Minseok woke up slumped in the chair, his back and neck stiff and his mouth dry. There were no windows in the surveillance room, but the screens shoved that the sun had already risen high outside. Casually he looked at the screen shoving Luhan’s room; watching Luhan was his job now and he intended to do it properly.

The bed was empty, but Minseok assumed he’d slept quite late, so Luhan having gotten up already was only natural. Knowing Luhan couldn’t have gone far, the next place he looked was the screens shoving the winter garden. It was after all the only other place he’d seen him yet.

Just as suspected the blonde was once again sitting on the bench, looking out of the window. Minseok still wondered what there was to look at, and now he started to wonder if it was the only thing Luhan did day in and day out.  It sounded like a boring and uneventful life.

He got up from the chair, stretching his aching back while he promised himself not to make falling asleep in the chair a habit. His stomach grumbled, as always reminding him when he’d gone too long without eating. There wasn’t anyone else in the building and Luhan seemed ok, so there was no reason to sit there and starve.

Casting a last glance at the motionless youth on the screen, he concluded that everything was perfectly fine, before going to do his morning routine and get some breakfast.

Breakfast was important to Minseok. He needed more than his daily cups of coffee to have energy, and if he skipped or missed breakfast his whole day would be ruined. Eating unhurriedly, savoring every taste that hit his taste buds was also important. He needed it all to fully wake up and be ready for a new day. Routines like that were essential to him. At one point in his life he had needed them to get through the day, and before long they had become an integrated and vital part of his day to day life.

However as he sat there slowly drinking his morning coffee, as he did every day, a sense of anxiety crept up on him. It was his first day of the job, and he would never be able to forgive himself if something happened.

Therefore Minseok broke one of his cherished routines, taking his coffee with him and hastily walked back to the surveillance room. As soon as he had unlocked the door and checked out the monitors he let out a relived sigh. Luhan was exactly where he’d been earlier, seemingly not having moved an inch.

He spent his whole day there, watching Luhan. In the beginning he was on edge, always suspecting something would happen, but it never did. By the time of afternoon he’d become calmer and realized that most likely nothing bad would occur.

Yet he didn’t become bored. After all he had access to studying every part of the house, discovering things he hadn’t noticed in the short tour he’d been given yesterday. But no matter how interesting the other rooms were, he would always soon look back to the garden and the small beautiful creature inside it.

Not that Luhan was really small, like a lot of people he was taller than Minseok. Yet he was thin and frail, making him appear smaller than he really was. Especially when Minseok watched him through the surveillance screen; he looked even smaller, even more vulnerable and defenseless. Minseok still had problems picturing him hurting someone.

When evening came Minseok knew he had to do the task he’d secretly dreaded all day; getting Luhan into bed. It wasn’t that it had seemed very difficult, but he didn’t exactly look forward to socializing with the other.

He was still quite creeped out by the whole backstory. At the same time he was ashamed of how fascinating he found Luhan, how he’d just spent a whole day just watching him. Perhaps it was his job, but it still didn’t feel natural, especially because it didn’t bore him at all. A small voice in the back of his head told him that this was more than just fascination, but he pushed it away as quickly as it appeared. 

When he moved through the dim garden the same vague feeling of danger crept over him, but again he dismissed it. He was too old to be afraid of the dark, and he’d spent his whole day watching over this room; he knew exactly what was inside it.

And then Luhan was in front of him, looking just as pretty and angelic as he’d done yesterday. Luhan didn’t look up when he neared him, and not when Minseok stopped right beside him either. Not sure exactly what to say, Minseok cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to catch the others attention. When there still was no reaction, Minseok decided to push away his lack of confidence and speak up.                                                 

He cleared his throat once more, before raising his voice and calling out Luhan’s name. It came out sounding quite weak and pathetic, but fortunately Luhan reacted at once, turning away from the window and focusing on Minseok. 

“Um, it’s time for bed.” And just as yesterday the blonde stood up at once. Minseok waited for him to move towards his room, but Luhan just stood still, looking at Minseok like he was expecting him to do something.

