“Hey, Hakyeon, are you busy this weekend?”

            “No, why?”

            “Well, I have Saturday off from work, and was thinking maybe I could finally take you to visit my home.” Hakyeon perked up, a grin spreading across his face, and Hongbin laughed. “It’s not really anything special, but you want to go, and I haven’t been home in a while. So I thought this weekend would be a good time. We could just leave after I get off of work on Friday, and take the train out there. It’s not too long of a ride, just a couple hours or so.”

            “I’d love to! Absolutely! Oooh, I hope your family likes me. Do you think they’ll like me?”

            “Well I like you, and they are related to me, so probably. I don’t know who will be home, but it should be fine.”

            Hakyeon stood, bouncing a little on his feet.

            “This is so exciting! I’ll have to tell Taekwoon we’re going to go, but he’ll be fine.” Hongbin smiled at him from where he was sitting.

            “Friday it is, then.”

            Hakyeon was pretty sure the week couldn’t have gone any slower. The days seemed to drag by, with his attention focused on the coming weekend. Taekwoon had kicked him out of the bakery kitchen because he wouldn’t stop talking about going to visit Hongbin’s family, so instead he went over to Hongbin’s work, where he convinced Hyuna (against Hongbin’s complaints) to let him hang around. It wasn’t like Hongbin was doing anything else, so he just sat behind the counter with him, asking him all kinds of questions about his home.

            Hakyeon really was worried about his family, and even though Hongbin kept telling him it would be fine, there was still a little nagging voice in the back of his head wondering if they would approve. He wasn’t sure if Hongbin had told his family about Hakyeon yet, so he wasn’t sure about how they would react. But he was excited anyways, to see Hongbin’s home. He didn’t know a lot about Ganghan, so it would be fun to visit somewhere new. Hongbin had told him a little bit about it, about what it was like, but Hakyeon was still looking forward to it. They would be staying at Hongbin’s house, Hongbin had said that his mom would be fine with it.

            Friday finally came, and Hakyeon packed everything that he would need, buzzing with energy. Sanghyuk had told him that he seemed like he was a kid who was going to the zoo or something. He went to spend the end of Hongbin’s work day hanging around, and then they would both leave straight from there to the train station. Hakyeon got there probably earlier than he needed to, but Hongbin didn’t seem to mind too much. Hakyeon was pretty sure he was excited too.

            “Have a fun weekend, boys! Don’t do anything too stupid, or anything I wouldn’t do!”

            “Okay, thanks! I’ll see you on Sunday?”

            “Yep! I’ll be here. Say hi to your mom for me!” Hongbin nodded, and waved to Hyuna as they parted ways in front of the store. He turned to Hakyeon, picking up his backpack and smiling.

            “Let’s go, yeah?” Hakyeon grinned back.

            “Yeah!”

            The train ride was pretty boring, but Hakyeon thought it was fun anyways, to see the scenery fly by outside the window, while Hongbin fell asleep. The train wound through the mountain passes, and the sparse greenery of Talgi slowly morphed into forests of thick, tall trees. Everything felt peaceful, but also kind of wild and unknown.

            When the train pulled up to the stop at Ganghan, Hongbin was already awake and tugging at Hakyeon’s hand to get him up and out of the car. The station that they had arrived at was big and busy, with people rushing to and fro, some yelling across the room at family members or friends, and Hakyeon didn’t see a single fairy or any other of the creatures he was used to seeing in Talgi. No one seemed to notice the two of them though, as Hongbin wove through the crowd, a firm hold on Hakyeon’s hand. Hongbin had told him that there wouldn’t be anyone waiting for them at the station, and instead they would just take a taxi over to his house. Stepping outside of the station, Hakyeon stopped for a moment, taking in the city before him.

            Ganghan wasn’t particularly huge, but the buildings were much shorter than the ones in Talgi, so it looked like they went on forever. The station seemed to be situated just about in the downtown area, with offices and business buildings. Hakyeon definitely wouldn’t describe it as quaint, the buildings were all relatively uniform in style, unlike the variety of types in Talgi. The streets were busy, with people in suits striding about in a hurry, and taxis lined up across the curb. The air wasn’t as clean as Hakyeon was used to, but it was fascinating to see how the city operated. Hongbin tugged on his hand again, pulling him towards one of the waiting taxis. The driver opened the door for them, and nodded as Hongbin told him the address of his house. Hakyeon wasn’t paying much attention, still watching the crowd.

