Chapter 4

It was early in the morning and Tao was already awake. He was just lying on his bed, the covers wrapped around his legs. The hunter had his hands behind his head, the warmth of the morning sun caressing his chest sans clothing. For some reason or another, he just couldn't sleep well. He did not really know if it was because of the events that happened the day before, the memories that were restored in his mind, or the man who slept in the once empty room next to his. Sehun. That was the man's name, by and then the most beautiful man Tao has ever set his eyes upon.

Tao would have to admit that he has not known much of the ways of men and, for others in the High House, of women. He could not even put blame on the rigid training he had set upon himself as a young martial arts prodigy, as it was of his own choice. He was a child of discipline and strength, leaving his home for the mountains where the Sacred Wudang Temple was found. There with the monks, he honed his skill and was already preparing himself to become an ascetic once he was deemed ready. That life goal was not to be as his gift became apparent on his tenth year of age, earlier than most.

When Tao's gift of enhanced audition manifested, the monks had shifted his training from an ascetic to a warrior. They knew that it wouldn't be long until the news of the young prodigy would reach the different hunter houses. For the next five years, Tao would train not only his martial arts but also his gift in conjunction. The young man proved to be the prodigy that he is, figuring out how to work his biological sonar in less than a year. At the of midnight on Tao's fifteenth birthday, the whole Temple was awakened at the sudden arrival of the elite hunter team of the High House of Aku. Barely an hour later and Tao bade his final goodbye to the Temple that served as his home for ten years.

Tao started out as one of the trainees of the High House of Aku. His rigid discipline became both a blessing and a curse that persisted even until now. Tao would not complain about the various training sessions no matter how boring and redundant they were for a young prodigy like he was. To others though, he came off as cold and aloof, but, in truth, Tao just didn't know how to make friends. Being one of, if not, the youngest monk in the Sacred Wudang Temple, Tao never knew what it was to have a normal childhood. While there were other young monks, they were all older than Tao was and it was expected for all of them to get along well.

Twenty-four months of being trainees passed and many gave up, but Tao was one of the few who became a fully-recruited novice, the lowest official rank in the High House. It did not take him long to become a full-fledged hunter after all his training in ammunitions, stealth and hand-to-hand tactics, among others. It was during his early days as a low-rank hunter when he met his first friend, the older Luhan. The latter's father was a member of the High House which made Luhan a legacy, bypassing the trainees. Luhan did not have as much aptitude to be a hunter like his father, but he was a technology whiz. Tao was assigned to continue Luhan's private training even though he had become part of the R&D team.

Tao and Luhan became close but nothing more came out of the friendship. Luhan was too focused on becoming a hunter out on the field instead of being in the R&D bay, while Tao was also focused on his missions, easily ascending the ranks. The friendship between the two, however, managed to slowly coax the younger man out of his shell. Slowly, Tao started to become friends with his fellow hunters, and soon enough he would feel the first staccato of a heart in love. At the age of eighteen, Tao would meet, have and lose his first love in the span of a few months. 

The young hunter turned towards the large window in his room and saw the leaves swaying on the tree outside his balcony. Being an elite hunter had its perks; one of which were big rooms, a queen-size bed, real dressers and a bathroom-slash-walk-in-closet. Elite hunters of the High House were not just the best at being warriors, but they also had to look their best all the time as they were the faces of the High House. They would have no clients if they did not market themselves, and the elites along with other chosen hunters would double their tasks to maintain relations with the various corporations and governments all over the world. Suho was not just their House leader with the highest warrior rank; he was also the head of the business side of the High House, because not all members of the High House had to be hunters. Hunters, although they are the backbone of the hunter houses, were just a small percentage of the actual number of members of a house who also had different jobs to do.

The home base of the High House of Aku was a large mansion situated in a large estate away from the very busy capital. Most hunters and all of the R&D members lived and worked in the house. While it looked a fairly normal mansion from the outside, inside it was a busy headquarters. There were some rooms made for receiving guests only, partitioned far away from the training rooms and most especially, the highly secure R&D bays. It also had the common housing areas for the lower-ranking hunters, small single rooms for the higher ranking ones, as well as some larger rooms for those who had spouses and partners. It was not uncommon though for the house members who were married to find a place off-base, but they still had to come to the mansion for their work.

