First Step

Words: 2, 382

There was something in the air that intrigued Lucy after she set foot in Korea. She wasn't so sure if it was the thick atmosphere compared to Australia, the differences in culture that she had to get used to or maybe she was just tired. Either way, she was exhausted. The seven to eight hour flight had drowned the energy out of her, limbs hanging from her body as she carried her luggage from the airport. That, and also the differences in time.

She managed to get a taxi driver's attention, croaking out her new home's address as she allowed the cushion from the cab's seats to relax her muscles. The small cramped space smelled like sweat and cigarette smoke but she didn't mind.

When she reached her destination, she didn't expect the apartment to seem so welcoming at the evening hour. The sun had started to set, the weather was overcast and it was fairly cold. But the white and black painted building almost appeared to be smiling at her as she walked towards the entrance.

She didn't bring that much baggage - or so she thought; the rest of her necessities would be sent to her after a couple of weeks. She wasn't, apparently, able to bring an honest amount of clothing, toiletries and materials that would keep her entertained while her stay in Seoul.

Lucy did her best not to bring too many items not when she was going to fly overseas even if her mother wanted her to pack a reasonable amount of clothing but in the end, Ji Yu won.

"Damn it," Lucy swore as she dragged the four bags filled with clothing towards the elevator, "This is why I didn't want to bring so much in the first place."

"…and that's when Jongin slipped and fell on his head!" a loud, booming voice came from the corner, deep vocals ringing throughout the empty lobby.

Lucy's head shot up, slightly shocked by the sudden burst of noise as one of her handbags dropped to the floor.

"Geez, I never knew that bloke was that much of a klutz," the second voice was softer, not in volume but perhaps a bit more high in terms of pitch, "He overworks himself too much to the point he'd do such hilarious things at work!"

"I know! He's a hardworking kid though, he deserves a break." the low pitched voice supplied the other, sounding considerate.

The young girl quickly grabbed the objects that had scattered across the floor, delicate fingers moving swiftly yet shaking as she struggled to collect the multiple items that were scattered on the spotless tiled area.

The voices grew louder and footsteps came closer as she stuffed her belongings into her handbag but failed miserably when one of the men who were talking spoke, "Um, you need help there?"

Was he talking to me? she wondered. Her mind had zoned out a little bit as she focused her attention at her bulky handbag.

"It's obvious that she needs help, Chanyeol," the dark haired man rolled his eyes and didn't hesitate to assist the younger girl that seemed to be frozen in her kneeling position. The older man observed Lucy, eyes travelling up and down her body, nodding with approval at her clothing sense. His eyes moved to her luggage, big and bulky; one of the suitcases wasn't closed properly. That’s when he noticed she doesn’t really look familiar and he hasn’t seen her around the building.

“Are you new here?” the words slipped out of the man’s mouth.

That was when Lucy snapped out of her daydreaming, soft curls bouncing out of place as her words came out as nothing but a fragile purr of surprise, “Yes, I am.”

The taller man leaned down and extended his arm to help her up; Lucy accepted, “It’s nice to meet you since you’re new here. I’m Chanyeol. The guy over there is Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun nodded, flashing Lucy a toothy grin as his eyes twinkled, “So, what’s your name?”

“Oh,” the girl chuckled, dusting off the back of her skirt in case of any dirt “I’m Lucy.”

“Lucy?” Baekhyun tilted his head, “It doesn’t sound Korean.”

“I wasn’t born here, that’s why. I was born in Australia and I guess that’s the reason why my parents decided to give me a European name.” Lucy smiled.

“Australia? Sounds like a nice place.” Chanyeol and Baekhyun looked at each other, a look of interest spread across their faces.

“You could say so,” the female shrugged, “It’s a nice place but it’s too laid back for me, I guess. I want something a bit more upbeat to keep my blood running.”

The two men chuckled ad agreed with her, “Seoul isn’t as busy as other cities around the world but if that's what you think then I guess you've come to the right place."

"So anyway, what brings you here to Korea? Yo were quite lucky to be studying in Australia," Chanyeol asked.

"Well, you see, I want to teach English when I graduate from university. Studying in Korea will allow me to expand my experiences with different cultures," Lucy smiled as her thoughts started to drift towards her bags of necessities and a wave of exhaustion had suddenly hit her. The flight was at least around eight hours and Korea had a 2 hour difference with Australia. Her sense of time was messed up and even if it was six in the evening, it somehow felt like it was three in the morning, "By the way, would you guys mind helping me with my stuff and bring then upstairs if you are free?"

"We wouldn't mind at all," Baekhyun chimed, immediately picking up two of Lucy's bags.

"Which floor do you live in?" Chanyeol asked.

"Um, one sec," Lucy slipped a hand into her pocket and took out a piece of paper, "The ninth floor, room 34."

"Oh, you live a floor above us. But you live in the same floor as Jongin."

"Jongin?"

"A friend of ours. He's a good kid around your age but he's so busy he’s hardly at home. He has exams coming up and at the same time, he's trying gain money for the bills that he has to pay," Chanyeol sighed, shaking his head. 

“He needs to take it easy,” The shorter man pressed the button for an elevator, not long after the sliding doors had finally opened.

The first few seconds inside elevator was quiet. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were shooting glances at themselves of which they were able to communicate through but Lucy struggled to find the right words that were meant to be said.

“So,” the female brunette hesitated, “Do the both of you live with each other or do you just come over a lot?”

Chanyeol laughed, an explosion of sound combusted in the small space, “We live together.”

