Fourteen Years Ago

"What are you? A he-she?"

"You're more girl than man!"

"Ew, get away from me, freak!"

The sneering taunts echoed in his ears as the six-year-old Luhan spat out blood on the ground.He reached up a grimy hand to wipe away some remaining red drops staining his fair skin, replacing red with brown.

"Yah, stop." The leader of the gang stepped to the front. He bent down to Luhan's level. "We should let him prove that he's a guy."

"How?" The boy to his left narrowed his pig-like eyes.

"You see that stream?" The leader pointed to the rushing, dangerous ravine a couple metres to their right. Luhan nodded. "Jump in it."

The young boy widened his eyes at the risky suggestion, knowing that he could fully well kill himself. "No."

"Girl. You're just a girl." The towering boy spat, a disgusted mask morphing his ugly features. He kicked Luhan roughly in the gut. "Monster. That's what you are."

Luhan glared defiantly up at him, knowing if he spoke back, he'd just get kicked or punched again. He couldn't possibly fight back, not when it was one scrawny body against five built ones. Never had Luhan felt such a deep sense of hate, directed towards the boys glowering in front of him and mainly towards himself for being so weak. At last, he muttered, "I'm not a girl."

"What was that?" Pig Eyes curled his hand around his ear mockingly, bending over. "I couldn't hear you the first time."

"I said, I'm not a girl."

"Then prove it."

Luhan in a shaky breath and slowly pushed himself off the ground. He winced at the pain aching his whole body. "Fine."

"Good." For the first time, Luhan watched a smile bloom over the leader's face, and it terrified him. It reminded him of a smug cat who caught a little birdy in between its claws. But Luhan felt like he had to do it, for himself. To prove to himself he was a boy. For his entire life, Luhan was always teased for his rather feminine face. All the neighbourhood kids taunted and bullied him for his looks. Luhan, being small for his age, couldn't do much to fight back. He was sick of being told how pretty he looked. He didn't want to be pretty or delicate. He never wanted to look like a girl. He couldn't control it, and now, here was something he could control.

Luhan staggered to the side of the ravine, stumbling over rocks. He peered down at the flowing waves beating ruthlessly at the boulders standing in its way. Luhan knew he wasn't a boulder; he couldn't withstand the force. The young boy took a step back, rethinking his decision. Turning around, he saw the group of boys right behind him wearing smirks.

If he died, he can just imagine their reactions. He jumped into the ravine by himself! He was crazy! But even so, this was his decision to make.

All Luhan remembered was his flailing arms and haunting laughter before the waves overtook him and blocked out everything. Luhan tried to swim to the surface, but he was submerged too deep, and his tiny body couldn't fight against the freezing, merciless current. Luhan could feel darkness taking over him, consciousness seeping from his grasp. The last thing he saw was a blur swimming towards him.

¤¤¤

Present

Sighing, Baekhyun sat at the bar in a depressed state as he stared at all the other customers downing drinks after drinks constantly, like a drain. Baekhyun didn't have any money to buy a drink, much to his dismay. Here he was, lost and confused, in a bar he just happened to stumble upon after he snuck away from the guards once the carriage rolled to a stop.

"Tough day?"

A deep, seductive voice drifted to the boy's ears, causing him to look up. He was surprised to meet eyes with the most handsome man he had ever seen in his entire life, which wasn't saying much since he grew up in a small town, but still. The stranger was absolutely gorgeous with his sparkling eyes, lips curled up slightly at the corner, and short dark hair covered by a hat. His eyes were wary as they darted around the room, seemingly searching for something, and Baekhyun instinctively looked with him, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

Baekhyun sensed the stranger looking at him again, as if expecting some sort of reaction out of him. Baekhyun realized he didn't respond to his previous question yet. "Heh, yeah. You could say that."

"Tell me about it." Handsome Stranger raised a hand to get the bartender's attention. "Jongdae! Two ice cold beers, please."

"Got it, Yeol." The bartender winked at the stranger. He must come here often.

"Is that your name? Yeol?" Baekhyun furrowed his brows, wondering where he heard that name before. Yeol. But after the futile attempt at searching through his mess of a mind, Baekhyun quickly gave up and proceeded to just focus on Yeol's pretty, pretty eyes.

"You could say that," Yeol repeated Baekhyun's response, garnering a chuckle from the shorter boy. "So what went wrong today?"

"Where, oh, where do I begin?" Baekhyun sighed dramatically for the countless time that day. “So much happened in the last twenty-four hours and I don’t think I’ve slept in the last thirty-five, to be honest. It just might be the longest story.”

