Whispers and Promises II
Title: Whispers and Promises II
Author: 79_percent
Rating: PG-13
Form: Chaptered
Fandom: TVXQ
Pairing: JaeHo
Genre: Drama, Fluff, Angst
Whispers and Promises
II. Estelle
He let his deep brown eyes wander aimlessly into the distance, absently taking in the darkened backdrop of starless sky. Two days into his holiday and still he was not able to relax. He heaved a soft sigh, noticing how far back his thoughts had wandered to. At first he was alert, his ears accepting all three different voices from his friends inside the room even if he had his vision focused on the strangely calming sea. Soon enough, however, the noise seeped out of his concentration, drowned away by the raging turbulence in his mind as he once again thought back of his trouble, albeit reluctantly.
YunHo sighed again, exhaling softly against one warm palm. He watched the white ripples on the cobalt blue water hit the darkened golden surface of the sand, and he could not help but think back of the one person that held a special place in his existence.
What was his love doing? What was his love thinking of? If they were to continue this cold war, how would they be able to survive without each other? How would he live?
The dark-haired boy sighed again; balefully reminding himself that if he did that often enough, he would have his mind aging much faster than his physique. Shaking his thoughts away, he stood from his position on the floor, pushing himself up against the window-sill. At the back of his mind, he noticed the abrupt silence ensuing in the room once he made his move.
At the other end of the room, at the edge of the bed, JunSu looked like he was about to utter something, but ended up closing his mouth when he realised he did not know what to say. Three pair of eyes watched YunHo stand to his full height and cross the room silently, passing ChangMin who was sitting cross-legged on a rattan chair and YooChun who had his head on JunSu’s back. He picked his black Adidas jacket and headed for the door.
“H-hey, where are you going?” YooChun asked hastily, jumping up from his comfortable position to give YunHo a questioning look just when the taller boy turned around.
There was only a short, hesitant pause, followed by a small, dismissive, almost forlorn smile from the seemingly worn-out expression before the room was left with only three even breathings. YooChun scrambled on the bed, wanting to hop down and gave his friend a chase but two hands on his left wrist and a gentle voice calling his name halted him.
“Hyung, no!” ChangMin said, a frown graced his equally concerned face.
YooChun alternated his gaze between ChangMin and JunSu, who had a strong hold on his hand even if he was stomach flat on the soft mattress. He kept his eyes on the other two for a short while before letting his head fall against JunSu’s back, earning a muffled grunt from the blonde.
“Fine, I won’t,” he sighed.
“He needs some time alone.. “ JunSu softly said, puffing air into his cheeks absently as he fixed his gaze at the door where YunHo had disappeared from.
ChangMin left his spot and joined his two hyung-deul on the bed. “They’ll make up, won’t they?” He asked timidly, finding a strange kind of amusement in pulling one end of YooChun’s thin cotton shirt.
“They will.” YooChun answered, swatting ChangMin’s intruding hands lazily. “I know they will. They just need some stimulus to open their hearts.”
JunSu shrugged, giving his companions a hopeful smile. “I wish they would too.”
The cool, night wind blew gently against his face, freezing his skin, making him shudder involuntarily even within the warm embrace of his jacket. He was cold, and yet he braved the artic-like temperature, somehow feeling like he needed it. He was not sure why the air was especially chilly that night but he was grateful for the numbness it provided. If for a moment, with his attention focused on his frostbitten conscience, he was able to forget about his dilemma.
He walked subconsciously by the beach, tracing the uneven surface of the waves against the sand with his footsteps. He did not know why he was there, but he let his feet take him to where they wanted him to be. Perhaps, in his own bizarre way, he was hoping that his feet would bring him to some kind of salvation, some kind of solution to his heart matter.
But he knew life would never be that kind to him.
He sighed again, looking back at the general direction from where he had came from. When he thought he had walked far enough, that he was distant enough from everyone else, he let his motion fall to a sudden standstill. He stood like that, watching the onyx black backdrop of the sky met the navy-blue ocean at the horizon in the distance, folding his arms close to his chest as his gaze travelled far and away, focusing at nothing in particular. Somehow, he just could not bring the maelstrom within his mind to subside.