Minseok then remembered that Dr. Lee had been leading the way yesterday, but at that point he hadn’t thought much about it. Did Luhan really wait for him to lead the way to his own room? Nevertheless Minseok began moving in what he hoped was the right direction. It soon occurred to him that the only noise he could hear was his own footsteps, but when he looked back Luhan was right behind him, his eyes focused on the ground.

Before long they were in front of the door to Luhan’s room. As soon as they were inside Luhan went into his bathroom, leaving Minseok to awkwardly wait for him by the bed. It was almost frightening how silent and docile Luhan was. If Minseok hadn’t seen the small sparks of emotions in him yesterday he would have questioned if he really was alive at all. Luhan reminded him more of a dysfunctional robot or a sleepwalker than a conscious, living person.

There wasn’t really anything to do while waiting. Minseok checked out the IV drip, which looked exactly like it had done yesterday. He read the tittles of the few books in the shelf, and noticed that they were mostly children books.

The feeling of being inside a box was even more prominent than the day before now that he was alone in the room. No sounds escaped from the bathroom either, so Minseok had no idea about what Luhan was doing in there. His nerves from earlier returned, and he started worrying about how long it took for Luhan to come back.

Had it taken him this long yesterday? What if Luhan had slipped, was lying there in a pool of his own blood and … Minseok didn’t even know where his mind was heading, but he was glad it was stopped by the door opening and Luhan walking out.

Luhan didn’t say anything, just headed straight for his bed and laid down without any fuss. Even though he was nervous Minseok managed to do what he was supposed to without failing. Just like Dr. Lee had he finished with tucking Luhan in under his covers, an act that felt strangely intimate compared to how long he’d known the other.

Just as Minseok was about to leave Luhan looked directly at him for the first time since coming out of the bathroom. He looked insecure, and Minseok noticed him opening his mouth as if he was about to say something, before closing it and looking away once more.  

Not sure if it had all happened in his imagination or what he should do to make Luhan comfortable enough to speak if it didn’t, Minseok settled with a mumbled goodnight. He waited for a few seconds. However it didn’t seem like Luhan was going to say something or even look at him again, so he soon gave up and walked towards the door.

Just as Minseok was walking out of the room he thought maybe he heard a soft whispered goodnight, but then the door was closing and he was again alone in the dim winter garden.

There was something about this entire situation that made him nerves stand on haywire and his sanity questionable, but Minseok blamed it on the natural nervousness of something new and foreign. It wasn’t like there was a lot of thing that felt normal and familiar right now, but hopefully he would get used to it soon.

Suddenly he realized that he was back at the surveillance room, his feet taken him there while his mind was busy with worrying.  I’ll just take a short peek at Luhan to check that he has fallen asleep, Minseok thought to himself before slipping inside and into the almost familiar chair.

When Minseok the next morning once again woke up slumped in the chair, he felt like hitting his head against the wall repeatedly. His back and neck was even stiffer than the day before, and what happened to the promise of not making this a habit?

Groaning loudly, before getting up to stretch out his aching muscles, Minseok realized he still hadn’t spent more than a few minutes in his own room yet.

The day advanced like the day before, with him only leaving the surveillance room for food or bathroom breaks, while Luhan stayed in his usual spot. The only difference was that Minseok had decided to not spend the whole day just staring at Luhan, and had taken a book with him from his room.

Normally Minseok easily lost himself in reading, but he still felt on edge, making concentrating on the book difficult. Every few pages he would look up just to find Luhan exactly where he’d last seen him.

And then it was evening again, way too soon for Minseok’s tastes. Nonetheless he was less nervous today, and everything went just as smoothly as the day before. Just as he finished tucking Luhan in Luhan looked up, opening his mouth slightly. Minseok smiled down at him, hoping to encourage Luhan to actually speak this time.                              

It actually seemed to work, because Luhan opened his mouth and began to say something. “So …” there was a slight pause, before he continued with a “good night”. Minseok had a feeling it wasn’t what Luhan actually wanted to say at first, but it was still a development from yesterday.

