“Amazing!” Was the first thing Yerim said as soon as they were up in the sky and Raven’s engines were working to start moving away from the city. It wouldn’t take long for them to reach Seoul and the market, Jungeun could bet the younger girl wouldn’t stop staring outside of the window and asking questions to the crew throughout the rest of their short trip.

With a smile that wasn’t more than a subtle curl of lips, Kim eased her grip on the arm of the chair she was sitting, letting her gaze travel far away as she stared outside the window. Raven was faster than she expected, cutting through the fat white clouds in the sky and rising above them, all so smoothly that if Jungeun wasn’t watching as the ground got farther and farther away, she wouldn’t notice they were moving at such speed – she figured Haseul was very good at her job. It wasn’t anything like what she remembered from her last, and only, previous journey.

Little Jungeun was clinging onto her mother’s neck, wide red eyes barely hidden by the hood of her oversized jumper. There wasn’t much space for them to move, Jungeun’s mom kept her hand on the girl’s back to try to calm her down a bit, but it was useless.

They didn’t have much money, at least not enough to pay for something better than that cramped commercial aircraft that was probably above the weight limit, filled with so many people, both Saeg and human. It was only an hour long trip, but it felt like so much longer for Jungeun’s sensitive ears and eyes, all the people around her looked like giants about to step over her if she ever separated from her mom – to her 4 year old self, anyone unknown was a menace.

It had always been only her and her mother, Yuju. She wasn’t even allowed to play with the kids on the park or go to school, her mother said it was because she had such special eyes that she had to be extra careful to not hurt them. She was too young to understand what the red in her irises meant, too young to not get annoyed at her own bad luck for having such weird eye color and wish that she looked more like her mother.

Jungeun would always hold her mom’s face between her fat small hands and stare at the beautiful, pure and bright blue of her eyes, wishing her eyes could be just like them someday – in these occasions Yuju would smile warmly at her and tell her that she was perfect already and hug her tight.

Today, however, was a very different occasion. Her mother wasn’t smiling and playing with her, she was serious and had a melancholic look in her eyes that made them look darker than usual. Yuju had woken her up at dawn, covering her with a hoodie that felt too warm and informing her to never push the hood back, keeping her eyes covered no matter what. Yuju had their bags packed – bags too small to fit anything other than a few clothes and Jungeun’s favorite toy. When she took Jungie into her arms, she refused to answer where they were going, only asking her to be a good girl and behave.

They had bought tickets and boarded this metallic trap that smelled like sweat bodies and oxidized iron. The ship was small and noisy, and it would shake as if it was fighting to stay up in the air. It wasn’t anything like the pretty, shinny, spaceships Jungeun always saw on commercials. At every move of the ship, every loud noise its engines made, she would hug her mom a little tighter, her small face hiding on Yuju’s soft dark blond hair that looked so much like her own. The older woman would caress her hair and back, trying to console her. “It’s okay, Jungie. Mommy is here.” People said Saegs weren’t affectionate, but it wasn’t true, not when it was about her mother. “Mom, can we go home now, please?”

The woman looked at her, tilting her head slightly to meet Jungeun’s red eyes. There was an expression she had never seen before on her mother’s face, something that years later she would recognize as sadness. “You’ll be home soon, honey.”

An hour later, when Jungeun was left alone inside a huge room at the castle, she didn’t feel at home at all. As time passed and her mother never came back, she started to hate these words.

The memories made her smile fade away, giving place to a sigh. She was no longer a scared child clinging onto her mother and trying to fight the impossible, she was an adult that had learnt that fighting destiny was useless and it was better to just accept things as they were. She had month to live everything she wasn’t allowed to experience before, and then it would be time to go back to her doomed path.

Jungeun wouldn’t waste any of her time thinking about the past.

The ship finally landed, Yerim and Yeojin’s excited screams filling up the air as Haseul made sure they were safely parked before standing up and asking if everyone was ready to go. Jungeun followed suit, her head held up high – today, for the first time, she wouldn’t need to hide herself.

