Moving to another country in order to become an idol wasn’t an easy decision to make. However, Yuto was sure his fears getting the better of him would bring regret later on and that wasn’t an option. So he mustered up the courage, packed all his black outfits to protect him from the dark and crossed the sea, hoping the life ahead of him won’t be as scary as it sounded.

There were a couple of things about the Japanese boy he was grateful for. His handsome appearance usually made good first impression on anyone meeting him and his black clothes he usually wore camouflaged the insecurities and fear underneath, at first glance making him look more confident than he actually was. He was a polite kid, raised well, a good kid and those traits always came to light sooner or later. Altogether it seemed like Yuto didn’t have much to worry about when it came to meeting new people. Yet, he still worried, feeling like that first meeting with other trainees of Cube entertainment would be far more important than meeting anyone else in Korea.

When the meeting came he was rather overwhelmed by so many curious, but open faces, suddenly feeling much smaller than he was. The smiles he was greeted with were nice, warmer than he expected and he was grateful because they allowed him to relax, instantly feeling better.

Yuto started working hard – the priority was to tackle the language, so he focused on that above anything else. Learning the language meant being able to socialize more for start. It wasn’t enough that he was away from his home, surrounded with unknown people – good people it seemed, but strangers nonetheless, everything was just foreign, making him feel so very out of place. One issue at the time was his motto though, a mantra to calm him down and focus and it worked.

He was progressing faster than anyone had expected him to simply because he felt like it was his only way to succeed. Asking others for help with time became natural as well – even if he hesitated at first, everyone was so open and nice to him, making him believe things might go just fine.

Like that, the Japanese boy started interacting with the rest of Pentagon family more, his Korean vocabulary getting bigger with each day accompanied with shy small smiles gracing his face whenever any of his new friends praised him for his progress. They were all so caring really, but one person in particular refused to leave his side, sometimes reminding him of a big puppy assigned to take care of him.

Wooseok was basically following him. Yuto didn’t know if the giant maknae was aware how obvious at trailing behind him he was or if being noticed was his intention in the first place. He believed the latter was true, but either way  Yuto’s surroundings slowly started looking less foreign because of him. The Japanese boy relaxed a bit more, the maknae making tiny step after tiny step as the days passed, persistently, confidently, until Yuto stripped the last bit of his dark shell, letting the words, wide smiles and laughter flow in bright big waves.

Suddenly the language barrier wasn’t a barrier at all. There were other forms of communication and the two of them found a way to understand each other, filling more days with more warm smiles as they got to know each other better and started an interesting friendship. And Yuto soon realized nothing felt foreign anymore as long as Wooseok was there.

The rest of Pentagon family soon followed, looking at the boy’s beautiful true form in awe, the joyful shine that finally came out looking more familiar even if it was new. Yuto opened up to them, allowed them to truly embrace him and erase all the foreign impressions and out of place feelings.

He wasn’t some strange dark Japanese kid anymore, but just another member of Pentagon family, a non-Korean member who still couldn’t verbally communicate well, but who was one of their own. Maybe Yuto set learning Korean language as his first goal, but it was just a tool that, like his black clothes, masked the true goal – acceptance. Wooseok helped him make that first big step.

Yuto’s fear of unknown life across the sea slowly faded in front of the strong appearance of a big puppy that was his roommate, his friend and family, a warm, well-known figure ready to stand by his side in front of all the foreign things that will for sure wait for both of them in the future. Foreign things to look forward to instead of fearing them – because Yuto will no longer be alone to experience them.