Until The End of Time | Wonho [√]

36(FINAL): NOCTURNE

"I guess you won't tell me what it is or who you are waiting for?" He queried in his accented Korean.

"I don't think I can. It's probably better if you don't know."

He gave a small nod. "Although I guess it's important?"

I nodded now, it was something I couldn't form into words even if I wanted.

"If we have more time, maybe we could sit down somewhere. My legs are giving in. And maybe we could have dinner too," he suggested, his voice unobtrusive. Only then did I realize that my knees were trembling, not for the cold but because I was anxious and frightened.

There were rows of benches around the sidewalks and we took seats there. I could finally understand a little of what Alex and I had in the other world. It was definitely not sparking butterflies and jolting electricity, but an understanding and warmth for each other.

My phone vibrated in my pocket all of a sudden, I somehow hoped it was Wonho, even though I knew it wouldn't be.

"Hyungwon," I took the call, Alex turned to me and then faced away. My words were making small clouds in the air.

"His car isn't here," he said from the other side. His own voice sounded distant as if coming from another star. "I don't think he is here either. The lights are out. The next door has its lights on."

"The one where his mom lives," I confirmed.

"I don't know if he'll be driving for all those hours," he muttered, seemingly talking to himself.

I contemplated for a few more seconds. Only when I tasted the iron in my mouth, I realized I was chewing my lips unconsciously. "It could be that he's out now and will be back later. You should stay there."

He answered in a low hum. There was nothing to say anymore, both our priorities were one.

"Take care, Hyungwon," I said in a daze, feeling a little feverish. Suddenly I felt like all this was not happening, as if I was only observing the scenes on a TV. The call cut off.

Alex smoked one cigarette after another for the next hours. I had never seen him smoke so much and he had affirmed it before too. His right knee was vibrating nonstop, going up and down and again. I knew the apprehension was getting to him too.

Something was going to change tonight. Everything, at least for us.

He brought me coffee and some snacks from a store that was probably a good few minutes away. But I didn't have it in me to stand up and leave the space, and like before he could probably see that hence he didn't ask me.

I sipped on the coffee that was already cold. My mind reeled back to the past few months and vaguely I remembered Wonho's head on my lap as we sat and watched the campus mellow down with the evening. Out of everything else, my brain kept playing that scene.

Slowly the reminiscent became brighter, more lucid, and louder. I could sense Wonho's steady breathing passing through me, skin to skin. His chest heaving up and down softly. The blue veins under his pale skin, and the few red moles dotted like tiny flowers across his face and neck.

The thin layer of shadow under his coal eyes. His dark hair tousled on his head. A tired smile as he watched me, and a layer of peach tint on his cheeks that came with it. Spring boy.

But it was winter now.

With the hours passing by, the number of people kept subsiding. And after a while, I realized almost no one was there except for us. Occasionally a truck or a microbus whirred by, with them came cold gusts of wind. The temperature was dropping with the night. My fingers felt icy and stiff, I could barely feel my skin.