They all told him that it was rubbish. Ten-year-old Jongin had seen something no one else has seen before and no one believes him.

On his tenth birthday, Jongin spied something shimmering outside his kitchen window when he was attempting to blow out the candles on his birthday cake. Gold, silver, and copper shone in his eyes and all he could think was fire. Such beautiful fire that he needed to see again. Iris’ of copper and gold stared at him through the small glass of the window and the next minute, vanished.

He told his best friend, but Sehun laughed at it like Jongin told him the best joke of the century. ‘A dragon Jongin?! You must be joking. No dragons exist in the twenty first century.’ Sehun continued shuffling his Pokémon cards splitting the deck in half for himself and the other half for Jongin. Jongin pursed his lips grabbing a hold of his deck. One day. One day he will show them all that this dragon does exist.

He told his mother some weeks later, while he was helping her wash the dishes, he took a plate from the sink, dried it, and sat it in the cupboard.

‘Silly Jonginnie, you know dragons don’t exist. Not in this life time at least.’ Was her reply. Jongin wanted to scream. He saw it! Those scales that were twice the size of his hand, body three times the size of their house. How could they not see it? ‘They could have existed, Jongin. It could be a spirit from one that existed from long ago.’ Bull. Jongin knows what he saw. He knows his mom is trying to lighten the situation, not make it seem like he has his head in the clouds.

If his father were here, he would have believed Jongin. He did when Jongin was younger. There was a time when Jongin would think he saw magical creatures, which was true, he saw faeries, little critters that didn’t naturally belong in their world. And he loved it. His father would ask him where the orc was today, or if the faeries have given him small gifts-like they had before. They would leave small trinkets and goodies on the nightstand next to his big boy bed and Jongin would preen with joy. He’d show them to Sehun, exclaiming that something magical has happened. Sehun would brush him off, head to buried into the mountainous decks of Pokémon and Yu-Gi Oh cards that would suddenly accumulate through-out the day.

Jongin missed his father so. The four by six picture frame sitting on his bed side table would remind him that his father was in the picture, and they visit him often, just like Jongin is going to visit him today.

‘Umma! I’m going out to see Appa today!’ he calls from the foyer.

‘Be careful Nini! It’s getting dark, take a flashlight.’ Jongin rummages through the pantry next to the front door in search of a flashlight. He grabs an extra coat as well, knowing that the winter chill can break through his sweater.

The colder weather his harsh on Jongin’s skin, even if his father lays in the wood behind the house, the wind ripped through his three layers of clothing and leaves his legs to bear the shaking in his bones. Fifty paces from the house. That’s what mother always told them. His sisters never visited their father like Jongin does, not to say they didn’t love their father. Jongin has always had a closer connection with his father than they have.

Sitting on the damp ground, Jongin bows deeply to the headstone in front of him, illuminated by the flashlight that Jongin stuck in the ground. ‘Hi Appa. I came to see you today because well…I’m having trouble. I saw a dragon on my birthday. I’m sure you saw it like I did. But the thing is Appa, no one else believes me. Not even Umma! Sehun thinks I’m making stuff up. But it’s true. I saw it.’

The wind blows, swayed against Jongin’s petit frame and more shudders rack his body. ‘I wish they would understand like you would Appa.’ Jongin sniffed, the cold made his nose run, not the tears running down his cheeks. He feels so out of place, so put out that no one in his family would believe him that he saw something magical.

With the leaves creating a cacophonous ruckus in the back of his mind, Jongin didn’t notice the distinct sound of heavy breathing, a growl, and a chuckle. A chuckle so deep that the ground rumbled beneath his feet. It grabbed his attention, looking all around, Jongin saw no one. He felt like it was a minor earthquake. But that can’t be right. There are no earthquakes in Korea…were there? The steady breathing in the forest caught him off guard. Jongin looked around his surroundings, he felt a presence. ‘Hello?’ he hesitantly asked, he shines the flashlight in his hand around him. But no one was there. Deep breathing, is what he heard, a steady inhale and exhale of lungs.

