firefly | zhong chenle

CH34

"i love you, because for you, i would"

-

"Guys. Hurry up. Taeyong's holding a meeting with all the units" Haechan called and rushed them along. Chenle and Jisung looked at each other, and joined the crowd. Soon, everyone was seated in the big meeting room. It was odd seeing everyone together. Rarely do all the units combine.

"The forest fire station has just called in" Taeyong announced "There is an extremely high risk of bush fire in the following week, and the station there is trying their best to lower the possibility. We need to be prepared just in case it does happen. Bush fires are no joke, and we've all experienced it before. We lost close to 100 firefighters last time it happened. We don't want to reach those numbers again. Training with happen as usual but intensity must be increased-"

"Sorry" Arin burst into the room, heaving as if she had just run a marathon. She sheepishly scurried into the room and sat down beside Chenle, keeping her head down to avoid embarassment. Chenle's eyes locked on to her, dressed in a white lab coat, sitting next to him.

"Don't be late again Arin. Let's continue. I'll send everyone a manual on the new equipment made for bush fires..." Taeyong's voice slowly dialled out of Chenles head.

"Why were you late?" Chenle asked as his fingers slowly made its way to hook on hers, his thumb caressing the back of her hand

"Jungwoo almost fell off the ladder at how loud the alarm was ringing" Arin whispered, reciprocating and intertwining their fingers together underneath the table. Chenle rolled his eyes, his eyes now completely off from Taeyong.

"Should we go on a date tomorrow?" Chenle mouthed.

Arin's cheeks flushed red, but nodded in agreement "Do you have a break tomorrow?"

"Nope, but I'm free after evening training" Chenle responded, leaning his chin on his hands to stare at her as if there weren't 20 or more people in the room listening to a meeting right now.

"Zhong Chenle" Taeyong's voice sliced their conversation, his hand hitting the table "Listen. This is a serious mission"

"Sorry, sir" Chenle responded, jerking his eyes back to Taeyong but didn't let go of Arin's hand.

"Wait for me at the entrance of the station tonight after I finished all my training" Chenle whispered. Arin simply chuckled.

;

Arin stood in the freezing cold, with a completely new attire. She's stripped off her doctor lab coat and put on a floral dress that reached her ankles. A cardigan was wrapped around her body, her arms wrapping around her body to keep herself warm. Her hair was down in subtle waves, and she has put on a bit of effort to have some sort of a makeup look going on. She wanted this to be a special night with her and Chenle, because she knew too well how rare it would be for them to go out.

Shortly, 5 minutes after their arranged time, Chenle came running with a baseball jacket on and a pair of jeans. Arin almost gaped at how different he looked without his usual uniform on.

"Sorry, training lasted longer than I thought" Chenle apologised, but slowed his steps down when he noticed her outfit. His eyes gazed her up and down, until he let out a soft gasp and exclamation "You look nice"

"I did put effort in" Arin smiled "Where are we going?"

"You'll see"

;

Against the midnight skies, the crashing of waves upon rocks along the soft breeze of the sea wind created an almost dream like atmosphere. The sand was like little beads of gold, whilst the great ocean were as if it was a sea of sapphires. Arin ran forward with her arms outstretched, her shoes in her hands and a smile painted upon her face. Despite the coldness of the weather, she felt at peace with everything here. Away from the fire. Away from the crying and mourning and tears. Away from reality.

Chenle walked behind her, hands dug deep in pockets but a soft grin on his lips. His gaze lingered on nothing but her, and her figure that twirled around on the beach as if she was free from constrains.

"This is so beautiful" Arin gushed. But somehow, Chenle looked at her when she spoke those words.

Arin crouched down where the sea meets the sand. Her toes dipped in the freezing ice everytime the water immersed her skin.

"I have something to show you. Close your eyes" Chenle said, helping her up and beckoning her to close her eyes. She did as she was told, outstretching her hands in anticipation. She felt something cold and hard against her fingers.

"Open your eyes" Chenle spoke. In front of Arin, was a jar. Inside was small, tiny firefly, swimming around in the confined space.

"Woah" Arin sighed, admiring the little creature as it lights up her hand with a warm, yellow illumination.

"I'm sorry I couldn't catch anymore. Theyre so hard to catch" Chenle laughed, but Arin shook her head to say it's okay. She was still too stuck in the trance of the beauty of the firefly to even utter a word. Chenle glanced into her eyes, that now had the reflection of the firefly in them. As if, her eyes were a universe, and inside was a star that was swimming within the galaxies. Like she had wonders within her eyes like small beads of wishes.

"I know you care a lot about people around you, and you want to be able to protect and save everyone" Chenle spoke softly "But I just wanted to remind you, that you have already become that light within their lives. That you're the hope they yearn, even if you cannot save each and every one of them. Like the firefly. It's proof that even in the darkest nights, there is light"

Arin chuckled, holding the jar close but now connecting her gaze with his "I feel like you needed that more than me. You grew up with a father unsupportive of your dreams, and carried heavy burdens being the shoulder than people had to lie on" She placed one of her hands on his cheeks, her thumb caressing his skin "You're like...a candle. You burn yourself in order to give other people light. Like the flames, you're passionate and willing to do anything, but you flicker too, because no one can be strong forever"

Arin placed her forehead against his "I love you, because for you, I would"