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The pages of the thin hardcover book fluttered as a slender finger flipped the paper to the last page. Green eyes sweeping across the words in the picture book. A girl with long hair was sneaking out from the windows of her room to meet another boy. The smiles on their face were drawn widely.

They are happy? Rea asked himself, contemplating the reasons to leave a home to go out with another person aside from family members. Rea closed the book, which was titled "Escape". Sparkling eyes of brown were watching him, wearing a serious expression.

"So, what do you think?" Haemi asked him as Rea turned to face him.

The thinking face of Rea made Haemi wonder if Rea understood what he was trying to relay. He had tried to ask Rea head on to get out of the house with him, as if he didn't know how sturdy the loyalty the boy had for the master. He was rejected within seconds. He thought maybe Rea needed another way to make him think about the life he was living in. He couldn't bring himself to tell the pale boy about the dead people in the house.

Why should I leave the manor when the outside world is so dangerous? I eat well, I have a comfy bed and I am not alone. Oh, I don't even need to work hard for money, Rea had written on the book. The small pout on Rea's lips and the annoyed face he put on ensured Haemi that he didn't get it.

"You like the circus, right? There are many exciting things out there. I can bring you with me and have fun together. Just like the couple in the storybook," Haemi tried to excite him. The sound of lead against the thin skin of wood replied to him every time they had a conversation. Rea wrote some sentences on the paper and showed them to him.

Why can't the three of us go together? I know you might be afraid of the master, but he is actually very kind and loving. You just need to be a good boy, like me. There was a drawing of a face with its tongue sticking out. The picture was as if it was jeering at Haemi, but the face of the one who drew it was indifferent. Rea didn't really show much of an expression, yet he always gave Haemi the face of annoyance.

The freckled boy crossed his arms and huffed, "You are saying, I am being bad?"

Rea nodded while giving a thumbs up. Haemi sighed, "Why can't you just go without him? Oh, I know, because he never allows you to," Haemi said, his voice verging on the tone of mocking.

More of like we can't, was the reply Haemi received. Unsatisfied, he asked again for the reason but the answer remained the same, We really just can't be apart from each other.

Convincing Rea to leave was going to be harder than he thought. He needed to spark something in the boy, unless he resorted to kidnapping. The older boy quickly erased the thoughts and asked a question that had been lingering in his head.

"You.." his voice trailed off, "are not actually mute. What happened?" Haemi observed the facial expression of the other boy, but he didn't budge to make an answer. He asked again if Taurent was the cause. Still, Rea wouldn't reply. If it was true that the adult was the cause, why would Rea want to protect him?

"Isn't it hard to talk with him?"

Rea shook his head and wrote, I don't really need to talk. He understands me. A faint smile colored the face that originally looked so dead despite being extremely good looking.

Haemi paused for a while, and then made a conclusion of the relationship between the two, "Codependency, is it?"

A big word for the jade eyed boy, Rea, who couldn't understand, tilted his head. Haemi explained that it was when a person only finds value in themselves by giving up too much for their partner. It was the need to feel needed while the other is only happy with the sacrifice made, a toxic relationship.

Rea's eyebrows were now in knots, his cheeks puffed and quickly jot down a word with capital letters, DEVOTION. Rea slapped his book close and pushed Haemi off the bed. The irritation was evident from his action and Haemi frantically said to him, with a voice a little louder, "But I want you to get out of here. There are more to explore in this world than just him and this place! Are you really living or are you just a mere shell that is controlled by threads?"

Rea swiftly closed the other's mouth with a finger on his lips, mimicking the silent gesture. The fair skinned boy opened his mouth, but no voice came out. Then, the voice from a certain adult downstairs echoed, indicating that he heard them. They had been with each other for about an hour and a half, Rea should be in bed by now.

Rea continued to push the boy, and his back hit the window. Haemi assured him that he would climb down that instant, so Rea needed to stop pushing. Right before Haemi slid down the fabric from the window, Rea managed to make a statement with a slightly hoarse voice, "I don't need your help."

The time stopped and the grips on the fabric tightened as their gaze interlocked for a few moments. Haemi clicked his tongue as he went down, listening to the little cough the other made. The instant his foot reached the ground, the blankets were pulled up, and he refused to look at the direction of the other. The squeeze of his chest made Haemi's eyes watered. The words pained him more than he expected.

Taurent hit the door with his knuckles softly for a couple times but there was no sound of rustles or knockings on the table to indicate if the boy was awake, as that was how they agreed to give permission to each other. He gently pushed open the door and Rea was there, bundled in his blanket in the dark room. However, the adult could sense something was off. There was a faint foreign scent that didn't belong in the room, the smell of dirt.

He observed the surroundings of the room just with the assistance of Rea's night lamp. The sheet on Rea's bed was crumpled more than usual and the curtain was not as proper as before. He silently stepped across the room and slid open the window. His eyes fell to the ground below, no one could be seen. Taurent made sure the window, and the curtain were closed then he walked towards the boy.

The heaving sounds of Rea's breathing were soft. He slept on his right with the blanket covering most of his figure, but somehow, the adult knew he was pretending. Taurent gently brushed the boy's hair and kindly warned, "I will forgive you just this one time."

Rea flinched to the sudden word of notice. His eyes slowly fluttered open as he was greeted with the smiling face of the blonde. Rea moved his head up and down as a sign of understanding. It was his fault; he knew that, but he promised Haemi and was aware that the adult wouldn't let anyone inside the house at night.

"Goodnight, Rea," Taurent said. The tapping sound of his steps was light, and it diminished behind the closed door. The silence in the room engulfed the being of the small boy that resided in it. He shifted to lie on his back, but his eyes were glued to the window.

Carefully, he stepped out of his bed. His movement was light and quiet. Rea peeked outside the window to see if the other boy was there, he was not. A heavy sigh escaped his lips. Haemi's words made his head spin so hard, thinking up reasons for the need to get out of the place.

He could hear the frustrations and desperation in the other's voice, shouting at him as if he was so far away. There was no distance between him and Haemi, or was there? Rea often thought of wanting to go out, but it didn't need to be just him. Good and happy things should be shared with people important to you.

His nails dug into his scalp as he vigorously scratched his head. He didn't like thinking that much. He knew the world is unfair but, if he stopped thinking about it, he wouldn't feel it. However, this time he had to or else, he wouldn't understand what Haemi tried to say to him.

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The pedals of a bike turned rapidly. Some other time, he would wipe the tears that managed to roll down. The face the fair boy made before stayed in his mind. Rea was saying he didn't need help as if he was okay, but why was there still grief in his eyes? The smile the latter put on was so forced that it could make Haemi unable to go to sleep at night.

"Just tell me what you really want!" The frustrated screams resonated in the night. His feet continued to pedal, but it became slower until finally, he stopped. The journey to his house was 40 minutes by bike, but it didn't matter to him. All he thought of was to help out a friend to live better. Tomorrow, there were only three days left until Haemi would leave, and he refused to leave without Rea.