» floor two

@[f] choi siwon It was eerily silent that day. It was almost creepy to be walking around the asylum but mostly peaceful. Since he couldn't speak, he was kind if happy to not be hearing the yells and screams of the other patients. However, the silence was a new level of loud for Jongdae. Because of his disability, he gained a new one. His observation skills improved as well as did his hearing. It was as if every little thing was amplified. Every sound, louder than it should.
Deciding that it was enough, Chen jumped out of bed and slowly opened the door and walked out from his dorm. Taking a small stroll, though the hallway on his floor, he looked around and went over the details of the building he had remembered years before as a kid. Not looking where he was going, he bumped into a hard chest and stumbled backwards a bit.
When he regained his balance, he bowed immediately and rubbed his hands in a sorry manner, hoping that whoever he bumped into would get that he was a mute and sympathized him enough to forgive him.

Despite the cynical grin on the male's face, Yixing didn't shrink back as most counselors had been taught to, being told that very off patients who did things like that should be ultimately left along, instead he sat still, listening to what the other had to say about his reasoning as to why he wasn't beautiful. Even as he listened, taking in every word of it like a sponge soaking up water, he still didn't understand, he wasn't convinced at all that Chanyeol was ugly on the inside. Sure, the other probably wasn't exactly pure, but neither were any of the so-called perfect people, Yixing for sure, wasn't. If anything, he was just as tainted as some of the flawed here. Not to mention that in his lifetime, Yixing had come across a lot of people with ugly souls, and he could list off every single one. Yixing had come across so many in fact, that he knew they all had something in common, he just couldn't put his finger on it, whatever it was though, he knew for sure Chanyeol didn't have.

Just as the counselor opened his mouth to argue that the other wasn't, Chanyeol asked him about his job as a counselor, and in an instant, Yixing's eyes brightened as he momentarily forgot about the previous topic they had just been conversing about. Yixing was very passionate about his job, and it could be seen in the way his face lit up. "Well my job is to look after the patients, and get a good understanding of them. I'm like a go to person really. I befriend all the patients I'm assigned, and even go out of my way to talk to the rest as well. I also handle any conflict among workers and patients. It's also my job to subtly lead the patient in the right direction towards perfection, so that one day they will get there." He said, sighing happily as he stared at the other, his eyes sparkling. "I love it. It's not boring at all! Getting to meet every single one, and getting to know them makes me so happy! They're all such lovely people, and I'm sure you'll make friends here fast especially since you're so beautiful and nice!" He exclaimed giving a thumbs up and a small laugh.

@[w] zhang yixing "Hahaha... You didn't get me, do you?" The young park chuckled softly, not a fake one tho, eyes turning into crescent shapes, disappearing behind his cheeks as a cynical grin grin crept upon his lips. The denotation of beautiful doesn't lay in the exterior appearance (tho it also defines beauty) but also the interior. Which is hidden from outside world through the masks human wears to hide it's hideous self. You can't never know what a soul thinks when no one is around or what it feels or what it desires. It can be a cunning one, pretending to be noble for the eyes of society or a broken one being controlled by someone yet they presents themselves as a perfect being. Are they beautiful? Nope? A human with a void soul never be beautiful, not him. Like those twisted souls, he also hides things. Things that are filled with hatred, despair, anxiety. His soul isn't a beautiful being. Its a demon in angel's disguise.

Beautiful. Only in his day dreams the term exist.

"I'm not beautiful. Not even a bit." He sighed out, reaching up to take the mirror away from the other's grasp and placed it beside the chair next to him; offering a soft albeit broken smile. "Its not my face or anything that has to do with being beautiful, yixing. I'm not like those who are pure by heart. By soul or any means." The boy whispered, crossing his hands over his chest, back leaning against the metal chair as he gazed above at the ceiling. He bit down on his lip, dwelling whether be should let Yixing see the real 'Chanyeol' hiding underneath the skin. And he couldn't bring himself to disappoint someone as kind as him.

"Hhhh.... Soooooooo what is your job as a counselor? Is it interesting in any way or you get bored easily?" He asked, trying to change the subject. He tried to look curious and all eager to know tho he really wasn't. What's so exciting about counseled job anyway.

