Prologue: In Which Myungsoo Finds Himself in An Infinitely Awkward Situation

“Man it’s freezing.”

Sungyeol hopped over closer to Myungsoo, pushing himself into the other bird’s side and hiding his face in the younger’s feathers. Myungsoo eyed him with one beady eye but made no comment. Instead he pulled his body closer and turned his body just a fraction to the right so the warmer side of him was now exposed to the cold.

On his left, Sunggyu was ruffling his feathers discontentedly, muttering under his breath about the abysmal cold that had hit Venice recently. Woohyun and Sungjong had found a nice little bench to hide under and were bickering about the space the other was taking up, constantly pushing each other towards the spot where the icy wind would swoosh in and touch them, chilling them to their bone. Hoya, being Hoya sat at his usual spot, braving the chilly weather without as much as a complaint leaving his shiny beak. The seven of them pressed themselves as hard as they could against the wall of the old building as a temporary measure to stay out of the cold but also made sure that they were constantly bathed in the sunlight that streamed through the archways. The warmth was always a joyful welcome these days when the weather behaved like a child, the temperatures fluctuating as if it was throwing a tantrum. Myungsoo was surprised that the river hadn’t frozen over yet with how dangerously low the temperature had dropped to these past few days.

A deafening toll from the distant bell tower rumbled the ground where the seven pigeons were huddled. Loud coos of excitement came rumbling from them as they puffed out their chests and flapped their wings. Even Woohyun and Sungjong had come out from their shelter to brave the cold winds, ruffling their smooth grey feathers, getting ready to take flight. Sungyeol had separated himself from Myungsoo’s side, trotting to the very edge of the archway, cooing rather obnoxiously. Myungsoo looked on at his pigeonmates, smiling to himself at their excitement. He shared a small look with the leader of their small flock and a moment of understanding passed between them. Their leader was not so amused but rather more annoyed at the ruckus his brothers were brewing up. Sunggyu had always been the lazy type, but even he showed the slightest hint of excitement, his eyes glinting bright against the sun.

Sunggyu hopped his way to the front, Woohyun, the unofficial second-in-command of their flock trailing behind their unofficial leader’s steps. Sunggyu may be lazy but he was a proud and handsome pigeon, perhaps it was the colouring of his plumage—rich shades of grey and black with a splash of purple at the base of his neck—but he always carried himself with a sort of grace, an air of authority. He stood at the entrance of the archway, letting a minute pass before he took off without a word or a glance back at his brothers.

Myungsoo took his time, ruffling his feathers as the rest of them quickly took off as well. Nobody dared take flight before Sunggyu but once in the skies, brotherhood didn’t matter so much anymore, especially when food was involved. Survival of the strongest, it was taken seriously whenever the loud toll of the bell echoed back to them. Whenever the bell was struck by the two bronze figures atop the tower, it was time to eat. It was something everybody else, not only his small flock, but every other avian on the small island knew very well and kept engraved in their brains. When the bell was struck, there would be star-struck tourists, people who travel thousands of miles just to watch the bell on top of the clock tower be struck a few times before they carry on their way. And when there were tourists, there would be breadcrumbs and seeds, thrown by the handful for the birds that would crowd Piazza San Marco. Free food for all. Humans were such simple creatures at times, thought Myungsoo.

It was a matter of speed and skill. Myungsoo, took his time because he knew exactly how the race towards the breadcrumbs would turn out—it was the same everyday after all. Myungsoo possessed both the speed and skill to seal the position of second place every single time no matter when he started. First place typically went to Hoya but Sunggyu always got first pecking rights despite always arriving either third or fourth. Either Woohyun or Sunggyu will arrive in third or fourth place, the winner determined by which bird managed to distract the other first. Woohyun was an easy target, letting himself be fooled by Sunggyu’s lies most of the time.

Sungyeol, despite his violent flying and constant crashing into inanimate objects manages to arrive in front of Sungjong and Dongwoo. As a result, there is rarely a time where the scrawny bird isn’t covered in bruises and missing a few feathers. Sungjong, the baby of the flock comes in at second last, he possesses more skill than Sungyeol but Sungyeol beats him in size and wing length. But he was growing quickly and soon he will be able to overtake Sungyeol when their speeds were matched, Myungsoo predicted.

