Kris Wu is the reason why Lu Han is in Korea. Lu Han came to Yonsei University as an exchange student, an International Business major with no intentions to stay longer than a semester. Beijing was starting to be stifling and he needed to escape.

"If I've had my fill of exploring," Lu Han explains, his eyes bright and earnest, "then I would have no regrets when I start working."

Jongin nods and sets his cup down. Once, Jongin too had entertained a different life from the drones of mindless graduates flooding the working field. His teenaged life was marred with endless failed auditions and a choking love of dance that led him on a chase for disillusioned dreams. Now these dreams are nothing but what ifs, but he's content with what he's doing, even if he barely gets by.

Lu Han and Kris met at a party thrown by Kim Jongdae, a friend that Lu Han shares his Marketing classes with. Lu Han was celebrating the end of his exams, and Kris was just celebrating.

"Our eyes met over the keg," Lu Han giggles in the present, the most comfortable he's been since Jongin has met him. "It was one of those romance novel moments."

Conversation flowed easily between the two after Lu Han hiccupped out a hi in Mandarin in his tipsiness, and Kris had jumped upon the slip like an enthusiastic puppy, quickly offering the fact that he was Chinese as well. It turned out that Kris was roommates with the same Yixing that Lu Han was tutoring.

One hour turned into two, and between shots of vodka and the humid summer weather, he found himself telling Kris more than he wanted to. He confessed that studying abroad was harder than he thought and he was considering cutting his semester short.

"Do you know what he told me, that bastard?"

Jongin shakes his head as prompted, and Lu Han continues with a quirk of his lips and his eyes far away, his voice taking on a wistful tone, "He looked me in the eye, and I swear to God, told me it was because I hadn't met him yet. It was the cheesiest thing I've ever heard, but under the moonlight, Kris looked beautiful."

Kris tried his best to make Lu Han fit in, bringing him around to Seoul's nook and crannies and showing him the beauty of Korea. It was a no brainer why Lu Han would be drawn to him, the first person to actively reach out and try to bring Lu Han out of his shell.

The week after, Kris disappeared.

Yixing mumbled a vague excuse about family and refused to tell more despite Lu Han's insistent questions. He told him not to wait anymore, because Kris probably wouldn't be coming back.

"But he promised me that we would see the cherry blossoms together," Lu Han says to Jongin now, the slight waver in his voice betraying his emotions. Jongin pretends not to see the sudden glossiness of Lu Han's eyes and busies himself with his cake to allow Lu Han a few moments to compose himself.

Nevertheless, Lu Han extended his visa for another semester, and another, and soon he was graduating from yonsei with a degree in international business and a minor in korean.

Kris Wu is the reason why Lu Han is in Korea, and Lu Han wants to find his reason back.

Jongin starts off with his usual procedures and does a routine search on the internet. He doesn’t tell his clients that half the time, their long-lost first love can easily be tracked via an old Cyworld account or through the trendier Facebook accounts. Everyone leaves behind a trail on the internet like virtual cookie crumbs, and it’s almost impossible to wipe the internet of traces of yourself.

Almost impossible. Aside from a short except in an article from Kris’s Yonsei days quoting him on the treatment of international students (“My life in Korea is fantastic, but I’ve had my downs.”) and a notice including him in the list of honour roll students, he draws a blank. He does however manage to get a full name, Wu Yifan, which is more than enough for Jongin to go on to plan B.

“You’re going to get me fired one day,” Minseok mumbles into his coffee, all the while keeping an eye out for any supervisors that might drop by. As a rookie paralegal, he’s allowed to have visitors, but Jongin tends to come with the most prickly proposals. “What you’re doing is illegal in Korea.”

“Aww, come on, Minseok,” Jongin says good-naturedly, bumping Minseok’s shoulder with a elbow and almost causing him to spit out his coffee. “You’re a romantic guy!”

He draws up a chair and plops down into it, resting his chin on his hands. “You’ll like this story. Pretty exchange student comes to korea and falls in love, except lover boy disappears.”

“The classic jilted female lover?” Minseoks asks with a raised brow. “Isn’t that 99% of your clients?”

Tthe jilted male lover,” Jongin corrects. “And they never dated.” He bites his grin in at Minseok’s pinched face, knowing that the older man is fighting his own curiosity. It’s only a matter of time and-

“Alright, what’s his name,” Minseok says with an air of resignation. Most of the information that Jongin requests are from public records fully accessible to anyone with the right identification, but it doesn’t make what he’s doing any less unethical and illegal. Still, he can never say no to a good love story. Jongin kicks back his feet and waits as Minseok hunches over his computer, keying in the characters. “There’s no record of there ever being a Wu Yifan in the immigration lists, unless your man is a balding 60 year old or a 3 year old child.”

“Cross-check the university records with anyone that has travelled to korea on a student visa in the past 5 years?“ At Minseok’s increasing frown, Jongin pulls out his best smile, the one that gets him extra shots and free muffins in cafes staffed with teenaged girls. “Pretty please?”

Minseok hesitates. “I’ve got a hit, but… you’d better see for yourself.”

Jongin leans over to peer at the screen and what he sees makes him raise his eyebrows.