blush [ moonbae ]

prologue

Kevin Moon had never thought he was a pretty person.

It was a quality he admired most about people... the confidence it required to look at oneself and say, "I am beautiful. I look gorgeous."

No matter how many times he said those words to himself in the mirror, it still wouldn't stick. That's self motivation for ya. It wouldn't work unless he truly believed in it.

"Kevin, I'm sorry, but... I just don't think we can keep going," came the hesitant voice of the girl sitting across from him.

Kevin nodded, his silence a signal of his sad acceptance. He'd felt the break up coming for a long time now, and although it was disheartening, it didn't surprise him.

The girl took both of Kevin's hands into her own.
"You've been so good to me, bun," she sighed. "But I just can't do long distance. Surviving off of phone calls isn't for me."

Kevin kept his eyes on the table, giving her another silent nod. He would be moving soon, thousands of miles away from where they now stood.

Something inside told him that maybe, if he was beautiful, she would be willing to make it work.

He put a fake smile on his face, to hide the inner demons that screamed all the words he didn't want to hear at himself.

"It's okay. I get it. Keep in touch though, yeah? I'll miss you, even if we're not dating," he said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

The girl gave him a sad smile. "Okay Kev," she agreed, slowly letting go of his hands for the last time.

She stood up, grabbing her phone and keys.
With a single wave back at him, she was off, carrying a piece of Kevin's heart with her out the door.

Kevin didn't even realize he was crying until the warm tears dripped onto his dining room table.
He was too dazed to care. He let them flow, deciding that he needed a good sob at this point in time.

Within a week he would be in Korea with his childhood best friend, Eric, and Kevin did not want to get off the plane with all of these emotions still pent up inside of him.
If nothing else, he didn't want Eric to make fun of him for crying over a high school girlfriend.

Maybe the new start would be good for him. It was a rare sight for Kevin to be optimistic, but ever since his parents had made the decision to move he began to feel the tiniest bit of hope for something better.

For now, he was a creature drowning in an oversized hoodie and tears.