Chapter Text
Once upon a time under the foothills where wealthy farm being the number one pride of most population, the land which fertile with various plants particularly coffee beans, and a solid market with majestic quality products, fairytale existed. Everyday amidst the pathway, flower blossoms delightfully. There, among all the towering green palm tree, the violets are blooming and their scent remains intoxicating. Here in the little magic village called Lormeadow, Spring is always in the air.
Fairytales are commonly often topics between the villagers. Witches, Trolls, Wolves, Mermaids, Elves, Unicorns, Dragons, Shapeshifters. The creatures live among them, creating a mystical atmosphere which also the charm of this very small village. The average population lives there almost all their days. They all know each other more than very well, almost like a family. A festival often being held to celebrate many things. Harvest day is the peak of the celebration, it's where all the villagers gathered in the field to hold the longest feast of the year. Dancing, laughing, and maybe find a way to love. There's always a fairytale in every breath of Lormeadow.
The people here also never experience the coldest day when they can buckle up inside warm clothes in front of the fireplace, drinking a glass of warm milk while telling stories about how the days went on to a friend. Never a day when they can't stand being in the middle of the field and freezing to death, nor playing with the snow to make a beautiful castle for killing time. Here in Lormeadow, it's a town of the warmest glimmering sun where your heart always sings, blue skies and gracefully shaped clouds. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart, and Winter never comes.
The greatest thing about Lormeadow appears in the form of their Wine Coffee, a well-known fermented coffee beans in order to produce the aroma of wine alongside the coffee at the same time. Many city people come into Lormeadow just to get a taste of the drink, a satisfaction itself even when the price isn't quite affordable for some people. Lormeadow is like the most compatible spot for people who needs the endowment of serenity where you can sit by the balcony and wait for the sun to set, a hidden paradise indeed. A dream place to live.
One day a fine young man came into the village asking for a home to live. He was willing to pay no matter how expensive he must afford, and thus he got the house near the hill garden, where most flower blossoms and the solitude peacefulness anyone could ever ask for. In that wooden house with simplistic architecture and warm appearance, the young man lives by himself. It was quite a mystery since he rarely participates in any of the village's tradition, nor simply doing anything closer to farming. He was infrequently be seen except when he was sitting on the balcony while drinking his tea and write something on his journal. His eyes drown into the depths of his own magical cosmos, inviting anyone to stay and perceive what's going on in that little head of him.
Lately they finally acknowledge the very job of the man himself and the reason why he looks so peaceful just by sitting and thinking is that he came here to write. Illuminated by the warmest sun and the spring wind, Jeon Wonwoo and his tiny journal book came here to create the art. To fill the white paper with colourful ink, string imagination in sentences by sentences. The only one time the young man ever joined them in the feast was when he got invited to celebrate the village's birthday, and ever since then every single villager occupied on being captivated by the said man, and finding a way how to win his heart. He becomes the most wanted man in the town. Handsome Sir Jeon with his courteous attitude, engaging smile and softly appearances replacing any magical creatures to become the most mysterious thing to be solved and honestly, a certain man named Kim Mingyu was already getting used to hearing the issue among his friends.
"Aren't you going to work?" They were supposed to weigh the coffee beans and put in each pack, but as far as the eyes can see, Mingyu was the only one doing the job and it's started to infuriates the man.
Instead of getting a reply, Mingyu gets subtly ignored from all his friends who are busy discussing something like the world is gonna end in a blink of an eye. Mingyu keeps working, considering nothing about the conversation will interest him anyway. It was the same as time goes by, there is no day without Jeon Wonwoo's name being summoned amongst them, ringing like a village's bell in the middle of the eerie night.
"Seriously, what is it this time?" Mingyu tries again. It was quite maddening how the young man was able to absorb up all the attention in this little village all on him without any particular efforts, and sometimes Mingyu deems it was impossible to get that kind of privileges. In any other words, there's something quite suspicious on him that Mingyu or anyone still unable to fathom.
"Jeon Wonwoo finally has spoken up." Let's just say Soonyoung is the expert on this, consider the amount of time he poured just to research on Jeon Wonwoo. "He has announced that he will marry the man who can open his front door."
For the record, it was stupid. And Mingyu was clearly judging his friends from the rolling of his eyes. "Then what's the problem? Just open the damn door."
"You think this is easy aren't you, Kim Mingyu? It's clearly not. You think you're the smartest one among us? Say it again after you successfully tamed the damn beast."
"Woah, woah, woah," Mingyu decided to joins the discussion table. "Calm down, Soonyoung. You acted like this is a life and death mission."
"This is a life and death mission!"
Mingyu lift both of his hands in the air, surrender after that one friend of him raising his tone a little bit. The tall man then glancing at his another friend on his right, asking for help. "What the hell is his problem?"
"Apparently our dearest Sir Jeon levelled up his husbands game a little bit harder. You know his cat who always sleep by the front door?"
Mingyu nods at Minghao, recognizing the fat white furry cat on his mind. The cat always gets on Mingyu's nerves since it moves like a silence hurricane, hovering around the house on its own like a clever invisible thief, as white as the foreign snow. "What about the cat?"
