Chanyeol blinked dumbly at the toddler that was standing a feet away from him to his left, slowly crouching down so he could place the wooden bucket by the bank of the river before turning on his heel to face the toddler fully, placing his hands on his knees as he looked at the little boy in front of him. The toddler blinked a few times as he stared at Chanyeol, his eyes wide with curiosity as he stuck a fair finger between his plump lips and tilted his head to the side with a thoughtful hum emitting from his throat, taking a few steps forward. Chanyeol did not back away when the little boy started to advance towards him, opting to stay put and let the toddler come near him, watching silently as the little boy tripped on his last step and stumbled into Chanyeol — thankfully, Chanyeol had his arms outstretched to catch the toddler, so the impact was lessened.

The toddler then looked up at Chanyeol with his round eyes, those orbs shining in curiosity as he reached a hand up to touch Chanyeol’s cheek, surprising Chanyeol a little as he jumped slightly at the contact. Chanyeol’s hold on the little boy did not loosen though as he let the toddler roam his hand on his right cheek, caressing the smooth skin and leaving a trail of heat in its wake. All Chanyeol did was stare at the little boy in silence, the gears in his head turning as he thought about what he should do with the toddler, or how the little boy even got here.

The soft laugh of the toddler was what brought Chanyeol out from his musing, staring at the little boy for a second before smiling and cooing, “Hey, little one. Where did you come from?”

Even though Chanyeol knew the toddler could barely speak, he asked the question anyway as he slowly stood up while lifting the little boy up with him as he went. The toddler giggled when his feet was off the ground, reaching his chubby hands out to Chanyeol and making grabbing movements, a gurgling sound coming out from deep within the little boy’s throat. Chanyeol had his arms stretched and since the toddler’s arms were very short compared to the former’s long ones, the little boy couldn’t reach Chanyeol, and when the realisation dawned on the toddler, a small pout formed on his lips as he looked at Chanyeol with a kicked puppy expression.

Too bad that Chanyeol didn’t fall for it, and had instead raised his brow as he continued to ask, feigning ignorance to the little boy’s obvious schemes. “I wonder how you got here. You must have come a long way if you’re here right now.”

Chanyeol’s cottage was located in the deepest part of the forest, where there were more trees growing and animals wandering about — the trees that surrounded his house growing very closely together until their roots tangled and their trunks bumped, and the journey to the river from his cottage not being very long. To get to Chanyeol’s home from the opening of the forest, a person would have to walk more than a mile, venturing far into the woods until the trees started to squeeze and there were not enough space to move in, and sometimes that person would trip over a few roots that stuck out from the ground. If the sound of the river flowing could be heard nearby, then that meant the person was close to the house already and need not walk for too long anymore, all they had to do was just find the river, walk along its bank until they see a stone pave that leads back into the forest.

Although, not many people actually knew about that, since not a lot thought that he existed, and the few that actually came across his cottage were mostly just picnickers or campers.

Chanyeol looked to the direction of where the toddler had came from, before turning back to the little boy and deciding, “I should take you back.”

With that in mind, Chanyeol brought the toddler close to his body so the little boy could lean against him for support before starting his walk. The toddler hummed distractedly as he slapped Chanyeol’s face lightly and experimentally with his small palm, starting to laugh in amusement after a while before deciding to pull on Chanyeol’s slightly pointy ear, much to Chanyeol’s dismay although he didn’t show it, opting to just let the little boy do whatever he pleased. Chanyeol turned into the forest after walking by the river bank for some time, the map to town printed in the back of his brain already, so he made no effort to look around at his surroundings before moving, allowing muscle memory to do the trick for him.

“Kyungsoo,” there was suddenly a yell and it sounded very close, surprising Chanyeol from the suddenness and proximity, “Where are you, Kyungsoo?”

“Kyungsoo,” there was another shout, this time the voice belonging to a man, “My boy, where have you gone to?”

Chanyeol looked to his left and right, pondering on what he should do next when he heard the first voice bellowing again, “Kyungsoo, my baby boy, where have you gone to? Oh my-”

The voice was much closer now, almost as if the woman was closing in on him, so he decided to place the toddler down, causing the little boy to look up at him in confusion, before turning around and leaving hurriedly.

