𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐟 𝐀 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 || ATEEZ ||

You can't just touch my soul and then leave

"You're leaving soon, aren't you?" Hongjoong suddenly declared, breaking the peaceful silence.

Seonghwa dropped the spoon he was using to stir the soup in the pot, feeling a lump forming in his throat.

"Your mother told you when she wanted to leave, didn't she? I can see something is bothering you." Hongjoong continued.

Seonghwa nodded gravely, his heart heavy, his words feeling strangled in his throat.

"In two weeks..."

Hongjoong gave him a rueful smile, a glint of sadness flicking through his eyes and he stood up, approaching Seonghwa and resting his forehead on his own.

"I'm scared..." muttered Seonghwa.

Hongjoong didn't answer and just hugged him. A slow sigh escaped his lips, as if his brain needed that time to process the news.

There was a silence in Seonghwa's soul. He could feel a chill run through his veins. A coldness bringing the thoughts in his brain to a halt. He felt waves of unsettling emotions flowing inside him.

He didn't want to go...he didn't want to leave him alone as he had been once before. He didn't want to let him go.

"I didn't want to say it,...I...I thought that if I didn't talk about it it would only turn into a bad memory, never to be spoken of again."

He felt tears welling up in his eyes and he shut them tightly.

"It's going to be alright," Hongjoong reassured him pushing him away and looking him in the eyes.

"Let's look on the bright side. We still have two weeks." he uttered smiling softly.

Seonghwa nodded, a small smile making his lips twitch upwards.

"Come on, exclaimed Hongjoong slapping his thigh affectionately, the soup will burn otherwise."

The heavy atmosphere of grief dissipated as quickly as it had come, replaced again by a new cheerfulness.

If they only had two weeks, they would enjoy every single day to the fullest as if it was their last day.

Hongjoong went to stir their soup as Seonghwa watched him.

The soup had given the aroma of comforting wintry days to the kitchen and Seonghwa found himself relaxing.

"It's ready!" exclaimed the blond, a spoon in one hand.

He watched as Hongjoong ladled the soup into dark wooden bowls, before grabbing a knife to cut the freshly made bread. He then placed the bowls and spoons on a tray and Seonghwa placed the slices of bread he had cut near the steaming bowls, in order to keep the heat of the bread. They then left the kitchen and put on their warmest coats before going out into the garden with the tray.

The sun was low on the horizon, producing long shadows from short herbaceous stems all over the snow-covered garden. Winter trees lined the bottom end of the garden, their denuded forms standing starkly against the snow, almost like dark shadows. It would be some time before the trees would awaken, the small buds covering the branch yet to come.

"Well! If this isn't nice!" exclaimed Hongjoong a bright smile on his face as he stepped towards a snow-covered bench wiping it with one of his sleeves.