The World's Most Beautiful Lies

When Yunho arrives home that afternoon, the house remains in the very same condition.  Messy.  Jaejoong hadn’t come home.  This is the first time Yunho comes home to an empty house.  There is a clenching feeling in his stomach, but there is also the unfamiliar taste of freedom.

The bed feels strangely empty and Yunho can hardly sleep.  No matter how angry he is at the other, he’s still worried of his well-being.  He falls asleep at 2:30 am that night.


Jaejoong’s best buddy, Yoochun comes to the apartment 2 days later.  It is Sunday so Yunho spends that day cleaning the mess Jaejoong left.  He was vacuuming the floor when Yoochun rings the bell.

He is there to get Jaejoong’s stuff.  

“Sorry for bothering, hyung.  But Jae really can’t live without his skincare products and his V-necks.  If I don’t come here today, he’d had my neck in the chopping block for sure,” Yoochun had said when he was putting Jaejoong’s stuff in a huge suitcase.

Somehow all that makes the break-up seems realer.

But Yunho didn’t linger long on it.  He has a life to live after all. 
That very night is the first night in a while, that Yunho gets to taste the pleasure of freedom.  He goes to the most exclusive club in Seoul, wearing clothes that he knows would turn heads towards him.

He no longer has to worry of someone getting upset everytime people tries to chat him up, and that feels strangely refreshing.  Yes he loves Jaejoong, but really, if this is how independence taste like, he can live without Jaejoong for sure.

He drinks to his heart’s content that night.

“Cheers to freedom,” he announces as he clinks his glass with a couple of strangers he barely knows.
Junsu calls and ask to meet him.  It’s been nearly 3 months after his break-up with Jaejoong, and since Junsu (and Yoochun) is a familiar friend of theirs, one of the few Jaejoong would never misunderstand him with, Yunho didn’t know what to expect.

He half-hopes Jaejoong will be there.  They frequently go out for a drink as a group after all, back in the days.  Junsu with Yoochun, and him with Jaejoong.  But the other half of him is worried.  What if Jaejoong is still angry.

No matter how dysfunctional he is, he’s still one of the most important person in Yunho’s life.  And if they can’t stay together as lover, Yunho hope they can still remain as friends.  He cannot sleep that night (actually he has difficulties sleeping the first few nights after the break-up, but lately, his insomnia seems to have been alleviated, at least until Junsu called).

Yunho stays up that night, despite how his brain tells him not to.  He keeps unintentionally drafting his speech in case if Jaejoong shows up tomorrow.


He turns to his side and glances at the clock.

‘2:30 am.’

Ugh, it’s gonna be a long night.


There’s no Jaejoong there.  Neither him nor Yoochun.  Junsu had tried to plaster an eager smile once he arrived at the café but Yunho can tell it was fake.

“Since Jae hyung has Chun, I’m going to offer myself to you as your outlet.  At least you won’t have to keep everything to yourself,” Junsu claimed after Yunho had asked him.

And Junsu also told him a brand new information about Jaejoong that he hadn’t known.  That explains why he never sees Jaejoong around anymore, even at the restaurant he works. 

Jaejoong isn’t in Korea, he’s on a vacation in Venice, together with Yoochun, in a trip Yunho presumed to be sponsored by the latter.  Yoochun works as a song writer, so his company allows him to go on vacay anytime he wants for muse.


“What about his work?” Yunho had asked while frowning.

“I guess he quitted,” Junsu shrugged.

Yunho thinks he missed Jaejoong.  It’s 5 months after their break up, and Yunho is in his office, signing a paper when a colleague comes in with yet another document.  It is the one who fell on top of him aka the catalyst of his break up. 

Yunho fights to keep his laughter in check, as the lady frowns at him while placing the document on his table.  Jaejoong had been right, she is ugly.

Junsu calls him 2 days later for another boys night out.  But this time he slips in a warning. 

“He’s back.”

Yunho doesn’t know why, but that short sentence gives great impact to him.  And that night, just like the first few nights after their break-up, Yunho cannot bring himself to sleep.

It’s the caffeine, he tries to convince himself.  And when he turns to his side to glance at the clock, he sighs.

‘2:30 a.m’

It’s going to be a long night.


When he goes to the café the next day, what he expected is a frowning Jaejoong who wouldn’t as much spare a glance at him.  Oh boy, was he wrong.

Jaejoong is glowing as he waves at him from where he sat.  Yunho looks at him meekly and make his way to the table.  Usually, Junsu and Yoochun would be too busy coddling to care about them, but since this is a rather volatile situation, Yunho finds both pair of eyes trained tensely between him and Jaejoong.

Jaejoong doesn’t seem to care though, ordering his food from the waitress leisurely.  Yunho merely watches him awkwardly and when it is his turn to place the order, he gulps when the waitress comes a little too close to him, brushing her hips on his resting elbow.

His fearful eyes automatically turn towards Jaejoong, so does Junsu’s, Yunho noticed.  But neither Jaejoong nor Yoochun paid any of them any attention, too busy talking about that one incident that happened to them in a café in Venice.

Yunho draws a breath of relief while Junsu still looks constipated.  Yunho immediately finish his order before Jaejoong notices anything off.  Yes, they’ve broken up, but no one but Yoochun truly understand Jaejoong.  Not even he himself.

They spent that evening talking about nothings.  And Yunho is just relieved that Jaejoong is as compliant and friendly as ever.  They never talk about the break up.  The only foul thing he heard that night was when Yoochun voices out.

“Oh, hyung.  Guess who we met in Venice?” Yoochun had wiggled his brows while Jaejoong giggled (sweetly, Yunho noted).

“Hmm, who?”

“Your cousin, Jung Chang Min!”



Yunho decides that feelings are a really complex thing.  He’s the one who’s doing the dumping yet why is he so upset seeing Jaejoong doing just fine without him.  He remains silent as Jaejoong animatedly chats with Junsu and Yoochun amidst the buzzing sound of the café.  This is their 7^th meeting after the break-up (yes, Yunho counted), and he looks normal.  If not even better than how he was with Yunho.  His porcelain skin is positively glowing.

Somehow, despite the odds, things has gone back to normal with Jaejoong.  They’re no longer together, but Jaejoong has been completely civil with him, just like how he was when they were still together just this time, minus the envious stare to those who stand 3 metres radius from him.


He ignores whatever it is Jaejoong is talking about, - something about Pierre something saving something in Venice- as he gulps his coffee bitterly.

“Damn,” he curses, drawing attention to himself, “-the coffee is bitter.”

He got ignored as Jaejoong went back to story-telling.



At this point, Yunho is sure that Jaejoong doesn’t care about him anymore.  At first, when the waitress stood a little too close to him after Jaejoong went back from Venice, he had thought Jaejoong simply missed that act, but right now he’s positively sure the other doesn’t care.

