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There’s nothing more relaxing than downing a glass of fresh lemonade after a long, tiring day at the bakery, Kai thinks as he tosses his head back and bathes in the golden hue of the setting sun. In hindsight, he should probably cut his hair. It frames his face nicely, but it’s long and weighs down heavily, even more so in the summer. Besides, the way his bangs plaster against his forehead is unflattering.
Behind him, his father closes up the shop for the day, muttering something along the lines of ‘curfew at 10’, but Kai pays him no heed. He’s too busy downing the refresher in his hand and listening to the soft thudding of hooves against cobbled pathways. Messengers are riding through town again, announcing the princess ball, but Kai knows better than to get his hopes up about receiving an invitation. That was a luxury for the aristocrats and his family were far from that.
“Kai,” a familiar voice calls out from down the block. Yeonjun, the blacksmith’s son, is jogging towards him. His smile is wide, almost blinding, and Kai finds himself returning a fond one without much thought. “You’ll never believe it!”
“Do tell,” Kai urges, raising his eyebrows with piqued interest. Yeonjun’s got charcoal smeared against his cheek, so Kai does him the favor of wiping it with his handkerchief. “You seem quite delighted.”
“Boy, am I!” Yeonjun’s rocking back and forth on his heels, brunette locks bouncing rhythmically. “Prince Kang visited us!”
Kai’s lips part with awe and envy. He glances around quickly to make sure nobody was eavesdropping, since the Prince’s activities were supposed to be kept secret, and then replies. “Are you serious?”
“Would I be this ecstatic if I wasn’t?” Yeonjun gestures at his trembling hands and Kai chuckles, resting his own hands over them. “He requested a sword and since father’s been ill, I had to craft it myself. I was sure I’d faint or something.”
“Well, how’d it go?” Kai asks, leaning forwards instinctively, as if it would help pry more information out of his friend. Yeonjun does the same, struggling to keep his voice at a hushed level. “Brilliant! He told me he fancied it and paid double. Can you imagine?”
Kai’s eyes widen at the retelling and he squeezes Yeonjun’s hands to relay his excitement. “Why that’s lovely! Next thing you know he’ll be sending you a personal invitation to his sister’s ball.” He’s teasing, of course; they both know the idea is too far fetched. Then again, had you told them yesterday that the Prince, Kang Taehyun, would appear in person before the rascal of the town, Choi Yeonjun, neither of them would’ve believed that either.
“A man can only hope,” Yeonjun sighs dreamily and Kai has to steady him with the hold he has on his hands. “Oh you should’ve seen him, Kai. They truly aren’t lying when they say he’s even more handsome up close.”
They begin walking home, nodding to familiar faces as they pass by them. Kai lives in the outskirts of the town, but Yeonjun always insists on dropping him off first. It’s his responsibility as the older of the pair, he claims, but Kai knows Yeonjun is just caring in nature. Carriages drive by them with giggling maidens who try and catch their eye, but the boys can only humor them so much, too engrossed in the topic at hand.
“The way he moved about the store was so elegant. His smile lit a yearning flame within me and his eyes… God, Kai, his eyes were beautiful. They were big with unsaid dreams and when he looked at me,” Yeonjun pauses. They come to a brief stop underneath the lamppost and Kai glances down at the male expectantly. “I can’t even put into words what I had felt. I can only say that it had been so intense. It frightened me.”
“Intimidation, perhaps?” Kai suggests and Yeonjun purses his lips together, deep in thought. The wind’s whistling pierces through the silence, warning them of the terrors that night brings, and so Yeonjun leads them down the road once again.
“You’d think such, but it wasn’t that, no,” Yeonjun dismisses. They continue pondering possibilities until they reach the junction before Kai’s home.
“Well, I suppose we can talk more about this tomorrow. I don’t think I’ll shut up about it for quite a while.” Affectionately, Yeonjun leaves a kiss atop Kai’s head. It’s a bit humorous, since Kai has to bend his knees in order for the older boy to even do so, however Kai enjoys the doting gesture too much to say anything. “Travel safely.”
“Don’t fret too much over it! You’ll age even quicker!” Kai advises teasingly, waving his hand over his shoulder as he heads on his way.
The cabins on the block are dimly lit — many people can’t afford lanterns and stick to the old fashioned ways of candles —and there’s a mixed aroma of about a dozen suppers. Kai’s mouth waters, envisioning the meal that awaits him at home.
