Featuring: HunHan

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"What's with that attitude of yours? Why are you so stupid?"

"Hey, you're not going to be eating ALL of that are you? Don't be such a pig!" 

"You're getting fat, you need to be exercising everyday!"

"You've got another pimple on your face, you should really do something about your skin." 

"You need to be setting a better example for your younger cousins." 

"You're never studying, at this rate you're going to fail your classes." 

"You call yourself a nurse? You can't even properly take a manual blood pressure!" 

"Help me do this, help me with that. Whenever it is I need you to be doing is much more important than what you're doing." 

Luhan jolted up in bed when he heard his alarm going off. His eyes were swollen with traces of tears on his cheeks. His entire body broke out  in cold sweat. And he panted heavily trying to even out his breathing. 

Waking up to a nightmare was considered a normal occurrence for Luhan, even more so when he was extremely stressed; either that or insomnia, but sometimes he had both. 

He turned himself around in bed to hit the snooze button and the words "death day" written on his calendar had successfully caught his attention. 

He inwardly groaned, already this day was off to a bad start. Every year during the Christmas break his childhood enemy Oh Sehun would come over and stay while their parents went away on vacation. 

They were born not even a year apart with Sehun being younger. And since their parents were the best of friends, they more often than not would see each other every day. As children, Luhan was the bubbly innocent one that was loved at first sight. Sehun on the other hand was the quiet but witty kid that hardly ever smiled. 

But the main reason why Luhan detested the younger was because he was always the receiving end of the latter's annoyingly childish antics. They couldn't even attempt to have a normal casual conversation without it ending up in a heated argument or worse, a fight. In front of their parents, Luhan taught himself to be civil when he interacted with Sehun. But behind closed doors, if possible, he would ignore the younger.

"We arranged it this way so you two won't get lonely. So that at least you'd have someone to spend the holidays with." Was the response he'd gotten from his mother when he'd asked why he was always stuck with Sehun. And as the years passed by, this became an annual tradition. 

Very unwillingly, he threw the covers off himself and made his way over to the bathroom to freshen up. 

When he stepped out of his room dressed in his scrubs he was engulfed in chatter. This indicated the Oh's must have already arrived. 

"Luhan!" 

"Good morning auntie and uncle Oh." He offered a small smile. "Sehun." He mumbled as he grabbed some toast off the table. 

Hearing no response from her son, Mrs. Oh harshly nudged him with her elbow. 

"Luhan." He replied with the same amount of enthusiasm that the said male had. 

After a bit of small talk, Luhan bid goodbye before taking off to the university. 

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He sat in the course coordinator's office nervously twiddling his thumbs. He had a relatively good idea why he was there. There was an indescribable nagging feeling tugging at his chest. He just prayed everything would be alright. 

"Luhan." Startled, he suddenly looked up from his feet, giving the older female his full attention. 

"I'm sure you know why you're here today."  She gave a sigh before continuing to speak. "And there's really no easy way to break this to you, but I'm sorry to inform you that you've failed your clinical." 

Luhan slammed his front door shut. Feeling his knees wobbling below him, he slumped himself back against the door and slowly slid down. He hadn't shed one tear once the news broke out, just simply nodded his head indicating he understood and was told to go home. And now that he'd been alone, he couldn't control the falling of his tears any longer; eventually bursting out in a painful sob. 

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The one year old Luhan was an adorable bundle of joy. Everyone had mistaken him for a girl as a result of his feminine features. He'd been quite the performer; singing and dancing when that was asked of him. To say he was lovable would've been an understatement. 

At the age of five, Luhan was undoubtedly the most popular boy in his kindergarten class. Everyone would be crowded around him, wanting to grab the little boy's attention. 

When he was in the fourth grade, he'd been the only one willing to associate himself with the outcast in his class. Everyone disliked a certain boy which resulted in him always being bullied or friendless. But Luhan had been different, he didn't pay any attention to those judgmental glares, he simply did what he thought was right. 

All children are born pure and innocent. But as people age, their minds develop and they no longer see life in the same way. The world around them becomes more complex and thoughts are not as simple as they used to be because they grow a sense of understanding for why things are.

Luhan, as Sehun had remembered had for the most part been happy and carefree, but that changed when they reached the sixth grade. Luhan had suddenly become invisible and lonely; there were no warnings or reasons why. This resulted in him becoming quiet and reserved. And as time progressed, he unwillingly adapted to this new way of life. 

That was when Sehun had begun to understand what it meant to have a crush on someone; and Luhan became the centre of his attention. 

So when he came out of the guest room to see the pile of mess and tears that was Luhan, Sehun was undeniably in shock. 

Luhan sensed that he was being stared at, his suspicions were confirmed once he saw Sehun standing a few feet away from him. He quickly wiped the remaining tears dry and stood himself up; preserving whatever dignity he had left. "What are you still doing here?" His tone full of venom. 

He had been so sure that he was alone before allowing himself to break down. After all, they had a silent agreement that as soon as their parents left to the airport, Sehun would go back to his own house, spending their break away from each other. So Luhan was confused why the other was still in his home. 

Sehun had never seen this side of Luhan before, he felt a dull aching in his chest. Disregarding the question, his facial expression still remained stoic. "So for what it's worth, you finally decided to stop hiding underneath your mask huh?" 

"Like what you see?" He gestured to his tear stained cheeks and puffy red eyes. "Perfect blackmail material isn't it? Take your photos and videos, but once you're done, leave." 

