Sometimes, Chanyeol dreams in color.

Most of the nights, however, he dreams in black and white; of the family, friends, home, and life he once had.  Things that are gone and will never come back again.  But during those rare nights that he dreams of color, he dreams of going to college, making music, having his own grand piano, a better life—things that he can never ever have.

This night is one of the nights Chanyeol dreams in color.  He dreams of Radiohead’s OK Computer, of tailored suits and slacks, of leather shoes at are black as night.  He dreams of soft, dark locks, thick eyebrows, and golden brown eyes set against alabaster skin.  And he dreams, most of all, that the boy with the dark hair and golden brown eyes and alabaster skin and love for Radiohead will take him away from Yoochun, Taemin, Jongin, and the misery of coming home and seeing a new face.

And when Chanyeol wakes up, he cries.

He cries because it was a dream in color.

~O~

Fingers gently pushing hair from his face bring Chanyeol back to reality.  He opens his eyes—blinking a few times to make everything stop looking blurry—and lifts his head to look at the person who woke him up.  It takes a while for his eyes to focus, but when it does, he sees a very worried Kris looking at him.

“Hey.”  He greets, but immediately regrets it when his throat instantly starts to hurt.

“Chanyeol, I think you should go home.  You look really bad.”  Kris says, putting down the Dashboard Confessional CD that he’s holding.

“I’m fine.”  Chanyeol replies, sitting up properly and getting his book—Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story—from the floor.  “It must’ve fallen.”  He says to himself.

“Are you sure?” Kris asks, looking at him doubtfully.

“Yes, I’m sure.”  Chanyeol replies with impatience.

“Okay.”  Kris replies, eyes never leaving the other’s face.  “I might not be able to go here tomorrow.  The party’s tonight, so…”

“Oh, it’s okay.  I hope you have fun.”  Chanyeol replies.

“As if.  I bet I’ll have more fun listening to you talk about Shakespeare than that party.”  Kris replies, smiling.

“Tell me about it next time you drop by?”  Chanyeol asks as he processes the Dashboard CD that Kris bought.

“Yeah, sure.”  Kris replies before leaving the store.

Chanyeol can’t help but wonder if it was disappointment that he saw in the other’s eyes.

~O~

The house is bustling with activity when Chanyeol returns from his shift.  He sees Taemin running around while wearing only jeans and socks, shouting for his brother to hurry the hell up.  Chanyeol spots the newcomer, Sehun, in one corner and approaches him.  The other is holding a plaid button down, a violet hoodie, and a pair of black Converse sneakers.

“What’s going on?”  Chanyeol asks once he’s within earshot.  He can’t help but notice the bruises that are shaped like fingers on the younger boy’s wrists and inwardly cringes.

“A man came over here a while ago and invited Taemin and Jongin to this party for Kris Wu.  Ever since then, they’ve been running around trying to look cool.”  Sehun replies, shrugging.  Chanyeol just sighs and goes straight to the attic to change his clothes.  He drops The Neverending Story on his futon, nearly missing the small neon green paper that escaped from the book when he dropped it.  Chanyeol picks it up and realizes that it’s a note from Kris containing the place and time of the party.  Chanyeol puts the note between two pages of the book with a heavy heart, before changing his clothes.  But as he was removing his clothes, the door of the attic suddenly opens, causing him to fumble around to try and cover his parts.

“Jesus Christ!  I thought I locked that door!”  Chanyeol shouts, his School of Rock blanket covering him.

“You did.”  A cheerful voice says, which Chanyeol is pretty sure is coming from the door.

“Who are you?”  Chanyeol asks, addressing the small silhouette by the doorway.

“I am your… uh… fairy godmother?  No wait, that can’t be right; I’m not a fairy.  Ah, I have it!  I’m your shining godmother.”  The silhouette replies, stepping into the room and shutting the door completely.  Chanyeol’s self-proclaimed shining godmother is actually a tall man with wavy shoulder-length black hair and big eyes.  “Hi, I’m Minho.”

“Uhm, hi, Minho!  Are you sure you’re not my shining godfather?”  Chanyeol replies.

“Yes, I’m sure.  I mean, the original fairytale goes that way, remember?  It wasn’t a fairy godfather who appeared, it was a fairy godmother.”  Minho replies.  His light blue off-shoulder shirt, white skinny jeans, and matching light blue boots immediately catch Chanyeol’s attention.

“You can’t be here to help me dress up?!”  Chanyeol exclaims, eyeing the other’s outfit carefully.

