The Time's Birth
Summary: Jongin replies to a letter he finds in his mailbox after moving out, which introduces him to a person living in the future (il mare/The lake house!AU)
Pairing: Sehun/Kai
Rating: PG (i tried i swear)
Length: 5000~w
A/N: screams i can't believe i'm done with this i feel so bad i wanted to make it a thousand times better ;; I hope it lives to at least half your expectations ray . Please overlook any spelling mistakes I tried my best. (also sorry if the format makes it hard to read, I'm still learning i guess?)
Oh sehun is moving out of his house by the lake to a new house in seoul, he takes a final look around the house to make sure he didn't forget anything, he finds a goldfish in the bathroom and contemplates whether he should take it or not.
"Mr. Oh are those all the boxes?"
"Hm? oh yeah"
He puts a letter in the mail box and stares at the lake reflecting the blood orange sky up
"Mr. Oh it's time to leave"
"I'm coming"
Kim Jongin folds all the boxes that were containing his stuff and stores them in the basement, he thinks about taking a walk outside and seeing what stores are nearby his new home. an isolated house by the lake, he doesn't expect a shopping mall around the corner but he hopes for a grocery shop less than 5 km away. on his way out of the house he notices a red mailbox, out of curiosity he opens it and is surprised to find a letter inside, he opens the envelope and reads the letter
"Hello, I am oh sehun previous resident of this house, i left this letter for the next occupant, if you are him/her I'm waiting for important mail, if anything arrives for me please do forward it to the address below.
- Oh sehun, 28/11/1999"
Jongin goes back inside and leaves the letter on his desk to reply to later and gets out of the house again.
Jongin is lucky to find an old man selling soft drinks and beer not far from where he is, his shop seems like it'll fall down any minute, jongin supposes he is one of the first people to live in this district.
"A pack of cigarettes, please"
"20,000won"
"Excuse me sir, did anyone live in that house by the lake?"
"absolutely not, they just finished building it last month"
"Thank you"
Jongin gets home and writes back to oh sehun about what he thinks is a misunderstanding because if jongin is the first occupant of this house it's not possible that the letter he's found was supposed to make it's way to him.
"Hello, I'm kim jongin current resident of the lake house, I found your letter in my mailbox but I think you made a mistake with the address, i'm the first person to live in this house.
- K.J 29/11/1997
P.S: You wrote the year incorrectly"
"Kim jongin, I don't know how my letter ended up in your hands, but please don't play games. Stop messing with my mail.
- Oh sehun 30/11/1999
P.S: I hope your letter isn't really from way back in 1997"
"Your mail ends up in my mailbox somehow, there must be a problem with the post office I see you go and check what the problem is with them. And you don't have to apologize for the disturbance your letters are causing
-K.J 1/1/1998
P.S: the date is definitely 1998"
"Hey chanyeol, there's this guy i'm contacting. Remember the lake house? I left a letter asking to forward any mail that is supposed to be sent to me, but he claims that he's from 1998 and that he's the first person to live there" Sehun tells chanyeol at their studio the next afternoon after giving up on finishing these lyrics before his lunch break
"He's probably just some bored kid messing with you, now focus we need to finish this track today"
"Sure.."
For the sake of it sehun writes jongin another letter warning him about the snow storm that occurred in 1998 "I clearly remember it because me and my friend caught a really bad virus that was spreading, I also recall the lake near your house turning into ice, be careful kim jongin.
-Oh sehun 5/1/200"
"Fuck" Jongin gets up in a rush he's late to new job, he prepares his coffee and gets dressed with the toothbrush hanging in his mouth
On his way out he sees the mailbox and is reminded by the boy writing to him, he opens the box full his heart jumps a little at the sight of an envelope, he shoves it in his pocket and makes a mental note to read it during lunch break.
"That's it boys, great work you're all invited for drinks at the best bar in town!"
A snowflake lands on jongin's nose as he walks to his friend's car
"Hey kyungsoo.. there's this boy i'm becoming friends with" Jongin starts nervously
"This is not you dumping your best friend, right?" Kyungsoo chuckles
"No, no it's nothing like that" Jongin laughs "It's just that.. he says he's writing to me from the year 2000, and I don't fully believe but he told me about a snow storm and that the lake near my house is going to freeze and look.. it is snowing"
"Jongin, I- ... what are you talking about?"
