Kyungsoo smiled.

And laughed. And smiled. 

He had never smiled so much before in his life, and Kyungsoo loved it. He loved feeling his teeth bare and exposed. He loved feeling his cheeks rise and muscle tense. He loved feeling his eyes grow smaller unconsciously and curve into crescents to crowd his vision. He loved it. And he loved that he was blessed to meet someone like Jongin to keep the smile on his face. It was just Jongin and him. Not his father. Not his mother. Not Luhan. Not anyone. 

He went to school everyday, though the bullying didn't stop. 
It just seemed less because he knew that he could come "home" to Jongin. 

He ignored his father and his calls. 
Being with Jongin made him feel so much more confident that he could stand up to the old man, even if he was just a door away. 
Door away.
Why was Jongin's house so far from his house?
Weren't they neighbors? 

       "Hey Jongin?" 
       "Hmm?"
       "Didn't you come as my neighbor?" 
       "...I am your neighbor."
       "Then why is this house so far from my apartment?"
       "I got it just in case you might need an escape. You don't want to stay in a room where your dad is a step away from barging in, do you?" 
Kyungsoo sitffened and shook his head. Jongin smiled and pulled him into a tight hug, easing up the tense puppy. 
Kyungsoo thought he felt heaven.

After a while Kyungsoo realized.
He never saw Luhan. 
He seemed to disappear after their first meeting. 
It was odd, because sometimes he felt like he did meet him earlier, but he didn't at the same time. Whenever he questioned Jongin about Luhan coming over, Jongin always brushed it off, claiming he never saw 'Luhan' anywhere. 
But sometimes, Kyungsoo missed him. He had a familiar presence that was difficult to describe. And it was those times when he thought he saw Luhan lurking around in his shared home. 

13 years ago...

»°»

        8 year-old Luhan watched the 4 year-old boy cling to his leg and laugh as if he was the happiest person in the world.
       "Luhan hyung! Luhan hyung! Hehehe! Play! Play! Let's play!" Luhan pat the boy's head, something he learned that the younger loved.
 Luhan could only smile along with the bright beam jumping up and down, as well as his parents, who were watching them get along with the sweetest tint in their eyes. He was beautiful and so, so lovable with his big bright eyes and sincere smile. He knew that this boy would grow up to love many, and be loved by many. Or at least, he thought so. 

      16 year-old Luhan watched the 12 year-old boy answer the door with insecure eyes covered in an ugly shade of purple. 
       "C..Can I help you?" The boy refused to open the door fully, and revealed only half of his tiny frame. 
       "I...Do you remember me?" Luhan gently pushed against the door, only to be rigorously pushed away, followed by a small shake of the head. Luhan looked down in dissapointment, although, he really shouldn't have been because it had been 8 years after all. And so much had changed. The bright eyes the boy once carried was replaced with pure sadness and dried tears. Any hints of the sincere smiles were gone, just like his mother. Luhan gripped the arms of his backpack and stared at the younger boy. After staring into the boy's eyes a little too long, he reached out  and proceeded to pat the younger's head like he used to. 

He flinched. 

Luhan stopped and felt his heart clench. Should he not?
Luhan didn't know. He felt conflicted. He knew he would start to get attatched to this younger boy once again, like he did last time they met. 
It wasn't, after all, his choice to leave Kyungsoo for 8 years. His mother wouldn't let him hang out with such a broken family. 
Luhan wrung his hands together, knowing that if he touched the younger's head, he would come back. And if he did, he would continue to do so. He told himself to stop, that this was not Kyungsoo anymore, but he couldn't help himself.
 Luhan pat the younger's head anyway. 

       18 year-old Luhan came to say goodbye. He had talked to the younger boy continuously for two years, and had come to love him more than he thought he would. Though, Luhan noticed that in all the times he came to talk, the boy never looked at his face. Never. 
He was always hidden behind doors, mind locked away somewhere Luhan could never reach. His eyes were hidden and far away, so dark that Luhan could not see anymore. The door that had formed between them in six years was larger, thicker, and so far that Luhan could not even peek through the slightly open door without falling into the depths of hell that surrounded the boy.
       "I...I don't think I can visit anymore..." Luhan hesitantly found his voice. 
       "Oh....are you leaving me too?" The boy's voice was distant and cold. "too."
       "I-No- I- I'm preparing for college. I'm going to be back soon." Luhan put his hand on the door and leaned his forehead against it. "Kyungsoo... I will be back...and I won't leave you." He heard the boy faintly sniffle. 
       "I- I don't even k-know your name." Luhan smiled a little, kindling a teeny candle of hope in his heart.
       "If I tell you, will you remember me?" He heard the boy shuffle his feet. Luhan waited expectantly, a smile grazing his lips. If Luhan leaves now with the answer he was expecting, he knew he'd at least have some reassurance that Kyungsoo would be there when he came back; that Kyungsoo would be waiting for-
       "No." 

Luhan's world fell apart as the door between them shut and crushed the only link that connected Luhan to the younger boy. To his love. To Kyungsoo. 

       21 year-old Luhan got a call from the high school he used to attend. 
       "Hello?" 
       "Hello there, Luhan! I hear you're majoring in social psychology. I'm not sure if it fits, but there's a boy I'd like for you to see..." 
Luhan's eyes widened and nearly crushed his phone from the sweaty grip he had on it. What? 
He immediately agreed and dropped his phone to the floor and rung his hands together in puddle of feelings. 

I'd like for you to see a boy who's been getting bullied recently. He's very quiet, introverted, and rarely talks. He is a 16 year-old boy, almost turning 17, and his name is Do Kyungsoo.

Luhan was given another chance to meet with Kyungsoo, his Do Kyungsoo. 

Luhan felt blessed. 
But it seems so that he was blessed by the devil.