'It's always like this! I come home and you're here nag nag nagging away!'

'You're the one who always screams! As soon as I walk through the door, there's always something you have to scream at me about!'

'I'm not the one raising my voice right now!'

'Oh yes you are!'

'No I'm not!'

'Yes you are!'

Behind closed doors, Sehun covered his ears with his hands and rested his head on his knees. 

Block it out, Sehun-ah. Block it out.

Sehun took out the laptop and tried to watch an episode of Pororo, a childhood show of his that had been his favorite. He plugged his headphones in, trying to block out the noise but gave up soon after trying. 

'What do you mean by 'I don't try hard enough'?!'

'I've been the one caring for our son all this time. What have you done?!'

Sehun turned the laptop off and slammed it shut, creeping quietly towards his wardrobe and pulled out a jacket and a cap. 

Time for you to leave now, Sehun-ah. Let them argue in peace.

Sehun slipped out of the house quite easily. His parents always argued behind closed doors as they tried their best to prevent their son from seeing them fight. You could say that his welfare was the top priority to them but in their anger at each other, they forgot that they were hurting the very thing they wanted to protect- their son, Sehun. 

He always went to the same few places. They were places with memories- happy memories. Up until recently, he would go to a friend's house but after that friend had to move away due to debt reasons, he found himself with no one to run to. When he was lucky and had money left over from school lunches, he would head over to the local cafe and treat himself to a bubble tea to cheer him up but this was a rare occasion. After his friend left Seoul, he realised there was another place truly dear to him- the local park.

As a child, Sehun could recall making friends with other children in the playground as most children do. He could remember all their names and could recall the features of a few of them too.

Park Hwayoung, girl born 2 months before Sehun, wore a bright pink dress with a cat face on the back. Gave him a 'mandu' made of sand.

Kim Jinsung, boy born exactly 9 weeks after Sehun, had a tooth missing. Always referred to Sehun as 'hyung' despite the small .

More faces, more names, more features. Everyday he'd meet someone new but he never felt safe or loved. Just. Alone.

There was a day when he found himself wandering towards the park after his lessons and he saw a boy sitting there. With a cold and scary aura, Sehun didn't want to make conversation but he noticed he was mumbling in a foreign language and watched him, intrigued. It wasn't long until he realised that the same boy came to the same park almost everyday at the same time and Sehun found himself wanting to go to the park, just to see him- a stranger he was watching.

On one occasion, the boy was followed by another who also spoke in the foreign language that Sehun now recognised as Chinese. 

'Tao! Hey, come on! Come back!'

'No!'

'Come on, you'll be back tomorrow!'

'I'll come back later, okay? Woah-'

The boy following him yanked him by the collar. Sehun jumped behind a tree and carried on watching. He wasn't sure why he did it. Was he just fascinated by the new and unknown language that these boys spoke? Or was it just the fact that these boys had each other and he had no one.

'Luhan-hyung!'

Sehun looked up.

Hyung? He spoke Korean?

'Hyung! Wae?! Why are you being like this?!'

'Yah, Kris wants you back! And so does Xiumin!'

'Hyung, please can I stay here just a bit longer? Mm? Please? Oh jebal!' the scary looking boy whined.

Sehun soon realised that the cold aura was only his appearance. He was in fact quite vulnerable. The pretty boy caught his eye more though. He spoke Korean quickly and fluently and after staring a little too long, Sehun came up with the conclusion that the boy was not Korean and was Chinese. He watched forlornly until the two of them left together in the opposite direction.

***

Ding dong.

Sehun was sitting in his usual cafe, waiting for his drink. 

'Oh! Annyeonghaseyo Luhan-ssi!' said the girl behind the counter, waving. 'I haven't seen you in a while!'

Sehun turned to see who it was and almost fell off his chair. The boy! It's him! He gulped and turned the music of his mp3 player down a little.

'Ah yeah, I had to save up for a while for this one...'

The girl nodded. 'I'll give you an upgrade on me, okay? But shh, don't tell anyone.'

'You're too kind, it's okay'

'Aniyo! You got my wallet back from that guy in the jazz club. It's the least I can do for you, Luhan-ssi'

She began to make a large bubble tea for him and Sehun watched enviously. I had to save up for this too... The two carried on talking but once Luhan had his drink, he paid and left, leaving Sehun both intrigued and speechless. There was something about that boy that made him feel... strange. He had a hint of darkness in his eyes but he still laughed and smiled and cared. Sehun didn't notice himself staring out of the window until he heard a cough. The bubble tea girl sat on the stool next to him.

'Sehun? Are you okay?'

He nodded. 'Who was that?'

