Ryeowook cradles his scratched arm as he runs away. He doesn’t even care where he’s going―in fact, he couldn’t even see in front of him, so clouded is his vision by his tears―as long as it is nowhere near those terrible bullies.

He wipes his tears with his sleeve, and when he opens his eyes he finds he’s already in the middle of an empty hallway. He slows down to a stop, stumbles against a wall, and slides down. Keeping his hurt arm to his chest, he pulls up his knees, wraps his good arm around them, and lets his head fall into the dark pocket of safety he created.

It can’t have been too long―it’s still recess, by all accounts―when he feels someone tap his shoulder. He looks up and to the side, and there is a boy sitting in a mirrored position next to him. He has sleepy eyes and shaggy black hair, and Ryeowook has never seen him before.

The boy doesn’t say anything, merely reaching behind Ryeowook’s ear to pull out a 100 won coin.

Ryeowook forgets the tear tracks on his cheeks, instead focusing on the coin in the other’s hand in wonder. “How did you do that?”

The boy smirks, but it’s not mean-spirited. “I’m magic.”

Months pass. He learns Kyuhyun’s name and that the reason they’ve never met before is that Kyuhyun is in the grade below him, but Ryeowook swears that Kyuhyun is so smart he might as well have graduated elementary school already. He quickly becomes Ryeowook’s best friend.

This, of course, gives his classmate bullies even more fodder against him. If it’s not the fact that he’s friends with “a baby,” it’s that he’s not tall enough to reach the monkey bars on his own, or that he’s kind of pudgy, or that he likes pretty things―they’ll turn anything of Ryeowook’s into a reason to cry.

Which also gives Kyuhyun just as many reasons to make him smile again.

When Ryeowook takes it upon himself to learn the secret of the coin trick, Kyuhyun moves onto card tricks, and pencil tricks, and spoon tricks. Each one falls victim to Ryeowook’s inquisitiveness and pragmatism. Ryeowook would worry that over time, Kyuhyun would get tired of trying to cheer him up and leave him, and he really will be as pathetic as the bullies say; but each time Ryeowook demonstrates Kyuhyun’s own trick back to him, Kyuhyun just smiles and says, “Guess I’ll have to find another way to make you feel better.” And he always does.

One day, the bullies decide words are not harmful enough.

“Hey, give that back! That’s mine!”

Ryeowook looks up tearfully as the leader of the kids clutches at the chalk he was using to draw a hopscotch pattern on the sidewalk.

“No, I think it’s mine now.”

They crumble the chalk and scuff out the hopscotch field with their sneakers and laugh as they walk away, and Ryeowook doesn’t retreat to their empty hallway when he cries. He knows Kyuhyun will find him there, and he doesn’t want to feel better.

Kyuhyun finds him anyway, of course. “I’m not in the mood for any magic tricks today,” Ryeowook mutters while looking down at his chalk-stained fingers.

“That’s okay,” Kyuhyun shrugs. He sits next to Ryeowook in silence, which the older definitely appreciates.

“I wish―” He has to clear his throat after so long in silence, and he starts again. “Sometimes I wish I had a special world just for me. No one will say mean things just to hurt me, and it’ll be so pretty.”

“What would that world look like?”

Ryeowook thinks for a moment, then, “I want rainbows.” Kyuhyun chuckles at his definitive tone, but he doesn’t take it personally. “Every direction you turn, you’ll see a rainbow. I want the ocean right there and the sun to always shine and a nice breeze so it’s not too hot. The clouds will be so fluffy, and I’ll have my favourite candy, and you’ll be there, too.” He moves his hands around as if to mould it before him, and for his last wish he lets his hands drop to his lap as he turns to his best friend with a grateful smile.

Said best friend is looking at him like Ryeowook’s never seen Kyuhyun look at him before, but before Ryeowook can fully ponder the look on the other’s face, Kyuhyun entreats, “Close your eyes. Close them, and imagine it as hard as you can.”

So he does.

Ryeowook shuts his eyes so tight it’s like he’s closing his ears too, trying to dull out his senses so he can use every inch of his brain to imagine his perfect world.

He feels a gentle pressure on his lips, then, and opens his eyes in shock.

Kyuhyun is in front of him with a bashful smile and flushed cheeks, and they’re not in the school anymore.

He’s not sure where they are, but it’s beautiful. It’s so beautiful he can’t take his eyes off it despite his first kiss standing right there . It’s like a picture of a dream, so ethereal in essence but vivid in its quality. Ryeowook steps forward as if entranced and can feel the grass wet with dew brush his exposed shins, can hear the push and pull of the ocean in the distance, can smell tree sap and flowers and something inexplicably happy .

Kyuhyun comes up to Ryeowook’s side, slips his hand into the older’s small one, and Ryeowook is brought out of his stupor.

“Like I told you, I’m magic,” Kyuhyun says in anticipation of Ryeowook’s question. With a flick of his wrist, a lollipop appears in Ryeowook’s free hand, and he almost drops it in astonishment. “You told me about your happy place, so I made it for you. We can come back here anytime you want. You just have to find me, and I’ll take you.”

“You… made this for me? It’s all mine?”

Kyuhyun raises their clasped hands and holds them firmly to his chest. Ryeowook can feel the steady thump of the other’s heartbeat through the back of his hand.

“All yours.”