Minseok couldn’t tell a geranium from a tulip and that was perfectly fine with him. It was a perfectly acceptable state of being. What high schooler needed to know that black eyed susans weren’t daisies or vice versa? The consensus among society is that students should be studying to get into college, not pointing out sunflowers and correcting people on which species of orchid they were admiring.

Zero knowledge of flowers wasn’t a problem – but that wasn’t to say Minseok didn’t have floral issues. The flower petals resting in the palm of his hand in the back of the library was definitely an issue. The identity of said petals was only a split-second consideration before complete and utter fear set in.

His throat was burning, his mouth felt like someone had cleaned it out with sandpaper. And in his hand, was what he had produced when he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He had coughed once, a hacking deep cough, and out came…flower petals, tumbling from his lips and onto his outstretched hand.

“Impossible,” he whispered. People didn't cough up flowers. Students didn’t cough up flower petals while shelving books in the back of the high school library in a successful bid to escape gym class.

He mentally tallied what he had eaten for breakfast, for lunch. Was McDonald's making their chicken nuggets out of more than pink slime nowadays?! Perhaps he was hallucinating. Perhaps that sip he took of Baekhyun’s soda was his downfall – Baekhyun had been known to experiment with things. Or was it some kind of fume he inhaled while walking near shop class?!

“Minseok,” the head librarian, an elderly woman who babied him incessantly, called his name from the end of the aisle. “It’s time for your next class.”

Minseok closed his hand over the petals. “Thanks.”

He hurried out of the library a few seconds later, the flower petals shoved into his front pocket.

 

Jongdae wouldn't stop looking at him. His eyes were narrowed, his chin resting on his hand. He was leaning forward, his gaze boring a hole into Minseok’s face from across the table. “Something happened.”

“Nothing happened!” Minseok squeaked.

Jongdae tsked. “No, something did happen. I’ve known you since we were babies, I can read you like a book.” Jongdae wasn’t going to stop until Minseok told him what was bothering him.

“If you can read him as well as you read your chem textbook than I’m pretty sure his secret is safe.” Baekhyun winked at Minseok before sliding next to him in the booth.

Minseok jostled to make room, careful not to spill his cup of coffee in the process. It was a familiar ritual, stopping by the corner coffee shop on their way home from school. They did it as many days as they could, on the days they didn’t have to drag their feet to after school activities and evening study groups.

“I have better grade in chem than you do!” Jongdae protested, his words lilting into the familiar whine. They had been friends since they were babies in daycare – all three the product of working parents who read the rave reviews for Stepping Stones Child Care. Day care melded into elementary school together, then middle school, then high school. Minseok couldn’t recall a time he wasn’t sandwiched between Baekhyun and Jongdae to be honest.

Which was a double-edged sword. He had great best friends – great best friends who could tell just by looking at him that he was bothered by something. Like hacking up freaking flower petals in the back of the library. Honestly he still wasn’t convinced he hadn’t accidentally ingested some drug and was hallucinating the whole thing.

“So what happened?” Baekhyun picked up the prodding he had teased Jongdae about, asking as he stuffed half a blueberry scone in his mouth.

“Can you please chew with your mouth closed?” Jongdae gave him a dirty look.

“No,” Baekhyun answered, wayward pieces of scone falling onto the table.

Jongdae scowled at Baekhyun, but refused to be distracted from his interrogation of Minseok. “Seriously you look pale. Did you see a ghost? Minseok, did you get your period?”

Minseok needed something to distract his friends. The bells on the café door clanked against the hard glass, signaling a new customer. Minseok had his back to the door so he couldn’t see who it was, but he hoped it was someone who might take his friend’s minds off questioning him.

Every now and then, it seemed, Minseok got lucky.

“Hey losers, what’s shakin’?”

Luck came in the freakishly tall form of Park Chanyeol, also known as the peripheral best friend – who hadn’t known them as long, didn’t hang out with them as often, but melded so well into the friend triangle when he was present it became a friend square.

Chanyeol didn’t hesitate to slip into the booth next to Jongdae, taking off his snapback and tossing it on the table.

“We were just trying to get Minseok to tell us what happened,” Baekhyun informed him.

“What happened with what?” Chanyeol looked at Minseok.

“Heard Minah slapped you in tenth period.” Minseok looked back, blinking innocently. The great thing about Chanyeol was he was perpetually distracted and extremely easy to influence if you knew how to do it – and Minseok knew exactly how to do it.

“What?!” Chanyeol looked affronted. “Who told you that?”

The vultures AKA Baekhyun and Jongdae turned their attention to the juicer gossip of the day, their interrogation forgotten as they peppered Chanyeol with questions.

“You finally asked her out, didn’t you? Oh my god I wish I had been there.”

“Smooth operator, you dunce. How bad did it hurt?”

“She didn’t slap me!” Chanyeol protested. “It was a love tap.”

“Right. A love tap.” Jongdae rolled his eyes.

Minseok seized the opportunity he had created, excusing himself. “You might want to put ice on your face, it’s still a little red.” He reached over and patted Chanyeol’s cheek then urged Baekhyun to move so he could get up. “I’ve got to help my Mom with something, so I’ll catch you guys tomorrow.”

Thankfully his friends were still too distracted with Chanyeol’s failed love life to care that he was leaving. He grabbed his backpack and walked out of the café, the sounds of his friend’s chatter practically deafening out all the other customers. It was a miracle they weren’t kicked out some days, he thought.

Now alone with his thoughts, Minseok spent the walk home with one hand in his pocket clutching the petals and his brain trying to reason out what had happened. He had coughed up flower petals. Right in front of the 791.45 books he was shelving (okay, so he knew the decimal system by heart). What in the hell.

He pulled the petals from his pocket to make sure they were real. Much to his annoyance he found a solid object – or as solid as wilting flower petals could be.

“I must have swallowed it with something,” he deduced. Maybe McDonald’s added flowers as part of a health craze or something? Yes, that had to be it. It was the only logical conclusion.

He was so absorbed in looking at the mangled petals he didn’t realize that there was a far more solid object a few feet in front of him. He collided with the back of the delivery truck with a thud, falling backwards with a frightened scream. He landed hard, pain shooting up his bottom and making him wince.

“Are you okay?” An alarmed voice asked.