“Good for me,” Yunho mumbles quietly as his hand snakes around a stranger’s waist, the corner of his eyes catching the sight of Jaejoong chatting with the bartender. 

“Hyung, you’re attention whoring,” Yoochun mumbles as he sat next to him, tired from all of the dancing.  They’re currently in a club, Yunho’s idea.  He said he wants them to have some fun, but the truth is he just wants to gauge Jaejoong’s reaction to his interaction with other people. 

He bit his lower lips as he subtly glanced at Jaejoong’s direction again, tightening his hold on the strange girl’s waist while tipping his glass at Jaejoong when the beauty face his way.  Jaejoong tip his glass back and goes back to the bartender.

“Bloody bartender,” he curses.

“Hyung, you’re attention whoring,” Yoochun repeats that, and this time Yunho doesn’t miss it.

“That, I do, dear dongsaeng,” he admits coolly and the girl next to him giggles, probably high from something.


“Look, hyung, I don’t want to see you making a fool out of yourself.  There’s something you need to know,” Yoochun announces, he sounds so serious Yunho just has to look at him.

“Jae hyung, he-  He sort of found someone.  In Venice.  I don’t know if they’re serious, or if they’re really together but… you know.” Yoochun says carefully, treading on thin ice. 

Oh.  Yunho’s expression falls.




Yunho learns that the bastard’s name is Pierre.  Yunho has learned to hate him just as much as he hates Jung Chang Min that bastard.  Who by the way is sitting smugly in front of him, a smirk on his face.

Junsu had wanted to meet him, hearing so many things about him from Yoochun and Jaejoong.  They learned that Chang Min was in Venice for a vacation after scoring a big deal in the real estate firm he works at.   And while being there, he had met and fell in love with Jaejoong’s cooking (Yoochun says, they accidentally met when Jaejoong cursed about a certain Jung Yunho loudly that it attracted the attention of a certain Jung Chang Min.  Yunho had sighed hearing that.  He unknowingly brought them together).

Yunho and Changmin continues their staring fest as the other three gushes about how much of a gentleman Pierre that -bleep- is.

“Well, let’s just hope Pierre don’t pick his nose in bed.  Oh wait, since he’s courting Jaejoong and not Yunho, I guess he’ll be alright,” Chang Min sarcastically says at the end of their time out.  Oh, had Yunho mentions how much he hates him?


“Say Jaejoong, do you pick your nose in bed?  That must be why my cousin here dumped you.”

Scratch that, Yunho loathes him!

“He’s ugly,” Yunho comments when he sees Yoochun entering the bathroom after him.  The latter merely rolls his eyes.

Yunho is talking about Pierre Rosebury, Jaejoong’s new admirer who by the way has been charming everyone out of their rocker, except for Yunho.

‘I’ll be working in Pierre’s restaurant from now on.  Pierre absolutely adores my cooking,’ Jaejoong gushed a while ago.

‘I met him when he was saving a child from drowning.  He was so heroic,’ Jaejoong fawned, while the other fawned with him.

‘Pierre saved our skin after we almost missed our flight back home.  He’s our knight in shining armor.’

Pierre this, Pierre that, Yunho wonders why Jaejoong hadn’t simply launched on him while saying ‘I do’!

“Like come on!  Who’s got Rosebury as a family name anyway!  That’s a girl’s name over there!” Yunho nastily adds as he washes his hand in the sink.

They’re currently dining in a high-end restaurant, property of a certain Pierre Rosebury, the heir of Rosebury Culinary giant. 

“Junsu and Changmin likes him though,” Yoochun replies smoothly as he pees. 

“Oh-“ Yunho throws his hand in the air, “-what does that stupid Chang Min know except for eating.  Changmin only likes him to spite me off!” Unfortunately, the rest of the gang seem to plan to make Chang Min a permanent part of the troop, Jaejoong inviting him along in this ‘important’ dinner is the living proof of it.  Ughh, more bad news for Yunho.

“Why would Chang Min liking Jaejoong’s admirer spite you off?” Yoochun questions, but when he sees Yunho’s expression he decides he doesn’t want to hear his answer and quickly resumes his sentence, “Besides, it’s Jaejoong that he’s courting,  so it’s Jae’s opinion that matters,” Yoochun says before he zip his pants back up and wash his hands.
Yunho never thought he’d ever see dark clouds glooming over Jaejoong’s head over someone that isn’t him.  And as he watches Jaejoong being jealous over a French acquaintance chatting with Pierre, Yunho never thought he’d wish he’d be in Pierre’s spot.

He had always disliked Jaejoong’s constant jealousy, but somehow seeing Jaejoong being jealous over another man didn’t sit well with him.  He’d rather it was him than Pierre that squirrel.

This is another dinner with Pierre and both Yoochun and Junsu have that expression on them exactly like how they used to look like everytime someone came too close to him for Jaejoong’s liking.

“Who is she?” Jaejoong asks in a deadly tone.  Yunho finds the decency to smile at the current situation.

 You’re in for it, blondie.  Serve you right.

“She’s a cousin,” Pierre answers with a sincere smile while Yunho’s own smile crumbles.

Perfect little Pierre.

“Oh, no wonder she looks like you,” Jaejoong giggles, back to being friendly.   Yoochun and Junsu heaves in relief as they look at each other with a smile.  

Suddenly, looking at the two couple, Yunho feels like a third wheel.  He merely sighs as he looks yearningly at his ex’s direction.

Jaejoong is smiling at Pierre the way he used to smile at him, only at him, and Yunho isn’t happy.  It’s just a matter of time before he gave in to Pierre’s disarming smile.

That night as he lay on his bed in silence, he thought that perhaps, Jaejoong’s smile worth much much more than his freedom after all.

He’s free now, but he’s unhappy.  Weird because he thought that’s the thing he want the most.  But right now, all he wants is for Jaejoong to curl up against him on their bed like the good old times.  Freedom be damned.  He’s willing to live under Jaejoong’s protective shell forever if it means the beauty is his.

The saying is true then, a man never truly knows what he had until he lost it.


The direness of the situation hadn’t fully register Yunho until one night where he and Jaejoong talks about their break up for the first time.

Jaejoong have been too composed, too cool about it, apologizing for everything he had done to Yunho in the past.   And that’s the thing Yunho had been afraid of the most.  For Jaejoong to talk about it like that must’ve meant it no longer affect him.  Jaejoong has moved on.  And Yunho hasn’t.


They’re currently standing in Yoochun’s balcony, celebrating the success of the songwriter’s new songs.  



