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It was by chance that they met. Although Minseok would say they didn’t meet at all. Kyungsoo saw him in glimpses through yellow fringe and swirling sparklers. It was a hot summer evening on the Death of the Dragons. The whole city filled the streets for the celebration. Even the emperor sat at his podium with a slight smile on his face.
Kyungsoo readied for the grand performance: the Duel of the Dragons. The mask of the dragon head covered his field of vision. He had to trust his feet to know where to step next and take quick peeks into the crowd to know if he was too close to them or the other dragon.
The drum beat loudly. His sweat beaded to the rhythm. The dirt shuttered. The crowd nearly drowned all the sound, but as soon as he heard the slow build of the drum, it was time. The crowd parted for the two dragons. Kyungsoo swayed from side to side, so unlike a real dragon, lifting the creature’s haughty head high.
His feet sifted over the dust. His mind went blank, and his body responded to the song. The other dragon roared, except it was a horn in the distance. No one has heard a real dragon roar. Most didn’t even believe they existed. Kyungsoo drew back. Minseok and the other performers under the ruby red dragon reared, and the fight began.
A real dragon fight wouldn’t be so performative with shimmying lunges and exaggerated shakes when a ‘bite’ landed. Real dragons were fast. So quick that the human eye would struggle to follow, watching scaly blurs flash before their eyes. And a real fight to the death was bloody, vicious, with no fanfare or dramatic pauses. But it was tradition.
Five hundred years ago, the last dragons alive were seen in a battle. Only death could claim a victor. After centuries of dragons being claimed and used for human disputes, the last two living delivered fatal wounds to one another. Thus, the line of dragons ended there.
The first blow landed. Kyungsoo and his dragon pretended to cower in pain. A child cried out. Some cheered. Bets had been placed on which dragon would win: Aurelian or Scarlet. Kyungsoo rose to his feet and readied his attack. It was after the strike that he saw him standing next to the emperor, hands held together in front of him, watching unimpressed. He was dressed in silk sky blue robes. His hair was pulled back into an elegant bun.
Kyungsoo tripped over one of the dragon's legs, ripping out its stitches. Minseok hissed behind him to pay attention. There is no room for error in a Duel of the Dragons. He turned his heavy dragon head away, and the boy disappeared.
The fight continued. Whenever Kyungsoo lifted his head, he looked for the boy in frayed strings. He wore a cold expression. Sharp, dark eyes were intently watching the makeshift arena. His thin lips were tight and downturned. Compared to the emperor, he looked miserable, like nothing in the world could please him. Kyungsoo was determined to be the outlier.
He couldn’t say why he needed this stranger’s approval; something about how young he looked, around Kyungsoo’s age, and the way he didn’t join in with the festivities, as if it were a funeral instead. Or perhaps, Kyungsoo had never seen someone so intriguing. Thin brows, delicate cheekbones, and a cutting jaw. It was, admittedly, a beautiful face, and it was a tragedy he seemed to be carved out of stone.
“This is it,” Minseok whispered to him.
The finale.
Three strikes. At the same time, cymbals crashed, the audience shouted for their victor, a sound of cries for blood and glory. The scarlet dragon collapsed. Kyungsoo’s breath clouded under his mask in heated billows. His shoulders burned from the weight of the head, and his legs tingled from the pressure to remember all the steps. They did it. Another year performing for the city and its emperor.
The golden dragon circled them in a victory lap. They waited until the dragon bent down beside them, and together they rose. They bowed first to the emperor. Kyungsoo dared to peek through the fringe and see that the boy was still there, no longer watching, nor was he clapping. Kyungsoo felt a tinge of disappointment.
They finished their bows to the crowd, Kyungsoo dipping low each time, and then finally, they could slink off into the crowd, remove the dragon mask, and enjoy the festivities.
Minseok groaned, setting the dragon on its belly. “Noona’s going to kill you for amputating its leg.”
“She can kill me tomorrow. Tonight is the Death of the Dragons.” Kyungsoo grabbed Minseok’s wrist and hurried back outside to the boy again. He pointed to the emperor’s podium. “Who is that beside the emperor?”
Minseok squinted. “The kid?”
“I mean he looks my age.”
“Yeah, and you’re a kid to me.” Minseok shook his head. “I don’t recognize him, but I bet Jongdae knows. He’s obsessed with the royals.”
They stopped at a couple of food stalls before finding Jongdae playing with explosives. Minseok tutted and pulled Jongdae away just in time, saving his eyebrows. Kyungsoo went to point out the boy, only to see he and the emperor were gone.
“Oh, I noticed him too,” Jongdae said, assembling another firework. “I heard he accompanies the emperor and empress everywhere. He sings or something.”
“But who is he?” Kyungsoo insisted.
Minseok asked at the same time, “Is that normal?”
“No,” Jongdae answered the older. “But I’ve heard he has a voice like no other. Some say he’s a god.”
Minseok snorted. “These are the same people who think dragons are extinct.”
Jongdae’s lips curled into a sly grin. “I didn’t say they were smart.” He threw an arm over Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “No one knows who he is. One day he just appeared by the emperor’s side, and never left. Although the emperor doesn’t usually let him out in public. He’s only been seen in public once, accompanying the emperor on some excursion to the royal temple.”
Kyungsoo frowned.
Jongdae pinched his cheek. “Why do you look so sad? The guy has everything probably handed to him. He’s probably the luckiest kid in the world. He has no title, no distinguished background, and somehow he’s won the most powerful person in the kingdom’s favor. So what if he spends most of his life trapped in a palace? No different than us having to hide our true forms.”
Minseok shushed him. “What if someone hears you?”
“Oh, no one is going to learn our secret from that. Now, are you going to help me? These fireworks aren’t going to explode on their own.”
Seven years later.
Kyungsoo hefted a trunk in his arms, using the top of his thigh to balance the weight. Joonmyun walked out, shaking his head at him. Minseok and Jongdae’s voices bled from the inside. Kyungsoo glared at them as he set down the trunk inside their room for the next two weeks. Three other trunks were stacked in the corner, all of which Kyungsoo moved.
“Are you going to help?” he gritted.
“But you and Joonmyun are almost done,” Jongdae said.
Kyungsoo sat on the trunk, catching his breath. Since he woke up long before the sun this morning, he’s been moving. It’s a six-hour journey from their mountain to the emperor’s countryside palace, but it felt even longer with Jongdae talking the entire trip about every bird he saw and Joonmyun making puns along the way.
“We have two hours before we have to rehearse for tonight’s dinner,” Minseok said.
“I’m going to the beach,” Jongdae declared.
“Not without me. You don’t know how to swim,” Minseok said.
“I’m staying here to finish unloading, and then I’m going into town for food,” Kyungsoo explained.
“I’ll go with Kyungsoo,” Joonmyun said.
“Get something for me,” Jongdae crooned on his way out.
“Get your own food, beast,” Kyungsoo replied. He rolled up the sleeves of his robe. The end of summer sun winked above as he and Joonmyun finished unloading the cart and made their way into town.
Months ago, they received a request to perform at the princess’s wedding. During the next two weeks, they will perform multiple times for the emperor and other influential people in the country. Since the invite, they have been nonstop practicing, choreographing new dances, and sewing new costumes, making sure their dragons are fit for a royal wedding.
“The air is different here, don’t you think?” Joonmyun asked.
Kyungsoo hummed. Unlike their mountain monastery, the air was briny with the pebbled seaside. The wind was more temperamental, blowing gusts then breezes. The buildings weren’t as tall and sloping. Kyungsoo thought he’d miss the smell of pines, but with the fragrance of the sea as strong as the current, there wasn’t an absence of his forest, except for the unlimited shade.
“Oh, look at these herbals,” Joonmyun said, bouncing on his heels and gunning for a stall displaying tinctures, bags of herbal medicine, and teas.
“I’ll meet up with you later,” Kyungsoo said. There’s an old man up ahead, sitting outside a hut and grilling fish. The scent alone made his stomach grumble. Apples and berries don’t compare to meat to a dragon. He approached the man, bending low to where he hovered over the low-burning fire. “It smells amazing,” he told him.
