As the light enters Chanyeol's room, he opens his eyes slowly. The silence was soft with cobwebs, and from the small, rectangular window in his room sifted a faint smell of fresh morning baked bread from the bakery nearby. The dining table was no longer there, his family was no longer there, Chanyeol was no longer in the wonderful dream of 16. Instead it was a small meager room painted with white and a cracked wooden floor. Chanyeol proped himself up, reaching for his night stand to grab his glasses. '6:14 am' was written on the alarm clock. He missed his daily alarm, but Chanyeol gave it no concern as he didn't have any plans for today. He pushed back a long strand of hair and slid his fingers through his ash brownish locks that the sun colored a lighter blonde. He grabbed whatever he could wear from a pile of unmatched clothes and hurried downstairs.

 

The young man took a deep breath as he walked across the street to what seems to be a Coffee Shop that he enjoyed drinking in. As he steps in a small bell rings informing the workers a customer came. "Welcome" A shorter gaunt man says to Chanyeol with a smile forming on his cherry pink lips. Chanyeol takes a seat on wooden chair that looked really uncomfortable to sit on, however Chanyeol didn't really feel any discomfort. He enjoyed the smell of the newly brewed coffee and the overwhelming silence that filled the place as there was only two customers. The other customer listed his head towards Chanyeol who was now sitting beside the transparent glass. The man watched Chanyeol with a cautious sly look as if he were a bird that had come up very close. Even the barista could notice the man's sharp glances at Chanyeol, but he stayed silent and continued brewing his coffee, a smile never leaving his face. As if he was living his own dream.

The shop stayed silent for minutes, with the barista leaning on the counter table until a customer calls his name. Chanyeol in his own lost world, and the man sipping his coffee ordering one cup after another as he stares at Chanyeol. The taller one fails to notice the man's sharp glances peering at his coffee, but after a short while their gazes collide. The man pushes his chair away, it was clear he was heading for Chanyeol's table that was only a few steps away from his. "Park Chanyeol?" The shorter male demanded, which quickly grabbed Chanyeol's attention. "Pardon?"
"Your name's Park Chanyeol, is that correct?"
"Yeah, how can I help you?"
A smile forms on the shorter guy's face as he grabs a chair, his eyes are only a few centimeters away from the taller guy's eyes. "I'm Byun Baekhyun. "

The taller man doesn't respond, waiting for Baekhyun to complete his sentence or at least introduce himself properly. Baekhyun slides a card across the table to Chanyeol which seemed to be a business card.

"I'm not interested in doin-"

"We aren't doing business" Baekhyun interrupts "If you read my card, you would've known I'm a psychiatrist by now. I hold sessions every Tuesday, I would like it if you come and discuss your problems fee free. There will be others joining you too."

"I appreciate your offer, Mr Baekhyun, but I don't think I will be needing these" 

Baekhyun pulls up his sleeves up to his elbows as he takes another sip, exposing his hairless milky white arms. Chanyeol could tell there was something graceful about the way he is sitting there, looking straight into Chanyeol's pupils with dark brown eyes. "Was it the Happy Virus?" he says holding back a faint chuckle. "Your friend Tao told me a lot about you."

"Wha-"

"Pretty ing pathetic nickname to hide your misery don't you think" Chanyeol stays quiet for a few seconds, looking at the street through the transparent glass then looking back at Baekhyun. His mouth splits open for a few seconds. He isn't mad at Baekhyun for saying that. Baekhun is still smiling at Chanyeol even after saying such words. A soft "Yeah" is what comes out of Chanyeol's mouth.
The shorter male strikes up one conversation after another of various topics, some that interest Chanyeol and some that all he could do was simply nod in agreement to. Baekhyun was very easy going and smiled the whole time, to the point where Chanyeol thought that he wasn't even capable of feeling sad. Chanyeol doesn't count the minutes that pass and nor does Baekhyun. The young psychiatrist had a deep interest in Chanyeol that could be seen clearly, which creeped the barista at one point.

