❝𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝
𝚂𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚗, 𝙸 𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚞𝚕𝚝❞

I woke up with a start. There was a loud bang outside. I blinked and saw my computer go off. I must have fallen asleep while gaming.

I got up and lit my way to the distributor with the cell phone flashlight. But when I flicked the fuse, nothing happened. Irritated, I unlocked my cell phone and looked at the monthly deductions - the electricity bill had been paid.

Sighing, I pulled on a hoddie and slipped into my sneakers. I carefully made my way out of my apartment and found our whole neighborhood dark. Then there must be a problem with the power line. I had no choice but to wait for the utility company to fix it. I went back into my apartment and threw myself on my bed. At that moment, my cell phone went off.

I dug out a power bank from my drawer and charged my phone. I groped my way to the cupboard and took out my only three candles, which I lit. So that it wasn't too dark.

When I had some battery power, I wrote to my followers that the next stream would be canceled for the time being because of the power cut.

One of my followers replied shortly afterwards.

Yunou._.u
I heard that space junk crashed. I hope you're okay otherwise. We can wait with the stream! 💖

Yunho was one of my first followers and a loyal supporter. We had actually played together a few times. A few days ago, he had also ventured into streaming and was actually building up a small fanbase.

Space junk? I scrolled through the news articles and there was no mention of space junk. Supposedly a tree fell on the line. Where did Yunho get this info from? From Mingi?

no1likeme8_8
Where did you hear about it? It says everywhere that a fallen tree caused the outage. I'm fine otherwise, don't worry!

Message could not be delivered.

I put my phone away and decided to just sleep, maybe the problem will be fixed then.

✯

The sun's rays tickled my face and slowly I sat up. I shuffled into the kitchen and opened the fridge. It was cool.

The electricity was back. I drank some orange juice and headed outside to check for mail. On the way there, I fixed my hair a little and opened the door. The moment I stepped out, I was knocked over and fell to the floor. I stared up angrily and saw a boy about my age. He had longer black hair and was wearing a silver jacket and trousers. He also had silver accessories in his hair. An idol?

"Watch where you're going," I complained and stood up carefully. But he just blinked at me and kept glancing nervously behind him. Was he being followed? By paparazzi? Fans?

"Are you hiding from someone?" The question came out before I could even think, which made me curse myself inwardly. I didn't need any social interaction today!

He just nodded and, sighing, I gestured towards the door. "You can hide with me for as long as you like," I offered, biting my tongue.

Stay calm. That would be ten minutes at most. Then I can throw him out again.

He entered my apartment uncertainly and when I followed him in, I realized how untidy and messy it was. Most of the blinds were drawn and it smelled terribly musty. When I closed the door, I quickly opened two windows and looked at my reflection in the mirror. My hair was a bit greasy and totally frizzy. Yesterday's flabby clothes. A little uncomfortable with my existence, I turned to him. Against him, I looked like a neglected nerd. But I wasn't prepared for visitors either....

"Would you like a drink?" I asked him to break the awkward silence.

He blinked and slowly walked further into the living and kitchen area.

"Hey, I asked you a question!" I grumbled, annoyed. He tilted his head and it slowly dawned on me.

"Don't you speak Korean at all?" I scrutinized his movements.

He shook his head. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

He gestured with his thumb and forefinger. It shows the sign which means a bit. I nodded and got him a glass of water. I handed it to him and he stared at it for what felt like an eternity.

I cleared my throat briefly. "Sit there," I pointed to the sofa. "I'm going to have a quick shower and change."

I let out a sigh in the bathroom. Why was I bringing a stranger into my room? And why did I feel like a total loser next to him?
I hoped to be on an equal footing with him after the shower. At least as far as my appearance and impression were concerned.

When I went back into the living room ten minutes later, the glass was empty, but the boy was completely soaked. Can't he even drink?

I stared at him, sighing. "I'll get you a new top."

"Thanks," he breathed and I looked at him in surprise. That was probably the only word he knew. "I.. Become a star."

Irritated, I stared at him. "Na-name," he mumbled. His name?