“Now, that’s just insulting.”  Minho says, pointing a finger to Chanyeol.  “Despite appearances, I can actually put together a very decent outfit.”

“Then why… uh…”  Chanyeol says, gesturing towards the other’s clothes.

“This?”  Minho asks.  “Oh, it’s been a rough week.  I and the other SHINee members just received news from Prof. Shim that our friends from Super Junior have found out our location.  We’ve kind of been on the run lately.”

“SHINee?  Super… what?!”

“Never mind.  Just be glad that I took some time off to help you dress up and snag the Wu.”  Minho replies, giving Chanyeol a teasing smirk.

“Seriously?!  I don’t even want to go to the party.”  Chanyeol replies, putting on his tiger look.

“Oh, please.  Don’t give me that crap.  I know that you’ve dreamed about Wu in color, Park.”  Minho replies, causing Chanyeol to blush.

“What?!  How did you know that?!”

“’Cause I’m awesome.”  Minho replies as if it’s nothing at all.  “Now, come on.  Let’s see what’s inside the bag.”  He says, referring to Chanyeol’s duffel.  Minho pulls out a mic and points at the duffel, making it disappear and suddenly reappear between the two of them.

“What the hell?!”  Chanyeol exclaims, eyes wide with shock.  “Who are you?”

“I already told you.  I’m Minho, Shining SHINee’s Flaming Charisma.”  The other replies while rummaging through the duffel.  “Is this all you’ve got?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“Geez.”  Minho replies while pulling out a walkie-talkie kind of thing.  “It’s time to bring in the Key.”  He then pushes a button and then all of a sudden, there’s a loud noise from the corner of the attic.

“Really, Minho, thanks for the warning.”  A guy with platinum blond hair wearing a red jacket over a turquoise hoodie, black skinny jeans, black sneakers, and shades says as he approaches the two.  The guys spots Chanyeol and he immediately asks Minho, “Choi, what did you do this time?”

“Nothing!  I swear!”  Minho replies, dropping everything he’s holding and putting his arms in an “I surrender!” pose.  “I was about to help him snag Wu when I realized that he doesn’t have any clothes that don’t look like rags!”

“Hey!”  Chanyeol retorts, a little hurt because of the blow to his fashion sense.

“Sorry man, no offense meant.”  Minho replies.

The guy Minho called ‘Key’ sighs before turning to Chanyeol.  He removes his shades before saying, “Look, it’s really important that we help you with this, just don’t mind him, okay?”  Chanyeol nods in return.  “I’m Kibum, also known as the Key.”  He says, extending a hand for Chanyeol to shake and ignoring Minho’s protests.  “Now, let’s get to work.  Go put on some clothes and we’ll work our way from there.” 

Chanyeol does as he’s told and puts on a pair of blue skinny jeans, a red shirt, and a black hoodie.  Kibum eyes him carefully as he works.  “That’s it?”  The other asks once he’s done, and Chanyeol nods in return.  While Kibum is busy planning how he’s going to make Chanyeol look better, Minho asks Chanyeol some other questions.

“How long have you known Wu?” 

“A couple of weeks, I guess.”  Chanyeol replies, trying not to look so small under Kibum’s scrutinizing gaze.

“You talk everyday?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Did he tell you anything about his dad?”  Minho asks and Chanyeol instantly freezes.

“How do you know about that?”

“Just answer the question, dude.”  Kibum, who is now listening to the conversation, asks.

“Yeah.”  Chanyeol replies.  “He told me about his dad’s will and how he doesn’t really want to do what it says.”  Chanyeol says when the other two urge him to continue.

“But what did it say?”  Kibum asks, taking out his own mic.

“That Kris has to marry in order to inherit his dad’s empire.”

“But he doesn’t want to.”  Kibum says.

“Yeah.”

“Wait, he doesn’t want to marry?  He’d rather grow up to be a dirty old man?”  Minho asks.

“No, he doesn’t want to marry just anyone.  You see, Kris told me that his relatives would most likely prevent him from marrying in order to get the empire from him.  But he also doesn’t want to go with the plan that his lawyer cooked up.”

“Which is?”  Minho asks.

“The party.  His lawyer is expecting that Kris chooses the person he’ll marry from those who will attend the party.”  Chanyeol replies.