“You don’t have to be wary of me right now, Yunho.  Go and find your own happiness.  I won’t hold you back,” Jaejoong spontaneously says as he looks pensively out of the balcony, missing the pain flashing in Yunho’s eyes,  “-Maybe what you and I had was just a phase.  A pit stop before I found the person truly destined for me.  If I hadn’t been with you and broke up with you, I wouldn’t go to Venice.  And then I wouldn’t meet Pierre.  I don’t know, I might sound cheesy, but I think if anyone is destined for me, that person would be Pierre.  Most people couldn’t stand my possessive nature, but Pierre does.”

Heyy!  I stand your possessive nature too, for 3 years at that!  Yunho frowns.  It’s still too early to tell.  Just wait for 3 years and see if he’ll still be that patient.

As much as Yunho hates Pierre and would love to bury him alive, he knows Pierre does seems different from him.  While Yunho had only been patient when it comes to Jaejoong, Pierre is patient to everything.  He looks so cool and composed and he hates to admit, but that blonde locks and gray eyes of his makes him looks like a mannequin.  Plus he’s rich.  Jaejoong would live a comfortable life with him.

Damn, Yunho is in deep shits.

Jaejoong’s words keeps resounding in his ears, especially the ‘destined’ part.  It just scares him so much.  That iss the slap in the face for him.  Just the thought of Jaejoong marrying other people made him weak in the knees.


He cries himself to sleep that night.

Synopsis:
They had been fighting too much, Yunho just had to call it quit.



At first Yunho found it endearing.  The luscious pout, the indignant huff and the icy stare from his significant other everytime Yunho became a little too close to anyone that wasn’t him. 

His parents had always teased him for liking something when it was still new and grew distance to it once the novelty wears off.  Like that cute little girl next door when Yunho was nine.  She had just moved into the neighborhood when Yunho first saw her, she could be considered his first love.  Yunho had liked her so much, being the giddy nine year old he was.  He’d always gaped at her with his hand plastered to the window everytime she played outside, he liked her pony tail and the way it bounced everytime she jumped, he liked her smiles (it makes her look friendly) and she looked so cute walking around with her teddy bear in tow.  So Yunho didn’t take long to befriend her once he got the chance to.


But soon, that bouncy ponytail becomes that bouncy pony tails that poke into his eyes everytime the wind blows and the wide friendly smiles was soon overshadowed by that horrendous face she makes everytime she cries.  4 weeks after they first become friends, Yunho had grew tired of her and was more than eager to shrug her off his trail.


She wasn’t the only instance.  There’s also that shiny new toy his parents bought him that was left lying on the ditch 3 weeks after he got it.  And that telescope that he wanted so much when he was 15, only to cast it aside for explicit magazines and mangas less that 5 months after. 

And had he mention his cousin, Jung Chang Min?  He was pretty intrigued with the idea of a cousin when he was twelve and he was often very pleased everytime Chang Min and his mother drop by for an hour or two at his house.  Seeing the reasonably well relationship of the two, their parents decided to let Chang Min sleep over his house for a week.  If Yunho was happy at first, that feelings didn’t last long.  Not only did Chang Min browse his laptop without his permission (what if he breaks it!), Yunho had also hated the fact that his mother showered Chang Min more attention that she does to him (probably because Chang Min was someone else’s child, and all moms are nicer to other people’s kid).  His last straw was when he sees Chang Min picking his nose on his bed.  Needless to say, he went amok and up until today, Chang Min hated his guts.

Well, to put it simple, Yunho couldn’t find himself to stay interested in a thing for long.  And how he wish Jaejoong is an exception.

It’s not like he can help it, he simply grew tired of his wary boyfriend. 

Which bring us back to the current situation,  Yunho is massaging the bridge of his nose, trying to block out the sound of Jaejoong sobbing from the other side of the bed.

He has been sitting there for a good amount of hours already while Jaejoong is still sulking, pretending to be asleep though both him and Yunho knows he’s very much awake. 

Yunho cast his glance at the messy room, courtesy of a very very angry Jaejoong throwing things off their original place, before he settles with retiring back to his spot on the bed.  Maybe a sleep will help. 

He turns off the vanity lamp and coax himself to sleep, with Jaejoong’s occasional sobs as his lullaby.

“I think we need some time off,” he finally said it after weeks of cold war with Jaejoong.  He’s currently seated on the dining table, with Jaejoong sitting right in front of him.

The other stops cutting his eggs right away.  “You mean like a break-up?” he asks with a hoarse voice.

Yunho can’t tell his feelings right now, but he guessed Jaejoong is mad.  The more mad Jaejoong is, the better he is at concealing his feeling.  So judging by the serene expression on his face right now, he must be fuming.  He bets it’ll only take a few minutes for the calmness to erupt into yet another ‘let’s-throw-things-to-Yunho’s-face’ time.  Jaejoong is like a ticking time-bomb.  He was exactly like this yesterday before he started the throwing fit.

Yunho has the decency to gulp.  “Not necessarily,” he croaks.   “It can be a temporary time-off between us two.”

Jaejoong scoffs bitterly.  “You are such an asshole Yunho.”  Yunho wonders how he managed to say that with such grace.  “Just say it straight to my face.  You’re tired of me and wants to get rid of me.  Your dad warned me before, I must be stupid for not heeding to his warning.”

He sighs heavily.  “Look, Jaejoong, what we had between us is not healthy.  You’re- you’re-“ Yunho struggles to describe him.

“A psychopath?  A maniac?” Jaejoong furrows his brows.

“You’re you.  And you’re very, extremely, unquestionably, undeniably territorial.  It’s just too bad I’m not a territory for you to mark.  Look-“ he stands up, patience quickly thinning with how accusing Jaejoong looks, “-you’re a wonderful person.  A wonderful lover, I don’t regret falling in love with you.  It’s just, I have my life too, and with you around, I won’t be able to live it.”

Jaejoong slams his fork onto the table with a loud clank.  Here we goes again.

“Well excuse me for having the decency to get mad after seeing my boyfriend getting it off with a-a whore!” Jaejoong yells, tears pooling on his eyes again.

“I told you, she’s a colleague!  And she happens to fall on top of me and that’s when you came in!” Yunho justifies, yelling back.  The trouble brews when Jaejoong decided to bring him a lunch box one day.  He arrives in his office just two second after a female colleague of Yunho accidentally fell on top of him.  He was brought to the floor, she on top of him and that view didn’t looks very good from Jaejoong’s point of view. 

He thought he was cheating and look at where they are right now.  Actually that’s not just it.  Jaejoong is possessive by nature and made it almost impossible for anyone to get close to Yunho, be it male or female.

Back then when they were still in the process of courting each other, Yunho had found it adorable.  But now, he’s downright annoyed.

