When Kyungsoo walked back inside he saw the now conscious man sitting atop the medical table running his hands through the dog’s hair.

“You’re him aren’t you” Kyungsoo asked aloud and watched how the tall man’s head popped up and locked eyes with Kyungsoo’s own. “You are one of the guys that stole the prince aren’t you” Kyungsoo continued, “You’re covered in burns and you came in the middle of the night, so it all fits” he said shaking his head. “It even makes sense why your men would threaten my village, because the people that live there are your enemies anyway” Kyungsoo spoke aloud, fitting all the puzzle pieces together in his mind. “Is the prince still alive, will your men still kill the villagers once they come back to pick you up” Kyungsoo asked in quick succession. Kyungsoo watched as the other quirked his eye brows up in confusion. “Answer me” Kyungsoo yelled as tears began to well in his eyes, “I saved your life the least you could do is be polite enough to give me an honest answer” Kyungsoo demanded through his tears of anger and confusion as well as fear.

“The prince is fine, I can assure you that” the man said with a small quirk of a smile on his face, “and as far as the village down there goes, I can only promise you that I will protect them with my life” he said sincerely.

“Good” Kyungsoo said wiping the tears away and looking towards the now cold plate of eggs on the counter. “You’ll probably want something more than just liquid now that you are awake and talking, I’ll be back in a couple minutes” Kyungsoo said.

“Kyungsoo” the other’s deep voice halted him when he was at the door, causing Kyungsoo to turn around. “My name is Chanyeol and I want to thank you for saving me, for all that you have done I am forever in your debt” the man now identified as Chanyeol said sincerely.

“I..I’ll be back” Kyungsoo said before shutting the door behind him. As he walked back to his main house Kyungsoo tried to convince his rapidly beating heart that the deep and sincere eyes of Chanyeol were not the cause of the quickness of his own heart.

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“I was thinking that since I am going to be spending some time here that you should give me some chores, some things I can do to help you out during the day” Chanyeol said over dinner. Kyungsoo gave the other’s words some thought, it sounded like a good idea however Kyungsoo didn’t want to run the risk of others from the village seeing the other walk around.

“I’ll think about it” Kyungsoo said before shoveling the last of his dinner into his mouth. He watched Chanyeol nod his head before eating the last of his dinner as well. Kyungsoo rose to his feet with his own dish in hand and reached over to pick up the empty dish from in front of the other. The stretch brought a fresh sting from the upper portion of his back bringing a wince from Kyungsoo’s lips.

“What’s wrong” Chanyeol asked and for some reason Kyungsoo thought he heard a tone of worry from the other’s voice.

“I tried to fight off your men, I just didn’t do a very good job of it” Kyungsoo said with a shrug which again pulled a wince from his lips.

“What did they do to you” Chanyeol asked and Kyungsoo watched the other narrow his eyes in anger. Odd, Kyungsoo thought to himself for a split second.

“They brought their sword down onto my back to put me in my place. It shouldn’t still be causing me so much pain, but I can’t reach it and take care of it because of its position.” Kyungsoo said with a small shudder when he thought back on the evil gaze and taunting laughter the men who had brought Chanyeol to him had flashed at Kyungsoo on that one night.

“Let me take a look, the least I can do is make sure it looks okay” Chanyeol said.

“No that’s fine” Kyungsoo says waving off the others concern before side stepping the taller and heading towards the door. “Now that you’re up, I’m going to sleep in my own bed tonight” Kyungsoo said from the doorway. “Is there anything you need before I go to sleep” Kyungsoo asked.

“No I will be fine, thank you” Chanyeol said with a slight bow of his head.

“Alright then I’ll see you in the morning” Kyungsoo said.

“Kyungsoo” Chanyeol called out before the door shut. Kyungsoo stopped the door with his foot and looked back at the other. “Good night Kyungsoo” Chanyeol said with a wide and blinding smile. Kyungsoo could only nod his head slightly before racing back to the main house. While rinsing the dishes that both he and Chanyeol used during dinner Kyungsoo tried to pass the dizziness that clouded his head after Chanyeol smiled at him off to being tired from all the events that had passed by during the day.

