what was once so lovely. | jaeyong

the third.

<8:37am>
<present>

As the sun appeared and the snow showed no remorse in piling up on the pavement, Taeyong was genuinely pleased with how calming the scenery was. Nothing but pale snow littered everywhere and just utter cold winds holding his frame each step he took.

After he confessed his true intentions of returning, Taeyong decided to head some elsewhere. He did not want to head to Jaehyun's old house as he had no initial plan as to how he will convince him to return to him and marry off to the sunset and never to look back. They were adults now. They were no longer those teenagers that thought the world revolved around them and thought what they had was so special that they had to drop everything and run to each other's arms.

Jungwoo and Taeil then devised another plan, which was to hang out as best pals. It was far too long since their last connections with one another.

As the three of them stride to find a decent place to spend their leisure, Jungwoo noticed the change in Taeyong's face as they walked. Taeyong no longer looked so grumpy or intimidating — he looked blissful, so bright as it complimented his pale complexions.

"You look really handsome when you smile, Taeyong hyung." Jungwoo softly spoke.

Taeyong was caught off guard with the sudden compliment. He thanked his best friend as they continued their walk. He felt a hint of succession after hearing Jungwoo notice his change of facade. It really showed that he improved. No longer was he called the embodiment of winter, as it seemed as though the snow had thawed and unlocked the frozen rose of the garden.

"Jaehyun told me that I always looked better when I smile." Taeyong suddenly spoke.

The statement caught the two off guard from their sightseeings.

"I remembered he would always try to make me smile, and I loved how each day he tried to hard." Taeyong stared at the deep space. His eyes focusing on nothing but the thin air.

"And when I was sent away, I had nothing of him with me but a smile." He finished his dialogue, leaving the two completely sympathetic towards the latter.

They had no idea what Taeyong was going through in their last year of high school as the majority of the time they were busy, Jaehyun always had Taeyong and Taeyong was not an open person with his feelings. Jungwoo and Taeil only heard of the news of Jaehyun getting arrested when whispers around the city began to circulate. They were clueless that Taeyong had already left the place for good, and they only had each other's friendship after that.

"I'm sure he'd be happy to see you smiling." Jungwoo held Taeyong's hand as they went up the slope.

"Come to think of it, I never have anything to remember Jaehyun with." Taeyong smiled bitterly onto the sky.

During those ten years, Taeyong did mention that smiles were the only artifact of remembrance he only had, but it was never enough. There were days that he almost forgot Jaehyun, and instances that he had to draw a poor sketch of the male out of memory. Taeyong was not much of an artist, therefore he draws features that he knew he would understand but to the eyes of the unfamiliar, they might think he was talking to ghosts.

"We never took photographs of each other back in high school, and the pictures that Ten took got confiscated before I was sent away." Taeyong showed his hands inside the pockets of his coat.