The chill is sweetly fading, though this place has always been with snow, it was beginning to be a little bit warmer and the breeze, the trees seemed like to rejoice together with the people residing in that small village amidst the white-coated mountain.

A young man sat on perched of a tall leafless pine tree, his dark blue accentuated with silvery gray hair sways with the wind, his white soft coat hugging his tall framed body was at the mercy of the billowing air of early spring, he knew he shouldn’t linger on the village much longer, but winter is almost over and there’s not much to do.

He twirled his hand and a faint light emitted as a small snow drop to the tip of his fingers. Seeing the blotch of white shimmering in his hands seemed so magical, but he’s already used to it. The snow is all he is and all he’ll ever be.

The man sighed, obviously bored out of his wits. He stretched his feet to the pine trees branch, leaning his back against the main trunk as he felt the wind blew against his pale skin, his brown eyes looking up at the pale light of the rising sun.

There was a scuttling in the ground below him and he stared lazily and he saw the figure of a young man clad in dark brown leather coat, a fluffy boots pushing around to the snow covered ground, his honey brown hair covering a part of his eyes, lightly blowing through the passing air. The figure perched on top of the tall pine tree bolt upright and stared as the smaller man passed, a small unnoticeable smile spread across his beautiful pink lips as he made his way to the top of the mountain.

“Oh he’s at it again?”

A voice surprised the man up in the tree as he saw another one, slightly tousled brown locks with highlights of light brown, just like him sitting beside him with his feet dangling playfully looking at the gray-haired man cheekily with that annoying all-knowing grin.

“Son of all-! What are you doing here?!” the gray haired man shouted to the other beside him with a natural glare that came as a bonus with that eye of him.

“I’m a seppen of early spring… you, who happen to be a disaster-kind-of-being shouldn’t be here…” the knowing grin spread larger on that boy’s smile. “What are you doing here… seppen of the storm, Cho Kyuhyun?”

The taller man named Kyuhyun rolled his eyes and jumped to his feet to a lower tree branch. “I’m bored.”

“Or you’re waiting for someone…”the other chuckled as he draw his finger on air and trace a figure of a man who materialized as a foggy figure in a coat skipping giggly towards Kyuhyun as if mocking the taller man. Kyuhyun, on the other hand didn’t like it one bit and he flapped his hand to the image. “Shut up Donghae.”

The smaller man hummed in return feigning innocence before he whistled a tune and took a peak at the man he’s referring to earlier. “A ningen huh? He always visits the cave, Kami Ul is very pleased with him, he said that there are only few who actually believe in us…” Donghae sighed and a crisp of falling snow twirled from his breath.

Kyuhyun stared at Donghae then to the retreating back of the man they saw. “Yeah, he’s been a believer for so long…” A small smile crept from his face. “Anyway, what brings you here?”

The other man chuckled. “I was escaping from the Solstice, he’s pissing me off, and he had this mood disorder or something Manic-Depressive kind of thing…”

“You two, get along too well…” Kyuhyun chuckled at the pouting Donghae. “And of course ‘Hae baby’ he has that kind of personality; it’s natural for him to be like that.”

“I don’t like him.” Donghae shrugged. “And stop calling me ‘Hae baby’.”

At the moment a cold shudder came in, the trees shook as if sending someone a message. The two men perched from the top of the tree knew these things so well. They are being summoned back. Donghae groaned defeated muttering some curses as he snap his hand and in an instant he faded with the wind leaving just a bunch of snowflakes in his wake.

Kyuhyun remained standing on his spot and looking straight to the now disappearing trail of the human he encountered. He was the same human they found lying on a cold cave floor 20 years ago, he was now a full grown man.

Time and years don’t count on them. The seppens lives as long as winter always came, he was about a couple of hundred years old, he had lost count. But that change when he found that little boy, praying almost everyday towards the mountain gods, just to catch a glimpse of the seppens, he didn’t even know existed.

They became just a myth, someone who is considered just a fairytale and as a result, ningen’s ability to see them disappear through time, even their presence as a mere snowflake.