Minseok, still reeling from the fall and disoriented by the suddenness of it didn’t look up to see who was speaking. “Who put a truck there?!” He asked, indignant.

“Uh, sorry it’s move in day.”

Minseok recognized that voice. He looked up to find, much to his horror, that Lu Han was the person who had rushed to his aid. The Lu Han, captain of the school’s football team, popular student, crushed on by all the girls and probably half the guys – Minseok included.

Crap. “O-oh,” Minseok stuttered, quickly scurrying to his feet. He felt the warmth spread in his cheeks, he was certain he was probably as red as a cherry tomato at that moment. He was talking to Lu Han. He had never talked to Lu Han before. Ever.

“Does it hurt anywhere?” Lu Han asked, eyes raking over Minseok’s form.

“No! I’m fine!” Minseok blurted out. He stared dumbly at the student in front of him, mind blank. Had he ever been this close to his crush before? God, it wasn’t fair –he was even more handsome up close. How did a boy have such fine features, such amazing eyes, and such amazing hair? That neck, that adam’s apple, his height was perfect, his collarbones probably were too… Minseok swallowed.

“You look a little dazed. Let me grab you a glass of water,” Luhan offered, turning to go.

“No!” Minseok snapped out of his Luhan induced trance.

Luhan didn’t look convinced but he stayed put. “Hey, you’re in my lit class, right?” He smiled. Luhan smiled at him.

Minseok waited for the heart attack he was sure was forthcoming. “Yep!” His voice came out high pitched. Yes, I’m in your lit class. Yes, that’s me who stares at you from the back of the classroom and hopes to god you don’t notice. Yes, I’m the one who spent most of the time we studied The Great Gatsby imagining you and I in that situation except minus the crazy husbands and death.

“I knew you looked familiar! You’re Mr. Lee’s favorite,” Luhan smirked. “Well deserved. That essay you wrote on The Great Gatsby was amazing. You must read a ton.”

Minseok nodded slowly, Luhan induced trance returning.

“I’m Luhan, in case you didn’t read the name tag.”

Right, they were both still in uniform. Minseok tried to smile but was certain it came off as some strange twisting of his lips. How to breathe.

“And you’re Minseok.” Luhan pointed towards his name tag. “Do you live in this neighborhood?”

Did he? Minseok had to think. “Here.” He managed to remember, pointing to the tall apartment building they stood in front of.

“We’re neighbors now! We could study together,” Luhan sounded excited but quickly changed his tone. “I mean, if you want to. We’re in unit 726”

Neighbors. Neighbors with Luhan. Minseok crashed back down to reality as he pieced together the moving truck and Luhan’s strange presence in front of his apartment.

“728,” Minseok blurted out, confirming to Luhan and to himself they were more than living in the same building. They were now living next to each other.

“Wow, we actually are neighbors!” Luhan smiled brightly.

“Luhan, I need help with this box!” A woman’s voice called from somewhere behind the moving truck.

“Gotta go. Hey, see you around, Minseok.” And with that Luhan was jogging away, a friendly wave the last Minseok saw of him.

The walk into the building, the elevator ride up, and the path from his front door to his bedroom was a blur. Minseok sat on the edge of his bed, trying to understand what just happened.

“Luhan’s my neighbor. Luhan’s my neighbor,” he repeated to himself.

Luhan, who he had liked since freshman year. The Chinese transfer student had captured Minseok’s heart on so many levels since the day he introduced himself to the class with a thick accent and a shy smile, tripping over his words and a few seconds later his feet.

Most importantly, Luhan was nice. A genuinely nice person and Minseok witnessed it more than once. He sat with the bullied kids at lunch. He did charity work. He probably rescued kittens from burning buildings as a hobby or something.

And he was hot. Oh so devastatingly hot. Minseok wasn’t a sports enthusiast but he never missed a school football match. Luhan on the field was the iest thing he had ever seen. Ever. It was a good thing Jongdae liked the sport, so he didn’t have to explain why he was always at matches.

He was smart too, acing tests even when he sometimes dozed off in class. A luxury Minseok didn’t have despite his strong performance in certain subjects.

Luhan was in an entirely different social sphere from Minseok. He hung out with the popular kids: Minho and Doojoon from the football team were two of his closest friends. He owned his own car – a seventeenth birthday present if rumors were to be believed. He was the captain of the football club, a choir star, a valued member of the basketball team, and on the homecoming committee.

“Luhan is my neighbor,” he whispered, letting it sink in.

He fell onto his mattress on his back, his eyes fixed on the ceiling like it had the answers to all his problems.

What if their parents became friends? What if Minseok’s mom drug out those embarrassing pictures of him dressed as a woodpecker as a child? What if…what if…?!

It was only later he realized he dropped the petals when he fell. But by then the flower petals seemed to be the least of his problems.

 

“I went over to see our new neighbor yesterday,” Minseok’s mom announced cheerfully as she handed her oldest child a bowl of rice. “They have a son who goes to your school. She said he can drive you to school so you don’t have to take the bus anymore.”

Minseok nearly dropped his breakfast. “What?!” he asked in horror, hoping he had heard his mother wrong.

“I know, I don’t want to be a burden either but Mrs. Lu insisted. She said it would be great for you two to be close friends as well as neighbors and I agree.” Mrs. Kim gave Minseok the mom smile, the sweet looking expression that Minseok knew too well. It meant if he tried to argue, there would be hell to pay. “You need more friends, dear.”

Minseok opened his mouth to protest but his mother started the juicer, drowning him out. He doubted that wasn’t on purpose. He trudged to the table and sat down, his life seemingly disintegrating around him.

“Who’s the new neighbor?” his little sister asked from across the table, her eyes glued to her phone.

Minseok ignored the question in favor of angrily shoveling a spoonful of rice into his mouth.

He did not need more friends. His friends were perfectly fine. All three of them. So what if he was maybe on the shy side and maybe didn’t have two dozen close friends like his mother, father, and sister seemed to have. Friends weren’t everything. Friends were soooo overrated.

“His name’s Luhan,” his mother called from the kitchen. He swore the woman had selective hearing over the noise of that freaking juicer.

“Luhan?!” his sister looked up from her phone, eyes wide. “Wow.”

“You know him?” Minseok’s mother carried two glasses of pink whatever-it-was she made her children drink every morning for their health (Minseok cursed her propensity to try a new juicer recipe every other day), setting them in front of her children.

