Listen to this as you read the story:
The Corrs - At Your Side

Enjoy!

Lu Han. A bubbly third year student who can melt any person’s heart once he smiles. A smart student who always puts on a smile when helping people who are in a war with their home works and exams. Anyone could say that Lu Han is the perfect student and friend. But that was when he was in China.

Now that his family has moved to South Korea, he was not as perfect as people thought him to be. Unfortunately, he was now the opposite. Ever since Lu Han had stepped foot in his new school, he has never had any proper conversation with anyone. No one told him it was this hard to adapt to a new school, especially if that school doesn’t speak your mother tongue. His addiction to Korean dramas had been a help to him as he was quite fluent in Korean now but it still does not give him the confidence to talk to people.

“Hey, Lu Han.” Lu Han slowly looked up from the book he was “reading” and looked up at the boy with an excessively bright smile plastered on his face.

“Joonmyun…” Lu Han said, his voice a bit shaky because of his nervousness.

“Do you want to join us for lunch later?” He motioned for some other people to come near them. It was their other classmates who Lu Han unfortunately forgot the names. Sensing Lu Han’s anxiety, Joonmyun introduced each of their classmates again.

“This is Minseok.” A chubby guy moved forward to make himself noticed and smiled cutely for Lu Han. Lu Han smiled a little in response.

“Baekhyun.” A guy who had lovely eyes waved at him. “Hey.”

“Chanyeol.” Lu Han squealed a little inside as he heard the tallest guy among them spoke, “Ni Hao.” He did not expect such a deep voice come from that guy with boyish looks. His goofy smile did not help and only had Lu Han shift in his chair uncomfortably.

“Chanyeol-ah, can you tone down your smile? You’re creeping him out.” Baekhyun nudged him on the elbow.

“Hi, I’m Jongdae.” Lu Han could not help but smile a little in response to the warm smile the boy on his side was giving him.

“So, what do you say? Will you join us for lunch?” Suho gave another one of his bright smile that could make you do anything he asks you to. Lu Han just nodded and said nothing else.

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“Do you remember the...” Everyone was speaking so fast that Lu Han could not understand most of their conversation so he blocked all the noises that was surrounding him and concentrated on the food in front of him.

“Lu Han.” He reluctantly looked up to see pairs of worried eyes observing him.

“Lu Han hyung, are we speaking too fast for you?” Baekhyun asked and Lu Han nodded in response.

“We’re sorry. We’re not used to having a foreigner sit with us. We’ll speak slowly then.” Joonmyun smiled apologetically.

“By the way, Lu Han hyung… what made you move here to Korea?” Chanyeol suddenly shifted the group’s conversation to Lu Han.

“My father… his work moved here.” Lu Han answered in broken Korean though everyone understood what he meant. Lu Han blushed a little, realizing his grammar was incorrect.

“Don’t worry, Lu Han. You’ll get the hang of it soon.” Minseok smiled supportively.

Lu Han was feeling a bit bad for making these good people around him worried about him. He wanted to be as bubbly as he was in China but being in an unfamiliar environment is giving him too much pressure to the point that he’d rather stay at home and talk to his Chinese friends online.

Lu Han sighed when he notice a student sit next to him. He did not look familiar to him so he’s guessing he is not from his class.

“Hey, how was everyone’s vacation? I missed hanging out with you guys.” The boy sighed.

“It was not us who went to China for a month without saying anything beforehand, Sehun.” Chanyeol said a bit too bitterly.

With the mention of “China”, Lu Han’s eyes wandered off to the boy beside him. Finally having a good look at the boy, he noticed how lovely his eyes were and how fluffy his light brown hair was. When Sehun felt a creepy feeling of someone staring at him, he finally looked to his side and was shocked to see an unfamiliar boy boring his eyes into him.

“Who’s he?” Sehun asked while moving his chair a bit further from the boy.

“Oh, he’s Lu Han. He’s from China and he’s still trying to adapt with his new school life.” Joonmyun explained to Sehun before calling out to Lu Han, snapping him from his trance.

“Hi, I’m Sehun from class 1-B.” He finally smiled at the boy after realizing that he was not as bad as he thought he was.

“Lu-Lu---” Lu Han was struggling with his words as he tried to introduce himself to Sehun.

“Lulu?” Sehun chuckled and ruffled Lu Han’s hair but stopped when he realized Lu Han was staring at him again, or glaring at him, to be precise.

“I’m older than you, you know?” Lu Han said through gritted teeth.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. You looked so young and cute that I thought you were my age.” Sehun smiled apologetically but Lu Han ignored him and went back to eating.

Lu Han did not speak for the rest of lunch time. He would rarely look up and laugh silently when the group talked about embarrassing moments of each other but other than that, he was quiet. And Sehun, being a mature person despite his age and looks, sensed the aura around Lu Han. Lu Han looked like he was holding himself back to join in the conversation. Sehun felt like Lu Han was a jolly person waiting to come out but he does not know how he can get that persona of his out of the box. Without actually looking like his mind was out in space, Sehun was carefully devising ideas to see one genuine smile from Lu Han. Sehun was so hyped about making Lu Han into a cheerful person that he was questioning himself as to why he would do that when no one asked him to. What is he to me?

