-last chapter-

the music was blaring through the speakers and the house was almost fully packed. sol knew that a lot of people were going to come, but she did not expect them to actually be true to their word and show up their friends along. there were more people that she didn't know than those whom she knew.

sol glanced at the time displayed on her lock screen. it read 19:57 (7:57 pm). she looked at the staircase somewhat expecting to see hyojong coming down, but of course that didn't happen - the boy was fast asleep in her room. he passed out on the couch almost immediately after drinking the water that he asked for that morning and when people started showing up, he went upstairs to sleep in her room.

that reminded her of the day she saw him sleeping in changgu's house. the nostalgic feeling that hit, encouraged her to go to her room.

-

she entered her dark room and quickly closed the door, hoping that the loud noise didn't wake him up. she slowly walked towards her night stand and turned the lamp on. there, she saw hyojong tightly hugging her pillow. his hair was a wavy mess, and it gently fell over his head onto the mattress. she could clearly see his forehead and small ears.

her heart beat felt different - it was fast, but calm. she took a deep breath as she sat down and looked closely at how flawless his skin was. she couldn't help but to fall for him even more.

seeing him like this made her see him somewhat differently. he looked like a small child who was deprived of his childhood. life took away his happiness and circumstances locked his freedom.

and it was then that she realised there was one thing that he lost before losing his family, love, and dreams. he lost himself.

"for how long are you planning to stare?"

she flinched and immediately looked away when his eyes shot open.

he smiled.

"sol?"

she looked at him, not really comprehending how any of that was possible. kim hyojong was resting on her bed; he was calling her name; he was looking at her and only her.

"yea?"

"are there many people downstairs?"

"don't even ask, it packed- like I don't understand why are there so many people!"

"some are here to have fun, while other were forced to come....and maybe some came to distract themselves"

"and you? why are you here? to have fun? forced? or...for the distraction?"

he rolled out of the bed and looked at her, "today I'm here for myself."

"huh?" she lifted an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

with a small smile, he shook his head and looked away before walkimg towards the door. and right then, she saw him. she saw the hyojong that she was familiar with, the one that looked empty and fed up.

"hyojong..."

he stopped walking, but did not say a word.

"what's wrong?"

she walked towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"remember the place I took you to once, the one that overlooked the city?" he asked, still facing forward.

"yea, what about it?"

he looked at her and a small smirk played on his lips.

"wanna ditch your own party and come with me?"

-

[ a/n: and that's all
thank you so much for all the love
like I can't thank you enough.
I hope you enjoyed it

this story meant a whole
lot to me and I've never enjoyed writing a story as much as drugs.
and you have no idea how much I went through writing this.
I don't think any of this would have been possible, like this story wouldn't have gotten here if it wasn't for all the votes and
comments
there are some of you who left atleast one comment on every chapter and voted every time I updated... y'all kept me going when I was so close to giving up on writing.
and damn, I can't thank you enough ]
♡

dec 31, 2018
23:57