Kiwook looked once at Chanyeol, and once at his brother, whose face reflected the pain and anguish he had been feeling.

“Ho-how did you know?” Kyungsoo muttered softly.

“No,no,no,no. Uncle Chan?” Kiwook’s eyes were coated with anger and confusion. “What is happening?”

“Sorry, Kiwook-aah. I really am sorry for not telling you.” Chanyeol looked at Kiwook tenderly. “I knew your brother was to grow wings, because I am here to take him with me.”

Chanyeol stretched his hand outward to lightly pet Kiwook on his head, but he flinched away. Kiwook had tears in his eyes. He felt betrayed “Yo-you’re not taking my brother anywhere.”, he said clasping Kyungsoo’s arm.

Chanyeol knew he had to face this situation. He knew had to be stern at one point. He sighed. “In this condition, Kyungsoo-ssi will not be able to go anywhere, anyway. And if he does stay here any longer, he’d be killed. Don’t you get it Kiwook-ah?” Chanyeol’s voice was unfaltering, and determined. It seemed to affect Kiwook as he slowly realised the same.

“B-but what will happen to me?” Kiwook uttered, his voice cracking.

Chanyeol had started to feel sad. He didn’t know what to say to make this situation alright.

“Wait, before you say anything.” Kyungsoo’s warm voice cut off Chanyeol’s thoughts. “How did you know about my wings?”

Chanyeol walked closer to Kyungsoo and a faint smell of apple pie drifted to him. He began to his shirt.

“H-hey! What are you doing!” Kyungsoo said, his cheeks tinting red.

Chanyeol looked up at Kyungsoo, and pointed at the string of letters on his chest, just where his heart is. Kyungsoo squinted, and read out his own name.

“Wh-why is my name on your chest?” Kyungsoo appeared scared, and disturbed.

Chanyeol sighed.

“We are a part of the Elyxion.” Chanyeol began to explain. “We have wings, and we live in a huge place, just beyond the clouds. We call it Cumulous because from really far off, it resembles the same type of cloud. When a person grows wings, another Elyxion member arrives to fetch them. When they arrive in Cumulous, after a particular time period- could be years later too- a name appears on theirs, and then, they have to fetch the person whose name appeared on their chests. This goes on.”

“But…how do you know it’s not some other person with the same name?” Kyungsoo asked, visibly curious.

“Good question.” Chanyeol smirked. “We have a dream of their face, and the place where they might be. For you, it was this town. The next day, their names appear on our chests.”

Kyungsoo was dumbstruck. “So…am I dead or something?” He mumbled somehow. Kiwook visibly flinched, and Chanyeol laughed out.

“No, no, no! You’re just the same. You can still eat normal food, roam around like I do. You’ll still age, a little slower than normal, of course, but you’ll grow old. As you grow old, your wings will shed. When all your feathers shed, you’ll die. That’s…when you die naturally. Basically, you’ll die anyway if all your feathers are gone.” Chanyeol said the last line, in a deeper voice than the rest. “Anyway, show me your back, Kyungsoo.”

Kyungsoo took off his apron, and shirt and let Chanyeol inspect. Kiwook wasn’t allowed to look. The back was completely raw and there were burn marks, his wings mutilated and dirty-looking.

“The hell is this?!” Chanyeol fumed. “Did you uncle try to pull your wings out, Kyungsoo? Did he touch you?”

Kyungsoo shook his head. His silence, and sorrow had answered. Chanyeol was shaking in anger. Thankfully, small feathers abound on his new wings. They seemed like new growth, meaning Kyungsoo hadn’t been touched in a long time.

“How long is your uncle gone, Kyungsoo? Seems like he’s gone a long time….” Chanyeol introspected loudly.

“Ab-about three days now.” Kyungsoo said.

“Did he say when he was coming back? If not, we must leave immediately.” Chanyeol said as he proceeded to break the chains on Kyungsoo’s feet.

“Just how strong are you?” Kiwook prompted from the back.

“Strong enough to do this.” Chanyeol said as he pulled the chain apart.

As the chains broke, Kyungsoo whispered a quiet thank you to Chanyeol, who picked both Kyungsoo and Kiwook, and set off towards the town.

“Man, this place is pretty small.” Chanyeol said, slightly panting. They had reached the cafe, and were now inside the small room attached to it. It was a wooden shed, with a single bed-on which Kiwook’s storybooks were piled upon- and a bulb hanging from above. It was just enough for an adult of average size to sleep in. For Chanyeol, however ,a giant as he was, it was pretty difficult. Not to mention, it was already cramped up with both Kyungsoo and Kiwook inside.

Chanyeol was making space for himself when he heard Kyungsoo giggle a little. He looked at his direction and noticed the black-haired male with a book in his hand, smiling.

“You reading Narnia?” Kyungsoo asked Kiwook, who nodded for a yes. “Th-that’s lovely Wookie, it’s one of my favourite books of all time.”

“Oh, really, hyung?? I have been loving it too!” Kiwook’s eyes gleamed as the siblings began to talk about the book. Chanyeol felt slightly awkward because he didn’t understand a single thing and felt out of place.

“So..” Chanyeol coughed to draw attention. “Are we spending the night here, tonight?”

Kyungsoo and Kiwook looked towards Chanyeol, suddenly remembering the situation they were in.

“Um...” Kiwook put his finger on his chin, and said, “There is an inn nearby. But, it’s pretty filled most times and I don’t think they allow three people in a room.”

“Who said the three of us would share a room? Kyungsoo-ssi and you can share a room, I’ll just...share another room?” Chanyeol said awkwardly.

“Uncle Chan, pay attention.