​Two pairs of feet crunched lightly through the loose gravel of the unpaved path leading to the long-abandoned farm. They belonged to two young men: one was incredibly tall, broad-chested with long, lanky legs. His golden brown hair was carefully styled, swept up and over his head to show off his strong brow. He was dressed casually, but the way he carried himself and the quality of his clothing showed great care in personal appearance. Dark sunglasses obscured his eyes, only leaving his stern mouth and chin and sharp jawline visible. His protruding lips were skewed into a small grimace as, despite the sunglasses, the morning sun still glared into his face. His companion was much shorter, with dark chocolate hair laying neatly across his forehead. His eyes squinted against the light, and his thin lips were pulled into a little pout as he walked along, nearly having to take twice as many steps as the taller man. His clothing was also very fine in quality, but was not worn with the same level of care. His face was softer, with smoother lines, in what would be an elegant visage if not for his unflattering squint in defiance of the sun.

As they passed under the familiar wooden Echo Farm sign, neither payed it much mind- this was just one of many monthly visits to the farm. The taller of the two jumped up casually to bat at the hanging sign, sending the old chains squeaking as they swung from their large log frame. “Was that really necessary?” the other young man broke the silence, his voice slightly perturbed as his eyes flicked to his travel companion.

“No need to pout, Suho,” he replied, brushing the dirt from the sign off of his hands, “Just because you’re so damn short.” He cracked a little crooked smile, his lips moving to reveal straight, even teeth, and a little bit of gums as his smirk spread. The silly lopsided smile changed his face completely, softening his features and highlighting his prominent cheek bones, and scrunching his round-tipped nose.

Suho was clearly not amused by the quip, his eyes able to open a bit more as they turned towards the farmhouse. Even so, his mouth was still pulled into a little scowl. “Whatever, Kris, I’m just waiting for the day when you whack that thing and it comes crashing down on your big dumb head,” he mumbled back, pulling his light jacket tighter around his torso against the morning breeze.

Kris merely laughed lowly, his steps coming to a stop as he observed the small house in front of them. “Well, looks about the same,” he sighed slightly with the words, lifting a hand to run through his thick hair. “I wish I could fix up the inside,” he lamented quietly, crossing his arms with a huff as his gaze scanned the small, but promising property.

Suho’s face softened as he looked over at his companion, “You’re just a carpenter, Kris. Mr. Shon would need to do a lot of work before you could get your hands on the interior,” laughter carried on his voice as he shook his head. “You did a good job on the paneling, though,” he threw out the complement to try and appease Kris. He earned only a grumble in return. He was used to Kris’ cold shoulder, and usually returned it. These farm visits weren’t the only time they needed to interact closely, unfortunately. As the son of the mayor of Haedo, Suho was charged with overseeing any expansion projects to the town. That meant spending more time than he’d like with the town’s (admittedly masterful) carpenter.

“So,” Kris began, changing the subject, “How much longer until we can take the house back?” he didn’t look at the shorter man at his side, choosing instead to visualize what improvements he would implement to make the house habitable, even marketable.

A quiet hum came in reply as Suho thought. “We have until next summer. That’ll be fifty years since it was abandoned,” he explained, his brows knitting together in thought. “Then we can sell it,” he added definitively.

At that statement, Kris rotated his torso slightly to get a better look at Suho. “You never did tell me why you were so anxious to sell,” he spoke warily, his eyes narrowing behind his sunglasses, “Your father raves about how financially secure the town is. Why so eager if you don’t need the money?”

The accusation made Suho uncomfortable as he returned Kris’ hard stare, “It is financially secure,” he insisted bluntly, voice flat. Kris was the only one who challenged his father- Mayor Dongho Kim. Perhaps that is why he preferred to stay at his carpenter’s lodge on the edge of town, with only the occasional trip to the bar. Suho shook off the thought and turned his gaze back to the property in question, “But it’d be a waste for this house and this land to just sit here, wouldn’t it?”

“Maybe Johee will buy it to expand her business,” Kris murmured in reply, “though that would waste the house,” he was talking to himself at that point, Suho’s opinions irrelevant.

Suho could see that look in Kris’ eyes, but he decided to muse alongside him, “I don’t think Ms. Kim has the capital or the need for it. Maybe we sell it to someone in the city.”

