My beautiful shining Seoul. 

 

Sehun loomed near the window, it was just after midnight and he could hear Luhan's snores from the far side of the room. He had a perfect view of the city from here, on the forty second floor of what was most probably the shoddiest building in the whole country was a vista of his favourite city, Sehun supposed this was where one would use the saying- A diamond in the rough, although it was a bit out of context if he was being honest with himself, but he was never good with things like this, in fact he was never very good with literature, which made him a little bitter because there was so much he wanted to explain with so little of means to do it. 

 

He sighed as he perched himself at the windowsill his breath making the glass fog up with condensation, idly he brought his finger up and began making patterns, sealing them into the glass to which they would remain  there forever, he felt a bit bad about that but hopefully no one else would ever inhabit this room, just him and Luhan. Because then, the view would be his forever. 

 

Luhan fluttered his eyes open tiredly glancing up to see Sehun leaning against the window, tracing patterns into the glass, he blinked twice as he saw the moonlight cascade down Sehun's figure, his old shirt open two more buttons than usual and Luhan thought he looked beautiful like this. 

 

"What are you looking at?" He asked tiredly a small smile radiating off his face as the younger turned around flustered. 

 

"I thought you were asleep" Sehun replied softly, his voice unarmed and pure for the first time since he'd met Luhan, and Luhan felt his heart warm    with happiness for reasons he couldn't fathom, Sehun was just a kid except he knew that if anyone was going to get the two of them out of trouble it was going to be Sehun without a doubt. 

 

"The lights distract me, I know you love it though" Luhan stayed quiet while Sehun hummed in response turning back towards the window and Luhan tiptoed out of bed and begun to push Sehun's bed so that the foot of it was almost by the window "Move" He grinned as Sehun wordlessly stepped to the side as Luhan pushed the bed firmly against the window sitting down on one half and gesturing for Sehun to do the same. When he did Luhan bit back another delighted grin. 

 

They stayed silent for a while, arms barely touching just admiring the city lights and what little you could see of the stars. 

 

"Hey" Luhan whispered nudging Sehun slightly, he was getting a little bored with a silence they had between him. Sehun was a blank slate on record and in the mind, he didn't know why, but he had the urge to fill that slate with everything that he could possibly fit. Except that it occurred to him that maybe Sehun wasn't as blank as he thought, he just needed to find the information. 

 

Sehun looked at him in response as if willing him to continue and Luhan gulped. 

 

"I was just wondering if you could explain to me what makes you so enthralled with the city, I just- there are a lot of cities that are just as if not more beautiful than this." He played with his hands nervously wondering what response he was going to get. Sehun smiled and a breath of relief fell from his mouth. 

 

"It's hard to explain, I'm not very good with words, or maybe I am I just don't know how to explain my own thoughts very well, I own tons of books you see, hidden somewhere in the city, it's my secret, every time I get paid I buy a book and I love the words, I love everything but it's almost as if what I want to say just doesn't-" Sehun pauses and squeezes his eyes shut as if looking for the right words "doesn't translate well into speech or written on paper and- I'm sorry you probably don't need to hear my literacy problems" Sehun huffs and Luhan smiles gently. 

 

"No it's okay, you explained yourself fine just then, I think maybe it's psychological, just- try explain to me, just try" Luhan urged and nudged Sehun once more. It was a hard nudge and Sehun flopped round and lay down so his head was looking out the window and his feet rested near his pillow. Luhan followed to suit and Sehun's hair felt soft against his temple. 

 

"I like the vibe the city brings, I mean, I grew up here, I was a runaway that knew the streets like the back of my hand" Sehun started shakily and Luhan could hear a hint of a lisp. It was cute. "To me the city is alive, it has a heartbeat, veins, it's like the mother I never had, it even led me to Jongin" he said with a loving tone that made Luhan's toes curl in jealousy but he didn't dare interrupt Sehun "I just can't explain it, the lights, the hordes of people that call this place home, the glow it emits at night is breathtaking everything is just breathtaking and I hope that never changes" Sehun breathes out, a little short of oxygen. 

 

"That was beautiful" 

 

Sehun scoffed and Luhan giggled. 