After a long pause in which he was wrapped in a veil of comforting tranquillity, YunHo was about to heave another deep sigh when he noticed something from his peripheral vision. Tilting his head in curiosity, he caught the repetitive backwash splashing against the sand, bringing an unidentifiable object with it. Out of inquisitiveness, he bent over, picking up the item that seemed to glint against the bare sky despite the dim lighting.
He stared at the bottle in his hand, glancing at his blurred reflection on the glass-like surface. Opening the cork, he retrieved the off-white parchment rolled up neatly inside it. The surface was rough, the colour had faded off to an aged ivory and yet the black ink was amazingly intact, like the neat cursive inscription was written just yesterday.
Sometimes, I would come to this beach, looking far into the night. And I would sit and stare, reminiscing the only one love I could never have, the only one star I could never get. Sometimes I wonder, if I wished hard enough, if I prayed hard enough, if I fought hard enough, vehement enough, would Lord grant me you? But if I leaving would mean a better life for you, then I...
The words ended right there, that hasty, that abrupt. YunHo fingered the messy, torn side of the article, absently wondering where the other half of the letter could be. He did not know to whom the short prose was addressed to, and how coincidental it was that he managed to chance upon it, but he felt a tingling sensation at the pit of his stomach whenever he thought of those words. As much as he hated to admit it, he was already drawing parallel lines.
All of a sudden, the underlying implication of the letter was putting him to shame. He, whoever the person was, was willing to fight for his love. But he, himself, had given up on his even before the start of the battle. How did their relationship turned so fragile? They were not even faced with the real problem as yet, and they were breaking apart. Already. How could they hope to survive?
YunHo sighed, his melancholy began to eat his insides as his thoughts once again ran back to one same person he had left in Seoul. He folded the paper and held it gently in his grasp, putting both hands in the pockets of his jacket, the bottle carelessly forgotten on the ground. He stared at the sea, casting himself a wan smile, wondering how they would have been if he had not run away. Would their situation be better? Would he-
A loud rumble interrupted his trance and his attention was immediately arrested by another loud groan. For a moment, his wariness heightened as he prepared himself for any kind of aggressive intrusion. The next painful moan from the pile of rocks just below a high cliff nearby caused him to raise his eyebrows in uncertainty. Before he knew it, he was already making his way towards the source of the commotion.
There, about half a metre below him, YunHo could not help but widen his eyes when he saw a black-haired figure struggling to get out of the dangerous clutter of rocks and boulders at one junction of the sea. For an instant, a bizarre theory struck YunHo right at his hypothalamus, making him think that the person had fallen from the cliff about four storeys above them. He gave it a suspicious glance, before looking back at the figure still trying to climb out of the stone-made trap.
No, it could not be. No one could jump off from that height and still had their limbs intact. Not with those hard, uneven surface of the rocks and the hard impact of the waves beating against the vertical granite-like exterior. How did he get there in the first place anyway?
“Oow!” He heard the other moan painfully, finally managing to free his stuck limb with a hard jerk. When the other figure looked up, YunHo almost stared. Almost. There and then, he was presented with a face that looked all too familiar for his own comfort.
“Oh, hey.” The voice was mellow, its accent a little different from what he was used to but he soon deduced that the other must be a native of the area. “I could use a little help here.” A small, almost embarrassed smile showed on that fair, sheepish expression before he continued his request. “Do you mind?”
“Huh?” YunHo shook bewilderment out of his head, momentarily forgetting how dazzlingly familiar that smile was and replied. “Of-of course not.”
He extended his hand, pulling the other boy up even as he strained to keep his physique steady standing on the jagged surface of pointed rocks. That corner was so remotely secluded it made YunHo think what his new companion was doing down there. There was not even any pleasant landscape to admire; whatever could bring such lovely character roaming about aimlessly there in the middle of the night?
He pulled hard, hauling the other with all his might, causing them to tumble in a lock of limbs on golden sand when he fell from the harsh impact of the jerk. He would have whistled, for some unidentified, amusing reason in his brain, but settled for a sigh instead.
