Butterfly [j.jk]

사십오

마지막 순간

under the summer sun, the songs of those brilliant rays sing to a sky anew, granting it vibrant shades of blue and sprinkles of white. melodies of birds drift in the breeze as well as any summertime pollen.

it was a beautiful day that them two shared encased in the flowers they loved and the garden they adored. joyful hearts that sang to the painted skies and dancing trees. summer engulfs them in a warm embrace. they smile, with a hidden sorrow masked beneath their lips.

together, they watch those same blue skies melt into pink, then covered underneath the blanket of the night. watching as if it was one endless movie. stars dance across the expanse of the deep night, akin to the gleam that glimmers in their eyes.

surrounding them was a profound silence. just the chirrs of cicadas that accompanied the night and the evening winds. as gazes fixate on the dancing twinkles of stars, their lips cease to utter a sound. they're kept quiet n' still at the hours of the deep night. then again, when it was nari and jeongguk, either drowned in a hush breeze or a chatter-filled air, it didn't matter. just their company, the warmth they radiate against each other, was enough.

melodies of the summer night linger in the air, and the night grows deeper. "well," the boy stirs from his seat, "it's getting a bit late. let's call it a night." with an easy breath he greets nari one last smile. a tender grin with a soft curve at the corners of his lips.

with a wave goodnight, she too, gleams a faint smile. their eyes lock the last time that night and with his grin as warm as summer, was paired with a dull gaze. eyes that reflected grim clouds and skies of gray.

nari knew what jeongguk was hiding. those worries caged in his chest that threatened to escape, just without knowing how. and now there was a wall that stood between them. a barrier that separates them, built from these secrets the boy hid beneath his wings. and as she watched the boy walk away, with each step he took, this wall only towers higher, and the tear upon their hearts growing deeper.

whether she liked it or not, jeongguk had to return to seoul. and right now was that moment of confrontation she long feared of. "jeongguk," she mutters, fists clenched his tracks come to a halt.

she's met with his deer eyes and just like that she was tongue tied. as if her lips were sewed shut those doe eyes inflicted a feeling in her, yet she was at a loss of words.

"shall i help you pack?"

the boy turns stiff, feet cemented on the ground and all nerves shut. nari looked at him with a wry smile, her eyes that were too sorrowful yet forced to shine. if her gaze were windows, all you could see was heartbreak. still, she masks a grin.

"nari, i can explain." he stammers, "i was going to tell you, believe me. for several weeks all i could think of was when to tell you but i never knew how, why, when--"

his voice cries, its tremble growing thicker, suppressing a weep. "and if you're upset, then so be it. be mad at me for months, years, heck even forever. but know that i never intended for it to get-- to this. i'm sorry--"

in the midst of the gentle breeze and his rambles, her words cuts his own. "i'm not mad." she chuckles. that honey voice he hadn't heard in so long after being trapped in his thoughts, and a flash of her honey smile being the sweetener to his bitter days. "you were one of the best things to happen in my life. do you think i can get mad?"

she brings her hands between them, a familiar trinket upon her palms.

it was the bracelet jeongguk had gifted her on the christmas they spent together. a special twinkle of silver that danced upon a thin scarlet thread. memories of feet buried in snow and dancing specks of white in a winter night wrapped around her wrist. with a soft gaze and a honey smile, she places these memories snug in the boy's grasp.

"are you giving it back?" he asks, bewildered with a hint of dismay.

just then, she reaches into her pocket with a bracelet identical to the one on the boy's palm. the same gleaming charm of a blue clipper butterfly and a crimson thread. she smiles. "you're someone i care for. but if you have to leave, then it's okay." then, her words start to stammer. with an uneasy breath she continues to speak, these strong emotions hitting her hard in the chest. "but— when you go back to seoul— or wherever you are, just— don't forget me. o-okay?"

her gaze avoids his glistening doe eyes. she couldn't muster the courage to gaze at him for she knew the second she would, she'd lose all control of her emotions. that the mist that glazed her eyes would turn into tears and trickle down.

he watched as she locks the bracelet on his wrist as she spoke. their charms shining a silvery sparkle in unison.

"you wear yours and i wear mine. no matter the distance, i'll fly with you, and you fly with me."