'Luhan-ssi? He's an old friend of mine. I used to work with him before I started working here. Why?'

'He seems... nice'

The girl smiled. 'Mmm, Luhan-ssi is a lovely person. We worked together at the jazz bar where he sang and I served drinks. One night, someone took my wallet as I was packing away and he chased after him and got it back for me. There was an entire month's worth of pay in there. I can't imagine what I would have done if I didn't get it back'

'So does Luhan-ssi still work at the jazz bar?'

The girl bit her lip and Sehun panicked. 'Oh, sorry. I shouldn't be so nosy and into people's private lives-'

'Sehun, it's okay. I know what you're thinking. I know you more than you think.'

'Y-You do?...'

The girl nodded. 'Yes... You watch cartoons on your laptop to drown out the sounds of your parents arguing. Your only friend moved away. You save up all the money you can just to come here and talk to someone, anyone, and yet, you still feel alone.'

Sehun stared at her, speechless. 

'You wonder how I know, right?'

Sehun didn't say anything but the girl knew she was right. 

'Luhan-ssi was just like you. The jazz club we worked at was where he lived but it didn't do him any good. His dreams were to sing and eventually, the crowd got bored and threw him off. He's been through a lot, just like you. You might have realised he's not Korean... He came by himself here, alone.'

'So... Where does he live now? Who are his friends?' Sehun whispered. He treasured every piece of information he could find out about the pretty boy from the park.

'He lives with some guys. They only have each other. I've only met one of them, a tall one... Kris, I think'

'D-Do you... Erm...'

'Sehun, I've watched you for quite some time and I know what you want to ask me but... I'm not Luhan. You're going to have to ask him yourself.'

'I'm not going to see him though'

The girl smiled knowingly to herself. 'Pray for a miracle and it'll come.'

***

'Get out! Get out of here!'

'Yeobo! Stop!'

'Get out! Get out!'

Sehun picked up a bag filled with his essentials. He was planning on staying the night somewhere else tonight. His parents were arguing once more and Sehun had had enough. He opened his window and snuck out, leaving a note on his desk to tell his parents that he would be back the next day. 

Wandering the streets of Seoul, Sehun found himself scared. He had gone out before on his own but it had never been this late and never with the intention of not going back the same night. All the shops were shut and the streetlamps left an eery overcast on the dark alleys. Sehun held his nerve as he walked on, occasionally jumping at the sound of a dog barking or a cat shrieking. 

He had found some loose change in his mother's coat and had taken it, stopping at a vending machine to buy a snack. The night was harsh and the wind blew relentlessly. Sehun found himself walking towards the park. 

As he neared, he noticed a light and he froze. 

Is this where I die?

What if it's my parents?

Something possessed him to walk closer, taking careful and cautious steps. Eventually, he found himself standing by the light and it was hung from a fold up camping chair. He looked around and found another chair, placed next to it. There was also a bag of food. Sehun looked at it, his lips but he didn't delve into it. His parents had taught him well. 

Realising that it was someone's property and that they'd probably come back and yell at him for touching their things, Sehun began to creep away slowly until he heard footsteps. 

He froze and the footsteps froze. He quickened his pace. The footsteps quickened. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around, slapping it away, causing the person to fall over. 

'Get away from me!! Omo...'

On the floor, sat a wrapped up Luhan. He picked himself up and dusted himself off, reaching into his pocket and taking out a can of hot coffee to give to Sehun. 

'Sehun, right?'

Sehun nodded. 'H-H-How did you...?'

'Since the day I saw you hiding in the park, I've come back here every night with Tao... To look for you. I couldn't believe it when I saw you in the cafe but I had to leave so I couldn't talk to you.'

'What?' Sehun whispered. Luhan gestured to the chairs and threw a handwarmer at Sehun. 

'This might be strange but for some reason, I feel connected to you and like I need to help you. The girl at the cafe told me about you too.'

'The bubble tea one?'

Luhan nodded, smiling. Sehun felt himself warming to him with every second. 

'I can't promise you that all your problems will be solved but I can give you one thing. Live with me, Sehun. You'll be with people that understand you more than you can imagine. You'll be safe-'

'Will I be loved?...'

'Yes' Luhan replied bluntly.

'H-How can you promise that?'

Luhan reached out and held the younger boy's hand. 

'I've never felt so connected with someone before I saw you. You remind me of myself and just from talking to you and finding out about you I know that... I'll always love you, Sehun-ah. You're like a brother to me'

THIS WAS A MUCH NEEDED UPDATE. I can't believe I took so damn long to write this jesus. Did it pay off? Did you like the HunHan? ^^