“…I figured.”
Muttering as if talking to himself, Seo-yul leaned against him. As they watched the moonlit flowers for a long while, Seo-yul glanced around, seemingly looking for a place to sit.
“Hold on.”
He took off the outer garment draped over Seo-yul’s shoulders and spread it on the ground before sitting down first. Then, he gently took Seo-yul’s arm and pulled him closer. Caught off guard, Seo-yul widened his eyes as he ended up sitting on his lap.
“This way, you can sit comfortably and stay warm too.”
Anyone could tell it was just an excuse, but he was utterly serious. Fortunately, Seo-yul didn’t push him away. Instead, he leaned his head against him. Amid the overwhelming scent of flowers, there was a faint trace of cocoa.
They spent time doing nothing, simply staying close to each other. As the night deepened and the air grew chillier, their shared warmth became all the more noticeable.
Just as he was thinking that he wouldn’t mind if time stopped here forever, Seo-yul softly took his hand. Startled by the warmth, he looked down, and at the same time, Seo-yul lifted his gaze.
“I still hate you.”
The words struck like a blow to the chest, but he tried not to show it. Instead, he chose to listen quietly, wondering if the ending might be different this time.
“Why did you do it? Why did you destroy our district, Se-yul—”
Seo-yul’s voice caught in his throat, and he momentarily fell silent. As he waited in silence, he pressed a gentle kiss to the back of Seo-yul’s hand. It pained him to see Seo-yul in sorrow, but he couldn’t understand the feeling himself.
The only thing that mattered to him was Seo-yul. That day, standing under a single, cold ray of light, Seo-yul had been his entire world. No matter how much time had passed, that hadn’t changed.
Even if he could turn back time, he would make the same choice. Even if that choice broke Seo-yul’s heart.
“I would make the same decision all over again.”
Shock rippled through Seo-yul’s midnight-colored eyes. If just this much was enough to hurt him so deeply, there was no point in saying the rest.
The truth was, he had wanted to kill Han Se-yul and Han Jae-hoon, every last one of them.
“But in the end, Han Se-yul didn’t die, and District 5 is still standing.”
“My point is—”
“And Seo-yul hyung is right here with me.”
Grinning brightly, he lightly bumped his forehead against Seo-yul’s. Seo-yul, whose words had been cut off, glared at him sharply, but even that was endearing.
Everyone who knew him would say the same thing—Vincent Shining probably didn’t have red blood running through his veins like a normal human.
A being without emotions. The Hound of the District who had given up on being human. The names people called him were nothing like the person Seo-yul knew.
He only became human in front of Seo-yul. His dried-up emotions grew rich, his laughter came easily, and sometimes, he even shed tears. So without Seo-yul, being alive wasn’t the same as living.
“…You don’t regret it at all?”
“I don’t want to lie to you, Hyung.”
In other words, he would never regret it, even in death.
Seo-yul, finally giving up on the conversation, tried to push him away, but he didn’t budge. Instead, he pulled Seo-yul closer into his arms.
Burying his nose in Seo-yul’s soft hair, he inhaled deeply. The deep, lingering scent of cocoa seemed to open up his tight lungs, making it feel like he could breathe again. Like he could live.
“Let’s talk about something else now. We still have things to discuss.”
“…What do you mean?”
“The choice. You haven’t made it yet.”
Seo-yul’s pupils trembled slightly as if he had just remembered something he had forgotten. As he subtly tried to avert his gaze, Vincent caught his chin and made him look directly into his eyes.
Right now, he didn’t want to miss a single flicker of Seo-yul’s gaze, not even the smallest shift in expression. This was the last time. Depending on Seo-yul’s decision, the future he had envisioned would change entirely.
Even though it was always out of his reach, he knew what people called an ordinary life—falling in love, getting married, having children, growing old together.
And so, for once, he dared to dream.
He wanted to live that life with Seo-yul. He wanted to go somewhere far away, marry him, have children, and grow old together like any ordinary couple.
“If you want me to, I can give up everything—District 1, the Shining name, all of it. So… please choose me too, Hyung.”
His face was composed, but inside, he was trembling more than ever.
Just as he was willing to abandon everything, he desperately wished Seo-yul would choose him in return.