“Why are you yelling at me?!  You’re the one who cheated, I should be the mad one here!”  Jaejoong bellows, a tone higher than his previous one.  “What is it that I do so wrong?  Why would you go and find another girl?  An ugly one at that!  Am I not enough for you?!” his voice falters a bit by his sobs, but Yunho can hear just well.


Yunho grits his teeth in irritation.  It’s always like this with Jaejoong.  Yunho is always the one at fault, and he would always act as though he was the understanding lover who accepts him for who he is, and it annoys Yunho.  Because the one with issues here is not him, it’s Jaejoong.  Jaejoong isn’t the understanding lover that he claims he was, Yunho is!


“Well, aren’t you going to say anything?” Jaejoong asks, looking at him with that look again.  An accusatory glare.

“Yes, I will.  The only thing I’d want to say, or rather ask, is for you to stop staring at me like that.  I had enough of all your dramas, Jaejoong.  I’m sorry, but I can’t live like this anymore,” he says, his tone hard at first, but gradually grows softer upon seeing the tears that flows down his lover – or maybe now, ex-lover’s- face. 

“Fine then!  If that’s what you want, I’ll give it to you!  I’m breaking up with you, now get out of here!” Jaejoong hurls the ornamental flower vase he finds on the table to Yunho.  His tears must’ve blinded his eyes because the flower vase landed a few inches from where Yunho stand, Jaejoong usually throw things with deadly accuracy. 

“It’s my apartment!” Yunho states, with equal anger upon seeing the remnants of his vase on the floor near his feet.

Jaejoong stomps his feet in rage before he flings his occupied plate to Yunho, looking at him with the amount of fury Yunho had never seen before.   This time, it didn’t miss and Yunho hardly cringe when the porcelain plate hits his torso, having grown used to such assault already.

“Fine!  I’ll leave then!” Jaejoong says, before he stalks off in tears and anger. 

Yunho hardly look up from the floor when he hears the door slams.  He has the urge to go up to Jaejoong and apologizes, they had been together for almost 3 years after all and Jaejoong is like a home to him.  He’s the first thing that remains constant in Yunho’s life.  But then what?  He’d apologize, Jaejoong will sulk but soon gives in and they reconciles.  And after that, the cycle repeats itself. 

It is that thought that made his feet remain rooted to where he stand.  He can’t stand Jaejoong’s possessiveness anymore.  He needs to live his life to the fullest and he can only do so without Jaejoong.  This will be the first time he decided to become selfish when it comes to Jaejoong, he usually gives in to the other, but not anymore.

“I’m sorry, Jae.  But I have to do this for myself.”

Synopsis:

Yunho was lost between the black and white keys while Jaejoong was the one who fell into the koi pond.  And Yoochun?  Yoochun was but a mere spectator.











Yoochun traces his fingers across the printed cover with a fond smile.  The word ‘epoch’ is written in an elegant cursive at the center of the photo album.  Something coils in his stomach as he flips the first page open. The first picture he sees is a fading photograph of two crying babies lying next to each other in an unusually large crib.  The smaller of the two babies held his arm out, hitting the other baby with the rattle on his hand, while both of them erupt in ugly cries.  It was a comical yet endearing sight.


The smile on Yoochun’s face widens.


Yoochun had known Jaejoong ever since forever.  They had lived next to each other all their lives after all.  Their mothers were sisters and had decided to settle next to each other after marriage.  They even planned to get children at the same time (which in Yoochun’s opinion, were ludicrous.  Pfft, women).  However, Yoochun, strong-willed even before birth, decided to pop out early, a few months earlier than his due date, automatically giving him the privilege of being the older between them two.


So, on 31 January 1988 at exactly 2:14 am, a baby boy was born.  3 months later, another followed suit.


Jaejoong, to Yoochun, was like a sibling he never had.  To Yoochun, befriending Jaejoong wasn’t a desire, it was an obligation.  Their parents put them next to each other and just expected them to click.


So just imagine a 3 months old Yoochun sleeping quietly on his crib only to be awoken when he felt something being placed next to him.  It was a baby boy, quite smaller than he was.  Yoochun stared with curious eyes for a while, while their mothers cooed before them.


“Oh, just look at them.  How adorable.”

“Look at him, Yoochunnie.  His name is Jaejoongie.  And he is going to be your friend from now on.”  His mother had said even though she knew Yoochun didn’t understand her.


Yoochun continued staring for a while.  At least until the smaller baby smacked him on the face with a rattle.  It didn’t hurt, but Yoochun was a baby, so he cried.  Jaejoong cried as well, just harder, as though his lung was about to pop out.  So, all attention went to him.


Click.


From then on, his life with the devil’s-spawn that was Kim Jaejoong began. And that was 27 years ago.


The sound of piano keys being pressed haphazardly prompts Yoochun to look up.  The noise comes from their piano room, he guess his housemate must’ve fell into one of his mood swings again.


The melody was harsh for a moment, borderline violent, before it mellows into a wistful and melancholic rhythm.  Yoochun stares into thin air for a couple of seconds upon hearing that familiar composition. 


He gives a furtive glance at the door of the piano room as he exhales heavily.  The unpleasant feeling that has been lingering at the pit of his stomach intensifies as the music proceeds.


Nevertheless, he choose to ignore the burst of nostalgia he feels as he gingerly slides through the pages of the photo album.  His eyes skids past some photos, a few consists of candid shots of him alone, while the others with his parents or Jaejoong.


You can tell that he had been a quiet kid based on those photos alone.  That quiet, mousy Yoochun kid who always hung around at the background, only keeping to himself while other kids ran rampant in mischief.


His thumb stops at one photo of him and his mother.  Tears pool in his eyes, but he holds it in as he focus his blurry eyes on that snap.  His mother was looking at the camera with a wide smile while holding him from behind, while the teary 5-year old Yoochun looks away distractedly, staring dramatically at piece of painting scrunched up on his tiny little hand.  The 5-year old Jaejoong somehow photo-bombed them when half of his body appears at the end of the photo, his eyes crinkling happily as he smiled that gorgeous smile of his while holding a piece of blue crayon that had been snapped in half.


Oh Jaejoong.  Yoochun smiles endearingly at that photo and the bittersweet nostalgia behind it.



Yoochun didn’t know what he did wrong to warrant the hate that Jaejoong harbored towards him. 


“How ugly.  Why is your aero-plane brown, like a poop?” a voice came from behind his shoulder.  Yoochun glanced behind and saw Jaejoong scrunching his face distastefully at his drawing.  Yoochun ignored the little critique and continued drawing.


Occasional shrieks and giggles could be heard since this was a birthday party after all – Yoochun’s mom’s – and all the neighbors nearby along with their kids had been invited.  The drawing that had been keeping Yoochun preoccupied itself was a gift Yoochun plans to give to his mother.


