The next morning, Jongup woke up to the sun lightly shining through his window.

After realizing he had fallen asleep in his clothes from yesterday, he decided that he should take a shower.  He pulled some clothes out of his backpack then opened his door.

There were no sounds in the house, so Jongup figured that his father was either asleep or went out to the city already.  He quickly went into the bathroom just across the hall from his room.

After closing the door, he peeled off his shirt and looked in the mirror.  The purplish bruises on his skin were slowly fading away.  If he could escape and see Himchan every day, Jongup wouldn't have to worry about getting hit anymore. 

Smiling, Jongup pulled off the rest of his clothes and took a hot shower. 

After his shower, he put on his pants as he threw his old clothes into the corner of his room.  As he pulled his shirt on over head, he heard his father yell from downstairs, "Are you awake yet?"

He didn't sound angry, but Jongup cautiously closed his door and rushed downstairs.  He saw his father in the kitchen, dressed like he's going to an interview, eating another one of Yongguk and Zelo's cookies. 

"I'm going to go soon.  The keys are right here," Mr. Moon said, placing the house keys on the counter, "I may not be back until late today."

Jongup nodded, watching as his father grabbed his things and walked out the door.  He heard the car's engine start and Mr. Moon finally drove away.  Jongup sighed in relief. 

The clock hanging on the wall indicated that it was nine in the morning.  Plenty of time before dinner with Yongguk and Zelo.

Jongup went to the kitchen and shoved the house key into his pocket.  After pulling on his shoes, he locked the door and went outside. 

Himchan, looking down at Jongup from a tree, called the younger boy, "Hey, Jongup!"

Jongup looked around, but couldn't find Himchan.

"Where are you?" "Up here!" Jongup looked up into a tree, only to see Himchan crouching comfortably on a branch.

"How did Himchan get up there?" Jongup thought, his eyes widening. 

Jongup finally found his voice, "G-Get down from there!  What if you get hurt?"

Himchan smiled and waved him off.  Gracefully, he swung down from a branch and landed a couple feet away from Jongup. 

"I want to take you somewhere today." Himchan said excitedly.  Jongup looked at Himchan questioningly.

"Oh?  Where?" Jongup was genuinely curious.  He smiled at Himchan's excitement.

"You'll see.  Come on, follow me!" Himchan grabbed Jongup's wrist and led him into the forest.  The pair dodged branches, stepped over twigs, and jumped over fallen trees. 

Himchan was moving so fast, Jongup started to question if Himchan was really blind.  Maybe his other senses were really keen?  Himchan's speed, grace, and looks were superhuman. 

"I must be going crazy." Jongup thought to himself, focusing on following Himchan through the dense trees. 

Himchan suddenly stopped and said to Jongup, "And we're here!  Ah, look at the flowers~!" Jongup bumped into Himchan's back, apologized quickly, then looked around. 

The field in front of them was covered in beautiful flowers.  The sun filtered through the tall trees and landed perfectly on the flowers.  Each petal basked in the warm sunlight.  Jongup felt at peace and calm just looking at them. 

"Well?  Do you like it?" Himchan asked, smiling at Jongup's amazed face.

"It's really beautiful..." Jongup mumbled, leaning down and touching a flower gently. 

"Legend is that if you find a certain flower here, you can have a wish for each petal it has." Himchan said, crouching down by Jongup and sniffing a flower. 

Jongup looked thoughtful.  "What kind of flower?" Jongup asked.  He never believed in magic, but what could it hurt?

"Well...they say it only reveals itself when you've experienced true pain." Himchan said simply, "It's just an old legend, anyway."

"Yeah..." Jongup chuckled to himself, embarrassed that he believed the myth, if only for a few seconds.

"I come here to think and escape from everything.  We all need time to ourselves some day." Himchan said wistfully, sitting down and leaning against a tree trunk.  Jongup nodded in agreement and sat down on a rock next to Himchan. 

"...It's a nice place to think." Jongup closed his eyes and rested his head against a tree. 

After a few minutes, Jongup fell asleep.  Himchan chuckled slightly.  He took of his blindfold and looked at Jongup clearly for the first time. 

A butterfly landed on Himchan's knee and appeared to look right at Himchan.  Himchan's eyes met with the butterfly for a brief second, but that was enough.  As soon as the butterfly started to fly again, a bird swooped down and ate the poor winged insect. 

Himchan gulped, putting his blindfold back on again. 

He confirmed what he had feared. 

It would only be a matter of time until Jongup found out, but Himchan would do anything to keep his true identity away from his only friend.

~~~

Himchan has a secret~

I lost this chapter and my subscribers too :'(  Sadness.