Archive of Our Own

Daeyoung still remembered it vividly; the first time he went hiking with his senior friends from university. He was still unsure about the activity, but Sion and Yushi had promised him that they would take the easiest route and be with him throughout – and that did wander into roping him into hiking with them.

Like they had promised, they took the easiest track on the mountain, going at a pace where Daeyoung could follow. He trailed behind his older friends, stopping once in a while to catch his breath or to drink, then regroup with them again. Sion and Yushi also checked up on him from time to time, making sure that he was still following him and had not passed out somewhere along the track. They laughed when Daeyoung whined about them tricking him that the track was the easiest one – it really was the easiest one, for that mountain at least. 

When they finally reached the top, Daeyoung was panting so hard that Sion offered him his water in panic. He thanked him before downing the whole bottle in an instant. After that, he finally took in the beautiful scenery before him. The stunning landscape of the whole city wowed him that he was left speechless. The refreshing and clean cold mountain top air that was easy to breathe in which was very rare in the city. The calming nature sounds behind him. Suddenly, hiking didn’t sound as bad as he initially thought.

As the sun moved by the minutes, the lights glare softening, they began their journey down. It was more relaxed compared to the hike up earlier, except for the steep and slippery slope. 

However, as chilled as it seemed, this was when the weird things started to happen – for Daeyoung, at least. 

He knew what he heard, and he was very sure that he heard his name being called, but when he turned around, he was greeted with nothing – not even a person behind him; just leaves dancing to the wind. He tilted his head in confusion; maybe Sion or Yushi had called him for being so far behind. Just as he turned around and continued on his track, he heard jolly giggles behind him. He ignored it, though his pace quickened.

He managed to catch up to Sion and Yushi, albeit being so out of breath. He clutched on to the older two to stop them from continuing while he regulated his breathing again. Just then, something white passed right in front of his group, but when he glanced over to his senior friends, they didn’t react – they just stood idly, waiting for him, like they didn’t see anything passing right in front of them. 

He couldn’t be the only one seeing it, right? So, he asked his senior friends about it but they just shrugged him off, saying that he was probably hallucinating from exhaustion. Sion told him to inform him if he started seeing stars, and Yushi actually offered him his snack because Daeyoung looked so pale. 

Daeyoung brushed off their concern, saying that he was just a little tired and that he should be able to hold on until they reached down. Sion and Yushi exchanged looks, but didn’t push the matter any further – they believed that Daeyoung knew what he was talking about since it was his body anyway. He released a sigh of relief when his senior friends started walking again. 

Maybe they were right, that it was just his eyes playing tricks, that he was just tired from his first hike. Subconsciously, he glanced back in the direction of the white object, and he swore he saw it – or maybe them – waving at him. He shook his head; yeah, he must’ve been so tired that he was seeing things. 

𑇐

After his third time going up and down the easiest trail of the mountain, he had gotten accustomed to hiking. He wore the appropriate hiking gears that Sion provided him, and Yushi was simply impressed by his adaptability. So on their fourth time on the mountain, they hiked a different trail.

Hiking up was a little bit more challenging than the easy trail. The trail was a lot more steepier and slippier – even more after the drizzle at noon. He copied Sion, using a solid branch to hold his ground better. He mirrored Yushi’s light steps as he climbed up a muddy slope. Proud to say that he was no longer far behind than the two, catching up to them pretty easily. 

By the time they reached the top, Daeyoung was no longer gasping hard for air – though he still downed a bottle of water like he was being dehydrated for a whole month. He learned to regulate his breathing effectively while taking in the beautiful view before him, which was accompanied by the calming nature sound behind him. It was one of many reasons why he loved to hike this mountain – the relaxation factor was over the roof!

However, the descending part was where Daeyoung found it difficult. It was not because of trail or his stamina, but it was because of the disturbances he experienced. He had mentioned it to Sion and Yushi, and they told him that he should be in between them, so either could watch over him. And so, they began their descending journey, and despite already positioned in the middle of the group, Daeyoung still managed to get separated from the rest and ended up getting lost on his own. 

Thankfully, Sion had taught him on how to find his way out if he ever got lost. The first thing he needed to do was to stay where he was and calmly assess his surroundings; so he buried his panic and stayed composed. He shouldn’t walk recklessly, as it would make him even more lost. He stayed right where he was and studied his surroundings. He looked up at the sky, observed the cloud movement to get a hint of direction.

When he finally admitted to himself that he didn’t know what exactly he was doing, he turned to his phone, hoping there was a signal even if it was weak. It sucked to be him on that day, because his phone already died at the top of the mountain so he couldn’t even check the signal nor the compass. He just hoped the two realised that he was missing and informed the assigned rangers to find him before it got too dark. 

Suddenly, Daeyoung felt a gentle tap on his shoulder, breaking his train of thoughts. But when he turned around, he was greeted by another tree. But the strange part was that, all of the branches from the tree were quite high to be poking his shoulder. Maybe a tiny branch carried by the wind that accidentally touched him, he thought positively – even though there was no wind.

Then, he heard noise behind him – sounds of humans hiking down the steep, slippery trail. Daeyoung turned around and lit up when he saw a group of hikers (finally, after a long while) in white uniform jackets. He was about to follow them, but was stopped when a white cloth suddenly impaired his vision, making him fall on his butt out of shock. He heard those familiar playful giggles again.

“Follow them and you will get lost forever,” a voice said. The tone was serious and alert compared to the cheery voices Daeyoung heard before. “Follow me.”

He stared at the cloth with a frown, actively ignoring the voice and the giggles. He stood up and walked towards the cloth to get it down, but before he could even touch it, wind suddenly blew and the cloth rode along it. 

His legs moved before he could process it, like he was being pushed to follow the white fabric (which he found its flowy movement mesmerising). His steps naturally got faster as he was getting near to the white cloth, his hand unconsciously reaching out to it. Not exactly to grab it, but more like a plea for the fabric to slow down and let him catch up. 

Just as he was close to touching it, he collided with someone and collapsed to the ground. 

“Daeyoung!” He heard Sion’s panicked voice calling out to him. He felt his body being shaken, as though trying to force him out of the daze. “Oh my god, are you okay? Open your eyes, dammit!” He did try to keep his eyes open, but his eyes were too heavy. Before he knew it, exhaustion took over and he went to sleep, while his friends were freaking out over his pale self.

𑇐

Daeyoung was bedridden for three days. Sion and Yushi took turns taking care of him during his high fever, cooking warm food for him and even wiped his body clean (though it was mainly Sion who hogged all of the tasks; Yushi was only tasked – by Sion, of course – with changing the towel on his forehead and heating up the food that Sion cooked). On the fourth day, Daeyoung finally had colours on his face and felt much better. He had enough strength to get out of his bed, which the first thing he did was changing his bedsheets, to which Sion scolded him for moving too much – said that he needed to rest first, then he was free to do his house chores.

By the end of the week, Sion deemed him healthy and finally got off Daeyoung’s back, but not without giving him a little nag. Daeyoung just nodded, though everything the older man had said came through one ear and out the other ear. His other older friend, Yushi, just congratulated him for getting back to health very quickly. 

Then, Yushi suggested another group hike. Sion was going to scold him for suggesting something that made Daeyoung bedridden, but Daeyoung hurriedly agreed to the suggestion.

“I want to hike on that mountain again!” he added, already deciding he needed to go back there. He wasn’t sure what he was looking forward to, but he just knew something was waiting for him to come back.

Sion drew his eyebrows together, crossing his arms. “You almost got lost on that mountain, Daeyoung,” he tried to reason. Futile effort, because Daeyoung was already determined. He looked at Yushi, who only shrugged his shoulders because he knew that there was nothing that could change their junior friend’s decision if he already made up his mind. Sion sighed, “fine, but you will be walking between me and Yushi, and –” he turned to Yushi, “– we are going to use the trail that we’re familiar with!”

𑇐

It was finally the day for their fifth time hiking the same mountain. Since it was Yushi’s suggestion, he naturally took the lead, instead of Sion who was worried about trying out another challenging trail of the mountain despite his prior warning. Yushi assured him that he had done his research on the new trail through social media, and he had a rough idea of how the new trail looked. Plus, this trail was used by many hikers than the previous one. 

Ascending the mountain was easy, except for the many similar trees which confused yushi from time to time – but he had prepared for this, so he had engraved on the trees to help them find their way down later. The mountain top view was magnificent as always, though the sun felt closer this time because they decided to hike in the morning. So, they didn’t linger for too long like usual and went down to escape the heat faster. 

Somewhere along the way, it appeared before him again – the white something that he had been wishing to stumble upon since earlier. He stared at it before deliberately straying away from his group to follow it. He heard Sion calling out for him, but he ignored him; already too focused on the white things which slowly materialised into white flowy fabric, just like last time. He blinked multiple times, making sure he had seen it correctly – but yes, what he had seen was real, not a mere hallucination from exhaustion (he was not even that tired). 

As if realising that it was being watched and followed, it began to flee among the dense forest – which Daeyoung didn’t think was that thick when they hiked up earlier – in erratic manner going at random direction. Daeyoung was on his toe, moving through the forest nimbly as his eyes locked on the fabric. He was not entirely sure what he would do with the fabric as soon as he caught up to it, but for now, he needed to have it. 

