“I Want to embody my human form…’

As those words escape Kyuhyun’s lips Heechul stopped in his tracks and looked at him incredulously.

“I want to embody my human form…” Kyuhyun repeated and another tingling sensation on his crack chest lingered.

“Do you know what you’re wishing? You will actually embody a vulnerable, mortal form for a human?!” Heechul shouted through gritted teeth.

“We needed to-“

“SHUT UP!” the hall shook and the fall of snow became harsher. Kyuhyun’s voice signaled an incoming storm, much harsher than the once Kyuhyun can produce.

“Kyuhyun…” the god of snow panted. “I don’t know what are you up to or what do you aim for, you once, twice, thrice interfere with the same human, tell me your real purpose…”

Kyuhyun knotted his brows, for even he, himself do not know how or why he wanted to save that particular human, something that binded him to the other from the very first time he interfere, the day where Sungmin almost died, 20 years ago.

“You are not to see that boy again.”

By those words, something felt as painful as the cracking of his chest. He looked up to the god who seemed strict but there were sadness in his eyes. “What are-“

“You are not allowed to see him again Kyuhyun, I don’t want you to make any more mistakes that will surely kill you.”

“Kami! You d-didn’t have to do this…”

Kyuhyun was also surprised by the pleading voice he just let escaped, he had never, once in his life pleaded.

Heechul pursed his lips and a glass enclosed Kyuhyun, smacked towards the wall and blended with it making a barrier for Kyuhyun.

“Please!” Kyuhyun shouted  hammering his fist on the unbreakable glass. “Kami Ul! No one would watch over Sungmin, please!”

“I’m sorry.” Heechul turned his back from Kyuhyun. “You know pretty well what that boy’s future is right, it’s better like this Kyu…”

“We Seppens, should not be attached to something fleeting…”

And by those words Heechul disappeared in a wake of a falling snow.

**

Sungmin snapped from his trance and unconsciously looked around. He just felt something weird, like someone calling his name, looking for him, it was then followed by a painful nag beneath his chest.

He was just going down from the mountain path, the sun is pretty much setting and he haven’t eaten all day, he was cold but he was happy.

Today, he felt another Seppen, today that seppen saved him again, today his sanctuary is safe.  He could never ask for anything better.

A small smile escaped his lips. He is indeed, happy.

“Sungmin!”

A familiar voice called him when a staggering old man came carrying a lamp light to illuminate his snowy path.

“Hey! Grandpa!” Sungmin shouted almost jumping to his feet towards the direction of the old man who was relieved yet startle to the sudden change of the younger man’s attitude.

“Wha- What are you still doing here? Do you know there was a snow storm on that part of the mountain?” the grandpa scolded the grinning man who just wrapped his arms around the older. “I’m okay, I’m spared from that storm, I’m perfectly okay.” Sungmin smiled and the older man widens his eyes in realization.

“Sungmin, you’re smiling?” the old man smiled also, feeling relieved of what he see.

Sungmin looked surprise; he touched his warm cheeks unconsciously. “I did?”

“yes.” the old man laughed as well.

The younger man chuckled a bit as he looked at the overjoyed old man. “Do I look weird or…”

“You looked beautiful.” the old man said petting the younger man’s hair.

Sungmin sighed and rolled his eyes and walked back to the path towards the village. “’Beautiful’ is not the best way to describe a man you know…”

**

Donghae pursed his lips. He was bored, confused and now bothered.

“So Hae, what’s up? Why are you here looking like that?” the solstice sat beside the seppen who sighed in his very uncomfortable presence.

“Other than being called by you from my slumber?” Donghae raised a brow to the silly smiling solstice. “Well, Kyuhyun’s locked up. Kami Ul prevented him from seeing the human.”

The solstice looked at him in surprise. “What? The kid with the furry boots, and sometimes battered face? That Human?”

Donghae stared at the other. “You know him?”

“Of course! He damned walk through this side of the forest every now and then, sometimes heaving heavily, sometimes resting, sometimes heavily wounded, but he always managed to go back to that village after fending for himself…. poor kid.” Eunhyuk clucked his tongue looking up towards his small minions working again in his garden.

