"Hyung. Could you cut my hair?" was the first thing Heechul heard from his cousin since yesterday.

He came home to muffled sobs coming from Minseok's room. Worried, he knocked on his door and asked permission to come in. After a stretch of silence, he decided to let himself in and found his younger cousin buried on his bed, his face on his pillows as he continue to hold down the tears while Heechul's in the room.

 

He spent a whole hour in the room with Minseok sobbing in his arms after much difficulty tearing him away from the mattress. But despite the patient waiting, Minseok didn't say a word. The room drowned in tears and unanswered curiosity, but Heechul didn't pry. If his cousin isn't ready to share what has been hurting him like this, then he will respect that.

 

The next morning, before going to the school for work, he came back to the younger's room to check up on him. At least Minseok managed to change out of his clothes from yesterday and his eyes aren't damp anymore, though it was rimmed with red enough for anyone to tell that he had been crying the entire night.

 

"Hey, Umin. Are you coming to school?"

 

Minseok didn't meet his eyes and just shook his head. Heechul simply went to him and gave him a hug. He has an inkling about what happened and who is the source of all of his cousin's troubles, but he's in no place to meddle with it.

Coming home to Minseok sitting on the couch while hugging his knees to his chest and suddenly asking him to cut his hair isn't the first words he was expecting from him. His eyes are damp again and he looked more drained than he was this morning. 

Heechul is the only one who knows the reason why Minseok is pretending to be a girl at school. Why he never cleared up all the misunderstanding about his gender since his first day in the Art School. Why he kept his hair at least at shoulder length. Why he wears thick clothes to hide chests that are nothing but flat. And the person why Minseok is doing all of this. He has a rough guess that the said person dropped by their house, but he won't bring it up now because Minseok looked like he's still on the verge of crying. All Heechul did was usher him to the back and got his scissors and other things he would need to cut the mask Minseok wore all these years.

~*~

Luhan almost skipped school the next day. All he wanted to do was sleep and deny to himself the reality that slapped him on the face yesterday. He didn't want to believe it. He didn't even want to remember it. But the images flooded his mind like a waterfall. Minseok's smiles. Minseok's hold on his hand. Minseok's arms around his shoulders. Minseok's tap on his chin. All the butterflies in his stomach threatening to fly out of him every time he will hear Minseok's giggles. The way his heart would feel like bursting out of his chest every time Minseok smiles. The way he holds his breath every time he hears a confession to his best friend as he prays to all the gods that Minseok will reject them. The way he accepted that he's in love with his best friend four years ago. But... Minseok is a guy.

An involuntary shudder went down to his spine along with the hair on his arms standing on ends. Memories of stupid guys, those bastards that did nothing but scan everyone for prey. Feeling up boys to their liking and just being plain disgusting.

Irritated, he grabbed his towel and showered to wash all the unwanted thoughts in his mind.

How could Minseok lie to him all these years? Ten years! For ten years, he made him believe a lie that could hurt them both so much. He was hurt. He felt betrayed for being lied to. Disgusted? It was a reflex but somehow his whole being is denying it. He's angry, though he didn't know if it's to Minseok for lying to him, or to himself for pushing his best friend to that kind of situation. He was no fool. He knows that the root of this big stupid lie is him. Minseok apologized profusely about being selfish and he was now aware of the fear that rested in his best friend all this time.

Luhan didn't know what to feel. Hurt? Betrayed? Disgusted? Angry? Dejected? Sorry? Pitiful? He was an entire set of emotions. He knows that Minseok is nothing like those bastards that had tried to take advantage of him all these years... nothing like the bastard feeling up his right now.

He swore he broke the man's wrist as he twisted his hand and stepped on it while mentally cursing and murdering the man who was writhing in pain before an officer prevented more damage because Luhan looked outright murderous at the moment.

