Fairy Tale Bliss

Chapter One

It was a typical day for the man named Hanh. He stood on the streets of America when it was most populated; case by his feet, violin tucked under his chin. His eyes were partially closed, his brain foggy but clear as he slid the bow to the beat. 

People hustled by, some dropping money into the violin case, some sending dirty looks his way for being in their walkway. Hanh didn't notice, though. He was much too focused on the violin he held to notice anything else. There were even a variety of people that stopped just to listen.
Hanh was, at the time, playing the song "Bad Romance." It was a song that despite living in South Korea, was still well known. And, it was the type of song that even if you were unaware that it was Bad Romance, it still sounded beautiful to the ear. 

Peeking out from under Hanh's hooded eyelids, he could see dusty rose colored dots float around. He found himself focusing on just one of them, watching it move around to the beat of the song in swirling motions, like a molecule of a sort. 

Before Hanh even knew it, the song was over. The dots caused by the music had disappeared, the sound of clapping replacing it. Hanh smiled and bowed his head in appreciation, kneeling down to count the money in the case. Sometimes he got lucky enough to receive a ten dollar bill. Actually, he would feel lucky just getting a five dollar bill bill. Usually he'd just get a one dollar bill, though. He wouldn't complain or ask for more. He knew these times were rough financially for everyone, not just himself.

While he was putting the yen coins in the pocket of his skinny jeans, he heard someone clear their throat and then lay a hand on his shoulder. Hanh jumped in surprise, looking up at the male who stood with a kind smile on his face. 

"I apologize for startling you. I've been listening to you play for quite a while and I must say, you have such a great talent." Jun stated, truly amazed by the skill Hanh possessed. The compliment caused Hanh to beam, standing up and bowing his head to the taller man. 

"Thank you so much! I love my violin. She's my baby." Hanh said, kneeling back down to finish putting the money away and placing the violin back into its case. He often referred to his violin as "she" because his violin was quite like a friend to him, that was how much he cared about the inanimate object. 

"You're welcome. How long have you been playing?" Jun asked. He didn't play an instrument, but he was a dancer. In fact, he was apart of a band by the name of U-Kiss. 

"Oh, for as long as I can remember. Seven, maybe eight years. What about you? Do you play any instruments?" Hanh closed the violin case and stood up, looking up at Jun since he was taller. Jun was struggling with keeping the conversation going. He didn't have very many friends, seeing as he always surrounded himself in his band. 

"No, no instruments. I dance, though. I guess that's a form of an instrument." Jun said, chuckling. Han smiled and held the case in his hand, rubbing his thumb over the leather of the handle. "Would you like to walk around and talk about this? We are blocking the sidewalk just standing here." 

"Yeah, sure, come on." Hanh replied, beginning to walk in a random direction. Jun walked beside him, having to stand close to avoid bumping into other people that were walking the opposite way. 

"Anyway, I dance in a band. U-Kiss. Have you ever heard of us? Oh, never mind. We just got off tour so everyone is taking a break from the music." Jun didn't elaborate further. The thing was, everyone in the band was offered a trip anywhere around the world that would be paid fully by the company they worked for. Each person got to pick a person to go with them. Jun had chosen America but he hadn't picked anyone to come with him. He didn't have much friends or family he wanted to take. 

"Oh! Let's go there!" Hanh exclaimed, pointing to a cat Cafe and tugging on Jun's sleeve unconsciously. He had never been to a cat Cafe. He didn't have the money to go to those types of places. He was barely "getting by" at his small one bedroom apartment. Since his parents kicked him out before he could get a job, he was stuck playing violin on the streets for money. He actually made a lot more money than he thought he would. Still, he had to pay bills and buy food for himself. 

Jun nodded and smiled at Hanh's excitement, leading him into the cat Cafe. He never had a huge interest in cats, or animals in general. Hanh, on the other hand, loved them. As a teenager, his mother never let him have one. Not even a hamster or something small like that.

Hanh pushed through the door and entered, releasing Jun's sleeve. He looked around in amazement, his eyes widening as they took everything in. The first thing Jun noticed was the board of rules. Simple things like not feeding the cats. Well, that was all he could read. His English was still being worked on and there were some things on the board he didn't quite understand.

"Isn't this cool? They're so adorable! I've never been to a place like this." Hanh said softly, looking up at Jun with an innocent child-like expression. 

"Yes. Let's sit down and get something to drink." Jun motioned to the chairs, but Hanh went and sat on one of the pillows on the floor. Following suit, Jun knelt beside him with his feet underneath him. 

After they had both gotten their hot chocolates, they sat with the cats walking around them, rubbing on their legs and meowing. Hanh's favorite was an orange, long haired, Maine Coon Cat named Squash. He just loved the name and it was purring louder than any cat he had ever heard.

"What's your name?" Jun asked out of the blue. He had completely forgotten to ask this man his name. Hanh tore his gaze from the cats to Jun, sipping off the hot chocolate. 

"Hanh. What's yours?" Hanh giggled softly, rubbing his nose and setting the hot chocolate down on the coffee table in front of him, picking up Squash. Squash purred and rubbing his nose on Hanh's shoulder, loving the attention. 

"Jun. My name is Jun." Jun noticed how Hanh had a very contagious happiness. He liked it.
"Jun. That's nice. I probably have to get going soon. It's kind of late and I have to walk home. I don't want to walk in the dark and get robbed, or something." After a bit more of rubbing his nose, sighing softly. He was having a good time and didn't want it to end. Still, he was grateful for the time he got to spend with Jun. 

"I'll walk you home. Don't stress over it." Jun offered, playing with the loose strings hanging off of the ripped part of his skinny jeans. 

"Really? You'd do that? Thank you!" Hanh let Squash go, picking up his drink and finishing it. Jun had paid for the drinks, thankfully. Hanh didn't have the extra money. He stood up off the fluffy pillow and tossed the beverage in the trash, Jun doing the same. 

"Are you ready to go or would you like to spend more time with the cats?" Jun asked, pulling his sweatshirt back on. He had taken it off since it was warm in the Cafe, but it wasn't the same outside. To him, it was quite cold outside. 

"We can go. I've had enough time." Hanh said, leading the way out of the building. Once they were outside, he breathed in a breath of fresh air, looking up at Jun. Then, he smiled innocently. 

"I'm allergic to cats."