Yeol shrugged one shoulder. “I’ve got time.”

“You know, usually when someone says it’s a long story, that means they don’t want to tell you,” Baekhyun smirked.

“Ah, but that’s not what you said, was it? Anyway, you can say whatever you want. I’m listening.”

Baekhyun stared at him, for once rendered silent. It had been a while since someone offered their ear. So maybe it was a bad idea to spill his guts to the first friendly person who asked, but he was never known for being able to keep secrets for long. That was how Baekhyun found himself recounting the past events, starting from accidentally running away from home, to getting knocked out, and finally, to having the worst headache in human history.

The stranger nodded sympathetically, asking the right questions and wholeheartedly adding fuel to Baekhyun’s storyteller heart. Somewhere in the middle of their conversation, Jongdae slid two glasses of fizzling beer down to Yeol, who passed one to a shocked Baekhyun.

"It's yours," was all the stranger said. Baekhyun didn't argue, and sipped the alcoholic poison disguised as amber liquid. He needed something refreshing and distracting to keep his mind off other depressing matters.

Yeol drummed his fingers on the bar counter. "What about your parents?"

"They don't give a crap about me," Baekhyun chuckled bitterly, but the smile soon slipped off his face. His eyes fixated on the counter because he could feel them burning, and he knew if he looked up to meet shining, pretty eyes belonging to a certain handsome and kind stranger, he'd spontaneously start crying. The alcohol loosened his tongue, causing him to say things he only told to one other person, and it took him years to say it, even though he trusted Luhan with his own life. "Ever since... Ever since I told them I was gay, they kicked me out. They said that it wasn't normal and I needed to get the stupid thoughts out of my head." Another bitter laugh resembled a choked sob. "I couldn't change the way I am... So they disowned me. They never really loved me anyway, they always said that right after I turn eighteen, we would be strangers passing each other by on the streets. The only reason they raised me was due to responsibility."

"Oh..." If Baekhyun's tears didn't blur his vision, he would have seen Yeol watch him with a softer, more empathetic gaze. It should be awkward letting Yeol see this side of him the first day they met, but the alcohol took the edge off his vulnerability.

"Hey, you said you ran away, right?" Jongdae's soft voice broke the silence. Yeol stared at him, wondering where he was going with this. Baekhyun finally raised his head, nodding, and Yeol's heart broke at the sight of his tears and red, puffy eyes. Jongdae smiled kindly at him, "I'm assuming you don't have a place to stay, so if it makes you feel any better, my place is an option."

"Really?" Baekhyun widened his eyes, not believing his luck. Seeing Jongdae nod, Baekhyun let an ecstatic grin slip on his face and hurriedly wiped away his tears. "I-I'll get a job really soon so when I have enough money, I'll move out. I feel so shameless - intruding on you - with me being a total stranger and all that. But I swear, this means so, so much to me. I can't ever thank you enough. How can I make this up to you?"

Jongdae laughed at his eagerness, and replied, "You're not a total stranger, per se, since I know your name and all. You also gave me your entire backstory a few minutes ago.” Baekhyun cringed at that. “ And you don't owe me anything."

"I can't just accept this without paying you back," Baekhyun insisted, his hands in front of his pleading puppy-dog eyes. "I beg of you to let me do anything, anything."

"Hmm, fine," Jongdae relented, looking up at the ceiling as he thought about the request. Yeol gave him a warning glare. "You know, we've been hiring for the past few days. If you're good with rags or mixing drinks, let me know."

“I just told you I’m from a village,” Baekhyun said softly, almost bewildered. “Does it look like I have bartending experience to you?”

Yeol laughed, “That’s just Jongdae’s way of telling you that you really don’t need to do anything.”

“But, but - c’mon.” Baekhyun stood up, wandering down the bar, eyes flickering around the walls for anything that he can use to his advantage. It was a really homely bar with tasteful decor that didn’t overwhelm the customers, but instead, added subtlely to the welcoming atmosphere. It gave him the same feeling Jongdae did.

He spotted something odd. Pointing at an odd empty space near the back of the room, Baekhyun asked Jongdae, “What’s that for? All your furniture or areas have a designated use, but that’s kinda random.”

“Oh, that’s our stage,” Jongdae replied. He rested on the counter, watching Baekhyun’s eyes light up. “We used to have open mic, but people generally weren’t interested anymore, and hiring quality musicians that our crowd likes is either too pricey or impossible to find.”

