4. Light my world

To say he was excited it was an understatement: Chanyeol was agitated, eager to start his night shift at the borderline. He wanted to meet Baekhyun once again, and maybe talk some more with him, listen to some of his fairytales… But most of the things, he wanted to forget about Jongin's confusion. His friend was acting like a child who didn't know what to do, and Chanyeol kind of hated his indecision mostly because he was using Kyungsoo. But then again, Jongin had always been insecure, and he was particularly scared in that moment because Taemin had left him alone. He was that engrossed in his thoughts that he almost didn't see a lantern's soft light. "Chanyeol?" A voice called him. The tall man immediately run towards it, a wide smile on his face.

He couldn't go outside, nobody was allowed to. He was forced to stay there, behind a wall, behind a small window, that he opened quickly. "Baekhyun!" Fortunately, he was tall enough to use the window with no problems, but Baekhyun wasn't that lucky: he was small, and he looked weak, too. Not that he looked sick, he was always so full of energy so it wasn't that the problem. But his hands were small, his fingers long, his features gentle and his voice was calm and Chanyeol was sure the young man wouldn't ever hurt a fly. "I missed you." He admitted as he put his arm outside the window, stretching it to touch Baekhyun, who backed away with a kind smile. He always wore white clothes and a veil, adorned with golden hems and decorations. It was bizarre, that a man from the dark side was wearing such clothes; after all, Chanyeol remembered clothes far different and very much colored than the ones he used to wear.

"Light reflects better with white." Baekhyun had explained. Chanyeol smiled at the memory. "You're even more beautiful, this night." He whispered as he slumped against the wall and the window. Even with the lantern's dim light he could see Baekhyun's slightly red cheeks. He didn't care that he couldn't touch the young man, in that moment just talking was enough. He couldn't take his hand simply because Baekhyun asked him not to. He said that their first embrace was going to be more special, like that, but Chanyeol suspected there was something more behind that. "Jongin is getting scared." He mumbled with an annoyed tone. "He doesn't know what to do. It feels like he's using Kyungsoo." Baekhyun shook his head and kindly smiled.

"Chanyeol, of course he's scared. Tao's face is a mystery to him, even his name." He replied slowly, without stopping smiling. The taller man frowned, not expecting that. "But I thought he kept dreaming of Tao." Baekhyun shook his head and chuckled. "Well, he dreams of his voice alone. Everyone who is chosen must be denied of something, at first. For you, it's my touch." Chanyeol stared at him, slightly surprised. "It's not fair!" He blurted, making the other man sigh and shrug. "It is, because so that our first meeting here, outside Eden, will be more meaningful." The taller man shut his mouth and turned, his back facing the other young guy. No, there was something more: Chanyeol kept seeing it as a test, and so he tried to resist, but it was getting difficult. He sighed heavily and slumped on the wall, slowly falling and sitting on the ground.

"Are you angry?" Baekhyun asked with quiet and slightly worried voice. The other man closed his eyes. "No." He answered without bothering to get up. He was working, but he couldn't see it as a job since when he had met the foreigner. There was nobody there with him, so he usually felt lonely, but Baekhyun always cheered him up. Unfortunately, talking about those things was making him nervous, worried and slightly annoyed. "I… Chanyeol, will you come home with me?" The man asked with trembling voice. Chanyeol abruptly stood up and turned around, staring at him with a surprised look.

"You mean right now?!" He exclaimed with loud voice. He realized he talked to loud and glanced around, a bit afraid of being found talking with someone from the dark side. Baekhyun nodded, his eyes full of hope; Chanyeol opened his mouth, but then he shut it. He couldn't leave Jongin like that, he wasn't that cruel. Sure, his behavior annoyed him, but Jongin was his friend and it was his duty to help him during such a particular moment. He wanted to leave, but he couldn't, not yet. "Will you wait for me? I can't, I have to stay for Jongin… Just for a little longer." Baekhyun lowered his gaze, clearly disappointed, and sighed heavily. "I don't want to wait for too long." He mumbled, pouting a bit. Chanyeol smiled softly at the sight, as he felt his heart beating a little faster and his cheeks tinting of red. "I-I'll try to be fast enough. Don't worry." He answered, now feeling guilty. "I don't want to leave you alone. I promise I'll come with you!"