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“Hey.” Lu Han was shocked to see a delighted Sehun in front of his locker, wearing a big smile that looked almost as creepy as Chanyeol’s.

“What?” Lu Han simply asked, not even looking at Sehun. He shoved him to the side to open his locker and get his books.

“Nothing. I just want to get to know you.” Sehun said with the creepy smile still on his face.

“Why?” Another short reply from Lu Han.

“Because you’re interesting. And I’ve always wanted a Chinese friend.” Sehun unfortunately didn’t receive a reply from Lu Han who quickly walked away after closing his locker door. But Sehun was not about to give up just yet and followed Lu Han.

“Hey, hyung. Do you want to grab some bubble tea later after school?” Again, no reply from Lu Han. So Sehun did what he think would eventually gain a reaction from Lu Han; he quickly took his Algebra book and held it up high and out of Lu Han’s reach when he was trying to grab it back.

“Hyung, see you after school, then. I’ll return your book later.” He smiled again before turning a heel to proceed to his room. Lu Han was left in the middle of the hallway, dumbstruck and irritated at the younger boy’s actions. He would have to kick Sehun later when they meet up for bubble tea.

Fortunately for Lu Han, the teacher did not seem to find the Algebra book interesting and opted to give them board work instead so Lu Han was safe. A few math problems later, his mind shifted to Sehun. He was wondering why Sehun was bothering him so much today. Sehun did not have to talk to him just because he is a classmate of his close friends. Sehun did not have to talk to him just because he is a transferee from China. So what is Sehun’s motive?

Lu Han moved out of the class too quickly after the school bell rang that it surprised his newly found friends and himself, as well. After much deliberation in his mind, he finally decided to meet Sehun voluntarily after classes. He got curious as to what Sehun wanted from him and being a nosy person even back before in China, he could not help but get excited at this. He was slowly turning back to his old self but still, Lu Han was oblivious to this.

“Lu Han hyung!” Lu Han tried to hide the smile that wanted to form in his face as he sees the freshman waving at him excitedly.

“Hey. My book, please?” Lu Han held out a hand, waiting for his book to be given back.

“I’ll give it back to you when we get to the shop.” He said before slinging an arm around Lu Han’s shoulders and dragging him out of the school.

“So what brings you here?” Sehun tried to start a conversation.

“The usual reason why people move to another country.” Lu Han said, his voice sounding indifferent.

“So you went here to fulfill your dream of becoming a singer?” Lu Han was taken aback and stopped walking. Lu Han had never told anyone but he did dream of becoming a singer but not here, he wanted to become a singer in China.

“Why? I was wrong?” Sehun stopped walking as well and looked at Lu Han in confusion.

“Yes. I mean, no. Uh… That’s not the reason why I moved here but you weren’t wrong about my dream.” Lu Han sheepishly said, looking at the ground instead of Sehun.

“Wow, we’re the same! I’ve always wanted to be a singer, or dancer… or rapper.” Lu Han chuckled at Sehun’s expression as he was trying to figure out what he really wanted as a profession.

“You’re cute when you laugh. You should laugh often.”

Lu Han coughed before his poker face returned. Sehun rolled his eyes and continued walking, Lu Han following after him.

“My father’s work was moved here so we had no choice but to migrate.” Lu Han finally said after some silence.

“Oh, what’s your father’s work?” Sehun asked.

“He’s an engineer.” Lu Han simply said. Sehun’s mouth formed a small “o” and nodded.

Sehun can feel that Lu Han is starting to open up but still not enough to bring out the spirits out of him. But he was satisfied so far so he let their conversation fall into silence as they make their way to the bubble tea shop.

“What flavor do you want?” Sehun asked as soon as they came into the shop. Lu Han looked at the list of flavors in front of him and bit his lower lip as he decides.

“I want the strawberry one.” Lu Han finally said and opened his bag to get some money.

“No, no. It’s on me today. Next time, it’s your turn.” Sehun didn’t give Lu Han a chance to retort by giving their order to the woman at the cashier. “One chocolate and one strawberry, please. The largest size.” Sehun flashed a smile and he swore he heard a squeal escape the woman’s lips.

“So…” Sehun started as they took their seats by the window. “Are we friends now?”

Lu Han looked straight at him before answering, “Would I be drinking bubble tea with you now if not?”

Sehun gave another derpy smile and Lu Han could not stop the smile now forming in his smile. The first genuine smile Lu Han had ever given to someone ever since he came to Korea about two months ago.

“No taking back of words, okay? We are now friends, Lu Han hyung!”

“Yeah, yeah… sure.” Lu Han said coolly but deep inside, his heart was leaping in joy. He finally had someone who he could call as friend.

“Yehey! The bubble tea’s here!” Sehun exclaimed as a waitress placed their order on their table. He happily sipped the bubble tea like an 8-year-old kid. Seeing this, Lu Han let another laugh escape from his lips.

