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Dae-hyun walked off the stairs properly, revealing his figure a bit more.

«Come on in.»

The sun rays hit his features for a second, but I raised a hand to my left temple to tap on it slightly, wishing to clear my sight as best I could to observe him properly.

«Dae-hyun…? Dae-hyun Min, right?» I asked, wanting to make sure.

It occurred to me then, that while we had talked on the phone beforehand, I'd pictured the young man I'd conversed with in multiple ways, but never truly saw him. His voice appeared to match, alongside the elegant and somewhat unusual manners, though I still had no photograph or description to go off of.

A simple mistake, if you will. Perhaps even a stupid one, one I could have avoided.

The young man, who seemed to be in his early twenties, or just around my age, in his mid-twenties rather—began to approach me quicker; only then, was I finally able to see how he looked fully, and how incredibly small he was.

He couldn't have been much taller than 160 centimetres, or maybe even closer to 150 instead; he looked petite, despite the confidence, and by that point reminded me of a feral cat of sorts. Just like one, he kept his distance, standing on his very tip toes and not making a single noise alongside any of his motions.

«Welcome» he greeted, at first. 

I could tell he intended to answer my question, after he'd finish analysing me; I felt his eyes on me, taking in every detail of my face and body, as though he were to keep that stored in his mind for future reference.

My hair colour, the texture, and kind, the shape of my nose, the colour of my coat – the presence of dimples on my cheeks or lack-thereof.

It was only when he had grown satisfied, I imagined, that he nodded, to answer and confirm that yes, he was Dae-hyun Min. If I were to be surprised by that or not, I wasn't sure. Truthfully, on my part, though his stature had been what caught my eye, I was able to state quite undoubtedly and with only a couple of glances, that this Dae-hyun was attractive.

Pretty, even, I would have said instead, if I had the chance to know whether or not he liked to be referred to as such. His skin appeared slightly tan under the sun rays; light, straight locks of caramel-coloured hair framed his face both on his forehead and on the sides.

His eyes gleamed in colours similar to those of clear oceans: light blue, or teal, even.

He wore a denim jacket two or three sizes too big; his hands still rested in his pockets as he also sported a burgundy hoodie beneath it and light-coloured Capri trousers, with loafers at the bottom.

That alone was quite a different image from the lifeless black suits and coats I'd grown so accustomed to in the two years just gone…

His motions, now that he'd come so close to me that I could observe them in detail, appeared similar to those belonging to someone from a different time; an elderly gentleman from the past, perhaps.

I focused my gaze on him, and breathed in slowly, as to grow even quieter. I too, stepped forward, to mirror him, and to reveal myself properly under the light source, to make Dae-hyun's own observation of me more productive also.

An exchange among us, already. 

«Thank you, for the warm welcome, I…-» I began to blather, pushing a smile out. I must have even laughed slightly, though the awkwardness was still somewhat palpable.

«I tried to make it in time, actually--!» I added.

I nodded afterwards, interrupting myself as I realised that there was no need for me to say that, and that I could go silent instead. I twisted my fingers around, and pulled onto my left pointer with both my right one and thumb instead, fidgeting.

«I-»

What? Go on. 

Afraid you're gonna fuck it up, huh? 

You already did. 

It's just a matter of time before--

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I stood on the tip of my toes, landing back down and pressing my heels on the floor right after. I raised and extended my hand towards Dae-hyun, my shoulders stuck in a shrug that was cut off too fast.

«It's nice to finally meet you and, well… see you properly, mister Min!  ̶  I began   ̶   It's me…um. I'm Alekseij. Or Lesa, like you said!».

Lesa, he'd called me.

Already…?

A dry laughter followed.

He looked at the outstretched hand. He looked at it for a minute – and then for maybe two.

Dae-hyun then glanced up at me, and began to smirk again; his hand didn't budge from his pocket, and seemed to bury itself in it even more.

''Oh…'' I felt my head move quickly, looking at my own hand once again.

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''Maybe he… really has…?''

Read about you.

What are you going to do.

«We can skip the formalities, Lesa.» Dae-hyun stated, completely at ease. I frowned slightly in response, both confused and intrigued as I studied him.

Lesa — again. He seemed so well versed in our traditions and customs, that it couldn’t have been a mere mistake.

''We barely even met… and he's already calling me by my familial nickname…?''

 Granted, I always made sure to introduce myself as Lesa, when it came down to it, preferring it to the more conventional Aljosha or Ljosha, but only after I'd given my full name first.

Alekseij.

Molotov, Alekseij Nikolaevich.

Aljosha; 42-613.

«We should keep it comfortable and casual;» Dae-hyun said, bringing me back to the conversation at hand. 

He looked up slowly as he spoke, through his long eyelashes as his head tilted to the side.

«Wouldn’t you agree, Lesa?» 

The so familiar ringing at the back of my head became increasingly louder as I kept my gaze on him, for just about less than a second. It shifted fast – from the eyes, to the expression, to the still extended hand, that he'd somewhat refused.

There, outstretched. Untouched. Ultimately rejected-

''That's it…he knows.'' I sentenced.

I felt a single chill run through me, passing through my bones like a knife as I tried to react as naturally as possible, retracting the hand and wiping it off. Mirroring him, I too shoved it into the side pocket of my coat, hastily.

''That's it.''

A harsh swallow, again.

A pit in my stomach.

''He definitely knows. He has to. He must have learnt about me… what other reason would he have to refuse a greeting?'

Of course, he does.

Who doesn't?

Everyone knows.