The market was a place full of life, with its own sounds and scents, a little world of its own. You could find all sort of things there, from food to illegal technology. And not only of things the market was made, but also from all sort of people – rich and poor, Saegs and humans, all huddled up in a single place as one group. Haseul loved it.

A group like theirs would usually catch people’s attention, but at the market probably no one would’ve bat an eye even if Jungeun showed off her real eye color. Jo and rest of the group got into a circle – of course, she wouldn’t risk taking the chance. “Okay. We have 2 hours until we have to meet here. If you get into trouble call and we’ll meet you there.” She explained, the speech rolling easily out of her tongue due to the many times she had said them before. Having to search for a lost crew member at such big place would give her a headache, so they had created a system to make sure things worked smoothly. “Now give me your locations.”

“I’m taking Yerimie with me to buy strawberry jam bread at Hyunjin’s!” Ignoring completely the etiquette, her little sister was already hugging Yerim by the shoulder, making the young Saeg girl have to bend down a little. It was a funny scene, but the smile on both girls’ face was impossible to resist.

“Right. You have the money I gave you, don’t spend it all in one go!” The advice was softened by the way she ruffled Yeojin’s hair, making the girl protest while she turned to face Sooyoung and Hyejoo. “You two? I don’t think we need anything for Raven this time.” Ha and Son usually would go looking for new parts and devices for the ship, but thanks to Mr. Kim’s renew it wasn’t a problem now.

“I promised Vivi I’d get her something.” The older brunette answered and Haseul nodded in understanding. Vivi had stayed behind this time, and although they liked to give her some freedom, a market full of illegal tech traders could be a dangerous place to an android, even one that looked as human as Vivi. 

“Hyejoo?” The young raven still hadn’t pronounced her decision and by the way Sooyoung was also staring at her waiting for an answer, they hadn’t planned on going together.

“I…Huh, I want to check if they have a new…” She hesitated, glancing at Yeojin and Yerim. “I’ll just go with these two, they sell some nice game devices close to Hyunjin’s place.”

Everyone stared at the girl before Yeojin left out one of her typical screams, bringing Hyejoo into the hug. It wasn’t very common for Hyejoo to accept following Yeojin around, usually she would rather act like an adult and help Sooyoung out, while Haseul would have to keep her sister company.

Son tried to shrug the girls off, but she now had Yeojin clinging to one of her arms and Yerim on the other side, both girls were beaming and Hyejoo…Her cheeks had turned a light pink and was that a reluctant smile? Haseul and Sooyoung exchanged a look, this was new.

Muffling a chuckle, the pilot nodded. “Okay, just be careful you three and don’t burden our baby wolf too much.” She winked at the girl as Hyejoo puffed her cheeks in annoyance.

Now there was only one person left. “Jungeun, what about you? Is there anything you want to see first? I can show you around.” The offer came easily, since the beginning she knew it would be up to her to play the tour guide for Kim – only that she didn’t think they would be on their own, and by the look on Jungeun’s face, she didn’t expect it either.

She noticed the way Jungeun looked at Yerim who nodded enthusiastically. “Go with Haseul, Jungie! We’ll bring you some bread.”

The girl didn’t have much option other than accept her request, and she did with a light nod. “We can visit the places you like, I don’t want to be too much of a bother.”

Haseul smiled, but didn’t make eye contact. A bother? As if walk around through the place she loved with a pretty girl was ever a bother to her, moreover when she was being greatly paid to do so – the thought of it made her feel a little guilty again.

“You won’t be. It will be my pleasure.” She reassured, taking a step to be by Jungeun’s side. “Remember, here in 2 hours.” Her voice was a little louder now, directed to the rest of the group that nodded in agreement. “Now go and have fun!”

And just like this the youngest run off, led by the small but loud Yeojin. Sooyoung only waved lazily before making her way to the other side of the market.

