Into your End of the World 9/16
title: Into your End of the World
chapter rating: PG
warnings: mild language
summary: Park Chanyeol works for the quasi-governmental System in the post-apocalyptic Seoul, leading a simple, dull life without close friends or keeping contact to his family. When he is given the job to trail a university student called Byun Baekhyun, everything seems to go smoothly - until Chanyeol gets an unexpected visit and a warning and finds the case he's involved in is much more cruel than he has expected.
story notes: See the foreword for more information on the story.
He takes a seat by Baekhyun's side. The song has come to an end, but the night has not, and Chanyeol feels the melody will continue soon just like it has, earlier. He feels warm sitting next to the boy whose skin looks smooth like polished bone, crystal clear and radiating. It is here that he finds comfort in this strange world void of memory except for the traces of bygones he can feel in his blood and soul. They bother his mind with questions: where has he come from, has he been here before, does he know this boy? Watching Baekhyun in the candlelight and what glow the lanterns give the night he feels he has seen the boy many times before in his life. He recognizes traces of his features, his eyes and his nose, the lips he licks at times, and the digits that come to play with locks of dark hair. Baekhyun twists strands around his delicate index finger and then pulls his hand away, the hair falling straight again. If he would continue this for a day, maybe a permanent curl would begin to form. His hands are graceful, somewhat small for a boy who appears Chanyeol's age, his fingers long and thin. Yet, even though his frame is short and his build slender under the badly mixing loose clothes, he doesn't appear weak, nor is he sturdy. There is something feeble about his being, like he might disappear any minute, just like the sun has fallen beyond the horizon. Chanyeol strains his mind to remember, to capture the memory that flies further slowly like a moth. The sound of its wings echoes in the maze of his past, but he cannot find it, and every time he catches a sign of it, it's already gone when he gets there. It is a frustrating chase. If only he could go back to where he remembered, and then travel here again to tell the brown haired boy. But he understands that's impossible. The man by the ferry has told him that he will get used to life here; it sounds like an implication as he thinks about it more.
"Why do you say I must leave?" he asks.
"You will forget", says Baekhyun, and it is clear in his voice he is sad, lost like a small animal. "And when you forget, you can not go back. You will become a part of the town." They sit in silence for a while, again. It isn't as deafening indoors at it is outdoors. It might be that they're talking. Hearing sounds so close by is reassuring, much like a signal that the quiet has not taken over them, too. It only roams the streets while the song rests. "Why have you come?"
Chanyeol looks down at the floorboards of dark wood. The contrast between the white walls and the dark wooden floors and doors is like that of black and white, night and day. The dark plank does not emit a worn glow, at all. "Why are the trees white?" he asks, dodging the question he cannot answer.
"It's spring", replies Baekhyun and nods. "As winter comes the trees grow old and dark."
"But they are white from spring till the beginning of winter?"
"From the day the leaves begin to grow till the day they fall and the trees become bare."
"They're beautiful during the spring", Chanyeol says a little idly.
"Why did you come?" Baekhyun asks again.
"I can't remember", Chanyeol shakes his head and looks at the dark eyes. They're beautiful. He could lose himself into the ebony pits. It's a strange sensation that does not fit the air in this town, and he can see something about how he feels is making Baekhyun frown slightly. "I remember little things. How the sky looks like. How I've seen you..."
"But we've never met", says the other.
"But I remember you."
Baekhyun does not reply for a good while, during which Chanyeol simply looks at him. Even if it was impossible for him to remember where he has seen the brown haired boy before, he feels no need to actually recall the details. Now as he's here, looking at the other, he feels Baekhyun might be the reason he has come. Inside of him, his memories remind him he must go, he must return to the person waiting for him. This is a dream he has fallen into, he concludes, a dream he must one time wake up from. He cannot stay. Baekhyun is right. And yet, he doesn't want to go. Something about this town that has forgotten feels inviting, like he belonged here. Is this something everyone who has come feels?
"Tell me about the sky elsewhere", Baekhyun pleads then.
