The neighbourhood of Garosugil was known for being packed with fashionistas and cute cafés. Models and celebrities frequented the streets, visiting the high end boutiques, and the average joe or hip young adult usually came to shop around or grab a nice lunch. The cafe Baekhyun worked at was situated on the outskirts of Garosugil, but still offered everything anyone would expect from a Sinsadong cafe. There was a nice view out from the window, outdoor seating on a small terrace, a selection of fancy and slightly overpriced drinks and, of course, handsome baristas working the bar.

It was the day after Baekhyun had taken the long shift, all the while cursing Jongin as he mopped, swept and vacuumed the floor into the night. Locking up had always been something Baekhyun avoided like the plague. He already lived alone, much to his parents' dismay, so why would he like to lock up his workplace alone only to return to an equally lonely home. Bucheon had had it's perks but Seoul with it's bright twinkling lights had captured his heart the moment he'd visited one summer. There was only one thing he hadn't factored into his move to the bustling city- his lack of friends.

The cafe had seemed like a fantastic idea. He had grown to care for his boss, a lady in her mid-fifties with tales that had been passed through generations of her family about those stuck in the North. A distant uncle of her mothers had been living in the North during the Korean War and she often reminisced over her childhood with Baekhyun. She was a motherly figure to the two boys she employed, and a mother was exactly what Baekhyun needed. He wanted someone to help him forget his loneliness.

Today was unfortunately just as slow paced as the day before, what with students frantically revising for their exams. A few forgotten regulars had come in but apart from that, no one that had truly intrigued him. Aside from the odd tourist or two coming in to meet the infamous magic handed boy, Baekhyun had been bored all day.

At around 4pm, there was a jangle at the door and Baekhyun looked up from his manhwa comic book, immediately putting it down to get ready to serve. He peered over at the customer with intrigue. There was a tall boy standing in front of him with elfish ears and he wore a grey t-shirt, plain jeans. It was the boy from before, only this time he wasn't sporting sunglasses.

"Hello!" Baekhyun greeted cheerily, "how can I help you?"

"Could I have the same thing as yesterday please?" he said quietly.

Baekhyun nodded, ‘Sure, what was your name again?’

‘Park Chanyeol’

‘A Zesty Lemon Icer, wasn't it?’

Chanyeol nodded quickly, ‘thanks’ and paid using the 'tap and pay' system. He then moved to the waiting area, letting his feet and memory carry him as Baekhyun began creating his drink.

Lemonade, lime cordial, ice and a dash of the special syrup. Whizz it together and shake it up.

Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror, Baekhyun stared at his reflection as he shook the shaker. He took in his eyebrows and his nose carefully, acting as though it were the first time to see himself like this. Realising just how conceited he must have looked having heard a few giggles from some of the female customers, he looked away to make conversation with the boy, Park Chanyeol.

‘Where’s your friend? The girl from before?’ Baekhyun asked, handing Chanyeol his drink. When Chanyeol didn’t take the plastic cup in front of him, Baekhyun waved his hand in front of his face to get his attention. ‘Hello, Chanyeol-ssi? Your drink?’

Chanyeol reached out to take it and grabbed it, hand over Baekhyun’s. ‘Oh gosh, sorry’ he said, as he loosened his grip to let Baekhyun take his hand out. 

Baekhyun smiled, ‘no, it’s fine."

He could hear sharp intakes of breath and he knew he was rising in popularity over Jongin. At this point, Baekhyun started to really study Chanyeol's expression. He still wasn’t making eye contact with him and his eyes seemed to wander in different directions as if they had a mind of their own and Chanyeol was unable to control them properly. Realisation hit Baekhyun like a ton of bricks and he knocked over a bottle of sugar syrup, only just managing to catch it with his quick reflex. Chanyeol didn't react at all, he didn't blink and Baekhyun finally understood his problem.

Chanyeol was blind.

His heart dropped a little and he rubbed his hands on his apron to dry them.

‘Do you want me to take you to a table? Are you waiting for your friend?’

‘You mean my sister? No, she’s gone back home, thank god. But yes please. Some help would be nice.’

It seemed like Chanyeol wasn’t too bothered about being blind. Or if he was, he didn't show it. He wasn’t particularly touchy about Baekhyun treating him differently and offering to help him. As it wasn’t busy, Baekhyun decided to sit and talk to him, occasionally getting up to deal with an order.

‘So, you’re…’

‘Blind?’ Chanyeol chuckled, ‘yeah. Blind since age five, Park Chanyeol. Nice to meet you.’

Chanyeol stuck out his left hand as he was holding his drink in his right hand, slurping away. Baekhyun took it and shook it.

‘Byun Baekhyun. Erm... I'm the barista here since a year ago’

There was a silence.

‘Are you staring at me?’

‘No’

Chanyeol laughed, ‘yes you are. It’s okay. I don’t mind it.’

‘Your eyes… They look fine.’