Since his Korean was a little broken, I thought for a moment. He had apparently translated his name literally.....

"Seonghwa?" He nodded and his eyes lit up. He grabbed my hands and looked at me expectantly.

Never being the person for physical contact, and certainly not with a boy, I pulled my hands away and stepped back.

"Hongjoong," I simply replied. Seonghwa nodded and his long hair fell into his face. Silence. I disappeared into the bedroom and picked up one of my tops, which was a little bigger because he was a few centimetres taller than me.

I handed it to him. He smiled slightly and started to undress.

"Yah?! What are you doing?" I asked indignantly, holding his arms tightly. "You don't undress in front of strangers!"

He blinked. Is he a foreigner? Does he have different customs to us? He looked pretty Korean. But that doesn't necessarily mean anything, he could have been born somewhere else.

'Sorry,' he mumbled and looked at me indecisively. "You can go to the bathroom or I'll leave the room for a moment."

"Joong?" - "Hongjoong..."

"Joong," Seonghwa smiled slightly and I rolled my eyes, annoyed. "Yes," I gave up arguing, as he had problems with our language anyway.

"Nice." I pointed at myself questioningly. He nodded. "Other bad ones," he whispered and I looked at him intently.

This was not how I had imagined my Sunday would be. What does this guy want?

"Your pursuers?" I speculated. His eyes widened. "Yes!"

"Are they from the mafia? Any thugs or stalkers?" Seonghwa shrugged his shoulders and, sighing, I sat down opposite him. "Watch out. When you've changed, you go back. I should be streaming right away, my followers are waiting. I'm sure your they are gone." I didn't feel like dealing with this guy any longer than necessary. It's a wonder I let him in at all.

He bit his full lip and nodded somberly. I eyed him again and everything about him seemed inhumanly perfect. His full, wavy black hair, the silver hair accessories. Symmetrical face, full lips, dark brown eyes, his straight nose... He was quite attractive for a boy. Where is he from?

When I looked into his eyes, he was only millimeters away from me and I felt his warm breath on me. "Pretty," he whispered and I could detect a faint smell of licorice.

I quickly stumbled back. My heart was beating incredibly fast. I shook my head. He's a boy...

"Just change your clothes. Then you won't stand out so much outside..."

❝𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚑 𝙸 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗❞

He entered the living room fully changed and took off his wet clothes. I fetched a bag and packed his things for him. I put the bag in his hand and pulled him towards the door. "It was nice meeting you Seonghwa. Take care of yourself. I have to go online now too."

He looked at me and held out his hand. I took it with irritation. His hand was warm and very soft. He shook my hand carefully and suddenly lifted it up, placing a gentle kiss on the back of my hand. I quickly pulled my hand away and looked at him disparagingly.

"You don't kiss someone you barely know here! And especially not a boy," I said indignantly and Seonghwa's eyes widened. "Sorry. Not... At home..."

I had actually already thought that. "Say thank you." Now I felt bad. He just wanted to thank me and didn't know how.

"It's all right. Just go," I mumbled and Seonghwa nodded a little. The silver in his hair shone. He left the apartment and walked to the elevator. When he was out of sight, I went back into my apartment and closed the door. I ran my fingers through my hair and sat down at my PC.

He just threw my whole day off kilter...

I started the stream and talked to my followers, reassuring them that everything was fine. However, I wasn't quite as focused as usual. I died more often, I was unfocused. My thoughts kept returning to Seonghwa. Where did he come from? Why was he behaving so strangely?

Seonghwa's face appeared to me and I quickly shook my head. His black, fluffy hair, his full lip-

Fuck man... What kind of thoughts are these? He's a boy...

I couldn't let myself get rattled now. I'm streaming and people are watching me.

After a few rounds, I ended the stream and said that I was getting a headache and wanted to get some rest. But that was just an excuse, I have to get this boy out of my head.

❝𝙸'𝚖 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚗𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗❞

So I called one of my childhood friends.

"Hi, Hongjoong. What's up?" I heard San's voice.

