paris boy. kim sunoo

☆ 01: childhood

childhood. a memorable past to look back on, something that seems so out of reach yet so close to our hearts. it's a distant memory, a period that all of us only get to go through once. it's only when we grow older, do we only realise the significance of being young, the youthful innocence tugging at the back of our minds. it is then we reflect on the small little things during our childhood, that shape us to become who we are today.

for lee eunhye, this was something that she pondered frequently. oftentimes, she found herself thinking back to the past instead of being physically in the present. she found solace and comfort in the past. her past memories felt like a warm fuzzy blanket that wrapped around her, but while it kept her warm, it also shielded her from her brutal reality.

she was in a mall that day, observing a young boy chasing his friend in circles in a game of catch. noticing the bright smiles on their faces, she once again gets pulled back to the past, the loud laughter emanating from the children slowly quietening as she absorbs herself in her own thoughts...

☆

14 YEARS AGO

"lee eunhye~ wherever you are~ i will find you~ i think it'll be good to surrender now~" a 6 year-old boy whistles, calmly sauntering around the house searching every nook and cranny for a petite girl hiding. eunhye remembers her younger self giggling softly, a mixture of giddiness and anticipation brewing in the pit of her stomach as her heart beats quicker in fear of getting caught. she peeks through the tiny gap in the dim wardrobe she was hiding in, inspecting her surroundings for any presence in the room.

there. the short boy waddles into the room unknowingly. in the wardrobe, eunhye's breath hitches, holding her breath as the boy inspects the space.

but she must have had her carelessness get the better of her, as eunhye accidentally hit the bottom of the wardrobe with her elbow. she gasps, not just in pain, but also realising that she had blown her cover.

the wardrobe doors flung open, and the small girl rolled onto the floor. adjusting to the bright lighting, young eunhye jumps in fright seeing a boy's face looming in front of her face.

"sunoo! you scared me!" eunhye whined.

young sunoo simply smiled, a toothy grin forming on his face. "i found you! it's your turn now!" sunoo folded his arms, pulling a mocking face at eunhye.

rolling her eyes, young eunhye helps herself to her feet, getting ready to count to ten as the two children play their next round of hide and seek.

☆

"uno! your turn!" young sunoo squeals as he uses one hand to place a blue uno card on top of the huge pile that had already been piled on the floor, while his other hand clutches his last remaining card dearly.

young eunhye shakes her head, drawing more cards from the 'draw' pile till she finally obtained a blue card she could stack on top of the blue card sunoo placed previously. sunoo's eyes glint with joy as he delightfully discards his last card on the pile, screaming, " i won!!! eunhye, you promised, help me with my homework!"

eunhye looks at the last card sunoo placed. blue. defeated, she groans as she gets up, walking to the desk to start on sunoo's homework.

she was not paid enough for this.

☆

by the time the two children were old enough to enter elementary school, they were still as close as ever, stuck by glue. they never got tired of each other, conversations lasting forever and ever, to the point they had to be separated for talking too much during lessons. nevertheless, every second with each other never went to waste. they would cherish break times and the walk home from school dearly.

"eunhye?" sunoo turns his head slightly to eunhye, who was walking alongside him as they headed home from school.

eunhye tilts her head slightly, signalling that she was listening.

"do you think soulmates exist?"

eunhye turned to face sunoo, and without hesitation, she replied, "i think they do. i think we are proof soulmates exist."

her youthful smile that followed radiated with purity and sincerity, and sunoo smiled back, his cute dimple whiskers appearing.

hand in hand, the youth skip home together.

☆

PRESENT

the all-so-familiar school bell rings, signalling the end of the school day. that day however, dark clouds loomed over the school, threatening to cry and let it all out.

by then, it was all routine.

"eun! let's go home together." sunoo slides by eunhye's desk, his long slender fingers gently touching the edges of the desk. eunhye looks up in the midst of packing her bag, nodding curtly. sunoo grew significantly taller over the break, it seemed that he was now towering over her. she slowly looks up to sunoo's signature sharp fox eyes staring back at her own, a soft blush creeping up her cheeks.

the two quietly walked side-by-side as they exited the school gate, hands gripping the straps of their school bags.

the first droplets of rain fell.

instinctively, both teens covered their heads with their hands.

"sun? do you...have an umbrella?" eunhye asks breathlessly as the two of them were in the midst of running to seek shelter.

"no..."

"it's okay, let's stay here." managing to find shelter at an empty bus stop, they stop to catch their breaths, plopping down on the bench as their shoulders brush against each other as both busied themselves with drying themselves off.

time slowly passes as they stare at the rain falling, falling, falling...

the silence was broken when sunoo spoke first amidst the tension that filled the air.

"eun, i have something to say..."

"hm?"

"i'm leaving korea soon."
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a/n:
first chapter's out with major editing!!! what do we think?? hope yall enjoy!