All it would take was one word. One single phrase—that he, too, had chosen him.
But the longer the silence stretched, the more his insides burned.
Seo-yul hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.
“I… I don’t know. If this is the right choice.”
He had expected it. Seo-yul was still hesitating. If he had known this would happen, he should have erased District 5 from the world behind the walls completely.
As he drowned in unspoken regrets, unable to voice them to Seo-yul, a small hand cupped his cheek.
Startled by the familiar warmth, he looked down, and this time, unlike before, Seo-yul was smiling.
“I might regret it… but I’ll choose you too.”
For a moment, he doubted his own ears.
It was the answer he had longed for, yet he feared he had been deceived by the moonlight, that he had misheard.
No, not even in his dreams had he ever imagined hearing those words.
“…Say it again.”
He gently grasped the hand that cupped his cheek and carefully asked.
Instead of answering, Seo-yul tilted his head and kissed him. Before he could lose himself in the fleeting warmth that pressed against him and withdrew, Seo-yul spoke again.
“I’ll stay with you.”
The endlessly parallel lines had finally converged.
***
He wasn’t sure how they had made it back to Helen’s mansion. All he knew for certain was that the moment they stepped into the room and shut the door, neither of them could say who moved first—they simply grabbed onto each other and crashed into a kiss.
It was desperate, deep, like they would suffocate if they didn’t touch. His hand slid over Seo-yul’s heaving chest, fingers working at the buttons of his shirt. But patience ran out too fast—he abandoned the buttons entirely and just shoved the fabric aside.
The buttons snapped off, the fabric tore, but none of it mattered. Even as their clothes were undone, their lips never parted, and neither did their eyes.
“…Call my name?”
“What… Ah—”
“However you want, Hyung. However you’d like.”
But before Seo-yul could even say a word, he captured his lips again. Seo-yul’s flushed eyelids trembled as he gasped for breath, his eyes rimmed in red.
When a tear slipped out, he wiped it away with his thumb, and Seo-yul’s long lashes quivered.
“Hngh…”
Seo-yul nearly lost his balance, but Vincent swiftly lifted him into his arms and carried him toward the bed.
He gently laid Seo-yul down on the soft sheets, then pulled back just briefly—only to strip off his own shirt and toss it aside in one swift motion.
Running a rough hand through his unruly bangs, he bent over Seo-yul once more.
His vision blurred with heat, reason threatening to slip away. But not yet. Not just yet.
In the darkness, Seo-yul was crystal clear to his eyes. Suppressing the urge to have his way entirely, he let his fingers trace down Seo-yul’s chest.
“W-wait—Ah…!”
Before Seo-yul could stop him, Vincent pressed closer, his breath hot against Seo-yul’s pale skin. He kissed along the expanse of his face, his lips lingering as if to devour.
“I’m sorry, but… Haah… I can’t hold back.”
“Hnn…”
“Just… Just relax a little, okay? I won’t move. I promise.”
He stilled, trying to soothe Seo-yul as his mind teetered on the edge. It wasn’t their first time, yet it felt as if he had no control over himself.
Only when he felt Seo-yul’s tension melt away did he begin to move again. Pressed together, bodies slick with sweat, he left kisses everywhere, burying his face into the warmth, breathing in deeply.
“Hyung smells so good…”
He took in a sharp breath, his voice husky with need.
The mattress creaked beneath them, groaning under the strain. The heady scent of flowers thickened, intensifying with every moment.
“Ahn…”
Seo-yul shuddered violently.
The overwhelming sensation crashed over them both, the pleasure tipping them past their limits.
The world blurred, their senses scattered, before clarity slowly returned. Seo-yul’s flushed, breathless form came back into focus.
Finally…
His chest swelled with emotion.
Lowering his head, he pressed his ear against Seo-yul’s chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. For the first time, he truly believed—this warmth wouldn’t disappear.
Before, even when they were together, the thirst had never been quenched. But with just one promise, just those few words—I’ll stay with you—the emptiness that had plagued him all his life had vanished.
For the first time, he felt whole.
Satisfied, he pulled back slightly, resting his forehead against Seo-yul’s, a small, contented smile playing on his lips.
“I love you.”
He had to say it.
