Chapter Five

The Madman’s Search

As the sun peaked out, an array of morning colors swept across the sky. Blowing in the zephyr, the trees danced around him. In his garden, the flowers swayed along too. Luhan loved dawn. He loved the feeling of the dewy grass against his bare feet. He loved the sound of robins singing their awakening tune. He loved the euphoria of being the only one awake.

On a typical day, Luhan would awake around six in the morning and spend the time between solitude and breakfast wandering around his garden. However, today he had a mission—a rather important one at that. Sehun’s twentieth birthday was approaching—and fast. Luhan had one duty: to make it as perfect as possible. And he intended to do just that. The night prior, while Sehun prepared for bed, Luhan consulted his parents on his plan.

“Sehun’s birthday is tomorrow, you know,” Luhan paused, awaiting their confirmation before continuing, “I want to make it nice for him! He deserves it. After all, he hasn’t caused that much trouble…”

With little reluctance or argument, Tao and Yifan agreed. Therefore, Luhan awoke bright and early with a fire in his eyes. Using Sehun’s awful snore to his advantage, he snuck out of the room easily. The poor kid wouldn’t have a clue. Not even saying goodbye to his parents, Luhan scuttled out of the house and into the forest.

The woods were surprisingly dark, large oak trees guarding the hardly lit path. Woodland creatures stirred as he passed by, but none of them revealed themselves. Luhan’s eyes darted in every direction at all given times. It was a wonder anyone traveled these woods alone anyway. An eerie fog constantly floated above the ground and the occasional ominous shadow shot by. When Luhan finally reached the river, he wanted to drop to his knees and cry in happiness. Unfortunately, however, he couldn’t. At this point, the sunset had settled and the yellows, pinks, and violets faded into a light blue. He kept moving. After walking along the riverside for a few minutes, the red and gold of the castle came into view. Luhan sighed in relief.

Within moments of being there, he spotted Chanyeol’s curly locks entering the building. He creeped past the stoic guards holding their spears and guns. Fortunately, no one saw him duck behind a trunk some servant was hauling. Trying his best not to make any noise, Luhan crawled through the front doors, unseen by the guards. A short, brown haired boy had Chanyeol shoved against the wall and his fingers entangled in the taller man’s hair. Their lips locked with such passion and need—as if they would never touch each other again. Face burning, Luhan gulped and advanced toward them.

“Um, excuse me. I need-“Luhan stopped when they pulled apart, cheeks bright red. Prince Baekhyun hid his face. He stammered, “I’m sorry, Chanyeol and…your majesty.”

“It’s alright, gramps-“Chanyeol started, but Baekhyun interrupted him with furrowed eyebrows.

“Wait, wait, wait. You’re older? No way!” Baekhyun guffawed, holding his stomach.

“What do you need?” Chanyeol asked, ignoring the laughing prince beside him. 

“I need to speak to Zha-erm King Yixing. At once please,” Luhan proclaimed. Biting down on his lip, Baekhyun nodded at him.

“Right this way,” he said, gesturing with hands the direction they were to go in.

In complete and utter silence, the prince led him into the expansive ballroom, where Luhan halted to stare at the magnificent thrones. Perhaps, Luhan embarrassed them after intruding upon their personal time together. Fortunately, Baekhyun refrained from mentioning it. He was very much like how Sehun described him: animated, intriguing, cool. He had a puppy face and his head constantly spun about searching for new action. While Sehun had called him vulgar and incompetent, Luhan sought otherwise. Baekhyun seemed wise in a weird sense. Almost as if he locked away more than he chose to express. Luhan supposed that all great kings needed to bare such an attribute.

“Luhan,” Baekhyun began, “how has Sehun been holding up?”

Luhan shrugged and replied, “Well enough, I guess. I think he is plotting something, though. Revenge, maybe? He definitely still holds a grudge against you all.”

Baekhyun giggled. “That isn’t what I meant,” he paused, letting those words sink in. They left Luhan bewildered. Baekhyun noticed and continued, “Jongin told me some things“

“Enough, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said sternly, something Luhan had never seen before, “They’ll figure it out with time.”