“I now realized that you really are a kid.” Lu Han teased, earning a glare from Sehun.

“Hyung, I’m not a kid. I’m already 19 and I’m taller than you. You’re the kid.” Sehun stuck out his tongue at Lu Han who pinched Sehun’s cheeks in return.

“You’re so cute.” Lu Han cooed, making Sehun blush a little.

“Stop that, I’m not a kid.” Sehun said in a serious tone and Lu Han let go of him and looked at his own bubble tea, afraid that he might have blown the chance of having a real first friend in Korea. He let out a sigh of relief though when he heard Sehun laugh.

“Hyung, I was just joking. You don’t have to take it seriously.” Lu Han now faced Sehun who was smiling brightly at him again.

“Hyung, I’m glad to see you smiling and laughing now. Be like that more often, okay?” Lu Han smiled another one of his genuine smiles and nodded.

Soon, they found themselves talking about their interest, hobbies and dreams. Lu Han had finally opened up to Sehun about being afraid of the new environment he had to adapt to.

“I didn’t want this, Sehun.” Lu Han whispered, as if talking to his self.

“What?” Sehun leaned closer to hear Lu Han’s answer.

“I didn’t want to move to Korea. But I didn’t say anything. I love my parents and I didn’t want to against them.” Lu Han sighed as he remembered the dreadful day his father told him about their migration.

“I understand you, hyung. My family wanted to move to China as well, that’s why I was there this vacation. But I told them I didn’t want to leave my friends here and asked them to let me continue studying here.”

“I wish I had your courage. Now I’m here all alone in a place so foreign to me. I feel so out of place, like there’s no room for me to be happy here. I can’t be as bubbly as I used to be.” Lu Han frowned, an action that had Sehun’s heart break a little.

“Hyung, you’re not alone. Joonmyun hyung, Minseok hyung, Chanyeol hyung, Baekhyun hyung, Jongdae hyung. They’re all trying hard to make your life easy at school. Also… me. I’m here, hyung.” Sehun held Lu Han’s hand reassuringly.

“I know. That’s why I feel so thankful to them for trying to make me comfortable since day one but at the same time, I feel guilty because I’ve been rejecting their acts of kindness.” Lu Han’s eyes twinkled but showed a sign of sadness beneath it.

“Don’t worry, hyung. They understand you, I’m sure of it. So hyung, I hope to see that bubbly side of yours soon.” Sehun squeezed Lu Han’s hand lightly.

“Thank you, Sehun. I’m glad that my first real friend is you.” Lu Han beamed at Sehun who smiled in response.

“Hyung, I’ll be at your side. So you don’t have to worry anymore.”

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“Hyung! Talk to me!”

It has been more than twenty minutes since he arrived at his seniors’ table to eat with them as usual. He was very excited to be able to see and talk to Lu Han hyung again. It has been a week since their friendly date at the bubble tea shop and ever since then, they were friendlier than ever. It should have made Sehun happy that they were now closer and becoming more like brothers but instead, it made Sehun grumpy because not only was Lu Han now open to him, he was now open to everyone. Lu Han had become the bubbly person Sehun wanted him to be, being friendlier now and taking initiative to make new friends. But that did not please Sehun because now that Lu Han is bubbly and all, everyone liked him. Lu Han’s attention was now divided and Sehun is probably the last in his list of priorities.

“Sehun-ah, where are you going?” Chanyeol asked him as Sehun stood up from his seat without having his lunch touched. Lu Han shifted his attention from the group conversation to Sehun.

“Sehun-ah, you’re not yet finished eating. Why are you leaving?” Lu Han frowned.

“Because I’m too young to be in your table. I’m not part of your class, anyways.” Sehun said bitterly before walking away to throw his food.

Lu Han understood what he meant and followed Sehun as he went outside the cafeteria.

“Sehun-ah.” Lu Han called out but earned no response from the boy.

“Sehun-ah, are you jealous?” Sehun stopped on his tracks but did not look back.

Lu Han finally reached Sehun and turned him around to look at him.

“My dongsaend is jealous, isn’t he?” Lu Han teased, earning a glare from the younger.

“Fine, fine. I’m sorry, Sehun.” Lu Han smiled apologetically.

“Why are you apologizing? It’s not like you did anything wrong.” Sehun mumbled under his breath.

“Oh, Sehun-ah. Hyung is sorry, okay? I will buy you bubble tea.” Lu Han pinched Sehun’s cheeks which startled Sehun. He sighed and finally gave in. He knew he could never get mad at his hyung for more than a day.

“Fine, but I want the two large bubble tea later.” Sehun said.

“What later? We’re going now.” Lu Han dragged Sehun towards the entrance of the school.

“W-What?” Sehun exclaimed. “We still have classes, hyung.”

“A little cutting won’t do our grades any harm. Now stop whining and let’s go.”

Sehun scratched the back of his neck and smiled. Lu Han hyung’s undivided attention was now on him and that was all it would that was needed for Sehun to be contented. His bubbly Lu Han hyung and his bubble tea.