"I need some distraction," I sighed and lay down on the sofa, staring at the ceiling.

"Uh, have you met someone?" San asked mischievously. "What does she look like?"

"Did you have sex?" I suddenly heard Wooyoung's voice in the background and then San reprimanding Wooyoung.

"Hello Wooyoung. No, we didn't have sex. Why are you with San again? You're literally stuck to each other," I said.

"Because Sannie is the best person in the world," he said euphorically and I heard a kiss. "Hey, why are you wiping away my kiss?" - "Because it was overly wet, Youngie," San sighed.

"Can you please be gay in my absence? That's disgusting," I laughed a little. There was silence at the other end of the line.

San cleared his throat. "Who's the girl?"

"Her. I bumped into her today... She has wavy black hair and such beautiful features, everything looks perfect... Oh crap! I wanted to forget about him! You're not helping me San!" I raged into the speaker and San sucked in his breath. "Him?"

"I..." My stomach tingled and I sat up, annoyed. "He... I have no idea! I met him by chance and I've been stuck with him ever since. It's just annoying! Above all, he could barely speak Korean and behaved so strangely..."

"He's probably from abroad, it's nothing bad," San reassured me and I let out an annoyed sigh. "He kissed my hand to thank me for my help! He-"

"It's sweet," San interrupted me, causing me to grumble in annoyance. "There's nothing sweet about it! I'm not gay!"

"Hey, that doesn't mean you're gay. Some people are just more into skinship than others," San sighed and Wooyoung shouted "Like me!" in the background.

"You guys are really not helping me... I'm going to play a few video games. See you around..." I hung up without waiting for a reply and sat back down at my PC. However, I just stared at the desktop for years without doing anything.

Why???!

❝𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢
𝙸'𝚖 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚠𝚗 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝙸'𝚖 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚊 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚕
𝙸 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚐𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍❞

I opened my Internet browser. I typed Seonghwa into the search bar. But couldn't find anything related to the boy from earlier.

No way! Why am I thinking about him again?
I'm going crazy!

I got up and decided to go outside for a walk and pick up a few things at the convenience store. The fresh air will definitely do me good. I put my shoes on and opened the door. Standing in front of it was none other than Seonghwa, who was about to ring the bell.

"Hello!" he said and smiled slightly. I frowned in irritation. He held my bag out to me. "Yours."

"You didn't have to bring it back," I said, a little overwhelmed.

"I'm going to the Second Floor, Team Five to Third," I heard a voice shout and Seonghwa's eyes snapped open in panic. He grabbed my shoulders and looked at me nervously. "Help," he breathed and, somewhat unsteadily, I pulled him into my apartment and closed the door.

"What do the men want from you?"

"Sisters."

"They want your sisters?" I asked, irritated. "Already gone."

"They already have them?" He nodded. "And now they want you?" He nodded again.

Is his family in the mafia?

There was a knock at the door. "Swat taskforce, please open the door, otherwise we'll be forced to break it down."

Panicked, I looked at Seonghwa. "Hide," I whispered and he quickly ran into my bedroom. I opened the door and looked at the men in black.

"What can I do for you?"

"We're looking for an escapee. Is anyone with you?"

I shook my head. "Is that it?" I was about to close the door when both men came in and pushed me aside. "Then you'll have no problem if we have a look around."

"Not at all," I muttered, hoping that Seonghwa had found a good hiding place. I followed them, but there was nothing to be seen.

"Thank you for your patience. There's no one here, let's move on," one of the men said and made a hand gesture. They left the apartment and, sighing loudly, I opened the bedroom door. I looked around when suddenly, out of nowhere, Seonghwa appeared in front of me. I screamed in panic and covered my mouth.

"Wh-what? What?! You - you were invisible?! What are you? Is that why the men are looking for you?"

A little hysterical, I looked at him and tried to stay calm.

"What are you?"

"From Stellaria," he replied and looked at me.

"What?" I feel like I'm in one of my video games right now.

"Next to the Milky Way."

"You're trying to tell me you're an alien?" I asked, stunned.

