Chapter 110 - Stargazing

Zeng was looking forward to tonight. It was not every day that such an opportunity would occur. Since he rarely got the chance to view a sky with stars, he was pretty excited about it. Moreover, star gazing was somewhat romantic and different from the observant space curiosity while watching stars alone. This time was going to be different… Yul would be with him, gazing at the stars, holding his hand in his larger palm.

When Zeng caught himself smiling at the thought, he slapped his own cheeks. It was not time for some unnecessary thoughts. Time to go to his job and work hard.

He was in a good mood today and sure enough, tonight was going to be special.

In the evening, as planned Zeng arrived home sooner. He had prepared quite some stuff. Light food, mattress, pillows. They will be going off on the terrace to view the stars. He won't be preparing any dinner tonight since she wasn't in the mood and so he decided to call for pizza delivery. Spicy pepperoni for himself and margherita cheese and barbeque chicken ones for Yul.

When Yul came home, Zeng hurried him to get changed. The man was surprised since he really thought they would be going somewhere else for stargazing.

"We are going on the terrace!" Zeng exclaimed, smiling brightly.

Yul hummed, not exactly getting why Zeng was so excited over the prospect of seeing stars. But whatever, Zeng was smiling. That's what mattered.

Late in the evening, they went upstairs, Zeng carrying the mattress and blankets. Yul was right on his heels carrying pillows on either side of him, a bag of snacks in one hand and pizza boxes in the other.

Since they rarely used the terrace, Zeng had already washed it clean for tonight. That told Yul how much Zeng was looking forward to it.

Upon entering the wide terrace, Zeng was welcomed with a view of the dark night sky. There were only a few stars in the dark sky that twinkled against the dark background. More were about to appear.

"Let's make the bed," Yul said from his side.

They set down everything and lit a candle because phone lights would not give them the feel of star gazing. They prepared their nest and got comfortable in it.

Zeng looked up to see a few more stars but not quite enough to call it a proper "starry" sky.

"Why are they not appearing fast?" Zeng asked, pouting as he sat up anticipating.

"Give them some time. The sky will clear up soon," Yul said, laying down beside him. "You really don't know much about this, huh."

Zeng tilted his head to look down at his boyfriend. "This what? Cosmology?"

Yul snorted, "No, Mr Scholar. About simpler stuff like weather and stargazing."

Zeng shrugged, "I was curious but never felt the active need to learn. I guess because there was no use for that kind of knowledge to me. I mean what would stargazing and surgery have in common?"

"They both start with 's'," Yul smirked, having outsmarted Zeng, who rolled his eyes at him.

"You seem to know everything about it," Zeng commented.

"I am a farmer's grandson after all," Yul said, feeling proud. He pulled Zeng by the shoulders so that he flopped down beside him.

"Hey!" Zeng protested, falling against the soft mattress.

"Patience, baby. Have some patience," the office said to the usually patient man. "Just lay down for a while. They will show up soon." Yul was confident, looking at the weather and the overall sky.

Zeng obliged, crossing his arms and tapping a finger on his elbow. He was growing impatient with every passing second.

Was the weather forecast wrong? He was starting to have his doubts.

"Why are you so insistent on watching stars anyway?" Yul asked to distract him during the waiting process.

Zeng stopped his tapping. He rubbed the tip of his nose that had gone cold and then looked to the side to face Yul. "Because as weird as it sounds, I have not seen a starry sky."

"You have never seen stars before!" Yul asked in disbelief, eyes wide in surprise, "Like never ever?"

"Yeah, never ever," Zeng explained. "We never had our own terrace. Mom-dad's home was an apartment. Most importantly, there was so much pollution that the clear sky was a rare sight."

Yul snorted at his misfortune, "As expected from a city boy."

Zeng hit him on his chest for that. He rightfully deserved it. Yul caught his hand and intertwined their fingers, making them rest on his abdomen.

"What about you? You must have seen them." Zeng asked and Yul nodded, "Our town had a regular sky with stars. But I have seen more stars in my grandpa's village, whenever I used to go there during summer vacation. I am not exaggerating when I say, it's marvellous. Like it's so beautiful. So much."

"Look at you bragging about it," Zeng pressed a finger to his boyfriend's cheek. He was slightly jealous. He wanted to see a starry sky too.

"Hey, some stars are up!" Zeng just noticed it. It was not that much but better something than nothing.

He then turned to Yul to continue their conversation. Since his boyfriend was bragging, he decided to brag too. "For your information, I have been to planetarium. I have seen stars much closer with the telescope, planets too.

Yul clicked his tongue, a playful smile on his face. "Not to brag or anything, but I have seen the Milky Way." He added for emphasis, coming closer, "With my naked eyes."

Zeng's mouth hung open in awe, "Seriously?"

"Yup," Yul nodded, satisfied to have won, "In our native village, you can see the entire broadway of stars. It's magical. I'm not even kidding."

Zeng sat up, excited like a child, "I want to go there! I want to see the stars you saw!"

Yul was more than ready to take him there.

"Sure. Let's go there someday. I will show you the entire village and the stars too. It will be fun!"

Zeng liked the sound of it. He would definitely love to do that. "Promise?"

Yul kissed his beloved's hand that he had interwitned with his own. "Promise."