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𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚎, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝;

𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚞𝚛𝚎.

⁻ᴸⁱˡⁱᵗʰ ˢᵃⁱⁿᵗᶜʳᵒʷ

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Rea was eating toast for breakfast with warm milk that had been mixed with honey. Haemi made him the same drink before sleep as well. It tasted good, so Rea wouldn't complain. The house was a big bungalow, though it still felt like the house he had with Taurent was bigger, but that was not important.

He spent his nights in Haemi's room, cuddled up together in the same bed. They talked about different books, well, they did converse with one another. Rea's throat felt a lot better after Haemi made him drink 3 times a day. It was the third day he lived together with the family.

"I wonder where my dad is. Mom said he should come yesterday, but he didn't."

Rea looked at the other boy, flipping through the pages of a new book they bought together in the capital. Anne also bought him a new pair of shoes and a hat. Normal clothes after a long time.

"Hey, you want to try and play outside?"

"Play outside?"

"We can try to catch some bugs."

Rea made a disgusted face. He would prefer staying inside solving puzzles, reading books or just laying around. That was usually what he did all day. Well, he thought, maybe trying something new once in a while wouldn't be so bad.

"Let's go," Rea beamed as he stood up and walked to the front door. He put on his new shoes and tried to tie his shoelaces by himself. Haemi taught him how to do it, so he knew how to. After they finished, Haemi gave him a small net.

"I saw your face earlier. We are not going to catch the disgusting bugs in your head, well maybe some, but I want to show you how to catch a butterfly."

"Butter, fly. Funny," Rea's face distorted as he wanted to laugh but he decided to play it cool. Haemi cracked at Rea's weird face, which they ended up laughing together.

They went to the backyard where butterflies were flying here and there. There were also groups of small wild flowers on the ground. Haemi ran around trying to catch the butterflies into his net. Rea opened the lid of a glass jar when Haemi shouted to him that he got one.

"This is mine. You should try to catch yours," Haemi told him as he closed the lid. Rea stared at the light-colored butterfly in the jar. Gripping his net, Rea ran after some butterflies that were around him.

Haemi sat down, watching Rea try his best. Then he saw Rea fall down, face to the ground. Haemi shot up immediately and rushed to Rea. "Are you okay?"

Rea wiped his face, spitting the grass and dirt. He looked at his dirty hands. The pain on his palms and face was throbbing but somehow, it was not the kind of hurt he disliked. That was so fun. The smell of nature was indeed different from how the perfumes of the ladies that went into the shop.

"Hey, what's wrong? Your hands hurt?" Haemi grabbed the other's hands that Rea had been glared at so intensely, rubbing the dirt off, "There, you're fine now." Haemi opened his own jar, wanting to give him one of his butterflies.

"Haemi, look," Rea pointed to his net. A small yellow was flying inside. The pale-skinned boy scooted closer to his net and opened his glass container to put it in. He closed it tight then showed his jar to Haemi. "I caught my first butterfly."

"Rea, your face."

Rea touched his left cheek and the sting surprised him. There was a small scratch, the grass must have cut him. It didn't hurt that much if he was to compare his face and Haemi's. The older boy had a lot more scratches than Rea did. Most were on his legs because he enjoyed wearing shorts, but there were some on his arms too. Compared to him, Rea could still be considered flawless.

"It's okay. I want to go back inside. It's getting hotter," Rea rose to his feet and walked back in with his jar and net in his arms. Haemi followed, rushing behind him.

The day went normally like how every household would. They drew pictures with Leah, read the newspaper that was delivered to them -although they were only looking at pictures- ate, and played again. Then it was time for Rea to have a bath. Rea always went first because he needed attention.

Rea sat at the edge of the tub while Haemi was dismantling his legs. No one knew about his prosthetic legs, even if he walked around the house barefooted, the wooden legs actually looked very real until you saw the ball joints. At the same time, Rea unbuttoned his shirt and let it slip down his porcelain skin.

"W-wait, Rea. Open them when I finish here," Haemi stopped him, flustered. The first time was very hard for Haemi, he had to help him undress. It was true that Rea was a boy, but he was more beautiful rather than handsome or masculine. It made him feel guilty when he saw the skin that was always covered.

"Watching you undress makes me feel like a pervert."

"A pervert?" Rea tilted his head as he held his shirt up. When Haemi finished dismantling his legs, Rea let his shirt fall down after Haemi turned around, "That's a new word. Explain." Rea slid into the tub; the water level reached his neck.

"I-It's when, you think of dirty stuff about other people," Haemi's voice trailed off as he felt the blood rushed up to his face. He turned around to see Rea was looking straight at him.

Rea crossed his arms on the edge, with a pout, "Are you saying I'm dirty? You are smellier than I am." Rea grabbed the soap bar and started cleaning his body vigorously. Haemi sat on a stool near the tub.

"I didn't say you are dirty."

"You just said you thought I'm dirty."

"I didn't! Oh lord, don't mind me Rea," Haemi sighed. Don't you realize, you are going to confuse my sexuality? Haemi let out another long sigh to the question he couldn't ask loudly. Haemi was at that age where he started to realize a lot of weird stuff. When he saw his mom and dad kissed each other goodnight on the lips, he felt shy and ran away.

Other than that, Rea had become a bit more talkative when it was just the two of them. The boy could also do most of the basic things around the house such as making tea or making a sandwich when he felt thirsty or hungry, he had just learned to tie his shoelaces all by himself, and combed his hair by himself too. However, Rea could easily neglect his appearance as it was always Taurent that used to look after him.

"Hey, I wonder. Don't you feel uhm shy, when Taurent bathes you? He saw you, well, everything," Haemi scratched his face as he awkwardly asked. Rea replied with a straight 'no'. Maybe it was just Haemi being conscious. But anyone would feel weird, right? Rea is 15, he is big enough... Haemi slapped his own face and it left handprints on both sides of his cheeks.

Rea washed the bubbles off his arms by dipping them further into the water as he shook his head after witnessing Haemi's unique behavior. Whatever ran in the other's mind, Rea didn't want to know.

He stared at the walls in front of him. "I miss him," Rea mumbled, "Do you think he will come for me?"

"Do you want him to come?"

Rea looked down to the water and watched as his reflection swayed. He moved his hands lower than his knees only to find there was nothing. "He made me those legs so I could walk. We made a promise that we would give each other... each other."

Rea splashed water to his face, "If change can make us happy, how can I do it? I want him to be happy too."

Haemi's eyebrows twitched in irritation, "You never know what he did, Rea." Haemi stood up and put Rea's prosthetic legs in a dry place. Then, he went out of the bathroom, "Call me when you need me."

Rea knew Haemi was angry with him by bringing up Taurent. It was just 3 days, and he felt homesick as well as vulnerable without the adult. His life appeared to be incomplete. Rea coughed softly; his throat felt dry. He talked too much that day. He needed to rest.

The two boys continued the night silently. Haemi didn't seem to want to converse. There was a frown on his face and Rea knew quite well that it was better to not bother an angry person. Even when they were asleep, Haemi faced the other side.

Well, he'll be fine tomorrow, Rea assured himself.

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Anne rushed to the front door as she heard a knock. The door creaked open and Anne was greeted by a man of blue eyes. His eyes glistened as the light from inside reflected her image. He took his hat off and gave a little bow.

"Can I stay the night here, Anne?"