The moon shone the brightest on a breezy summer night, casting the silver grace all over the ocean that loomed beneath the star-studded sky. The waves kissed the rocky shore roughly and the water dribbled between the rocks sending a mellow sound to the ears, the sand behind the rocky border was as soft as silk but gritty enough to set off a ticklish feeling to your ***** feet.

The C-shaped coast displayed the two ends of the city; one side had a dockyard that glistened with sharp yellow lights in addition to the infamous lighthouse which was a part of the town spirit, that welcomed and directed the floating vessels home and on the other side; resorts were scarcely scattered. The road that stretched along the curve was bustling with traffic. All in all, it was a set ready to make things happen for those who wished for an adventure in the eerie night.

A man in his early-twenties sat on an unlikely odd-shaped rock. He sat there resting one leg horizontally and the other leg pulled to his abdomen to support his right elbow. He stared far into the horizon, his bangs swayed over his forehead covering his eyes. The faint silver light brought about his slender features hidden beneath the thin t-shirt with horizontal thick light blue stripes and a seaweed coloured skin fit chinos, Haruto guessed the colour. At a glance, you would mistake him for a prince with a cloak of mystery surrounding him. This is what Haruto thought to himself when he first laid his eyes on Ayumu.

Haruto was taken in completely by this stranger and looking at him made him feel like he was in a dream and everything around felt lucid, befitting the features of the young stranger at a strange place where most of the crowd wouldn't go because of the small old cemetery nearby. Though sometimes the visitors did tour this part of the coast to feel the soft sands beyond the rocky area, no one hardly bothered to walk this far where there weren't any entertainment or food stalls. Haruto was wondering if he had come across a ghost but it didn't seem like it. There was a tinge of sadness lingering around the air around this stranger, especially the way he gripped his chest pulling his long-sleeved shirt tightly into his fist.

Haruto called out to him hesitantly "Hey! It's dangerous over there, get off the rock!" The stranger didn't move a muscle. Haruto called out to him again, a little louder the second time but was only met with silence. Haruto didn't want to pry over a stranger's business; however, he had an unknown urge to interfere given the other's demeanour, so he walked towards Ayumu and carefully climbed the rocky path to where the stranger was sitting and he tapped hesitantly on Ayumu's shoulder, Haruto could tell that the stranger shivered slightly under the wind, it was one of those days when the soothing wind eased the tiredness from sweaty summer days.

Startled by the sudden touch, Ayumu turned around to look at the person tapping on his shoulder. When Ayumu turned around, the tears followed the trail of those which had already left his cheeks, his puffed eyes still had a radiant shine in them and his face had the sharp features of a magazine model. His soft brown locks were messed up in a manner as though they were intentionally arranged by a hairdresser that beautifully complemented the thick eyebrows and the doe shaped brown eyes. His complexion was pale yet had a slight touch of pink and his nose was red due to all the crying, to simply put, Haruto found a Damoiseau in distress. When Ayumu looked at Haruto, time slowed down for the latter and he wanted to scrupulously observe the stranger who stirred some unknown feeling within him. Haruto, a young man in his early twenties, wore black cotton crop pants reaching his knees, a baggy linen brick red shirt covering a thin white-shirt along with a small colourful beaded necklace dangling on his wide chest.

"Ar-, are you ok? He questioned, searching for a tissue. Haruto never carried tissues in his pocket but he was unconsciously digging the pockets of his pants in an attempt to find them from his previous encounter at a hot dog stall.

The stranger spoke while instantly wiping his eyes and hiding his embarrassment he said: "I'm ok and I'm sorry, I'm not supposed to stay here after the authorized hours, am in trouble?" Ayumu asked, scrunching his nose.

Haruto was flustered for a moment, just for a second, he felt his chest tighten and then back to its relaxed state when Ayumu looked away dusting his pants and adjusting his clothes.

