𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐘 𝐊𝐈𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐒

𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘.

the most beautiful moments in life, minho thought, are sunrises. beginnings of the new days, the constant call of revival. the sun's rays would wake us up from a deep slumber filled with dreams and fantasies, reminding us of our day ahead, whether it is repetitive or challengingly new. 

a mug of warm tea in his chilled hands, he admired the light show of various hues of eggshell blues, dandelion yellows and cantaloupe oranges. birds would chirp here and there, swooping from one branch to another, small insects clasped tightly in their beaks. the moist scent of morning dew was clearly discernible from the other sights and smells of dawn. fields of sunflowers stretched expansively before him, until the base of the billowing hills in the distance. minho felt a sense of pride at the apparent prosperity of his land and labour.

it was purely out of habit that minho had woken up early; his whole life, for as long as he could remember, he'd constantly been hard at work at the crack of dawn.

ginger flashed before his eyes as a cat hopped onto the banister in front of him, stretching out its head for tickles. chuckling softly, minho obliged, scratching under the cat's chin and behind its ears. the ginger purred in bliss, eyes shining with pure joy as it settled itself in his lap.

where were the boys? minho knew they were a lazy bunch that could lay in bed all day if they could, but they were usually up by now, how odd. 

on a whim, he decided to leave the comfort of the rocking chair to wake them up. to his greatest surprise, he found a woman sleeping peacefully on the bed in their place.

"who are you?" he shook her awake, "what are you doing in my house?"

rolling over, she sat up against the headboard. "don't worry about me, go get some breakfast without waking up the others, please. i'll join you outside in a bit, we can watch the end of the sun rise together."

dumbfounded at the peculiar answer, minho felt compelled to cooperate, and he did so. grabbing a few slices of bread, he made himself some toast and reassumed his tranquil position in the rocking chair. 

"i knew it wouldn't be long until he had another episode," the strange woman mumbled, sitting down in the chair opposite mine.

"what are you talking about?" he narrowed his eyes at her.

"don't worry about it," she grumbled, "by the way, jihyo's coming to see you today, probably sometime this morning. oh, and we're having dinner with all the boys tonight."

a strong sense of déjà vu slapped minho right in the face right after he heard that name, as if he should remember it, but he simply couldn't, no matter how hard he strained for the meaning.

"did i drink last night?" minho asked the woman, "i'm having a hard time remembering what happened."

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"and then mother showed me this song of yours, and i really loved it, it was so pretty," the little girl, who's name was jihyo—so minho had been told—was ecstatic to see him. 

"she told me to play it for you, because it would make you really happy," she grinned, and minho couldn't help but smile too. her face radiated energy, a mirror to her bright soul and joyful personality. he knew that he loved spending time with her straight away, although he wasn't exactly renowned for being good with kids. 

jihyo brought over a phone from the table and pressed it a few times. the song started playing, and minho was immediately transported into a whirlwind of memories: singing amidst a sea of stars in a roaring stadium, his first kiss with a squirrel-like boy, bidding farewell to his family on his way to a new life, zip-lining across the sea to a distant island, running through airports and hopping onto last-minute flight, prancing around dressed as—was that a giraffe costume?

"our song..." he whispered, eyes tearing up by themselves, "i remember, but i feel like i'm missing something, something's off. jihyo, what's wrong with me?"

"it's alright grandpa," the little girl looked up to me, eyes shining just like the stars in the stadium, "i still love you, even if you can't remember everything. i can help you remember, with your songs. i'll play them to you everyday, every time i visit you, we'll have so much fun together."