More than a month passed before Luhan saw Sehun again.

As the days and weeks went by, he forced himself to forget the man with the warm brown eyes. He’d been a fool to think that he’d finally met someone he could potentially call friend. It was probably the universe’s way of putting him in his place. Sehun was Jongin’s friend, not his.

He was at home one day, idling the hours away in front of the television, when Jongin called and told him to get dressed: he was taking him to lunch. The prospect of going out, even if only for a couple of hours, had him sprinting through the huge house to the bedroom. He showered quickly but dressed with care, keeping in mind that Jongin always expected him to look his best. Sometimes he thought that he would like to go somewhere casual where he wouldn’t be required to wear more than a pair of jeans and a shirt or sweater but Jongin always took him to fancy restaurants and members-only clubs and the more snooty the environment, the more clothes you were apparently expected to wear. If he dared to complain, Jongin would not-so-gently remind him that he spent a lot of money keeping his wardrobe updated. Luhan wasn’t ungrateful, he just longed for a simpler life sometimes, like the one he’d left behind in China.

He sighed. Thinking of China always made homesick. He hadn’t been home in over a year.

Shaking off his gloom, he selected a cream cashmere sweater, khaki trousers and a sky blue light-weight jacket. He slid his feet into a pair of butter-soft loafers and styled his hair the way that Jongin liked it. He grimaced at his reflection as he applied what felt like a pound of mousse to his hair to get it just right. He personally preferred simple styles, bangs down and swept to the side maybe, but lately Jongin had taken to following celebrity trends, especially that of young idols. He’d taken Luhan to a top-rate salon for a consultation where a stylist had tried a variety of styles on him until Jongin had found one that he’d liked. It looked good, Luhan supposed, but he’d actually wanted to cut his hair – summer was coming and it was bound to be sweltering – and the style required him to not only keep it long but grow it out an inch or two more. The upsweep reminded him of a pelican or a wave frozen at its peak.

Sighing again, he quickly brushed his teeth, grabbed his phone and keys and went to the foyer to wait for Jongin.

This is new, Luhan thought, glancing around at the restaurant while he tried to recover from his surprise.

He’d expected Jongin to take him to one of his usual spots – the restaurant at the Hyatt or the pretentious La Dolce, which he favored above most others – but instead he’d had his chauffeur drop them off at a cafe in the center of the city. It was nice and well-maintained but not nearly up to the standards that Jongin had made him become accustomed to. Personally, however, he loved it. It was fresh, with patrons closer to their age instead of the stuffy old men that Jongin usually entertained. It reminded him of a place back home that he and his friends used to hang out at every Friday night.

He started to sigh softly when Jongin’s voice broke into his thoughts.

“Here he is.”

Jongin stood and greeted their guest while Luhan stared in shock.

Sehun, his mind blared. He was here. There. Here.

Sehun smiled down at him and he thought he saw something flash in his eyes. It was gone before he could figure out what it was, though.

“Hello, Luhan,” Sehun greeted warmly. “Nice to see you again.”

Luhan could feel the color blooming in his cheeks and he found himself speechless so he only managed a nod.

“Don’t be shy, Lulu,” Jongin chastised gently, tweaking his nose. He turned to Sehun. “He’s a bit of a wallflower. I don’t know what he’d do If I wasn’t around to speak on his behalf.”

Sehun’s thoroughly enjoyable conversation with Luhan in the art room popped into his mind but he kept it to himself. Clearly Jongin didn’t know his boyfriend as well as he thought he did.

“So how’s it been?” Jongin asked after the waitress had left with their drink order.

“It’s going well. I’ve had a few meetings about possibly doing some art showings. I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to but several galleries are interested in my pieces.”

“Anything I might like?” Jongin inquired, temporarily shifting into business mode. “If you’re going to blow up here like you did in New York then I need to make an investment before your stock begins to rise.”

Sehun laughed. “I have a few portraits that you may be interested in. You should stop by sometime.”

Jongin nodded. “I’ll let my secretary work it into my schedule when I get back to the office.”

Sehun glanced at Luhan. “Is he always like this?” he teased.

Luhan blushed, his eyelids fluttering as he lowered his gaze.

“I don’t know why you wanted to come here,” Jongin muttered, glancing around the café. “I could’ve gotten us a reservation at a five-star restaurant.”

Sehun shrugged. “I like it. The staff is friendly and the food is good.”

“Next time I choose.”

“Fine, hyung. Whatever you say.”

Their drinks arrived and after some consideration, they put in their food orders.

Sehun and Jongin were in the middle of a playful spat over some foolish prank they had committed in high school when Jongin’s phone rang.