“Good night,” he answered with another smile, which this time was returned with a small smile from Luhan.

As Minseok was walking back towards his room, he tried to convince himself that there was no need to check in on Luhan before going to bed. However every time he’d almost become sure of heading straight to bed, Luhan’s smiling face popped up in his mind.

The next day he once again woke up slumped in the chair, with the urge to hit himself and a vague memory of dream filled with smiling faces.

Something about the house still made Minseok very uncomfortable even after living there for a few days. The silence was overpowering, made even clearer by how loud the noise he himself made appeared.

Not only was he used to living in the city, but also in a small apartment where he always could hear some kind of noise from his neighbors. This house was big and compact, not even letting the sounds of the nature through the thick walls. Sometimes Minseok opened a window just to listen to the natural background noises of the forest. But then again he was spending most of his time in a room without windows, so it wasn’t something he had the opportunity to do often.

The house and Luhan had that in common; both were too silent and without much trace of life. As evening approached Minseok was wondering about whether Luhan was going to talk to him or not. Minseok was craving to hear a noise he didn’t make himself, especially the sound of another human’s voice.  

Perhaps Luhan wasn’t entirely human, but it wasn’t like Minseok had a lot of people to talk to right now. There wasn’t any problem, so he had no excuse to call one of the doctors. Most people would probably call their friends or their family, but as Minseok had neither that wasn’t an option either. Of course he had acquaintances, earlier classmates and neighbors. But still there wasn’t anyone he was close enough with to call randomly just to talk. 

I wouldn’t have anything to talk about anyways, Minseok thought to himself, I can’t tell anyone where I am or what I’m doing, so I wouldn’t have anything to say. Nevertheless he sort of looked forward to the brief interaction in the evening.

As Minseok sat there, watching Luhan looking out of the window and occasionally trying to focus on his book, he wondered if Luhan waited for the evenings as well. Did he get lonely? What exactly did he think about while sitting there? Perhaps he didn’t think at all. Then again there was the moment when he almost said something yesterday – was it just an impulsive act or something Luhan had spent time thinking about doing?

It annoyed him, not having any answers to his questions. He blamed it on that itching curiosity when he decided to walk down to Luhan earlier than he needed to. 

The winter garden was a lot less unnerving while the daylight still shone through the gigantic window. Minseok let himself stop for a moment to appreciate an especially pretty flower. He wondered if there still were people who took care of the garden; it seemed somewhat unkempt yet not out of control and completely left to itself.

Minseok could imagine that the garden had decayed after the incident with the gardener Luhan attacked, but the time where all the hired staff knew what was really going on was long gone. And if the people hired to keep the house clean and kept knew nothing about its history or purpose, they didn’t have any reason to avoid this room more than any other.

The pretty flower didn’t have any answer to his questions, so he moved on toward his original target. Unsurprisingly Luhan were precisely where he expected him to be, not reacting to the sound of Minseok approaching or looking up when he stopped right next to the bench.

It felt impolite to just sit down next to Luhan, even though he most likely wouldn’t react to Minseok doing so. Exactly therefore Minseok decided to get his attention beforehand, as his aim after all was trying to engage Luhan in a conversation. He cleared his throat.

“Do you mind if I sit down?” Luhan looked up, with a surprised look at his face. So it isn’t that he ignores me on purpose, he’s just lost in his own world, Minseok thought to himself. As Luhan just kept looking at him with a confused and slightly dazed expression, Minseok repeated his question.

“Oh … no of course, please sit,” Luhan said, no longer looking as confused. If Minseok wasn’t mistaken it seemed to be a happy tone in his voice and a curious look in his eyes. Maybe his guess on Luhan being lonely too had been right.

He sat down, wondering about what to say to keep Luhan talking. The bench was hard, but designed in a way that made it fairly comfortable to sit on it. Outside the window the lawn was looking a tad withered, but it seemed longer and more unkempt than when Minseok first arrived. Most likely someone would soon come to cut it down to its previous perfect standard.

The weather was cloudy and gray, neither making the lawn look better nor the view more exiting. Treetops were just visible over the top of the grey stonewall, and that was about everything that could be seen from where they sat. 