Now, even though Yixing was a counselor and was trained to notice the good points of patients so that he could point them and thus boost their confidence, he figured that even someone who wasn't formally trained to do so would see that the other was beautiful. It was simply using one's eyes to see that. Yixing knew for a fact that the other was beautiful, even if he didn't fit to all of society's standards of what a beautiful person was, in the counselor's mind the standards didn't matter. He loathed the standards that society had put up as they, in the end, created a homogeneous society, void of any type of unique traits. In the end, they were are all, pale, large eyed, smart, charming, a nationalist, thin, and although Yixing disliked these standards, the government had claimed that he was the perfect example of a perfect citizen; it was quite an oxymoron in a sense. However, the counselor liked to think he was different, although he was sure that deep inside, the patients here saw him as nothing more than a shrink hired by the government to 'fix' them. Just that thought was enough for Yixing to want to prove that he wasn't like that, not only to Chanyeol but to everyone else here. It wouldn't be as easy as it seemed though, since Yixing couldn't help but notice the way Chanyeol avoided eye contact with him for while.

It seemed as if the compliment he had given only made it worse, as the male wasn't even looking around anymore, but instead right at the floor. Yixing wasn't going to take it back though, he was serious about his compliment, and he never took back things unless it had been hurtful to someone. His compliment wasn't hurtful. He immediately nodded to the other's question, a smile on his face, that soon turned faint as Chanyeol dismissed his compliment. Right, he was flawed. And Yixing was perfect. Which meant that ultimately, he was better than Chanyeol, or at least that's what the government told him along with every other member of society. Such a thought made Yixing sick to his stomach. He didn't like to think that he was better than someone, because in his mind, he wasn't. If anything he was just as flawed as the male beside him, but Yixing was a good actor and had managed to not only slip under the government's radar, but even be commended by them for being one of the few people willing to be dedicated to helping the flawed. Therefore that meant that since he was flawed, he couldn't be considered beautiful; Yixing frowned briefly at the thought, because he knew that was what the government had beat into everyone's minds, that the flawed were just that and nothing more, flawed.

Turning in his seat to better face the other, Yixing had a determined look on his face, as he was determined to make Chanyeol see that having flaws wasn't bad at all. Even though he had been hired to do the exact opposite, tell patients that having flaws was horrible and they had to work to rid of them, there was no way Yixing was going to follow that. "Just because you're considered flawed doesn't mean that you're not beautiful! There's nothing wrong with having flaws, and that doesn't make you any less of a beautiful person, so I don't want to hear you give the excuse that just because you're labeled as flawed means you aren't beautiful, because that just is not true!" The counselor ranted, his Korean becoming more and more flawed and slurred as he got worked up, quite a bad habit of his as his emotions could affect his language abilities. "Should I bring out a mirror and show you how beautiful you are?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

@[w] zhang yixing His confused orbs darted around everywhere except the angelic being next to him, letting out soft hums as a sign of acknowledgement, playing with his fingers; he does that when he feels lost. He couldn't be more rude than he was to the other at first. No matter how he personally felt. Being rude is still rude. He oh so secretly took glances at the other's features once in a while through his peripheral vision. Truth to be told, he sort of found the other quite good looking and that soft smile of the counselor can melt one to poodle of goo. Don't forget to add the pleasant voice to hear (if he isn't in this kind of situation, he'd have praised the other like a fan). What amused him that despite his state, his unhealthy obsession for fire, the other treated him like a human.

It's not like he was bullied or anything related to that kind of thing. Once you're labeled as something different from others, it'll stay like that till you die. In Chanyeol's case, his status made him stand out of the crowd. They assumed things about him without even considering his feelings. Some hated him which he didn't give a flying . Some admired or worshiped him but no body dared to befriend him. There's a difference in liking and admiring. He was the so called brilliant gray alien among the crowd of bright teens only for looking from afar.

It's silly to think that if you've money, you won't face problems. That's bull. He remembered the life he had been living. Wake up early & take pills. Go to school. Go to extra classes. Come home for dinner. Study till late night. Then sleep for three to four hours. Some nights he couldn't even sleep. His life .

Now he was giving faint attention to yixing until he heard something unbelievable. Yixing think his is beautiful? Which is something new since he was being teased for having elf like ears, unbelievable high, a voice that mismatches his baby face by the male population, mostly and even some girls too.

"Beautiful." Chanyeol mumbled to himself. The word rang in his hears. Beautiful, who? Him? A frown crept upon his face. He is anything but beautiful. A flawed one to boot. "Are you joking, yixing?" He asked in a whisper, lowering his head down. "I don't think there's something beautiful about me. I'm a flawed one, remember." He paused for a while, his brows kitted together. "Ah...never mind." He heaved out a sigh, shaking his head and stretched his limbs; eyes closed. He wanted to ask why some is being so nice to him. If it is out of pity, he doesn't need it. He can take the truth. Its not a big deal. A lot of things raced through his tired mind, giving unwanted stress to him.