"Umm no, I happened to take a walk while looking at the sunset and I decided to walk for a while, my friends are waiting at that resort." Haruto pointed towards a nearby resort. "By the way, isn't it dangerous sitting here by yourself? You might get mobbed or bullied by a bad crowd. I called out to you but you were lost in a world of your own."

Haruto and Ayumu descended the rock and Ayumu said he would show Haruto a shortcut towards the road as it was better than walking all alone.

"Ah, I was just thinking about something that happened at work. Thanks for your concern and it's generous of you to walk me to the road." Ayumu matched his pace with that of Haruto's as he was pacing slowly. "I was just about to leave anyway, I just.." Ayumu stopped abruptly.

Haruto knew that this guy was lying and he wouldn't dig into the troubles of a man he had just met so he went along with whatever the other had to say and listened attentively. "Oh, I see. I hope that it settles down soon, don't worry about it too much".

"Thank you for your kind words," said Ayumu and he smiled to himself and the rest of the way they kept to themselves. They walked towards the small incline headed towards the road leaving behind the sandy beach. When they reached the top people and bustling noises were waiting to break their silence.

Ayumu gently bowed and before he called for a cab he moved his soft lips to say "That outfit looks good on you. Have a good day." and hurried off into the cab.

Haruto whispered under his breath and sighed 'Says you, aren't you the handsome one ?!' He covered his ears to hide a faint blush and rephrased his words. 'More like-, Cute.'

Haruto checked his phone only to find an array of missed calls and messages from his friends. He dialled Ikku, who immediately answered Haruto's call "Yo man, Where are you?! You disappeared on us! Your bathroom break is stretching too long. You didn't answer any of my calls."

"Ikku, shut up! Don't yell over the phone!! I'm fine, I just switched it to silent mode. I'm taking a walk."

"By yourself?! Fine," Ikku groaned. "Come over soon. We are waiting for you at the resort!"

"Ah yes, I'll be there."

Haruto looked at the glittering sea, he closed his eyes to feel the naughty wind swaying his hair. Ayumu's pleading, the helpless face came to his mind. 'He looked so shaken up. He looked like he was desperate for someone to hold him......hmmm.'

Haruto thought it was futile to dwell over this strange feeling, he shook his head and headed towards the resort. Haru was hummed to the tune of I'll Be by Edwin McCain and smiled.

KOI NO YOKAN: The extraordinary sense upon first meeting someone, that you will one day fall in love.

'I feel like I'm lacking some spark.'

Haruto slowly made his way to the entrance of the resort where his friends were ready to leave. It was a lively group of three young men and two women who appeared to be college students dressed in their casuals. As soon as Haruto appeared in front of them, a girl with a light peach-coloured coat with huge white buttons and white jeans stepped forward, her black long locks falling over her shoulders ran towards him tugging his right arm in hers and pressing her chest against his strong arm. You could sense a sort of pride in her eyes as she smiled at her friends as if she had found her lost toy. Haruto maintained a neutral expression.

The girl standing by his side was Ichimura Takumi. Haruto said he would go to the resort with her on a whim as his friends were being pushy during the last weekend. Furuya Haruto was in his third year of Engineering Bachelor's, the sharp jawline and the raven-black eyes made him appear slightly mature for his age which added to his charm.

Haruto sighed at the sight of his bickering friends. One thing that made Haruto content these days was working out in the gym or going out for a run in the morning and eating homemade meals Ikku; Sakurai Itsuki, cooked for him. Haruto and Ikku had been roommates and classmates since the first year and were inseparable since the bond between them had formed even before they knew it. Haruto and Ikku clicked instantly, it was as though they have been friends for a long time.

"Haru-Kun, where did you run off too, I was worried," she said in a soft tone in an attempt to make Haruto swoon over her bashfulness. Takumi was an extremely beautiful woman with a touch of wickedness that could scoop you into her world with just a look. The party stared at them as they attracted quite the attention of the surrounding crowd. Ikku noticed that Haruto was trying to overlook her ability to impose herself on him and keep a calm expression.