“Of course I do. He’s the captain of the football team,” Minseok’s sister gushed. “He has his own fan club!”

“What?” Minseok hadn’t heard that.

“Yep, our school’s club is a junior branch of the high school’s fan club,” she answered, quickly clarifying she wasn’t in it.

He shouldn’t be surprised that Luhan had fans in two schools and he shouldn’t be surprised they organized. Of course Luhan had a fan club. He was amazing.

“Well he sounds like he would be an excellent new friend,” Mrs. Kim patted Minseok on the back.

She completely missed the pout Minseok gave her.

 

Minseok had every intention of taking the bus to school. He had already planned on what he would say to Luhan if he brought up their mother’s ride shenanigans, how he would say thanks but no thanks and put an end to the foolishness. He had no desire to be in close contact with his one-sided crush, thank you very much. It would only further remind him that he had no chance with Luhan, that they were too different, that it was never going to happen.

That was his intention. That was not what happened, however.

Minseok threw his backpack over his shoulder and slipped on his shoes. With a quick goodbye to his mom he left their apartment….and nearly ran into Luhan, who was passing by at that exact moment.

“Minseok! Good morning.” He sounded far too cheerful and caffeinated for so early in the day. “So you’re riding with me today,” he stated, all smiles and handsomeness and why did he have to be so good looking?!

Minseok wanted to cry but settled for a soulless, “Yep, guess so.”

“Cool.” Why did he look so excited? Minseok took a deep breath. This was going to be difficult.

They walked to the elevator with Luhan chattering on about the weather and how he almost left without his sweater and what did Minseok think of rain and…

“What product do you use in your hair?”

Minseok instantly raised his hand to his hair, raking his fingers through his brown locks. He was sensitive about his hair ever since Baekhyun had talked him into dyeing it a few months back (at least he had chosen brown and not the purple Baekhyun had first shoved his way). “Nothing,” he admitted.

They stepped onto the elevator, the doors sliding shut while Luhan pressed the button for the parking garage four times in a row.

“It looks really nice,” Luhan complimented. He lifted his coffee mug to his lips and took a long sip, his eyes lingering on Minseok’s hair.

Minseok looked away, feeling the flush returning to his cheeks. “Uh. Thanks. Yours too.” His hair looked like but Luhan’s was deserving of praise.

They walked to Luhan’s car in silence which Minseok was grateful for. It gave him a precious minute to pull himself together as much as he could considering he was about to be in a confined space with his longstanding crush.

Luhan hit the door button for his car. Minseok stopped in his tracks when he realized what car beeped in return. It was a shiny black Mercedes.

“You drive a Mercedes?!” Minseok blurted out, unable to hold back his surprise. He knew Luhan had a car but he had never actually seen what it was.

“Yeah,” Luhan answered casually.

What was Luhan’s family doing living in this building if their son drove a luxury car? Minseok couldn’t understand. It wasn’t like the building was rundown but it was middle class. The Lus had to have serious money to buy their son such an expensive car– it made no sense they weren’t living in a more exclusive neighborhood – or sending their son to some upscale private school, for that matter.

“You can put your bag in the back. Excuse the mess.” Luhan opened the driver’s side door and tossed his bag onto the backseat. Minseok followed suit on the passenger side, albeit very carefully. He had never touched such an expensive car before and he seriously didn’t want to break anything.

Minseok slid into the leather seat, his eyes wandering to the fancy dash.

“Not to be that person but please put on your seatbelt,” Luhan said as he started the car.

Minseok stammered an apology, having been so enamored with the vehicle he forgot. He slipped on the seat belt and sat back, keeping his hands clasped tightly on his lap, too afraid to touch anything.

“What kind of music do you listen to?” Luhan asked.

“Anything.” Minseok stared out the window, not daring to look at Luhan more than was necessary. He didn’t need another Luhan trance thank you very much.

“Wow, an equal opportunity listener,” Luhan said in a teasing tone. A few seconds later TVXQ started playing.

Minseok recognized the song and knew all the words. He knew all the words to every TVXQ song, in fact, but he wasn’t going to reveal his fanboy self in fear of embarrassment.

“I wanted to be Jaejoong when I was ten,” Luhan admitted as he to the busy street.

Minseok turned to look at Luhan in surprise. “I wanted to be Changmin,” Minseok blurted out before he could stop himself.

Luhan laughed and for a moment Minseok thought he would . “Jaemin for the win.” Luhan used the popular couple name for Changmin and Jaejoong, which did not help Minseok’s mind calm down.

“I can dance Rising Sun,” Luhan bragged.

“So can I.” Minseok was certain he had lost his mind to admit such a thing, but it just rolled off his tongue.

“I’d like to see that,” Luhan chuckled.

Before Minseok could further embarrass himself with TVXQ fan-talk another source of embarrassment appeared. A tickle in his throat, morphing into a pain and then a dry hack, sent his heart racing in a panic. No, no, not again. He didn’t even eat McDonalds!

He brought his hands to his mouth, his chest heaving as he wheezed. No, no not now no!!!

“Are you okay?!” Luhan asked in alarm.

Minseok nodded as he hacked. He shut his eyes and winced at the pain that spread from his chest to his windpipe as he coughed hard. One particularly hard cough and he could feel the soft petals on the palm of his hand.

No, no, no!!!

“Minseok?! Do you need me to pull over?”

Minseok folded his hand over the petals and moved it away. “I’m fine,” he lied, giving Luhan a fake smile. He could feel sweat beading on his forehead and his throat felt like it had been scraped with sandpaper. He had coughed up more petals and McDonalds wasn’t to blame. He was far from fine.

“You look sick,” Luhan said in concern.

“Really, I’m fine.” The last thing Minseok wanted was for Luhan to know about his weird habit. “I just need a drink of water.”

“Would coffee help?” Luhan gestured towards his mug.

Minseok didn’t think anything would help but took the offered coffee. After a hesitant sip, he found out exactly how Luhan was so hyper so early in the morning.

“Do you put Red Bull in your coffee?!” Minseok asked after swallowing, his mouth forming a grimace.

“Maybe,” Luhan answered sheepishly. “It does the trick.”

