Good morning, my.

1. Sleep

I awoke suddenly to the sound of a cold breath behind my back. I felt the warmth of a blanket. I heard a steady heartbeat.

I blinked slowly and opened my eyes. Silver hair tickled the back of my neck. I turned to face Min Yoongi. Even in the dark room, he was clearly visible.


Hello, sweet dreams my (    )


The face buried in the pillow was puffy and blank. I lightly kissed his forehead and got up from the bed.
Outside the window, the sky was white, and just like the waves were creating ripples, the white snow brought by the sea before my eyes was falling and covering the sandy beach.

I move my feet toward the living room. Sunlight floods in through the large windows. I lie back down on the sofa and stretch my legs. The plants glow with a light green glow, bathed in the sunlight.

After doing the dishes that I couldn't finish, organizing the bottles and glasses I had with Min Yoongi, and wiping down the desk, I went back to the sofa and lay down. Min Yoongi wriggled and crawled into the narrow gap between the sofas and hugged me tightly.




It's narrow, huh?

....

This bastard

Look...




Min Yoongi was mumbling, still exhausted. He was burying his face in my shoulder and rubbing his face against mine like a cat.
Then I hugged Min Yoongi's dry arms and stroked his back.
Min Yoongi falls asleep again thanks to the warm hands. I smile and hug Min Yoongi, put him back on the bed, and make breakfast at 11 PM.

Remembering his desire for tteokbokki, I was about to go buy some. I carefully changed my shoes. The door opened with a creaking sound.
As I took a step outside the door to go out, Min Yoongi, who was sleeping, suddenly stopped sleeping and ran over with a frightened expression, grabbing the hem of my clothes in front of the front door.




Yoongi.

It's dangerous.

I'm not going anywhere. I'll buy some tteokbokki. We were supposed to eat it together, right?

.....come back quickly.

don't cry.




Min Yoongi's words are so frightening that tears well up in his eyes easily. Then I turn around and hug Min Yoongi tightly. My shoulders feel warm. I stroke his sobbing, scarred back. Ah, how did this person become so weak?

That's right.
That day, the day I died.
The day I went out that door.
One clear autumn day when I fought to protect you.

Autumn has come again this year.













Yoongi, I will survive.
That's how I'll protect you.
I promise. I'll give my life and die for you.

Yeonsu had said that before.

It's been nearly three years since I ran away from the world.
It was because Min Yoongi and I were both exhausted. The reason we ran away was simple.
It was because my lover, who had always cheered me up whenever I collapsed from exhaustion, suggested that we run away.




Jeong Yeon-su.

why?

..want to leave?

.....are you crazy




The first reaction was definitely this: Are you crazy? Where are you going? Do we have anywhere to go?
Then Min Yoongi's answer was this: he didn't know either. Perhaps I just chuckled in disbelief.

Min Yoongi said things like that a lot.
Let's leave this city, let's leave this neighborhood, let's leave this society and go wherever you want. I'll go wherever you lead me.
I said that I would follow your every step, even to the distant docks where the smell of blood filled the air, to the forests overflowing with the smell of dirt, even if wherever you went was hell.

But Yoongi
Who will accept us when we leave like this?
Neither the clear sky, nor the scattered forest, nor the rolling waves are on our side.
This land is not on our side either. Who can we lean on?

We didn't want to be like this, but they treat us like monsters.




Yoongi.

......

Shall we leave?
Funny enough, we were the only ones on our side.




That day, I cried. I was in despair.
Rather than answering me, Min Yoongi smiled faintly and sadly. It was hard to meet his eyes.
On the day he abandoned this name, Min Yoongi died once by abandoning that name.
We are no longer people.

That day, we took the train to a forest. A place where we could see the stars clearly, a place where we could breathe. A place where no threat loomed.








The clock's second hand ticks.

As I was finishing the tteokbokki and washing the dishes, Min Yoongi sneaked up behind me and ran his hand over my back. He stroked the scar.
Yoongi, I'm already better. But Min Yoongi still holds me in his arms.




Yoongi.

huh.

It's okay to stop being anxious now.




A long silence passed. Min Yoongi didn't laugh. He simply played with my arm.




Now I might have to go back
 
.....what?




Min Yoongi's hands are trembling. No, maybe it's me who's trembling. We're afraid. We're unstable.
I'd been thinking about leaving Min Yoongi, that he'd gradually forget me, that he'd find his own way in life, from the moment I first ran away. It seemed like the answer I'd finally reached would take three years to be realized.




I'm kidding.




I smile brightly, just like Min Yoongi does. Min Yoongi looks at me with a subtle expression.

Hahaha. Yeonsu ends up laughing.




I told you it was a joke. You're being very serious.




Only then does Min Yoongi's expression soften and he looks at me.
I thought you were serious
Min Yoongi smiles with a wide grin. I look back at his innocent face and smile.
I couldn't help but laugh at that smile.

I'm leaving for you.
Please forget me, forget me and live happily




















Now when I open my eyes, there is no one next to me.