The wind howls once more, this time louder and even more ominous than the first. Above him, dark clouds loom with malicious intent, carrying what seems to be hours of merciless rainfall. Luckily, he’ll be home before he’s at the risk of catching a cold.
Or so he thinks.
Running a hand through his hair, he turns the corner, ready to bolt the last few meters home when something throws him off balance. Inches before him was a white rabbit, looking up at him with terrified eyes. Placing a hand on his chest, Kai heaves a sigh. “Heavens,” he says, bending down to inspect the frightened creature. “You gave me quite the shock. Why are you out so far from home, little one?”
He draws closer, as if expecting the creature to reply, but it bounces back to keep the distance between them. It’s limping, Kai notices. Behind him, the trees rumble to remind him of the impending storm.
“Come on,” Kai outstretches his arm, inviting the bunny closer carefully. At home, he could probably discern if the animal had sprained a muscle or was harboring a splinter. To his dismay, it only scampers away, seemingly afraid of Kai’s actions. “Wait!” Kai sighs, desperately scanning the vicinity. If he chases after the wounded rabbit, he has about a 60% chance of making it home before it begins to pour. Was it worth the risk?
His eyes trace the direction in which the bunny was still hopping away in. The thunder above him growls and Kai watches the poor thing jolt in fear; he makes a split second decision.
“You’re going to get hurt!” Kai scolds, following the animal that seeks shelter in the forests guarding the boundaries of the town. His parents won’t mind him being late by a few minutes; or at least he hopes for that to be true.
He’s never been out in the woods before. Beomgyu, one of his friends that often goes hunting, has tried to bribe him into venturing with him, offering a silver coin or two (if he can afford it), however Kai’s never been interested in that sort of thing. The thrill of hunting animals is something he’s never shared, though he supposes that’s quite evident now, with the way he’s putting himself in danger over a wild rabbit.
“Where’d you go?” Kai whispers, ducking out the way of some tree branches and narrowly side stepping thorn bushes. The birds in the area squawk frantically, perhaps dreading the weather as much as him, and Kai finds it all the more harder to hear the movements of the frazzled creature. To his luck, however, his vision falls near perfect and he’s able to spot the cause of his worries a few feet ahead.
Quickly, he lunges towards the creature who finds itself cornered by giant boulders. Yet just as he’s about to reach out and snatch the animal, it turns around and jumps head-on towards the stone behind it. “Stop!” Kai yelps in fear of it getting hurt.
What ends up happening is far from what he had predicted. He watches in awe as ripples appear on the rocky surface and the rabbit disappears. “You have got to be lying,” Kai says breathlessly. His arm reaches out, nearly touching the boulder, and then stops abruptly. It could be dangerous for all he knows. But would the animal have leaped so confidently had that been the case?
He reaches down to pick up a pebble off the muddy floor of the woods and then tosses it forwards to test the waters. Sure enough, it disappears into the clear portal. “Ah,” Kai braces himself, nibbling on his lower lip nervously. He’s already chased the rabbit this far, what’s a little more? “My own curiosity will be my doom.” And then he’s thrusting himself forwards blindly, eyes closed in fear of the worst.
A soft gust of wind greets him and he counts to three before slowly cracking his eyes open. The view is ethereal.
He finds himself at the opening of a cave, the sides adorned with gems he’s only dreamt of seeing, and up ahead is a field abundant with exotic plants. The sky is clear, unlike what he had seen a few minutes earlier, and he swears the stars are winking at him.
As much as he wants to remain frozen and admire his surroundings, Kai reminds himself of his task at hand. He’ll come back another time, maybe with Yeonjun and Beomgyu; right now, he has to find the injured rabbit and take it home. He has, without a doubt, passed his curfew by now.
Turning his head in all directions, Kai groans when he fails to spot what he’s looking for. “You couldn’t have gone far,” Kai thinks aloud, cautiously stepping forwards onto unknown grounds. The grass is clean, almost pristine, and he feels bad for stepping on it with his mudridden shoes, but he doesn’t have time to think for alternatives. The ambience is comforting, almost lulling Kai into a state of drowsiness; he’d raced after the rabbit so adamantly, forgetting the exhaustion his work had brought him, that it was only now catching up to him.
