A/N : Thank you for those who commented. I'm glad that you liked the story so far :D

CHAPTER 16 : The Other End of the Line

LUHAN’S POV

“Luhan,” I instantly recognized who it was. “It’s me Luhan.”

I stood up, a sudden spur of anger igniting in me, “How dare you call me?”

I wanted to throw my phone to the ground, ruin it to bits and pieces. It has been years since I last heard his voice, but there was no denying it - it was him on the other end of the line, it was the person I dreamt of destroying, it was that man.

“Luhan, please come home,” he pleaded, “Let’s talk.”

“I thought I made it clear that I do not want to see you.” I gripped my phone tighter, “I do not want to talk to you. I do not want to have anything to have to do with you.”

“Please give me a chance Luhan. Give me a chance to be your father.”

“You were never ever a father to me. And you will never be.” Having said that, I threw my phone to the ground, breaking its entirety as it hit the pavement. I rubbed my entire face in frustration, and unable to control the rage inside me, I punched the wall of the building, causing my fist to bleed.

Mina gasped in surprise, she covered with her hand, not knowing whether or not she should say a word. I completely forgot that she had witnessed the entire thing. I sat down on the ground, clutching my hand on my wounded fist. Mina sat right beside me probably hoping that my fit of rage had ended. 

After a while, she took my bleeding hand and gently wrapped a white handkerchief on it. She moved lightly and earnestly, as if it was the most important thing to be done. The wound should be painful - but I could not feel a thing. The rage that I felt overpowered any other feeling there is, I hoped that Mina would continue to keep silent, afraid that I might lose my temper on the wrong person.

“My mom had a bad habit…” she spoke up, “Every time she’s angry, she accidentally hurts herself.”

“And you’re going to tell me that I have that habit too?” I smirked. I was sick of nonsense advices from people who knew nothing about what I felt.

She tied the handkerchief tightly, “My mom never changed.” She paused, “I’m saying that everybody has their own way of coping with anger.”

“And so?” I asked, making it known that her words had started to annoy me.

“She never changed, but she learned something important…” she had finished bandaging my hand, but she continued to hold my hand faintly, “She learned that she didn’t have to carry the weight all on her own.”

I glanced at her hopeful eyes. For some reason, I understood what she was trying to say, and it made me feel connected to the world. My anger slowly subsided, and I succumbed to the comfort from a person I least expected it from.

“Let’s get you home.” She said.

After Mina brought me home, EXO approached me to ask me where I was, but I was in no mood to explain what had happened. I locked myself in my room, thinking back to what that man had said.

“Please give me a chance Luhan. Give me a chance to be your father.”

His voice haunted me as I leered to myself. Give him a chance? I have given him enough - we have given him enough. In an instant, an image of a young boy pierced my mind.

*flashback*

 “Is that all you got champ?” 

I took the challenge and dodged his defensive moves, moving left to right, handling the ball with perfect precision. I attempted to kick the ball with one quick swift, but he blocked me just as fast. 

“You can’t beat me like that” he said, “Come on, show your dad wh at you got!” 

I laughed at my dad’s taunts, causing him to chuckle as well. Having caught him off guard, I tackled him to the ground, a little kid against his dad. We both fell to the ground, and the ball was booted far from us.

I stood up and lent a hand to him, “Come on dad, is that all you got?”

Still laughing, my dad took my hand and promptly, he carried me over his shoulder, and pretended to soar me over the open sky of the football arena. It felt like a lifetime of happiness - all in a single act of affection.

“Let’s get you home, your mom’s probably waiting.”

I agreed and like a little kid scared of being lost, I held his hand tightly. Soccer sunday with dad was the best - the highlight of my year. I wanted to be with him more, but even as a kid, I understood why he was not always around.

When we arrived home, mom greeted us and teased us about how we both smelled like sweat. She pressed a light kiss on my cheek before leading me to the dinner table. I saw her look at my dad intently, not sure what to make of her expression. After, Dad brought me to my room and read me a bedtime story. He tugged me on my bed and turned the lights off.