‘Hello, child.’ The forest said back. Jongin jumped, and the forest laughed, a rich, genuine laugh. ‘Do not be afraid, I will not harm.’ Just as the laugh, the voice was rich and deep. Thick with emotion and honesty that Jongin felt a tug at his heart string.

‘Who are you?’ Jongin asked.

‘I am you.’

‘You are me?’

“Yes child, I am you.’ There was a thump, the ground shook momentarily, then stopped. Two eyes, the size of Jongin gleamed in the darkness. He knew those eyes. The color of a bright flame melting metal.

‘You’re the dragon I saw last week!’ Jongin jumped up, and pointed at the eyes in the forest.

‘I am more than just a dragon, my child,’ the voice rumbled, the trees shook and the eyes closed. Jongin stood shocked, shining the flashlight in the direction of the eyes. From the tree trunks, emerged a man. A man no older than twenty-five, silver hair and bright eyes that stayed constant. His frame was lanky, with miniscule muscle framing his arms and legs, pearly white teeth are shown in his smile, along with two dimples on either side of his face. ‘I am you.’ He repeated a third time, the dragon’s voice is the same, unfathomable and lush that Jongin was drawn to the man.

‘What do you mean, ‘I am you?’’ Jongin pressed, irritated.

The dragon stalked to Jongin, sat by his father’s grave and pointed to his sternum. ‘A part of me is inside of you. I did so when you were just a babe. It’s the reason why you see all magical creatures.’

‘How? How did you do it?’

The dragon lifts up Jongin’s shirt, a small scar, the size of a quarter on the right side of his chest is where the dragon points to. ‘This is how you and I are connected. Half of my heart is in there.’ The dragon points to his chest, on the same side as Jongin’s, he didn’t see it before, but Jongin can see the feint scar tissue on the flesh. ‘When you were little, only the age of four, your father had a terrible car accident remember?’

Jongin nodded. ‘That was when Appa…’

‘Right,’ the creature clears his throat, lips pulled in a thin line. ‘That night you were pulled into the hospital, you and your father. Your mother stood by your sides for the whole night, praying that you two would be okay.’

Flashes of that night flew in Jongin’s mind. The hospital. The announcement that his father was dead on impact and his mother weeping at his father’s side. Jongin remembered it all. Vaguely, but he remembers the important parts.

‘You mother prayed that you needed to be saved. The injuries that you sustained that night were far to damaging to repair. But they tried. I happened to be at the right place at the right time. So, I helped.’

‘And you’ve been watching over me all this time?’

His dragon nodded. ‘We are bound together by soul and blood. Because of this bond we can communicate through our mother tongues, I can shift into human form, and my dragon qualities are passed on to you. Some of them are at least.’

‘Like?’ Jongin sat in front of his partner.

The older was silent for a few moments. ‘Turn off your flashlight.’ Jongin did as told.

A spark. A flame. A flame so bright it illuminated his partners whole face and chest, sitting in the middle of his palm. ‘Touch it. Hold it.’ Jongin looked skeptical at first, but after a few raised eyebrows and a hand ed in his direction, Jongin holds the flame. It never hurt. A feather light touch that Jongin can get used to. Warmth floods his body, and Jongin smiled, amazed at this feat. ‘You can control it, but never create it.’ Jongin curled his hand around the flame, extinguishing it. He flicked the flashlight on. ‘As you grow older some qualities are awakened.’

‘Which ones?’

‘Hard to say, child. We can only let time tell us.’

Jongin hummed in acknowledgement. This was a lot to take in, but Jongin can get used to having a dragon at his side. People may not get to see him, but what’s important is that he knows in his heart and mind that there was someone with him. Something to tell him that he wasn’t seeing things. Relief floods in his veins. ‘What is this bond that we have?’

‘Our souls are bound together. Some people would call us soulmates.’

The wind picked up making Jongin shiver. His soulmate chuckled and clapped Jongin’s shoulder. ‘Go home. You mother must be worried.’

Jongin gathers his flashlight giving one last bow to his father, his dragon does the same in respect. ‘Wait!’ Jongin yells as he’s walking away from the creature still sitting at the gravesite. ‘Your name?’

