Sun & Moon // Markhyuck

New journey

Donghyuck's pov
Spring had finally arrived in Korea and the town was much livelier. The grass was transitioning to a vibrant green and cacoons transforming into butterflies. I've always loved the sight of cherry blossoms flooding the rural roads and city. It just made look more colourful. Life is like a colouring book. The colours that you choose reflects your emotions, ambitions and how you want your pathway to appear like. I chose red.

Red the colour of danger.
Red the colour of violence.
Red the colour of adventure.
Red the colour of seduction.
Red the colour of passionate love.

After my discussion with my mother about my sexuality in the previous winter had left me cold . She believed that true love only consist of affection between a man and a woman. I simply disagreed. And that's when danger and violence entered my life. I was abused by students in high school for confessing my love to a boy who did not deserved it. Bullied online and had death threats welcoming me to a world of pills and blades... I choke on my own breath just thinking about the remarkable memories that lead to trauma. I was traumatised by love. Will I ever love again?

The springs's glowing light allowed me to forget about the past and offered me an opportunity to explore a new chapter. It was like as if I was living in my second life.

I blasted 'man in the mirror' by my number one role model, Michael Jackson, to remind myself of the humble beginnings and positivity. My feet and arms automatically moves to the rhythm of the funky beat causing myself to forget about my surroundings and it felt like I was dancing in a room covered with blank canvases. May I sketch out my future? I shut my eyes and continued with the movement. A pair of slender arms wrapped my fragile body into their embrace. The owner's arms felt almost translucent as I layered my hands on top of theirs. I finally opened my eyes and I was trapped in a room with a wash of true blood red paint. The embrace tightened when it felt my grip loosen, followed by my weak knees calling for the ground. Michael Jackson's voice faded away in a distance and in return the familiar song that calls me again, which rang at the back of my head as if we are connected.

I slowly closed my eyes once again and opened it which exhibited a bright moon and scattered stars. My current life is surrounded by the outrageous sunshine but I also need my moon who provides me an eternity and a shoulder to lean on.

Frustration started to build up in my head as this dream has been playing games with me for far too long. I need to get out there to overcome the obstacles and find that man in a solid form with a stern body.

/////

Mark's pov
It has been a long day as I packed all of my essentials into my suitcases. I flopped onto my couch and nuzzled my face into the pillow as I released a big yawn. My eyelids slowly felt heavy and I felt light headed until the sound the phone call rang impatiently.

"Hello Aunty Doyoung?", I answered with exhaustion.

"Minhyung-ah, did you finish packing? Did you eat yet? Are you excited?", she bombarded me with the obvious questions.

"Yes Aunt, I'm done packing, I just ate and yes I am excited. What made you call me at this hour?", I asked her as I looked at the clock which showed it was 3am in the morning.

"I'm just worried that my nephew is going somewhere far away with no sense of direction and who doesn't know how to cook", she trailed off towards the end of her sentence.

"Aunty Doyoung! Don't worry, there are many good cooks in Korea. The convenient store will surely be convenient for me haha", I reassured her.

"Aish, I'm expecting daughter in-law when I come to Korea. She must be pretty, knows how to cook and a good sense of humour. Or I'm not accepting her at all", she joked.

We both shared our goodbyes and I went back to bed again to get enough rest for a new journey in the morning. Aunty Doyoung isn't really my biological aunty, she's actually Jaehyun hyung's mum who has been my third mother figure after multiple losses. Jaehyun hyung had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. He even knows about my vivid nightmares, dreams I should say. He always joked to me about go look for him when I move to Korea. Yeah right, as if that's possible. It's rare to find homosexual people in Korea, so that'll be like digging up treasure when I do spot one. I'm going to miss them all when I leave. Really.

I wonder how studying abroad will be like...

---
The atmosphere of Seoul was definitely a lot more suffocating than Vancouver as there are so many people living in this city. The city was filled with beautiful cherry blossoms and sunshine beaming from one end to another. The warmth of the spring sent a nostalgic vibe through my body. Maybe I'm just overwhelmed, I need some time to adapt to the weather and city.

I opened the doors of my rented appartment and it welcomed me with the smell of musk. I scanned the room throughly, it's going to need some cleaning and arrangements. It wasn't bad neither was it good. It was small and cozy but it was definitely a little worn out. It's okay, as long as it covers my head at the end of the tiring day.

Unpacking my stuff went by faster than I thought. I looked outside my window and the sun had already been replaced with a crescent moon. My stomach began to rumble louder the longer I stared at the moon. Wow, how did I forget to eat?

I walked down the narrow and dimly lit up street to make my way down to the convenient store to grab a quick dinner. All restaurants were closed at this time, at least I will be able to save some money. I entered the store with my only outfit of the day because I couldn't be bothered to change at this hour. The instant noodles section caught my attention as it was presenting all different shades of invitational red on the packages. I scanned the packages, little spice, mild spice and hot fire spice. I reached my hand forward and grabbed the mild spice but was stopped by a another who also reached out for the same. My eyes vectored from his tanned arm that was revealed by his half rolled up sleeves then to his face. What had me choking on my own saliva was his red hair. I stumbled back on the balls of my feet still staring at him.

"Hello? Do you need help? You can take that one, I'll get the one behind it", he said. His voice was  so melodic. Like an angel. I need to remain calm, I don't want to be labelled as 'The creepy guy who just moved in town and stares at people'.

"Uhh... I- I'm fine thanks", I stuttered.

He smiled and turned his back and walked away. Wait... I don't know how to make this instant noodle in the convenient store. I need instructions!

"Wait!", I said a little louder than before. I grabbed his wrist which just happened to fit perfectly in my grip. "Can you help me with this?". I grinned hoping that he would accept my request.