“I should have known better than to walk around there.” He heard the other grumble under his breath, mumbling against his chest before the words were abruptly terminated and the weight on top of him disappeared.
“I- I’m sorry. Are you alright?”
YunHo picked himself up, politely declining the arm that was extended to him, focusing his attention on the gentle tone of the voice. It was different. Different from what he thought it should be.
“Did I hit you too hard?” The concerned enquiry persisted. “Did you knock your head? Are you alright?”
“I’m okay,” YunHo assured his uninvited companion, the corners of his lips beginning to curl into a micro-smile at the fluster. “What about you? You okay? How did you get stuck there?”
His chime-like laughter filled the atmosphere as he put the back of his hand to slightly cover an embarrassed smile. Once again, YunHo was forced to scrutinise the other boy who was back facing the sea. He thought the face was so familiar that he raked his brain, trying to put a name to it.
Perhaps it was that onyx-black hair, or perhaps it was that sparkle in his light brown eyes. Perhaps it was the way he smiled, or perhaps it was the way he expressed himself, and his voice. Perhaps it was just the overall feeling that he emanated. Whatever it was, now that the dark-haired personality was looking back at him, and he could get a clearer view of that effeminate face, YunHo decided that there was something distinctly unlike between this person and the one he was trying to compare to.
“I was looking for something that I dropped,” the answer wafted to his hearing, breaking his slight reverie, causing him to look away. “I wasn’t careful enough. Then I fell down.”
YunHo’s questioning raise of his eyebrow elicited another round of chuckle.
“I was looking for this,” he answered the unspoken question, dangling a silver chain from his right fist; its polished surface glinted against the moonlight. At its base was a silver, cylindrical pendant that YunHo soon identified to be a whistle.
“I got this from someone special,” the other added, retrieving his prized possession. “I didn’t want to lose it.” Finishing his explanation with a gentle smile, he looked at the pendant for a short while with a faraway look in his eyes before reaching for the back of his neck and fastened the necklace. For a moment back then, YunHo was tempted to ask what could make such a melancholic expression appear.
“What about you?” YunHo tilted his head at the sudden query directed to him. “What brought you here? Shouldn’t you be in dream land having rendezvous with your love already?” The words ended in a small jest, enticing an amused smile on his stoic face.
“Uh,” he started, feeling awkward at the whole situation as he ruffled his hair absently. “I was just thinking...”
“About your girlfriend?”
YunHo watched the other boy adjust his outfit as he asked. If it was not for that honest, innocent curiosity sketched all over that fair face, he would have barked some nasty comment, telling the other that he had no right to poke his nose into other people’s affairs.
An uncomfortable expression crawled on his face, making him look away.
“Aah..” YunHo dismissed the assertion with a small smile, and he was quick to divert the conversation topic. He was just not ready to spill. “What about you? Why are you here?”
“Me?” The black-head asked, pointing to himself while he stared at YunHo with those lucid chestnut brown pools. At YunHo’s affirmative nod, he turned to face the cobalt span of serene spectacle, inserting a deliberate, long pause.
YunHo waited for his answer, observing how the other had put his hands deep within the recesses of the pockets of his crimson jacket. He caught that small smile play on those rosy lips, pouring the porcelain-like face with a hint of sugar-sweet. For a split second, despite the apparent display of enchantment, YunHo thought he saw a crestfallen hint flickered in those eyes with the way he was staring at the ocean blue.
“I’m waiting for someone...”
“For your girlfriend?” YunHo asked, mimicking the earlier scenario, giving a playful grin.
He watched the other smile as well, humouring his attempt at lightening the tension before turning to give his response. “For my Estelle...” The boy in red said, the tone of his voice was gentle once again, tickling his senses with its feather-like touch.
“Estelle?”
“That’s what we call each other.” He chuckled lightly at YunHo’s perplexed expression. “Estelle actually means a star. People here call their partners that.”
“Estelle…” YunHo repeated thoughtfully.