“Kyungsoo,” the queen called out worriedly as she lifted her skirt up and sped walk past a few trees, her eyes wide in anxiety as she tried again, “Kyungs-”

The queen stopped in her tracks when she finally found her son, widening her eyes in shock before a happy smile broke out on her face, rushing over to her baby boy and bringing him into her arms as she exclaimed, “Oh my goodness, Kyungsoo! You’re okay.”

The toddler only giggled.

“Don’t ever run off like that, you hear me?” the queen scolded, although all the toddler did was tilt his head before laughing it off, much to the queen’s headache.

Out of the blue, the queen noticed something on the ground behind her son and when she looked past her son’s shoulder, she was surprised and confused to find a beautiful feather lying delicately atop the dirty soiled and tree twigs-scattered ground. The feather seemed to be yellow in colour at first glance, but on closer inspection the queen soon realised with a start that the feather was actually brilliant gold in colour, specks of something shiny sparkling when the sun hit the small object. In the queen’s whole thirty years of living, she had never seen a feather so beautiful, and she couldn’t help but to feel intrigued when she saw it.

“Chinhae,” the king called out as he found his wife, about to say something when he saw his little boy carried in one of her arms, and immediately whatever sentence he was thinking about dissipated as he cheered in relief and rushed over, “My boy is okay! Oh God-”

“Chulmoo,” said man turned to his wife, instantly noticing the beautiful feather between her fingers.

“Where did you get that, honey?” King Chulmoo asked in awe as he carefully plucked the feather from her, inspecting the object carefully like he was examining a gem.

“It was with our son,” the queen looked to her son, “I wonder why it was there…”

King Chulmoo pocketed the feather before commenting, “Come on, we should go.”

Kyungsoo held his breath as he pulled the string back, feeling the soft feathers of the arrow’s beneath his fingertips as he locked his eyes on his target, exhaling just as he let go of the arrow. The string made a noise as it bounced the arrow forward, the latter objects swishing through the air like a knife before it pierced a deer’s thigh some meters away, causing the deer to drop onto the ground in shock and pain. When he saw this, Kyungsoo jumped up with a triumphant cry, making a small victory dance before turning back to the deer and rushing over to it.

However, before he could reach it, a man came out of nowhere and knelt beside the deer, his eyes wide in horror as he looked at the arrow sticking out from the deer's thigh. Kyungsoo watched in silence as the male carefully pulled the arrow out and discarded it to one side, staring at the bleeding wound long and hard, and for a split moment Kyungsoo thought the man was squeamish or thinking. When the male did not react for a considerable amount of time, he walked up to the other and the deer, the crunching sound of the leaves under his boots either being ignored or not being heard.

“Hey,” the prince stopped in front of him, “Are you o-”

When the male lifted his head up at the call, Kyungsoo was stunned speechless by the beauty he was looking at, his eyes wide in surprise and mouth slack in shock, not knowing anymore how to blink his eyes and close his mouth as the bow dropped onto the ground from his loose fingers. The male’s messy hair was curly and dark brown in colour, his skin fairly pale and face like that of a child, which gave off the impression that he was very young, his lips plump and pink and ears that were barely covered by his hair pointy at the tip, almost like an elf, but not too pointy. The male was just breathtakingly gorgeous, with his innocent look and beautiful features, Kyungsoo just couldn’t think properly at that moment as he stared dumbly at the other, gaping like a dead fish.

Just then, Kyungsoo noticed a tear rolling down the male’s rosy cheeks, and that single teardrop managed to snap the prince out from his daze as he felt a strange pang to his chest, like someone had just stabbed him in the heart, frowning confusedly at the male as he quizzed, “Why are you crying?”

Kyungsoo reached a hand out towards the male, wanting to wipe away the tears when the male suddenly pushed his hand away gently, confusing the prince as he stared in bewilderment while the male leaned over to the deer’s thigh. Kyungsoo watched as a drop of tear rolled down his cheek and slid down the length of his jaw, hanging onto his chin for a second before letting go and allowing gravity to pull it down, the drop soon landing on the still bleeding wound of the deer. There were a few more drops of tears that landed on the deer’s thigh and the sight was starting to weird Kyungsoo out, but then something happened next and instantly, Kyungsoo was gaping at the male again in none other than shock.