 

"One day Sehun, I'll take you to Beijing, maybe not now, maybe not anytime soon, but one day we'll go to Beijing, you can see my home Sehun, I'll show you things much more beautiful than Seoul"

 

"I don't know if I could bear to leave" Sehun whispered his eyes looking a little scared at his own confession. 

 

"I know you will" Luhan reassured him empathetically his eyes were cast with a slightly melancholic expression "I was scared to leave Beijing, I was so scared but then I wouldn't have ever found out the beauty of Korea, I'm not afraid anymore, I want to see the world. But leaving doesn't mean forever because in your heart Seoul will always be your home and no one will take that away from you" 

 

"You're beautiful with words Luhan" Sehun whispered and with that they lapsed into silence again their hands slowly twining together. It didn't mean anything now. Two hands holding each other but as Luhan looks over and watches as Sehun's eyes flutter closed, he thinks that maybe- not right now, but one day- it could. 

 

It was on that first night that Luhan started began to crack Sehun's cold demeanor. He just hopes everyone trusts him enough to let him. 

 

---- 

 

"Hyung! I'm hungry!" Jongin whined barging into Jongdae's room and splatting onto his bed, effectively squishing him. 

 

Jongdae groaned in response. "Go get some food then you big baby" 

 

"I can't cook!" Was the drawn out response from Jongin who threw the covers off Jongdae and he shivered from the cold. 

 

"s sake" Jongdae groaned again slowly sitting up from the bed "you're such a brat, it's Sunday" 

 

"And?" 

 

"Forget it" Jongdae dead panned "I quit my job anyway" 

 

"Your day job?" 

 

"Yeah, it's a waste of time when the government pay me double for sitting on my " he smirked "Just go out and get some food- the street stalls should be-" 

 

But Jongin was already out the door with a sudden excitement in his eyes and the slam of the door. He sighed, living with two teenage boys and one mentally challenged adult was going to be tough. He got out of bed and headed for the shower, passing Sehun and Luhan's room on the way there, the door was slightly ajar and Jongdae decided to take a peek. He laughed when he saw the pairs fingers tangled together, their soft snores creating a sleepy yet sweet atmosphere in the room. Once in the shower he let the steaming hot water run down his back as he sighed in contentment. He dried himself off with a towel and buttoned up his shirt that went with his jeans hoping that Jongin hadn't gotten lost, or caused any trouble. Or both. 

 

It had been over an hour and he sat at the table drumming his fingers against the wood agitatedly he began to wonder where the hell Jongin was. He was hungry and- he winced slightly - worried. But mostly hungry, why would he care about Jongin running loose on the streets? He'd done it all his life. Dammit. He was worried.

 

Sehun and Luhan strolled into the dining room together, Sehun still had that blank expression as Luhan chatted, it was almost as if he'd never seen the two holding hands. 

 

"Sehun, Luhan" Jongdae greeted "Want coffee?" 

 

"What's coffee?" Sehun cocked his head to the side and Luhan gasped and patted his head. 

 

"Sehun, I must make you your first coffee, I used to be a barista back when I was in high school, Jongdae let me please? Please?" 

 

"Fine" Jongdae grinned he gave Luhan a teasing look and enjoyed the others face flush with red "I'll let you do it this time" 

 

"Thanks" Luhan muttered and Jongdae cackled evilly, slapping his thigh and ignoring Sehun's questioning look. 

 

Luhan got to work, working so efficiently that Sehun just stared in awe, it didn't show on his face though. The rustic smell of coffee quickly filled the air, Sehun recognized the smell, earthy and homey- it smelt disgusting but delicious and Sehun thinks that was a major oxymoron but he was too enticed to care about the contradictory of it all. 

 

Luhan handed him a mug, frothy and milky in front of him proudly. Sehun stared at it while Jongdae snorted. 

 

"Trust you to make coffee sugary enough to make someone have a heart attack" 

 

Luhan swatted at him before sitting across from Sehun sparkly eyes urging him to try it. 

 

Hesitantly Sehun brought the mug to his lips and took a small sip. 

 

Then another. 

 

Then another. 

 

And with that, Luhan learned that Sehun had a real sweet tooth. 

