Chapter Text
Alberu looked at the mirror intently holding two coats that were blue and beige respectively, “Which one would be better?” he muttered under his breath.
Below the two coats, he was wearing a turtleneck, since it was a present Cale had gifted him on his last birthday paired with his beige trousers.
His dark skin crinkled around his eyes as he furrowed his eyebrows.
Despite being only 30, his face looked like it had aged ten years more. It was full of wrinkles and visibly damaged oak skin.
His black bleach damaged hair was coarse, riddled with knots making it near impossible to comb.
Staring intently at the mirror for so long easily renewed the amount of hate he had for his body.
He felt a strong dislike of seeing himself in the mirror. He felt disgusted with himself. He felt disgusted for putting up with all of that, and never offering any resistance. It made him boil with rage.
He knew that it wasn’t his fault.
He knew that people close to him wouldn’t think it to be that way either.
Neither would his partner.
It was the Kim Rok Soo he knew after all.
The one that accepted everyone no matter how they looked, felt or talked.
Only if they don’t annoy him or get in the way of his slacker life.
He chuckled. That guy always sparked his interest, no matter how long they knew each other.
He was the person who pulled him out of his restricted view of the world, and gifted him the ability to run.
He was the person who made him feel free for the first time in his life. The one who loosened the lock of the cage and waited patiently for Alberu to break through that cage.
He remembered the first time they met each other, mostly because it was a spring morning.
It was an old incident, which happened almost 11 years ago. He was 19, and was rescued by a 14 year old boy, Rok Soo.
Well, it happened by chance, although he still thought of it as a rescue, he wasn’t sure whether the other would.
He was only nineteen and had recently been given a few days of vacation as a reward for being ‘a good boy’.
He was taking a trip to Japan as a short break, in order to replenish his energy for even more strenuous amounts of work that was waiting for him back at home.
It was supposed to be a simple college vacation, and his first in a very long time.
He wanted to keep a low profile, and just have fun, but life is just a massive bitch so of course he had to run into the press.
‘Shit.’
Although he had tried to deny any of the claims, the crowd only got bigger and showed no signs of calming down. He hadn’t been having a great morning anyway and had just been wanting to take a break after receiving the fruits of his achievements without anyone annoying or talking to him.
This was his only resting time, and he really didn’t want any disruptions.
He felt crushed by the weight of the questions, it made it harder to breathe in the already cramped space. Either asking him about his identity, what he was doing here and questions like so.
It was so smothering, it was like inhaling smoke that couldn’t be thrown out of his system.
He wanted help.
He couldn’t breathe.
Out of nowhere a hand reached out to him and pulled him out of the crowd and started to run.
It was as if someone actually heard his plea. Feeling the wind as he ran, guided by the back of a person ahead of him, it was truly an odd experience.
For the first time, someone actually did.
Alberu felt as if all of his life had come to a stop at that moment.
He remembered the scarlet strands of hair as a hand pulled him out of that stifling bubble.
“Run.”
That was all the young boy said. His voice was cool, without any sign of agitation or hesitation.
That word alone was enough to send chills down his spine.
As if all he could do was follow that ‘order’.
And it only became more intoxicating from there. As he ran, he could feel the goosebumps crawling over his body.
They felt like tiny butterflies lightly grazing him as they passed by, just enough to let him feel their electrifying touch on all his body.
Was it the petals from the trees nearby or was it the wind? He couldn’t tell.
His legs felt free.
These legs that had never known the feel of running through asphalt in the morning— They felt like they had been returned to something familiar.
Although, never experiencing this amount of freedom ever in his life, he felt like he knew this feeling. It felt like he had been drugged his whole life, and for the first time he had known true relief, not some artificial sweetener that would wear off in a few minutes, but an actual sugar cane.
This was the most alive Alberu had felt in a long time despite the excitement being short lived.
He could feel the wind hit his face and he felt exhilarated. Everything seemed so much more clearer.
He observed the child for a moment.
The dull blue beret acted as nothing but decoration to enhance the red strands of hair strewn over those mahogany eyes. The leaves from the pink trees falling on his hair like petals sticking to the stem after being distanced for a long time.