Dam it. He should have just stayed in his room for good. Meddling with others here won't do any good to him. He thought, biting his inner cheek.

@[f] park chanyeol Even though the other was staring at him as if he expected the counselor to disappear at any second, Yixing wasn't at all affected, though it was mostly because he, himself, couldn't help but stare at the other too. Regardless, he was quite used to being stared at, because he was just the type of person who stood out. Now, that could either be positive or negative, but usually it was positive since he seemed to be so bright and happy that he couldn't help but stand out. Yixing stood out in all the right ways, which is exactly why the government had put him down as perfect, although if they had known about just how flawed Yixing truly was, they wouldn't have done so. But knowing that, Yixing always kept that part of him locked away, instead showing only the perfect side to others; it was practically for survival at this point.

Quite intrigued with how politely the other responded, Yixing tilted his head, the smile on his face growing just a bit more. Yixing had come across polite patients before, but this one was had the tone of someone who had been raised to be a gentleman. Although Yixing wasn't particularly surprised, he had read through the other's file of course, and knew that he was from a very well off family. The other counselors had said it was a shame that he was so flawed or else he could have been the perfect man, but Yixing had silently begged to differ; in his eyes, it was such flaws that made people perfect. Of course he hadn't said that aloud, although he was optimistic and naive, he knew that the government didn't take kindly to those who didn't agree with their policies, specifically their perfect society policy. However, every time he had the chance, he subtly told and showed the patients that they shouldn't be ashamed of who they are. Yixing hoped that one day everyone would see that there was nothing wrong with being flawed, but the other counselors had nearly killed that hope, stating that the perfect society was there to stay.

Laughing softly as the other addressed him formally, Yixing quickly shook his head. He was quite humble, and didn't like for others to address him in such a formal, higher rank way, though he had no problem doing that to others. "You don't have to call me Mr or Sir or anything. Just Yixing is fine!" He quickly corrected, giving a thumbs up and smiling. His smile threatened to falter as he noticed Chanyeol's own small smile turn into a frown, but he managed to keep his own up. "It's nice to see you too Chanyeol, and I hope we can see each other a whole lot more now. I'm sure we will though." Yixing said, giving a soft shrug of the shoulder. He, as well as other counselors, frequented the halls of floor two, though he was usually on the upper floors more than he was down here, as he was the only one who didn't mind going up to the dangerous floor.

Only now noticing that he was staring, Yixing glanced away momentarily before looking back to Chanyeol, this time without staring. He wasn't at all bothered by the slightly harsh tone the other used, only running a hand through his hair, brushing brunette locks back before allowing them to rest on his forehead once more. "Oh, I was actually looking for you because I wanted to see how you were adjusting to life here. Everything is fine, right?" He exclaimed and then tilted his head. He hoped that the other was getting along fine, but he knew that going from a home with your family to an asylum just had to be traumatizing in some type of way. "Sorry about staring." He apologized, giving a light bow of the head before sitting down on the chair just beside Chanyeol's. "But you're really beautiful!" He added in truthfully, giving a prompt nod of the head.

@[w] zhang yixing "I'll come to see you soon, Chanyeol ah!" The petite figure of a young lady whispered softly, standing at the exit of the room, upper half turned toward him. Her eyes were moist, beads of tears pooling up at the corner. She gave a soft yet broken smile, waiting for beloved son's reply.

"Mhmn.." That's all what she got from the said son who was blankly staring at nothing on particular. His brown orbs were dull. It's not like he hates his mother but sometimes love isn't enough. Not for him. He is tired of being what he isn't. Loving in a shell made of society and status, of Rich's stupid pride. Everything has a price to pay. Nothing comes without a cost. And what he had to pay is too much for him. "Be good." She said before going out & closed the door shut.

That was days ago when he arrived at the asylum.

"Be good? I always am, mother." He mumbled bitterly, laying down the bed on his back, arms folded under his head to support his head. He smiled then frowned and again smiled. He was loosing it. He knew it. It had been a while since the last time he played with fire. He wants to touch it, smell it, feel the heat on his skin. Every fiber of his being is longing for the flames of many shades. to be stuck here. His cheeks puffed out, a grudging pout making it's way up to his lips.

Before he could venture out his frustration to himself in his mind, there was a faint knock on the door before it creaked open, having him turned his attention to the direction. It revealed to be a small figure of a nurse. She gave him a smile and he so well knew it's a fake one. He could tell she was trembling from inside as she gripped on the door as her life depends on it. Silly beings. It's not like he has any sort of superior feeling but he pities human nature. Its so perfect from afar but so messed if looked closer. He haven't done anything to harm her yet she was afraid. Judging ones. Not his preferred crowd to mingle with.

