Youll Find Me In Softest Darkness, When The Earth Is Half-awake. When The Air Is Still And Silent, And

“You’ll find me in softest darkness, when the earth is half-awake. When the air is still and silent, and the dawn is yet to break.”

— Ellis Nightingale

tckkis​:

just as she got the perfect score, she was about to start rubbing it in her best friends face before she heard ms moon exclaim that a certain someone was just in time for food. hana often stayed for dinner at soomin’s, she missed a mothers cooking since her parents were still in busan. eyes widened as stared at the laughing girl for a second before slowly turning around and seeing that smiling face of the man she had previously made herself look like an ultimate fool too.

glaring back at soomin, she spoke through gritted teeth, ‘ you will die. ’ before shyly bowing to her brother once more and then dropping the motion controller she was holding on the floor making her wince. pulling a fake crying face before bursting out into a fit of giggles, she shook her head. ‘ i’m really not making a good impression of myself, am i? ’

she almost squeaked when her safety blanket that was his sister went to join their mother in the kitchen leaving her alone with the mysterious male making her tuck some hair behind her ear. a knock sounded at the door making those doe like hues widen significantly wondering how many more people were joining tonight and she began to wonder if this was a family affair and she shouldn’t overstay her welcome. as the woman walked in, hana felt like she may has well been dirt on the bottom of a shoe ——— the elegance, the class & the beauty all in one as the equally as mysterious female wandered up to gunwoo with a sickly sweet smile. ah, it all made sense now. ‘ is this a family thing? i can go if needs be? ’

before he even got to say a thing, there was already a knock at the door, then walking in a beautiful creature, bowing her head and a smile spreading on gunwoo’s features and arm wrapping around his, then both he and his girlfriend looked over at hana, his girlfiend, siyeon already bowing her head towards hana. ‘ hello, i’m oh siyeon, i’m gunwoo’s girlfriend. ‘ sudden embarrassed feeling flushes over gunwoo, clearing his throat and then motioning for everyone to go in the dinner table. siyeon already making her way to the kitchen, saying her hello’s to everyone who was in there, while gunwoo was still stood still and eyes on hana, like as in he needed to explain himself, he doesn’t know why he had such a feeling over him, but brushes it aside. ❛ you should stay. ❜ he says, then motions for her to go in the kitchen to join the others and he follows suit.

once seated beside his girlfriend, soomin sitting at the opposite side of the table across siyeon, which made soomin’s friend to be sitting right before him. ❛ so.. hana, was it? ❜ he asks, then reaching over to take some food, while others were doing the same. ❛ you seem to be quite a dancer. ❜ he tries to hold back a laughter, but it was tickling its way up his throat, causing his words coming out as a chuckle. ❛ you for sure had some moves out there earlier. ❜ there’s a sudden laugh coming from soomin, almost choking on her food and then leaving siyeon all confused, she for sure had missed out all that dancing and, of course, gunwoo had to tease hana a little.

tckkis​:

even though she heard them coming, she still jumped a little bit when she heard his voice & proceeded to drop the plate she was holding in the water causing it to splash up at her a little. she grumbled to herself as she quickly grabbed the small towel to dry herself with. ‘ i can assure you i’m not always like this… i think just for some reason today, i ——— ’ she paused as she looked up and he was leaning against the counter next to her.

quickly halting her words, throat going dry, she pursed her lips together and tried to hold in the smile ———- the tiny dimple showing on her cheek as her gazed darted to the soapy water once more. ‘ you didn’t embarrass me… ’ she laughed, ‘ i embarrassed myself but i’m happy you were entertained! at least some good came out of it! ’ well it was safe to say she was no where near as classy as his girlfriend. ‘ i take it you’re not really a laugher? ’ she felt quite proud of herself if that was the case. looking up at him, she held his gaze for a little longer than intended. ‘ who would’ve thought my best friends brother was my favourite artist? ’

eyes were locked with hers, its like they had ended up staring at each other again, just like in his little store. he gives her a small smile though, just waiting as she seemed to get lost with her words. leaning more over the counter now as if to be just a little closer, hand busy touching something over the counter as if needing something to distract him.

❛ i mean--- ❜ why did that make him sound like he was emotionless, like he never laughs, mentally wanting to slap himself over the forehead, ending up stumbling over his words. ❛ i-- i’m i have emotions ! ❜ he suddenly states, great, that didn’t sound too right. ❛ let me correct myself.. i don’t.. i never laughed much but just.. sometimes i do, i’m way too busy with work these days so.. ❜ nailed it, totally nailed that one. his expression softens at the sight of those warm brown eyes, causing him to straighten his back, standing at his full height, only now realising how tiny hana was compared to him. ❛ yeah, that’s not something that happens everyday, right? ❜ he chuckles, pushing off of the counter now, tilting his head just a bit as he keeps looking at her. ❛ and who would’ve thought i had a painting of my sister’s friend on my wall. ❜ there’s a small smirk at the corner of his mouth as he moves his hand, nudging hana’s chin softly with the knuckle of his index finger and then walking to the living room.

tckkis​:

part of her couldn’t quite believe it, her best friend was the sister of her favourite artist. hana had always been a creative soul. she delved into the world of gaming and books, she loved every aspect of it and one of her particular favourites was horror. that was when she adored seeing his work. the moment she had stumbled across xero’s work, she loved it dearly. it was different in so many ways but it also spoke to her in many ways. she could almost feel the pain from it but that to her was enticing.

while she hadn’t been too vocal about it, it was only on passing that one of his prints that she had ordered online slipped out of her notebook ——— a rather graphic looking picture and she scrambled for it before soomin had picked it up and exclaimed it was her brothers work. and now here they were, her best friend introducing her to one of her biggest inspirations in the artist world & she could feel herself beginning to panic a little.

