CHANSHI’S POV

Sehun and I had been chatting for a while yet the time seemed to move too slowly. There was still an hour and a half left before the club activities end and we get to go home with my brother. I noticed Sehun’s eyes were closing involuntarily every now and then. The nurse had given him painkillers after he finished the soup and I’m no stranger to the sleep-inducing effects they have.

“You should get some sleep, Sehun-ssi. We still have more than an hour left” I told him.

“That sounds so formal” he said.

“Hmm?” I tilted my head in confusion.

“Oppa. It used to be Sehun-oppa” he explained.

“Ah,” I nodded in agreement “then go to sleep, Sehun-oppa.”

He smiled and said, “Why don’t you sing me to sleep then?”

“Me? I think I’m in the dance club for a reason” I defended.

“Araso” he chuckled. Ten minutes have passed and all he had been doing was fidget. He made an effort to shut his eyes close, creasing his forehead, but sleep still hadn’t overtaken him. Before I knew it, I reached my hand out to smooth his forehead and began humming a tune. One of his eyes flew open.

“What’s that song?” he inquired.

I shrugged. “Actually, I don’t know either. Can’t remember where I heard it. But it doesn’t matter, go sleep now oppa” I said stressing the last word.

He closed his eyes again with a faint smile. Slowly, I felt his features relax under my touch and soon he was sound asleep.

I stared at the wall clock for a rather long time. It wouldn’t move any faster. Seeing that Sehun was resting well and I had nothing left to do, I decided to step out for a walk. On the way out, I asked the nurse to kindly look after Sehun while I am away.

I had been walking along corridors for a while when I heard faint music coming from the end of the hallway. Following the sound, I found myself in front of a room with a piano inside. I saw who was responsible for playing such beautiful music. It was Lu Han. I gasped and he stopped playing to see me peeking through the door.

“Chanshi!” he beamed “Is Sehun-sunbae alright now? Come inside.”

I nodded. “Are you sure that’s ok? I might disturb you.”

He chuckled and beckoned me to sit beside him. As I sat down, he said “You know, this reminds me of the first time we met.”

“Didn’t we meet in class?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yes, but we never really talked. We had our first conversation here.”

I motioned for him to continue. “I always leave the door open so you heard me playing the piano while you were walking along the corridor.”

“Just like now” I laughed.

“Yeah. I was also playing this same song back then” he said as he continued to play the piano.

It was the same tune that I had been humming to Sehun a while ago. It must be a popular song then.

“What’s the title?” I asked curiously.

He chuckled. “Actually, I still haven’t come up with one.”

“So you wrote this song?!” I was surprised. He nodded twice.

“Can I…hear you sing it?” I asked hesitantly.

He smiled and began to sing. The words were sweet and charming, yet the way he played the piano filled it with so much sorrow. After pressing the last keys, he sighed.

“So how was it?” he asked.

“Beautiful…yet it felt so sad” I confessed.

“That day I wrote this song,” he began “was the same day that we met. I was distressed and pouring everything out on the piano when you appeared out of nowhere and surprised me” he laughed.

“Uhh…sorry” I mumbled.

“It’s nothing,” he waved “actually when you talked to me then, I was distracted from my burden for a while.  I was surprised that you already knew my name even before I introduced myself!”

“I what? Wow, some stalker I am” I chuckled.

“No, it was because I’m the only Chinese student in school so it’s quite easy to remember” he explained. “You have a memorable name yourself.”

I looked at him with raised eyebrows. I didn’t really think my name was special…just something that my parents came up with so that both me and my brother have a “Chan” in there.

“I told you this when we first met. Your name sounds Chinese. Then you explained to me that it’s because you were born in Beijing, like me, so your mom wanted to preserve the memory” he enlightened me.

Ah. That explains why the places in the photo album in our room looked unfamiliar. Must have been in China. I thought it was just me forgetting even the streets of Seoul.

“I don’t understand Chinese though, so I have no idea what my own name is supposed to mean” I pouted.

He took the piano piece and flipped it to the blank side. Then he started to write something.

“Tian…shi…” he mumbled. I furrowed my eyebrows. The way he was pronouncing my name sounded different. When he showed me the paper, I understood that it was not me he was talking about.

“Tianshi…the Chinese word for angel” he said.

I looked at the paper intently. I’ve never appreciated my name this much. Thank you, umma. I snapped out of my thoughts when I remembered something.

“Umm…Lu Han? If you don’t mind me asking, why were you sad that day?”

He pursed his lips and looked at the ground.

“A-aniyo, you don't have to tell me. Sorry for asking” I said, waving my hands in front of me.

“My girlfriend broke up with me” he surprisingly admitted.

My eyes turned soft when I met his. They were blurring.

“Her parents are very traditional. They didn’t want their daughter being with a non-Korean guy…and well” he pointed to himself, bitterly chuckling while stating the obvious “I’m Chinese.”

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—“ I apologized. It hurt to see Lu Han like this. He was clearly in pain. I shouldn’t have brought the topic up.

He let out a deep breath and smiled as he started to play the same song on the piano again.

“I’ve finally thought of a title for this song” he said, changing the subject.

“Really? What is it?” I asked in anticipation.

He looked up at me without letting go of the piano keys.

“Angel.”