The old man flashed a toothy grin and pointed a knobbed finger at a large tub. “Pick you out one.”
Kyungsoo smiled and peered into the water.
“I can’t seem to find the boning knife,” a voice called from inside the hut, growing louder until the voice had a face.
Kyungsoo glanced up. His jaw dropped, and he blinked furiously to check if he wasn’t dreaming. Before him, staring impassively, was the boy who caught his attention at the Death of the Dragons Festival years ago. Except now, his youthful, round features weren’t as evident. He grew into adulthood like Kyungsoo.
His shoulders were broader. His sleek, black hair was covered in a peasant hat. His lips weren’t as thin as Kyungsoo initially thought. They were slender, but full enough, drawn down into that unimpressed line. Unlike the silk Kyungsoo remembered at the festival, he wore plain cloth robes.
After seeing him at the festival, Kyungsoo would perk up anytime Jongdae mentioned a new rumor regarding the emperor’s ‘singer’, but news was rare and in between. Year after year, he never saw another glimpse of the male at the festival. It was almost like he had been a ghost. There, then gone the next second.
But he wasn’t a ghost because he was standing right in front of Kyungsoo, tearing his eyes away to look at the old man, dressed like he belonged here in the countryside in a grass hat and amongst the sea breeze.
“I left it on the counter,” the old man said.
The male huffed and crossed his arms. “Well, it’s not there.”
The old man grumbled. “I’ll find it. You watch the fish and help this young man catch a fish. He looks starved like you.”
The male rolled his eyes but helped the man stand. He was swatted at for helping, but he kept his gaze on the elder until he safely hobbled inside before sliding it to Kyungsoo. “Found a fish you want?”
Kyungsoo was almost positive that this was the same person who had stood beside the emperor. Still, he couldn’t imagine why the emperor’s famed singer was here in a hut, helping an old man with his customers looking for grilled fish and talking informally like he grew up common. “Do you have a twin?” he blurted.
The male crossed his arms and looked at Kyungsoo like he was dumb. “No.”
“Oh, um.” Kyungsoo dropped his eyes to the fish swimming over one another in their limited confines. “I’d like that one.”
The male reached into the water and snagged a fish with one quick move. He adjusted his grip, slotting his fingers through the gills. “C’mon inside. I’ll gut it and skin it for you.”
Kyungsoo nodded. Maybe he was dumb. There was no way this was the same person who lived with the emperor’s favor.
“Aha!” the old man exclaimed, wielding a curved knife.
“Where was it?” the male asked, holding the fish on the wet surface of the counter speckled with silver scales. “Was it on the counter?”
“Not quite. I forgot I washed it.” The old man handed over the knife with a sheepish grin.
The male shook his head, but the unmovable corners of his mouth lifted. He turned to Kyungsoo, holding the knife over the frozen fish. “You squeamish?”
“No.” Kyungsoo has seen much worse.
The male nodded once and swiftly sliced through the fish, killing it before it began to flounder for air. He was done in a few practiced minutes, telling Kyungsoo to follow him with perfect filets in his hands.
“Here, you grill,” the old man orders the other. “That fish is for you. I’ll clean up inside.”
The male protested. “I’ll do it.”
“No,” the old man said stubbornly. “You hardly visit. Let me take care of you, Baekhyun-ah.”
The male, Baekhyun, sighed in defeat and set Kyungsoo’s fish over a stone which hovered over the fire.
“Is that your grandfather?” Kyungsoo asked. He couldn’t help it. He had to know more about Baekhyun.
“No.” Baekhyun’s answer came clipped, not giving Kyungsoo the opportunity to know more.
They sat in silence. Kyungsoo snuck glances between the male and the fis`h. When the old man returned, he sat on the other side of Baekhyun and asked Kyungsoo, “You look young? How old are you, son?”
“Twenty-four, sir,” Kyungsoo answered.
“Ah, just around your age, Baekhyun,” the old man said, nudging the other. Baekhyun didn’t look away from the cooking fish. “Baekhyun needs more friends his age.”
Baekhyun snorted and for a brief, breathless second, he looked at Kyungsoo right in the eyes. “I don’t.”
“Now, don’t be rude,” the old man chastised. “What happened to those good manners you’ve been taught?”
“I forget everything I’ve been taught when I’m around you,” Baekhyun said with a serious expression. The old man blustered, hitting Baekhyun on his back. Kyungsoo jumped in surprise when Baekhyun began to laugh. His cold expression completely transformed into a sunny grin. His eyes curled into sun rays. His mouth spread into a handsome grin. It was like seeing the clouds part right before his eyes. Kyungsoo had thought Baekhyun was beautiful when cold and standoffish, but Baekhyun smiling and laughing, he was radiant.
Like the green of the forest after an early morning rain or like the sun rising and setting across the mountainous terrain with fractals of rose, sapphire, amethyst, and gold streaks across the sky. Witnessing the sight felt like a running through the trees with laughter building in his chest, or like wind flying past him with clouds slipping through his fingertips. Fleeting and yet timeless.
“You didn’t forget how to gut a fish like I taught you,” the old man replied, toothy grin on display.
“I gut fish in my sleep still,” Baekhyun said, and then, he remembered Kyungsoo was there watching. His smile dropped. Plucking the fish from the stone, he tossed it in a bowl and handed it to Kyungsoo. “Eat. He’s right. You do look starved.”
Kyungsoo bowed and dug in, groaning at the taste. “This tastes so fresh.”
“Fish were caught early this morning,” Baekhyun said, grabbing another fish from the water and going inside to prepare it.
“This is Baekhyun-ah’s favorite food. Luckily, he can’t run me out of business since he catches all the fish when he’s here.”
“It’s excellent. I can see why.”
“I like you. You’re easy to please. Baekhyun-ah used to be that way too until he moved away.”
“Don’t talk about me,” Baekhyun said, coming back outside to throw two more fillets on the stone and stoke the fire. He strode inside to clean up.
The old man leaned close to Kyungsoo. With a conspiratorial whisper, he said, “He’s around a bunch of white cloaks if you get what I mean. Takes himself too seriously now.”
Kyungsoo glanced toward the entry way where inside Baekhyun was probably listening. “I haven’t been around too many people like that.”
“Are you a monk?”
“Kind of. I live in a monastery, but it’s not your typical temple. It’s more of a home for orphans.”
The old man’s eyes widen with sympathy. “Baekhyun-ah lost his mom at a young age, and his dad never got to see him be born.”
“What did I say about talking about me?” Baekhyun said tersely sitting down and flipping his fish. “And stop talking about my dad like that. He left us.”
The old man’s face fell. Kyungsoo felt a spitting fire start up. Beautiful or not, Baekhyun just disrespected the eld—The old man swung his hand back and hit Baekhyun across the back of the head. Kyungsoo froze. Baekhyun slowly lifted his head to stare incredulous at the old man.
“Just because you forgot where you came from doesn’t mean you can erase your past. I helped raise you, boy. Don’t come back here if you’re gonna speak to me that way,” the old man scolded.
Two long beats passed. Baekhyun peeked at Kyungsoo and mumbled, “Sorry about that.”
Kyungsoo pressed his lips together. “I don’t think I’m the one you should be saying that too.”
“I know,” Baekhyun said, but he didn’t apologize. Instead he gave a filet to Kyungsoo and split the other with the old man. He swallowed his half in two bites and announced, “I need to go soon. I’ll go ahead and mop the floors. Should I transfer the fish inside?”
The old man clicked his tongue. “If you need to go, then go. No need to be late on my behalf.”
“It’s fine,” Baekhyun said, disappearing once more inside.
“There you are!” Joonmyun called from down the street waving at Kyungsoo. He raised a basket to show Kyungsoo. “I got Jongdae’s favorite: meat pies. We should start heading back and prep for tonight.”
“Let me clean up,” Kyungsoo said. He went inside and rinsed his bowl in the basin. Next to him, Baekhyun worked silently to put clean dishes away. “Uh…”
“I’ll take care of it,” Baekhyun said without looking at him.
