Until The End of Time | Wonho [√]

21: REDAMANCY

The atmosphere of the coming evening was sleepy, insipid, and gave all the reasons why students were slowly dissappearing from the campus grounds. Probably to take a coffee break before spending their evening working on group projects, or studying alone at the library, or, they just went home as they were done for the day.

Wonho stood before the oak tree, wearing a pale blue t-shirt, pairing it with white shorts and sneakers. That was my first time seeing him in shorts.

His hair was a tousled mess, and when approached closer I could see a sheen of glistening sweet around his neck and face, the blue veins under the skin of his naked and large arms prominent, as he was holding onto the straps of his bacpack.

The afternoon was dimly lit, and ephemeral with the coming evening, so looked he.

I couldn't help but think I was only seeing a hologram of him, and that too would disappear as soon as the sun would fully set.

The corners of his lips perked up when he saw me, and he beckoned me over. We sat on the crisp grass, warm and inviting due to lack of rainfall this week.

I couldn't find anything to say so I just quietly observed him. He sat with his revealed legs crossed on the ground, and he was fiddling with a small twig he found on the grass. He was breathing slowly, and deeply, and for a moment, I found myself lost in the rhythmic rising and falling of his chest.

"Were you practicing kendo?" I finally asked. A vivid image of him in a dark martial arts suit, sweating profoundly, yet smiling so brightly visited my mind, from the day I first saw him.

He nodded. "You must be tired," I said.

"I'm okay. How have you been?" He finally turned his face towards me, and really looked at me. For some reasons, I couldn't keep up with him and averted my gaze.

"Good." I lied. "Where were you?" The question came from a distant voice within myself, as if it didn't really come from me but I was watching an alternate version of mine spewing it out.

Truthfully, I didn't know if I had the permission to ask where he was, and why he had ghosted me. Maybe I had, but I didn't want to sound demanding.

"I needed to look over a few things," he answered curtly, with an impassive face. "Sometimes I feel like getting away is necessary, you know. And cellphones really are such a hassle to keep up with."

I just knew he wouldn't answer anything beyond that, even if I asked. He was reserved but this was my first time seeing him being so evasive.

I didn't want to press any further. "I was hoping you were alright. I was worried, you know."

He smiled at me, and it was not dim or faint anymore like the twilight. He wasn't a holographic image, he really was here. "You did?"

"I thought it could be because of me..."

"No!" He interjected before I could finish. He gave a slight shake of his head to the sides. "No, it's not about you, I can promise you that."

"Oh," I mumbled. "You didn't give me any answer that day, so I thought-. Actually, it was my fault. I was abrupt. I probably never gave you a single hint before that I really liked you."

He looked at me shocked out of his skin for a second, realizing that I did fully confess to him just then. And then it dawned on me too, that I had.

We broke off the eye contact at the same time and I found myself staring at the green pasture before us, gleaming at the pale sunlight. I could hear him shifting in his position a little. Other than that, he was completely quiet.