Jaejoong harrumphed, annoyed at being ignored.  He looked around for a while, looking a little lost, before he plopped down next to Yoochun, face still sour.  There was no other choice.  It’s not like he was friends with any other person here except for Yoochun.  His mom was too busy chatting with Yoochun’s mom in the kitchen, and when Jaejoong had clung to her skirt earlier while begging for ice cream, she scolded him and told him to bother Yoochun instead.  So now, here he was.


His curious little eyes fell on Yoochun’s colorful crayon set, and when nosiness kicks in and he leaned in to touch one of the crayons, Yoochun hissed and pushed his hand away, because Yoochun did not wish to be bothered, dammit.


His mother had looked so forlorn these days; his father too, and Yoochun wanted to do his best to make this birthday special for her. 


“You are such a ‘skuge’ !” Jaejoong huffed in disbelief. 


“It’s ‘scrooge’,” Yoochun corrected warily as he colored.  The younger had taken quite a liking to the word ‘scrooge’ lately, especially after he watched ‘A Christmas Carol’ the other day.  It was a pity he still couldn’t pronounce the word properly.


Yoochun leaned back and admired the painting once he finished coloring the airplane.  Great, all he needed to do now is to color the sky.   He picked out a navy blue crayon and used it as a paperweight before he heads over to the toilet to relieve himself, unlike Jaejoong, he was potty-trained.  Heh.


When he was on the way to the toilet, he passed by the kitchen and vaguely heard the conversation between his mother and his aunt that involved, hospital visits, chemo-something and something called cancer.  But then, everything was drowned by the sounds of children’s laughter that were being entertained by a clown in the yard.


‘How do you spell C-H-A-S-T-I-T-Y children?  Do you know what chastity means?’  asked Minnie Mouse, one of the clown’s companions.  The entertainers had been asked to conduct fun activities that were educational for the children.  It was his father's idea.


Yoochun tuned them all out and finished his business in the toilet.  When he got back to his previous spot however, he found something missing.  He looked around. 


Maybe it’s underneath the coloring paper. 


He lifted the paper and found nothing. 


Maybe it rolled off the paper and went under the sofa.  He crouched and peeked underneath the sofa.  There was nothing there, save for particles of dusts, hairs and a couple of coins.


Yoochun was close to crying now.  He was this close to finishing his painting, where on earth had his blue crayon gone to?


“Yoochun-ah, what are you doing there?”  Hearing his mother’s voice automatically made Yoochun cry. 


“I lost my crayon,” he sniffed as he lifted his coloring paper to show to his mother, “-all I need to do is to color the sky, but my blue crayon is gone.” 


Yoochun hardly cried as a kid; unlike a certain Kim Jaejoong, but right now he felt so wronged because that painting had been something he had worked so hard for.  


 He forced himself to swallow the tears, because his father once told him that a man should never cry, but trails of tears made it’s dramatic way off his eyes anyway.


His mother chuckled when she examined the painting.  “Ooooh, is this for me?” Seeing Yoochun crying somehow entertained her, because she’s laughing even louder now.  Or was she crying, because why were there tears coming out from her eyes.  “Our Yoochunnie is a grown up now.  Thank you so much for your gift, mommy will treasure it okay?”


Yoochun looked around, still not giving up on searching for the crayon.


‘Children, do you know what N-E-F-A-R-I-O-U-S means?’ Minnie Mouse had asked from outside.
‘No!’  A group of children answererd.
‘Well nefarious means something that is evil and mean,’ Minnie Mouse exaggerated when she pronounces the word evil, before she added, ‘You know, like a cat!’
‘You mean, like Jaejoong?’ one of the little girls outside had cautiously asked.


Jaejoong, who heard them from inside, huffed in dissatisfaction while Yoochun’s mother chuckled at his reaction. “Oh, Jaejoongie,” she shook her head at the little boy who had been suspiciously quiet and had been staring at them from a short distance.


Yoochun’s father entered the lounge, with an expensive looking camera in hand.  He was in charge of documenting this event, hence had been running around taking pictures and videos for keepsake purposes.


“Oh, you two are here.  Hey, why are you crying?”

“He lost his crayon,” Yoochun’s mother answered on Yoochun’s behalf.

“Oh, it’s just a crayon.  Stop crying.  And, hang on, let me grab a picture of you two.  Smile! “ Mr. Park was referring to his wife and son, but Jaejoong decided to be nosy and placed himself at the very end of viewfinder’s focus with a big smile.

Click.




Yoochun laughs to himself.  The rest of the pictures on that page depicts the two families’ adventure in Lotte World a few months after the birthday party. 


After going through a couple of pages, Yoochun realizes that he hadn’t had any other same-aged friends to take pictures with other than Jaejoong.  Same thing goes to the latter. 


Yoochun had been too much of a recluse to make friends, while Jaejoong prefers to be by himself because that means he gets to get all the attention (Yoochun doesn’t count because he’s so quiet that Jaejoong gets all the attention by default even with Yoochun nearby).


It continues to be that way until a couple of pages later.  Yoochun stops in his motion.  This time, instead of the regular shot of the two children, someone new stood in between them. 


The person stood in between 10-year old Jaejoong and Yoochun in the middle of what seemed to be an outdoor banquet.  That person stared menacingly into the camera, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there, while both Jaejoong and Yoochun almost surreptitiously stared and gaped at him in awe.  That person looked a fair few years older than both Yoochun and Jaejoong, if their difference in height said anything.


The novel feelings Yoochun had gotten when he had first laid his eyes on him reignites. There’s admiration, curiosity and wonder, all swirling within his head at the same time. His heart clenches as he trace a shaky finger on the silhouette of the newcomer.


Those cold almond eyes.  Those sun-kissed skin.  That condescending curl on his lips. 


The tip of Yoochun’s lips curls upwards at that.  Even pictures cannot mask his wild personality. 


Everyone has a turning point on their lives.  Yoochun’s and Jaejoong’s just happens to come early.  In the form of a certain Jung Yunho.




“I am going to marry him,” Jaejoong whispered dreamily as his innocent doe eyes followed every moves that person makes.  Yoochun scoffed at that, but his eyes strangely follows that person as well.


Perhaps feeling their intense gaze at the back of his head, the teen, who had been standing lazily next to a banquet table, glanced at them.  Yoochun immediately looks away while Jaejoong continued staring with a dumb smile on his face. 


That person, as Yoochun had learned, was Jung Yunho, the son of Jung Inho, the owner of the big big house at the end of their street.   


