It was snowing that fateful December day. Sehun was walking home from his classes, his slender arms overflowing with canvases, brushes, and huge bottles of paint. It was hard being a high school artist, but for Sehun, it felt good to know that people loved the way he expressed his pain through his vibrant, bold, and realistic paintings. "How does the snow look from heaven, mom and dad?" He thought to himself as he looked up at the heather grey sky, the light flurry of shimmering snowflakes getting caught in his eccentric, rainbow-dyed hair. "I miss you guys so much. If you can see me from all the way up there, all of my paintings are for you. I hope you guys are proud of me. I love you..." He sighed as he waited for the bus home. "Ah, so cold..." He shivered. "If I don't get home soon, my paints will freeze and my canvases will be stiff..."

"Sehun!" A voice called from the streets. Sehun squinted as he looked into the silver Audi parked on the other side of the street. "Sehun, c'mon! Get in the car before you freeze to death!"

"Who is...?" Sehun mumbled to himself, straining to see through the heavy breezes that brought flurries of snow rushing by. "Hmm..." Sehun walked carefully across the street, afraid of slipping on the thick ice. "Oh, it's you S-Siwon. I didn't recognize you through the.. s-snow..." Sehun shivered, putting his supplies in the backseat of the car and sitting in the warm passenger seat. He smiled, closing his eyes as he put his red, numb fingers closer to the heat. 

"Alright, let's get you home.." Siwon smiled, starting the car and driving off.

~ ~ ~

Luhan sighed as he wiped the tables of the coffeehouse, a smile adorning his young, Lolita-looking face. He wasn't happy about his studies starting tomorrow, so he decided to enjoy his freedom while he could, even if it meant working his fingers to the bone. "Luhan!" His coworker called. "You got a letter from home!" Luhan turned cautiously, taking the letter with a worried-smile.

"Luhan,

Things at home are still pretty bad. Father has gone to enlist in the army, and mother had to take a fourth job to try and make ends meet. I dream of the day we can come to Korea and leave these struggles behind.

Staying strong for you, Yixing"

Luhan's smile widened as he felt a tear slip down his cheek and an arm snake across his shoulders. "It'll be okay, Luhan..." His coworker smiled. "They'll be here soon. You have to stay happy for them!" Luhan had come to this foreign land when he was still in middle school, his family had shipped him away to avoid their youngest son witnessing the horrors of a Communist government.

"You're right..." He whispered, his voice delicate and low. "They did it just for me, didn't they? They didn't want me to experience such horrors, but I miss them so much. Every letter is like a painful reminder that I'm all alone here. No family, and one friend..." He sighed, throwing his cleaning rag over his shoulder and running his hands through his silky, bleach blonde hair. "I'm sorry Donghae, I really shouldn't lament..." He smiled sheepishly.

"Nah, it's okay. Just keep your chin up and smile until they get here. Then when the day comes and they arrive, smile even wider, even if it hurts." Donghae smiled, giving Luhan a firm but gentle pat on the back. "C'mon , let's get the shop open!"

Well, first chapter! Don't really want to get too into the storyline like I did with Oil/Water, instead I want to kind of establish characters and background stories. See you in the next chapter!^.^=

Saranghae,

~Marzie♥