Ishihara // ATEEZ ✔

50 |2| Freedom

He stands indecisive in front of the door, his fist hovering inches away from knocking on the surface. Shifting his weight from a foot to the other nervously, he raps on the door a few times. When he doesn't receive any reply, he looks around for a doorbell but he has been here enough times to know that there isn't any. He is about to rake his hands through his hair but stops himself as he doesn't want to ruin his made up hair. The other boys had made fun of him because he had wanted to slick his hair back, saying how she would 'think he looks ridiculous' and 'laugh the moment she sees him'.

He had simply wanted to look presentable to her; after all, this is the first time he will face her properly after more than a year.

The door opens wide just as he's about to make another decision of knocking on the door, in case she couldn't hear it.

"Yunho I told you Madam Eurielle's cooking lunch so-" Akira's words cut off when she sees the blonde man, his hair slicked back with too much gel standing awkwardly in front of her. He is wearing a black turtleneck with a striped coat thrown over it and his irises are bathed in grey, though she's not sure what emotion it's supposed to indicate. She has her fingers stuck in between the pages of a book, marking the place where she's currently reading, but she drops it the moment her eyes lay upon the man, losing her bookmark. She quickly picks it up, slightly embarrassed. "I'm- sorry- I thought you were Yunho."

He scratches his cheek, not knowing how to react either. "It's- it's fine. I mean, I'm sorry that I'm not Yunho but-"

She chuckles and he's taken aback slightly. "I told Yunho that Madam Eurielle's cooking, so he doesn't have to bring in lunch." She stares deep into his eyes and her lips twitch slightly. "Your eyes are as green as they can get; are you jealous?"

"I'm not jealous-" he catches sight of his eyes in the reflection on the window - they are indeed green - and he realizes one thing. "You... can see them?"

She nods in response and raises her shoulders lightly. "I started seeing them the day Yunho and I left the palace; it seems that the fountain in town is effective." She sees a flicker of regret passing across his eyes and a tinge of blue, before it completely colours his irises. "Ah, look at me being rude to a guest and leaving you to stand outside." She steps back, ushering him in. "Come on in, we can talk inside. Or, if you'd rather stand outside in the sun, I don't mind."

He accepts her invitation and steps inside the library. He takes in the scent of the books, looks around in amazement at the expanse of the collection of books and she has to pull out a chair to offer him a seat before he snaps out of it. She is about to go to the back to make him some tea, but he pulls her hand gently, saying that it is unnecessary. So they sit across each other with nothing on the table except for their hands clasped ineptly, as if they don't know what to do with them.

"I never stopped regretting that day, when I couldn't stop you from leaving," he utters. "I was a jerk to you and there hasn't been a day where I don't regret whatever I said to you that day. I know I'm a coward and I'm... sorry."

He spills out everything; from when Jongho left to their plan at the ball. She doesn't interrupt, only shifting her gaze from his eyes to his lips, watching as his pupils and lips tremble as he tells her about the past year. She doesn't even show a reaction as Seonghwa finally revealed to her that San... was the king all along. Now she knew, that San was the one who went to Emira and requested for her to let them go. She feels grateful, but at the same time melancholic as she is reminded of what happened after.

"I missed you a lot but I felt conflicted between choosing you and Jongho-" he plays around with his fingers, "-because I care for both of you. When Jongho left, he said that he doesn't blame both of you for his father's death anymore..."