The neighborhood in which Jaejoong and Yoochun had lived in itself is an affluent community, in which only the wealthy ones got to live in.  (Jaejoong’s father himself was a renowned plastic surgeon, while Yoochun’s dad was an accountant at Jung Inho’s company.)


And whilst the Kim’s and the Park’s houses could be considered decent, the Jung’s house at the end of the street was on a whole different level.  With manicured hedges and tall walls, it had been a tradition for the kids on the neighborhood to try to break into the lawn. 


‘Poor kid.  Did you hear?  I heard his parents got divorced some time ago and his mother got the custody.  But now, his mother’s dead and he’s sent back to live with his father,’ Yoochun heard the lady on their table says. 

‘Oh, no wonder I’ve never seen him around.  Poor child, he’s so young.  How old is he again?’

’12 years old.’


So he was only 12?  He was 2 years older than Jaejoong and Yoochun?  Yoochun scrunched his face.  He sure didn’t looks like one.  He looked older, much more mature compared to the other 12-year olds Yoochun had encountered.  Maybe it was his imposing height or something.


Yoochun stealthily trailed his gaze back to the 12 year old Jung son, who seemed to have found great amusement in staring at his shoe.  


“Ah, Park, you’re here!” Yoochun heard someone exclaimed.  It was Jung Inho, his father’s employer.  Yoochun had seen him a couple of times before.


“This must be little Yoohyun,” the old man laughed good-naturedly as he patted Yoochun in the back. 


“It’s Yoochun,” Jaejoong corrected him before any of the elders in the table got to.  The old man raised his brows in surprise at that before he bursts into laughter along with the rest of the grown-ups.  He crouched down to Jaejoong’s level, since the little one was currently seated on a banquet chair.  “And who is this handsome little fella?”


“He’s Jaejoong.  My nephew-“


“Ah yes, the son of Kim Jiho, the plastic surgeon, yes.  The one who fell into the koi pond when he tried to break into my house last summer.  Gave the maids quite a fright,” his tone turned patronizing near the end as he gave Jaejoong a pointed look.


Yoochun fought the urge to laugh at the way Jaejoong looked now.


The old man chuckled good-naturedly at the way Jaejoong blushed while Yoochun’s dad winced.   Jaejoong’s parents were not here which is good cause things would’ve gotten so awkward.  Yoochun’s mom was not here as well, since she was ill and would rather spend the night resting.  Yoochun’s dad on the other hand, didn’t really have a choice.  He couldn’t skip this banquet since his attendance to this banquet was more or less a formal obligation since he still was one of the employees of Jung Inho after all, one of the ones who interacted close to him at that. 


And when he had voiced out his plan to bring Yoochun along with him, Jaejoong had been adamant to be included, so, here they were.


“Um- about that-“ Jaejoong stuttered, “-it was a dare, you see.  The other boys, they-“


“Oh, it’s okay, just don’t do it again, okay?” Jung Inho ruffled Jaejoong’s hair affectionately.  Jaejoong usually would’ve flipped if anybody dared to touch his hair, his mother included, but he was surprisingly submissive this time.


Jung Inho smiled wider before he looked around, searching for someone.  His eyes stopped at the banquet table.  “Yunho!” he called, motioning for the boy to come over.


Jung Inho’s son, or Jung Yunho, looked at their direction with a foul expression on his face, one that he didn’t even bother to hide. 


The smile on Jung Inho’s face faltered dangerously as he struggled to keep his cool in front of the guests.  He gave the teen a warning look. “I said, come here.”


The teen glowered rebelliously, but made his way to the table anyway. 


“What?” he asked the moment he gets there.  All the adults on the table exchanged look at his tone, but nobody said anything.


The expression on Jung Inho’s face remained stormy before he harshly tug on his son’s shoulder to make him stand in front of the elders more politely. 


“These are the children of our neighbors-“ Mr. Jung motioned towards Jaejoong and Yoochun, in which the latter gulped when Yunho turned his menacing glare on them.  “Entertain them, while I steal Mr. Park and Mr. Lee for a while.”


Mr. Jung turned to the silent Mr. Park and Mr. Lee (who shared the table) before he smiled that clipped diplomatical smile of his, “You see, a call from London has just arrived-“


Their voices trailed away as Mr. Jung led the two gentlemen into his house.


The teen makes an annoyed grunt on his throat when his father walked away, looking thoroughly pissed.  Mrs. Lee who was sitting a few chairs away from Yoochun didn’t say a word, and merely observes, presumably gathering juicy details about the teen to be shared with her best friends, Mrs. Moon and Mrs. Kim (Jaejoong’s mother).


Yoochun had the decency to look away while Jaejoong stares at the teen curiously.  Neither of them spoke for while.  Yoochun had never been the one to initiate conversations with strangers, that was usually Jaejoong’s job.  But even the other kept quiet this time, probably intimidated by the teen’s facial expression, who looked like he wants to beat the crap out of someone.


“Oh here you are, Yunho!” a middle-aged man suddenly came out of the blue, carrying a camera around his neck.  Yoochun would learn a few months later that the man was Han ahjussi, Mr. Jung’s chauffer.  “Why are you looking so glum?  This is a party, not a funeral,” he approached Yunho with a warm smile, one a father would give to his children.


“Because he just got scolded,” Jaejoong answered on Yunho’s behalf, before he looked at the teen, as if saying, ‘right?’ 

Yoochun mentally grunted.  That kid had always been too nosy for his own good. 

“He got scolded real bad, I thought ahjussi was going to hit him,” Jaejoong added helpfully.

“You know what?” that was unfortunately the first thing Yoochun heard from Jung Yunho that night, “Why don’t you just shut the hell up and mind your own damn business.”

Jaejoong blinked while Yoochun choke on his own spit as Jung Yunho walked away. 

An awkward silence.

“Wow,” it was Jaejoong.

And for once Yoochun agrees with him.  Wow.


Yunho almost got into trouble with Jung Inho afterwards, because he was supposed to keep an eye on the kids.  Yunho fought back and Yoochun had never thought he’d be scared of anyone that iwas not his mother (or Jaejoong's mother).  


And as Mr. Park dragged the two kids to greet Jung Inho for the last time before they go home, the Jung’s chauffer sidled towards them and directed his camera towards the kids.


Click.




The wistful smile on his lips dissolves.  So is the wonderful feeling that has been stirring at the pit of his stomach.   Because Yoochun knows, that very picture signifies the start of the very eventful years ahead of them.


His fingers traces across a couple of pictures.  Him and his parents during a picnic by the Han river.  Him and a messy Jaejoong at the new ice cream parlor, with a huge chocolate patbingsu on the table between them. Him and Jaejoong under a tree during a school trip.  And finally, 2 pages later, him and Jaejoong during their last day in their elementary school. 


