Park Chanyeol was just like any other teenage boy. He liked to hang out with his friends, go to arcades and have fun. The one thing people remembered about him? He always wore a smile on his face. At age 14, his parents left their comfortable home in South Korea to work abroad in the US. He didn't frown or cry when he went to see them off at the airport. In fact, he wore the biggest smile he could and told them to have a safe trip. He even went as far to encourage them to live their dreams and forget about him. Even after months of coming home to an empty house he still tried to be positive. An empty home was not something Chanyeol wanted of course but he had to dealt with it.

            At age 15, his parents forgot to send money to him. Each month he received checks in the mail from his parents to help him survive until he could legally get a job on his own. Even though Chanyeol only got to eat one meal a day that month he still smiled. When one of his friends confronted him about how skinny he had gotten, he just laughed and said "I'm okay Baek! On the bright side, I learned to appreciate food more than I did before that's for sure." To Baekhyun, one of Chanyeol's best friends, that was the problem. Everything was on the bright side. Chanyeol had even gone so far as to call him by his nickname when he told him that. Baekhyun wasn't exactly a pessimist but he didn't exactly understand how his friend stayed so positive. He grew up with Chanyeol. They had known each other their whole lives but he had still yet to see Chanyeol cry. Not that he wanted to see his best friend cry, he just wanted to be reassured that Chanyeol felt other emotions too. He was afraid for his friend. He didn't want him to grow up and be a robot who only felt happiness. As great as it might sound to others, to Baekhyun, it seemed like a very tragic way to live life.

            At age 16, Chanyeol got his first ever job. He went to work for a local ramen shop alongside his best friend. Baekhyun and Chanyeol had always gone there as children. Over the years, the older woman who ran the shop became like a second mother to the both of them. Without hesitation she had accepted Chanyeol's and Baekhyun's job applications and gladly showed him the ropes. The two had promised that they would help the elderly woman run the shop when they got older and they did. Later that same week, he sent a letter in the mail to his parents telling them all about his new job and how much he loved it. He even put in some pictures of him and Baek at the shop. A few days later, he received an envelope from his parents. He ran next door to Baekhyun's house because he was so excited that he had gotten a response from his parents. He sat next to Baek on the couch and opened the letter only to find a yellow sticky note with the words "Good Job" scrawled across it. Baekhyun waited for his friend to frown or cry since that was the only things his parents had said to Chanyeol after he had told them all about this huge milestone in his life. Especially since those were the first words exchanged between the two for the first time in two years. Chanyeol did neither of those things. He simply put the sticky note in the envelope and smiled. That annoying smile. Baekhyun knew it was fake. No one could be that happy especially after "good job" were the only words his parents could bring themselves to write back to their only son. He wanted Chanyeol to show some sort of emotion but he didn't. He stood up with that same smile plastered on his face and simply said "They must be super busy right now. That's okay, at least they're pursuing their dreams." and with those words he walked out the front door and gently closed it behind him.

            At age 17, Chanyeol passed all his End Of Course exams. The school he had gone to was the best of the best and the academics were no joke. Sports were great and all but people were more interested in finding the next Einstein. The exams were rumored to be some of the hardest in the nation next to College Entrance exams. People used to joke around saying that if you could pass the E.O.C exams at this school then getting into college would be a piece of cake. At that point, Chanyeol couldn't even begin to fathom something more difficult than the exams he just took. His parents were also well aware of the difficulty level of the exams since they took them when they attended the school several years before. He thought for sure that when his parents received the news that they would be extremely proud of him but he couldn't have been more wrong. He didn't even get a "Good Job" this time. It was just another sticky note with the words "Do better next time" scrawled across it. Chanyeol didn't know why he did it, but he laughed. He laughed because of reasons he couldn't understand himself. He felt numb but he still smiled through the tears of laughter.

            At age 18, Chanyeol graduated high school. He had finally done it. He graduated as Valedictorian of his class with his best friend following him as Salutatorian. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were officially done with high school. Not only that but several colleges wanted them to attend their universities. Out of 500 kids he was number one. For sure his parents would be overjoyed and extremely proud right? Wrong. He was so wrong once again. It pained Baekhyun to see Chanyeol's parents act this way towards their son but he didn't know what else to do besides comfort him when these things happened. Chanyeol's parents didn't even fly home to see him they simply sent another letter in the mail. This time he was prepared for another sticky note that had meaningless words scrawled across it. However, he wasn't prepared for the check of 5,000 dollars. Any other kid would've been overjoyed receiving all that money as a graduation gift. It would certainly help pay for some of the expenses that came with college life assuming he didn't take any of the full ride offers that had come his way. He shook the envelope waiting for the note to come out but there was none. "Surely they sent some sort of note.." he mumbled to himself as he began to turn the check over in his hands looking for any words that could be written somewhere unnoticeable. He searched the envelope and checked over and over again hoping for something that wasn't there. Chanyeol had always known that there was nothing there but he didn't want to admit it. The same way he had always hoped that one day he'd receive his parents love when there was no love to give. For once in his life, Chanyeol allowed himself to be hurt, to cry, because in that moment he wanted nothing more than to break down and never get back up. He looked Baekhyun in the eyes as tears swarmed in his own before saying "The past 18 years of my life amounts to 5,000 dollars. I am literally worth that much in their eyes. They don't love me and they never have or will." As Chanyeol's words settled in his own mind, he lost it. He sobbed and cried into his best friends chest waiting for the pain to subside but it never did. He waited for the weight on his heart to lift but it didn't, it just got heavier. He waited for the tears to stop pouring but it was like a never ending waterfall. "So this is what happens when you let 18 years worth of hurt bottle up..." Chanyeol thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep. He was pretty sure he was severely dehydrated and would probably have to be taken to the hospital tomorrow to be put on a drip but he didn't care. He wanted to sleep away his pain. That night Chanyeol dreamt of life with a perfect family but he also dreamt of what life would've been like if he had been born as the boy of the shadows instead of the sun...