"Star?"

The call was soft, barely a whisper, extremely careful so that it doesn't dare to break the silence of the space, lest someone caught his presence. He crouched against the wall, knees pulled up to his chest with his hands wrapped around them, as his gaze travelled towards the other occupant of the room, seated opposite to him in the exact same manner.

The other lad looked in his direction, the call of his name ringing within his ears. He blinked rapidly, in attempt to see clearer. The darkness within the room, provided with slight illumination in the form of thin streaks of sunlight emerging from the gaps of the windows wasn't helping much.

"Deongha," he whispered back, now shifting and edging closer to the other boy, almost crawling. He extended his hand in the dark and as he felt the other lad's arm, he quickly grabbed upon it and pulled himself closer. Words weren't necessary, as the other immediately accepted his sweet intrusion, engulfing him within his arms in a hug, the former now resting his head upon the latter's chest.

"Are you scared, Star?" one of them spoke, allowing his little fingers to comb through the other's hairs, an act of comfort, "Don't be. I'm here for you. They will let us out soon. They won't keep us locked up for long. Don't worry." Soothing words rippled out of his mouth, as he continued to bring ease to the other through his words.

"Star is not scared when Deongha is with him," blurted the other, his grip upon the other's shirt tightening, a shiver shaking up his little form whenever his eyes met the empty void in front of him.

"But Star, they'll take you away," little Seonghwa of eight years spoke, his voice now displaying concern and a prominent hint of sadness, "They'll take you away from me. Won't you be scared then?"

"I will," murmured Star, softly sniffling and perhaps holding back a sob, "But- But they said- there'll be no darkness there. They said- there'll be light. Only light."

"Yes, only light, so bright and beautiful," Seonghwa responded, still running his fingers through the other's tangled hairs. A strong surge of pain and heavy emptiness settled within his chest, his eyes stinging with tears, threatening to spill any moment. He did not want this. He did not want Star to leave. But at the same time,  he was quite happy because, the person he loved with all his heart and probably the only one he actually cared for other than his best friend was finally leaving the hell hole of a place as this.

He was happy.

But sad. And scared.

Extremely.

He was dreading the departure. The plausible crack in the bond that they had built over the few years was something that haunted him. He was scared about the ruination of all the memories that they had formed within the spans of hours that they spent together, all the times of happiness and sorrows, the smiles and tears, every bit of it.

What if Star forgets him once he steps out of the institution? What if he never returns? What if he even forgets the fact that someone named Seonghwa even breaths upon this planet?

A tear rolled down the child's eye at the thought of all these possibilities.

"I'll come back for you, Deongha," Star suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence that had occupied the space. Seonghwa was astonished, the other's response was so accurate, as if he could hear or read his thoughts. He tried his best not to loose more tears, as he continued caressing the other, his lower lip tugged underneath his teeth in a forced pressure.

"I'll come back for you," the other continued in a soft voice, "And take you away from here. Once I know everything about the world outside, I'll immediately take you away. I won't be late, I promise."

Seonghwa could only smile in response, the back of his mind quietly whispering him to not believe the child's words. They were just strings of alphabets woven together without a specific thought, just words spoken in the emotions that dominated upon him at that moment. They were not true, Seonghwa strived to convince himself. They could never be true.

No one would want to stick their noses back into the heinous environment of the orphanage once they happened to bear the luck of escaping it.

And Star could never be an exception.

"I'll wait for you," Seonghwa whispered back, his response as a sign of reassurance to the other, even though he knew it was quite pointless, "I'll wait for your return."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Star hummed in response, scooting closer, the arms around him tightening its grip in a warmer embrace. The two stayed in that position, bounded by a promise, an array of words enlightening a thin ray of hope in their lives, a sense of determination and purpose, thoughts indulged in future possibilities, new fears to venture in, hesitation and feelings of nervousness creeping in their nerves.

They stayed in that manner, eyes fixated upon a narrow streak of sunlight that managed to squeeze in through a small slit against the window, providing a meek sense of illumination to the otherwise darkened space. The dust seemed to dance in it, rising upwards with one another in a merry waltz, like some magical sprinkle. No words were spoken further, as they closed their eyes, tiredness lulling them into a deep sleep, hands still wrapped around each other in a tight embrace.

And in his slumber, all that Seonghwa could afford to dream of were...

...big bright caramel eyes looking back at him, glistening in affection and bliss. The tears that seemed to form within weren't of woes, rather, they spoke of happiness, of an emotion that defined being found, or as if they had found what they were looking for all these years. A smile upon that beautiful visage, a sign of freedom, a sign of escaping and embracing all the goodness that life finally had to offer him.

A sign of getting what he had been craving for all his life. It was finally there for him, and he couldn't have been happier.

