GulaAren

Day 370

Alban found himself on a mattress too big for his size. When he sat up, his oversized brown pajamas slightly exposed what was hidden underneath. Hands spontaneously reached out to touch his neck and shoulders— searching for unevenness in the skin. Traces of scarlet gradually turning into purple, were left by none other than the person now occupying the connected bathroom.

Blinking his eyes, he felt that time was passing so slowly. When his feet touched the floor, Alban had no desire to stand up. He just sat quietly, on the side of the bed, not caring how messy he looked.

In his reflection on the white floor, he saw someone. He didn't know who—his grown bangs had been covering parts of his eyes—but Alban could feel someone inside there staring back at him.

That someone opened his mouth, and then spoke,

"Wake up—"

"Albie, what are you looking at?"

A pair of feet entered the floor. Ah, no. The feet were on the floor. Someone inside that floor disappeared, his existence a mere dream.

Alban raised his head. For a few seconds, he just stared at that face, but little by little, his lips creased and he smiled broadly.

"Sonny!"

The clock hands turned. Both legs found the will to stand again as Alban put his arms around Sonny's neck. The smell of shampoo, as well as the dampness all over Sonny's body, made Alban's heart in peace.

On Sonny, he depended. Like a servant always following behind a leader. No matter facts or lies that came out of his mouth, the servant would always kiss the soles of his feet while singing praises unendingly.

Maybe, that was what Sonny meant to Alban.

Sonny always took care of him. Age was not a stopping sign for Sonny not to spoil him. He led Alban towards the bathroom, step by step—"Hey, it's okay, you can stop by my house for a moment. Come on, take my hand."—slowly, very gently.

"Take off your clothes first." Sonny stepped forward and began to feel the water in the tub with his fingertips. When he turned around, Alban was still in the same position, his pajamas stuck to his body. He laughed, "You forgot how to undress?"

Alban pouted, shoulders shrugged. Then, he spread his arms. His gaze shifted to the side.

One by one, the clothes were removed from his body. Once upon a time, in a time so long ago, his face would have turned as red as a tomato from being naked in front of someone. But now, he was being led by Sonny—who was also almost naked—to the bathtub.

The water was so calm when he submerged half his body in it. Sonny sat on the outside of the tub. His hand touched the strands of Alban's hair so gently.

"Close your eyes."

Alban nodded. Sonny poured shampoo into his hands and started washing Alban's hair. The aroma of coffee invited nostalgia, and maybe, just maybe… Alban closed his eyes for a little longer than usual.

A young man running with a cup of coffee in hand. — The day their destiny threads started to form an intangible ball of yarn. 

His alarm didn’t go off!

I repeat, his alarm didn’t go off!

Alban cursed his bad luck as he carelessly put the apartment key into his sling bag. In his other hand, he held a paper cup containing the coffee he had just brewed. He was still sleepy, and because of that, he needed caffeine after staying up all night.

After struggling to tie his shoelaces, he ran towards the elevator. His apartment room was on the sixth floor, and his legs would protest him if he had to go down the dozens of stairs.

"WAIT FOR MEEE!"

Alban, dramatically, reached out his arms. The elevator door that was out of reach closed slowly, extinguishing his hope. His feet stopped. He grumbled for a moment, before the sound of a button being pressed could be heard from inside the elevator. The door slowly opened again, revealing a figure wearing glasses with a tired expression.

"You should really fix your alarm."

Alban chuckled. He entered the elevator, pressed the button for the first floor, then glanced at the person beside him. "Good morning... Uki."

Uki shook his head at Alban, who just kept muttering about getting the elevator to its destination quickly. Right after the door opened completely, Alban jumped up and ran towards the main door of the hotel at high speed. Uki shouted, “Hey! Be careful, it will spill!" he didn't listen.

The city where he lived was very lively with the hustle and bustle of its residents in the morning. Children holding their parents' hands, couples laughing at each other, and then there are the likes of Alban; corporate slaves, running to where they worked. Fortunately, the cafe where he worked was only located about four hundred meters from his apartment.

Unfortunately, when Alban was about to turn towards his cafe, a figure in blue clothes blocked him and made a violent collision with his body. The coffee, now only three-quarters of its original temperature, had time to float in the air before landing a stain on the clothes of the person in front of him.

There was a gasp from that person, and Alban himself let out a small "shit".

He hurriedly shook off his hand which was splashed with his own coffee. Before the stranger could say anything, he hurriedly opened the door. "I’m sorry! Please, come in. I’ll see if I have some spare clothes."

The two of them entered the cafe and Alban hurriedly closed the door again. He didn't change the "CLOSED" sign on the door. He didn't even open the curtain. Let him be a few minutes late. Besides, it was his own fault for not listening to Uki's advice.

“Ugh… where is it….”

Alban left the stranger and busied himself in the storage room. He rummaged through the cupboard, trying to find spare clothes that he usually stocked to anticipate the risk of spilling coffee or tea while working. He examined the cupboards for five minutes, before remembering that just three days ago, he had used his last spare clothes due to a fatal incident (the tray he was carrying was unstable, and the order he was delivering ended up dirtying his clothes).

"Sorry, apparently I don't have any spare clothes, so..."

When he came out of the storage room, his eyes widened to see the stranger's face, now not covered by his hat. There's no mistaking it, it's….

“So—?!”

“Shh. We don't want your cafe to be invaded by crazy fans, right?”

Alban automatically closed his mouth. He slowly approached the rising star.

Damn, his face is even more beautiful up close!

