You’re wandering around the streets of Korea, you can’t read any of the signs, and you can’t speak Korean at all. You look down to your watch “Ah, 11am already, I wanted to be at the shop at 11…” You spun around, observing your surroundings until a male came into your line of vision. You hurried over to him, tapping him on the shoulder, you waited for him to turn around and face you. He looked down at you slightly, he smiled letting the dimple on his face deepen. You brightly smile back at him in a friendly manner, you ask “Sorry to ask, do you speak English?” He looked at you, thinking for a few moments before he shook his head “My English bad. I speak little?” You sighed a little, looking around the area you see no-one else to help you, looking back to the man you introduce yourself “I’m (y/n), and you are?” His smile faded yet his dimple was still evident as he answered “Lay.” You thought for a few moments before laughing “Like the chips?” He was unsure what you were on about, but you’re angelic laugh made me chuckle. You take out a map of Korea, and pinpoint a location of a store on it to him “Can you take me here?” He examined the map for a few moments before nodding, he gestured a hand for you to follow him and so you did. 

After an hour and walking and talking, you found yourself growing to like him, he was charming even if he couldn’t speak English the best. He made you feel relaxed and warm. You arrived in front of a store and you both entered, you turned to him grinning “Yay, this is it!” You ran to him giving him a heat of the moment hug “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He put his arms around you and murmured “It’s okay.” You suddenly realised how close you were and broke off the hug, still smiling at him who was mimicking your smile. You started strolling around the shop, looking at the clothing they sold, you loved it all. Lay was wandering about to, staring at the different products until he found a necklace set, it had two half hearts, that joined to make one. You end up buying some stuff from the store. He grabs one of your hands, holding it he pulls you over to one side of the store showing you what seemed to be a small figure. You looked at it and giggled “Haha, it looks like you Lay!” He laughed and said “Exo. Lay from Exo.” You were confused, you repeated “Exo?” Still holding his hand you felt yourself blush slightly, he looked at you, his eyes wouldn’t leave you. The door to the store suddenly burst open and in ran loads of young school girls. They ran over to where you and Lay were stood and started shoving, pulling, touching, hair grabbing, clawing the pair of you. They screamed at Lay “Oppa!”, “My love for you is deep, Oppa!”, “Lay Oppa who is this girl!?” You couldn’t understand what they were saying, you were confused and struggled to get away. Lay was mortified, saesang fans. They had already started taking pictures of you both, and Lay just about broke free of them all. He grabbed you bridal-style and began running away, leaving the shop as fast as he could. “Lay!?” You exclaimed to him, this whole situation confused you, you had no idea what was going on.

You had both finally escaped the mad saesangs and soon found yourself in an isolated area of a park. Lay put you down, and turned to you “Are you okay?” You nodded to him, and he smiled with relief. “You want…to see Korea?” He said. You pouted your lips a little, you replied “As in tour Korea?” He understood and nodded, adding “With me. You tour Korea with me.” You felt yourself blush a little, smiling you answered “Sure.” He grabbed your hand and started running, you ran by his side, running throughout the streets, taking photos, eating different cuisines and visiting all the famous and beautiful landmarks in Korea. You wandered the main town, shopping in malls and walking down river banks. You were both walking and a young girl was sat on the edge of the river with her guitar singing the song ‘Jin-Gone.’ It was silent as you walked, the could hear the sound of the busy street, and the birds around you. You suddenly felt something touch your hand, you glanced down discreetly to see Lay’s hand wrapping itself around yours. You look up at his face, his expression was unreadable but his dimple was evident. You looked away, glancing down to the ground as you walk, holding his hand back. You felt your smile; he discreetly looked at you, noticing your smile he gleamed at you. You were happy. Lay entered into the store you originally went too, saying that he needed to apologise to the shop owner for all the chaos they caused before. You barely understood but you went along with it anyways. A newspaper flew past and something peculiar on the cover of it shocked you. You picked it up off the floor and glanced down to the picture on the front, it weirdly has an English title at the top “Star Lay from Exo has a girlfriend!” You looked at the name Lay, and from Exo?

