"I'll be back soon, alright? I promise." 

Taekwoon closed his eyes as Ravi kissed his temple softly, clutching the sheets to his chest as the artist smiled down at him. He stirred "Hurry back."

He hated it when he was left alone; it was boring and the house felt too cold and was much too silent when Ravi went away. But business was business and he had been called last-minute to meet up with a new client. That seemed to have become routine recently. The more popular his paintings got- or their paintings, as Ravi called them- the more time he had to spend time away. He always locked the door so Taekwoon would be safe from strangers though.  

The artist slung his worn, leather satchel over his shoulder and leaned down once more, pecking him on the lips before pulling away and setting his flat cap on his head "I'll pick you something nice up from the market while I'm out, hm?"

"What?" Taekwoon frowned. He had only really understood half of what was said; 'the market for pick up', or something like that, anyway. But his confusion was seemingly unnoticed as the artist rushed about the room, grabbing his satchel from the hook on the wall.

"It's a surprise!" Ravi quirked his eyebrow before flying out the door, leaving him still lying on his back half-wrapped up in the blanket. 

His head was still a little sore and he whimpered as the tips of his fingers grazed the bandage wrapped tightly his forehead. He was so relieved that Ravi wasn't angry with him for what he had almost done. He didn't know what had come over him; it wasn't supposed to happen yet, he was sure. He wasn't of age yet. Of course, he had heard stories and a few of his friends had spoken of it- about it even- but he never thought it would have been triggered so soon. He made a mental note to ask one of the elders about it when Ravi took him back home.

A long sigh escaped him as he turned his gaze towards the window. He could just make out the distant, hazy silhouette of the forest from over the fence that separated the cottage from the grasslands and then the moors. It seemed to go on forever; it seemed so far away. And yet it was so close. He would be lying if he said he didn't miss it, even though he adored Ravi and loved Hakyeon; even Jaehwan had grown on him. Maybe one day, he thought, he might take them to his homeland. He could teach them his words and introduce them to his people. They could be his kángjaa.  

The thought brought a smile to his lips as he settled himself back deeper into the pillows, folding his hands over his stomach and letting his eyes wander about the room. As usual, it was a mess; there were clothes strewn over the chairs and half-hanging out of drawers, papers piled up in corners and empty bottles of heaven-knows-what left all over the place. How Ravi found anything in there, Taekwoon didn't know. But the tiny, cluttered room somehow felt comfortable. Jaehwan's house was too put together to really be called homely, he thought. He wondered what Hakyeon's dwelling was like: was she untidy too? Homes had a funny way of perfectly reflecting the personalities of their inhabitants- even if it didn't seem obvious at first. That much Taekwoon knew and he was curious.

A brisk knock on the front door was what snapped him out of his trace as he bolted upright from the bed, making himself reel slightly. He slowly twisted so his legs were dangling over the side of the mattress and his feet just barely touched the floor. "Who there?" He called, groping around for the blanket and wrapping it around his shoulders. 

There came three more knocks and he said a little louder, "Who there?"

He let out a huff when nobody answered an rose to his feet, grasping the walls for support as he stumbled into the hallway, the blanket dragging behind him like a cape. The floorboards creaked loudly underfoot and he winced with each groan they emitted, forcing himself to try and make his footsteps lighter in order to quieten down the sounds. 

As he rounded the corner by his old room, he was able to make out two dark shapes through the frosted glass pane on the front door and stopped just short of it, torn between getting closer and hiding in the living room. 

The shadows continued to take turns in rapping their knuckles on the door and Taekwoon could now make out the muffled voices calling out; "Mr Kim? Don't try to hide from us, my friend! It's Mr Han and Mr Lee!"

He felt himself relax ever so slightly. "Ravi is out."

The shadows seemed to straighten up and Taekwoon bit his lip awkwardly, staring at the lock; the key had been left in.

"Ah! Mr Taekwoon, hello. It's Mr Lee and Mr Han here... May we come in?"