Neatly dressed again, I strolled down the corridors with a frown on my face. I was aggravated. What the hell, that creep was actually an intelligent specimen. 

I raked at my hair in frustration. Why did I have to go through all this? Stupid Kai. Nerdy Kai. Oppressive Kai.

"You can't wreck your hair, remember?" Baekhyun reminded me.

"Who cares! He's not even here." I exclaimed. "Just don't tell him, alright?"

"No can do." Suho muttered, disappointed. "I can not ignore the fact that you have broken your promise."

I gulped. Despite his alluring demeanour, I knew that he meant every bit of what he had just said. "Even if I tell Kyungsoo to make you croissants?" I challenged him.

Suho's eyes flickered but he returned to his stern composure. Wow, even that didn't work.

"And besides." Tao added. "Luhan is here."

We all turned to Luhan who looked back at us, puzzled. He lightened when he thought he got the gist of conversation. "Well of course, I'll say that you're hair looks terrible messy, Eunwoo." He smiled.

Nope, he didn't get it at all. 

"Where did Kai go anyway?" I asked.

"Looking for Kai?" Tao grinned. "Well aren't you attached to your master."

I glared at the zombie in disguise (he had his concealer on again). "Am not." 

"I know." Tao looked up. "I just like it when you make that expression."

What expression? I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Yep, that one right there." Tao said.

"I have to admit, it's cute." Suho commented. 

I looked at him, shocked. 

Suho realised and coughed awkwardly. "I'm going to go get something from the vending machine. Coming Baek?"

"Are you shouting?"

He sighed. "Yes." And then he dashed off.

"I am not cute!" I shouted across the hallway.

"But you do look cute." 

I turned to the pretty boy.

"It's quite a paradox." Luhan admitted. "With you being ugly, you can look cute at times." He smiled.

I tilted my head down when I felt my cheeks flushing.

My head was tilted up by a finger.

"Yes." Luhan stared at me. "Just like that, you're quite adorable."

I felt weak. Vulnerable. How was he getting to me? I needed to knock him away, knock him literally. My hand got ready to strike him across the face. A punch would do. And then a 'I am not gay!' remark would make everything casual again.

But he blocked it. So fast. 

My arm hurt on impact. I could sense internal bleeding. I dropped the arm and tried to gain courage. My eyes were watery, my voice quivered. But I spoke loud and clear. "I am not gay!" My feet began to move. I needed to get away from here. Hurry, Eunsae, hurry!

But Luhan had grabbed me by my other arm. "This way." He motioned and dragged me in the opposite direction. 

He led me to the infirmary. 

"Remove your blazer." He ordered.

"What?" I spluttered. "No." 

"Your arm is hurt isn't it?" Pretty boy asked. 

I looked his way but he was just rummaging through the cabinets. His back was slender. I had a strange sensation that I wanted to touch it. I wanted to tug at his shirt and make him turn my way. My heart began to beat eratically.

Luhan turned back around and I put on a defiant look. 

He sighed. "Judging by your physique, it's obvious that you don't exercise. That means that strong forces applied on the body can result in injuries. That is because your body is not strong enough."

He tugged at the end of my sleeve swiftly, removing it in one movement. He ed the cuffs and folded the sleeves up. He poked the area and I winced. Slowly, he opened a jar of ointment and put it gently on my arm. Then he bandaged it. 

On his knees, he looked up at me. "That's the cute look you have." He smiled. "The sadness in your eyes, Eunwoo. It really makes everyone want to protect you."

"I don't need your protection." I felt myself putting up a wall again.

"I have said you were ugly." Luhan continued. "So many times. I know. But that's because I haven't seen you today."

I looked at him silently. He really sounded like a prince. So soothing. I really wanted him to myself. I had him to myself at this moment.

"Today, you showed me something real." Luhan said. "It was raw, it was beautiful. And it was just sadness."

He lifted a hand and fixed a strand out of place on my head. 

"Just imagine how beautiful you would be if you were happy." Luhan gave me a warm smile. "Truly happy."

I could feel my heart. I think it skipped a heartbeat.