 

"When's breakfast" Sehun asked with a small smile on his face, a silent thank you. 

 

"When Jongin comes home" Jongdae whined slamming his head on the table. 

 

Sehun hummed and Luhan laughed. 

 

"I hope he comes back soon" Jongdae sighed "I'm ing starving" 

 

---- 

 

Jongin left the house in a rush with a ravenous stomach, as he quickly scoured the streets for food. The smells of sweet pastries and spicy rice cakes filled the streets along with that smell of onions and garlic that were being fried in large woks with copious amounts of oil. 

 

Armed with the fifty dollars he found in Jongdae's wallet and an appetite bigger than a whales, he marched off to find some food to bring back. It was strange how he'd been living on the streets for years, living off cheap Korean fried chicken and scallion pancakes he never truly appreciated it, too busy dreaming of five star restaurants and fine champagne to match. But right now he couldn't think of a better place to eat breakfast, especially since now he could afford the Michelin starred restaurants and such. 

 

He was so busy looking at all the food, drooling slightly he walked straight into someone sending them crashing into a dumpster. Jongin gasped profusely apologizing to what seemed to be a boy, or man that looked extremely boyish. His hair had a slight red cast to it but not overpowering. 

 

"Oh my god I'm so sorry, I'm such a klutz I just-" 

 

A voice cut him off "it's okay" the boy looked up and Jongin immediately recognized those huge eyes. The boy in front of him, the selfish one, Kyungsoo. 

 

"Wait" he paused "I know you!" 

 

Kyungsoo raised his eyebrow "Do you?" He stood there with his arms folded, he looked a tad suspicious, a tad scared. But he hid it well Jongin had to give it to him. 

 

"Well- no, kind of, I know you're Kyungsoo" Jongin muttered helplessly raising his hands up in the air "We weren't supposed to find you for ages, you didn't want to be involved" he was surprised when Kyungsoo chuckled at this. 

 

"Oh, I see, well yes you're right I'm Do Kyungsoo" 

 

"What so like are you going to come with me or are we gonna have to you know have a little show down or whatever" 

 

"Look, I'm not coming with you right now, not yet, but I'll treat you to some food at least" Kyungsoo smiled as he spoke his offer, Jongin looked into his eyes, looking for that selfishness, he saw none and wondered why. 

 

"Okay" He answered "Just promise me you'll come, eventually, I think our asses are on the line and I don't know about you but I'd rather keep mine thanks so please if you're not doing it for your at least do it for mine and everyone else's" 

 

"You'll be the first to know" Kyungsoo said lightly "Now come on, I'll take you to my apartment, I'll make you something!" He started walking down the street as Jongin raced after him. He tried not to think about Jongdae waiting for him, hungry and annoyed, or Sehun who would be wondering what trouble he's up to. 

 

Kyungsoo led them to an apartment block, middle class, and they rode the elevator together in silence. Jongin thought maybe he should have bought a cellphone with him, Jongdae had millions round the house, but then again they could also be car bombs in disguise. 

 

"You know, I've never really had a home" Jongin mused "I wonder what it feels like" 

 

"Well that depends" Kyungsoo replied his mouth in a pressed line "On your family" 

 

"Never had one of those either" Jongin sighed running a hand through his hair as they exited the elevator, Kyungsoo stayed silent as he opened the door.

 

"Make yourself at home, just don't go into the room to the right of the hallway whatever you do" 

 

Jongin shrugged and made his way to the living room glancing at the door wearily, did Kyungsoo have a crystal meth lab or something? Is that why he couldn't go inside? He sat down awkwardly on the island bar in the kitchen, the apartment was small, cozy even. Unlike his own that he shared with the other three boys. There were photographs everywhere, Kyungsoo looked happy in these photos, eyes curved up into crescents and bangs that covered his eyes and a grin that showed white sparkling teeth. He wondered what it would have been like if he met the Kyungsoo in the photograph, instead of the careful, mysterious boy he met today. 

 

Kyungsoo didn't waste any time, clattering pots and pans together while grabbing a packet of pasta and a jar of kimchi, as well as a block of cheese from the fridge. 

 

"So tell me about yourself" Kyungsoo said while putting the pasta in a large pot of boiling water eyes looking at Jongin with interest. 