While he was busy chasing after the fabric, he didn’t realise there was someone in front of him until he crashed into the person, falling down together. 

“Ouch, ouch, owieeeee–” the other person whined. Then a giggle followed from a different person before offering a helping hand.

Their voices were so familiar…

Daeyoung thanked the silvered-hair boy, then turned to the ginger-hair boy to apologise for crashing onto him because he was not looking where he was going. As he looked at the two boys in front of him, a thought appeared in his mind: were they the faces of the voices that he heard – the playful and cheery ones that were always distracting to the point they were creeping the hell out of Daeyoung. 

He let out a loud sigh. He glanced back and forth between the two boys again for another seconds, then excused himself to go after the fabric, which was nowhere to be found anymore. But right ahead he did see someone running, and the way the tail of their robe swayed mimicked the fabric movement earlier, so Daeyoung decided to go after the person. 

He was thankful to his parents for his long legs, and Sion for constantly running with him, because catching up to the person running ahead was not much of a big deal. What was hard was making the person stop, even though he repeatedly had told them to stop. Daeyoung had to grab onto his arm to physically make them stop. And that was, finally, the end of the chase.

He gave himself a time to catch his breath before talking. “Why did you run awa– woaaaaah–” 

Daeyoung had his mouth hung open in awe because he was not expecting a beaut when the person turned around to face him. Daeyoung didn’t exactly have an ideal type, but seeing this beautiful being in front of him made him have one. Their beauty was just out of this world – dark mesmerising orbs that were too cautious and guarded; handsome nose that many would envy; full lips that glistened, begging to be kissed; luscious, dark silky hair. They were too pretty to be a man, but too dashing to be a woman. 

Screw whatever he planned to do – because right now, getting the beaut’s phone number had become his ultimate priority.

“Hi, I’m Kim Daeyoung,” he introduced himself. He let go of the beauty’s arm, quickly wiped his hand on his trouser before offering it to the beauty. “And you are?” He made sure to put on his best and charming smile. 

The beauty didn’t react right away – they were looking at Daeyoung’s hand then back to his face; repeated the motion a few more times. They frowned, rolling their eyes, as though annoyed that their run was being interrupted by another flirt. They fixed their white robe, tucked his hair behind his ears. Without uttering a word, the beauty turned around and started moving – no more running; just walking away.

Daeyoung blinked at the curt response. Did he just get rejected?

He walked after the gorgeous being. “Hey, that’s rude to just walk away after I introduced myself,” Daeyoung whined softly, pouting to make himself look cute – he knew how many people had fallen for this tactic before. He caught up to the beauty, walking alongside now. “Oh, perhaps you have a disability?” he asked carefully, then took out his phone to type and showed it to the other.  

The beauty halted in his tracks so suddenly, turned to stare at his phone curiously while glancing up to him occasionally. He opened his mouth to speak, but shut it right away when he noticed Daeyoung getting giddy over the action. He turned his head away and continued walking, a step ahead from Daeyoung. 

“Go back to where you come from.”

Daeyoung stopped walking; that voice again – the same voice that warned him from following the rest of the hikers and led him out of the mountain. “Was that you?” Daeyoung asked, grabbing onto the tail of the robe to stop the person from going any further. 

The person turned around with a scowl, and Daeyoung’s heart skipped a beat because that face was intimidatingly beautiful. “Let go,” the beauty finally spoke. They tugged onto their clothing, but Daeyoung’s grip was too strong. Daeyoung grinned – it was really the beauty’s voice. They furrowed their eyebrows together, confused by the man’s change of expression. “Let go, and go back!” 

Instead of going back like he was told to, he stepped closer to the beauty. “Hi, I’m Daeyoung, and you are?” He extended his hand again. A friendly smile adorned his handsome face. 

They just glared at Daeyoung, then brought the heat down to his hands. They slowly reached their hand out, but instead of shaking the man’s hand, they tugged their piece of clothing back from Daeyoung’s other hand. The beauty let out a humph then turned around to leave the man behind again. 

This was the first time Daeyoung got rejected by the same person twice within the span of time less than five minutes. Where did Daeyoung go wrong?

Not to toot his own horn, but Daeyoung was very aware that he had an above average look and he personally thought that he was pretty charming. He was tall and had a well-built body. Back in high school, he had students from different schools just to get a glimpse of him. In university, he had women and men confessing to him, professing their long crush towards him. When he was out, he had people staring at him as he walked by. People would stop him and ask for his numbers or socials; sometimes asking him out for a coffee or a date right away. 

Ah, Daeyoung got it now. That beautiful person was just shy and got overwhelmed by Daeyoung’s strong and direct energy. Or maybe they were just playing hard to get; liked themselves to be chased. He chuckled to himself, shaking his head over his self-made and baseless reason. This beautiful cookie might be tough to crack, but Daeyoung was ready for any challenge. 

𑇐𑇐𑇐

“Stop following me!” Riku protested, straining himself from throwing hands when the human started following him again after he showed the way back to his own world for the fourth time. 

“But I want to get to know you,” the human replied enthusiastically. 

Riku didn’t know what to do with this persistent human. He walked alongside Riku closely even after he tried to send him back multiple times – but somehow he managed to cross the boundary and suddenly he was next to Riku again. He talked to Riku even though he deliberately ignored him, obviously pretending to not hear him and what not. He kept asking about their white costumes and the drama they were shooting; if he was the main lead. He wondered what drama was being shot to have good looking extras, then uselessly assured Riku that he only got his eyes on him. He suspected if it was not for drama shooting then it had to be a hidden camera show – though he was very surprised by the budget; “wow, imagine setting up a tiny town and having people dressing in full white flowy clothes just for a prank” he blabbered. 

And now, standing just roughly ten steps away from his front door, Riku finally gave him a reaction. He was scowling, eyebrows knitted together, however, the man in front of him just looked at him with adoring eyes. He contorted his face, not used to having such affection directed towards him. 

“What do you want from me?” he shot intimidatingly, and rather than stepping back, the man only stepped closer. He looked around his surroundings, trying to find anything that could serve as a weapon to drive this human away. Out of all days, his front yard had to be so spotless that day – usually he’d have branches or axes laying around because Ryo and Sakuya played with them.

Riku moved backward, trying to create as much distance as possible. He could run into his house and lock the door, but he was well aware of how fast this human was. While he was calculating his next move, his back met the front door, while the man stopped just an arm's length. He straightened his back so he’d appear taller – but the man was almost one head taller than him. 

The smile never dropped from his face; if anything, it grew kinder as he noticed that Riku seemed to give in. “You were too busy directing me away from you that I never caught your name,” he said gently, as if afraid that Riku would be shaken up if he spoke with his usual voice.

Riku frowned in confusion. Did this human really follow him around, chattering and shamelessly flirting, just to get his name? Would this human leave him alone if he finally told him his name? “Riku,” he answered curtly. 

The human beamed widely. “What a fitting name for the beautiful you. Well, Riku, in case you didn’t catch it earlier, I’m Daeyoung.” He extended his hand once again. He stared at the open hand before accepting it. If a handshake would get this Daeyoung human off his back, Riku might just indulge him for a bit. “You are very beautiful, have I told you that? But anyway, I’ll just cut the chase – can I have your numbers?” 

Stunned by the question, Riku just blinked, trying to process why he would ask such silly questions – did this human really not know? Then he noticed the day had slowly gotten dark. He retracted his hand back. “You should head back to your world now,” he urged strongly. “There are people looking for you and waiting for your return.”

“Oh, ya– umm– something about that mysterious thing you had said, like they finally succeeded at inviting you into this world, or how did you cross the boundary? or go back to your world. Yeah, all that– were that your lines? ‘Cause I’m not sure I understand what you meant…” 

“The less you know, the better,” Riku replied vaguely, which he shouldn’t have done because now the human was so intrigued and started asking more questions. Riku didn’t think he could handle any more interaction with him. “Stop–” he shouted; his composure cracked slightly, “stop talking, please.” 

He shut his eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. It took everything in him to regain his composure back. What should he do in this situation? Riku had tried returning him back to his own world multiple times, but he kept coming back. Should Riku knock him out cold and throw him back to his world? No, he could not, because other fae would sense his body in the forest and try to bring him back here to feed on his life force. Plus, some of them had seen this human when they were passing by the town earlier – they were just looking innocently, but Riku knew exactly what they were thinking.

He could not afford anything to happen to this human because Ryo and Sakuya were very fond of him, and they would cry hard if anything really happened to him. And for that reason, he somehow had the responsibility to send him back to his world safely, even though it was the boys who brought him here. 

Maybe Riku should just tell him everything. If he believed it, he’d go back; and maybe run his mouth since he was such a blabbermouth. Other humans would listen to him and pity him, thinking he had lost his sanity from the time he spent in the mountain. However, if he didn’t believe it… that might be a problem for Riku. Riku could already see him looking at him like was crazy and then slowly retreated back because he did not want to deal with a mad person– wait a minute– that was literally the perfect outcome!

“I will only tell you this once,” Riku finally said. “We are not human; we are the people of the forest; the ones that you humans named fae. Most humans cannot see or hear us, until we decide to make ourselves seen or heard. And humans cannot casually wander here unless you were invited by one of us.”

