The buzzing sound of his phone vibrating against his bedside table and the blaring noise of his alarm shakes Hyukjae out of his sleep. Groggily rolling over to the side of his bed, he reaches out blindly for his phone, eyes still screwed shut and blanket covering his entire frame from the warm rays of the sun filtering through his apartment window. He manages to grasp his phone and slides his thumb all over the touch screen, looking for that damned snooze button. When the alarm finally stops, Hyukjae allows his hand to fall back on his bed, phone clutched loosely in his fingers and his mind drifting back to sleep.

Ten minutes later, the phone vibrates in his hand and the alarm starts again, and Hyukjae silences it with his thumb. He sits up, groaning as he brings the back of his hand to rub at his sleep crusted eyes. Opening one eye, he glances at his phone.

7:10 AM.

Time for another boring day at school.

Hyukjae yawns, stretching his arms and flexing the muscles in his back. He doesn’t feel like going to school. In fact, he hasn’t felt like going to school in ages. It’s boring there. It’s boring everywhere. His life, in general, is boring.

He likes his friends at school, but all they ever talk about are girls, , and alcohol—things Hyukjae doesn’t have any interest in. Okay, maybe he does have an interest in the second one. But it’s not like he has anyone to do it with. Because, well, he’s single. And gay. Which is why he doesn’t give a about girls. And alcohol? Hyukjae may be just a little bit curious but he’s hell bent on fulfilling his promise of not drinking any alcohol with his childhood friend. His childhood friend who is also his best friend, who would have made Hyukjae’s life a lot less boring if he wasn’t living in Japan.

And then there’s Hyukjae’s family. His parents are living in the province three hours away from Seoul. And his older sister lives in an all-girls dormitory across her university. Which is an hour drive from Hyukjae’s own apartment. He loves his family and gets along well with them, but with them not meeting very often, just what more is left in Hyukjae’s life?

You need some romance in your life, says a voice inside his mind, but Hyukjae shakes it off. Romance? What romance, when he hardly knows anyone gay enough to want to be with him? One of his friends is also gay, but he’s just not Hyukjae’s type. And frankly, Hyukjae isn’t really his friend’s type either.

“Life ,” he mumbles to himself grumpily. He knows it’s too early for him to be so negative about the world but he couldn’t help it. He’s been like this for the past two years of his college life anyway.

Hyukjae blinks sleepily as he gets off the bed. He is just about to fold his blanket when he hears a strange muffled sound.

“Huh?” Hyukjae pauses for a while before shrugging and proceeding to make his bed when another sound stops him. It sounds like a squeak, making Hyukjae think briefly of mice. He shakes his head. There can’t possibly be any mice in his place. Nope, it is not possible for a clean freak like him to have mice in his apartment.

Hyukjae finishes making his bed and is about to turn around to head towards the kitchen when a small voice stops him in his tracks.

“W-What’s going on?” says the voice, leaving Hyukjae frozen in his stance, his blood growing cold. The voice sounds so weak yet so near, like earphones on full volume just a few inches away from one’s ears.

“Where am I? What’s happening?” the voice trembles, and Hyukjae looks around frantically. He gasps, when all of a sudden he feels something move against his chest. Looking down, his once sleepy eyes turn as wide as saucers when he sees something moving inside his shirt’s pocket. He lifts up a trembling hand and reaches for it. Feeling around inside the pocket, he gasps when he touches soft hair and skin, and then he hears the voice speaking again. “Oh my god! What is this?! Somebody! Help me!!”

“W-What the—” Hyukjae splutters as he scoops the thing out of his pocket and stares at it.

Sitting on his hand is a tiny boy the size of his thumb; , shaking, and covering his little face with his equally little hands. Hyukjae gapes at it incredulously and shrieks.