Feeling his brain heating up and not knowing what to say, his mouth instead said, "You're really handsome, by the way."

Sonny looked back at Alban, and was silent for a few moments, before laughing a little bit. Alban, who realized what he had just said, hurriedly tried to change the topic.

“Uhm… speaking of clothes! Sorry, I don't have any replacement. Three days ago it was used by, uh, my friend….”

Alban scratched the back of his neck while laughing awkwardly. Sonny shook his head lightly. “It's okay. It's better to have stains like this on my T-shirt and jacket. In people's minds, idols wear clean clothes. They think idols are unblemished people.”

“Uh-huh… right… so, you don't need the clothes?”

"Nah."

“Hm… yeah, actually. It's pretty easy for idols to cover up their crimes, but it's very difficult to cover up their idol aura in public."

"Yes, that’s true. They can hide a lot of things.”

Sonny smiled. Alban thought the reason was as simple as because the singer agreed with his opinion.

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Bread and butter. Chocolate milk.

The sweet aroma was not enough to dispel the fog that enveloped the mind. Sonny combed his slightly wet and messy hair very gently. After that, he left Alban at the dining table and went to his room to get ready. Alban didn't know how long Sonny had been gone, but what was certain was that he was already wearing different clothes with a distinctive black hat perched on his head.

"Then, I'm leaving." Sonny stroked his head, feeling the soft strands of hair that had been neatly styled and his bangs parted in two. “Take care of yourself, Albanyan.”

Alban nodded, his cheeks heating up at Sonny's nickname. His eyes focused on Sonny's figure until he disappeared behind the door. What remained was silence, and bread and butter and milk.

Having nothing else to do, and because Sonny must have tried hard to make him a meal, Alban slowly took a bite and swallowed the bread. It actually didn’t taste anything sort of extraordinary, but because Sonny made it, that was what made it extraordinary. Alban didn't know what date it was, but he knew it was winter. Luckily, the air conditioner in the room and the chocolate milk were enough to warm him up.

However, the floor had not received the heat transfer from the air. Alban's legs ended up shivering from the cold, and the signal was picked up by his brain as a sign that he had to move quickly from the dining table, to the dishwasher, then to the sofa. Unfortunately, Alban forgot the fact that running with plates and glasses in hand increased the risk of slipping, just as he had forgotten many other things.

A loud sound echoed in the room, and Alban found himself slumped over with shards of ceramic that were once plates and glasses nearby. He knew Sonny wouldn't be angry because he was careless. That was precisely why Sonny loved him. The problem was; there would be something else bothering him.

“You’re still as careless as ever.”

The person on the floor spoke, and Alban could see a smile showing fangs. Somehow, Alban knew that he didn't mean to mock.

Alban didn't answer. He just took a tissue and started picking up the broken pieces on the floor, being especially careful with the small ones. He thought the person had left, but suddenly, when he picked up one of the rather large shards; "You know that door hasn't been locked since 153 days ago."

“Ow!”

That was Alban's cries when his fingers accidentally gripped the shard of glass too tightly. He looked at—he really had to give that person a nickname now—the Person in the Glass with a sharp gaze, watching as several drops of blood began to drip down.

So what?

There was nothing outside waiting for him.

"There is something," said the Person in the Glass. “That cafe.”

Alban’s heart started to beat fast. He considered it for a moment, before putting the broken glass in his pocket. At a glance, he could see the person smiling widely.

With hesitant steps, he approached the door. He grabbed the doorknob, and with ease, which almost seemed to be mocking him, a cool, fresh wind greeted his face.

He knew this place. The Person in the Glass said, “Go straight. Turn right. Be careful, bicycles are passing by. Walk straight again. Huh, the hole in the road has still not been repaired. Turn right,” and Alban followed all the directions, until finally, “Stop. That’s not right. You should have turned left earlier. Well, you frequently forget your way since forever."

Alban turned around, following the street and the familiar sights. Keep going, keep going. His feet stepped on the slightly cracked sidewalk. It should be soon... soon he could see the building. He could see the flowers he had planted in pots, the lampposts that lit up the street in front of it, and maybe, he could see the purple-haired person (he forgot his name) who often stopped by his cafe to drink tea while reading beauty magazines.

His eyes widened at the place before him, and the shards of glass in his pocket became heavier. He waved his hand, stopping someone who glanced at him with an impatient face.

“Sorry, but shouldn’t there be a cafe somewhere around here?”

"Dunno. There’s been nothing here since the start, anyway."

The person walked away, leaving Alban and the broken glass behind. Even though he said that nothing was waiting for him, in fact, he still hoped for something. Just like The Person in the Glass. He took the fragment from his pocket, but there was already no one there.

In the end, all, except Sonny, would leave him. He dragged his body away, to the place he belonged to.

______________________________

"What happened to your finger?"

Alban stopped swaying his legs while sitting on the edge of the bed. He opened and closed his palm, feeling a slight pain in the part of the finger where he had the band-aid attached.

"...Sorry, I broke the plate and glass."

Sonny looked surprised. "I'm not angry. In fact, I'm worried."

"It doesn't hurt anymore, really."

"If you say so... well, let me just do this."

Sonny lifted Alban's finger, then placed a kiss on the band-aid. Alban's heart was touched, and he regretted that he had doubted his lover. Tonight, he would remain asleep in Sonny's embrace, with the bedroom lights extinguishing all the evidence he chose to ignore. He could hear Sonny humming something, and Alban was sure he was at the peak of his happiness.

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Day 1

All ended and started well. There's nothing to look back upon.