He sighed. “You’ve seen the boys appearing before you as tiny white illumination, floating around you, calling out for you and laughing at you for being distracted and getting lost. They played with you, casted illusions to get you to drop your guard altogether and pull you into this world.” 

Riku watched the gears turning in the human’s brain, trying to make sense of what he had been told. To the human, they just met today but he was visibly weirded out by the fact that Riku knew about the bother he experienced. Riku took a step forward, and the human instinctively took a step back. Good, he noted, it meant that he had creeped out the human. A little bit more nudging, he could scare him away out of this world. 

“Not all fae are friendly and playful; some are quite vicious and sinister despite their kind appearance. If you dropped your guard, you could have your life sucked away from you. You would dry up and your dried up body would be left cold in the forest – if you were lucky enough to be thrown out like that. I’ve seen some where they gobbled up the remains; they said it helped with their youth–”

“Is Riku trying to scare me away?” the human asked, voice sickeningly sweet. 

Riku was almost offended. The human didn’t look freaked out at all like Riku hoped him to – if anything, he looked amused. “I am simply telling you what could possibly happen,” he said, crossing his arms.

“Same thing,” the human insisted, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. “I almost believe you for a second,” he chuckled. He walked towards the bench just outside Riku’s house and sat down, crossing his legs. “You have a good voice and you narrate so well. Do you have a podcast? I would love to listen to you more, and your horror stories too, of course.” 

Riku blinked, very confused about how the event turned out. This human should be freaking out, hastily trying to find his way back. He was not supposed to look relaxed with that damn handsome smirk playing on his lips! Also, what in the hell is ‘podcast’? 

“Don’t you have friends that are probably waiting for you?” How could Riku forget about his friends that were always with him. He knew that they had been looking for him for some time now, and few more people were involved, searching for this particular man. 

The human uncrossed his legs, sitting straighter, seemingly to remember the existence of his friends. “Oh, shit, I forgot about them. I’ll just send them a quick te– ah, no signal!” He turned to Riku with an embarrassed smile, “uh um, Riku, do you have a wi-fi that I can use for a bit? I want to inform them that I’m okay…” then he smiled awkwardly. 

Riku stared at the human, then he glared at him. He was in disbelief. First, he ignored whatever warning Riku told him, brushed it off like it was something he made up to scare him away; and second, he spouted all that human nonsense. ‘Hidden camera prank show’? ‘Drama shooting’? ‘Numbers’? ‘Te’? ‘Wi-Fi’? What are all of those?

He’d had enough of this human’s crap. He raised a white flag and walked into his house, ignoring the man who was now holding up his human device to the sky while pacing around. Whatever happened to him, happened; he did not care anymore. He tried to help, but the human was so stubborn, clinging around him like Ryo and Sakuya (and now that he thought about it, where did those two go?) whenever they want to eat. The fae that had been eyeing him could play with him or kill him – Riku could care less. He was better off washing up and starting on his dinner than stressing about this human. 

𑇐

The commotion from downstairs was heard all the way up to Riku’s room. Ryo and Sakuya were probably home already and got themselves busy in the kitchen, which was the only plausible explanation he could come up with. 

But what he didn’t expect was, in his kitchen, the human holding up a pan and spatula in each hand and served the boys some pancakes. As if noticing another presence, the human looked directly at him. He smiled at him kindly. 

“Hey, sorry for intruding. Ryo and Sakuya said they were hungry, asked me if I could cook. I said yes, and they invited me in.” Riku squinted his eyes at the two boys, who were obviously avoiding his glare and busied themselves with the human-made food. “I have extra… Do you perhaps want some?” the human offered. 

Ignoring the offer, Riku walked up to the two boys. “Where did you two go earlier?” 

He looked at Sakuya, who was eating with his cheeks puffed up. He poked his cheek, “I told you not to put food in your cheeks. Are you a squirrel?” Sakuya nudged his finger away, growling for disturbing his meal time. Riku couldn’t help but to smile at the adorableness. 

He then turned to Ryo. His smile grew wider, just pleased to see his favourite boy (not saying Sakuya was his least fave; in fact, both were his faves, and he made sure both of them knew that when he tugged them to sleep with a kiss on their forehead) eating in a proper manner. He ruffled his hair, then smoothed them after. 

Riku turned to the human, who was looking at him with affectionate eyes, and his smile fell right away. “Leave once you’re done cooking,” he said coldly. The two boys were looking at him, pleading for him to take back the decision. He averted his gaze – any longer, he would succumb to their adorable puppy eyes. “Be sure to thank him for making you food, and then you two lead him back to his world, understand?” he said to the boys while closing his eyes. After he heard a series of reluctant yes from the boys, he walked away from the kitchen. 

Surely, Ryo and Sakuya would do what he told them to do, right?

Well, they did not. 

After taking them in, giving a roof on top of their head, cooking and feeding them meals for them, Ryo and Sakuya did not do what Riku had told them to do. Wow, this was the payback they gave him after everything he did for those two boys? 

That night, they were supposed to walk the human back to his world, but why was he still in the house the next morning? He resisted the urge to wake the human up and shoo him away from the house because the two boys under his care were all over him, using him as a literal human pillow. Riku could not believe this – they really forwent the comfiness of their beds just to sleep with a human on their living room’s hard floor. 

𑇐

Riku was so annoyed – not because the boys offered to bring him around the town; rather it was because the human happily went along with the idea and exposed more of himself to other fae despite his warning last night. He could feel his head splitting into two from the stress. Don’t get him wrong – he could care less what would happen to the human; it was the boys that he was concerned about. If something really happened to their favourite human, the boys would lose it. So, on his part, he had to make sure that didn’t happen – which meant that he needed the human to return back to his world. 

“Oi,” he called, tugging onto the human’s sleeve. The two boys turned around to look at him as well, and he told them that exploring time was over. Ryo and Sakuya pouted, still wanting to spend time with the human, but Riku firmly told them to return home. He turned towards the human and beckoned his head, “follow me.” 

The human nodded with a smile, just willing to follow him anywhere. He didn’t even bother to ask Riku where they were headed. The blind trust made Riku even more annoyed. “Gosh, be more wary, will you? What if I led you to your demise?”

The human grinned wider. “You would not,” he replied confidently in a gentle manner. He naturally walked alongside Riku. “And even if you did, I don't mind getting killed by a beautiful being like you.” 

Riku rolled his eyes, which made the human laugh at his reaction. What a weird human.

“Are you walking me back to my world now?” the human asked with a light tone. Riku didn’t answer, continuing to lead the way. “I’m sorry for not taking your words and warnings seriously last night. I thought you were just making things up to scare me away but Ryo and Sakuya said you were telling the truth, and that you were just protecting me. I started to believe the ‘not human’ part when the boys suddenly appeared before me out of thin air. So yeah, I at least wanted to apologise before going back. Will you accept it?”

Riku turned to face him with a frown. “I don’t care if you believed me or not. I also don’t need your apologies. I only need you to survive and go back to your world in one piece.” Or Ryo and Sakuya will cry if the human they liked so much died or whatever.

The human nodded in understanding before he started talking about something else. Riku never really reacted to whatever he was talking about, mainly because he could not comprehend what the human was talking about. At least, Riku could tell that he was complimenting him and also flirting, trying to get Riku a little interested in him; but when he started talking about texting everyday or sleep calls or date ideas – he stopped trying to understand. Throughout the walk, he put up with the chattering and pick-up lines (apparently a phrase used to show romantic interest to the other party, the human explained). 

The boundary to the other world was so hard to find that day, for some reason, so the human had to linger around him for a little bit longer – Riku was dreading that part. It was until the human pointed out the same tree that they passed by thrice and the familiar giggle followed that Riku realised they were trapped in illusion. He called them out to show themselves, and Ryo and Sakuya timidly went out of their hiding places. Riku told them to come closer, before he pulled the two by the ears, which earned him a pained groan from both of them. Ryo wailed his arms to get ahold of a human and Sakuya called out help from the human, but the human only shrugged his shoulders because Riku was glaring at him, daring him to try and help the boys. 

“Sorry guys,” he mouthed to the boys. 

Still pulling the boys by the ear, he brought them a few steps away from the human, just outside his listening radar. He reprimanded the boys for not listening to him; instead of going home straight, they followed Riku and the human. On top of that, they casted an illusion just to get the human to stay a little bit longer. Riku explained the danger of letting humans stay in their world longer than they should, and the possibility of losing their favourite human if they insisted on keeping him here. 

Ryo and Sakuya had realisation dawned upon them, finally understanding Riku’s insistence on taking the human back to his world. They apologised to Riku with their head down, and Riku patted them on their head. “As long as the two of you understand,” he said. Then he told them to go straight home, not before telling them, “just so you know, I am very disappointed in both of you for not listening to me and playing pranks. By the time I get home, I’m expecting the house to be cleaned.”

The boys nodded rapidly and disappeared into thin air, just in case Riku wanted to berate them again. Riku let out a loud sigh, already tired of everything. He wanted to send this human back already, so he could rot in his bed. 

He wordlessly started walking again and without a doubt, the human followed along. One thing he learned about this specific human, was that he would always follow Riku – whether Riku told him to or not. When Riku asked him why, he said that he was interested in Riku and wanted to know him better, but seriously, how did following Riku around help with that? 

Riku shook his head. This human was indeed strange.