“, it’s the office,” he said after reading the screen. “Excuse me.” He rose and walked off in the direction of the bathrooms.

The silence that descended upon the table was thick.

Clearing his throat, Sehun asked, “How have you been, Luhan?”

Luhan glanced up at him, swallowing the lump in his throat. “I’m okay, thank you.”

Sehun smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. Have you come across any potential job opportunities since we last spoke?”

Luhan blushed, eyes dropping to the table top. “I haven’t been looking much lately.”

“Why not?”

Sehun didn’t miss the quick glance Luhan shot in the direction that Jongin had disappeared before he replied.

“No reason.” He shrugged. “Just haven’t been seeing anything interesting.”

Right…

In the month since the party, Sehun had thought about Luhan often. He’d wondered how he was doing, if things with him and Jongin were going well, if he’d had to endure any more careless remarks from Jongin or anyone else, if he’d finally found a job that Jongin “approved” of. When he and Jongin had arranged this lunch and Jongin had mentioned that he’d pass by his house to pick Luhan up, his heart had skipped a beat. He hadn’t even bothered to pretend that he wasn’t excited to see him again. Still, he’d hoped that his initial thoughts of the couple and the state of their relationship were wrong or he’d misinterpreted them somehow.

Now, however, he was convinced that he’d been right on the mark and, sadly, nothing had changed.

“You should keep looking. There must be something out there for you,” he encouraged.

“Keep looking for what?” Jongin asked as he returned, slipping back into his seat. “What are you two talking about?”

“I was just telling Luhan not to give up hope of finding his dream job,” Sehun explained.

Jongin scoffed, taking a sip of his drink. “I don’t know why he wants to work so badly. He has everything he could possibly want and if he wants anything more, all he has to do is ask. Hell, I wish I could sit on my all day and have someone serve me everything on a silver platter.”

Sehun’s eyes immediately shot to Luhan’s face and his jaw clenched when he saw embarrassed color blooming in the other man’s cheeks.

“Being independent is overrated,” Jongin continued. “Anyone who doesn’t have to work should be happy and grateful that they don’t have to put up with other people’s .”

Because he was by nature a non-confrontational person, very slow to anger, Sehun kept himself in check and didn’t speak his mind.

“You’re probably right,” he finally said. “But…actually, I just thought of something.”

Jongin cocked a brow. “What’s that?”

“Well…” Sehun played with his glass as he spoke, twirling it in slow circles while his mouth tried to keep up with his chaotic mind. “I was actually considering getting an assistant. I’ve been back for over a year but I’m only just getting into the professional, business side of things. Anyway, I’d thought about contacting an employment agency but now that I think about it, this could work too. If Luhan is willing, of course.”

“Wait, let me get this straight: you want to hire Luhan?” Jongin asked incredulously.

“If he’s willing. I’ll pay him for his time, of course. We’ll work out the specifics once he accepts but for now, the job is his if he wants it.”

“He has no experience in that area, you know. You may end up regretting your decision and firing him if he screws up your appointments or whatever. You’re my friend but I won’t have you hurting his feelings and turning my happy home upside down.”

“I have no intention of wrecking your home, hyung. But more than that, I have full confidence in Luhan’s ability to do what is required of him should he accept the job.”

Sehun’s head was high, eyes boring directly into Jongin’s, as if daring him to prove him wrong.

Frowning, Jongin turned to Luhan. “What do you think?”

Luhan’s eyes were still locked onto his clasped hands and for a moment, Sehun thought he wasn’t going to say anything.

 Jongin turned back to Sehun. “I guess he’s not…”

“I would like to try,” Luhan said softly, slowly looking up to meet Sehun’s gaze. “If you don’t mind.”

Sehun smiled. “I’d be honored to have you.” He swung his gaze over to Jongin, raising a questioning brow. “Is that okay with you, hyung?”

For a moment, it seemed that Jongin was going to reject Sehun’s offer but then he shrugged.

“If he wants to have a go at it, I guess there’s no harm. It will give him something to do at the very least.”

Luhan’s face immediately brightened and Sehun knew that he had made the right call.

“Great. Give me a couple of days to get things ready and I’ll let you know when you can start,” he said to Luhan.

Luhan nodded, digging his nails into his palms as he struggled to suppress his excitement. He knew that he was probably being ridiculous but he felt that if he let Jongin see it, he might change his mind about letting him go.

A tense silence descended upon the table but was quickly dispelled when Jongin’s phone rang again.

Swearing, he jumped up and walked off to answer it, not bothering to excuse himself this time.

As soon as he was out of sight, Sehun turned to Luhan. “Are you excited?”

