Jeno POV

Yaletown was the name of the part of town my parents had chosen for me to live in. One of the more upscale neighbourhoods in Vancouver, located in the West End. My parents didn't care that I had to do a half-round trip around the world to the university. I would be on the road for two hours a day. An hour to get there and an hour back. What a waste of a lifetime. But I didn't want to rebel against my parents, after all they made it possible for me to study abroad. After three years of attending a private school in Shanghai, it was a miracle that they let me go again for three to four years. But since I was only in second place in the line of succession, I probably had the privilege and the freedom to do what I want. Sometimes I felt sorry for my older brother. Because of that the focus of attention was always on him and he couldn't really do what he wanted. Doyoung was four years older than me and for the past three years we had only seen each other on holidays, but that hadn't changed the fact that we were very close.
It was also the first time that I lived completely alone. I would honestly have been happy with a room in a dormitory, but my parents rented my own apartment instead. As a result, it would be easier for me to keep my identity a secret and they were right about that. That was what I wanted. Live a normal life as much as possible. The downside, however, was that it made it harder to make friends. I was generally bad at making friends because I just hadn't learned to do it. Sadly, in my past I had to experience far too often that I was used because of my status. I was not liked because I was Jeno, but only because they had hoped to get attention through me. Therefore, my only true friends were my cousins Donghyuck and Chenle, my only school friend from Shanghai. But Donghyuck was in Korea and Chenle was probably still in China because he was about to graduate.
I had been in Vancouver for two weeks now and hadn't met a single soul, if you leave out my landlord and the pizza delivery guy. Lectures weren't going to start for three days, and I hoped I'd get to know at least a few people at university. But for that I would also have to overcome my shyness. And since I felt this was a new beginning, I firmly resolved to develop myself further. The shy Jeno should be a thing of the past.

To get a little more familiar with the new city, I spent my days exploring it. It had brought me to Stanley Park today. The weather was really good ... for January. It was freezing cold, but the sun was shining from the light blue sky. The winters in Seoul could also get really cold, so I didn't feel much colder here. With the right clothes it was quite bearable.
I usually like to listen to music while I’m strolling through the neighbourhoods, but since I found out pretty quickly that the cyclists in the park were a bit inconsiderate and had their own little competition among themselves, I didn't wear headphones. The last thing I needed just before the semester started was a moderate injury from a collision with a cyclist. However, this did not prevent other clashes.
It all happened very quickly. Again, two wild speeders came shot from behind, which overtook me by a hair's breadth, but cut an oncoming inline skater. Said inline skater had to avoid them, stumbled and if I hadn't made a brave jump forward, he would have landed hard on the ground. Instead, he crashed right into my arms. I grabbed his waist and his helmeted head bumped against my collarbone. The impact took my breath away for a moment and my heart pounded wildly against my chest. As if petrified, I stood there with a total stranger in my arms, who seemed to be recovering from the shock faster than me. Only a few seconds after the crash he was standing upright again and yelling after the roadies.
"Yah, this is not a racetrack!"
The only answer he got was a middle finger. He stared after the boys in disbelief before puffing himself up and starting to complain ... in Korean. “Idiots! So ruthless! Not polite! I hope they only get bad food. The youth today."
He turned to me and again I was breathless. In front of me was the prettiest person I had ever seen. Up until now I had always believed the saying to take someone's breath away was an exaggeration, but damn it, this angel made it come true. His eyes were big and as cheesy as it might sound, but they must have had the whole damn galaxy in them. They were framed by the most beautiful long eyelashes I had ever seen on a male. I just couldn't take my eyes off his beautiful face. His sweet pout moved, but as my eyes took in everything about him, my hearing stopped. Maybe I was still too flashed that he spoke my language. The chance of meeting a Korean here had been so slim that it felt like fate. I slowly woke up from my stare.
"Are you hurt? Did I hurt you somehow?” I heard his surprising deep voice, which was switched back to English. It sounded as gentle as he looked.
I blinked at him slowly. "Wow," I breathed. "I'm gay." As soon as the words were over my lips, I opened my eyes in panic and clapped my hands over my mouth.
My skater angel tilted his head a little and looked at me a bit confused, as if he hadn't understood me. Suddenly I wasn't so sure anymore whether he had really spoken Korean earlier or whether I had just imagined it. But the word gay could be understood in both languages. I only feared that he had taken it as an insult.
“Oh my god, I'm so sorry. It's just that you're so incredibly beautiful and I'm just a bit starstruck. I didn't think there would be someone so pretty,” I stammered in Korean, because in my panic I had totally forgotten how to speak English. "Damn it, I creep you out, don't I?"