Jo made a dramatic gesture, pointing out the direction they would be following. “Miss, this way.”

One hour and many stalls later, Jungeun was having quite a unique experience.

At first it was a bit awkward to be around Haseul on her own – she didn’t expect Yerim to ditch her for the other kids, Choi was usually very clingy and protective of Jungeun to simply leave her on someone else’s care, but apparently she had underestimate the purple eyed girl’s love for food and her recent admiration for their pilot.

Thankfully, being around the human wasn’t an unpleasant experience, actually it was quite the opposite. Haseul was talkative and had an easy going aura to her, she seem to have so many funny stories about the place and to know so many people, that Kim didn’t have any time to feel bored. Haseul was also caring and thoughtful, she would always walk at Jungeun’s left, keeping her in the shaded area of the market – the contacts made her eyes less sensitive, but still it was weird to be out like this in the sunlight of the afternoon and Jo seem to understand her uneasiness regarding it.

Albeit Jo was very prone to physical contact and Jungeun could notice her hands hovering her arm once in a while, she never touched her unless it was necessary – like the one time Kim got distracted looking at some art works and Haseul had to take her by the arm before she could get lost into the crowd. “I know Saegs don’t really like physical contact, but it would be easier if you stay close to me. It’s a big place and there are some weird people out there.” Haseul sounded like she was talking to her little sister and Jungeun just nodded, a little embarrassed.

“So, you like art?” As soon as it came, Haseul’s stern tone went away, giving place for a far more pleasant and gentle one.  It made the younger girl relax again.

“I guess so.” In the palace there wasn’t much to do, so whenever she had a break from classes and Yerim wasn’t available to play, she would go around the place and observe every single piece they had exposed. It was a combination of modern art and some ancient paintings her ancestors were able to bring with them when they came to earth. There were also human paintings, the difference in style making it clear how different their people was – but at same time how similar they were for searching for the same kind of happiness in drawing their heart’s content. “Can we take a better look at it?” The art at the market wasn’t anything like what she had seen at the palace, bringing out a new curiosity in her.

Shaking her head, the pilot gave her a mischievous smile. “No. I have a better idea!”

And she indeed had, Jungeun realized as soon as they reached a covered place where a variety of screens hanged on the stone walls displaying all kind of things, there was also a couple of physical paintings and sculptures here and there as well. The artists walked around showing off their works and making new ones as the public watched. Jungeun’s eyes grew wider at such variety of styles and colors, it was like a feast to her mind take in all this information. “This is…Really, really nice.” Was all she could say, shooting a thankful look at Haseul.

Once more the brunette only shook her head, tugging her by the sleeve to take them closer to the paintings. “Have a good look and if you want anything just let me know. I come here often, so they might give us a discount.” She whispered the last part, as if it was a big secret and Jungeun left out a soft chuckle. She never imagined she would be able to visit this kind of place, taking with her a piece of it was like a dream coming true.

Therefore Jungeun did as Haseul suggested. Her careful steps getting closer to every piece, digital or not, evaluating the beauty and the meaning behind each one of them. She loved the landscapes more than anything, the simple beauty of it never failed to touch her heart – perhaps because she had only being able to witness it herself a handful of times. The view from the castle was beautiful, but not being able to go to the places she could see was more of a torture than a blessing.

In the end she chose a simple – and cheap – digital painting that portrait golden fields under the sunlight of the summer, the painting in her room was much more sophisticated but it displayed a place she would never meet, while this one hopefully she could find someday. Haseul arched her eyebrows when she noticed her choice, her eyes studying the paint for a moment before she moved to pay for it, ignoring Jungeun’s protests – she didn’t have that much money on her, but she had more than enough for this, still Jo insisted.

