The sun hangs low and the sky has turned mysteriously pitch-black. He inhales slowly and leaves a trace of cold breath behind. Chanyeol knows it’s not going to be a good night, despite how round the full moon is and how bright the shining stars are.

Find the boy, his grandmother tells him, He’s a lithe and well-groomed youth, with a lanky build. He dazzles under daylight and glows under the moonlight. He is exceptionally bright, with distinctive traits of jet-black hair and purple eyes.

Chanyeol realizes his grandmother’s gazing at him, eyes soft yet full of desperation. He doesn’t stop her anymore and decides to close his mouth shut and scoot closer to her in the end.

Find him, she repeats, he’ll protect you from danger- 

He no longer feels the gentle warmth emitting from her fingers touching his rosy, fattened cheeks. He doesn’t hear her uneven breathings anymore. All he hears is the sound of his own soul falling apart; a clean tinkling sound with only unfamiliar, forlorn emptiness left to accompany him now.

He doesn’t understand, doesn’t know, and doesn’t want to care. 

He lets out a coarse, bitter chuckle. Chanyeol tells himself to be stronger but he’s still young — much too young— to be left behind like this. He isn’t sure if the world is shaking or he’s shaking so hard that the world’s shaking along with him, and he doesn’t feel the hot liquid streaming down his face, doesn’t realize he’s crying too. 

The next day, he decides it’s time for him to leave home and explore the woods. It’s breezy out today and the sky is splashed with an overwhelming hues of blue, white, lavender, and everything’s just breath-taking. Chanyeol never did notice how beautiful the sky is, never did realize how far away is the forest from his house, and never did feel how lonely it is without his grandmother’s companion and her laughter.

All of a sudden, an arrow shoots past him. He flinches when a boy appears out of nowhere and stands in front of him.  (He recalls his grandmother's words and think she is surprisingly accurate.) Though he seems rather small as Chanyeol easily towers over him, the boy isn’t one bit intimidated as he moves swiftly and an arrow is shot out of the middle of nowhere, while his victim is wounded with blood slowly oozing out from his body.

He gasps silently and wonders how it’s possible for a young man whose frame is much smaller than himself to have such improbable speed and aim. Chanyeol swears he sees the arrow straight right into his heart. He cringes at the thought of the man having to go through such a slow, painful death.  

“Enemy’s down,” the young boy proudly declares and walks past him. 

He notices him and takes a step back with a sharp look on his face. ”I’ve never seen you before,” he says, and his left hand is on his chin while circling Chanyeol slowly as he eyes him from top to bottom. There’s a silence between the two as they stare at each other for a second or two before he gives an unexpected, playful grin. 

“W-who are you?” Chanyeol stutters nervously.

“The boy you’ve been looking for,” he smirks as if he has been expecting him all this while.

“Your eyes are no-”

“I’m Baekhyun,” he wilfully holds out his hand to Chanyeol.

“You’re not whom I’m lookin-”

“But I’ll find him with you,” he speaks confidently, “The purple-eyed boy.”

“Pro-”

And Chanyeol sees the twinkle in his eyes before Baekhyun cuts in and takes his hand into his own one.

“Promise.”

The two spends the next few days wandering around the woods, and knowing more about each other. Chanyeol tells him about his grandmother and the purple-eyed boy he needs to find. But all Baekhyun does is simply laugh it off. (And when he continues about the purple-eyed boy, Baekhyun just smiles and says, “It’s okay. I’ve good aim and speed, I can protect you.” Chanyeol is pretty sure it isn’t.) He is not exactly impressed and feels slightly offended by his nonchalance, and his goofy face doesn’t even make his words sound assuring enough.

When the sun is low and the sky’s beautifully dark, the two starts a small fire. Baekhyun starts roasting the fishes he caught in the day, while Chanyeol is staring at the stars with a blank look on his face. He sighs softly, but just loud and clear enough for Baekhyun to hear.

“You’re worrying too much now,” he says and gives the stick with the decently-roasted fish to him, “Just take a good rest after you’re done with the meal.”

Chanyeol slowly brings his knees closer to himself as he mutters a ‘no thanks’ to Baekhyun.  

“Why are you doing this?” Baekhyun frowns at him, “It’s hard to fall asleep with an empty stomach. And don’t you need energy for tomorrow?”

Chanyeol doesn’t reply, he thinks Baekhyun doesn’t understand and he’s probably pissed off at him now. There’s nothing but the sound of Baekhyun’s chewing, the sound of their breathings, and the sound of the calming wind.

