eternal summer.

2.4/3

1st SEPTEMBER, 2015

a year has passed, with tae eun sending zero letters to jeongguk. the fansite still is active, but whenever she attends bts's events, she would wear clothes that cover her features. watch him from afar through her camera lens, ask the co-owners of eternal summer instead of her to interact with him during fansigns. 

during live performances, jeongguk still stole glances at her. many people have commented about how lucky she is whenever she uploads the fancams, but what they don't know is that his glance was no coincidence. especially during ballad songs, he would maintain eye contact for several seconds. 

tae eun doesn't know what to make of it, really. 

//

tonight, the exhausted girl makes her way to the abandoned amusement park. every year, on this day, she would visit it just to reminisce the memories. they often come as a bitter winter, but she doesn't mind. under the warm glow of streetlamps, she feels comforted, in fact. 

phone buzzing from all the notifications she has received for jeongguk's birthday project, tae eun feels a smile tugging at her lips. she may have avoided interactions with him, but she still has a soft spot for him. whenever he is praised for his talents, she feels like a proud mother. 

and when a thought of him arises, her heart swells. swells in what, she doesn't know. excitement? love? the latter seems nearly impossible, seeing how she's just a fansite owner. they may have met a long time ago, but the boy is now an idol. a rising idol, at that. it would be selfish of her to attempt to rekindle the old flame.

so she pushes her yearnings down, exhales in the cold night, stare idly at the flickering specks of gold. 

//

a few feet away, a guy stands with hands pressed deep into his pockets. gaze trained on the girl who was comfortably lying on a wooden bench. this late, no one roams the deserted amusement park anymore. but jeon jeongguk is given a day off seeing how it's his birthday, and he just had a sudden urge to visit this place. never thought that he would see her here.

shoes dragging back and forth along the dry soil, he finds himself stuck in the same spot. he doesn't know what is holding him back.

is it the fact that he had chosen career over her years ago?

even if they were still immature then, jeongguk knows he made the right choice. an ambitious man like him has many valuable years ahead of him. chances laid out on his path. opportunities for him to grab. you can say he is made for being an idol, and he's not ready to give all of this up.

yet, he feels his heart aching. with a conflicted mind, he finds his eyes stinging. the burn causes him to blink, tears released in relief, sniffles held in painfully. 

he didn't know it can hurt this much. 

and when she stirs, as if aware of the pained silence, he turns his back on her and walks away.