“See how there isn’t any star in the sky?” The other pointed at the bare backdrop of the night, another wistful smile appeared. “There’s an old saying that one’s soul mate is as rare as a star in our sky. It’s old and a little cheesy, but we thought it’s really sweet.”
“What’s your name?” YunHo asked quietly after a few moments of silence, as if afraid to break the strange tranquillity.
The other figure turned again before replying in hurry. “Look at me, where are my manners?” He grinned sheepishly. “I am JaeJoong. Nice to meet you.”
“Jae-JaeJoong?”
The slightly shorter figure caught the clearly surprised tone and frowned, cocking his head to one side in confusion.
“Ah, no, I mean,” YunHo stuttered, licking his suddenly dry lips. “It’s just that I have a friend with the same name. It surprised me a little, that’s all.”
“I see...” JaeJoong nodded in understanding. He had wanted to ask more, to probe a little further to satisfy his curiosity, but YunHo looked like he was more than just reluctant to tell more so he decided it would be better to leave it at that. JaeJoong returned the perplexed expression at his blatant staring with a smile. “What’s yours?”
“It- It’s YunHo. Jung YunHo.”
He watched JaeJoong kept his unwavering gaze on him for a few more moments. He was just getting uneasy when JaeJoong shifted his eyes to look at the horizon, his hands intertwined behind his back. “That’s a very nice name,” JaeJoong commented in that whisper-like voice of his, turning to accentuate the compliment with a sincere smile. “Somehow the feeling seems very ‘you’.”
“Thank you.”
YunHo saw his new friend giving him one last look, before turning back to the sea that seemed to attract so much of his attention. Bathed in the silver moonlight like that, the boy looked so ethereal it made YunHo think twice of his presence. He aroused his interest, as well as curiosity. There was something so uniquely intriguing about him that made him ponder.
He shifted his eyes towards the dark cerulean ocean as well, trying to explicate what it was in the deep sea that caught the other’s absolute notice. The last thing he remembered of that peculiar encounter was JaeJoong’s smile as he stared at the ocean with such child-like innocence and the silver surface of his pendant reflecting the silver moon.
"Whispers and Promises"
Part II
-end-
Author: 79_percent
Rating: PG-13
Form: Chaptered
Fandom: TVXQ
Pairing: JaeHo
Genre: Drama, Fluff, Angst
Whispers and Promises
II. Estelle
He let his deep brown eyes wander aimlessly into the distance, absently taking in the darkened backdrop of starless sky. Two days into his holiday and still he was not able to relax. He heaved a soft sigh, noticing how far back his thoughts had wandered to. At first he was alert, his ears accepting all three different voices from his friends inside the room even if he had his vision focused on the strangely calming sea. Soon enough, however, the noise seeped out of his concentration, drowned away by the raging turbulence in his mind as he once again thought back of his trouble, albeit reluctantly.
YunHo sighed again, exhaling softly against one warm palm. He watched the white ripples on the cobalt blue water hit the darkened golden surface of the sand, and he could not help but think back of the one person that held a special place in his existence.
What was his love doing? What was his love thinking of? If they were to continue this cold war, how would they be able to survive without each other? How would he live?
The dark-haired boy sighed again; balefully reminding himself that if he did that often enough, he would have his mind aging much faster than his physique. Shaking his thoughts away, he stood from his position on the floor, pushing himself up against the window-sill. At the back of his mind, he noticed the abrupt silence ensuing in the room once he made his move.
At the other end of the room, at the edge of the bed, JunSu looked like he was about to utter something, but ended up closing his mouth when he realised he did not know what to say. Three pair of eyes watched YunHo stand to his full height and cross the room silently, passing ChangMin who was sitting cross-legged on a rattan chair and YooChun who had his head on JunSu’s back. He picked his black Adidas jacket and headed for the door.
“H-hey, where are you going?” YooChun asked hastily, jumping up from his comfortable position to give YunHo a questioning look just when the taller boy turned around.
There was only a short, hesitant pause, followed by a small, dismissive, almost forlorn smile from the seemingly worn-out expression before the room was left with only three even breathings. YooChun scrambled on the bed, wanting to hop down and gave his friend a chase but two hands on his left wrist and a gentle voice calling his name halted him.
