Baekhyun was walking down the lavish, dark hallway and admired the intricacies of the art that hung on the walls and the statues that stood at each door. He frowned at the gloominess of the castle. *Why is it so dark and depressing in here?*

 

He walked over to a nearby window and tugged at the curtains. It only swayed slightly before returning back to its original position. Baekhyun pouted and pulled harder. The sun shone through the window and showed dust flying everywhere. It covered him in a light layer of it, and he quickly wiped it off of himself. 

 

He moved along through the castle. He had the distinct feeling that he was being watched by someone. He looked around his surroundings and saw no living thing in the room with him. 

 

Or so he thought. 

 

He eventually walked into a certain section of the castle. He didn’t know what was there, but he still went along, curious on what he might find there. 

 

He heard some noises behind him, and he turned around and saw nothing. He eyed his surroundings suspiciously before turning back and walking forward again. The noises continued, so he turned around again, looking around frantically. “W-who’s there?” 

 

No on answered back. 

 

As Baekhyun turned back around again, he heard someone clear their throat. “Ahem, down here!” 

 

Baekhyun turned around and looked down to see Lumière, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Pots. “Have you been following me this whole time?” 

 

“Yes, and with good reason!” Cogsworth exclaimed. 

 

Baekhyun kneeled down and cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

 

“Monsieur! Y-you can’t be here! Please! You must get out!” Lumière cried as he pointed towards the exit. 

 

Baekhyun stared at the candelabra in confusion. “Wait, why?” 

 

Mrs. Pots hopped up and down in fright. “The prince! This is where he stays! He doesn’t like it when people come here!” 

 

“Please leave!” Cogsworth pleaded. 

 

Understanding the situation, Baekhyun stood up and nodded. He turned around to leave the west wing, only to bump into the one person that the others warned him about. Baekhyun backed up against a wall, frightened out of his wits. Beast roared loudly, causing the whole castle to shake. 

 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!”

 

“I’m-I-I’m s-so-s-sorry!

 

“YOU THINK YOU’RE SORRY, HUH?” 

 

“Y-yes?” Beast roared again, causing Baekhyun to fall on the floor. He crawled into the corner, only for Beast to follow him. “I-I-I m-mean no?” 

 

“YOU DON’T THINK YOU’RE SORRY?” 

 

“I-I DON’T KNOW!” Baekhyun felt like crying. He had never been so frightened in his life. He shut his eyes, trying to block out everything. 

 

“Monsieur! Please control your temper!” Mrs. Pots shrieked. She looked at Baekhyun’s trembling figure in pity. 

 

“IS IT MY FAULT THAT HE’S MORONIC AND CAME UP HERE WHERE IT’S FORBIDDEN?” 

 

“It’s not his fault!” Lumière defended him. 

 

Beast closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He felt his temples starting to throb in frustration as he tried to calm himself down. Baekhyun opened one of his eyes and snuck a peek. “Fine, I’ll let this slide,” Baekhyun heaved a big sigh of relief, “BUT!” Baekhyun cowered even smaller in his corner. “If you EVER come here again, I will rip your head off and put it on a stick!” 

 

Baekhyun’s eyes widened and clutched his throat. “O-o-okay!” 

 

Beast glared down at him menacingly. “And one last thing,” he pointed a large hair finger towards Baekhyun, who looked at it as if it were a weapon, “you stay away from Aesook, you hear?” 

 

Baekhyun nodded furiously and scrambled onto his feet. He bowed low and scurried far away from the frightening thing. He turned around the corner and clutched his beating heart. “Omo, omo, omo. That was scary, oh my god.” He wiped off the cold sweat that had appeared on his brow. “Maybe I should get out of the castle for a while.”

 

Baekhyun took 20 minutes to find the exit of the castle, and when he did, he walked outside into the garden, which was a really bad idea because it was covered in snow, and he wasn’t wearing a jacket. He rubbed his arms as he shivered when a cool breeze brushed past him. “W-w-why d-d-didn’t I-I br-bring a-a j-j-j-j-jacket ag-gain?” The memory of Beast yelling at him popped back into his head, and he shuddered. “Oh, I remember w-why.” 

 

He looked at the depressing garden that only had one large, wilting tree. He sighed, seeing his breath and giggling a little at it, and started trudging through the snow towards it. 

 

As Baekhyun got closer, he could hear a soft voice singing quietly. He cocked his head to the side curiously. *Who’s that singing?* He tried to tip-toe closer to the voice and hid behind the tree, peering around it. There he saw Aesook kneeling down at a cluster of birds. 

 

She was smiling down at the birds and whistled at them to get closer to her. They hopped over to her and flapped their wings. She spread a handful of seeds onto the snow, and they graciously started pecking and eating them. She smiled at them and petted one of the birds’ head with her finger, which cooed pleasantly. She opened and started singing again. 

 

It was a familiar song. Baekhyun had heard it many times before, but he couldn’t place his finger on it. He sat down at the trunk of the tree and listened to her sing. He closed his eyes and became swept away at her voice. His heart started beating faster and harder than before. He clutched his chest and opened his eyes again. *What is this feeling? I can’t be...*

 

He silently stood back up and brushed the snow off of his pants. He took one last glance at Aesook before departing back towards the castle. He stuck his hands in his pockets and shivered, but not from the cold. 

 

*It can’t be... This feeling can‘t be THAT, right?* 

 

He frowned at the feeling that was stirring up inside of him and shook his head furiously. “Ani, ani, ani!” 

 

He looked up at the cloudy sky and breathed heavily. *They were all right. I shouldn’t have left my room, and I should’ve stayed away from Aesook.*

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Double update today ^-^