By the time Luhan got home he was soaked. He stripped down to his underwear and put everything in the washer then he went to the kitchen and put on the kettle. He layed out a cup and his favorite cinnamon apple tea before unpacking his bag and laying everything out to dry. When the kettle whistled he made his tea and took it to the bathroom so he could sip on it while he took a hot bath.

Luhan stepped into the tub as it filled. The water was almost scalding. He sighed with satisfaction and leaned his head back and closed his eyes as it warmed him to the bones. His mind wandered back to the bus stop. Back to Minseok. Did he really want to be friends with Luhan? Why him?  in a breath, he slipped under the water.

"Wanna be my friend?" Minseok's voice asked in his head.  

Luhan felt something flutter in his stomach and he came up for air, pushed his wet hair back from his face and took several deep breathes.

"What am I nervous about?", he asked aloud, reaching for his tea cup. He inhaled the steam and took a few sips, trying to calm his stomach and the butterflys within.

After his bath, Luhan got dressed and went downstairs to see his mother. He stopped at the foot of the stairs that led from the apartment down to the kitchen of the restaurant. He loved to just watch her work sometimes. She moved across the kitchen like a duck in water. All calm and serene on the surface, all chaos and movement below. No matter how busy she was, how fast she moved, her face showed nothing but a smile and peaceful eyes.

Luhan had tried for years to get her to let him work in the restaurant with her, but she would always refuse and say that her only wish is for him to find something to do that will make him truly happy.

"I don't want to condemn you to a life that leads you. I want YOU to lead your life." she would say. "I love what I do. I love to feed people. My customers are not customers. They are our extended family, and I care about them all. That is why I greet them with open arms and send them home with full bellies. Because, I know that one of them might be having a bad day. That one of them might need a kind word or even a simple smile, to bring them back from the emotional void they may be feeling. This is my place in the world, Luhan. Now go find yours."

"Luhan?" His mothers voice brought him back to reality. "Hey, honey. You were spacing out  a little. Come here."

Luhan walked over to the stove where she was stirring a pot with one hand and flipping a a burger with the other. She wiped her hands on her apron and turned to him.

"Hi, Mom.", he whispered.

Her smile went all they way to her eyes. "Hi, sweetie. You doing ok today?"

Nodding, he took her hand, and ran his fingers over her dry, cracked knuckles. She had the hands of someone who worked hard and thought little of their own well being. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.  

She laughed and pushed his hair away with her free hand then stood on her toes and kissed his bare forehead. "I love you too, Luhan. Now, what do you want for dinner?"

Luhan stepped back and shook his head.

"OK.  Just tell me if you change your mind, Honey." Then she turned back to the stove and called to one of her waitresses that their order was up.

He watched her back for a moment and then made his ways back upstairs to him bedroom.

It was still raining outside, and the lights from outside where making the raindrops on his window cast little illuminated shadows across his ceiling. As he lay on his bed, Luhan unfocussed his eyes and pictures began to form out of them, like they did when he watched clouds. A rabbit. A car. An elephant. Then a face began to take shape with every new raindrop that hit the window. First his eyes, then his smile. Soon the only thing he could see in the rain shadows was Minseok's face, smiling down at him.

Luhan to his stomach and hid his head under his pillow. The butterfly's were back, fluttering through his stomach. "Should I do it?", he thought to himself. "Should I let him in?" Then his mothers words came back to him. "Don't let your life lead you. YOU lead your life." He sat up in bed and  let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine." , he thought. "I'll let him in... a little." Then he laid back on his bed and watched the rain drops paint pictures on his ceiling for hours until he finally fell asleep.