; he had way too much fun teasing him.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't..."

He had that little horrible smile, that one that the devil itself probably wore and Kihyun groaned out loud, but couldn't help the smile from spreading on his lips after. He couldn't be mad at Hyunwoo for that; besides, it wasn't like he had really been hurt. Seeing the taller man's muscles, even covered by clothes, made Kihyun know that if Hyunwoo wanted to hurt him, he, at 100%, could, but probably wouldn't. This wasn't the vibe that Kihyun got from him. He was too nice and calm, and even more so when the tips of his ears turned red after a compliment.

The wind was blowing a bit harder now, and Kihyun had a hard time not letting his sheets fly away with it. Yet, he succeeded and drew the best he could while Hyunwoo was busy taking notes about whatever he was thinking about. Reporting his attention on his model, Kihyun quickly noticed how nice his body was shaped, and how it just made it very nice to draw.

"You have a nice body," he had then said innocently. He didn't miss the way Hyunwoo's ears got redder, and how a small smile spread on his face. Kihyun thought it was adorable.

Even more the "T-Thank you," that followed it after.

"I'll really make you pay for that, you know?"

There was something so easy with Hyunwoo. He had met the man not even 24 hours ago, and he already felt at peace with him. Like he could be totally himself and would never get judged-After all, how bound to judge was a stranger that invited you in his house in the forest? He was more bound to kill than anything else, and Kihyun supposed that if he was alive, then maybe there wasn't much to be scared of.

"I definitely know." The smile Hyunwoo had on his lips was telling Kihyun he wasn't exactly scared. Definitely, the younger man would find the perfect thing to get revenge, but that was a thought for another time.

The morning went smoothly enough after, and Hyunwoo told Kihyun he'd need time to write. The younger wanted to ask about what, know details, but refrained himself from doing so now and let the other go away. He could indeed try to paint meanwhile; he was here for that, after all. So, while the older boy wrote, Kihyun settled outside to paint. Everything was pleasant outside, warm enough that the artist could wear shorts and a shirt, the lightning was perfect and the birds were chirping. Yet, before starting, he took his cellphone out of his pocket to check the hour.

Something else grabbed his attention instead.

Minhyukkie 💫:

Where are you??
[Yesterday, 21h30 PM]

Oh god, you're actually serious.
[12h30 PM]

So you're gone now? What do I do with the Appartement? The rest of your things?
[12h40 PM]

Come on, are you really gonna play that childish game and ignore me?
[13h00]

Kihyun thought the boy had a lot of audacity to write all of this to him. He had told him he was going away: it wasn't his fault if Minhyuk didn't listen or didn't care. Still, he felt his heart ping at the thought of his ex-boyfriend as he settled his phone down. Even if he felt resentment towards Minhyuk, his head couldn't stop reminding him that none of them did anything; their love just died on its own. While they did fight sometimes, it wasn't even the main reason; there just wasn't any more reason to stay, and the flame had died down. Of course, Kihyun hated to admit it. Hated, even more, to admit they both knew it wouldn't last from the start because they were both so different in an explosive way that it would inevitably end up. A temporary idyll that they could never forget, and would probably cherish as a memory later on, but Kihyun wasn't there yet. He was still at the stupid resentment stage and felt his throat go dry.

The boy tried to draw after this. He really did, but everything turned boring. It was like the figure he kept drawing was Minhyuk, but without the usual burning sunshine and passion sweating from every artwork he did. It felt like a vulgar copy-paste with no savor, with a sad sunshine, and Kihyun wanted to bang his head against the canvas. He truly couldn't draw anything that wasn't boring or Minhyuk now.

At the same moment, Hyunwoo was going out of his room to take a glass of water. He saw Kihyun outside, looking defeated, and his curiosity and concern pushed him to go see the seemingly sad boy.

"Hey, what's wrong?"
He asked as he sat down in the grass, in front of the small man. The latter let out another sigh and looked at his drawing again.

"I can't draw anything except my ex and it sucks because it's not even beautiful or original," he admitted with an irritated pout. Kihyun hated to admit it, to admit he was defeated by something so banal and pitiful, but it's not like he could lie about it.

"Oh, let me see." Hyunwoo was now behind his counterpart, observing the drawing. A low hum left his throat after a few moments, and he started speaking again. "It's not bad."

"It is. It has no flavors."

Suddenly, Hyunwoo's face changed a little, like he was actually thinking about something. And he asked what he was thinking about. "Can I tell you a story?"

It wasn't like Kihyun had any reason to say no, so he nodded his head yes.

"So, I told you about growing up with Hoseok, my best friend." Another nod from Kihyun, very attentive. "Well, living here and being lonely doesn't bring many opportunities to date a lot of people. Naturally, I fell in love with him. Or I thought I did, who knows. But the point is that we started dating while we were still teenagers. You know how those stories end, right? So we broke up like 4 years after, and of course, it destroyed me and my work. I really couldn't stop writing about him or boring things that included our history. Needless to say, I was frustrated, too." Kihyun was surprised to hear that the boy by his side was actually gay or at least like men as he did. Nevertheless, he didn't interrupt him and nodded to indicate he was still listening attentively. "But then, one day, I started asking myself "what's keeping you in those memories? Why do you grasp only some parts of them?" and I realized that I didn't need him, but only some parts of our relationship that were enjoyable. For example, waking early and taking a walk in the forest with someone; it's nice, but I realized it didn't need to be with him. I could just write about it from another perspective, and slowly, all of it was fixed."

Hyunwoo's words made a lot of sense. He didn't look very sad while talking about it all, more thinking and a bit nostalgic. The boy really was thoughtful and it was something Kihyun admired. He was even left a bit speechless by all of these words. Also, he admired that despite their break-up that seemed pretty serious, Hyunwoo seemed to have reconciled with Hoseok as he mentioned the boy still being his best friend to this day.

"So, I'm saying-Take the good things of those memories and try to separate them from your ex. You can draw the same scenery if you like it, but with another person. Maybe this person can share some similarities with your ex, but it doesn't mean it has to be them. It can only be a general reflection of what you like in someone."

A smile appeared on Kihyun's lips, he simply could not help it. And while the boy seemed to be very good at art, Hyunwoo couldn't help but think that he was better-looking than any piece of art out there. There was just something so pure and sweet about him that Hyunwoo really loved now. He definitely needed to implant that bright smile on his new character-It would make it all better.

"Thank you, that makes a lot of sense. I guess I'll go back to drawing now." Kihyun was saying it with the purest smile, Hyunwoo had to smile back.

"No problem, always happy to help." And as he was walking towards the kitchen to finally take his glass of water, Kihyun interrupted him one last time.

"Work hard, hyung!"

With that sweet smile, Hyunwoo knew he would.