Seungho poured a drink — neat whiskey, the expensive kind that tasted like fire and old books. He walked barefoot across the polished concrete, past the fireplace he never used, past the table no one ate at, to the massive floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the city.
He stood there, drink in hand.
Like a statue, or a god who had no temple.
–“Before the snow falls, I would love to see you.”
The phrase entered his mind uninvited. As if someone had whispered it into his ear.
Heshut his eyes. Swallowed the whiskey.
And stood alone with a face he couldn’t name, and a city that didn’t know he bled.
??????
The train rocked gently, lights flickering along the Han. Jaewan leaned back, coat folded, phone in one hand.
The buzz came just after the bridge.
Yul, of course. Always precise.
[1 New Message – Cha Yul]
VELVET ECLIPSE BOYS CONFIRMED FOR SATURDAY. 4 HOSTS. 7:30PM.
INCLUDES THE “CHEONSA” KID.
TOLD HE’S PRETTIER THAN THE REST. BITES IF YOU GET TOO CLOSE.
He huffed. Typical Yul—efficient and theatrical.
He hadn’t spoken to Yul in months, but they’d been in the same year at Suncheon High.
Yul had always been the quiet one. Smiled like a saint, watched like a wolf.
Rumor had it he ran a clean front and a dirty empire, but Jaewan never asked.
They still met for drinks every now and then, pretending the world hadn’t sharpened them both.
He was halfway through rolling his eyes when the photo loaded. He stopped breathing.
It was grainy, snapped in dim lighting. A candid, probably…. But there he was. Shaved sides. Long nape braid. A jaw that looked carved.
And eyes— Eyes like lit glass. Tragic. Furious. Still.
Not dead. Not faking. Just… frozen in that impossible space between beauty and ache.
And the way he smiled?
Like someone who’d tasted god once and spat him out.
Jaewan stared too long.
Something twisted in his ribs.
This wasn’t a club pretty-boy.
Wasn’t the usual package of eyeliner, winks, and flirted scars.
