red. | lee heeseung

twenty two: his epiphany

"In burning red
Burning, it was red"
_________________________

Maybe he was wrong after all; he didn't know Valentine as much as he thought he did.

Absent again, confusion grew into concern.

He wondered if she was really alright for it was too unsettling to the heart.

---

Due to temporary road work, Heeseung has resorted to taking an alternative path home. As if nothing was going his way, he thought that this was going to be his final straw.

Spending an extra hour to navigate home, he sighed upon reading the time: the early leave from school was of no use.

Whilst taking a turn, his eyes laid eyes on the children's playground, before it landed on a female figure on the swing.

Head hung low, body slouched down, he noticed her gently swinging occasionally with repetitive foot movement.

Funny.

His eyes must've been playing tricks on him for he was officially Valentine-deprived. Oh how foolish it sounds, but to him, she was the candle in his lonely life, the flame that warmed his heart.

Just as he decided to shake his silly thoughts away and continue his journey home after such a long day, he couldn't help but glue his eyes on the girl. She was in pink fluffy pants and a plain white tank top. There were only two ways to go about it: she rushed out of the house or she was sleep-walking.

Perhaps he should really look away and mind his own business. Giving her one more glance, he was about to look away when his eyes locked with the familiar earthy-brown orbs that shined like crystals.

However, it didn't shine in the way he liked it.

---

Her vision blurred as she tried her best to suck her tears back in. She knew she shouldn't be crying right now because she was in public, gosh let alone a kid's swing. But she couldn't help it. The more she wanted to suppress the tears, the heavy feelings and the built-up emotions, the harder it got to breathe.

Quickly wiping her tears away as she heard the rustling of fallen leaves, she assumed the person she was waiting for was approaching her. She wasn't going to allow her vulnerable side to be seen by the person she was trying so hard to protect.

"Hey you're out early-" But her words cut off when she noticed the person standing in front of her, was no other than one of the many reasons that triggered her sensitive state.

"You're... crying?" His voice, everso gentle dropped beneath as it almost came out like a whisper.

As he lowered himself to meet the face that was angled to face the ground once again, his heart broke over and over again. What was the reason? For so long, he had been relying on her as the light in his life that for the first time, he realised that she too, need her own light. And for that reason, he wanted to be the one to protect her and guide her through the tunnel until she could find herself again. He partly blamed himself for letting go so easily that day - maybe if he was a little more stubborn, then maybe she would've told him what was going on.

If only he could turn back time.

"I'm sorry you have to see me like this." Valentine could only answer as she forced a smile despite the stream of tears that ran down her cheeks.