"There goes the key. Take the key around the beast's neck, open the door, and Jeon is all yours."
In front of him, Junhui just exhales his breath like a frustrated seventy years old man complaining about his back pain. "It's impossible. I tried, and you all know how a friendly cats person i am! But that wild animal is just so hard to approach. Never in my entire existence, i've seen such a cat."
"Can you just, shot it from afar or something?"
Three of his friends bewilderedly looking at him, trying to digest.
"Wow, no wonder you've been all alone all your life."
"That's rude, Soonyoung. And i had lovers before, not something i was quite keen on telling you."
"Just for the sake of being polite, i believe you and your nonexistence love story—" Mingyu grits his teeth at the other man. "—but the most important thing is no, as much as i also wanted to shot it and be done with everything, we cannot kill the beast. It would break Jeon's heart."
Sometimes when Soonyoung blurting out so many nonsenses from that mouth of him, Mingyu lets him do that wholeheartedly without any intention on interfering. But in this very moment, deep down he wanted his friends to stop obsessing on something quite impossible to reach. However, he doesn't want to crush his dream or anybody just like that. Himself too, sometimes wishing on something unreachable and that's okay, no one ever telling him to stop except himself.
"Well, i'm about to meet your dearest Sir Jeon in an hour. Any message i should convey?"
"Tell him i will not giving up and I'll find a way to trick the bloody beast just for him so please wait and i want him to know that he's the only light in my darkest soul."
Mingyu jaws drop. "There is absolutely no chance i will tell him that, Soonyoung."
"Can you secretly duplicated his key while he was in the bathroom or something?"
"I'm not a criminal, Wenjun. God, that's it. Forget i asked." Mingyu stands up from his seat and lifts up the last box of coffee beans to his pickup car, ignoring his friend's stupidity.
"You're meeting him right now?" Asks Minghao from far away.
"Yeah, his package from the city arrived this morning. And he also expected a pack of coffee beans to be delivered into his house this afternoon."
"Lucky you, delivery boy."
"Stop calling me that or i'll ban your cigarette's shipment from the city."
Mingyu can see Minghao's chuckling, but his threat definitely won't stop the man from calling him that.
A delivery boy. A funny name to begin with since it's not necessarily wrong, and Mingyu indeed does the work. He's the bridge between the villagers and what's outside the city, he knows his way here and there, and he's definitely the man everyone been looking for in terms of knowing the village at his best. Everything that comes and out from the village never escapes from his view. In fact, he still remembers vividly the moment Jeon Wonwoo get off the ship in the Hedgeshore five years ago, carrying only one small suitcase and a journal on his other hand. He didn't entirely look like a city people who come to seek for the depth secret of the so-famous Lormeadow, but only a simple question such as 'a quiet place to think'. Mingyu admittedly got smitten not only with how the man simply bowed at him and politely offer his hand for him to shake, but also his friendly gesture and calm presence that hold such strong reminiscences until this day.
Ever at a time, there are two big boxes coming from the city that says no other than the man's address on top of it. And what can he said, Mingyu is a young curious man. Thus he opened the box, and quietly took one of the books out. Later that night, he was laying on his house balcony accompanied by the stars in the sky and a book titled 'Finding You In a Sea of People by Wonwoo Jeon'. Mingyu ain't a reader, he was never one. He spent his time on farming, learning how to brew a good coffee, and hop into one villager's and another house to deliver their package. On another occasion when the Hedgeshore is at peace, he's got his free time to hunt magical creatures such as a unicorn. Unicorns have always been his favourite. If only they could bring home anything they found behind the Aldpine's forest, Mingyu would be having plenty of Unicorn by now. But that night he wasn't thinking about anything at all. He was captivated enough by the stolen book he was currently reading, and it feels like someone engulfing a whole of him into the strangest place when there are only white walls he was freely floating alongside every word he read inside the book.
How do we defying gravity? because I still had none explanation of how the universe gave me the right to found one constellation that keeps me on the ground, just to always sadly look up to at sky while having too many thought at once. Seven billion living soul and problem to solve, and we still unable to comprehend a simple living reason that finally brought us to a limitless tunnel of regrets. It kills you by blind darkness that will swallow all of you alive.
So how come you still have those happy little wrinkles around your eyes whenever you laugh? How come you present your best when it's been hard on you? Don't you want to rest? From the world? From yourself?
Mingyu remembers feeling a hole on his chest, a grand hole of sorrow that put him in misery for the rest of the night. He can't sleep, nor stopped thinking about what he just read. He became aware of every little thing upon his surrounding, appreciating what he had and enjoy while it last. It was such a powerful self-encouragement even for Mingyu to began elaborate, and all thanks to a book. A book written by a man who lives near the hill garden, who has the most delightful smile Mingyu has ever seen. If anything Mingyu wanted to give for the man, it was his gratitude and respect. Jeon Wonwoo is indeed the man of a dream, and Kim Mingyu wouldn't dare to invite himself even to admire.
