He disappeared momentarily, only to return at the the front of the gate with keys jingling in his pocket. His face was scornful, but also kind of cute. Se Hun looked at him curiously; he could only be around eighteen years old, but there was discreet maturity hidden in the contours of his face. He was clad in a dirty green shirt that was slightly faded from years of being worn, scruffy denim overalls and large brown boots. His blonde tresses were unruly and a piece of hair had fallen over one of his eyes. Se Hun squinted.

"We were just trying to return your chicken," Baek Hyun tried to explain, holding his palms up in surrender.

The boy's eyes widened a fraction as he stumbled out of the farm's gate and reached for Alulu, who happily jumped into his arms. "Alulu, you're back!" he mumbled happily, kissing the top of the chicken's head and ignoring Jong In's pout. "Poor baby hurt his wing," he cooed.

"So...now that you have him, we'll just be leaving then thanks," Se Hun said quickly.

"Hold on just a minute," the boy said; all the mirth had been drained from his face and replaced with his iconic puppy dog glare. "You three boys are being charged with tresspassing, theivery and abduction!"

He had the strangest accent--the average Busan tinge but with a of something Se Hun couldn't explain.

"Well, yeah--wait we didn't abduct anyone," Se Hun said, frowning.

The farmer held up the chicken in his hands without a word.

Se Hun gaped. "We did not abduct that chicken; he came to us! Out of the goodness of our hearts we picked up a stray animal to return it to it's owner, dear Lord."

"I ought to call the police, you brat," the boy said, his eyes narrowing. 

"YOU OUGHT TO CALL THE PRESIDENT TO GIVE US GOD DAMN MEDALS--"

"What's that?" the boy said, his eyes trailing off to the far distance, where their blue car waited, looking more like an abadoned pile of metal rather than a vehicle.

"It's a car..." Jong In mumbled.

The farmer's head snapped up. "Your car?"

"Well, yeah," Se Hun mumbled, rolling his eyes as if he was stating the obvious.

"You drive?" he asked, looking around at the three of them. He had the oddest expression on his face; a mix between evil plotting and guilt.

"We all drive," Baek Hyun said, staring longily at Alulu who was nestled in the boy's arms.

There was a minute of silence as the blonde headed stranger ran over the information through his head. Se Hun could almost hear the little gears working in his mind, tick, tick, tick--

"Okay," he said, sounding determined.

"Okay what."

The boy gently pushed the gate open with his shoulder. He cocked his head in the direction of the farm, and his lips slightly raised up. "My name's Lu Han. I have a proposition for you."

***

The trek through the gates of hell was traumatising. From the outside, Oak Field Farms looked like a countryside dream, but once they were past the first threshold, Se Hun's frown grew. He had never been to a farm before; he knew a few classmates who owned land used for harvesting, but never anyone who lived there. Once Lu Han had bolted the gates shut with an overly large lock and chain, he led them through the path of dirt that spread out before them like a muddy fjord.

Se Hun's lower lip trembled. "My Nikes. My beautiful, beautiful Nikes. Ruined," he whispered into Jong In's ear, who swatted him playfully.

"Where are we going?" Baek Hyun asked, trailing after Lu Han who still had Alulu nestled in his arms.

"My house," the farmer replied distractedly, "we're going to see my parents."

"Your parents? I swear to God we were only trying to help," Chan Yeol wailed, as they stomped past a few sheds. Oak Field Farms truly was an extravagant farm. They walked past an array of stables for horses, free range chicken coops, barns for pigs and acres of fertile land and gardens. Eventually the muddy terrain came to an end, and there was a neat ilttle path of cement pavement that made it much easier to walk.

"Would you rather meet my parents or the police?" Lu Han snapped, quickening his pace.

Se Hun thought, rather absent-mindedly, that Lu Han would be pleasant looking if it weren't for the scowl stitched onto his stubborn little face. In the few minutes that they had been acquaintances, he had been nothing short of snappish, grumpy and overall foul. But he had a dainty little frame in overalls too large for him, the calloused hands of a farmer and a soft mouth with deep dimples. A little bit pretty, in a boyish way.

"How many workers do you have here?" Se Hun asked, shaking his thoughts away. The business-man inside of him started to come out.

"Five. It's just my Mama, Baba, me, my younger brother Yi Xing and our stable boy Min Seok."

Se Hun was about to comment on the ludicrosity of this fact when they stopped at the small cottage that was visible from outside of the gates. Up close, it was a sweet little house, with a barcelona red roof and brick walls that were ravaged with weeds growing over the windows. Se Hun thought it looked like something out of a fairytale.