You didn’t even open the article to read more into it, the picture of him on the front was evidence enough that it was the same man you were with now. You felt disheartened, but why? You weren’t his girlfriend, he was just your tour guide, you were nothing more, and how could you be? He appeared from the store and walked over to you smiling as usual, he noticed you looked a little upset and so he grabbed your hand and pulled you along with him again. You helplessly were pulled away with him, sinking into him more and more as time went on. The night sky and the stars began to cover the frame of night and Lay had pulled you up to one of the highest points in Korea with him. You were both sat down overlooking the beautiful landscape which was night time Korea. You smiled at him “It’s beautiful.” He nodded to you, and you felt his hand slip into your again. Your heart pained, you should stop, he has a girlfriend…but you couldn’t, it didn’t matter, did it? You were going back to England tomorrow anyways, so maybe it was alright, it’s not like it could escalate to anything more. You leant your head against his shoulder, gently leaning into him. He muttered something to you, but you had no idea what he meant, it was in Korean “Saranghaeyo…” His words felt warm, and you felt your heart break at how happy you felt hearing him speak. 

The next day you found yourself at the airport with your luggage. Lay came running over to you, he agreed to see you off in the airport, he was wearing a peculiar bucket shaped hat and shades, you could hardly tell it was him at first. It sprung to mind what you had seen yesterday in the paper, he was famous…of course he had to hide. He smiled at you “Hello (y/n), I’m trying to say, how I feel, but can’t.” You blush, his voice was sensual, and it made your heart skip a beat. You smile at him “I’ll miss you, you made my time here amazing.” He looks at you for a while, sorrow building up in his expression; you saw it and it made you feel saddened to leave. He grabbed something out of his pocket, and held it out in front of you. It was a necklace, but the shape to it was obscure…was he giving it to you? You wondered what it mean, it looked like a weirdly cut shape. He lifted your hair and pushed it to the side as he began to fasten the necklace around your neck. The last call for checking into your flight had called and you turned back to him “This is it, good bye Lay…” He desperately grabbed hold of you, pulling you into his arms he held you close to his chest, he didn’t want to let go of you. You felt the same, your hands reaching up and finding his back, was this selfish to be doing this with someone else’s boyfriend, it had to stop…you thought. You finally broke the hug and grabbed your luggage. He shouted to you as you began walking away “Goodbye (y/n).” You glanced back one last time, waving to him, this was it, and this was good bye. 

A couple of days later you found yourself back at your apartment with your mother, she was helping you unpack things you hadn’t unpacked because of work. You type in ‘Exo’ onto the internet as you search for them, loads of results come up. You see recent news about them and click them. You sighed deeply as you saw the article you read the other day “Ah, scandal.” You began reading through the article, when you got to the second picture you stopped in horror, it was a picture of you and Lay in that shop in Korea. You muttered to yourself “It was all a lie? It was me…” You exited off the page and kept searching Exo, you found a live stream of them performing at a concert in Seoul. “You were this famous Lay, yet you wasted time showing someone like me around…” you mumbled to yourself. You set the live stream up and began watching it, even if you couldn’t understand it. Your mother entered the room “Is that Korean music?” You nodded to her, she added “The effect of visiting Korea, you’re into their kind of music now?” You looked at her then looked back to the screen “They sing and dance well. It’s good music, I love it to be honest.” She was sorting through some of the bags when she asked “How can you love this, if you can’t understand it?” Sudden thoughts of your visit to Korea flooded your mind; you turned to her smiling sweetly “Language is no barrier to love.” She smiled at you; she couldn’t say anything back to that comment. 

You glanced back to the screen, the interval to the show was on and some of the performers were speaking into the microphones. You found Lay beginning to speak, it was Korean but his words seemed warm and genuine. You noticed something weird, looking deeper into him you noticed that he was wearing the same necklace you were, it was only then you realised that both of your necklaces made a heart. He suddenly spoke in English “To who I have recently met, let’s meet again, no no no…we will meet again. I love you.” He held onto his necklace as he spoke and you felt yourself tearing up, not from sadness but because you were happy. You placed your hand against your chest, feeling the necklace underneath your clothing as you held your heart “Yes, let’s meet again soon…” Your mother commented on your random remark “Ha, still watching that are you.” She laughed but paused when she saw you crying. She smiled at you, the warm delicate angelic smile filling your face could have melted anyone’s heart, you said to her “I learnt one important thing from visiting Korea, you don’t need words to express how you feel. Saranghaeyo though.” She laughed at you, adding “You’re right, love is beautiful my dear.”