Dongwoo, being the kind-hearted second oldest of the group, was no way the slowest flyer among them. He flew with a natural inborn elegance, his fast and precise. In fact, he was easily as fast as Woohyun or Sunggyu, on a bad day. His coming in last all the time was thanks to his big heart and general lack of competitiveness. He didn't want Sungjong, for Sungjong was proud to a fault and had the temper of a spitfire, coming in last, so he chose to take that place voluntarily. Myungsoo admired the older bird’s kindness.

Myungsoo flapped his wings and took off. He knew which routes he was going to take so he flew without much thought, predicting a smooth and relaxed flight the entire way. However, Myungsoo had not predicted that there would be an obstacle in the way of his usual route. He had not been looking ahead when he was flying; instead his attention had been caught by a murder of crows perched atop a roof that he hadn’t seen around before. Before he knew what hit him, Myungsoo found himself sprawled on the cold stone floor, his head throbbing. His vision was swimming as he tried to focus his attention but all he saw were stars.

“Oh my god! That was hilarious!” A voice came floating from above him. It was human and distinctively female, further enforced by the bursts of giggling coming from her.

“I really shouldn’t laugh but what bird flies straight into a net?” A net, so that’s what Myungsoo had crashed into. Myungsoo made a mental note to remember this net.

“Are you alright though? Did you hurt yourself anywhere?” Myungsoo felt hands around his body. He wasn’t a large bird, not compared to Hoya or Dongwoo, but still the small fingers that wrapped around him could not completely meet. The hands were gentle and, Myungsoo noticed with a tinge of curiosity, marred with cuts and scratches. This human girl also smelled rather strange, a potent mixture of different types of flowers filled him. It was refreshing, a breath of fresh air from the salty air of Venice.

“I can’t believe this. You rascals never let me hold you,” she muttered to herself, a hint of glee in her voice.

She brought him up to eyelevel. Myungsoo found himself stunned. She was a young girl, big eyes the colour of hazel stared back at him. Long locks of vivid red flowed down her back, her bangs dropping right above her eyebrows. She was smiling slightly, a little warily with the way her lips twitched. She had no idea how the pigeon would react. For all she knew, it was feigning injury, biding its time as it waited for the right moment to flap its wings and attack her face. It wasn’t entirely implausible, it has happened to her after all. Damn that little jay. It had looked completely harmless. But the little devil in the form of an adorable bird with the most gorgeous feathers of black and blue had been a sneaky one.

If Myungsoo possessed the ability to blush, his entire face would probably be the same shade of her flaming red hair. But pigeons do not blush, so he settled with a soft coo. Her smile widened. She straightened up from her squatting position cautiously, moving the bird so that it now rested in her arm. She used her free hand to search around her jacket pocket, pulling out a handful of sunflower seeds, which she offered to Myungsoo.

Ugh. Myungsoo hated sunflower seeds. He stared at it distastefully, turning his beak away.

“No? It’s okay, I hate them too,” she returned the abominable sunflower seeds back to her pocket and produced a bag of breadcrumbs. Myungsoo ruffled his feathers at the sight of them, the hunger that was momentarily forgotten during his run-in with the net coming back instantly. The girl sensed his excitement and laughed, dumping a small portion onto her free hand and feeding him.

“Better?” Myungsoo cooed again.

“Let’s bring you home to fix you up shall we?” She half sang as she cradled the strangely tame bird in her hands.

Myungsoo was sure he was fine, he was stunned from the collision but he was sure his wings were functioning and none of his bones were broken. There was nothing wrong with him at all. But he found himself wanting to be held longer by the girl. And she had breadcrumbs! For once, he didn’t have to share with his brothers. Myungsoo wasn’t stupid enough to pass up the chance of having some pretty delicious breadcrumbs. The cold made one hungrier. He settled himself more comfortably into her arm, letting himself doze off into a dream world where he didn’t have to share his breadcrumbs with anybody else.

And that was the beginning of Myungsoo’s awkward adventures. 

A/N: Awkward adventures call for super awkward ending. Hahaha.