The snow fell for the first time this year in the saddest way Byun Baekhyun have ever imagined. The navy blue outstretched sky was never ending, yet the stars can rarely be seen above. He held his arm up to his eye level to catch the ice frost beautifully falling down from the azure and gracefully landing on his cold pale hands.

There weren’t a lot of people tonight, Baekhyun sees as he roams his vision around the quiet park. He is happy he was able to put on his winter clothes before leaving his stepmom’s house or else he would’ve died in coldness.

The beauty of the ice slowly covering the ground was mesmerizing. Baekhyun’s red puffy eyes managed to take a break from crying. He tries to enjoy what he’s seeing, despite the fact that he still doesn’t know where to go for tonight. Baekhyun’s stepmother just kicked him out of their house today, three days right after his father’s death.  It still hurts him though, but he knew this will happen eventually. The only regret he has in mind is that he did not prepare for this.

“Appa…” he whispers in the cold winter breeze, his breath turns into a smoke as it goes out from his red choppy lips. “You could’ve at least gave me mercy and brought me with you.”

A humourless snicker sneaked out from his mouth while the fluid from his eyes continued to wet his cheeks. He bit his lower lip to stop him from sobbing really loud, but he can’t help it anymore. He already endured enough, and the ambiance of the night was comforting; his body took initiative to let go of everything for this might be the only chance he can do so.

The short guy hugs himself to try and warm his body. The winter breeze is starting to embrace his tiny figure and it’s already digging deep inside his skin. The shivering young man stares back at the little bright spots of the night sky as he helplessly begs for a sign.

A sign to continue his life, because he’s actually considering of ending it tonight.

“I wish I had more reason to live…”

He closes his eyes. Tear stains left on his rosy cheeks, palms as pale as the ice. He prays to have one more reason to continue living. He prays to be happy with the idea of life again.

And the moment he opens his eyes for another time, he sees a tall man appear before him. Slowly his figure getting clearer as Baekhyun stares at him in horror, while he stares back at the young man in confusion. The other male was too weak enough to scream and the only thing he can do was to release a stuttering voice.

“O-Oh my God…” He mutters to himself as he rubs his eyes with his cold hands, hoping the pair is just deceiving him. But seeing the guy still standing in front of him unmoved, he knew everything he saw was ‘partially’ real. “Oh my God, you’re real!”

The tall man was muddled as he watches the smaller lad panic upon seeing him. “Y-you can see me?”

“And you can talk!” Baekhyun exclaims once again. “Oh my God, please don’t hurt me,” he pleaded while mentally praying every prayer he can think of. The shivers on his body were surely from the cold weather but not until this element magically appeared on his sight. “Please, stay away from me.”

The wrinkles on the mysterious guy’s forehead deepened as he examines the lad in front of him. “You called me here.”

“I did not!” screams the smaller, about to cry due to fear.

“You did,” he slowly says. “Unintentionally or not, you did,” he continued, the creases on his forehead can still be seen, and his lips are pinched between his perfect white pearls, indicating that he’s in a deep thought right now. “But…how did you do that?”

“I don’t know!” Baekhyun exclaims. He just wishes this night comes to an end. It’s already been too much for him to handle, and as if encountering a spirit would be a help for his right now. “J-just please go…”

The spirit straights up his posture and eyed the scared guy coldly. He might look really pitiful right now, but the dude is desperate to know how the tinier male was able to summon him.

“My name is Park Chanyeol, and I am a spirit,” he introduced himself. Those made Baekhyun stop on his tracks and wait for the guy’s next words. Chanyeol smiles in delight seeing that he caught his attention. “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. I’m not that kind of spirit.”

Baekhyun exhales heavily as he calmed his nervous system down. The tone of the spirit’s voice was relieving enough which made him feel better. He’s still not okay though, but at least the fear eased a little bit. Baekhyun’s round and sparkling eyes looks up to meet the spirit’s eyes. And surprisingly, the guy looks really handsome. Especially when the moment their looks met, an astonishing smile painted across the lad’s lips.

Baekhyun’s heart skipped a beat.

“W-what do you need from me?”

Baekhyun cannot believe he’s actually going in for some conversation with a ghost. He’s still processing everything and he still thinks these are just a product of his loneliness and that maybe once he wakes up tomorrow, this Chanyeol guy is already gone.

“I need to know how you did it,” he answers, this time with full determination.

A hint of frustration landed against Baekhyun’s system. He thought he’s finally going to get rid of this ghost, yet it seems like he thought of it way too early. He roams his eyes around the quiet place, silently thanking there isn’t much people around and no one has been noticing that he’s talking to no one.

“I really don’t know,” he admitted.

Dismay was written on Chanyeol’s face, yet he was eager to know the answer. “Then at least tell me what you did before I unintentionally teleported here.”

“Well,” he says as he sits properly, more comfortable and less scared, thanks to the assurance of not hurting him. “I just wished of something to make me want to live more.”

