The cold autumn breeze passed as a young man in his early twenties walked towards an old establishment surrounded by luscious greenery. The place stood at the centre of the city, yet not many noticed it. The foliage was inviting yet it looked like a normal welcoming home that housed a family. But much to people’s curiosity, it was nothing but. The building was a special place that guards the crossroads of life.

The young man smiled brightly as he looked at the rustic signage that hung outside the greyish white brick-walled house. The washed-out red shingles at the top showed just how long it had been there. He let out a sigh before heading inside.

The place was filled with chatter, laughter, and smiles as soon as the bell dinged that signalled his arrival.

“Hey, Chanyeol!” He heard some of the guests call out while others greeted him with a simple, “Hey!”

“Hey, everyone! I hope you’ve all been good to the Boss!” Chanyeol greeted them with a bright smile. He looked around at the tavern's patrons whose ages ranged from a young teenager to an old person who was in their 90s or higher. He looked around to see the colour of their eyes. Some had pure black eyes while others had grey eyes, and some had almost white-like coloured eyes.

There were some who scoffed, “Of course we did! What do you think of us?!”

And there were some who smiled back, “We’ll always be good to the Boss.”

And others… “Ehhh! Stop dilly-dallying and just confess to the guy already!”

Chanyeol widened his eyes as if telling them to stop spouting nonsense or to stop the teasing before anyone else heard them. Fortunately, the boss wasn’t at the front of the house at that moment, else he would definitely be a red tomato again.

“You really know how to make an entrance.” Chanyeol heard a familiar voice call out to him. The moment he turned, he saw the tavern’s general manager standing beside him with that entertained look on his face.

Chanyeol couldn’t help but smile as he scratched his cheek. “Ah… Hello, Minseok-hyung. How was today? Was it busy?”

Minseok just swayed his head from side to side as if answering that it was so-so. He then motioned Chanyeol to get on with his work since the place was already bustling with guests.

Chanyeol nodded as he headed towards his office. But as he passed through the hallways, he peeked through another door just before reaching his office.

There, inside the office he peeked at, sat the tavern owner. He was looking at the paperwork before looking at different gems on his table. Chanyeol felt a sense of comfort while watching him work, the solemn look on the tavern owner’s face always sent a soothing feeling inside his chest as if staring at him was the most enjoyable thing he could ever do in the world. The way the tavern owner’s eyes fluttered like butterfly’s wings; it was hypnotizing. The way he his lips, showing off how plump they were. The w