He goes inside the tent before Baekhyun, and stays there for a while until he realizes Baekhyun’s still outside again. It has been going on for a few nights and Chanyeol’s rather bemused about what he has been doing outside. He silently steps out and notices his small back facing him.

“What are you doing outside?” He questions him.

“I’m just enjoying the night breeze,” he continues, “It’s nice.” 

As a cold breeze passes by, he sees Baekhyun hiding his sneeze quietly and his narrow shoulders slightly shuddering in the night. Chanyeol utters an ‘okay’ and secretly thinks Baekhyun’s rather weird at times.

“Wake up,” Baekhyun pulls Chanyeol up excitedly. 

“It’s still early,” he yawns and stretches himself reluctantly, “Too early to catch the fishes.”

Baekhyun laughs and flashes him his usual eye-smile. (And Chanyeol doesn’t like it too much, because he doesn’t understand why he’s always so happy about.)

“We’re not catching the fishes today,” he replies in a matter-of-fact way, “You don’t like them, anyway.”

Chanyeol just stares at him with his widened eyes, as if to say, how did you know?

“T-then,” he pauses to clear his throat, “What are we going to do?” 

“We’re hunting for meat today,” he grins and he holds out his hand to him.

Chanyeol smiles back widely this time, and he sets off with his axe and a few broken arrows his grandmother has left him.

Baekhyun always has a silly smile on his face but he’s exceptionally talented. Chanyeol doesn’t really have much to do, except to stand by the side and look at him running across the woods in split seconds, and with an arrow horizontally shot, the prey is caught and a sumptuous meal is assured tonight. 

But Chanyeol realizes Baekhyun’s surprisingly clumsy. He isn’t able to start up a fire with several twigs and Chanyeol notices the abrasions, both past and present, on his palms. (It probably takes him more than what Chanyeol can ever imagine to master and sharpen his aim. )

Chanyeol then takes over and the fire’s set up in less than a minute. As they start roasting the meat on the sticks, Baekhyun hears rustle behind the trees. He stays alert and gets his arrows ready. Another movement and-

The arrow is shot but it misses the man. And it’s the first time Chanyeol has ever seen Baekhyun missing his target. The man has an unusual tanned skin, angularly sharp features, dark eyes, and a crown of messy hair. He’s out of sight before he knows it, and the sticks of meat are gone right before him too.

“I know it’s you,” Baekhyun manages to say without feeling breathless, “Come out now.”

“Oh, you haven’t been practicing,” the other playfully teases, “You’re still behind me. A long way to go, Baekhy-”

“Whatever,” he cuts in, impatient and annoyed, “Give me back my food.”

Chanyeol keeps on staring, nodding and all of a sudden, the olive-skinned man appears out of nowhere. He sits beside Chanyeol swiftly while chewing one of the meat off the stick. “C’mon, don’t be a miser. We’re sharing.”

“Aren’t you thick-skinned,” Baekhyun rolls his doe-like eyes at him in an unfriendly way. 

“Kim Jongin, just call me Kai,” he gives one stick of meat to Chanyeol and grins sheepishly, “Please take care of me now.”

“S-sure, we’re now friends,” Baekhyun tries, nervously and awkwardly.  

Kai laughs, and Baekhyun joins in.

They become some sort of an inseparable trio now. Kai and Baekhyun have been friends ever since a long time ago. And Chanyeol fits in nicely enough. 

Kai tells him that Baekhyun is good at nothing except for shooting arrows, but he never does succeed in aiming at him. And Baekhyun tells him that Kai is good at nothing except for running, so he’ll probably just disappear one day. Chanyeol thinks that’s the reason why they are still best friends. (And Chanyeol knows Baekhyun doesn’t mean what he says because he takes the hint from his melancholic voice - Baekhyun doesn’t want that day to come.) At times like this, he can’t help but envy their close bond because he doesn’t have any friends and even his closest kin is gone now. He wishes deep in his heart they’ll stay together like this, for a very, very, very long time. 

“Hey,” Kai asks in a low voice, “Baekhyun is outside, again?”

“He says he likes the night breeze there,” Chanyeol says, a smile gracing his lips. 

Sometimes, Chanyeol wakes up in the middle of the night. He yells for his grandmother and he remembers it’s Baekhyun who rushes beside him to calm him down and coo him to sleep again. (“Don’t worry, he pats his back and assures him. “Everything’s going to be all right.”) 