Kyuhyun smiled inwardly, that kid really wanted to keep his promise. “Nice work Kid…” he muttered, jumping down the tree almost 30 ft off the ground, but before he landed he disappeared into a whilst of wind and snow.

*

A small whistle of the wind and Kyuhyun reappeared through a blanket of white glistening through a sun’s faint light. He was situated outside some structure that seems to be closely related to a castle though; it has a softer image since it’s still covered in white, situated in the middle of high mountain terrains and pines.

“Kyuhyun my little troublemaker!”

Kyuhyun sighed when a lanky arm wrapped around his shoulder, the man who just came rested his chin on his shoulder and took a peek at his scowling expression. His long almost shoulder length, fading ash-brown hair was tossing softly.

“Kami Ul…” Kyuhyun muttered obviously annoyed with a small unwilling bow, he didn’t even bend his knees in respect.

“Oh please… call me Heechul, I hate that title, makes me feel old…” Heechul lifted his head from the other and pushed Kyuhyun to move towards the huge entrance of the structure.

“You’re old Kami…” Kyuhyun replied complying to the harsh push.

“Shut up 400 year old brat.” Heechul growled as he followed, he was pulling his long dark blue coat who seemed to appear the moment he entered the castle grounds.

“At least I’m not a thousand year old geezer.” The younger man chuckled before he found himself crouching in the floor as Heechul pummeled him with a huge ice hammer.

“Serves you right…” the older walked gracefully pass the writhing Kyuhyun, making the hammer disappear as instantly as it appear.

“!” Kyuhyun grumbled as he massage the back of his head following the older through a room where a single seat was situated on the top of a platform and the bustling of the crowd of Seppens instantly quieted as soon as Heechul entered.

“Yeah yeah… let’s go down to business…” Heechul waved his hand in a bored manner as other seppens greeted him. There were not too many of them now, The castle used to be crowded but now there are only at least 50 seppens left, since people stopped believing in them, those seppens who get tired of their life just faded and rested with the winds on top of the mountains, they decided that it’s better to just disappear than to retain their like-human forms.

“As obvious it’s already spring so please refrain from playing too hard near the village, people ought to have lesser snows by this time of the year and if you play down there I bet the village will flood in white in a matter of seconds, and that’s very strange.”

“Second!.” Heechul rolled his eyes as if already tired of repeating the next news. “Donghae!” he called for the other seppen who Kyuhyun saw sitting on top of the piano, the mentioned man looked up from his trance to their leader.

“The solstice is looking for you, he’s annoying, go play with him.”

Donghae cursed and smack his head as he lay down forcefully on the piano. Kyuhyun laugh along with the others as they saw Donghae curled up holding his head in pain.

“And third!” Heechul called again this time smiling from ear to ear, he snapped his finger and a fog came beside him materializing what looks like a looking mirror only to see someone in there kneeling on a blanket of ice, hands clapped together, eyes close as his lips move along with his prayer.

Kyuhyun knew who that person is, with that brown coat and leather boots, his hood covering most of his face but not his cheeks, his eyes, a part of his hair and his lips. It was the same boy.

“Our favorite ningen… visited again.”

Kyuhyun could see the happiness on the face of his fellow seppens looking admiringly at the man like he was the most precious thing. The man could understand why their people cherish the boy so much. He’s the only one who came to their sacred cave.

“admitto nix nivis immemor apud me deveneror.” (May the snow heed my prayers.) The man in the coat spoke and a bright golden tiny dusts of light fell from the ceiling of the castle, showering the seppens who basked themselves to the warm light that only lasts for a minute.

Kyuhyun didn’t take his glance off of the man praying on Heechul’s fog. A smile of gratitude spread through his face. This kid who believed in them with all his heart is important to them, despite being almost forsaken he was the only golden dust in this dull whiteness.

“…as I bind myself to you…”

Kyuhyun looked away for a while but he met Donghae’s eye who’s looking at him in that all-knowing grin.

**

As if on cue together with the slight howling of the mountain wind, the young man looked up from his hooded honey locks, his bangs slightly covering his eyes as he look around, but no one’s there, pursing his lips through the cold.

