#is that enough tags skjdfsjkdfh

[kim-sehyooned]

(fic) What a Wonderful World

Pairing: Sehyoon/Byeongkwan

Genre: Fluff, slight angst

Word Count: 3195

Summary: Sehyoon can’t remember where he is or how he got here, but then he meets Byeongkwan. And Byeongkwan can help. 

The sound of the leaves crunching beneath every single step he took was painfully loud in the dead of night, and Sehyoon winced as a particularly loud snap of a twig echoed into the silence.

He held his breath but nothing happened, and he let out a breath of relief and continued on.

There was no end to this forest. Every tree was starting to blend together, until it seemed he was surrounded by an infinite span of black, and brown, and green.

But still Sehyoon continued, determined to find his way out. Every challenge had a solution, and he was sure he would eventually solve this one as well. The only problem was it seemed like the path was repeating itself. He had definitely seen that odd-looking rock before, and he had already passed that same mossy stump three times.

He groaned, momentarily forgetting his attempts to be silent. Where the hell was he? What was this place? It seemed like he had been walking through this godforsaken forest for as long as he could remember.

A low growl pulled him out of his thoughts. Sehyoon froze, holding his breath. This was what he had been trying so hard to avoid. The rumbling growl came again, this time louder and much closer, and without a second thought Sehyoon bolted away from it as fast as his legs would take him.

He ran, gasping and panting, between the trees and over the small stream and under the vines hanging from the branches. The Thing followed, its loud thumping footsteps drawing closer and closer. Sehyoon cursed, glancing back over his shoulder. He could make out the outline of something huge, something on four legs. A bear, perhaps? Some sort of jungle cat?

“Oof-”

His foot caught on a rock that wobbled and gave way, and he flew to the ground, wincing in pain. The Thing slowed to a walk now, and Sehyoon nearly evaporated from fright as it towered over him.

It looked like a deer, large antlers protruding from the sides of its head, but its body was big and sturdy, like a mix between a rhinoceros and a water buffalo. It huffed, lowering its head to smell Sehyoon. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for his fate.

“Shoo! Shoo, go on!”

Sehyoon felt the weight lifted from off his body and slowly peered up again. It was a person, face hidden by shadows cast by the flickering torch he was holding. The Thing backed up, hissing indignantly at the flame. The person waved his torch around.

“Go! Find your dinner somewhere else!”

The Thing finally turned and left, but not after leaving one last angry snort. Sehyoon let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, and let his body lay limp on the ground. The person watched The Thing go, and when it was completely out of sight he chuckled and walked over to peer down at him.

“You looked like you needed a hand.” He held his out and pulled Sehyoon up, who scoffed and looked away.

“I had that under control.”

“Clearly.”

In the trembling light of the fire, Sehyoon caught a glimpse of his rescuer. Tussled, bright orange hair, honey-brown eyes, a tiny, pointy face. Sehyoon thought he looked like a pixie.

“I’m Byeongkwan,” the pixie boy said, his eyes twinkling, and suddenly Sehyoon was all too aware that their hands were still firmly intertwined. He jerked his arm away.

“I’m Sehyoon.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Sehyoon.” Byeongkwan peered curiously at him, and Sehyoon felt himself growing uncomfortable under the other’s piercing gaze. “How long have you been here?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “I can’t remember. What is this place?”

Byeongkwan looked around at the rows upon rows of never-ending trees. “Forever Forest. You’re lucky I ran into you, otherwise you never would have gotten out.”

Sehyoon stared at him. “What do you mean? Who are you? Do you know the way out?” Byeongkwan chuckled and shook his head.

“So many questions. But yeah, I know the way out. Follow me.”

As they walked, Sehyoon bombarded Byeongkwan with more questions, and Byeongkwan carefully answered each one with confusing, cryptic answers that only raised more questions. Finally, Sehyoon huffed in annoyance and stopped mid-step. Byeongkwan glanced back questioningly.

“You’re no help,” Sehyoon grumbled, crossing his arms.

Byeongkwan pursed his lips. “Well, that depends on what you need help on. What do you want to do? Besides getting out of Forever Forest.”

“I want to understand,” said Sehyoon, running a hand through his hair. “I want to know how I got here, and I want to know why I can’t remember anything.”

