Part 1/2:  Glory-Of-The-Snow

ESCOR TOYS stood 3 stories tall at the center of downtown. The building was mad of brick but had been painted a deep shade of blue. The company lettering on the front had been painted a metallic silver.

    Kyungsoo had to tilt his head all the way back to see the top and even then it was hard to see. Junmyeon greeted the security man at the door, pushing through the glass door into the lobby. Kyungsoo followed closely behind, making sure he didn’t bring too much attention to himself.

    Inside, the bustle of mechanical whirls echoed throughout the halls. Junmyeon approached the small desk stationed beside the door. A woman with blond hair matted down into a bun looked up at Junmyeon with a gleaming smile.

    “Good afternoon Mr. Kim.”

    “Hi, Veronica. Do you have my reports for today?”

    Veronica lifted from her chair to open a cabinet to locate a file. Kyungsoo noted the slickness of her style. Her dress was form fit to her body but maintained her modesty. She handed Junmyeon a manilla folder before settling back into her seat. Junmyeon thumbed through the the papers within it. 

    “Good, thank you.” He then motioned to Kyungsoo, “ Come on.”

    Kyungsoo was experiencing a strange mixture of fear and excitement as he explored the factory with Junmyeon.

    “Does it live up to your expectations?”

    The deeper they went, it became hard to hear anything but the tinkering of tools across lines of conveyor belts as people rushed about carrying buckets of plush, thread, and large pieces of plastic.

    “It’s like a whole different world, here.”

—

    Junmyeon’s office was as expected for the Head Chairman. It was large but the room itself was practically empty with only a few potted plants in the window sill and a wooden desk with two arm chairs.

    Kyungsoo took a seat, pressing his sweaty palms between his thighs as he waited for Junmyeon to light his cigarette. Junmyeon pulled an extra from the pack to give to Kyungsoo but he promptly denied with a cough as the smoke entered his mouth. Junmyeon leaned back in his office chair, cigarette hung loose on his lips.

    “I have a question, and while it may seem stupid, I gotta know how you’re so successful?”

     Junmyeon flicked off the burnt ash at the end of the cigarette. They both watched the particles flutter in the choked air before falling limply to the tray on the desk. Until all that’s left is nothing but the measly scatterings of grey dust.

    “I get it, everyone has a dream. I used to have one too. You just keep going.”

    “People keep telling me that. I’m not sure if it’s really working out. These days I feel like I’m stuck in a whirlpool unable to get out.”

    Kyungsoo squeezed the fabric of his pants, smiling to himself.

    “I want to make something of myself. I want to make my life mean something more than just the orphan paper boy.”

    Outside the sun shared the last of it’s light through the large window behind Junmyeon. Slowly, the room darkened but the curious path of light remained illuminated Kyungsoo's rosy face.

—

    Junmyeon drove Kyungsoo home before it got too late. The drive is long and Kyungsoo felt his consciousness slipping. The hour passed in silence.

    “We’re here.” Junmyeon shook Kyungsoo awake.

    Junmyeon, unsure of where Kyungsoo actually lived, brought his car to the center of town where the two had first met. Kyungsoo stretched his arms out in front of him with a yawn. Compared to the city Arisaig was poorly lit, making it difficult to see. Kyungsoo stared, half-lidded with sleep, at Junmyeon under the jaundice lighting of his car.

    “It’s over already?”

    “Can you make it home okay from here?” 

    “Yeah, it’s not too far.” Kyungsoo stalled getting out of the car as long as he could. “Will I ever see you again?”

    “Do you want to see me?”

    “I think you’re pretty interesting Junmyeon, I’d like to. I don’t have any real friends but you feel like a friend.”

    “Friends?”

    Junmyeon recalled what his mother had said earlier about Kyungsoo being a nuisance, but he came to realize that he’s just lonely.

    “Sure, let’s be friends.”

—

    Kyungsoo fixed his bicycle and carried on with his routines of deliveries and adventures. Junmyeon came back to Arisaig often, partially for business and to see his mother, but to also meet up with Kyungsoo. Most days they’d talk over lunch.

    “It’ll be your birthday soon, right?”

    Kyungsoo fiddled the food on his plate. He hadn’t been looking forward to his 20th birthday. Birthdays were just stupid reminders of how old you are.

    “About four weeks now.”

    “Well don’t sound so excited…it’s only the start of your 20s, aka the best years of your life.”

    Kyungsoo attempted to deflect the attention on himself by asking Junmyeon questions about his life. 

    “Junmyeon, what were you like when you were my age?”

    “Definitely stubborn like you, but also diligent in my work at the university. I guess you could say I was a nerd.”

    “You went to University? You must have been really smart, I’ve never been to school.”

    “You’ve never been to school? Chanyeol never thought to enroll you?”

    Junmyeon had assumed that Kyungsoo was like everyone else his age, but he was realizing that Kyungsoo didn't have the same opportunities as him.

    “I'm too old to start now, the kids my age would only tease me. Don’t go thinking I’m stupid just because I didn’t go to school! I can read and write just as well as the next person.”

    “I promise, I wasn’t. I'm just surprised.”

    “I hone