"I'll see you on Tuesday then, exactly at 2pm"

"Isnt that a bit early" The taller man pleads.

"Im excited to hear your story, Chanyeol. You seem like a very interesting person" he replies with a grin spread across his face. The barista hurries to the psychiatrist before he leaves the shop. Chanyeol couldn't be bothered to hear what they were talking about.
_

"Are you attending that session with me, Minseok?" The taller one questions as he sees the card in the barista's hands. Minseok, one of Chanyeol's friends who dropped out of College and opened his own coffee shop. He worked at his own shop day and night enjoying brewing dark beans and serving customers with a smile.

"Yeah, I think I became interested after overhearing your conversation with the eccentric  looking psychiatrist"

"I would rather say he is unique."

"Unique?" he cackled "More like a madcap"

Day had broken out rainy and gray, exceedingly rainy and gray. Chanyeol looked at his watch, it was already 8 o clock. He flung a look at the small window in his room, there was no sun or hint of sun. The taller man received a message that read 'I'll see you on Tusday at 2, Yeollie. You can bring the cute barista with you.' Chanyeol couldn't help but release a faint laugh at the message he just got. There was definitely something weird about Baekhyun, but it was rather amusing. And eerie.
________________________________________________________________________________

Clinking glasses and drone-like chatter of drunk adults was all what surrounded Chanyeol. It was a dusk and dunky bar down the street. Chanyeol felt blithe at the quiet atmosphere and the relaxing tune of the piano. The taller man grabbed a chair and sat down to enjoy the relaxed ambience. The bartender started wiping the bar, moving at a leisurely pace. He eyed Chanyeol with a small grin.

"Not ordering anything tonight Chanyeol?"

"I'm not here for a drink, Tao. I'm here to enjoy the silence that you can't get in the city nowadays"

"Enjoy the silence?" he chuckled "This is coming from the 'Happy Virus' the loudest guy in our highschool"

"That was in highschol" Chanyeol frowned "Is that why you sent a creepy psychiatrist to stalk me and give me his card?" He added.

"Calm down tall guy, he didn't stalk you. I just happened to tell him about you and he became interested and even said he will give you fee free sessions." The young bartender assured. "I said Ill talk to you about it but he said he wanted to meet you himself first, so I told him about Minseok's shop since I never know when you're home. You never answer your calls too"

"I cant be bothered with people" The taller one demanded. Tao giggled at Chanyeol's words "Happy virus, my " he murmured to himself as he continued glazing empty wine glasses. The two young men didn't say a word for the rest of the night, instead the young bartender leaned on a stall as he recalled the conversation he had with Baekhyun the other day.

"Scrolling through my phone again Baekhyun?"

"The tall guy who is always in your pictures, who is he?"

"A friend of mine"

"No "

"Blunt as always, His name is Park Chanyeol. A 24 year oldie. We were friends in highschool but now he is a college student and well, you already know where I am."

"Isnt his smile a bit fake?"

"Well I wouldn't know Mr Psychiatrist, what do you think?"

 

Tao eyed the taller man as he exited the bar, a smirk forming on his face. Chanyeol bobbed his head up at the night sky which was no longer covered in xlouds of heavy grey. But the wind still picked up and felt heavy. The young man walked home and stretched himself on an old, sqeaky mattress. He buried himself in his own pillow and removed his glasses. Shutting his eyes slowly into dreamland, and the sweet dream of 16.

Chanyeol wasnt too sure how he felt, depressed? anxious? sad? But there was a thing he knew for sure, he knew that he wasnt happy. Chanyeol was lonely but enjoyed the silence. Everyday was the same, wake up in the same meager room with unflattering lights. Go visit Minseok's shop or skip breakfast and go straight to college, and enjoy the downtown quiet bar at night and if possible a good glass of vodka. Chanyeol woke from his deep sleep in the middle of the night, he looked at the half moon that glimmered the night sky. The young man smiled at the beautiful sight, a genuine smile that was rare to see on Chanyeol's face.