Mingyu arrives in front of Wonwoo's door just about the time he was expected to be, welcomed by the famous cat in front of the door. The cat observes Mingyu with his big dark eyes, probably searching for anything dangerous that could endanger both she and her owner. Mingyu chuckles just a bit, refusing to believe how a cat can be so suspicion such as this one. He kneeling down in front of the cat, offering a soft pat on the fat cat's head. "Hey, Missy. Is your owner home?"
The cat sniffling on Mingyu's hand like it was a meal of the day. Thus when Mingyu sure his hand did look meaty and tempting, the cat vigorously licking on it.
Again, Mingyu laughs and patting the cat even softer. "You like my hand? That's nice Missy, but i can't do this all day. I have lots of work to do especially today so would you please go inside and call him?" The cat finally wakes up from his fine nap and goes inside using the small hole at the bottom of the door.
A minute later Jeon Wonwoo opened the door, looking freshly out from the shower with his army cargo pants and warm brown sweater, lightly scratching his eyes behind the glasses frame with his knuckles. "Hi?"
"Hi," Mingyu gups, suddenly become quite nervous. "Your package is here. And also your coffee beans?"
The man's lips raising through his cheeks, and he opens his door a little bit wider. "That's great."
There's a momentarily silence between them since it's always a nervewracking moment for Mingyu to stand in front of the man, even when he did come here on purpose. "Do you—um," Again, Mingyu is gulping without even realizing. "Want me to help carry the box inside? It's quite heavy."
"Yeah," Wonwoo smiling so bright it honestly blinding his eyes. "Yeah, i would very much appreciate it."
Mingyu then run to his car as soon as possible due to his nervousness. He pretends to take a long time just to get the damn box because honestly he can't imagine being inside Wonwoo's house when there will be only both of them. However as much as he wants to buy so much time to calm his heart, he can't let the man waiting on his door any longer than this. Mingyu walking towards him with a box carried by his hands, putting the coffee beans pack on top of it. Wonwoo helping him by picking the pack after Mingyu walking past him. Mingyu wishes the man would put the blindly smile into an end because it was getting unbearably hard for him to manage.
"Where should i put this?"
"In the kitchen?"
"Got it." Mingyu put the box on top of the kitchen table near the kitchen sink, then immediately grab a knife to unbox the thing. Wonwoo raising his eyebrows at the act, signalling a confusion. But Mingyu just shrugs his shoulder while cutting the tape on the box. "Uh, y'know. it will be dangerous for you to play with the knife."
"Okay." Wonwoo nods understandingly.
"Can you stand a little bit further? I don't want you to get hurt."
Again, Wonwoo innocently nods his head. "Okay."
Mingyu opened the box in silence since there isn't any topic they could talk about. In fact, this is the first time Mingyu ever been inside Wonwoo's house. Wonwoo isn't truly the talker himself, hence Mingyu doesn't want to make him uncomfortable by making simple talk.
"Do you perhaps want to drink something?"
The tall man gets used to people asking him the question. He loves helping people around and as a change, people tend to offer him something in return. He was never refuse, considering it as a self-payment. "A glass of water would be nice."
Wonwoo comes back with the said water just about the time Mingyu finishes with the box. He politely grabs the glass from Wonwoo's grips and drinks the water away. The other man silently observes Mingyu with his eyes, hands crossed in front of the chest. "Do I waste too much of your time already?"
"Why? Do you need me to help you with another?"
"Actually, I..." Wonwoo's hand begins to wander inside and grab the machine out of the box. "I'm not really sure how this thing works?"
Mingyu's eyes moving between the machine and Wonwoo's feature, examine the situation carefully before he understands the meaning behind the question. "You want me to teach you how to use this?"
"If that sits well with you then... yeah, i do?"
"Okay, come here." Believe it or not, Mingyu's hand gripping the other man's wrist and pulling him closer out of consciousness. Wonwoo seems taken aback seeing from how dumbfounded he was when finally standing beside Mingyu. There's a significant size difference between their bodies, and it only makes Wonwoo accidentally look too small compared to the tall man. "First of all, you know what this is useful for, right?"
Wonwoo blinks his eyes cutely. "To make coffee?"
Mingyu bites his lips to prevent himself from laughing. "Okay... that's a start. Well actually, this little machine is a tool you used to brew your coffee in particular methods using this paper filter"
"Um, i'm sorry but how do we use a paper to make a coffee?"
Screw biting his lips, Mingyu laughs anyway. This man is way too adorable for his own good. "Can you help me boil some water?"
"Mhm," Wonwoo quickly grabs a kettle from inside the cupboard, filled it with water, and put it on the stove. "Done."
"Splendid. Now while waiting for the water to boil, let's prepare for the other stuff," Mingyu opening the coffee beans pack carefully. "It's a good thing you also buy the grinder. The scale additionally important for a beginner to measure the coffee correctly."
"So what do we need to do first?"
"Grind 24 grams of coffee beans. Remember to measure it accurately to get the perfect taste for your coffee." Mingyu pouring the beans inside a cup, then finish when the scale showing the right number. After that, the man puts it inside the grinder and let the machine do the work. Wonwoo pays attention to the whole process wholeheartedly, face filled with excitement.
"And then after it has done?"