* * *

Big bright caramel eyes looked back at him, glistening in affection and bliss. The tears that seemed to form within weren't of woes, rather, they spoke of happiness, of an emotion that defined being found, or as if they had found what they were looking for all these years. A smile upon that beautiful visage, a sign of freedom, a sign of escaping and embracing all the goodness that life finally had to offer him.

A sign of getting what he had been craving for all his life. It was finally there for him, and he couldn't have been happier.

"St-Star-" Seonghwa faltered, slapping both his palms right upon his mouth to suppress the urge to scream. The resemblance was making his head throb, and even if it wasn't exactly accurate to what he had viewed nearly eight years ago, the transformation of those childish features to an adult's was vividly visible. Seonghwa couldn't believe it.

"Deongha," he heard him say, tears rolling down his eyes, lips splitting into a soft smile, the one that exhibited true happiness. His voice was choked with tears but even in that state, Seonghwa heard the pronunciation so clearly and that only made him shed more tears.

"S-Star," Seonghwa found his knees shaking, as he attempted to stand up, but before he could fall, he ran and collapsed right into the other man's arms, his legs sprawling upon the floor, hands grasping the man's arms and head resting upon his chest, loud sobs breaking out from his mouth, tears knowing no bounds. He didn't care about the other's reaction at that moment. The discovery itself made him extremely elated and depressed at the same time.

But the other's reaction was just as warm as his.

The man wrapped his arms around him, his hands finding his way to his head, fingers tangling around his hairs, grasping then like a support. He cried along with the other, pulling him closer as if in search of some solace that he had been searching for all the years that had passed by. And finally, he had found it. 

It was an hour of the extreme joy, a little bit of grief mingled. A sweet reunion, a meeting of two people who had never thought that their paths would ever cross again, one of them being almost sure about it. Yet, here they were, sobbing in each other's arms, their hearts swelling and minds easing in the moment they shared, the comfort that it brought along was immeasurable.

"Star," Seonghwa whispered shakily, finally looking up at him with his tear stained eyes, "I-It's you- isn't it? It-It is you-"

"Yes, Hwa," the reply was immediate, between sniffles and sobs, "I-It's me."

"Where were you?" Seonghwa cried loudly, gripping the other by the sleeves of his shirt, "Wh-Where were you all these years? Why didn't you ever c-come?"

"I had no choice, Hwa," the other mumbled, his right hand now planted upon the other's cheek, slowly wiping away the tears, "I had to do all of this. I'm so sorry."

"Th-Then why- why did you bring me here?" Seonghwa questioned, his eyes glistening in water and yet, displaying a search for answers to all his queries.

"You were out there, unprotected and it was quite unsafe," the explanation was put forth, "And you would be out there even after that night, wouldn't you? You had run away from the orphanage and what was currently left for you was finding a shelter all by yourself which would definitely take  a lot if time. Anything could happen to you during that span of time and yes, I didn't want that."

Yeah! Now the explanations of all the humane treatment in the captives of a murderous kidnapper settles so well. Seonghwa gaze fell as he silently thought, a small smile curling up the corner of his lips.

"I missed you so much, Hwa," the man whispered, his fingers combing through Seonghwa's hairs as the latter looked up at him, smiling. Oh! How handsome he grew up to be. Seonghwa couldn't take his eyes off him, those soft babyish features now moulded into such sharp, handsome parts, his face appearing so attractive in the shine of the fire. He could stare at him for hours without a blink of an eye, and the way the thought of the man being the renowned terror of the town got almost wiped out of his head didn't baffle him much.

To him, he was still his Star, and nothing could change that fact anymore.

"I missed you too," Seonghwa replied, his head once again falling against his chest, "So so much."

"There's so much more you need to know, Hwa," the sentence made him attentive, as he immediately looked up at the man. Soon, the latter got off the furniture upon which he previously sat and now settled upon the floor, his eyes meeting Seonghwa's at an equal level as he held his arms in a soft grip.

"So many things that you still don't know," he continued, "But we need to wait, till tomorrow. There are some more to arrive and when they do, you'll get a detailed explanation of everything that's still getting you confused. Please wait for a bit longer, okay?"

"I will," Seonghwa replied, rubbing his eyes and looking back at the man, "I can afford to wait for a bit longer I guess. For now, I just- I'm so happy to see you again. So much that-" he bit his lower lip to prevent more tears to spill out, "That I can't explain-"

"Me too Hwa," the other scooted closer to him, looking into his eyes in a loving gaze, "I'm so glad to have you back."

"But- But what's your name?" Seonghwa suddenly questioned, feeling it to be something quite important to him, "They call you 'The Masked Man' which surely isn't your name, and I don't think you go by Star. Then- Then what is-"

"Hongjoong."

"What?"

"Kim Hongjoong. That's my original name."

-----------------------------

Thoughts?

The real adventure soon to begin~

~Stay tuned~

[I hope this story ain't becoming too boring. So sorry if it is-]