By then, they had been 12 and they no longer sports the childish glow they possesses in the prior pictures.  Somehow, watching himself growing up through the photos gives Yoochun mixed feelings.  He had been a mere baby on the first picture on the album, and then, there he was, all tall and lanky next to the 12 year old Jaejoong. By then, his relationship with Jaejoong had been much much better.  They had learned to put up with each other’s presence and Jaejoong no longer does nasty things behind his back.  Yoochun will kick his ass if he did.  If Yoochun had learned something these past few years, it’d be not to let Jaejoong have things his way.  He’d only get bolder.


Right next to that photo, is the picture of Jaejoong’s and Yoochun’s first day in middle school.  They were standing in front of a school gate with their backs facing the camera but their heads turned around as though someone had called them just when they were about to made their way into the school.    


Yoochun remembered feeling so mature when he had first put on the dark blue uniform.

“Nervous?” Jaejoong whispered from beside Yoochun.


Yoochun scoffed at him, though his face was strained, “You wish.”


“And we’re here boys!” Jaejoong’s dad cajoled as he stopped the car at the entrance of the middle school.  There was a long line of cars behind him, waiting to drop off their kids as well.


“Bye dad.”


“Bye uncle Jiho.”


Jaejoong opened the door and climbed out of the vehicle followed by Yoochun, ignoring his father’s indignant gasp.


“Hang on, children.  I need to take a photo of you two first or your mom will kill me.  Where’s that damn camera again?” Kim Jiho clumsily looked through the drawer compartment of his BMW.


Yoochun wanted to close that door, because forget about the picture dammit, people behind them are already honking.  But he didn’t have the heart to, because his uncle was endearing as he was clumsy.  How he managed to go through intricate procedures every day was just beyond Yoochun.


“Nevermind, dad.  There’s a long line behind you, you’re holding them back,” Jaejoong rolled his eyes before he shuts the door and dragged Yoochun to walk with him. 


Woah.  There were other students entering the gate, and the red-bricked building looked so grand and majestic from his spot that Yoochun felt the urge to pee.  For once, Yoochun was glad he had Jaejoong with him.  At least he was not alone.


“Oh here boys!” a voice called them.


Both Jaejoong and Yoochun turned around and- Click.


Jaejoong’s dad grinned at them from the driver seat and gavethem the thumbs up.  Yoochun laughed at his antics and waved him off.


“My dad is so whipped,” Jaejoong said drily as he watched his dad’s car sliding away.


Yoochun merely nodded.  Yes he was.  Yoochun had never seen a man who feared his wife so much.  Not even his dad.  Well, Yoochun couldn’t blame him.  Out of the 2 Han sisters, he got the loud and boisterous one and-


“Shit,” Jaejoong cursed from beside him.


Yoochun raised an eyebrow at that tone and looked at the direction he’s staring at.  “Oh look, Park Jinhee is also here!” Yoochun teased with a grin.


Park Jinhee was Jaejoong’s self-proclaimed nemesis.  He was also the one who had dared Jaejoong to break into the Jung’s house back then.  And the idiot Jaejoong had said yes when Jinhee had questioned his 'manhood'.


Said Park Jinhee seemed to have noticed their presence as well, when he diverted his eyes from his gang and rests it on Jaejoong.  He raised a cocky eye-brow before he muttered something to his friends that had them staring at Jaejoong as well while laughing.


Jaejoong scowled.  “Perfect.”


“Perfect indeed, Mr. The-one-who-tried-to-break-into-my-house-and-fell-into-my-fish-pond-last-summer,” Yoochun mimicked Jung Inho’s tone.  Argh, Yoochun would never forget that fateful night.  Gave him enough blackmail-material on Jaejoong to last a lifetime.


“Shut up,” Jaejoong pushed him in the shoulder and make his way into the school compound, “-And it was a koi pond, not a fish pond !”


Yoochun shrugged, “Same thing.”



The school was very big, or at least bigger than their elementary school.  The school hour would start in less than an hour and whilst Yoochun prefered to wait it out in the grand hall along with the other first years, Jaejoong went to the toilet (probably to fix his hair).



Whilst Jaejoong was gone, Yoochun sat by himself while the other students buzzed around.  The grand hall was structured like an auditorium and whilst it was big, Yoochun doubt it was big enough to accommodate all the students at once.  Perhaps that was why the First and Second years will have their Monday assembly on the morning while the Third Years on the evening, right before the school ends.  To divide them so they’d have enough space.


Yoochun decided that he likes it here.  Unlike elementary school, their morning assembly would be held indoors.  And it was air-conditioned at that.  At least he know he won’t have to spend the whole time listening to Jaejoong whining about how hot the weather was.   


He spots a few of his female classmates from elementary school on the front row, and smiled back when they waved at him.


The shrill sound of microphone being adjusted along with a small cough took all the attention in the auditorium.  A small balding man was standing on top of a podium while scanning his eyes through the crowd.  The students gradually turned quiet and trained their attention on him.


Satisfied at the silence, the old man nodded his head, “Thank you.”


While the old man spoke, someone made his way towards Yoochun, causing all the students he passed to hiss in annoyance.  


“Jae!  Where the hell had you been?  What took you so long?  Were you lost?”


Jaejoong flashed a mischievous smile.  “No, but I did stumbled upon someone.”


“Who?"


“Jung Yunho.  Rings a bell?”


Yoochun gave his cousin a look.  Jaejoong squirmed beside him, looking so excited, and for once, Yoochun regretted for not being idle enough to join Jaejoong earlier.

If there was one thing Shim Changmin could pride in himself, it would be his ability to pull a poker-face.  A vein popped in his forehead as he struggles to maintain his composure while several yelp and squeak echoed from behind.  Now, most of the people he had with him were the best kind of people from the empire.  Having been in the battlefield for years, from severed heads to broken legs there was nothing they hadn’t seen.  It’s the newbies that were problematic.

To their defense though, not everybody could manoeuvre through the sharp, sword-like rock formations on the cave as though they were born on it.  Much less new recruits who weren’t accustomed to harsh terrain like them. 

But Shim Changmin didn’t really have a choice.  This expedition was huge and huge meant a lot things to carry with them which also meant more manpower.

He stopped for a while to re-examine the map, uncaring of neither the droplets of water that dripped from the ceiling to his head nor of the suffering of the people behind him.

The phrase ‘Immortal Red’ was written right on the place they were at, but so far Chang Min could see nothing in particular that might suggests of the presence of the elixir of life.  He originally expected a fountain, much of the folklore surrounding the fabled elixir suggested that it existed as a never-ending stream of water after all.  But after walking almost 5 li into the cave, no such fountains could be seen.  Could it be that it’s the ‘Pellet of Life’ instead of the ‘Elixir of Life’?  Though not as prevalent as the theory that it was a fountain, there were also rumors that the potion for immortality was made into small pellets. 