The rooms for the elite hunters and some of the "model" hunters were situated closer to the area accessible for guests, so they can easily go out, entertain and build public relations. Tao, being the newest elite, had his room next to a smaller one for the "models" which was formerly empty. The hunter slid himself up and adjusted the pillows near the headboard so he could lean on them. His piercing eyes, with those natural darker shades around them, seemed to bore a hole onto the wall opposite him. The wall, of course, was the one separating him from that beautiful man.

Tao could not stop thinking about Sehun, even though his own world was turned upside-down the day before. Sehun, the child of the winds as he called himself, was the one true clarity in Tao's mind. He could not understand what he was going through again. His hands that would suddenly turned cold and clammy at the mere sight of Sehun, the fine beads of sweat that would form in between his nose and upper lip, the need to clear his throat before he would even try to say one word to the other man; those only reminded him of one other time that such things happened.

'You're crazy,' Tao scolded himself. 'It's just been a long time since you had some release. You can't just easily go and ask someone out. You barely even know the guy. You didn't even have the guts to ask Jonghyun out until he asked you himself!'

Tao suddenly stopped thinking. He looked down at his left hand and spread his fingers open. There, on his fifth finger near the space between it and the fourth, was a tattoo of an italicized letter J. It was small enough that it could be hidden by his favorite ring, a platinum jewel with a wide band and set with two stones. Tao got the tattoo on his nineteenth birthday, as a present from his boyfriend, who also got a similar tattoo on the same place but had an italicized T instead.

'This is stupid,' Tao turned away to look out the window once again. 

A few moments later and the hunter heard a light knock on the door. It was unusual for anyone to knock on his door especially early in the morning except for emergencies. Tao wanted to ignore whoever was on the other side of the door, but another knock came followed by someone calling out his name. Having no other choice than to answer it, Tao got out of bed and put on his pajama bottoms hanging on the back of the chair near his dresser. 

Tao opened the door and was surprised to see who it was. "S-Sehun?"

Without any invitation, the other man made his way inside Tao's room. "So this is what an elite hunter's room looks like..."

"Se-," Tao's voice broke and he had to clear his throat, while closing the door behind him. "Sehun, what are you doing here?"

"I got bored," said the other one, making his way to the large windows. "You even have a balcony. I'm jealous."

"You can't just barge into my room, Sehun," Tao said. 'Was that a whine? I didn't whine, did I?'

"Can't you indulge me, Tao-ssi?" Sehun suddenly turned towards the other man, with a pout.

Tao became flustered and he was suddenly conscious of his current state of dress, or undress for that matter. He started to look around for a shirt nearby.

"Hmm," Sehun looked up and down Tao's exposed torso. "Your hunter suits leave only little to the imagination, but I have to say that seeing you out of clothes is a real treat. You really have a great body, Tao-ssi. A bit on the lean side for my taste, but still looks great."

Tao blushed at Sehun's words. No one has ever been that forward with him before, not even Jonghyun. For someone technically as socially awkward as Tao, he was getting overwhelmed by the second. He was literally grasping for words to answer Sehun. "I... uh..."

"So, have you tried the belt on?" Sehun suddenly changed the topic, walking towards Tao's dresser. "It's still here. Why?"

"I-I... uh..." Tao stammered. "I sort of forgot about it last night."

Sehun picked the belt up and made his way towards the other man who was still frozen on his feet near the door. "It's yours, Tao-hyung. Do you still not believe me?"

'Oh ,' Tao thought to himself, feeling the familiar coldness of his hands and the beads of sweat forming above his upper lip. 'Why did he have to say that in such a soft voice? Sehun, are you trying to kill me?'

"H-hyung?" Tao managed to croak out. "I-Isn't that for someone older than you?"

Sehun stopped. Tao's question somehow managed to make him think. "I thought you wouldn’t understand that word. How old are you then?"

"T-Twenty-one." Tao mentally slapped himself. He should stop his stammering. It was only Sehun. He should be treating the other just like any other member of the house. "Y-you should at least be... umm... four hundred..."