“I can do it, but the ahjussi never said how much.”
“Oh.” Baekhyun lifted his head, met his eyes, and tore his gaze away. He shrugged. “However much you think it was worth.”
Kyungsoo nodded and set a few coins on the counter. He was halfway out the door when Baekhyun spoke, stopping him in his tracks. His heart lurched. What if this was the last time he would see Baekhyun for the next six years? If it were, what should he say? “Yes?”
“This is too much,” Baekhyun said.
“Keep it. I enjoyed my meal.’
Baekhyun snorted. “No, you didn’t. I made you uncomfortable the whole time.”
Kyungsoo held on to the doorframe, keeping him in place. “Not the entire time.”
“Kyungsoo,” Joonmyun said, impatiently.
Kyungsoo tapped his foot and offered a small smile. “I should go. See ya.”
He didn’t wait to hear Baekhyun’s response. He was afraid to confirm it would be the last time they saw one another. He’d rather leave it open-ended and wonder what he could’ve said differently to stay in contact. He bowed to the old man, thanked him for the meal, and met Joonmyun in the street.
It was a welcome dinner for the emperor’s guests who traveled a great distance to celebrate his daughter’s coming marriage. Kyungsoo, Jongdae, Joonmyun, and Minseok already practiced in the courtyard without their dragons, following the motions for the Dance of the Dragons.
Kyungsoo shook the dragon’s mane as he and Minseok synced their steps to the suspenseful gayageum. Opposite to them, Jongdae and Minseok should mirror each other's movements. Four dragons, four elements once in harmony, all leading to the day when there are only two. When they decided to go with four dragons instead of two, Kyungsoo thought it was a good allegory of how a stranger suddenly becomes a part of your routine, your life, your friends, and family. Somehow, with all the factors, they find a rhythm, an understanding, a liking. It symbolized how all these people came together for one purpose. To celebrate the love between two people.
After they finished, they sauntered off stage and changed into proper clothes. Kyungsoo glanced at the emperor’s table after filling his plate with a helping of marinated crab. His gaze met the cool stare of the man next to the princess. It felt like déjà vu, but a rush of ice prickled his skin. No other man was sitting next to the princess other than the emperor, meaning Baekhyun was the princess’s betrothed.
Baekhyun ripped his impenetrable stare away and suddenly stood up. Kyungsoo found himself rising from the table.
“Where are you going?” Joonmyun asked, watching him.
“Bathroom,” Kyungsoo said, focused on his future prince dart behind servants and turning a corner behind a building. He did not know the palace’s layout, but it didn’t matter. As if responding to the call of the drums, Kyungsoo’s feet carried him forward. Like a choreographed performance, Kyungsoo weaved between people, then buildings, almost invisible. He came to a stop at a small koi pond.
Baekhyun was nowhere to be seen. Kyungsoo sighed and bent low to watch the fish swim leisurely. Their floating, elegant movements reminded him of dragons. They had the push and pull of the water while dragons met the push and pull of the wind and sky. His lungs suddenly burned to feel the moonlight against his skin.
“It’s you again,” an impassive voice said.
Kyungsoo whirled around, twisting his ankle and losing his balance. “Ahmfp!” he cried out as cool water hit his skin. He landed on his rear. His hands catch him from dunking his whole backside in the pond. Baekhyun stared with huge eyes, the most expression Kyungsoo has seen on him. All it took was for Kyungsoo to drown. Swell.
Baekhyun gasped. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Kyungsoo closed his eyes, fighting the humiliation rising on his cheeks. “I think we should be more worried about the koi.”
Baekhyun held out a hand to Kyungsoo. “I think you should reevaluate your priorities. You’re soaked.”
“Is that so?” Kyungsoo said dryly, taking Baekhyun’s hand. His skin sizzled, like lightning humming through the connection where they touched. He stared at their linked hands for a moment long enough for Baekhyun to probably wonder if he hit his head in the fall. He tightened his hold and let Baekhyun hoist him out of the pond. Kyungsoo looked down at his drenched robes and flicked algae clinging to the fabric. “I’m surprised you recognized me.”
“Of course,” Baekhyun answered immediately and then cleared his throat. “I mean…you’re bald.”
Kyungsoo blinked and touched the fuzzy field of black hair along his scalp. “Oh.”
“What’re you doing here? Who are you, Kyungsoo? Are you a noble? A foreign royal?”
A thrill ran through Kyungsoo at the way Baekhyun said his name. His voice was low, a creeping warmth to it despite the forward interrogation. “How do you know my name?”
“It’s what your friend called you earlier. That is your name, isn’t it?”
Kyungsoo nodded, still stunned from his fall and that he met Baekhyun again. Twice…in one day…not a year has passed.
“So who are you?”
“Who are you?” Kyungsoo countered. “A few hours ago, I would’ve just thought you were a fisherman visiting his grandfather, but you were sitting at the emperor’s table.”
Baekhyun sighed, and when he did, he sounded much older than Kyungsoo, like he had lived a hundred lives in a short span of two and a half decades. “It’s a long story.”
“I already know some of it. You grew up here. Your mother died when you were small, and the old fisherman raised you. The grilled fish—”
“Mackerel.”
“—mackerel is your favorite dish.”
A bitter smile stared at Kyungsoo. “We just met, yet you already know more about me than anyone here.” Kyungsoo felt a secret swell of pride, but Baekhyun squashed the feeling before it could grow. “That doesn’t mean anything, and you’re not going to find anything else out.”
Kyungsoo drew his arms together. His robes stuck to his skin, and the sea breeze chilled him to the bone. “Why not?”
“Because we aren’t friends. I don’t make friends, and no one here can know about my past. The emperor already knows enough about me. I don’t need to give him more weapons to use against me.”
“What would he use against you?” Kyungsoo’s teeth chattered.
Baekhyun raked his eyes over Kyungsoo. The performer shuddered. Baekhyun sighed and clicked his tongue just like the old man. Perhaps he wanted to leave behind the story of the boy in the countryside, but he couldn’t get rid of him. “C’mon. We need to change your robes. You’ll get sick.” He wrapped slender fingers around Kyungsoo’s wrist and led him toward the main palace building.
“My robes are in my room.”
Baekhyun stopped and glanced at him over his shoulder. “Where is your room?”
“Servant’s quarters.”
“That’s like a mile away. My room is right here.”
“I’m not wearing your robes,” Kyungsoo protested.
Baekhyun jerked his back and crossed his arms. “Fine. Then get sick and die.”
Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to die.” However, getting sick was very plausible. Dragons hated to be cold. He shivered again.
Baekhyun sighed. “Just come with me.”
Kyungsoo reluctantly followed the future prince inside the palace. He tried to take everything in, but Baekhyun walked fast. When they reached his room, Kyungsoo was surprised at how ornate it was. A massive bed with a canopy was centered in the middle. A dresser with a clean comb and a few fancy hairclips, probably worth more than anything Kyungsoo owned, was placed by the window, resting on the surface. There was a desk with abandoned pieces of parchment spread over it on the opposite side of the room.
Kyungsoo never had his own room. He’s always shared with someone
Baekhyun revealed a closet behind a sliding door and picked something out. He laid it out over the bed. “Strip,” he ordered.
“What?” Kyungsoo squeaked.
Baekhyun smiled, albeit smaller compared to the grin when he was laughing with the old man. This one was also sinister. Kyungsoo balked at the sight. “I said…” Baekhyun drawled, “strip. Or you’ll get sick.”
“Turn around.”
Baekhyun snorted and flicked the ‘v’ of Kyungsoo’s robe. “Why? It’s not like you have something I haven’t seen before.”
Kyungsoo stepped back. “You haven’t seen me.”
Baekhyun chuckled and complied, turning around to give Kyungsoo privacy.
He waited a second to ensure Baekhyun would abide by not looking before shedding all his clothes. His damp skin prickled. The future prince shifted on his feet. Kyungsoo paused, his pants looping around his knees.
“Are you done?” Baekhyun said.
“No,” Kyungsoo grumbled. “Have some patience.”