            The ride wasn’t very long, and they quickly emerged from the business district into the suburbs, big houses with fenced in yards, smaller complexes of restaurants and shops. The houses were all beautiful and looked timeworn.

            “That’s my high school, the big brick building over there.” Hongbin leaned over Hakyeon and pointed across the street. The building he was pointing at was large, with a big clock tower. There weren’t very many students on the campus, seeing as it was after hours, but the ones that were out were all wearing the same uniform, and Hakyeon was able to picture a younger version of Hongbin mingling about. The houses were becoming more spread out as they continued, and Hongbin directed the taxi driver to turn into a short driveway.

            The house that they had pulled up to was bigger than Hakyeon thought it would be, with a large porch and big front windows. The house was painted light blue, with a gray slate roof and white trim on the windows. The yard in front was small, but Hakyeon could see grass stretching behind the house too, with a big tree and a little garden. There were some little lights placed throughout the garden that were just flickering on with the sun going down, and there were lights on in the house. Hongbin pulled their bags from the back of the cab, thanked the driver, and turned back to Hakyeon.

            “My mom should be home, and Hyejin might be there too. Eunha is probably still at work, but she might be home later.”

            “Does your mom know that, uh, you and I? And that I’m an elf? Will she be surprised at all?”

            “Probably, I mean she’s never met an elf before, but I told her that we were dating already, yeah. She was about to make you sleep on the couch but I convinced her out of that one. So we’ll be in my old room.” Hakyeon nodded, and Hongbin squeezed his hand. “Don’t be too nervous, it’ll be fine.” Hakyeon nodded again, and Hongbin smiled at him.

            Hakyeon didn’t really know what to expect when Hongbin opened the front door, so he decided to just not set any expectations at all, and just see whatever would happen. Hongbin let go of his hand to knock gently, and then opened the door slowly.

            “Mom? We’re here,” Hongbin called out into the house, and he opened the door wider, ushering Hakyeon in and slipping his shoes off. The foyer that they had stepped into was simple and clean, with a little cabinet for shoes and a rack for coats to hang. It was brightly lit, and the wood floor was warm beneath Hakyeon’s feet.

            “Hongbin!” The person who called out his name emerged from the top of the stairs, leaning down around the corner. “It’s been such a long time, where’ve you been, you stranger?” Hongbin smiled.

            “Hey, Hyejin. I know, I’ve been busy with work and everything.” The woman at the top of the stairs scoffed, coming down.

            “Yeah right, busy. You’re never busy, I know you just sit at home all the time and do nothing.” Hongbin rolled his eyes.

            “No, I actually do have a job, thanks for the support.” He was still smiling as she reached him, pulling him into a hug. Hakyeon shifted on his feet, folding his hands together. Hongbin’s sister was beautiful, and they definitely looked alike. Her hair was long and wavy, and bounced when she moved, and her eyes were wide and a rich brown color. She had little smile lines showing around the corners of her eyes, and she had dimples that matched Hongbin’s, showing when she laughed. She was a little shorter than Hongbin, but her personality seemed to make her much taller than she looked.

            “Oh, Hyejin, this is Hakyeon, he’s the one I was coming to bring to introduce to Mom.” Her eyes widened, and she turned to Hakyeon, looking at him.

            “Yah, how did you score someone like this, Binnie?” She grinned at Hakyeon. “My brother definitely doesn’t deserve you, gosh. And an elf too! I’ve never met an elf before. I’m Lee Hyejin, Hongbin’s older sister.” Hakyeon smiled back.

            “Nice to finally meet you!”

i said i would write this like 20 pieces ago lmao

finally getting to itttttt

i'm breaking this one up in probably two parts just so i can organize my thoughts better

gosh its hard to come up with a personality that i like

oh well here goes anything

thanks for reading and commenting!

~Win