Minseok put the travel mug back and returned to staring out the window. Luhan rambled on about the benefits of Red Bull and coffee for the rest of the ride to school. Minseok was happy not to have to talk, save for the muttered goodbye he hurled at Luhan as he hurried off to class.

 

Minseok knew it was coming. News travelled fast and he was sure it was already around half the school that Mr. Popular AKA Luhan had shown up with Mr. Who-is-that-again AKA Minseok.

He noticed the curious looks during second period and he awaited Jongdae’s freak-out during third period. On a normal day that would have been sufficient stress to have him hiding in the library but this wasn’t a normal day. He also had some crushed flower petals to worry about. At this point he was closer to a nervous breakdown than a simple ninja retreat to the 600 section of the nonfiction books.

“Did you give him road head?” was Jongdae’s first question after he plopped down next to Minseok at the back of the class.

“No.” Minseok gave him a death look, ready to pounce on his best friend.

Jongdae shrugged. “It was an honest question. Also, how’d you get in his car? Last I checked he didn’t know you existed.”

Trust best friends to always boost your self-esteem. “He moved in next door yesterday. Our moms met and decided carpooling was a good idea.”

Jongdae whistled. “Wow, what luck. Half the school would kill to have that happen to them.”

“It’s bad luck. I’m going to tell him this was a one-time thing,” Minseok repeated the decision he had made.

Jongdae grabbed the sleeve of his uniform and leaned in close. “You can’t do that! You finally have time to talk to the guy you’ve been drooling over for years. Dude, what are you thinking?”

Minseok jerked his arm out of Jongdae’s grasp. Why had he bothered telling his friends about his crush? He never should have uttered a word of it during freshman year (and yes, he was going to forget all the comforting conversations he had with Baekhyun and Jongdae over his unrequited love after he admitted it – he was too pissy with the recent turn of events to see the bright side). “I don’t like him anymore,” Minseok lied.

Jongdae snorted. “Okay. Then we don’t have to go to the football match on Friday.”

He was testing him. Minseok wasn’t going to cave. “Fine.”

“Fine.”

“I have other things to do.”

“Me too.”

“Great.”

“Great.”

The teacher signaled the start of class at just the right time, ending the burgeoning cold war. Minseok tried to pay attention but between Luhan and flower petals he couldn’t. He could practically see his grades falling in front of him…. like flower petals. Damnit.

 

Minseok managed to make it through fourth period without incident, which he should have known was the calm before the storm. On his way to the cafeteria he was stopped by Jisu, a sophomore that was in his art history class. He had never spoken to her before so he couldn’t hide his confusion when she called out his name and gestured for him to stop.

“Is something the matter?” Minseok asked, noting the distressed look on her face.

“Why did Luhan give you a ride this morning?” she asked, her voice a mixture of concern and fear.

Minseok wanted to groan. “We’re neighbors,” he explained.

“Ohhhh.” Her expression instantly brightened. “That’s great I’ll let the rest of the club err, I mean girls know. Thanks, Minseok!” She skipped off, apparently relieved.

And yet that was only the first incident of his lunch period. The second was Baekhyun and Chanyeol mirroring Jongdae’s protests about turning Luhan down for rides to school. They didn’t shut up about it until Minseok left via the third incident of his lunch period, a coughing fit mid-chew which sent him running to the bathroom in a panic – a few petals landing on his palm as he leaned against the stall door.

When fifth period rolled around he was done with everyone and everything and for the first time in his life was seriously considering skipping class.

He compromised by going to the nurse’s office and faking a sore throat (well, half-faking. His throat was sore from whatever in the hell was happening to him). After a call to his mom he was sent home, effectively escaping his friends and Luhan. It was his only victory of the day.

 

Minseok went to bed the moment he got home, because his mother would have killed him if he didn’t. The woman had a mind to enforce complete bedrest if one of her children was absent from school. No school, no sitting up.

Minseok didn’t mind, however, considering he was now convinced there was something medically wrong with him. He had coughed up flower petals three times in two days and that was decidedly abnormal.

He burrowed into his blankets, cellphone in hand. He tried searching every combination of flowers, coughing, and throwing up he could think up to no avail. He tossed his phone in frustration, settling into his blanket cocoon he considered the reality that he was going insane. It was all some grand hallucination, likely brought on from copious amounts of studying, junk food, and listening to Baekhyun talk about his One Piece / Sailor Moon crossover idea one too many times.

“I’ve lost my mind,” he whispered.

“Minseok, Luhan is here,” his mother called from the other side of his bedroom door.

“Completely lost my mind,” he repeated, certain he was now having auditory hallucinations as well.

His bedroom door opened but he didn’t emerge from his blanket fortress. Let the hallucinations come.

“Minseok,” Luhan spoke hesitantly. “I brought your homework.”

Minseok didn’t answer, didn’t look. Part of him was still sane.

“I want to apologize to you about Jisu approaching you,” he groaned. “This is so embarrassing for me to talk about. There is some sort of club and I don’t support it or anything but I know they can get kind of territorial. I heard she talked to you today and I’m sorry for that.”

It was all a hallucination.

“I hope this doesn’t hurt our friendship.”

Insanity felt so cruel, so damn cruel.

“Oh my god, you have a Cristiano Ronaldo poster!”

Insanity, it seemed, could be driven away by Cristiano Ronaldo and the accompanying embarrassment of having a half- poster of him in your room (purchased because he may or may not have overheard Luhan talking about him one day). Minseok tossed off the covers in horror, leaping from his bed in a panic.

“I’m holding it for a friend,” he yelled, moving to stand in front of the very shirtless poster on his closet door. On his way to the poster he knocked elbows with Luhan, confirming he wasn’t a hallucination and making the entire situation that much more embarrassing.

An awkward silence hung in the air as Minseok tried to block the poster with his arms out, his eyes wide and his hair likely sticking up five different ways from his afternoon in bed. Luhan, still in his school uniform, looked rightfully confused.

“How are you feeling?” Luhan asked, breaking the strange stare down.

Oh right, he was sick. Minseok stepped away from the poster and rubbed at his throat. “Not great but I’ll live.”

This had to be the most embarrassing day of his life. He walked to his bed, giving a cursory glance around his room to see what else might embarrass him in front of Luhan. He was certain his kitten printed sheet set probably wasn’t helping him, but hey they were adorable.