Lost in thought, he walked the remaining distance to the school and was shaken out of his reverie when a pool of students crowded the entrance near the lockers. Careful not to bump into any guys, (he's not sure if he can hold back killing anyone touching him today) he tried to see the center of the commotion. He was far from seeing the source when he heard the loud chatter of the people in front.

Who is he? He looks gorgeous!

Is he a new student here?

He looks really familiar!

Oh my god! Is he Minseok-sunbae's brother or something? They look totally alike!

Maybe her twin brother?

He's just plain gorgeous!

If his hair is a bit longer he's totally Minseok-unnie!

Luhan didn't need to hear more because he finally managed to see the sight that got everyone curious.

The boy stood in front of Minseok's locker. A white shirt under a button down checkered polo that looks oddly familiar. Black ripped jeans that also looked familiar. Rubber shoes that also seem familiar. Eyes, nose, cheeks, lips and face that Luhan spent the last 10 years staring at. Everything looked so familiar and yet not. The brown hair that used to rest just above the shoulders when down or adorned in a loose ponytail at times is now cut short, even shorter than Luhan's hair.

He gulped. It was Minseok. No place for doubt about that. And the rest of the crowd was right. He's plain gorgeous. Not that Luhan didn't know that before. But the difference in Minseok's appearance both overwhelmed and pained him. It reminded him of the feeling of betrayal and anger and doubt... and a lingering feeling he didn't want to acknowledge, not for now.

Minseok saw him and Luhan saw how her--- No. his eyes rounded but immediately fell on the ground after a moment. He felt a prick in his chest as he watched the flash of emotion on Minseok's face. He remembered how he pulled his hands away from those small hands and the look of guilt on that face and the sound of sobs as he tried to escape that place as soon as possible. He wasn't ready for this. Not for Minseok and not for this reality.

Luhan walked towards him, opened his locker and left. Without a single word to the boy that stayed silent next to him. He walked away without a second glance and missed the crest-fallen face of the person he left.

By lunch time, word got around the whole school about Minseok.

Minseok is a guy! A freaking gorgeous guy! A beautiful guy that was known all these years as a girl! He's a guy! A guy!

Luhan sat on their usual spot for lunch. Before, at this time, he would've been occupied with staring at Minseok's back as she make cute gestures towards the glass wall of the desserts section. His mouth would've been hanging open and Chen would come in the picture to ---

"A fly can land on his eyes and he wouldn't notice a thing." Right on cue.

Luhan blinked a few times trying to get his mind back from its deep thought and turned his head to the source of the voice. A pair of unique grins. He couldn't remember a time when he felt so grateful to the sight of those grins. At least something was still in place.

The twins took their usual seats and watched Luhan, reading him like an open book.

Luhan was about to tell them to quit staring at him when a figure loomed next to their table, but not close enough to make Luhan uncomfortable. He looked up and found tired looking eyes that he failed to notice earlier. A pair of shoulders that droop so low he almost wanted to grab them and make them lean on him. And a forced smile that looks painful.

"Hey!" he croaked. He cleared his throat before speaking again. "Can I join the table?" He motioned to the end of the table and not on the usual seat next to Luhan.

It took everything in Luhan to tear his eyes away and pretend that he didn't hear anything. It hurts. He's not going to lie. It might take a while before he can look at Minseok and not feel betrayed. He would have to talk to him about his reasons and everything else. He didn't want for their friendship to end like this, but at the moment he doesn't want to talk. 

"I'll... I'll just sit over there." he said again before slowly making his way to an empty table.

The twins watched him go, while Luhan tried his best to look while being subtle about it.

After Minseok made himself comfortable in the seat, a boy approached him followed by another and another and another until his table was crowded just like how he was cornered this morning.

"Wh--What?" Luhan's eyebrows knit as he stared at the scene. What are those guys doing around Minseok? As he looked closely, they all look rather familiar. Seeing a few more faces and he realized that they're the same guys that showed interest in Minseok before. The same faces that confessed to her and are now flocking him.

"If you're wondering..."