But when Sehun stood rooted in his spot unmoving, Luhan decided he didn't have the patience to deal with the other anymore. He stormed past the taller male and opted to retreat to his room instead. 

"Do you honestly think I'd let you off the hook this easily?" He scoffed as he forcefully grabbed hold of Luhan's arm, preventing him from further advancing.  

This day just seemed to be getting worse. Didn't it count for anything that he had been thrown such devastating news earlier? And now he had to be stuck with Sehun, the last person he wanted to be associated with, ever. God really wasn't showing him any mercy despite how terribly he was feeling about all the events thus far. 

"What do you want from me?" The strong and unfriendly tone wavering. All the sudden, he felt drained of energy, too tired to put up a fight. 

Sehun inched forward as Luhan stumbled back until he was right up against the wall. He bore his gaze right into Luhan's glistening eyes. "Stop hiding all your emotions under that ugly smile of yours. Don't you think you already do that enough in the hospital as a nurse? Don't you ever grow tired of having to constantly put up a facade?"

That statement definitely triggered a nerve as Sehun felt Luhan stiffen under his touch and within seconds his tears started pouring once again.

The dull aching in his chest from earlier turned into a clenching pain when he saw Luhan breaking down in front of him for the second time. He didn't hesitate to pull the sobbing mess into the comfort of his arms. "You're definitely not as strong as you try to convey yourself to be. At least in front of me, you don't have to pretend because despite how much you try to convince others and yourself that you're okay, you will never fool me." His tone of voice softened immensely as he pressed his lips up against the shell of Luhan's ear. "And maybe you don't think so, but Luhan you are worthy of being loved for who you are, so it's okay to not be okay."

Upon hearing these words, all thoughts about wanting to not appear weak in front of his so called enemy had been long forgotten. He tried so hard to  display himself as strong and happy when in reality, he's more fragile than what people give him credit for. And ironically, the only person who had been able to see through his illusion was Sehun. Luhan seemed to have lost all feeling within his body as he let himself melt into Sehun's hold; this time crying louder as if he were finally releasing all his pent up emotions.

Sehun eventually led Luhan over to sit down on the couch. And once he'd calmed down from his sobbing fit, curiosity took over Sehun as he kept pestering the older male to tell him what happened.

Although Luhan had been reluctant, he couldn't stand how irritatingly persistent Sehun was being. Furthermore, as much as he wasn't willingly to admit this, Sehun had been helpful to him; surprisingly. So he explained that he failed his clinical, which meant until he passed he wouldn't be able to move on in the remainder of the program. He openly confessed that he was never certain if he wanted to be in the nursing program, but since his parents were ecstatic about the news, and being the obedient son he is, he just went through with it. He admitted it was his fault since there's always been an enormous amount of information that has to be put to memory. But he never studied as hard as he should have, so this was bound to have happened sooner or later. And now he's at the stage of contemplating whether or not nursing is really where he belongs.

"First of all, no one is to blame for what happened. And honestly, it's not like you purposely failed. The fact that you persevered up until this point despite not having a passion for nursing isn't easy."

Luhan was in complete awe. This could not be the Oh Sehun he grew up knowing. Since when did the latter have this mature and wise side to him?

"You're bound to catch flies if you keep your mouth open like that." Sehun snickered.

'Nope, definitely still the same little prick.' He rolled his eyes as his previous thoughts vanished almost immediately.

When he noticed annoyance overtaking the elder, Sehun cleared his throat to gather attention to himself once again. "Anyway, yeah it this kind of thing had to happen, but it's not necessarily a bad thing."

Luhan raised a questioning eyebrow as if to say "you can't seriously be thinking that".

He refrained the urge to tease or make a comment about the looks Luhan was giving him and opted to focus instead on what he had been saying. "What I meant to say is, think of this as an opportunity to explore what it is that you're really striving for. Besides, there's no point rushing back into something you're not sure about. Go with the flow, everything will eventually fall into place when the time is right."

As he let the words settle into his mind, he wasn't sure how to describe what he was feeling. Perhaps he had been relieved that he didn't have to carry the burden alone. Maybe he was surprised that they were able to have a decent conversation. But one thing he was certain of was how thankful he was to Sehun; not only for comforting him, but also for being a good listener and for the reassurance. Of course, he didn't want to make the brat arrogant so he wasn't planning on making a big deal out of it.

"Hey, come into the bathroom. I have something for you." Luhan hadn't been aware he was deep in his thoughts until he heard the other hollering for him.

His nose and eyebrows subconsciously scrunched up in confusion. What could Sehun possibly want to give him, and in the bathroom of all places? He got up off the couch and made his way to the desired destination, bracing himself for whatever prank that may be thrown at him.

"What do you-" He stopped mid sentence, his eyes widening and dampening with tears once he saw what was written on the mirror: OH LUHAN, you are worthy of love and belonging. Keep your chin up, eventually everything will be alright.

"For your convenience I made sure to use permanent marker, just so it won't smudge off. And of course, so you will never forget."

The genuine smile that graced his lips suddenly faltered when a certain word jumped out at him. "Hold on a minute, since when did my surname become Oh?"

Sehun shrugged, a playful smirk appearing on his lips. "Maybe not now, but it will be in the future."

Luhan hadn't noticed it before, but the house suddenly seemed to have increased in heat. Distracted by his thoughts again, he came out of his trance to find that he had been pulled back into that familiar embrace. He wasn't sure why, but oddly enough, it was a comfortable feeling.

"Thank you Sehun." The shorter whispered sincerely, but it had been loud enough to put an adoring smile on Sehun's face.