"Haru, how about we head home, for now, it's quite late already and you promised to help me with my assignment," Ikku said. Haruto looked at Takumi and replied "Sorry for worrying you guys, I just wandered off." eyeing the group apologetically.

Takumi was taken back when Haruto refused her charms but she knew more than that to show her surprised look, so she kept her cool.

The group agreed to meet up in college and dispersed. While they walked to the station Ikku kept stealing glances at his tall friend. Even after they boarded the train, though they kept to themselves due to the tiredness, Ikku wanted to talk about Takumi.

Haruto closed his eyes, placed his head on the metal support next to him looking desolate. Ikku wondered how he kept his balance with all the jolting.

"Haruto, that girl definitely likes you, it was obvious how she was fawning all over you, why don't you give her a chance? It would be a waste to let go of such beauty.'

"Ikku, I'm not denying a relationship, I'm unable to imagine being all lovey-dovey with her, I feel placid. I hardly know anything about her, sure she is beautiful but I'm not attracted to her emotionally and so far I have dated only on a whim."

"Yea, two of them  didn't last longer than two months, tops."

Haruto continued "I always tell them that I would like to wait before I give it a name, I reluctantly agree to their confessions but then I realize we're not in sync. Anyways, all they ever wanted to do was flash around their boyfriend to their peers, it was mostly physical, none of them had my heart skipping or made me feel giddy." A sullen look spread over his face as he tried to think about the past happenings.

"Yes yes, all of them you sent crying, came complaining to me." Ikku sighed heavily. "Give them a chance. Are you sure you are not trying to push the person away even before they get to know you?" Ikku continued, crossing his arms while looking at Haruto.

Ikku was too tired to lecture his friend on dating but he was worried about the poor girl who would soon get her heartbroken. Despite being told off by Haruto the first time she confessed, she persisted in pursuing him. Haruto seemed more dazed than usual.

"Anyway, I met a strange guy today, he might have been a fashion model or something, his features were high definition and I'm guessing he didn't have any makeup on him, I was intrigued." He shifted and rested his head on Ikku's shoulders.

"Ahh, that's rare, someone who grabbed your attention must be stunning, furthermore a guy? Interesting. You.." Ikku said in a flat tone mocking him "Are you sure that wasn't an alien?"

Haruto was sound asleep.

"Tch, this guy! So carefree, I'll not wake him up at our stop." Ikku took his earphones from his bag, plugged them into his ears and started browsing through his Instagram page.

Ayumu came back to his room, left his coat on the rack, placed his wallet inside a drawer next to the bed and changed into grey pyjamas. Ayumu was extremely tired and dozed off almost immediately when the stranger's concerned face flashed across his mind, he felt a familiar pain seep into his chest, however; he brushed it off and let the tiredness take him to the sleep world.

Haruto was a simple guy. He got into the university through a scholarship, his academics seemed to be going well, he was good at sports, he used to practice kendo but didn't pay much attention to it after middle school, yet he could still kick some ***. He had a perfect body with hard washboard abs, the sharp short bangs over his forehead almost touching his eyebrows. He was overall a dreamy guy with deep black eyes and upon a closer look though he looked slightly mature for his age. Haruto did harbour his inner child, also, there were things that only a select few knew about his family.

Haruto was adored by his close group of friends. He would laugh with them and enjoy his youth yet when no one's looking at him he would be lost in thought in a world of his own, dazing and daydreaming about food and oceans, sometimes feeling empty for lacking the courage to share his feelings with anyone else, there was Ikku, yes, who he shared his honest feelings with but he didn't want to trouble Ikku more than he already did with all his crazy antics. He knew very well that Ikku was very patient with Haruto's moods. For Haruto, Ikku was a friend that comes once in a while, like Halley's comet. Haruto wanted to be grateful for everything he had right now but something wouldn't add up, he couldn't feel it, it bothered him now and then, he thought of it as simply a phase of growing up which would soon pass.

