Mr. Lau lowered his eyes to take a peek at the younger Luhan. Luhan was becoming slightly drowsy as he began to wobble back and forth. Mr. Lau’s gaze soon returned to the man in front of them. The man was wearing a black woollen hat, a pair of faded gray jeans with noticeable mud stains. His dirty blonde bangs covered his eyes and a face mask that covered the lower half of his face.  The man’s trench coat was ed, revealing a plain white dress shirt with a neatly done knotted tie.

Mr. Lau scanned the hallways and shut the classroom door.  He carried Luhan to a chair and then took a sweater that was forgotten by a student and wrapped it around Luhan. “Just sleep until Sehun comes.”

Luhan shook his head, rubbing his eyes to stay awake. “I want to hear what he has to say too.”

Mr. Lau was taken aback with Luhan’s determination to stay awake. Mr. Lau glanced at the man, who took off his trench coat, waiting patiently.

“Alright, sorry for making you wait. What do you want to discuss about?” The man looked at Mr. Lau and handed him an envelope.

“This is Luhan’s chip, to get him back to his time. They ordered me to give it to you. You are now responsible of Luhan.” Mr. Lau frowned and scratched the back of his head, letting the news slowly sink in.

“Wait, you want me to be responsible for Luhan? Why?” The man smirked, his back leaning against the wall.

“Well, you’ve been taking care of him recently and we believed that it would be better for him to be in your care, up until he completes his goal that is. You see, mere observers can’t see Luhan first hand, nor can they help him if he’s in trouble. You, on the other hand are close to him. Well, you’ve already decided to help the man named Sehun. We don’t see any reason not to give it to you.”

Mr. Lau raised a brow and dangled the envelope. “If I’m helping Sehun, that means I could take him back to the past immediately, you do know that.”

“Let me rephrase that sentence again, pardon my vagueness if you will. You’re helping Luhan, you have no actual intention of helping Sehun.  Even though there are times you do help him, it’s mostly for Luhan.”

Mr. Lau chuckled and sat on a stool. “Ah, you people really do observe your clients intently. It’s kind of creepy. Are there people here listening to this conversation right now?”

“Not as of now, since I’m here there’s no reason for that. We only analyze and observe in the school area, and you already know this school is controlled by our faculty. So, I’m guessing you are taking responsibility of Luhan.”

Mr. Lau shrugged, “I guess, but I don’t see why I have to take care of him. I’m surprised you trust me enough to take care of another client. I mean, you could have one of your workers dress up as Luhan’s mom to take care of him.”

“That would defeat the whole purpose wouldn’t it, Henry?” Mr. Lau snorted and opened the envelope.

“So is that your message? Are you going to disappear and pop up at a later date again?”

The man lifted up his sleeve to look at his watch. “That’s not quite all I have to say. I also have a few questions for you, Henry.”

“Don’t we all? I have a few of my own, actually. For one, why did you suddenly pop up out of nowhere and ask me if I wanted to go back to the past? Why me of all people? But, I never got that answered.”

“And I answered it as best as I could, you’ll know when the time comes. Now will you answer my questions?”

 Mr. Lau held the envelope tightly in his hands. He then crossed his arms and slightly nodded.

“After observing thousands of our clients, you are a strange one.”

“What do you mean I’m a strange client?”

“What is your purpose in going to the past?” Mr. Lau focused his gaze on Luhan, rubbing his eyes to fight the urge to sleep. He then looked at the man and tilted his head.

“That’s an interesting question you’ve got there. I thought you approached me knowing my aim.”

“I thought I did, but nothings adding up with your actions.”

Mr. Lau smirked, gawking at the man in front of him.  “Really, now? I thought you’ve got an entourage of professional analysts by your side to understand me.”

“I do, but even the best analysts and observers don’t have all the answers to a person’s behavior. I thought of all the countless reasons as to why you went to the past. The obvious one being–”

“We already discussed that way back and yes, that’s my goal. What are you so confused about? Everything sounds pretty damn clear to me.” Mr. Lau said coldly, crunching the envelope in his hand unconsciously.  

“Why did you go to the past on this year? It would’ve made more sense if you went the day before or even hours before that, but this date and time…seems a bit…random?”