He ended up in a cave, the same cave where he almost died and is kneeling on that particular writings on the wall, it was a shape of a huge snowflake etched to the hollow stones of that icy cave. It was a commemoration or more like a shrine to the seppens that has been long forgotten by time.

Why did he still believe them after everyone else don’t? Because he believed that seppens saved his life 20 years ago, though he found himself sleeping on their home’s warm living room, his parents crying heaps of tears the moment they saw him and he can barely recall the actual events, he could never and would never forget, that man, who carried him out of the cave, the blizzard dissipating on where he walk, that unearthly beautiful man.

And a deep baritone voice that washed the deadening cold inside him.

Another howling of wind and he surely felt that someone is near him but he couldn’t pinpoint where. He shrugged it off again as he smiled towards the shrine and stood up. He knew this mountain, if the wind is howling like that; there may be an incoming storm.

“You’re all playing again? In these mountains?” He said towards the seppen whom he had vague idea if they were really listening. “Are you afraid of me? Why won’t you show yourself? Do I need to die again?” he chuckled on his own joke and he stood up, fixing his coat.

“Well, I better get going then… I’ll visit as soon as I can.” He smiled and walked out of the cave tracing the mountain path where he came in.

He reached the foot of the mountain where pine trees are lesser and the small houses of the villagers looked so warm and inviting, his smile faded as soon as the civilization came to sight. He resented the village.

People tend to destroy what is different from them, and Sungmin, ever since that accident became the outcast, a freak. They said that he’s a liar because he told everyone what he saw but no one believed him, not even his parents.

His poor mother and father couldn’t take the blow of the villagers turning against them that one morning, when he woke up, there was a food on the table and a note saying his parents just went to another town to buy supply but he waited and waited and waited… but they never came back.

Food became a problem, he needed to find a living that he resorted to eating scraps of other houses, then when he was in a well condition he volunteered for some community work for a small, unfair pay. He was rejected, laughed at and ridiculed by too many people that he became nonchalant and numb. As hard as an ice.

The only sanctuary he had is the cave of seppens and the old bookstore where he work, the actual store who pay him enough. The old man there had no son and he considered Sungmin his after his original parents abandoned him. And for that Sungmin was grateful.

“Hey freak!” He looked up as he saw 3 full grown boys nearing him. “Where did you go huh?”

Sungmin ignored the scrutinizing look and walk straight to his old house, when another man shoved him aside. He regained his balance and stood up, still ignoring.

“Are you still going on the mountain cave? Where your so called ‘fairies’ are living?” the other guy who pushed him yet again said and laughter resounded from the three men.

“Don’t you think you’re already too old for this kind of bullying?” Sungmin bit the inside of his cheek, controlling his anger. “Still good for nothing I guess…”

“What did you say?!” The first guy who came up to him came closer breathing heavily and scoffing at Sungmin’s retort. Sungmin, on the other hand looked up at him, staring with a glare towards the other guy’s eyes. “I said I have a work to attend to- Unlike you…” he looked at the man from head to toe then back to his eyes. “I don’t have a lot of free time…”

“Why you!” The guy shouted and a hard punch landed on Sungmin’s cheek, a seering heat from the mauled flesh screamed pain but Sungmin knew too well how to endure it, he had been, after all taking more and more of it since his parents left him to the mercy of the villagers.

“Hold him!” The other growled and the two held him in place as he mentally prepare himself. This will hurt but it’s nothing compared to the pain being left alone felt.

**

To Be Continued

A/N: So How's that for first chapter, quite short actually ^^ You need to at least be familiar with the terms I'll be using it .

I hope you liked the first one. I'm quite nervous kekekeek

Familiarize with the following. And please be reminded that Korea, isn't obviously the setting. It's somewhere mountainous with snow on mountains 365 days a year. Somewhat like North America, or Canada if I'm not mistaken. I'll make it clear with the next chapter to help you out

Seppens – beings that embodies a snowflake.

Ningen – normal humans

Kami Ul – God of the Snow; leader of seppens

Solstice – A being that embodies, both the winter and summer’s solstice.