Haruto was swiping through his playlist whilst clinging on to the handles for support inside the metro coach flooded with people. He noticed a man from the corner of his eye whose height came to his ear lobule level, scooch next to him when the train took a halt, desperately trying to find his footing. The train took a sharp turn that abruptly pushed the passenger in the direction of the turn and pinned Haruto to the cold metal wall with the leaner man being crushed into his arms forcefully. Haruto was about to push him off, and the lean man who was being held in Haruto's arm was trying to free himself too. Haruto looked at his neck and noticed the slender neck with brown strands of hair sticking to his sideburns and the neck, a 'koi fish' shaped tiny birthmark hidden inconspicuously beneath the strands of hair. When he slowly realized the face of the man in front of him a slight blush passed under his cheeks. He was trying to make sure if his heart skipped a beat. It was the stranger he had met a few days ago on the beach. Ayumu noticed that Haruto was already looking at him by the time he met Haruto's eyes.

"Umm... sorry, I didn't mean to crash into you" Ayumu bowed his head apologetically. He found his footing again and was standing steadily next to Haruto.

Haruto let Ayumu switch places with him allowing him to stand next to a pole to support himself.

"Ah, thank you, you didn't have to though..."

Haruto said in a quiet tone that it wasn't much of a deed and that he doesn't need to thank the taller man. Ayumu could hear the faint sound of music from Haruto's headset. "I like Super Junior too," said Ayumu and smiled faintly.

Haruto was rather surprised at the stranger's sudden declaration. An unknown shrill passed through Haruto's chest. He didn't know then that it was just the beginning. Also, he had a fetish for long necks but he never knew he would take a liking to a guy's nape. He laughed at himself inside.

'Oh boy.'

Ayumu wasn't expecting any response and he was already gazing outside the window looking at the streak of lights and the landscape that went past them in a flash yet he kept his gaze steady as if he were searching something. He leaned into the wall behind him and looked dazed enough to Haruto.

Haruto was captured by this stranger's demeanour and something about him drew his attention, it was the cold look on his face, the face you hide when you are falling apart inside but hide it deep within you to get by through everyday life, however; it shows up unexpectedly when you're doing minor tasks, its weight only to go unnoticed. Haruto wondered why he kept making this face, and why he is so bothered by that expression.

'Maybe I'm reading too much into this situation.' He advised himself.

He wanted to blame his feelings on the OneRepublic song- 'If I lose Myself'- playing on his phone, though he could hear it only faintly.

"Yeah, I like SJ... Also ONE OK ROCK and Flow," Haruto had a long list of artists he listened to, as long as he could enjoy the beat and the feeling carried by the music, the language didn't bother him. He said this while scratching his cheek with his index finger in a typical embarrassed way while slightly looking away for a second and then bringing his eyes back to look at the shorter man to check if he had heard him well enough to respond.

Ayumu diverted his gaze towards Haruto and smiled and answered cheerfully letting go of that cold look. "Is that so?! I also listened to ONE OK ROCK and I loved 'Ikijibiki', also 'One Way Ticket' is my favourite. And Flow is amazing!" Ayumu smiled with a natural blush that made Haruto's heart tremble for the third time. Haruto had a lot of friends who were refined, handsome men and fun to hang out with, and some of them had captivating personalities; however, he couldn't recollect if any of them had this pretty captivating aura around them. Haruto was curious about the mark on Ayumu's neck, it was slightly under his ear and his hair covered it as if to keep it hidden from the world unless looked at closely.

"Yeah! Hahaha, You seem well, I was worried over nothing," said Haru.

"Eh?! Sorry I-- I don't understand" Ayumu asked him with a confused face and raised an eyebrow.

"No, it's nothing." Haru chuckled. "I'm Furuya Haruto, nice meeting you." Haru beamed.

"I'm Ashida Ayumu, nice meeting you too." While shifting the bags from one hand to another Ayumu moved the conversation further. "Haruto-san, So you are a university student? Waseda university?" continued Ayumu learning back a little.