‘You mean they don’t look all white and covered over with a film? The sort of like nasty, ed up looking ones?’

‘You… Know what that looks like?’

‘I may be blind but I’m not an idiot, you know. I could see until I was five. I spend my freetime listening to audio books since I can’t read to find out information. My sister comes over every fortnight to download them into this thing for me.’

Chanyeol brought out a yellow iPod shuffle and pulled the headphones out of the headphone jack. He reached out his hand, urging Baekhyun to take the iPod which he did.

"Close your eyes," Chanyeol said, "and feel the edges of it. You can tell which way up it goes, right?"

"I can?" Baekhyun couldn't tell at all. 

Chuckling, Chanyeol swiftly took the iPod back from Baekhyun's hand and Baekhyun opened his eyes immediately, startled by the blind boy's swift movement.

"How did you do that?"

"There's these neurons in our brains that make it easy for humans to find each other in the dark. Usually it's just for kissing but I guess I've learnt to do it for all occasions."

"That's incredible."

"It's just the evolution of our species, nothing special," Chanyeol said, smiling a little to himself. "But here, look at this."

 He held the iPod with his forefingers and thumbs, gently feeling the smooth metal and the grooves in the device.

"See here? This little button that sticks out is obviously the lock and unlock button. Since it's at the top right, I know that I'm holding the shuffle the right way and I can navigate this ring pretty easily." Chanyeol smiled again, "Yoora showed me which buttons are for the pause and play and back and forth. Volume is easy to control too."

"But you can't see what's coming up next on a shuffle. You can't choose what to play," Baekhyun protested. "What if it's something you hate?"

"I haven't experienced enough to hate anything. I just listen to whatever my sister puts on for me."

Baekhyun blew out wistfully, impressed by the blind boy in front of him. ‘You’re clever…like really clever...'

‘What?" Chanyeol cracked up, "for a blind person?’

Chanyeol’s sense of humour was sharp and witty but the sheer dryness of it was slightly off putting. Baekhyun wasn’t sure whether Chanyeol was truly insulted or just genuinely enjoyed making fun of himself and making others feel guilty. Once Chanyeol had stopped hooting with laughter though, he took a sip of his drink and leant back against the chair.

‘I know I’m clever," he said, "and okay fine, that sounds conceited but my sister tells me I’d probably ace an IQ test if I could actually see the damn questions."

Baekhyun didn't doubt that for a second. The way Chanyeol spoke emulated someone who'd gone to a fantastic university and had a top class education. He certainly didn't seem the type to have learnt about life through audiotapes.

"I get by though, you know- learning to adapt. I remembered the way here."

"Yeah!" Baekhyun burst, "how did you come by here in the first place?’

The cafe wasn't exactly right on a main road and he'd been dying to know ever since he realised Chanyeol was deprived of his sight. Baekhyun had been busy thinking about how hard he would find it to get to the café if he couldn't see. They were tucked away on a side street.

‘I bumped into some girls yesterday when I was with my sister in a convenience store. They were talking about some coffee shop they liked so I asked them for directions. A right and then a sharp left, that’s what they said, and I found it.’

‘How the hell did you do that?’

‘If you’ve been blind long enough, you adapt.’

Suddenly it occurred to Baekhyun that Chanyeol was a genius. He wasn't just clever. His intelligence was beyond average. For someone who was blind, Chanyeol had figured out how to carry on living his life as though he could clearly see. He had managed to keep up with the world, something someone unable to see might not have been able to do so easily.

‘You mean… You just remembered how to get here? From coming once? Even though you can’t see?’

Chanyeol nodded, looking straight forward. Baekhyun had to look away, uncomfortable with the stare.

‘From the convenience store, it’s 56 steps to the right and then about 125 to 126 steps once you’ve turned left. Well 125 give or take a few, you know?’

‘That’s incredible.’

‘It's how I live.’

‘So… You’re blind…’

‘I thought we had established that I can’t see you. Not exactly the brightest spark in the bulb, are you? How long did it take for you to figure it out?’

‘When I saw that your eyes don’t react to movement. And that you couldn’t see me standing in front of you earlier.’

‘Took you that long?! You didn’t realise yesterday when I couldn’t see the board?’

‘I thought you were just being a bit of a dickwad,’ Baekhyun said sheepishly, ‘you know, wearing sunglasses indoors and all that. Indignant. Trying to make me read the menu out to you like some sort of servant or something.’

‘Is that what dickwads do? I should probably stop wearing those sunglasses then-’

‘No! Don’t! Don't stop wearing them!’

‘Why?’

‘I won't… N-No... nothing.' Baekhyun shook his head, 'It's just that you look good in them. They're nice and your sister must have bought them for you with the intention of you wearing them."

Chanyeol nodded, "that's true."

"When are you coming back here?’

‘Probably tomorrow. I think you’re the first person to talk to me. Are you my age? You sound it.’

‘How old are you?’

‘21’

‘Then we’re the same age.’

‘So...’

