It was still very early in the morning with the sun still down and a layer of ebony veil still covering the night sky, no more brightly shining stars decorating the darkness and sparkling like diamonds in a cave, and the moon was also nowhere to be found with the lack of light providence being evident due to the practically pitch black night enveloping the earth. It was deathly quiet in this early morning with the sound of crickets chirping in bushes being the only sound that was loud and clear and resonating noisily throughout the night, filling the pin-drop silent air with its annoying creaking sounds and turning the supposedly peaceful nature into a chaotic jungle, although the cricket sound slowly lowered in volume as the night went on. It was still dark all around with very little living beings being awake right now, a few exceptions being given to the extra early birds that decided to hunt for their morning worms even before the sun was out and also the few humans who were already up and about inside their cozy little cottages and preparing breakfast to start off their day, or they were getting ready for something entirely different, no one will ever know. 

One of the few humans who had already woken up at such a Godly hour included a man between his sixties and seventies with a head of silver hair and a gray moustache between his nose and upper lip, crinkles lining the edges of his eyes and his forehead to show off his old age while his eyes were small and squinted, although you can see the wisdom that filled the old man’s eyes between that small slit created by his eyelids, his thin lips creating a small smile as he cooked up the dishes for breakfast which was just two bowls of simple soup. Even though his old age, the old man still looked so tall standing there in front of the counter as he chopped up some vegetables on the cutting board, his broad shoulder making small jerky movements as his arm moved, back straight and making him look even bigger than he was. The old man picked up the chopping board once he was done dicing the vegetables and walked over to the fireplace beside the counter where a pot could be found hanging above a cluster of burning woods, bending his beck slightly so he could sweep the diced vegetables into the boiling soup inside the steel pot with the knife he had chopped the vegetables with just now, straightening his back once he was done and placing the chopping board down alongside the knife.

A wooden spoon was left lying on the counter some time ago and the old man reached a hand over to pick it up, the long length of the wooden spoon’s handle looking too big even in the hands of the old man’s huge hands as he brought it to himself before turning it over so the head was dipping into the soup, stirring the thick substance and watching as swirls formed while he was stirring the liquid food in circular motions. The old man then scooped up some soup with the wooden spoon and cupped a hand under the head of the object, bringing the spoon close to his mouth and blowing at the hot liquid a few times so it could cool down before drinking the substance, tasting the soup and wanting to make sure that it was the right taste. There was a hum being emitted from deep within the old man’s throat before he went over to one of the cupboards and opened the door, rummaging through the cabinet in search for something and letting out a soft victory cry when he finally found the item that his heart desired, bringing the bag of item out from its confine before returning to the soup. Since the dominant hand of the old man was still holding the wooden spoon from before — not wanting to put the object down just yet — the old man then balanced the bag on his left hand and turned the spoon so the was the one facing inward, his last three fingers holding the spoon against his palm while his thumb and index finger made a pinching pose. After that, the old man carefully opened the bag to reveal salt inside the sack, pinching up some of the minuscule crystalline spice before scattering it over the soup, three small pinches of the salt before he placed the bag down and quickly flipped the wooden spoon over so he could stir the soup some more, spooning some of the thick substance once again and testing the taste of the liquid food, a smile finally blooming on the old man’s face when he finally managed to create the flavour that he was looking for and a chuckle resonating softly from between his lips. 

Placing the wooden spoon to one side of the counter and untying the knot of his apron behind his back, the old man hung the apron to a hook on the wall before limping out of the kitchen, the squeaking sound of metal from his left artificial leg sounding in the quiet air as he made his way up the stairs of their cottage and onto the second floor, walking down the stretch of hallway to the door at the end of the corridor, stopping once he arrived in front of it and knocking lightly on the wooden surface a few times, waiting for a response from the other side of the doorway. When no reply was sent his way from behind the door, the old man quirked a curious brow and gave the door a few more raps, standing straight with his fisted hand close to his chest as he waited expectantly for whoever the occupant in the room was to answer the door — however, no matter how long the old man waited patiently for an answer, there was none and all that greeted him with every taps to the bedroom door was silence and the darkness of the night, the air close to suffocating and very hot. The old man hummed thoughtfully after a long while of knocking on the bedroom door that led to unsuccessful replies from the person on the other side, before deciding in the end to just enter the room without permission as he placed his palm on the doorknob and twisted it, pushing the door inward and allowing himself entrance into a tidy bedroom — there was a closet to the side of the room and the furniture was placed in the furthest corner from the doorway, right across from said cupboard was a bed and between the two furnishings was a window with its height longer than its width, no curtains hung and permitting a clear view of the outside from inside the bedroom. 

The old man turned to the left where the sleeping furniture was placed and smiled when he spotted the sleeping figure that laid with his arms sprawled messily on the bed and one of his leg bent while the other was left dangling off the side, the blanket crumpled underneath him with only very little bit of the cover actually keeping his body from being exposed to the cold night air, his chest rising and falling rhythmically as he slowly breathed in and out through his nose and slightly gaped mouth, his face seeming serene and peaceful as he dreamed. The old man could not help the fond smile that forced its way onto his face when his eyes landed on the young adult’s sleeping figure on the bed, being as silent and careful as he possibly could while slowly making his way towards the bed in the corner of the room, coming to a stop beside it and bending down so he could place a hand on the male’s shoulder, wanting to wake the male up. Although, instead of waking the young adult up, the old man found himself flinching away from the body and ripping his hand off from the other’s shoulder as he jumped back in surprise when the male started to stir in his sleep, his squinted eyes now slightly wide as he stared like a deer caught in headlights as the young adult groaned while twisting his body, turning on the bed so he was lying on his side and letting out a few murmurs before continuing on with his slumber, his scrunched up face smoothing out as he let out barely audible snores. 

The old man let out a sigh when he realised that the male was not awake yet, scolding himself for his exaggerated reaction before attempting to wake the young adult up again, replacing his hand back on the other’s shoulder and shaking it as he cooed softly, “Kyungsoo-ah, it is time to wake up already.” 

There was a whine of protest from the other as he shifted and forced the old man to pull away from his body once again, his hand flying all over his bed as he tried to find something, fingers clutching onto his blanket when he caught a hold of what he was trying to find and lazily pulling the cloth out from under his body so he could pull it up to his torso, not bothering to cover himself properly and let the blanket to only cover his upper body as he continued to sleep, as if the old man was not just trying to wake him up some seconds ago, completely disregarding the older’s existence. 

The old man let out a tired sigh as he tried again, shaking the shoulder of the sleeping male once more as he spoke gently, “Kyungsoo-ah, please wake up.