His cheeks turned pink, and the corners of his mouth lifted in a sly smile. "Well, hello gay. Very pleased. I'm pan,” he actually answered me in Korean and held out his hand, which I stared at in disbelief before I reached out to him to shake it.
"Pan? Like Peter Pan?"
"Peter Pan just like Gay Ritchie," he smirked, and my heart jumped again.
"The guy's name is Guy Ritchie," I corrected, knowing that he was actually only joking.
He raised one hand regretfully and laughed out loud. "Sorry, my bad."
I joined in his laughter but held his hand tightly in mine. I wasn't ready to let go of him yet. It felt way too good for that. Despite the cold around us, his touch gave off a pleasant warmth. "No seriously. I'm Jeno."
"How suitable the name is for a knight in shining armour," he teased me. "It has something royal."
"Really?" I laughed nervously.
“Yes, does not mean Je king? I'm just Jaemin,” he finally introduced himself. What a pretty name for a pretty person.
"Jaemin," I breathed. “Talented and swift. I don't know if you are talented, but I could see that you are fast. How our parents always choose the right names for us is impressive, isn't it?"
"Yes," he smiled. “But do you want to let go of my hand any time soon? Not that I would mind, it's nice and warm, but I don't know what you're up to today."
"Oh!" I quickly let go of his hand and bit my lower lip in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. As I said ... I'm pretty impressed with your appearance. "
"You're pretty much reducing me to my appearance," he teased me.
“I ... I'm sorry. You are definitely such a great person that I would really love to get to know ... if you let me. I don't know anyone here yet. Since I've been here, you've been the one I've exchanged the most words with and I've been here for two weeks. That's sad, isn't it? And ... I'm babbling here nonstop because I'm so nervous. Actually, I never talk that much."
"Jeno," he interrupted me with a laugh. "Don't forget to breathe."
"This is difficult, you rob me of the air to breathe," I gasped and blushed because my brain-to-mouth filter had failed again.
Jaemin turned away from me and skated to a nearby bench, on which he sat. He took the backpack from his back and opened it. Curiously, I followed what he was doing with my eyes. He took a pair of sneakers out of his backpack, which he exchanged for his inline skates. After he had stowed them in his bag, he took off his helmet and faded light blue hair came to light. He ran his hand through it and ruffled it a bit. He attached the helmet to the strap of his bag, which he put on again when he got up and walked back to me. Suddenly he was just as tall as me.
"Coffee?" He asked me, looking me straight in the eyes.
"Hm?"
“Are you going to have a coffee with me? You want to get to know me, don't you? It's cold and in a coffee shop it’s warmer than here in the park. I've lived here for half a year now and I know some coffee shops that are worth killing time there."
An excited tingling sensation spread through my body. This feeling was completely new to me, but it was pleasant. "Sure, but I don't really drink coffee."
"We'll definitely find something else for you on the menu," he smiled. “But first we have to clarify something here. You are from Korea and so am I. How old are you?"
"I'm a Millennium Child," I answered him, and his eyes got bigger than they already were.
"Me too! August."
"April," I grinned because I was the older one of us.
"Still Chingus?" He asked carefully.
I nodded happily. I made my first friend in Vancouver.

Jaemin POV

When I set out for the park early in the afternoon, I hadn't believed that a few hours later I was sitting in a cosy, warm coffee shop, drinking my fourth cup of coffee a day and enjoying the nicest company I could have wished for. At first it was a bit awkward between us because we didn't know what to talk about. I wasn't very good at socializing. My introverted self had also managed not to make friends in the six months since I had been in Vancouver. Since I did not study and spent my time in medical practices and rehabilitation clinics, my only contact was my older brother, with whom I shared an apartment and the doctors who looked after me. After the serious car accident in which our mother died and I was seriously injured, Jaehyun took responsibility for me and brought me to Canada to keep an eye on my treatment. Jisung, our little brother, stayed with our aunt in Seoul. Jaehyun didn't want to tear him away from his familiar surroundings and his friends. I missed the little one very much, but Jaehyun's decision had been the best for all of us. At least until he finished his studies and what would happen to me was still unclear. After months of coping with grief, I still didn't know if I would ever be able to step on the ice and dance on it again. According to the doctors, I might dare to skate again in a few months as the healing process was progressing well. But my soul still showed no signs of healing. Too often nightmares woke me up. Outwardly it could only be seen from my slightly limping gait that I was in a healing process. And I was aware that Jeno had noticed it, but didn't dare to ask, after all, we had only met an hour ago. The concerned look he had given me all the way spoke volumes.
