Chapter Five

"Okay Jaesung, who are you?" Yihai asked.

Jaesung frowned, but still answered anyway. "I just said I'm Kim Jaesung."

Yihai raised his face to the sky and released a breath then looked back at him. "I mean your identity, who-"

Suddenly Jaesung's eyes went wide and he pointed behind Yihai, shouting. "Look! A Phoenix."

Yihai did look back but then frowned as he turned back, realizing something and feeling utterly stupid. "Phoenix's don't-"

He was met with Jaesung offering him a huge ass red apple with a really cute laugh that his ears liked the sound of. "You fell for it. Here, let me be a good host. Welcome."

Yihai was wary but he collected the apple, rolling it around in his palms. "You didn't answer my question."

Jaesung grinned as he went deeper into the woods. "I'm Kim Jaesung the first, son of queen mother Jeongyeon."

Yihai wanted to bite something at how frustrating Jaesung was as he followed him, his steps tentative and slow while Jaesung kept greeting every bird he saw with that same big adorable grin and a wave.

"I don't remember being your friend," Yihai said straightforwardly to avoid the other male telling him his name for the fourth time. "To be honest, I don't remember much from when I was here and-"

Jaesung stopped abruptly and Yihai who was at least 14 feet behind him stopped also, staring at the back of his head with a weird look.

"What-?"

"It's a deer." Jaesung whispered, raising his hands to point behind drooping leaves at the shape of a deer feeding without a care. "They don't normally come out this much."

Yihai stared at the feeding deer for a while before deciding he doesn't care about it as he stepped forward, making a loud crunch noise of dried autumn leaves.

"Do you live around here? There's not a house for miles." Yihai asked and observed the deer raise it's head and look around in alarm before galloping off.

Jaesung stared at him with a sad pout. "You chased it away."

"You seem to know much about here," Yihai said, frustrated that the boy was blatantly ignoring his questions. "Do you come around here so often to know the deers don't come out much?"

Jaesung was about to speak when he looked beside Yihai and his eyes lit up. "Ah! There's a rock. I can't believe I missed it."

Yihai looked up at the branch obstructed sky as Jaesung went to pick up the rock, licking his lips and letting out a huge sigh. "You're not answering me. And I don't like it."

Jaesung straightened with the rock he was carrying, grinning at Yihai. "Sorry. I get distracted easily."

"No lie," Yihai shook his head. "What are you building anyway?"

"A hideout for squirrels."

The answer flowed so smoothly from his mouth it shocked Yihai and he wondered if he was the stupid one for thinking it sounded stupid.

"A... A hide out for squirrels." Yihai repeated slowly at Jaesung who was heading back to the first spot where they were.

"Yes," Jaesung replied easily again not seeming to mind the tone of Yihai's voice. "So they can hide their nuts there... but the rocks don't balance, they keep falling. I spent days on that one there."

They'd gotten back to the spot where Jaesung's squirrel hideout was and he squatted, gingerly keeping the rock he was with on top one. It rolled right off.

"Hot sauce." He said and Yihai wondered if he was actually swearing.

"So... you come all the way here everyday to build a squirrel hideout which they will probably never use."

The other male blew hair out his eyes in frustration before staring up at Yihai. "Why won't they use it?"

"You know there's a reason why squirrels hide their food inside a tree, high enough."

"Why?"

"So other greedy animals won't take it from there and that," Yihai pointed at the rocks, shaking his head. "That won't help in that plan."

Jaesung huffed. "They can use it for other things, animals are creative."

Unlike you, Yihai thought.

He walked to where Jaesung was and squatted beside the older, looking inside the tiny cave. "You used sticks?"

Jaesung nodded. "That took me a week to finish."

On a scale of 1-America how bored was this guy? Yihai thought, rolling the apple he was still holding and staring at Jaesung's side profile which was shockingly so pretty; his beautiful high nose, the rosy lips and the way his dyed-orange hair fell over his eyes.

"That should be enough for today," Jaesung stood and Yihai did too, still staring at Jaesung. The latter took a deep breath before turning to Yihai with a bright beam.

"How far do you come from to here? There isn't a house here for miles." Yihai spoke up, not forgetting his previous questions.

"There is." Jaesung's grin faded into a small smile.

"Which is where I live." Yihai deadpanned, while Jaesung moved, walking out towards the road side.

"Yeah..."

"Yeah... what?" Yihai turned and followed him, falling in step beside him. "What do you mean by "yeah"?"

Jaesung faced him, smiling. "Nothing really. I just stay around here."

Yihai decided to leave the answer at that. Maybe there was a house around here and he just didn't know.

"Do you want to see something cool?" Jaesung asked, grinning so wide Yihai blinked warily.

"Um.. Okay, sure." He said uncertainly then Jaesung grabbed his hands, moving right. His palms were so warm and soft, his grip firm.

"Are you like a family friend?" Yihai asked, skipping over a crawling root as Jaesung dragged him along. "Maybe the son of my dad's business partner?"

"Something like that," Jaesung said, bending under a hanging branch and waiting, carefully guiding Yihai, still holding him, until he bent and crossed over. "Careful!"

It was a bit too late as Yihai's left foot caught a protruded crawling root and he tripped, falling forward and into Jaesung's arms, making the latter stumble backwards but soon steadied himself and Yihai, his hands on the other male's waist.

Yihai looked up, Jaesung's cherry red lips being the first thing that met his eyes. He coughed and pulled away.

"Sorry about that."

Jaesung only beamed brightly. "It's okay. Come on."

Yihai followed Jaesung deeper into the woods, all the while wondering why his heart won't stop beating so fast.