Done with his morning classes, Kyungsoo was running through the hallway when he nearly bumped into a smaller boy clad only with a blue fluffy blanket and nothing else. The young prince grinned at the small kid who was completely oblivious that an eight-year old nearly stepped on him.

"Morning, Sehunnie!" Kyungsoo greeted the kid, who turned his way and smiled brightly at the sight of the prince.

"Kyungsoo-hyung!" The blonde boy gripped the hem of Kyungsoo's blazer tightly, emitting a soft chuckle from the doe-eyed prince. Kyungsoo sat on the floor with the four-year old, pulling him to sit on the prince's lap. Kyungsoo absentmindedly played with the beautiful golden locks.

"What are you doing here all alone, Sehunnie? Where's Seunga-ahjumma?"

"Mom is gone." Sehun, the smaller boy pouted. "I was looking for you, Hyung."

"Your Mom is probably working, Sehunnie. She will be back soon." Kyungsoo ruffled Sehun's hair, mentally praised himself that Sehun was always clinging onto him and no one else. "Well, I have nothing else to do, so what do you want to do now?"

"It's snowing!" Sehun pointed at the window excitedly. "Let's build a snowman!"

Kyungsoo grinned, pecking the boy's forehead. "Let's get you dressed up first. It's cold outside." The young prince ushered Sehun to stand on his small feet. As they walked through the hallway, Kyungsoo took a small glance to a particular door, and smiled sadly. The door was rarely opened, and it wouldn't welcome him any sooner. He just knew it.

It had been four years since the incident, yet Kyungsoo never knew anything other than the fact that Junmyeon locked himself up in his chamber and refused to go out. Especially to meet him. Kyungsoo was now eight, and his birthdays had always been celebrated—though only with extravagant dinners and gifts from his parents and the Ministers. He wondered if Junmyeon received the same gifts as he did since he was always locked himself away in his room. Tthe younger prince had never forgot to put a small "Happy Birthday" card on Junmyeon's door. He always smiled when he saw the card's absence in the next morning. He knew Junmyeon received them, even though the older prince never did the same thing in return.

But growing up didn't make Kyungsoo any less stubborn. Yes, he did enjoy his playtimes with Sehun, the Minister's son who was born four years ago. The kid was such a sweetheart and he liked Kyungsoo even more than his own dad—probably because he was still too small to go out of the castle to meet other kids his age downtown.

Still, he missed his brother so much. He still wondered what happened four years, and he when he wasn't playing with Sehun, he'd drag some books in a borrowed—or sometimes, stolen—cart from the library and read them out loud for Junmyeon, or tell him some stories of what he had been through the days so his brother wouldn't feel so lonely. Junmyeon sometimes replied with a small "mm-hm," or a few short replies. But the older prince wouldn't tell him why he was always inside of his chamber. Once, Kyungsoo accidentally asked him about it, and Junmyeon immediately told him to go away.

It was like a one-sided love, Kyungsoo knew. But what else he could do? His parents were never brought the topic about Junmyeon anymore, as if his brother was never exist. Kyungsoo didn't like it when his parents thought having Sehun as his friend was enough. He still wanted to play with Junmyeon. He missed his brother.

As he followed little Sehun to the snow-covered field, he stole another glance to a window he knew was Junmyeon's chamber window. But his attention quickly distracted by the toddler who tripped on the snow.

"Omo, Sehunnie!" Kyungsoo crouches down, helping Sehun up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the smaller boy giggled, the tips of his nose and ears turned red. "I'll make the snowman's head. Can you make the body, Hyung?"

"Sure!"

Soon, the snowman was done and left behind, as the kids were now in the middle of an intense snow fight. Sehun laughed loudly when his snowball hit Kyungsoo's tummy, and the prince pretended to hurt. The squeals and laughters of the two young boys echoed through the field, and far through the window Kyungsoo saw earlier, one of the very few windows still allowed to be opened after the incident—Junmyeon's window.