The wound closed up and all there was left to indicate there had been an injury on the deer’s thigh was the blood that still smeared the skin. The male smiled at the deer as it got up and ran off, wanting to get away from the two as soon as possible, disappearing behind the mosaic of trees. The prince stared after the deer in shock and awe, turning back slowly to the male who stood up from his previous kneeling position and turned, starting to walk away from the prince without having to utter a word.

“Wait,” the prince found himself yelling, and the male turned ever so slightly to spare him a glance, “How did you do that?”

The male raised a brow at the prince as he asked, "How did I do what?"

"You know," the prince gestured with his hands exaggeratedly, "Your tears and the deer's wound and, and- it healed!"

"My tears?" Kyungsoo was starting to think that this male was playing with him as he quirked a brow in feigned ignorance, "The deer's wound? 'And, and, it healed'?"

Kyungsoo let out a groan of frustration, "Stop playing!"

"I'm not playing," the male simply shrugged.

"Then answer the question, damnit," the prince exclaimed before quickly slapping a hand over his mouth, seeing the surprised look on the male and muttering a soft apology as he asked with a softer tone, "How did your tears heal the deer's wound like that?"

“I don’t know,” the male gave a noncommittal shrug as he answered.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Kyungsoo frowned at the male, crossing his arms as he continued, “You know that your tears can heal the deer, so how does it work?”

Instead of answering, the male just stayed silent as he turned back around and walked off.

“Hey, wait,” the prince tried to stop the male from leaving, but that was exactly when the latter decided to take that moment as his cue to run, grabbing a fistful of his robe as he ran among the trees.

“Wait up,” the prince exclaimed in surprise as he ran past a tree that he had last seen the male passing.

When Kyungsoo passed the tree however, the male was nowhere in sight anymore. There was no one, as if he had been chasing a ghost just now. The woods was quiet, with only the occasional chirping sounds of birds singing and the rustling of leaves as the wind blew.

The prince looked around at his surroundings, before noticing something glowing on the ground. Curious, Kyungsoo walked towards the glowing object and knelt down, picking it up between his fingers and inspecting it closely with squinted eyes. The object was a feather, colour golden and seeming to sparkle under the sunlight — it looked so beautiful, an exotic piece.

Kyungsoo stood up and gave the forest one last glance, before turning on his heel and leaving the woods.

“Who was that man?” Kyungsoo asked himself as he made his way back to the castle.

“Found you!”

Chanyeol let out a long sigh, his brows furrowing as he glanced down below him at the prince that was hunching forward with his hands on his thighs, asking with a bored voice, “You’re here again?”

The prince heaved tiredly as he tried to catch his breath, looking like he had been running away for his life from something just now, slowly straightening up from his bent position so he could look up at Chanyeol who was sitting on a thick tree branch, speaking loudly, “I told you. Until you tell me your name, I won’t be leaving you alone anytime soon!”

There was a wide grin on the prince’s face, and Chanyeol sighed as he laid his head back against the tree trunk behind him, closing his eyes as he murmured just loud enough for the prince to catch what he was saying, “Go away. Can’t you see that I’m trying to rest here? You’re such a nuisance.”

“Hey,” he heard the prince yelling, “The name is Kyungsoo! You could at least call me that!”

“Whatever you say,” he only hummed as he tried to block out Kyungsoo’s voice, wanting some peace to himself.

The next instance, there was somebody’s breath tickling his face and the Devil’s voice resounding loudly right beside his ear, “Hey, don’t sleep on me now!”

Chanyeol yelped unmanlily and almost fell off from the tree, catching himself in time by grabbing the tree trunk and wrapping his legs around the tree branch he was sitting on, his eyes wide with shock and horror as he stared into space. Chanyeol could feel his heart beating erratically in his chest as he breathed raggedly, his eardrums beating loudly and drowning out whatever sounds around him as he tried to calm his raging heart down, taking in slow and shaky deep breaths to calm himself down. Chanyeol then slowly turned his head over to his left, where the shout had came from, and his eyes immediately landed on the face of the prince, with the most not-at-all-innocent-look on the latter’s face, his eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights.

“There,” the prince grinned in satisfaction, “Now you’re looking at me. That is more like it!”

Chanyeol was still trying to catch his breath when he exclaimed, his usually deep voice turning up an octave as he looked at Kyungsoo with a scandalised expression, “Are you trying to scare me to death?!”

Kyungsoo actually thought about his answer, and a look of horror crossed Chanyeol’s face as the prince shrugged and said nonchalantly, “Maybe. Why?”