____

'2:01 PM' Chanyeol glanced at his watch before entering the room. It looked like a white box; supported by a dim light of florescent lamps, a myriad of achromatic shapes and six other strangers, each of them taking a seat. Baekhyun smiled at Chanyeol as he entered the room; yet there seemed to be an intangible pall over the face of things. "Take a seat, Chanyeol" he wavered to the taller guy. Baekhyun sat upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless. Leaning back until the hollow of his throat was exposed. The smile he shot Chanyeol a while ago was no longer there, rather there was a dull stare in his eyes. The atmosphere gets heavier, the psychiatrist says nothing. Instead eyeing the others present in the room, with a pen tucked between his ears and a notepad on his desk.
"Let's start by introductions, shall we?" Baekhyun says, everyone else nods in agreement to his words. Eyeing each other, thinking of what they'll have to say.

"My name's Kim Jongin" A tan skinned man calls suddenly. He had a blonde hair and a delicate finely boned face. "Im a journalist, 23 years old. Its a pleasure" his lips slowly form into a smirk as he ends his sentence. Followed by others who also introduced themselves. Oh Sehun, an 18 year old highschool senior. Do Kyungsoo, a 25 year old pastry chef. Kim Junmyeon, a 26 year old, didn't reveal anything about his job status. And finally, Park Chanyeol. The room goes into silence again as Chanyeol ends his introduction. "Im pretty sure everyone knows my job here, unlike others I won't be asking many questions. If you have something to say just speak up." He demanded, eyeing Sehun one more time before opening his mouth to speak again. "How about we start with you, Sehun?"

"I-" he stuttered "I don't have a problem with that"
The younger man started speaking up about himself. He had a lanky figure and a pale skin with a sharp jaw line, making him look fit to be a top class model. Everyone could hardly hear what he was saying at first, he seemed to be straining enormously to get the words out. "Last year, I started dating a guy" his voice finally becomes clearer for everyone in the room to hear. "He was Chinese, and pretty good looking too. Almost like a girl, we had a happy relationship. Although we kept our relationship a secret, knowing that not many will accept it and might despise us for it. Two months ago, he left me"
"Where did he go?" Baekhyun questioned.

The younger man stayed silent for a few seconds, blinking thrice before opening up his mouth. "He killed himself" he said as he released a long exhale.
"Suicide, cool, awesome. And why did he do it?"
The younger man doesn't reply.
"How much did you blame yourself for it?"
Sehun's mouth is still shut, he almost felt like sobbing but didnt. Eyeing the man infront of him, who just kept smiling as he asked those questions. The others were silent, no one questioned Baekhyun's weird actions. They glanced at each other and back to Baekhyun, witnessing the heated conversation.

"He did it because everyone knew about our relationship later, I couldn't protect him, I couldnt make him happy" the younger man said before he broke into tears, followed by a bunch of broken I's. Baekhyun definitely knew what he was doing, Chanyeol thought to himself. Rather impressed by the psychiatrist who made a man baffle all of what was trapped inside him in a matter of minutes. Kyungsoo, who was sitting next to Sehun didn't know what to do expect pat on his back. "You still didnt answer my second question, Sehun". For a dizzying moment, Sehun's thoughts went blank. His sobbing stopped. Leaning back on the chair "I did" he said "A lot"

"Arent you going too hard on him there, Baekhyun" Jongin finally spoke up. Baekhyun was unruffled by his words, the smile never left Baekhyun's face. "Its fine, Im okay" Sehun replies. His face went blank and his eyes became swollen.  "Does anyone want to say anything else? I think Sehun is done, right?" There is no response.
"We're done for today"
___

"Why not stay for a bit, Chanyeol?" Baekhyun calls suddenly before Chanyeol exits. He places his glasses and down and sits on his couch. "Come sit down, I dont bite" he demanded and Chanyeol just followed

"What did you think of him?"

"Him?"

"Oh Sehun"

"I guess I feel sorry for him"

"Sorry?" Baekhyun chuckled "And why is that?"