Chanyeol smiles a little. "It's dark and vast", he tells, "but it doesn't go on forever like here. In the horizon there are mountains, sharp and large, and they surround every direction like they were cutting the earth from the skyline. There are stars, but they are not visible from the light that comes from the ground. There must be towns underneath that sky, lighting up the night. At day, it's sometimes grey, sometimes blue, and sometimes dark. There are thick clouds, thin clouds, clouds that look like something simply swept onto the sky. When it's blue, it's a brilliant azure, but it grows dark early. When it's dark, the lights make it glow a deep orange."
"Is it beautiful?" the boy asks, his voice quiet, and Chanyeol finds he has closed his eyes, maybe to imagine, like a child absorbed in a story. He is certain that behind the smooth eyelids Baekhyun can see the sky like he knows it, every detail of it.
"Yes", he nods. "It is. It's different."
"Here", says the brown haired boy quietly, "the sky is cold and distant."
"All the time?"
"All the time."
"Are there birds? I couldn't hear any", he asks thoughtfully. Since he has arrived, Chanyeol has not heard the sound of a single animal. Are they, too, listening to the silence and the song?
Baekhyun shakes his head a little. "Not now", he replies. "Only when summer comes. They fly from the South, across the sea, and they settle for a few moons."
"What about animals?"
"There are some by the shore."
Nodding a little, Chanyeol wonders whether they are animals he'd recognize, or something magical like the woods atop the hill or the melody of the night. He can hear sounds coming from outside, then, steps against the cobblestone, and he lifts his head to look toward the window. From here, nothing new can be seen. The light in the window, the lanterns outside, that is all, but the sound is there, tender like small drops of water caressed the streets. "Are there people outside?"
"They will sing again soon", Baekhyun says and his voice is idle. As Chanyeol looks he finds the boy still has his eyes closed. Maybe he is still lost in whatever he is imagining. "You don't need to meet them."
"Why?" Chanyeol asks.
"They've forgotten how it is to be with other people." Sorrow is thick in his voice as Baekhyun opens his eyes and directs his gaze to the dark wood floor. The planks are straight and well honed, but there is no polish on top. "It's not that they would be bad. They've just been here for so long, they do not know how to look people in the eye anymore."
"This place is sad", says Chanyeol quietly. "Beautiful, but sad."
"You must leave", Baekhyun says.
"I want to know what the songs are about", Chanyeol insists. "Please, tell me. If I leave, it'll be before daybreak, and I'll never know."
"If you promise you will leave, I will show you."
"I promise." He places his hand over his heart. Its beats are faint, difficult to feel, but he knows by the heat of his own body it must be beating fast.
Baekhyun stands up, and offers his hand. Chanyeol takes it, and the boy leads him down in the candlelight. For a while they stand in darkness once he has blown the flame out, and then the bright colours of the lanterns surround them as they step outside. Indeed there are people on the streets, but their numbers are fewer than he'd expected. They walk about like they had a destination, but Chanyeol is certain they do not have anywhere they are headed for. As they pass by, no one looks at his face, but it is clear they're curious as they gaze toward the two of them. All of them appear quite young, and their features are beautiful, angelic, mysterious, yet none of them attract him like the boy leading him by the hand. There are girls with long, wavy hair, their step light, and boys whose bodies move like those of cats, smooth and easy, not at all heavy or clumsy. It's like following a dance that has no set rhythm. Its flow is impossible to imitate.
They come to the square, and stop in front of a house Chanyeol has not noticed before. Its structure is sturdier than that of the rest, and it appears to be made of real white stone instead of wood. There's an archway that leads through to what appears to be a yard. They pass through, Baekhyun's hand never letting go of his, and finally come to a garden enclosed in the middle of the surrounding buildings. There are sleeping flowers of magnificent colours, delicate stone statues of more thoughtful angels like the one at the fountain, and elaborate benches of wood and black metal.
There are no people save for one young man who sits at a bench by a large blooming tree. The branches stem from the trunk and create a light green roof above the small enclosure where the bench is, shading from sun and moon. It seems to be a different tree, not entirely the same as those in the hills, as it also carries small, pink flowers, their petals vibrating when the breeze gets entangled in its embrace. Yet it is a white tree, giving the same light glow as those on the hills. Lone ivy climbs its side, large leaves spread open.
