~

"I'm sorry, Seungkwan, I'm not trying to discredit what you went through, but you have to admit that it sounds a little farfetched."

Seungkwan's patience was wearing thin as the lunch period continued on, and Jeonghan wasn't doing much to help him. Kwan prodded at his food as he replied curtly. "So just because it sounds weird I should dismiss it and pretend like I got sleep last night?!"

Jeonghan's silent smile did nothing to quell the emotions stirred up in Seungkwan, unfortunately, so his eyes turned to get answers from the other sitting at the table. Chan, who was more interested in his sandwich than the present conversation, jumped at hearing his name. "Lee Chan! Tell me that you believe me!"

"I believe you."

"Do you really?"

"No, but you told me to tell you so--"

The loud groaning this incited from Seungkwan made Chan regret everything he had ever done for the past fifteen minutes. Not that it made it harder for him to continue enjoying his lunch, but that there'd be repercussions if he didn't amend what he had just thrown into dysfunction.

Jeonghan wasn't helping either, smiling brightly and petting Chan's head as Kwan threw his tantrum. "Be nice, Seungkwan, Chan didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Right, Channie?

Who's baby are you, Channie?"

Sometimes, Chan didn't understand the logic of the lunch ladies. He understood the importance of a spork for his pudding, but didn't grasp the point of giving him a knife--that is, until he suddenly wanted to stab his own eardrums out so he'd never had to reply to Jeonghan's constant taunting. Quickly, he answered. "Jeonghan's baby."

This didn't make the petting stop, but rather increase in severity, and Chan did his best to ignore it, closing his eyes as he made up with Seungkwan. "I'm sorry, Seungkwan. If you feel it happened, then it probably did. We weren't there anyway, so who are we to question it?"

"I know," the other sighed, resting his head (and voice) on the cold table as he tried to explain his feelings. "He was just there and gone. I didn't even think to pester him any further about who he was and how he got into my room until it was too late. It was honestly one of the creepiest experiences I've ever had, and I wasn't even for this one."

Ignoring that unwanted disclosure of information, Jeonghan aided in consoling their friend. "Kwannie, why are you so concerned with a kid who doesn't even understand how shadows work? What threat is he to you?"

"Well.. None, I guess, but.. I don't know. I just want to know more, I guess."



~

Seungkwan waited outside of their school's entrance as he waited for Jeonghan and Chan to walk home with him. These moments where they spent time together grew dearer and dearer to him as time grew on. Now a junior in high school, the time was coming on for him to consider his future. Jeonghan was the senior among them, and had already decided to pursue a career as a singer--he'd even gone as far as to have been accepted as a trainee with an agency two years back, so the time he was able to spend after school with Seungkwan was minor.

Chan was the youngest of the pair, and a freshman, and yet even he had an idea of what he wanted to do with himself, immediately making a name for himself at school for his dancing talents. Seungkwan, on the other hand, only knew he was good at talking for long periods of time.

Sighing, Seungkwan moved toward the street, closing his eyes and listening to the cars passing by a few feet before him. The hum of the city was easy to get lost in, drowning beneath the sound as one's deepest thoughts surfaced.

"I could end it all here and not worry about making any choices."

"But where's the fun in that?"

Opening his eyes, Seungkwan found himself paralyzed as the boy from the night before met his gaze with a wry smile. Words were escaping him, and the sudden embarrassment at being caught in such a private and suddenly fleeting thought left him unguarded.

"So," Vernon grinned, cocking his head, "were you just joking, or were you serious?"

"A-About what??"

The smile left, and with it something in Boo Seungkwan's chest, and the strange boy clarified his question. "Y'know, you remind me of when I was afraid of growing up like you. There's another option."

"What are you even talking about?"

"I can smell it on you! You REEK of grown-up thoughts. Wouldn't you like to not grow up?"

"How unrealistic," Seungkwan scoffed, internally regretting sounding so disinterested in the other male. Nonetheless, his retort remained as haughty as ever. "That's every little kid's dream. You can't just 'not grow up'--"

"But what if you could?"

Vernon's enthusiasm was rubbing Kwan the wrong way. His eyes caught the light of the sun and it in-turn illuminated his entire countenance. To Seungkwan, it was as if he were staring in the face of innocence itself. It was odd--he hadn't seen happiness like that for some time. Yes, happy was not foreign, but true serenity was something he had only ever seen in infants and young children. Now, here it was, almost inviting him to join it.

"HEY!!"

And like that, the moment's strange aura was cracked like a mirror falling into a chasm of reality. Looking to his left, Seungkwan saw an older boy running toward the pair. Vernon gasped, muttering something to himself which Seungkwan barely heard before taking off. Seungkwan watched as the man completed ignored his presence, running right past him in pursuit of Vernon the boy wonder.

So lost was Boo Seungkwan in the scenario which played before him that he jumped at the sound of Jeonghan's voice behind him.

"Who were those two?"

Wheeling around, Kwan waved at his two approaching companions, who clearly recognized that he was still distracted by whatever had just occurred. Chan was next to speak, curiosity piquing his interest.

"So, was that the boy you were talking about? The one who couldn't find his shadow?"

Looking in the direction he saw the two run off to, slowly regaining himself, Seungkwan dismissed the question, returning to their usual routine. Within him, however, for a reason he didn't quite yet understand, he felt something new. It was as if his body were a balloon, and a flame had been lit within, lifting him up a little higher into the air.

"..'S.Coups'..?"

"What?"

"Uh, nothing."