Baekhyun surveyed the crowd once more, noting all the middle-aged men. It made sense that pop covers wouldn’t be popular with this audience. But his experience in singing trot definitely would.

“I can do it,” Baekhyun exclaimed, raising his hand excitedly. “I’m actually a pretty good singer. Not professional, but I took lessons and seriously considered it a career option.”

“I don’t know,” Jongdae said hesitantly, glancing at the empty stage.

Yeol handed his card over to Jongdae and tapped the bartender’s arm. “Give him a chance. One night. We’ll see how the crowd responds to him.”

Jongdae bit his lip, glancing between Yeol’s heavy, unrelenting stare and Baekhyun’s pleading eyes, before giving in. “Fine. Sure. Tomorrow evening at six.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Baekhyun shouted giddily, reaching over to give Jongdae a hug. Yeol’s unamused stare went unnoticed, but it quickly morphed into one of fondness when Baekhyun broke into a cute song to give them a taste.

“You’re not going to make me regret this, are you?” Jongdae whispered to Chanyeol, who merely smiled back.

“I don’t think we’re ever going to regret him.”

¤¤¤

Luhan fidgeted nervously as he stood in line beside the rest of the girls in front of the royal castle - it was huge, with giant, lovely pillars rising in front of the rock etched in marble structure. And boy, did the Prince have good taste. All the girls he chose were extremely attractive, ranging from squishy to drop-dead gorgeous. He never felt so out of place, stuck in between Luna and this small, petite brunette whose beauty still shone, despite her odd hairstyle.

"Stop moving," Luna whispered, albeit kindly, to Luhan as she touched his arm to make sure he stayed still. "They're coming."

"Right," Luhan whispered back, though he didn't know who was coming. He crossed his arms over his chest to try to keep them still, and watched curiously at the group of people approaching them. As they got closer, he realized most of them were guards, and the only two who weren't wearing the guards' red uniform were a young lady and a strikingly handsome man. Was that the Prince? Prince Sehun rarely bothered visiting Luhan’s village, and when he did, Luhan rarely bothered trying to catch a glimpse of him.

"Welcome to Seoul, girls!" The lady beamed. Luhan flinched at being referred to as a girl. She started walking down the line of pretty girls, her hands crossed over her chest. Her dark dress rustled with every graceful movement. "You can refer to me as Miss Bom or Goddess Bom, either's fine."

Luhan visibly relaxed. She didn't seem too bad. But as he caught eyes with the tall, scowling man standing at Miss Bom's side, he gulped nervously. Maybe I shouldn't let down my guard yet.

"There's twenty of you here. And how lucky the twenty of you are, for Prince Sehun hand-picked you all to be his future wife. We have to make sure that you fit our standards, at least, that you're decent." Miss Bom shot a wink at the girl with the pixie cut standing to Luhan's right. What was that supposed to mean, that princesses couldn’t have pixie cuts? "You'll go through some tests and tasks to see just what you're capable of. Prince Sehun will be watching you and he'll make his final pick when he's ready."

Extending a hand to the guards, she continued her introduction, "You don't have to be afraid here. We'll try to make your stay as comfortable as possible, since one of you will be our future princess. You can ask the servants, myself, the guards, or Mr. Kim Jongin here." Miss Bom gestured towards the displeased man. Luhan bit his lip, slightly relieved Mr. Kim wasn't the Prince. "Jongin is Prince Sehun's butler, so he'll be plenty of help."

Even though Miss Bom smiled sweetly at the girls in front of her, Luhan couldn't help but feel she didn't take them seriously. They were just toys for her to play with in this large, life-sized game.

"Now then, let the competition begin."

¤¤¤

Fourteen Years Ago

"Is he alive?"

"Oh my god, he can't be dead... He can't!"

Luhan felt dead. All he saw was darkness and he had the worst headache pounding at his skull. But there were these voices... Ones that sounded so familiar.

"Move out of the way!"

He couldn't move, his limbs didn't follow his commands anymore. But something warm pressed on his lips, and air filled up his entire body. The darkness was fading away, though his vision was still blurred. The moment he opened his eyes, he spluttered out water and coughed violently. Luhan groggily wiped at his eyes as he squinted, trying to get a sense of his bearings. Everywhere ached terribly.

A young boy around his age crouched in front of him. Why was he wearing a wet suit? He shivered and glanced down at himself to realize he, too, was wet. It hurt to breathe and move yet he still tried to get up. Before he could stand, the boy forced him down again. "Stop. Just rest for now."

