"One scrub... Two scrubs... Three..."

The young boy muttered to himself as he was sprawled on the floor, cleaning the dusty surface. His family should be coming anytime soon; that's why he was afraid. If he doesn't get the task done in time, he'll be dead. Without further ado, he rushed to finish the job and was able to do about 240 tiles out of 300, until the bell rang.

The sound of the bells irritated Kyungsoo so much. It sounded like singing birds stuck in a cage... That's exactly how he feels. But thinking about it literally, it was as if he was a small bird in a big cage. He lives in a beautiful house, has a good school, a wonderful voice and a smart brain. But why? Why would he feel that way?

"." He cursed as he threw the brush and watched the soap suds linger and fade on the cemented tiles. "They're here." His head hung low as he heard several shouts, noise and squeaking outside the doorstep.

"Coming!!" He shouted, stood up and rushed towards the entrance with his dirty feet plodding the squeaky clean surface. He sighed as he opened the door to be greeted with grocery bags and more. His siblings ignored him as they headed upstairs. He bowed as soon as he saw his father who only shrugged his son off and walked past him. Kyungsoo's mother on the other hand, waved at his son gently.

"How are you son?"

"I finished cleaning." He responded respectfully. His mother was the only one who showed care when he needed such. She was nice and pleasant but she wasn't a ticket to freedom. His mother brought him to a school she wanted, lets him eat what she wanted, and let him do everything she wanted. A real life cinderella man if you would say.

------♦------

But not everyday was misery to Kyungsoo. In fact every other day was bliss! His best friend, Park Chanyeol would come visit him after school, and when he does, it was happiness to the other. In truth, he, Kyungsoo had a small crush on his friend. Why? Because Chanyeol had the happiness that Kyungsoo didn't have. He had the freedom and the choice in... Well whatever!

He... Was free..

Chanyeol didn't have everything he wanted at the start though. He started out with his parents choosing what he didn't want to do. But somehow, as Chanyeol grew older, his parents decided that he was big enough to make decisions. Chanyeol, and Chanyeol's parents was the thin thread of hope for Kyungsoo, that his mom would let him free.

It was a given his mother was nice and graceful. He was the youngest, so it was a given to Kyungsoo that his mother would be the one choosing everything for him. His siblings never told him how they were when they were young, so, Kyungsoo never dared ask. His older brother and sister would simply ignore him ever since he was about 5 years old.

Now that he's 17, he's still being ignored by the people he looks up to.

------♦------

Kyungsoo sighed as he closed the door and turned towards his room.

"Yah! Open the door Kyungsoooo!"

Chanyeol. Park Chanyeol.

Kyungsoo could only smile like an idiot when he heard his best friend's voice. "Ah wasseo?" Kyungsoo greeted the taller as soon as he opened the door. The bright smile of the other was the only source of light that leads him to his grayish life.

"Yup! Why didn't you go to school today?" He asked but Kyungsoo could only laugh it off and ask why Chanyeol visited today which was unusual. He was supposed to be here tomorrow.

"Kyungsoo-ah! Remember the plants for my experiment?" Chanyeol was a scholar and excelled really high in science, so something like plants and experiments were normal. The shorter nodded and was led by the taller whose huge grin never left his face.

"Here we are!" Chanyeol beckoned as he pointed to the greenhouse his parents built for him. Kyungsoo smiled and was brought inside.

Beautiful. Everything was beautiful.

------♦------

"Wah! Yeppeoyo! It's really pretty!" Kyungsoo smiled as his eyes brighten with amazement. Chanyeol laughed and dragged Kyungsoo around while holding his hand tightly.

After exploring every inch of the structure, Chanyeol's excited kid speed slowed down when they reached a special looking place. "That's a day lily."

Day Lily.

Chanyeol squatted to take a good look at the flower. "This is my favorite flower though its characteristics are quite depressing." Kyungsoo didn't respond. His wide eyes were a signal for Chanyeol to explain.

"Day lilies... They don't last long. One day. After 24 hours... They just die."

Kyungsoo looked at Chanyeol who was touching the flower that was withering slowly. "Soon it will completey wither and I'm going to have to replace them again."

"Why do you replace them then?"

"Molla. I just like this flower."

And that was the last thing Chanyeol said before the day ended... Before... His life ended.

Because of Chanyeol's death, Kyungsoo's life gotten much worse. He wasn't in the mood everyday so he couldn't do the tasks his parents wanted him to do. The only progress was that his siblings started talking to him. Somehow, they pitied him. They knew about Chanyeol, they knew about their own brother's secret. They somehow felt it, they just didn't admit it.

Either way, Kyungsoo wasn't happy with his life. He quit school and tended to the flower garden Chanyeol used to own. It wasn't a source of happiness, but it was still something that can lift his spirits up a bit. This went on and on for days but his mother was tired of seeing Kyungsoo do whatever he wanted. His father decided that they leave for awhile.

And as if by coincidence, a friend of the Do's called up his father. "Oh Kim-ssi! Oh nice to hear from you again!"

Kyungsoo who was looking at the picture of his best friend, overheard the conversation and scowled silently. He knew he would have to leave his home for a bit and live in another home. As far as he heard, the place wasn't distant from home, which was a relief to Kyungsoo. Also, he found out he'll be transferring to a new school which didn't affect him because he didn't have friends other than Chanyeol.

"I just hope I get a better life soon." Kyungsoo muttered to the portrait of him and Chanyeol

"I hope I get a chinggu as nice as you."

---

Poser made by Sibby_!!! Thanks!! :D