·⁚❀ forever and always - hyungwonho

·⁚❀i ♥ you.

Every time Hyungwon looked back on his days of school, he laughed at himself. He had hated school and believed it to be the most exhausting, time-consuming commitment. In class, he'd stare at the clock or his own watch, observing the hands tick by so agonizingly slow. It felt like time was slowed down just enough to force Hyungwon to lose his sanity while enduring the hours of hell.

That was before he witnessed the death of the one he loved most.

Now, with the knowledge that he'll never experience anything close to what he had with Hoseok again, time was a vile concept. Progressing at a sluggish pace, making Hyungwon feel like he had been living for eons when really it had only been about 9 years.

Sometimes, that amount of years can go by quickly. Older children are always hearing their elders talk about how it felt like just yesterday they were crawling around on the floor with a pacifier in their mouth. "Time flies by so fast."

On the other hand, in Hyungwon's case, time was a motionless enemy. He spent the past years suffering greatly.

In the beginning, his parents decided to take further control of his life by arranging a marriage for him with the daughter of a family friend — so much for giving him 'freedom' by ensuring he wasn't inheriting the position of CEO. The male was completely disgusted with the idea but felt too drained of life to do anything about his disgust. Something as simple as disagreeing or even voicing his opinion to his parents whom he was fed up with anyway seemed to be too troublesome.

But when he met the daughter, Kim Jisoo, he changed his mind. She, like him, had lost the love of her life, and her famed parents were desperately searching for a husband.

Hyungwon and Jisoo had created a contract of sorts, a list of agreements for their marriage. The most important items were that they were never to have children of their own — adoption was their route of action if their parents wanted grandchildren — and they would pretend to like each other, which wasn't hard because they had quickly become good friends.

However, even with a wife at his side, the taller still felt that his life was so dragged out. He was happiest when Hoseok was there with them, and he found a way to manage when he was taken away to Canada. Now, everything had changed. Hoseok was no longer halfway across the globe. He wasn't even in the same universe as Hyungwon anymore.

Minhyuk and Kihyun were such angels, continuing their act of caretaking over Hyungwon, ensuring he was physically healthy. But all their attempts at healing him emotionally failed. The most they successfully did was accompany Hyungwon when he went to change his hair color back to black. He no longer felt the need to dye it any pastel, or bright, pretty colors. That stage of his life, when he actually felt emotion relating to happiness and he used his hair as an outlet to express that, was over. His hair reflected his lifestyle.

A void without light. Void without happiness. Empty. And dark. A desolate, despondent thing.

Nothing could accurately represent or explain how Hyungwon felt. Unless experienced first-hand, nothing could replicate the sense of being but a shell of a person. A shell filled with misery and loneliness.

Eventually, with an excruciating amount of time, the empty man found a way. Grief never disappears. Losing someone will never escape you. That incident will always be there, haunting your living. It only ever gets easier to manage. Until you somehow find a way to smile again. To see colors in the world. To feel something close to joy and peace.

Finding a way to manage the pain had taken so long for Hyungwon. Those 9 years were nothing like one's first years of living. Those years were so much worse than what Hyungwon felt during his years of attending school. "Time goes by so slowly."

Truly, time was an interesting thing. It could be so evil, proven by how cruelly it treated Hyungwon.

Time was fleeting, yet somehow gave beautiful moments to Hyungwon and Hoseok to appreciate and cherish while they were together. 

Time revealed to Hyungwon the problems their relationship came with.

Time taught Hyungwon that despite his ability to deal with tragic events, such as being taken to Canada or having Hoseok taken from him, he still loved Hoseok and couldn't live without the older male.

Time had been a promise between two lovers. A promise that no matter what, they'd love each other for as long as time existed and will continue to exist — forever and always. That no matter what, they'd be with each other.

Hyungwon was driving to Jisoo's parents' estate, where they'd be having a casual lunch to talk business. And in the few seconds he took his eyes off the road to study the car mirror hanger, a cute little trinket Hoseok had once found and given him, he blacked out, and a thundering crash and bloodcurdling scream was the last thing he heard.

Time had the ability to advance insufferably slow, but could also act in a flash. 

Time had gone at its usual slow speed in killing Hoseok but spared no more than a few short seconds for Hyungwon.

Not like any of that mattered anymore. Hyungwon could finally say "I love you" to Hoseok. And the couple could finally be together, for forever and always.