"Alien?"

"Nevermind. So you're telling me you're from another planet?" He nodded.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. That can't be true!

When I opened my eyes, he was right in front of me and I could look straight into his eyes. One was green and the other purple. However, his pupils were star-shaped and they lit up like the starry sky.

I stumbled back and panicked. He wasn't from here. He really was from another galaxy?

"Don't be afraid! Friends," Seonghwa pleaded and now looked desperate.

"Friends? You and me?" He nodded. "Helped. You were nice," he confirmed his statement and blood rushed to my cheeks. I felt warm and nodded uncertainly. "Okay... So, do you think we can fix this language barrier?"

He pointed to his ear and pulled out a small in ear headset. "All languages. But broken. Only a few words."

So that explained why he could only speak a few things brokenly and he somehow understood me. He took a second one out of his pocket. "Broken, too."

"I could try to repair them. Only I don't know if you use more advanced technology than we do. While I repair it, you can teach me a few words from your language," I suggested and went to my PC with the transmitter.

"Sul-Ah... Hello," he said quietly and I greeted him back in his language. He smiled softly and stood behind me. He watched over my shoulder as I opened the transmitter. "Sho-Nari?" It sounded like a question. "How are you," Seonghwa said softly next to my ear and my skin was overdrawn with goosebumps. I shook myself briefly and looked stubbornly at the transmitter. "Just fine... Except for the fact that I have an alien standing next to me," I laughed nervously. "Mean," Seonghwa pouted. "No difference except for eye color, hair color, ears and teeth."

His hair turned a shade of purple and he grew little fangs. I blinked a few times. He did look like a video game character. Everything about him seemed perfect despite our differences. I quickly lowered my gaze. "And your ability. You can make yourself invisible!"

"Walk through walls," Seonghwa added, which made me look at him in disbelief. He just shrugged his shoulders and gave me a waiting look.  "Can you repair?"

"I'll try, but I can't promise anything." I fetched my tools with which I was upgrading my PC and started tinkering around. Fortunately, their technology was pretty similar to ours. Seonghwa sat down on my sofa. After half an hour, I heard soft snoring.

Sighing, I got up and covered him up. I had repaired both transmitters, but I needed him to test them out. His purple hair fell into his face. I brushed it behind his ear and saw that it was pointed. He kind of looked like an elf from the games I played. My hand lingered on his cheek and I nervously bit my lip.

Why was everything inside me tingling?

❝𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 (𝚃𝚒𝚖𝚎)
𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 (𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜)
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 (𝚄𝚑)❞

I felt a hand on my shoulder and flinched in surprise. I had fallen asleep at my PC. Seonghwa smiled gently at me. "Hungry."

"Oh. Sure. Here before we eat, let's test them." I held the transmitters out to him. He put them in his ears, but he didn't touch the second one. "For you."

Surprised, I looked at him and put them on myself. There was a short hiss. I looked at Seonghwa.

"So? How do we test them?" I asked. But from Seonghwa's reaction, I realized that his was working.

"Finally. That was so awful, I could hardly understand anything. I can only speak five languages, but none of them are Korean. I'm really sorry," he apologized. I stared at him, overwhelmed.

"Judging by your reaction, you finally understand me too. I felt like such a baby, speaking with what felt like only five words." He grinned a little and, swallowing, I stared at him. I was a little intimidated by how much self-confidence he now had.

"How does that work?"

"Well, we speak normally in our own language and, in the meantime, it is processed in the transmitter and passed on to our brain, creating a real-time translation," Seonghwa explained, running his fingers through his hair.

"Wow, that's impressive," I murmured. Seonghwa nodded. "But you haven't regressed as far as I thought. I'm sure you'll be able to do the same in a few decades. It's impressive that you were able to fix it."

I nodded awkwardly. "Isn't it noticeable to outsiders when two different languages are spoken?" I asked, irritated.

He nodded. "Here on Earth, yes. But not in my system, where every planet has something like that. That's why I want you to teach me Korean," Seonghwa demanded and I looked at him in confusion. "For what? Don't you want to find your spaceship and go home?"