After climbing under the sheet in his own bed for the first time in twelve nights Kyungsoo moved into a comfortable spot that didn’t bug his upper back. I’ll have to make sure Chanyeol gets a real bath down at the stream tomorrow I can still smell that stench on me, Kyungsoo thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep.

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The next morning when the rooster crowed Kyungsoo felt too tired to climb out of his bed. I can’t believe it’s already this hot, Kyungsoo thought as he kicked his sheet off his warm body. Didn’t think it was going to get this hot today, he thought before allowing himself to drift back to sleep.

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Kyungsoo rolled his head to the side only to feel something fall off of his forehead. With tired hands he picked up the object that had just fallen and cracked open his eyes to investigate it. As he looked he realized he held a slightly damp cloth in his hand, I don’t remember getting this, Kyungsoo thought as he stared down at the cloth in his hand. A loud sound with a sibilance to rocks being ground started Kyungsoo out of his confusion causing him to turn his gaze in the direction the sound had come from.

Once he rolled over he found Chanyeol lying in the empty spot of his bed. “What, What are you doing here” Kyungsoo yelled out. Kyungsoo felt slightly guilty when he watched Chanyeol’s eyes pop open and the other fell off the side of the bed with a thud.

“That’s not a very nice way to wake up the person that just saved your life” Chanyeol said as he stood up and rubbed at his backside.

“What do you mean, saved my life” Kyungsoo asked the other in confusion.

“I was waiting for you to bring me breakfast two mornings ago when you never showed, after a long time I decided to come check on you and I found you sprawled across this bed here burning with a fever” Chanyeol said as he gently sat back down in the space he had fallen from and brought his hand up to Kyungsoo’s forehead. “I remembered you laying a cold rag against my head when I had my fever so I did my best to help you fight off yours” Chanyeol said shyly and Kyungsoo felt the air leave his lungs when Chanyeol’s eyes locked with his own. “I’m glad you’re okay, I thought I was going to loss you for a while there” Chanyeol said as he gently moved Kyungsoo’s bangs across his forehead.

“Thank you” Kyungsoo whispered staring back at the other.

“Kyungsoo” Chanyeol said.

“Yeah” Kyungsoo asked in response.

“Can I take a look at the wound on your back I think it might be infected” Chanyeol asked softly and Kyungsoo noticed the concern in the other’s eyes. It suddenly all made sense; his rapid heart rate, the dizziness, even the scent he had smelt on himself.

“I think you’re right” Kyungsoo said with a little chuckle before lifting his shirt above his head with a slight wince when his shoulder blades pinched together. He shyly looked down at his hands within his lap as Chanyeol gingerly pressed on the skin around the wound on his back.

“We’ll get this washed and wrapped and you should be fine soon” Chanyeol said however Kyungsoo still felt the other’s hands along his back.

“Sounds good” Kyungsoo said picking at the nail on one of his fingers to avoid the other’s gaze.

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After that day Kyungsoo noticed a new bond between himself and the other. He hadn’t realized how lonely he actually was up in the mountains all on his own until he had someone there to talk with whenever he desired it.

Kyungsoo split the house work between himself and the other giving Chanyeol jobs that were not too laborious especially since he was still recovering from major injuries. Some nights when they both sat down for dinner Kyungsoo would tease Chanyeol on his work ethic and the fact that the other made even the simplest chores look insanely difficult.

“If I didn’t know any better I would say you were a royal, what with you acting like you’ve never had to work a day in your life” Kyungsoo teased one night, only to get a choking Chanyeol in return.

However even though Kyungsoo put on a brave face during the day each night when he returned to his own room Kyungsoo would become haunted by memories of that fateful night almost a month’s time back. Each night Kyungsoo would awaken sweat drenched and screaming from a new nightmare, Some nights Kyungsoo would only have to deal with the man with the stale breath pulling on his hair and laughing whenever Kyungsoo tried to escape. Other nights Kyungsoo would dream about having run away and the horrible feeling of being chased only to be tracked down and caught swiftly by the man with the stale breath. Other nights Kyungsoo was forced to watch the men burn down the village, killing his friends, all while being held by the hair by the man with the stale breath. The worst nights by far though were the nights when Kyungsoo would experience those nightmares only to have the man with the stale breath be replaced with a chuckling Chanyeol, because even in his dreams Kyungsoo couldn’t deny the evidence that Chanyeol had stacked up against him.