Kris’ attention was pulled by Suho’s last word, “What, we have two empty buildings in town square and you think someone is going to buy this plot of land?” he asked incredulously, his voice beginning to rise. “I know you’re lying to me, Suho!”

The sudden outburst took Suho by surprise, but he found himself becoming agitated quickly, “Look Yifan, you’re not native of this town, either! Haedo is fine! We just want this historic farm to be put to use, one way or another,” he found himself shouting back, knowing full-well that it would go nowhere. He and Kris often devolved into pointless arguments. It was just a part of their tenuous friendship- if it could even be called friendship.

“Oh, really, Junmyeon,” he spat the name back with the same venom as his given name had been served to him, “I’ve lived here since I was thirteen! I practically built my own house by myself,” he snapped back. It always rubbed him the wrong way whenever his ‘non-native’ status was brought up. It was usually only the elderly residents of the town, which made the sting from Suho burn even worse.

The argument was about to escalate, the pair facing off like a fight weigh-in, which looked particularly silly considering the half-foot height difference between the two. A sudden bang broke the tension, sending Suho scurrying behind Kris to hide from the sudden noise. Kris gaped at the doorway with Suho peering around his shoulder. There, wrapped up in a faded, degrading blanket, was a very angry looking young woman. “What the HELL is your problem this early in the morning?” she screamed at them as she stepped onto the small deck, bare feet barely visible beneath the blanket cocoon.

When Suho was still startled into silence, Kris raised his sunglasses up off of his eyes to get a better look at the girl, “Who the are you?” he asked crassly, his lips falling into an incredulous gape, “And what are you doing in that house?”

“You mean my house,” Julia countered angrily, the blanket sliding off of her head, showing off her brilliant blonde bed-head.

Kris scoffed at her, “Are you kidding me? This house has been locked for 49 years, and it gets broken into by some self-righteous tourist?” He twists slightly to get a look at the still-stunned Suho. Grasping him by the upper arms, he pulls his shorter companion to the side. “Come on mini-mayor, say something,” Kris prodded, giving him a stiff elbow to the side.

Julia rolled her dark blue eyes. She had half a mind to walk back inside and lock the door behind her, but she had a feeling these two trespassers weren’t going anywhere. “I’m not a tourist!” she insisted, “This is my house!”

“Wait,” Kris shook his head, “Are you the drunk that scared the out of Tao last night? How much did you drink? You’re clearly still drunk.” He gave Suho another little nudge, glancing to make sure he hadn’t gone into some fright-coma right then and there.

“Tao?” Suho finally stuttered, peering up at Kris. “What are you talking about?”

Kris laughed hollowly, “Tao ran into some drunk chick who missed the train back to the city. He said she was blonde and really mean.” His dark eyes flicked to the increasingly angry young woman in front of them, “Fits the bill,” he said with a little smirk, raising a full brow in Julia’s direction.

She practically growled as she swiveled on her heel, dipping inside the house to retrieve the precious laminated deed to the farm and her own photo id. She made a mental note to frame the deed properly. If she was going to have to flash it every time she needed some legitimacy, it should probably be a bit better protected. “I’m not drunk. I’m not a tourist. I’m Julia Moon and this is my house,” she declared defiantly as she stepped off of the deck and onto the dirt in front of the two visitors. She was around the same height as Suho, and significantly smaller in frame, but she didn’t let her nerves show as she faced the tall, broad man, practically shoving the J. Moon deed into his face.

The commotion seemed to snap Suho out of his stupor as he snatched the paper out of Julia’s hand to look at it for himself before Kris could even read a word, inadvertently smacking him in the face with it. Ignoring the childish whining coming from his giant friend, he scanned the deed’s old writing. He flipped the small plastic identification card in his hand over and over as if there’d be a hidden third side that would explain everything if he kept looking. “Julia Moon?” he questioned simply as he read her name, his expressive brows creasing upwards as he contemplated the implications of this new information.