"It's nothing, never mind" Jongin sighs as he covers his face with the snapback and lowers his seat
"Hey waiter! Another round for this table!" Jongin hears his boss shout, he anticipates the beers although all he wants to do is get home and write a certain letter before going to bed. but he knows well it would be rude to leave right now. He notices a bottle of his favorite wine on a shelf and asks the bartender if he can reserve it, the bartender nods saying "Sure"
"Thanks for the ride, Kyungsoo" he flashes his friend a smile before closing the door
"No problem man, see you on saturday"
Jongin moves to the lake and is disappointed when he finds out it's still water, he sighs and returns to his house for the sleep he desperately needs. Maybe there isn't even an oh sehun
Sehun wakes up in the middle of the night feeling a heavy weight on his chest, he had a dream about his ex-girlfriend again, he gets up for a glass of water as he sits at the kitchen table the scenes in the dream take over his mind, they eat him from the inside and he's pretty sure tomorrow it will show on the outside how miserable it got him. His mind suddenly shifts and he's reminded by the boy who he warned about the snow storm, he wonders if he got the letter and sehun thinks more about this boy, judging by his letters he seems up-tight and not at all a fun person, he's probably lonely too maybe just one friend, he also thinks about those kind of people and how usually they have someone stick with them so much because they have something special on the inside worth all of it, he wonders if jongin is special.
Seoul in the winter is freezing, the sun offers no warmth and mornings are the worst. Jongin shivers under his sheets and curls his toes. He's glad it's a weekend so he doesn't have to get out of bed before 2PM, maybe he would watch a movie, or have dinner with kyungsoo, but for now he just wants an extra hour of sleep.
Later that afternoon when jongin finally gets up he turns on his tv while preparing something to eat
"A snow storm has hit the north part of seoul" is the headline, Jongin spits out his cereal and his eyes freeze on the screen "We also got news of a dangerous virus spreading due to the cold, we ask everyone to stay safe and stay at home" Jongin runs in his sweat pants and t-shirt to the lake and is in shock when he finds it a large ice cube. He was right
"Oh sehun you were right. A snow storm did hit and right now i'm coughing badly because i caught a cold for running outside without a coat on, I can't believe this. You're from the future.
do you think you could get me the lottery numbers or something?
-Sincerely kim jongin 7/1/1998"
Sehun replies to jongin's letter at the studio while chanyeol is doing his part of the interview
"Hello jongin, I don't think we're close enough for you to ask me favors. but I hope we get to know each other more. Then maybe i'll help you with stocks
-Sehun 8/1/200"
"Maybe I could take you on a date then? I won't be there! Actually I can't. come to the il mare restraunt and ask for the bottle of wine left for oh sehun, I hope you have a nice time. also I wish i could be there as your company, I hope you accept this flower as an apology
-Jongin 9/1/1998"
"I don't drink wine, and i usually don't dress up for invisible boys on dates, but if it's in the spirit we get to know each other then sure. if you're taking me on a date I shall do the same, I'm taking you to lotte world where you will enjoy waiting in line for 2 hours and a greasy hot dog, I like that kind of stuff.
P.S: this flower got to me in a perfect condition, if you are from the past shouldn't it be dead and rotten by now? I think the mailbox is some type of wormhole making our communication possible, what do you think?
-Sehun 10/1/2000"
Jongin laughs at sehun's words a little too much perhaps because a person is like that when they like someone. The P.S freaks him out a bit and he tests the theory by sending sehun a goldfish that he found when he moved in.
"If you get one goldfish that's alive with this letter, then what you're saying is true this mailbox really is some kind of wormhole.
And I bashfully accept your invitation to what sounds like what 14 year olds would do on dates.
-Jongin 11/1/1998"
"I'm not the best at taking care of fish but i'll try keeping it alive. And It's a date
-Sehun 12/1/2000"
The thing they shared felt so special and the treasured it so much none of them dared to tell anyone else about it, they were both okay with only them knowing because what they also knew was no matter how much they try no one is going to fully believe it. It was a special feeling sending those letters and receiving them, They craved that feeling so often and they couldn't go a week without writing a letter, it felt like a get away from the hardships of the real world sometimes. They fell in love, when you have something like that it feels like another reality because it's so different and so unexpected. You think about how unbelievable it is every night when going to bed and you smile.
"How can I help you sir?"
"Yes, hello, I believe there is a bottle of wine reserved under the name kim jongin? I would like to have that"
"I'll check with the staff, thank you sir" he takes the menu from sehun's hands and leaves
"thank you" sehun half-whispers because the waiter is now too far to hear him but too close not to.
Sehun looks at himself in the mirror in front of him what am i doing he thinks. you're going out with someone you've meet by mail, who happens to live two years in the past A voice in his head replies.