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When Chanyeol was strong enough Kyungsoo invited him to come with him on his explorations. They would hike up and down the surrounding mountains for hours gathering roots and talking between the two of them.

“It’s beautiful up here” Chanyeol said one day while he and Kyungsoo had stopped to eat lunch among the wilderness. Kyungsoo looked around him and allowed the air to fill his chest.

“Yes it is” Kyungsoo said smiling over to Chanyeol who returned his smile causing Kyungsoo’s heart to race. Except this time Kyungsoo had finally come to terms with why his heart did such things. It was no longer the infection, which had healed thank to Chanyeol, but something different. Kyungsoo could admit it just to himself, but still it was clear as day, he was very much in love with the other. Kyungsoo found himself smiling at the other all the time without reason, he also felt warmth radiate through his body whenever their eyes would meet. Kyungsoo would never admit it aloud because if he did he would have to deal with the repercussions of falling in love with someone who was a part of something that would remove Kyungsoo from the safety net of his neutral stance and force him to take a side.

“I heard you screaming last night Kyungsoo” Chanyeol’s deep voice said breaking into Kyungsoo’s thoughts. “Actually, I’ve heard you screaming almost every night that I have been here, do you want to talk about it” Chanyeol offered.

“No” Kyungsoo said with a shake of his head as he climbed back up to his feet. “We should start heading back now” he said as he started to walk away.

That night after dinner Kyungsoo said good night to Chanyeol and climbed into his own bed. I wonder which one it will be tonight, Kyungsoo thought bitterly as he drifted off to sleep.

“I told you not to tell anyone about our mutual friend didn’t I boy” the man with the stale breath hissed into Kyungsoo’s ear while shaking him by his hair.

“I..I..I’m sorry” Kyungsoo said between his tears.

“Too late, now you get to watch your friends die, and know that it’s all your fault” the man said with an evil laugh as one of the other men walked before them holding Minseok by the hair on his head with a sword pressed against his throat.

“No, please no” Kyungsoo begged as he watched the other man give a sly smile. “No” Kyungsoo yelled out.

“Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo, it’s just a dream. You’re okay, you’re safe. I’m here and I won’t let anything happen to you ever I promise” Chanyeol’s deep voice woke Kyungsoo from his dream. Kyungsoo sat up on his mattress heaving for breath. “You’re okay Soo I’m here” Chanyeol said sitting beside him. Kyungsoo marveled in the warm and safe feeling of the others embrace as he was lulled back into a nightmare less sleep.

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The Spring months flew past and Kyungsoo found himself in the middle of Summer. After completing their chores and dinner for the say he and Chanyeol found themselves lying beneath the stars. They lay together with Kyungsoo’s head on Chanyeol’s chest while Chanyeol wraps his arm protectively around Kyungsoo’s smaller body. It’s the way that they always sleep, ever since the first night Chanyeol kept the nightmares away. Neither boy talks about it, but Kyungsoo knows that if Chanyeol were not beside him the nightmare would come back stronger than before.

“I always wanted to live out in the mountains and sleep under the stars every night when I was little” Chanyeol admits and Kyungsoo fells the comforting slide of Chanyeol’s fingers through his hair. “My father doesn’t really like the outdoors though, he says it’s no place for me” Chanyeol says with a slightly bitter laugh. Kyungsoo sits up and stares down at Chanyeol’s face.

“Do you like it here, I mean being out in nature, lying under the stars” Kyungsoo asks curiously leaving out the main question he wants to ask. Kyungsoo watches as Chanyeol thinks and then sits up to face him head on. Kyungsoo’s heart rate speeds up when they lock eye contact.

“I like it out here being surrounded by nature, lying under the stars, but I’m only here for you” Chanyeol says. Chanyeol’s words hit Kyungsoo like a ton of bricks. Of course Chanyeol is only here for me, Kyungsoo thinks bitterly, remembering the promise Chanyeol had made not to leave so that Kyungsoo wouldn’t loss his life.

“I understand” Kyungsoo says quickly getting to his feet and turning towards the house so that Chanyeol can’t see the tears that are stupidly falling from his eyes.