"And then after it has done, put the V60 and the cup on top of the scale. And this is where your already boiled water takes part," Mingyu grins at him and Wonwoo immediately turn off the stove and lift the kettle. "Use the water to thoroughly rinse the paper filter to get rid of paper flavour. Rinsing it also helps you to heat the tool."
"You seems to know a lot about this."
Mingyu raises his eyebrows. "I practically live my whole life in a village where they plant coffee beans for a living."
"Right," The petite man begins to cover his face in embarrassment. "Pardon my foolishness."
"Nah, that's okay." Despite being completely nervous on being in the same room as Jeon Wonwoo, Mingyu enjoys teaching him the thing at least what he was quite an expert at. "Why are you suddenly want to learn how to make a coffee? Well considering you bought this and all."
"Same reason as you, i guess. I decided to live in the village where coffee is a well-known beverage, might as well learn how to do it. Although i'm not quite a coffee person myself."
"You're not?" Mingyu pouts, and Wonwoo does this thing with his lips when he presses it lightly.
"I suppose my body just can't stand the caffeine... I also have a weak stomach. I'm sorry, there's nothing wrong with coffee, they're all great especially the one planted in this village. It's all on me."
"No, no, no, that's completely understandable." Mingyu suddenly feels guilty for no reason, but he quickly gets rid of the nonsense feeling away. "So are you planning to stay for a little longer then?"
The sudden change of the topic brings such a sparkling delight into Wonwoo's features. "I really love it here."
Mingyu seems surprised. "You do?"
"Why? What's with the expression?"
"Well i mean..." The tall man awkwardly scratched his nape. "You're not often out or associate with other villagers. I just assume you found us boring or something."
Wonwoo blinks at him. In the dim warmth of the sun coming through the window shrinking as morphine injected to the joints of life, a soft lopsided smile appeared on the man's lips. "What do you usually do besides delivering people's stuff?"
"Me?" Mingyu pointing at himself, and Wonwoo nods to confirm. "Not much. I went to Mapleholt to drink some beers with my friends or helping my family at our shop in Goldville. But most of the time i was in the Aldpine, hunting down some unicorn."
"A unicorn?"
"You never have seen one?"
"No... as far as i can recall?"
"That's too bad then, consider the creature was Lormeadow's greatest magic."
"So much on this village that i haven't discovered yet, i assume?"
"You have plenty of times to try." It was supposed to be a friendly wink, but somehow Mingyu regrets doing the act in front of a complete stranger.
"So..." Wonwoo cleared his throat, lifting the kettle once again. "What do we do next?"
"OH. Yeah. Uh," The tall man quickly pour the grinned beans into the filter paper. "Start pouring the water slowly into the center. Remember to pour slowly and the water shouldn't go far above the coffee line to prevent water from escaping without extracting the coffee. Keep pouring the water until it reached 360 grams of water. The process should take 2 minutes top. And after that, you're done."
Wonwoo mouthing a little woah while looking at Mingyu calmly pouring the water, his eyes filled with so many curiosity just like a child asking his dad about any random trivia, then he grabs a glass to get a taste of the coffee. Notwithstanding claiming himself as a non-coffee person, he surprisingly drinks it just fine saying it was bitter and he blushes when Mingyu tells him it was supposed to be bitter since he's not adding any sugar inside. It warms Mingyu's heart to get appreciated at little thing such as brewing a coffee, and his heart suddenly feels overflowing with admiration towards the petite man.
Mingyu excuses himself then, saying he still needs to go somewhere after this. Wonwoo escort him into the front door and bid him goodbye properly.
"Before i forgot, just in case you need a man who knows his way around here and helps you knowing this place better than anybody else, you know where to go." A cheeky smile plastered on Wonwoo's face, wordlessly indicating how he very much like the idea. "And Sir Jeon? You might wanna put extra protection on the cat. My friends... they were very much hooked up with the whole open-the-front-door contest idea."
At the remarks, Wonwoo laughs until Mingyu barely can see his eyes. With his soft black hair, the way he presses his lips inside, his timid smile that causes his nose to scrunch adorably, the man looks incredibly attractive it hurts Mingyu's pride because surely he will never reach that level of flawlessness.
"Should i be worried about you as well?"
The tall man shrugs his shoulder lightly. "I'm not worthy enough to chase after it."
Mingyu doesn’t want to believe it but he can see a glimpse of disappointment on the man’s feature. He was about to excuse himself for one last time, walking a few steps further from the door when his name being called by the other man.
"Hey, Mingyu?"
The man's lips go up sheepishly. "You know my name."
"Am i not allowed to know?"
"You're more than free to know."
Wonwoo does the thing again, when he observes Mingyu with his eyes, stripping him off from head to toe with hands crossing in front of the chest and body leaning on the door's frame. His eyes are full of curiosity, another thing Mingyu doesn't quite fathom just yet. "Just so you acknowledge, you are the first human being in this village ever touched the cat like that."
"I'm... what?"
"She doesn't like being touched besides by me. It's quite a shock even for me to see you played with her like that."
"I swear i didn't do anything." Mingyu panics, and that's only made Wonwoo chuckles at the sight.
