“See you later man.” smirked Yunho as he waved Yoochun towards the awaiting taxi “Go home and sleep it off already.”

“But…” slurred Yoochun “the night is still young.”

“Young?” scoffed Yunho dejectedly “Dude, it’s after eleven and we have work in the morning.”

“Party pooper!” whined Yoochun dramatically.

“Whatever. Stop being so overly dramatic.” sighed Yunho as he swayed just a bit from the alcohol swimming through his system “Just go home and sleep it off. I see you at work.”

“Fine.” grumbled Yoochun as he opens the taxis’ door grumpily “Let me take you home at least.”

“No need.” dismissed Yunho “I’m going to walk.”

“In this?” questioned Yoochun as he looked up at the snow falling quietly around them “Are you serious? Dude, it's freezing out here.”

“Yeah, I’m serious.” said Yunho slyly “It’s just a little snow for crying out loud. Plus, my house is pretty close anyway.”

“Yunho, it’s not that close.” sighed Yoochun disapprovingly “Dude you’ll freeze to death before you get there.”

“You’re being overly dramatic again.” laughed Yunho “I’ve been walking my way home for ten years, every day and in every type of weather, do you really think a little…”

Yunho looked up at the sky blanketed in a sea of clouds.

“Well…” he amended “this much snow is going to kill me?”

“Come on man, have a little faith,” added Yunho amusedly.

“Alright…alright.” conceded Yoochun “I guess I’ll see you in the morning then. Night, Yunnie!”

“Be careful,” he added with a smile.

“Goodnight man.” nodded Yunho as he watched Yoochun climb into the car and shut the door.

“Like you’ll really show up in the morning…” laughed Yunho to himself amusedly as he watched the car take off down the snow-sloshed street “You’re going to be dead to the world in half an hour.”

Silence…

It was something that Yunho knew quite well. For most of his adult life, his world was plagued with mostly bitter silence. While the world and its people drifted happily through their lives, Yunho felt as if time had stood still. From the outside, his life seemed like a happy one. He had a well-paying position at a local company, he had a decent, comfortable, and warm home to call his own, and he had a few close friends to spend time with, but for Yunho, his little world had always felt like it was missing something, something important. For the entirety of his life, the lonely man couldn’t figure out what that something was and between scattered bouts of depression, he pressed on as much as he could –burying the unexplainable emptiness he felt deep within his heart.

Moments had passed seemingly unnoticed before Yunho turned and slowly headed towards his home. The snow-encrusted sidewalk gleamed in hues of red, orange, blue, and green from the many shops lining the now desolate street, as a cold wind gently swirled the fluffy white snowflakes falling around him. With each slow-moving step and the sound of the snow crunching under his black boots, Yunho thought about his life and why it seemed so empty. His rational mind couldn’t comprehend why he was feeling this way. He had everything he ever wanted, he thought, and yet a part of him was still longing for something more.  

Half an hour had passed before the snow had started to let up. Still twenty minutes from his safe and warm apartment, Yunho shivered softly at the feel of the bitter cold.

“Maybe I should have taken Yoochun up on his offer?” mused Yunho through shivering lips “Man it’s so cold.”

Rounding the next corner, Yunho headed up the steep hill, the hill that signified he was only ten minutes from home, slowly. Halfway up the hill, he was suddenly hit with a sharp and harsh gust of wind and an uneasy feeling of foreboding. Coming to stop and shivering slightly, Yunho looked around him as a sudden sense of being watched registered in his mind. Looking all around, from the barren trees that lined the street to the snow-encrusted safety railing that marked the edge of the hillside, he searched for the pair of eyes that he could feel upon him and yet found nothing. Shaking off the uneasy feeling that had hit him, he continued up the hill silently.

On a nearby rooftop, some distance away, a shadowy figure, tall and thin, crouched silently in the darkness. Watching…waiting…

As he crested the top of the curvy hill, he stopped again when that sense of foreboding hit him once again, even stronger than before. Taking another look around, Yunho’s senses heightened, he scanned the area once more and still found nothing. Chalking his panic up to an overactive imagination, he tried to shake off that feeling once more with a shake of the head. Suddenly, and without warning, the street lights lining the quiet and empty street before him brightened, brighter than he had ever seen them be before, and then immediately went out, one by one -leaving only the light closest to him, burning brightly.

“What’s going on?” he questioned in his mind.

Yunho knew he should have been afraid. Alone on a cold wintry night, on a mysteriously darkened street, in the middle of what he would deem to be nowhere; Yes, he should have been afraid, but for some reason, he felt safe. The hum and glow of the nearby street light felt soothing in some strange way, almost comforting.

“Must have been a power surge.” dismissed Yunho.

