Lukas

After Eurovision, Lukas seemed to sink into some quiet, slightly muted world of his own. He doesn’t want to walk the streets of Vilnius — he feels too noticeable, as if every passerby is a reporter or a fan ready to strike up a conversation, asking questions about everything and more. He's not the kind of person who enjoys being in the spotlight. Autographs? Photos? Nah. That’s why he hides in the scent of a summer morning, in the old courtyards that smell of wet asphalt and concrete.

He loves the smell of summer — grass, hot asphalt, humid wind. He loves how concrete smells after the rain. And it feels like he experiences more than he speaks. He loves that Soviet vibe of your courtyard, then later dozing off on your bed after a walk while you brew coffee in a Turkish cezve, just the way he likes it. And he loves you too, although that’s a forbidden topic between you two. You’re friends, though even that label doesn't really fit. Not enemies, obviously, and not lovers — at least not casually.

Just two privileged people, and yet at night, between breaths, those three words slip out from you anyway.

So right now he wakes you up early in the morning by knocking on the window of your first-floor apartment in a typical Khrushchev-era building in Vilnius.

You wake up to the soft tapping on the glass. It’s him — standing downstairs in a jacket and his usual pair of sunglasses, as if sunlight isn’t a friend but an enemy. His face looks pale with shadows under his eyes, like the night was long or simply restless. But you know — this is normal for him. This is how he lives: half-asleep, half-alive, and still beautiful. You rub your eyes, pull back the curtains, and open the window.

"I’ll be right down," you rasp out sleepily, your voice not fully awake yet.

The apartment is a typical Khrushchyovka — wallpaper peeling in places, linoleum floors long worn and warped. But there’s warmth here. And that strange yet familiar Soviet vibe that somehow appeals specifically to him. He loves this city, especially early mornings — when Vilnius is still asleep, and only sparrows chirp while the occasional car passes through the narrow streets.

You pull on your old black Adidas pants, a hoodie, and quickly head downstairs. The stairwell has recently been repainted, but the scent of age lingers. Outside, it's already light, the sun hitting your face directly. Lucas stands leaning against the wall, staring somewhere into the distance, as if he's not waiting for you, but for something greater. Maybe peace. Maybe a morning without cameras.