“Hyung, no!” ChangMin said, a frown graced his equally concerned face.
YooChun alternated his gaze between ChangMin and JunSu, who had a strong hold on his hand even if he was stomach flat on the soft mattress. He kept his eyes on the other two for a short while before letting his head fall against JunSu’s back, earning a muffled grunt from the blonde.
“Fine, I won’t,” he sighed.
“He needs some time alone.. “ JunSu softly said, puffing air into his cheeks absently as he fixed his gaze at the door where YunHo had disappeared from.
ChangMin left his spot and joined his two hyung-deul on the bed. “They’ll make up, won’t they?” He asked timidly, finding a strange kind of amusement in pulling one end of YooChun’s thin cotton shirt.
“They will.” YooChun answered, swatting ChangMin’s intruding hands lazily. “I know they will. They just need some stimulus to open their hearts.”
JunSu shrugged, giving his companions a hopeful smile. “I wish they would too.”
The cool, night wind blew gently against his face, freezing his skin, making him shudder involuntarily even within the warm embrace of his jacket. He was cold, and yet he braved the artic-like temperature, somehow feeling like he needed it. He was not sure why the air was especially chilly that night but he was grateful for the numbness it provided. If for a moment, with his attention focused on his frostbitten conscience, he was able to forget about his dilemma.
He walked subconsciously by the beach, tracing the uneven surface of the waves against the sand with his footsteps. He did not know why he was there, but he let his feet take him to where they wanted him to be. Perhaps, in his own bizarre way, he was hoping that his feet would bring him to some kind of salvation, some kind of solution to his heart matter.
But he knew life would never be that kind to him.
He sighed again, looking back at the general direction from where he had came from. When he thought he had walked far enough, that he was distant enough from everyone else, he let his motion fall to a sudden standstill. He stood like that, watching the onyx black backdrop of the sky met the navy-blue ocean at the horizon in the distance, folding his arms close to his chest as his gaze travelled far and away, focusing at nothing in particular. Somehow, he just could not bring the maelstrom within his mind to subside.
After a long pause in which he was wrapped in a veil of comforting tranquillity, YunHo was about to heave another deep sigh when he noticed something from his peripheral vision. Tilting his head in curiosity, he caught the repetitive backwash splashing against the sand, bringing an unidentifiable object with it. Out of inquisitiveness, he bent over, picking up the item that seemed to glint against the bare sky despite the dim lighting.
He stared at the bottle in his hand, glancing at his blurred reflection on the glass-like surface. Opening the cork, he retrieved the off-white parchment rolled up neatly inside it. The surface was rough, the colour had faded off to an aged ivory and yet the black ink was amazingly intact, like the neat cursive inscription was written just yesterday.
Sometimes, I would come to this beach, looking far into the night. And I would sit and stare, reminiscing the only one love I could never have, the only one star I could never get. Sometimes I wonder, if I wished hard enough, if I prayed hard enough, if I fought hard enough, vehement enough, would Lord grant me you? But if I leaving would mean a better life for you, then I...
The words ended right there, that hasty, that abrupt. YunHo fingered the messy, torn side of the article, absently wondering where the other half of the letter could be. He did not know to whom the short prose was addressed to, and how coincidental it was that he managed to chance upon it, but he felt a tingling sensation at the pit of his stomach whenever he thought of those words. As much as he hated to admit it, he was already drawing parallel lines.
All of a sudden, the underlying implication of the letter was putting him to shame. He, whoever the person was, was willing to fight for his love. But he, himself, had given up on his even before the start of the battle. How did their relationship turned so fragile? They were not even faced with the real problem as yet, and they were breaking apart. Already. How could they hope to survive?
YunHo sighed, his melancholy began to eat his insides as his thoughts once again ran back to one same person he had left in Seoul. He folded the paper and held it gently in his grasp, putting both hands in the pockets of his jacket, the bottle carelessly forgotten on the ground. He stared at the sea, casting himself a wan smile, wondering how they would have been if he had not run away. Would their situation be better? Would he-
A loud rumble interrupted his trance and his attention was immediately arrested by another loud groan. For a moment, his wariness heightened as he prepared himself for any kind of aggressive intrusion. The next painful moan from the pile of rocks just below a high cliff nearby caused him to raise his eyebrows in uncertainty. Before he knew it, he was already making his way towards the source of the commotion.