Lu Han pulled a chain of keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door with a gentle twist. The inside of the cottage was tiny, about the size of Se Hun's kitchen, and there were only two floors. Although it was a tight fit, it was sort of homely and comfortable in an odd way. 

Lu Han gently placed Alulu on the ground, and kissed the top of his head before the chicken flailed around into another room. "Yi Xing will take him down to the vet later," he said, staring affectionately at Alulu as he waddled out.

"He doesn't live with the other chickens?" Jong In asked, awkwardly trying to fit into their tiny living room.

"Oh, no," Lu Han said, waving his hand in dismissal. "Alulu's a house pet. Named after me." He thumped his chest proudly.

"Does that mean if I had a chicken his name would be Achanchan?" Chan Yeol said, clapping his hands together.

"Abaekbaek," Jong In said, stifling his laughter.

"Ajongjong....Asese, ha, Se Hun's one sounds dumb."

"Hey!" Se Hun said defensively. 

As if they were interrupting their stupidity, a middle-aged couple clambered down the stairs with their arms linked. The woman had laugh lines and curly hair tied loosely in a bun, wearing a long sundress and working boots. The man was a bit older, with hair that had started to turn grey and ordinary brown clothes that sagged on his body. They weren't exceedingly attractive, but they were...happy. Se Hun's heart surged. It had been a while since he'd seen his own parents; he barely remembered what they looked like. In fact, it had been months since he'd seen them together, unlike the couple standing before him; exactly what his parents should have been - aged, happy, and in love.

"Mama, Baba," Lu Han said, smiling brightly. Se Hun, Chan Yeol, Jong In and Baek Hyun all bowed in greeting in an awkward fumble. His parents had kind faces, Se Hun thought. Maybe they wouldn't be so hard on them with their 'punishments'. 

Lu Han turned to his parents and spoke quickly in a foreign language that Se Hun recognized as Mandarin. No wonder he had the cutest accent, it was a mix of Chinese and Busan dialect, he thought endearingly. 

He gauged their expressions through the conversation, but neither of them looked mad in the slightest. They made quiet comments at Lu Han's pauses - his mother had the softest voice - but other than that, just smiled at the four of them as if they were their son's companions and not his foes. At one point, Lu Han's mother took Jong In's hands in her own and smiled at him with gratefully. 

"My name is Li Ying," she said in broken Korean. "My husband is Jin Hai."

Although they were rich and arrogant, they were also trained in etiquette and manners since birth. They bowed at a ninety degrees angle, and smiled politely at the woman before them. "My name is Baek Hyun, and these are my friends Se Hun, Jong In and Chan Yeol."

Se Hun looked at Chan Yeol's expression which frozen in a rigid smile. It was unoften that Baek Hyun skimmed over the fact that they were dating, but it was understandable. They wanted these people to like them, and it wasn't unusual that the older folks in a small town were also close-minded. Chan Yeol loosened his grip around Baek Hyun's shoulders ever so slightly.

"Mama and Baba want you to sleep in the guest shed, it's the only spare room we have, but it's not dirty or anything," Lu Han said.

"Oh...okay. Well, tell them thanks, I guess," Se Hun said, evidently confused.

"Come on, I'll show you the way. Did you leave your stuff in the car?"

***

The shed looked like a sort of barn for animals, with hay all over the floor and mattresses pulled hastily into the center of the room. They piled their luggages next to the mattresses and sat down on the floor, almost awkwardly.

Lu Han absent-mindedly flicked pieces of hay to the other side of the room. "I know it's not much, but really, it's not dirty except for the hay, and it kind of smells weird but -" He sounded slightly sheepish, as if he were embarrassed.

"Lu Han," Jong In said, turning to face the shorter boy. "It's fine. It's really nice here."

"Yeah it's great!" Chan Yeol said, flopping onto one of the mattresses. He pulled Baek Hyun onto his lap, and wrapped his arms around his smaller boyfriend's torso while peppering messy kisses onto his cheek, ignoring Baek Hyun's stifled giggles and flails. It was ordinary for Jong In and Se Hun to see their PDA, but Lu Han gaped.

Baek Hyun sat up once he saw that all of their eyes were on them, his face blushing and his ears red. Chan Yeol cleared his throat.

"Sorry, um, we're kind of, dating," Chan Yeol said as a lame explanation.

"Yeah, I figured," Lu Han said flatly.

"We're not really used to being in the countryside where people are more...quiet, you know? In Seoul everyone's so cool about it, there are gay clubs and people to hang out with and no one really judges you, or at least they don't say it out loud, you know?" Baek Hyun babbled, bringing his knees up to his chest.

Lu Han stared at them for a very long time. "Really?" he mumbled quietly. He sat on the mattress that Baek Hyun and Chan Yeol had occupied, leaning in closer. "What's it like?"