“So this is where you sit all day?” Well, that wasn’t the best conversation starter he’d come up with. Always so good at stating the obvious. Good one, Minseok, way to go.

If Luhan thought him stupid he didn’t show it. He just nodded, his lips curving up a little.                        

“You never do anything else?” Perhaps he was probing into things that weren’t any of his business, but he was genuinely curious. Luhan didn’t seem offended by his blunt questions, just shook his head. The slight smile was still there, but now his eyes looked sad.

Then he all of a sudden stopped, his face lighting up like a child remembering the right answer to a question just asked. “Sometimes Dr. Choi and I do other things, like reading or playing a game or exploring the house or talking about the outside wor-“ and as fast as he’d brightened up his face went back to sad. “But I guess we won’t do these things anymore, now that he no longer is the one taking care of me.”

Huh, so Dr. Choi had been the one to take care of Luhan before Minseok. Minseok had for some reason assumed it was mostly Dr. Lee who’d taken care of him. Then he remembered that time Luhan had asked for Dr. Choi. It seemed to be more to their relationship than he’d first assumed.

Minseok felt bad for being so distant and only watching Luhan from afar, and annoyed that Dr. Choi hadn’t told him anything about how they usually spent their time. He’d assumed spending his time in the surveillance room was the most proper thing to do.

“If you want to, we could do things like that together too,” Minseok proposed.                            

“Really?” And just like that Luhan was back to happy, his face expressing the brightest smile Minseok had seen from him so far. Minseok couldn’t help but smile at the childish joy, reassuring Luhan that he was serious.

Outside the darkness had begun to settle in. After their short conversation Luhan had gone back to looking out of the window, still with a little smile on his lips. Minseok felt satisfied, both from having talked to someone and for getting closer to Luhan. The silence between them was a comfortable silence, the kind where you don’t feel the need to say something just to keep a conversation going.

Once again Minseok tried to figure out what exactly it was that Luhan found so interesting about the landscape outside the window. He still found it very boring and uninteresting, making him soon move on to watching Luhan instead. The blonde was staring out of the window like it was the answer to all of his sorrows, even though he sometimes looked more lost inside his own head than actually looking out on the view.

When the sky had gone completely dark Minseok reminded Luhan that he had to go to bed. This night was the easiest so far. Not that Luhan had ever been difficult before, but they were finally over the awkward stage of getting to know someone completely new. Minseok was sure about what to do, and tucking Luhan in and exchanging goodnights felt almost natural.

Once again he woke up in the surveillance room. The only unusual thing about this morning was the sight of a car driving through the gate. Minseok assumed it was the people employed to take care of the house, so he was surprised when Dr. Choi stepped out of the car. He casted a glance at Luhan to check that everything was ok, before rising up and going to meet the doctor.

The doctor greeted him politely, and Minseok noticed at once that he looked a lot more relaxed and approachable than the last time they met. Together they went into the kitchen, Minseok making coffee to them both and breakfast for himself.

“I thought it would be a good idea to be here with you the first time someone else came here.” Dr. Choi explained. “We didn’t explain you everything revolving it, and I can assume it would have stressed you out.” 

Minseok nodded. “Yes, I was a bit nervous about how to keep Luhan away from them … or them away from Luhan.” 

They drank their coffee in silence for a while before Dr. Choi continued to explain. “Sadly we have to lock Luhan inside a room with no windows while they are here. We can’t risk that an outsider sees him. As far as these people are concerned this is a botanic research center.” The doctor laughed, but Minseok felt like there wasn’t any real amusement in it.

“I used to take Luhan with me to the surveillance room at these days, as it’s one of the few rooms without windows. And of course it’s a general rule to never let anyone who doesn’t know what’s going on in there, since Luhan would normally be on one of those screens.”

Minseok couldn’t see any reason to disagree with the doctor, and soon they were walking into the winter garden to get Luhan.                                     

AN: Thank you so much for all the positive feedback (and the constructive critizism, who I must admit I appreciate even more) ♥