The young man appears to be asleep as they arrive, his eyes closed, hands on his lap. He wears a pair of canvas shoes; they appear old, worn out, a round label stitched on both having come off the other one. The remaining has a star on it. The shoes look like they've been through a lot, years of being walked in, and what colour they have been is difficult to say. Yet, Chanyeol feels they, too, hold some familiarity to him, like he'd seen the same pair, the same boy wearing them. It isn't as strong a sensation as when he looks to his side to see Baekhyun, but the peculiar feeling is there. The young man wears a curious ring in his hand, and unlike the shoes, it has kept its shine, sparkling like the stars in the light of the lanterns. He does not stir as they step closer.
Baekhyun reaches to give the other's arm a nudge that causes the young man to open his eyes a little. His hair is messy, dark in colour, darker than Baekhyun's, his eyes not as bottomless. He reaches to rub them with the ringless hand. It's almost like a ritual: he pays care to every movement as he stretches his arms and rubs his neck and finally looks at the two of them. Seeing Baekhyun does not seem to surprise him, but as he lays his eyes upon Chanyeol, a small frown knits his dark brows together. Even in the light of the lanterns and the shade of the white tree it is possible to see his skin is much darker than that of Baekhyun's, and Chanyeol wonders if this is where he lives, in the small garden, enjoying the sun every day.
"I must go", says Baekhyun, and his thin fingers slip Chanyeol's hand. "I will be back when the song ends."
Chanyeol has no time, no chance to ask him where is he headed as the boy is already on his way, disappearing to the shadow of the archway. He looks after his figure until he can't see the other, anymore. He feels lost without the boy's ebony eyes.
"He goes to sing", says the boy seated on the bench. "Soon enough you'll hear."
Looking back at him Chanyeol finds himself staring at the other in the eyes. There is a dash of curiosity in the gaze, yet it's only a hint, the rest shaded by weariness. He still appears tired.
"Who are you?" he asks the young man who averts his eyes at last, looking up toward the tree leaves and what sky can be seen past the branches above their heads.
"You're new", replies the other. "New and different. Concerning yourself with names."
"I do not intend to stay", Chanyeol says. The gaze returns to him briefly. "What is your name? What do they call you?"
"They do not call me anything, no one bothers to", he says slowly. "But you insist. You can call me Kai."
It is not a familiar name, but Chanyeol accepts it, nodding his head. Somehow, he has imagined this person to have a slightly longer name, one not so easy to breathe out, but he must be mistaken. And if not, maybe this person has forgotten what they were called before. "Tell me about the songs", he pleads.
Just as he has exhaled his question the night is filled by the melody, again. Only now does he realize the previous song has sounded so different as he has not heard that strong, lovely voice in harmony with the others. He closes his eyes, lets the notes pass through him. The sound makes his heart flutter, and he does not feel the need to go. If this beautiful song fills each night here, why would he not stay and listen to it forever? But Baekhyun tells him to leave, to go as soon as he can.
"In this town", says Kai, then, and Chanyeol opens his eyes. "In this town where our pasts have been torn from our bodies and memory does not follow us, it is here that we remain and sing. We sing songs we do not understand."
"Why do you not understand?"
"They are too complicated in word and language, too much meaning lies hidden in their melodies, it is like hearing something for the millionth time but having lost ability to comprehend." Kai shakes his head a little, and beckons toward the bench; Chanyeol takes a seat by him, but the warmth emitting from the other's body is cooler than that of Baekhyun's. It does not make him feel as much at home as it makes him feel like an outsider. Kai looks at the lanterns, and then continues. "Most of these people have seen too few winters, they wouldn't be old enough to possibly have experienced any of the things they sing about: love, longing, lost emotion..."
Nodding his head a little Chanyeol realizes he has seen this all upon walking past the people on the cobblestone streets. They have forgotten, they do not know where have they come from. How in a place like this where they have forgotten how to look other people in the eye could they know of these feelings? It makes his heart heavy. He knows these things, deep inside of him. He knows he has felt love; he still feels longing. These things feed the fire that burns within him.
