[ idol ;; jung jaehyun (of nct). lowercase intended. ©️ -jaehyunni ]
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there's a ring on her finger, winking back at her and reminding her of the guilt that has soured in her mouth and settled in her bones.
now, as the aggressive California summer clings to her skin, her body trembles.
this is the only place that makes her feel like herself. this pier miraculously poured life into her, the familiar long expanse of wood flat beneath her feet and the cool sea breeze toying with her hair.
this is where she met him.
not her husband. no. someone she loves cosmically. so much so that it hurts.
when she first saw him, she thought he was a star. a star that melted all her worries away. a star that was too bright for such a dark place — such a dark place called Earth.
his hair was a soft russet smudge against the sinking sunset, his lips pink and wet from the heat. for a while, he didn't seem to notice her gaze on him.
but when he looked at her, finally dragged his eyes to meet hers, fireworks went off in her chest.
there was a coldness in his eyes that seemed almost contradictory to the brightness the rest of him emitted.
she had wanted to say something, anything. but the hardness of his gaze had rendered her speechless, pinning her surfacing words against her throat. this man was in pain, she could tell. immense pain.
she wanted to reach out and hold the side of his face in her hand. she wanted to absorb him completely, all the way down to the marrow. she wanted to soak up all of his pain and worries. to her dismay, her arms hung lifelessly at her sides, ignoring the orders her brain was screaming.
so instead, she smiled. she smiled at him, even if it was a broken smile. when he smiled back, it felt as though her heart had bursted and her soul had learned to bloom.
in that moment, she forgot completely about the man she had at home. in that moment, she saw the events of her life flicker before her eyes. but, strangely, none of them included her fiance. instead, the stranger in front of her was present in all of them.
his voice bubbled delightfully in her ears and she was sent crashing back down to reality before she got to see how they grow old together.
"i'm jaehyun."
she sighed, the syllables of his name chilling her to the bone despite the dying sun pressing against her skin.
she told him her own name and his smile stretched further across his face, lighting up her world.
for two months, june to mid–august, they met at the pier. she learned many things about him, and she told him things she'd never told anyone.
they grew close. the last day they met, they sat closely, shoulder to shoulder. their ankles were teasing the rolling waves. they didn't say anything at first, only luxuriating the nearness of one another. his smell infiltrated her nose, mixing with the salt of the sea. the combination clouded her mind, short circuited her brain. she turned to him, only to see that his eyes were already trained on her, pupils blown.
"can i kiss you?" he asked weakly. his voice was nearly inaudible over the crashing waves.
she swallowed her guilt. her fiance had been shunning her for the past few weeks and she'd been craving jaehyun's lips from day one. she ached for him in a way she found frightening, impossible, inhuman.
so she nodded, the action so minute and desperate he would have missed it had he blinked.
without letting another moment pass, he grabbed her chin and pushed their lips together.
when they connected, he moved against her as if he knew every part of her. the fullness of his lips demanded the fullness of her.
and so she gave it to him.
now, she stands alone on the edge of the pier, tears tumbling down from her eyes and staining her cheeks. six years have passed since she gave him her heart. six years have passed since he gave her his.
his voice still echoes in her ears and the feel of his silky hair still lingers on her fingertips. she has grown miserable over the years. her marriage is failing and it's all her fault, and she feels guilty, for her heart does not belong to her husband.
her husband. the man who has given her the sun.
but she realizes that she doesn't want the sun anymore. she wants galaxies.
she sighs, and she feels herself giving up on everything.
"i miss you," she admits, the salty breeze carrying her voice away from her lips.
"i miss you too."
her heart leaps. the tears stop flowing and a smile plays with the corners of her lips. slowly, she turns around.
she feels like collapsing.
it's him.
standing in front of her is her star.
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[ thank you for reading !! i hope you liked it 💖 ]