In a world of magic, where wicked kings ruled, the forests were full of fairies and the songs of the sirens could be heard at dawn, Sunggyu was a storyteller.

He wasn't an ordinary one, though. He knew words like the back of his hand, and there was none who was not impressed by them. He mesmerized people.

Myungsoo wondered which part of all those stories were true and which ones were a lie. Because there had to be some truth behind them, right?

“No.” Sunggyu answered one day, when Myungsoo had found the courage to ask him. “I'm a storyteller. I invent those stories to entertain people. To leave an impression on them so they will never forget who Kim Sunggyu was. None of those stories were true.”

Myungsoo frowned. There was a bit of disappointment hidden behind his low sigh, Sunggyu noticed it.

“One day.” Sunggyu said, shaking the dust off his pants. “One day I may tell a story which is actually true. But you'd never know, though. How could you discern if I was being honest or telling another tale?”

Myungsoo had a deep frown when they were walking back home. Sunggyu knew Myungsoo was overthinking about something, he always did that thing with his brows when he was upset or feeling uneasy.

The night sky was as clear as water and the moon was huge. Myungsoo wondered if the moon was always feeling sad. She made Myungsoo feel sad, though, that's why he thought she must also feel sad. He could feel her sadness slipping and soaking him as if it was raining. He didn't enjoy the nightime, and that was one of the reasons. He loved the stars, however. He thought the stars were trying to cheer the sorrowful moon up, but he found their fates a bit unfair. Why did they have to suffer, to spend their whole lifetimes swimming and drowning across the dark sky, only to keep the moon accompanied. He wondered if the stars were feeling sad or just plain resigned about their destiny.

“Stop thinking so much.” he heard Sunggyu saying, somewhere across the bedroom. “No matter how long you look through the window at those stars, they won't move. There's nothing you can do about them.”

“But hyung, I want them to be happy.”

“And why do you think they're not happy?” Sunggyu's voice was low and sleepy, he probably just wanted to lie down and fall asleep.

“They seem...sad. But not as unhappy as the moon, though. There's something so depressing and joyless about the night that it makes me want to cry. Doesn't it also happen to you, hyung?”

“No.” Sunggyu replied. “I enjoy the silence of the night. It helps me think better.”

“And what do you think about?”

Even through the darkness of the room, Myungsoo could perceive a small smile on Sunggyu's lips.

“And what about the sun, Myungsoo? Don't you think he is sad?”

Myungsoo frowned, sitting back on his bed and playing with his fingers, probably and old habit which denoted nervousness.

“He's so bright and splendorous, he doesn't seem sad at all.”

“I think he's the saddest of all us. He's just there, with no one to be with him during the long hours of the daytime. People are too busy with their daily lives to care about him. Just because he shines and seems so cheerful, doesn't mean he is. Even the happiest people have suffered or are suffering. It all could be a façade. But you'd never know. Those people are the best storytellers after all.”

****

Myungsoo wasn't sure who moved first. Had it been him? Or had it been Sunggyu? It didn't matter, though, but he was kissing the boy now, and that did matter.

He broke the kiss after a few seconds. Something did not feel right.

“What happens, Myungsoo?” asked Sunggyu, his eyes full of confusion as he stared at him.

“You.” he answered, and the response came out a bit too roughly, surprising Sunggyu, who took a step back.

“I'm s-”

“Don't apologize.” he interrupted. “I didn't mean 'you' as 'I didn't want the kiss' or as 'I don't feel anything for you'. I meant 'you', as you, Kim Sunggyu. What happened to you that there's nothing but hollowness and sorrow inside of you?”

Sunggyu smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. It never did, though, Myungsoo realized it now.

“Maybe I am the moon, Myungsoo. Constantly looking in other's the joy I'd never had.” he replied, biting softly his lip. “Or maybe I am the sun, I try to deceive you all with my cheerfulness when I'm dead inside.”

“You're not dead.” Myungsoo said, harshly. “You just feel....sad.”

****

“Sunggyu oppa.” a feminine, loud voice was heard through the crowd, stopping Sunggyu and Myungsoo as they were crossing the street market. “Tell us a story!”

Sunggyu could never say no.

All the people in that street stopped working. Some of them sat next to Sunggyu, others just leaned against the nearest wall. Whatsoever was fine as long as they could hear his soft and smooth voice, not too low, not too high, perfect to tell stories and to make people believe them.