Chanyeol knows and believes him. 

Because Baekhyun is his sanctuary.

Kai nods, and then let his hand run through his chestnut-brown hair. ”Weird, isn’t he?” 

He doesn’t speak again, because he knows Baekhyun is keeping his promise. 

He’s outside, keeping a lookout to protect him from danger.

The sky’s a murky grey and the dark clouds envelope it. He screams, long limbs flailing to escape from the attacker. He fights furiously, legs kicking and arms punching at anything and anywhere. He needs to scream for Baekhyun, but before Chanyeol does-

He opens his eyes and he finds Baekhyun tucking his curly strands of hair behind his large ears. His breathing slows, and he looks into Baekhyun’s deep eyes. There’s so much swirling in his eyes – concern, love, longing and probably a hundred other emotions which Chanyeol can’t list out. Baekhyun looks down at him before taking his hand and squeezes it gently.

He leans closer and kisses him gently on the lips. Chanyeol doesn’t pull away. The kiss is slow and Baekhyun smiles faintly against his lips. He asks in a softer voice, “Are you feeling better now?”   

Chanyeol nods and tells him that everything’s all right as long as he’s by his side. 

“Remember, you’re never alone,” Baekhyun reassures him, “I love you.” 

Chanyeol flashes him a big, gummy smile. 

“My lips are still cold.” 

There’s a loud racket ringing in his ears when Chanyeol wakes up, and he realizes it’s raining as he hears the water pelting against the tent. Kai strongly insists on roasted sweet potatoes for breakfast. (“We’ve to eat roasted sweet potatoes on rainy days. Nobody taught you that?” Kai tells the other two and Chanyeol wonders who taught him that.)

Kai recklessly dashes in the rain and swirls around in circles, as thousands of raindrops pour down on their shoulders. He looks like a graceful ballet dancer in the rain. The other two joins in, and dances clumsily while kicking the pools of muddy water around. Baekhyun decides to grab the water in his hand and aim it at Kai but he’s fast and Baekhyun’s aim is sharp and-

The muddy water lands on a boy who’s already drenched from head to toes, and now, his shirt stained with patches of dark brown, dirty yellow and grey. Chanyeol gasps and he hears Kai chuckle at the back. 

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry,” Baekhyun apologizes profusely as he looks at the poor boy who only happens to walk past the area.

“Your aim is disgustingly good,” Kai says sarcastically and Baekhyun glares furiously back at him.  

“I’m f-fine and don’t worry about it,” the meek boy stutters as he looks at his stained shirt.

“Where are you from?” Kai asks, his eyes glinting dangerously, “I haven’t seen you around.”

“I-I come from-”

Chanyeol stares at him for a moment, and realizes he’s kind of familiar. He’s certain he has seen him somewhere. “Prince Do,” Chanyeol exclaims before he can even complete his sentence, “You’re Prince Do!” 

He looks at the trio, who’s equally surprised as himself. Chanyeol bows respectfully at him and the others follow. He seems rather flustered at their sudden actions, but he clears his throat and speaks up. 

“Please call me Kyungsoo, I’m no longer in the palace, so I’m not a prince now.”

And he tells them that he runs away from the palace because he wants to sing in the nature, freely. It’s almost unbelievable, but the three, dumbfounded, becomes friends with Prince Do (who insists being called Kyungsoo), just like that.

(Kai likes Kyungsoo’s voice. 

It’s calm, soothing and warm, he thinks.)

Kyungsoo’s happy and carefree, and he stays and sings for them, even though he knows he has to return to the palace one day.

“Red,” Kyungsoo shouts while pointing at the rainbow ahead.

“Yellow,” Kai yells excitedly, “Can’t you aim at the sun instead, you lousy shooter!”

“Why don’t you chase after the sun then,” Baekhyun shoots back in witty manner, “Fastest runner on Earth?”

Kyungsoo chuckles at their bickering, and his laughter rings like melodies to Kai. 

“Hey,” he retorts silently, “Maybe I’ll do that, one day, with Kyungsoo.” 

“There is just no way I can be laughing like this in the palace,” Kyungsoo sadly commented. He smiles, but Kai notices that his smile is faint now, and not as bright as the ones he used to give him.  

“Can I ask,” Chanyeol probes carefully, “Why isn’t anyone looking for you when you’ve gone missing?”

“The palace doesn’t need me at all,” he states blatantly, “There’s my father ruling the kingdom, one of my six elder brothers will inherit the position, and there’re two younger ones eyeing the position ambitiously. And I’ve no intentions of vying with them.”