Fortunately for him, however, it seems as though the bunny felt the same way, as it remained idle by a patch of purple flowers. “There you are,” Kai states in relief, crouching down at a reasonable distance so that he doesn’t scare it off once more. “I’m just trying to help, alright?” He says slowly, raising his hands up to prove that he’s no threat.
This time, it goes better. The rabbit’s sense of survival doesn’t seem to be triggered and it almost invites Kai to come closer, round eyes blinking up at him with such raw innocence. Right as he’s about to pick it up, something—or someone—intervenes. Hovering between him and the rabbit is a tiny creature (about the size of Kai’s hand). It’s face and body, aside from the pointed ears and shimmering wings, resemble that of a boy. His hair is blue—not just any blue though, it’s Kai’s favorite kind of blue. The shade that parallels that of mint chocolate, his favorite flavor of his favorite dessert.
“You’re not welcome here!” He states firmly, arms folded over his chest. Kai stares at the boy blankly, unsure if he should coo or feel intimidated. He ends up going with the former, because for crying out loud, he’s already considered a giant to humans and the marvel before him was about a hundred times smaller than a person at average height. How could he be afraid when at such an advantage?
“You’re absolutely adorable!” He squeals. The desire to reach out and pet the winged male was strong, but he didn’t wish to overstep his boundaries. Especially given that the object of his affection was actively trying to see him out. “I don’t think I’ve ever bestowed a sight as captivating as you.”
“Of course not! You’re a human,” the wonder sputters, looking slightly offended. “I wouldn’t be so careless as to let your kind see me.” Kai raises an eyebrow, “What’s wrong with ‘my kind’?”
“Everything! You guys are always up to no good. I mean seriously,” the baby blue haired boy rambles, flying back and forth in evident distress. “Would it kill you all to treat nature a bit more kindly? After everything it provides for you! Food, shelter, that silver coin from which such toxic greed stems.”
Kai’s taken aback, rising and shuffling two steps backwards as a precaution. “Us pixies have to do everything around here, honestly.” Oh, Kai gasps, watching the delicate creature fly down to examine the silent rabbit. He’s only ever heard of pixies in the folklore that his mother used to recite for him when he was younger. “Were you going to kill Tobin too?”
The accusation ensues Kai’s crash landing from his thoughts into reality and he shakes his head about a dozen times. “No, nothing of the sort! The animal—Tobin—is injured. I simply wanted to assure its safety from the storm. My mother’s also got a lot of equipment for scenarios like this.”
A silence dawns on them whilst the pixie stares Kai down critically. “I find that hard to believe,” he reasons and then shifts his gaze to the rabbit in question. Another moment passes by them and then Kai hears a soft exhale. “But Tobin doesn’t seem troubled, so you must speak the truth.”
“I do! Nothing else but such,” Kai affirms quickly, placing a hand over his beating heart to display his sincerity. “I’m Kai. Huening Kai.” While giving your full name to strangers is usually a bad thing, Kai doubts the foot tall pixie is any threat to him. He’s just not sure if introductions are appropriate at the moment.
“Soobin,” is the reply he gets. “Pixie of the animals and scout of Sanctuary.” Sanctuary, Kai repeats quietly. He looks around once more, fixing his line of sight on a pond up ahead where the moonlight dances across the water. A summer night’s breeze kisses his fringe when he looks back at Soobin. Everything feels so much safer than Arcadia. The name is fitting, he ultimately decides. “Tobin seems to suffer from a puncture wound on his foot,” Soobin announces. “Judging by the size, he might’ve stepped on a thorny stem.”
“I can retrieve bandages from my home if they’ll help,” Kai offers hastily. The worry that had been eating away at him before has now returned. He glances at the rabbit sympathetically, kneeling down to stroke the top of its head twice. From his peripheral, he can see Soobin’s tiny fists twitch. Judging from that and Soobin’s previous rant, Kai guesses that Soobin is probably not used to humans touching animals he cares for. To appease him, he pulls his hand away and then stands up again.
“I’ll go with you,” Soobin states after some thought. At first, Kai is delighted by the pixie’s first step into welcoming his friendship, but then he remembers the storm that was probably raging on the other side as they spoke. “It’s too dangerous,” he informs, loosening the bow tie by the collar of his shirt. “I won’t be long, don’t worry.”
