Misu ran over and hugged Kris as soon as he saw the tall figure approaching their hut. "Kris! You're back!", the little boy shouted with joy as rivers flowed down his cheeks in endless streams of happiness. He clung tightly to the man's pantleg with the intention of never letting him leave again. In his short, nearly six years long, life he had never been so scared before. Now he had never been happier and just felt so relieved to have Kris back. "Why w-were you g-gone?", he asked, half choking on his own sobs while trying to fight back the tears. Misu wanted to show he had been brave while waiting for Kris to return, so he kept wiping tears away quickly to show that he was manly just like Kris, whom he aspired so much to be like.

Kris knelt down to Misu's level, hugging him back tightly. "I'm so sorry I was gone for so long. I promise I won't leave you like that ever again, okay? We'll never be apart again for more than a day, I swear", the man says seriously, so that Misu gets the message and will calm down. Fortunately, it worked. Misu calmed down slowly as Kris's words sunk in. The boy gave a silent nod as a response to show he received the message clearly, then they both let go. "Are you hungry? We must be out of food by now", the older asked when he realized Misu might not have eaten for a day or two. The boy did look a little thin. He tried to remember if Misu had always been that thin, or if he had lost some weight, but he couldn't help thinking Misu must be starving. Kris picked the boy up, letting him sit on his shoulders,"You can have absolutely anything you want to eat today, okay? You eat until you can't bear to eat a single bite more, because your stomach is so full", he says with a smile to lighten up the mood a bit.

The little boy's eyes go wide as he thinks of all his favorite foods that he hasn't had in so long, because they always were a little too poor to have it most of the time. "Are you sure I can have anything I want, Hyung? You always tell me we don't have enough money.... That's why we have to eat cheap stuff like soup....", Misu asks, feeling a little uneasy about indulging, since he was so used to living poorly like they had been.

"I'm sure. It's alright to have nice things every once in a while, so it's okay. You let me worry about money, okay? You're just a little kid, so be a little kid. Enjoy yourself and do whatever you want", Kris answered, encouraging Misu to relax and enjoy himself, because he knew this past week must've been the hardest in his life. Kris took him through the small market, where various food stalls were set up.

Misu looked around curiously at all the different foods to choose from, his lips as he breathed in so many delicious smells. He hadn't been to the market often, since they usually got their food from the ration line for soldiers and their families. He took a long time to decide, but eventually pointed over to a bread stand,"Can we get some bread? We haven't had fresh bread very often. I love it best when it's warm~", the little one said with a twinkle in his eyes as he imagined cracking open a freshly baked bun. When they reached the stand the scents were heavenly. Kris put Misu down so that he could look at the different kinds of bread more closely. Everything seemed to have such a high price, since ovens were only something rich folk had nowadays, so bread, and other baked goods were usually only for the wealthy as well. Kris didn't care how much it would cost to have that twinkle in Misu's eyes though. He wanted the boy to have the best week of his life to make up for the worst one he had last week. If Misu wanted him to fork over his entire savings, he would do it in a heartbeat, because nothing was more important to him than Misu's wellbeing, not even his own.

"Alright so pick out some bread and we'll get it. Anything else you want?", Kris asked as he curiously looked over the different breads too. Misu picked out a single sweetroll, then shook his head. "Are you sure that this is all you want? Really, don't worry about anything today. I'll get you absolutely anything", the older insisted as he paid the woman that ran the stall for the sweetroll, then gave it to Misu.

The little one smiled and took a small bite of the sweet roll, savoring the taste as he tried to make the small indulgence last for the rest of his life. "Hmmmm some soup would be nice too. It really goes great with bread. Any soup will do really. Let's go by the ration line to get some soup Hyung~", he said and took Kris's hand, urging him to leave and head for the military's ration line.

Kris was surprised to see that someone so young seemed so humble. He ruffled the boy's hair playfully, then held his hand back as they waited in line for whatever they were serving as rations today, which was usually some kind of soup and some rice. "Okay, if that's what you really want then let's get some soup", he says. When they reach the front of the line, Kris gets two bowls of onion soup with a couple ration tickets the military mostly pays him with. They sit in an alley, eating while resting up against the wall of an abandoned, half destroyed, ruin of a building.