Six minutes.
For these six whole minutes, Alberu felt like he could fly.
He heard the younger boy stop and pant, his pace slowing down with the boy’s as well.
‘Did he run out of stamina so fast?’
As soon as the boy stopped, Alberu was snapped back to reality.
He heard the desperate shouts of the reporters. He could feel the gazes of curious onlookers.
He didn’t want it. He couldn’t take it. It made him sick, made him want to puke. It was a sickening feeling. The feeling of being watched was truly the most repulsive.
‘I want to get away. This instant. Goddammit, what was I thinking?’
He clicked his tongue and picked the red head up, running to an alley.
Alberu didn’t know how much he ran, and he didn’t care.
As they reached an alley Alberu had spotted nearby he asked the child, “Why did you pull me out?”
Alberu quickly placed a hand over his face, ‘Was this kid even Korean?’
The young child was stoic but annoyed, “All the people surrounding you were blocking my favourite view, and I could see that you were in the middle of it all so I simply distracted the crowd by taking away the one in the centre.”
Alberu’s eyebrows inched closer in disbelief, ‘Is this boy right in the head? And what was he even thinking? He doesn’t know me?’
“Do you know how filthy rich I am? I could sue you for kidnapping.”
The little boy’s ears perked up, he ignored the remark about suing, but a sly smile danced on his face.
“Hooo? Are you richer than a prince?”
Alberu knew he got the rascal’s attention as he could see the previously small and uninterested eyes grow big.
“I sure am. Much richer than a prince in fact. You should just call me that, since you don’t have the sense to use formal language. Despite kidnapping me.” He said, sighing.
“Sure, your highness.” the young boy teased, still not bothering with formalities.
Alberu scoffed, ‘The gall of this child. First, making it seem like I’d been kidnapped, and then started making fun of me. Is he not afraid of anything?’
Alberu glanced at the young boy’s clothes to see any signs of identification. Perhaps an identity card or some sort of bib? He wasn’t sure how children worked.
He noticed that all the clothes he was wearing were quite luxurious, consisting of some high quality navy shorts and a blue silk shirt that matched his beret. He also noted something else.
Namely, the wisp of black hair poking out of the beret.
He blinked, pointing at the red locks of hair he asked the young child, “Hey, is that your real hair?
Kim Rok Soo looked at him, before removing the beret, and along with the beret the red hair.
“Of course not.”
Alberu looked at him dumbfounded.
Rok Soo scoffed, not caring one bit at Alberu’s visible turmoil, looked at his watch, exclaiming, “Oh would you look at that, it’s time to go to Cale. He’ll be starting to get worried.”
He got up and dusted his knees, before looking at Alberu, “As for you, my prince, you should go whenever you want since I don’t think anyone comes here. I wish you a happy sightseeing.”
Alberu remembered the blossoms going through the young boy’s hair, as he scoffed at his face one last time. His jet black hair was short but swayed along with the wind. His eyes remained fixed to the exit, as if planning his next move.
The first time he met that guy, it was like a turbulent hurricane and as the unknown boy left him, Alberu felt as devastated as a man surviving the entire incident alone.
Although they didn’t reunite until several years later, although the impact the small little dot of ebony had on Alberu was as apparent as the day and sunset.
He grew more independent, even started to challenge his father’s authority, and eventually started to win even though it was just a little bit.
Years passed and Alberu had now turned 25, when he finally saw Kim Rok Soo again. The now older Kim Rok Soo had short hair which was black as ink and had a lean
They reunited when Kim Rok Soo was in college, once more in the spring, the same cold weather just a bit older.
He remembered the shock in the other’s eyes as they made eye contact at the orientation.
He remembered running over to his table and asking him whether the two of them could be friends.
‘To be friends with him.’
Well, at first, that was all Alberu wanted. He thought it was enough, but gradually, other feelings crept up on him. Feelings of greed and feelings of love.
He wanted Kim Rok Soo to be his, and his only.
And so his spring had once again arrived.
In the remaining two years, Kim Rok Soo helped Alberu to stop dying his hair in order to fit in, he stopped applying that abhorrent amount of foundation all over his skin, he stopped wearing those flimsy blue lenses.
