moon child | lai guanlin

stars

"but why did you only count the stars?"

after a week of guanlin persuading me to return to school, i acquiesced. i really did not want to go back, i didn't want to see jiyeon's face again, nor did i want to hear her annoying voice.

donning the plainest pieces of clothing i owned, i packed my school bag with much dread, stuffing textbooks and stationery inside without much thought.

i headed out of my house, towards the bus stop where i used to wait for the bus at every single day. the bus quickly came, and i quickly found myself standing outside the very place i promised myself not to ever go back to again.

i expected everyone's gaze to be glued on me when i stepped into the school, like the previous time. i was a little surprised when the complete opposite happened. nobody bothered to give me a glance, their eyes were stuck to the screen of their phones.

i walked down the hallway, and it seemed like no one noticed my existence.

as soon as guanlin saw me, he smiled. in relief, i smiled back. i was starting to think that i turned invisible for a second there.

"you finally decided to listen to me, huh?" he chirped. i chuckled, "i only came because it was boring at home. also, i thought that you'd be lonely in school since.. you know."

"psh, lonely? i have lots of other friends!" guanlin said, very unconvincingly. "sure, whatever you say." i nodded slowly, my tone sarcastic and mocking.

the school bell rang, sending the students in the hallway to their respective classrooms for class. their feet dragged across the ground, reluctant to attend lessons.

"heeun, are you still worried about seeing jiyeon?" guanlin inquired, his voice low, making sure no one else heard it apart from me.

glancing up at him, i nodded slowly. it was embarrassing, to say the least, but i had no reason to deny it. it was the truth, i was afraid of shin jiyeon, afraid that she'll hurt me again.

"don't be. i'll make sure she won't even lay her eyes on you, alright? be strong, show her that you're not afraid." guanlin ruffled my hair, and i couldn't help but grin at his words.

how does he do it every single time? how does he make a girl who felt like she was nothing feel like she's everything in just a split second?

"alright, i'll be strong. thank you, guanlin."

;

guanlin sat next to me in class, and for the entire day, jiyeon didn't look at me or talk to me. she acted as if i was invisible, and i was thankful for that.

today was the first time i ever enjoyed myself in school. the place that used to feel like hell, felt like an even better version of heaven.

guanlin had asked me if i wanted to go star-gazing with him again. i remembered the last time i went, alone and hurt, and i replied to his question with a yes.

we laid down on the cool grass, at our usual spot on the hill. we came earlier today, so we could see the sunset as well.

the sky that was once blue transitioned into a mix of orange and pink. the sun that once stood strong and mighty in the warm sky was now being replaced by the moon, but he didn't seem to complain.

time passed quickly, and i soon found myself staring at the vast darkness freckled with little spots that sparkled like their lives depended on it.

then i realised, they actually did.

"you know, i always wondered how life would be if there weren't any stars in the sky." guanlin muttered, "at first, i thought that it wouldn't be so bad. yeah, the skies won't be as pretty, but that's about it. but then, i realised, that if there were no stars, the moon would be lonely. and i realised too, that the sun was a star. without stars, the entire world would be dark and cold."

he turned his head, his skin brushing against the grass.

my heart started to beat abnormally fast, and i wondered if he could hear it amidst the soft chirping of crickets in the silent night.

"i've never liked someone as much as i like you, heeun. i don't even understand it myself." he mumbled, his breath tickled the side of my face, sending shivers down my neck. my eyes widened, a plethora of different emotions swam inside my head.

guanlin reacted quite similarly to the way i did, his eyes wide with shock, and i had realised that he did not mean to say out loud.

"u-uh, i mean.. i'm sorry, i--" he shot up, spitting out gibberish as he attempted to save the awkward situation.

"it's okay, guanlin. really, it's okay." i sat up, crossed leg and face the colour of cherries.

"because without even realising, i've found myself liking you, too." i said, but it came out more like a whisper.

i glanced at guanlin, the moonlight shone onto his face, the shadows that formed around his facial features sculpted his pale face. he looked so ethereal, so beautiful, so delicate.

"guanlin?" i hummed, and his head twitched ever so slightly, his eyes were asking me to continue.

"when the moonlight shines on your face, why do you appear so much more beautiful?"

we were living in a world, along with 7 billion others. but at that time and that space, we felt like we were the only ones left on planet earth. we felt like the only thing we wanted, needed, was each other.

and we weren't wrong. because at that moment, as i stared into guanlin's eyes, our breath hitched at the same time, our hearts beat in the same rhythm,

and when the tips of our noses touched, when his lips fell onto mine, even if it was just for a tiny moment,

i felt as if i had everything in the world, even if i had nothing.

i no longer questioned why he thought i was beautiful. because every single time i gazed at his face, that feeling was unexplainable as well.

but if i had to give an answer, no matter how ridiculous it sounded, i would call this strange phenomenon love.

(a/n: thank you for reading this book i spent more than 2 months writing ;; i know it's not the best fanfiction in the world and i'm not the best writer in the world, but this is honestly the first time i've spent so much effort into a book and i really hope that people can see that. thank you so much, everyone who read this book, voted, commented. it really means so much to me ❤ lastly, thank you all for 1.35K reads and more than a hundred votes!! it's a crazy number to reach and i'm so thankful to everybody. this is the last chapter of moon child, and i'm seriously so thankful for everyone who bothered to read this long ass author's note, have a good day and goodbye!!)