“Ah, and our dear Wu doesn’t want to marry some person he met in a party.”  Kibum deduces, earning a nod from Chanyeol.  “Well, in that case, we better get you dolled up.”   He says before pointing his own mic to Chanyeol and making shooting motion.  Chanyeol, terrified of what is about to happen, closes his eyes and waits for the pain to come… which never really did.

“Yo, stop being a and open your eyes.”  He hears Kibum say, so he does.  He sees the two of them smiling at him as if he’s a painting and they’re the ones who painted him.

“Uh… what happened?”  Chanyeol finally asks.  Kibum frowns before answering, “Look at your clothes.”  Chanyeol does as he is told (as always) and sees that his clothes have changed into a black shirt topped with a thick, black jacket with some kind of horned animal design, faded blue skinny jeans, (“Those are better than the pair you were wearing a while ago.”  Kibum says when Chanyeol raises a questioning eyebrow), and a new pair of white rubber shoes with a silver hexagon design.  Kibum then produces a pair of black-rimmed glasses from his jacket and puts it on Chanyeol to finish the outfit.

“Do you like it?”  Kibum asks, voice hopeful.

“Yes, thank you very much.”  Chanyeol replies with a genuine smile, which earns him a million-dollar Key smile.

“Now, how about a ride?”  Minho asks, Kibum too busy being happy over his work.

“I haven’t got one.”  Chanyeol replies.

“Yeah, I figured.  Yo, Kibum, call your brother?”  Minho replies and Kibum instantly nods and pulls out his own walkie-talkie kind of thing.  He then pushes a button, and then another loud noise came from the exact same corner of the attic that Kibum came in from a while ago.

“What is it, Kibum?”  The new person asks as he steps out to view.  The new person, Kibum’s brother, has light brown hair and is wearing a dark blue jacket over a gray hoodie, red knee-length skinnies, blue trainers, and shades.

“We need your help.”  Kibum says, pointing to Chanyeol.  Kibum’s brother steps closer to Chanyeol, as if examining him. 

“Is this your work?”  He then asks, tugging on the sleeve of Chanyeol’s jacket.

“Yeah.”  Kibum replies.  Kibum’s brother gives a low hum in reply before proceeding to push the sleeves of Chanyeol’s jacket up to his elbows before replacing the black-rimmed glasses with his own pair of shades.  “It’s awesome, but you need to tweak it a little.”  He then says, admiring his work.  Now that Chanyeol can see his whole face, he notes that Kibum’s brother somewhat resembles a dinosaur.

“Oh, thanks.”  Kibum says, smiling at his brother.  “Chanyeol, this is Jonghyun.  He’s my older brother.  Jjong, this is Chanyeol.”

“Oh, so you’re the Chanyeol.”  Jonghyun says, extending a hand for Chanyeol to shake.  “I’m Jonghyun, also known as Jjong.  Pleased to meet you.”  He then says as they’re shaking hands.

“The Chanyeol?  What’s that supposed to mean?”  Chanyeol asks once he’s processed Jonghyun’s words (and done admiring the dinosaur-like features).

“Nothing… yet.  But in the future it will mean something.”  Jonghyun replies, surprising both Minho and Kibum.

“Jjong!  You know we can’t do that!”  Minho exclaims, eyes wide.

“I’m not doing that!  I’m just warning him, somehow.”  Jonghyun replies, once again looking at Chanyeol as if he’s some kind of sacred being.  “Anyways, what did you need me for?” 

“We need you to get him a ride.  A good one, since he’s going to Wu’s party and all.”  Minho replies.

“I think we can use a little help from Jinki.  He is, after all, our liaison of sorts.”  Jonghyun replies as he takes out a normal cellphone.

“Wow.  I never thought you guys have one of those.”  Chanyeol says.

“Only me, actually.  I’m the only one allowed to carry this to contact Jinki.  He used to be a part of the team, until Prof. Shim thought that it was better that he stay here and serve as a liaison to inform us of any changes.  He’s kind of an informant, I guess.”  Jonghyun replies as he dials some numbers.  Eventually, someone picks up and he goes a little farther away to talk.

“Of any changes?  What did he mean by that?”  Chanyeol asks, once again facing Minho and Kibum.

“You tell us.”  Minho replies.  “Tell me, Chanyeol, have you ever seen one of these outside?”  Minho continues, pointing to his mic.

“Yeah, in music stores, music shows...”  Chanyeol replies

“But, is it technologically possible for something like this,” Kibum asks, interrupting Chanyeol, and waving the mic that he, Minho, and Jonghyun all seem to own, “to be manufactured right now?” 