Byeongkwan paused for a while. “I can help you do that,” he said finally, voice slightly softer than before. Sehyoon raised an eyebrow.

“Really? You promise?”

“I promise. But you have to trust me.”

He considered it. What did he have to lose? “Okay.”

“Okay.” Byeongkwan’s face broke into a bright grin, and Sehyoon’s breath hitched for a second. “Come on, we’re almost out.”

They walked for a little longer, Byeongkwan’s torch leading the way as they carefully stepped over stones and fallen branches. Sehyoon listened as the other told him more about the Forest. There was only one specific path out, and if you didn’t follow it the Forest would reform itself over and over until you were stuck there forever. Hence, the name.

“Here we are,” Byeongkwan sighed, wrapping a piece of leather fabric around his torch to put it out. “We made it.”

They stepped out into the clearing, and Sehyoon had to blink a couple times to let his eyes adjust to the sudden brightness. When he could finally see again, he looked around in wonder at the bright blue sky, more vivid than anything he had ever seen before.

“It’s bright out? But, I thought it was night – it was so dark in the Forest, I – ” In his confusion he turned around, but what had been an endless maze of trees and vines just a couple seconds ago had completely disappeared, and the two of them stood in the middle of a wide, open field. He blinked.

“You’ll find time doesn’t follow the rules here,” Byeongkwan explained, and Sehyoon turned back to look at him. Now that they were standing in broad daylight, he could finally see what the other really looked like. He was petite. Cute, Sehyoon thought, with his oversized jacket and his orange hair brighter than ever.

“You said you would help me remember?”

Byeongkwan nodded, gesturing for Sehyoon to follow him. His sleeve dangled way past the end of his arm. “I’m taking you to a place. Then, you’ll remember.”

They set off in a random direction, not a single thing in sight on the horizon but the vast field, but Byeongkwan seemed to know where they were going. Small, blue vapours drifted down from the sky and formed around their feet, and soon the two of them were walking on a hazy stretch of clouds instead of the ground. Sehyoon felt a bounce in his step.

“Nice, huh?” Byeongkwan smiled his twinkling smile, and Sehyoon nodded. “Nothing makes me feel quite as light as walking on air. Except, maybe – well, you’ll see.” Sehyoon looked at him curiously. Byeongkwan reached down and scooped a bit of cloud up with his hand. “And it’s so soft, too. I like to paint with it. ‘Course, the only colour is blue, but there are many things I can make with blue.”

Sehyoon reached down and scooped up a handful too. It felt like cotton, only lighter, softer. He breathed out a sigh of amazement as he molded the cloud into a butterfly, and its wings fluttered and it flew off into the distance. Byeongkwan watched fondly. “You know,” he said, playing absent-mindedly with the cloud piece he was holding. “When I first saw you, I thought you’d be cold, but I was wrong. You’re warm.”

“People always tell me that,” Sehyoon murmured as he moulded another cloud piece into a butterfly. It flew away to join the first, the two butterflies fluttering and dancing with each other. “They don’t bother looking past what they first see.”

“Well, they’re missing out.” Byeongkwan grinned and reached his hand out to stick a fluff of cloud on Sehyoon’s upper lip. “Cloud mustache!”

“Wh – ” Sehyoon let out a loud sneeze, promptly destroying the cloud mustache as well as clearing away the clouds in front of the two of them so that they were walking on solid ground again. Byeongkwan laughed, eyes disappearing into two crescent moons. He reached out and grasped onto Sehyoon’s hand.

“Come on, hurry. Didn’t you want my help?”

This time, Sehyoon didn’t pull away.

They kept walking until the ground ended. For a while, they stood, staring down off the looming cliff at the unreachable land far below. Sehyoon glanced at Byeongkwan.

“What now?”

Byeongkwan took a deep breath and stared at Sehyoon, and for a moment Sehyoon found himself lost in a sea of honey-brown.

“We take a leap of faith.”

And without missing a beat, he jumped, pulling Sehyoon with him.

When Sehyoon finally stopped yelling in fear, it was because he felt the wind beneath him, pushing his body up and forward. His jaw dropped open and he glanced at Byeongkwan with wide eyes.