 Mr. Lau chuckled and lowered his head, so he was staring at the floor tiles. “I admit that it’ll be a while before that, but would you believe me if I said, I don’t really know?”

The man stood silent, staring intently at his client. “Don’t lie.”

“So you really don’t intend to believe me.”

“No, I’ll believe you when the answer sounds believable. You wouldn’t just pick a random year, it would be too time consuming and wouldn’t benefit you. Most of our clients pick a couple of months beforehand or a few hours before the moment of the event they are trying to change.” Mr. Lau bit his lower lip as he loosened his tie, standing up.

“You forgot,” Mr. Lau grabbed his bag from under the stool and shoved the envelope in the front pocket of the bag. “I’m a strange client.”

Mr. Lau pointed to his wrist, pretending he was wearing an imaginary watch. “Time to go, isn’t it?”

The man scratched the back of his head, observing Mr. Lau’s every moment.  “Remember Henry, this isn’t a game.  I’ll ask the same question when we meet again, come up with a believable answer.”

Mr. Lau opened the classroom door and peered outside the hallway to see Sehun dashing to the room. “Yes, I know it isn’t. I’ll think of an answer. Now that I think about it what’s you name—,”

Mr. Lau turned around to see an opened window and the man nowhere to be seen. “This is the second floor…right? Ah, these people…”

Sehun, out of breath, stopped in front of the classroom door. “Where’s Luhan?”

“See for yourself.” Sehun walked inside the classroom to see a small Luhan sleeping peacefully.

xxx

Sehun unlocked the door to his house, carrying Luhan in one arm and the photo album on the other. He twisted the knob open as he walks in, pushing back against the door to close it shut. Sehun placed the photo album on the kitchen counter and continued to carry Luhan to his bedroom.

Sehun walked up the stairs and opened the door to his room. He laid Luhan on his bed and then sat on the edge of the bed, gently Luhan’s cheek.

“When I look closer, he really does resemble Luhan as a kid.” Luhan squirmed around in the bed, the little boy holding onto Sehun’s index finger tightly.

Sehun sighs softly, his lips curling up into a small smile. “The only thing that hasn’t changed about him is his over flowing cuteness.”

Sehun slipped his hands away from Luhan’s grip and made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen once more. He looked at the photo album on the table and lightly touched the cover.  Sehun bit his lip as he recalled Luhan’s words:

“I said you shouldn’t pry too much in the past. They were better forgotten.” 

 What did he mean when he said the memories they shared were better forgotten? Sehun was sure that Luhan was obviously hiding something and he couldn’t get the answer out of him.

 “The past is the past. It happened. Nothing more, nothing less. Didn’t we already agree when you were in the hospital that you would create new memories? What’s the point in trying to look back at them now?” 

Sehun wouldn’t openly admit it, but the reason why he wanted to find out about his past is not because of the promise. He wanted to remember the moments he shared with Luhan in the past.

He stared at the photo album before making up his mind, fingers outstretched as he hesitantly flipped the cover open. Truth be told, Sehun was terrified. What secrets lie in his past? Will he change the moment he finds out? Sehun had always avoided investigating about his past, but this time it was different. Curiosity urged him on and Sehun mentally apologized to Luhan as he flips through the pages.

xxx

Amber stood idly in front of her dorm room, staring intently at the wooden door.  She should be worried about getting into trouble, really, but right now her mind was troubled for a whole different reason entirely.

And that reason belonged to none other than a certain brown haired boy whose name starts with a capital H.

‘What the hell was that?’ Thought Amber, rubbing her waist where Henry had once wrapped his arms around with.  Amber abruptly slammed her head again the door, her eyebrows simultaneously twitching.

“Oh hell no,” Amber muttered to herself as she massaged her forehead, “I am going to kill Henry once I see him.”

The door slowly opened and an angry Victoria appeared in front of Amber, who quickly took a step back. Amber closed her eyes, bracing herself from Victoria’s wrath. Victoria’s mouth began to open, but quickly shut.

Amber slowly opened her eyes as she looked at the older girl, she seemed worried. “Vic, something wrong?”

Victoria placed her hands over Amber’s forehead, “You don’t seem sick. Have you been outside for too long? Come in, Eunyoung. Your face is burning red.”