“Soo” Chanyeol calls out. The way Chanyeol uses the nickname he had given the other just makes the pain inside Kyungsoo’s shattering heart hurt worse. How could I have been so stupid, Kyungsoo thinks to himself as he climbs into his bed and lays face down into the pillow, only to cry harder when Chanyeol’s scent emits off of the pillow. “Kyungsoo” Chanyeol says and Kyungsoo knows he is inside the room.

“Go away” Kyungsoo cries out weakly.

“Soo, I think you misunderstood what I was trying to tell you” Chanyeol says and Kyungsoo feels the mattress shift with the others weight. He feels the other’s hand rub on his lower back.

“Leave me alone” Kyungsoo whispers weakly.

“I’m afraid I can’t” Chanyeol says still rubbing at Kyungsoo’s back. “What I was trying to say just a few minutes ago is that I love the nature here, and the stars are beautiful, but I’m only here for you” Chanyeol said causing Kyungsoo to sob louder. “Don’t you see Soo, I can see how happy being out here makes you, I love watching the way your eyes light up when you find a new plant, I love the way you jump up and down in victory when you make a new ointment or cream, that’s why I am out here for you. If the city made you just as happy I would move there, heck if you wanted to live under the ocean I would try and figure out a way to make that possible just for you.” Chanyeol said. Chanyeol’s words made Kyungsoo silence his sobs and shift so he could watch the other talk. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I love it here because you love it here and that’s because I love you. I love you Kyungsoo” Chanyeol said looking down and meeting Kyungsoo’s gaze. Kyungsoo let out a new wave of tears this time in happiness. “Don’t cry Soo, I can go sleep in the medical hut tonight and we can pretend like this never happened” Chanyeol said and Kyungsoo felt the mattress shift again.

“No” Kyungsoo yelled out, “I love you too Chanyeol” he confessed meeting the others eyes. The smile that the other had spread across his face was earth shattering and it the next moment when Chanyeol’s long strong arms wrapped around Kyungsoo’s much smaller body and their lips met for the first time Kyungsoo felt as if all was right with the world.

That night as he lay safely tucked against Chanyeol’s side Kyungsoo felt at peace for the first time since the night of the other’s arrival. “I love you Chanyeol” Kyungsoo whispered into the dark room before he drifted off to sleep.

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A whole year passed and each day spent together with Chanyeol brought Kyungsoo utter happiness.

“Okay let me just make sure I have this right, they are the little white flowers with about five petals on the branch” Chanyeol asked for clarification.

“Yes Chanyeol” Kyungsoo said with a nod of his head and a teasing eye roll, “The Jasmine flowers that we picked together just a couple days ago, I need more of them. Are you sure it wouldn’t just be easier if I went out to get them” Kyungsoo asked.

“Soo, trust me I’ll be fine. I know you have to get that root there ground into a powder before it goes bad. I’ll be back before the sun sets” Chanyeol assured. Kyungsoo stood on his tiptoes and attached his lips with Chanyeol’s own.

“Be safe” Kyungsoo said with a wave as he watched Chanyeol, with the dog by his side, walk off before turning back to his work.

“Kyungsoo” Chanyeol’s deep voice brought his attention back to the other’s figure.

“Yeah” Kyungsoo called back.

“I love you” Chanyeol said with a smile.

“I love you too” Kyungsoo said giving the other a second wave.

Later in the day Kyungsoo took a break to eat his lunch. While he was staring up at the mountain where he was sure Chanyeol was taking his lunch break as well he heard the snapping of branches coming from his right. No, he thought to himself as terror filled his entire being.

“Kyungsoo” Jongdae’s familiar voice filled the air, causing Kyungsoo to heave a slight sigh of relief.

“Hello Jongdae” Kyungsoo said with a small smile to the other before his eyes were drawn to the two man upon horseback fallowing behind Jongdae. “What’s going on” he asked the other on guard again.

“Kyungsoo can we talk” Jongdae asked.

“Yeah” Kyungsoo said leading Jongdae away from the two men.

“A lot has happened since we last talked” Jongdae says with a small smile. “Since you weren’t that invested in the whole outcome anyway I’ll give you the condensed version. Our side won, however, King Park never found his son, it is assumed that Prince Park is dead” Jongdae said and Kyungsoo felt his heart drop, the poor prince had been with that man with the stale breath and the thought made him feel responsible. If I had known maybe there was some way I could have saved him, Kyungsoo thought. “A little bit away from our village is where the Prince was last seen alive so the King and his Nephew, the new heir, wanted to come and look. They said that the late Prince really loved the outdoors so they decided to come up and take a look, I recommended this area because I know it’s relatively safe what with you being here and all” Jongdae said.

