CH 45

By the time Yul finished eating, the sun had completely disappeared. The sky was covered with a dark veil, and the light on the ground was exceptionally bright.

Yul sat on Mikael’s shoulder and tried to calm his excited chest. His heart was beating like a drum. Yul took a deep breath, saying ‘huhahuha’ to calm down his rapid breathing.

“Mikael, it’s the first time I’ve seen full scale fireworks like this.”

There was a thrill that could not be hidden in the whisper in Mikael’s ear. Mikael looked only straight ahead and quietly raised the corners of his mouth.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I’ve gone to see it during the festival, but it was hard to see because of the people. I still remember how pretty it was. Since it is a fireworks display hosted by the imperial family, this must be more splendid, right?”

“I suppose so. I don’t know what kind of fireworks you’ve seen.”

Mikael responded casually, but he was reassured that it was a good thing to bring him along as he looked at Yuri with an excited expression.

It was a fireworks display that Mikael was forced to watch every year by Andrei. It wasn’t that it wasn’t pretty, but he just thought it was nice to look at, but he wasn’t particularly impressed.

However, when he was watching Yuri so excited from the side, he was looking forward to the fireworks he had seen many times before.

“It’s about time now.”

Mikael glanced at the pocket watch to check the time. The most grandiose fireworks display in the Empire was about to begin.

At his words, Yul swallowed dryly. The sound was small enough to be insignificant, but since Yul was sitting on Mikael’s shoulder, the sound was exceptionally loud.

Anyway, the corners of Mikael’s mouth curled up involuntarily, thinking that this little thing was doing everything.

That was the moment.

Boom, boom! Bang! Pop!

With a huge roar, colorful fireworks broke through the black night sky and flew up. Fireworks exploded in all directions, embroidering colorful flowers in the huge night sky. Green, yellow, red, blue, purple, pink. Flames of various colors rose, and in the process, the color changed.

“Wow…”

It was truly spectacular. Yul was mesmerized by the beautiful sight and let out an exclamation. He had been expecting it, but it was so beautiful that it couldn’t be compared to any fireworks he had ever seen.

It was on a different level from the fireworks he saw by being crushed by crowds or locked in a lab room and barely seeing them through the window. The flames seen from the high tower, where nothing was in sight, shimmered as if they could be touched.

“Pretty…”

Yul muttered to himself. Those words flew into Mikael’s ears and stuck.

Mikael slightly turned his head to look at Yuri. Each time the fireworks exploded, Yuri’s colors also seemed to change slightly. However, the only thing that didn’t change was that the plump cheeks were about to explode. It was so funny that he had to try hard to keep the laughter from bursting out.

“Mikael, I have never seen anything so pretty. Wow, this is crazy. Really.”

“You seem to like this.”

“I know, right. I didn’t know, but I must have liked things like this.”

To Mikael’s words, Yul replied in a small voice. Even then, as if it was not enough, he continued to talk with his large eyes fixed on the night sky as if bewitched.

“You know, Mikael.”

“What.”

“It was just a thought. Maybe this is what life is like?”

“What?”

While watching the fireworks, Mikael was quite taken aback by his stream of consciousness suddenly discussing life.

However, Yul, who was immersed in the fireworks, was not in the mood to care about how Mikael was feeling. The fireworks were so ecstatic, and Yul was deeply intoxicated with the emotion.

“It’s about finding something you like.”

“…”

“Life is like finding something you like little by little. That’s why I fill them in one by one. My life, and what I like.”

Mikael didn’t say anything. At first he wondered if this was nonsense, but when he heard Yuri’s words, he thought it was plausible. Even so, he also felt awkward because he had never thought of it like this before.

“I didn’t know I liked fireworks so much. But today, I realized that I was a person who really liked fireworks. So, if I go to see fireworks in the future, I will be very excited and happy.”

Yuri chattered excitedly. There was joy that could not be hidden in the excited voice.

“So the more you find something you like, the more you fill your life with it, the happier you will be. What do you think, Mikael?”

At his question, Mikael moved his lips for a moment. It seemed that he was right. He had never thought of it that way, but the more he thought about it, the more plausible it was.

He had never thought about finding something he liked in his life. Therefore, of course, he never thought of filling his life with it.

However, after hearing Yuri’s words, he fully sympathized with him.

If so, what does he like? What can he fill his life with to be happy?

While he was immersed in worries alone, Yuri, who was smiling brightly as if his cheeks were bursting, entered his vision. It would be funny to see a side profile where he couldn’t see his mouth because of the cheek fat, but it just looked cute.

“Life is about finding what you love…”

Mikael repeated what Yuri had said. Then, Yuri shifted his gaze from staring at the night sky to him.

“Right? Does that sound right?”

“… Right.”

“See, I told you so. Kk, I’m great. I’m proficient in life and also quite cool.”

Watching Yuri giggle mischievously, Mikael couldn’t laugh along. No, he didn’t even think to laugh. He was just busy capturing each and every aspect of Yuri with his own eyes.

At the same time, his words kept echoing in his head.

‘Life is about finding what you like.’

His heart was pounding. It was the first time he felt his heart beat like this. There was a strange fever rising, and he also felt a strange tickle in his chest. Even in the midst of that, Mikael’s eyes contained only Yuri.

The things I like, the things I found to like…

“Yuri.”

Mikael called his name softly. Then Yuri tilted his head and looked at Mikael.

“Why?”

“I think I found it too.”

“What? Oh, something you like?”

""

“… Yes.”

“Great, great. What is it? Fireworks?”

Mikael lightly extended his lips instead of answering the bright question. With a light smile, Yuri said ‘I knew it! It’s fireworks!” but he didn’t correct him. Instead, he gently stroked his round head.

“Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”

“I can’t help it.”

“Am I some sort of shrimp cracker? Your hands are itchy?”

“What is that?”

“It’s something. A snack that’s the staple of seagulls.”

Mikael sometimes couldn’t understand what Yuri was saying. He could have been frustrated, but he was just curious. Instead of asking more questions, Mikael smiled lightly.

After he admitted that he liked Yuri, he felt relieved.

When did it start? When he kept looking at him? Or since he got excited about it? He didn’t know. Nevertheless, he knew for sure that this feeling didn’t just come out of nowhere.

Maybe he didn’t want to admit it. That he liked this little stuffed toy, a suspicious guy whose identity he didn’t know. Because it’s hard to like Yuri who made him feel uneasy because he didn’t know when he might leave. Maybe that’s why he had been trying hard to pretend otherwise.

But now he wanted to admit it. Because life is about finding what you love. Because you can be happy only when you fill it with what you like.

He liked Yuri. He wanted to fill his life with Yuri.

Eat together, sleep together. Going to the market, and sometimes watching fireworks together like this. He wanted to build up memories with the person he liked little by little.

“Yuri.”

“Yes?”

He didn’t say anything to Yuri, who opened his eyes in surprise at his call. He just liked this moment even though his eyes were getting sharper and sharper because of his silent behavior.

Pop! Pow, bang! Boom, boom!

Countless fireworks were still going off.

It was a night that seemed like fireworks in full bloom like blossoms would spill into his heart at any moment.

t/n: hehe so cheesy~