Luhan opened his dry mouth, but nothing came out. He clawed at his throat to no avail. Luhan sat down, in defeat, and noticed for the first time some of the bullies were unconscious on the ground, most of them bleeding. Looking up, he saw the rest of the gang fighting three people, Ji-eun, Yixing, and that strange boy.

Ji-eun and Yixing fought by each other's side. They weren't too skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but they were smart and used their habitat to their advantage. Basically, chucking rocks and gauging with sticks at the ferocious boys against them. The boy, on the other hand, moved gracefully as he was obviously trained, executing sharp blows in all the right places. At one touch, his opponent dropped like a sack of potatoes to the ground. Needless to say, Luhan was impressed.

But trying to follow the blows and children falling to the ground was too much for Luhan’s groggy, still recovering mind. He picked himself off the ground and walked off, unnoticed by his friends. Hobbling away from the fight, he caught sight of a carriage.

Huh. The boy in the carriage was wearing a small crown.

Even though Luhan was the one who almost drowned, who was bullied everyday for something he couldn't change, he thought the child in the carriage looked more miserable and caged in than anyone he'd ever met.

Luhan didn't know why, but he wanted to free the boy.

¤¤¤

As Luhan entered his room, he was star-struck by the pure beauty and wealth the castle had offered him so far. The hallways, the gardens, even the rooms seemed to come out of a painting, with their rich hues and elaborately carved furniture.

Checking behind him, Luhan locked the door and threw his suitcase to the floor. He bounced onto the bed and relished the softness, the smell of richness seeping into him.

A knock on the door interrupted his brief fantasy. Luhan groaned as he got up and opened the large mahogany door to be met with Mr. Jongin from before. "Can I help you?"

"Dinner's at six sharp. Get dressed," Mr. Jongin ordered monotonously. He probably had to repeat this twenty times to twenty different girls. "Hope you enjoy the stay here."

"Oh. Thanks." Luhan was about to close the door, before he realized this was the closest he'd come to the quiet butler. He took a brief second to observe Jongin's unreadable dark eyes, black hair precisely styled, and his well-ironed suit. That suit. Luhan couldn't place a finger on it, but Jongin seemed eerily familiar.

Jongin made a move to go, and Luhan quickly held his arm to stop him from leaving. The butler glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "I - have I seen you before?"

Jongin's eyes seemed to turn even more darker and his features hardened to the point where Luhan could have mistaken him for a statue. He brushed off Luhan's grip and stalked away after saying, "No, I don't think so. Please refrain from touching me."

Luhan bit his lip. He swore he saw Jongin before, he just didn't know where and when. Shrugging off the nagging thought, Luhan slipped off his clothes and got ready for his steaming bath in the luxurious bathtub waiting for him.

¤¤¤

Luhan exited his shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He checked in the closet and frowned when all he saw were puffy, girly dresses in various colours. Luhan dug through, flipping past silky embroidery, only to be met with the hard wooden closet. He face-palmed when he realized he was forced to wear the dresses. Now he really understood Ji-eun’s rant about regression.

Someone knocked on his door again. People sure like visiting me. He relaxed when he heard Luna call out, "It's just me, Lulu! Open up."

Luhan did just that. However, he failed to remember he was only wearing a towel around his lower section. Luna checked him out with an amused grin followed by a "you've been working out, huh" before flouncing her way into his bedroom.

Luhan sputtered and covered his chest indignantly, throwing out excuses left and right. Luna shut him up by picking out a couple of dresses and throwing them on the bed. They were in shades of blue, green, and red. She held them out in front of her, arms-length away. Humming, she discarded the rest of the dresses until she found a strapless pale pink one with a flower attached to the top right. Even Luhan had to admit it was pretty.

"I figured you needed some help getting ready, y'know? No need to thank me." Luna smiled at him as she tossed the dress his way. "Put that on. It brings out your fair skin and dark hair."

Luhan changed in the bathroom, shimmying into the dress. He felt weird wearing something this expensive and pretty, especially when it was catered towards girls. It was times like these when Luhan wondered what he was thinking when he agreed to go along with Ji-eun's stupid plan.

When Luna applied make-up and the wig, it felt different from when his sister did it for him. Her touches resembled butterflies, brief and light. Gentle. Just like Luna. After she finished, Luhan opened his eyes and gulped at the proximity of the two. Luna was so close he could count her individual lashes.

Her voice came out breathless, as she whispered, “You look gorgeous, Ji-eun.”