winter falls ━ hyunsung. ✓

i › winter is blowing in again.

when you think of winter, what comes to mind? most, when faced with this question, might answer with a few commonly known symbols of the chilly season.

perhaps it's the sudden gust of cold wind that breezes against your skin, sending a shiver through your body.

it could be the feeling of wool and heavy clothing wrapped around your body, trapping warmth as you brave the streets in the bitter weather.

or, possibly, its when the frost dances across the windows, giving the glass a blurry, slick look.

perhaps, you immediately think of christmas stockings, the smell of pine, or the crackling of a warm fireplace.

maybe, it's the falling of the first snow.

snow.

if you were to ask hwang hyunjin what comes to mind when asked about winter, you'd get a short, scathing response.

"i don't know. i don't care."

see, hyunjin hated winter, and all things about it. the cold cut down to his soul, stirring up unwanted memories and feelings. wool and heavy clothing were not enough to replicate the warmth of a certain person curling up next to him. a person who was no longer in his life.

frost on the windows forces him to recall a time where a funny face drawn on the glass might have stirred up the most beautiful sound known to the world. the sound of his laughter.

pine was a horribly intoxicating smell, sending his head on dizzy spells. crackling fireplaces became his enemy.

but the most hatred he felt in particular about the season, was reserved for snow.

snow falling.

wind howling.

tears streaming.

no, hyunjin was through with winter, with sadness, with the realization that he had lost the one true love of his life.

currently, he found himself holed up in the one bedroom apartment that served better as an art studio than a home.

he shivered slightly against the settling cold; the heater in the apartment was broken, and his landlord refused to send someone to fix it.

a paintbrush in hand, hyunjin trained his eyes on his latest piece of artwork, a current work in progress that depicted a blur of a person sitting alone at the center of beautiful scenery.

it was still only half-finished, but hyunjin planned on finishing it before christmas. he wanted to give it to a friend as a gift.

speaking of which, said friend in mind lit up the screen of his phone with a call.

he set down the brush and sighed a bit, a smile fighting its way onto his face, cracking the blank canvas.

picking up the phone, hyunjin answered solemnly, "what is it?"

"don't take that tone with me, sam hwang," said his stern voice on the other end.

hyunjin rolled his eyes. "okay, mr. christopher bang," he said in a mocking tone.

chris seemed to move on without acknowledging the dig. "do you know what's lixie's ring size?"

"why do you need to know felix's ring size?" hyunjin stood up and headed over to the portable stovetop he had plugged into the corner outlet. "are you proposing or something?"

"ha."

"are you?" hyunjin filled up the tea kettle and set it on the stovetop, shivering slightly.

chris mumbled, "no. that's a horrible joke for you to make, sammy. especially when you know i haven't even told him i like him."

hyunjin laughed slightly. "you'd better get on that; i'm pretty sure more than half of the student body is in love with him."

"well, it's felix, after all," chris mused to himself mostly. he then refocused the subject. "so, you don't know lix's ring size?"

"why would i know lixie's ring size?" he flopped down onto the stiff mattress pushed against the wall.

"you have matching friendship rings."

hyunjin held up his right hand, staring at the bare pinky, which used to be where the ring was worn. "oh."

with a sigh, chris murmured, "i have no idea what to get him. he's such a thoughtful person, it's impossible to shop for him."

a memory passed over his mind then.

short chapters!!