𝘄𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝖿𝖾𝗋𝗋𝖺𝗋𝗂

✞ . WARMTH BEGINS TO BLOOM BENEATH HER RIBCAGE, much like it always does whenever noeul is involved. it's subtle, but certain, as if his presence alone digs at the cold ground, planting seeds of light in places that were plagued with darkness. the garden begins to flower, and she can't help the smile that tugs itself at the corners of her mouth. it stretches, the apples of her cheeks rising as he speaks, as he laces their fingers together, as his tone lifts, teases, even when the concern is so evident on his face, playing along as he always does whenever she is involved. he gently pulls her into the confines of his room, hand hovering at the small of her back, protective, even when no one else was around, as though he's shielding her from the rest of the world. her smile grows at the realization, and she finds herself exhaling a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding once the door shuts behind them.

"ARE YOU SAYING I'M NOT WORTH FIVE YEARS OF YOUR LIFE?" she continues the bantering as the two of them separate, unserious pout pulling at the corners of her mouth as she threads her hands together, relishing in the warmth from where they had been tethered. it was such a rarity to experience, and yet noeul indulged her again and again without a second thought. maybe really she was a touch greedy. "you can't just call me sweetheart and then say i'm only worth two years," she tilts her head, dark orbs watching him as he moves towards his desk, eyes sparkling with curiosity as he thumbs through the drawers. "let's meet at three and a half," she hums thoughtfully, pulling her hands apart so she can tap her index finger against her lips. "i think that's a fair trade since you're so ever the clever one, no-ah." her voice tilts, a soft giggle, but her minds still wanders, and she takes a second when his back is turned to think back on the events of this afternoon — truly, the entire thing really was juvenile and she knew deep in her heart that she shouldn't pay it any mind.

noeul's certain that that's far from the truth the moment she leans into him and rests her head against his chest. he gives her a moment, moving his arms to envelop her almost completely. he can't quite feel what she feels— that whirlwind of her power trying to catch up to his winding clock— but he can imagine it. sometimes, he thinks he might be toeing the edge of it with the way something deep in his chest flutters when she's so near. he brings a hand up to gently brush a strand of her hair back, tucking it neatly behind her ear as he peers down at her. she looks small— so unlike the bright, shiny star he'd come to know.

"i'd miss you too much, you know." maybe it's hubris to think himself better than odysseus: even the gods couldn't keep me away from you. but he leaves it at that, hand pressed tenderly to the small of her back, keeping her close.

it has been few days since he saw noeul and his brain cells decided that picking up skateboarding will be the perfect thing to overcome the horrible feeling of getting old. it has been just few weeks since he turned thirty but it might as well been an eternity. and wind swears that ever since he woke up on that day, his bones are protesting more and he really is starting to feel like elderly. and so, what way did he decide to still feel young, you might ask? to bug noeul for skateboarding lessons, of course!

but first, he needs to mentally (and physically) prepare himself because as much as wind thinks that after many years spent dancing, his balance and core must be in their best state ever, something about it still feels a little daunting. he is already standing outside, contemplating whether putting on some knee pads would be good idea or not when that is when he notices noeul and his skateboard.

" hey! those knee pads are a little bit too much, right? " he gives a little wave to noeul, brushing their shoulders together when they are finally standing next to each other. to emphasize his point he lifts one of his legs that already has a knee pad on it, pointing at the incriminating thing. " i mean...should be easy breezy, and it's not like i am going to be jumping around on it, " he says like the liar that he sometimes is, because he is definitely going to try and do some tricks. but lying to himself only counts as half-lying anyway. those are the rules !

he's still slightly concerned about it now, even after agreeing to teach him. it's too late though— he'd already said yes. besides, what's the worst that can happen, really?

once he spots wind's blonde head down the way, he pushes off the pavement, letting his wheels carry him over quickly, narrowly dodging small groups of students in the walkway. "hey!" he calls out, foot on the back of the board to slow down before he kicks it up into his hand. it's like second nature to him now; he doesn't even have to think about it. honestly, he's not sure how he's going to explain what to do besides 'just go.'

but noeul doesn't get a chance to explain— doesn't even get a chance to tell him that he looks silly with his knee pads on— before wind is hopping onto the board with way too much confidence and immediately falling to the ground once it starts rolling away without him. maybe noeul was a prophet after all.

he's not going to laugh. he's not. or... he's really trying not to, at least, hand covering his mouth as he looks down at him. "... dude." the syllable is overflowing with mirth; as soon as he opens his mouth, the whole not-laughing thing flies directly out the window, "it hasn't even been a full minute since i got here," noeul manages through his laughter, "forget the knee pads, we're going to have to cover you in bubble wrap at this rate."