Byeongkwan giggled at him. “Close your mouth! Birds will fly in!” He spread his arms and legs out wide, closing his eyes in contentment and gliding through the air as the breeze carried them along. Sehyoon laughed in disbelief and copied him, giddy as he felt the air rushing through his hair and against his face.

In that instant, he felt more weightless than he had ever felt in his life.

They flew hand in hand for a little longer, until Sehyoon decided he wanted to try some tricks and let go to perfect his loop de loops. Byeongkwan played the part of a perfect audience and laughed and gasped and clapped.

Eventually, the thrill wore off, and the two of them glided side by side, enjoying the relaxing sensation. Out of nowhere, a song started playing, a soft, beautiful melody that made them want to smile and cry at the same time. Sehyoon looked around for the source of the music, but it seemed to be coming from everywhere.

“Do you hear that?” He asked. Byeongkwan nodded. “It sounds…so familiar. Like I’ve heard it before.”

Byeongkwan didn’t say anything. He just took Sehyoon’s hand again and flew the both of them down, down until they gently landed back on the ground.

Sehyoon looked around. They were on what seemed to be a beach, except the sand was nice and cool and the water was calm. The water was also a pale pink to match the sky, and he couldn’t tell where the water ended and the sky began.

Byeongkwan led the two of them over to a small boat bobbing up and down, and they climbed in and rowed out into the water.

Or was it the sky? Sehyoon couldn’t tell. They floated among the stars.

The music still echoed in the background, faint but constant. Sehyoon liked it. “Where are we now?” He asked. Byeongkwan paused.

“Sea of Memory.”

“Oh,” Sehyoon breathed.

“I could never stand being alone, you know,” Byeongkwan suddenly admitted, putting the oars down. “But I was getting used to it here. And then you came along.”

“I’m…sorry?”

“No, it’s not a bad thing.” Byeongkwan bit his lip. “Actually, it’s a good thing. A really good thing. You’re…a good thing.”

Sehyoon stared as the other boy glanced at him, and when his eyes met twinkling honey-brown, he leaned in and closed the distance between them.

The kiss was magical and almost too good to be true. Byeongkwan sighed in contentment and melted into Sehyoon, and all time seemed to stop as they sat there on the boat, surrounded by a sea of pink, hearts beating so fast they could no longer breathe.

Sehyoon was the first to pull away. Eyes still closed, he rested his forehead on Byeongkwan’s and whispered breathlessly, “Who are you?”

Purple and blue and white fish swam circles around them, and Byeongkwan sighed. “You should stay here with me.”

“What?”

“We can stay here together. We can build our own life here, in this magical world where anything can happen. What do you say?”

Sehyoon sat back, eyebrows furrowed. “Byeongkwan,” he murmured. “I don’t even know where this place is. I just want to know the truth. You said you’d help me figure it out.”

“You still haven’t figured it out?” Byeongkwan’s eyes blazed, and he sat up straight, tugging at his hair with his hands. “You still haven’t figured it out? We’re in the Sea of Memory. Think, Sehyoon, think!”

And Sehyoon thought. He thought as hard as he could. He tried with all his might to remember.

And he did.

It was dark. Raining. The streetlights hazily illuminated the empty street.

It had been a tough day at work. Sehyoon felt anger, annoyance, frustration.

There was a bright light. It blinded him. He felt his grasp on the steering wheel slip, and a rush of adrenaline as the car swerved in every direction.

He saw flashes of white, of red, of orange, and more red, and then black.

And then it was white again, and he saw the white faces staring down at him, and he felt the hospital lights glaring, and he felt himself being rolled as voices shouted at each other in the distance.

And then it was black again.

Sehyoon opened his eyes with a shuddering breath. Byeongkwan was looking at him, his gaze careful and wary. “You remembered.”

“I – that was – it was a – ”

“Car crash.” Byeongkwan paused. “Coma.”

“You mean…we’re in my head?”

“Not exactly. I don’t know.” Byeongkwan pursed his lips as thought of how to explain. “I don’t know what world we’re in, but all I know is somehow you’re here, and I’m here too.”

“Why are you here, Byeongkwan?”

The other boy just shook his head, refusing to answer the question. Sehyoon huffed.

“How do I leave?”

Byeongkwan’s eyes snapped to Sehyoon. “You want to leave?” He asked quietly. Sehyoon nodded.

“Yes. I want to leave.”

