CHAPTER FIFTEEN
LONELINESS used to surround the rink during night times.
kihyun used to spend his entire time on working, even trying to find more things to do, just to keep himself busy- mostly from falling asleep. but it wasn't lonely anymore, and kihyun suddenly craved nayoung's music blasting through the arena, skates hitting and gliding across the ice. he anticipated the sound of changkyun's sweet, sweet laugh. of course, he still meant that in the most non-creepy way possible.
even if it really did sound creepy.
currently, the two were sitting down in their usual seats. as promised, kihyun bought them both frozen yogurt, now eating it in a calming silence.
although, it was never completely silent when nayoung was around. it wasn't even the skating, it was her own self- the constant comments on how cute they were together, how 'precious' kihyun was being with her cousin. which resulted in a lot of blushing coming from the dark haired boy. it didn't seem to bother changkyun, thankfully; but then again, he couldn't see the way kihyun looked at him. if he could, then he would understand. a part of him was slightly glad changkyun was oblivious to his gaze, his feelings, but he also wondered what it would be like if changkyun was aware.
kihyun continuously asked himself: would he ever feel the same?
it always ended up with him sighing, telling himself, no, he wouldn't. it didn't matter, anyways. those feelings were silly, probably would only disappear with time.
mindlessly, kihyun scooped up the fruity desert. it was kind of sour, he realized, chunks of strawberry tasted bitter on his tongue. he turned to changkyun, about to ask the other if he was enjoying the yogurt, even preparing to say it's berry good as a terrible attempt to make him laugh. but as his eyes trailed down changkyun's face, he noticed a tiny smudge of yogurt on the corner of his mouth.
"you got some, uh..." kihyun awkwardly started, causing changkyun to look towards him, "yogurt on your lips."
the boy's cheeks tinted with pink, hand aimlessly wiped around his lips.
"is it gone?"
somehow, changkyun managed to completely miss it.
kihyun's lips turned upwards, shaking his head slightly. he said: "no," then he kind of blurted out, "let me help."
anyone probably could had guessed how gentle and careful kihyun was when he was around changkyun. but that time, however, he was being even more cautious. softly, kihyun placed his right hand on the boy's jawline, brushing away the yogurt on his lips. he shouldn't have let his thumb linger on changkyun's bottom lip for so long, but he got too caught up in the moment.
"i-is it gone now?" changkyun stuttered, breath warm on kihyun's finger.
abruptly, the dark haired boy pulled his hand away, also averting his eyes to the skating rink. his cheeks felt like they were the sun, hands trembled as they wrapped around the frozen yogurt cup.
he quickly said, "yeah, it's gone."
nayoung skated laps along the ice, going back and forth. kihyun's gaze watched her intently. at the start, he was trying to distract his overactive mind from thinking about the boy sitting close beside him, which didn't last long, because then that was all he could think about. changkyun's knee brushing against his own; changkyun's steady breathing.
changkyun's hand that slowly reaching out for his arm- that was when kihyun snapped back to the world around him.
feeling the navy-blue haired boy's hand run down his arm, he ended up lacing their fingers together. kihyun observed his face, trying to figure out what he was thinking; what the meaning behind his sudden action meant. instead, he noticed the soft glow of scarlet dusting his cheekbones. adorable, he thought to himself.
"thank you," he finally voiced.
kihyun opened his mouth, only to close it a millisecond later.
"i know, i say thank you a lot, but i really mean it," changkyun squeezed kihyun's hand a bit. "i've never met anyone who cares about me as much as you do, kihyun. i'm really thankful for that." he exhaled slowly, then whispered, "for you."
"i..." kihyun didn't know how to reply, he didn't even know changkyun felt that way.
"you don't have to say anything," he quickly cut in. "just keep holding my hand."
the boy grinned.
"that, i can do."
everyday felt like a new learning adventure for kihyun. he had discovered a lot because of changkyun, or, about him; the dark haired boy became aware that the other liked someone holding his hand, whether it was to guide him somewhere, or simply to make him feel like someone was still there next to him. he also liked to listen. changkyun didn't particularly like loud sounds, noisy places, but he did like when people talked to him. kihyun was never a confident communicator, but with the boy, he felt comfortable to speak aloud.
another thing he had learnt, was that changkyun was flawless, yet, totally imperfect. though, that, was what made him so beautiful.
changkyun snorted when he laughed, stuttered and stumbled over words as he spoke. he was incredibly clumsy, always tripping over his own feet, and accidentally whacked people with his arms when he had sudden out bursts of singing. singing- he was loud, off-key, plus, he basically only yelled the lyrics. but he was so, completely, utterly perfect in every way.
cup with half-melted strawberry yogurt stopped midway to kihyun's mouth. he just learnt another thing.
his feelings were definitely not going to disappear with time.