“Alright” Kyungsoo said looking over to the two men still sitting horseback.

“Thanks Kyungsoo, I owe you one” Jongdae said with a smile before heading back to the men and talking to them before heading back towards the village after giving the men a very deep bow.

“Do you have a place where we can tie up the horses while we walk around” the older man, Kyungsoo now knew was the King Park, asked.

“Yes sir this way” Kyungsoo said leading the two close to the chicken coop and the railing that blocked it off from the rest of the forest.

“Thank you, you can go back to whatever you were doing before we intruded we just want to have a look around, we will holler if we need you” the King said with a weak smile.

“Alright sir” Kyungsoo said with a bow before heading back to his medical hut.

A while later there was a light tap on the door. Kyungsoo walked to the door and opened it curiously.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Kyungsoo was it” the younger male asked from the doorway. Kyungsoo gave a small nod to the other. “Like I said I’m sorry to bother you, but my uncle is rather thirsty and I’m not quite sure how you go about doing that up here” the other said looking shyly down at his feet. “Sorry, I’m Baekhyun by the way, thank you for allowing us on your land” the other said offering his hand.

“It’s no problem Baekhyun, this land doesn’t belong to anyone so it’s the least I could do, I’m really sorry about your cousin by the way” Kyungsoo said as he grabbed a pail and lead Baekhyun to the stream.

“Thanks, it’s sad that everything went the way that it did because Chanyeol never wanted to be king anyway” Baekhyun kept talking and walking but Kyungsoo froze in his tracks.

“Wait what did you say” Kyungsoo asked shakily looking up at the other.

“This is just the place Chanyeol always wanted to live in, sometimes I wish I had been there that night. I would have fought those bandits off. I would have convinced him to hide and allowed myself to be taken in his stead.” Baekhyun rambled on more and more but again Kyungsoo was frozen stuck thinking everything over.

“What did the late Prince look like” Kyungsoo asked.

“Well he was really tall and…” Baekhyun started but then froze mid-sentence staring off into the distance. Kyungsoo turned around and looked where Baekhyun’s gaze was frozen. “Chanyeol” Kyungsoo heard Baekhyun whisper before the other was running over to the exact place where Kyungsoo’s Chanyeol was making his way down the mountain.

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“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner” Chanyeol whispered that night while they were both curled up in bed. “I was afraid of so many different outcomes. In the beginning I thought you might resent me for what I brought on you, for being the reason you had all those terrible nightmares. Later on I thought you might use who I used to be to get rid of me and send me back. I think my main reason for not telling you though is that I never really was who all the people supporting my father thought I would be, I didn’t want you to look at me like I was some prince. I love the way you look at me for who I am when I am around you, I love how you look at me when I do something wrong, and I love how you look at me when we are both wrapped in each other’s arms; I didn’t want to risk any of that” Chanyeol said and Kyungsoo enjoyed the way Chanyeol’s finger’s moved through his hair.

“I’m not mad at you Chanyeol” Kyungsoo said, feeling as if it had to be said, “I’m kind of embarrassed that I didn’t know to begin with and that I couldn’t piece it together when all the evidence stacked up” Kyungsoo admitted.

“Well don’t be. Remember what you told me once, about you being a neutral party in this whole thing, that’s what I needed you to be, because you are who you are I was able to love you and be loved by you in return.” Chanyeol said causing Kyungsoo to blush. “Baekhyun will be a better Prince then me anyways” Chanyeol added before kissing Kyungsoo’s head.

“I love you Chanyeol” Kyungsoo said before a yawn escaped his mouth.

“And I love you as well Kyungsoo” Chanyeol said wrapping his scared arms around the other’s smaller body.

Hello All!

I hope you were able to enjoy this story! :) Comments are loved, possibly upvote if you really liked it.

Check out my other stories

 Why Can't Anyone See Me   Do I Deserve to be Saved    They're Beautiful

-XOXO Enjoy! :)