There, about half a metre below him, YunHo could not help but widen his eyes when he saw a black-haired figure struggling to get out of the dangerous clutter of rocks and boulders at one junction of the sea. For an instant, a bizarre theory struck YunHo right at his hypothalamus, making him think that the person had fallen from the cliff about four storeys above them. He gave it a suspicious glance, before looking back at the figure still trying to climb out of the stone-made trap.
No, it could not be. No one could jump off from that height and still had their limbs intact. Not with those hard, uneven surface of the rocks and the hard impact of the waves beating against the vertical granite-like exterior. How did he get there in the first place anyway?
“Oow!” He heard the other moan painfully, finally managing to free his stuck limb with a hard jerk. When the other figure looked up, YunHo almost stared. Almost. There and then, he was presented with a face that looked all too familiar for his own comfort.
“Oh, hey.” The voice was mellow, its accent a little different from what he was used to but he soon deduced that the other must be a native of the area. “I could use a little help here.” A small, almost embarrassed smile showed on that fair, sheepish expression before he continued his request. “Do you mind?”
“Huh?” YunHo shook bewilderment out of his head, momentarily forgetting how dazzlingly familiar that smile was and replied. “Of-of course not.”
He extended his hand, pulling the other boy up even as he strained to keep his physique steady standing on the jagged surface of pointed rocks. That corner was so remotely secluded it made YunHo think what his new companion was doing down there. There was not even any pleasant landscape to admire; whatever could bring such lovely character roaming about aimlessly there in the middle of the night?
He pulled hard, hauling the other with all his might, causing them to tumble in a lock of limbs on golden sand when he fell from the harsh impact of the jerk. He would have whistled, for some unidentified, amusing reason in his brain, but settled for a sigh instead.
“I should have known better than to walk around there.” He heard the other grumble under his breath, mumbling against his chest before the words were abruptly terminated and the weight on top of him disappeared.
“I- I’m sorry. Are you alright?”
YunHo picked himself up, politely declining the arm that was extended to him, focusing his attention on the gentle tone of the voice. It was different. Different from what he thought it should be.
“Did I hit you too hard?” The concerned enquiry persisted. “Did you knock your head? Are you alright?”
“I’m okay,” YunHo assured his uninvited companion, the corners of his lips beginning to curl into a micro-smile at the fluster. “What about you? You okay? How did you get stuck there?”
His chime-like laughter filled the atmosphere as he put the back of his hand to slightly cover an embarrassed smile. Once again, YunHo was forced to scrutinise the other boy who was back facing the sea. He thought the face was so familiar that he raked his brain, trying to put a name to it.
Perhaps it was that onyx-black hair, or perhaps it was that sparkle in his light brown eyes. Perhaps it was the way he smiled, or perhaps it was the way he expressed himself, and his voice. Perhaps it was just the overall feeling that he emanated. Whatever it was, now that the dark-haired personality was looking back at him, and he could get a clearer view of that effeminate face, YunHo decided that there was something distinctly unlike between this person and the one he was trying to compare to.
“I was looking for something that I dropped,” the answer wafted to his hearing, breaking his slight reverie, causing him to look away. “I wasn’t careful enough. Then I fell down.”
YunHo’s questioning raise of his eyebrow elicited another round of chuckle.
“I was looking for this,” he answered the unspoken question, dangling a silver chain from his right fist; its polished surface glinted against the moonlight. At its base was a silver, cylindrical pendant that YunHo soon identified to be a whistle.
“I got this from someone special,” the other added, retrieving his prized possession. “I didn’t want to lose it.” Finishing his explanation with a gentle smile, he looked at the pendant for a short while with a faraway look in his eyes before reaching for the back of his neck and fastened the necklace. For a moment back then, YunHo was tempted to ask what could make such a melancholic expression appear.
