The sunlight weakly pours, hiding behind the thick roll of clouds. The cold weather slightly improves as the noon arrives. I stand in front of the sign welcoming visitors; its paint a bit worn, the letters fading into background. Kids play under the old tree, jumping around the thick blanket of snow. Laughter and giggles heard all the way to the village entrance. I close my eyes and take a deep breath in. The cold air spikes the back of my throat.

This is my village. Because it’s small and secluded, it probably won’t be dragged into a story plot.

...Well, at least I can hope.

“TINA!!! You’re back!”

I see my younger sister running towards me and I grin, returning a similarly enthusiastic wave.

Carrying the heavy luggage, we trudge our way through the snow back home. Passing by the old wooden village noticeboard crowded with posts, walking underneath the now-leafless trees which stood since I was young, it feels like the village didn’t change much in a year.

Upon entering the small overpopulated family house, I greet my relatives. “I’m back.”

There were some ‘hmm’s of acknowledgement from various siblings and cousins who didn’t even bother to look up from their ongoing conversation. However, my mother’s scrutinising eyes were squarely on my neck once I came in. I glance at the necklace adorning a small pink gemstone and recall the conversation last night.

“I’m a man of my words. I won’t intentionally use my mind-reading on you, but it doesn’t stop me from hearing thoughts that address me. But if I attempt to read your mind, this will turn red.” He demonstrated a few times and handed the stone over. “You can have my hand then.”

I accepted it with a nod. “With that, I hope our paths never cross again.”

The man chuckled, “My name's Jin... Remember it.”

What is this crazy bastard saying? I just made it clear I’ll never see him again!?

I frown upon remembering the bitter conversation I had.

“Did you get yourself a boyfriend?” She asks, edging closer to inspect the necklace. “This gemstone… Must be expensive. Is he rich?”

“It’s a gift from Janet. I told you about her in my letters right? You know she crafts jewellery for a living.” I lie, not wanting to even mention the man since we’ve parted ways.

“Oh by the way Tina, this year Lawrence came to visit!” my sister interrupts, gleefully jumping up and down. She gestures towards a brown-haired, green-eyed cousin of ours. He’s a stunningly good-looking man, his personality amiable and respectful.  With looks like his, he’s every female cousin’s first crush, their first love fantasies filled to the brim with him.

He was also a popular child even during elementary school, but as a male lead should, he never really cared for girlfriends and romance. And therefore the (embarrassing) nickname "Unreachable flower".

I’ve forgotten how I have an important character in my circle because he rarely ever shows up to family gatherings. But now that he’s here, I’ll just have to make sure not to stand out.

“Oh my god, Lawrence!?” I fangirl over him with my sister, as per mob character responsibilities. He looks over when he hears his name and smiles gently. I’d have fallen three times over for that if I was a brainless mob, but I can only divert my eyes away to act bashful.

Dinner is served on a small table crowded with large number of relatives. Chatters overlap, each raising their voices to hear the other better.

It was loud and noisy, cramped and claustrophobic. Wanting to escape, I finish my food in quickly and go out for a night walk.

My legs turn towards the old tree I used to play under with my siblings. I look up the bare branches of the tree and through the slowly falling snow flakes, I see a small yellow bird sleeping on a branch in cold winter.

When I whistle a tweet, it wakes up, fluttering its wings to shake off the snow and goes back to snoozing again.

Hahahah sleepy head. Maybe it’s a bird which failed to migrate, but I hope it can survive the frost for the next few months.

[Warning: Smut scenes]

After walking around the village for a while, I head back for my house. But I started hearing something I truly wasn't expecting.

“Nnhgh! Haa!”
“Hah… hah….”
“Lawrence… anngh!”
“Ciel… hah… ha…”

What the hell did I just step into?

Lawrence and Ciel are both cousins of mine. However, Ciel was adopted by my uncle (Lawrence’s father) after his friend (Ciel’s father) died.

“People will see… aa-”

Lawrence, a reputable knight working in the royal palace, the pride of the family. His mother literally cannot stop talking about her talented son every chance she gets, and everyone just sucks it up because Lawrence is truly the only one within the relatives with a position as dignifying as "royal knight". Ciel, the adopted brother who strives to become a knight to follow Lawrence’s footsteps, but has an inferiority complex about his small figure.

“Everyone’s noisy inside- haa- No one will know… Ugh!”
“AHhh! Ngnh~!”

I’ve been complacent thinking it’s a shoujo fantasy world, however it seems BL is being brought into the mix.

I recall Lawrence’s stunning face and his friendly smile, and my sisters fangirling over him with starstruck gazes. Oh boy, how many hearts did you just break?

“You’re this hard… you like doing this outside don’t you?”
“No! Mmmph!”
“Stay quiet- haa…haa… You don’t want others to find out, do you?”

I’ve already found out though.

No. I get this is a common trope in BL but...

Who the hell does it right outside the house? Find a more secluded place???

WHY CAN’T YOU BOTH BE MORE CAREFUL!? I ABSOLUTELY DON’T WANT TO WITNESS THIS EITHER?

On the bright side of things, this means I won’t have to tip-toe around Lawrence anymore.

But what do I do… If I enter right now they’ll hear the door open. I don’t want to go from “distant cousin sister” to “distant cousin sister who saw us doing our deed”. I might get dragged into who knows what drama then.

I turn around, walking back towards the old tree. I glance at the yellow bird still snoozing peacefully in this snowy night.

“Guess I’ll join you for a while.”

Edit: I'll add a smut alert (if I add any steamy scenes) for the future chapters, sorry for throwing the snusnu at you unwarned this chapter.