Amber immediately touched her cheeks and rubbed them as she went inside their shared room.  As soon as she entered, she saw Luna smiling brightly at her.

“I’m guessing your guys covered for me. Thank you.”

“Where were you Amber? We were waiting for you, bought over a whole bunch of yummy dishes too. Luckily, I was here to save you when the dorm attendant came. Hey, your cheeks are slightly pink. It sure was cold outside, wasn’t it?” Luna was chirping with energy and Amber noticed a box of chocolates that were devoured by her side.

“Too much sweets?” Amber glanced at the hyper active lady in front of her. “And yeah it was cold,” she replied. From the side, Victoria poured some tea from the kettle and gave the cup to Amber.

“Drink it, you’ll feel warmer, okay?” Amber nodded as she began to gulp her tea.

“Eunyoung, where were you all this time? Since Luna was here we were able to cover for you. Next time I won’t be so forgiving, understand?” Victoria crossed her arms, trying her best to act strict.

“I was talking with Mr. Lau after school and I went to Henry’s place for a while. Sorry Vic, it was my fault. I’ll make sure to contact you next time.” Amber sat on her bed and finished drinking her cup of tea.

“Of course it was Henry. When is it never Henry?!” Luna exclaimed, sitting next to Amber. “Hehe, Mr. Lau? Isn’t he in the English department?  He looks a bit young to be a teacher and some students think he’s pretty hot.”

Amber chocked on her tea, “R-really?”

Luna nodded and patted Amber’s back. “Well I saw him only once, but he does have a nice face. He sorta resembles…”

Luna stopped talking and turned to face Amber. “Do you think Mr. Lau is cute?”

Amber dropped the cup she was holding and luckily caught it a millisecond before it could fall to the ground. “Why does everyone keep asking me about him?”

 “Who else asked you? Could it be…Henry?”  Luna asked curiously, her face unnecessarily close to Amber’s.

Amber moved back a few spaces away from Luna, only for the way-too-curious girl to inch even closer.

“Yeah…” Amber muttered, hoping that if she answered she would get her personal space back.

Luna moved away from Amber and beamed. “At least one of you is actually showing jealousy.”

“Nah, I think he was just –”

“Curious?” Luna said, finishing off Amber’s sentence.

Luna rolled her eyes, “Not this again. C’mon, when and where did he say it?”

“In the bath—” Amber stopped her sentence mid way and mentally slapped herself for almost saying something that would make Luna scream on the top of her lungs.

“I don’t remember.” Amber lied.

 Luna shook her head and pouted. “Liar.”

Victoria sat on the other side of Amber’s bed, listening to the conversation. “It’s been a while since all of us were together, a shame Krystal and Jinri couldn’t come.”

Amber and Luna turned silent as they grinned at each other. Victoria looked at the two girls in front of her.

“Victoria unni,” Luna said cutely. “So who are you dating?  Could it be Nichkhun, Zhoumi or maybe the new kid Calvin Chen?”

Victoria’s jaws dropped as she looked to the ground. Amber couldn’t help but giggle, it was nice change of mood, and she wasn’t the only one being teased.

“It’s obvious Zhoumi, they go shopping together every week!” Amber chimed in.

“I don’t know about that Amber! Zhoumi’s probably friend-zoned since she only sees him as a shopping pal, not a boyfriend. She already has a nice air around Nichkun sunbae. The new kid also seems to like her a lot too.”

Victoria fidgeted with her hands, her face beet red. Amber and Luna grinned at each other as they wrapped their arms around the older woman. “But, whoever you date, we will always be there for you.”

“If they dare break your heart, I’ll definitely give them a good beating.” Amber exclaimed, showing off her arm muscles.  Victoria and Luna giggled as they stared at Amber flexing her arms.

“Ah, I think you’re getting warmer now Amber, your face isn’t as red anymore!” Luna pinched Amber’s cheek and smiled.

 Amber stood still and touched her cheeks. “I guess so…That reminds me, I have to finish off my homework!”

xxx

The alarm began to ring loudly and Amber slowly arose from her bed. She turned to see two girls beside her. It was single bed, but the three girls managed to fit.

