"Sir? Forgive me for this but, I thought you hated this kind of style?"

Sasin looks up from his food. He sees Aries staring at his letterman jacket in curiosity. Returning his focus back to his meal, the prodigy chuckles softly. "I thought so, too."

"Also, the air around you changed drastically, Sir. Did you notice?"

"Not really."

"Do you like him?"

Sasin pauses for a moment before craning his neck up to throw him callous look. "This is why I fired you."

Aries' back straightens. "I'm sorry, Sir."

He passively accepts the apology then gestures to take the tray away. As he waits for Aries to return, he unlocks his phone and stared at the last message he received from Ruan. Unexpectedly, his body felt weird.

"This can't wait?" he murmurs, scoffing afterwards.

When he scanned his surroundings, he realizes it's not just him. His hunch was confirmed when the pilot relayed to the flight crew, "Easy victor."

"Sir," a calm Aries approached him despite the clattering airplane and the plane crash warning. He hands to him his face mask and vest as he sat on the seat across the prodigy, securing his seatbelt. "Wear this."

Sasin was about to take it when he saw that he's not wearing his. "Where's yours?"

"I gave it to a passenger," he simply answers. "Be alert, Sir. Your exit will be at-"

"Take this," the businessman commanded, shoving the vest to him.

Aries eyes widened. Hands shaking, he tries to hand back the vest to him. "I-I can't do that, Sir," he stuttered.

The plane shook.

Sasin didn't miss the tear on the other's cheek when he looked around. A comforting grin took over his trembling lips. Refusing the vest, he says "It'll be over soon."

"Brace, brace, brace!" The pilot announces. "Bend down! Hold your knees! Brace..."

After making sure that his ex-P.A. did as the pilot instructed, he tries to do it, too. But his time came sooner than expected when the pilot's voice started to drown in his head as his chest began to constrict.

Tight.

Tighter.

Sasin chuckles bitterly at the thought of dying now when he can clearly remember his ex-suitor's hopeful face that day in the airport.

What if I actually arrived safely? Will you tell me you missed me?

He couldn't breathe, the air pressure hurts his lungs.

Will you hug me tight? Will you ask me to be with you until the end?

He's dying before his death, yet all he's thinking about is him.

Haa... It hurts.

There's always someone who's lived awfully long in the future, and someone who couldn't help but stay in the past.

Sasin is the former.

Never in his life did Sasin abandon the fate of the future. From the very beginning, his plans are laid out like a thorough blueprint of a high-rise building. He treated this major step as a lifeline not just of his career, but also of his sanity.

His whole life, planning has never been the problem. He's a genius - a business prodigy, he always knew how to deal with every doubt, every setback. But him, dying, was never a part of it, that's why he was at a loss after receiving the news that he's at death's door.

Thankfully, a certain someone had let him live the life he never knew he always wanted.

And now that everything's coming to an end...

"Brace for impact."

They say that when you're dying, your entire life will flash right before your eyes. Sasin finally believes that. After all, in that short, film roll-like transition of his whole existence, all he saw was the unrivaled man he never had.

He touches the ring pendant of his necklace.

Thank you, Ruan.

Ruan's eyes shoot open.

Half awake, he sets his eyes on the balcony door of his room, completely failing to remember about the digital clock next to his bed. He takes note that it's still dark before he tries to go back to sleep, caressing the finally done, soft bound thesis under his pillow.

He's exhausted. For the past two semesters, he had been busy juggling his part-time job and his studies. As a result, his resting and sleeping schedule was thinned out. The last two weeks were the worst, and he was practically at his wits end as he crammed his paper after he learned that his friends from the same program completed theirs before the the final reminders.

Now that the thing that had been ruining his life for nine months is buttoned up, he just wants to sleep forever.

But, needless to say, he can't.

Actually, he can, if not for a certain, curious cat shaking the daylights out of him.

"Wake up, I have to ask you something."

"Stop..." Ruan groaned.

The inquisitive perpetrator shakes him harder, causing Ruan to forcibly open his eyes to violently glare at him. When the former saw that he's awake, he takes a step back.

"I'm seriously going to punch you next time," Ruan hissed, not giving heed even after recognizing his clothes on the other.

The perpetrator blatantly ignores his threat then lifts the soft bound Ruan was hugging last night. "I checked your paper. Did you cram it?"

"Obviously."

"Well, it's not bad."

"I'm not asking for your opinion."

"Oh well," the guy walked towards the door, unbothered, "Weren't you supposed to submit this today at exactly ten o'clock in the morning?"

Wee-woo. Ruan rises from the comforts of his bed. "Sh*t."

After rushing his bath and breakfast, Ruan dozily went down the parking area at the basement. Entering his car, he's no longer surprised to see the perpetrator already sitting prettily at the passenger seat.

"Let's go."

"I'm just submitting my paper."

The perpetrator earlier gasped. "Don't tell me you forgot that, too?"

"Forgot what?"

"The birthday celebration."

Wee-woo. Massaging his temples, he heaves a sigh. What's happening to me?

After submitting his paper, they drove straight to a park garden which is the venue of the birthday celebration. Someone's already waiting for them when they arrived.

"Morning, President Lee," Ruan greeted, followed by his companion. The president greets back with friendly smile plastered on his face.

Ruan notices the table on his right. It's filled with food that he likes, except the center of it all. He points at the colorful stack in the middle. "Is that my masterpiece, President?"

"Yup, I thought you wouldn't recognize since it kind of deformed in two days," President Lee laughs while gesturing the others to sit at the table. The two young men follows obediently.

"Still looks like a rainbow crepe cake to me."

The president coughs. "How about we start by singing happy birthday?"

"Not with spirit board?"

President Lee cackles at this while Ruan's poker face stays.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you..." Ruan's mind flies as they sang and clapped. Looking at the smiling faces in front of him, he wonders why he can't be just like them.

"Happy birthday, happy birthday Sasin."

"Aries, why don't you blow the candle?" The president suggested. Ruan looks at him.

"Sure," Aries replied and started leaning in.

With tensed fist, Ruan watched the guy inhale before pouting his lips.

No.

His eyes hardened.

No. That's supposed to be Sasin's-

Foo.

"Time to dig in!"

Ruan stands up, startling the others. He looks at them grimly. "I forgot something in the car, so I'll go get it first. Excuse me," he informed but went to the empty smoking area instead to light a cigarette. Taking a drag, he easily gets absorb in his thoughts.

Thank you, Ruan.

He stopped on his tracks after suddenly remembering the dream he had earlier.

It was Sasin, smiling at him.

"I said, laugh right now!"

Sluggishly, he takes his phone from his coat as he puffs a smoke. He turns it on, and his hunch was right.

It's the same smile Sasin had back then. Ruan's grasp on his phone clamped.

"Too vivid," he murmurs. It was just a smirk at first, but he ended up chuckling all the while bringing his blurry gaze up at the grey skies above him.

He feels the cold piece of metal on his throbbing chest as he muttered under his breath, "How can I miss someone as unforgivable as you?"

END

Amari's Note: Oh, you came this far? Thank you for reading until the end! Don't forget to leave comments. I accept any and all feedbacks. Lovelots! xx