"No!" the man declared enraged, growling as he pinned the other on the mattress, an evident impact echoed the barren room as toned arms encased the latter, their glares clashed- one indicating immense possession over the other. "Nobody can just fucking waltz in, claiming they have some power over whom you can offer your life to, do you hear me? No one."

The other smiled sweetly- porcelain, doll-like, and caged. Lifting his palms to caress the formerʼs cheek while clasping his nape with his free hand to bring their faces closer until they can feel their breaths hit upon layers of skin.

"You cannot die until I permit it. Your heart, body, and soul only belong to me, understand?" He pulled him in, claiming his mouth again, hungry and intense, the warm feeling of his breath, although destabilizing, brought back a sense of assurance with an inkling amount of rationality. "You are mine."

Heat rose from the youngerʼs abdomen as he parted his lips with a dazed sigh, breathy moans escaping as skillful fingers pulled and tampered unto the buckle of his belt. Grinding against his body, he arched his back and groaned, murmuring against his lips.

"Always."

ー・ー

Bam awoke gasping, as if his life depended on it, calling out trails of a name he knew but had forgotten. After a few moments of deafening silence, he roamed his eyes and saw a number of apparatuses attached to his veins and skin, and it doesnʼt quite occur to him yet what happened and where he currently was. Thinking long and hard, all he could recall was pulling out someoneʼs long hair and clawing out someoneʼs face (did he really do that?), a gunshot, warmth soothing his back and tousling his hair as the sensation waited for him to calm down, a few broken memories of thrilling events. Then his head ached, but he could hear a melodious laugh and feel a pair of lips on his forehead before it faded to black. A car crash. A protective embrace. Aguero.

Oh god, Mr. Khun.

"Bam? Bam, youʼre awake! Chenny call the doctor, heʼs finally awake!" He couldnʼt help but smile weakly when Yuri crushed him with a hug and peppered kisses on his face and afterwards cried, making him feel extremely guilty. "I will never forgive you for making all of us worry like this! That Rachel Light just pulled you and Hatz outside for no reason and the next thing I find out, you were already on the news inside a car doing flips like a stuntman!"

"Iʼm really sorry, Auntie Yuri. I didnʼt mean for any of this to happen."

"Oh sweetheart, itʼs alright. It is all your relativesʼ fault. They have been under investigation for a week now, so I doubt they will do anything rash at the moment. But," the woman glared at him menacingly, which unconsciously had him gulping. "It does not mean I will allow you to carelessly go outside ever again like before. Youʼre like a calamity that was waiting to happen, Jue Viole Grace."

The brunet scratched his cheek sheepishly, before going back to his initial purpose. "What about Mr. Khun? How is he, Auntie? Is he okay? Did he get hurt?"

"I..." the black haired woman looked away, unsure how to explain the circumstances to him. "We canʼt really say for sure, but he was out of the intensive care unit three days ago so, I think he is now stable."

Bamʼs shoulder slumped in despair as his expression grew empty. It was his fault. This time, it was really his fault.

As soon as he got both the doctor and his auntsʼ go signal, he immediately dashed toward the older manʼs suite room. Thankfully, he didnʼt get any lethal injuries during the accident except for a few broken bones and a scar on his right leg. He wasnʼt sure about the otherʼs state though, because all of them kept quite a mouth shut on any news regarding him. Yuri said it was part of the deal they agreed on to ensure that the young boy would focus on his own recovery, but he doubted it was really the case. Since she was the one who raised him for at most three years now, she knows for a fact that Bamʼs recovery was almost inhumane to think about. What else can he say? He got some good genes.

He tried to steady his breathing before turning around the corridor. If it wasnʼt obvious, Bam was nervous because it would be the first time in two weeks that he would get to visit his benefactor. It was a tad bit too late, but his conscience cannot take it until he makes sure the man was safe and sound with his own eyes. He doesnʼt exactly know why, but the moment they had met, he felt a strange connection to the bluenet sighing his name full of melancholy and sorrow. Now that he thought about it, how did Mr. Khun learn his name? He should find the time to ask.

"Move!"

Bam bumped hard unto the wall as a medical staff carrying a stroller of oxygen tanks sped past him. He followed her direction and noticed her going inside his benefactorʼs room. He hurriedly went to the doorway, taking a peek with his head out in sheer curiosity, until he saw Mr. Khun on his bed, seizing and an alarming amount of nurses poking needles unto his body.

"Bam, what are you doing here?" Dr. Hansung Yu, one of his auntsʼ closest acquaintances appeared behind him and asked, yet soon muttered profanity the moment he realized the child witnessed the scene. "Sorry kid, you are not supposed to be here. I know youʼre worried about him, but right now, you need to return."

An hour passed, yet he was still outside the room, and nobody had still come out. What was happening? Was Mr. Khun in grave danger? Was his life in jeopardy because he protected him? Bam wanted nothing but answers, yet as always, life always wanted to toy with him.

ー

Three days has passed since that fateful day, and every other day, he purposefully avoided visiting Agueroʼs room- just simultaneously going back and forth the garden and the rooftop. Time passed by quickly, and the snow has thickened covering almost everything into thick sheets of winter, yet he still havenʼt had the heart to see his benefactor knowing full well that his condition had worsened because of Bamʼs inability to protect himself.