“What about you?” YunHo tilted his head at the sudden query directed to him. “What brought you here? Shouldn’t you be in dream land having rendezvous with your love already?” The words ended in a small jest, enticing an amused smile on his stoic face.
“Uh,” he started, feeling awkward at the whole situation as he ruffled his hair absently. “I was just thinking...”
“About your girlfriend?”
YunHo watched the other boy adjust his outfit as he asked. If it was not for that honest, innocent curiosity sketched all over that fair face, he would have barked some nasty comment, telling the other that he had no right to poke his nose into other people’s affairs.
An uncomfortable expression crawled on his face, making him look away.
“Aah..” YunHo dismissed the assertion with a small smile, and he was quick to divert the conversation topic. He was just not ready to spill. “What about you? Why are you here?”
“Me?” The black-head asked, pointing to himself while he stared at YunHo with those lucid chestnut brown pools. At YunHo’s affirmative nod, he turned to face the cobalt span of serene spectacle, inserting a deliberate, long pause.
YunHo waited for his answer, observing how the other had put his hands deep within the recesses of the pockets of his crimson jacket. He caught that small smile play on those rosy lips, pouring the porcelain-like face with a hint of sugar-sweet. For a split second, despite the apparent display of enchantment, YunHo thought he saw a crestfallen hint flickered in those eyes with the way he was staring at the ocean blue.
“I’m waiting for someone...”
“For your girlfriend?” YunHo asked, mimicking the earlier scenario, giving a playful grin.
He watched the other smile as well, humouring his attempt at lightening the tension before turning to give his response. “For my Estelle...” The boy in red said, the tone of his voice was gentle once again, tickling his senses with its feather-like touch.
“Estelle?”
“That’s what we call each other.” He chuckled lightly at YunHo’s perplexed expression. “Estelle actually means a star. People here call their partners that.”
“Estelle…” YunHo repeated thoughtfully.
“See how there isn’t any star in the sky?” The other pointed at the bare backdrop of the night, another wistful smile appeared. “There’s an old saying that one’s soul mate is as rare as a star in our sky. It’s old and a little cheesy, but we thought it’s really sweet.”
“What’s your name?” YunHo asked quietly after a few moments of silence, as if afraid to break the strange tranquillity.
The other figure turned again before replying in hurry. “Look at me, where are my manners?” He grinned sheepishly. “I am JaeJoong. Nice to meet you.”
“Jae-JaeJoong?”
The slightly shorter figure caught the clearly surprised tone and frowned, cocking his head to one side in confusion.
“Ah, no, I mean,” YunHo stuttered, licking his suddenly dry lips. “It’s just that I have a friend with the same name. It surprised me a little, that’s all.”
“I see...” JaeJoong nodded in understanding. He had wanted to ask more, to probe a little further to satisfy his curiosity, but YunHo looked like he was more than just reluctant to tell more so he decided it would be better to leave it at that. JaeJoong returned the perplexed expression at his blatant staring with a smile. “What’s yours?”
“It- It’s YunHo. Jung YunHo.”
He watched JaeJoong kept his unwavering gaze on him for a few more moments. He was just getting uneasy when JaeJoong shifted his eyes to look at the horizon, his hands intertwined behind his back. “That’s a very nice name,” JaeJoong commented in that whisper-like voice of his, turning to accentuate the compliment with a sincere smile. “Somehow the feeling seems very ‘you’.”
“Thank you.”
YunHo saw his new friend giving him one last look, before turning back to the sea that seemed to attract so much of his attention. Bathed in the silver moonlight like that, the boy looked so ethereal it made YunHo think twice of his presence. He aroused his interest, as well as curiosity. There was something so uniquely intriguing about him that made him ponder.
He shifted his eyes towards the dark cerulean ocean as well, trying to explicate what it was in the deep sea that caught the other’s absolute notice. The last thing he remembered of that peculiar encounter was JaeJoong’s smile as he stared at the ocean with such child-like innocence and the silver surface of his pendant reflecting the silver moon.
"Whispers and Promises"
Part II
-end-