Hidden Universe (Cravity AU)

;five

The images and memories carved into his mind all seemed so vivid. It was like a bliss, no worries were present, and even if there was one, it seemingly evaporated into a pool of nothing.

Even though it was a blur to him, he could see a gem. An unfamiliar sparkle within the blurs.

His smile. His true smile. He could finally see what he looked like when he was smiling. To him, it was a feeling beyond joy. His smile was something he'd cherish forever.

He finally found the sources of what could bring him such joy in his deep hole full of sorrow and unhappiness, what could save him from his pit of despair.

The last thing he had to do was gather every little ounce of hope left in him and let them find him, or let himself find them.

Within the imaginary blissful moments, Allen opened his eyes, dragging himself back into the real world, finally feeling something other than sorrow.

Hyeongjun remained extremely focused on what seems to be an application sheet of some sort. He quietly scrolled through each photo of his camera, taking in every detail his eyes could capture.

He only paused briefly to take a bite out of a rice ball he held in his left hand before he resumed to studying each photo he took that day, majority of them being photos of his friend, Taeyoung.

Placing the camera down gently, Hyeongjun lifted up his pencil to scribble down more of his thoughts and answers, unaware of the boy who just happened to step in.

The boy finally made his presence known, swinging his arm around Hyeongjun's shoulder, the coldness of the canned drink he held in his right hand making contact with his skin, spreading its coolness onto his neck. Being unaware of his presence, Hyeongjun slightly jumped, the pencil leaping away from his fingers.

Hyeongjun made eye contact with the mystery boy, only to be greeted with the familiar face of Taeyoung.

"What are you doing?" Taeyoung asked curiously, looking away from Hyeongjun's large eyes and eyed the application sheet.

Not having time to process the sudden jump scare he received from Taeyoung, Hyeongjun only replied with a simple "hm" before Taeyoung immediately asked another question.

"What's this?" his friend continued asking, placing his drink down on the table, across from Hyeongjun's camera, his gaze never leaving the sheet Hyeongjun was filling out mere seconds ago.

"Oh, not much at all." Hyeongjun responded calmly, a small smile evident on his face.

"Can I see it?"

Taeyoung reached over Hyeongjun's shoulder to grab the application sheet and scanned it, making sure to keep it wrinkle-free and out of his friend's reach.

"Hey! Give it back!" Hyeongjun playfully exclaimed, reaching towards the application Taeyoung captured, his hand flailing around as he made a grabby hand motion towards the younger, before successfully snatching it away from him.

"Woah! You really have some big dream there, do you?" Taeyoung seemed rather impressed on how determined Hyeongjun was when it came to pursuing his dream.

Hyeongjun smiled shyly, attempting to shove the rice ball he held tightly on to the entire time into Taeyoung's mouth as the duo playfully brawled, the sound of their laughs and giggles filling the still air with its music.

Flashbacks raced through his mind, every detail still freshly engraved in his memory.

Taeyoung delicately placed the chalk down, before the classroom erupted into cheers and claps, impressed by Taeyoung's intelligence.

Taeyoung strolled down the aisle of desks, passing by many students who outstretched their palms, expecting a high five. It was like Taeyoung was some sort of class king who was admired by his peasants.

Taeyoung made sure not to ignore any palm that stood in his way, before descending down into the seat of his desk.

As Taeyoung lifted up his pencil, his classmates continued buzzing and chattering, capturing his attention after hearing his name get thrown around a couple of times.

He was perfect in their view. Smart and athletic. He knew everyone wished to be in his shoes.

Taeyoung sarcastically chuckled, wishing that all of it would be easy as people said it was.

~

Jogging around and dodging his teammates sharply, Taeyoung delivered the best shots he could manage, receiving praise from the other athletes on the court.

As he observed the gym, he could hear the occasional snaps of a camera on the balcony above him.

Knowing the source of the sound, Taeyoung's eyes met with the lenses of his friend's camera, which were staring directly back at him.

Realizing that he's been caught, the camera moved to reveal a smiling Hyeongjun behind it, who seemed rather proud of his actions.

Taeyoung returned the smile to Hyeongjun before gesturing him to the court. He wanted to give Hyeongjun something else to do other than just stand around and take photos to preserve as eternal memories.

Hyeongjun seemed rather confused but understood Taeyoung's signal, ditching his camera and joining him and the team with a red jersey on his torso.

~

Minutes went by and Taeyoung jogged around and watched his poor friend get squared up by the more experienced players on his basketball team.

Hyeongjun, panting and sweating, clumsily slipped on the smooth surface of the gym's floor, and remained in his floored position, not feeling motivated to get up on his feet and move again.

Feeling bad for his friend, Taeyoung joined Hyeongjun on the floor, the duo exchanging sincere smiles at each other. Hyeongjun hit Taeyoung playfully on the chest once more, bringing a small giggle out of Taeyoung, before the two friends stared out of the window together, wondering what the future could bring them.

Ignoring the sudden change of atmosphere that could potentially happen.
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(a/n): 964 words

dry chapter alert 🤡
i thought this chapter was longer than 964 words but oh well 🧍‍♀️