“I don’t think I’ve had anyone say that to me since I was a child.”
“Well, someone should’ve said it more often.” Kyungsoo hurriedly knotted his robes. He felt naked without all of his undergarments. “Okay, I’m dressed.”
Baekhyun turned around and perused Kyungsoo up and down, looking for flaws, yet Kyungsoo felt his eyes like a touch running over his bare skin. Baekhyun crossed the room with deliberate, measured steps. Kyungsoo held his breath as cool fingers landed on his bare sternum. He drew his eyes to Baekhyun’s.
“The emperor is going to think you’re propositioning him dressed like this,” Baekhyun said, low and quiet. He pulled the shirt tighter over Kyungsoo’s chest, covering his skin. He stepped back, and Kyungsoo let go of all the air in his lungs. “You haven’t told me who you are, but earlier today when we met, did you know who I was?”
Kyungsoo adjusted his shirt. “I did, but I thought I was mistaken. We haven’t officially met.”
“Good,” Baekhyun said, and Kyungsoo wasn’t sure what ‘good’ meant. “Where have you seen me before?”
“Death of the Dragon Day Festival. I noticed you next to the emperor.”
Baekhyun sighed in disbelief with a hint of a smile. “Growing up here, all you hear about is the Death of a Dragon festival. I’d been begging to see it since moving to the capital, and a few years ago, he let me out of my cage.”
Kyungsoo flinched, but Baekhyun seemed wistful. He hadn’t looked happy while at the festival. In fact, Kyungsoo thought the opposite.“What were you most excited to see?”
Baekhyun’s face lit up, completely transforming his previous seriousness. “The Duel. I think the princess knows I love the tales of the dragons. It was the only thing I could talk about for weeks after the festival.”
Kyungsoo smiled, and his heart did this weird flip-flopping thing. “Do you remember which dragon you were cheering for?”
“There was gold and red, like today’s performance. I cheered for red. I always do. Red was my mother’s favorite color. Wait. If you had noticed me, where were you? If I had seen you, I would’ve remembered you.”
Kyungsoo flushed, even though he’s sure Baekhyun wouldn’t have noticed him the way he’s noticed him. “You looked right at me. I’m positive. You probably don’t recognize me without my mask.”
“Your mask?” Baekhyun curved his head, studying Kyungsoo. His lashes fluttered. “Were you one of the performers?”
“I was. I performed tonight.”
Baekhyun stares at Kyungsoo with a new sheen to his eyes. No longer was the cold depth of a locked interior. Baekhyun looked more boyish, recognition on his face. “You’re one of the dragons.”
Kyungsoo bowed before him as he did moments earlier in the center of the courtyard, minus the large dragon head blocking his field of vision. “The red one to be exact.”
Baekhyun laughs, a warm, honeyed chiming sound. He was about to say something when his name echoed down the hall. Suddenly, when Kyungsoo thought he was starting to see who Baekhyun really was, he’s gone. In place is the tight press of his mouth that ages him, the straightened lines of his posture that made Kyungsoo tense, the shallow, dark color of eyes, lazily staring back at him.
“I should go,” Baekhyun said. “They’re probably wondering where I went. I enjoyed your performance today and the one from the festival.”
Kyungsoo’s heart thundered as Baekhyun began to walk out of his room and toward the voice. “Wait! Can I see you around?”
For a second, he swore he saw Baekhyun’s impassive mask crack, but it’s knotted in place when he blinks. “No. And don’t tell anyone about me.”
“What about your robes?”
“Keep them. I have plenty.” Baekhyun held his gaze for one more breath before responding to the insistent voice calling for him.
The old man told Kyungsoo to call him Grandfather Lee the next time he came around. Baekhyun wasn’t there. Kyungsoo would be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed. He hoped to run into him again despite Baekhyun’s firm answer. He had caught a glimpse of him once in the morning, but Baekhyun was facing the other direction and hadn’t seen Kyungsoo.
Here at the palace, the difference in their stations was all too apparent. Kyungsoo couldn’t address him unless Baekhyun spoke to him first. It made Kyungsoo all the more curious how he grew up in the small seaside village, catching fish and grilling them for customers, to living in the palace accompanying the emperor and his family, doing heaven knows what for them. Was the wealth and company worth his freedom?
Kyungsoo would beg to differ. Back at the monastery, they tilled their own fields, hunted for their meals, and shared chores. There were no attendants or servants to do their work. It wasn’t easy, but Kyungsoo found pride in it. And as soon as the day’s work was done, the sky was his to claim. He can’t imagine giving up his freedom for anything.
Grandfather Lee taught Kyungsoo how to properly debone fish, smacking him with a broom handle every time he cut too shallow and left too much meat behind. By the end of the day, Kyungsoo was nearly as swift and skilled as the grandfather himself. Baekhyun had been faster. The movements must be as memorized as the dragon dances.
On the fourth day in town, Kyungsoo rose early in the morning to meet Grandfather Lee at the dock. The sky was painted with a sharp violet, giving him just enough light to notice there were two people on the boat as he approached.
“There you are!” Grandfather Lee said, waving at Kyungsoo. “Look who decided to show up to help us.”
Kyungsoo stopped in his tracks on the dock. Baekhyun was dressed like he was on the first day, walking out of the hut in plain robes and a straw hat in place. He was looking at Kyungsoo with an expression that could be simmering annoyance or pure surprise.
Grandfather Lee shuffled to the edge of the boat, waving a hand at him. “Don’t be afraid and get it on. We should be out on the water already.”
Kyungsoo took his hand and stepped inside the boat. The water lapped the side, and he stumbled with the sway.
Baekhyun snorted. “First time on the water?”
“Yes,” Kyungsoo hissed, balancing like a new foal. Land and sky, that was what he was comfortable with. The ground unmoving beneath his feet. The wind holding his head high. Water was the only thing that moved. It had a life of its own. Always in a conversation with the wind and the shore.
An arm snaked around his waist. “Steady there. You don’t want to fight the rhythm. Otherwise, you’ll fall right in. Can you swim?”
“I can manage.” He’s better than Jongdae, who flounders the moment his head goes under the surface.
“I see how you are managing right now, and it’s going to end with you managing to swim. Rock with the boat, Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun instructed. He pressed against him, back to chest, forcing Kyungsoo to sway with the boat.
Kyungsoo could feel his whole body rise in temperature, despite the morning sea breeze nipping at his exposed skin. Baekhyun was warm, solid, comfortable despite practically being strangers. Kyungsoo wasn’t quite sure what to call Baekhyun. They had fleeting moments that felt something like the start of friendship, but most of their interactions were Baekhyun being terse or short. He wasn’t sure why Baekhyun was so removed, and he spent the last few days wondering if the the future prince had anyone, he could be himself around other than Grandfather Lee.
“Keep doing that and maybe you’ll stay dry,” Baekhyun said quietly, slipping away from Kyungsoo. He moved to stand before him, hands on his hips. “First thing I need you to do is untangle the net.”
“It shouldn’t be too bad,” Grandfather Lee said, “I try to untangle it after every trip, but my fingers stiffen before I can finish.”
“I can do that. I’m used to helping my friends sew, and that can be tedious,” Kyungsoo said, picking up the net. Baekhyun explained how to prepare for the first throw so Kyungsoo could see how it was done.
Once out on the water, the boat didn’t rock as much. Kyungsoo listened to every tip and trick Baekhyun and the grandfather would tell him.
“Here,” Baekhyun announced, looking at the old man.
Grandfather Lee peered into the waters and hummed. “You’re right. Get ready to toss.”
“Kyungsoo, grab that side of the net and spread it out like this.” Kyungsoo followed Baekhyun’s orders, flitting between him and his own hands. Baekhyun nodded in silent approval. “On the count of three, we toss it and try to throw it flat across the side. Ready? One, two, three…”
The net landed in a square. “Good work,” Grandfather Lee said.
“Now we throw the bait,” Baekhyun said. He grabbed a bucket and tossed the contents right over the net. “And we wait.”
“That looks a lot like the leftovers from the fish we ate,” Kyungsoo said.