Amber turned off the alarm and began to shake her two friends. Victoria was the first to wake up, as expected. The older of the two slowly got off the bed and wobbled back and forth to the washroom.  Luna on the other hand, wouldn’t budge until Amber screamed random curse words in her ear.

 “Didn’t need to be so loud there,” Luna got up from the bed and rubbed her ears, “I think I’m deaf now, thanks.”

“Stop exaggerating. Let’s change and head to school. I’ll finally be early for once.” Amber said, as she flung opened her closet, looking for a pair of jeans and an over sized t-shirt.

She quickly changed as Luna and Victoria were in the washroom, getting their makeup done. “Hurry up guys, you’re not the only one who needs to use the washroom.”

The two girls ignored Amber and continued applying makeup. Amber, now peeved, went inside the washroom to get her tooth brush. She squirted the tooth paste on her brush and walk outside the washroom.

Her phone vibrated and Amber approached the table, where the phone was located. It was a text message from Henry.

Ambbbbeer, will ya forgive me? Don't punch me please. 

Amber rolled her eyes and responded to his text in one word.

No. 

She sent the text and walked to the kitchen sink, spitting out the tooth paste and began to rinse .  

A few minutes later, her phone began to vibrate and she read the message.

Damn girl, that was harsh. Fine. Your majesty, please forgive me. I’ll even kiss your feet if I have to.

Amber chuckled at his reply. She was about to answer his message until Luna grabbed her phone away.

Luna formed a wicked evil smile and began to type on her phone. Amber instinctively tackled the blonde girl down before she could send the text.

Luna rubbing her head, clicked the send button before Amber could grab her phone back.  Amber looked at the phone and her face turned pale.

I don’t want your kiss to be only on my feet ;)

Amber slightly cringed, “Really Luna? I think the emoticon was a little too much. I didn’t even know you knew that many English words.”

Luna stuck out her tongue and grabbed her backpack, “I love you Amber! Let’s go to school soon.”

Amber glared at Luna and took her backpack from under the table. Her phone vibrated again and Amber peeked at her phone. At that moment, Amber swore to herself that she would tackle Henry if he ever sent that text again.

Oh.    

“What does he mean by oh? Does this man really think I sent him that text? Ah, suddenly I want to plan a mass murder.”

Luna took Amber’s phone and laughed at the reply, “That just means he’s either playing with you or he thinks you’re into him. Well he doesn’t think you’re into him, that part is pretty much true.”

“I really want to punch you, you know that?”

xxx

Amber walked down the hallway and opened the classroom door. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Lau was sitting on the stool, drinking his coffee.

Mr. Lau looked at Amber and smiled, “’Sup?”

Mr. Lau walked close to Amber, only for her to walk away from him. Mr. Lau tilted his head, “Amber?”

“I don’t know what I should be feeling now. I’m supposed to be mad at Henry, but I’m not mad at you. But, you’re technically Henry.”

Mr. Lau furrowed his brows, “Why are you mad at Henry?”

Amber was about to explained, but her cheeks turned a faint colour of pink just thinking about it. “You know already.”

 “No I don’t, Amber.” Mr. Lau placed his cup on a desk and crossed his arms.

Amber spoke really fast, hoping Mr. Lau wouldn’t understand, “Hekindofdidweirdthingswhenwewereinthebathroomtogether.”

Unfortunately for her, Mr. Lau had understood each and every word she said. He only muffled a laugh and sat on a desk. “Ah, I remember that. Looking back, it was a pretty funny memory.”

“It’s not funny and I want to murder you – I mean, Henry. You know what I mean. Ugh, doing those kinds of things, anyone would misunderstand.”

Mr. Lau was silent for moment and looked at Amber intently, “What do you mean by misunderstand?”

“Isn’t it obvious? It makes people think that he likes me.”

Mr. Lau shook his head, “I see why people were annoyed by our denseness in the past.”

“What?”

“Amber, I already said I’m your future husband, right?” Amber nodded, not knowing where this was heading.

“I’m Henry. You’re Amber. I’m your husband. You’re my wife. A husband and wife love each other. Henry loves you.”

Amber jaws dropped, forming a huge o. “H-How the hell can you say that so easily?”

“Wow, I was expecting you to freak out more. And well, I just can.”