"I would love to. But there are a few problems," Seonghwa sighed.

"Let me guess, your spaceship crashed and broke down?"

"Yes, my four sisters were also kidnapped by the men in black. However, I was able to escape and would like to try to free them. And last but not least... Stellaria no longer exists," his voice sounded broken towards the end and, confused, I tried to make sense of everything he had said.

So the space junk was his spaceship. That's where the power cut came from. And his planet no longer exists?

"What happened to my planet, if it was nearby, you would see it as a supernova," Seonghwa explained, looking a little depressed. "For you, a star died a day ago, for me, my whole home."

I nodded a little sadly. "I was looking for a refuge with my sisters that was similar to ours. Our spaceship had problems. We were thrown into another galaxy when we flew away and the Earth was the only habitable planet here," Seonghwa continued. I listened to him carefully. "Well, when we entered the atmosphere, our spaceship gave up for good and we crashed here."

"Then you have no place to go back to?" I asked dejectedly. I felt sorry for him. To lose everything in one fell swoop and his sisters were probably kidnapped by the government and used for experiments....

"No.... That's why I would like to learn your language on this planet and learn your habits. I must try to contribute in the best possible way," Seonghwa said confidently.

"Well, I don't know about you, but there are different nations and countries here on Earth. And each of these countries speaks a different language. You have landed in Korea. We speak Korean here. And I can teach you everything about our culture. However, you also need to know that other countries all have different cultures and customs," I explained to him and he listened to me curiously. listened to me.

"Then teach me all about your country! So if it's no trouble for you," he smiled at the end and my heart seemed to skip a beat.

He looked incredibly perfect. I swallowed nervously. "I... So... Ehm," I started to stammer.

This has never happened to me before. Why am I so overwhelmed? Just the fact that he's an alien or was it his looks?

"You?" Seonghwa looked at me waitingly. He widened his eyes and took my hands in his.

"Oh. Please don't think anything bad. I don't want to hurt you or harm you! I just need help," he said desperately and I nodded awkwardly.

"I'm not scared," I whispered. "I don't know what's wrong with me either. I'm just nervous. Somehow everything is tingling and I... I... I've never had this feeling before."

Seonghwa snorted a little and leaned down towards me. "Well, on our planet, that's what they call being in love."

I widened my eyes and shook my head. "I'm not into boys! That's not normal!"

"Who talked you into such things?" Seonghwa tilted his head.

"Why? It's not tolerated here..."

Seonghwa let out a sigh. "Not even if you like both sexes?" I shook my head. "That's unfavorable. It will be relatively difficult for me to fit in...."

"You're bisexual?" Seonghwa smiled gently and nodded.  "On our planet, gender doesn't matter, not even on the throne, as long as you belong to the noble family. My parents would have accepted it if I had a boy or a girl at my side. The main thing is that the person who ascends the throne with me has a good heart."

"Y-you're a prince?!"

Seonghwa laughed." On my planet, in our galaxy yes, there every planet had a royal family and we visited each other, held balls and events. Apparently it's not like that here, so just treat me normally, okay?"

I nodded a little awkwardly. That's why he kept acting so graceful. Oh God, I must have totally made a bad impression!

"Sure, it's not like I wasn't already doing that anyway."

"That's true again. I don't want to be a burden on you, but what have you got to eat here? I'm really hungry," said Seonghwa, ashamed.

"Unfortunately, I've only got frozen pizza. I actually wanted to go shopping when you turned up on my doorstep," I explained.

"Should we go together?" I shook my head. "I don't know if that's such a good idea. I'd hate to risk you being discovered."

"I can change my eyes and hair color again if this is too unusual for you," he nodded. "Yes... But the men know what you look like and could infiltrate the surveillance cameras."

"Oh... All right, then.... Can I sleep here and eat something for now?" asked Seonghwa, looking a little uncomfortable at the thought.