“It is. A bit cannibalistic, I admit, but to fish, food is food.” Baekhyun smiled, but it dropped the moment their eyes meet.
Kyungsoo felt like he was being tossed between north and south winds. One moment Baekhyun was friendly, like the melting of frost in an early spring. The next, he was as frigid and icy as a winter storm. Even Baekhyun himself seemed to forget what season he was supposed to be.
“Alright, let’s reel them in. Grab onto the ropes.”
The net had sunk under the water. A cluster of cannibalistic fish pecked at the guts floating at the surface. With another count, Kyungsoo, Baekhyun, and the Grandfather Lee reeled the net in with at least ten fish flopping against their cage. They threw the fish into a basin similar to the one the grandfather has outside his hut.
“Twelve,” Baekhyun said, looking at Kyungsoo. “Not bad for your first time fishing.”
Kyungsoo grinned. “I can catch more.”
Baekhyun chuckled and turned toward Grandfather Lee. “He’s addicted now.”
“Just like you were,” he replied.
They throw the net a couple more times. Once they’d caught forty fish and the sun was fully in the sky, Grandfather Lee announced it was time to go back to shore. Kyungsoo was confident with his sea legs. He leaned against the side of the boat, enjoying the breeze. He closed his eyes and pretended he was flying over a diamond sky surface, instead of over acres of aspens and perennials.
“Kyungsoo.” It was Baekhyun’s voice, a flat whisper, but he knew there was more to it. He just had to find it. It came firmer. “Kyungsoo.”
Kyungsoo twisted around and at the same time, a strong wave came and hit the side of boat, throwing him back. The last thing he saw before his head went under was Baekhyun reaching for him.
The ocean wasn’t nearly as cold as Kyungsoo expected, but it still shocked him. He gasped. Saltwater filled his mouth. He grabbed for the surface, coughing as soon as cool air and sunshine hit his nose. He barely registered the splash next to him. He thrashed when a slick, heated body wrapped around him.
“It’s me,” Baekhyun yelled. His arms tightened around Kyungsoo, keeping him afloat.
Kyungsoo blinked the brackish water out of his eyes and stared at the face of his savior. Baekhyun’s hat had flown off. His hair was pulled into a knot, exactly how he kept it at the palace, except drenched, baby hairs escaped and framed his face. His skin sparkled. Ragged breaths escaped his supple lips. A water drop clung to the rounded corner. Baekhyun’s eyes were like two black glittering flames, depths almost as ferocious and drowning as the waves trying to drag Kyungsoo below.
“We got to swim to the boat,” Baekhyun said. “Can you do that?”
All of Kyungsoo’s limbs felt disconnected, and the only think anchoring him was Baekhyun’s arm around him, the sea lapping his chin and sticking to his lashes. “I-I think,” Kyungsoo chattered. He really wasn’t a sea dragon. Earth and sky would remain his kingdom.
Baekhyun hoisted himself into the boat before turning around to help Kyungsoo inside. His clothes released a heavy squelch. Kyungsoo’s chest heaved. He groaned when a weight landed on him.
“Are you okay?” Baekhyun asked, hands on his chest. His eyes roamed over Kyungsoo.
Kyungsoo nodded, closing his eyes, grateful to be back on solid surface. A fist beat on his chest. He winced.
“You are not allowed to be near water anymore,” Baekhyun swore. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”
Kyungsoo coughed out a laugh. “I don’t die because you’re always around.”
Another fist beat on his chest. “Not anymore,” Baekhyun promised. “I like to live.”
Kyungsoo with his eyes still closed, snatched Baekhyun’s wrist and held him there. With part of Baekhyun’s weight pressing him down on the solid surface of the boat, Kyungsoo was steady. Slowly, he peeled his eyes open to find a worrying line between Baekhyun’s brows. Kyungsoo smoothed it. “Thank you.”
Baekhyun didn’t back away from Kyungsoo’s touch. He watched with curious trepidation, like a stray puppy crossing paths with his first human, as Kyungsoo’s fingers curled over his brow bone, tracing the contours of his temple and high cheekbones. “You’re beautiful,” Kyungsoo whispered.
Baekhyun’s eyes widened. His chin tilted, a small smile rising to his lips. “Did the lack of oxygen do something to your brain?”
“Maybe, but I had to say it before you try to drown me again.”
“Me?” Baekhyun sparks with a laugh. “I’ve only been a witness to your attempts of water boarding.”
“Suspicious that you are always at the scene of these incidents.”
“I could have let you drown.”
Kyungsoo mused. “You could’ve, but then I wouldn’t owe you.”
“What could a little dragon performer like you could possibly give me,” Baekhyun said.
Kyungsoo pressed his lips together. As long as Baekhyun stayed by the emperor’s side, he had access to all riches wanted. He didn’t have freedom the way Kyungsoo did, but maybe Baekhyun had chose that—it was still unclear. “I can give you the flight of a real dragon.”
Baekhyun cocked his brow. “Is that a dance?”
“Sort of, buit it’s not like anything you’ve ever seen performed.”
“Are you two done tanning? We’ve got a boat to unload,” Grandfather Lee said, reminding Kyungsoo it wasn’t just Baekhyun tethering him.
Baekhyun swallowed, weighty and slow. “I let you know when I want that favor,” he said, standing.
Kyungsoo followed. “Will you or are you hoping to disappear again?” He meant to sound light, but there was an edge of accusation. A soft press gripped his elbow.
“I don’t disappear because I want to.”
After unloading the boat and preparing it for tomorrow’s fishing trip, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun carried the basin back to the hut. While Kyungsoo started the fire and cleaned the stone, Baekhyun prepared fish to grill. By the time they ate a late breakfast, Jongdae, Joonmyun, and Minseok ran up the street toward them.
Baekhyun was frozen, scared more people would find out his identity, but with half a fish to wrestle between three dragons, they didn’t pay much attention to anyone but Grandfather, who whacked Jongdae with a stick when he tried to steal out of Minseok’s bowl.
Kyungsoo plucked a fish out of the basin and began to prepare it inside. A minute later, Baekhyun leaned over his shoulder, observing.
“You’re fast,” Baekhyun said.
“I learn quick. I cook a lot at home,” Kyungsoo answered.
“And where is home for the dragon performers?”
“A temple in the mountains.”
“Ah, so you’re bald because you’re a monk.”
Kyungsoo laughed. “I’m bald because it’s easier to manage. I don’t spend much time on my appearance, and not because I’m a monk. I’m not a monk. The temple is just the place where a lot of orphans live. Some call it the Temple of the Dragon.”
Baekhyun hummed and moved opposite of him to rest the small of his back on the counter. “I’m starting to think this dragon thing is an obsession of yours.”
“It’s history,” Kyungsoo explained. “If you grew up in the temple, you’d want to know everything too. There’s this huge mural that tells the origins of dragons. I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere else.”
“What is this origin story?”
Kyungsoo launches into the beginning of time when there was man and there was dragons. Somehow in their differences, they found harmony. As he talked, he cut up three more fish for his friends.
“So you feel as if dragons still exist despite what they say about the death of the last known dragons?” Baekhyun asked.
“I know they still exist.”
“How? Have you seen one?”
“Can you get me a few more fish?” Grandfather Lee asked, poking his head in. “Your friends drew in a crowd.”
Baekhyun looked scared to move, so Kyungsoo offered to get more, switching places with him. When he returned, he said, “My friends won’t tell anyone about you.”
Baekhyun glanced over at him, mouth agape in surprise. “How do you know they won’t?”
“Because we’re good at keeping secrets. I told you that dragons still existed. They know that too.”
“If they are real, why wouldn’t you tell people?”
Kyungsoo watched how fast Baekhyun’s hands glided with the knife. He would never see this side in the palace, besides the emperor, or at a festival. This was Baekhyun without a mask, following the motions of a song he knows every note to. “The Death of a Dragons Day is celebrated for a reason,” he said quietly.
“Thank you,” Baekhyun said after a lull of silence.
“For?”