Finally, as if a switch had been , Chanyeol glared furiously at Kyungsoo as he spat, “You ing ! Go screw yourself somewhere. There’s plenty of privacy in the forest, if you don’t count me and the animals. Now leave me alone!”

Chanyeol made an attempt to jump down from the tree and get away from Kyungsoo, but he didn’t get to do that because the latter somehow found a way to sit right in front of the former on the tree branch and cage the former's head between his arms, locking him in place and giving him nowhere to run to. Chanyeol did not notice, but Kyungsoo somehow had the former’s legs to the latter’s sides as he sat between his long and lanky legs, pressing himself closer to the former until their chest were almost touching and their faces were just a few centimetres away. Chanyeol had a frown on his face at first when Kyungsoo sat in front of him, but as the prince leaned closer towards him and forced him to lean further into the tree trunk until he was basically blending with it, he could not help but to slowly lose the frown from his face as his expression slowly turned to that of confusion.

Now, their faces were so close to each other that Chanyeol could practically feel Kyungsoo’s breath fanning his face and see the brown in the prince’s eyes, feeling his face heating up from the proximity. Chanyeol noticed Kyungsoo’s eyes darting downwards and he promptly did the same, although with a bit of hesitance as he lowered his gaze to the prince’s lips, swallowing nervously when he realised how pink and plump they were. The heat on Chanyeol’s face did not seem to lessen as he shot his eyes back up to meet Kyungsoo’s face, seeing that the other was still staring at his lips like he was contemplating about something.

Maybe Chanyeol should have utter a word or push Kyungsoo away, because the next second he found himself leaning back into the tree as a pair of soft lips landed on his, taking his breath away and causing his eyes to widen in shock. Kyungsoo was kissing Chanyeol deeply with closed eyes, moving his lips against the other’s soft ones expertly, almost as if he had done this before, with whoever it was. The thought process was cut short when Kyungsoo his lower lip before on it in his mouth, resulting in Chanyeol’s jaw going slack as a soft breathy moan left his lips, now only closing his eyes as he went lax against the tree trunk.

It was not until they needed oxygen badly that they drew away from each other, staring into each other’s dilated eyes as they panted heavily, their lips swollen from the bruising kiss before.

Chanyeol could not help but to notice the way Kyungsoo’s Adam apple bobbed when he swallowed, lifting his gaze back up to meet the prince’s eyes as he asked, “What is your name?”

Chanyeol did not answer at first, part of his conscience still telling him to not announce it to Kyungsoo, but then he felt fingers grabbing his chin as he was forced to face Kyungsoo, a dark look in his eyes and a certain dominating aura oozing from him as he asked in a demanding tone, “Tell me your name, gorgeous.”

Chanyeol’s rational mind swore that he heard himself whining at the dominance Kyungsoo was displaying, speaking like he was out of breath, “C-Chanyeol.”

“Chanyeol, huh?” Kyungsoo raised a brow, a hand reaching up to brush away some fallen strands of hair from Chanyeol's face, “Brilliant and warm.”

Chanyeol did not know why he leaned into Kyungsoo’s palm when the prince’s hand slid down to hold his cheek, looking dazedly at the other as the prince smiled, “I like that name. A beautiful name for a beautiful man. It suits you.”

Chanyeol’s breath was taken away once again by the kiss on his lips.

“Your majesty,” a soldier cried as he ran into the throne room with eyes wide in panic, quickly going down onto a knee as he announced, “The enemy from our neighbouring kingdom is making their move by dusk tomorrow.”

Kyungsoo’s face was neutral, but his heart was beating in a fast pace.

The king nodded in acknowledgement, giving out his order, “Prepare our greatest soldiers. I want an army of ten million men. We will be counterattacking by dawn tomorrow.”

The soldier nodded in understanding, before bowing once more and excusing himself out from the throne room, scrambling off to prepare what the king had ordered of him.

The king turned to Kyungsoo then, “My son.”

Kyungsoo didn’t need to be a genius to know what were his father’s next words.

“You will be leading this army,” the king said as he placed a hand on Kyungsoo's shoulder, and Kyungsoo willed himself to not look away from his father as he felt the hand on his shoulder squeezing reassuringly and somewhat proudly, “I trust you that you will bring us honour and justice by winning this war.”

