Sehun opened his eyes slowly that morning. The sunlight came weak through a gap on the curtains and the delicious smell of freshly baked bread spread around the house. He sat on the mattress stretching his arms, then he got up and directed himself to the kitchen where the noise of dishes and bowls being stacked could be heard.

-Oh good, you are up. – Baekhyun smiled at him and pulled a chair from the table. – Sit down, the bread is almost baked.

Sehun nodded and sat down, impressed by the amount of food that was already in the table.There was a nut cake and a plate of tiny doughnuts, apart from scrambled eggs, sausages and croissants to be sided by juice and coffee. As the finale Baekhyun served a giant homemade bread that had to be cut in half so it would fit on the table.

-There you go. – He placed a butter tablet near the hot bread. – You can eat now.

-You did all this by yourself? – The blonde sounded amazed.

Baekhyun nodded.

-My parents were bakers, they taught me everything when I was little.

-It’s delicious! – He gave a piece of cake a hungry bite. – You could be a baker yourself, you are really good at this.

Baekhyun blushed and thanked him. Sehun saw this as the perfect opportunity to ask something that was keeping him from sleeping the night before.

-What do you guys work with, by the way? – He asked while grabbing some croissants.

-It’s hard to explain. – The smaller said thoughtfully. – But we...

-Good morning… – A sleepy voice came from the chair beside Sehun’s and the man jolted when he saw Kai sitting there.

-Good Lord, Kai, can’t you walk anymore? You scared Sehun…

-Sorry, Sehun. – He said, grabbing a mini doughnut. – I’m too sleepy to walk…

-Of course you are. – Baekhyun gave him a disapprobatory look. – Just eat quickly, you have to go.

-Ok ok, don’t worry, Baekhyunie. – Kai smiled before turning to Sehun. – I got a free afternoon today, if you want some help finding your family.

-Oh no, thank you. I think there are some things I need to find out by myself…

-As you wish. –  Kai nodded, stuffing three of the tiny doughnuts in his mouth and almost not being able to close it.

-Well, I should be going. – The blonde got up quickly. – Thank you so much for everything again, how can I ever repay you?

-Don’t worry about it Sehun, you can stay for as long as you want. – Baekhyun took a small paper bag and filled it with food before handing it to Sehun. – Kai told me you were mugged so you don’t have any money, but you can do some house chores to pay your staying while you are here.

Sehun smiled.

-This is a great idea, when I’m back just tell me how I can help you, ok?

Baekhyun nodded and Kai just dragged four more doughnuts and shoved them in his mouth, almost choking on the food.

-I’ll be going now, 'see you guys latter.

Baekhyun waved him goodbye and Sehun went to the sunny day outside.

He headed town and asked a bystander where the carpentry was and then he hid near it and waited until Kai showed up. He was going to find out if the men were actually bandits or not, even if he had to follow them for a really long time. 

Kai appeared not much later, teleporting inside the store and trying to unlock some door at the back. Sehun glanced around, looking for someone who could eventually see them, but it was still early in the morning and the dirt streets were empty, so he approached, watching Kai by the glass of the shop’s showcase.

The brunet was quick and in less than two minutes he was already inside the storage looking for something among the products scattered into the room.

Then he finally picked up a tiny bag and stuffed it in his pocket and Sehun couldn’t contain himself and also entered the carpentry and approached the deposit.

-Kai... – Sehun called in a low voice. – Kai, what are you doing?

-Sehun? – Kai’s head popped at the door. –Come...

Kai pulled him inside and looked around to check if anybody saw him.

-What are you doing here? – Kai was replacing some objects back to their original places and Sehun fished the little bag out of the brunet’s pocket.

-I could ask you the same thing, but I think I know the answer.  – He gave the tiny bag in his hand a little shake. - Look, I’ll put this back in its place and we will get out of here, got it?

-What? No, Sehun, I don’t think you understand. – He grabbed the bag back from the blonde’s hands. – Let’s go, I’ll explain it to you outside.

-Not until you put this back.

-I’m not leaving it here, it took me forever to find it!

-Then we are not leaving and I’ll tell the carpenter what you did. Give me that.

He tried to reach the bag again, but Kai flinched. – Sehun, that’s my job...

-So that really is your job? That’s how you earn your money, stealing from others?

Kai snorted and shook his head.

-This does not belong to the carpenter.

-You are telling me this is yours? – The other mocked.

-Also no.

-Then whose is it? - Sehun asked, confused.

-It belongs to a lady who hired me. I retrieve lost or stolen objects, and this does not belong to carpenter, it was stolen. That, Sehun, is my job…

Sehun looked embarrassed now

-I’m sorry. - He said. – But you have to admit that your behavior was suspicious. Mainly your conversation with Baekhyun last night.

Kai raised an eyebrow.

-You were listening to our conversation?

-No. - Sehun answered truthfully. - I just happened to be coming out of the bathroom while you were talking.

-The ring... - Kai began between his teeth. - Was stolen from king Suho a few months ago, taken by a group of gypsies to the forest. I went there in an attempt to retrieve it, and I did. It was then, at the time I ran away from the gypsies and was checking if it was the right ring, that you appeared.

-And who is "he"? You said you were going to give the ring to someone, when "he" returned.

-He, king Suho, who happens to be out in a mission in the west! - Kai explained, exasperated. - When he comes back, I will give the ring to him and he'll be happy to have his ring back!

Sehun had no answer to give Kai, so the brunette just went on.

-You can come with me to retrieve these items, this way I can prove I’m not lying…

Sehun finally nodded.

-I think I owe you an apologie then ... - He muttered, embarrassed. - Sorry that I overheard your conversation, doubted you and followed you, even though you were so good to me.

Kai laughed and it was Sehun’s turn to raise his eyebrow at him.

-What's so funny?

-In the forest, the night of the day we met, - Kai confessed. - When you went to sleep, I went through all your stuff again, including your pockets, to see if you could be trusted.

Sehun's jaw dropped, but then he also laughed.

-Good. - He said finally. - Looks like we both have trust issues. How about we put all this behind us and start again?

Kai nodded.

-From now on... – He said, stretching out a hand to Sehun. – We are trusting each other, no matter what. With no more spying one another…

-And no more rummaging through each other’s stuff. – The blonde added, accepting his hand.

-Yes, that too. –Kai agreed.

They shook hands lightly and then smiled at each other. That seemed like the beginning of a great friendship.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

Two weeks have gone by since Sehun arrived at K and the man was easily getting used to the customs and mannerisms of that peaceable kingdom. He returned to Kai and Baekhyun’s house and now slept on a mattress beside Kai’s bed, since summer had arrived and the living room would be very hot at this time of the year.

Kai liked to have Sehun sleeping in his room because when the nights showed themselves to be unbearably hot the blonde would create, even while unconscious, cool breezes that circled the room, cooling it. Sehun, on his turn, liked sharing the room with Kai for not having to sleep on the uncomfortable mattress anymore and for having someone to talk to before going to sleep. So, as roommates, they would talk a lot, sharing their interests and life storie