Luhan swung his backpack around and ped it, taking out a stapled packet of papers. “Mrs. Park assigned this today. I didn’t want you to miss it in case you are sick again tomorrow.” Luhan held out the papers.

“Um, thanks.” Minseok stood and took the homework, not daring to make eye contact.

“I’ll be going then.” Luhan zipped his backpack and swung it back around. He walked towards the door but stopped. “I hope you feel better. If so I’ll meet you by the elevator at seven.”

Minseok nodded, too embarrassed from his previous outburst to turn down the ride.

Once Luhan was gone he face planted into his bed, kicking his legs and waving his arms in frustration. Not only was he going crazy but he also had horribly embarrassed himself in front of his crush – and he hadn’t solved the ride problem.

Damnit.

 

“Luhan seems like such a sweet boy,” Mrs. Kim cooed over breakfast the next morning.

Minseok sipped his juice concoction without confirming her sentiments – his sister was too busy agreeing anyway.

“He does a ton of charity work,” his sister rambled. “And delivers charcoal briquettes in winter. He volunteers at a soup kitchen too, or um, so I’ve heard.” Her cheeks were dusted with pink as she gushed over their neighbor.

Great, Minseok thought. My sister has a crush on my crush. Wonderful.

“You know, he would make a good boyfriend.” Mrs. Kim winked at her son.

Minseok almost spit out his drink but choked on it instead. He brought a napkin to his mouth. “What?!”

“Eww. He could do so much better than Minseok,” his sister cut in. “Plus he might not like boys.”

Minseok gave them both death looks.

“Minseok is a good catch,” his mother admonished his sister before turning her attention back to him. “I’m just saying honey he seems like a really great person and if he likes boys then he would be a great boyfriend.” Mrs. Kim smiled the mom smile, so sweet yet so full of ulterior motives.

Minseok was not going to sit and talk to his mom and sister about his love life, or lack thereof. He excused himself and went to his room to finish getting ready.

On one hand, something about his mother suggesting a boyfriend was nice – great even. He had come out to his parents in freshman year and they had been more than accepting of his ual orientation. He knew there were a lot of kids out there that weren’t so lucky, so he felt some guilt in being annoyed. But then again, his mother had just all but told him to date Luhan, someone she had likely met all of one time. Someone he already had a crush on. Someone who had seen his half Cristiano Ronaldo poster.

Minseok stomped around his room in frustration, getting ready with a lot of groans and “why me”s thrown in. When he met Luhan by the elevator at seven he was officially in a horrible mood, which the other boy instantly picked up on.

“You look upset. Are you still sick?” Luhan asked as they stepped onto the elevator.

“No,” Minseok answered curtly, venom in his voice.

“Here, I brought you this.”

Minseok glanced over to see a health drink in Luhan’s hands.

“It’s good for sore throats,” Luhan explained.

Minseok grabbed the drink, the warmth in his cheeks making an appearance. Luhan had brought him a drink. Luhan had thought of him. His crush cared. “Thank you,” Minseok said softly, his mood instantly changed.

But Luhan cared about everyone, Minseok reminded himself as they arrived at the basement parking garage. He was just another person to Luhan and he always would be. Getting excited about something like this was exactly why he needed to avoid Luhan. Having a one-sided crush was already painful, giving it delusional fuel would end up making it hurt more.

“Are you coming to the match on Friday?” Luhan asked when they reached the car.

Right, the football match. “No, I’m busy.”

Minseok could almost swear Luhan frowned for a brief second. “That’s too bad. I like seeing you in the stands.”

Luhan got into the car like he hadn’t just destroyed Minseok’s world. Like he hadn’t just made Minseok’s’ heart beat so hard he was certain it would beat right out of his chest. He liked seeing him in the stands?! He noticed him?!

“Are you getting in?” Luhan called when Minseok remained rooted to the spot.

Minseok hurried up, another embarrassing moment added to the long list.

“You have no idea how happy I am to have met someone who likes TVXQ,” Luhan rambled, turning on Mirotic.

Minseok kept his head turned, finding the window so much safer than the view to his left.

“Are you busy on Saturday?” Luhan asked after they drove for a couple minutes.

Minseok racked his brain for a quick excuse but couldn’t find one. “No.”

“Do you want to hang out? We could do whatever.”

Luhan was asking him to do whatever. Luhan was asking him to do whatever. “Sounds good,” Minseok squeaked.

He spent the rest of the car ride half-listening as Luhan talked about football, his mind repeating “I’m hanging out with Luhan on Saturday” again and again until they arrived at school. He hurried off to his class like the day prior, not staying to chat. When he got to his desk it occurred to him he had forgotten to tell Luhan he wasn’t going to accept any more rides. Damnit.

 

The school day passed by rather uneventfully which was a godsend. Minseok couldn’t take anything more, he had enough to internally freak out about with the Saturday invitation. He didn’t cough up petals, he didn’t have Jisu asking him questions, and his friends didn’t even comment on Luhan bringing him to school that morning (Minseok hoped they hadn’t heard, but was also aware they were quite distracted by Chanyeol’s latest news – Minah had shockingly asked him out).

When his last class ended Minseok was no longer in a bad mood. He was still riddled with anxiety, still convinced he might be losing his mind, and he still intended to tell Luhan he wouldn’t accept any more rides – but his mood was okay. Small victories. Small victories.

He found Luhan leaning against his Mercedes, his attention on his phone. Minseok had to stop himself from appreciating the view because damn did Luhan look nice with his legs crossed, leaning against a luxury car, looking straight out of a 1980s high school teen drama.

But he had to stay strong. It was for his own good. Less time with his crush was better for his state of mind. Minseok squared his shoulders and marched up to his neighbor, ready to face the task.

Unfortunately, his enemy saw him coming. Luhan looked up from his phone before Minseok could successfully launch his verbal attack (which would have sounded quiet and not like an attack at all but details, details).

“Hey, I think I found something for us to do on Saturday.” Luhan flashed a devastatingly handsome smile. Crap. Minseok’s resolve crumbled.

“You did?” Minseok asked, curious.

“Do you like coffee? I thought I saw you drinking it a few times.”

Coffee. He freaking loved coffee. He breathed coffee. “Yeah, I like it.”

“There is a barista class nearby. I thought it might be fun to attend. It’s cheap too.” Luhan held up his phone, displaying a sign-up form.