"You still seem to have it in you", Kai says. Chanyeol looks at him, slightly surprised, as he has plunged into his own thoughts for a while. "You understand the mind, you still have memory in you. These words revoke a feeling of nostalgia, of sentiment in you. You might be able to recall what the words carry within, what they truly mean."
"If I leave", Chanyeol says slowly, "I will not recall this place."
"That is true."
"And if I stay, I will forget about where I've come from."
"Yes."
"So I have to choose", he concludes. Kai nods beside him, but his eyes are elsewhere. "If I were to write what I've seen here, would I be able to remember?"
"The man at the ferry won't let you board if you bring anything with you", says Kai with a hum.
"Who is he? What is this world?"
"This is an island", says the other and stays quiet for a while as they both listen to the song. Chanyeol can hear the sweet voice he can remember from elsewhere carry the beautiful melody. "Every day at dusk the ferry arrives to the pier, and the man stays to listen to our songs. And every dawn at sunrise he leaves. He does not speak to those of the town, those who have lost memory. Only those who still remember can board and leave this place."
"It's a difficult choice."
"You'll do right by following your heart."
They listen to the song without a word until it comes to an end. As the town grows silent, again, Chanyeol can hear only one pair of smooth steps, and soon, the brown haired boy returns to the garden. He does not seem exhausted. Instead there is a glow in his eyes, one thick with emotion. He takes Chanyeol's hand, and as they make their leave without saying a thing, Chanyeol finds Kai has closed his eyes, probably to sleep again.
"You have learned of the songs, now", says Baekhyun. "I've kept my end of the bargain."
"Please, don't make me leave yet", Chanyeol breathes out. They've come far from the garden already, but which way are they going, he cannot tell. Every street looks the same, dyed in the hues of the colourful lanterns. "The night is not over, yet, and the ferry won't leave until dawn."
Baekhyun hesitates, but Chanyeol can see in his eyes he agrees. What Chanyeol says is true. The sky remains dark, and it is certain there's still time before dawn. The boy's step weavers, and then, he leads them down a different road. "All right", he says, and smiles.
chapter rating: PG
warnings: mild language
summary: Park Chanyeol works for the quasi-governmental System in the post-apocalyptic Seoul, leading a simple, dull life without close friends or keeping contact to his family. When he is given the job to trail a university student called Byun Baekhyun, everything seems to go smoothly - until Chanyeol gets an unexpected visit and a warning and finds the case he's involved in is much more cruel than he has expected.
story notes: See the foreword for more information on the story.
He takes a seat by Baekhyun's side. The song has come to an end, but the night has not, and Chanyeol feels the melody will continue soon just like it has, earlier. He feels warm sitting next to the boy whose skin looks smooth like polished bone, crystal clear and radiating. It is here that he finds comfort in this strange world void of memory except for the traces of bygones he can feel in his blood and soul. They bother his mind with questions: where has he come from, has he been here before, does he know this boy? Watching Baekhyun in the candlelight and what glow the lanterns give the night he feels he has seen the boy many times before in his life. He recognizes traces of his features, his eyes and his nose, the lips he licks at times, and the digits that come to play with locks of dark hair. Baekhyun twists strands around his delicate index finger and then pulls his hand away, the hair falling straight again. If he would continue this for a day, maybe a permanent curl would begin to form. His hands are graceful, somewhat small for a boy who appears Chanyeol's age, his fingers long and thin. Yet, even though his frame is short and his build slender under the badly mixing loose clothes, he doesn't appear weak, nor is he sturdy. There is something feeble about his being, like he might disappear any minute, just like the sun has fallen beyond the horizon. Chanyeol strains his mind to remember, to capture the memory that flies further slowly like a moth. The sound of its wings echoes in the maze of his past, but he cannot find it, and every time he catches a sign of it, it's already gone when he gets there. It is a frustrating chase. If only he could go back to where he remembered, and then travel here again to tell the brown haired boy. But he understands that's impossible. The man by the ferry has told him that he will get used to life here; it sounds like an implication as he thinks about it more.
"Why do you say I must leave?" he asks.