“It wasn’t a request,” Soobin replies and Kai looks at him bewildered. For someone his size, Soobin sure was feisty. Kai finds it all the more enamoring though and relents, reaching up to undo the button sealing the pocket of his shirt. “Alright. Please stay in here.” Hooking a finger into the pocket, he gestures for Soobin to settle in. The pixie hesitates, rightfully so. “It’s storming quite heavily in Arcadia. I wouldn’t want you to fall ill.”
Finally convinced, Soobin rests snugly where Kai had asked him to and the latter tugs the pocket’s upper flap over the pixie’s head gently. “Hold on tight, I’ll be running.”
They race through the portal. This time, Kai has his eyes open and is able to see the way Sanctuary bleeds into a colorful mirage which then transforms into Arcadia. The process is only about half a second long, but Kai knows the sight will be one he remembers for years and years to come.
Arcadia is thundering and even with the coverage that the trees bring, Kai finds himself soaked in a matter of seconds. He looks down at Soobin once, twice, to make sure the pixie is okay as he races through the unfamiliar forest. Lightning strikes through the dark clouds and Kai feels Soobin sink further into his pocket. “Almost there,” Kai promises, chasing the lamppost at the end of the trail.
“Wait,” Soobin shouts. He’s barely audible for Kai, due to his size, and the thundering sky does little to help his case. Had Soobin not pinched Kai through the material of his shirt, Kai probably wouldn’t have even realized he wanted to stop. “I must gather those flowers. Sanctuary hasn’t had a supply of them in ages.”
Kai squints, trying to pinpoint where exactly these flowers were, but before he can locate them, Soobin flies off. “Soobin!” He exclaims, panic seeping into every inch of his body as he watches the pixie pick petals off the flowers without a care in the world. The heavy rain is slowly washing away the glimmer of Soobin’s wings and Kai can see the way Soobin has to flap harder to keep himself afloat.
Frenzied, he looks around for something, anything that might protect the pixie from the horrendous weather. “You,” he whispers quietly, snapping a healthy maple leaf off a tree branch. He gives it a twirl with his forefinger and thumb, inspecting it thoroughly. It holds, not breaking the slightest, and Kai feels a little more relieved. Deeming it sturdy enough for the tiny male, he turns on the heel of his shoes again.
“Soobin, this may be of use to you,” he suggests cheerfully, but the smile on his face is wiped away completely when he sees that the pixie is no longer where he once stood. It had only been a few seconds, had it not? Where could Soobin have ventured off in such a short notice? Had he finally succumbed to the weight of his wings? Did something—oh god—did something prey on him?
“Kai,” an unrecognizable voice calls out from behind him and Kai whips his head around, arms raising defensively. His eyes zero in on a button nose and pink cheeks.
It takes a few seconds for things to click into place. Kai only understands what’s happening when he drags his eyes higher and higher and sees the same cadet locks he’d been searching for. “Soobin?” He squeaks in disbelief. Soobin confirms his suspicions with a single nod and then awkwardly shows off the bunch of flowers he’s gathered in his hand, “I’ve got enough. Where is your home located?” His voice is octaves deeper and Kai tries to ignore the way his stomach churns upon hearing the boy. Soobin had already been quite adorable in his pixie form, but now he was both adorable and indescribably gorgeous.
Kai remains frozen in shock for a moment longer and then jabs a finger off to the left. Soobin blinks twice at his actions, “What has gotten into you?” When Kai’s telling eyes rake Soobin’s new physique, the boy scoffs. “My wings were getting too heavy to manage. I decided it might be better to continue the rest of our journey like this.”
“Besides,” Soobin says, walking past Kai when he notices that the now shorter boy wasn’t moving. “Your parents would probably prefer you come home this late with a boy rather than a peculiar creature.” They reach the end of the forest shortly and, having regained his ability to navigate, Kai leads the brief walk to his home. They don’t say much, mainly because Kai is still in shock, but also because he doesn’t want to irritate Soobin further.
Lost in his thoughts, Kai nearly walks headfirst into a hedged fence. “Careful,” Soobin hisses, dexterous fingers curling around Kai’s petite wrist and tugging him closer. “You’ll hurt yourself.” Kai’s unsure as to why Soobin’s protecting him when it should be the other way around. After all—
“Aren’t I older than you?” Kai blurts. He’s horrified by his own tone and choice of words after an awkward second of silence passes by, but Soobin saves him from his misery.
