Chapter Text
Taehyun's head slips off, lurching forward towards the textbook in his hands—Bang!
Sharp pain jolts through his forehead, and Taehyun's eyes fly open. The library is originally silent, but now, it seems to grow even quieter.
Taehyun starts packing his things, stuffing book after book into his bag. Soon, he hurls his back across his shoulders, glancing at the time.
20:57
It's still quite early. Tarhyun thinks, wiping his nose. After he reaches home, he will take a shower, then dive straight back into his studies. The boy pulls at the strap of his bags, mindlessly tracing the path back home. He rubs his nose, unaware that a stream of blood has now smeared his hand.
He tilts his head up to the sky, hoping that it will control the watery substance that trickles endlessly down his nose. He has to do well for his finals. He cannot afford a slip-up. He—
He... sees a star falling towards him.
His mind blanks, and he stares blankly, almost in disbelief. For a brief moment, he wondered if this cruel, sadistic world had decided to kill him off month before the day he had practically spent his whole life preparing for.
But how can that be?
His vision fills with a pure white light, yet Taehyun insists on keeping his eyes open, staring stubbornly, searching for that bastard who threw a flashbomb his way.
Taehyun doesn’t see anything. Until the light starts to fade. He expected to see the high-rise buildings, paths lit by streetlamps, the convenience store he would pass by every time he goes home from the library.
Instead, he sees clear blue skies, the endless stretch of ocean, pale golden sand, all infused by the same natural, warm light shining onto his skin.
Instead of the sounds of passing vehicles, the clicking sounds of traffic lights, and the jumbled steps of passing pedestrians, he hears the waves.
Taehyun sees himself running, his feet kicking up bits of sand as he hummed a merry tune.
This is the 'youth' he dreamt of.
Yet before a smile could frame his lips, he slaps himself across the face. The harsh contact rings into his ears, and a warm burning sensation is felt on his cheeks.
I must have gone crazy from all that studying.
But the hallucination doesn't dispel. Taehyun's legs weaken, and he drops to the sand. This time, he can feel the grainy pieces rubbing against his skin, and he can smell sunshine and salt.
Do hallucinations feel this real?
Suddenly, a crazy thought rushes into his overstimulated mind. At this second, he is tempted to shove a fistful of sand into his mouth, taste it, to find an answer to his confusion— if this paradise—no.
If this hell is real.
Taehyun's stomach, is saved by a rolled-up sheet of brown paper that dropped down towards his lap. Taehyun snatches up the brown paper, quickly unfurling it.
"Hi! I am the star who brought you here! You are now stranded on a deserted island. Starting today, your life is in my hands. Your survival, your escape, it's all up to me ;)"
The star who brought me here? So that falling star he saw was real?
Taehyun clutches his head in his hands, lowering them down towards his knees as he let out a scream.
No way. No way this shit is real. He must be dreaming.
He has to be dreaming. How else could a falling star teleport him here?
"Oh damn. A crazy one has crash-landed." A voice echoes from his back.
Taehyun’s head snaps turns backwards, meeting eyes with a boy who is fully attired in a bright orange tacky summer outfit. He has his hands in his pockets as he swaggers towards him.
The boy looked his age, and as he comes closer, Taehyun catches the irony in his features, each crafted with precise, sharp lines, but together, they soften, blending together in way that made him beautiful.
But at this moment, even if he is the descendant of Apollo, Taehyun would have cared less.
Taehyun stands up, pretending as if he hasn’t just heard the boy call him crazy.
"Hello." Taehyun smiles, trying to piece his shattered composure back together, as he starts a conversation. "Could you please tell me where I am?"
The boy shrugs. "How would I know that? I came in the same fashion you did. Like you, a star bought me here."
Taehyun narrows his eyes, skeptically eyeing the overly nonchalant boy in front of him. "Is that so?"
"Could I ask when you came over?"
"Yesterday."
Taehyun takes in a deep breath, then takes another look at his summer outfit, which seems to match him perfectly for this location.
"Oh! You forgot to introduce yourself!" Beomgyu exclaims, grinning at Taehyun.
...
"Come on, introduce yourself!"
Typically, people would say, 'Sorry! I forgot to introduce myself'.
Typically, Taehyun would smile and introduce himself even if the other boy seemed to be atypical. But today, Taehyun isn’t in the mood. With his smile growing increasingly forced by the second, he asks, "How about you introduce yourself first?"
"Oh!" The boy forcefully grabs Taehyun's hand, shaking it.
"I'm Beomgyu. Choi Beomgyu."
"Nice to meet you."