"You will forget", says Baekhyun, and it is clear in his voice he is sad, lost like a small animal. "And when you forget, you can not go back. You will become a part of the town." They sit in silence for a while, again. It isn't as deafening indoors at it is outdoors. It might be that they're talking. Hearing sounds so close by is reassuring, much like a signal that the quiet has not taken over them, too. It only roams the streets while the song rests. "Why have you come?"
Chanyeol looks down at the floorboards of dark wood. The contrast between the white walls and the dark wooden floors and doors is like that of black and white, night and day. The dark plank does not emit a worn glow, at all. "Why are the trees white?" he asks, dodging the question he cannot answer.
"It's spring", replies Baekhyun and nods. "As winter comes the trees grow old and dark."
"But they are white from spring till the beginning of winter?"
"From the day the leaves begin to grow till the day they fall and the trees become bare."
"They're beautiful during the spring", Chanyeol says a little idly.
"Why did you come?" Baekhyun asks again.
"I can't remember", Chanyeol shakes his head and looks at the dark eyes. They're beautiful. He could lose himself into the ebony pits. It's a strange sensation that does not fit the air in this town, and he can see something about how he feels is making Baekhyun frown slightly. "I remember little things. How the sky looks like. How I've seen you..."
"But we've never met", says the other.
"But I remember you."
Baekhyun does not reply for a good while, during which Chanyeol simply looks at him. Even if it was impossible for him to remember where he has seen the brown haired boy before, he feels no need to actually recall the details. Now as he's here, looking at the other, he feels Baekhyun might be the reason he has come. Inside of him, his memories remind him he must go, he must return to the person waiting for him. This is a dream he has fallen into, he concludes, a dream he must one time wake up from. He cannot stay. Baekhyun is right. And yet, he doesn't want to go. Something about this town that has forgotten feels inviting, like he belonged here. Is this something everyone who has come feels?
"Tell me about the sky elsewhere", Baekhyun pleads then.
Chanyeol smiles a little. "It's dark and vast", he tells, "but it doesn't go on forever like here. In the horizon there are mountains, sharp and large, and they surround every direction like they were cutting the earth from the skyline. There are stars, but they are not visible from the light that comes from the ground. There must be towns underneath that sky, lighting up the night. At day, it's sometimes grey, sometimes blue, and sometimes dark. There are thick clouds, thin clouds, clouds that look like something simply swept onto the sky. When it's blue, it's a brilliant azure, but it grows dark early. When it's dark, the lights make it glow a deep orange."
"Is it beautiful?" the boy asks, his voice quiet, and Chanyeol finds he has closed his eyes, maybe to imagine, like a child absorbed in a story. He is certain that behind the smooth eyelids Baekhyun can see the sky like he knows it, every detail of it.
"Yes", he nods. "It is. It's different."
"Here", says the brown haired boy quietly, "the sky is cold and distant."
"All the time?"
"All the time."
"Are there birds? I couldn't hear any", he asks thoughtfully. Since he has arrived, Chanyeol has not heard the sound of a single animal. Are they, too, listening to the silence and the song?
Baekhyun shakes his head a little. "Not now", he replies. "Only when summer comes. They fly from the South, across the sea, and they settle for a few moons."
"What about animals?"
"There are some by the shore."
Nodding a little, Chanyeol wonders whether they are animals he'd recognize, or something magical like the woods atop the hill or the melody of the night. He can hear sounds coming from outside, then, steps against the cobblestone, and he lifts his head to look toward the window. From here, nothing new can be seen. The light in the window, the lanterns outside, that is all, but the sound is there, tender like small drops of water caressed the streets. "Are there people outside?"
"They will sing again soon", Baekhyun says and his voice is idle. As Chanyeol looks he finds the boy still has his eyes closed. Maybe he is still lost in whatever he is imagining. "You don't need to meet them."
"Why?" Chanyeol asks.
"They've forgotten how it is to be with other people." Sorrow is thick in his voice as Baekhyun opens his eyes and directs his gaze to the dark wood floor. The planks are straight and well honed, but there is no polish on top. "It's not that they would be bad. They've just been here for so long, they do not know how to look people in the eye anymore."