"The bottle of wine you ordered sir"
"How many tickets?" A woman speaks through the hole in the ticket window
"Just one please" god I don't know why I didn't ask kyungsoo to come along
Jongin pulls the ticket out of the dispenser and flips it on the other side, he finds a coupon for a free pepsi if he orders the jumbo hot dog with chilli, he grins and places it in his pocket.
"Maybe I should get sehun something while i'm here" he thinks.
Sehun feels the alcohol kick in, it probably wasn't a good idea to drink three quarters the bottle while he's still in the restaurant. I hope jongin is having fun, maybe he met someone on the ride. maybe he's having the hotdog with him .. oh god sehun go home
Jongin ends up getting sehun a packet of envelopes and to his surprise when he sees a couple buying things for each other he doesn't feel envious or saddened, maybe sehun doesn't have to be physically here, jongin tells himself doesn't have to do crazy stuff like buy two hot dogs just to prove to himself that he believes sehun is here. He really does
Sehun gets home by a cab and the driver feels pity and worry seeing sehun struggle to walk to his house he almost unbuckles and helps him walk to the door himself, but sehun assures him to leave. He drags his feet to the bedroom and sleeps in his suit on the bed, with last thoughts of how jongin's laugh sounds in real life.
"How was your weekend?" Kyungsoo asks
Jongin figures he can't exactly tell him he went on a date with a boy who was invisible so he settles for "Just a normal weekend"
Later that evening jongin gets a call from his dad, jongin needs to stop helping at construction sites and he needs to start building his own houses and start his buisness, And jongin knows exactly what he wants his first project to be.
"you're quitting?"
"well, yeah.. but we'll still be friends and i'm still doing engineering, I'm just done with this project. I did it to gain more experience. I'm gonna start working on my first project"
Sehun has a tough day at work fighting with chanyeol and dumping all of his frustration for the past month on him
"OH MY GOD CHANYEOL! Can we not do the songs you want for once? The reason we've been having troubles the whole month is you insisting we do it your way!"
"You sound like my girlfriend! Oh please sehun we've been having troubles because YOU never focus anymore all you do is talk about this creep you're dying to be your boyfriend! this studio costs us money and you're wasting our time!"
"Chanyeol.. maybe we should stop working together for a while, until we figure out how to compromise i think we should work separately. We can still share the stu- chanyeol are you crying?" Sehun feels the oxygen cut off
"No, yes? god i don't know sehun, I have to go" Chanyeol grabs his coat and leaves out the door leaving sehun dumbfounded.
"And then I asked him if he was crying and he said he has to go.. I don't know how to fix this, and i'm not assuming you have the perfect answer. It's okay I guess i just wanted to let this out" Sehun sets the paper aside and sighs spinning in his chair. It would be so much easier if he could just meet jongin, Writing letters is becoming tiring and more of a burden, Jongin's voice and his warmth aren't things you could receive by letters. He signs the letter and puts it inside one of the envelopes jongin sent him then goes to sleep feeling a hot tear stain his cheek My eyes must be tired he thinks.
Jongin spends the next few days designing the house he wants to build and listing the different kinds of tiles and paints he will need, since he's freelance for a while he has more time to laze around, and he checks the mailbox probably more than 20 times a day. He told sehun about the project and he can tell sehun is pretty excited, he always asks about jongin's progress. Inside Jongin he feels so bad for sehun, It's like he's watching him fall apart one letter at a time, he's under pressure a lot but jongin doesn't think it's why he's been so uptight he has a lot of reasons but not one of them is enough to get this worked up, As much as sehun shares jongin knows there's one thing constantly bothering that he will never share. Regardless jongin will try his best to make it better, he invites sehun on another date except this time jongin will physically be there.
"...2 years is a pretty long time for me, but for you it will only be a week. We will meet at the same place, same time. See ya there?
- Jongin, 5/7/1998"
"I think i'm falling in love with you
- Sehun, 6/7/200"
Sehun walks to the beach he and jongin agreed they would meet in, On his way he sees a construction site at the far end of the beach but he doesn't see any workers.
A man appears from the site and startles sehun, it's his only chance to know
"Excuse me?"
"Hello"
"Hello, umm are you building this house?"
"Oh, no It's.. My friend was building it but one day he got into an accident while building it and he unfortunately died. I was there to help, Jongin-" Sehun chokes "I mean my friend put me in charge so, after he died i asked for them to stop building it and just leave it as a memory. This house was.. He told me it was dedicated to his true love"
"I'm sorry can you say his name again?"
