city of stars

LXVI

Hyunjin is late. He is really, really late.

The bus is full, people shoot him dirty looks. We’re all going to the same place, they seem to be saying, oblivious to the precious seconds that tick by in the meanwhile.

He’s late. Oh god, how could he be so late?

“One hour.” Chan says in his ear, and Hyunjin wants to scream. He knows exactly how much time he has, down to the very second he’s supposed to be in the square, watching the door of a black car open and a head of blond hair pop out.

But he’s on a bus. On the outskirts of town. Far away from where he promised to be. Far away from Felix, who’s having his life uprooted by the bombs Yeosang’s dropping on him.

“Has anyone seen Seungmin?” Chan’s voice again, sounding worried.

Hyunjin hears the echo of no’s as the group answers.

Wringing his hands, Hyunjin just barely keeps himself from pacing. Why was the bus so damn slow?

This was about to become the longest hour of his life.

He finds himself looking at every black car that passes them, wondering if one will hold the boy he’s looking for.

It’s quiet in the building. Quieter still in this room, tucked far away enough that no living soul could find it. It was a room he’d spent a lot of time in.

Dark, heavy curtains blocked what little light reached here. The windows had bars over them, black, strong iron. He had them reinforced every once in a while, just to be safe.

A small wooden table stood in the corner, a lamp illuminating the paperwork spread across it. Tons and tons of papers, reports, certificates, notes. In perfect disorder, but then, that’s how he liked it.

A chaos only he understood.

Tucked away behind another dark curtain was a heavy door leading to the next room over. It was locked, the soundproof walls refusing to let a single sound slip through. No chance to hear if his prisoner was crying.

The wooden floor was silent, refusing to creak as he stepped away from the window, glancing at his watch.

Eleven o’clock. Just one hour left.

Idly, he wondered if his absence was noticed yet, or if the others believed all the decoys he’d planted. He was sure no one suspected him yet. It would be a shame if all his pretty lies crumbled now. A shame to fill up the other rooms he owned in this building, hear his keyring jingle as he walks down the hall.

He’d much rather if they didn’t notice, perhaps ever. They had to remain oblivious. They will stay oblivious.

Of course they would. He’d made sure of that.

Selfishly enough, he wished he wasn’t alone. He’d been alone for years, aimlessly playing with the cards he’d been dealt. Some years had been more pleasant than others.

And then he found him. And nothing was ever the same again.

Hyunjin tapped his foot impatiently, trying not to draw too much attention to himself. The last thing he needed was to be kicked off the bus, especially when the driver seemed just as eager to get to the Square on time as him.

Maybe with this breakneck speed, he won’t be late.

His earpiece stayed quiet as everyone went undercover, most of them already in the square.

Like Wooyoung, who had somehow already managed to get a parking ticket.

Back at home, Jeongin slept soundly, watched over by Chan. Everything was going to be fine.

Half an hour left.

The countdown is scaring him. It’s a constant, present weight in his mind, and every step he takes feels too slow. The distance between him and the meeting spot has seemed to quadrupled, and he won’t make it, he won’t—

He’s there. He sees them.

There’s people separating them, a whole crowd, but they’ll never compare, never distract from the young man that steps out of the car, tucking his blond hair behind his ear self-consciously, looking back to wait for his companion.

It’s like a couple hundred pounds had been lifted off Hyunjin’s back. He smiles, grins, even, closing the difference between them with every hurried step, weaving between people, never losing sight of Felix.

The younger hadn’t noticed him yet; he stands pulling on the sleeves of his sweater nervously, shifting from foot to foot, biting on his lip. He bites hard enough to draw blood, and the crimson droplet is a splash of color against the perfect black and white of the rest of the world.

There’s less than a minute left, and the countdown had never been further from Hyunjin’s mind.

“Bokk-ah.” He reaches him as the people around them start chanting.

“Hyung?” Felix looks up, coming alive as he searches for the source of the other’s voice. “Hyun—”

“Right here, sunshine.”

And oh.

Hyunjin swallows, unable to tear his eyes away.

Because he finally knows what it means. The stupid little song he hears on the TV every night. How did it go? “A look in somebody’s eyes, to light up the skies, to open the world and send it reeling?”

He wasn’t aware he’d said it out loud until he heard the next line echoed back, softly, so close to his ear; just for him.

A voice that says “I’ll be there”

And “you’ll be alright”

He remembers the first time he heard Felix’s voice. The way the deep, velvety voice smoothed over his nerves and turned his insides into liquid jelly.

It seemed as though the younger still had that effect on him, except this was infinitely better, because now he was pressed up against him, the blond hairs tickling Hyunjin’s face and small fingers laced through his.

As the crowd got to one, and the City plunged into darkness, Hyunjin felt the gentle ghost of Felix’s lips over his.

Soft, and sweet.