“How old are you?” Soobin interrogates. They stand at the gates in front of Kai’s house temporarily, trying to sort out the important conversation at hand. “19,” Kai replies, crossing his arms over his chest. Then he hears a low rumble; it’s not from the skies above, but from Soobin. Soobin’s chortling.
“21,” Soobin pridefully responds. He steps forwards, Kai takes just as many backwards, unknowingly pushing the gates open. Soobin’s curious hands travel forwards, carding through Kai’s long brunette strands and ruffling them in an impish manner. “As you said to me in Sanctuary, Kai, you’re adorable.”
Before Kai can reply to the boy—man—towering over him, the front door to his abode swings open. His mother is evidently upset, creases forming on her otherwise smooth complexion due to her deeply settled frown. “Huening Kamal Kai,” she says, tone steady and volume quiet, but lethal. “Do you have any idea what time it is? Or even the conditions under which you are so foolishly frolicking out and about in? Get in, now.”
Then, she finally seems to have noticed Soobin, whose eyes are wide due to the scene that had unravelled before him. “Oh, dear, you get in too. You’ll catch a cold.” It’s unbelievable, Kai argues wordlessly when he sees the immediate change in his mother’s demeanor. Regardless, the two of them make their way indoors.
“Brother! I was starting to get so worried,” Lea shouts from the kitchen. Kai hears the ear splitting clatter of pottery before his sister hurries into the common room to greet him. Upon catching sight of Soobin, she stops. Her face is stoic, but Kai can see the mischievous glint in her hazel irises. “Oh? Are you another one of Kai’s suitors?”
“Lea!” Kai wails exasperatedly. Heat burns his skin, despite him being drenched from the storm, and he’s aware that a rosy blush adorns his cheeks and the tips of his ears. Hopefully, Soobin won’t notice. “He’s just an acquaintance. He needed help so I brought him along with me.”
“Oh,” Lea nods along. She doesn’t believe him fully, he can tell, but he wasn’t telling the entire truth either, so it made sense. “What a shame. You’re much more handsome than the others.”
“Thank you,” a grin appears on Soobin’s face at the compliment. It’s clear he’s enjoying this as much as Lea and the youngest of the three groans in disapproval. “Who knows, perhaps I will align myself with the rest of those who court him.”
Kai wills himself to ignore that bit. “Mother, he needs some bandages. Where do you store our spares?” He’s directed to the cupboard in the bathroom. “Come, let’s select a fitting one,” Kai ushers the taller boy up towards their new destination. He could probably have made the decision himself, but he’d rather not leave Soobin alone with his scheming sister. Especially not after hearing the excited footsteps of their younger sibling, who was just as conniving, approach the living room.
“Is your family always so inquisitive?” Soobin asks as they scavenge through the selections of bandages. “We’re close,” Kai confirms, teasing the fabric of the bandage roll he’s holding to see if it’ll be comfortable for the rabbit.
“They seem fond of you,” the older boy notes, tapping on Kai’s shoulder so that he can show off the roll he’s chosen. Kai nods once at it and then slowly begins to reorganize everything onto the shelves. The biggest ones go in the back, and then they descend in height order. Kai presses his tongue against his inner cheek, eyebrows threading together as he stacks the materials with precision so that they fit and don’t fall. “I can see why.”
“Enlighten me,” Kai hums, leaning back to examine the cupboard thoroughly to see if he’s satisfied with it before letting it shut.
“You’re pure,” Soobin claims. “Innocent, unlike many other humans. You don’t have a single bad bone in your body from what I’ve seen so far; it’s like the devil decided to leave you as the token angel in a sea of rotten animals.” Through the reflection, Soobin’s eyes meet his own. When they do, Kai feels the air leave his lungs in the form of ragged breaths. Tunnel vision blinds him and all he can do is struggle to not fixate on Soobin’s pouty lips.
They part as Soobin continues to speak. “I would hate for someone to take the beauty of your youth away.” Kai swears he feels lightheaded and his surroundings fade in and out, similar to when he fights off the hazy lull that greets him most mornings.
So this is what Yeonjun had meant earlier when he had claimed to feel so much at once.
Kai braces himself by gripping onto the counter of his wooden sink, casting his gaze onto the ground. Behind him, Soobin shifts until he’s practically pressed up behind the hunched over boy.
Kai is almost certain he now knows what Yeonjun had been feeling. The blacksmith’s son was right, it hadn’t been intimidation.
“I’ll protect you.”
It had been the beginning to a sudden blossoming of love.