"January is here, with eyes that keenly glow,

A frost-mailed warrior 

striding a shadowy steed of snow." 

 

 

 

Donghae closed his door shut with a click, effectively shutting off the shouts of his parents going to war. He started across his snow covered lawn, wrapping his coat more tightly around him to try to dissipate the coldness on his skin. Still, though, the bite of winter strung his nose and ears, every piece of revealed skin, but Donghae didn't turn back. It was better than his parent's voices, raised so no corner of the house is protected from their hate. Anything was better than that. 

 

The cold wind brushed the top layer of the snow from the ground, swirling it into a whirlwind of white before releasing it to fall to the ground again. The sky was a clear blue, though, and Donghae knew that at least today, it wouldn't snow anymore. It was a shame, really. He loved the snow. The pureness of it, he liked especially, because no matter how hard they tried to make machines and clothes white, it would never be the pure, colorless shade of snow, of Mother Nature. 

 

Donghae stepped onto the road, which after it had been cleared that morning, was only covered with a thin veil of flakes, his heavy, cheap boots marking a trail as he crossed the silent road and aimed toward an opening in the otherwise thick brush of trees. He spared a last look back, at the faintly yellow house he had lived his whole life, then followed the path as it curved and melted into the crystal-heavy woods. 

 

Once he had vanished from view, he felt a breath whoosh out of him and his muscles unconsciously relaxed. He had been escaping to these woods since he was eight. No matter the season, no matter what he had to do, whenever he felt the world's walls close in on him, whenever he felt like he was suffocating in the pressure, the expectations of the people around him, he would go here. To the lake, swallowed in the forest surrounding it, to the trees around it, hiding it from eyes that only wanted to tear every paradise apart, to the silence within this remote world. This was his heaven, his place to simply walk and sit and close his eyes. Here, he wouldn't have to worry about people, and their loud, obnoxious voices with judging eyes and sharp tongues. He wouldn't have to listen to the screams of his parents. 

 

Donghae had never seen another soul here, even in the height of summer, when the water reflected pieces of the sun's gaze, when the trees gave lengths of shade that was always welcome in the searing heat. Not in the fall, when one would often come across a tree laden with apples, green and yellow and a deep, glossy red, when the leaves turned to orange and yellow and red and fall to carpet the ground. Not in the spring, when the flowers finally burst through the snow to bloom in pink and baby blue and white, when the bright new leaves fluttered in the winds. And not certainly in the winter, when snow layered the ground and the trees would unburden their load with a slight touch. Only Donghae, and signs of wild life, was ever seen here. And that was the way he liked it.

 

Walking deeper into the forest, his boots sinking into the pearly ground before he pulled they back up again, he trekked for maybe 10 minutes until he stood at the edge of his own world. 

The snow made it harder to judge when the level ground stopped and when the ground dropped sharply down to slope into the sand, but even with about a foot of snow the difference was quite clear. Ahead of him, the lake stood, silent. The water was frosted with ice, covering the life underneath in a whole other place, with dark water and shifting sands and figures cutting through the still. The ice was glittering in the sunlight, the snow piled on top hiding the silvery-white of ice with a bright, pearly glow. The lake stretched in all directions, a wide expanse of frozen water, and ice that has frozen many times over, until it is as solid as steel.

 

This winter was a cold one, but Donghae knew that the worst was yet to come; February. But it was the New Year, after all, January 1st, and Donghae was somehow hoping this year would be different. He had hoped for years now, and nothing had changed, and yet, he kept hoping.

 

Donghae turned away from the frozen lake, continuing on as he walked his usual way- around the lake, keeping close as to not get lost in the forest. He had never really gone far into the woods, but sometimes, when he had time and the craving for something new he would branch off into the woods. He could feel it today, that energy and reluctance to stay on the path well-worn by Donghae alone and explore the surrounding trees, but he forced himself to stay until he came to sense where he was so he would be able to find his way back to the lake. Finally, he couldn't resist the pull of the waving fronds and made an abrupt turn into the woods, where he knew he had never gone before.

 

The lake grew smaller every time Donghae looked back, but he knew his tracks would lead him back, so he kept going. The silence was breathtaking. If Donghae stopped walking, stopping moving, there would be nothing. In the summer, there would be quiet; the Mosquito's buzzing, the lake lapping the shore behind him, the ferns shivering in the breeze, something. But in winter, the snow muffled the slightest sounds, and everything was still. Everything was silent.