"You didn't. But as might, you probably wanted to try your luck on the key."
It was the other man's last remarks before closing his door and leaving Mingyu standing there dumbfoundedly, looking like God has forbidden him from breathing, and there's no air left on his lungs to breath.
On the next day, Mingyu was quite busy with the amount of shipment coming into the Hedgeshore. He had no time even for resting his body, nor thinking about anything especially his last encounter with Jeon Wonwoo. He only got the time for a drink around eight in the evening, considering Mapleholt as the most qualified place for him to rest himself. All his friends were there first, criticising Mingyu for being disloyal and abandoning them during the whole day.
"It was a crazy day in the Hedgeshore, okay? So many shipments to deliver."
"I'm not asking about that. How's yesterday?"
"What about yesterday?"
"You're meeting Jeon yesterday!"
"Oh." Mingyu puts his elbows on the countertop, sitting awkwardly while trying to avoiding Soonyoung. Suddenly it gets overwhelming with the number of eyes staring at him. "Well, yeah, i delivered his stuff. What do you expect?"
"Just that?"
It wasn't just that, but as much as it's tempting to share his conversation to his friends, Mingyu is more comfortable keeping the story to himself alright. Not only because he wants to maintain it private, but also Mingyu somehow considers it as intruding Wonwoo's privacy to talk about him behind his back. "Aside from me putting the box inside the house? I think that's pretty much all."
"Did you see the cat?" Junhui suddenly questioning.
"Yeah, it was right at the front door."
"And the key?"
"I don't really pay much attention to that."
"God, Kim. You're utterly stupid."
Normal people would feel offended by everything that came up from Junhui's mouth but Mingyu knowing him too well to waste his time on feeling butthurt.
"Wait, wait, wait, we need to backpedal this discussion," Minghao takes an annoyingly sip loud before sending Mingyu a look. "You went inside his house?"
Well, shit.
Mingyu shifts uncomfortably on his seat while repeatedly sipping on his bear just so he can escape another judging look from his friends although no, they were too adamant when it comes to Jeon Wonwoo. "The box is kinda heavy?"
"Damn, Kim. You're stupid but you're lucky." Again, Wen Junhui.
It's so funny hearing the words from Wen Junhui himself, when he spent the majority of his time just for chilling around. Born with a silver spoon on his mouth, Junhui's parents own the preponderance of Lormeadow's wealthiness, making his family to be the richest one in the village. Junhui only here to spent his holiday after previously sent by his parents to the South to take care of their business. But lately Junhui has been too obsessed with Wonwoo to the point that Mingyu's not sure if he's gonna leave in the near future.
And then there's Kwon Soonyoung. Despite appeared to be a prankster who likes messing around big time, Soonyoung is actually a pretty vocal in organizing the village's potentials. He's in charge of guiding the tourist who comes into Lormeadow to feel it's magic, passionately introducing the place in the most enthusiastic way possible, and arranging all the village's event each year. No single souls in this tiny little village who doesn't know the existence of Kwon Soonyoung.
Minghao is a different cases. He's a man with a countless idea on his brain. Even when they're just hanging out and sitting around in Mapleholt, Minghao is probably thinking about some wild fantasy on his head. The idea of Wine Coffee? It was him, coming straightly from his mouth even when they were clearly talking about entirely different topic at the moment. So many concepts doesn't sits well with Minghao and he can be determined sometimes.
So the only thing Mingyu can do to respond to his friends is faking a snort, to hide his sudden blushing cheeks from remembering the way Wonwoo looked small and soft standing next to him. His hands were neat and clean compared to Mingyu's who frequently carrying big hard stuff. The round glasses framing his face, and the thing he did with his knuckles every time his eyes got itched. Another vivid memory of the man on Mingyu's mind.
"You know how Jeon always goes to Goldville on Sunday morning, right? He shops from 9 am until 10 am and always goes on the same routines."
"You remembered his routines."
Soonyoung pats his chest proudly. "Of course i am! Now here's the plan; i'm gonna try to hunt down the cat while he's gone."
"Why hunting it down? Why not like, befriend with it or something?"
"When he simply too quick and most likely avoids all the traps i could possibly think of? Are you out of your mind, Kim?" The sarcastic emphasis is clearly there.
"Alright, alright. Goodluck with that." Answers Mingyu boredly. There's no way he can win an argument over Kwon Soonyoung.
***
Goldville is the market of many dreams. It's what you called paradise on earth, where you can find possibly every cooking ingredients with fresh and high quality. From all the building structure here in Lormeadow, he likes Goldville the most. The market reminded him of Covered Market in Oxford, where you can see many lovely shops in dim light, pastel colour, and warm atmosphere. Mingyu's parents own a fruit shop in there, on Sunday which also his day off on Hedgeshore he will help them at the shop.
It's the same with today, except he's got a little bit nervous on the idea of accidentally bump into Wonwoo somewhere and it's all because of Soonyoung. So many fruit shop in Goldville, there's no possibility he suddenly comes here, right?
Mingyu should probably note down that the world doesn't run like the way he wanted it to be.