𑇐

“Just walk straight ahead and you’ll reach your world in a blink,” Riku said, pointing to the direction that the human should go to cross the boundary. 

The human tilted his head, face showing his confusion. “That’s it?” he asked. Now, it was Riku’s turn to be confused. The human’s kind, dashing smile made its comeback. “I was expecting some goodbye hug or kiss or something, but I guess this is it…”

Riku didn’t reply, just stared at the human. He wished the human would just start walking so he could return home and rest quickly. This was an instance where he envied Ryo and Sakuya’s fae ability to teleport. 

The human chuckled, “aaaand he’s back to being silent again.” He dared to step closer to Riku. “Say, Riku, can we meet again?” he asked sincerely, which honestly caught Riku off guard. They could, but Riku did not think he would like that. “You don’t have numbers and we, humans, cannot enter this world casually. I really like you, Riku, and I want to meet you again.”

Riku’s eyes twitched at the word ‘like.’ He was well aware that the human was infatuated with him because of his beauty, and he had implied that through his countless pick-up lines. 

He was not surprised if the human liked him thinking he was one of the fae, but he did think that this human should be very careful with showing his affection. Like he warned him before, not all fae were friendly. If he happened to fall for a fae who exploited romantic affection, he and his love story would end tragically – he could have his feelings played and his life force sucked out of him. 

Of course there were also loving fae, who would love humans just equally – Ryo and Sakuya were two of them. They did still need to feed on human life force, but they fed moderately; just enough to get by. At most, after feeding, humans were only left feeling weary; but a good rest and some food after would help them recover.  

“Can I at least get a goodbye hug?” The human’s sudden request snapped him out of his thoughts. He took another step closer. Immediately, Riku frowned at his shameless attempt to hug him while he was distracted. The human quickly backed away, laughing again, though this time lacked his usual genuinity. It slowed down and his lips formed a tiny smile. “Tell Ryo and Sakuya that I will be missing them dearly,” he said, then he started walking towards his world. 

He walked rather slowly, much to Riku’s likeness. He knew the human could move faster than that. Feeling impatient, he tapped his foot, hoping the human would just walk faster or run so he could get this thing done already. Ugh, he missed his bed so much. 

He was daydreaming of his bed when he suddenly felt hands on his shoulders. He didn’t have the time to process what just happened because it happened so abruptly, but when he came to it, he felt a soft pair of lips against his own. He blinked his eyes in confusion. What was he supposed to do in this situation? 

After a while, he was pulled back. He was greeted by a humanely handsome face which was adorned with his usual handsome smile again. “I was not lying when I said I like you, Riku,” he said, voice low akin to whispering, making his confession more private and intimate. His hands travelled down to hold his hands. He looked Riku in the eyes, which left Riku stunned by the passionate gaze. “Even right now, I can feel myself still falling for you. You treated me so well despite your reluctance to interact with me. You still let me stay in your house for one night even though you did not like it. You let the boys spend their times with me after they whined that they hadn’t played with me. You walked me all the way here when you could just leave me be. Riku is so kind and lovable, and you cannot hide that from me with all of the frowns and glares.” 

The human leaned in again, a bit slower this time. Riku had enough time to move away, but he remained where he was, letting the human’s lips meet his for the second time. His hands were squeezing Riku’s, as if to confirm that this was real and it was happening. The kiss wasn’t rushed and abrupt like earlier; he was taking his time, pouring out his affection to Riku as much as he could – and the worst part, Riku just stood there and accepted it all. 

When they parted, the human smiled at him and his eyes squinted. It was the same smile, but Riku could not help to notice the bittersweet note to it. “Now I can go back with no regrets,” he said, finally letting go of Riku’s hands.

Like a snap, Riku was out of the trance, and his brain was immediately overloaded – he couldn’t think a single thing when the human kissed him. He felt his face warming up. His heart was beating faster than it normally did. He felt a lot of emotions – confused, embarrassed, irritated, excited, uneasy. For the first time in a long time, he didn’t know what to do or to say or to feel. His composure cracked and his pent-up stress and exhaustion slipped through, adding more emotions. Riku ended up reacting with anger, pushing the human a little too hard. 

He inched closer to the human, who was visibly shocked and confused by the sudden change of vibe. He felt his appearance morphing, maybe due to his sudden burst of rage, and he observed the human’s eyes widening in horror. When he spoke, the human flinched, not expecting a shrieky and raspy voice. “Will you also like me if I'm like this?” Riku asked, stepping forward suddenly. He watched the human fall flat on his bottom, possibly due to his legs giving out at his older and hideous form.

His eyes twitched at the reaction. Despite his intention, he felt somewhat disappointed at the reaction. “This is a real fae’s appearance.” He huffed angrily and turned around. “Humans are such easy prey. We simply lure you in with our beauty, and once you’re seduced, while you’re in happiness daze, we eat you alive!” 

The forest was immediately filled with a horrified shriek, followed by erratic rustling behind him. Footsteps shuffled and got quicker. The laboured breathing also got smaller. Before Riku knew it, the forest had returned to its calm state again and the human was back to his world. He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. He gradually morphed back to his real appearance. He exhaled slowly, also trying his best to get rid of the troublesome emotions that the human caused him. 

Finally, Riku thought, the human is gone.

By the time he reached home, he was so exhausted – he hoped the boys managed to clean the house because he didn’t want to come home to a messy house. When he entered his house, his nose was immediately filled with a fresh and fruity scent and his eyes were blessed with a spotless space. Then he noticed Ryo and Sakuya on the couch, cuddling each other in their nap. They must’ve been so tired cleaning up the house and also after illusions casting.

𑇐𑇐𑇐

That was not how he was supposed to leave. 

Daeyoung was not supposed to leave like that – scurrying off like a scaredy cat; like he was terrified because his surroundings suddenly turned darker; like he was scared of the lightning and thunder; like he was scared of Riku. He would never be scared of Riku, even if his appearance or voice changed. Daeyoung admitted that his sudden transformation caught him off guard, but that would never make him terrified of Riku. 

He punched the seat in front of him, making Yushi, who unluckily sat on the passenger seat, jolted in surprise. Sion glanced at him through the rear mirror to make sure that he was okay. They had come to pick him up when they received a call from the mount ranger that they had finally found their missing friend that went missing a week ago. So he had been away for that long, huh…

Whatever, he could not care less. All he thought about now was how to get back to the other world. He needed to see Riku again and explain to him that he ran away not because he was scared of him. He ran away because – Daeyoung shut his eyes in embarrassment when he remembered the reason again – there were bugs on his legs. Even after brushing them off, the bugs were persistent, following after him like he was their food. 

He let out a loud groan, covering his face in embarrassment and regret. Why, out of all things, he had to be scared of bugs?

𑇐

Sion had made himself home in Daeyoung’s apartment, helping him recuperate back to his top condition. Even though he spent just a day in the other world, he was actually gone for a week; meaning that he hadn’t consumed anything for the whole seven days. Also, considering he was so sunken and exhausted, it meant that the fae probably fed on him too – they met a lot of fae when Ryo and Sakuya brought him around the town, so that was probably when most of his life force was sucked out of him. 

Sion did not ask him anything, nor did he mention about the missing. Though, he did look like he wanted to know what happened to him during that whole week. 

It was not until the tenth day after his return, when Yushi came to visit, the question was finally being asked: “what happened to you?” 

Daeyoung paused his eating, raised his head up to look at his older friends. He didn’t know who asked the question, so he just set his eyes on Yushi – he wouldn’t start lecturing him for whatever nonsense he was about to spout like Sion would. Before answering them, he had another bite, took his time chewing it, then swallowed it. 

“I got lost,” he simply said, which got Yushi throwing his used tissue towards him. Well, Yushi wouldn’t lecture him, but he would throw things at him. 

“No– like, seriously, what happened to you?” Yushi asked, voice filled with concern. Daeyoung blinked at the rare display of emotion. Yushi’s eyebrows almost united, his eyes were angry yet full of worries. He looked like a disappointed mom because her son just failed a class, but also worried about her son’s condition because he never failed a class before. 

Sion cleared his throat, making Daeyoung stare at him. If Yushi was the mom, then Sion would be the dad. The dad who silently worried about his son’s condition but didn’t know how to approach him to make him open up without pressuring him into telling him, so he did things he never did so the son would trust him and maybe start talking. “You don’t have to tell–”

“I entered another realm. Not like dying– but another world in the forest,” Daeyoung said. He watched his senior friends exchanging looks, like they weren’t sure if Daeyoung was being serious or not. When they noticed the lack of playfulness in the air, they remained silent, letting Daeyoung continue. 

“I had my guard down and was lured into it by a single white fabric. Stupid, I know, but if you were in my shoes, you would also chase after it.” He paused to take a sip. “I met Riku and the boys under his care, Ryo and Sakuya. He told me they were the people of the forest; fae. They can make illusions, they can teleport, they can change appearance – but for most part, they are like humans. They treated me so well while I was there. The boys showed me around the town to repay me for cooking them dinner – I made them pancakes though.”

He smiled as he recalled. “Well, Riku tried to return me back – showed me the paths many times – but I was so stubborn, because I wanted to spend more time with him. I wanted to hear more of his voice, even though he did not want to talk to me. I wanted to see more of his beautiful smile, even though it was never directed to me. I wanted to feel his warmth, even though he always keeps his distance around me. I just wanted to get to know him more.” 