For now, that was actually very likely.  The Taoist immortals who made them probably produced them in the form of small pellets, so it would be easier for them to conceal the pills.  The look on Chang Min’s face hardened.  If so, the pellets could be anywhere.  The immortals could’ve put them away in a small box and bury them underneath the cave floor.

He tested the sturdiness of the cave floor with his feet before he visibly sighed in relief.  The floor was made of rock, it was virtually impossible for anyone to bury anything underneath.  There were also stalactites and stalagmites around, turning this whole place into a virtual maze, so unless the immortals planned on confusing themselves, they should not have the plan to bury anything underneath.  Tracing it underground was more difficult than tracing it above grounds after all.  But then again, those people were the immortals, not mortal being.  Chang Min frowned in mild distress.

“General, what is the matter?” his right-hand man asked from behind.

“Nothing, keep on walking,” he dismissed.

“Um, sir, do you think we should rest a bit?” his trusted aide hesitantly glanced at a couple of wheezing young men behind them.

Chang Min exhaled heavily.  Troublesome, they all were! 

“Let them be, Li Jun.  They can follow us if they want.  If not, they can just stay here and wait for the snakes to accompany them,” he said before he turned around and left.

Li Jun smirked lightly when some of the youngsters behind them gasped and immediately hastened upon hearing the word ‘snake’.  Honestly, snakes should be the least of their worry right now.  If they failed again this time, they might as well dig their own grave and bury their own body here.  The emperor would not spare them.


As they traveled deeper into the cave, more droplets of water trickled from the ceiling.   Whilst most of the elite soldiers were usually unaffected by external factor, the water was ice cold, the kind that stabbed you like needles.  That coupled with the fact that they had been travelling non-stop for weeks makes them want to just drop down and sleep.

Seeing the composed General Shim leading the way in front makes them respect him even more.  As expected of General Shim, the emperor’s most trusted subject.  Even though a lot of people hated him, nobody could deny his capabilities.  Out of all the wars their country had waged upon, not a single one had been lost under his command.  Him with his brute strength along with the emperor with his brilliant strategy makes an undefeatable team.

General Shim suddenly stopped in front, prompting the rest of the people to stop as well. 

A complicated expression played in Chang Min’s face as he stood in front of an entrance while Li Jun behind him gasped in awe. 

“It’s a maze,” Hwayeon, one of their best female warriors muttered in astonishment. 

On the other side of the entrance were a series of walls, dividing the space into 3 different routes, each looked as complicated as the next. 

Changmin revised the map.  The map ended there, nothing in the map suggested the existence of a maze inside the cave. 

On top of the entrance, there was an old plat, mouldy and decaying.  The writing on the plat was in some kind of a language none of them had ever seen before.

General Shim’s face visibly hardened.  The most feasible thing to do  right on situations like this would be to split up.  It’d make the chances of finding the treasure higher, after all.  But Shim Changmin didn’t know why, something within him warned him against doing that. 

He heaved a heavy sigh.

“Everyone follows me.  Do not get separated from the group.  I shall not dispatch people to find you if you goes missing!”



Out of all new recruits, Siwon liked to believe he was most rebellious out of the lot.  He was after all the precious son of Minister Choi, any wrongs he committed would always be overlooked by his superiors.  So naturally, after repeated warnings from General Shim to not get split up, he did what all rebellious folks out there would’ve done.  He got separated from the group.  Though he didn’t really did that on purpose, if that actually helped. 

“Help!  Can anybody hear me?!” he yelled for help.  The only voice coming back to him was his own echo.

The pit of his stomach turned at that realization.  This was bad, he really had gotten lost.

He was just bending down to tie his boots, but once he looked back up, everybody was gone.

“General Shim?  Senior Li Jun?  Anyone?”

No one.

Siwon froze in his steps when he suddenly heard the sound of a bird singing.  No, more like belting it’s throat out like it was going to die.  He had never heard that kind sound before, it was blood-curdling and eerie. 

That was no nightingale for sure.

The bird screeched again, it sounded like it was in utter agony.  The singing conveyed sorrows and pains that no language could ever express.  As someone with an irrational fear for birds, Siwon prepared to bolt. Why a bird?  He’d rather deal with a giant snake!

 A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, could the others hear that sound as well?  General Shim was a thorough person, if he heard it, he would definitely check it out for the sake of checking.

Does that means he had a chance to be reunited with his group if he followed the source of the sound?

With that thought in mind, Siwon steeled himself and marched closer to the source of the sound.  It's okay, he’ll just stop once he was close enough to whatever bird that was making that sound.  Besides, it was just a bird, right?  And his sword was just right there on his waist.  If that satan with wings decided to get to know him, he’ll kill it with this sword for sure!

With the occasional singing playing in the background, Choi Siwon walked around the tall walls to where he thought the noise came from.  What he saw makes his jaw drop open!

It wa another gate, just like the entrance!  There was another plat on top of the gate with writings indiscernible to Siwon’s eyes.  Siwon almost jumped in joy!  He had a good feeling about this!  It was either the exit or the place where the supposed elixir was.  Why else would there be a gate in this place unless to signify something special?

Just imagine, Choi Siwon attaining the long desired elixir instead of the capable General Shim!  He’d jump straight through the ranking!

He immediately walked past the gate, and into what appeared to be a chamber.  The sound of the bird sounded like it came from this room, but at this rate, that bird bedamned!  He’d jostle with a giant spider if he had to!

As his eyes fell on something, the excited smile on his face wavered, replaced by a look of awe.  It was a heap of gold, on top of a rock bed.  The gold was shining in a blinding way.  This had got to be the gold-est gold he had ever seen!

It was only when the ‘gold’ started to move that Siwon realized it was actually a living thing.  Siwon maintained eye contact with that goldly being for a good five minutes, Siwon’s face a look of astonishment while the golden creature’s, bored and haughty.

Uh-oh. 

Upon realizing what it was, he took a step back, his shaky hand resting on the handle of his sword, preparing to take it out if there was a need to because that my friend was not a heap of gold, it was a giant-GIANT freaking bird!

“Oh, hello,” he suddenly heard a friendly voice from behind him.

Siwon jumped and turned around in shock, brandishing his sword while at that.  What he saw was a pretty looking thing looking at him prettily while latching upside down on the ceiling like a spider.

“Argh!” Siwon screamed with all his might while brandishing his sword blindly.

His scream startled the giant golden bird that in turn flied out of the chamber while singing it’s throat out.

The spider person’s face changed from being pleasant to frightened at Siwon’s reaction and before long, he too, “Ah!!!”