Sehun laughed, holding his head back in mirth and exposing his long, soft, supple neck.

Tao was stunned. He felt something stirring in his nether regions. 'Whoa there, buddy. You aren't taking over my thinking right now.'

"I should be insulted but the look on your face is precious, hyung," Sehun said when he managed to collect himself, wiping off a tear. "We really should get all of your memories back, Tao-hyung. Your former self made that time bubble where I kept the temple and your belt. As you yourself have experienced, time only passes outside of the bubble. So even if four hundred years has passed outside, I am still the same age as I was when I first entered the time bubble. Would you like to know how old I am, hyung?"

"Wha- H-How old are you then?" Tao swallowed as he saw Sehun snap the belt open near the buckle. That was also a minor reason why Tao did not try on the belt the night before; he didn't know how to open it.

Sehun remained quiet and made his way to the back of the other man. Standing so close, Tao could feel the other man's breath on his ear. The hunter felt the other man slip his hands in between his and wrapped them around Tao's waist. A moment later and Sehun snapped the belt closed.

"Well, if you must know," Sehun spoke lightly against Tao's ear. "I'm actually still eighteen, hyung. Or would you like me to call you..."

"Oppa?" Tao heard the last word whispered against his ear. He looked down, saying that he needed to see how the belt looked like. The tent on his pajama bottoms was quite obvious though and Tao closed his eyes in frustration. His body had betrayed him. It wasn't supposed to work this way. Sehun shouldn't have come to his bedroom. Tao still didn't know what he was feeling for the other man. Like he thought before, he and Sehun had only seen each other for the first time at that valley.

'But why does it feel that we've known each other throughout our life?' Tao thought as he finally succumbed to his primal instincts.

The older man suddenly turned around. The movement caught Sehun in surprise, making him take a step back and causing him to slam onto the door. With barely a breath, Tao captured the younger man's soft lips in his. Tao felt like another star had burst somewhere in the universe when he finally kissed Sehun, feeling the tenderness on them. He maneuvered his leg in between Sehun's and somewhat felt relieved when he knew that he wasn't the only one with a certain stiffness in the pants that would not be going away anytime soon.

As their kisses deepened, Tao teased Sehun's lips with his tongue. After a few more coaxing, the other man finally let Tao slip his tongue inside for more, intensifying the feeling more than a hundred-fold. He knew he wanted, no, needed to taste more. With a reassuring peck, Tao's lips made their way downwards to Sehun's neck. That long, supple neck that just minutes ago. Tao smiled as he heard the other one moan.

Tao felt the other man's hand grasping his stiffness through the thin satin of his pajamas. The suddenness of it all sobered the hunter and he stopped his kisses. He quickly took two steps back away from Sehun.

Sehun felt the sudden stop, and he opened his eyes. "Wh-what's wrong? Hyung?"

"P-please leave, Sehun," Tao turned away, unable to look the other one in the eye. "Th-this wasn't supposed to happen."

"Hyung? A-are you worried?" Sehun sounded concerned. "I wanted it too, hyung. Please, don't send me away."

The other man remained silent.

"Hyung?" Sehun tried to take step towards him but Tao held a hand up to stop him and even took a couple more steps away. "T-Tao?"

Tao felt his desire slowly change into another emotion. Bitter anger. Trying his best to keep his voice low, he growled, "Get out of my room, Sehun."

With a sob, Sehun quickly made his way out of the room, leaving Tao seething. No, Tao wasn't angry with the younger man. If anything, he was angry at himself for acting the way he did. Tao made his way to the dresser and slammed his hands down on it. Looking up, he saw his reflection on the mirror. His body was flushed, lips swollen from giving and receiving Sehun's kisses. He knew he shouldn't feel that way for someone he barely even knew. That wasn't his style. That wasn't who Tao was. Yet, why did he feel like his world had fallen apart when he heard Sehun's sob?

'Because you hurt him,' a voice in Tao's head said. 'Just like you hurt Jonghyun that day. Just like you hurt your parents when you left for the Temple. Just like you hurt everyone around you just by living.'

With a howl of despair, Tao felt the mirror fall into pieces under the force of his knuckle.