"My heart melts at your smile

When our eyes meet

My heart pounds." 

- Byun Baekhyun, Beautiful

Everything was pitch black.

The stench of burning metal, petrol and blood were so strong he could feel his stomach twisting and crumpling in disgust. He groaned as he shifted his body slightly and bit his tongue in a pathetic attempt to ignore the throbbing pain, and let out another painful sob as the taste of coppery blood began to trail down his throat and the numbness of the tip of his tongue indicates another injury. 

Loud wails and sirens and - for god's sake, the people screaming around him should really stop. His head hurts so bad and the loud noises weren't of any help. Neither does the constant touching and moving. Instead, it's making it even worse. Every part of his body felt like hell; it felt like somebody placed him in between two walls and smashed both concrete against his body at the speed of a bullet train. He could only feel the pain running across his body like electricity, but his limbs were numb.

The heat of the fire was beginning to get to him, and so is the disgusting stench. 

"...umma." He whispered painfully. 

There was no response, but a sudden explosion blasted in his ears just right behind him - or was it his side, he couldn't tell. It was clear that he was slipping in and out of consciousness, but he could partially tell that something terrible must have happened if the sudden screaming and wailings mean anything.

People's words began to sound garbled to him and the noises began to fade away...

...before he finally slips into an eternal state of slumber.

||-||

10 years later

According to his mother, it was a small and simple birthday party. 

Yeah, sure.

The red carpet, grand double doors that reached the ceilings which open to an extensive ballroom and guests clad in elegant, sophisticated formal wear really shows the simpleness and cosy...

To hell! This old hag lied to him!

He gave a side-glance to his mother, strutting around the room as she greets people like a peacock. "You liar," he grumbled under his breath.

A smile graced his mother's lips, but the teenager could see the underlying slyness that only his mother is capable of wearing. "Well, if I did not make up a story, you would not even spare any time for your dear old mother, son." "That does not warrant you to say it's uncle's last birthday before he dies of cancer!" He whispered harshly while slapping on a fake smile as they walked past familiar faces. "How could you just, kill him off like that!?" 

"Goodness child, you talk too much. Can't you just let your mother plot her attempts at murder in peace?"

"HUH?!"

The teen stalled in his steps with his jaw unhinged as his mother chuckled. The woman picked up her pace and approached a bright middle-aged couple surrounded by a few other people. A genuine smile ran across her lips as they began a conversation with one another, while the teen displayed a sour face. Cancer my , he thought as he made his way to them, hoisting the strap around his shoulder into a more comfortable position. 

The dull thudding of his dress shoes caught the attention of the group. "Ahh, there's my boy!" cried the middle-aged man as he gently pushed his wife's hand away and took long strides towards the teen. Both men embraced each other tightly for a few seconds before letting go. 

The teen has always been fond of the elderly and his family; they were the best kind of people one would meet, and at the same time it was because of this friendly (read: richest man in the entire of South Korea) old man, he gained an interest in photography. If it wasn't for them, the poor boy would probably have drowned under society's expectations and the hag's endless nagging (and maybe the Han River because at that time, killing himself sounded like a really good option).

"Uncle Jun! Nice to see you again!"

The old man let out a hearty laugh, "Well, my boy! If you had come for that exhibition last weekend, we could have met!" 

"I sincerely apologise Uncle, I finally earned myself a client, therefore, I just had to skip the exhibition." The teen explained, facial expression and tone raw with regret. He truly is apologetic, especially since the elder had saved a ticket just for him, but the client was his priority. Uncle Jun grinned and pat (more like slapped) his arm. "I understand son! Although, you could have just asked me for help." He huffed playfully.

That is true since he had connections everywhere, but — "No no Uncle, I'm grateful for your offer but I would prefer to rise up to the top as a professional photographer by myself if that is possible. That way I would have a rough gauge of where I stand in this industry now." 

The tycoon blinked for a moment before softly smiling at him, "That's the spirit." He uttered proudly. The teen grinned and his eyes made contact with his mother, who gave him the same proud smile and her thumb slightly peeking out of her fur coat. 

"Oh!" Uncle Jun exclaimed, "Boo my son, I'd like you to meet someone later after the party!"

The teen could almost see stars shining in the latter's eyes, and excitement radiating out of his body. The people in the group earlier laughed as the old man did a little jump while slapping the boy repeatedly on the arm. The teenager awkwardly smiled but question marks were popping everywhere in his brain.

'If it's going to be another matchmaking, I'm going to run.'

"Uh.." 

"Oh, you are going to love him!"

"Ahaha — huh? Him?" 

Did he just hear that right? Him? The poor soul looked at his mother, then back to the old man, then tilted his head in pure confusion. Was the old man try