Luhan nodded, allowing some of his feelings to filter into his smile. “Yes. Thank you very much for the opportunity. I hope I will not make you regret it.”

Sehun chuckled. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine. You must have hidden talents, Luhan. You only need the right avenue to channel them.”

“I hope that you are right. I don’t want to disappoint you or embarrass Jongin.”

Sehun’s smile slipped. “Why would he be embarrassed?”

Luhan shrugged delicately. “He doesn’t like failure.”

“You won’t fail,” Sehun said confidently.

Luhan blushed, dropping his gaze. “I hope that you are right,” he repeated.

“Sorry, guys, I need to get back to the office,” Jongin announced as he returned. He picked up his glass and drained the contents before replacing it on the table. “Lulu, I’ll have the driver take you home.”

“How will you get back to the office?” Sehun asked.

Jongin grimaced. “I’ll take a taxi, I guess.”

Sehun stood. “Hyung, why don’t you go on ahead with the driver and I’ll take Luhan home for you. I drove into the city today so it’s no trouble at all.”

Jongin looked skeptical. “Are you sure? It’s a bit out of your way, isn’t it?”

Sehun smiled reassuringly. “I don’t mind, and Luhan and I can work out some more of the details of his employment.”

He was truly in a hurry so Jongin didn’t prevaricate for long. “Okay.” He leaned down and caught Luhan’s lips in a brief, hard kiss before straightening again. “Thanks, Sehun-ah. I owe you one.”

Sehun smiled again and waved him off as he hurried out of the café. Turning back to Luhan, he asked, “Do you want to leave now? I guess we can cancel our food orders if they haven’t already gotten around to making them.”

No sooner had he spoken the words than the waiter arrived with a food laden tray.

Luhan giggled, covering his mouth to stifle the sound.

Sehun grinned. “I guess that’s my answer.”

Luhan nodded.

As they ate, Sehun didn’t bring up the topic of Luhan working for him again. They could do that the day he started. Instead, he asked Luhan more about what he’d done back home in China, what he’d studied and had been interested in doing pre-Jongin. He wanted to get a sense of who he was as a person. He also wanted to know what skills he had so that he could keep an eye out for any job opportunities that he might be qualified for. Luhan didn’t seem satisfied with the mold that Jongin had made for him but he was also clearly afraid or unable to help himself so Sehun decided that it was the least he could do. Luhan seemed like a really nice person and Sehun was always willing to lend a helping hand to people in need. Luhan was definitely in need.

After lunch, he paid the bill and they made their way to his car, Jongin’s meal in tow. The drive out of the city was slow but they didn’t talk much, both content with the companionable silence enveloping them and the soft strains of the music flowing through the speakers. Once they exited the city limits, Sehun turned in the opposite direction of Jongin’s house and headed to his subdivision. It was a quiet residential area, mostly consisting of duplexes and townhouses.

He pulled up in front of a light gray townhouse and lowered Luhan’s window from his side panel.

“This is mine,” he said. “When you start working, I’ll give you your own key. Sometimes you may need to run errands or you may come in when I’m in the middle of something so you’ll be able to let yourself in without disturbing me.”

Luhan nodded seriously, looking like he was mentally taking notes.

Sehun found it absolutely adorable.

“Do you want to come in for a bit? To look around and get familiar with the place?” he offered.

Luhan started to say yes but then stopped himself. Jongin might call while he was with Sehun and although Jongin had so far been understanding and accommodating, he didn’t want to press his luck.

“I’d better not,” he replied, lowering his gaze. “I should probably go straight home.”

Although he didn’t say the words, Sehun understood exactly what Luhan meant and it pissed him off. It was none of his business but everything about their relationship angered him and he didn’t know why.

“Okay,” he grunted, and gunned the engine.

The drive to Jongin’s house was shorter than it should have been, due in large part to Sehun pushing past the speed limit. He’d been trying to outrace his angry thoughts, to no avail.

“You can let me off at the gate,” Luhan offered.

Sehun nodded, pulling up to the curb.

A moment of silence hung between them before Luhan broke it.

“Thank you for bringing me home,” he said softly.

Sehun forced a smile. “It’s no problem, no need to thank me.”

“I look forward to working with you. Thank you again for the opportunity.”

Sehun nodded again.

Luhan opened the door and stepped out, closing it softly behind him. He waved to Sehun then walked to the gate and dialed the code into the key pad for the electric gate to open.

As soon as the gates closed behind him and he turned to walk up the drive to the house, Sehun took off, stepping hard on the accelerator as he once again tried to drown his thoughts with the angry roar of the engine.