"So Kris, where did you go?", Misu asked curiously as he nibbled on the sweetroll that he had dipped in the soup.

"I met someone outside the dome. They were with one of those tribes of mutants that everyone thought were just in stories. He got hurt, so I helped take care of him for a little while, but then a storm brewed and kept me there for longer than I had meant to stay", Kris explained, continuing to slowly sip the soup from his bowl.

Misu looked up at the man with wonder and pure curiosity as millions of questions buzzed in his head, but he tried to send them out only one at a time so that he wasn't annoying Kris. "Was he really ugly and scary looking like a monster? I heard they're like wild beasts that walk on their hands and feet~!", the little boy says, getting excited at the thought of seeing such a creature like that up close.

Kris laughed and shook his head. "No, he was actually.... beautiful... He had the most gorgeous eyes, and the sweetest looking lips...", he said as he remembered how taken aback he was when he had first seen Lay's absolutely perfect face. "None of the mutants walked on their hands and feet. They all acted and looked just like normal people would, except for a few minor flaws, but mostly there wasn't really much different between them and us. I also met an older boy, a teenager really, that had this really pretty long hair. It was the perfect shade of silver, as if silver itself had been spun into a fine thread and woven into his scalp. I think he was Japanese too. Japan is a country completely surrounded by water. It's a big island near Korea", Kris tried to explain this to him the best he could, since Misu hadn't gone to school and didn't know very much about the world outside of Seoul.

"You sound like you want to kiss him, by talking about his lips. You're such a weird hyung~", Misu laughed and then finished up his food, feeling much better now that his stomach was full and warm from the food. "Can you take me outside the dome to see them? Please~? They sound really cool, and then you can go kiss that one guy you like. I want to see what mutants look like too", the little one begged with big eyes as he looked up at Kris.

The older shook his head though. "I can't just go kiss him... that'd be weird. And you can't see them. I'm sorry but it's too dangerous to leave the dome. Maybe I'll take you when you're older, but only maybe. Besides, we're technically not supposed to just leave Seoul like that anyway. If caught they'd throw us in jail for being mutant sympathizers", Kris told him once he had finished up eating too.

Misu sighed and pouted a bit. "Okay... I just thought maybe my Kris hyung had found someone he likes, so that you two can get married an be happy. My hyung looks so lonely sometimes. I think you need a wife or something", the little one says quietly as he stares at the ground.

Kris is caught off guard by this sudden change in Misu's tone. He is extremely surprised that the young one is so worried about his love life. It makes him laugh a little and smile. "How could I be lonely when I have you? Yeah, sometimes I think it would be nice to have someone to love like that, but now isn't really the time for me to be going out on dates and whatnot. People don't just meet and fall in love, then get married the next day Misu. Love takes a long time, often many years to grow between two people. Don't worry, I'm not an old geezer yet. I still have plenty of time to get married. I don't need to chase after every person I find beautiful", Kris tells him while they head home together, walking side by side.

"Marry me? How could she? How could I even bring myself to ask her? Ugh, if only I had told her earlier.... so stupid...."

"Kris? What do you think of this one?"

"It's nice... But I don't think he's worthy to see you looking so beautiful"

"Aw come on don't be so mean. I'm going to be wearing this dress only for him. Doesn't that mean I should look my best for him? We are getting married after all~"

"I still don't understand why you think him to be so great. Yeah, he's a good friend, but I never would have guessed you two would come this far..."

"I won't have you talking that way anymore about my soon to be husband. Either you quit it with the rudeness or you're uninvited!"

"Then I respectfully decline your invitation before you have the chance to uninvite me..."

"What is your problem?!"

"Marriage is my problem. This marriage is so wrong...."

"I'll be sure to come say that at your wedding"

"What wedding? I can't get married if I have no one to love, and it looks as if no one ever will"

"Don't say such nonsense"

"No, it's true, because I could never love anyone, but you"

"Get out."