At this point, Luhan’s head spun in great befuddlement, but he shook off their indirectness. From then on, Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s conversing changed to a bit of a quarrel. However, it wasn’t your typical debate. They betted on Sehun. Whether or not he would change or how many terrible things he had done while over at Luhan’s house. Baekhyun argued against him and Chanyeol argued for him. While Luhan didn’t want to be rude, he felt the veins in his neck pop out as they argued on. Thankfully, they arrived before Luhan had the chance to do anything.

“Dad!” Baekhyun called. After a few scurrying noises, both kings appeared. They adjusted their clothing and marched forward. Baekhyun gagged.

“Ah!” Yixing clapped, “Luhannie! What brings you here?”

“I have a request, Xing,” Luhan explained, bowing to his rulers.

“Stop being so formal,” Yixing corrected, speaking in Mandarin, “What you need?”

“Well, your son’s birthday is tomorrow,” Luhan trailed off before blurting out in Mandarin,” I want to send him back to the castle for just one day as my birthday gift to him and I need your permission to do so.”

Yixing stopped. A smile creeped onto his face. “Of course, Lulu!” Yixing exclaimed, returning to Korean, “You’d make a wonderful prince, you know.” As he consulted the other members of the royal family, Luhan released a prolonged sigh.

Phase one complete.

                                                                                                                                                             ---

Later that morning, Sehun awoke as he normally did: gradually, still in a dreamy state of mind. While Luhan gazed at the sky, Sehun often took his alone time to reflect on his dreams or recent occurances. On that day, Sehun found it to be no different. His eyes fluttered open to find Luhan gone—not entirely unusual—and so he stared at the ceiling, waiting for Luhan’s return. And thinking, lots of thinking. After lying around for so long, Sehun realized that the sunset had already ended. By now, Luhan should had returned for him.

Sehun scampered down the hallway. Maybe Tao or Yifan asked Luhan to help them make breakfast or take care of the chickens. Sliding to the door, Sehun peeped his head into the kitchen. Reading the morning paper, Yifan sipped on his coffee, oblivious to his presence. He entered cautiously.

“Morning,” Sehun muttered, seating himself beside Yifan, who looked up at his sudden appearance.

"Good morning, Sehun,” Yifan smiled before returning to his paper. Fidgeting in his chair, Sehun peered down at his bare feet.

“Um, I was wondering…do you know where Luhan is?” Sehun asked, scratching the back of his neck.

“Lu? Nooo. He must have left hours ago,” Yifan replied nonchalantly, not glancing up from the paper, “I would go check in town, if I were you.”

The lump in his throat thickened. After thanking Yifan, Sehun fled from the house. As he ran down the road, Sehun couldn’t help but let his mind get the better of him. Particularly, the thought of that story about a bloodthirsty woodsman who could abduct Luhan given the chance. The likely assumption was the Luhan went to go run errands and that he didn’t want to disturb Sehun from his slumber. Knowing Luhan, however, it seemed unlikely. Withal, it was a start. A first clue.

Sehun headed for the first destination: the clinic. Seeing as Kyungsoo stayed there on his days off, Luhan would definitely had stopped by to ask all sorts of questions. He pushed open the front doors with a loud thud. Kyungsoo wide, bloodshot eyes bore into his own. He smiled awkwardly.

“Kyungsoo-ssi,” Sehun started nervously, “Have you seen Luhan?” Kyungsoo’s glare fell.

“No. He hasn’t visited me at all today. In fact, I was growing rather worried. Don’t tell me... you lost him, didn’t you?” Kyungsoo’s scolding voice wavered as he spoke.

“No! I woke up and he was just gone!” Sehun tried to reason, but Kyungsoo wasn’t having any of it. He put his arms up, his large eyes burning into his head again.

“You can’t have Luhan all to yourself, Sehun! Where is he?” Kyungsoo demanded.

