ᴡᴇ ɢᴏ ᴜᴘ | ɴᴄᴛ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍ

ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛɪғᴜʟ ᴛɪᴍᴇ

—ʟᴇᴛ's sᴇᴘᴀʀᴀᴛᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʏᴇsᴛᴇʀᴅᴀʏ ʟɪᴋᴇ 

ᴡᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ sᴛɪʟʟ sᴇᴇ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛᴏᴍᴏʀʀᴏᴡ—

There was something about the park that always lured Chenle in. He was never a big fan of greenery, neither was he interested in gardening. There were always some loud kids who would kick footballs in his direction and throw mud over him as a result of that. But nonetheless, Chenle still found himself taking tentative steps towards the park entrance with a heavy hand over his heart.

He glanced at the sign by the entrance and held in his laughter, finding it strange that even after so many years no one had bothered to fix the sign he had vandalised. The name that was written in red brought a hiccup to him and he looked away just as quickly, eyes lingering over the small carved drawing of two people at the bottom of the board.

As Chenle passed by the tennis court a song played in his head and a sudden memory of him sitting on the bench, knee to knee with his best friend as they wrote lyrics to a song that was later forgotten. The words were something related to what they had eaten that morning and what they wanted to have together in the future. That day was still clear in Chenle mind when the two of them had skipped school and ran together to the park, hand in hand, tripping and jumping over fences when they saw their teachers.

"Chenle?" He heard his name being called and stopped at the edge of the paved road, too afraid to turn around. It was already getting harder and harder to look at him, but they didn't have much time left.

"Jisung," Chenle replied, turning around to face the surprised-looking brunette.

"What comes you're here?" Jisung asked, but he knew what the answer to that was, they both knew. "I thought today you were-"

"That's in the evening," Chenle quickly cut him off, not wanting to hear any more of it. Jisung lowered his gaze and they stood there in silence, the sound of a few kids shouting in the background. The whole world was moving along fine, yet they were still stuck in the past. It was time to move on.

"Want to walk around?" Jisung suggested, holding a hand out to him. Chenle stared at it before cautiously reaching out and taking it. There's a small fall in Jisung's expression, but he was quick to hide it, plastering a smile over it. It looked forced and it hurt Chenle just to see him trying his hardest for their sake.

The walk is quiet, Jisung kept his eyes turned to the river running along with them and Chenle glued his to the ground. It felt awkward, something that used to be a routine was now causing them discomfort. Chenle could feel his hands getting sweaty and looked up at Jisung's face to see whether he was fine with it or not. Upon seeing the grimace on his face, Chenle tried pulling his hand away, his cheeks reddening from embarrassment when Jisung jerked his hand back into his clutch.

"Don't let go," he says, his eyes finding Chenle's as he gives him a look out of desperation. It's enough for Chenle to nod slowly and tighten his grip on Jisung's hand, the blush covering his face getting deeper as the seconds passed. "Hey, remember this?"

Chenle only got to look up when Jisung began to drag him across the road and straight for the river where it was shallow. He immediately pushed Chenle into in, joining him in no time. The two shrieked at the cold water as it soaked through their shoes into their socks and travelled up their jeans.

"Jisung!" Chenle cried, slapping a hand across his arm. "It's so cold."

"I didn't realise it would be this cold," he admitted, laughing at Chenle's reaction.

Chenle frowned and grabbed his shirt, holding it up to make sure it didn't get wet either. "It's almost November, obviously it would be cold!"

Jisung's laughter didn't die down and Chenle soon found himself joining, ignoring the strange looks people gave them as they walked by. It was a weird sight to see two nineteen-year-olds jumping around in a river that was meant to be closed to the public. But as they stood in the water, smiles larger than ever and the nostalgic taste of the past fresh in their mouths.

"Be careful," Jisung said when they began to climb out, hands slipping off the walls. "Here, grab my hand."

Chenle grabbed his hand and was pulled right out of the water, stumbling upon the way and falling over Jisung. They double over in laughter once again before lying down on their backs. It's chilly and the cold air is pressing against their wet clothes. They should move and change before they catch a cold, but the mood had finally just gotten better. It was as if yesterday was never going to come.

"The moon tonight is beautiful, right?" Jisung said out of the blue, his eyes fixated on the clear blue sky. Chenle chuckled and elbowed Jisung.

"Where exactly can you see the moon?" He questioned, a smile still playing on his lips before the meaning settled in.

"You'll always remember," Jisung's words were shaky and his eyes were glassy as he spoke. Chenle tilted his head to the side and watched as Jisung tried to blink back the tears. "Right? You'll always remember me."

Chenle smiled bitterly, turning to his side so that he was facing Jisung. He raised his hand and slowly brushed back Jisung's hair, allowing him to let his tears loose. Jisung always cried faster than Chenle, unable to hold back his tears after the one time Chenle told him his tears made him stronger.

"Jisung," Chenle started softly, his touch gentle and barely there, almost too scared to touch Jisung and give him any other memories to keep hidden away in his head. "I'll always remember you."

The words were enough to make Jisung hiccup, the tears flowing out uncontrollably. It was broad daylight as Jisung cried, his hands coming up to cover his face as his cries got louder by the second. There was nothing Chenle could've done to calm Jisung down, after all, he was the cause of his misery.

It doesn't take long for Jisung to quiet down, the realisation that he was crying in public settled down on him and he sat up, leaning against Chenle's shoulder for support.

"Let's go?" Chenle asked carefully, squeezing the hand Jisung had slipped into his at one point. Jisung shook his head but then stood up, the grip on Chenle's hand strong. "You have work tomorrow, right?"

Jisung didn't answer, not wanting to think about anything other than the moment he was in. That time when he was holding onto Chenle's hand and walking up to the entrance of the park. The last time that would ever happen.

"Well then," Chenle choked, clearing his throat as Jisung snapped his head up to see his face. "I'll see you later."

Jisung took a deep breath, a bitter smile on his face. It was heartbreaking to see him look so sad, but there was nothing that could be done. "Later," Jisung repeated softly, the words tasting strange on his tongue. It was something he said so often to Chenle, but at that moment, it felt wrong. "Yeah. I'll see you later."

Chenle forced the edge of his lips to tug up into a ghost of a smile, hating the look Jisung gave him when he began to turn around. He turned around with a sigh, stuffing his hands into his pockets and he walked through the exit of the park, his heart feeling heavier than when he entered. There was a ring from his phone and he pulled it out, dread filling him as he read the message and sped up, hoping that Jisung was still not standing by the gates, staring at him.

That night, Chenle left the country to never return again.