our delicate string | 최범규

6: moonlight.

- ❄️ -

AERA WALKED THE snowy streets, the ones that were usually empty this late at night. occasionally, people would roam the sidewalk, past the restaurants and shops. the girl smiled, loving the crisp air of winter. though she couldn't wait for spring, she didn't want winter to pass by too quick. she stood outside of the flower shop, nearby.

she felt her string tighten only to see that Beomgyu came up from behind, putting his hand on her shoulder. the girl who looked up at him with a face painted in utter shock. "so, where are we going?"

"you terrified me!" Aera half-yelled at the boy.

he nudged her shoulder playfully, laughing. "i thought you absolutely hated walking at night in the winter-your whole i hate winter spiel you gave me." he joked.

"i do, but i needed to get my mind off of some things. and somehow, it feels like i've known you my whole life, but it's literally only been a few days."

he laughed as they continued to walk. "do you want to talk about anything?"

"tell me what you did today."

"oh.. okay." he laughed. "umm, hmm." a humming sound left his lips. "it was my friend Soobin's birthday today, so we went candle-making."

"candle-making?"

"it's a tradition, i know how silly it sounds." he shook his head and laughed.

"no, i love it, i think it's so precious."

"it started like-4 years ago i think? but, he joked once about going candle making and Yeonjun thought he was serious so he got reservations and Soobin realized how much he loved it. so really, this tradition is based off a misunderstanding." he laughed.

"are you closest with Soobin?" Aera questioned, looking at him with curiosity.

"no, actually. we're all pretty close in the friend group, but i'm closest with Taehyun. i mean- i've known him the longest, we went to preschool together." he smiled thinking about his friends. "do you have any close friends?"

"i do, actually." she pursed her lips. "her name is Ji-na. i've known her for years now and she's the complete opposite of me-funny, outgoing, adventurous-" Aera sighed and reached her hand out to collect snow in the palm of her hand. watching the beautiful snow melt in her hand always gave her an unfamiliar feeling.

"i haven't seen her in a while though, she's been traveling for break."

"ahh, i see." he hummed. "what were you up to today?"

crying and rotting in bed. sobbing my eyes out, feeling so hopeless and unproductive. feeling like a complete failure.

"um.." she hummed and looked up at the sky. "i was practicing a new song i wrote."

"you wrote a song?" Beomgyu said, amazed.

"i always do." she laughed. "this one is kinda sad though."

"that's okay. i only ever write sad songs. the lyrics i write don't necessarily fit an upbeat tempo."

they laughed as they walked along the sidewalk. they had no idea where they would end up but they kept walking until something would appear in their mind.

the two stood apart, yet the string was ever-so-strong at connecting them. they would look down at it and then at each other, laughing as if they had forgotten how their friendship began with the simple thread.