“No, not really.”  Chanyeol replies, then something in his mind clicks.  He looks at Jonghyun and Key before finally looking at Minho and his mic.  “You guys are from the future?”

“Bingo.”  Minho replies.

“Then you already know what’s going to happen!”  Chanyeol exclaims.  “And by that… do you mean changing the past?”

“Yes, we already know what’s going to happen.”  Jonghyun says as he returns to the group.  “And it’s not really that wonderful.  Things are bleak for all humanity; that’s why when we were given the chance to return and make things right, we immediately took it.”

“But Minho said you’re on the run right now.”  Chanyeol replies.

“Yeah, and also that.”  Jonghyun replies.  “Anyway, Jinki said he’d give you a ride.  So we’re all set?” 

All of a sudden, Minho’s walkie-talkie kind of thing flares to life with noise, stunning everyone in the small attic. 

“Flaming Charisma!  Flaming Charisma!  Are you in?”  A voice from the walkie-talkie kind of thing says.

“This is Flaming Charisma.  Evil Kyu, what do you have for me?”  Minho replies, voice urgent.

“Flaming Charisma, listen.  You guys have to get back here soon.  Prof. Shim called, he said that the enemies are getting near!”  The person on the other end replies.

“Okay, we’re almost done.  We’ll be there soon.  Take care, Evil Kyu.”  Minho says.

“You too, guys.”

“Okay, I’m out.”  Minho says before cutting the transmission.

“We better hurry then.”  Jonghyun says, earning a nod from all of the others, including Chanyeol.  “Okay, you know the rules.  Go to the party, home before midnight, okay?”  Jonghyun reminds and Chanyeol nods.  Outside, they hear the roar of an engine before Jonghyun’s normal phone rings.  “That’s Jinki.  You have to go.”

“Uhm… wait.”  Chanyeol says, suddenly realizing something.  “Why do I have to get home before midnight again?”

“Because we fashioned the entire kaching after the fairytale.”  Minho replies with a smug face.

“Kaching?!”  Chanyeol asks, sarcastically.

“Just… never mind him, okay?”  Jonghyun says.  “C’mon, let’s head out.”

They get Chanyeol downstairs as quietly as possible (Taemin and Jongin are still preparing, therefore less caution is needed) and out into the night.  They spot his ride, a white 1979 Trans Am Bandit, down the street and immediately approach it.  A man gets out of the driver’s side and approaches them in return.

“Chanyeol, this is Jinki.  Jinki, this is Chanyeol.”  Jonghyun says, introducing them to each other.

“Jinki.  Pleased to finally meet you.”  Jinki says, shaking Chanyeol’s hand.

“Chanyeol.  Curious as to what the hell is going on in the future.”  Chanyeol replies and Jinki lets out a small laugh.

“I’m not really sure anymore; but this I can tell you: it’s not pretty.”  Jinki replies.

“We must get going.  Evil Kyu just contacted us with some really bad news.”  Minhos says.

“Okay.  I got this.”  Jinki replies and the three bid them goodbye before going off into the night.

“Come on,” Jinki says, beckoning Chanyeol to the Trans Am, “let’s get you to the party.”

~O~

The girl—Kristina?  Krystal?—slips him a note with her name and number on it, just like the others, and Kris thinks, That’s it!

“I’ve had it with this party!”  Kris vents when he’s in the VIP room with Tao, Jongdae, and Yixing.  “Luhan’s not even in here!”

“Kris, calm down.”  Tao says while nursing his drink.  “The night’s almost over.”

“Taozi, I think you’re forgetting the fact that this party will go on until morning.”  Yixing says, frowning at Tao.

“Just chill, dude.”  Jongdae says before standing up and leading Kris to the door.  “Come on, let’s get you another drink.”

Kris obliges and he and Jongdae go down to the bar.  On the way, Kris tries to avoid anyone’s eyes while Jongdae tries to get them to the bar unscathed.  Once they do, they immediately take the seats near the corner to ensure privacy.  The bartender, Tiffany, a black haired woman with a beautiful eye smile, approaches both of them with two glasses of water.

“Water?  You’ve gone rusty, milady.”  Jongdae teases after he’s taken a sip.

“You two look like you could use it.”  Tiffany says, eyeing both of them with wary eyes.  “Everything all right?”

“Kris here is not enjoying himself.  Do you have anything that can loosen him up?”  Jongdae replies.

“Well, let’s hear the problem first, then.”  Tiffany says, smiling softly at Kris.

