Time is fickle when you carry on with your life. Although one year may be seen as a long duration in the grand scale of things, there were only 365 days in a year. In a day, there would only be 24 hours. In an hour, there are only 60 minutes. And in a minute, there are only 60 seconds. Every second is precious in the sense that you may never know what could happen and in the blink of an eye, a year would've past.
The friendship between Sato and Ming may have lasted for two years long, however, during the minute of interaction by the fountain, everything between them had crumbled apart. One individual was slowly crumbling into dust, while the other was left behind, thoughts astray and his mind, troubled. Where did those good times go? Neither of them knew. The only thing that both of them knew was that their relationship would never be the same anymore.
...
"Bzzz...Bzzz...Bzzz...Bzzz..." Sato's phone vibrated in his pocket as he stood still unmovingly. He had been in the same position for the longest time. Only when he realized that someone was calling him, Sato blinked himself out of his stupor.
"Hello? Sato? I am at the school gate." Gray's voice came through the phone speaker soothingly. Sato hadn't recovered fully from just now, to which Gray continued on worriedly. "Hello? Are you there, Sato?"
"Ah? Oh, I'm coming out now." Sato quickly went and retrieved his backpack. He made his way to the car with a heavy heart.
When Gray realized that Sato wasn't giving off his usual vibe, he briskly got out of the car. Gently holding onto Sato's arm, he helped him into the car. Gray didn't speak out a single word during their exchange. Even when they were in the car, Gray did not ask any questions about what had happened. It was a tacit understanding that Sato would share his thoughts and problems if he wanted Gray's opinion or help. This was one of the points that Sato liked about Gray.
At first, Gray had plans to bring Sato to try out a new Michelin starred restaurant that opened in the Central shopping district. Now, he had simply instructed Potter to cancel the reservation and drove off in a new direction. Along the way, Sato realized that Gray was bringing him to a familiar place. After 20 minutes of driving, the road soon opened up to a wide expanse of blue. They had arrived at Country Z's beach.
Parking his car, the pair got out and headed down towards the beachside. The soft sand laid under their feet as they walked by the waters. The sounds of the rolling seawater were calming, allowing Sato to organize his thoughts and focus back on reality. Gray's hand comfortably wrapped around Sato's. Their arm swayed about with rhythmic pacing. It was relaxing for the both of them.
"Gray.." Sato finally spoke up and broke the silence. There was apprehension in the way he spoke, for he was worried about how Gray would react. "I.."
"You do not have to tell me yet if you are not ready." Gray turned his head to look at Sato. He gave a warm smile that melted Sato's frozen expression. It was that that allowed Sato to tell Gray what had happened.
"I met Ming today at university." Sato stopped in his footsteps.
"Oh?" Gray stopped too.
"He looked very malnourished and tired. It looked as if he had changed entirely as a person." Thinking back to his best friend, Ming looked like he was genuinely in pain. It made Sato reveal a pain expression himself when he told Gray the story. Gray did not reply and just nodded firmly.
"He was avoiding me from the very start. He did not even want to look at me in the eye. I didn't know how I had done him wrong and so, I probed..." Sato bit his lip, unable to believe that what happened next was actually his reality.
"In the end, Ming had given me a forceful kiss on my lips. And everything... Everything became clear." As he said the final line to the story, tears started rolling down his face uncontrollably. His teeth firmly bit down on his lower lip. His head faced the ground in despondency.
Sato's hand that was holding onto Gray's hand was trembling slightly. Sato's free hand was clenched tightly too. Sato didn't exactly know what to do or say after that. He stood by the rolling waters, awaiting for Gray to say something back. What came after was not what Sato was expecting.
"Mmm..." Gray nodded and grunted understandingly. Sato looked up at his boyfriend that was blurry from his tears. With a smooth movement, Gray pulled Sato into his embrace. This was what Sato needed the most right now. A hug from Gray. An acknowledgment from his loved one. A consoling moment. Sato bawled out crying his pent up emotions.
He was sorry that the feelings from Ming could not be reciprocated. It would never come true. His heart already belonged to Gray and that was something that would never change. Even if he would be born in another life with Gray, he would still choose Gray. After all, he was truly his soul mate and to Sato, Ming was his best friend. And although Gray was his loved one, Ming was also someone he had treated as his brother for life. He was someone that he held with great importance too. If need be, he would give his life for his brother too.
Knowing that the exchange from before may be the last and final time he and Ming would ever interact, it caused great pain to Sato's heart. The warm and consoling embrace from his boyfriend was like a bed for him to rest his tired heart on.
Badump, badump. The heart, just like time, is so fickle and fragile. All that Sato could hope for was for time to heal the deep wounds that were drove into him today.