remember me [kiho, kihyun x wonho]

-12-

Back in the present, the sun has fully risen and the village has begun to fully come to life around them, little by little, like a flower opening to bloom. And even now, after living here for years, there are still things that Hoseok will never quite get used to, things that still amaze him day after day no matter how mundane that they may seem.

The compound was often silent and still, but in a much different way than the village's peace and quiet. Instead, the compound had always felt cold, impersonal, uncaring, dead even in the busiest parts of the day, and that feeling of isolation was always present, always strong. Even with so many others living there, even with so many others around him at all times, Hoseok had always felt alone at the compound, no matter where he was, or what he was doing, or who he was with.

That had all changed when he had met Kihyun, of course, but the very nature of the compound, and everyone in it, well...that had been something set in stone for centuries, since its founding, seemingly unable and unwilling to change.

But in the village, things couldn't be more different. Here, the mornings are alive and bright, and the day only grows brighter, busier as the hours go on. The atmosphere of energy never dissipates, the village itself like a living, breathing thing, and even when he's physically alone, doing some task by himself or gone off to somewhere by himself, he never truly feels alone. He knows it in his bones that he's never truly alone when he's here, when he's surrounded by everyone and everything within these gates that he's grown to care so deeply for.

And in the compound, isolation was written into every aspect of their existence, even down to the separation into alpha, beta, omega, but here in the village, everyone works together, blends together, coexists, and most importantly, everyone is free to choose their own path, and they can choose it because they want it, never out of a reluctant sense of obligation or the threat of force.

Everyone here always has a choice, and that choice, that freedom is what makes all the difference. Perhaps what tells the most is that unlike at the compound with its huge walls and guards, villagers here have no obligation to stay if they don't want to, but the truth is, nearly everyone born into the village, and nearly everyone who finds their way to this wonderful place, ends up staying here for the rest of their lives.

Hoseok knows that it's something that the villagers probably take for granted, especially those who have lived here for their entire lives, and those who have lived here for so long that they've forgotten entirely the dark past that they've left behind. But for Hoseok, it's all still there, all still lurking in the back of everything that he thinks and feels here, and even when he begins to feel like it's starting to slip away, even when he feels like he's beginning to only remember his life, his real life, as always being here, he always appreciates what a miracle it is, never takes it for granted that he was given a second chance.

There's something truly remarkable, truly special about living in a place that's so bright. So...alive. That's what it is, Hoseok realizes, that's what makes the village so special, and so different from everything that he had ever known and everything that he had left behind.

Where the village is life, the compound was death.

Everything was about death, everything revolved around death, always. It was like death was in the air, etched into everyone's minds, etched into everyone's core from the moment when they were born and for every moment after.

Mating was done to perpetuate the lineage, to prevent the death of their species. Alphas, betas, omegas were all separated and given specific roles to prevent the death of the community, of the strict order that the elders had long ago established. Disobedience and incompetence were punished by death, and everyone stayed in line, stayed in their place for fear of death. Some secretly wished for death when they thought that it was the only way to escape.