There was a pause and Baekhyun turned his focus back to Chanyeol, locking gazes with his mismatched eyes. 'So I've made a friend today.'

There was a hint of sadness in Chanyeol’s unwavering and unseeing eyes and when Baekhyun sent him on his way, he couldn't help but want tomorrow to come faster.

‘Remember to wear the sunglasses!’

Chanyeol could only laugh as he waved back in the direction of the café, hoping that Baekhyun had seen him.

When the bell on the door jangled the next day, Baekhyun sprang up from where he had been seated, waiting since his shift began early in the morning. For some strange reason, he was overly excited to see Chanyeol. It was as if being around girls all day had left him wanting some male company. Someone to talk to about guy stuff like the football match or the latest action movie. Only Baekhyun knew he wouldn't be able to talk about such things with his new friend. Perhaps that was what intrigued him all the more? A friendship where only one can see the world and the other can only hear it.

'Chanyeol!'

Baekhyun rushed out from behind the counter to guide the tall, sunglassed boy to a seat.

'Zesty Lemon Fresher?' he offered, a little too enthusiastically.

'You know me like a best friend already,' Chanyeol grinned, 'thanks."

Once seated, he took off his sunglasses and Baekhyun left to make his drink. Business was slow, same as before, and Baekhyun was able to talk to Chanyeol for a few hours without needing to get up.

'Tell me how you do it' Baekhyun asked as he sat down on the plush and comfortable arm chair opposite Chanyeol.

'Do what?'

'Function.'

Chanyeol shivered, 'you make me sound like I'm a robot.'

'Sorry, I didn't mean it like that Chanyeol'

'I know you didn't, don't worry about it'

Tell me how you can get dressed and tell me how you can live without tripping up.'

'I didn't just go blind, you know. It took time and during that period when my vision was getting worse and worse, I began learning to adapt. Every shirt I own is grey. Every pair of jeans is navy. That's so that I won't go out looking like a complete . Sister's idea, of course. I only own one pair of trainers and I live on the ground floor apartment. My post gets sent to my sister who will either deal with it for me or ring me on my phone. I keep my mobile in my pocket of my trousers at all times so I know where it is. The only person who knows my number is my sister so I know it can only ever be her. My mobile phone is a flip phone so that I don't have to press any buttons to take the call. I have acupuncture mats leading me to the bathroom from my bedroom so I know how to get to the loo quickly. Oh, and I wear sunglasses because some guy told me that I look like a dickwad in them.'

'Jesus.'

'Not quite my name but I'll settle for it if that's what you want to call me.'

Baekhyun laughed, 'you know, you're pretty funny for...'

'A disabled person?'

'I didn't mean it like that.'

'Don't worry, I get it. You don't need to apologise every time you think you've offended me. And I'm sorry if I come across weird or dark or scary. I don't get to interact with people much. Never had a girlfriend. Nor a boyfriend. Not that it really makes a difference. Wouldn't be able to tell the difference if a boy and a girl stood in front of me anyway.'

'Do you bump into people? You mentioned bumping into those girls... How did you know they were girls?'

'Girls sound like girls. They squealed when I crashed into them- you know that like high pitched one where they go 'oppa!''

Chanyeol squealed in the highest pitch he could manage, his deep voice cracking. He cleared his throat and took a sip of his drink.

'You sound like a guy though. I assume you are one?'

'Yeah, I'm a guy.' Baekhyun replied

'And I don't need a white cane because I can make out shapes. That's why I don't bump into people. I can see the dark outline of someone, just nothing else. I have to stay away from crowded places and dark places like Hongdae or Myeongdong. Everything would just be a black blur so I'd definitely bump into people.'

'How did you go blind?'

'Retinitis pigmentosa.'

'Come again?'

'Retinitis pigmentosa. It's basically a mutation in the photoreceptors of my retina. It gets worse as you get older and you can end up blind. It's the one people call tunnel vision because the amount you see as it gets worse, gets smaller and smaller.'

'So what was it like? When you could see?'

'Well I could see properly I guess'

'No, I mean how was it like as your vision was getting worse?'

'Get a piece of paper, roll it up and look through it. As it got worse, the hole got smaller until I could see no more.'

'Is there any way you'll ever get your sight back?'

'My parents are in America trying to find someone to give me a retinal transplant. If I get new retinas, I'll be able to see again.'

'That's incredible.'

'Yeah. I'll be able to see the color yellow again'

'Yellow?'

'It's my favorite color.'

'Is that why your iPod is yellow?'

'It is?!' Chanyeol grinned, pulled out his iPod and held it to his lips. 'Ah, so noona does care about me then. She actually took my favorite color into consideration when she bought this...'

'Of course she cares about you.'

Chanyeol shook his head, 'If she does, she's got a funny way of showing it' 

'You think that but it's just because you can't see her efforts. Literally.'

'Funny.' Chanyeol said, 'That was a good pun.'

'Thank you, I'm rather proud of it.'