Give & Take

Perhaps Friends

He didn't want to see Minhyun leave but knowing that Minhyun was important to the citizens, he knew he couldn't ask him to stay either. So he stood at the front door and waved to the hero who was heading up his carriage to leave for a couple of days. He promised he would be back so Baekho was going to wait for as long as he could. The urge to run away had already dropped considerably but maybe with Minhyun's absence, it might start resurfacing. Afraid of that, Baekho decided to walk around the house for the first time. He explored the mansion that he was actually staying in since Minhyun had allowed him to walk around as long as he didn't spoil or age anything. The maids and guards obviously avoided him, not because they knew of his powers but because Minhyun had once threatened them that their tongues be cut off in anyone dared to speak to Baekho without his permission. The innocent male took no notice of the staff avoiding him and just smiled brightly towards anyone he saw.

But he got lost.

Baekho blinked in confusion as he turned around. Did he come from there or was it there? The many hallways confused him. Unlike the forest where there were certain landmarks, the interior all had the same white walls void of any photographs or paintings. Minhyun preferred it that way after all. He saw a male holding onto some books and decided to walk up to him to help him get his bearing.

"Excuse me!" he called out to the other who looked about his age as well. The male turned and raised his brows.

"Hello."

Baekho smiled when the other replied him and didn't run away. "Hi. Uh... Could you help me get back to my room?"

"Your... Room?" the other replied with a confused tone. He also seemed clueless as to who Baekho was.

"Yes. Minhyun's room. I... Stay there."

"Oh. You're... I see. Well his room is that way and another flight of stairs up."

"Ah. Thank you so much." Baekho was about to leave but he felt like it was such a waste too. Someone was actually talking to him casually without a hint of fear or hesitation. "Uh... Do you like reading?"

"Hmm? Oh no. I was just borrowing some books from the young master's library for someone else. I'm actually the garden keeper. It's nice to meet you, uh..."

"Baekho."

"Baekho. I'm Jonghyun."

"Nice to meet you too, Jonghyun."

And they hit it off at once. Jonghyun was really friendly despite the initial awkward exchange and Baekho was really glad to find someone easygoing who he could speak. He kept his powers a secret though, not wanting to scare him off when he just met him. He also kept his hands and skin to himself, making sure there was always a distance between them as they headed to the garden together because Baekho wanted to see it. The garden was situated behind the house and there were rows of flowers all neatly planted. Baekho was surprised to find that each row was a different flower as Jonghyun introduced each one to him.

"The young master didn't like complex designs so there was a lot of work we put into making it look this neat," Jonghyun spoke casually and Baekho nodded, trying to listen although his focus had been snatched by the flowers. He really wanted to touch them but knew better than to do so even with gloves on. "These are jasmine flowers. They're my birth flowers. What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. Do you know what it is?"

Baekho shook his head and followed Jonghyun as the other made a small bouquet with 5 jasmine flowers. He tied them with a ribbon and handed it to Baekho with a bright smile. "For me?"