“Good night champ.” He kissed me on the forehead, “I’ll see you at the next game.”

“Good night dad.”

Before he could close the door behind him, I called out, “Dad? When will be the next game?”

“Soon Luhan, soon.”

I smiled and closed my eyes.

That night, I had a nightmare. A strange man appeared in my dream, threatening me that he will take away everything I had. Fear crept up on me as if there was a boogeyman in the closet. I woke up in shock, and tears started flowing unconsciously. Without thinking, I got up and headed to my parents’ room. I saw the door hanging a bit open. I took a peek and the first thing I saw was my mom on her knees, weeping.

“I wanted to spend my entire life with you Louis,” she sobbed while my dad remained standing, motionless, “I wanted to… But you ruined me. You destroyed everything. You destroyed my life!”

My dad lost his temper, “How dare you say that? I have been working like a madman trying to provide for us, you should be thanking me!”

I froze where I stand. I did not understand what was happening.

“Look around you!” My mom cried, “We live in an empty mansion. Every single expensive thing in this house is useless! We see you once a year for God’s sake! What exactly should we be thanking you for?”

“I am trying to do the best that I can. I am the head of this family. I will not stay here and be judged by you!”

My mom stood up and clutched the side of her dress in contempt, “You have stopped being the head of this family a long time ago! Louis, if I knew you would be this kind of a husband, It wouldn’t have mattered if I were poor, I would’ve married someone else! Someone who-”

A loud strike rung on my ears. My dad had slapped my mom on the cheek, causing it to burn hot red. Without hesitation, I rushed to her side. My dad, realizing what he had done, reached out to comfort my mom. Afraid that what just happened would be repeated, I hit dad’s hand.

“Stop!” I screamed, “Go away!” 



*end of flashback*

MINA’S POV

I looked at myself one last time in the mirror. I looked like I had been in a tsunami. My hair was a mess, and the white dress that once made me look like cinderella, became a rag. I immediately took it off and hand washed it, worried that Jung Wan might feel bad about what had happened to his work of art.

As I was carefully scrubbing the dress, I was reminded of the events of the night. With Luhan, every day feels like an episode of a drama. I did not know what to make of the day, I was partly happy that my truce with Luhan had brought us a bit more closer, but now the knowledge of his past had opened wounds - wounds that I didn’t know he had. It did not take a genius to know that he was still hurt even after I have brought him back to the dormitory. I wanted to stay and comfort him, but I knew I had no right to. He probably doesn’t even see me as a friend. It did not prevent me, however, from being curious as to what happened between him and his father.

As I expected, my worry did not subside even after a good night’s sleep. Luhan had yet to contact me, and I was torn about going to the dormitory. In the end, I decided to return the dress to Jung Wan’s. As soon as I entered the boutique, he greeted me with a smile.

“Oh Mina dear. How was last night?” he gestured me to sit by the sofa.

“It was great thank you. I came by to return the dress.”

In a snap of his finger, the receptionist rushed to us and took the dress.

“She’ll take care of that,” Jung Wan noted, “You look terrible dear. Did you not get some sleep?”

“Oh,” I waved my hands, “No no, I’m just tired that’s all.”

“Well, then I guess it wouldn’t hurt to take a day off.”

“Actually, Luhan hasn’t called me yet so I guess I’ll be heading home for now.”

Jung Wan took that as a hint and led me to the door. He told me to call if I needed anything else. It made me feel happy as it seemed that I made another friend. When he opened the door for me, Woo Jin appeared before our eyes. He returned Xiumin’s suit to Jung Wan and after a few small talks, he asked me if I wanted to eat out with him. In the end, Woo Jin and I ended up at a tea place in front of the boutique.

“I know you told me to wait… but having tea together is okay, right?” Woo Jin asked.

The truth was that it was not okay. I needed a break from the constant complication that faced me at every turn. But Woo Jin is my friend, and I couldn’t possibly push him away.