“I just really want this to be over.”  Kris replies, sighing.  “I don’t even want to get acquainted.”

“Does our little party boy already have someone in mind?”  Tiffany asks.

Kris looks up at her before saying, “Two Roy Rogers.  I don’t want to get drunk and I don’t want Jongdae to get too drunk.”  Tiffany smiles knowingly before making the order.

“Is it true?”  Jongdae asks.

“That I don’t want to get drunk?”

“Yes.  No, that you already have someone in mind?”  Jongdae replies, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah.”  Kris says just as Tiffany returns with their drinks.  He looks at her with sad eyes before continuing, “But that someone isn’t and won’t be here.”

~O~

Chanyeol makes his way through the crowd of partying people to the couch at the far corner of the room.  The area is full, just as he’s anticipated, and he can’t find Kris anywhere (which he also anticipated).  Earlier, he bumped into Taemin and Jongin as they were dancing on the dance floor, their bodies grinding against two blonde girls.  He sighs, running a hand through his hair, and starts reading The Neverending Story once again.

“Wow.”  He hears someone say after a little while.  He looks up, and sees Kris standing there, staring at him like he’s some extraterrestrial being.

“I’m sorry?”  Chanyeol replies, instead.

“Sorry.  It’s just that…”  Kris replies, gesturing to the book.  “You’re reading.  In the middle of a party.  You kind of remind me of someone.”

“Oh.”  Chanyeol replies, putting down his book.

“May I?”  Kris asks, eyeing the seat beside Chanyeol.

“Oh, sure.”  Chanyeol replies, making space for Kris.  They sit in silence for a little while before Kris decides to break it up with a sigh.

“Everything all right?”  Chanyeol asks.

“Yeah, it’s just that… it’s been a rough night.”  Kris replies.

“Yeah, tell me about it.”  Chanyeol replies, thinking of SHINee.  “Everyone I know has been having a rough time.”

“Glad to know I’m the only one.”  Kris says, and then eyes Chanyeol with wonder.  “I would also love to know why you’re all alone and reading in the middle of a party.”

“Well, I’m sitting because my feet hurt.”  Chanyeol replies, pointing to his socked feet.  “I ditched my shoes and left them over there on the other side of the couch.”  Chanyeol then points to the other end of the couch they’re sitting on.  “And I’m reading because I want to.”

“You’re not here to socialize?  Or, I don’t know.”  Kris gestures his hand wildly.  “Meet someone?”

“Not really.  I’m sure the person I want to talk to is here, but I don’t really think I’ll be able to talk to that person.”

“Why not?”

“It’s just that…” Chanyeol begins but stops when he accidentally hits his elbow on the armrest of the couch.  He immediately winces and groans in pain while nursing the said elbow.

“You okay?”  Kris asks, putting a comforting hand on the other’s arm.

“Yeah, I think my joints are acting up.  They’ve been like that for a couple of days now.  Maybe they’re telling me to take a break.”  Chanyeol replies with a pained smile.

“I think you should go home and get some rest.”  Kris says, worry marring his features.

“Funny everyone keeps on telling me that lately.”  Chanyeol says, muttering more to himself than Kris.

“Really?”  Kris asks with suspicion.  Why does this feel so familiar?

“Uh… yeah.  Hey, what time is it?”  Chanyeol asks.

“Uhm… wow.  A minute ‘til midnight.”  Kris replies.

“! I have to get home by midnight!”  Chanyeol replies, getting off the couch and rummaging around for his jacket that he discarded a while ago.

“But…”  Kris says, unsure of what to do.

“I’m really sorry, I have to go.  I was nice meeting you, though.”  Chanyeol replies before turning to leave.

“Wait!”  Kris calls, but it’s too late, the boy was gone.  “I don’t even know you’re name.”

It’s only much much later, when Jinki’s back home with the Trans Am and the clothes that Kibum made have changed back to normal that Chanyeol realizes that he left his book and shoes at the party… but he’s too tired to care.

~O~

When Chanyeol wakes up, it’s like a switch had been made.

The last time he was awake, everything was clear, cool, and real.  Now, everything is blurry, hot (or cold or hot… he’s not really sure anymore), and just wrong.  It was like the world is upside down, preventing him from comprehending anything.

Then there’s the fluttering in his chest.  Like there are birds inside him, which just freaks him out.  He can’t get up and make a run for it (his elbows and knees hurt, and just won’t support his plans) so he just gives up and goes back to sleep.