Nocturnal Sunshine - Lee Donghyuck

✧13✧

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

Jiyoung

"I was ten years old. I think Mark was twelve. This happened around the time when he had decided to pursue a career in music. Even though he was closer in age to my sister, we were almost inseparable back then. We were more like siblings than anything."

My lips tugged at the memory of the younger versions of ourselves. Even at the stage of puberty, Mark wasn't embarrassed to hang out with me or be seen with a ten year old girl, despite, the awkward age gap.

"I was having a sleepover at his house - l'd had them a lot since he lived so close to me, but recently our parents had allowed us to have them more often because he was moving to Korea. And on this particular day, he dragged me upstairs to his balcony.

'Jiyoung. Look at the sky.' He had said. It was very early morning, and the sky was a dull grey colour, not quite awake yet. 'There's nothing.' I had complained, but he laughed in response. 'Exactly'.

I was confused. Why was he showing me the boring sky?

He made us sit out there for a further half an hour until the sky began to glow yellow as the sun began to breach the horizon, and he spoke to me again. 'Now look at the sky. Pretty right.'

'Mmm.' I grudgingly agreed, squinting in the direction that he was gesturing at, not completely awake.

'Not quite.' He grinned even wider and brighter than previously; his enthusiasm matched the sky.

At this point I was convinced he had lost it. All his sanity had been replaced with crazy ideals. But I still sat there and waited a while longer, to humour him.

But after a few more minutes, the sky gave way to beautiful flaming orange.

'Now look at the sky.' Mark said to me one final time. 'It's pretty now, right?'

'Yeah, I guess. But about it?'

'That's it. That's what I wanted to show you.'

I shot him a confused glance. 'Explain!' I demanded.

'Not everything is pretty at first. You gotta wait a little bit, because the moment the sun breaks the horizon, the sky is bathed in gold. Are you following?' He checked

'I think so' I had lied.

'And in end, it gives way to something beautiful, when the day finally dawns. Just like life.'

At that age I hadn't been very invested in his metaphoric ways of life. Big later, once he had moved to Korea, I realised how true his metaphor was.

And he had left soon after that." I said, to Donghyuck.

"But now whenever I'm feeling sad, or I miss Mark, I know I can look at the sunrise," I added, "It reminds me of him, even when he's all the way in Seoul."

"That's why Mark is such a sunrise and sunset person. But is that a happy or a sad memory for you? You don't seem the happiest when you recalled it." He pointed out.

"I guess it's both." I replied, unsure, "But it's one of my favourite memories."

"You ask me something now."

"You asked such a good question. Mine needs to be great as well." I pondered it for a few beats, "Is there anything you regret?"

"Are we asking tricky questions now? Are you sure you will be ready for what I have lined up?"