The goal set by his father was pressuring, but he nodded nonetheless, “I will, father. I will make sure to lead my men to glory. No one should ever be allowed to stand in our way and declare war with us.”

The king nodded, a small pleased smile playing on his lips as he commented, “I am proud of you, my son. I really am.”

Kyungsoo only nodded, not uttering a word as he watched his father left the throne room, leaving him alone by himself.

“I’ll be going to war tomorrow.”

Chanyeol stopped tracing pictures on Kyungsoo’s bare chest when he heard that, the blissful and content feeling from before suddenly gone and replaced by a chilling feeling and grimness, like a bucket of ice water had just been dumped onto him. Chanyeol did not say a word immediately as he slowly placed his palm on Kyungsoo’s chest, leaning his head down to rest it on the prince’s arm as he stared off into the distance, going deep into his thought. Chanyeol let out a breath through his nose as he closed his eyes, not knowing what to reply to Kyungsoo with, but also still thinking on how to react to such an announcement as the hand on Kyungsoo’s chest slowly balled into a fist.

“Chanyeol,” he heard Kyungsoo calling, but decided to play ignorance to the voice as he refused to look up at the other.

There was a soft sigh as Kyungsoo called again, “Chanyeol, please?”

Chanyeol was reluctant when he lifted his head up to meet Kyungsoo’s eyes, his own probably wide and showing so much despair, giving the prince that look that says ‘Don’t leave me alone’ or ‘Please don’t die’, or basically a kicked puppy expression with the lower half of his face covered and cheeks squished against the other’s arm while his eyes went round and big, his dark irises practically shining with sadness. Chanyeol could see how Kyungsoo’s face fell into a guilty expression after the latter saw the former’s reaction, and as much as he wanted to tell the prince that it was okay and that everything was fine, then he would be lying to himself because it wasn’t alright — he was uncertain, sad, but even more so, he was scared. Chanyeol had been alive for a long time and had seen the people that he loved falling one by one around him, and the sight was not pretty at all as he watched them die in various methods such as sickness and murder, and now Kyungsoo was leaving him the next day for war and he was afraid that he would never see the prince again, just like how he lost all other people that he held dear.

Finally, after a long time of just both of them staring at each other in silence, Kyungsoo cleared his throat and said with the softest voice he could muster, “I’ll be leaving by dawn tomorrow, and I don’t know how long will this war go on before it ends.”

Chanyeol wanted to look away, but maybe Kyungsoo had felt the former’s intention, because he placed a hand on top of the former’s head to keep him in place while he continued, “It might take days, or weeks, or months.”

Chanyeol’s eyes were drooping and threatening to close with the way Kyungsoo was playing with his hair and petting his head, ruffling his hair as if to calm him down as he continued to speak, like he wanted to get something off of his chest before he leaves Chanyeol alone all by himself, “There is also a possibility that…”

Chanyeol whimpered and buried his face into Kyungsoo’s side, a soft sob leaving his lips as the prince let out with a heartbreakingly sad voice, “There is also a possibility that I might never come back.”

Chanyeol shook his head in defiance, not wanting to hear the terrible truth as he cried, “Please don’t go.”

Chanyeol did not hear an answer from Kyungsoo, so he decided to continue, “Please don't leave me alone by myself.

“Please,” his body started shaking as he inhaled shakily before exhaling slowly, “Don’t leave me like they did, please.”

Chanyeol did not notice the tears rolling down his face until he felt Kyungsoo shifting and taking hold of his cheeks, lifting the former’s head up so he was looking at the latter, his vision a blur since his eyes were covered with a layer of tears, only able to feel as the latter carefully wiped the drops away. Chanyeol let out a broken sob as he hung his head and started to wipe the tears away himself, although it was no use because they only kept falling, causing him to cry even harder the more he tried to stop the tears from flowing. Chanyeol felt strong arms wrapping around his body and he leaned into the radiating heat coming from the other's torso, his whole body shaking as he tried but failed to hold back his tears and sniffs, covering his face with his hands as he cried pathetically in Kyungsoo’s arms, curling himself up into a ball like the position could save him from harm.