“Wait, like J. Moon on the sign?” Kris asked, feeling quite dumb as he looked back at the sign in question. “So,” he trailed off before looking towards the still very agitated Julia. He took a deep breath, letting his attitude change as he let the air slowly leave his lungs. A smile crept over his face, “Well, I guess this is good news.” He gave the girl a little wink, but received only a glower in return. Okay, too soon for the charm, I guess, he thought to himself in mild amusement. “I’m Kris,” he held out a courteous hand instead, “I’m the carpenter around here. I’ve been maintaining the exterior of your house.”

She seemed to relax considerably with the polite introduction. A thin hand protruded from the blanket, taking his larger one firmly. “Well, thank you, then, I guess” she offered a weak little smile in return, her first since arriving in Haedo. “And you are?” she turned to the awkwardly still and quiet third wheel of the conversation.

At the two pairs of eyes on him, Suho jumped slightly, his mind still racing. “Suho,” he blurted out, taking the girl’s hand awkwardly for a quick shake. “I uh,” he trailed off, looking down at the paper one last time, “I guess this is yours,” he handed them back to her with unsteady hands. He had such grand plans revolving around taking over the farm and its house. This girl showing up reset his timer. He swallowed his disappointment, offering a small, uncomfortable smile of his own, “Welcome to Haedo,” he offered weakly.

Kris could tell that Suho needed some time to digest this turn of events, so he took the smaller man by the shoulders and turned him slightly towards the path back to town, “It was… interesting meeting you, Julia.” When he saw her visibly relax, he offered another gummy smile, “If you decide to stick around, stop by my lodge so we can discuss improving the house.” He watched as the girl hugged the deed close to her chest, protectively. She merely nodded at him. He couldn’t help but notice that her face was rather pretty, even surrounded by matted hair and a deteriorating blanket. Nodding in farewell, he led Suho back to town. Well, he thought bemused, this certainly makes things interesting.

They had made it back to the cobblestone-paved pathways of town square before Suho finally broke his stupor, “This certainly complicates things,” he sputtered, coming to a stop in front of the general store, which had yet to open for the day.

“You said it would be a waste if it stayed abandoned, right?” Kris took the opportunity to pry again, “If everything’s so fine, this should be a good thing.” Suho looked conflicted, fiddling with his fingers nervously. Kris felt an unfamiliar pang of guilt. He took great pleasure in sending Mr. Perfect into a tizzy, but this was clearly on a different level. With a little inward sigh, Kris decided to throw the poor guy a bone, “Or are you just worried daddy will be disappointed in you?”

Suho brightened up and took the bait, “Yes, that’s exactly it. My father was excited at the prospect of bringing in fresh blood to the town,” he spoke quickly, thinking on the fly, “So he might be disappointed to just have Moon family return after all this time.” Suho’s face fell slightly after his shaky declaration, “Or he might be glad? I actually don’t know.”

Kris lay a large hand on Suho’s shoulder, “Don’t sweat it, mini-Mayor. One step at a time. Go tell your father, then you might want to go give her a more proper welcome.”

His face jerked up, a look of horror crossing his face, eyes growing wide, “Oh my god, you’re right, I was so rude!”

With a sigh, Kris looked away for a moment. “Chill, Suho. One step at a time, remember?” Kris wondered how this always seemed to happen. He had set out to mess with the uptight young man, only to have to put him back together again. He thought for a moment to think of something to lighten the mood. His brows lifted as the lightbulb went off in his head, “She’s pretty though, huh?” he teased, giving his short friend a nudge in his side.

Suho gave him a confused look, his eyes skewing up at Kris’ face, “What?” When the giant just wiggled his bushy brows back at him, he grumbled, “Finally a girl in town pretty enough for you?” Suho retorted, crossing his arms as he stared Kris down.

“Woah, woah,” he replied with an airy laugh, “Let’s not go that far. I meant for you, man. That think with Wendy didn’t work out-“

“Let’s not talk about that,” Suho cut him off with a quick snap, his heart sinking at the unpleasant memories, “Let’s just pretend that never happened.” When Kris’ face fell at the sudden outburst, Suho sighed slightly, relaxing his shoulders as he let his arms fall back to his sides. “I’m sure Julia’s lovely, but all we saw of her was an angry face.”