Oddly taking the strange occurrence in stride, Yunho decided to take his time getting home. He felt as if, at that moment, he was meant to linger there. Turning towards the direction of the nearby safety railing, Yunho dropped his hand on the freezing-cold metal and gazed out over the glowing city before him. The sounds of the city, muffled by the slight breeze, and the view blurred by the fine snow that continued to fall from the heavens, seemed almost serene as if the epitome of beautiful silence. Sighing deeply, Yunho wondered if the direction of his life would ever change.

While his life was as simple as he liked it, he had always secretly wished for an existence filled with adventure and mystery. Growing up a fan of fantasy stories about mythical creatures and superpowers, and science fiction stories about space exploration and aliens, he had always held onto that small sliver of hope that he dreamed of as a kid, the hope that the mythical, mysterious, and magical still existed. He missed the idealistic boy he had been in the past, the childish innocence and curiosity that had made him such a pest to his late mother but had brought him an immense amount of joy. He wasn’t sure when he lost it, but as he got older his adult personality, a personality ruled by logic and reason, had slowly suffocated his idealistic inner child that he had desperately been clinging onto for so long. Now, he was just another unimportant adult with no real imagination or sense of adventure. His life consisted of mundane and monotonous.

Lost in his deep contemplations, Yunho sighed deeply at the sadness that filled his heart as he remembered the young Yunho. Bringing his gaze up to the sky as a mysterious and unexpected light seemed to appear; he instantly noticed that, even though the snow was continuing to fall around him, the thick clouds above had parted miraculously, revealing one of the fullest moons he had ever witnessed. Staring at the beautifully glowing orb hanging delicately within a blanket of twinkling stars and framed by fluffy white snow clouds, Yunho smiled and slowly began to feel better.

“It’s not all that bad.” he thought as he smiled brightly at the sky.

Standing quietly and gazing at his own personal nightlight in the sky, Yunho was unaware of his one-man audience.

“Beautiful.” came a strange whisper a moment later.

The one word, that started it all.

Startled by the sound and the sudden feel of a presence standing beside him, Yunho turned to look at the origin of the soft voice and saw something, or rather someone, he didn’t expect. Standing there, next to him, was a hooded figure, his face obscured by a black hooded coat trimmed in a delicate light brown fur that sways gently with the surrounding breeze. Dressed from head to toe in black, the figure stared up at the sky above them for a moment before turning his gaze towards Yunho.

“The moon, I mean.” the stranger amended as he revealed his beautiful face and flashed a soft, almost innocent smile.

Stunned by the man’s unearthly beauty, Yunho felt all coherent thought fall completely to the wayside. The vision before him looked, unlike any man he had ever seen.  Hidden under the fur-lined black hood sat a dainty puff of black hair, highlighted with several soft streaks of the deepest auburn, cascaded down soft, pale, and almost ethereal-like skin. His chocolate eyes, flecked with hues of both gold, and an unusual silver-color, seemed almost comforting, but gave off an err of both mystery and danger.

“Beautiful.” whispered Yunho in response before he cleared his throat nervously and looked back up at the sky “Yes it is.”

The young man beside him chuckled softly at Yunho’s reaction and fell silent for a few moments, seemingly contemplating on what to say next.

“You know…” the stranger ventured “There is a legend about nights like this.”

“Oh?” questioned Yunho without turning his gaze back to the man “A legend?”

“When the goddess shines her holy light upon the world, within the midst of her frozen tears, offer up your greatest wish or lose it for all your years.” recited the strange man.

“Very cryptic, isn’t it?” chuckled Yunho softly.

“Very.” answered the man with a chuckle of his own.

“What do you think it means?” questioned the man.

“I’m not sure,” answered Yunho perplexed.

“Some say that it’s not so much a legend as a promise.” explained the man “According to the myth, the Great Moon Goddess, after receiving her rightful place in the heavens from the creator, made a promise to fulfill the wishes of all that would bask in her heavenly glow in remembrance of the gift bestowed on her by the creator…her place in the sky.

“On nights like this, when the goddess is at her brightest; fullest; and her frozen tears…” continued the man slowly.

“Tears? You mean the snow?” interjected Yunho softly.

“Yes.” the man answered “When the goddess is at her brightest; fullest, and snow falls down from the heavens…If you offer unto her your greatest wish, it will be fulfilled. But, if you hesitate, your wish will never come true.”

“Sounds like a beautiful story.” smiled Yunho.

“Beautiful, yes, but not completely true according to others.” noted the man.

“How so?” questioned Yunho as he turned to steal a glance at the man.

“Some scholars say that the legend is a lesson of choice.” answered the man.

“Choice?” questioned Yunho.