‘Chanyeol, is my name Jongin.’They all told him that it was rubbish. Ten-year-old Jongin had seen something no one else has seen before and no one believes him.

On his tenth birthday, Jongin spied something shimmering outside his kitchen window when he was attempting to blow out the candles on his birthday cake. Gold, silver, and copper shone in his eyes and all he could think was fire. Such beautiful fire that he needed to see again. Iris’ of copper and gold stared at him through the small glass of the window and the next minute, vanished.

He told his best friend, but Sehun laughed at it like Jongin told him the best joke of the century. ‘A dragon Jongin?! You must be joking. No dragons exist in the twenty first century.’ Sehun continued shuffling his Pokémon cards splitting the deck in half for himself and the other half for Jongin. Jongin pursed his lips grabbing a hold of his deck. One day. One day he will show them all that this dragon does exist.

He told his mother some weeks later, while he was helping her wash the dishes, he took a plate from the sink, dried it, and sat it in the cupboard.

‘Silly Jonginnie, you know dragons don’t exist. Not in this life time at least.’ Was her reply. Jongin wanted to scream. He saw it! Those scales that were twice the size of his hand, body three times the size of their house. How could they not see it? ‘They could have existed, Jongin. It could be a spirit from one that existed from long ago.’ Bull. Jongin knows what he saw. He knows his mom is trying to lighten the situation, not make it seem like he has his head in the clouds.

If his father were here, he would have believed Jongin. He did when Jongin was younger. There was a time when Jongin would think he saw magical creatures, which was true, he saw faeries, little critters that didn’t naturally belong in their world. And he loved it. His father would ask him where the orc was today, or if the faeries have given him small gifts-like they had before. They would leave small trinkets and goodies on the nightstand next to his big boy bed and Jongin would preen with joy. He’d show them to Sehun, exclaiming that something magical has happened. Sehun would brush him off, head to buried into the mountainous decks of Pokémon and Yu-Gi Oh cards that would suddenly accumulate through-out the day.

Jongin missed his father so. The four by six picture frame sitting on his bed side table would remind him that his father was in the picture, and they visit him often, just like Jongin is going to visit him today.

‘Umma! I’m going out to see Appa today!’ he calls from the foyer.

‘Be careful Nini! It’s getting dark, take a flashlight.’ Jongin rummages through the pantry next to the front door in search of a flashlight. He grabs an extra coat as well, knowing that the winter chill can break through his sweater.

The colder weather his harsh on Jongin’s skin, even if his father lays in the wood behind the house, the wind ripped through his three layers of clothing and leaves his legs to bear the shaking in his bones. Fifty paces from the house. That’s what mother always told them. His sisters never visited their father like Jongin does, not to say they didn’t love their father. Jongin has always had a closer connection with his father than they have.

Sitting on the damp ground, Jongin bows deeply to the headstone in front of him, illuminated by the flashlight that Jongin stuck in the ground. ‘Hi Appa. I came to see you today because well…I’m having trouble. I saw a dragon on my birthday. I’m sure you saw it like I did. But the thing is Appa, no one else believes me. Not even Umma! Sehun thinks I’m making stuff up. But it’s true. I saw it.’

The wind blows, swayed against Jongin’s petit frame and more shudders rack his body. ‘I wish they would understand like you would Appa.’ Jongin sniffed, the cold made his nose run, not the tears running down his cheeks. He feels so out of place, so put out that no one in his family would believe him that he saw something magical.

With the leaves creating a cacophonous ruckus in the back of his mind, Jongin didn’t notice the distinct sound of heavy breathing, a growl, and a chuckle. A chuckle so deep that the ground rumbled beneath his feet. It grabbed his attention, looking all around, Jongin saw no one. He felt like it was a minor earthquake. But that can’t be right. There are no earthquakes in Korea…were there? The steady breathing in the forest caught him off guard. Jongin looked around his surroundings, he felt a presence. ‘Hello?’ he hesitantly asked, he shines the flashlight in his hand around him. But no one was there. Deep breathing, is what he heard, a steady inhale and exhale of lungs.

