After slaving away for three years in college, Kyungsoo has finally graduated a year ahead of what was projected. Unlike his peers that squandered their youth away on fun and games, the quiet boy focused fully on his studies during the semester, and occupied his summers with more classes and part time jobs. Many would have called him stupid for letting the years of his prime go to waste, but he disgagreed. He's here now, graduating with the highest honors in his department, accomplished what any self-respecting student would want.

And one of the those people who disagreed with his ideals was no other than his best friend, Byun Baekhyun.

The beagle and himself were two complete opposites. Where the elder was a social butterfly and lived for the thrills of adventures, Kyungsoo was reserved and quiet, preferring to mind his own business. If it wasn't for the fact that Baekhyun was both his neighbor and his orientation leader freshman year, he highly doubted that he would ever acquaint himself with such an outgoing individual. Not that he was against it, but it was simply to tiring to keep up with all the time.

"Come on Soo, admit it. It's a great idea." Slapping the brochure on the table, Baekhyun smiled his signature toothy grin, the corners of his eyes crinkling in smug delight.

The raven haired male squinted at the size 8 font and the information that was cramped into that small sheet, only to sigh. "No, it's not." And before Baekhyun could protest, Kyungsoo continued. "This is America, Baekhyun. On the other end of the globe. I would have considered it if you said it was going to the other end of South Korea, but this is just ridiculous. Did you even consider the expenses? The language barrier? The cultural differences?"

However, it seemed that the other had come prepared, the smug expression never once faltering. "Exactly, Soo. That's the whole point! You've been working on part-time jobs and saving up all that money- and I know for sure they're still sitting in your bank gathering dust, because my friend, you've been wearing this same shirt," Baekhyun pinches the sleeve of the grumpy-looking boy's top, only to have his hand be swatted away, "since freshman year. And don't think I'm not aware that you've been studying English since high school, and have taken six semesters worth of English language classes in college. The langauge won't be a problem for you."

The beagle paused, taking in a deep breath and suddenly looking uncharacteristically serious. "That's the whole point, Soo. In your twenty-two years of living, you've never taken risks, and the farthest you've been from your home is here, in Seoul! And that's saying something, because your home is only thirty minutes by subway." Baekhyun exhales, and Kyungsoo can't seem to come up with an excuse, instead settling for fiddling with his fingers as a distraction.

"You should go, Soo," Baekhyun sidled up to the quiet boy, nudging him with a smile. "And besides, maybe you'll be able to attend the pop concert of your favorite artist that you've always dreamed of. And then if you want, you can live the rest of your life like a boring old man, but at least then you'd have at least lived like a youth for once."

______________

And that was how Kyungsoo found himself standing in the international airport of New York City, the backpack he carried almost dwarfing his entire stature. Kyungsoo had been worried that he would have looked silly like that, but no one had bothered sparing him a second glance. In a sense, he felt relieved by the lack of judgement, so to speak.

Wide eyes glanced up at the signs overhead, and with some deciphering, Kyungsoo decided to head to the train station to head to his accomodation. After endless nights of research, he had decided to rent a room through AirBnB in Flushing, where a fairly high number of Koreans lived. The trip it