Baekhyun shrugged. “Telling me the dragon history, keeping my secret, I don’t know, but I felt like I needed to say it.”
“Oh.” Kyungsoo’s face warmed, and Baekhyun’s cheeks were red. “You’re welcome.”
They performed the next day. The Court of a Dragon. Instead of four dragons, there were two. Kyungsoo and Joonmyun circled Minseok and Jongdae. The applause was loud, but Kyungsoo only cared for one person’s reaction. He raised the dragon's head just a bit higher than he should. He was becoming more familiar with Baekhyun’s mask and when it was in place, but today, he clapped stiffly. It was enough to make Kyungsoo beam the whole evening they spent playing cards instead of attending the rest of the festivities.
Minseok and Jongdae had bought wine while on their way back from Grandfather Lee’s. For a homemade brew, it was strong. Kyungsoo stepped outside to feel the wispy night air dance over his skin and put him to sleep. He strolled the gardens when he heard a haunting melody. It was achingly beautiful. Entranced, he weaved his way through the gardens to find the source.
Standing over the koi pond was Baekhyun. His eyes snapped to Kyungsoo’s and raised a finger to his mouth. Like this, burgundy robes dripping off his body like wine, he looked ethereal. A slender face, glass-like skin, cherry-sweet lips, and a button nose. It was a mask of perfection. Nothing like the wooden masks actors wear and tell a story through movement.
The emperor appeared beside Baekhyun, swaying as if drunk. Maybe he was. He caressed Baekhyun’s cheek. Baekhyun went completely still, despite the song slipping past his parted lips.
“Soon,” the emperor whispered, and the song tapered off. “Soon, you will be my son. Your child will be the ruler of the land. Have you dreamed of such a possibility?”
“Never, Your Majesty,” Baekhyun replied soullessly.
“But it is true.” The emperor patted his cheek. A sharp one-two. “Thank you for the song. I will sleep well now.”
Baekhyun bowed and stayed there until the emperor was inside. Then, he looked at Kyungsoo. Not even the moon shone in his eyes. “Accompany me for a walk?”
Kyungsoo grabbed a spare robe for Baekhyun to wear in case anyone noticed him, but he couldn’t believe Baekhyun hadn’t been recognized before. His face was unlike anyone else’s. A special cut from a rare gem. His voice had a clarity that even a cloudless sky would be jealous of.
They passed through the palace gates, turning before they reached town, heading for the beach, which Kyungsoo had yet to visit. Their silence wasn’t uncomfortable, but there was an undertone of what wasn’t being said. Kyungsoo was worried. He didn’t like it when Baekhyun became the emperor’s Baekhyun. There was so much he felt the other hid from him, Grandfather Lee, and the world. He knew he had no claim to him, but he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to see Baekhyun’s sunshine smile. He wanted to feel the warmth of his happiness spread over him. If the emperor kept burying the sun with his clouds, what would become of the roots and the flowers? What would become of Baekhyun?
“I met the emperor when I was eleven,” Baekhyun suddenly said. He stared ahead as they crossed the dunes to the sandy beach. “He didn’t visit his summer home often, and his peach trees were always left untended during their harvest season. One day, I snuck over the walls and collected a basket of peaches. Back then, I hated silence. Grandfather was either talking, whistling, or humming while we worked. My mother was like that too. She used to talk herself through her chores. I picked up the habit and was singing when the emperor appeared. I guess he decided to visit without warning anyone.
“He told me I had a voice from the heavens and asked me there if I wanted to work for him. He promised he could change my life. Back then, I just wanted to stop gutting fish and be able to buy the mooncakes that Grandfather insisted were too expensive. I said yes, and that night and every night after, I have sung him, the empress, and the princess to sleep.”
“Your voice sounded…” sad, Kyungsoo wanted to say. The emperor wasn’t wrong, but watching Baekhyun sing, his voice used solely for someone else, cut Kyungsoo to his bones. It was jarring and wrong, like he shouldn’t find it so beautiful.
“I hate it,” Baekhyun spat, stopping with his feet buried in the sand. “I hate where it’s got me. You probably think I’m spoiled and shallow for not appreciating the opportunity to marry the princess and be adored by His Highness. Thousands of people would love to be where I am, but back in the city, I can’t leave palace grounds lest I be needed for my voice. This is the first time in years that I’ve been able to walk around unaccompanied because someone could try and steal my voice.”
Steal his voice? It was like Baekhyun wasn’t seen as a person but as a tool, one that only he knew how to use.
“Years ago, I wouldn’t have minded marrying the princess and pacing about the palace like a chained dog, but coming here reminds me what I left behind, what I could have had.” Baekhyun scooped a handful of sand and let it slip through his fingers. His voice had grown in volume as he spoke, but now, it was a murmur, hovering over the gentle crash of waves. “I used to love singing. My mom would always ask me to sing her songs. I hate to sing now.”
Baekhyun picked up his feet and walked toward the water. “I know people have it way worse in life. Maybe I’d hate fish if I stayed here. I just…do you ever feel like that? Like you’re stuck and can’t do anything because…well…you chose this?”
Their feet reached the waves. Seafoam circled their ankles.
Kyungsoo licked his wind-stung lips. “You were a child. You might have chosen it, but you didn’t know what that choice would entail. You can change your mind, Baekhyun.”
“I…I can’t. He won’t let me go. He’d find me. You don’t understand. No one tells the emperor no. He’d be humiliated if a nobody like me left his daughter at the altar. Every time someone questioned my heritage, he always told them I was a friend’s son of a nobleman. The emperor doesn’t even know about my life before him. My life began the day we met.”
Kyungsoo frowned. “That’s not true. You are shaped by every minute of your life. When you debone and cut fish, that wasn’t taught while you were at the palace. The love for song to hating it, it all came from your past and your present.”
“You’re the first person I’ve told all this to,” Baekhyun admitted. “I can’t tell grandfather. I’m scared he’ll try marching into the palace to yell at the emperor and get himself killed. Have you ever wanted something you couldn’t have?”
“Of course,” Kyungsoo answered. This very second. “But I knew it would never be mine.”
“Isn’t that frustrating?”
The world was asleep save for them and the waves. The moon painted jagged fragments across the surface.
Kyungsoo memorized Baekhyun’s profile. “Sometimes it’s better to take what you are given, and it has to be enough. I can’t say I don’t hope for more, but when you’ve lost something precious before you’ve even had a chance, every moment becomes enough.”
Baekhyun fully turned to him with a question in his eyes. Kyungsoo offered a tight smile and beckoned Baekhyun closer with a hand to his mouth, preparing to whisper a secret. Baekhyun narrowed his gaze but leaned in.
Kyungsoo’s grin sharpened the last second before he wrapped a leg around Baekhyun and pushed his chest. Baekhyun’s betrayed expression bubbled laughter up Kyungsoo’s throat…until a force pulled him with Baekhyun into the giggling waves. Kyungsoo sputtered salt. He fell half across Baekhyun, leg slotted between the future prince’s.
The moon and stars dazzled in Baekhyun’s gaze. His palace mask washed away and was seized by the current, taking it far away from the sandy beach. “You really can’t be trusted around the water,” Baekhyun said breathlessly. “I always end up ruining my robes around you.”
“I couldn’t help myself,” Kyungsoo said, smile widening when the corners of Baekhyun’s mouth twist into a reluctant grin.
“I guess I can’t help myself from doing this, then.” Baekhyun splashed seawater into Kyungsoo’s face. He used the momentary blindness to slip out from underneath Kyungsoo and run away.
“Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo yelped, wiping sand off his cheeks and water out of his eyes.
Baekhyun watched him from a short sprint away. The sun shone in the middle of the night and backed away from the shore with the sound of amusement lingering in the brilliant ways. Kyungsoo has always been warned not to fly too close to the sun, but they never said he couldn’t run for it.
His heels sank in the sand with each step. His lungs burned with laughter and exertion. When he was close enough, he kicked the water, spraying Baekhyun, who shied away with a yell. Kyungsoo doubled over, high-pitched wheezes squeezing through his gasps of air at the sight of revenge alight in Baekhyun’s eyes.