"Um... Why don't you.. take a walk around, Chanyeol ssi." The nurse stuttered, laughing nervously. "The whether is nice." This time she least managed to talk normal.

He stared at her for a while, dwelling whether to go out or stay inside his room. And he decided to 'be good'. For his mother.

"Okay. Thanks." He flashed her his practiced 'friendly' smile (he was taught for business purpose), getting off of his bed. And boy, he had a hard time controlling his laughter when the nurse's face did a complete 180 degree. She was stunned. Not his fault tho. It took a while for her to gain her composure and leave the room before wishing a "have a good day" to him.

He washed his face, did his bird nest hair to more presentable one and went out of his room. After a while he got bored or tired, he didn't think much, and landed himself on one of the waiting chairs available. Not long after he made himself comfortable in the chair, someone came to his side, bearing the smile of an angel. He wasn't exaggerating. The other really looked out of the place. And it startled him. He couldn't help staring at the other for a good amount of time, forgetting to answer the other which is rude.

"Yes. I'm Chanyeol." He answered like a gentleman should once he came back to senses, feeling like a stupid for being a stupid. There goes his 'maniac' image. So much for the image. He gave the other a faint smile before his gaze fell back to his lap. "Nice..... seeing you Mr. Yixing, I guess." He whispered softly but loud enough for other to hear, a slight frown growing on his face.

To be honest he never likes meddling with others. Books, his room and library are his sanctuary and fire is his dearest friend. He never has the urge to befriend others, hence lacks the art to greet naturally except the tricks he is taught. Everything is fake. He knows it very well.

He side glanced at the calm figure next to him who seemed as if he was staring at a fascinating object and the object happened to be him. It made him uneasy. "What you want?" It came out rather harsh than he intended to. Tho he would say it wasn't his fault. Firstly, staring at someone is ride and secondly, he hates being stared. It felt as if they are judging him. And now he was feeling guilty. Stupid emotions.

@park chanyeol This floor. Like just about every other counselor here, Yixing loved this floor. Although unlike every other counselor, it wasn't his favorite one. Yixing loved each floor equally, and he liked to think he didn't have any specific favorite floor. He loved each one for different reasons, and in his mind, every patient was equally liked, even the ones who were, as he liked to refer to it, misunderstood. Although, unfortunately, not every worker here thought the same way. In their minds the patients weren't understood, but instead just crazy, no ifs, ands, or buts. All the other workers favored this floor and loathed the other ones, because this was the calm floor. Nothing bad ever really occurred, and quite frankly, it was the easiest floor to work because they didn't have to worry about being attacked randomly while making their roungs. This floor was always quiet, and that was how they all planned to keep it. Yixing on the other hand didn't mind the loud, dangerous floors, he was one of the only people to willingly go to floor four, because he was calm and optimistic enough to handle the floor.

One could only imagine though, how heartbroken the workers would be if the peace on floor two was threatened at all. This floor was the only one that truly kept them sane, and so they made sure to only put the quiet, behaved people on the floor. Anyone who could be considered dangerous or loud at all, was not put there. Which is exactly why, every worker was so angered with Yixing when they found out he put a pyromaniac on that floor. Even when he had told them that he had read through the file tons of times, and that the male wasn't violent at all, and as long as he didn't have any fire he was completely harmless, they didn't want to hear it. They could only think about the fact that the peacefulness of floor two could possibly be ending upon the arrival of the new patient. Yixing, however, was sure that it wouldn't.

Unfortunately, the counselor hadn't gotten the chance to personally greet the patient as he had been busy but he had heard the other workers talking about how upset they were still, and how the patient even had the face of a troublemaker. Yixing, of course, merely ignored them. He didn't believe it at all, and as soon as he was free, he went around looking for the patient. Being stubborn and still upset, the workers weren't responding whenever Yixing asked about the patient's whereabouts and so he took it upon himself instead to find him. Trailing around, Yixing kept a positive mind, until he finally saw a stranger down the hall, and his eyes brightened. He knew every patient here, as he had taken the time to meet every single one, and so he figured this was the new one. Without a second thought, Yixing approached him, looking up to the other with a warm smile. They, indeed, had been exaggerating, because in Yixing's opinion, the other looked nothing like a troublemaker.

"Hi there, I'm Yixing, one of the counselor's here. And you're Chanyeol, right?"