Kai realizes his eyes are cold now, and his voice is dull and monotone.

“Kyungsoo,” Kai glances at him, “You don’t need the palace or the politics. You belong here.”

“With us,” Baekhyun adds, “Kai needs you, too.” 

(And Kyungsoo falls in love with Kai. 

Even though they’re from two completely different worlds.)

In the afternoon when it’s hot and Kai is constantly complaining about the heat, Baekhyun decides to bring them to the riverbank to cool down. The four of them yell excitedly and jump up and down. Because Baekhyun is never one who knows how to have fun. 

“It’s so beautiful,” Chanyeol points at the waterfall in front of them. 

Silence shrouds the two, as Kai and Kyungsoo are already off to somewhere, alone. They sit together, bathing under the golden sunrays and enjoying the calming wind that blows gently against them, whispering words of tranquillity. The sky gets darker as it stretches from one end to the other. A warm lavender and yellowish-orange glow envelop the sky. The golden sunlight is slowly swallowed up by the land as the last traces of light dip over the hill. 

Chanyeol turns to look at Baekhyun and their gazes meet. They blush under the under the rays of sun, right across the horizon they’re heading for, bright and yellow and kind of orange, and just breath-taking. .

Chanyeol’s eyes crinkle and he grins. He dives for a kiss and he sees Baekhyun flush in an instant, and he flushes a little, too. He can feel Baekhyun smiling, and he smiles back too.

He tells him that the kiss tastes exactly like spring, with a mild mixture of summer and autumn.

And Baekhyun likes his description, and the kiss too. 

The night’s cold, but it’s calm and Kai intertwines their fingers together. Kyungsoo doesn’t want to return to the palace. He enjoys his days chasing the clouds with Kai, aiming the rainbows with Baekhyun and laughing under the boundless horizon with Chanyeol. But all of them knows nothing lasts forever. And Kyungsoo hates the thought of losing them.

“You know,” Kyungsoo starts, “I’ll have to return to the palace someday.”

Kai stays silent, and holds Kyungsoo’s hands tighter.

“Then,” Kyungsoo laughs, shifting his head away, and that’s when Kai realizes that he’s not really laughing. That he’s crying. “We’ll probably never see each other again.”

Kai doesn’t let him continue, instead he puts his arms around his neck and presses their lips together. For the first time, Kai chuckles at Kyungsoo’s large, surprised eyes. His eyes are nearly bulging out of his sockets. 

“I’m never letting you go,” he breathes out. 

“Kai, the guards aren’t easy,” Baekhyun warns cautiously, “Be very care-”

“Excuse me, I’m the fastest and strongest here.” Kai cuts in confidently, “Don’t worry about us. We’ll definitely make it out tonight, and go chasing after the yellow sun.” 

“Take care,” Kyungsoo tries to blink away the tears but Kai pulls him in for an embrace, and it doesn’t take long before he soaks his shirt with his salty tears. 

“It’s farewell now,” Baekhyun pulls him into a hug and makes a promise, “But we’ll meet again, one day.”

“I won’t forget you,” Kyungsoo chokes out between sobs, “Thank you.”

“Baekhyun,” Kai calls out, “You don’t need me to say it out, right? Goodbye!”

Baekhyun nods and brings his fists up. “Us against the world,” he whispers. 

The guards chase after Kai and Kyungsoo once they spot the two, running away in the woods at lightning speed. When Baekhyun sees that Kyungsoo is almost breathless and that the guards are catching up, he aims at the guards’ legs and makes sure they aren’t able to give chase to them anymore.

He is certain, they’ve gone to a faraway place.

For he believes in his speed, and him, the almighty Kai.  

It’s the first time Chanyeol has seen such unwavering gaze in his eyes (and for a second, he thinks he catches a glimpse of purple in his eyes).  

Chanyeol wonders when he’ll see them again, or if he’d ever get to see them. But Baekhyun assures him that Kai is extremely shameless and he’ll probably pop by with Kyungsoo at the most unexpected timing, as always. Chanyeol nods and recalls the first time he meets Kai. He wishes them bliss and happiness inside his heart before he settles in Baekhyun’s arms comfortably.  

As they fall back into the tent together, Baekhyun wraps his arms around Chanyeol’s waist and kisses him in the perfect way.   

They’ll look for the purple-eyed prince tomorrow. 

But at this moment, they decide to live just for today.