"Jongin, Kim jongin"
"T-thank you" Sehun's goose bumps don't go away
He runs of out there and his feet don't stop running until he reaches home, he heaves on his living room floor and his heart feels to heavy for his chest. There is no way to get rid of this emotion because jongin died and there's no way he can undo that. His tears never stop running and he screams "JONGIN"
And living in a world where jongin doesn't exist tears him apart more than living in a world where jongin being here but not being able to meet him does. He doesn't know when jongin will die, In his world jongin could be dying right now and sehun is here helpless he writes him a letter in panic
"Jongin, I love you. I loved you even before we met and for something as extraordinary as this to happen to us i know you were meant to love me, It feels like no matter how much i say it this discomfort won't leave my heart and i crave to say it more. Please say the same
-Sehun"
he shoves it in an envelpe as fast as he can and puts it in the mailbox.
"How did our date go?
- Jongin, 8/7/1998"
"You Bold}couldn't show up
-Sehun"
"What? Something pretty big must have happened, even in two years time I don't think i would miss such an important date.
I've always wanted the first time i say it to be in person but i guess i have to say it now by letter, I don't wanna risk it not reaching you
I love you oh sehun.
-Jongin, 9/7/1998
P.S Why don't you write the date"
You have no idea sehun thinks as he reads jongin's letter,. Sehun goes online and types in "Kim jongin's death" A headline pops up "The tragic death of an engineer on his construction work" Sehun freezes as he reads the date "10/7/1998" That's tomorrow
"Jongin, It's important you read this letter before you leave for work tomorrow. Jongin don't, please don't just for tomorrow stay at home, You are going to die. Please trust me and believe what i'm saying. You couldn't make it to our date because you died on construction site
-Sehun, 9/7/2000"
Sehun doesn't go to sleep that night, he sweats so much he gets cold. He tries calling chanyeol
"Hello?"
"Chanyeol? It's me sehun"
"Oh, hey.. It's 1 in the morning is there something urgent"
"Chanyeol he's going to die"
"What? Who?"
"Jongin" Sehun chokes out
"How- How do you know?"
"Look it up chanyeol, He's going to die tomorrow"
"I'm coming over"
The next morning jongin gets up earlier than usual, he's been nervous about going to work last night for some reason.
Maybe I should shower instead of having an extra hour of sleep
He remembers the letter he sent to sehun yesterday and decides to check the mailbox, he finds the lotte world envelope with bent edges and the seal barely sticking. He stomach doesn't feel so good suddenly, Jongin reads the letter three times just to comprehend what sehun is saying, he drops to the ground and he feels a mix of gratefulness for having sehun and a little of i'm supposed to die today?
He writes sehun a letter assuring him he got the letter and how unbelievable it is.
His phone rings and it's kyungsoo
"Hey are you ready?"
"Umm, kyungsoo actually i'm not feeling well. I'm not going today"
"Well, I'm already there. Is it okay if we start things without you?"
"Yeah, sure. Be careful kyungsoo"
"I will" Kyungsoo giggles thinking jongin is so cute to say such words
Sehun falls asleep on chanyeol after crying his heart out, chanyeol tries to sleep but sehun eventually wakes him up hallucinating and sweating and chanyeol has to comfort him and bring him to sleep again.
Chanyeol opens his eyes at 5AM and finds sehun already awake, actually sehun was looking at him
"What?" Chanyeol laughs tiredly at sehun's cuteness
"I'm too scared to go check"
Chanyeol gets up to check the mailbox and is filled with thoughts about how his friend will handle it. He opens it carefully after hesitating and imagining a scenario where he lies to sehun and continues to send him letters under the name kim jongin but the thoughts are pushed away by the reality of a letter being inside the mailbox. "OH MY GOD" chanyeol screams so loud sehun hears him from inside the house, he runs outside and snatches the letter from chanyeol's hands.
The calm water relaxes him as he thinks about the emotional roller coaster he has been on the past two years
"God I miss him" "Why did you have to die?" He mutters
"It's nice"
"Excuse me?" jongin looks up
"The sea, isn't it?"
"yeah, it is.. It calms me down"
"You seem upset, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just.. My friend passed away this time two years ago and I miss him"
"Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss"
Jongin smiles
"I'm oh sehun" The stranger offers his hands
"You're who? Can you say that again?"
"I'm oh sehun" "Umm.. are you okay?"
"Yes, yes i'm sorry. I'm kim jongin"
"Kim jongin! wait i think i know you"
Jongin can hear his heart beating
"You were the guy who built the lake house, right?"
"I am" Jongin feels disappointed
"I'm moving in there"
"I'm moving out"
Sehun laughs "Can we exchange numbers?"