“Sometimes that’s all you need,” Kris practically sang in response. Seeing that this conversation was on the fast track to nowhere pleasant, Kris turned around to head north towards his lodge, “Good luck with your dad.” He gave Suho a heavy pat on the shoulder before giving a lazy little wave, “See you later, dude,”

Suho stood there in the middle of the path for another long moment, not even bothering to wave back at Kris’ retreating back. He could do this. Taking a deep breath, he turned towards the Mayor’s mansion where his father would be getting ready for his day. He was not looking forward to the conversation. Regardless, he had to admit that Kris was right- he couldn’t worry about everything all at once or else he would be paralyzed. One foot in front of the other, Junmyeon.

Julia trudged back inside her little meager house, seeing the inside for the first time in the sunlight. It was so simple- a bed, a wooden round table with two chairs, an ashy fireplace, and a single dresser. It would have to do. There was a door hanging open in the back of the house leading to a little bathroom, and another leading to a room that was completely empty. Upon closer inspection, she was disgusted to find there was no running water, and the toilet was just over a swage tank. She made a mental note to make that priority one. Hopefully that tall carpenter guy could help with that. Home improvement was certainly not one of her areas of expertise. There was also a meager kitchen with a simple gas stove and no refridgerator. How did her family live here for generations? Sure, the bed was pretty big, but still. She didn’t blame her stingy grandfather for ditching the place.

Once she had dressed herself and tamed her hair, she stepped outside. She figured if she was going to run into more villagers, she should give a good first impression, so she wore a cute little light blue dress, the skirt flaring out just before her knees with some sensible black flats to walk in. It was a little on the cold side, but you only get one first impression. Smoothing the skirt out as she walked, she resolved herself to investigate her new properly. There was a well right next to the front deck, and the back of the house backed up to a rock outcropping, providing ample shade. The real problem revealed itself when she looked out to survey the farmland that she was supposedly supposed to be working. It was overgrown- bushes and grasses and weeds had sprouted through the topsoil, and some pine trees had grown up in the past few decades, dotting the otherwise flat landscape. There was one corner of the farm that seemed to be the clearest, with the rest having a dry, trampled appearance. That must have been the cattle pasture. Some rocks were protruding around the area, and the entire edge of the plateau looked barren and, well, abandoned. Julia reached up to scratch at the back of her neck, fighting a mental battle to keep herself from feeling completely overwhelmed. One step at a time, Julia.

She found some old tools hanging under a little shed behind the house. There was an axe she had no business swinging, but the hoe seemed manageable. A rusted shovel and a large plastic watering can rounded out the collection. Taking mental inventory, she left them be before circling the house again. There was nothing she could do about the travesty in front of her, so she resolved herself to venture into town. She had a long shopping list, and needed to see what the general store had to offer. She hoped she didn’t burn through her savings too quickly. Despite his horrible attempt at flirtation, she doubted Kris the carpenter was about to improve her house for free.

Before heading towards the path out of the farm, Julia took a detour towards the back of the farm, towards the back of the plateau. As she approached, she saw that her property did indeed extend until a sharp cliff down towards the lower mountain. Remnants of a fence still dotted the boundary, but most of the wood was hollow and rotting. Even so, the view was rather incredible, looking over the untouched wild of the mountain range. Despite her city upbringing, she found a deep appreciation for the serenity of the outdoors. It would take some getting used to, but the scenery was certainly going to help. With the frustration out of her system, she felt ready to face the slew of strangers in town.

She was generally not a nervous person, but she had to admit that she felt a bit anxious to meet the people in town. She had essentially committed to moving somewhere without knowing anything about the place. And, given the stunned reaction of her two visitors that morning, she wasn’t guaranteed to be making friends any time soon. At least the three young men she had met so far had been good-looking, so there was that. She never really had much interest in dating or relationships, but just like the cliff-side farm, having a nice view never hurt. With that thought in mind, Julia began the short trek towards Haedo. First stop, Byun’s General Store for some good old-fashioned shopping. Perhaps she could even start that whole farmer thing and buy some seeds. After getting food, cleaning supplies, new blankets, toiletries, and okay maybe the farm thing was going to sit on the back burner for a while. She didn’t even have anywhere to plant yet. Not to mention the small detail that she had no idea how.

A/N: I love all six of you, subscribers <3