The older prince turned his gaze from his book to the window, where a muffled laughter echoed through his half-frozen room. Junmyeon looked at the window displaying the snowy day in the kingdom, unsure of whether should he look down and watch his brother play with the Minister's son. He heard from his parents that he shouldn't be worried about Kyungsoo being lonely anymore. He had got a new friend—he remembered Kyungsoo calling him Sehun.

Junmyeon had huffed as his parents left his room. Didn't they realize that the older prince had been lonely too?

The young prince, now eleven years old, decided to peek outside the window to check on his brother. He put his book down and carefully approach the window, making sure to hide himself with a curtain just in case Kyungsoo or that Sehun kid looked his way. The sight Junmyeon found outside the window made him smile sadly. It was him who used to be Kyungsoo's arch-enemy in every snow fight they did back then. Now, Kyungsoo was laughing with his new younger friend in their own snow fight. Junmyeon clutched on the curtain tightly, unconsciously freezing the material in the process. He really missed his brother.

But the somehow adorable snow fight abruptly stopped when Junmyeon saw Kyungsoo crouching down on his knees while holding his head. The younger prince's face looked pained. Junmyeon looked closer. Did Kyungsoo accidentally hurt himself?

"Kyungsoo-hyung!" Sehun ran straight to the older boy who was whimpering in pain on the snowy soil. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you somewhere?"

"I-I'm fine..." Kyungsoo groaned out, but his face said otherwise. His head suddenly stung as he tried to remember his last snow fight with Junmyeon, and nothing but darkness filled his mind. He didn't even know what happen. But the pain got the best of him, and Kyungsoo felt himself falling onto the snowy ground, unconscious.

"Kyungsoo!" Junmyeon pressed his palms on the glass window, and quickly stepped back with a sharp gasp when the glass beneath his fingertips suddenly froze. The ice slowly spread higher and higher, up to the crystal chandelier hanging on the ceiling. Junmyeon watched it all in horror, staring at his trembling palms.

Oh, no. Junmyeon bit his lower lip, trying to keep himself from crying. But the fact was too evident to be denied. The fact he had never wanted.

His magic was getting stronger.

And it was beyond his control.

 

-----------------

 

"Junmyeon-ah?"

King Siwon slowly walked into his first son's room, and widened his eyes at the sight of the frozen chandelier and window. He knew that Junmyeon's powers were getting stronger, but he didn't expect the young prince to freeze random things in his chamber. He looked around, and found his son sitting on his bed, hugging his knees. His face was hidden between his legs. The King slowly approached his son, sitting beside the quietly sobbing prince.

"Are you okay?" Siwon felt a slight pang in his chest when Junmyeon lifted his teary face. The boy looked so scared and lost.

"H-How's Kyungsoo?" was the first thing Junmyeon said after a few good minutes of silence. The King smiled reassuringly, patting the boy's head.

"Is that what makes you so scared?" Siwon pulled the young prince closer, and the boy's tense body visibly relaxed under his arms. "He is fine. It's just..." The older man trailed off, drawing Junmyeon's attention.

"Just what?"

"I think he was trying to remember about... your powers." The prince looked at his father's eyes in disbelief. "He said his head hurt, but both himself and Sehun were sure nothing had hit him on the head. The doctors had gave him some medications, and he's asleep now." They looked so sad that Junmyeon started feeling bad about everything. It was my fault, he bit his lower lip. If only he hadn't been born with the ice magic. If only he could be a normal brother to Kyungsoo and a normal son to his parents, none of these would had happened.

"I'm so sorry, Father..." Siwon shook his head at his son's words. How could he blame Junmyeon for being born with his powers? But still, he didn't want to risk anyone accidentally get hurt because of the young boy's powers. An idea suddenly popped into the man's head.

"You don't have to, Junmyeon-ah. It was not your fault." An idea suddenly popped into Siwon's head. "Wait here." The King walked to Junmyeon's drawer, ignoring the young prince's confused look on him. He sat back down beside Junmyeon holding a pair of white gloves. Smiling, he took the boy's hand and covered the smaller palm with the glove.

