In retrospect, he should have known that there’s civilization in this place. But even that wouldn’t have prepared him for what he is seeing now.

After walking for about half an hour on the tiny trail in the forest, they reached what looked to be proper roads. The white sand balls are now distant, replacing the ground with a gold brown hue. On closer look, the roads seem to be made by pressing the ground to form a smooth surface. The trees are fewer, but present everywhere still. Buildings started to come into view as they walked further. They were all small, same sized, and completely different from one another. Kyungsoo doesn’t know what they are made of, but they shine just like the trees. They are all various shapes. One seems to be in the shape of an eye, some look like the trees, some other in what he supposes to be fingers. One was even shaped like a wedding ring!

And then he saw the people. Kyungsoo doesn’t even know how to begin describing them. Most looked like humans but with translucent green skin. They all had blue marks on their face. Each one’s mark different from the other. Some were stripes on cheeks, some had circles on forehead, and many more. Some had reptilian skin. Some others had tails and horns. All of this is too much to take for Kyungsoo and he struggled to keep up with all the new information. There were hundreds of questions running in his mind but he kept quiet as they walked along.

Elyxion, as Kyungsoo observed, is as similar to earth as it is different. There seems to be a routine. People walking together, alone and in groups. Families and friends, shopping, laughing, just like us. No one looked at him weird. But maybe they are used to different species.

Baekhyun leads him to a small house shaped like…wait, is that a Pikachu?

Kyungsoo gapes at the yellow Pokémon building in front of him. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Baekhyun beams at the building, a proud look taking over his face. “Isn’t it awesome?! Jongdae wanted our house to be a Donald Duck! How lame is that? Pikachu looks so much cooler!” he gushes, evidently mistaking Kyungsoo’s bewilderment for admiration.

They enter the house through the Pikachu’s mouth, which was wide open as it lay on the ground. It was actually quite clever. As Kyungsoo steps inside, the first thing he notices is a that it’s a mess. Things were scattered all around the floor. The chairs and couches, which surprisingly seem familiar despite the luxurious look, are filled with papers, pens, and what he hoped were different kinds of toys. Flabbergasted, Kyungsoo turned to Baekhyun only to see him beam, not a single speck of embarrassment visible.

“Get back here you little !”

Kyungsoo heard someone shout from somewhere inside just as a boy comes running towards them. He abruptly stops when he sees Kyungsoo, eyes wide in shock. Kyungsoo mirrors his expression, not expecting a wild boy running towards him. The boy then glances at Baekhyun and in realization, beams at Kyungsoo. His lips curl upwards when he smiles, Kyungsoo observes. Like a cat.

Just as the cat boy opens his mouth to say something, another boy, half by the looks of it, runs out from the same direction as the former did and catches him by neck, making the first boy shriek in pain.

“Where did you hide them, Jongdae? Don’t make me hurt you” the half- boy warns the cat boy. Before the boy, Jongdae, can reply, Baekhyun laughs, drawing the attention of the former to Kyungsoo. Gasping is surprise, the boy lets go of Jongdae as he tightens his towel around his torso.

“Hello! You must be the 4th guy! I’m Minseok” he greets with a smile before turning to the cat boy. “And as you might have gathered, this is Jongdae”.

Kyungsoo smiles a little and bows, ignoring how they seemed to be expecting him. “I’m Kyungsoo.”

Jongdae coos “Aww… he’s so cute”, earning a frown from Kyungsoo.

“So, you guys are human?” Kyungsoo asks, shivering a little.

Baekhyun frowns. “We can share our stories after we get you into some dry clothes” he says, nodding to his still wet clothes.

“Of course, go on Kyungsoo. You must be freezing” Minseok gives him a sympathetic look. “And you, Jongdae, give me back my clothes!” he turns to a slowly retreating Jongdae.

Kyungsoo chuckles at the sight before letting Baekhyun lead him upstairs.

There were two rooms opposite each other and Baekhyun leads him to one of them. “You can use this room. That one’s mine” he points to the opposite room. They enter the room, Kyungsoo not knowing what to expect. The room was fairly ordinary. There is a small bed, shaped like an egg? A triangle shaped window sits right beside it. The room was big, despite the contrary appearance from outside. There was even a walk-in closet and an attached bathroom. 
Baekhyun points to the closet “There are clean towels and clothes in there. I’m sure you can find a size that fits you.”

Kyungsoo nods and smiles at him “Thank you.”

“Of course! Come down for dinner after you’re done. You must be hungry. None of us are great cooks, but at least Minseok hyung knows how to fry an egg” he says with a wink before heading out.

Kyungsoo walks down the stairs after his well needed shower when he hears voices bickering. Somehow, he feels like this would be a daily occurrence now. He follows the voices which lead him to the kitchen. It surprises Kyungsoo how similar to earth this place is, despite the initial impression. The roof above them forms a convex shape, but otherwise, it resembles a normal kitchen he’s seen all his life. At his presence, the 3 guys stop talking and Minseok smiles at him warmly.
“How do you like your eggs Kyungsoo?’ he asks, swatting away Jongdae’s hand from adding something into the egg mix.

“Sunny side up, please” Kyungsoo answers, amused at the two bickering boys. Baekhyun gestures to a seat beside him by the counter as he beams at Kyungsoo.

“Don’t mind them, they always act like this” he remarks with a smirk.

“You’re one to tell! You’re just as bad as Jongdae, if not more” Minseok retorts, earning a chuckle from the other two.

“Now, now, don’t scare the newcomer away. We have more for that” Jongdae warns with a smirk. Kyungsoo has a haunch that the two will be quite a handful.

“So, to answer your question” Minseok begins, placing his egg in front of him. “Yes, we are humans. We came from earth, just like you did. The same lake. But before we dwell into that, why don’t you share your story first?” he takes a seat after cooking the eggs for everyone. The three boys look at Kyungsoo expectantly.

That brought all the happenings of the day come down at once. Kyungsoo has had no time to stop and wonder about what has happened, occupied with taking in the new surroundings. Now that he recollects, he should be freaking out. He is sitting and eating eggs in the kitchen of 3 guys he doesn’t even know. How likely is that?
But for some odd reason, he doesn’t feel any panic. He doesn’t feel like he’s in danger. His previous vow to collect information somehow skipped his mind until this moment.

“If you’re wondering about why you feel calm despite the situation, it’s because you were chosen. Elyxion chose you. So, it’s like a home to you. Even if you don’t know it yet. We’ll explain it to you. But before that, tell us what happened” Baekhyun says, breaking Kyungsoo out of his thoughts.

Confused, Kyungsoo nods, deciding to put his thoughts on hold until he’s done explaining himself.