"Do I need to answer that"

"Im curious"

"You're strange." Chanyeol said. "No one accepted him for who he is, eventually lead his lover to suicide. Thats pretty depressing you know." He stood up and grabbed his white shabby coat to exit the room, before he could take another step Baekhyun landed a hand on his shoulders.

"You have a point" The shorter one said as he stared through the window, heavy drops of water started falling down as the wind hit the windows. "The weather's been really bad lately, maybe you should stay over" he added.
______

Baekhyun handed over a hot drink to Chanyeol and splayed on his couch. The taller man eyed his drink before placing his lips on the hot mug and taking a sip. The room got colder as the rain got heavier. "Do you think it'll snow soon, Baekhyun?" He asked, trying to break off the silence.

"It might"

"Do you like winter?"

"I like the feeling of warmth"

Chanyeol leaned closer to Baekhyun and sat beside him, their shoulders attached. "Does this make you feel warm" Chanyeol asked. Neither of them moves away, instead Baekhyun tilts his head on Chanyeol's shoulders as he stares at the rain from the window. "It does" he nodded. Chanyeol felt at that time that Baekhyun was like a different person. The Baekhyun he knew was a sassy guy with a smile never leaving his face, but this one had a rather calming and mature personality.

They spend the night like this, seconds stumble into minutes as he listens to the sound of rain drops, and Baekhyun's soft breaths which was like a melody to him. They don't know why they were like this, but somehow that made both of them feel comfortable. Baekhyun's eyes were slowly shut as the rain got lighter. "Baekhyun?" The taller one called in a soft whisper. "Goodnight, Baek" he added.
___

Sunlight drifted into Sehun's room, but he hasnt slept since yesterday. He took a long last drag from his cigarette and flicked it off. He grabbed his phone from the night table '7 missed calls' was read on the screen. Sehun knew he couldn't be bothered with anyone right now. His bones ached and his eyes were blood shot red due to the lack of sleeping. What Baekhyun said made his chest pain, and no matter what he did the pain could never go away. Sehun didn't regret it, he dragged Jongin there with him to that place because he thought someone could help him, and of course Jongin had to be there as well as both were childhood friends.

The memory of Sehun's lover chased him everywhere he went and, he hated places and people. He hated going out, he hated everything his lover used to like. The innocent smile of the 17 year old flushes into Sehun's mind, heavy guilt fill his heart as a tear started running through his cheeks. One after another, Sehun is staring into the void. Imaging how his life would've been if life didn't take from him the only gift it ever handed him.

"You're a mess, Sehun" Jongin blanches as he enters Sehun's room. A messy room with piles of clothes; little cigarette stabs and messed up bed sheets. Jongin looked at Sehun, whose back was leaned on the white walls; hair messed up and a tear still running down his cheeks. Jongin was familiar with this sight, he says nothing but gets on his knees and faces Sehun. "Get up, we're going somewhere today" Sehun lost count of the times Jongin has said this line to him, driving him out of his room everytime. Sehun makes a noise to protest but keeps his mouth shut, eventually getting dragged by the tanned guy.

The two young men are in what seems to be a not so popular park, but Sehun never questions the places where Jongin takes him to. They were always strange places after all. It was only them there, leaning back against a steel bench. Sehun gazes at the moon, a cocktail of deep indigo's. "It hurts Jongin, everything hurts" he says.

Jongin doesn't respond, instead he stares at blue like blanket sky with stars bleeding through. The melody of the air hitting the bushes and sounds of night bugs leaped through Jongin's ears. He released another exhale before opening his mouth.