“There was a boy.”  he started, his eyes sparkling as they would everytime he told a tale. “He was a prince, but he did not live here, he was a prince of a foreign country. What is so fascinating about this man that makes me tell you this story? I'll tell you. He was not that tall, people often could refer to him as short, but he was charming, debonair, well-mannered and women would probably qualify him as handsome: black hair, sharp nose, plump lips, toned body. He came to this town and lived here for months. Or was it years? I don't remember clearly, but I do remember he used to bake cakes for everyone in the town every weekend, and the citizens loved him. That man, though, was very strange. No, strange would not be the best word to describe him. Peculiar, I'd rather say. He loved the rain, loved the forests and loved walking through them when it was pouring down. He also loved the night, he thought the moon shone the brightest in this world and somehow that made him feel a bit happier, his chest would not feel as constricted as it felt when he was alone. What was so characteristic and distinctive about this man that I'm telling you this, his, story? You'd never know. He left. He left and went back to his Kingdom, one day and all of sudden, leaving this little town behind. You wouldn't remember him, it was too long ago, when none of you were even born. But he was a very good hearted person, or so he wanted us to think, that's why I like to tell this story, because that way no one would ever forget about Nam Woohyun.”

Everyone in the street cheered for him, clapping loudly and nodding, pleased. Kim Sunggyu never disappointed anyways.

Myungsoo was looking at him with some kind of unspoken question hidden between his glare. It made Sunggyu feel uneasy.

“Wha is it?” he asked once they were on their way again, when he couldn't stand the pressure anymore.

“That story.” Myungsoo replied, his voice almost a whisper. “That story was true. That story was yours.”

“How would you know?” Sunggyu cocked an eyebrow, shifting his gaze to the evening sky.

“The name.” he said. “You've never said a name before.”

Sunggyu stopped abruptly, somewhat quite shocked, but shook his head a few seconds after, laughing.

“You're so much smarter than I gave you credit of.”

He kicked away a rock that was on his path, hurting his right foot a bit.

“It was.” he finally said, after a while.

“Who was him?”

“A prince, I already said that.” Sunggyu laughed softly. “I fell in love with him, hopeless and recklessly in love with him. Wrong move, though. Storytellers should never fall in love.”

“Why not?”

“Because it eventually grows to become their own story. You'd never know which parts of those stories are true or not, in the end. You're deceiving people, even though they'll never know.”

“Was it unrequited love?” Myungsoo dared to ask.

“It wasn't.” Sunggyu answered. “He loved me back.”

“Then, what happened? Why did he leave?”

“Didn't you hear my story before, Myungsoo? He was a prince, and as much as he loved me, he loved his people more. He had a strong sense of responsibility. Duties came before love. We both knew that, I knew that, but I still let him in.”

“Do you regret it?”

Sunggyu didn't answer.

“You said he loved the moon. Is that why you like it too? Because it reminds you of him?”

Suddenly, Sunggyu sat on the grass. They were now near a forest, Myungsoo hadn't even noticed when they had walked so much. He sat next to Sunggyu.

“I was the moon and he was the stars, back then. I used to be a very lonely, indifferent person. I didn't care about anything at all. I was...empty, I guess. He made me feel alive. Woohyun was just like that. He was a very bubbly person, bright and cheerful. His light surrounded me every day and it just made things better. He left, though, as I said.”

“Did you cry?” Myungsoo asked, softly. The sadness of the story was making him feel suffocated. “I've never seen you cry before."

“I cried.” Sunggyu confirmed. “That was the only time I've ever cried in my life before. I cried so much, I think I dried myself.”

He laughed at his own joke, which was supposed to be funny, but it sounded awful.

“What happened after that?” Myungsoo inquired, after a while.

“Haven't you noticed it already, Myungsoo? When he left, I became the sun.”

Myungsoo felt pain in his chest. The story had been so sad, he wanted to cry. There was such sadness in his voice, he had no idea how Sunggyu could live like that.

“Isn't it tiring?” he asked. “Living like that? Drowning in your own sorrow?”

It sounded a bit harsh, but Myungsoo couldn't stop himself from saying those words.

“It is? I'm kind of pleased with the way I'm living now. I've got a beautiful job and I've got a nice friend, an apprentice, you.”

“But you're not happy.”

“But I don't mind.” he answered. “I once felt happiness, that's enough for me. There are two types of people in the world, Myungsoo: those who prefer to be sad among others, and those who prefer to be sad alone. You know, during the sunset, there's this small amount of time where the sun and the moon are both on the sky. And the stars are there too. Isn't it there when they can share their sadness, and somehow, find a bit of joy together?”

“But the sun, the sun isn't completely alone. There are clouds, hyung. Clouds who cover him and hide him from all the bad in this world. Theyprotect him.”

Sunggyu smiled, knowing what Myungsoo meant.

“Why won't the sun allow those clouds to be with him?” Myungsoo insisted.

“Because the clouds would eventually turn into water, as they were in the first place, and the sun will be left all alone once again.”