"I'm surprised that you could tell in the first look, people say that I look a little old for my age. Rather mature." Haruto seriously thought about it while rubbing his chin.

Ayumu covered his lips with his fair slender fingers over his slightly parted moistened pink lips, that were enveloped by the long sleeves of his black coat, bringing out the contrast quite well. "Ah, I understand why would people assume that..." He glanced at Haruto and checked out his handsome features, he couldn't downright say that Haruto was handsome, people are so sensitive these days that they get offended over a compliment because it came out all of a sudden and generalization is not such a good idea.

"Also" gestured Ayumu "You're wearing your university's jersey." He removed those fingers away from his lips exposing his smile.

"Eh?" Haruto checked himself absent-mindedly adjusting his back-pack hanging over his right shoulder "Yup, you are right! I belong to Waseda University, Creative Science and Engineering department!" A teensy tiny bit of pride ran over his face with his chest puffing up which disappeared almost immediately. "Ayumu san... Are you a University student too? First-year? Designing?"

"Me? Oh no, I have to stop you there, I'm elder to you." A wave of embarrassment passed over Ayumu, he was the shy type and never the one to boast over his looks but he was grateful for what he had been blessed with. Ayumu continued in a low tone "I am a university student alright, pursuing my Master's in Management studies. Though I--" Ayumu paused before he finished his sentence.

'I don't have to necessarily tell him that I took a year off... I got carried away because of his demanding eyes.'

There it was, the distant look back on his face while he answered about himself.

Haruto wasn't shocked or taken by surprise when Ayumu said that he was older than him, he came to terms with it because some individuals had those good genes engineered in them and there were a few in his circle of friends rather it was becoming a trend with people striving to look younger than they are due to the disjoint beliefs in the society over perfectionism, not that Haruto saw anything wrong with it, we can work on ourselves if we want to as long we kept our obsessions in check.

Haruto nodded his head in agreement to self. "I am a junior majoring in Mechanical Engineering, so that makes me a year younger than you in age, right?" Ayumu hesitated before nodding his head in acknowledgement which didn't go unnoticed by Haru. But Haru didn't push it further for one thing he understood was that the person beside him was a man of many mysteries.

"Ashida san, you look young for your age, just the opposite to me I guess" in a sincere tone. Meanwhile, the electronic toned announcement was made inside the cabin announcing the upcoming station in two minutes; the announcement was displayed and made audible when the station was nearby giving the passengers enough time to settle themselves to leave the train.

Ayumu looked at the display and checked for his stop, it was almost there, he looked back at Haruto to answer his query "You see I went to work at my granddad's farm for a while and interned in marketing... well to be precise, for a year. Now, I'm part-timing and studying so I am actually two years senior to you. Anyways, my stop's here and I need to go. Nice meeting you, good luck with your university." He smiled cheekily and bowed slightly indicating that he must end the conversation for now.

"You too Ashida san, good night." Haruto bowed his head similarly in response.

Haruto realized that he had to move aside to make space for Ayumu to move ahead. Ayumu made his way through the crowd surrounding him as the people automatically made space for the passengers getting off at the next stop. Ayumu thanked his stars for the civil travellers this time because sometimes the rush was so bad that there isn't any place to move around and you end up missing your stop.

Haruto could smell chocolate faintly mixed in with the sweet scent of Ayumu's sweat. It wasn't a strong smell, just a passer-by scent that hits you once and then withers away.

Ayumu turned around and waved and disappeared after the doors opened. Haruto kept his eyes on him as long as he could, then he carefully plugged his earphones and browsed through his playlist as 'For You' by SJ continued. Haruto felt a little lonely in his heart and carried on with the night.

"Is it not so much of a coincidence that you live just two stops away from me, stranger? Nope. Ashida Ayumu san." Haruto whispered under his breath. "Will a chance meeting repeat itself? Probably not."

 Yúyīn: The remnant of sound that stays in the ears after the sound has stopped.