BGM: SHINee's Taemin - U

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!"

You were fidgeting on the backseat of your father's gray Hyundai Elantra on the way to the Gangnam Severance Hospital, the nearest medical establishment from your home. Luhan, who was currently sitting beside you, forgot to tell you one important detail before devouring the scallop makizushi you prepared with your mother for dinner:

He was allergic to shellfish.

"Calm down, Mimi. Your constant panicking isn't helping Luhan at all," your father pointed out, obviously clueless about Luhan's fascination with your panicked expression.

"Yeah, calm down, Mimi," Luhan copied, coughing in between his words. "There's no need to worry. I'm fine, really," he insisted, resting his left hand on yours.

"YOU'RE NOT FINE!!!" you and your mother chorused.

"Do you have any idea how your face looks right now?!?" you asked, too worried about Luhan's well-being to notice his gentle but reassuring squeeze on your hand.

Luhan looked horrible.

His small face was red all-over and was now almost twice as big from all the swelling. His lips, which usually look pink and kissable, were now as red as your DBSK balloons and are almost as plump as Jongin's. And although he was pretending to be okay by acting all cool and calm, you knew perfectly well that he was literally itching to scratch the rashes on his face that spread all the way to his neck, his forelimbs, and God knows where.

"Handsome?" he joked, earning him an approving chortle and an unnecessary high-five from your father, who seemed to have forgotten, just for a second, that he was actually driving a car.

"YA!!! HAN JAESUK!!! KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!!!" your mother scolded, causing your father to automatically shift his gaze back to the front.

Even if he was having an allergy attack, Luhan was secretly enjoying the scene before him: your mother lecturing your father about the consequences of irresponsible driving; your father trying to tune out your mother's unnecessary nagging; and you - unconsciously emulating your own mother by repeatedly scolding him for not informing you about his shellfish allergy beforehand.

Luhan realized that it has been long - too long - since he's been in the company of a conventional family.

It has been at least two years since Luhan moved to Seoul to study at Yonsei University and aside from the occasional trips during holiday breaks; he hasn't been home for quite some time. Watching you and your parents now, Luhan couldn't help but miss his own family that he left in Beijing. He was in the middle of reminiscing about funny episodes with his own parents when the familiar intro from Dong Bang Shin Ki's Crazy Love started playing.

"Is that your phone?" you asked.

"Yeah, could you answer it for me? Please?" he requested.

"Okay," you agreed. "Where is it?"

A naughty smile formed on Luhan's lips. "In my pocket," he replied, making your eyes widen. "H- h- how can I... how can I..." you stuttered, but even before you managed to ask him how in the world did he expect you to retrieve his handyphone from the tight pocket of his jeans, Luhan quickly put an end to your dilemma by clarifying everything.

"The pocket..." he started, trying hard to keep a straight face as he stared into your worried state. "...in my jacket," he revealed, but instead of letting out the chuckle he's been holding in until now, he started coughing instead. "God. You look so adorable when you're panicking!" he mentioned, and if he wasn't in pain right now, you would surely slap him in the arm for teasing you like that.

You took Luhan's handyphone from the left pocket of his jacket and checked the name flashing on the screen. Since it was written in Chinese characters, you had no idea who it was, but Luhan insisted you answer it anyway.

As soon as you pressed the 'ANSWER' button, the person at the other end of the line immediately spoke, suddenly asking a question even before you could even manage to say 'Hello'.

"LUHAN! WHERE ARE YOU?!?" a familiar voice asked.

The person on the other end of the line was speaking in Mandarin and the only thing you understood from what he just said was 'Luhan'. "Uhm, Luhan is... Luhan is..." you stuttered, but the caller quickly cut you off upon recognizing your voice. "Jaemi?!? It's you, right? Why do you have Luhan's phone?!?" he inquired, getting even more worried when Luhan didn't pick up his own phone.

"Totoro?!? Is that you?!? Oh my God! Luhan is..." You had to pause for a while to get yourself together. When you realized that it was Kevin who was calling, you suddenly felt a stronger urge to cry. There he was, giving Luhan a phone call just because he was worried why he hasn't arrived home yet, what more once he realizes that Luhan was about to be rushed to the emergency room? "Totoro, Luhan is... we're taking him to the hospital."