      ✞ . IT ALWAYS BEGAN AT HER FINGERTIPS like some odd sensation, a blurring, a burning, the world tilting on it's axis, like the second her skin registered warmth it was pulled out from under her, replaced with something heavy, something cold, something unseen. it would settle in her chest and squeeze against her lungs, stealing air until her chest ached to the point of collapse. it could be the weight of hands pressing against her neck or the burden of a loved one begging them not to go, the waves of the ocean pushing them down or the feel of flames licking up at her skin. it could have even been everything, anything, nothing and even something she couldn't even describe, but no matter what FATE was in store for someone who touched eunbyeol, there was one thing that was inevitable — regardless of how it happened, when it happened or where it happened, there was no denying that it would always happen.

NO ONE COULD ESCAPE DESTINY and while some people wanted to enjoy their lives without thinking of the ending credits, there were some ( bold, brazen, the furthest thing from GOD FEARING ) who felt that her powers were a hoax, that something surely couldn't be predestined.

EUNBYEOL had long since mastered the art of avoiding others in the physical sense. she could be considered an enigma — craving warmth, craving community, craving connection, but never drifting close enough to touch. at least, not to anyone that wasn't NOEUL. maybe that's why when she been cornered after her last class that she had gotten so overwhelmed. it had all happened so fast, after all. one second, she had been skipping her way through the halls and heading towards her room, and the next someone was knocking books out of her arms and gripping her hands like her morbid visions would transfer right to them if they squeezed hard enough.

ugh, alright! fine. they'll live to see another day. he doesn't want to push too hard (not out in the hallway, at least). besides, noeul's pretty sure maiming is high on the school's list of 'absolutely-do-not-dos,' and he doesn't really want to be booted out just yet.

"five years seems excessive... downright greedy, actually." he lilts, eyes running over every square centimeter of her face, trying to gauge just how much she's holding back. despite his intense stare, he's still playing along with her hypothetical. best to keep things lighthearted for now, right? "let's say two. feels more reasonable." he keeps their fingers laced together, fishing in the pocket of his sweatpants for his room key with his free hand as he continues, "do you really think so little of me, though? i think i'd be clever enough not to say your name." finally! the damn key. noeul is quick to shove it into the lock, giving it a turn and a little jiggle before pushing the door open. hopefully, none of his roommates are around. his hand ghosts the small of her back, gently ushering her inside. "there's plenty of other things i can call you, sweetheart."

some classes take forever. donggu sinks his head into the cold wooden floor and sighs his fifth sigh of the hour. (the grandfather clock waiting in the hallway with him says it’s only been five minutes since the door took eunjae.) frustration becomes anger in a blink. he resists a growing urge to open his mouth and let the door know exactly what he thinks. he’s wondered if it’s this body and how much smaller it is, if that makes it harder to hold emotions in. he’s been told that for a human, he’s pretty big. one of the teachers gave him a look and told him, as a human, he’s not as... reactive.

he shifts. the door stops taunting him. 

his clipped ear twitches at the sound of footsteps.

here comes that teacher now, the one he was just thinking about. donggu doesn't believe in coincidence—it’s magic. it has a way of knowing. they come with someone in tow, ask him if he’s busy. he notices the grandfather clock saying it’s only been seven minutes. they tell him this one needs help with something, to take care of them, then they leave.

donggu stands, smiles. “hi. what’d you need?”

what he can't brush off is the fact that he's lost his notebook for this class... yea, alright, fine. maybe that was his bad. instead of letting him sit in in class anyways, he's being ushered out of the classroom with instructions to 'find his notes' and that 'there's someone that can help him just in here, actually!'

haein has found himself in a peculiar situation. being a part time cat comes with a few downsides.

what sticks out is the attempted kidnappings, really. a pretty white cat who’s been through at least three of then. first time he felt guilty for scratching the hands and arms of a young girl. in his defence, he was nineteen and had to hurry home for dinner. yet she held on tighter, and tighter until he got let down on her apartment floor. her parents looked at him in surprise and asked where this cat could’ve possibly come from. he’s too clean —

whatever. stranger danger and all that.

this is the other peculiar situation, haein needs the help of a kind stranger. his normal go-to’s are missing, he’s stepped on something sharp. from being a four pawed creature to three and hobbling around. each step drives the stick in more and he was left keeping his paw up in the air. first best stranger will work. this one seems available, unoccupied and he uses three legs to approach. his own attempts to get it out haven’t worked.

he's propped up on his elbows, laying out on the mossy floor, eyes held shut as he relaxes underneath the canopy of pine overhead. noeul could stay like this forever. it's nice to find a moment of serenity without having to stop time completely.

he almost forgets that time is still going, actually, despite the birds chirping quietly in the background. feeling something plop into his lap just about takes him out, eyes flying open, sitting up on his palms. oh... it's just a cat. surely someone's familiar. house cats don't belong out here— definitely not one that looks as clean as this little guy.

"— jeez, you scared me half to death. no warning? no meow? what if i flung you off of me, dude?" his words are soon followed by light laughter, shaking his head at the thought of being afraid of the cat in front of him, bringing a hand up to scratch right behind the ears. "alright, what's this?" noeul doesn't mean to be patronizing, but it's hard to resist pitching his voice up juuuust a little when talking to him. he's got a soft spot for cute things. sue him.