Kyungsoo tried to run, but Baekhyun’s stride was longer. His arms seized Kyungsoo’s middle, and he flung him into the rippling surface. Kyungsoo sat there in the water, breathing slow. Baekhyun stood over him with a prideful grin.
“Admit defeat?”
“You won.” Kyungsoo raised his palms in surrender.
Baekhyun offered a hand to help him up. Kyungsoo wrapped his fingers around Baekhyun’s wrist and tugged. Baekhyun landed ungracefully next to him.
“You’ll pay for that,” he said, splashing Kyungsoo mercilessly.
Kyungsoo coughed, blocking his face, but it did little to stop the onslaught. He squeezed his eyes shut, blindly grabbing for Baekhyun. Fingers splayed over his cheek and neck. Kyungsoo completely froze. The lightest pressure covered his mouth. A whisper of cloud-like wispiness…there until you reach for it.
Kyungsoo’s eyes shoot open just in time to see Baekhyun back away. With his fingertips pressed to his lower lip, salt dancing on his tongue, Kyungsoo watched stunned as Baekhyun walked through the waves until he was fully submerged into inky blue depths. When he rose out of the liquid moonlight, he said as quiet as the waves, “Is it okay for me to have tonight?”
Kyungsoo waded over to him, unsure if he heard Baekhyun properly. It was a chance. A risk to fall from a great height, but every dragon must learn how to fall before they can fly.
Baekhyun locked over his shoulder, looking as every beautiful as he did sad. This fall would hurt. It might even break him.
“Kyungsoo, you’re two steps behind. You’re not focused,” Joonmyun said, wiping away the sweat off his forehead.
The sun glared at Kyungsoo. They’re practicing for their last performance: Mating of the Dragons. It’s complex. It’s long. His arms were tired. Worst of all, he hasn’t seen Baekhyun since they were at the beach. Well, he has seen Baekhyun, but not the Baekhyun he’s gotten to know. He must have found his mask when Kyungsoo wasn’t looking and slid it into place because as soon as they reached the gate, Baekhyun murmured ‘goodnight’ and hastily retreated to his empty room and large fancy bed.
It felt like seeing him at the festival all over again, except now he knew Baekhyun liked their performances, he knew how Baekhyun became the sun when he smiled, he knew there was a part of him, no matter how small, who liked Kyungsoo back, and he had slipped away with Kyungsoo being able to do anything about it.
He spent time with Grandfather Lee in hope that Baekhyun would appear. He circled the koi pond desperately thrice a day. But after the fourth day, Kyungsoo understood what it meant when Baekhyun did pass him by without a glance; this was how it was always meant to be. Kyungsoo was mere lowly performer telling stories with his orphaned brothers through dance and costume. He slid a mask on for their entertainment, and who he was after, no longer served a purpose to Baekhyun.
“Sorry. I’ll keep practicing until I get it right. You guys go and eat,” Kyungsoo said, his own stomach rumbling. They took the costumes with them as Kyungsoo remained behind. The beating of the drum pulsed in his head. His feet slid across the stone. He pretended the dragon head covered him, and all he could see was the dancing fringe the cracks in the tile beneath him.
If he made a mistake, he did it again. And again. And again. Until he could do the dance with his eyes shut. He missed the mountains. The call of the birds. The rush of flying. Would Baekhyun like to see all those things? He left the simple life in a seaside town only to become a captive in a palace, a place even smaller than the town. What kind of life was that? It couldn’t have been what a young Baekhyun imagined, so what was he expecting?
By the time Kyungsoo stopped practicing, the moon was over his head, growing oddly familiar with his presence. He wasn’t quite sure why he had done it, but he was there in front of Baekhyun’s bedroom, hesitant to tap his knuckles across the oak. Guards made their rounds in this part of the palace, but none stood before Baekhyun’s door. Kyungsoo had to wait for the right time to walk by, to hold his breath, to whisper, “Baekhyun.”
The door slid open immediately, like he had been waiting for Kyungsoo. His sleepy eyes were wide with alarm. His mouth parted and then formed a scowl. He dragged Kyungsoo inside. “What are you doing here?” Baekhyun hissed. “If someone saw you…”
“No one did,” Kyungsoo replied much softer and calmer. He was exhausted, but seeing Baekhyun before him, so close as they were, he forgot his weariness. “I’ll leave if you ask.”
He waited. Baekhyun glanced at the doors, barely breathing, listening for the creak of the floorboards. When none came, he faced Kyungsoo. “You really shouldn’t be here. If the emperor finds out—”
“I’m not scared of the emperor,” Kyungsoo said. and Baekhyun shushed him trying to fit hand over his mouth. Kyungsoo caught his hand and pressed their palms together. “I want to ask you something.”
Baekhyun glanced to where they were linked and nodded.
“Is this what you want?”
Baekhyun visibly gulped. “What do you mean?”
“This life, always in arm's reach of the emperor, married to someone you don’t love.”
“How do you know I don’t love the princess?”
Kyungsoo felt like he’d been slapped across the face. What did their kiss mean? Had he read Baekhyun all wrong? Was Baekhyun with a mask the real Baekhyun all along? He swallowed down the regret building in his chest. He could live with the fact that Baekhyun meant more to him than he did to the other. He’ll always have the Baekhyun playing in the ocean and the Baekhyun who can expertly prepare fish.
“Maybe you do,” he said, fighting the ache in his voice. He gently slipped out of Baekhyun’s grasp and moved toward the door. “We leave tomorrow after our performance. I wanted to let you know my offer still stands.”
“What offer?” Baekhyun stood there, empty-handed, robes clinging to his shoulders.
The hiss of the breeze promised Kyungsoo wind beneath his wings. He could easily envision Baekhyun wind-whipped and free. He just had to say the word. “The flight of a dragon,” Kyungsoo answered. “If you ever need an escape, there’s always that.”
“What if...” Baekhyun hesitated, holding Kyungsoo there from flying away. “What if the emperor finds me?”
“I can’t promise you’ll always be hidden, but I can promise you protection. I’d go to war for you.”
“What if I...” Baekhyun started again. “What if I won’t sing for you?”
Kyungsoo smiled. It didn’t matter that Baekhyun’s song lingered in the back of his mind. He never wanted to hear the delicate, broken voice weaving a song for someone else. “That’s fine. You don’t have to sing if you don’t want to.”
Baekhyun’s brows crashed together, pain etched into the fold. Kyungsoo wanted to erase it, but it had to be Baekhyun’s choice. He couldn’t make his future prince trust him. He bowed and slipped out of the room. “Goodnight, Baekhyun.”
Kyungsoo was glad he had to get ready for the performance, so he wouldn’t have to see the ceremony, but the cheers still reached him this far away from the courtyard.
Joonmyun rubbed his back. “We can go home now if you want.”
Kyungsoo met Minseok’s encouraging smile and Jongdae’s not in agreement. They grew up together, blade for blade, cloud for cloud. They’d always been the four dragons together, sharing the history through costumes and dance. This performance would bring attention to their temple and help other orphans just like them. No matter how much he may stumble. He won’t quit.
“I want to do this.” It was his last chance to see Baekhyun. It was a goodbye. Today, they would go back to how they started: the performer and his audience. Strangers in a crowd. Two individuals who were never meant to meet.
Kyungsoo carried the dragon’s head like a shield and trophy. This was who he was. Maybe he would’ve drawn the attention of a young fisherman, excited to be in the capital during Death of a Dragons Festivities, but this wasn’t the same boy who dreamt of a life grander than his fishing village.
The woodwind blew a warning call. There was a dragon in their midst. Cobalt and scarlet swayed. The courtyard looked similar to their first performance. Kyungsoo couldn’t see, but he knew Baekhyun was watching him. The costume felt heavier than yesterday.
Kyungsoo held his weight on one leg, and the instrument reached a delicate high note. His foot slammed down at the same time the drum entered, and the Mating of the Dragons began.