"And it hurts even more that I cant do anything about it" is what Jongin wanted to say. Instead he replies with a faint "I know"

______

Sparkly powdery substance layed itself naturally on the asphalt brick streets and dilapidated buildings. White blankets covered the roofs, only the breeze and laughter of little children playing in the snow could be heard as Chanyeol's neighborhood was quiet. Chanyeol stood in the middle of the street, exhaling heavy smokes of grey as though he had just puffed a cigarette. "Chanyeol!" A voice suddenly called. The man was huffing and panting as he bent and placed his hands on his knees. "You're late, Minseok" he demanded. "Yeah yeah, whatever. Lets get going now big guy" Said Minseok, tapping one of Chanyeol's shoulders as they entered the car. "Why didnt you attend the session with me last time"

"The madcap's session?" Minseok said as Chanyeol furrowed an eyebrow. "I thought you wouldn't go. So I didnt bother, but I guess you went after all." He teased. After a long ride they finally reach their destination. A building all covered in white, with plenty of patients and doctors inside. They entered a cold and sterile room, faded walls was streaks. Plenty of room to move about, but nowhere to get comfortable. "Yo, Yi Fan" the taller male shouted.

"I told you not to call me that, just call me Kris" he demanded as he moved to prob himself properly. "Been a while, Minseok and Chanyeol"

"Yeah" Minseok said "I heard you're leaving this cluttered place soon?"

"Next week"

"More parties at your fancy condo then?" The taller one said.

"Calm down Chanyeol, these parties was why I got here in the first place"

"Well no one told you to drive drunk at 2 in the morning to buy food for your pet" Minseok interrupted, making the room break into loud laughs. Their voices were loud for anyone outside to hear.

___

Kyungsoo paused outside the loud room, ruffled by the voices which also disturbed other patients. "Cant they be a bit quieter?" He said. Holding a bouquet, counting every step towards his destination.  A smile formed on Kyungsoo's big lips when he stood infront of the door, tightening his grip on the bouquet. He lands a hand on the door knob, opening the door slowly.

"Lily?" He whispers softly "Its me, Kyungsoo" he adds.

"You're here, come in" She says with a voice that was hauntingly pure. To Kyungsoo, her voice was like a siren's call. "I've missed you, brother" she continues. The room was cold, but her cheerful soul made it warm.

Kyungsoo took a seat behind her bed and placed the bouquet on the night table. The rustle of the plastic wrap was loud enough for her to hear, in which she questions as to what that thing is. "Its a bouqet of lillies, it was mother's favourite flower. Thats why she named you 'Lily'." He says

"What was mother like?"

"She was beautiful" he complimented "The most beautiful women I've ever seen, and luckily for you. You inherited her beauty"

Lily smiles at her brother's words, Kyungsoo always envied his sister for being able to smile from the simplest things. She was no different than his mother was. "Kyungsoo, there is a really nice man that I met in here. I told him all about you and me, his name is Kris. I would want you to meet him once before I leave." She said."When will I get out of here?"

"Once your body completely heals, the doctors said its healing fast. Great news isnt it?"

"But will I be able to see again?" Kyungsoo's whole body froze at her words, the blood to his knuckles rushed. Not that he didnt want to answer, but he didnt know it. His lip unattach themselves, letting out a deep breath full of guilt and sorrow. His dark pupils stare at lily with exasperation. "You will lily" he assures "I promise". The young man seized her by the wrist, pulling in her for an embrace. After all, his 9 year old sister was all what mattered to Kyungsoo right now.

____

The unflattering lights and strong smells of air freshener surrounded the middle aged man in his office. Time stood tall on its feet. The clock seemed to be moving slower as each minute passed, Junmyeon let out a deep sigh as he looked through the window. The sight was beautiful, or at least it would be for a normal person. This was nothing unusual for him. He saw the same exact thing every day from his window, bright city lights. Almost as bright as the night stars, the man takes a step after another the elevator. Hiding many other emotions with a grin of misery that spread his teeth wide. That kind of image that he always pulled off fooled anyone, the rich and polite business man who had everything he wanted. Expect that he didnt.

Junmyeon leans on the elevator walls, freeing his necktie from almost suffocating him. He never liked wearing those anyway. The man stares at his reflection, unfocusing on anything else. Between the floor creaks and annoyingly relaxing elevator music another man comes with a voice calls out ‘Junmyeon’. The voice calls out again, it gets harder to breath. Everything is blurry, before he realises it, Junmyeon is on the floor.

 _______

Hey, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Leave a comment and dont be a silent reader!