"These gloves will help." He explained, looking at the young prince's eyes. Junmyeon looked a bit more relaxed than before, so it was a good start. "See? As long as you conceal it, everything will be fine."

Junmyeon looked at his gloved palms. The soft material completely covered his hands. He tried touching his father, and unlike the window, his father didn't freeze. He smiled in relief, and his father returned the smile. Oh, how much the King missed his older son's soft smile.

"Remember what I told you about how to control it?" Junmyeon nodded, and chanted along with Siwon.

"Conceal. Don't feel. Don't let it show."

After his father had left, Junmyeon was, again, left alone in his room. The prince was now lying down on his bed, his gloves long forgotten on the bedside table. The young boy thought the idea of wearing gloves was not bad. Not when he could hide his overgrowing powers. But that was not what Junmyeon was thinking.

He missed being able to use his powers freely. His parents used to be so proud whenever he could find another way to use his magic and make them smile. And to top it all off, Kyungsoo loved playing with him. He missed all the smiles and compliments of how beautiful and amazing his magic was. He missed the times when he used to be himself freely.

Honestly, he did not really hate his powers, not even when it had hurt his brother. He knew it was a selfish thought—and he did regret hurting Kyungsoo—but he couldn't help it. He loved watching swirls of ice dancing above his palms and when he shot it forward, the ice would create whatever he had in his mind. Sometimes in those days, he'd feel like a spirit of winter.

Talking about the spirit of winter, he remembered a book Kyungsoo left in front of his door a few days ago. Junmyeon got up and picked it up from the desk situated in the corner of the cold room. The book was new, and it even had the author's signature on the first page, and he could read the jumbled letters: Lay. Junmyeon wondered if the author specifically sent the book to their kingdom.

The brunette prince flipped on the pages. It was a book full of stories, legends, and fairytales he had never heard before—The Tooth Fairy, Easter Rabbit, The Boogeyman, Fairy Godmother, and so many others. But the young prince's attention fell on the lanky figure clad in hooded jacket, holding a staff with a spiralling end. His hair was silver, like the mixture of ice and moonlight. He read the name in an almost inaudible whisper.

Jack Frost.

According to the book, Jack Frost was the spirit of winter. He was playful, tricky, and always used his powers to pull pranks on people with his ice—like giving a frost bite on their noses in winter days or making people slip on icy grounds. Junmyeon giggled at the image of an invisible young man swinging his staff around, making people slip on his ice and laughing it all off.

He sighed dreamily at the thought. It must be nice, being the spirit of winter and all. He was invisible, so no one would blame him for causing damages for others. After all, Jack Frost was the spirit of winter. He was literally the winter itself. Of course he could control his powers so well, unlike himself.

Dropping his back against the soft material of his bed, Junmyeon sighed loudly. It was not that he did not enjoy being a prince. He just wanted to try being free, even for a day. He missed being in the outdoors, feeling the sunlight hit his face in warm rays of light. Junmyeon closed the book and held it close in his chest, closing his eyes. He was eleven, so none of the stories and legends in the book actually made any sense to him.

But he wanted to believe that Jack Frost, the spirit of winter, did exist. Maybe he would meet him someday, somewhere.

With the hopes of finding this Jack Frost somewhere in the outdoors someday, Junmyeon closed his eyes. A small smile crept up his face. That night, Junmyeon did not sleep with fear within his heart.

For once, the floor around his bed did not freeze along with the calm and steady heartbeat of the young prince.

 

 

---

 

 

"No, Luhan. Stop right there."

"But, gege..."

"Enough. Get back down here right now. Carefully."

Luhan pouted, but his attempt to look cute gone unnoticed by a pair of the same beautiful brown orbs as his who was watching him from under the tree. Carefully, the brown-haired boy slid down the tree he was inspecting, lowering his gaze when he was face-to-face with his brother. Kris did not look amused.

"What happened the last time I let you climb on a tree?" The younger boy huffed. The memory was not pleasant, but he answered nonetheless.