"The hospital?!? Why?!? What happened?!?" Kevin asked, sounding more concerned than ever. When Kevin mentioned the word 'hospital', you swore you heard Yixing, who was probably beside him at that moment, repeating what he just said.

"He... allergy... he... oh my God I sound like Tao-Tao," you stuttered, making Luhan chuckle at your 'I sound like Zitao' comment.

It turns out, you didn't need to explain all the details thoroughly because Kevin somehow understood what happened to Luhan as soon as you mentioned his allergy. "He accidentally ate shellfish, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he didn't tell me-"

"Which hospital are you taking him to?" Kevin interrupted, but he immediately apologized for doing so. After telling him that you were on your way to the Gangnam Severance Hospital in Dogok, Kevin assured you that he and Yixing are going to meet you there. "Oh and ask him to pop in a capsule of oral antihistamine. He must have some in his bag. That should control the rashes and the itching for a while."

As soon as you hung up, you asked Luhan where you can find the oral antihistamines Kevin was referring to because you couldn't find them in his backpack. "I, uhm, I actually ran out. I was supposed to stop by the pharmacy on my way home, but-"

Luhan wasn't able to finish what he was saying because you started hitting his arm when he revealed that he didn't have oral antihistamines inside his bag. "HOW CAN YOU BE SO IRRESPONSIBLE?!? WHY DID YOU FORGET TO BUY SOME?!? IF YOU HAVE AN ALLERGY, YOU SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT AS THAT WITH YOU ALL THE TIME!!!"

"Whoa! Take it easy!" your father ordered.

"Mimi sweetie, stop hitting Luhan!" your mother ordered, extending her arms to grab your hands. "Touching him would only make him itch more!" she reminded.

Realizing that what your mother said was right, you let out a worried "Oh, dear!" and apologized to the rash-infected Chinese boy. "Oh my God! Luhan, I'm so sorry~" His eyes, you noticed, were getting watery, and since there was no way that he was crying right now, you figured that the tears forming in the corner of his eyes were probably just another side-effect of his allergy. Before you could even control yourself, you cradled his face between your hands and you started wiping his tears with your thumbs.

If your parents weren't there in the car with you right now, Luhan would have probably used this as a perfect opportunity to finally kiss you. 

A-CHOO!!!

"Oh no! Now you're sneezing! Oh my God!" you exclaimed, quite relieved that you were able to turn away before Luhan let out a loud sneeze. "Are you cold?" you asked, repeatedly Luhan's arm, obviously forgetting that you weren't supposed to touch him. You were so concerned about Luhan that you instinctively tried to provide him with more warmth, not realizing that rubbing his jacket against his skin would only make him want to scratch himself even more.

When Luhan noticed that you were unwrapping the striped scarf off your neck with your free hand, he held on to it to stop you. "No, I'm not cold. This is just an effect of my allergy," he explained, insisting you keep the scarf on.

"Are you sure?" you asked.

Luhan nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure. Besides, I think you need it more than I do," he said, stealing a glance at your short legs that were exposed by your denim shorts. When Luhan revealed that he was allergic to shellfish, you were in such a hurry to get to the hospital that you didn't have enough time to change clothes, so you just quickly reached for the red hoodie and the striped scarf that was hanging on the coat rack by the door.

Even if he already refused it, you persistently continued removing the striped scarf and went on to hang it on Luhan's long neck, but the even more stubborn Luhan just took it off and placed it on your lap to help cover your bare thighs. You were about to compliment Luhan's gentlemanly ways when your father abruptly stopped the car in front of the hospital.

"Get in without me. I still have to park the car properly."

As soon as you got off the car, you and your mother accompanied Luhan towards the emergency room, but one of the nurses there insisted you stay in the waiting room for a while because they still need to assess Luhan's condition to determine whether or not he needs to be treated right away.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?" you exclaimed, forgetting all sense of politeness or the fact that some of the patients in the hospital were probably trying to get some sleep at that moment. "Look at him! He's as red as an overripe tomato and you're telling me that you still have to check whether or not he needs treatment right now?!?"

Luhan, although touched by your concern for him, was repeatedly asking you to calm down and lower your voice a bit. He gently grabbed your arm, slowly pulling you away for he was afraid that you might hurt the nurse if she continues to refuse to admit him to the emergency room.

"Excuse me, Nurse, uhm-" Your mother paused to check what was written on the nurse's name plate. "Im... Nurse Im. Luhan here, is having an allergy attack, so could you please give him at least some antihistamines or whatever."

