You're not alone.

This reality was becoming more and more obnoxiously true and Minseok gritted his teeth as he braced himself for the next round of verbal harassment. 

"Minseok-sshi!" 

Minseok flinched at how loud his name sounded in the silence of his apartment--in spite of the special soundproofing he'd had installed. 

"Minseok-sshi! I know you can hear me!"

In a ridiculously futile (and childish) gesture, Minseok stuck his fingers in his ears and sang Wheels on the Bus at the top of his voice.

"MINSEOK-SSHIIIII! You gotta help me, come onnnn. I'm dying here. I'm bored out of my mind and there's nothing on TV, and I have nothing to read or eat and I'm not allowed out in public until that whole media storm settles down."

"NOT MY PROBLEM!" He yelled back. Yelling was necessary because while he could hear his next door neighbor just fine through the wall they shared, the other man did not possess the same kind of special hearing he had.

It irritated him no end that he had to do things he normally wouldn't do--just because the pest next-door wouldn't leave him alone. Point in case: having to yell through the walls just so the could hear him. 

Minseok detested raising his voice under any circumstances because it implied emotional reaction of some kind when he had no emotions to speak of. Beings from his planet had no emotions--this was a universal truth. And yet he now found himself bellowing several times a day just to shut his neighbor up. LU HAN WAS A MENACE. Of the worst kind.

"Please, Minseok-sshi, help me! Go to Manhwaland near the Hongik University Station Exit 8. Look for Kyungsoo. He's my best friend. He's a bit...intimidating sometimes, but look for him, and tell him I want to borrow Issues No. 23 to 25 of The Randy Hospital Worker and Issues 16 and 17 of The Love Connection."

"I wouldn't be caught DEAD with anything called The Randy Hospital Worker!"

"But I'm dying from the suspense! I MUST know what happens next!"

"Ask your friend to bring it over. You're best friends after all."

"You don't understand! Kyungsoo is...cranky. You don't um...ask Kyungsoo to do things for you. Not if you value your life."

"I am probably crankier than Kyungsoo, SO WHY WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?"

"Because you're there. Duh. What do you say Minseok-sshi? Help me get those manhwa comics?"

"No."

"Just one?" Lu Han's voice could be very persuasive. He's sold millions of movie tickets with that clear, honey voice of his and that disgustingly winsome face of his. It was a good thing Minseok was completely immune to his charms. Minseok was an immovable wall Lu Han would never budge.

"NO!"

"How about getting me some beer and chicken then?"

"NO!"

“But I’ll share!”

“NO!”

"But--"

"I SAID NO!"

Minseok glowered as made his way along the well-lit sidewalk leading up to his apartment building. Two plastic bags rustled noisily in his hands. The aroma of fried chicken assailed his nostrils while two silver cans of Cass beer jostled his thigh in the most annoying manner. 

He was irritated by the beer and chicken and he was irritated by the fact that he was irritated. Because beings from his planet did not get irritated and yet here he was--positively bristling with irritation. Worse still, there was the matter of the Obnoxious Cargo in his right hand. It was fortunate that he could render the brightly colored volumes invisible so that no one on the street could see that he was carrying comics entitled The Randy Hospital Worker and The Love Connection. Minseok would never recover from the humiliation. 

As if it hadn’t been bad enough that he had to carry the asinine comics around, there had been the Embarrassing Encounter where Lu Han’s so-called cranky best friend Kyungsoo had tried to pick him up. 

“If you give me your number, I’ll throw in three extra comics. For free,” the intense young man had said as he gave Minseok a slightly lascivious stare. What had happened to cranky? Cranky he could deal with. But being stared at like he was a midnight snack was something Minseok could do without. So he’d glared at Kyungsoo and told him he could keep his free comics. Then he’d told him in a grim voice that he just wanted to pay for Lu Han’s comics so he could be on his way. 

“Just put those in a black plastic bag,” Minseok had instructed and Kyungsoo had given him a (frankly malicious) stare before telling him they had nothing in the store but clear plastic bags.

“Alternatively, you could carry them in these pink ones we have with the hearts and roses? They’re rather...pink but they are opaque?” he had suggested helpfully.

“I’LL TAKE THE CLEAR PLASTIC.” He was livid by now but he paid for the comics and avoided making any more eye contact with Kyungsoo.

He'd left the manhwa store half an hour ago and he felt drained, which didn’t make any sense since he never got tired and didn’t actually require rest or slumber. It had to be all the emotional upheaval he’d been through tonight. Irritation. Embarrassment. Anger. For someone like himself, it was too many emotions for a lifetime, let alone a single night. 

Lu Han was a menace. He had to be stopped. Shaking his head, Minseok tried to convince himself not to throttle his neighbor when he got home. But maybe he could dangle him upside down from the balcony? That sounded like a delightful idea.  It was really too bad that people from his planet were incapable of revenge. 

Making a sound of frustration, Minseok gave the fried chicken and beer a murderous glare. Then he tried to ignore the images in his mind of Lu Han making himself comfortable on his expensive leather couch, eating fried chicken with his hands and leaving grease stains on his furniture, and spilling beer on his carpet. And Minseok tried to feel angry about the mess his neighbor was going to make in his apartment--because there was no doubt that he would insist on eating in Minseok’s apartment--but that emotion seemed to have deserted him. Not that he should even have emotions of any kind in the first place. And yet, when he thought of Lu Han wreaking havoc in his apartment, Minseok caught himself almost smiling.

-a/n hope you guys enjoyed this! Please leave a comment or upvote or both if you enjoyed this ♡