Finally, after a long time of just Chanyeol crying, he calmed down and let Kyungsoo turn him to face him, looking at the prince with tightly pressed lips and furrowed brows. Kyungsoo only managed an apologetic smile before bringing Chanyeol into a kiss, wanting to kiss the other’s sadness away, having the urge to take away the other’s insecurities with this kiss, feeling like convincing the other on how he would not die in the war and that he would come back to Chanyeol by kissing him. Chanyeol was Kyungsoo’s life and his everything, and seeing him so broken had his heart clenching in so much pain, so much anger at fate, so much hatred towards himself.

Kyungsoo pulled away then, whispering softly for Chanyeol to hear, “For you, I will be okay.”

Chanyeol pressed a kiss to Kyungsoo’s lips, light and soft, before pulling away, “Promise?”

Kyungsoo nodded, “Promise.”

They kissed again, and at some point their simple kissing session turned into a full blown make out session, before ending into a second round of passionate night.

Chanyeol looked out into the vast sea as he held onto a pot of ashes, his eyes swollen and nose red from crying the whole of last night, his grip on the silver pot tightening as he thought back about the reason on why he had cried. Chanyeol had been in town a lot for the past few months recently, wanting to be close by when the townspeople talk about whatever news they might know about the war, or in case the soldiers come back. Chanyeol was starting to grow bored of this when just two days ago, the soldiers of their kingdom came back, all their heads held high in triumph while the men at the front held the head of their enemy, and the cheers of the crowd had been loud then.

Apparently, what the townspeople did not notice was the person leading the army was not short, too indulged in the glee that their neighbouring kingdom had been conquered to actually notice. It was Chanyeol who noticed, his brows furrowing when he realised how tall the man looked compared to the other soldiers, watching in confusion and silence as the man left towards the direction of the palace. The soldiers of glory had came first, and Chanyeol knew that because right after that, the soldiers of despair marched behind the soldiers at the front with their arms carrying wrapped bodies as they went.

A lot of people had rushed up to the soldiers carrying the wrapped bodies and flipped open the cloth covering the corpses, some of them doing so one by one, revealing the faces underneath the cloth and letting out cries of anguish when they realised the dead person in the cloth they opened up were their dear ones, some of them crying alone while some others hugged their family members as they cried together. Chanyeol felt pity for the families that lost their loved ones, so he closed his eyes and made prayers for those families before opening his eyes up again to see the people that came back, in hopes of being able to find Kyungsoo somewhere among the marching soldiers, although a terrible gut feeling told him otherwise. It was until the crowd of townspeople gasped when Chanyeol tried to catch what they were looking at, but he regretted it instantly when he did because the next moment, he found himself pushing his way through the crowd and to the front, running towards the soldier that was carrying the body he had seen, disbelief in his eyes when he confirmed the person.

This particular dead soldier did not have a cloth wrapped around him, so his face was on full display for the whole town to see — the dead man was none other than Prince Kyungsoo. Chanyeol remembered crying a lot afterwards, joining the royals and townspeople in burning the bodies last night and crying even more when he was back at home and in bed, and this morning he went to the place where they had burned the corpses so he could get the ashes of his lover — Kyungsoo’s body had been separated from the rest, a special case. The silver pot that Chanyeol used to fill Kyungsoo’s ashes had been brought from home, intricate carvings decorating the smooth surface in beautiful swirls and patterns, a drawing of a beautiful life encrypted to the pot.

Chanyeol sighed as he opened the lid and held it between his arm and side, reaching his hand inside the pot to grab a fistful of ashes, feeling the grains of dust like objects falling between his fingers as he pulled out his hand before swinging his arm out to the sea and watching as the wind carried the ashes, some of them landing in the prussian blue sea. Chanyeol did the same action over and over again until there was no more ashes left to pour, closing the pot with the lid and just holding it in his arms as he looked out to the horizon, the sun not up yet but the sky bright enough for people to see their surroundings, various colours painting the sky like paint on acanvas. Chanyeol stared at the beautiful scenery before him for some time, before he spoke.

“I hope that you are doing fine, Kyungsoo.”

Chanyeol bit his bottom lip, “You changed my life a lot, Kyungsoo, ever since you became a part of it.”

“As much as you annoyed me the first time we met,” he chuckled softly, a small smile on his face as he reminisced, “I couldn’t help but to fall for your charms in the end.”

Chanyeol paused as he felt how the tears were about to spring up to his eyes, quickly preventing it from happening by rubbing his eyes even though there were no tears dropping yet, “You made me so happy, Kyungsoo. Oh, you cannot even imagine!”

