It was one thing looking at a painting of the Eifel Tower, and another to actually be there.

For a long time, Chanyeol had been staring at paintings and imagining that he was a part of it. He would close his eyes and visualise himself to climb inside the picture frame to enter a world different than his own. A world that was a little out of his reach.

He could be having dinner with the English royalties or sun-bathing in Hawaii in the same afternoon at the art galleries. He just needed to close his eyes and imagine. He tried his best to fill in every single detail with his mind, making it as close to reality as possible. He thought that there shouldn't be too much difference to imagine himself standing under the Eifel Tower, the place of his dreams, and to actually be in France.

He always thought that it was enough.

But a dream is but a dream. Reality always hits you that much harder than you could ever imagine.

In the end, the Eifel Tower doesn't always look quite the same as it does in the paintings.

The scene had been running through his head endless times on repeat in the last few months, but it felt a little different to witness it in reality. He wasn't as noble as he thought he was. His heartache wasn't quite as casual as he thought it would be. Hearing Kris confessing his love in his tender voice, the one he only used for Sehun, the tone filled with plead and love, wasn't as painless as he thought either.

That's the difference between a dream and the reality. You can't really feel the pain in a dream while in reality, every single bone seem to ache while every breath you take.

It's his suffocated breathing that gets him noticed. Kris turned around to find another broken person at the door, who ran as soon as he met his wide eyes.

He chased after him, leaving Sehun sat limp on the floor and Luhan still catching his breath.

"I think…" Luhan turned his head to look at the owner of the cracked voice, "We just broke my brother's heart."

Luhan moved his trembling body to sit beside the pale boy. He wrapped his arms around him and held him close to his chest, even he knew that it didn't really help his bleeding heart.

Luhan opened his shaking palm to take another look at the necklace that had taken so many years to arrive in his hands. The pendant was simple key, the one that opened Kris' lock. He still couldn't believe it. Everything he ever assumed to be true was a lie. A fabricated reality in his mind. It turns out that the real reality was much more ed up than he could ever imagine. Now he wished he never knew. Living in a painful lie seemed way better than accepting the broken reality.

"I think I did that a long time ago."

***

Chanyeol ran faster than he's ever ran before. At this speed, he thought that he could probably qualify for the Olympics. Although his long and flimsy limbs probably doesn't look very professional. Or attractive. He probably looked like a little girl with his long-ish hair and awkward running. Not really a little girl, with his height and all, but a girl.

His brain was running on a loop, thinking of endless random things to avoid thinking back to what had just happened in the last 10 minutes in the apartment next door. He didn't even know where he was running to. He just wanted to run away.

His occupied brain wasn't helping his clumsy running. He tripped and fell hard to the ground.

"Park Chanyeol!"

He stood up quickly and didn't stop. He knew who was behind him but he didn't stop. Not even to avoid the large truck as he crossed the road.

"YAH!"

A strong hand pulled him back just in time and the two of them tumbled to the ground, with Chanyeol trembling on top.

"Have you lost your mind?!"

The panting boy tried to stand up and release himself from his rescuer's arms, but Kris was much stronger. His firm grip on him caused a small hiss from the younger.

"Are you hurt? Let me see," Kris held Chanyeol wrist and searched for his injuries. Chanyeol pulled his arms away but Kris could clearly see his wounds. Both of those pale arms were grazed and bleeding from his elbow to his wrist. His palms were also covered in blood.

"Talk to me," Kris stared into his favourite brown orbs that seemed to have lost their usual gleam. Chanyeol looked away and bit the inside of his mouth.

"We'll fix you up at mine," Kris lifted Chanyeol off the floor, taking special care not to touch any of his wound. A soft whimper escaped Chanyeol's mouth as he stood up. Kris looked down to see a faint patch of blood seeping through his jeans in the knee area. Kris placed his arms around his waist to help the wobbling boy stand. Chanyeol flinched away from Kris' arms and the elder didn't hold on, afraid that he would hurt him.

"Why are you being so stubborn?" Kris glared lasers but quickly softened to a worried frown as he saw the growing amount of blood drip onto the concrete. Chanyeol's eyes remained dead and his lips sealed. Kris sighed.

"We'll do this the hard way then," In one swift movement, Kris swooped Chanyeol with his long arms and carried him bridal-style while the other yelped.

"Put me down!"

Kris ignored it of course, but the boy didn't stop struggling, not even when they arrived back at the SM Estate. He made it as difficult as possible for the blond to carry him back up the stairs, but gave up as the matter