"Sure" Jongin fights the urge to hug him You're finally here
Pairing: Sehun/Kai
Rating: PG (i tried i swear)
Length: 5000~w
A/N: screams i can't believe i'm done with this i feel so bad i wanted to make it a thousand times better ;; I hope it lives to at least half your expectations ray . Please overlook any spelling mistakes I tried my best. (also sorry if the format makes it hard to read, I'm still learning i guess?)
Oh sehun is moving out of his house by the lake to a new house in seoul, he takes a final look around the house to make sure he didn't forget anything, he finds a goldfish in the bathroom and contemplates whether he should take it or not.
"Mr. Oh are those all the boxes?"
"Hm? oh yeah"
He puts a letter in the mail box and stares at the lake reflecting the blood orange sky up
"Mr. Oh it's time to leave"
"I'm coming"
Kim Jongin folds all the boxes that were containing his stuff and stores them in the basement, he thinks about taking a walk outside and seeing what stores are nearby his new home. an isolated house by the lake, he doesn't expect a shopping mall around the corner but he hopes for a grocery shop less than 5 km away. on his way out of the house he notices a red mailbox, out of curiosity he opens it and is surprised to find a letter inside, he opens the envelope and reads the letter
"Hello, I am oh sehun previous resident of this house, i left this letter for the next occupant, if you are him/her I'm waiting for important mail, if anything arrives for me please do forward it to the address below.
- Oh sehun, 28/11/1999"
Jongin goes back inside and leaves the letter on his desk to reply to later and gets out of the house again.
Jongin is lucky to find an old man selling soft drinks and beer not far from where he is, his shop seems like it'll fall down any minute, jongin supposes he is one of the first people to live in this district.
"A pack of cigarettes, please"
"20,000won"
"Excuse me sir, did anyone live in that house by the lake?"
"absolutely not, they just finished building it last month"
"Thank you"
Jongin gets home and writes back to oh sehun about what he thinks is a misunderstanding because if jongin is the first occupant of this house it's not possible that the letter he's found was supposed to make it's way to him.
"Hello, I'm kim jongin current resident of the lake house, I found your letter in my mailbox but I think you made a mistake with the address, i'm the first person to live in this house.
- K.J 29/11/1997
P.S: You wrote the year incorrectly"
"Kim jongin, I don't know how my letter ended up in your hands, but please don't play games. Stop messing with my mail.
- Oh sehun 30/11/1999
P.S: I hope your letter isn't really from way back in 1997"
"Your mail ends up in my mailbox somehow, there must be a problem with the post office I see you go and check what the problem is with them. And you don't have to apologize for the disturbance your letters are causing
-K.J 1/1/1998
P.S: the date is definitely 1998"
"Hey chanyeol, there's this guy i'm contacting. Remember the lake house? I left a letter asking to forward any mail that is supposed to be sent to me, but he claims that he's from 1998 and that he's the first person to live there" Sehun tells chanyeol at their studio the next afternoon after giving up on finishing these lyrics before his lunch break
"He's probably just some bored kid messing with you, now focus we need to finish this track today"
"Sure.."
For the sake of it sehun writes jongin another letter warning him about the snow storm that occurred in 1998 "I clearly remember it because me and my friend caught a really bad virus that was spreading, I also recall the lake near your house turning into ice, be careful kim jongin.
-Oh sehun 5/1/200"
"Fuck" Jongin gets up in a rush he's late to new job, he prepares his coffee and gets dressed with the toothbrush hanging in his mouth
On his way out he sees the mailbox and is reminded by the boy writing to him, he opens the box full his heart jumps a little at the sight of an envelope, he shoves it in his pocket and makes a mental note to read it during lunch break.
"That's it boys, great work you're all invited for drinks at the best bar in town!"
A snowflake lands on jongin's nose as he walks to his friend's car
"Hey kyungsoo.. there's this boy i'm becoming friends with" Jongin starts nervously
"This is not you dumping your best friend, right?" Kyungsoo chuckles
"No, no it's nothing like that" Jongin laughs "It's just that.. he says he's writing to me from the year 2000, and I don't fully believe but he told me about a snow storm and that the lake near my house is going to freeze and look.. it is snowing"
"Jongin, I- ... what are you talking about?"