I actually wanted to get rid of him again. He confused me. He was upsetting my routine and I couldn't get him out of my head. I kept seeing his flawless features, his wavy hair and his breathtakingly colorful eyes. Those star-pupils were incredibly beautiful.

"Sure, but you can't stay here forever! I can offer you a week, I'll help you settle in and find a place to stay," I said after a long silence. Seonghwa's eyes lit up happily and he happily pulled me into his arms. He hugged me tightly and rested his head on my neck. I felt his warm breath on my neck and I nervously returned the hug.

"Thank you Joongie! Really!"

"Pizza?" I asked uncertainly and released the hug. The warmth disappeared and Seonghwa nodded. I rushed to the freezer and baked the pizza while Seonghwa looked around my apartment.

"Can I use your shower while the food is still being made?" he asked me, stroking his hair.

"Sure, I can give you something comfortable to sleep in and I'll find you something for tomorrow too. We'll order new clothes for you tomorrow," I explained and put out his clothes and towels.

When the pizza was ready and I cut it, the shower went off and a few seconds later Seonghwa left the bathroom, but he wasn't wearing a top. I probably didn't exactly stare at him inconspicuously, but he had a damn good body. Not too much muscles, clearly defined. I could only dream of something like that.

When I looked up, his purple and green eyes gleamed mischievously and he came running to me. I looked away uncertainly. I felt his fingers on my cheek. Everything tingled, I felt warm and my cheeks were certainly red.

"For the fact that same-sex relationships are not welcomed here, you don't seem so averse to them. Quite the opposite of your claims," he whispered and I quickly slapped his hand away.

He laughed out loud. "I'll put something on already."

"Thanks," I mumbled and Seonghwa giggled. "You're really cute Hongjoong. I'm glad to have stumbled upon you here."

I choked and coughed. "Eat something or it'll get cold," was all I said. He sat down next to me and stared at the pizza.

"Don't tell me you don't know how to eat pizza," I sighed, annoyed. "Unfortunately not, are you feeding me?" he whispered in my ear and goosebumps ran over my body. I stared at him. Annoyed, I took the piece and brought it to his mouth. He took a bite and chewed with relish. As he ate it, he giggled.

"You could have just shown me how you eat it."

I felt stupid.

"Apart from that, I know how to eat pizza. I just wanted to tease you a little," Seonghwa laughed, took a slice and ate it.

I stared at him, speechless. I felt so incredibly stupid. He had just tricked me. I believed him. I probably would have believed anything....

"It almost feels like you can manipulate my thoughts, why did I feed you? AISH!", I whined.

"That skill is called flirting," Seonghwa laughed and winked at me. I choked on my slice of pizza. I quickly had a drink afterwards.

He's flirting with me?
Why with me?

I'm not as attractive as he is and I don't have anything that makes me special.... Because I was the only person here?

Seonghwa looked at me with a smile.

And now I'm thinking about the reasons why I'm not good enough?! And not because he's a boy?!

"Maybe you should rethink your statements, Mr. I-don't-like-boys."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I parroted at him and crossed my arms. "Sure you look good, but that's about it!"

"Thanks Joongie. You look good too," he whispered and took my hair between his fingers. Played with the strands. I swallowed uncomfortably and stared up at him. His heterochromatic eyes looked at me with affection. He looked happy.

"S-seonghwa... I... Don't like boys," I mumbled and pushed his hand away.

He heaved a sigh and stared at me. "The amount of what you say won't change your actions and looks, Hongjoong," Seonghwa laughed gleefully and gently flicked my forehead.

"You're really cute~"

I rubbed my forehead in offense and stuffed a slice of pizza into my mouth. Ignoring his statement and my too fast heart beating.

❝𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚜, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝
𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚘
𝚈𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚎❞

The next morning I woke up exhausted. Seonghwa's face had been buzzing in front of my eyes all night. His last words. He was killing me!

Yawning, I left my room. When I opened the door, I was greeted by a sweet smell. I saw Seonghwa in the kitchen, preparing something. And there was another smell... Licorice?

"What are you doing?"