"Youʼre so mean, Bam." The brunet looked over and a warm object touched his cheek. Hot chocolate. He smiled and graciously accepted, scooting a few centimeters to give space for the man who was now bound to a wheelchair. "You never came to see me, even when you knew I was better."

"Mr. Khun, Iʼm so sorry." Bam sniffled, then embraced the man as tightly as he could. "Itʼs my fault... Itʼs all my fault. Every time we meet, I always show an undignified version of myself, and you somehow end up getting hurt."

"Itʼs not your fault, Bam. Iʼm just a magnet for disaster, is all." The bluenet patted his back, rubbing small circles on his back until he calmed down like the quietness of this snow. Khun chuckled for a bit, his breath sounding strange, yet he thought it was because of the drop of temperature. "In exchange for not visiting me even once, how about I tell you a story?"

The younger nodded enthusiastically, sipping on his beverage.

"Once, there were two lovers in a tower who had interesting fates. One had a destiny to overthrow his father and bring change to the towerʼs system, and the other was prophesied to wreak havoc upon the tower as revenge for the blood of his fallen ancestors. Their fates were greatly opposite, but together, they made it work. Soon, war came and took over their lives, and everyone in the tower who felt greatly wronged by its king felt that one of the two lovers possessed heavy potential to lead them towards victory. And he did, but with the fall of the king, they did not expect for there to exist someone higher than him."

Mr. Khun plastered up a bitter smile before looking up at the opaque sky.

"The three sovereigns each gave the chosen one choices, opportunities, and conditions- and as they traveled towards the top, the more the latter felt like it was his responsibility to have the people live stable lives, even at the cost of his own happiness. Soon enough, the sovereigns proposed that they will give them a chance to go to another world, but only as long as they abide by two conditions. One, one regular must remain and complete a different set of challenges. Two, the same, or another regular shall live endlessly and remember the towerʼs existence."

"Let me guess, the hero chose to be both?" Bam rubbed his hands together, both in the cold and anticipation.

"Yes, and no. The hero and his lover fought, until the latter brought up a compromise. That he will only agree if and only if, they promise to always find each other. It was vague and unreliable, but it was the only thing that kept them going. However, while the guardians were transporting the people to the new world, his lover stabbed him with a special dagger that can render him paralyzed for a short, but enough period of time for the lover to choose immortality. If he canʼt be together with his significant other, then he will just bear the weight with him until they meet again."

The brunet felt sad. Why did the man sound like he was narrating it from his own point of view? "What happened? Did they ever get to meet?"

Mr. Khun held a hand to his chest, heavily breathing before he shrugged. "Who knows? However, Iʼd like to believe that the lover had lived 99 lifetimes, and on the hundredth, they finally reunited. On a sunlit garden during the first spring breeze, or under the wintry scenery."

"Like this? Thatʼs so silly, Mr. Khun." He giggled. Maybe he shouldnʼt have said that, but the former will forgive him, right?

"Yeah, like this." The bluenet yawned, placing his own beverage down the bench and stretched his arms. Bam followed his gaze to the sky and just thought about the story over and over again, like a critique looking for plotholes. "And maybe they would have chosen to have a child and built a family. Well, I didnʼt know the feeling of having one, but it must have been nice."

"Donʼt worry, Mr. Khun. You already are my family."

"Really?" The Khun let out a carefree laugh. "I think a son as intelligent as you would be nice. Iʼd like that."

Soon enough, he yawned once more. His hands and body barely moving. Bam figured that they would have to go inside soon or theyʼll die of hypothermia.

"Bam, itʼs not your fault okay? I was actually fine days ago, this was one of my illnessʼ symptoms. Iʼll go away soon. So donʼt fret and focus on the deal that we made, understand?" A stray tear trickled down the childʼs cheek once more, and the bluenet sighed fondly, wiping his tearstained face. "Oh come on, donʼt be like that. Fifteen years, okay? Let us meet in fifteen years, and see how far weʼve gone."

Mr. Khun yawned once more, this time a little longer, his breathing a bit hitched, but it has always been like that, right? "Iʼm sleepy. Let me rest here for a while, kid. You can finish my cocoa if you like."

"Sleep tight, Mr. Khun. Not for too long, though. I might really finish this all."

"Oh, and Bam?" Bam tilted his head at him, sipping. "Happy Birthday."

The brunet nodded in thanks and stared off into nothingness, basking in the winterʼs serene silence. He felt a head drop on his shoulder, and he didnʼt mind. With his hot chocolate, he guessed they can still stay like this for a few minutes until their doctors come running after them. It would be a sight to see.

He glanced at his benefactor deep in Hypnosʼ slumber, the latterʼs drink left forgotten at the side. Minutes later, he would look at his and noticed it was almost empty. The brunet would sneak a glance at the otherʼs in hopes that it was still warm and not emptied out. To his utter surprise, the drink was still almost full, now ice cold as if it hadnʼt been touched. Heʼd look at the bluenet and realize two things. Firstly, the man never took more than one sip on his mug, and

Bam never once told Mr. Khun his birthday.

ー・ー

story is dedicated to:
Jiana_Rei, and RageMaxPlayz

this is long overdue, but happy new year.

24th Scribe:
Only God Knows
01/06/2022