"What, Seoul? Terrific. Kind of fast-paced, but I guess I like it. It's always busy and crowded and everyone's awake, even during the night. Have you ever been to Hongdae?" Baek Hyun asked. 

Lu Han shook his head.

"The food there is delicious, there's even a Hello Kitty Cafe! And the clubs are crazy, but I guess you'd never know, huh? What are you, sixteen?"

Lu Han pouted, folding his legs. "I'm twenty-four."

There was a brief silence.

"You're joking, right?" Jong In said.

"I'm not joking," Lu Han mumbled, blushing slightly.

"Let me see your license I swear to God you're twelve," Se Hun demanded, gaping.

"I don't have a license," Lu Han said quietly. "I can't drive, yet...which is why I need your help."

"What? And why would we help you?" Se Hun asked, scoffing.

"What, you think you're going to get away with stealing my chicken and apples for free, Brat?" Lu Han sneered.

"OKAY, FIRST OF ALL WE DID NOT STEAL THAT GOD DAMN CHICKEN -"

"I...I got an acceptance letter. From the University of Seoul."

"But you live in Busan?"

"Yeah, but I...sort of applied?" Lu Han mumbled bashfully. "I just...I want to get out of here. I want to go to university and get a job and live my life, and I want...I want you to take me to Seoul. I need you guys to drive me there. You're going back anyway, aren't you?"

"Okay, first of all, this is your proposition? You are a crazy twelve year-old and who wants to run away from home and my first answer is NO DEFINITELY NOT, second of all, NO, and third...NO," Se Hun rambled.

"I can report you to the police," Lu Han reminded him. "I can tell them you stole my chicken and our crops and trespassed into our property!" 

"Jesus Christ, it was like one apple," Se Hun said, rolling his eyes. "AND WE DIDN'T TAKE YOUR CHICKEN I SWEAR TO GOD CAN YOU STOP."

"You'll be fined. And sent to court," Lu Han hissed.

Se Hun figured that he'd be able to pay thrice the amount that Lu Han was going to sue them for. Without even blinking. "Is that supposed to be a threat?" Se Hun scoffed.

Chan Yeol, Baek Hyun and Jong In had all been equally quiet, and it surprised Se Hun when Baek Hyun's small voice said, "I say yes."

"What?"

"I said, yeah, we'll take you to Seoul," Baek Hyun said, smiling a little. "Come on, Se Hun. Let him live out his dreams, hang around a little. It's not going to hurt anyone. He got a scholarship to one of the top universities in Korea, that has to be a big deal around here."

Se Hun stared at them blankly. "No. No, absolutely not."

He rose from the floor and waltzed out of the barn and into the heat of the sun. He really had no where to go, so he sat outside with his back pressed against the cool metal of the shed, with his arms folded across his knees that were pulled up to his chest. After a few minutes of silence, he heard the door open and shut. Lu Han was standing above him with a disapproving gaze.

"Why do you have to disagree with me so much? Everyone else said yes. They're all really nice and willing to help me out so why do you have to hate me this much?"

"I don't hate you," Se Hun said, looking down. He kicked a pebble with his foot. Lu Han sank down onto the floor beside him, their eyes not meeting. 

"Baek Hyun said it wasn't going to hurt anyone, but it is, isn't it? What about your parents, your family, huh? What's going to happen to them? When they wake up one morning and find a note saying that you left them for a better life?"

Lu Han's eyes were downcasted, and Se Hun knew that he had struck a little too deep.

"I-I never grew up with my parents, okay? You have family and animals that love you and you're taking it all for granted."

"You're right." Lu Han sighed.

Se Hun thought for a second that he had changed his mind, that Lu Han would finally understand what a terrific life he had in Busan.

"But I," Lu Han mumbled. "Sometimes I just have to do things for myself. I'm going to be selfish, just this once. This isn't the life for me. Everyday I wake up at dawn to feed some cows, and I'm miserable. I don't think I can do it anymore, Se Hun. I'm not like Yi Xing, who loves potatoes and flowers and pigs - actually no, I love potatoes too, but -"

Se Hun sighed deeply. "I don't know. It's your own life. You should just know what you're giving up." He rose to his feet, and Lu Han followed promptly. "You can come with us, if you - if you want. But we have to make a stop over for Jong In. Okay?" 

Se Hun always thought that Lu Han would have looked pretty if he wasn't frowning, but he had never actually seen him smile. This time, though, Lu Han's eyes formed little crescent moons, his dimples deepened and Se Hun really tried not to notice how his eyes sparkled.

"Thanks, Brat," Lu Han said, nudging him gently in the shoulder. "You're okay."