Hongbin jumped and whirled around.

            “I’m sorry, I just got turned around from the bathroom and didn’t know which-“

            Hakyeon laughed.

            “It’s okay, I don’t mind you exploring. Taekwoon however, isn’t a big fan of people going in his room, so watch for that one next time.”

            “How exactly big is your house? It definitely isn’t this big on the outside.”

            Hakyeon laughed again.

            “Most of the houses in that part of the city are like this. The actual location of the house is out by the forest where most of the elves live. The street door is just a way to get to the city conveniently.”

            “Is it magic?”

            “Hmm, I guess you could call it magic. Elves don’t really have a lot of actual magic, but when it comes to nature we are the pros at manipulation and control. It’s our specialty.” Hakyeon moved from leaning on the door frame to enter the room.

            “I let Taekwoon and Sanghyuk decide what they wanted their rooms to be like. Within my boundaries, of course. Sanghyuk asked for “dark white” walls. Dark white isn’t even a thing. What was I supposed to do with “dark white?” So I just went with gray and ignored his complaining. Dark white.” Hakyeon huffed.

            Hongbin stifled a laugh. Hakyeon grinned at him.

            “And then this one’s mine!” He gestured at the room they were in.

            Hongbin took it in again, stepping into the farther into the room, this time paying attention more closely. Everything looks pretty simple at first glance, but when he checked again there were little details. There as a dresser next to a door on one side, maybe leading to another bathroom. The dresser had a big mirror on it, with several various cosmetics lined up against it. The walls were pretty bare, just a smooth white. The rug under his feet was soft and thick, a contrast to the wood floor that made up the edges of the room. The bed was big, but the plethora of pillows gave it a feel of comfort, and the bedframe had a design wrapping around it, intricate and delicate. Hakyeon noticed him staring.

            “That was carved by my uncle. Elven families work kind of different than human ones do, we are all part of a bigger community. I don’t even know who my real parents are, there are always a lot of people raising one child. We don’t get a lot of newborn elves, so babies and young ones are treasured.

            “It wasn’t ever a big deal though, I was really well cared for. I had a lot of friends, even if most of them were older than me. I had one same-age friend though, another boy named Minhyuk. We were raised in the same group, so we went to school and did basically everything together. I would say he was my best friend, and I’d like to think I was his.

            “Everyone in the family adored him. So when he got sick, everyone worried and fussed over him for the week that he was bedridden. I hardly left his side.”

            Hakyeon laughed softly.

            “It was kind of pathetic, in a sad way, to see such a lively person stuck like that in a big bed in a stuffy room. I don’t think he was very happy about it, even though he wasn’t very responsive. I wish I could tell you his last words, but he never really said any.

            “I also wish I could tell you he died peacefully, but I don’t think he found much peace in that big room surrounded by people who barely knew him. He did smile at me though, I think.”

            Hongbin didn’t really know what to say. What was the appropriate response for this? He opened his mouth, but Hakyeon interrupted him.

            “You don’t need to say you feel sorry or anything. I always hated that, hearing about how sorry someone was for the loss. It was pretty hard, for a while, getting used to being alone more often. Not that the other elves left, it just wasn’t the same. I didn’t have any really close friends after him, until I met Taekwoon.”

            Hakyeon laughed again.

            “I bet you weren’t expecting to be told my sad little story, sorry.

            “But back to the bed, my uncle carved it for me a couple of years later, and the pattern on it is the pattern that Minhyuk had carved into a board that he gave me. I had lost it, and so my uncle remade something beautiful with it.”

            Hongbin, still unsure of what to say, just nodded.

            “Well! Enough of all the depressing talk, I came to find you and tell you Taekwoon is making dinner, and that you should stay, he’s making my favorite galbi!” Without waiting for a response, Hakyeon grabbed Hongbin’s hand and pulled him out of the room and down the hall, towards the sound of laughter. They passed another door that Hongbin hadn’t gotten to on their way back, and he decided he would check it out later.

            The main room was now brightly lit, since there was no more daylight streaming through the windows. Hongbin hadn’t realized how late it had gotten. He should probably make his way home pretty soon, but he figured it wouldn’t hurt to stay and have dinner. He finally decided to look out the windows, which showed a flat patio leading to a path weaving its way through a forest, with lights shining in the distance. That must be where the other elves live, or at least where the other houses were. Hongbin couldn’t see much, but he could faintly hear music coming down the path. It was probably beautiful during the day, and part of Hongbin wanted to come back during the day and see it, because it wasn’t often that you heard of elves letting humans hang out in their houses. It wasn’t that they didn’t get along, but the elves were pretty secluded, and didn’t venture out past their comfort zone very often, from what he heard. He wondered how well Hakyeon really fit in, since he hadn’t seen any other elven friends, and since he was so outgoing and social.

            “Yah, Hongbin-ah, come take a seat! Where’d you run off to anyways? We were waiting for you!”

            Jaehwan’s voice brought him back. The table in the middle of the room was cleared off, and more chairs had appeared. Taekwoon was standing in the kitchen next to the oven, in a cute little apron that Hongbin bet Hakyeon had gotten him. Hakyeon let go of Hongbin and went over to stand by the tall man, poking him in the side until Taekwoon looked over, and sighed, letting him taste the cooking meat. With a happy hum, Hakyeon turned back to the room, chewing. Wonshik had awoken at some point to move, but was now at the table, head on his arms, dozing off, until Jaehwan shouted his name right in his ear, which woke him right up.

            “Don’t yell at me, oh my god, how many times do I have to tell you all, I have sensitive ears!” He reached for Jaehwan, who danced out of his grasp, laughing. The satyr stood, and tackled the fairy down, wrestling with him for a couple of minutes before Hakyeon yelled at them to stop and sit down like civil creatures, if such a thing was even possible.

            Sanghyuk was still sprawled over the armchair, watching the fiasco. Hakyeon looked at him and told him to get out of the chair and sit at the table, to which the vampire rolled his eyes, but still complied. He dropped into a seat, almost putting his feet up, until he noticed Hakyeon already glaring at him. Wonshik and Jaehwan finally made their way to chairs, the satyr punching a giggling Jaehwan in the arm. Taekwoon brought the dishes over to the table, and sat down next to Sanghyuk, who scooted his chair a little bit away from him, which Taekwoon either didn’t notice or ignored, Hongbin suspected the latter.

            Hakyeon took the seat at the head of the table, before looking up at Hongbin.

            “What are you doing, come sit down!”

idk how to write anything sad

i hope it works out okay?

sorry minhyuk ilu <3

just some backstory i guess? and more description???

thanks for reading, commenting and subscribing!

~Win