"It's nothing, never mind" Jongin sighs as he covers his face with the snapback and lowers his seat
"Hey waiter! Another round for this table!" Jongin hears his boss shout, he anticipates the beers although all he wants to do is get home and write a certain letter before going to bed. but he knows well it would be rude to leave right now. He notices a bottle of his favorite wine on a shelf and asks the bartender if he can reserve it, the bartender nods saying "Sure"
"Thanks for the ride, Kyungsoo" he flashes his friend a smile before closing the door
"No problem man, see you on saturday"
Jongin moves to the lake and is disappointed when he finds out it's still water, he sighs and returns to his house for the sleep he desperately needs. Maybe there isn't even an oh sehun
Sehun wakes up in the middle of the night feeling a heavy weight on his chest, he had a dream about his ex-girlfriend again, he gets up for a glass of water as he sits at the kitchen table the scenes in the dream take over his mind, they eat him from the inside and he's pretty sure tomorrow it will show on the outside how miserable it got him. His mind suddenly shifts and he's reminded by the boy who he warned about the snow storm, he wonders if he got the letter and sehun thinks more about this boy, judging by his letters he seems up-tight and not at all a fun person, he's probably lonely too maybe just one friend, he also thinks about those kind of people and how usually they have someone stick with them so much because they have something special on the inside worth all of it, he wonders if jongin is special.
Seoul in the winter is freezing, the sun offers no warmth and mornings are the worst. Jongin shivers under his sheets and curls his toes. He's glad it's a weekend so he doesn't have to get out of bed before 2PM, maybe he would watch a movie, or have dinner with kyungsoo, but for now he just wants an extra hour of sleep.
Later that afternoon when jongin finally gets up he turns on his tv while preparing something to eat
"A snow storm has hit the north part of seoul" is the headline, Jongin spits out his cereal and his eyes freeze on the screen "We also got news of a dangerous virus spreading due to the cold, we ask everyone to stay safe and stay at home" Jongin runs in his sweat pants and t-shirt to the lake and is in shock when he finds it a large ice cube. He was right
"Oh sehun you were right. A snow storm did hit and right now i'm coughing badly because i caught a cold for running outside without a coat on, I can't believe this. You're from the future.
do you think you could get me the lottery numbers or something?
-Sincerely kim jongin 7/1/1998"
Sehun replies to jongin's letter at the studio while chanyeol is doing his part of the interview
"Hello jongin, I don't think we're close enough for you to ask me favors. but I hope we get to know each other more. Then maybe i'll help you with stocks
-Sehun 8/1/200"
"Maybe I could take you on a date then? I won't be there! Actually I can't. come to the il mare restraunt and ask for the bottle of wine left for oh sehun, I hope you have a nice time. also I wish i could be there as your company, I hope you accept this flower as an apology
-Jongin 9/1/1998"
"I don't drink wine, and i usually don't dress up for invisible boys on dates, but if it's in the spirit we get to know each other then sure. if you're taking me on a date I shall do the same, I'm taking you to lotte world where you will enjoy waiting in line for 2 hours and a greasy hot dog, I like that kind of stuff.
P.S: this flower got to me in a perfect condition, if you are from the past shouldn't it be dead and rotten by now? I think the mailbox is some type of wormhole making our communication possible, what do you think?
-Sehun 10/1/2000"
Jongin laughs at sehun's words a little too much perhaps because a person is like that when they like someone. The P.S freaks him out a bit and he tests the theory by sending sehun a goldfish that he found when he moved in.
"If you get one goldfish that's alive with this letter, then what you're saying is true this mailbox really is some kind of wormhole.
And I bashfully accept your invitation to what sounds like what 14 year olds would do on dates.
-Jongin 11/1/1998"
"I'm not the best at taking care of fish but i'll try keeping it alive. And It's a date
-Sehun 12/1/2000"
The thing they shared felt so special and the treasured it so much none of them dared to tell anyone else about it, they were both okay with only them knowing because what they also knew was no matter how much they try no one is going to fully believe it. It was a special feeling sending those letters and receiving them, They craved that feeling so often and they couldn't go a week without writing a letter, it felt like a get away from the hardships of the real world sometimes. They fell in love, when you have something like that it feels like another reality because it's so different and so unexpected. You think about how unbelievable it is every night when going to bed and you smile.
"How can I help you sir?"
"Yes, hello, I believe there is a bottle of wine reserved under the name kim jongin? I would like to have that"
"I'll check with the staff, thank you sir" he takes the menu from sehun's hands and leaves
"thank you" sehun half-whispers because the waiter is now too far to hear him but too close not to.
Sehun looks at himself in the mirror in front of him what am i doing he thinks. you're going out with someone you've meet by mail, who happens to live two years in the past A voice in his head replies.