Minseok had always wanted to take barista classes. This was bad. This was….” I’d love to.”

“Great. I’ll sign us up later.” Luhan opened the door.

“Can I have your phone?” he asked as Minseok slid into the passenger seat.

“Why?” Minseok asked dumbly.

“So I can text you in case I’m running late in the morning or you are. Or for whatever.”

Minseok handed over his phone, lost in Luhan’s smiles, his talk of barista classes, and his goddamn handsome face.

Damnit. His enemy won, unequivocally.

 

Minseok had gotten used to Luhan being always upbeat, chatty and in high spirits. When he gave Minseok a ride home that Thursday he looked positively depressed, worrying Minseok greatly.

“Is something the matter,” he asked when Luhan didn’t even bother to turn on the radio.

Luhan didn’t answer at first, which increased Minseok’s concern. He looked at Luhan’s face and immediately noticed how pale he was.

“Minseok, have you ever been in love?” Luhan asked quietly.

Um, that was unexpected. “No. I don’t think so,” Minseok answered. Sure he liked Luhan but he wasn’t in love with him. But wait…was Luhan in love with someone? Minseok frowned.

“Really?” Luhan instantly brightened. “I mean, you’re single, right?”

“Uh. Yeah.” What in the hell was going on. Minseok dared to ask, “How about you?”

“Single. Very single,” Luhan answered, sounding overly excited at his lack of a relationship.

“Congratulations…” Minseok offered, confused but feeling better that Luhan wasn’t about to bemoan that he was in love with someone.

“You too!” Luhan waxed, pushing the button on the radio, TVXQ blaring through the speakers a few seconds later.


 

“I am not putting my head there,” Minseok said for the umpteenth time. “You are.”

Jongdae snorted. “Not with the way you’re playing.”

“You’re both going to have your heads hit by balls and man someone should record that we sound like we’re planning a o.” Baekhyun cackled from the corner of the room where he was chalking his pool cue.

It was Jongdae who had suggested the punishment for the pair who lost at billiards and his two friends had agreed. Having their head hit by pool balls if they lost was agreeable because of course all three of them were convinced they were going to be the ones to win.

It was Friday night, eve of hang-out-with-Luhan day and the trio of best friends were camped out at Baekhyun’s house. Minseok loved Baekhyun’s house, mostly because it had a pool table. Also because Baekhyun’s mom made great cookies.

Baekhyun took a shot and failed, signaling for Minseok to go. When Minseok was lining up his shot, deep in concentration, his friends struck.

“How are the rides with Luhan going?” Jongdae asked, smirking when Minseok lost his focus, sending the ball a couple inches too far to the right.

Minseok gave him a nasty look. “Fine,” he answered.

“What do you guys talk about?” Baekhyun inquired.

Minseok sighed. He had known it was too good to be true that his friends hadn’t brought Luhan up for the last couple days. He also knew he had to say something and that deep down he trusted his friends. “Music. School. Luhan likes to talk so I mostly listen.” There, he had given them the cliff-notes version of his rides to and from school. So what if he left out the next day’s barista class or the fact he had given Luhan his number or the strange love conversation they had the day before.

“I’m so glad you don’t like him anymore. It’s nice to play pool instead of watch football for a change,” Jongdae remarked dryly, lining up his shot.

“You don’t like him anymore?” Baekhyun raised his eyebrows at Minseok.

“It was just a stupid crush,” Minseok mumbled.

“A stupid crush you’ve had for three years! And it isn’t stupid.” Baekhyun let out a loud groan at Jongdae’s perfect shot.

“See, I’m not the one getting hit in the head.” Jongdae smirked, moving around the table to continue his lucky streak.

“Plus it seems like he likes you back,” Baekhyun nudged Minseok’s shoulder playfully.

“What?!” Minseok looked at his friend like he had grown a second head. “That is impossible.”

“Yeah, I mean totally impossible. He gives you rides, makes moon eyes at you. Jongdae you little , did you just–“ Baekhyun marched to the other side of the table in an effort to distract Jongdae from easily winning the game.

Jongdae ignored the distraction and made another perfect shot, winning the game. He did a victory dance while his friends dissolved into protests of “you just got lucky” and “seriously you blew on that ball I saw it” (which facilitated Baekhyun saying they sounded like they were making a o yet again).

Minseok glumly received his punishment, a hard smack on the head that made him regret agreeing to the method but slightly hopeful it would make him forget that Baekhyun had ever hinted that Luhan liked him back. Afterwards the trio retreated to Baekhyun’s room to watch anime. While Baekhyun scrolled through his library, Jongdae brought the Luhan subject back up.

“You know, for once in his life Baekhyun has a point. There’s a good chance Luhan likes you.”

Minseok snorted. “Right. Like that is believable.”

“Hey, you might not notice but he does look at you during class a lot. It’s weird.” Jongdae paused, looking thoughtful. “At first I assumed you had something on your face but it went on for a few days so clearly he either is obsessed with the slope of your nose or he likes you.”

Minseok rolled his eyes. “You guys are overthinking things. I am sure he doesn’t look at me.”

“Listen, you have a tendency to look down on yourself and think you aren’t worthy or whatever goes through your head. We’re here to tell you to knock it off, that Luhan legit stares at you like some kind of creep. You’re a cool guy, Minseok. Anyone would be lucky to date you and it isn’t impossible to think Luhan might like you back.”

“He’s the most popular guy in school. There is zero chance that even if Luhan likes guys, and that is a big if, he would consider dating me,” Minseok shot back.

“I don’t know, stranger things have happened. Jongdae won at billiards,” Baekhyun chimed in.

Minseok sat back as Jongdae launched himself at Baekhyun in retaliation. He could say one thing about his friends. They were never boring.

 

Minseok ate breakfast quickly the next morning, a completely out of character move for him. He was usually a sloth on the weekends, taking twice as long to do everything just because he could.

“Mrs. Lu said you and Luhan have a date today,” his mother said with a smile.

Minseok felt his face heat up.

“A date? Ohhhhh,” his father cooed from behind his newspaper.

“It’s not a date. We’re just hanging out,” Minseok corrected her.

“Sure. Have fun sweetie.”

He couldn’t retreat from the table or his mother’s latest juice concoction fast enough.