"Sul-Ah Du-no, Hongjoong," Seonghwa laughed and I frowned in irritation. Ah the translator. I quickly ran back and took him in.

Seonghwa let out a sigh. "Good morning to you too, Hongjoong."

"Sorry... But what are you cooking?"

Seonghwa looked at the food. "My favorite food. We have similar dishes to yours. Have a seat. It's ready." He served us each a portion and curiously I tried some. It was delicious, although I didn't like licorice.

"So?", Seonghwa looked at me waiting.

"It's delicious! And I don't even like licorice." His eyes lit up. "Thank you! Licorice was an important ingredient in our cooking," he explained. "I still had some in my bag, that was the rest...."

When he looked so sad, I put my hand on his and stroked it. "We also have licorice here. Maybe it tastes different here than yours, but if you want, we can buy some later."

"Thank you, Hongjoong," Seonghwa smiled. His little fangs were showing. I stared into his purple-green eyes. His star pupils enlarged slightly and his eyes seemed to sparkle. I felt Seonghwa pull his hand away and intertwine our fingers. He squeezed my hand lightly and came a little closer to me.

My heart was pounding so hard that I was afraid it would burst. I blinked a few times and looked up at him again. His free hand brushed a strand of hair from my face and then lingered on my cheek. I bit my lip. But Seonghwa's thumb stroked it, so I released it.

"S-seonghwa," I breathed, overwhelmed. I felt warm, everything tingled and I stared at him, overwhelmed.

"Can I kiss you?" Seonghwa asked, breathing against my mouth. Millimeters separated us. I blinked and nodded dazedly. Shortly afterwards, I felt his soft lips on mine. He applied pressure gently. I returned the kiss carefully, my right hand, which was still in his, trembled a little and I felt like I was sweating all over. It felt good. Too good. A short time later, he pulled away from me but still held my hand. I blinked uncertainly.

I had just kissed a boy and it was nice. Very nice, in fact.

"I..." I started and felt Seonghwa let go of my hand. Cold...

"O-oh man... I'm so sorry, Hongjoong! I don't know why I did that! Please don't kick me out, I won't touch you like that again! I-," Seonghwa said to himself, on the verge of tears.

"I liked it," I whispered to interrupt his panicked speech. His widened eyes were on me.

"Really?" He didn't really seem to believe it. But everything about him mesmerized me.

"Yes, it was nice," I confessed quietly and looked away, embarrassed.

Seonghwa smiled happily and pulled me into a hug, which I returned. "Joongie, thank you for being there for me! I'm glad I ran into you. You really saved me."

I blushed. What would have happened if someone else had found Seonghwa? I didn't want to imagine.... He...

I widened my eyes. He was still being pursued by the government, that's why he's here. His sisters, they were trapped.... What if they find him? What will happen to him? What will happen to me?

It was dangerous to protect him, to leave him with me, but it was already too late for that. And now? Now I could never forgive myself if I bumped into him.

I can't let him go. I have to teach him to fit in as well as possible. To live as a human being so that he is safe. That's the least I can do for him. How I can help him.

"After dinner, I'll teach you Korean. Tomorrow I'll explain the daily routine, show you our currency and some customs," I explained to him quietly.

"And.... I will help you to free your sisters," I added after some silence. Seonghwa looked at me, perplexed.

"You don't need that! I don't want them to hurt you as an accomplice or anything!"

"I'll find a way to get into their systems," I told him, "but first we'll develop a plan, of course."

"Why do you want to help me?" Seonghwa asked, perplexed.

Because I've been attracted to you from the very first moment. You cast a spell over me. I just can't help but like you, even though I was reluctant, there was this urge to like you. The urge to like you. Like your licorice food...
I know it's dangerous, but I can't let you go like this because....

"Because I like you!"

✮

𝚃𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎𝚍...

✮

I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of my TwoShot 🤭

Some Seongjoong again. Especially since I've gotten feedback from some people that they like reading Seongjoong. And I think Matz is really cute at the moment too.

The next chapter will follow in a few days when I've finished revising it 🤓