At that moment, you were so proud of your mother for pulling herself together. She managed to talk to the nurse as calmly as she could manage even though she was obviously panicking just like you; and somehow, her grace under pressure made you feel so ashamed for almost attacking the nurse just moments ago.

You weren't really sure if it was because of the protocol they follow or your mother's insistence, but Nurse Im eventually decided to admit Luhan, leaving him to the care of a triage nurse called Nurse Kwon, who would be responsible for examining his vital signs and gathering his medical information.

Nurse Kwon then asked one of you to accompany Luhan inside the emergency, saying she needs to interview someone about what happened before he had an allergic reaction and ask about what he ate and stuff; but since you still need to fill in some forms for Luhan at the registration area, your mother volunteered to go with them instead.

Faced with a sheet of paper that's asking you to provide specific details about him, you realized that after months of being friends with him, you still don't know much about Luhan. His birthday, for example, was on April 20, you were pretty confident about that, but you have no idea what year he was born. You do remember him confirming that he was already 21-years-old, but he never clarified if that was his actual age or his Korean age.

"Is it 1990 or 1989?" you wondered.

Not being able to complete Luhan's information sheet frustrated you.

The only details you were able to write were Luhan's name, civil status, gender, and birth date, and the latter, obviously, lacked a specific year to go with it. Unsure what you're supposed to do, you just continued staring at the paper with the hopes that it would miraculously provide you with some answers. The nurses stationed in the registration area must have thought you were dyslexic or something because you were having such a difficult time filling up a very simple form.

"Miss, do you need help?" one of the nurses asked, but you politely turned him down by shaking your head, saying that you just needed a bit more time to finish it.

A few minutes later, your father finally entered the hospital. When he saw you standing near the registration area, your father put an arm around you and asked, "Mimi sweetie, where's your mother?"

"She's inside the emergency room with Luhan," you answered, seeking comfort by leaning your head against your father's chest. "Appa, is Luhan going to be okay?"

"Of course, he is. That's why we brought him here, right?" he assured, squeezing your shoulder. "Don't worry about it too much, okay? I'm sure the doctors would do everything they can to help him." Glancing at the patient information sheet you've yet to finish, your father pointed out, "You forgot to put in his birth year."

You bit your lower lip and scratched your temple with your free hand. "I, uhm, I'm not really sure when his birth year is, Appa," you admitted, ashamedly looking down on the floor. "I know that Luhan is already 21-years-old, but since he's Chinese-"

"Luhan is Chinese?!?"

Since neither you nor Luhan managed to mention it earlier, your father had no idea that you allergy-stricken friend was from China. "But he's really good at speaking Korean!" he exclaimed.

"That's because he's a language major at Yonsei," you revealed, twisting the pen with your fingers in an attempt to relax your nerves. "He's been living here in Seoul for at least two years now, I think."

"No wonder the kid is so smart," your father said. Looking down at you, he smiled and praised your friend's intelligence by mentioning that Luhan answered more quiz questions than him while they were watching TV earlier. "He's particularly good at the puzzle-types of questions."

When you heard a pair of boys conversing in what you suspected to be Mandarin, you pulled away from your father and turned around. Your assumption was confirmed when Kevin and Yixing instantly called out your name upon noticing you near the registration booth.

"When is Luhan's birth year?" you asked.

The question took the Chinese boys and your father by surprise. Your father expected you to introduce the two boys to him first, while Kevin and Yixing assumed you'll give them updates about Luhan's condition, but no; you asked them about Luhan's birth year instead.

"Uhm, 1990 just like me," Kevin answered.

Since you were too busy writing down Luhan's birth year on the patient information sheet to mind them, Kevin and Yixing took matters into their own hands and introduced themselves to your father. "Good evening, Sir. We're Luhan and Jaemi's friends," Yixing said, quite politely.

"My name is Kevin Li and he is Zhang Yixing," Kevin added.

"I'm Han Jaesuk, Jaemi's father," he replied, returning the boys' bows. "Luhan is inside the emergency room right now, getting treatment. My wife is there with him."

The two Chinese boys did another round of 90-degree bows and thanked your father for taking care of Luhan and driving him to the hospital, but your father insisted that you should be the ones apologizing since Luhan's allergy attack was caused by the food he ate while having dinner at your home.

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