Luhan brought his attention at Chen who is now watching him instead of Minseok.

"... Minseok-hyung's admirers are coming back, mostly the guys. They thought that he rejected them because she's a he. So now that they found out, most of them didn't care about his gender and thought that they still have a shot." With that, he stood up and made his way to Minseok's table to join him.

"Aren't you going with him?" Luhan asked Yixing who stayed on his seat.

"Nah. Chen and I decided this long ago that if this happens we'll stay with one of you each."

"Long ago? So does that mean--"

"We had a hunch, and we're in no place to meddle with your business." Yixing explained calmly as he eat.

Luhan couldn't bring himself to get angry at them. It's true. This is his and Minseok's problem and they're just being good friends to them. Frankly, he's thankful to the twins even if they drive him insane most of the times.

He looked again at the direction of Minseok and Chen's table. Some of them left when Chen arrived to sit with Minseok, but a lot still stayed. They were all looking at Minseok with imaginary hearts on their eyes and somehow, Luhan can feel his blood boil at the sight, not because of a bunch of homo being so open about it... but because of something else.

Meanwhile, Yixing exchanged a meaningful smile at Chen as they both watched their friends. They have a feeling this separate table setup wouldn't last that long.

After classes, Yixing and Luhan left the practice room  and was on their way out. They happen to meet Chen and Minseok from the opposite direction, coming from the Music department. Unlike Yixing and Chen who immediately stuck close to each other. Luhan withdrew his gaze and left with Minseok's smile. He opened his locker and was shocked to find it full to the brim with letters. Minseok who wasn't too far away from him also drowned with envelopes coming from his own locker. Minseok looked flustered and immediately gathered everything and stuffed them in his bag, giving an apologetic bow at Luhan.

"Lu-ge. Did you bring the flash drive?" Yixing asked as he also fix his things.

"Ah! I forgot to take it!"

After stuffing all the letters in his bag, the two of them made their way back to the room to retrieve the flash drive that contains the music they'll use for the performance. Luhan unconsciously brought one of the envelopes with him and even without reading the contents, it was obvious that it was a love letter. But why? He had received a few through the years but not this many at once.

Yixing spoke next to him after noticing his expression "The fortress is down."

"What? What do you mean?" he asked confused.

"Minseok-hyung was your strongest fortress. A lot of girls were too afraid to confess to you because you have a beautiful best friend by your side. Now that the cat's out of the bag, they finally found their chance."

"And those bastards found their second chance." Luhan said, gritting his teeth as he said it.

Afterwards, they walked back to the entrance and found Chen and Minseok waiting for them. Luhan walked first, not even giving Minseok the chance to speak. Minseok's shoulders dropped lower than before and Chen approached him  "You can walk with us, hyung."

"I-- I need to take care of some stuff. You can go without me." Minseok politely declined.

Luhan heard it. That excuse was far too familiar, and too obvious. He's going to meet those guys that flooded his locker with letters. They're going to confess to him again about how they don't care that he's a guy and that they still like him and that they love him and--- NO!

Before he knows it, he was grabbing the end of Minseok's sleeve even if his entire being was telling him to let go and take a step back. The hair on his arms stand on ends and he eventually let go of him.

"Don't you think you have some explaining to do to me first before having a talk with anyone else?" he said, his voice sharp. Stupid! You're the one avoiding him! A voice in his head scolded him.

"Lu!" For a while, Minseok's voice sounded alive and it sent Luhan's heart racing again.

He turned back and said, "Don't talk or meet anyone before we do our talk. We'll talk. But not now." and he left.

"So, is the cold war over?" Chen asked next to Yixing as they watch their friends separate for the day.

-----------------

Akira: Please don't hate on Luhan for the reactions his body is having. A phobia is a hard thing to control. They have almost no power over it, so please give your understanding to him, too.

Escuse the grammar and spelling errors, I'll beta this later :)

​Stay tune because next chapter may or may not be be the last full chapter of the story :)