“It’s alright…” I tried to smile, “I take it EXO doesn’t have anything to do today?”

“What do you mean? They have a photo shoot later tonight.”

“Oh right.” I acted as if it was not the first I’ve heard of it.

“Luhan didn’t tell you?”

“He did - he did… I just forgot.”

“You don’t look so well…” Woo Jin noticed.

“I’m just tired, that’s all.”

It didn’t take a while for Woo Jin to realize that I wasn’t feeling good. Eventually, he suggested that I go home so I could get some rest. A part of me wanted to go to EXO’s dormitory thinking that Luhan probably just forgot to tell me about the photo shoot. Though in the end, I went straight home and submitted to the fatigue I was feeling.

When I woke up, it was already past 5 pm. I looked at my phone and saw that Luhan did not call or even message me. Maybe he intentionally didn’t call me because he didn’t need me. For some reason, the thought bothered me. A picture of him punching the wall suddenly appeared in my mind. Worried that he might do something like that again, I decided to go check up on him.

It was already night time when I got to the dorm and strangely, the lights were all out . I figured that there was nobody inside until I heard a loud clang that came from the living room. I immediately rushed to the front door and noticed that it was open. When I turned the knob, I knew right away that I was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Get out of my sight.” Luhan’s furious shadow stood before a man in his fifties. A chair had been thrown to the floor.

“Luhan… please.” The man implored, “I am getting old Luhan… I might not have enough time to fix my relationship with my only son… with you.”

It was his dad. My heart stopped upon the realization.

“I don’t care!” Luhan shouted, “I don’t want you in my life. I never will.”

I saw his dad fall slightly to his back, he held the frame of the chair for support. Even though Luhan’s words were not meant for me, I felt the pain of it all.

“I am sorry son..” His dad turned to the door, “I am sorry that this has happened.”

Still stunned by the turn of events, I was unable to move. Luhan’s dad headed my way, and when he saw me, he was taken by surprise. I instinctively bowed my head, and let him pass through. Without a word, he left.

When I looked back inside the living room, Luhan’s figure was standing by the glass window, looking out in deep thought. It was the first time that Luhan seemed real to me. Before coming to Korea, he had always been this perfect two-dimensional character in my head. But today, he had become a human-like existence that had flaws, that had problems.

I slowly moved closer to him and he tilted his head a bit to my direction. I thought that he would shout at me or perhaps ask me to leave. But instead, he acted as if I did not see the whole thing. I stood beside him and took notice of his brooding face in the dark. After a few minutes, he still didn’t bother to look at me, so I took it as a sign that he wanted to be alone.

“Stay.” He whispered as soon as I turned my back. His pleading voice sent a current to my heart.

I moved to his side without a word. For a while, the only sound I could hear was each raindrop that fell outside. In an instant, I remembered how when dad died, my brother came back from overseas and when he saw me crying my heart out, he simply sat beside me without a word. Because deep inside he knew that no wise words could ever comfort me. And I knew Luhan felt the same way, so I stood there silently, hoping that my mere presence could calm him.

“That man,” he said referring to his dad, “he didn’t even ask me how I was doing.”

A pang of pain struck me when I saw his face. Although he was smirking, anyone can see through his facade - he was in pain, he was wounded somewhere. How lonely he must have been, living almost all of his life with someone who he thought hated him. Without thinking, I put my hand over his shoulder and clasped it firmly. I noticed his whole body tense like he had never been touched before, he turned to face me and unknowingly, I gazed back wondering if my comfort had reached him.

His action that followed completely disarmed me. He pulled my hand that rested on his shoulder and wrapped it around his neck. Time stopped as he pressed his other hand lightly on my back and drew me towards him. I was lost in his delicate embrace.  The part of my brain that still worked insisted that I walk away, and yet I was paralyzed. I should go, I thought, but as he held me tighter, my arms fell to my sides -  unable to push him away.