Chanyeol was in deep thoughts after hearing his words; Baekhyun could see that by the way he furrows his eyebrows. Growing impatient, he stands up from his comfortable seat; his warmth only left on the bench, and quickly picks his old orange backpack quietly sitting on the ground.

“If you don’t want to go, I’ll leave.”

Chanyeol’s repeated “wait” did not stop Baekhyun from leaving, not noticing a pendant falling from his neck down to the ground. He was numb enough not to feel it, but the spirit was fast enough to see it.

The tall soul watches him fade away from his sight, not worried of losing him anymore after dropping something precious from him. He runs to pick the pendant up, but jolts upon contact with the object. He almost lost his balance after a set of memory flashes before his eyes.

A man.

Round eyes.

Nice smile.

Chanyeol is dazed and confused. His heart that hasn’t been beating since he woke up as a spirit glowed and suddenly it’s thumping non-stop. He picks the pendant for the second time around, more careful, until he was able to grip it between the creases of his palms.

“W-who are you?” The clueless spirit asks the unknown man in front of him wearing all white. He just opened his eyes from what he think was a long sleep and struggled to stand up due to his weak knees. Chanyeol wanted to ask lots of things because somehow, the only thing he remembers was his name, but the oddly looking guy in front of him caught his attention. He was just standing there unmoved, without any expressions, and just watching Chanyeol puzzled with his situation.

“I-I said… who are you?” Chanyeol repeats, his right foot attempts to take a step closer, to get a better look of the old guy, beard covering the lower half of his face.

“Chanyeol,” finally says the man, his voice echoing around the empty area where they are located currently. “I’m a guardian of the spirit realm.”

“I’m dead…?” Chanyeol immediately declared, his heart sank down as the older replies with a nod, his voice coming out almost like a whisper. The idea of being dead was enough to break the spirit’s heart that hasn’t been functioning ever since he opened his eyes. He points to himself. “Me? Dead? Why?”

The guardian speaks nothing and takes a step forward instead, closing another gap between him and the younger. The bright light coming from the sky follows him, as Chanyeol looks at him with glassy eyes. He knew it will be hard for the male to accept his fate, but he needs to take it eventually.

“The reason might be erased from your mind, but someone who died the same way as you are lucky,” says the guardian, continuously walking and closing the distance that separates him from the lad. “You died because you wanted to, Chanyeol. You wouldn’t want to know why while you’re searching for your key.”

“My key…?” he asks, completely baffled. His death is still vague for him, and the ridiculous things coming out from the guardian’s mouth is the last thing he wants to think about. “Wait, you’re telling me that I killed myself,” he repeats and the older slightly nods. “And now I need to find ‘my’ key?”

The guardian nods. “You’re right.”

“For what?” additional enquiry comes out of his questioning mind. Frustration and misperception is evident on the young lad’s perfect face.

“For that,” the guardian holds his finger up and points on his transparent chest. Inside it was his heart, glowing in different shades of green and white, like a charcoal lit up with fire. It wasn’t beating, but it looks beautiful.

“For my heart?” he speaks again, examining the guardian’s face, trying to see if he’s kidding or not. But the elder man’s face was blank and completely serious. Chanyeol might find it ridiculous, but he knows the man is not fooling him.

“People like you had different reasons with why you did it. And that thing inside your chest gives you a second chance to live your life again,” he explains. “Find your key and you will live the lifetime your first life did not give you.”

The taller stayed mute and his glassy eyes reflected a hint of sadness. His face turned soft, and he became gloomy despite the brightness of the empty room they’re currently in.

“What’s wrong, child?” asked the guardian, obviously worried about Chanyeol’s sudden change of emotion. This isn’t the first time he sees someone who doesn’t actually look really happy with the thought of being alive again so he already knew what maybe the reason why, but he still chose to ask him.

“What if I don’t want to live again?” Chanyeol’s lonely eyes were enough to express the worry he thinks of.

The guardian flashes a sincere smile, his hands caressing the younger’s back while trying to comfort him. The question is clearly not new to the guardian anymore, he’s already encountered numerous amounts of people who shared the same thought but it still doesn’t fail to amuse him.

“The search for your key will not be very easy. Along the road you take I know you’ll see something or someone that would make you want to be alive again.”

Chanyeol takes that in mind. He’s not sure if what the guardian said is really going to happen and he’s not even hoping anymore, but he thinks it won’t hurt to try. “But where do I look for my key?”

The guardian smiles once again. Happiness was evident on his face upon finally convincing the young spirit. “You’ll know it when you touch one of his properties and a set of flashbacks comes into your mind.”

Chanyeol brows furrowed upon confusion, his eyes darted towards the elder’s face, trying to detect a hint of humour on his expression. “My key…is a person?” he asks, baffled. The guardian replies with a nod.

 “…and it’s a boy?”