The elder girl spoke as they walked away of the art section of the market and back into the much more crowded mains streets. She had a thoughtful look on her face. “You know, it really looks like the farm I grew up on. The sky is not blue, but rather pink most of the time because of the Saeg weather control system. But my dad says that it used to be just like that, before it all.” Haseul didn’t need to explain her words, everyone knew about the story of their world and how it came to be what it was today. Both species worked hard to make things go back to the way they were once, but not even the most advanced technology could fix all their mistakes. They had made Earth a good place to live for most of the population, but the habitable areas were still small compared to its original size, and without proper weathering control things could go wrong pretty fast. “Some say your people did it on purpose, so they could hide easily from the sun.”

The taller glanced at her, trying to read her expression. There were a lot of rumors, from both sides, this was only one more. She wondered if Haseul believe them. “That’s what you think?”

With a soft chuckle, Jo shook her head in a negative. “Even if it was, I wouldn’t mind it. The night sky has always been my favorite anyway.” She shrugged, as if the topic was indeed irrelevant to her – and perhaps it was, for people like them, the world had always been like this and it was hard to picture it differently.

After it they just walked in silence for a while, stopping here and there to check some stalls. Kim wanted to ask more about Haseul’s life, know why she had ditched such a beautiful and pacific place like the one in the painting for a chaotic city full of grey. But she wouldn’t dare to, even if the pilot seemed so open to talk about her own life, she wouldn’t be able to reciprocate when it was her turn to speak about herself. It was a defense mechanism that probably harmed her ability to make a new friend, still she knew it was better like this.

Haseul, however, wasn’t like most people and she didn’t seem to mind her silence. Instead of making it awkward she made it comfortable by giving her occasional smiles and always pointing out something interesting for them to see. She would incentive her to try new food and ask about what she liked – never something too deep, never invasive, just the right amount to keep the conversation going. Jungeun started to relax more and more, to the point it didn’t feel so different from hanging out with Yerim around the palace. Kim figured that becoming Haseul’s friend wasn’t a hard task at all.

“Delicious, right?” Jo asked, a playful glint in her eyes as she watched Jungeun struggling to chew on the new delicacy they had found at a food stall. The blonde, who had never been the greatest at dealing with spicy food, was about to spit out the food, but both the seller’s and Haseul’s gaze over her weren’t given her a choice besides trying to swallow it as fast as she could.

“It’s…Very intense.” Her voice came out deeper than normal, still burning because of the food she had barely managed to swallow. To her surprise, the humans exchanged an amused look and the mid age seller giggled as if she had expected such reaction all along.

“It , doesn’t it?” Haseul asked with a chuckle, offering her a cup of water that Jungeun was more than willing to take. “It’s their extra spicy tobbokki, can you believe people really ate it once? I love the normal one, but this is no good.”

Jungeun gulped down the water, grateful for its ability of soothing the burning sensation on the back of . Narrowing her eyes, she looked at the pilot. “If you knew it was bad, why did you tell me to try it?”

Once more the brunette left out a light chuckle, a melodic sound that was weirdly attractive even if it was supposed to annoy her. “I always make the new kids do it, it’s our initiation.” Jo had the nerve to wink at her, as if they were long date friends and not just two strangers who were supposed to have a business relation. She was pranking her – Jungeun couldn’t recall a time someone had played like this with her, not even Yerim. Should she feel angry? Annoyed? Excited?

“Then eat one too!” Turning the tables, she offered her a piece of the spicy food, making it hard for the brunette to decline the offer. “My own initiation ritual.”

“I don’t know, I ate a lot for breakfast and Yeojin said she would bring me some bread…” Haseul tried to avoid, but Jungeun didn’t even budge, giving her a glare. This person that dad hired to watch over her was far from intimidating, it was ridiculous she had ever thought otherwise.

With a grimace, the shorter woman accepted the food. She chewed on it expressionless, and for a moment Jungeun really considered the idea that the girl was immune to the heavy spices, but then she noticed Haseul’s cheeks growing red as her eyes became glossy. Suddenly she understood the girl: the view was pretty funny, even if it made her feel a little bad for the other.