As he scoured his wardrobe for an appropriate outfit he repeated to himself that it wasn’t a date. Not a date. Not even close to a date.

After much back and forth he decided to wear the black jeans that he knew made his look fantastic paired with the grey and white sweater that flattered his waist. Not a date. Not a date at all. He styled his hair carefully, putting in product to get his shaggy bangs off his forehead. Nope, not even close to a date. Was bb cream too much? Not a date.

He grabbed his charcoal wool coat and slipped on his converse to complete the look. He willed away the strange feelings in his stomach and made a dash for the front door – not wanting to hear another date comment because this was not a date. He successfully made it out the apartment door before being discovered, sighing in relief as the door shut behind him.

“Wow.”

Minseok turned to his right. Luhan was leaning against the wall next to his apartment, his eyes scanning down Minseok’s body. Minseok swallowed, blushing.

“You look nice out of our school uniform,” Luhan said in appreciation.

Minseok could mimic the sentiment – but instead of nice he would say hot. Luhan looked hot out of their drab school attire. He was wearing a plain grey t-shirt and dark jeans, sneakers and a leather jacket but somehow as simple as his outfit was he looked devastatingly attractive in it. Minseok swallowed again, certain he had lost the ability to speak.

“Ready?” Luhan asked, gesturing towards the elevator.

Minseok nodded. Not a date, this was not a date.

He managed to almost convince himself of the fact until he caught Luhan looking at him in the elevator, the other boy quickly averting his gaze like he was embarrassed. Was this the same Luhan that Minseok had been getting rides from?

“Have you ever taken a barista class before?” Minseok asked, grasping at straws, looking for anything to say to ease the awkwardness.

“No, have you?”

Minseok shook his head. “But I’ve really wanted to try it.”

“Me too,” Luhan said softly.

When they stepped off the elevator Minseok made a move to go towards the parking garage but Luhan stopped him. “We can walk. I mean, if that’s okay with you.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Internally Minseok was dreading not having the distraction of the radio between them, but he wasn't about to admit to it.

When they stepped outside Minseok didn’t feel any better about the walking situation. The sky was overcast, it looked like it might rain. Still he didn’t want to be the one to renege on the whole walking idea.

“I like how close we are to shops, it was impossible to find anything decent within walking distance in my old neighborhood,” Luhan commented.

“Where did you live before?” Minseok asked, curious.

When Luhan mentioned one of the wealthier enclaves in their vicinity Minseok couldn’t hold back, he blurted out a question he immediately realized was rude and none of his business. “Why did you move here?”

He was about to utter an apology but Luhan cut him off, answering the question without sounding upset. “My parents got a divorce. My father moved back to Beijing and my mother didn't think we needed all the room.”

Minseok felt like a jerk for having asked. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t ha-”

“No, it’s fine,” Luhan assured him. “Bad things happen sometimes, and honestly it isn’t that horrible. They are way happier not being together than being together so it kind of worked out for the best. Plus, I got to move next to you so it isn’t all bad.”

Minseok knew he was blushing. Not a date. Totally not a date.

“How has your throat been?” Luhan asked. They stopped to wait for a light to change, giving Minseok a chance to look at his totally-not-a-date.

“Great. Good, no more problems.” Minseok certainly hoped there would be no more problems. If he coughed up one more flower petal…

“I’m glad. I was worried about you.” Luhan smiled brightly. The light changed, their conversation stopped by the push of the pedestrians waiting to cross.

Their arms brushed while they crossed the street, their hands touching for the briefest of moments. Minseok quickly jerked his hand away, swallowing hard. Not.A.Date.

“It’s too bad you weren’t at the game yesterday,” Luhan said when they reached the other side of the road.

“How so?”

“Minho scored two goals, he was on fire. It was a really good game.”

“Sounds like it.” Minseok honestly regretted not going, but he knew he couldn’t. Not when he had told Jongdae his crush was null and void –– and other such nonsense. And it was nonsense, he was very well aware that if anything he liked Luhan more now.

“Do you ever play?” Luhan asked.

“No, I’m not very good at it.” Minseok recalled his failed attempts at sports –– mostly gym class enforced.

“If you ever want to play just to have fun, let me know. I’m sure you think you are worse than you actually are.”

Minseok would have debated that if it wasn’t for the sudden scratch in his throat accompanied by sheer panic. Not now, not now. He held his breath, hoping it would help. It didn’t.

He hacked, his chest tightening. He knew it was happening again and at the worst time possible. He doubled over, coughing. He couldn’t let Luhan see him ...see him...whatever it was that had been happening to him lately.

“I-” he gasped for air, “have to go.”

It was difficult to start running, to in a few deep breaths as his throat constricted and his chest heaved. He made it twenty feet before he had to stop. He gagged, his hand over his mouth as he felt the soft petals move up his throat.

“Minseok!” Luhan was beside him, a hand on his back. “Are you okay?!”

Minseok captured the petals in the palm of his hand. He winced, his chest aching at the attack. He felt tears prick his eyes – both due to the coughing fit and because of where and when it had occurred.

“I have to go,” he rasped, balling the petals up in his fist. Why was this happening again?! What was wrong with him?!

Minseok tried to move forward but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Luhan held him tight. Minseok whirled around, a stray tear escaping. “I have to go,” he choked out.

“Minseok,” Luhan said softly, his eyes glued to Minseok’s hand. “Let me see.”

Minseok paled. How could he – Luhan saw, he must have noticed. Minseok froze, unable to run away but unable to show the petals he had coughed up.

“Are they flower petals?” Luhan asked, his gaze serious and unwavering

When Minseok didn't react Luhan grabbed him by the shoulders. He looked panicked, perhaps even a little afraid. “Are they?!” he demanded.

Minseok nodded, uncertain of why he dared to admit to such a thing.

“So it’s happening to you too,” Luhan whispered. “It’s not just me.”

Minseok let the petals fall onto the sidewalk, shocked into silence.

 

“It started a week ago,” Luhan rattled off. He was leaning over, rummaging in one of his dresser drawers. Minseok sat at the desk chair in Luhan’s room, still attempting to grasp what had happened.

After Luhan had admitted he too was having the bizarre issue, he had hurried Minseok back to their apartment building, claiming he knew what was causing it. Minseok had followed Luhan in a daze, unable to comprehend how any of this was possible much less how Luhan had figured out what was causing it.