From a distance, he can see Seokmin's sunshine smile approaching his shop alongside with Wonwoo behind who looks overwhelmed with Seokmin's happy-go personality. Mingyu inhales, trying to control his expression as much as he can.
"Aaand we're here!"
Wonwoo jolts a little at Seokmin's loud tone but still managed to bid his thanks and bow a little. "Thank you so much for helping me find Mr. Kim's shop."
"It was absolutely nothing, Sir Jeon! A pleasure to help you. If you have spare time, please do visit our cookies shop right at the end of this alley. We have the sweetest and the most delicious cookies ever exist. Nothing tastes better than Seok's Snack Rack!" Seokmin smiles even wider than both Mingyu and Wonwoo couldn't imagine he's capable to do. Seokmin then leaning closer to Wonwoo, aiming for his ear to whisper something. "Please don't go to Doughy Delights because they used too much sugar in their batter."
"Okay, Seokmin." Mingyu pulls him away from Wonwoo before the man can get any scared than this. "He gets it. He will visit only your shop."
"Excellent!" Seokmin showing his thumbs excitedly. "I better go, then. Nice seeing you, Sir Jeon."
Wonwoo bows his head for one last time. "You too, Mr. Lee."
The petite man still presses his lips to hold back his laughter even when Seokmin is out of sight.
"He's..." Mingyu tries.
"Loud?" Wonwoo completed.
"Yeah," A smile appeared on Mingyu's face. "Did you need anything?"
"Mhm," The petite man scanning the fruits with his eyes before going back to Mingyu. "Your service?"
"M—My what?"
"About your offer the other day to explore the village?"
"Oh," Mingyu gulps while nodding slowly. "When?"
"Right now."
"Right now? But i—" There's a prompting look on Wonwoo's feature that makes Mingyu holding on his mouth, an expression that likeably close to faith, an expectation, a sympathetic feeling rushing on Mingyu's blood like a tsunami. Wonwoo who was standing there innocently with his formal track pants, white t-shirt and grey cardigan... He clearly can't do this to him. "Yeah, let's go."
Mingyu ended up impulsively closing his shop. His parents are gonna question him a lot, but that's just for another time. After all, they would understand if Mingyu tells them that he has other emergency work. It was kind of burdensome walking in the market not as a seller but just someone who accompanies a man getting to know this place better. And since it was such a small village, everyone looking at Mingyu like he was doing something filthy. But what can he says, he's walking with the most wanted man in town. It's not anyone's fault that they were interested in the reason why above all people Mingyu was the one who gets to stand beside him.
While Wonwoo is walking elegantly, hands tangled behind his back with eyes wandering on every shop's name, Mingyu secretly glance at him every two seconds to check if the man finds this tour boring enough.
"How did you know i was here?" Mingyu asks, causing the other man to turn his head at him.
"I didn't, it was a lucky guess. Mr. Lee happened to be there when i asked where possibly i could find you."
Mingyu nods his head understanding. "Lucky guess indeed."
"Was he your friend?"
"Let's just say everyone in this village is my friend."
Wonwoo chuckles, showing that adorable nose of him. "A small town, huh?"
They keep walking until Mingyu stops them in front of an ice cream shop. Wonwoo's face lit up by a lot, and Mingyu happily pointed the shop with his head. "C'mon."
Boo's Shimmery has always been his favourite ice cream place in town. The Boo's family has been making ice cream for so many generations, and it's a common legend that no one will top them. Mr. Boo's son, Seungkwan, was the friendliest person Mingyu has ever know aside from Seokmin. He's the expert on helping the customer to feel delightful when they experienced the taste of their ice cream and Mingyu couldn't think he can do the same with his shop.
"Oh, wow! For what do i owe this pleasure?" Seungkwan putting on his apron before placing both of his hands beside his wrist, sparklingly looking at them. "Isn't that the famous Sir Jeon? And our beloved Delivery Boy?"
"I told you to stop calling me that."
"That's not you to decide, gentleman," Says Seungkwan with his annoyingly mocking face. "What extraordinary day it is for Sir Jeon to come to my shop?"
"Please recommend me your best creation, Mr. Boo."
"Alrighty," Seungkwan begins to work his hands on the scoop. "Say, Sir Jeon, any lucky man already solve the case?"
"The case?"
"The key on the cat's neck."
Wonwoo confusedly furrowing his eyebrows before chuckling. "I believe still there wasn't any, Mr. Boo."
"Ah, what a pity. I was hoping some of my friends at least will use their brain and solve the case." Suddenly Seungkwan is looking at Mingyu in such a meaningful look, trying hard to communicate through their eyes but get slightly ignored by his dense friend.
“I’m rooting for them as well.” A soft lopsided smile appeared on Wonwoo’s face.
Seungkwan clearly still wasn’t satisfied with his investigation session. “What a unique idea you have right there, by the way. Is there any particular reason you choose that as a term?”
“Seungkwan.” The tall man grits his teeth, but Wonwoo just humming and proceed to answer the question.
“Actually, it's partly because i intended the fun, however the simple reason mostly because I wanna know how much effort they're willing to give.”
“A fair competition?”
“A fair competition.”