"This place is sad", says Chanyeol quietly. "Beautiful, but sad."
"You must leave", Baekhyun says.
"I want to know what the songs are about", Chanyeol insists. "Please, tell me. If I leave, it'll be before daybreak, and I'll never know."
"If you promise you will leave, I will show you."
"I promise." He places his hand over his heart. Its beats are faint, difficult to feel, but he knows by the heat of his own body it must be beating fast.
Baekhyun stands up, and offers his hand. Chanyeol takes it, and the boy leads him down in the candlelight. For a while they stand in darkness once he has blown the flame out, and then the bright colours of the lanterns surround them as they step outside. Indeed there are people on the streets, but their numbers are fewer than he'd expected. They walk about like they had a destination, but Chanyeol is certain they do not have anywhere they are headed for. As they pass by, no one looks at his face, but it is clear they're curious as they gaze toward the two of them. All of them appear quite young, and their features are beautiful, angelic, mysterious, yet none of them attract him like the boy leading him by the hand. There are girls with long, wavy hair, their step light, and boys whose bodies move like those of cats, smooth and easy, not at all heavy or clumsy. It's like following a dance that has no set rhythm. Its flow is impossible to imitate.
They come to the square, and stop in front of a house Chanyeol has not noticed before. Its structure is sturdier than that of the rest, and it appears to be made of real white stone instead of wood. There's an archway that leads through to what appears to be a yard. They pass through, Baekhyun's hand never letting go of his, and finally come to a garden enclosed in the middle of the surrounding buildings. There are sleeping flowers of magnificent colours, delicate stone statues of more thoughtful angels like the one at the fountain, and elaborate benches of wood and black metal.
There are no people save for one young man who sits at a bench by a large blooming tree. The branches stem from the trunk and create a light green roof above the small enclosure where the bench is, shading from sun and moon. It seems to be a different tree, not entirely the same as those in the hills, as it also carries small, pink flowers, their petals vibrating when the breeze gets entangled in its embrace. Yet it is a white tree, giving the same light glow as those on the hills. Lone ivy climbs its side, large leaves spread open.
The young man appears to be asleep as they arrive, his eyes closed, hands on his lap. He wears a pair of canvas shoes; they appear old, worn out, a round label stitched on both having come off the other one. The remaining has a star on it. The shoes look like they've been through a lot, years of being walked in, and what colour they have been is difficult to say. Yet, Chanyeol feels they, too, hold some familiarity to him, like he'd seen the same pair, the same boy wearing them. It isn't as strong a sensation as when he looks to his side to see Baekhyun, but the peculiar feeling is there. The young man wears a curious ring in his hand, and unlike the shoes, it has kept its shine, sparkling like the stars in the light of the lanterns. He does not stir as they step closer.
Baekhyun reaches to give the other's arm a nudge that causes the young man to open his eyes a little. His hair is messy, dark in colour, darker than Baekhyun's, his eyes not as bottomless. He reaches to rub them with the ringless hand. It's almost like a ritual: he pays care to every movement as he stretches his arms and rubs his neck and finally looks at the two of them. Seeing Baekhyun does not seem to surprise him, but as he lays his eyes upon Chanyeol, a small frown knits his dark brows together. Even in the light of the lanterns and the shade of the white tree it is possible to see his skin is much darker than that of Baekhyun's, and Chanyeol wonders if this is where he lives, in the small garden, enjoying the sun every day.
"I must go", says Baekhyun, and his thin fingers slip Chanyeol's hand. "I will be back when the song ends."
Chanyeol has no time, no chance to ask him where is he headed as the boy is already on his way, disappearing to the shadow of the archway. He looks after his figure until he can't see the other, anymore. He feels lost without the boy's ebony eyes.
"He goes to sing", says the boy seated on the bench. "Soon enough you'll hear."
Looking back at him Chanyeol finds himself staring at the other in the eyes. There is a dash of curiosity in the gaze, yet it's only a hint, the rest shaded by weariness. He still appears tired.
"Who are you?" he asks the young man who averts his eyes at last, looking up toward the tree leaves and what sky can be seen past the branches above their heads.