‘ what if he thinks i’m weird? ’ & just as she was running her hands through her hair like a silly little fangirl, she heard the other saying that she was weird. ‘ yah! ’ shoving her playfully, giggles escaped as she tipped her head back and linked hands with her while they wandered down the street to his shop. 

as they went inside, hana could already feel her excitement as she looked at all the artwork surrounding the small shop ———– stuff she had never even seen before & she was already making note of which ones to buy. wincing at the loudness of soomin herself, doe like eyes widened before she was stepping aside and the gamer eyes met with those chocolate hues of his and she almost gasped. 

stepping back slightly ( in shock ), she bumped into a table and knocked over a few books making her squeak in pure shock and embarrassment. who would have thought the person behind that kind of art would look like this?! scrambling to pick up his precious work, she was quick to try and piece it all together before standing up and bumping her head on the corner of the table. wincing, she wanted the world to swallow her up there and then. he must have thought she was a pure fool. shyly handing him the books she had knocked, she bowed a full ninety degree angle before blurting out. ‘ i’m your biggest fan! ’ & then internally hitting herself for being so cringe.

there’s a sudden bang over the floor of the shop from the fallen books of his work, which caused the eye contact to break and his eyes shifting towards the pile of his work just scrambled around, just his style, his work was everywhere, literally. but before he could even react, he sees how soomin’s friend hurts herself, causing him to reach forward as if to stop her but too late, this poor girl was something else. 

❛ are you okay? ❜ thankfully his hand had been still out there, taking the books that were offered to him, the next words leaving his sister’s friend’s mouth caught him by surprise. rolling his lip between his teeth, gnawing on the skin of his lip out of habit, nervousness, he wasn’t much of a people person anyway. head tilting, brows raising and eyes widening.

❛ eh? ❜ he says, not sure if he had heard right. was this clumsy girl his biggest fan? his sister giggling over at her friend’s clumsiness. meanwhile gunwoo was concerned for hana’s safety and how in the heck did she even survive walking over in his story in one piece. finally putting the books on his desk, then shyly looking away when he repeats the words in his head, hand moving to scratch at the side of his neck. ❛ ah-- ❜ he starts. ❛ thank you. ❜ he bows his head, feeling honored. ❛ i didn’t think my sister’s friend would like my work, how did you find my work? ❜ he was curious.

his sister soon moving, punching his upper arm, which caused his head to turn to look over at her. ❛ what was that for? ❜ he asks, furrowing his brows and then shoving soomin away by her face, then looking back at hana. ❛ i’m actually working on some new things, if.. you wanna see, but -- do feel free to look around and see if you like something. ❜ maybe even buy something, but he doesn’t say it out loud, he was in a need of some extra money, need of his work to be out there in the world.

tckkis​:

how embarrassing was that encounter? she had made a complete and utter fool of herself. watching as soomin wrapped her arms around him, she couldn’t help but smile softly, it seemed they had a close relationship. quite similar to her and minhwan even though they also fought like cat and dog. she wanted to kill him half the time but he was the person she looked up to and respected the most in the world. to be honest, she didn’t want to leave, she just felt like she had made herself look like an utter tool and she would remember this for the rest of her life.

later on that day, they were chilling at soomin’s house. ‘ do you think i have made a fool of myself? ‘ she asked her best friend with an anxious smile before shaking her head and laughing a little. ‘ he’s gonna think who the hell is that mess my sister hangs out with? ‘ running a hand through her hair, she reached for one of the games which caught her eye and grinned playfully.

‘ i challenge you to a game of just dance? but beware… i’m literally the best you’ve ever seen! ‘ while hana could dance quite well, she never took herself seriously on these games and as she popped it in and started it up, she picked the silliest song to let loose to. at least she could be herself around her best friend without worrying about it. laughter emanated from between rosy tiers as started to flail about to the music like a fish out of water yet still managed to hit the beats. ‘ see… i’m a genius! ‘

the darkness was upon the sky, painting it gray mixed with faint color of purple. walking out of his studio, locking it behind, then pulling down the metal door kind of a thing to cover up his store, not wanting anyone to break in; locking it and then he was on his way, deciding to pay a visit to his mother and sister before heading home then.

heavy sigh passing his lips, hands shoved in his pockets, the weather crisp and windy, his neck exposed to the coldness, the wind feeling like a slap against his skin; he really should dress up more warmly or he would get sick. thankfully, his family didn’t live too far away so he would be there in ten minutes or so. when arriving to the door, he uses the code to get in, taking off his shoes, there’s music blasting loudly and loud noises coming from the living room. taking off his jacket, putting slippers on and then arriving to the living room, the sight before him making him crack a smile, huffing out softly, smile now more of a smirk. 

his sister already noticing his presence which made her smile, gunwoo quick to move a hand to press a finger against his lips so soomin wouldn’t say anything. amusement was written on his features at the sight of hana dancing like a complete fool, his eyes follow her every move and god, he wanted to laugh but still being impressed how she was hitting that perfect every move, even while reminding him of a fish. leaning against the side of the wall there with his arm. once the song came to an end, his mother walking just from the kitchen with a huge smile on her face. ‘ 아들 , you made it in time, the food is just now ready. ‘ which caused soomin suddenly burst into a fit of giggles, did her friend just made a fool out of herself again in front of her brother, oh yes she did.