‘Hello, child.’ The forest said back. Jongin jumped, and the forest laughed, a rich, genuine laugh. ‘Do not be afraid, I will not harm.’ Just as the laugh, the voice was rich and deep. Thick with emotion and honesty that Jongin felt a tug at his heart string.

‘Who are you?’ Jongin asked.

‘I am you.’

‘You are me?’

“Yes child, I am you.’ There was a thump, the ground shook momentarily, then stopped. Two eyes, the size of Jongin gleamed in the darkness. He knew those eyes. The color of a bright flame melting metal.

‘You’re the dragon I saw last week!’ Jongin jumped up, and pointed at the eyes in the forest.

‘I am more than just a dragon, my child,’ the voice rumbled, the trees shook and the eyes closed. Jongin stood shocked, shining the flashlight in the direction of the eyes. From the tree trunks, emerged a man. A man no older than twenty-five, silver hair and bright eyes that stayed constant. His frame was lanky, with miniscule muscle framing his arms and legs, pearly white teeth are shown in his smile, along with two dimples on either side of his face. ‘I am you.’ He repeated a third time, the dragon’s voice is the same, unfathomable and lush that Jongin was drawn to the man.

‘What do you mean, ‘I am you?’’ Jongin pressed, irritated.

The dragon stalked to Jongin, sat by his father’s grave and pointed to his sternum. ‘A part of me is inside of you. I did so when you were just a babe. It’s the reason why you see all magical creatures.’

‘How? How did you do it?’

The dragon lifts up Jongin’s shirt, a small scar, the size of a quarter on the right side of his chest is where the dragon points to. ‘This is how you and I are connected. Half of my heart is in there.’ The dragon points to his chest, on the same side as Jongin’s, he didn’t see it before, but Jongin can see the feint scar tissue on the flesh. ‘When you were little, only the age of four, your father had a terrible car accident remember?’

Jongin nodded. ‘That was when Appa…’

‘Right,’ the creature clears his throat, lips pulled in a thin line. ‘That night you were pulled into the hospital, you and your father. Your mother stood by your sides for the whole night, praying that you two would be okay.’

Flashes of that night flew in Jongin’s mind. The hospital. The announcement that his father was dead on impact and his mother weeping at his father’s side. Jongin remembered it all. Vaguely, but he remembers the important parts.

‘You mother prayed that you needed to be saved. The injuries that you sustained that night were far to damaging to repair. But they tried. I happened to be at the right place at the right time. So, I helped.’

‘And you’ve been watching over me all this time?’

His dragon nodded. ‘We are bound together by soul and blood. Because of this bond we can communicate through our mother tongues, I can shift into human form, and my dragon qualities are passed on to you. Some of them are at least.’

‘Like?’ Jongin sat in front of his partner.

The older was silent for a few moments. ‘Turn off your flashlight.’ Jongin did as told.

A spark. A flame. A flame so bright it illuminated his partners whole face and chest, sitting in the middle of his palm. ‘Touch it. Hold it.’ Jongin looked skeptical at first, but after a few raised eyebrows and a hand ed in his direction, Jongin holds the flame. It never hurt. A feather light touch that Jongin can get used to. Warmth floods his body, and Jongin smiled, amazed at this feat. ‘You can control it, but never create it.’ Jongin curled his hand around the flame, extinguishing it. He flicked the flashlight on. ‘As you grow older some qualities are awakened.’

‘Which ones?’

‘Hard to say, child. We can only let time tell us.’

Jongin hummed in acknowledgement. This was a lot to take in, but Jongin can get used to having a dragon at his side. People may not get to see him, but what’s important is that he knows in his heart and mind that there was someone with him. Something to tell him that he wasn’t seeing things. Relief floods in his veins. ‘What is this bond that we have?’

‘Our souls are bound together. Some people would call us soulmates.’

The wind picked up making Jongin shiver. His soulmate chuckled and clapped Jongin’s shoulder. ‘Go home. You mother must be worried.’

Jongin gathers his flashlight giving one last bow to his father, his dragon does the same in respect. ‘Wait!’ Jongin yells as he’s walking away from the creature still sitting at the gravesite. ‘Your name?’

‘Chanyeol, is my name Jongin.’