Sehun set the shirt down on the table with a sigh. The slight gust of air pushed the straw towards the edge, but he caught it just before it fell. Sehun held the straw with two fingers and inspected it, as he had done many times in the past. It was covered in bite marks at one end, but other than that, it was clean. Sehun chuckled to himself as he remembered Luhan’s face when he first found out that Sehun loved bubble tea.

            It was just another Saturday at the studio. Luhan had been a trainee with them for almost five months, and was adjusting quite well. Everyone that lived outside of the city had come up to Seoulfor the weekend, which usually meant longer practices. But today, even though it was only 4:30 PM, most of the guys had already left. Sehun and Luhan were the last ones in the studio, which didn’t happen very often. Jongin would stay most Saturdays to dance with Sehun, but he said something about meeting Taemin, so Sehun let him go. Luhan would usually leave earlier to attend some weekend classes at Yonsei to make up for the classes he missed during the weekdays, but he apparently wasn’t today.

            “Hyung, why aren’t you going to your classes today?” Sehun asked.

            Luhan stretched out on the floor but didn’t answer.

            “Luhan hyunnngggggg”

            “Sehun-ahhhhhhhhhh”

            They looked at each other and laughed. Sehun loved these moments.

            “My professor is giving our class a free day, so I don’t have class!” Luhan smiled at the ceiling. Sehun wished that Luhan would smile like that at him.

            Should I ask him? No…he won’t want to...I’ll be rejected! No. Get a grip on yourself, Oh Sehun. Be a man. It’s not like it’s a date or anything, right?

            Sehun took a deep breath. And then he said it.

            “Luhan? There’s a bubble tea shop down the block, do you want to go with me to get some bubble tea?”

            See? That wasn’t so bad…

            “Bubble tea? You like bubble tea?” Luhan sounded incredulous.

            “Yeah! I drink it all the time!” Sehun blurted before he could stop himself. He inwardly cringed at his overly enthusiastic response.

“Why didn’t you tell hyung before? I’ll buy you all the bubble tea you want, Sehun-ah.” Luhan smiled again, this time at Sehun.
            Sehun’s heart skipped a beat.

Luhan was going to buy him all the bubble tea he wanted.

It wasn’t much, but it was a promise that tied them together. It was all he could do to restrain himself from getting up and doing some stupid victory dance.

Why is it that Luhan makes me feel this way?

“Really hyung? REALLY?!?” Sehun tried to be cute.

“Haha, you’re such a cutie, Sehun-ah. Of course really! Here, I’ll even make a pinky-promise on that.” Luhan held out his pinkie.

Luhan hyung just called me cute!

Sehun curved his pinkie around Luhan’s, feeling the softness of the other’s skin.

“I promise to buy you bubble tea whenever and wherever you want.” Luhan looked straight into Sehun’s eyes.

It’s just bubble tea, why is he being so serious?

“Thank you hyung.” Sehun didn’t know where to look. He could feel Luhan’s gaze on him, but he couldn’t bring himself to turn his head in Luhan’s direction. He heard the smallest of sighs escape Luhan, and felt him pull his pinkie away.

“Hyung! You said whenever and wherever! How about now?” Sehun said hastily, feeling that Luhan was a bit disappointed.

Luhan brightened at this.

“Sure! Let me just my jacket.” Luhan got up and started to walk toward the coat rack.

“Get mine too!” Sehun didn’t feel like getting up. Then he realized that that made him look lazy.

Luckily, Luhan just laughed.

Sehun waited for Luhan to get both of their jackets without getting up from the floor. Luhan took a little longer than Sehun expected, but he brushed it off.

            They left the studio and started walking side by side down the road. Sehun noticed that their steps were matching, but Luhan didn’t seem to be paying attention. Rather, he was looking straight ahead, his eyes distant. Sehun elbowed him.

            “What are you thinking about, hyung?”

            “Hm? Oh…I was just remembering Beijing…” Luhan sounded wistful.

            “Beijing? What’s Beijinglike?” Sehun tried to sound interested. He had never thought much about Luhan’s life in China, before he came to Korea.

            Luhan laughed. “It’s kind of hard to explain in words. You have to see it and feel it. Experience it. Then again, a lot of things are hard to explain in words.”

            “Like what?”

