When he was getting ready to go to the town that morning, he didn't expect to run into his old friend Baekhyun. And what he certainly hadn't expected, not even in his dreams, was the conversation they would have that afternoon.

That day started as any other. Kyungsoo woke up with sunrise, fed the chickens and went to a nearby spring for fresh water. The life was quiet and peaceful in the mountains; one would even say that it was lonely, however Kyungsoo wasn't one to share the sentiment. Instead, he enjoyed the solitude his life offered him; his only companions was the poultry he kept. He never much enjoyed the company of other people; his father could be at fault as he raised him in the mountains as well.

Despite his contentment with his life, he did sometimes need to go down the mountain to the town, mostly to sell his paintings and buy necessities at the market. And this day was one of those when he got dressed in his best cotton jeogori and baji, put his paintings in a bag and left the mountain for the day.

The walk was peaceful, as everything here deep in nature, hidden from the sight of people. There was no clear path leading to his house, so he had to fight his way through bushes and tree branches in his way. In just a few hours, he could see the gate of the town in front of him. As always, it was bustling with people, pendling back and forth in crowds, leaving him no choice but be swayed with them, hoping he would be able to break free in time when he needed to.

After senseless wandering around and making his way through the crowd, he finally stood in front of the shop where he usually sold his works. The door was open and a familiar voice was greeting him from the inside: "Ah, Do Kyungsoo, welcome, welcome."

He stepped inside, bowing his head. "Hello, I came here with some new paintings."

"Of course, of course." The old man behind the counter smiled at him fondly. "I was expecting you one of these days."

"How is your family?" Kyungsoo asked as he started putting the pictures on the counter.

The man smiled and began carefully examining the canvas. "Same old, same old. My wife is still very ill, but her health is currently better than ever. And my son is getting married soon, would you believe that?"

"Please congratulate to Jongdae for me."

"I hope you will be able to come to the wedding. As an old friend of our Jongdae, you will surely be invited when the date and place are set."

"I will, gladly."

The man set the eight pictures side by side and frowned. "Your raw talent is as amazing as ever. These butterflies seem almost real and the cat climbing the tree is very realistic as well. However," his expression showed sadness, "whenever you paint people, they seem to lack something."

Kyungsoo gulped. He heard this once before, but never expected to hear it again.

"You see, look at this." The old man pointed at the picture of four people on a boat. "The ricefields in the back are fascinating, with all the detail and such. And the boat's surface really looks wooden. But the people... They look dead, their expressions are empty, convey no emotion. They awake no strong feelings, which in contrast to the marvelous landscape is a real shame."

"I see."

"I will buy it from you. All of them. But this," he pointed at the picture of the boat, "only for half the usual price."

Kyungsoo accepted, of course. He was very disappointed about the commentary, however, there was nothing he could say in his defense; he knew that it was lacking something since the moment he started painting it. Whenever he tried to capture people in his pictures, his brush suddenly lost its magic and left him with unfinished creatures that only looked like humans, but felt nothing close to them. And he didn't know why.

Just as he was walking out, a figure blocked the doorway. It was Baekhyun, his old friend, as surprised as he was. Baekhyun smiled widely.

"Do Kyungsoo, long time no see!" He bowed to the old man, excited. "I suppose Kyungsoo brought some new paintings?"

"Of course, do you want to take a look?" The old man nodded towards the pictures on the counter.

Kyungsoo frowned in confusion. "Wait, you buy my pictures?"

"Of course I do," Baekhyun laughed as he looked through his works. "They're the talk of the town; everyone who owns at least one, feels like a royalty."

"You're taking it too far."

"You're just shy." Baekhyun points at three canvas and drops the money on the counter. "I like those three very much."

The old man thanked him for his patronage and then the young men left the shop together. The streets were still crowded, but Baekhyun led them through streets and passages that Kyungsoo didn't know, so they mostly avoided the people.

Kyungsoo looked around on the unfamiliar buildings and felt a bit nervous. "Where are we going?"

"To my house, of course," Baekyhun said casually. "I promised you lunch the next time you stop by the town."