“I thought I was simply interested in him, but I realised my feelings when I had to come back. I love Riku,” he professed wistfully. 

There was a long silence in the room. Yushi, who asked the question, was holding his breath; froze because he was unsure how to react or what to say. Sion averted his gaze and kept drinking his plain water (he didn’t even like that thing). Daeyoung, who somehow predicted this reaction, just silently continued eating his dinner. 

They never talked about it after the talk on that night. Sion didn’t get nosy like he usually would, and Yushi didn’t ask any more questions to get to the bottom of it like a curious cat he was. Daeyoung wondered if it was a mistake to tell his friends about it. Maybe they thought he was being delusional, or he had lost his sanity for the whole week he spent alone in the forest. But one thing for sure, Daeyoung knew that everything he experienced and felt were all real. 

𑇐

He sprawled on the sofa, staring at the still turned off television. He was so bored because he could not do anything on his own. If Daeyoung wanted to take a walk outside for some fresh air, Sion would tag along, saying that he needed fresh air too. If he wanted to go to the nearby convenience store, Yushi magically appeared on his door with the stuff he wanted to get. 

He turned his head to the kitchen, watching his protective senior friends working together with washing and drying the dishes. Daeyoung had this thought in his mind, but he always dismissed it – are those two dating or something? because they moved with ease around each other. They kind of reminded him of Ryo and Sakuya. He felt a tug on the corner of his lips when the image of the two boys appeared in his mind. 

Then he thought of Riku, the beautiful being that he fell for on the first sight. He thought of his cautious brown eyes, his handsome nose, his supple and kissable lips, his cute dimples when he smiled at the boys (never at him though 🙁). He thought of his deep and serious voice when he talked to him, but it turned sweet and kind when he was talking to anyone other than him. He acted distant with him, consistently keeping a safe gap between them. Clearly, Riku was not interested in him or wanted to do anything with him, but that made Daeyoung want him even more. 

“What got you smiling like that?” Yushi asked, inviting himself to the open space next to Daeyoung. Sion sat on his other open side. 

“Riku,” he answered with no hesitation. He noticed Yushi holding his breath, while Sion let out an audible sigh.“What’s wrong?” he asked. Yushi shook his head, busying himself with the television. He didn’t ask further. Normally, he would be so in his business if Daeyoung mentioned that he had someone he was interested in. 

As soon as he chose a movie, he said quietly, “tell me more about this Riku guy.” Daeyoung almost had a neck cramp from how fast and abrupt he turned his head to look at Yushi. The smaller man just gave him a wink, then a nod to get him talking. 

So, Daeyoung talked. He told him how they met, which part of Riku that made him so interested in him, what they did in a span of one day and how he was slowly falling for a beauty that didn’t even look in his direction. Yushi giggled excitedly, ushering Daeyoung to tell more. He was curious about Riku's look, so he made Daeyoung describe him. He rolled his eyes playfully when Daeyoung stated that Riku was the most perfect being he ever met. 

Yushi asked if he wanted to see him again and Daeyoung nodded eagerly, but when Yushi asked how, Daeyoung frowned – because honestly, he also didn’t know how to get back there unless the fae invited him into their world. Yushi suggested a few options, but Daeyoung was nitpicking – he appreciated the help though. When Sion suggested that he should just give up, Yushi sent a pillow right to his head, pulling Daeyoung into a side hug and told him to not listen to a bitter man. 

“You are not planning to get yourself lost just to get into their world, are you?” Sion asked. Daeyoung tensed up when the older man guessed his plan correctly. He smacked his junior friend’s butt when he didn’t try to deny it. “I know you so well that I’m not even surprised,” Sion said with a rather fond voice. “Just try not to come back any less than now. I nursed you back to health not for you to deteriorate.”

Daeyoung looked at Sion, then to Yushi, trying to understand what was happening. Just two weeks ago until tonight, the two acted like they didn’t want to acknowledge what Daeyoung told them. They tried so hard to not approach the topic, and ignored him when Daeyoung accidentally mentioned any of the fae’s name. What in the world happened? Did they really think that Daeyoung had finally lost his mind? So they decided to play along to make him less pitiful?

“We have to admit that whatever you told us the other night was so hard to digest. It was not something we could dismiss so easily. You were smiling the whole time you talked about your day in the other world – you looked so alive. Even just now, you were grinning ear-to-ear when you talked about this Riku guy.” Sion paused a while, carefully arranging his next words. “If you really lost your mind, you would act differently, but you didn't. So far, you have been like the usual, though you were a bit calmer than before – and lowkey, it scared the two of us for a bit. We were like, is this really our excited puppy Daeyoung? That’s why I kept talking about the past to confirm that it was really you.” 

Daeyoung pouted, feeling a little emotional at Sion’s honest admission. They didn’t think he was crazy; they just needed some time to process the abnormal things that happened to him. They didn’t dismiss what he went through; in fact they wanted to understand it better. He wondered if he had saved the world in his past life to be granted such amazing and caring and understanding friends like Sion and Yushi. 

He looked up to the ceiling, blinking his unshed tears away. Yushi hugged him tighter, rubbing his head against Daeyoung’s bicep, like a cat trying to comfort their human. Sion, noticing Daeyoung’s glassy eyes, laughed while pointing at him. After laughing at him, he joined the hug,  sneakily giving a peck on his hair. 

“Don’t cry, you crybaby.” 

“I’m not,” Daeyoung responded with a shaky voice. Tears already rolled down his face.

𑇐𑇐𑇐

In the following month, Yushi had an uneasy feeling when Daeyoung suddenly brought up hiking again. “Let’s go again,” he said excitedly, but he could hear sombre at the edge of his voice. Sion did question him for the sudden invitation, but the youngest was so good with his words that Sion hopelessly agreed to him. When it came to getting his ok, Daeyoung just batted his eyes like an overgrown puppy and Yushi, despite what he initially felt, went along with Daeyoung's whim.

When they picked Daeyoung up the next day, Yushi somehow knew why he overpacked for a hike. It seemed Sion knew it too, considering he went silent when he saw the heavy packed bag instead of laughing it off like he usually would. The younger man didn’t try to explain, but he did give them a small, sorry smile. 

The ride to the mountain wasn’t heavy like Yushi thought it would, rather it was lively and filled with laughter. It was as though the happy noise was present just to cover up the sorrow event that would happen soon. It felt like they were chasing against time now. 

During the hike, Sion, who took the lead, abruptly changed tracks. He led them to the most challenging route on the mountain, because: one, it was challenging, duh; two, not many hikers frequent the track; and three, despite the amateur hiker Daeyoung joining them, only Sion and Yushi would be going down the mountain. 

Halfway down to the ground, Daeyoung finally said his goodbye, thanking Sion and Yushi for not stopping him. He pulled Yushi in closer, because he happened to stand next to him, then he dragged him along to capture Sion for a group hug. They didn’t exchange any words, just embraced each other – this could be their final hug for all they knew. 

When they finally pulled away, Yushi turned his head away from the other two. He really wanted to cry, but he couldn’t, because he knew, if he did, Daeyoung would cry too. Once he got his emotions under control, he faced Daeyoung again, patting his back as he started walking. On their spot, they watched Daeyoung walk into the forest with his overpacked bag to get himself lost just so he could meet his first-sight love. 

Daeyoung stopped on his track and turned. “I love you guys!” he shouted. 

“Gross,” Sion yelled back. Then, with his whole body, he shooed him away. “Go now, before it gets too dark.” Daeyoung gestured okay before he turned around and walked away. 

When Daeyoung was out of their sight, Yushi patted Sion’s back gently – his charismatic older friend was now crying because his favourite junior decided to leave and chase after his love. “You should’ve said you love him too rather than hastily sending him away, you tsundere.” 

“He knows,” Sion replied quietly, his eyes glassy. He turned to Yushi. “He will be fine, right? We did the right thing, right?”

Yushi nodded assuringly. He grabbed Sion’s hand and started leading him to descend the mountain. “Come; we also need to continue our downhike before it gets too dark.” 

𑇐𑇐𑇐

If Daeyoung was being real, he was actually scared to venture into the unknown part of the mountain. It was dark and he could not see anything. He had a flashlight packed to help him find a way, but that defeated the purpose of trying to get lost – he wanted to get lost intentionally and blindly. But when he heard a rustle behind him, he finally pulled out his flashlight and lit the area and saw a squirrel, which was equally shocked to find a human in the middle of the forest at an ungodly hour. He watched it scurry away before continuing his journey again. 

His new routine now was to walk around aimlessly, take a short break (if he was really hungry, he’d eat too), then continue walking around again. He skipped sleeping some nights, but when he couldn’t fight the drowsiness anymore, he’d curled up in his sleeping bag and went into a hibernation – if someone found him like that, they would most likely pronounce him dead. 

He could not tell how long he had been lost in the forest. Maybe he had been gone for ten days or more, because the food he packed was almost gone too. The lack of food was the least of his problems for now; what he needed most was water. It had not been raining for some days, and his water supply was dehydrated like he was. 

He could barely function now. He could not even defend himself when a troop of monkeys decided to take all of his belongings, including his empty bottle that he was holding in case rain would fall on one of these days. 