"I nearly broke my bones." Kris nodded, but flinched in surprise when Luhan added, "But, gege! Look what I found!" The 10-year old shoved a leaf in front of his brother's face. The older boy was about to slap the doe-eyed boy's hand away, but stopped midways when his eyes inspected the leaf closely. The leaf was frozen. It was neatly covered with a thin layer of ice.

"Where did you get this?" Kris immediately looked up to where Luhan's finger was pointed to. Almost all parts of the tree was covered in thin ice, some even looked like someone carved a beautifully made snowflakes on the trunk. Kris touched the wood carefully, afraid that it would break or something.

"Who do you think did this, Luhan?" He asked quietly, only to be answered by a shrug.

"I'm not sure. The spirit of winter, perhaps?" Kris chuckled at Luhan's words. How naïve was his brother, still believing in such things despite the cruelness of the world they had been experiencing since they were so young.

"Anyway," Luhan piped up, hopping into their now bigger sled. "Let's go sell some pastries in the town today. Maybe we could pass by the castle."

"We can't make breads, Han. Let's just go ask the butcher if he needs some help taking care of his dogs."

"Well, we can ask that baker lady across the street to give some of her freshly baked breads. Then we can sell it in the town. Of course we'll raise the price a little to make some profits." Luhan grinned. "How does that sound?"

"Not bad." To be completely honest, Kris did not even ever think about that. "Why are you so eager about going to the town anyway?"

Luhan shot him a don't-play-the-innocent-card-on-me look. "Don't you miss the prince?"

"The prince? Seriously?" Kris patted Ace's behind, and the alpaca raced through the village, pulling their sled behind. "We're running out of money and you're thinking about the prince?" The older boy scoffed. "Hell no, we're not going to the town. Or maybe you're the one who actually has a crush on that prince?"

"But, gege!" Luhan whined for the nth time that day. "You're in love with Prince Kyungsoo!"

"Were, Luhan. I don't even remember his face."

Liar. Kris mentally cursed himself, but he quickly shook the thoughts about the beautiful young prince off of his head, stopping the sled. "Get down."

Luhan looked around, blinking in confusion when they stopped in front of the baker's shop instead of the butcher's. Didn't his brother say they were going to the butcher? "Why are we here?"

Kris sighed, looking away. "Just get your stupid breads before I changed my mind."

Luhan nearly jumped in joy, but he held himself back. He didn't want his brother to change his mind. After getting the two baskets of bread from the baker (she even gave a pair for them because she liked the younger boy's company), they marched to the town, passing by the main street leading to the castle. Luhan stared in awe at the castle he had always liked. The building itself was enermous, separated by a small bay and connected to the center of the town by a huge bridge.

They spent the day selling the breads. Luhan was mostly in charge in counting the money, but he ended up helping his brother sorting or packing the breads since Kris was busy cooing over Ace. The younger shook his head. His brother was such a kid.

A woman stopped by their sled, her burgundy hood covering her beautiful dress. Judging by the expensive-looking necklace she was wearing and the dress nicer than every woman in the market, Luhan assumed that he was from one of the noble families. The brothers was immediately on their feet and bowed.

"Good afternoon, My Lady." Luhan smiled brightly, offering some of the bread he had cut into small pieces in a basket as a tester. "Would you like to have a taste of our freshly baked bread?"

"Oh, no. It is not me who wants to get some bread, young man." The lady smiled, and Kris saw a little boy hiding behind her skirt shyly revealing his existence. The golden-haired boy looked younger than Luhan, and his eyes was locked on his brother. Luhan, being his child-loving self, smiled at the little boy.

"Good afternoon, Young Master." The younger of the brothers chirped brightly. "What could I get for you on this lovely day?"

"Sehun."

"Pardon?" Luhan leaned closer. What exactly is a Sehun?

"Don't call me Young Master." The boy pouted, and the brothers mentally cooed over the boy. "The name's Sehun."