Amber gritted her teeth and shook her head, “That part, I thought of it a whole lot. I...I’m just letting things go with the flow, okay?”   

“Oh.” Mr. Lau said, sipping his coffee.

“What does every male specimen I talk to always end the conversation with oh? Then again, it’s just one male in particular.”

“I mean oh as in you weren’t as dense as I thought you were. Well, at least you’re conscious of him.”

 Amber glared at Mr. Lau and her arms formed an x, “I’m not conscious of him.”

  “Then be conscious of him.” Mr. Lau smiled brightly and Amber was completely speechless.

xxx

The bell rang and Henry entered the classroom door.  He sat beside Amber, who was scribbling dark swirly circles on her notebook.

“Amber?” Amber stopped scribbling and turned to Henry, glaring at him.

Henry pouted and Amber looked away from him, “Forgive me please, Amber? I promise I won’t do it again.”

Amber didn’t respond and started to darken the swirly circles.

“Okay, fine. I’ll kiss your feet, wait you don’t want me to just kiss your feet, right?”

Amber dropped her pencil and turned to Henry, “Just for your information, I didn’t write that text.”

Henry smirked, “Of course you didn’t write that, that’s why you’re so flustered.”

Amber threw her eraser at Henry with full force. “Ouch!”

Mr. Lau came inside the classroom with the mini Luhan and smiled, “Okay class, my son is going to be here every morning. I don’t have anyone to take care of him, so please treat him nicely okay?”

The class nodded and Mr. Lau smiled, “Alright, let’s get out the homework from yesterday. I’m going to collect it.”

The students took out their homework and Mr. Lau walked around the classroom, collecting the ‘about me’ worksheet. He would praise those who finished and flicked the student’s forehead lightly for those that didn’t.

“Okay, a majority of you guys are done, which is good. Today is going to be a work period. Try to brainstorm poems and have fun. If you need any help, talk to your partner. I’ll be reviewing the worksheets, so I can get to know you guys better.”

Mr. Lau walked out of the classroom and the students began to chatter.

 “Amber, what can I do to make you forgive me?”

“Nothing,” Amber growled as she attempted to write her love poem. She tried to think of various titles, but none seemed to sound right.

Henry peered over her work, “How about writing the content first and write the title last? It’ll be better because you’ll have a sense of where you’re going.”

Amber stared at Henry and she quickly moved her seat away from him.

Henry frowned, “Are you conscious of me now? I didn’t think it would drive you this nuts. What, have I become more handsome?”

Amber glared at him and Henry thought it would be better if he just shut up.

The whole period consisted of Henry annoying Amber and Amber throwing her utensils at him.  The bell rung and students headed to their next class. Mr. Lau walked in the classroom, holding a stack of paper.

“Oh Henry, can you see me at lunch?” Henry nodded at Mr. Lau as he rubbed his wounded arm.

Amber punched like a pro wrestler.  

xxx

The lunch bell rung and Mr. Lau sat on a chair, quietly thinking about the previous events where he encountered the mysterious man.

“What is your purpose in going to the past?”

The man’s word echoed in Mr. Lau’s mind. He glanced at Henry’s ‘about me’ sheet that he placed on the desk. His purpose…it was true that he had more than one goal in mind – questions that needed answering.

Henry opened the classroom door and walked in front of Mr. Lau, “Um, Mr. Lau?”

Mr. Lau looked up to see Henry, smiling as he motioned the younger boy to have a seat next to him. “Henry, I have a few questions about your answers. They’re quite interesting.”

“Believe me, your questions were way more creative, Mr. Lau.”

 “True enough.” Mr. Lau chuckled. “Well, I’m going to ask you the same questions and you just answer them again, alright?”

Henry nodded. Mr. Lau glanced at the Henry’s paper again. He couldn’t help but recall the man’s word again.

Why did you go to the past on this year?

Mr. Lau already knew the answer to that, for it was his own curiosity that led him here. Mr. Lau closed his eyes and began to speak.

“Would you change your past if you got the chance to change it?”

Mr. Lau eyes were shut, he knew well enough that the answer to his question would be right here.

Henry looked at Mr. Lau strangely, “Even if I were to die, I would never change the past.”