Maybe two weeks had gone by, and he was yet to find the way to the other realm. No white objects that always distracted him during his hike with his friends floating around him, so he was still pathetically lost in the human forest. Maybe he should just suck it up and accept that he was not destined to be with Riku. He should just send an SOS to Sion and get back to the real world again. 

However, he was not Kim Daeyoung if he gave up so easily. He had clear missions when he decidingly to set out to enter the other realm. He wanted to meet Riku again; to clear out the misunderstanding, to explain why he ran away from him, to tell him that he was not scared of him, and to profess his love towards him again. He needed to do all of that before he allowed himself to contact Sion to get him back. 

Though, despite his ambition, he could barely function properly now. He was starving and thirsty and exhausted. He couldn’t sleep to rest because he was too hungry, but at the same time he could hardly open his eyes. Then again, if he really fell asleep, the odds of his dying in his sleep were higher than him waking up again. He was really fucked up. He just hoped his angel (Riku) would pick him up faster than the death angel did. 

With his remaining energy, which was little to non-existing, he continued walking again. He took about five steps before his face planted into the ground – he felt like a kid again, the way he had been tasting earth in the past few days. The exhaustion finally won over him. Daeyoung knew what would happen if he succumbed to the pleasure of slumber, so he tried to keep his eyes open. 

But they were so heavy… so,is this how it’s going to end? he questioned. He was going to die before he could even meet up with Riku.

𑇐

The delicious smell infiltrated Daeyoung’s nose with no warning, and his stomach growled in response – oh, how Daeyoung wished he had a bit of that before he died. He scrunched his nose, trying to inhale more the yummy aroma made him so hungry–

Wait– me, hungry? I died though… huh?

His confusion with whether he was dead or alive made him open his eyes to assess his situation. He blinked his eyes very quickly as his brain tried to recall the familiar ceiling above him. While trying to remember, he put a finger near his nose – he was breathing normally, so did that mean he survived the black out and was still alive? Great; now he could continue his journey to enter the other realm and meet Riku–

“Ah, I remembered it now!” he exclaimed, sitting up so suddenly. He groaned when the dizziness hit from moving too abrupt and fell back to the sofa. He tried to open his eyes slowly, taking in his surroundings by just turning his head to the side. 

That one corner which was clean and spotless; and filled to the brim boxes, stacked on top of each other on the other side of the corner. There was no mistaking it – this was Riku’s house. 

But how…? 

He was going to get to the bottom of it but his nose caught the smell of the food again. He sat up slowly and turned to the kitchen area – there, he saw a figure standing in front of the stove, absorbed in his cooking. 

His lips drew a tiny smile. “Riku,” he called out, his voice rough from being unused. He tried to walk over towards him, but he dropped to the floor when he tried to take a step. The beauty turned, looking a bit startled when he saw Daeyoung on the floor. 

Riku’s surprised expression soon turned to horrified when Daeyoung started crawling towards him. Before he could even react, Daeyoung had his arms wrapped around his waist – which Daeyoung noted to be slimmier than he thought. Without thinking much, he planted his face to his stomach, unabashedly sniffing in his sweet citrusy scent. “I missed you,” he said, muffled against Riku’s clothing. 

The beauty tried to push him away, however, despite clearly losing some muscle and strength, his embrace was still strong. He grinned when Riku could not push him away so easily. He heard an annoyed huff, before his head was tugged backward – and from that angle, Riku looked so divine. A drool slipped past his mouth and Riku contorted his face like he was disgusted by what he saw. 

“You stink. Go shower,” he ordered him. 

Daeyoung ignored him and buried his face in Riku's stomach again. He didn’t care about the hand pulling his hair so harshly to pull him away. “I missed you so mu–” He was cut off by his own stomach’s rumble – he forgot that he was literally starving. He looked up at Riku shyly, escaping a small embarrassed giggle. 

Riku rolled his eyes, letting out a tiny sigh. “Eat first, then clean up,” he said with a rather kind tone. His expression also got softer, which got Daeyoung weak. Noticing the loose hold, Riku peeled himself off from Daeyoung’s embrace. “Can you stand up and walk on your own?” he asked, holding onto Daeyoung’s arm. Daeyoung nodded in a childlike manner. “Okay, go take a seat there.”

He obediently did what he was told and waited on the table. Riku came with a huge plate of freshly sauteed potatoes, sprinkled with a dash of black pepper. The smell hit Daeyoung again, and his stomach replied with a growl. 

“Eat,” Riku pushed the plate towards Daeyoung and he dug in right away. It was still hot, so he ended up chowing it down with an open mouth. He was aware how the beauty was looking at him with a concerned look, but Daeyoung was so starved that he could not give a damn at the moment – the future him would just deal with the embarrassment for the current him. 

The beauty silently slid a bowl of fruits towards him when he noticed Daeyoung practically inhaled the huge plate of sauteed potatoes he prepared earlier. Daeyoung, without missing a beat, grabbed a banana. “Slow down, or you’ll choke,” Riku forewarned him, and not long after that, Daeyoung really choked on the banana. Unamused, Riku went around the table, soothing his back to help with the mishap. “That’s why I told you to take it slow…” he muttered his head as he handed him a glass of water. 

𑇐

After getting his stomach filled and himself cleaned up, Daeyoung found himself getting dressed in the fae’s all-white clothing by Riku himself. He tried to hold in his grin – because he felt like a husband getting dressed by his spouse – but his thoughts were seen by Riku. He jabbed him and glared at him as a warning. It just made his grin wider. Riku quickly finished adjusting his fit and stepped away from him. 

But Daeyoung was quick to pull him back, making him stand next to him in front of the mirror. “We looked like a couple ready to be wed,” he spoke his mind out loud with no care, which earned him an eye roll from the beauty. For some reason, that made his heart skip a beat. “Riku, please be my wife– or husband. I’m okay with any role as long as I marry you.”

Riku walked away from him, ignoring his impromptu proposal, and Daeyoung let him be – he still trailed behind him though. He got the time to woo him all he wanted later, but right now, he needed to talk to him to clear up the misunderstanding. 

“Where are Ryo and Sakuya?” he asked, finally realising how quiet the house had been. 

“Out,” Riku replied curtly. Then he added, “maybe playing with other kids.”

Daeyoung nodded, sitting on the kitchen stool as he watched Riku going through ingredients to start on dinner. “Can we talk?” he asked, a little hesitant. 

The beauty glanced at him for a second before going back to his meal preparation. “Regardless of my answer, you will talk anyway. So, no.” 

“Oh–” Daeyoung was speechless for a bit; he wasn’t expecting Riku to outright deny talking to him. He pouted at that. “I’m going to talk either way!” he rebelled, to which Riku raised an eyebrow to, already expecting his insistence. 

“I’m not scared of you, –” he said suddenly, catching the beauty’s attention “– I’m scared of bugs.” For a brief moment, Riku showed confusion on his face, before he schooled it back to neutral. “Last time, just before I headed back to my world, you shifted because you were upset because I kissed you…” The last four words were muttered softly by Daeyoung, but Riku actually heard him, hence why his knife work got faster and louder.

“Like I said earlier, I was not scared of you, even though your appearance and voice changed. Yes, you were terrifying, but I was not scared of you. I did not run away because of you.” Riku stopped chopping to pay attention to what Daeyoung had to say about it. He waited patiently to hear what Daeyoung had to say – which honestly was stupid and embarrassing, but Riku didn’t know that, all he saw was the tip of Daeyoung’s ears had turned red as he struggled to tell him the real reason. His voice got smaller as he spoke. “I got scared of the bugs that suddenly landed and crawled on my legs, and persistently lingered around me even after shooing them away.”

Riku stared at him, mouth agape, maybe doubting his ears. He actually stopped moving altogether, which got Daeyoung to hold his breath also. The beauty probably thought that there was something wrong in his head. Just then, after what it felt like an eternity of silence, he chuckled. 

Daeyoung’s heart made a bold move to stop beating for a bit. And then, Riku started to laugh – not the tiny, shy laughter; but the big, genuine, hearty one. Daeyoung watched his silky hair bouncing to his laugh, his eyes crinkled into perfect crescents, his cheeks started to get rosy, and his mouth showing a big smile – too bad his hand was covering that rare view. His sound– oh, the lovely sound he produced– Daeyoung had heard it before, but hearing the squeaky chortle along with the wheeze, which was caused by his dorkiness, with his two own ears, he could literally pass out in happiness.

And he did exactly that–

He was smiling stupidly, hearing Riku’s joyful chortle that he didn’t realise that he was falling backward. His vision was gone already, so he couldn’t see what was happening. He only heard the laughter cease and be replaced by a panicked shout. And just as he hit the floor, he heard Riku calling out his name. 

Ah, Riku is saying my name, he giggled then he was out. 

𑇐𑇐𑇐

Riku had few opinions about the human– Daeyoung being an addition to his household (it had been five days since he arrived). 

To start with, he could rely on Daeyoung. In the morning when Riku failed to wake up early, Daeyoung prepared breakfast and cleaned after. He had good communication skills which amazed Riku. He used words to get what he wanted; very useful when it came to negotiating their trades – that was the main reason Riku always brought him to the town – and getting Ryo and Sakuya to do their part of house chores. 