Luhan let out a giggle, while his brother held back his chuckle. This kid was so cute. "I am deeply sorry, then, Sehun—"

"When people tell you your name, you should tell yours." Sehun cut him off, earning a soft, warning pat from his mother and a hiss to shut him up.

"It's okay, Ma'am. My name's Luhan, and this is my brother, Kris." The brothers smiled. "Nice to meet you, Sehun-ah."

Luhan didn't expect the boy to reply with a smile so bright that his eyes turned to adorable little cresents. Sehun picked one of the bread pieces and innocently chewed on it, looking up at his mom in expectation. The woman sighed with a smile.

"I'll take... all of them, please."

Both Luhan and Kris blinked, and simultaneously looked down to count the breads. Was she really going to buy all of them?

"S-sure! Thank you so much!"

Kris quickly packed the remaining breads into a paper bag, carefully handing it to the woman, who responded the gentlemanly action with a soft smile. She even left the change for the boys to keep. With a slight bow, she left with her excited son after giving some time for Sehun to wave at the brothers, though his seemingly indifferent eyes never left Luhan before turning back to his mother.

"Can we give one to Kyungsoo-hyung?"

"Sure, darling. But remember to keep your voice down if the prince's still asleep, okay? He has yet to recover from his sickness." Sehun nodded.

"Okay!"

And the pair disappeared into the growing crowd of the market, leaving the two brothers with their mouths hung open.

"Gege!" Luhan shrieked, earning a yelp from the formerly spacing out Kris. "They're living in the castle!"

"So? Stop screaming into my ear." The older huffed, pushing his brother away. "He seems to like you very much."

"I know. He's such a sweethea—wait." Luhan stopped his dreamy sigh midways. "Didn't they say Prince Kyungsoo is sick?"

Upon hearing his brother's next words, Kris looked away. Yes, he did catch the "Kyungsoo" and "sick" in their last customers' conversation, but as curius as he was, he decided to keep it to himself. He didn't want to look like a desperate puppy in love with an unreachable boy who didn't even know his existence.

"Then surely the King have all of the country's finest healers to treat him." Kris piled up the basket they used to carry the breads in their sled. "Come on, Lu. We should get back to the village."

The ride back to the village was silent. Luhan fell asleep, while Kris was spacing out. Yes, he did care a little about Prince Kyungsoo. He wondered if it was the same sickness the younger prince was having when his family brought him to the Trolls.

Was he okay? Could he run around happily around the castle's front yard like Kris usually spotted on when he was passing by the castle?

He might not want to admit it in front of Luhan, but he wanted to know more about Prince Kyungsoo. Why didn't the King allowed the castle's front gate to be publicly opened like he did a few years ago? There was no harmful accidents or wars going on so far. The gate was just closed all of the sudden, not a single clue was given to the people of the country about this decision.

Kris shook his head. He should stop thinking about the prince. As lovingly as the Trolls took care of them, he needed to keep Luhan safe as a replacement of their parents and keep their mouths filled everyday. He had no time for love, as badly as he dreamed about Kyungsoo.

Dreams do not come true, Kris reminded himself. Why would he even bother spending his time on dreaming?

 

 

---

 

 

It was early in the morning when a satisfied chuckle echoed through the village, along with some unexpected things occurred in less than a second: a young lady slipped on a random thin layer of ice and pathetically fell on her backside with a shriek, a young boy yelled for someone outside the bathroom to kick the door open because the lock was somehow frozen, and a passerby's yelp of surprise when he found his mug of hot chocolate completely covered in ice.

Because, really, it was unnatural.

Another burst of ice trailed down the street and up to the top of a chimney, where a laughing figure was sitting on it, clutching on his staff as he wiped his tears of joy. Tao watched in amusement when a young man—a homeless, judging by the fact that he was underdressed in such a cold day, snatched one of the lady's scattered pastries and ran into an alleyway without anyone ever noticed his presence. Tao gave a salute to the boy's direction, not minding the fact that he was invisible.