Donghae sighed. “Well, we’re probably talking about the same guy… he’s stubborn as hell.” the seppen chuckled grimly.

“And what did Kyuhyun do? Why is he locked up?”

“Well he saved that human and boom-” Donghae gestured with his hand an imitation of explosion, Hyukjae swerved away to escape those hands and retain his composure.  “He was reprimanded by an elder.”

The solstice’s eyes widen. “You mean one of the oldest seppens?!”

The other nodded slowly, pursing his lips. “I mean… that kid indeed needed help, we saw him by the cave being battered again, I don’t understand why we can’t help him…”

Hyukjae understood Donghae, for he too once witness the abuse the villagers jotted upon the poor human, but he also knew the consequences.

“It is still probably unknown to you, since you’re just barely 2 centuries old but…” Hyukjae looked at the other’s confused look.

“It’s called ‘Shattering’ we immortal beings should not be attached to something ‘fleeting’, meaning we cannot pay a feeling much heavier than what we supposed to give to someone whose life is subjected to the changing of the season…” the solstice explained to the seppen who seemed drawn to the topic.

“Why what will happen?” Donghae asked curiously and Hyukjae smiled with sadness in his eyes.

“I knew an old seppen once, well he actually consorted with the human, embodied his human form, stayed with the human almost every day, he was snappy, snarky, stubborn and full of pride yet the human seemed to be so drawn unto him that eventually their feelings developed into something more, and then one day the king found out-“

“Kami Ul?” Donghae asked but Hyukjae shooked his head. “No, the king then was his father.” Hyukjae replied sighing heavily, “And then the king made this seppen remove his cloak and then there it was… traces of cracks, crawling through his body, it was scary, it was as if he would shatter any moment…”
 

“Then what happened to the human?” Donghae asked.

“Well that was the most painful part. The human waited for the locked up seppen to return, almost everyday, right outside this home of mine, but humans are ‘fleeting’ as we speak…”

“They are subjected to any kind of change…” the seppen breathed out.

“When the seppen was finally set free it was too late, the human is already married.”

“And more shattering commence when it broke the seppen’s heart.”

“But why did the seppen didn’t get angry with the human? Why did he chose to fall for him when he knew it will make him hurt like that.”

Hyukjae chuckled at the curiosity and childishness on the Seppen of the Spring’s questions he patted the other guy’s crown and leaned in closer to ghost his voice just above the curious Donghae’s mouth.

“It’s because of the curse, the words spoken when a being like us imprint on someone…”

“And what are those, I swear I never heard them before…” Donghae challenged the solstice not minding the close distance.

Hyukjae on the other hand sighed, moved away and jumped off from the tree they were sitting. “I won’t tell you. It varies on the being.”

The stubborn kid stomp his fist on the tree and disappeared leaving a string of curses to the laughing Hyukjae.

Watching the snow flake shrivel and fall at the wake of the disappeared seppen, a soft air rustled the tree branches and the solstice closed his eyes as he savor the music like voice on his mind speaking the words he refused to spoke to the other.

“Tonight, let me offer you all my light…”

“And bind myself to you.” the solstice whispered the last few words with an endearing smile.

**

Sungmin gasped and he felt a searing pain in his chest, it burns him all too much he was knocked off his feet and dropped to the floor of the attic’s carpet.

“What is this?” he grumbled as he tried to calm himself down, trickling of a slight perspiration run down his spine and forehead.

“Sungmin”

A deep low voice echoed through his ears, it’s velvety and warm, it seems like it soothed his trembling hurt body.

His eyes focused as he layed sprawled on the floor writhing in pain, visions blurred to the painful waves radiating his whole body.

He saw a towering figure in a robe of white from the corner of the room staring at him with an hourglass.

“W-Who- “

“It’s just beginning Sungmin…” the soft voice of the hooded figure mouthed and the confused human focused himself away from the seared agony.

“Make yourself stronger than you already are…

To be continued

**I hope it’s not that crappy, I wanted to state the conditions first and tell you a bit of a HUGE surprise by the almost end of this series. Please stay tuned.