It was the first time he stepped foot inside Luhan’s family’s home and rightfully he should have felt both nervous and curious at the prospect –– but he didn’t. He bowed to Mrs. Lu and plodded after Luhan without even a cursory glance around, his mind dominated by the strange going-ons.

“Here!” Luhan lifted a colorfully bound book out of the drawer and held it up. “I found it in here.”

Minseok stood up and sidled next to Luhan, peeking at the book as Luhan flipped it open. “Is that Japanese?”

“Yeah,” Luhan confirmed.

Of course, Luhan could read Japanese, Minseok thought. Of course, that was one more thing he was great at, one more accomplishment to add to his long list of charms.

“I bought this years ago and forgot about it. It’s a medical book.” Luhan gestured for Minseok to take a seat next to him on his bed. Minseok obliged. “You have to promise you won’t laugh when I tell you what it is.”

“I promise,” Minseok said solemnly.

Luhan stopped flipping through the pages, bookmarking a section with his finger he set the book on his lap and turned to Minseok.

Minseok could see something akin to fear or sadness in his eyes, which worried Minseok more. “Minseok, we are dying.”

“What?!” Minseok sputtered. Sure coughing up flower petals wasn’t normal by any means but dying?!

“We’re suffering from Hanahaki disease, a rare condition that little is known about. If we don’t find the cure, we’ll die.”

“What is the cure?” Minseok demanded, the blood rushing out of his face. He felt faint. Die? He was too young to die?! He had yearly checkups, his mom pushed health food concoctions down his throat daily –– it just couldn’t be.

“The disease is caused by unrequited love. The only way to stop the disease is for the person you love to fall in love with you. If that doesn’t happen the disease will progress until you suffocate,” Luhan explained, frowning when he was done.

Okay, now Minseok understood why Luhan told him not to laugh. “That doesn’t make any sense. How could your body react to unrequited love? Luhan, I’m not sure what–”

“Minseok, I love you.”

Minseok froze, mouth hanging open. He blinked a few times, his mind a complete mess. “What did you say?”

Luhan looked down at his sky-blue comforter, avoiding eye contact. “I said I love you. I’ve loved you since a couple years ago and I knew you didn’t like guys so I just gave up and then I moved in here and then this started and I realized loving you is going to kill me.”

Luhan loved him. Luhan, captain of the school’s soccer team, beyond talented Luhan, social Luhan, loved him?! So Baekhyun and Jongdae had been right….

“And it is clear you love someone, since you have the disease too. So, you see,” Luhan looked up, tears streaming down his cheeks. “For one of us to live the other one has to die.”

Minseok moved away, sitting on the edge of the bed he put his head in his hands. This was too weird, way too weird. He rubbed his face vigorously, hoping he would wake up from what was obviously a dream.

“I know I have no right to ask, but who is it that you love?” Luhan asked, his voice cracking as he continued to cry.

Minseok removed his hands and turned to look at Luhan. “You really like me?”

Luhan nodded, wiping away tears with the back of his hands.

Could he confess? Did he have any other choice? He doubted what Luhan was telling him about the disease but regardless Luhan had confessed to him. He had told him he had a longstanding crush on him, that the feelings were mutual. Kim Minseok, stop being an idiot, he mentally chided himself.

He took a deep breath, working up the courage. “I like you. A lot. For as long as you said you’ve liked me, I’ve liked you.”

It was Luhan’s turn to be stunned into silence.

Minseok tried to fill the awkwardness by filling in the details. “I didn’t think someone like you would like me. I mean, someone as cool as you – I’m kind of nerdy if you didn’t notice. And well, I didn’t know you liked guys either so–”

“Are you sure it’s me?” Luhan interrupted. “There isn’t someone else you like, someone you like more?”

Minseok shook his head. “No. This is so embarrassing but I’ve had a crush on you for so long, there hasn’t been anyone else I’ve liked since middle school.”

“That doesn’t make sense.” Luhan stood up and paced to the other side of the room, hands on his hips. “If we like each other than how can we both have Hanahaki disease?”

“Are you sure that is what it is? We should go to the doctor, Luhan, before self-diagnosing.” Minseok never would have thought that right after hearing a confession from Luhan he would be planning a date to the clinic, but hey he hadn’t thought it would all be brought about by coughing up flower petals either.

“No, we can’t go. The hospital is out of the question.”

“Why?”

“Do you know what doctors do when they see a patient with Hanahaki disease? A surgery, Minseok, a surgery with a success rate of less than 5%. Assuming it does work great but there is a 95% chance it won’t and then you lose all that time to recovery. Minseok, we don’t have a lot of time left we can’t spend it in a hospital when we should be working to cure this on our own.”

Minseok tensed at the mention of a surgery. He had his tonsils out when he was seven and it had been an unpleasant experience, despite the buckets of ice cream he consumed while recovering. “But to cure it you said unrequited love has to become mutual love. We already like each other…”

“We must not love each other enough,” Luhan announced firmly. “I know it seems strange but that is the only thing that could make sense. We aren’t in love as much as we need to be. We love each other, but we need to love each other more.”

Love. Minseok was stuck on the word. He liked Luhan, a lot, but love? He had never thought he loved him. To Minseok love was something that took time, something that came after knowing each other, dating for a while. But now he was supposedly suffering from a disease born of love, or lack thereof, and so was Luhan. So was he in love all along? Is this what love felt like?

“We need a plan of attack. We need to fall deeper in love as quickly as possible.” Luhan nodded after he spoke, like he was agreeing with himself. “We can save ourselves, Minseok, as long as we’re both willing to fall more in love.”

“This all sounds like some bad teen comedy,” Minseok muttered under his breath, adding in a louder voice, “I need some time to think this all through.” Minseok stood and move towards the door.

Luhan looked at him like a wounded animal.

“I’m not saying you’re wrong, I just –– this is a lot.” Minseok hoped he understood.

“I know it is. Minseok, I know,” Luhan said grimly.

Minseok opened the door and was about to step out when Luhan spoke. “Thank you for loving me.”

Minseok felt his face flame. “Thank you,” he called over his shoulder, hurrying to get home and fling himself headfirst onto his bed. He had a lot of thinking to do, and a good deal of squealing as well. Luhan liked him, holy .

Oh and he might be dying.

But Luhan liked him!