"You can ask," I asked him after I had emptied my first cup and waited for my second. Even I found this superficial “nice weather today, but a bit cold” gossip and this careful approach to the others annoying.
Jeno's ears turned red and since we were sitting in the warm coffee shop, I knew this was not the cold this time, but me.
"I don't want to seem so insistent and curious," he muttered.
“Didn't you say you want to get to know me better if I let you? And I do. Ask me what you want and if it's not too personal for me, I'll answer you."
"Okay," he muttered. "I'm trying the same."
"Should I ask something first?" I asked him because he still didn't dare.
"Yes, please," he breathed.
I leaned back in my chair and let my eyes wander over him. He looked really good. His hair had been lightened to a light shade of brown with a few golden streaks that fell playfully over his face. His entire style of clothing looked expensive. At least he was wearing a branded sweater that an eighteen-year-old student couldn't afford for himself. At first glance his face looked hard and cold, but really only at first. On second glance it got a lot softer when you noticed how uncertainly he bit his lower lip or how his eyes turned into crescents when he smiled. I had never seen such a beautiful eye smile on anyone before and it was really extremely cute. And what I found very charming about him was the little mole under his right eye.
I couldn't deny that he was attractive. If he also had a wonderful character, I could tell that there was a chance I would fall in love with him.
"Are you a Seoul boy?"
“Yes, although I don't have a very strong bond with Seoul. For the past three years I have been to boarding school in Shanghai. And you?"
“Incheon. But I lived in Seoul for a while. But wow, Shanghai. How come?"
Hesitantly, he shrugged. “My parents thought it was good to let me discover other countries and cultures. It was really cool too. It was a private only boys school. And as a result, I also had the opportunity to learn Mandarin. I'm pretty fluent now. What school did you go to?"
"On none. After middle school I received private lessons.” To avoid asking questions about that, I asked my next question straight away. "Where do you live now?"
“In Yaletown. My parents rented an apartment here for me during my studies. They didn't want me to have to live in a dorm, although I wouldn’t really mind to live in one."
", rich boy. I mean, you look expensive, but wow… Yaletown is a very nice and expensive area,” I gaped. But Jeno seemed uncomfortable because he looked down at himself ashamed.
“Do I look at it so much that I come from a rich family? Does that make me a show-off?"
“You're wearing a Saint Laurent sweater that must be worth over $ 600. So yes, you can see it," I laughed. “But don't worry, that doesn't automatically make you a snob. I live with my brother who is studying at Columbia."
"And where exactly?"
“Davie Village, also West End. We don't live that far apart,” I stated.
"Davie Village, isn't that ..."
"Gay area?" I cut him off. "Yes, it is. You can also celebrate well there. Which I don't do, because at 18 you don't have a lot of options and I'm also averse to alcohol, but my big brother likes to party. That's why he looked for an apartment there,” I shrugged my shoulders.
"Is ... is your brother ... you know ..."
I shook my head. “He likes to hear Frank Ocean, but no, he isn't. Does your family know that you are gay?"
Jeno shook his head. “So far I've only told my cousin. He's my very best friend and he's gay himself, so I trust him to keep it to himself. I don't know how to tell my parents about it. However, I am playing with the idea of telling my brother."
"Oh, you have a brother too?" Happy that we had something in common other than being introverted, I leaned closer to him.
“Yes, he's four years older than me and we have a very good relationship with one another. I'm his little baby bro”, he laughed, and a warmth ran through my body that didn't come from my coffee. His laugh made him even more attractive.
“My brother is three years older. But I still have a little brother who is two years younger than me, but he lives in Seoul."
Jeno put his hands around his teacup and frowned. "Why do you live with your brother and not with the rest of your family?"
There was the question I had been waiting for. Sighing, I leaned back against the back of the chair. "You must have noticed my limping gait." In response, he nodded. “I had a serious car accident over half a year ago. It had rained very hard, and I still don't know how it could happen, but my mother lost control of our car and we crashed into a tree. My little brother, who was sitting in the back, got away unharmed. His guardian angel had done a great job for him. I was hurt pretty badly. My leg was trapped, and they had to get me out of the car. I had a couple of broken ribs and a head injury. Our mother, on the other hand, didn't survive.” My voice grew lower and lower until I only whispered.
“Oh my goodness, Jaemin. I am so sorry. I… I don't know what to say… that's terrible,” Jeno stammered and stretched out his hand across the table, which he laid sympathetically on mine.
I sobbed dryly but smiled bravely at him. It was the first time that I spoke about the accident to someone who was not my brother or my psychologist. And I couldn't explain to myself why I was sharing something so intimate and traumatic with someone I had just met. But his hand on mine gave me something I hadn't gotten from anyone before. Something I couldn't name but felt damn good.