Moving on to his big and muscular body, which was a huge contributor to lighten his tasks around the house, and he meant that literally and figuratively. Daeyoung took over most of the heavy work. He helped Riku with cleaning, assisting with lifting the heavy items so Riku could sweep under them, or carrying the heavy, freshly-washed laundry after Riku finished washing them then hanging them together. He followed Riku to the town to carry the trading goods. He helped the boys with gathering firewood, chopping them as soon as they got home, then arranging them neatly in the shed. 

He also had great energy and stamina, which meant he had great life force. So, he officially had become the spare food for the fae living in the house. On days where Riku was already spent, he would gulp down his ego and ask Daeyoung if Ryo and Sakuya could feed on him, to which he happily provided to the boys. The boys were elated, because Daeyoung would let them suck more than usual – and it always ended up with Riku scolding him for indulging the boys too much. 

But him having greater life force than Riku, meant that he was unconsciously attracting fae’s attention. The fae in the town were always so happy to have him around because they could feast on him – Riku always had to pull Daeyoung away from them because he wasn’t aware that he was being fed on. He told Daeyoung multiple times to be aware if fae suddenly came close to him, but he only seemed to say he understood because he didn’t want to listen to him nag. (“But Riku can always stay near me,” he said with that goofy smile of his).

Riku was still able to handle hungry fae, but dealing with coy fae was out of his expertise. He wouldn’t deny that Daeyoung was handsome and had a boyish smile that made him adorable and younger. He was outgoing and attractive, and even fae could not help but to be charmed by him. They flocked around him, refusing to let Daeyoung go until he had to call Ryo and Sakuya for help. He had few fae visiting his house just to get a glance of Daeyoung. One time, Ryo and Sakuya opened a trading table where the fae traded edible goods in exchange for a peek of Daeyoung doing whatever he was doing at that time – he was working out. As the owner of the house, Riku had to chase all the fae away, and Ryo and Sakuya called him a joy-killer and jealous for wanting to keep Daeyoung to himself – he did not want Daeyoung to himself, okay?

When Daeyoung heard the boys say that Riku was being jealous, he acted more insufferable than the first time Riku met him. If before he was following him around, now he brazenly invaded Riku’s space. Before, he would drop a few pick-up lines, testing the water; now, he just straight up seducing him. It left Riku stupefied by his direct, shameless, and very human-like advances. He never failed to tell Riku that he loved him every night before going to sleep; he always sneaked a kiss on his forehead whenever he saw Riku fall asleep in the living room; he gently moved him away by the waist when they were working together in the kitchen. 

The worst part? He didn’t actually mind all of that. 

𑇐

Riku leaned against the dresser, watching Daeyoung putting on the fae clothing on his own. He had taught him how to put it on once by words, and he was surprised that Daeyoung caught all of that – but then again, he could’ve learned by watching him dressing him before this. 

“Is there any history or reason why fae dressed in all-white?” Daeyoung suddenly asked. Riku puckered his lips, trying to recall what his fae parent told him before, and when he could not remember, he simply shrugged his shoulders. Then, without warning Daeyoung left a peck on Riku's lips, which earned him a punch on his stomach. Despite the pain, he was smiling. “You look so cute pouting; I had to kiss,” he heard the crouching man croaking behind him as he walked away. 

That was something he had to get daily after the boys teased him for being jealous – to set the record straight, he was not jealous; he was just protecting the peace of his house (yeah… right…). Daeyoung would always find absurd reasons just to give him a kiss, be it on his hands or hair or lips– literally anywhere, as long as it was on Riku.

“Riku, are you heading to town today?” 

His train of thoughts was disrupted by Ryo’s sweet voice. “Uh, yeah… why?” 

“Can you get apples? Daeyoung said he wanted to make apple tarts! He said it was a type of pastry with apples.” Sakuya’s deep voice chimed in. 

Riku tilted his head at the mention of yet another human food. Ever since Daeyoung arrived, he had been cooking some of them for them, and every time, Ryo and Sakuya liked and enjoyed them. So, now, if Daeyoung ever accidentally mentioned another food, the boys would expect him to make it. Right, he remembered Daeyoung mentioned apple tarts a few days ago because they ate sweet, juicy, crunchy apples. 

“I will see,” he said, not promising. 

Just then, Daeyoung, finally recovered from his blow earlier, came down and asked if he could come along to the town. Riku rolled his eyes – why would he need to ask? Of course he was coming along with him because who would carry all of the trading goods for him if not Daeyoung. 

As soon as they arrived at the town, Daeyoung was immediately approached by one of his fans – a human term Daeyoung taught him which meant admirers. Riku watched their interaction for a bit, before going down to business. He didn’t need to call Daeyoung over to follow him, because the man would trail behind him instinctively, cutting short the conversation between him and his fan. 

It happened multiple times after that, and every time, the interaction was short because– if Riku moved, Daeyoung moved too. 

Until he was doing trade for apples. Riku was busy negotiating with the apple trader, so he didn’t notice Daeyoung was slowly swarmed by his fans. While Riku was struggling to get good trade, Daeyoung was struggling to get himself out of the situation without offending any of the fae. He only noticed after he was done with his bargain – which he honestly thought he could get more, but they were already running late for dinner preparation.

He observed the hopeless man in the middle of the flock of fae, really at the end of his wits trying to escape from it. Daeyoung forced a smile; didn’t know which fae to answer first because they spoke over each other. His body tensed when the fae started to grab him to get his attention, and when he tried to move their hands away, they clung onto him because that somehow made Daeyoung look at them. 

Riku’s eyes twitched at the scene unfolding in front of his eyes. He did not like how they were touching Daeyoung so recklessly. 

“Daeyoung, we’re leaving,” he shouted. Daeyoung looked at him helplessly over the shoulder. The swarm of fae held on to him more tightly now to prevent him from going. Riku deadpanned and said “okay– I'm leaving,” and walked away without a second thought. 

Riku heard Daeyoung’s pitiful plea for him to wait for him in between his streak of apologies to his fae fans, but he ignored him, continued walking ahead. He heard Ryo and Sakuya’s voices in his head – Riku is jealous – but he shook his head, shaking the boys’ taunts off his mind. He walked away not because he was jealous; it was because it was already late and they hadn’t started preparing for dinner. They were behind schedule because Daeyoung was busy entertaining his fans.

As he turned around the corner, he bit his lower lip, a little disappointed when Daeyoung still hadn’t gone after him. Maybe he should’ve helped him out, but then again, Daeyoung was Mister Capable or so the boys said – and they were not wrong. He was big and strong, and he could easily pull away from them, but he didn’t. 

He stopped on his track, pouting as he considered going back to forcefully drag Daeyoung home. Or maybe he should get the boys to drag him home instead, but considering their natures, they might do the opposite instead. He could only trust himself to do the job. So, he turned on his heels to fetch his human back. 

Just as he turned around, he bumped into someone, his face planted to their chest. He quickly backed away to apologise, but when he realised the someone he bumped earlier was Daeyoung, the apology didn’t make it pass his lips. 

Instead, a scornful remark was said; “Oh, thought you decided to follow one of your fans back home and become their livestock.” Daeyoung smiled, smaller than the one he used to, and it didn’t reach his usually starry eyes – he was hurt – and immediately, Riku regretted his words. “I–I didn’t mean–”

Daeyoung pulled him into an embrace, his face once again buried into his soft chest. “I’m sorry for making you wait. I tried to be as respectful as I could so I don’t get on their bad side, just like you told me to.” Riku gritted his teeth bitterly – indeed, he was the one who advised Daeyoung to get on the fae’s good side so they didn’t do anything to him. But Daeyoung shouldn’t be so straight about it; he could be a little rude if the fae were being too much. 

“Also, I don’t want to follow any of them back. I like you – and the boys – so much that I don’t want to be separated from you guys!” he added, hugging Riku tighter and squished to his chest. He caressed Riku’s back, as if trying to console him. 

What an odd situation: it should be Riku who needed to apologise to Daeyoung for saying the harsh things he didn’t mean. But instead, Daeyoung apologised and even cajoled him, because of his own jealousy. Weirdly enough, he felt a sense of relief after admitting the fact that he was jealous seeing Daeyoung surrounded by fae other than Ryo and Sakuya. 

“Right,” Daeyoung tried to pull back, “should we go head ba–”

Riku’s whine was loud and clear, and his hands instinctively clawed onto Daeyoung’s back to make him stay exactly where he was. Who knew Daeyoung’s embrace was this comforting and addicting? When the man reciprocated his hug again, a smile etched on Riku’s lips. He figured dinner could be a little later. 

𑇐𑇐𑇐

Things started to shift after Riku refused to pull away from the embrace; and Daeyoung had never felt like the happiest man in the world. He always knew his constant effort and insistence would melt Riku’s high wall. The changes were subtle, yet very evident. 

Riku did not change how he received Daeyoung’s direct and passionate advances, but how he reacted to them did change a little. He acted composed whenever Daeyoung was around, however, Daeyoung could see that Riku was now aware of his presence. He still gave blows when Daeyoung planted a kiss unexpectedly, but Daeyoung noticed the adorable pout and the blush as he turned around. 

The most apparent changes Daeyoung noticed – and secretly liked – were his reaction towards Daeyoung’s fae fans and how he got attached to him physically. 

