Eric was standing in front of the young master’s room. He felt weird when the boy suddenly left. He knocked once and called his name.

“Kyo-ya…” But he was greeted by silence. Eric started feeling guilty; thinking he might have made the boy angry. He sighed and walked to his room to wash up. A few minutes later, he walked out and thought about knocking the other door once again. “Ahh he must have gone down already.” Eric continued walking towards the dining room. But he was surprised seeing the boy wasn’t there.

“Eric, where is Pilkyo?” His Aunty Hyesun asked. Eric flashed a smile, for now he was completely sure the boy really was his long lost best friend.

“Um he’ll be down soon.” Eric answered and took a seat. The maids were serving food when Eric heard footsteps running down the stairs. His heart started beating fast. Eric closed his eyes, praying that this time it wouldn’t be awkward like their lunch earlier. As soon as the chair next to him moved, he opened his eyes and looked up front, pretending to be cool.

“Sorry I’m late.” The boy said as he took his seat beside Eric. The latter inhaled deeply because he was nervous. He wanted to drink, but he was reminded of the scene where the boy saw his bracelet. He pulled his long sleeve to cover his wrist, and just sat still.

“Boys, aren’t you hungry?” Eric’s Uncle Pilhyun suddenly spoke, startled the two boys. Eric straightened himself up and grabbed his spoon when the other boy did the same. The two started eating in silence.

After dinner, Eric decided to hang out at the garden to enjoy the night view. He was staring at the sky, thinking about the memories with his best friend.

“Eric-ah… If one day we separated from each other, would you look for me?”

“I found you now, Kyo. But you don’t see me...” Eric muttered; tears welled in his eyes.

“If I suddenly vanish from your sight, would you be mad at me?”

“I’m not mad at you. Not at all…” He looked at the stars and tears started streaming down his cheeks. “Why don’t you see me Kyo?” Eric wiped his tears and continued staring at the stars. Of all nights, he thought the stars were shining brighter tonight than they ever did. He needed to resist the urge of wishing, for he had promised months ago.

“Hey.” Eric gulped when he heard his name. He turned back, only to see the young master standing behind him. “What are you doing here alone?” Even if it was dark, Eric knew he saw the boy smiling.

“Um just staring at the stars.” Eric smiled back. “Don’t just stand there. Sit here.” He said, hoping the boy would come and sit with him. The boy slowly walked towards the bench, and eventually sat beside Eric.

“Why are you staring at the stars?” The boy asked, looking up at the sky. Eric found it cute.

“I don’t know. I just think the view is nice.” He glanced at the boy. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s... quite nice.” The boy nodded. Eric just smiled and continued looking up at the sky.

“I used to love wishing upon the stars.”

“What did you wish for?” The boy asked.

“A friend.”

“Did you get one?”

“I did. He’s been my best friend ever since.”

“Wow. You really got your wish granted by the stars?” Eric chuckled hearing the boy’s question.

“Yep. Have you ever tried wishing upon the stars?” The boy looked down.

“I’m not sure if it was the stars that granted my wish.” Eric got curious. “I was in a big trouble last year. There was nothing I could do to save myself, to go back home, so I just wished. And it did come true.”

“What happened to you?” Eric asked. “If you don’t mind telling me.” The boy sighed.

“I… um… something bad happened to me. I was then taken away far from here. They did awful things to me, and I couldn’t do anything about it. So I wished, and wished, and wished, to get out from there.”

“You were kidnapped? What did they do to you?”

“Err it wasn’t exactly that.” The boy sighed again. “Do you believe in magic, curses, stuff like that?”

“I wished upon the stars, so yeah.” Eric smiled at the boy.

“I was a naughty, evil boy back then. I was very rude to my parents. One day, as a punishment, something happened.” The boy glanced at Eric, and the latter was still smiling. “Can you keep this a secret? Even my family doesn’t know about this.” Eric nodded. “I was cursed.”

“What kind of curse? What happened??”

“I was turned into a wooden doll.” The boy whispered, and Eric widened his eyes. The young master did remember about what happened to him. “A boy took me in as his toy. But he never played nice. He… If I was a human boy that time, I would have died tragically on the very first day.” The boy’s eyes glistened with tears. “That’s why I wished to be forgiven, I wished for everything to turn back to normal, I wished to go home.” Seeing the boy started crying, Eric patted his back.

“Don’t cry. You’re home now, right?”

“But I couldn’t forget those awful things he did to me…” Eric’s heart broke. He immediately pulled the boy into his embrace.

“Shhh… It’s over now. You’re safely home. He can’t do that to you anymore.” Eric whispered, his hands still the boy’s back. “Kyo, don’t cry. I’m here now. I’ll take care of you. No one can hurt you as long as I’m here.” To Eric’s surprise, the boy wrapped his arms around Eric. And Eric could not hold his tears any longer. Seconds later, when he heard the boy sniffled while pulling away from the hug, Eric wiped his tears.

“Thank you.” Eric nodded. “Hey you didn’t tell me your name yet.” Eric smiled, as some old images crossed his mind.

“Hey, you didn’t tell me your name yet.”

“Like I said, I don’t have a name. You’re supposed to give me one.”

“How about P—“

“Pinocchio? Really? You don’t have taste at all.” The boy laughed.

“Then what?”

“You’re my owner. Think one for me.”

“Hm… I’ll just call you Kyo then. Is it okay?” Eric smiled.

“It’s… acceptable.” Kyo smiled back.

The boy waved his hand in front of Eric’s face. “Hey are you listening?”

“You don’t know my name?” The boy shook his head. “And I thought we’re cousins.”

“Hey we just met today. I don’t even know I have one if it wasn’t for your family coming here.” Eric laughed. “So, aren’t you going to tell me your name?” The boy was staring intensely at Eric.

“You can call me Eric.” Eric’s smile faded when he saw the boy’s expression changed. His eyes widened, still staring at Eric. “Kyo?” The boy didn’t move. Eric pinched his cheeks, but the boy stayed frozen in his spot; his eyes didn’t blink even once. In seconds, Eric hugged the boy, as tight as he could, because he was worried seeing his condition. “Kyo, are you okay?”

“Eric…”