His pulse fell into beat with the percussion. He yearned to look at Baekhyun, to say this dance was his final message to him. Scarlet and cerulean once out of sync, all into step. Always in motion with one another, filling the gaps the other leaves. A confession without words. A commitment without swearing it.
Sweat slid down Kyungsoo’s temple. This was it. The end was near, and he would never see Baekhyun again. Underneath the music, there was a commotion. Glass shattered, and a hauntingly familiar voice cried out, “Kyungsoo!”
At the same time, his leg gave out. Lightening pierced the side of his thigh, and he mistepped.
“Kyungsoo,” Joonmyun hoarsely whispered. “Kyungsoo, stop.”
“Take Baekhyun inside and lock him in his room,” the emperor ordered.
“You’ve been shot, Kyungsoo,” Joonmyun said. His voice sounded so odd, like he had been drenched in freezing water.
Kyungsoo glanced down at his leg and saw an arrow protruding out of his skin. His dark clothes looked wet around the wound.
“No! What’re you doing?” Baekhyun cried out.
Kyungsoo threw the costume to the ground and finally saw Baekhyun. He looked like the perfect prince in his ornate groom's clothing, except two men held him back, and his eyes jumped out at Kyungsoo. The emperor grinned from the other side of his daughter, a frightened bride who looked between her father and husband. Pain shot through Kyungsoo as he stepped forward, collapsing to one knee.
“It is the ceremony of the Death of a Dragon,” the emperor jeered. “He deserves to die after he seduced you, my boy.”
Baekhyun turned green, looking at someone far behind Kyungsoo. “Don’t! He didn’t do anything.”
“It is not time to be tender-hearted. This actor humiliated you,” the emperor said. “He brought shame to our whole family.”
Baekhyun thrashed against his captors’ hold. He met Kyungsoo’s eyes, a diamond surface glittering when Kyungsoo shook his head and spoke, though his voice wouldn’t reach him, “I’ll be okay.”
Baekhyun gritted his teeth and struggled with all his power to escape. He gasped, tone frayed, “You promised me! Flight of the dragon.”
The call answered right in Kyungsoo’s bones. He shifted there. Soft skin turned into steely scales. People screamed. His black eyes swallowed the white. He looked nothing like the scarlet dragon he embodied: navy blue body with a burgundy spin and gold-spun whiskers. His snout was longer. He had wings that expanded to the length of his sinewy body. He shuddered from the change and launched from his back legs at Baekhyun. An arrow soared past him. He was far quicker than a human, but his size meant he was a bigger target.
With an iron grip, he grabbed Baekhyun and rose to the sky. Baekhyun screamed, a sound uncommonly high for him. Kyungsoo snorted a laugh, which drew Baekhyun’s attention.
“Kyungsoo?” he asked over the roaring wind. The palace was far below them now, and it looked as though Jongdae, Joonmyun, and Minseok had dispersed at Kyungsoo’s change. He might’ve just gotten everyone at the orphanage in trouble, but they could deal with that later. First, Baekhyun.
Kyungsoo offered his wing to Baekhyun.
“You want me to?” Baekhyun yelled, eyeing the appendage.
Kyungsoo nodded, watching him from the corner of his eye. Baekhyun warily climbed up the ridge of his spine to sit behind the curve of Kyungsoo’s skull. His hands circle the smoke powder horns. Once he was secure, Kyungsoo dipped down and let the wind anchor him.
Baekhyun’s laugh was the sweetest music. Kyungsoo flew them around before spotting a cave. He darted inside and waited for Baekhyun to climb off before turning back.
Baekhyun strode to the mouth of the caves, sliding his fingers through his hair. Breathlessly, he said, “Did that…did that really just happen?”
“Depends,” Kyungsoo said from behind, “do you believe in dragons?”
Baekhyun swung around and his eyes fell lower and lower down Kyungsoo’s naked form. His face turned bright pink. “I, uh, we just flew. I thought you meant another performance, not…not that.”
Kyungsoo tilted his head. “Why don’t you look at me, Baekhyun?”
“You’re, ah…” Baekhyun flitted his head back and forth. His eyes slid down and jumped back up as if realizing what he was doing. “Do you always, um, end up naked?”
Kyungsoo chuckled and crossed the cave to stand before Baekhyun. “Normally, I prepare before shifting, but this was an emergency. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It’s not something we typically tell outsiders. As you can imagine, dragons have been hunted for years.”
“We?”
“My brothers shift into dragons too. Didn’t you see them?”
“Sorry, I was a little preoccupied by the fact that the person I’m in love with is a dragon,” Baekhyun said, crossing his arms.
“What?” Kyungsoo blurted.
“I said I was distracted.”
“What did you say after that?”
Baekhyun blushed an even darker pink.
“What about the princess?” Kyungsoo asked. “You’re married.”
“Not…not technically. It’s only official after we…you know…consummate, we are married. Besides…I don’t think I’ll be welcomed back after this.”
Kyungsoo raised a single brow. “I thought you were in love with her.”
“Of course not, I…I can’t talk to you like this.” Baekhyun shrugged off his top layer and handed it to Kyungsoo to wear. Kyungsoo hid his smirk and complied. “I was scared. I still am. What will happen after this? When I saw you—you’re still bleeding!”
Kyungsoo glanced down. Blood trickled down his leg. He lost the arrow during his shift. The wound had shrunk in size. He shrugged. “I’ll be fine. As long as you are okay, that’s all that matters.”
Baekhyun shook his head and cupped Kyungoo’s face as he had that night on the beach. “I haven’t even sung for you. I don’t understand why you’re so willing to take an arrow for me.”
Kyungsoo leaned into the warm touch. “I told you. I’d go to war for you. One arrow means nothing, and one emperor isn’t going to chase me away. You’re more than your voice to me.”
“You barely know me,” he murmured.
“So? I want to show you the world if you’d let me, and if you never want to sing again, that’s fine. I have enough noise in my life. Also known as Kim Jongdae.”
Baekhyun hummed. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to Kyungsoo’s. “What would you show me first?”
Kyungsoo memorized him from this angle: unguarded, vulnerable, a vision of the sun dimming enough not to burn him if he reached out and held it in his palms. Baekhyun’s lashes were long, and he had the faintest moles in the most peculiar spots. It was another thing for Kyungsoo to discover little by little as long as Baekhyun let him.
“I would show you home,” he said.
Baekhyun’s lashes fluttered open. The start of a smile began to grow. “You’ll show me the murals?”
“If you’d like.”
“I would.”
Kyungsoo drew Baekhyun’s knuckles to his lips. “Are you sure you want to come with me?”
“Yes,” Baekhyun breathed. “I thought you were crazy for believing you could stand up to the emperor, but I didn’t know you were a whole dragon. Do you breathe fire?”
Kyungsoo snorted. “That’s a myth.”
“Oh.”
“But yes, I can.”
“That’s so cool. Is there anything else I should know about you before we travel the world together?”
“Yes. You should know that I am in love with you, and that I’m very bad at catching fish.”
Baekhyun laughed. Warmth spread through Kyungsoo’s chest. Baekhyun’s mouth pressed to his, hot and needy. Kyungsoo gasped for air. Baekhyun’s hands touched the bare skin exposed in the gaps where his clothes overlapped Kyungsoo’s bare frame.
“Maybe,” Baekhyun drawled between kisses, keening when Kyungsoo gave his bottom lip a particularly long suck. “Maybe we don’t have to leave right away. I can see that dragons are quite fit.”
Kyungsoo grinned, letting Baekhyun shed the clothes off his shoulders. “The dragon costume is also over twenty kilograms.”
Baekhyun squeezed Kyungsoo’s biceps, making a noise of approval at the back of his throat. Or maybe that stemmed from Kyungsoo’s teeth molding his shoulder blade. Baekhyun might not sing for him, but he sings a new song that echoes off the cave walls, one Kyungsoo adds his voice to the mix, helping Baekhyun find the tempo.
When they took to the skies, the fading sun watched from above, and the wind carried them to the familiar lush mountains and multicolored horizon. Baekhyun held tight to Kyungsoo’s neck. There was a song in his throat, a cry that sounded like freedom.