The library was his favorite place in town. He loved the sound of book pages flipping over and people typing away on the computers echoing in the silence. The smell of old book pages lingered in the back of the large building, while in the front there was a distinct smell of freshly printed books. Everyone that worked there were extremely kind and friendly, especially the old lady at the checkout counter. Most of all, he loved that the library was full of adventures and he could pick any one of them. Books were his favorite thing in the world.

When he’d heard a month ago that the library was having a used book sale, he couldn’t turn down the opportunity to shop for books at such a cheap price. He’d even offered to volunteer and help set up all the tables, but the librarian had informed him that the women from her church group were doing everything. Then he’d gone to the ladies and offered his help, which they denied, but thought was so sweet and polite of him that he could come in before the sale started to get first pick of the books.

Monday arrived and at daybreak he left the house that morning. As he walked towards the park that led to town, Kibum took a deep breath of fresh morning air and let it out contently. He could smell the beginning of a rain shower. It was quite beautiful in the early hours of the day when the dew was still on the grass. The birds were all singing in the trees and when he entered the park, he even saw a pregnant cat walk by him, pausing for a moment to rub against his legs and get a couple pets before darting off into the trees.

I wish that Heechul would let us get a cat. He knew that it would never happen in a million years though, so he would just have to settle for playing with Mir’s dog whenever he brought it home.

When the library finally came into sight, Kibum picked up his pace and arrived in no time. He went inside the entrance, knocking on the glass doors for the librarian to let him in.

“Kibum! Good morning, dear,” Mrs. Choi greeted with a smile, opening the doors for him. “The ladies are in the auditorium finishing up the final touches. Go right ahead, pick out as many books as your heart desires.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Choi,” Kibum responded, smiling at her charmingly. “The proceeds from the sale are going towards charity, right?”

“That’s correct,” Mrs. Choi agreed as she led him towards the auditorium. “The money will be used to renovate part of our church. It’s the one on the other side of the park, with the pond behind it.”

“Oh, I thought that church was abandoned,” Kibum commented, looking at her curiously.

“It wasn’t abandoned, but the former congregation couldn’t afford the repairs after they found out the roof needed replacing, it had been leaking water for years and damaging the rooms,” Mrs. Choi informed him, turning the corner to a hall. “Blessed Day Church bought the church. The chapel is still in fine condition so we’re able to have our services there. Our goal is to renovate the back rooms and start a youth group for children and teenagers to have a safe place to play and hang out. It would give them guidance and keep them out of trouble, reducing the risk of getting into drugs, alcohol, and whatnot.”

Kibum followed her silently, feeling a little down. He’d been raised in the church but there had never been a youth group, plus the church was an hour away from where he’d lived at the time. He couldn’t help but wonder if there had been a safe place like what Mrs. Choi was describing, if perhaps he wouldn’t have gotten messed up with drugs.

“Well, here we are!” Mrs. Choi announced cheerfully when they arrived at a set of large doors. She came to a stop and smiled at Kibum, reaching over to pat his cheek. “Have fun, darling.”

When Kibum opened the doors of the auditorium and stepped inside, his eyes widened slightly. The large room was filled wall to wall with tables that held hundreds of boxes the contained thousands of books. It was organized by genre: romance, mystery, sci-fi, autobiography, true crime, etc. There was an area in the far back corner that was full of bright and colorful children’s books and puzzles. Against the wall under a window was a table full of comics and manga books. It was all magnificent and he didn’t know where to start.

The leader of the group shuffled over to him, weaving between rows of books. She informed him where everything was located and what the prices were, then handed him a basket to fill with books.  Kibum began walked into the first row, scanning through titles of romance books as he headed towards the mystery section.

Heechul likes romance books, maybe I should find some for him.

Kibum paused for a moment, reading some of the titles. He wasn’t sure what type of romance books that Heechul enjoyed, but there quite a few trashy novels so he picked out a few before moving on. He found ten books in the true crime section that sounded absolutely captivating, twenty young adult novels that seemed a bit girly but interesting none-the-less, a series of manga for his brothers to share, and when he stopped at the children’s section he found coloring books and boxes of crayons. He put a couple in the basket, telling himself that they were for Heechul’s nieces, but really they were for him when he got bored at home.

Content with all that he’d found, Kibum started heading towards the exit, but as he walked through the self-help genre something caught his eye. He came to a stop, putting the heavy basket on the floor. There is Nothing Wrong with You: for Teens by Cheri Huber was set on top of all the other books, almost as if it were fate for him to see. Kibum picked the book up and read the short summary of it. It was a guide to help teens communicate with adults on matters that were very important.

Something in his mind told him to buy the book, so he put it in the basket and left the auditorium. One of the ladies was sitting behind the check-out table, waiting for him patiently. Kibum went over and paid for his books, which were much cheaper than he had expected them to be. There was twenty dollars left and so he put it into the donations box before scurrying away.

He bid farewell to Mrs. Choi and exited the library, but immediately turned around and hurried back inside. He stared out the glass doors in horror, watching rain pour from the sky. It was so heavy and loud, he could almost feel it pelting the glass. There was no way he could walk home in it; all the books would be ruined even though they were in plastic bags. With a heavy sigh, Kibum reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone.

7:12AM. Heechul is going to kill me.

With no other choice, he dialed the number and waited impatiently until Heechul finally answered.

“What?” Heechul growled. Kibum could hear the sleep in his voice and knew that he’d woken Heechul up; there would be hell to pay later.

“I need you to come pick me up,” Kibum told him apologetically. “I’m at the library and it’s pouring outside.”

“No. Walk home in the rain,” Heechul replied without hesitation.

“Hyung, come on! I’m going to get soaked and my books could get ruined,” Kibum complained, glancing behind him to see if the librarian was still there; she had a rule against phones in the library. “Please?”

“No,” Heechul denied adamantly, refusing to get out of bed. “You’re the one that felt the need to leave the house at six in the morning. A little rain isn’t going to kill you.”

Kibum stared out the window at the rain. The force was so hard that it almost looked white outside; he would be drenched the second he stepped outside the door. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

“But, Heechul, lately my chest has been tightening up,” Kibum began to say, confident that this would work. He twirled around where he stood, bored with standing there doing nothing. “I’ve been having trouble breathing and you said that my asthma didn’t go away, it was just in remission. What if it’s starting to flare up? My parents never let me go out in the rain, it always aggravated my asthma.”

Technically it was the truth, so he wasn’t really manipulating Heechul. There was a minute of silence