“What? No! I don’t know where he is,” Sehun shouted, gaining everyone in the room’s attention. Kyungsoo’s heart lips smiled deviously and his hooded eyes met with his own as he waved goodbye. Sehun stormed out without even a muster of a goodbye.

Rampantly, Sehun bolted down the street to each building until he almost ran out of places to check. The only place left to visit would be the tavern, where Sehun would be alone with the dreaded Jongdae. See, Sehun never went to these places alone before. Ever. Not to mention that Jongdae absolutely hated him with a burning passion. Now, as much as Sehun feared the wrath of Jongdae, he ultimately decided that Luhan was worth it. Sehun creeped through the doors carefully only to find the entire premises empty.

"Hello? Luhan?” Sehun called, but there was no reply. He shouted out again, this time to be met by a nerving cackle. 

“Sehun, I see the time has finally come,” the voice of Jongdae rumbled lowly as he emerged from the shadows. Sehun scrutinized him. While he was fairly short, he stood in such an assertive position, he made anyone feel meek in his presence. The way his eyes never dropped contact, even to blink, didn’t help much either. He gulped. “Missing someone, Sehunnie?”

Alarm bells went off in Sehun’s head and suddenly felt a surge of fury rush through his veins. “Do you have Luhan? Where is he?” Sehun commanded, “I am a prince! I’ll chop your head off if you don’t tell me.”

Another laugh came from his mouth before he stated, “Oh, I don’t have him. It was merely an observation.” He straddled the chair in front of him, gesturing Sehun to sit down beside him. Sehun obeyed, eyeing the door.

“Have you seen Luhan?” Sehun inquired. Jongdae shook his head. As Sehun stood up to leave, Jongdae grabbed his wrist.

“Don’t leave yet,” Jongdae insisted, ‘I have some words to say.” Once Sehun plopped back down on the chair, he cleared his throat. “Luhan is older than you, right?”

“Yeah? Why does it matter?” Sehun asked with furrowed brows.

“It matters because you are treating him like he’s incapable of doing things by himself,” Jongdae reasoned, “I guess you’ve gotten a bit attached, huh?”

“I-I wouldn’t say that,” Sehun sputtered out, “I can’t wait to go home!”

“That’s beside the point, dear. You can’t just run in here and decide to dictate Luhan’s life. He’s a grown man,” Jongdae explained, but Sehun wasn’t any having it. However, before Sehun could retaliate, Jongdae continued, “I think you genuinely care about Luhan. You match each other well, I guess, but I think you’ve grown possessive. Not necessarily over him, but over the thought of having someone who mutually cares about you like you care about them. You crave that kind of relationship though you probably never experienced one as a prince. Luhan is your private oasis.”

Sehun was at a loss for words.

Why? Jongdae was right.

So he ran. He ran far, far away.

                                                                                                                                                         ---

On his way back home, Luhan mentally cheered for himself. His birthday mission was a complete success. The royal family, including King Joonmyun, had zero hesitation in agreeing to his proposal. In fact, they were more than happy to see Sehun again prior to his return to the castle in about two months. Humming, Luhan took his time as he headed home, plucking the prettiest flowers and wandering off the trail. Soon, he reached the small opening; one he’s visited many times in these last few weeks. As Sehun loved this spot, he found himself frequenting it quite often.

Suddenly, a harsh arm wrapped itself around Luhan’s waist and yanked him back. He yelped. As one of the hands covered Luhan’s mouth, he desperately tried to make as much noise as possible, but to avail. No one would hear him. This is just like that scary story Chanyeol told us, Luhan thought in panic. Abruptly, the stranger let go.

Stepping out in front of him, the man laughed heartily. He had an bizarrely upright posture, tucked chin, and pocketed hands. All of which matched the sly smile hidden beneath his beard. He grazed Luhan’s cheeks with his knuckles.

“You have such soft skin,” the man deeply whispered. Eyes wide, Luhan stepped back, tripping over his feet. All of a sudden, he couldn’t move at all. As if, he had frozen his limbs. It didn’t seem like he could talk either.

“Luhan!?”