The sky seemed grim the day Baekhyun received news of his father's accident, hindering him temporarily disabled. It seemed almost ridiculous (in fact, it was ridiculous) that the old man made the extraordinary request to call his son back to the country. Baekhyun had made plans to request time off from his job as a professional model in order to tend to his father's needs for a short while, but along with the request to return home, his father also requested that he take over the family business during the recovery process.

Dirt, dirt, mud, and more dirt. Those were the only things circulating Baekhyun's mind as he packed the night before his departure. Of course, he found nothing wrong with farming. It fed and gave people something to indulge with in times of heartbreak and sadness, but that life was rather off-putting to him. Running a farm, working a tractor, milking cows, and feeding animals weren't his thing. It just wasn't, and it was probably for those reasons that he left at the age of twenty-one, moving out to stake a claim on his dreams.

His actions came about with no soft, merciful sacrifices. When Baekhyun left, he left behind his friends, family, and his first love, Park Chanyeol. Chanyeol wasn't flawless in his nature, but at the time, Baekhyun felt as though he was perfect. It wasn't easy to move on, and for the first couple of years, he had to mend his heart over the heartbreak. But it was necessary, in his mind, to lose those things for what he considered as the greater good. After a while, however, Chanyeol and everything else that had to do with the town that he left behind began to fade in the past.

-

-

As he walked up to his parents' land, the mud from the rain the night before was beginning to chunk their existence at the bottom of Baekhyun's boots. He cursed, muttering about how they were completely useless. Just beyond the white, two-story house that sat near the cracked road, was everything that Baekhyun is tasked to tend for the next two months during his father's recovery. Lifting his nose, he could almost smell the animals and tractor oil in the air. It wasn't pleasant.

He knocked on the door, waiting on the newly renovated porch with his suitcases and cellphone in hand, which, to his anger, could get no signal or bars no matter what he did or who he prayed to. Baekhyun began tapping his foot, wondering why his parents hadn't set up a door bell system. In his opinion, it would've made his presence known much more loudly than his feeble knuckles making quiet and droned sounds by hitting the door.

When the door finally opens, he was met by his mother who quickly unlatched the screen door to hug him on the porch. "You're finally here! Come in. You can take your shoes off, honey. You shouldn't have worn shoes like those. Combat boots may be fashionable with those city folks, but they're like mud magnets around here."

Baekhyun feigned a smile as he pulled away, eager to move away from his mother's unintentional criticism of his choice in style. "Where's dad?"

"He's in the living room with a guest," she answered, taking hold of one of both of his suitcases. "Come on, now. I made your favorite dish in the kitchen."

Nodding, Baekhyun proceeded to bend down and unlace his boots, reminding himself to clean it as soon as he could before the mud crusted over. Leaving his shoes outside, he entered the house he had known for so long and was hit with a familiar face.

"Baekhyun!" his father proclaimed, calling him over.

Ignoring the man who sat close to his father, Baekhyun smiled and approached him, giving his old man a decent hug. "Hi, dad. How's the broken arm and leg?"

"It's fine," his father replied, waving him off with his unbroken hand. "The doc said I'd be alright after a while as long as I stay put."

Knowing that he couldn't ignore the man forever, Baekhyun sucked up his pride and turned to his ex. "Hi, Chanyeol."

The stare the latter gave him seemed blank, yet judging, and Baekhyun could feel the inner workings of Chanyeol's head inspecting every aspect of his appearance, tone, and voice. As they lightly shook hands, Baekhyun couldn't stop himself from feeling terrified of the emotions that flooded him.

Chanyeol was different.

Seven years ago there was a certain light in his eyes. Though he had always been tall, Chanyeol then was skinnier and fairer in skin. His smile was always present and the way he touched everything had a soft lingering feeling. Now, Chanyeol was no longer the boy Baekhyun had always referred to in his mind. Gone was the boy for it was a man that held his hand.

The smile that always greeted him and the eyes that lit by the very sight of him were gone and faded. Chanyeol's face was hard, emotionless, and stern-like as though he had no bearing memory of Baekhyun at all. His skin was no longer pale, but slightly sun-kissed by agricultural work. The baby fat and the scrawniness were nonexistent and what sat before the brunette was a brawny man, arms well-built and toned with hands that were calloused from hard work.

It was Chanyeol who pulled away first, removing eye contact as he speared his attention to Mr. Byun who hadn't sensed the icy chill and spark that occurred moments just prior. "I should get going, sir," Chanyeol announced, pushing himself up off his seat. "I still need to check on the roof of Junmyeon's horse stable, and that needs to be fixed quickly. The storm of the season's coming in and those horses won't like being drenched."

"Ah, well you do what you must," Mr. Byun said considerately as he watched Chanyeol stand.

"Chanyeol, stay for dinner!"