"The bottle of wine you ordered sir"
"How many tickets?" A woman speaks through the hole in the ticket window
"Just one please" god I don't know why I didn't ask kyungsoo to come along
Jongin pulls the ticket out of the dispenser and flips it on the other side, he finds a coupon for a free pepsi if he orders the jumbo hot dog with chilli, he grins and places it in his pocket.
"Maybe I should get sehun something while i'm here" he thinks.
Sehun feels the alcohol kick in, it probably wasn't a good idea to drink three quarters the bottle while he's still in the restaurant. I hope jongin is having fun, maybe he met someone on the ride. maybe he's having the hotdog with him .. oh god sehun go home
Jongin ends up getting sehun a packet of envelopes and to his surprise when he sees a couple buying things for each other he doesn't feel envious or saddened, maybe sehun doesn't have to be physically here, jongin tells himself doesn't have to do crazy stuff like buy two hot dogs just to prove to himself that he believes sehun is here. He really does
Sehun gets home by a cab and the driver feels pity and worry seeing sehun struggle to walk to his house he almost unbuckles and helps him walk to the door himself, but sehun assures him to leave. He drags his feet to the bedroom and sleeps in his suit on the bed, with last thoughts of how jongin's laugh sounds in real life.
"How was your weekend?" Kyungsoo asks
Jongin figures he can't exactly tell him he went on a date with a boy who was invisible so he settles for "Just a normal weekend"
Later that evening jongin gets a call from his dad, jongin needs to stop helping at construction sites and he needs to start building his own houses and start his buisness, And jongin knows exactly what he wants his first project to be.
"you're quitting?"
"well, yeah.. but we'll still be friends and i'm still doing engineering, I'm just done with this project. I did it to gain more experience. I'm gonna start working on my first project"
Sehun has a tough day at work fighting with chanyeol and dumping all of his frustration for the past month on him
"OH MY GOD CHANYEOL! Can we not do the songs you want for once? The reason we've been having troubles the whole month is you insisting we do it your way!"
"You sound like my girlfriend! Oh please sehun we've been having troubles because YOU never focus anymore all you do is talk about this creep you're dying to be your boyfriend! this studio costs us money and you're wasting our time!"
"Chanyeol.. maybe we should stop working together for a while, until we figure out how to compromise i think we should work separately. We can still share the stu- chanyeol are you crying?" Sehun feels the oxygen cut off
"No, yes? god i don't know sehun, I have to go" Chanyeol grabs his coat and leaves out the door leaving sehun dumbfounded.
"And then I asked him if he was crying and he said he has to go.. I don't know how to fix this, and i'm not assuming you have the perfect answer. It's okay I guess i just wanted to let this out" Sehun sets the paper aside and sighs spinning in his chair. It would be so much easier if he could just meet jongin, Writing letters is becoming tiring and more of a burden, Jongin's voice and his warmth aren't things you could receive by letters. He signs the letter and puts it inside one of the envelopes jongin sent him then goes to sleep feeling a hot tear stain his cheek My eyes must be tired he thinks.
Jongin spends the next few days designing the house he wants to build and listing the different kinds of tiles and paints he will need, since he's freelance for a while he has more time to laze around, and he checks the mailbox probably more than 20 times a day. He told sehun about the project and he can tell sehun is pretty excited, he always asks about jongin's progress. Inside Jongin he feels so bad for sehun, It's like he's watching him fall apart one letter at a time, he's under pressure a lot but jongin doesn't think it's why he's been so uptight he has a lot of reasons but not one of them is enough to get this worked up, As much as sehun shares jongin knows there's one thing constantly bothering that he will never share. Regardless jongin will try his best to make it better, he invites sehun on another date except this time jongin will physically be there.
"...2 years is a pretty long time for me, but for you it will only be a week. We will meet at the same place, same time. See ya there?
- Jongin, 5/7/1998"
"I think i'm falling in love with you
- Sehun, 6/7/200"
Sehun walks to the beach he and jongin agreed they would meet in, On his way he sees a construction site at the far end of the beach but he doesn't see any workers.
A man appears from the site and startles sehun, it's his only chance to know
"Excuse me?"
"Hello"
"Hello, umm are you building this house?"
"Oh, no It's.. My friend was building it but one day he got into an accident while building it and he unfortunately died. I was there to help, Jongin-" Sehun chokes "I mean my friend put me in charge so, after he died i asked for them to stop building it and just leave it as a memory. This house was.. He told me it was dedicated to his true love"
"I'm sorry can you say his name again?"