Kyungsoo was suspicious of his intentions, but followed him anyway. Byun Baekhyun was a businessman down to his core. Whenever he brought someone over to lunch, it came down to business talk, even with Kyungsoo who usually had nothing to offer him. Last time he visited Baekhyun's place, he asked him to paint some landscapes that he wanted to give to a noble man he was making a deal with to win him over on his side. Kyungsoo was never interested in details, but he knew that Baekhyun was providing his clients with goods from overseas, mostly from America and that his brother was managing their family fields. And yet, he always somehow found a way to make a use of Kyungsoo's skills, which Kyungsoo never really complained about as he owed to Baekhyun more than was healthy. Baekhyun was basically the only reason he could keep his secluded life without worrying about money too much.

In the end, they end up in front of Baekhyun's big house. It's a traditional building, a bit farther away from the town centre, big enough to fit a big family in there. However, Baekhyun lives alone. Mostly. He employs a few servants in his house, his favourite being Chanyeol, a man who used to sell his body on the streets to earn some money; Baekhyun saved him from his fate and gave him a stable life and employment in his house.  And while he was a great, kind-hearted person, always willing to help whoever needed that; however, Kyungsoo suspected that in Chanyeol's case, it was more Baekhyun's than heart that made him help him.

They were greeted by Chanyeol's big figure as soon as they walked in; he was in the middle of cleaning the floor when they opened the door. Chanyeol immediately stood up and bowed to greet his master and their visitor.

"Chanyeol, good to see you," Baekhyun said, overly excited to see him. "Would you let the cook know that we're having a guest over for lunch? Also tell her to start preparing it immediately."

Chanyeol disappeared in the house, leaving them alone in the entrance room; not for long however. Soon a young girl came out of one of the rooms and led them to another room, which Baekhyun used to serve his guests and clients. He kept complimenting the maid as they were walking down the hallways, leaving Kyungsoo extremely uncomfortable with the whole situation.

When they sat down, Baekhyun poured them some soju and cut to the chase: "So, I actually wanted to ask you a favour."

Kyungsoo, having expected that, only rolled his eyes. "Yes, I figured. What is it this time?"

"It's not a usual request, you see." Baekhyun's serious tone made him curious for some reason. What did he mean by that? "As you may or may not have noticed, I employ quite a few people to work for the house."

"I am not blind yet."

"That's good. Though your vision is not perfect, have you visited a doctor yet?"

"You're changing the topic."

"Oh yes, I apologise." He sips from his drink. "There is a redundant worker here actually."

Kyungsoo kept silent, waiting for the man the explain his point.

"Jongin, the son of a fisherman. His family got in a great debt and the boy's only choice was to sell his body, so I took him in and made him work to pay off his debts. I have been patient with him, but he's just too clumsy for the work I need him to do; he's only good for common houseworks that are done by Chanyeol."

"And you can't switch their positions because you want Chanyeol to be close to you."

"Exactly. He almost paid it all off, but I can't keep him here anymore. And I don't want to send him on the street again."

"So...?"

"I was thinking you could use some help around the house. You complain about having to do all the housework on your own, but you're too awkward to actually get a wife to do it for you."

"So you want me to take this boy in?"

"He's more of a man already. He just recently reached the adulthood."

Kyungsoo sighed. "And why would I do that? I don't want to live with anyone."

"He could take care of the cleaning and cooking, and you could spend your whole days painting and playing around with your chickens."

"I don't know..."

"If money is the problem, I'll cover it. Or, you could paint him and sell it. His body is quite ."

"Who do you think I am?"

"My dear friend. I want you to live a great life. You're a talent, but you spend a lot of your time doing other things than expanding your skills."

"What if we don't click?"

"Then take him for a trial period only. If he's too much for your peace, I'll take him back and find some other way to take care of him."

Kyungsoo thought about it for a bit. What Baekhyun presented him with were only advantages. There was basically nothing for him to lose here, only to gain. It was true that it would help him out a lot if he had someone around to take care of the mundane things around the house. He could spend more time around the lake then, simply painting the entire day without worrying about his meals. Also, spending time around people could actually help him with drawing people; if Jongin let him, of course. He had no intention of following Baekhyun's suggestion, but it did make sense to try to paint someone.

"Fine," he said in the end. "I'll try it."

"Amazing!" Baekhyun seemed very pleased with himself. "I'm sure you won't regret this."

Kyungsoo hoped so too.