xvii. rêverie

jihoon never showed up.

the whole performance ended half an hour ago and the sea of crowds had gone to separate puddles. the lights are off and everything is a silhouette in the dim, including soonyoung who sits still before the piano. his fingers lay calmly on the cold keys as he listens to silence.

all is quiet, it's as if he had gone deaf.

the boy heaves a sigh and decides that it's time for him to come home when he feels a pair of hands on his shoulders. the moment soonyoung looks behind, his eyes instantly meets jihoon's. the older pulls jihoon into a tight hug as if holding the boy in his arms isn't enough to satisfy him. of course, jihoon hugs back, missing the warm and comforting feeling of his body pressed against soonyoung's.

"i love you! i missed you so much," soonyoung whimpers as he continues to hold the small boy in his arms. soonyoung really missed jihoon. he missed running his fingers through the boy's hair, he missed how he smells like candied almonds and vanilla, he missed holding his soft hands, everything. he missed everything about the boy.

"i love you too, soonie."

soonyoung buries his face on jihoon's neck for a long while before realization hits him. he pulls away from the hug and sees the younger smiling. "j-jihoon, d-did i hear that right?" he stutters. jihoon cocks his head to one side, his lips forming a small pout.

"hear what right?"

soonyoung is at a loss for words as he stares back at his lover, unable to comprehend or process the fact that jihoon heard him. the latter bursts into laughter upon seeing soonyoung's reaction. honestly, he expected all of this to happen and to him, it's just so adorable.

"soonyoung, why are you crying?" asks jihoon

"because you can hear me! or at least that's what i'm imagining. is this real!?" soonyoung cries as he cups jihoon's face with his hands, his fingers feeling something unfamiliar behind the boy's ear. "baby what's this?"

"what else would it be?" jihoon laughs "it makes me hear you, love."

jihoon had to go away for weeks to have a transplant and he was so excited to get back and see soonyoung's reaction. now that he's back, he's more than happy to know what it's like to hear again. how it sounds when someone is laughing or crying. gone are the days when he would silently cry over not having to hear his music again. because things are better now, although of course, it still wouldn't sound the same as before.

jihoon loves that i love you are the first three words he heard from soonyoung.

"soonie, you finished my composition," mumbles jihoon as they pull away, looking at the music sheet on the instrument. he takes a seat on the duet bench and soonyoung settles down beside, his eyes never leaving jihoon. "do you want to play it?" soonyoung asks

"hm, it would be better if i had a violinist with me," jihoon mumbles with a smile on his lips. soonyoung just stares at him with his mouth slightly open. "play the violin, soonyoung. it would be just like our practices before," the younger says. soonyoung nods and gets up to take his instrument from the backstage, then comes back shortly after.

from first note, soonyoung is already in awe. he stands there, watching his lover play the composition they did together, their love story told inked on music sheets. soonyoung is in so much awe that he swears he almost forgets to play his own instrument. relax, he tells himself, taking a deep breath and gently sliding the bow against the strings.

perfect.

jihoon closes his eyes. there's something about the sound of soonyoung's violin that makes his heart feel at ease and his soul soar amongst clouds, float freely with the loveliest of symphonies. their music fills the empty stadium and everything just sounds so heavenly. jihoon opens his eyes, seeing soonyoung a few steps away from him. the moment their eyes meet and the boy smiles, jihoon swears it's the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

the two boys continue to play their lovely music as if every note is played for the angels. honestly, jihoon never believed in them, but soonyoung's smile is enough to convince him that angels do exist. and there's already one right in front him.

at the last note, jihoon looks at soonyoung again and mouths an i love you, making the older turn away to hide the light red color on his cheeks. after a few seconds when he takes a glance again, jihoon gestures him to come close and he does so, willingly. jihoon rests his hand just below the boy's ear and kisses him softly.

out of nowhere, an applause is heard from the right wing of the stage, where junhui stands. "hands down to the sweetest couple of the night!" he cheers, followed by a laugh. way to ruin the moment. jihoon looks and does a small bow to thank the boy while soonyoung covers his face in embarrassment then tells junhui to go away.

"you finished it beautifully, soonyoung, just the way i imagined it to be."

"eh, i think it would still sound better if you did everything your way," mumbles soonyoung. jihoon shakes his head in disagreement, holds the boy's hands and presses his soft lips against them. "is there anything you would like to name our composition?" he asks

"rêverie," soonyoung answers, "the state of being lost in pleasant thoughts. a daydream, just like you, jihoonie."

"rêverie, i like the sound of that," jihoon says with a smile and soonyoung says nothing back. he still can't believe that jihoon can really hear him now. they look at each other, lovingly, for a few more seconds before the younger stands up and lets out a sigh, "so, let's go home?"

soonyoung nods, "let's go home, jihoonie!" he grabs jihoon's hand and they both carry their things out of the stadium. as they walk in complete silence, jihoon tugs soonyoung's arm lightly and glances up at him with his lips puckered. then the taller chuckles at how adorable his lover looks like before leaning down to kiss him passionately.

without a doubt, their story is like listening to a song one would never want to end. jihoon and soonyoung didn't expect to have something so delicate and beautiful, and now they can't imagine it slipping away from their grasp.

🎻🎹

10/10 poorly written ending chapter HHH I TRIED OK
anyway, thank you so much for reading rêverie!

music on the multimedia is rêverie by claude debussy y'all i love that shit i grew up listening to it.

anyway, check out my other soonhoon books!
sun & satellites
moon & asteroids
love.net 1996
caratland
you make my day
you made my dream (this is still in my drafts tho)

have a great day!
— JIRO