 

Donghae closed his eyes, standing in place, his breathing faint but the only thing he heard. He dared to expand his mind, to come out of his body, to concentrate. He strained to hear any sound, any movement. He quieted his breathing, his eyes still closed, and then he heard something. The sound of snow falling in a large clump, the sound of a branch letting go of the snow piled on top. The wind would be able to do that unless it was strong, and, besides, there was no wind. Donghae opened his eyes, and careful to keep his footsteps light, he followed the sound. He was wondered what animal it was. It sounded quite large, and Donghae reminded himself to be careful. A bear, even a small one, could easily kill him. 

 

He veered left, his feet following where he remembered the snow had fallen, until he saw the branch, with only a few flakes in the green needles, the snow below it in a pile. And then, he looked closer, and snifled a gasp. Footsteps. Clearly imprinted in the snow, carrying dirt so that in every print, the snow was stained slightly brown. They were not large marks, not daintily small either, but about the same size as Donghae's own feet. His curiosity got the better of him and he began to follow the tracks deeper into the woods, hoping he was going the right way instead of further from the person. This was the first sign of people Donghae had seen, and he didn't know what to think. He was scared, certainly, that they meant to take away his only place of comfort, but curious all the same. 

 

He followed the steps for some time, noticing that they were very wander-y. This person had probably never been here before, and most likely just stumbled on it by chance, a lot like Donghae.

 

Until, finally, he came a tree that Donghae had never seen before. The dark branches were iced with frozen snow, a startling contrast from the almost black bark of the tree to the clear white of the ice. The branches drew away from the main trunk right at the ground, so Donghae could just see the trunk over the snow. He continued forward, the trees slowly becoming common until they were all that grew. They were seemingly random placement, so Donghae knew they were wild, but he felt like he recognized them from somewhere. As he walked through the grove, still following the footsteps, a spot of color pricked his eye. A light green, showing very clearly against the white and black. A person, not moving, but very short.

 

As Donghae came closer, he realized that the person wasn't actually that short: he was sitting on a marble bench. The bench was backless, a piece of marble curved in a mild sickle shape, supported by two rectangular blocks of marble. It was placed in the middle of a clearing in the grove, the trees stretching far behind the strange person. Donghae dared to go closer, his boots crunching in the snow, his heart thumping rapidly in his chest.

The person, who he now had established was a boy, was wearing dark washed jeans, work boots, and a green hoodie, despite the cold of winter. His head was bent down, so his bleached blond locks fell into his eyes, and his bare hands were clasped together, his forearms resting on his thighs, his back rounded. 

 

Donghae walked even closer, so he was standing behind a tree that edged the clearing, and tried to feel like he wasn't invading on a private moment. The boy looked like he had lost hope, like the whole world was against him, and Donghae could relate to that.

 

He must have made a sound, for the boy's head shot up, his eyes locking with Donghae's. He wasn't pretty, or cute, but there was certainly an appeal in his face. He had a strong jawline and angles on his face looked rather dramatic. His eyes were a soft, dark brown, his lips pink. He looked to be the same age as Donghae, but he had a sort of sadness in his eyes, in the way he moved, that suggested he had been through a lot, too much for someone not even 20.

 

The boy shot up, his eyes widening. "Omo, I'm so sorry! Is this your bench? I just found it, and sat down for like 10 seconds, I swear!"

Donghae, suprised, could only move his mouth without actually forming words.

 

"I'll just leave, I'm sorry!" The boy continued. 

 

"No, it's not mine," Donghae finally spoke, and the boy relaxed. 

 

"Oh," the boy said, embarrassed. He sat back down.

 

"I'm sorry for walking in on you like this, I'll go," Donghae said, although his heart seemed to want to stay. 

 

"Oh, it's fine," the boy said. "I was just... thinking." 

 

Donghae nodded, understanding perfectly. "It's a good place for it." Somehow he trusted this boy. Somehow he knew that he was just here for the same reason Donghae was; to get away. 

 

Donghae turned to go, reluctantly. His parents would be wondering where he was by now, and he didn't want them worse then they already were

 

"Wait," the boy spoke again, and Donghae turned back, expectant. "Not to be nosy, but... what's your name?"

 

Donghae smiled. "Donghae."

 

The boy returned the smile with a surprisingly gummy one of his own, his eyes seeming to light up and glow.

 

"Hyukjae."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Me when I saw 13 SUBSCRIBERS BEFORE I EVEN STARTED WRITING

 

 *gasp*

 

*faints*

 

A lot of you are from my other EunHae story, Just Another Fantay (Angel) and Im so happy that you all liked it so much that you decided to read this one!!!! YAYYYYY!!!

 

And about the meditation thingy that Donghae does, I totally didn't just make that up because Im too lazy to look it up. Never.

 

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter! Please comment and tell me what you think, and subscribe if you like it. Thanks! 

 

 

 

 

COMMENT!!!!!