Muffling a laugh, she watched as Haseul tried to gulp down a large cup of water as she coughed due to the rush. Even after drinking so much water, Haseul’s cheeks still had red patches on it, making her look like a little girl.

Smiling to herself, Jungeun gently tucked into the girl’s sleeve, taking her back to a stall they had seen just a couple of minutes before. She, like most Saegs, wasn’t very fond of cold food, but Jo’s eyes glinted when she saw the old ice cream machine. Ordering a big scoop for the human, she watching in awe as the girl ate it in a matter of minutes. The redness in Haseul’s face was gone, but with her cheek stained with ice cream she looked younger than ever.

Ordering another scoop, Jo offered her a tiny portion of ice cream with a tentative smile. “You should give it a try. Even Sooyoung likes it.” The brunette gave her an encouraging look and before she could think straight, she had the spoon in her own hands and the ice cream was melting in . Yes, it was indeed a little too cold for her liking, but the taste was so good that she could overlook this fact. Giving Haseul a smile, she nodded in approval and received her own scoop of gelato in return.

Paying the lady for the ice cream, they moved through the crowd carefully as they still were savoring the dessert. The taste was somewhat familiar to Jungeun’s taste buds, although she couldn’t remember having it before.

Her mother also liked that cold sweet thing, the thought strikes her suddenly as a small fragment of a memory shined on her mind.

“Mom, it’s so cold! My head is hurting!” She had complained pushing her ice cream away, but Yuju only hugged her with a soft laugh. “Eat slowly, sweetie. You’ll like it as much as I do.”

Kim’s smile faltered for a second, only enough for her to push the memories to the back of her mind where she always kept them. She couldn’t tell for sure even if this was a real memory or just her mind playing tricks on her. Shaking her head slightly, she finished her ice cream.

“It’s good, isn’t it?” Haseul asked, her voice getting a little louder than usual to be heard above the crowd, or maybe it was thanks to the childish excitement that seem to fill her up whenever it was about her favorite things.

Jungeun nodded again, even if the memories were bittersweet, it wasn’t able to ruin how good the ice cream was, or how nice it felt to be able to just walk around and try out new things. “Yes, I think I can get used to it.” She could get used to having Haseul around and share little moments like this.

With a grin, the shorter brunette came a little closer. “We could go and try to get a little bit of everything. What do you think?”

“Everything?”

“Well, not everything, but everything you think you may like.” Jo explained, her excitement still visible. Jungeun was the one visiting the place for the first time, yet Haseul seemed to be the one excited about whatever they could discover there, even if it was something as simple as food.

It was hard to not be infected by her energy – and she didn’t mind it, not at all. She liked the feeling. “Can we do that?”

“Jungeun, we can do whatever we want.” For this month, and only for it, they were free and she would make sure the Kim didn’t waste any minute of it. Her tactics were a bit risk, but after seeing the girl react positively and loosen up a bit, she was sure it was worth it. “Want to try and see every food stall of this market before we’ve to meet the others?” She offered a hand, a bold movie that she wouldn’t have risked earlier. Maybe what Jungeun really needed was just a little more of human interaction in her life, and this Jo could do.

In an impulse, the princess accepted it. Haseul’s warm hand against her colder one, the touch was light and gentle, yet firm enough for her to know the girl wouldn’t let go of it unless she wanted her to. “Let’s try!”

So was like it to have human friends? She could get used to it.

It was easy to forget they were from two completely different worlds in a moment like this, it was just like playing around with Yerim when they weren’t being watched by their teachers. Jungeun wished it could always be like this.

A/N: Hi! I'm early with this one, surprising hm? I thought last update was a little slow, so we're back with a little of back story and fluffy. I'm determined to finish writing this story this weekend, so you can wait for a lot of updates once I'm done. 

In case you're wondering: Jungeun's mom here is Cherry Bullet's Choi Yuju, they look fairly alike and since I love both, I thought it would fit just right.

I'm sorry about any mistakes, thank you for reading!