[Soundtrack: Rainy Heart- Heo Youngsaeng feat. Kim Kyujong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISeA4VBIX00]

The rain comes bursting out of nowhere. At first, it’s just a few sprinkles but then it turns into a torrent. Cursing under his breath, Baekhyun pulls his hood over his head and runs for cover. After almost a hundred metres, he finally reaches the overhang of a small shop. Releasing a sigh of relief, he pulls the soaked hood down and begins making an effort to dry himself. The rain continues to pelt down and the people on the street scurry along.

Baekhyun turns around to inspect the shop that is providing him shelter from the onslaught. A rusty antique sign hangs above the door that has been left ajar. “The Merchant of Fairness.”  To Baekhyun, the name seems mysterious yet inviting. The rain didn’t seem like it was stopping anytime soon, so Baekhyun decides to take a look around. He lightly pushes the door open and steps inside, making sure he wipes his feet on the doormat before entering, so he wouldn’t leave small puddles in his path.

The first thing Baekhyun notices is that the room was oddly dim. Only a fluorescent white light hangs in the middle of the small store, attempting to provide light for the whole room.  Despite the small space, there is at least ten book shelves lined up around the walls and in the middle of the store, each a tower of neatly filed books. Unruly piles of dusty, unsorted books are scattered over the remaining floor space.  

As an avid reader, Baekhyun innately shuffles over to the first shelf labelled “classics” and begins scanning the shelf, brushing his fingertips against the spines as he goes along. He stops at a familiar title. Carefully, he pulls the old leather-bound book from the shelf.

“Grimm’s Fairy Tales.”     

He lightly blows away some of the dust on the front cover before opening the book up slowly to the first page. The pages are yellowed with age and the edges, a darker shade of brown. Each page is stiff as he turns them, as if the book hadn’t been opened in years. The text, though small, is in a delicate and winding font. The smell of the book infiltrates Baekhyun’s nose, leaving him dazed, as he continues to admire the book, stuck in a state of awe.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it? The stories on the other hand are a bit morbid don’t you think?”

A sudden deep voice emerges behind him. Almost dropping the book in surprise, Baekhyun turns around to see the flashy smile of a VERY tall male. Apart from their obvious height difference, he looked around the same age as Baekhyun. His light brown hair had been swept to the side, his eyes like two crescent moons. But all those facial features couldn’t overpower his big toothy grin. He looks so cheerful that Baekhyun almost thinks it’s creepy; and yet Baekhyun ends up finding his smile mesmerizingly beautiful. Like the mysterious name of the store, he couldn’t help but want to know more about him.

“Yes.” Baekhyun replies statically, not knowing what else he should say.

“You can keep this if you want.” His deep voice resonates around the store, sending a wave of chills through Baekhyun’s body.

“What?”

“It needs an owner and I can tell that you’ll be the best person to take care of it.”

“Are you sure? I can pay for it.” After closing the book with care, Baekhyun digs around in his wet pocket and pulls out his wallet. “But thanks for the offer though…”

“Chanyeol. It’s Chanyeol.” He smiles again, taking another piece of sanity away from Baekhyun.

“I’m Baekhyun. So how much is this Chanyeol?”

“Nothing. You can have it for free. But only if…”

“If?”

Chanyeol steps in closer and places his hand on Baekhyun’s head, ruffling his hair.

“If you promise to come back and visit me. It's lonely working in an old bookshop with no one else around.”

Baekhyun draws in and holds his breath as Chanyeol looks into his eyes. He’s uncertain over whether it was the aura of the shop or the warmth in Chanyeol’s eyes that makes him agree, but Baekhyun finds himself nodding back in agreement.

“I promise.”

Outside the world of the book shop, the rain had long stopped, but for Baekhyun the rain was still raging, stirring up a storm within his heart.

Once upon a time, a curious boy stepped into a mysterious bookshop and met a smiling giant. Will this story end with a happily ever after?

This was my attempt at writing a fic in under 500 words... but I failed and it ended up being like 700...

Hope you guys liked it? I don't know. I have mixed feelings about it. Let me know what you think.

Story based on a real bookshop. Unfortunately, it isn't owned by Chanyeol. :P