“I understand,” Finally Seungkwan gives the ice cream to Wonwoo while grinning on his white neat teeth. “Although it can be quite tricky since the cat will only be taking sides on the one she likes. Or maybe, the cat already figured it out to whom she was going to give the key.”
The tall man immediately grips Wonwoo’s upper arm after Seungkwan ended his sentences with a wink, then pull him towards the exit door after giving the shop owner some money to pay. “That’s enough Kwan, thank you. But we gotta go.” And with that, both of them leaving the place in a hurry.
***
“Have you seen any magical creatures rather than Unicorn?” Asks Wonwoo while stepping on the hill steadily after couple times falling on his knees. Mingyu had to hold on to his small wrist from behind to prevent the man from rolling down on the grass too far away. “Like Dragons, for example?”
“Dragons, no. But I’ve seen Wolves and Mermaids. I was working until late at night at the Hedgeshore, such a busy day since it was the day before the Harvest Day. I had to finish everything by that night, and I thought drinking a few beers by the beach wouldn’t hurt.”
“All by yourself?”
“All by myself, yeah.” Mingyu letting his grip from Wonwoo’s wrist since they’re on a more flat pathway, but the man immediately reaching for Mingyu’s wrist and hold on to it. Mingyu lets him. “It was a long tiring day and I didn’t have the heart to force my partner to work harder than they were already doing. So I sent them home. It was just my wild guess, but I think the mermaids sometimes come into the shore by midnight. I saw one, she was wandering on her own. Her tails were sparkling rose quartz, and she has the longest and the silkiest black hair I’ve ever seen. She was looking at me with his big eyes probably confused to see a pathetic man who still works by that hour. Then I saw her kinds from afar, and the one who still looking at me started to swim away.”
“Was she beautiful?” Wonwoo teases, making the tall man blushes a little.
“She was, totally. I don’t even like woman but she’s a goddess.”
“What about the Wolves?”
“Are you sure you want me to talk about this one?” Now it's Mingyu's turn to tease the man, and Wonwoo immediately getting annoyed by the sight.
“If you think I will be scared with those kinds of creatures, please refrain your thought.”
They finally arrive on the top of the hill where they can see a whole Lormeadow spreading wide in front of them. Their eyes caught Goldville just around the foothill, Mapleholt hasn’t yet opened in this early morning, and the big ship anchored grandly in Hedgeshore. Wonwoo can see his own house even from this far. And again, an adorable woah escape from that plum lips of him, enchanting Mingyu whole brain for a glimpse of second of how charming is this man, and how in the hell he gets so lucky for being here with him.
The petite man sits on top of the grass, pulling a small journal from his back pocket. Then he begins to write. He writes, and writes, and writes. His slender fingers dancing alongside his pen, his eyebrows furrows due to his captivating effort on his work. Sometimes he looks up the sky, thinking about beautiful things judging from how his face forming a smile and his lips almost reaches his eyes. He shivers a little bit when a wind passing through them, causing his journal to change the page on its own.
Mingyu decided to not interfere. He feels at ease even only from waiting and not doing anything in particular except quietly glancing at the man just like what he’s been doing ever since they walked in the market.
“Is Aldpine still far away?” Mingyu decided to lay his body on the grass, arm behind his head. And then he pointing at the forest in the North, causing Wonwoo to huffs his breath. “That’s far.”
“Can’t risk of them being too close to the village, right?”
“Tell me about it, then.”
“About what?”
“All the magic creatures inside Aldpine.”
Mingyu closes his eyes, inhaling the spring wind slowly. “I wouldn’t say that the forest is dangerous, it’s just that it was indeed very dark. You can’t quite see anything without a flashlight even during the day. So many rabbits though, sometimes when I’m too lazy to think of a gift for my friends birthday, I took one for them to pet. But again, the greatest thing about Aldpine comes in the form of their Unicorns. Quite hard to spot, but there’s a secret on that. You see, if you wandering deep down into Aldpine you will see a pretty lake, water as clear as crystal. Just wait there while you admiring the beauty of it, and the Unicorns will possibly appear on their own. As white as the snow, as grand as the tall building in the city, and as gorgeous as anything you’ve ever seen.”
Wonwoo puts down his journal aside and lay beside Mingyu on the grass. “I think it was admirable, how you described this forest like it was something alive, and how you looked up to these creatures like they have feelings.”
“They do have feelings,” Says Mingyu, opening his eyes to glance at the other man. “But sometimes human are too dense to realize. Say, a pet. An owner will love their pets more than any animals they’ve found on the street because they grow feeling for them. They protected them at all cost. Sometimes all we have to do is treat them equally in order to appreciate.”
Suddenly Wonwoo moving himself by tilting his body sideways, completely facing Mingyu. Of course, it’s a Mingyu thing to gets panic over their little proximity, but he pretends to be okay with it. To be completely calm about how he can clearly see every dots on Wonwoo’s face, and to be able to hide the unexplained feelings inside his chest. Alluring in this game is like riding a wave, sometimes it’s up in the air, and sometimes you just floating around the surface. But at the same time, Mingyu can only let the wind take him however it wants to.
