His whole body was tingling as her lips touched his. The kiss was soft and reluctant and Luhan liked it – no, he loved it. It was such a sweet and caring kiss that he never wanted it to stop. But eventually, it did.

Mihyun stepped back, her cheeks slightly reddened and averted her eyes to the side. Another wind blew through The Underground, and the girl involuntarily shivered. As Luhan noticed it, he reached out one arm and pulled her to him, wrapping one arm around her shoulder. He would have given her a jacket, if he had worn one, but the lad was only dressed in a cream-colored chemise.

“Let's go inside first.” He muttered and started walking, Mihyun immediately following. After a few meters she found herself walking into one of the houses. Occasionally glancing at Luhan, she wondered where he'd bring her, but stayed quiet.

When the warmth of the habitation they entered wrapped around her body, she didn’t even care about where she was. It was warm, that was all that counted – at least for now.

Mihyun spotted a chimney and stepped closer to it. She reached out her cold hands, attempting to warm them up, and watched the fire. After several seconds she cleared , turning to Luhan.

“Where are we?” She asked, looking around. The habitation was small and rather old-fashioned. There was a seemingly overused settee and a chimney in the room they were in, the living room, Mihyun guessed. Some old pictures and paintings in frames hung on the wall, lopsided.

Luhan casually walked past Mihyun and threw something – a key – on the settee. “Let's say, this is one of my friend's place.” He said carefully.

“You have friends?” Just as the words left her lips, Mihyun realised how wrong it sounded. “I-I mean here? In The Underground?” She asked, watching as Luhan let himself plop onto the settee.

“Nah, they're more acquaintances.” He tapped on the empty space next to him on the settee, looking at Mihyun friendly. The latter reluctantly sat down. Before she could say something else, Luhan already asked, “Earlier, you said you knew of my past.”

Mihyun seemed to sense some kind of vulnerability in his voice, and the urge to hug him rushed through her, but she didn’t give in. “Yes...”

She sat up, straightening herself. “Xinghan told me.” At the name Luhan unconsciously closed his eyes. Mihyun looked at his face, mentally tracing his features. He was beautiful. On the outside, as well as on the inside. She was sure of that.

“There are still some things you don’t know,” He softly said, his eyes still closed. “I want to tell you, once I'm ready, okay?” He asked as he opened his eyes slowly. He could feel his heart warm up as he met with Mihyun's gaze. The latter then looked down.

She leaned forward and took his hand, starting to trace lines on his palm. A small tear escaped her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away and nodded, “Mhmm.”

The mere thought of what Xinghan told her about Luhan's past made her want to cry in his place. So sad, so cruel. Just why did Luhan have to live through it?

Mihyun took a deep breath. “It's not easy to suddenly be ready, but maybe you could start little by little.” She softly said, looking up and meeting with his eyes again. She gave him a small smile.

“You're right,” Luhan breathed. “Little by little.” He mouthed, closing his eyes again.

“Xinghan,” He stopped; it was still hard to say this name out loud, “told you that I left, right?”

Mihyun nodded, watching as Luhan shifted uncomfortably next to her. Did he ever look so vulnerable as now? It was like the barrier in front of his feelings was gone. His eyes were now clearly showing his feelings. His sadness, his fear.

All of a sudden he seemed younger. Mihyun didn’t see Luhan in front of her, but the boy who'd been through a terrible childhood. A broken boy.

“After I left, I looked for work, and after not finding proper work for a few week, I went to the,” He breathed in, “the mafia. As a child, I worke