Instead, he let his true self be seen, in the moonlight, or in the sun, it didn’t matter.
He finally felt like he could accept himself.
He didn’t need to fit in, and that he could tell that was fine.
And after three full years of pining, letting their close friends irritated at their endless games of cat and mouse, they finally confirmed the other’s feelings when Alberu confessed.
They made plans to go on a date a week later, and now that particular week had passed and the big day had arrived.
After all this time, it felt like an ordinary outing, however the two knew better.
He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to put it in place properly. Blowing away another untamed strand of hair.
It was the first date, sure they knew each other for five years but still a date was completely different.
They had decided to take the bus to an aquarium.
Alberu was nervous and anxious. Two emotions he knew all too well, but he never could quite like the feeling of having an empty pit as a stomach and a perpetual dry throat.
Seven minutes had already passed, and there was no sign of Rok Soo so Alberu decided to give him a call.
It took three rings for Kim Rok Soo to take the call.
[Hello? Hyung?]
“Have you not arrived yet?”
Alberu looked at his watch, while sitting on a bench while waiting for the bus to stop.
[I'm sitting at the XXX bus stop right now. What about you?]
Alberu arched over to get a clearer look at the station number. “I’m in the YYY one.” He took a pause, “Didn’t we agree to meet here?”
The voice behind the phone hummed for a moment, amidst the crowd he had a clearer and much more stark voice, of course that was because it was so close to the phone, but it was still so remarkably different from the other sounds, it almost seemed like the background had blended together and quietened its very own presence.
[Hyung, could you describe your surroundings?]
Alberu nodded, it was a simple thing anyway. His eyes darted around, making sure to capture all the features that could describe the location “Sure, I’m sitting on a bench, and I can see a Starvucks in front of me, and there’s a string of cherry blossoms around it, I think behind—”
[And what are you wearing?]
A smile tingled Alberu’s face lightly, barely noticeable but it was certainly there.
“Why are you so curious about how I look, dongsaeng? Do you really like me that much? I mean, of course you do, I am your prince, aren’t I?”
[Sigh. Just describe yourself.]
Alberu chuckled, it really was fun riling his dongsaeng up, “I’m wearing a black turtleneck, the one you gifted me, and a dark brown coat. My pants are beige in colour. Oh, not to forget the black shoes that you gave me for my other birthday.”
[Mmm, fine. I’m hanging up now.]
“What??” But before Alberu could say anything further, Kim Rok Soo had already gone through with the action. ‘What was that!? Why would you ask me all that and then hang up? Is he trying to use me as a landmark? How cu–’
He suddenly felt two hands over his eyes, and a similar stoic voice talking to him from behind the bench he was resting on. “Guess who?” Rok Soo was still calm as he said this, not showing a hint of embarrassment at doing this in public.
Alberu pulled the hands off his face and turned back, the tiny smile grew unconsciously, “Jesus, you need to get a better sense of humour dongsaeng.”
He scoffed, sliding his hands down to hug his neck, “As if you didn’t do this to me before?”
“Touché.” Alberu chuckled, motioning Kim Rok Soo to take a seat next to him.
Kim Rok Soo hummed before taking him up on his offer, leaning over to take a look at his partner’s watch.
‘11:56 a.m’
“When does our train arrive?”
“12 o’ clock supposedly, but I’m sure it’ll be at least 10 minutes late.” Alberu replied.
“That so? I guess I’ll just sit around til then.” Rok Soo said, making himself comfortable.
‘Hm?’
He felt a hand on his, looking to find out that it was Alberu's.
A sinister smile danced on his face.
Alberu who was looking the other way, trying to not meet the other’s eyes was all too familiar with this smirk of Rok Soo’s. He felt jitters over his hands, before Rok Soo clasped his hand in return, making Alberu’s ears turn into a distinct shade of pink. “Wasn’t I the one who liked you more? Hmm, hyung?”
“Sh-shut it.”
Rok Soo chuckled, his grin still as cheeky as before, but his face somewhat red.
“Oh why on earth should I do that, my dear prince?”
The trees shook around and the scent of the petrichor roamed around freely.
It was spring once again.