Kris was exhausted. It's been a long day of unpacking, tidying, changing addresses of bills plus the stressful day at school, filled with gossips and unwanted attention. And that hedgehog who messed with Sehun didn't help either.

"Hey, you're still up." Luhan had just returned home. Kris didn't move from his comfortable position on the sofa, with his legs on the coffee table and eyes shut.

"I'm so tired. How did the meeting go?" Kris asked tiredly.

"It went okay. The headmaster was a little old and confused but his secretary was very nice. The rest of them were boring people who were just hoping to get some money out of this. I just left everything in the nice secretary's hands and hoped for the best. She seemed to be the understanding type of person and with a little help from my natural charm, they let us stay." Luhan put on his slippers and headed for the kitchen.

Kris made a gagging noise at Luhan's shameless yet true compliment about himself. "I made soup for you. There's some duck and rice left as well. It might still be warm but I'm not sure. Go check yourself."

Luhan popped his head round from the kitchen door and stuck his tongue out, "will I get food poisoning from eating this though?" Kris grunted and opened his eyes just to roll them at his best friend. Luhan laughed and returned to the kitchen. Five minutes later he reappeared and sat down next to the blond boy.

"Sehunnie asleep already?" Luhan asked, his mouth stuffed with rice. Kris made him his favourite food that reminded Luhan of his hometown, Beijing. It was Peking Duck with rice and Hot and Sour soup. Kris wasn't really a good cook but Luhan appreciated his efforts and thoughts.

"Yeah, I made sure he was before I left his room."

"Is he okay?"

"He met the hedgehog from today at some random park and they became friends. You have no idea how happy he was to have made a new friend."

Luhan chuckled warmly at the thought of Sehun's childish and giddy face of excitement. "Didn't I tell you it was just a misunderstanding? I've met that kid and I don't believe for even a second that he would wanna hurt Hunnie."

"In my defence, I wasn't just angry at the kid, he just set me off. I was really pissed at everyone's stares and whispers. They couldn't even whisper properly - I could hear what they were saying! The things they were saying about Sehunnie...Arghh..." Kris rubbed his temples to try and calm his headache that returned with his anger.

"We need to sort out your over-protectiveness issue. He's never going to meet anybody if you keep locking him inside your protective shell."

"Yeah whatever. What's the point of letting him meet people that are gonna judge him before they even know him? All they ever do is ing stare at him like he's diseased. I don't want to risk it. I'd rather he stay with us, inside my bubble, than get hurt out there."

Kris' stomach churned. He felt sick every time he thought about Sehun getting teased or looked down upon because of his scar. He decided to change the topic.

"Anyway, apparently the hedgehog and his friends live just next door to us. Sehun was so excited and said it was fate."

"Really?" Luhan's eyes widened in interest. "Did you meet the household then?"

"Nah I just saw the hedgehog kid when he came back with Sehun. He apologised and I accepted. That was it."

"Aw Wufan. No friendly introduction or attempt to meet some new friends?" Luhan teased. He knew how much Kris hated small talk and meeting strangers.

"No. And I have no intentions to become friendly or mingle with them in any way. If only I could steer Sehun away from them too…"

Luhan sighed and shook his head. He slurped his warm soup and smiled at the familiar taste. It wasn't particularly delicious, or resembled the ones he would have back in his hometown, but he could recognise that Kris had cooked this if he was blindfolded. It was the taste that he loved and grew up with.

"So what did the rich arses say exactly?" Kris let out a yawn.

"Nothing important really. They were confused as to why we wanted to repeat a year but I waved them off. They told me that it would look bad for the university, you know, with students repeating a year. I told them that I would be more than happy to 'compensate' and 'pay' for their loss so that shut them right up. The number they gave me was not a small one either. Greedy bastards."

Kris raised his eyebrows. It wasn't often that Luhan used profanity, that meeting must've been stressful.

"They were more than happy to let Sehun go straight to second year though, skipping two years. If we went to any other universities I'm sure they'd even let him skip straight to third year!" Luhan said proudly.

"Let's not push it. Sehun may be a genius but you've gotta remember what school this is. You know what the students at this place is famous for - looks, wealth and intelligence - in that order of importance too. It's a tough place to survive as it is with Sehunnie's…" Kris bit his lip. "lack of looks. Imagine the jealousy and hate Sehun would get if they let him go straight to third year."

"Yeah, I know. I'm sure Hunnie doesn't mind studying things he already knows. I think