“Are you guys gay?” The question slipped out of Lucy’s mouth, immediately feeling bad after she saw the shocked expressions on the couple’s faces. She bowed down and apologised, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say it so forwardly like that it just came ou-”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Baekhyun chuckled and slid his fingers between Chanyeol’s, grinning, “We are gay.”

“Oh, thank god,” Lucy exhaled, feeling better, “I thought I offended you for a moment there.”

“Ah, don’t worry. We were just a little bit surprised at how you said it so openly. People don’t take it so easily here,” the both of them frowned.

“Don’t worry about it. Some of my best friends are gay and trust me, they are pals that I treasure deeply in my heart,” Lucy flashed a toothy grin and shot a thumbs up.

The elevator’s doors slid open and Lucy rushed out, worried that the entrance might abruptly close on her as the two lovers followed behind her. They talked a bit more outside her apartment, Baekhyun thought it would be a good idea to hold a small party for Lucy and she was reluctant at first, concerned of the troubles that he had to go through but the older man insisted, assuring her that all would be well.

“I have Kyungsoo to help me out. He’s good with these things,” Baekhyun winked.

They spent a couple more minutes telling her about the shops closeby in case she needed any groceries. Chanyeol started to ramble about his past experience when he and Baekhyun first met each other in a small clothing store. The tall man was about to buy a checkered shirt until Baekhyun stopped him, telling him that the color didn’t matched his hair only settling into buying an outrageously expensive wifebeater. 

Lucy found it funny how the man was so open with her and laughed wholeheartedly while Baekhyun shaked his head at his partner’s obnoxiousness.

“Well, looks like we have to go. It was nice meeting you, kid,” Chanyeol nodded and placed his hand over Baekhyun’s shoulder, pulling his lover close to himself.

“Yeah, we’ve got a few things that we have to attend to. We hope that you’ll enjoy the party. Bye!” Baekhyun waved and walked away with Chanyeol towards the elevators, grinning at the thought that he had gained a new friend.

“So, Baek,” Chanyeol tilted his head and grunted.

“What?”

“Where was she from again?”

Baekhyun facepalmed.

-


When the day of the party came, Lucy had gotten over her jet lag which she was grateful of. Baekhyun texted her a few days later that he finally got the small welcome party planned and all he needed was a few helping hands to decorate his place together.

Lucy could not reject, already happy to have friends not long after she moved countries. She was troubled at first that her ‘foreign presence’ and her European name in the midst of the Asian origins that she carried with her might repel people from Lucy.

Until Baekhyun and Chanyeol came along. It eased her to know that not everyone would act so oddly towards it.

“So, where do I put these cups?” Lucy asked, holding up several plastic packets.

“Over there next to the plates,” Baekhyun was busy pinning up a welcome sign that Kyungsoo made before he left to buy some food. Chanyeol shook his head at Baekhyun’s inability to pin it to the ceiling so he did it instead. 

The caramel brown man took the banner and placed it on the roof with ease. Baekhyun huffed and walked away with him, of which led to a small quarrel about height between the two.

“You two get along well,” Lucy commented after the preparations were complete. She appreciated that the three of them put a lot of effort into the decorations. The result satisfied them.

“But we’re more or less like opposites,” Baekhyun sighed but his features beamed, “I love him though. I never knew that I would ever meet someone like him. In the end, I did and I’m glad.”

Lucy pouted, her father’s words rang in her head as she frowned, the sad reality of the fun that she was experiencing uncovered itself once again. She had almost forgotten about it entirely but in the end, she would remember it once again.

“I wonder if I’d ever meet someone whom I would be allowed to date.”

“What was that? Did you say something?” Baekhyun turned his head towards Lucy. He was caught off-guard whilst he added final touches to the banner.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” 

I wish.

-

When Lucy finally met Jongin, she thought he wasn’t all that bad as Baekhyun had told her. He was skinny, his shirt was probably in the smallest size but it still hung loosely off his body. His figure was slouched and a look of disinterest slightly bothered her as Baekhyun introduced him to her.

But Lucy still seemed eager to become friends with him. She put on an honest smile as she began acquainting herself with Jongin despite loss of attention that was pasted on his face when she spoke. 

She started to feel bad when Baekhyun had to apologise on behalf of Jongin when he stared off into space but she couldn’t force someone to like her. If Jongin didn’t want to talk to her then, she guessed that there would be no point in compelling him.

“I just need some air. You want to go for a walk?” Jongin looked less intimidating for once but Lucy was a bit hesitant. She looked at Baekhyun questioningly and assured her it would be fine.

Outside, Jongin looked more relaxed when he stretched. Lucy swore she heard several of his bones crack, much to her displeasure but she shook it off after she realized it wasn’t anything intentional.

They started to build up a small conversation even if they were awkward around each other but not as much as they did inside the party.

“I love stars. They always have this air of mystery around them; but they are quite simple. Just giant gas balls in the sky.” Jongin put a faint smile on his face as he spoke to Lucy in a semi-tired voice.

Lucy smiled, the stars in the city weren’t as bright to those that were in the country but she agreed with him, “They make everything that is the universe. We are all star dust.”

Stars were beautiful creatures, they glowed so brightly, enough to be seen in such a large universe. They radiated light and provided a beautiful view for all who looked into the night sky. They were always there up within the atmosphere, everybody could appreciate the panorama whoever and wherever they were.

“You know,” Lucy blankly explained, amazed at such a magnificent scenery, “Stars are created and then they will die, just like a human being. When one would disappear, another would be born. They are just like us.”

Jongin stared at Lucy, “I can see what you mean there.” Sometimes people can even illuminate light just like a star. 

And he knew just who.

Author's Note: We hope you liked it :3