what was once so lovely. | jaeyong

the seventh.

<12:49pm>
<present>

Striding down on the pavement of snow with nothing but freezing hands and silence, this was the first time Taeyong felt like being with Jaehyun was a chore. He wondered where all the spark had gone. Was it because his heart was not in his grasp anymore? Was it because he no longer had a spot in Jaehyun's heart?

Taeyong's hands were shivering due to the ice cream cone a while ago and the obvious cold environment. Even shoving them in his pocket barely provided any form of warmth. Jaehyun looked beside the male and saw how pale his hands looked as if they had already died.

"You're cold," Jaehyun said.

Taeyong looked beside him and found that Jaehyun had been staring at his shivering hands. On his porcelain face blushed a red tint on his cheeks.

"Oh, yeah, the ice cream probably made it worse," Taeyong laughed it off and continued to walk.

After their ice cream feast, Jaehyun asked Taeyong kindly if he wanted to continue the day by just spending time together. Even if that meant by just wandering aimlessly into the snowy biome. Taeyong did not mind, for he wanted more time with Jaehyun. He wanted to rekindle this extinguished flame between them.

He knew it was too late to get back with Jaehyun because just by the way the male was so infatuated with Wooseok, he knew he had already lost. Spending time with Jaehyun with moments like these was the only way he got to be with him. Although it may be painful to know that this was fruitless but hearing Jaehyun call his name for ice cream was enough, almost enough like Jaehyun telling him 'I love you.'

That was just merely a dream now. A fantasy that will only exist within his imaginations. It was no longer possible.

"Here, hop on," Jaehyun rode his bicycle one more and offered the back seat for Taeyong to sit on.

Jaehyun held him by the wrist to guide him to the bicycle. Taeyong was curious as to where they were heading but he smiled foolishly when Jaehyun held him gently. Jaehyun was always clueless as to what 'gentle' meant in his vocabulary, but with Taeyong, it felt like he knew the word like the back of his hand. It melted his heart to know that old habits die hard because even after ten years Jaehyun was still gentle on Taeyong.

Eventually, they arrived at a store. Jaehyun loosened his grip on the handles and smiled at Taeyong, hoping the male was amused at the store. Taeyong looked at the window and found some clothing inside. He raised an eyebrow at why Jaehyun would bring him to this place.

"Well, shall we?" Jaehyun's dimples appeared, and Taeyong could never say 'no' to Jaehyun.

Never in a million years.

Upon entering, Taeyong was immediately yanked by Jaehyun to the other section of the small store. What lied below them was a display of colorful, wool mittens.

"Pick one, and I'll buy it for you," Jaehyun smiled, putting Taeyong on the spot due to his indecisive nature.

With a variety of options to choose from, Taeyong gravitated towards the mitten bathed in his favorite color. A color that represented Jaehyun in the best way possible. Peach. He recalled how he just told Jaehyun his favorite color out of the blue. Taeyong's shivering hand slowly picked up the chosen article and looked at Jaehyun.

Jaehyun was caught off guard by the sudden warm facial expression of Taeyong. He had no idea that the male from ten years ago would still linger around that fuzzy feeling, making Jaehyun feel butterflies fluttering about in his stomach. Taeyong smiled at him, and it was like thunder had struck hard on him.