            “Ummm…like friendship. And love.”

            Sehun hesitated before asking.

            “Have you ever loved someone, hyung?”

            Luhan paused.

            “I’m not sure…”

            “Why not?” Sehun hoped he wasn’t pushing it.

            “I had a girlfriend in Beijing, but I ended it when I became a trainee.”

            When he became a trainee? But that was only a couple of months ago!

            “You ended it with her when you became a trainee? Why?” Now Sehun was trying not to sound TOOinterested.

            “Because I could tell that our relationship wasn’t going to last. It was the beginning of the end.*”

            “But you met us, right? So that was a beginning!” Sehun didn’t really want to hear about Luhan’s ex-girlfriend.

            Luhan laughed again. “Of course! What would I do without my favorite dongsaeng Sehun?”

            Dongsaeng…why is it that I don’t want him to call me his dongsaeng…

            “Sehun? Why do you look like that? Did I say something wrong?” Luhan looked concerned.

            Sehun started. He hadn’t realized that his face had totally reflected his emotions. He quickly rearranged his features into a slightly unconvincing smile.

            “Nothing’s wrong, the wind just blew something into my eye,” Sehun said hastily.

            “Okay…if you say so…” Luhan didn’t look convinced.

            “Look! It’s the bubble tea shop!” Sehun wanted to distract Luhan from the awkwardness. He even held the door open for the older to walk in. Luhan seemed a little surprised before graciously stepping through the open door.

            It’s not weird that I opened the door for him, right? It’s not weird. It’s not weird!

            Sehun shook his head, trying to clear it. Thankfully, the sounds of ice grinding in the shop distracted him.

            Luhan turned toward him.

            “What flavor?”

            “CHOCOLATE.”

            Luhan laughed at Sehun’s enthusiasm.

            “Go find us a table while I order then.”

            Sehun hopped onto a tall stool at a small, two-person table. He watched as Luhan went up the register. The cashier was a young woman who looked around Sehun’s age: 16. Her pretty face didn’t bother Sehun until she was looking at Luhan. Her eyes widened for a second before she was able to compose herself. Sehun laughed inwardly. Luhan really was beautiful to everyone.

            “Hi, my name is Minhee, how may I help you today?” Sehun hated the breathiness in her voice. Way to be subtle…

            “Could I have one chocolate bubble tea and one mango bubble tea?” Luhan smiled at her, which opened up a flower of jealousy inside Sehun.

            Stop being jealous. You have no reason to be jealous, Oh Sehun.

            “Sure, that will be $8.00.” Minhee was obviously flattered that Luhan had showed some interest. She seemed to hesitate before asking, “Do you come here often? I’ve never seen you before.”

            “This is actually my first time here. I’m from Beijing, but I’m studying at YonseiUniversityas a foreign exchange student.”

            “Your Korean is so good! How long have you been learning?”

            Sehun didn’t want to listen to this crap, but he couldn’t block it out. Not Minhee’s laughter, not her breathy voice, and especially not Luhan’s laugh. Involuntarily, his hand curled up into a fist. He couldn’t even bring himself to look in their direction.

            When the bubble teas were ready, Minhee reluctantly let Luhan go. Luhan smiled at her again, picked up the two drinks, and joined Sehun at the small table.

            Sehun tried to keep his face blank, but he could tell from the confusion on Luhan’s face that he wasn’t very successful.

            “Sehun-ah, what’s wrong?”

            “Nothing, hyung.”

            “Don’t ‘nothing, hyung’ me! I won’t fall for it. Now tell me.” Luhan looked so cute that Sehun almost forgave him on the spot.

            Then he remembered Minhee’s breathy voice.

            Sehun sighed.

            “Let’s just leave.”

            Luhan slid down from his seat.

            “Fine. And I would consider it an honor to you today.” Luhan made an exaggerated bow, almost spilling his bubble tea all over himself.

            At this, Sehun had to laugh.

            “I accept. I am honored to be escorted by such a capable man.”

            “The honor is all mine, your majesty.”

            They looked at each other, and burst into laughter.

            Luhan took this chance to tug Sehun by the arm out of the shop. Sehun pretended to struggle before making a big show of consenting.

            They spent the next couple of hours walking in the local park. The park was beautiful, especially now that the leaves were changing color, but all Sehun could see was Luhan. Luhan was more interesting to look at than the entire park put together.