Baekhyun held his breath following his mother's request for Chanyeol. He glanced at him, but found that he seemed to be ignored by the way Chanyeol paid him no mind in making his decision.

"It's alright. I'm going out with the boys this evening, but thank you for the offer." Chanyeol paused for a second, then he smiled. It was a different type of smile, one that seemed genuine, but lackluster in life.

"Then, I suppose we'll see you first thing in the morning, then."

"Sure thing."

After Chanyeol left, Baekhyun gave a small, feigned laugh, asking, "He looks like he's doing well."

"He is doing well," his father confirmed, nodding. "He helps out here and there. Usually he fixes things for other folks or helps by being a farm hand."

Compared to Chanyeol, Baekhyun was smaller, frailer, and softer in appearance. It didn't surprise the brunette that the man worked in labor. In a town such as the one they lived in, there wasn't much else to do but physical labor anyhow, which Baekhyun hated.

As his mother excused herself to the kitchen, Baekhyun sat down in the seat Chanyeol occupied, mind running as he felt the warmth that the giant left behind. "Has he been helping you?"

"No, but starting tomorrow he is."

"I don't understand."

"I'm no fool, Baekhyun. I know you don't know one tool from another, so I've asked for Chanyeol to spare some time to help you around with your tasks for a while until you can carry on your tasks by yourself."

-

-

It was infuriating to Baekhyun how he had to drag his ass across half a country and a muddy road for a job that Chanyeol or anybody in the bloody town could do. He couldn't understand why they needed him to be there. It was something so far out of reach within his limit of understanding, but Baekhyun bit his tongue back for the rest of the night.

-

-

He was on a diet, but Baekhyun gave himself some leeway the next morning. Although he ate as much as he thought he could without going over his limited calorie count per day, his parents still goaded him to eat more, which irritated him. Physique and appearance were important to him and his profession, and even if his parents couldn't understand that and he was off the job for a while, Baekhyun couldn't afford to lose his ground.

"Honey, if you don't eat, you're not going to be able do anything."

Baekhyun appreciated his mother's concern, but he waved it off, slightly pissed as well.

The alternative shoes he packed for the workload were ones he considered to be accurate. They were new work boots bought for a reasonably high price. They were clean with a nice design thoughtfully put in, which made the price much more worth it, but the morning of his first day attempting to learn how to run a farm blew Baekhyun's fantasies out of the water.

"Those aren't going to work."

In that moment, Baekhyun almost wanted to turn around, call a taxi courageous enough to drive to the god forsaken location, and leave. The command from Chanyeol with the low key negative judgment of his choice in apparel was embarrassing as hell.

"I don't understand," Baekhyun said, keeping an even tone. "When I bought these they told me that they'd work just fine for the country."

"Then maybe you've been away for too long," Chanyeol replied indifferently. They were standing by the barn, meters and meters away from the house, creating a situation in which Baekhyun was determined not to trudge back home through the mud. "Those boots are good, sure, but you're going to need something higher that'll cover mid-calf. Yours are only just a few inches above your ankles. It's not enough."

Before he could argue any more for his footwear, Chanyeol presented to him a pair of basic, black boots as if he expected Baekhyun to make the mistake. "I'd change in the barn and leave those in there. You can pick them up later when we take a break at noon."

Baekhyun almost died at the word. It was only six in the morning which meant he had six hours until their first break. Sucking up his complaints, he nodded. It took no more than a minute for him to grumpily change out of his footwear. For some reason, he felt paranoid about keeping the male waiting thinking it would be rude to do so.

When he came out of the structure, Baekhyun caught Chanyeol's eyes looking him over the minute he turned around. Nervously, he smiled. "What?"

Expecting a compliment, the brunette was thrown off when Chanyeol asked, "Are those designer jeans?"

Blinking, Baekhyun was momentarily flustered. "Yes...?"

Chanyeol sighed and shook his head. "Next time, find older jeans to wear. Those work, but honey, I don't think you'll be too happy when those get ruined beyond repair."

"It's after harvest season. What else is there to do, but to tend the animals and trudge around in the mud?"

The expression he received was none too amusing. "There's a lot of things to do in the post-harvest season, Baek. You prepare for the next and you fix things that have broken down and need fixin'."

"Like what?"

Chanyeol shrugged. "Well, for starters, we're going to go fix the fencing for the cattle right after we finish feeding the animals."

Thinking about the task for a moment, Baekhyun thought of it as a petty thing. It couldn't be that hard to fix a thing or two. A nail here and there would be enough to fix a stupid wired fence that had gone awry in its use.

"Okay," Baekhyun said confidently, hoping to somewhat keep face in Chanyeol's doubting presence. "That shouldn't be too hard."

There was a small pause before Chanyeol responded, and even then, Baekhyun could tell that it had no commitment to it. "Right..."