winter falls ━ hyunsung. ✓

viii › i close my eyes and remember.

the dark-haired boy swore as he struggled to fit his luggage in its compartment. holiday travel was the worst.

the already small train car was close to suffocating, what with people shoving past, shouting over the loud conversations, and general disobeying rules.

hyunjin finally was able to get his luggage to sit where it was supposed to. he let out a sigh and brushed his fingers through his hair. once he sat down, he rolled his eyes at the hordes, scoffing and tossing his head.

so much for the spirit of kindness and giving.

but, that was the true side to the holidays; not the romanticized garbage playing in the theaters and on tv screens.

he realized with a start, that someone was in the middle of calling his phone. so hyunjin swiped at the call and answered it, figuring the train wouldn't be moving for awhile. "hello?"

"sam! how are you?"

hyunjin pursed his lips, looking over the busy train car and recalling his situation. bad, he was doing pretty bad. even his art had suffered the breakup.

but, of course, he couldn't tell his dad that. "uh... i'm good, dad. how are you and mom?"

his dad said dramatically, "your mother and i have been wasting away, waiting for the day our only son finally remembers us. i said we'd turn to dust before sam shows up for a visit."

"ha, ha." hyunjin nervously tapped his fingers on his lap. somehow it was only just hitting that he'd be setting foot back in his hometown.

"but, you're coming over today?!"

hyunjin set the bag that carried his art supplies on the seat beside him. "yes, dad. i'm on the subway now."

his dad sounded astounded. "and are you staying for christmas?"

hyunjin fiddled with one of the straps on his bag, answering slowly, "i think... i think just until christmas eve." it was best to prepare for the worst. he might leave earlier than christmas eve anyway.

"ah, okay. well, have a safe trip, eh? and... well your mom wanted to know, but i told her... jisung's not coming, is he?"

"no." hyunjin clutched his bag tightly, trying to push down the hope. there was little to no chance that jisung would even still live in the same place, much less want to talk about what happened.

his dad let out a deep breath. "i told her. well, i'll go ahead and let your mom know. call as soon as you get off the subway, alright?"

"sure. bye now, dad. i'll see you later."

"see you, sam."

hyunjin ended the call and tucked his phone into a side pocket of his duffel bag. he leaned back in the seat and stared out of the window, waiting for the train to start moving.

this was it. he was going back. after months, he'd finally be back in that same town where they'd spent nearly every waking moment together; at least, in the beginning of their relationship they had.

the train started up with a deafening roar and incessant rattling as hyunjin stared up at the roof of the train car. at least, traveling this way underground, he was spared the sight of the bare trees, the misty air, and the potential for snow falling.

the winter had only just started, and he already couldn't wait until the last snow had melted away.

what was so appealing about winter to people? not even christmas was enough to make him look forward to the season.

the holiday itself had lost its purpose anyway; people mostly fought over the most expensive gifts to get for others, or they caused traffic in the streets, individuals yelling and honking at each other as they swerved in every which way.

last year, of course, the entire winter season had been perfect. why couldn't it be that way every year?

hyunjin smiled bitterly to himself as he recalled the nights where, even though the wind howled at the windows and the snow piled up in the streets, he and jisung were warm enough laying together as they always did: jisung with his head on hyunjin's chest and kkami on the other side of him since jisung moved around too much.