“Are…are you sure? I mean, you’ve seen how wonderful it is here, and we could do so many things, and – ”

“Byeongkwan.” Sehyoon took the other boy’s hand in his. “I know the truth now, and I don’t belong here. I want to leave.”

Byeongkwan stared at Sehyoon, and Sehyoon didn’t look away, and finally Byeongkwan sighed and nodded. “Okay. I’ll help you.”

“Thank you.”

The pink mist surrounding them cleared away, and slowly Byeongkwan paddled his way to a small dock at the edge of the water. They stepped out of the boat, Byeongkwan silently leading the way along worn-down railroad tracks surrounded by shrubs and bushes. Sehyoon wordlessly followed him.

Finally, the tracks disappeared into a tunnel and Byeongkwan stopped. “This is it.”

Sehyoon peered inside. There were lights illuminating both sides of the tunnel, seemingly getting brighter and brighter the further away they were, until the end of the tunnel was just a blinding white glow. “I go in there?”

“You go in there, and you leave forever.”

Sehyoon looked back. At that moment Byeongkwan seemed smaller than ever, his arms folded across his chest and eyes glancing everywhere except at his face. “Come with me,” he breathed. Byeongkwan froze. “Come with me. Let’s leave this place together.”

“I…”

“It’s not real, Byeongkwan,” he continued, making sure to meet the pixie boy’s eyes. “Come with me to the real world, together.”

“I…I can’t,” Byeongkwan whispered, eyes glassy. “I wasn’t happy. I’m happy now. I’m happy here.”

They gazed at each other, both trying to convince the other that they were right, until Sehyoon sighed and pressed a quick kiss to Byeongkwan’s lips. The other boy’s eyes fluttered shut.

“If you change your mind, I’ll always be waiting,” Sehyoon whispered, and Byeongkwan nodded and plucked a flower from a bush off to the side. He tucked it behind Sehyoon’s ear.

“You should go.”

Sehyoon gave him one last, long look, and Byeongkwan smiled softly and waved a hand. “Go on. Shoo.”

Sehyoon turned and walked into the tunnel, and as he walked he felt the light surround him and envelope him until he could no longer feel anything anymore.

He cracked open an eye. Where was he? Beside his ear, he heard a steady beep…beep…beep… He opened the other eye and was met with the shocked face of his mother, squeezing his hand and standing upright by the edge of his bed.

“Sehyoon? Sehyoon? Can you hear me? Doctor!”

He clumsily reached a hand up to his face and from behind his ear pulled out a vivid purple flower. He stayed staring at the flower as his mother ran back into the room, doctors and nurses hurrying in behind her and yelling all sorts of things at him. In the background, the news reporter on the television spoke.

“An update on the accident on the intersection of Oxford Court and Lantern Lane, two victims reported to be hospitalized. Kim Sehyoon, 24, suffered injuries but is stable. Kim Byeongkwan, 22, still in critical condition.”

Welcome New Interns!

The banner hung proudly over the office door, and the CEO stood in front of it, gesturing this way and that as he gave his annual motivational speech to the newly hired members of the company.

Spirits were high in the office as they usually were on Intern Day, but Sehyoon had gotten accustomed to the festivities over the past few years and now would much rather get all his work done quickly and go home earlier. His boss would let him – he had been much more lenient after Sehyoon had finally returned to work, and although a couple years had passed Sehyoon found that he was still receiving a little bit of special treatment.

Not that he minded. Not at all.

He grumbled in annoyance as the vending machine whirred to dispense his candy bar, only for the wrapper to get stuck around one of the shelves and refuse to drop down. Groaning, he crouched down to try to reach for it through the slot at the bottom. It didn’t work. He bent down even further to get a better angle, but no matter how hard he tried, the treat did not budge.

The machine shook as someone gave it a violent kick on the side, and finally the candy bar dislodged itself and tumbled down into the slot. Sehyoon gave a cry of relief and grabbed it.

“Thank you so much, I hate it when that happens – ”

He looked up and was met with a pair of honey-brown eyes twinkling down at him. “You looked like you needed a hand.”

He swallowed. “I had that…under control…” Sehyoon slowly stood until he was face to face with the other boy, who chuckled and held out a hand.

“Byeongkwan. Newest intern. It’s been a long time.”