"You're new", replies the other. "New and different. Concerning yourself with names."
"I do not intend to stay", Chanyeol says. The gaze returns to him briefly. "What is your name? What do they call you?"
"They do not call me anything, no one bothers to", he says slowly. "But you insist. You can call me Kai."
It is not a familiar name, but Chanyeol accepts it, nodding his head. Somehow, he has imagined this person to have a slightly longer name, one not so easy to breathe out, but he must be mistaken. And if not, maybe this person has forgotten what they were called before. "Tell me about the songs", he pleads.
Just as he has exhaled his question the night is filled by the melody, again. Only now does he realize the previous song has sounded so different as he has not heard that strong, lovely voice in harmony with the others. He closes his eyes, lets the notes pass through him. The sound makes his heart flutter, and he does not feel the need to go. If this beautiful song fills each night here, why would he not stay and listen to it forever? But Baekhyun tells him to leave, to go as soon as he can.
"In this town", says Kai, then, and Chanyeol opens his eyes. "In this town where our pasts have been torn from our bodies and memory does not follow us, it is here that we remain and sing. We sing songs we do not understand."
"Why do you not understand?"
"They are too complicated in word and language, too much meaning lies hidden in their melodies, it is like hearing something for the millionth time but having lost ability to comprehend." Kai shakes his head a little, and beckons toward the bench; Chanyeol takes a seat by him, but the warmth emitting from the other's body is cooler than that of Baekhyun's. It does not make him feel as much at home as it makes him feel like an outsider. Kai looks at the lanterns, and then continues. "Most of these people have seen too few winters, they wouldn't be old enough to possibly have experienced any of the things they sing about: love, longing, lost emotion..."
Nodding his head a little Chanyeol realizes he has seen this all upon walking past the people on the cobblestone streets. They have forgotten, they do not know where have they come from. How in a place like this where they have forgotten how to look other people in the eye could they know of these feelings? It makes his heart heavy. He knows these things, deep inside of him. He knows he has felt love; he still feels longing. These things feed the fire that burns within him.
"You still seem to have it in you", Kai says. Chanyeol looks at him, slightly surprised, as he has plunged into his own thoughts for a while. "You understand the mind, you still have memory in you. These words revoke a feeling of nostalgia, of sentiment in you. You might be able to recall what the words carry within, what they truly mean."
"If I leave", Chanyeol says slowly, "I will not recall this place."
"That is true."
"And if I stay, I will forget about where I've come from."
"Yes."
"So I have to choose", he concludes. Kai nods beside him, but his eyes are elsewhere. "If I were to write what I've seen here, would I be able to remember?"
"The man at the ferry won't let you board if you bring anything with you", says Kai with a hum.
"Who is he? What is this world?"
"This is an island", says the other and stays quiet for a while as they both listen to the song. Chanyeol can hear the sweet voice he can remember from elsewhere carry the beautiful melody. "Every day at dusk the ferry arrives to the pier, and the man stays to listen to our songs. And every dawn at sunrise he leaves. He does not speak to those of the town, those who have lost memory. Only those who still remember can board and leave this place."
"It's a difficult choice."
"You'll do right by following your heart."
They listen to the song without a word until it comes to an end. As the town grows silent, again, Chanyeol can hear only one pair of smooth steps, and soon, the brown haired boy returns to the garden. He does not seem exhausted. Instead there is a glow in his eyes, one thick with emotion. He takes Chanyeol's hand, and as they make their leave without saying a thing, Chanyeol finds Kai has closed his eyes, probably to sleep again.
"You have learned of the songs, now", says Baekhyun. "I've kept my end of the bargain."
"Please, don't make me leave yet", Chanyeol breathes out. They've come far from the garden already, but which way are they going, he cannot tell. Every street looks the same, dyed in the hues of the colourful lanterns. "The night is not over, yet, and the ferry won't leave until dawn."
Baekhyun hesitates, but Chanyeol can see in his eyes he agrees. What Chanyeol says is true. The sky remains dark, and it is certain there's still time before dawn. The boy's step weavers, and then, he leads them down a different road. "All right", he says, and smiles.