“They believe that the true interpretation of the legend means that on a night such as this, where the snow is falling under the full moon, the moon goddess enacts a terrible choice unto all who gaze into her light.” the man continued “Basically…Offer up your greatest wish, no matter how unlikely it may be, and if she chooses to grant it, your happiness is assured.”

“And what happens if she refuses your wish?” asked Yunho curiously.

“Then your wish is lost for all time, never to become reality.” answered the man.

“Seems cruel if you ask me,” whispered Yunho.

“Yes, very much so.” answered the man with a soft nod.

“So, the legend begs the question.” sighed the man “What would you do? Offer up your wish with no guarantee that it will be granted but still have a possibility of coming true or safeguard your wish and refuse to speak it allowed and in turn guarantee that it will never come true.”

“That is a hard decision.” smirked Yunho as he stole another glance at the man beside him “You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

“What would you do?” questioned the man curiously “If it was you, and you had a wish that you wanted to be granted, would you keep it to yourself or gamble on the whims of the Goddess?”

“Neither.” answered Yunho “I would make my wish come true on my own.”

“Interesting…” whispered the man.

With Yunho’s answer lingering in the air, the two men fell into silence. A strange sense of awkwardness began to grow within Yunho’s heart. As the silence stretched on, he knew he was being rude to the man who had offered up such an interesting story at their first meeting. Being rude was something that Yunho refused to be no matter what the circumstances. He had been raised to be respectful to everyone, no matter who they were and standing there in silence was a violation of everything he was ever taught. Strengthening his courage, Yunho sighed softly and decided to continue the conversation with a proper introduction.

“Oh, I’m Yunho by the way, Jung Yunho…” ventured Yunho before he turned to shake the man’s hand only to find the space beside him empty.

“Oh?” questioned Yunho in surprise “Where’d he go?”

Scanning the area all around him, Yunho looked for the beautiful man that he had been talking to but found nothing but emptiness.

“Where’d he run off to?” wondered Yunho out loud.

“I hope I didn’t offend him.” mused Yunho softly.

Shaking off his worried thoughts, he wrapped his arm around his chest and shivered as the air around him seemed to suddenly drop ten degrees. Until then, he hadn’t noticed that he hadn’t been feeling cold. It was odd but the whole time the strange and mysterious man was by his side, he felt a warmth like he had never experienced before.

With another drawn-out sigh, Yunho glanced down at his watch and noticed the time.

12: 10 AM

“After midnight already.” thought Yunho as he turned back towards his house and resumed walking “I better get back.”

From the nearby rooftop, the mysterious man who had been watching the interaction between Yunho and his strange new friend frowned disapprovingly. As the sound of footsteps heading closer and closer to him hit his overly sensitive ears, the tall man instantaneously turned around and kneeled on one knee, bowing his head in respect.

“My lord.” said the tall man.

“Following me again I see.” grumbled Yunho’s mysterious new friend “You disappoint me Changmin.”

“Forgive me, Lord Jaejoong,” begged Changmin as he dropped his head lower.

Sighing in the disappointment of another interrupted night of exploration, Jaejoong looked upon his friend and just shook his head. Stepping closer and dropping his hand on the younger man’s shoulder, Jaejoong shook him gently.

“Enough with the formalities.” dismissed Jaejoong “And, for the love of the Gods, get off the ground. You’re not a filthy mutt and I’m not your master.”

Changmin instantly nodded in acceptance.

“Who’s the human?” questioned Changmin as he stood to his feet, and peered out over the rooftop, gazing at Yunho walking near the top of the hill “A new pet?”

“Who he is, is none of your concern,” ordered Jaejoong sternly, eyes flashing a deathly warning.

“As you command, my lord.” acknowledged Changmin.

“Again….” said Changmin as he cleared his throat nervously “Please do forgive me, my Lord, for my intrusion. I know how you dislike being interrupted while you’re out hunting, but I’m not here of my own volition. The Master sent me to bring you back.”

“He can’t give me a moments peace can he?” scoffed Jaejoong dejectedly “Just because he’s my father and leader of all the covens still doesn’t mean he has the right to control me like this.”

“As long as he rules, my Lord, we are all at his beck and call.”  countered Changmin warningly.

“And if I don’t want to…” started Jaejoong.

“You don’t want to finish that sentence, my Lord.” interrupted Changmin immediately “Please don’t make this any more difficult for me than it already is Jaejoong.”

At hearing his friend address him by his name, Jaejoong instantly conceded.

“Very well.” agreed Jaejoong “I will return but you must do something for me.”

“Anything my Lord.” nodded Changmin.

“That human…” said Jaejoong as he motioned towards Yunho “…see to it that he returns home safely.”

“As you command, my Lord,” answered Changmin.