My dream was to live luxury. Where I didn’t have to think about survival. Or whether or not I was going to live to see tomorrow.

Born in a dying city, every day was a struggle. There were some days where I truly felt like death could end my suffering.

Until I met him. He changed everything.

And just when I thought happy endings were true, he left.

With the last words, “save yourself".

And five years went by just like that.

 

“Lady. Pardon, my lady.”

One of the maids woke me up from my thoughts.

She smiled gently. “Were you thinking about the past again? I really don’t understand why Lady wants to remember those horrible times.”

“Yes… I wonder why…” I stared off into space once more.

“Lady, please get it together. Earl Chanyeol is finally coming back from his work since he left five days ago.” The maid said as she helped me get up from my chair and change into a different dress.

However, my mind was still occupied about that day. The day in which I first met him.

The boy with the light turquoise eyes.

 

Her POV

I woke to the sound of fire crackling.

The first thing I saw was the sky. It was a night sky filled with billions of stars.

Was the sky always this beautiful?

“You awake? About time. I was really starting to think that you were dead.” A deep voice said as I sat up.

As I looked around, I realized we were located quite far away from the city taking shelter near ruined houses.

I stared at the owner of the voice with ceased eyebrows.

Was I kidnapped? Why am I here? Who is this guy?

Then, he chuckled. “Is that how you treat someone who saved you? With a death glare?”

“Saved me? What do you mean?” I asked in confusion.

“You don’t remember? You were lying dead on the streets and when you saw me, you asked me to save you.” He said as he put more wood into the fire.

I tried to remember what happened, and I finally did. I was roaming the city streets like I always did. Then, I had reached my limit and fell onto the ground. Before losing consciousness, I remembered seeing a pair of shoes in front of me and that must’ve been when I asked for help.

“You remember now? Good. I don’t want something troublesome like an amnesiac following me around.” He muttered as he stared at the fire.

“But why?” I asked him.

He seemed startled. Then, for the first time, he looked straight at me in the eye. “Why? Is that how people here thank others?”

I then saw how his eyes were different. All the people’s eyes here were brown, but his were the color of light turquoise.

He noticed my surprise and immediately looked away.

“Why…Why do you look away? Your eyes are beautiful.” I said without thinking.

He looked at me in the eyes once more. Then, he smiled. “You don’t know much about the outside world, do you?” His eyes turned soft and tender, but also bitter.

“Of course not. This is the first time I’ve been so far away from the city.”

“Then stay there. It’s better for you not to know.” He once again averted his gaze toward the fire. However, I, other the other hand, could not tear my eyes apart from his.

“Do people here also rudely stare at others, too?” He noticed my stare, and I immediately looked away.

Several minutes of silence passed on. He continued to bring life to the fire, and I sat and watched the fire strive to live on.

“Thank you,” I said, “for saving me.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said nonchalantly. “Just go back to sleep. I’ll wake you up in the morning.

I