Minseok is nine when he meets Lu Han for the first time.

His father takes him on one of his business trips that summer, a conference of some sort in Beijing. It’s Minseok’s first time abroad and the novelty of it all is exhilarating. The ride from the airport to the city is short but thrilling and he revels in the sheer speed of the bullet train, withdrawing from the window only when the scenery flashing past becomes too dizzying to bear. It’s the middle of July - the height of summer - but the air conditioned interior is cool enough that the sunlight streaming through the windows is blissful in its warmth.

Minseok is wandering the aisles when he bumps into a boy with wild, black curls. A crisp white shirt stretches across his narrow shoulders, paired with navy shorts that don’t quite cover his scabbed knees. He was a boy like any other and Minseok would have kept walking if he had not noticed the plush Rilakkuma toy hanging from his backpack, miniature skates strapped to the ends of its tiny bear legs.

The boy catches him eyeing the toy and there’s something like understanding in his quick smile. A stream of excited chatter flows from his lips, but his Chinese is much too fast for Minseok to follow. He nods hesitantly when he catches the word ‘skating’, but before the boy can elaborate, he is ushered away by a tall, stern-looking man who casts Minseok a disapproving look, as if it were entirely his fault that the boy was not where he was supposed to be.      

Minseok watches as the boy scurries off to another section of the train before making his way back to his seat. He’s still young enough that he keeps a tight grip on his own skate-clad stuffed bear as the train speeds through the dark tunnels, but just old enough to fall under the enchantment of the enormous skyscrapers that stretch towards the clouds like dragons, their chrome scales flashing beneath the scorching sun.