“What about shapeshifter?” Even only from a quick glance, Mingyu can see how Wonwoo’s eyes shaking while asking the question. It’s like he was peeling off a thin layer out of him. “Do you believe in them?”
“Shapeshifter?”
Wonwoo nods, eyes determined.
“They were banned from Lormeadow after what happened... a while ago, but if you ask if I believe in them, I wouldn’t say yes either. It’s all about magic and when it comes to magic, nothing’s quite believable.”
“So, like, if you happen to meet one, what would you do?”
“Just… I hope they have a friend whom they can share. It can be a bit lonely to keep the secret all by themselves, so I hope they didn’t live all alone in the depth of loneliness. I wish them to have a prosperous life, in sickness and in health.”
All of sudden, it’s Wonwoo’s fingers touching on his eyebrows, sweeping it softly like a fragile glass. And then the fingers move into his eyelids and Mingyu closes his eyes peacefully, letting Wonwoo does everything he wants even if that means Mingyu will die here and now. The rueful smile on the other man is crushing his soul, who dares to make him sad? He will fight. He will fight them bravely. But the man’s touch is making him weak. He was being injected and his body couldn’t move. He’s too weak. He can’t even defend his own self.
“Mingyu?”
“Hm?”
“What do you think of me?”
“You?”
“Yeah.”
Mingyu’s mind suddenly falling back into the book he was reading a few years ago. How every word hold such strength, and it was wonderful as it is. Totally orgasmic, an indefinable feeling he couldn’t let himself to elaborate. He was falling, euphoric feeling that is totally indescribable. He got shot by the cupid themselves and it was an art. He will never forget likeably for such a long time.
“What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t know, surprise me.”
Mingyu slowly moving himself up, hovering on top of the smaller man, caging him like he was all him to keep. And Wonwoo doesn’t hesitate. He’s looking at Mingyu straight in the eyes, challenging him to do more. “I think... I think they’re not wrong when giving you the nickname. The most wanted man in town…" Much closer. Indulging sweet. Burning like hell. "It suits you.”
Wonwoo’s breath hitch a little when Mingyu’s face is just an inch closer from his and Mingyu wants to laugh. He wants to laugh because he was getting ready to get a punch in the face but so far he gets none. And now it’s even harder to draw himself further when he was already this close, and he thinks he was going mad for thinking so many things at once.
“And,” Wonwoo continuously gulps, choking on his own saliva. “If you’re worthy enough, will you fight for the most wanted man in town yourself?”
“Probably,” Mingyu is dizzy. He’s looking at Wonwoo and he feels nostalgic for such sweet days he hasn’t even experienced yet. It makes him wanna light some candles and tuck the man into the bed until he sleeps alright, safe and sound. “But for now Mr. Handsome, it’s lunchtime. We gotta go back.”
Wonwoo’s face designating such a major loss after Mingyu draws himself further. The tall man offering his hand for him to stand, and Wonwoo reaches the palm and lock their hands as if it belonged there. In the middle of Spring wind passing through them, and the flowery scenery beyond their reach, he can feel the magic. He can feel the fairytale in Lormeadow.
***
A week later, Mingyu is on duty to deliver another package which arrived in the late evening to Wonwoo's house. It was his last before finally he can go home and rest himself so he hurriedly goes to the man’s house without any hesitant.
He finds the cat in the front door just like always, sleeping on top of the mat so peacefully. She opened her eyes when Mingyu kneeling down beside her and giving her the fluffiest pat. The cat purs and meowing, leaning into the man’s touch like a spoiled little beast. The cat shaking her tail, a sign that she’s very much liking what the man's currently doing. “Hi, Missy. Can you call your owner for me?”
She meows sadly.
“He’s not home?” She meows again. This time not letting Mingyu’s palm go. The tall man’s grinning at the act, shaking his head in disbelief. “Alright you needy little thing. Let’s wait until he’s home.”
Mingyu sits himself beside her, considering he’s not sure when will Wonwoo going to be home. His hands won't stop stroking above her fur, and the cat closes her eyes every time Mingyu pokes her nose. “I gotta admit, you’re the first cat I’ve ever treated this special. Look at me, accompanying you on this fine evening instead of resting myself home.”
Again, the cat only responded by meowing.
“I had a little dog back in my house… do you think you can manage to play with him if I let you two meet?” Mingyu asks. “Probably not, right? Since cats don’t get along with dogs? Alright, I won’t.”
Mingyu’s stomach suddenly grumbles and he throws his head back, laughing at himself. “That’s right, I’m hungry. And it’s all because of you.”
The cat suddenly gets herself up, crawling into Mingyu’s laps. Mingyu lets her while still laughing at the situation. But the thing is, he can see it. He can see the key right above where the cat previously sleep. It was there, all shimmering just for him but he just couldn’t himself to reach for it. He bewilderedly confused about what to do with it. So instead of making a big deal of the damn key, he hugs the cat even tighter, lullabying her to sleep.
“It was rude to open someone’s door when the owner is away, right?” Says Mingyu half-whisper, not sure if he talking to himself or to the cat.
But she meows for one last time before fall into a deep sleep in Mingyu’s arm.