Baekhyun beamed at him, his eyes sparkling of happiness and satisfaction. He nodded cutely and gasped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "There you are!" Chanyeol was about to run outside to help the young man when he saw he was smiling in relief. "Kris! You scared me." The taller man frowned, hearing the name. Behind Baekhyun there was a terribly tall man with blond hair and a scowl on his face; he looked angry and scary, he was certainly trying not to start arguing with his friend. "Tao was worried! Why didn't you say you were coming here?!" He scolded with stern voice. Next to him, Baekhyun looked even smaller and weaker than anything as he flinched and apologized, not only for that man height, but for his dark clothes, too, who made him seem even angrier and dangerous. "Don't yell at him!" Chanyeol stepped-in, not liking the scene in front of his eyes.

The blond man looked up and smirked. "Then, come with us and take care of him." Chanyeol frown got only worse. "No, I have to help a friend…" He mumbled, a bit embarrassed. He then squinted his eyes, trying to look better at the man. "Have I met you before?" He continued; he whined a little, the small window didn't help at all. Kris' features softened, surprising the guard. He didn't look as scary as a few moments ago, but rather gentle even if a still rough. "Yes." The blond man whispered. He grabbed Baekhyun's hand and he dragged him away, without saying another thing. Ah, how rude it was of him! He wanted to keep talking with his light, but now he was once again alone. Baekhyun couldn't yell, otherwise he was going to be in trouble with the other guards, who had the order to attack in case something happened. The thing was, they weren't nice at all.

Chanyeol knew that his co-workers were mean and hated every human being from the dark side, so every occasion was perfect to make fun of them. He sighed heavily, bumping his head against the window's glass. He had to hurry, he had to make sure Jongin was fine and then he could go away from Eden. The whole city trusted him, every guard of the borderline had to be the perfect man who loved his home; but he wasn't like that. At first, he thought Eden was a magical city, but after he had met Baekhyun had changed. With his small lantern, the young man had brought light to his dark world of lies. He had shown him the gorgeous colors, he had taught him songs and poems that he couldn't even imagine to hear there in Eden.

He sighed again and bit his lip. He remembered when he first met him: Baekhyun was walking slowly together with Tao and the black haired man had an arm wrapped around his waist. At first Chanyeol had told them to go away, but soon he had understood that he couldn't do much. They had laughed at him, and the guard had found that he was too kind: he didn't want to hurt anyone, not even his so called 'enemies'. He loved his clothes, he envied Baekhyun who had the opportunity to wear them and he envied every human from the dark side. They were free, they enjoyed life; Chanyeol didn't.

Jongin looked sick, and Chanyeol pitied him. He was at his house, ready to talk to him in order to take away his confusion, but he found that the young man was tired, his eyes were red, and his throat was hoarse; he was kind of glad that Kyungsoo wasn't there. "I've cried." Jongin admitted quietly. "A lot." Chanyeol scrunched his face in a horrible scowl. Obviously, there was much work to do. A small talk could do little. "I've dreamt yesterday, and it was terrible." The younger man continued, without even bothering to glance at his friend. He didn't want to see his look of pity. "It was terrible because I loved every second of it. And guess what? When I woke up, Kyungsoo smiled at me and kissed me." His voice cracked and Jongin burst in tears.

Chanyeol at first was hesitant to comfort him, but when he saw his shaking body, he hugged tightly the man. "How can I do this to him?!" Jongin sobbed harder. The taller man bit his lips as he caressed the other's back. "Hey, don't – don't worry, okay? It's not your fault, but you have to leave this place. It's hurting you." Jongin hiccupped and he tried to calm down. "Kyungsoo will be alright, he can forget you. But you can't forget those dreams. If you'll stay here, you'll be like a bird in a cage." Chanyeol explained, trying to be careful with his words. "Why don't you try to talk to your friend? Uh, Se-something." Jongin's mouth twisted in a half smile. "Sehun."

The tall man smiled. "Yeah, him. Since you can't trust Taemin…" The dark-haired man nodded weakly. "Okay, I'll try." Chanyeol patted his head, his worries slowly slipped away from his mind. Maybe he could go away, maybe he could right the next day. He was ready and Jongin didn't look like a problem anymore. Well, not really. He was itching to run free into Baekhyun's arms and that night he imagined his sweet scent – maybe he smelled like flowers, like wood, or maybe simply like freedom. When he returned home, even if a bit reluctant, he fell on his bed with his mind full of white and golden decorations, and every time he closed his eyes he could saw that red cheeks, that shining eyes, and Baekhyun's voice and melodious laughter filled his head.

A/N:
I'm back! Did you enjoy this chapter?
Please do tell me, I'd like to know what do you think of it! >w<
I drew a fanart for this fic, here it is~!

Until next time, thank you for reading this fic! >w<