            When the wind blew leaves and dust into his face, Luhan crinkled his forehead to form tiny little wrinkles in between his eyebrows. When he saw something he liked, his cheeks bunched up as he smiled. He bit his lip in excitement when he saw puppies, and while he pet them, he scrunched up his nose cutely as the dogs jumped up and down in attempts to his cheek.

            “Look at that, Sehun-ah! Isn’t that leaf pretty? Look how the flower petals are falling everywhere. It’s like we’re at a wedding!”

            Sehun didn’t know what to do with this adorable kid.

            The rest of the afternoon passed in a haze of flower petals, colorful leaves, and hyper puppies. By 6:00, they found themselves seated on a white wooden bench on the side of the trail, with flower petals and leaves all around them. Luhan was dozing on Sehun’s shoulder, and Sehun didn’t mind the slight pressure of Luhan’s cheek on his shoulder at all.

            Why is it that all I can see is Luhan hyung? Why is it that I forget about everything while we’re together? Why does it bother me when he talks to other girls? Why does everything he do look adorable to me? Why is Luhan hyung the only one I can think about?

            Sehun’s mind was clogged with questions like these. He had never been in a relationship, due to the fact that he had never really paid attention to girls. He had only pretended to be interested when Kai fangirled over Girl’s Generation. He never really understood what was so beautiful about them with their layers and layers of makeup and skinny bodies. He found their faces and smiles and everything about them to be so fake; it was suffocating.

            Sehun turned his head slightly to see Luhan’s sleeping face. Luhan wasn’t fake. Luhan didn’t wear layers and layers of makeup. Luhan didn’t force his smiles. Luhan wasn’t ridiculously skinny. Luhan never made him feel like he was suffocating. And the only thing Sehun could think was: This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.**

            Sehun wanted to bang his head into a wall. Maybe that would help to clear it.

            Luhan made a sleepy noise and curled up next to Sehun even more. He was murmuring something softly. Sehun first thought it was in Chinese, but it was actually in Korean.

            And when Sehun understood what Luhan was saying, all he could do was stare at his sleeping face. Did Luhan really mean what he was saying?

            Luhan mumbled some more and scrunched up his nose. He fidgeted a bit and snuggled deeper into Sehun’s neck.

            Sehun could have stayed there forever, just watching Luhan sleep, but it was getting late and they needed to get home before night really fell.

            Right before he was going to shake Luhan awake, Sehun noticed that Luhan’s bubble tea cup was still in his hand. With his straw.

            Sehun hesitated, and then impulsively pulled the straw from the cup. Then he threw both cups away.

            When Luhan awoke, he scolded Sehun for letting him sleep in a public place. Then he fussed that it wasn’t a good idea for Sehun to take the subway home by himself because it was dangerous and Sehun might get kidnapped or lost and there was absolutely no way he would let the younger boy to go alone.

            Sehun rolled his eyes, but he secretly enjoyed the attention. He was finally able to persuade Luhan that he would be fine on the subway by himself because he was all grown up and no one would want to kidnap him anyway.

            “I would want to kidnap you.”

            “Why?”

            “Because you have the most innocent expression.”

            Sehun didn’t know what Luhan was talking about, especially because Luhan wasn’t really one to call anyone “innocent-looking”.

            Later, on the subway, Sehun took out Luhan’s straw. Luhan apparently had a habit of chewing on the end of straws, for one end was covered with teeth marks. Sehun didn’t mind though. To him, Luhan was perfect and therefore, so was the straw. He thought about what Luhan had said in his sleep and smiled to himself.

“세훈아, 형은 니가 있어서 너무 좋아.”***

            It had been years, and Sehun never got tired of thinking of those words. How Luhan said it. How Luhan had scrunched up his nose. How Luhan had snuggled into his neck. How Luhan’s soft cheek had felt against his shoulder.

            Sehun pressed his lips to the bitten end of the straw.

            Then he set it down, trying to hold back more tears.

*“The Beginning of the End”

-Season 4, Episode 1 “Lost”

**“This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.”

-“Vincent” by Don McLean

***“Sehun-ah, hyung is so happy he has you.”

A/N: Thank you to those who left me comments! :)