“Jaehyun had already studied here. He came home immediately and when I had survived the worst after the operation and felt better, he had taken me with him so that I could do my therapy under his watchful eyes. So I'm still in the healing process. The ribs have healed, my leg is still limping a bit, but it's much better than it was a month ago,” I told him.
"But you skated." Jeno probably didn't even notice, but he drew small circles on the back of my hand. That simple gesture made me blush.
"Gliding is easier than walking."
"I hope you will feel better soon," he said honestly.
"I hope so too," I mumbled quietly and looked at our hands. The thought of pulling my hand under his didn't occur to me in the least. So, I let it lie still, with the hope that he would give me this pleasant, unknown feeling a little longer. When I looked up at him again, I noticed his gentle face suddenly harden and his eyes flash furiously. “What would have happened if I hadn't been there to catch you? These s made you fall with their ruthlessness. They could have hurt you even more. Argh, this makes me angry now. I hope bad karma will haunt them for the rest of their life,” he growled and damn it was y. I doubted Jeno was really capable of hurting anyone physically, but that little anger was hot on him. I chuckled softly and finally pulled my hand under his, at least I didn't want to look creepy because I was clearly enjoying the touch too much for him to still be a stranger. "Cute. But luckily you were there and were my knight in shining armour."
With a jerk, as if he had only just noticed that he had been holding my hand the whole time, he leaned back again and reached for his teacup, which he brought to his mouth as a alibi. Even so, a slight blush crept over his face.
“Let's talk about lighter subjects. We can save the deep talk for drunken nights,” I joked.
I saw that Jeno was smiling before he put the cup back on the table. Thanks to his eyes. "Will there be drunk nights?" His gaze was hopefully on me and when he tilted his head a little, he looked like a Samoyed Puppy in human form.
“If you still want me as a friend later after my nonsense chatter. Maybe you find me completely boring."
"NO!" He burst out. "You are cute."
"Tell me again afterwards, then I might even believe you," I smiled slightly. "Because before you judge too soon, we should get to know each other a little better."
And we did. It seemed like we were talking about trivial things, but they helped us to get a picture of each other. As a result, I found out that Jeno's favourite colour was blue, that he liked to play games on the computer and that he would study mathematics even though he hated math. However, he was miraculously good at it. When I asked him why he didn't want to study something else, he said that he had to study something else and that he didn't feel like doing it. For him, mathematics was a purely intellectual matter that he didn't have to learn. He just could. What he wanted to achieve with it, however, he did not yet know. He would still have two to three years to decide on something.
I told him that I hadn't yet graduated from school because the accident had caused me to drop out of school for the time being. I kept quiet about the fact that I was the leading junior world champion in figure skating. I generally hid anything to do with my figure skating past. As long as I didn't know if I would ever get back on the ice, I wanted to lead a normal life as a young adult. A life without hours of training every day. A life without jumps, pirouettes, falls, muscle aches and no time for anything else. There has always been only the ice and my skates in my life. I didn't have time to make friends. There were always only competitors ... opponents. This was my chance to get some normality. Make friends. Finding new hobbies. And maybe to fall in love too. I was 18 and still waiting for my first love. Jeno was my chance to make my life worth living.
"Would you go on a date with me?" Jeno asked me after we had sat in the coffee shop for two hours. It was only when it began to get dark outside that we noticed how long we had already confiscated the table.
“A date?” I asked just to be on the safe side. I didn't want to get him wrong and give myself unnecessary hope.
"Yes," he replies hesitantly. “But it can also be a simple hangout if you prefer. I've never been on a date. Like when I was in a boarding school the whole time. But I like you and I still think you're cute and ... and pretty and ... erm ... yeah ... you can say no to both of them if you're uncomfortable with me. I just thought it was worth a try. And-"
"Okay," I interrupted his nervous rambling. "Let's go on a date."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah! I've never had a date either ... so don't expect anything special. But how good is your English?"
“Only school English, but I understand more than I can speak. I'm also here to work on it."
"Let's watch a movie then," I suggested, typing a new contact for him on my cell phone before handing it to him so he could give me his number.
"Prince Charming?" He asked amazed when he saw the contact name, I had given him.
"Knight Charming sounds stupid, rich kid," I grinned and sent him a short message so that he had my number too. "Don't save me as  Princess, though," I warned him.
With an eye smile he held his cell phone under my nose so that I could read what he had saved me as.
I was officially saved as Pretty with two pink hearts.
, that was enough to wake the butterflies in my stomach. I couldn’t wait for the date.