It had been four years since the day he had become Jack Frost. In those four years, he tried everything he could to make people see him. His ice pranks was one of his countless attempts to gain people's attention. Other things like yelling and hitting people with his staff had been long forgotten. It was no use, after all. He'd still be invisible.

Every night, Tao's will and motivation would puff out like a smoke, resulting in the spirit of winter freezing random things and yelling at no one in particular out of frustration. When the sun rose again on the next day, he had no choice but to try again.

Over and over.

"But I wasn't lying!" A little girl, about the age of seven, chased a group of children who was laughing and sneering at her. Tao looked down and decided to watch.

"I really did see the Sandman!" She cried out, but earning mocking laughters in return. "His body was all golden and he rode a big cloud made of golden sand!"

Tao nodded. Ah, so this girl saw the Sandman when he was passing by this village to deliver dreams to the kids. Lucky him.

"You're lying." One of the boys in the group said. "My father said he doesn't exist. He's just a myth."

"Was anyone there with you?" Another kid piped up, and the girl hesitantly shook her head.

"W-well, no, but..."

"Then you're lying!" A girl bigger than the first girl pushed her down, and the poor girl fell down. "Minah is a liar!"

The whole group of children cackled, and the girl on the ground only sobbed in defeat. Tao quickly floated down next to her, making sure that she was alright, before glaring at the kids. As they walked away from the crying girl, Tao swung his staff to the kids, laughing when one of them slipped onto his ice and dragged his friend along to the ground. He turned to the girl next to him, and smiled when he heard a stifled laughter from her.

"I wish you could see me, Minah..." Tao sighed dreamily, following the little girl just to make sure that no one would bully her again by floating right behind her every step. "You're such a sweet girl. I'd like to be friends with you. Or anyone, really."

Sadly, just like any other kid Tao had grown fond of in the past few years, she just walked into her house without even turning back. No sign of gratitude, appreciation, or even a slightest hint of recognition upon the Spirit of Winter's existence. Tao absentmindedly swung his staff upwards, freezing another set of window.

It has been four years, Tao reminded himself. You should have been used to be invisible.

But he couldn't. That was not his wish from the very start. He wanted to be visible. He wanted people to believe in him. Just like they did with The Sandman, The Tooth Fairy, and North—whoops, Santa Claus. Tao chuckled. The Spirit of Winter nearly let the name Santa had told him to specifically call him with slipped away.

The old man had treated him like a friend, and Tao smiled remembering the day North had brought him to his hideout. Elves running around the enermous place making toys for children. It was amazing, the power of belief people had put onto him, making Santa Claus the realest Guardian the children around the world could had.

But, really, it was not his thing.

Jumping to the nearest rooftop, Tao looked up at the moon shining so bright that he thought for a second that he could be blinded by its light. In those three agonizing years, Tao had never heard the Man on the Moon's voice ever again. Not even when Tao tried to speak to him, which ended up with him rolling his eyes and moved away from the Moon's sight because, really, being ignored was annoying. Let alone four years.

He didn't want to believe it, but he slowly had lost his faith towards the Moon's words three years ago. Maybe he was just like The Boogeyman, an invisible being meant to be forgotten. Maybe people were not supposed to see him, or even hear his voice.

Tao found a firm-looking branch, and decided to sleep after months without a blink of sleep, hoping to at least dream about being visible, or believed in.

The Spirit knew that dreams rarely came true, but he wanted to see it.

He wanted to see the world inside his head where people could see Jack Frost, and believe in him.

 

 

---

 

 

A/N:

Hello, fellas! I'm so sorry for the lack of updates since May. I've been having this huge writer's block and I even changed the plot a little. I'm sorry for the lack of Tao's point of view in this chapter. I'll try to update faster, at least before my new semester starts, which is in September.

Aaand there goes a little hunhan moment. Do you think they will remember each other's name in the future? XD

Oh, do you mind pointing out some of my mistakes? Since English is not my mother language and all.

The next chapter will probably contain some angst. Gotta prepare myself because I'm such a crybaby I could cry reading my own fic ;_;

Cheers!

-Gan

 

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