“All this time, I have been haunted by my long life,” the male’s grip on the pot tightened as he continued, “I have been so scared, Kyungsoo. So scared to fall in love again, and to lose my loved ones again.”

“I stayed away from humanity for so long,”  he heaved a shaky breath before whispering, “Until you came along.”

“You gave me strength,” he explained, “You gave me love and a reason to live.”

Chanyeol let out a shaky sigh as he looked up to the sky, “Oh, God, if you can hear me, please lend me your ears.”

“If I were to be reborn again,” he bit his lips before continuing, “I wish I won’t be reborn from the ashes of the me now.”

“When I reborn,” he smiled brokenly as he wished, “I want to be reborn with him by my side.”

“Please, God,” he cried, “Oh please…”

Chanyeol broke out into a crying fit once again, making that his third time in three days.

“Hey.”

Kyungsoo had lifted his head up at the call, being greeted by a giant standing in front of him, quickly looking to his left and right to see if there was anyone else aside from him before turning back to the tall male in front of him, brows raised in surprise as he bid, “Hey.”

“You are,” the tall male was snapping his fingers as he tried to remember Kyungsoo’s name, “Do Kyungsoo, was it?”

“It is,” he nodded, “And you are?”

“Chanyeol,” the tall male grinned widely, “Park Chanyeol!”

Kyungsoo nodded absentmindedly before being asked, “Where are you from?”

“Goyang,” he answered without a hitch, “Gyeonggi Province.”

“That is so cool,” the tall male whistled, grinning again, “I’m from here.”

Kyungsoo hummed, “That is nice to know.”

Chanyeol grinned widely again, and Kyungsoo was starting to wonder if this guy ever tire of smiling so much, “Do you have any siblings?”

“An older brother,” he answered.

“Awesome,” the male made an awed expression, and now Kyungsoo was wondering if this guy was a reactionist or something, what with all of his exaggerated reaction, “What is his name?”

“Why should I tell you?” Kyungsoo frowned.

“To hype up the atmosphere of our conversation?” Chanyeol suggested, “Or to at least have something to talk about.”

As much as Kyungsoo didn’t like the answer since he didn’t find it valid enough, he answered anyway, “His name is Seungsoo.”

“See?” Chanyeol grinned, “It’s not that hard.”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, “Whatever.”

“I have an older sister,” he continued to chirp, and Kyungsoo wondered if this guy ever runs out of breath or keeps quiet, “Her name is Yura, and she’s planning to be a cafe owner.”

“Not important,” he mumbled to himself — fortunately, Chanyeol did not hear him say that.

“How old are you anyway?” Chanyeol asked curiously.

“Seventeen,” he was starting to feel a bit annoyed by the other’s behaviour.

“I’m eighteen,” the male announced it like he just hit the lotto.

Kyungsoo nodded, uninterested, “Great. Now, would you leave me alone?”

Chanyeol’s face seemed to drop, “B-But, why?”

For some reason, Kyungsoo did not like seeing Chanyeol looking so hurt, so instead of giving him an answer, he asked, “Why are you talking to me anyway? Everyone avoids me. Why don’t you?”

“Well,” the male scratched the back of his neck as he explained, “It is because no one talks to you, that is why I want to talk to you.”

Kyungsoo stared at Chanyeol blankly, “And?”

“And,” the male gestured with his hands, “Do you not feel lonely? Not having someone to talk to?”

Kyungsoo thought for a moment, before shrugging and answering, “Not really.”

Chanyeol had a look of disbelief, so Kyungsoo tried, “I am used to it.”

“Well, do not get too used to it anytime soon then,” the male grinned widely, “Because from now on, I will be with you wherever you go and be your best friend!”

Kyungsoo quirked a brow, “Meaning?”

“I will not leave your side,” the male smiled now instead of grinning, “You will not be alone anymore.”

Kyungsoo was heartwarmed, but he masked it up by asking, “What? Like a fan?”

Chanyeol’s grin was back again, “Maybe.”

Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow, “Since when have you became my fan?”

“A second ago,” the male chirped smartly, earning an eye roll from Kyungsoo.

“Idiot,” he said, but there was a fond smile worming its way onto his face.

It was 2010 then when they met, two years before the debut of what people will now know as Korea’s most well known boy band and SM Entertainment’s pride and joy.