When his fae fan came to talk to him. Riku’s face would shift immediately, glaring at the fae for talking to Daeyoung and scowling at Daeyoung for entertaining them. When the conversation got too long, he stomped away without saying anything and sulked. One time, he wouldn’t even talk to Daeyoung for the whole day, sticking closely to Ryo and Sakuya. 

After a whole day of not talking, Riku sat closer to him as they all had breakfast together. He suddenly felt the need to help Daeyoung put on fae’s clothing even though he could do it on his own. He pouted adorably when Daeyoung’s lips left his forehead as abruptly as they landed. He followed Daeyoung to the front yard as he knitted blankets for the upcoming season while Daeyoung stocked up chopped woods. After dinner, he hovered behind Daeyoung, placing his chin on Daeyoung’s shoulder as he watched Daeyoung wash the dishes – “I’m making sure you’re washing them properly!” he said as his excuse. He unexpectedly joined the cuddle pile with Ryo and Sakuya and sneaked a kiss on Daeyoung’s neck – at some point, squeezing in between the boys so he could be close to him. And when it was time to go to sleep, as Daeyoung was about to flop onto the sofa, Riku pulled him by the hand all the way to his room, saying that he should sleep on a soft mattress after a long day. 

He could only smile like a fool, accepting the sudden change of bed arrangement with an open heart. How could Riku be so cute even when he was frowning and nagging at Daeyoung? Daeyoung could not help but to kiss him on the mouth, effectively shutting him up, but his frown deepened. He was about to apologise when his pretty Riku shut his brain completely by kissing him as a payback, pulled back to give him a mean smirk, then leaning back in for another round. 

Holy people of forest, this beauty would be the death of him!

𑇐

They were laying on Riku’s bed. Riku snuggled beside Daeyoung, using his arm as a pillow, while his hands fiddled with Daeyoung’s other hand, comparing hand sizes and what not. The moment was so intimate and very couple-like – it was about time he asked him out and made it official, but then again, was that even necessary in this realm? And talked about the realm, that made him ask the question that had been in the back of his mind.

“Riku?” Daeyoung uttered softly, to which the beauty hummed in response. “I’ve been wondering: how did I even get here? Last I remembered, I collapsed in the middle of the forest.”

Riku stopped playing with Daeyoung’s fingers for a bit, then turned to him, still holding onto Daeyoung’s hand. “I dragged you here,” he answered simply. Daeyoung just looked at him, still wanting to hear more than that. Riku sighed, before telling Daeyoung. 

Not long after he wandered around the forest, Ryo and Sakuya had seen him but didn’t show themselves because of what happened before he left the realm. They told their discovery to Riku, who brushed off the information. He had assumed that Daeyoung only came back because of his beauty, but when Ryo and Sakuya told him that Daeyoung was still around the next day, Riku decided to take a look. He was only supposed to be looking, but he ended up observing him a whole week in the human world. He watched him going left and right, climbing up the tree, down the slope. He watched Daeyoung starve himself because his food supply got stolen. He watched Daeyoung lose sleep, just to stay conscious and alive.

“I watched your every move while you were trying to find the boundary to this realm. You were so stupid – you could’ve died,” Riku nagged him. “I would’ve understood you risking your life for a fae, and we could’ve passed it on because you were charmed. But for me? That was just foolish and useless.” 

Daeyoung frowned. “Why are you saying it like you are less than other fae? You are the most flawless fae in my eyes,” he declared with his whole heart.

Riku flicked his forehead and told him to think carefully. “Fae don’t feed on each other,” he hinted, letting Daeyoung figure it out on his own.

Daeyoung worked his brain to the maximum. Fae don’t feed on each other – huh? But Ryo and Sakuya fed on him. Riku once mentioned that it was normal to feel tired and hungry after feeding fae, and he always needed to sleep after feeding the boys. When he woke up, he’d eat a whole meal. 

Realisation dawned upon him, but he refused to believe it. “But you changed your appearance!” he said, sitting up. 

Riku whined at the loss of his arm pillow. He pulled Daeyoung to lay back down and rested his head on his chest, listening to his erratic heartbeat. “That was Ryo and Sakuya’s doing,” he answered easily, which made Daeyoung question his sanity. “If you noticed, I always walk because I cannot teleport like the boys do.” He looked up at Daeyoung, who was still shocked at the discovery. He slapped him on the chest, making him look at him. “Does your feelings change because I am not what you think I was?”

“W-what? No, I still love you regardless!” he answered quickly. “I– I just need some time to– to understand this–”

Riku shut him up with a kiss. Gosh, he had been addicted to kissing ever since he initiated it earlier – Daeyoung was sure that his thin lips had swollen because of him; and no, he was not complaining. Then, he bit Daeyoung’s lower lips, which made him wince in pain. Riku licked where he bit then placed his lips on top of his. “Don’t think,” he muttered against Daeyoung’s lips. “Let’s go to sleep with our lips pressed together!”

Riku couldn’t be real, right? Was he sent from above to get him? Maybe he was not a fae, nor a human, but a death angel, that somehow had kissing as his current fixation. Did Daeyoung make him like kissing? 

Whatever, he could leave the thinking for another time. Right now, his beauty wanted to sleep with the lips pressed against each other and who was he to deny such an innocent request?  

𑇐

The weather in the realm had been so nice and gotten chilly. He laid outside to enjoy the sun and the cool breeze, and his background music was the boys’ laughing cheerily. He was close to sleeping when he heard a voice calling him out. He sat up groggily to look at the owner of the voice, but instead all he saw was trees swaying to the wind. He heard giggling, as if inviting him to join them playing. 

He chuckled lightly – this was Ryo and Sakuya’s way to get him to join their game and get scolded together by Riku for going inside the house with dirt. He heard the boys calling out for him again, this time sending white object to make him chase after it. He blinked; did the boys really think he would go after it? Well, whatever, might as well entertain them or they would get sulky – them being sulky was harder to manage than angry Riku. 

He stood up and trailed after the white object, which slowly shifted to fabric. It rode along the wind, getting faster and Daeyoung had to jog after it so he didn’t lose track of it. He was so focused on the fabric that he didn’t see a person in front of him and crashed. 

“Ouch,” a familiar voice said. Daeyoung opened his eyes immediately. He smiled widely and hugged the person underneath him. The person groaned, but still hugged him back. “Daeyoung, you’re so heavy,” Sion said, patting his back. 

“I want my hug too,” another familiar voice said. Daeyoung looked up at Yushi, who already had his arms opened. He quickly jumped to pull Yushi into his embrace. 

“Oh my god, I missed both of you!” he said, pulling away from Yushi. “How did you two get here?” he asked. 

Sion and Yushi exchanged glances. “But you came to us…” Sion said, “we were just hiking, and suddenly an overgrown puppy came crashing to me.” 

Daeyoung tilted his head. “Eh? Am I in the human world? How?” 

Just then, he saw Riku waving at him from behind a tree. He didn’t look like he was waving farewell, but rather telling him to enjoy his time with his friends. He smiled and nodded, which made Sion and Yushi turn to the direction he was looking at, and got a bit weirded out when they saw white fabric before it vanished behind the tree. Daeyoung laughed at Riku's cuteness and his older friends’ confusion. 

Sion and Yushi didn’t spare him any heartwarming reunion and dragged him up to join them hiking. Despite his complaint, he still managed to reach up to the top, and once again was in awe of the paint-like scenery before him. They asked about Daeyoung’s new life in the other realm, Sion asking what he had been eating to look healthier than before and Yushi requesting a meal from the other realm, to which Daeyoung promised to cook for them some other time. They wondered why Riku didn’t show and introduce himself if he was with them, and Daeyoung said that he was a little shy around new people (Daeyoung didn’t know why exactly; he just made that shit up). Daeyoung asked if they brought snacks because he missed processed foods, to which Sion gave all of his snacks in his bag and told him to bring some back too. After that, they had another bittersweet goodbye in the middle of downhike. Daeyoung pulled both of them into a hug and made sure his friends knew that he loved them dearly. 

He watched them continue descending, yelling at them to be careful and told them to come back soon. Then, he felt hands snaked around his midrib and a head propping on his shoulder. He smiled as he put a hand over the other’s hands. 

“Are you sure you didn’t want to follow your friends back home?” Riku asked, but his embrace was tightening around Daeyoung. 

Daeyoung smiled. His eyes were still on the small figure of his friends, who were taking it slow when hiking down the slippery slope. I am home already though,  he thought to himself. “That’s okay,” he replied instead. When he could no longer see both Sion and Yushi, he finally turned to Riku. He took his hand and kissed it. “We should head back too. Ryo and Sakuya are waiting for us.” Riku hummed in agreement, then started to lead the way. 

Daeyoung watched the way Riku’s clothes flowed, the same mesmering movement that pulled him in. His eyes travelled up to the wearer of the clothes, the way wind blew his dark luscious hair so prettily. And when he turned around, Daeyoung’s heart skipped a beat. He saw the beauty every day, but in moments like this, he was always breathtaking, so lovely – how could a human be this perfect?  

“Riku,” he called out. Riku’s attention was immediately on him. “I love you,” he breathed out so easily and Riku– he smiled sweetly at him, before pulling him in to answer him with a deep kiss.