Duality | Monsta X [√]

21: The fleeting moments

Wonho and Shownu came stood by our sides. I gave a nod of acknowledgment to them as Shownu smiled and Wonho stretched his arms. "Looks like the photoshoot is almost done," he said with a laugh and looked at me. A black beanie on top of his head, and his full attire dark.

"Hiding your hair?" I questioned and he gave me a look of awe before pouting to himself.

"Everyone stares at me. This is the brightest hair color I ever had!"

Because you look attractive- I almost rolled my eyes but did not so. "Because the pink hair looks good on you."

"You think so?" Wonho laughed giddily again. Hyungwon sighed beside me. "He's just fishing for compliments," the latter retorted.

"I'm not," with another giggle Wonho pulled off his beanie revealing his bright bubblegum hair. And the room started to look brighter than it already was.

"Daisy, do you want to go on a walk with me outside?" Shownu peered his head from Wonho's side and I did not know what he was thinking, but the little scrunch on his nose and the crinkles on his eyes with his smile made me say yes almost the very second.

"Call me when you guys have wrapped up," Shownu said to Hyungwon and Wonho, giving them both short glances.

Later I had followed him outside the building where the streets of Gangnam were bustling, evening had fallen on the city and the dark of night had started to claw it's way in, but everything only came alive with it. The strangers on the side of the streets walking briskly and talking to their partners boisterously.

The lights had started to go up, wrapping the stores alongside the road in a happy and celebratory look. Shownu stopped before one of them, a bakery before he held the door for me and motioned me to go outside with a smile.

So I obliged and immediately the fresh scent of the baked goods, the charming yet calm atmosphere, the colorful pastries and the baked loaves of bread, and the walls and the employees decorated in brown and black greeted me.

Inside there were just as many people but among all of them Shownu glowed the brightest even in his grey and dull overcoat.

His face lit up just like the lights on the streets of Gangnam as he watched the sweets under the glass tables with adoration. "If you can't tell already I have a knack for eating sweets, scratch that I have a knack for eating food in general. But I do have a sweet tooth," he turned to me.

"I actually don't like sweets that much," and I immediately regretted saying that because the passion on his face fell and got replaced with stress and sadness.

He chewed on his bottom lip thinking hard. "But I wanted to buy you a cake for your hard work, and..., this is my favourite place for cakes."

"But their pretzels look just as fine," I immediately spoke up. "And I love pretzels. I'm hungry on top of that."

In that short second his face lit up like a bulb once again, as if I had turned on a switch. "How about churros and hot chocolate? They make amazing of those too."

I nodded feigning an excitement. Which led him to buy churros, pretzels, donuts, brownies, and a two-pound cake which he said he bought for the boys.

There were not any chairs to sit but there were tables alongside the glass walls of the shop and many customers were standing there enjoying their goodies. Shownu and I did the same. While dipping his churros in the chocolate and then shoving them in his mouth he made the most expressive faces I'd ever seen on him.

I could see that he really liked his food. "Thank you for the treat," I said as I bit on mine, first it was crunchy but then the chocolate melted inside my mouth and the sweet yet a little bitter taste spread on my tastebuds.

"You've worked hard," he grinned with that, his eyes crinkling again and chocolate on his tooth. I almost laughed but focused on the hot mug on my hand instead.

"My father used to take me here when I was a kid. They made the best ever Christmas cakes so on that joyous day we knew where to get our cakes from," Shownu said to himself but I noticed that he had stopped eating. One of his churros laid inside his chocolate in neglect. A melancholy in his eyes.

"On snowy Christmas evenings I'd come here with my father to take our cake that we had ordered a few days ago. It was one of the most anticipated events of my life."

With his grim face it felt like the atmosphere around us had gotten dreary too. I could not help but feel my heart breaking while looking at the tall man.

"I'm sorry about your father... I heard from Kihyun what happened to him a year ago."

He looked up at me with nostalgia written on his eyes but he smiled again. "Things happen... But I'm still determined to find out the killer."

"Have you gotten any clue?" I asked but he shrugged in response.

"Not yet. But let's enjoy the food first," he took out the churro from his mug only to see it sag, then break in half and fall on the little ocean of chocolate again.

Shownu looked at me with the broken stick on his hand and instantly broke into a fit of giggles. I could not help too, for the first time in what it felt like years, I was laughing my heart out.

"Excuse me," in the middle of the laughter I fished out my phone from my hoodie's pocket noticing that it had been vibrating for some time. Seeing that it was from an unknown number I decided to ignore but changed my mind the last second.

When I held the phone up to my ear a concerned male voice greeted me. The furrow on my brows slowly dissolved but my hands had started shaking, I put down the food on the table before us and grabbed my phone with both my hands in despair.

The call was short but I had listened to what it was. My head went blank and there was a buzzing sound vibrating in my eardrums blocking out all the others. I did not know when I had put my phone down or when Shownu was grabbing me by the shoulders.

Seconds later I came to be to find the vibrating sound dying down and only Shownu's voice reaching to me. His eyes big and face closer to mine, his hands lightly shaking my shoulders. "Daisy, look at me. Can you hear me? What's wrong?"

"My mom... in the hospital," I could merely say.

The sky had fallen down on me and the realization had hit me, that maybe, happiness was just not meant for me. That is why I was always afraid to be happy because it's fleeting and when it's gone only sadness can come.

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A/n: this is by far my most favourite chapter I think.

I changed the title of this book to 'duality' that's what it was supposed to be when I first got the idea of the book more than a year ago.

Also I've started a new BTS story called young and free and I'd be v glad if you checked it out <3