"Jongin, Kim jongin"
"T-thank you" Sehun's goose bumps don't go away
He runs of out there and his feet don't stop running until he reaches home, he heaves on his living room floor and his heart feels to heavy for his chest. There is no way to get rid of this emotion because jongin died and there's no way he can undo that. His tears never stop running and he screams "JONGIN"
And living in a world where jongin doesn't exist tears him apart more than living in a world where jongin being here but not being able to meet him does. He doesn't know when jongin will die, In his world jongin could be dying right now and sehun is here helpless he writes him a letter in panic
"Jongin, I love you. I loved you even before we met and for something as extraordinary as this to happen to us i know you were meant to love me, It feels like no matter how much i say it this discomfort won't leave my heart and i crave to say it more. Please say the same
-Sehun"
he shoves it in an envelpe as fast as he can and puts it in the mailbox.
"How did our date go?
- Jongin, 8/7/1998"
"You Bold}couldn't show up
-Sehun"
"What? Something pretty big must have happened, even in two years time I don't think i would miss such an important date.
I've always wanted the first time i say it to be in person but i guess i have to say it now by letter, I don't wanna risk it not reaching you
I love you oh sehun.
-Jongin, 9/7/1998
P.S Why don't you write the date"
You have no idea sehun thinks as he reads jongin's letter,. Sehun goes online and types in "Kim jongin's death" A headline pops up "The tragic death of an engineer on his construction work" Sehun freezes as he reads the date "10/7/1998" That's tomorrow
"Jongin, It's important you read this letter before you leave for work tomorrow. Jongin don't, please don't just for tomorrow stay at home, You are going to die. Please trust me and believe what i'm saying. You couldn't make it to our date because you died on construction site
-Sehun, 9/7/2000"
Sehun doesn't go to sleep that night, he sweats so much he gets cold. He tries calling chanyeol
"Hello?"
"Chanyeol? It's me sehun"
"Oh, hey.. It's 1 in the morning is there something urgent"
"Chanyeol he's going to die"
"What? Who?"
"Jongin" Sehun chokes out
"How- How do you know?"
"Look it up chanyeol, He's going to die tomorrow"
"I'm coming over"
The next morning jongin gets up earlier than usual, he's been nervous about going to work last night for some reason.
Maybe I should shower instead of having an extra hour of sleep
He remembers the letter he sent to sehun yesterday and decides to check the mailbox, he finds the lotte world envelope with bent edges and the seal barely sticking. He stomach doesn't feel so good suddenly, Jongin reads the letter three times just to comprehend what sehun is saying, he drops to the ground and he feels a mix of gratefulness for having sehun and a little of i'm supposed to die today?
He writes sehun a letter assuring him he got the letter and how unbelievable it is.
His phone rings and it's kyungsoo
"Hey are you ready?"
"Umm, kyungsoo actually i'm not feeling well. I'm not going today"
"Well, I'm already there. Is it okay if we start things without you?"
"Yeah, sure. Be careful kyungsoo"
"I will" Kyungsoo giggles thinking jongin is so cute to say such words
Sehun falls asleep on chanyeol after crying his heart out, chanyeol tries to sleep but sehun eventually wakes him up hallucinating and sweating and chanyeol has to comfort him and bring him to sleep again.
Chanyeol opens his eyes at 5AM and finds sehun already awake, actually sehun was looking at him
"What?" Chanyeol laughs tiredly at sehun's cuteness
"I'm too scared to go check"
Chanyeol gets up to check the mailbox and is filled with thoughts about how his friend will handle it. He opens it carefully after hesitating and imagining a scenario where he lies to sehun and continues to send him letters under the name kim jongin but the thoughts are pushed away by the reality of a letter being inside the mailbox. "OH MY GOD" chanyeol screams so loud sehun hears him from inside the house, he runs outside and snatches the letter from chanyeol's hands.
The calm water relaxes him as he thinks about the emotional roller coaster he has been on the past two years
"God I miss him" "Why did you have to die?" He mutters
"It's nice"
"Excuse me?" jongin looks up
"The sea, isn't it?"
"yeah, it is.. It calms me down"
"You seem upset, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just.. My friend passed away this time two years ago and I miss him"
"Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss"
Jongin smiles
"I'm oh sehun" The stranger offers his hands
"You're who? Can you say that again?"
"I'm oh sehun" "Umm.. are you okay?"
"Yes, yes i'm sorry. I'm kim jongin"
"Kim jongin! wait i think i know you"
Jongin can hear his heart beating
"You were the guy who built the lake house, right?"
"I am" Jongin feels disappointed
"I'm moving in there"
"I'm moving out"
Sehun laughs "Can we exchange numbers?"
"Sure" Jongin fights the urge to hug him You're finally here