 

"Well name's Jongin, I'm nineteen, I'm an orphan, parents died when I was like two, don't remember them so don't be sorry" Jongin said as he saw Kyungsoo's expression "let's see, I was sent to a foster home, met Sehun, my best friend, and we ran away from that horrible place, we learnt magic tricks from the library when we needed to kill some time and it was cold outside, eventually we attracted attention for it and we started earning money from it, it was enough to keep us full at night and every few days we could get a hotel room to take a shower and get an actual goodnight's sleep not too often though and Sehun would always buy books, he loves reading and I-" he paused in thought gazing down at the massive stack of bills that lay on the counter. "I love dancing and that's it really, I just love to dance, I can't think of anything else I'd rather do than dance"  

 

Kyungsoo drained the pasta and added it to some type of sauce made with the kimchi, storing round a couple times with a wooden spoon. "That's an interesting life, I guess you're not on the streets anymore since you got scouted by the government" 

 

"That'd be right" Jongin grinned "Have to say say, the HQ beats the streets of Seoul any day" 

 

"I can imagine" Kyungsoo laughed placing a plate of pasta in front of him, the smell made Jongin's mouth water. "Eat" he urged passing Jongin a fork before putting the left over pasta in a take away container and putting it next to Jongin. "This is for your friends, I have to go out again so let yourself out quietly" He paused before smiling "and I promise you, we'll meet again" Jongin watched as Kyungsoo walked out the door, the soft click echoing in his mind.

---- 

 

"Finally!" Jongdae exclaimed as Jongin walked through the door gently putting the container in front of him "I'm starving, where the hell were you brat?" He shouted as he stood up from the table to get plates "What is this anyway? It looks Italian but I smell kimchi, huh weird who'd have thought you were into fusion cooking?" 

 

Jongin stayed silent looking out the window as Jongdae rambled on about Luhan's coffee. 

 

"-And then Luhan dragged Sehun out to eat because he claimed that you were taking forever, suspicious right? And so I was all alone and- hey? Are you even listening to me?" 

 

"Huh?" Jongin glanced up "Oh yeah, Luhan and Sehun going out to eat" 

 

"Oh you're hopeless" Jongdae threw his hands up into the air forgoing the plate and digging his fork into the pasta chewing a few times. "This is so good where did you get this stuff my god"

 

"Oh er some guy, you know... He was doing a trial stall so her gave me it for free" Jongin stuttered while passing over the fifty dollar note. Jongdae didn't seem to notice his stutter and he sighed with relief before reminding himself to be careful around Luhan. 

 

Just as the thought ran through his head Sehun and Luhan stepped into the room. 

 

"Hey guys" Luhan sang as he sat down at the dinner table "Oh Jongin you're back" he waved while Sehun stared at him suspiciously and Jongin knew immediately he would have to tell him about Kyungsoo at some stage, his thoughts were disrupted by Luhan "So are we hitting Gangnam tonight?" 

 

"Gangnam, land of the filthy rich, the richest district in Seoul, concrete jungle, it's where we will find Kim Joonmyun" Jongdae said his demeanor turning business like and detached, was it a protection mechanism perhaps? Jongin wondered and this time Luhan was reading him he could tell by the way he was staring at him, thankfully Sehun gently tugged at Luhan a as if telling him to stop. He stopped and Jongin threw Sehun a grateful glance. 

 

"Well thanks for your soliloquy" Sehun said crossing his arms "But are we going there or not" 

 

"Yeah, but we need to be dressed for the occasion, luckily I have enough to dress all of us appropriately" 

 

"Jongdae, you don't have to go all like serious when we do this you know, we're not some officials or anything" Sehun pointed out whilst sitting down on the chair next to him. 

 

"Oh" Jongdae paused frowning a little "well okay then you brats, yes we are going to that ed up little skyscraper land, ing douche bag corporates- come to the wardrobe!" 

 

"I shouldn't of said anything" Sehun sighed and Luhan laughed patting him on the head before hoisting him up as they followed Jongdae together leaving Jongin by the window, he gazed outward and wondered if he searched hard enough could he ever find Kyungsoo

in this block city universe that they all call Seoul?