He was the class jock, the school jjang, the coolest guy in school. He was the guy every girl wanted and every guy wanted to be.

His name was Oh Sehun.

Right now, he was chilling in the most famous club in town. Practically half the school’s population was here tonight, celebrating the end of a long week of school. I’m probably the only one who is legally here. He thought to himself grimly. Being a repeat student, he was of legal age to be in this club while the rest of the students here were on fake identification cards. Not that the club owner minded, it only meant more money and business to him after all.

Sehun lounged in a far corner of the room, his arms folded loosely over his chest as he studied the girls in the club with the ease of long practice. This club was his favourite hunting ground, famous for attracting a lot of attractive young female students, tall and slender with endless legs. Many of them were his schoolmates; but in this club, none of them looked anything like school girls.

Tonight, however, seemed somewhat off. As he took measure of their cookie-cutter bodies, Sehun couldn’t help but wonder whether they all went to the same plastic surgeon. A large percentage of females within his line of sight looked suspiciously similar. Hell, a lot of girls he’d slept with in the past months, which was no small number mind you, had looked almost identical, probably having paid thousands of dollars to have their faces altered. But seriously, what guy in the right mind wanted to have comments like “Watch the nose! It has silicon in it!” or “Hey, you are shifting my jaw when you kiss like that” when in bed?

Feeling oddly irritated, Sehun reached for his bottle of beer. Empty. He glared at it with dark suspicion. He lifted an arm and signaled to the waitress for another beer. With a knowing smile, she reappeared with a fresh bottle. Sehun snatched it up and took a long pull of beer. But the alcohol brought little comfort to his irritation. Instead the ale had a brassy texture that made him feel as if he had just choked down a handful of powdered chalk, leaving his throat feeling raw and uncomfortable. What the hell is wrong with me? He usually loved his beer and women. That’s why he was a regular here in this club where both of those things were plentiful. So why was he suddenly feeling bored, disgruntled and restless? Maybe it was indeed an off night for him.

Just then, a dance ended on the dance floor and a pretty girl from his class left the floor to make her way to him. He narrowed his eyes on her face. What was her name? All he remembered was that he’d slept with her two weeks ago. She was the one with the silicon nose. When he had accidentally brushed his fingers over her nose, she had gone ballistic. While he didn’t mind being gentle in bed, Sehun strongly believed that should be spontaneous and not a lesson on how to handle silicon sacs.

“Hey,” he said casually, lifting the beer bottle slightly as a greeting.

Without any invitation, she perched her world-class on his lap and flashed a wide grin. Sehun had to think long and hard before he pulled her name from his memory. Nara.

“What is the school’s best dancer doing here instead of the dance floor?” She purred, seductively batting her eyelids at him. She pulled a well-practiced pout. “Come dance with me.”

Sehun forced his mouth into a curve. His gaze fell to her practically exposed chest in that low cut tee. Not interested. Taking another swallow of that horrid beer, he pulled out his wallet from his back and dropped a couple of fifty dollar notes on the counter. “Maybe another time.” Brushing her off his lap, he took long strides and exited the club.

But the following days were the same.  He was bored, restless. None of the girls at school could hold his interest for more than a minute. The club too held little of his interest so he just headed straight home after school.

Home.

An empty mansion.

Yup, that was home.

He was not alone, no. The mansion was filled with servants and butlers all at his service. But the huge mansion never failed to make him feel so small and alone. His parents were never ever home. The last time he saw them was two months ago when they dropped by to collect some clothes before going off again for their next expedition to who knew where. Adventurers, they called themselves. Reckless failures of parents, Sehun called them. He had tried telling them once that he needed them to be around, that he wanted their companionship. And what did they do? They bought him a great dane and left anyway. Great danes were known for their loyalty, they told him. Ha, that dog didn’t even like him, howling and barking like a mad dog if he was in the same room as it was. So it had been just him and him alone, all his life.

But at least he had peace and quiet in the house, as long as he wasn’t in the same room as that dreadful dog. And these days, it seemed as if he craved the quiet, opting for loneliness over the hustle of a clubbing lifestyle. Which strike him as odd because he used to seek solace in beer in women when both things now seemed revolting to him.

And then one day, a new transfer student arrived at the school.

~

“Good morning. My name is Luhan.”

Luhan took a deep breath and scanned around the silent classroom. The teacher patted him on his back as she welcomed him, pointing to the empty table at the very end of the classroom. On the adjacent table, a head laid on the table, with hair covering the eyes of that individual. I hope he is nice. Luhan prayed as he made his way to the empty table. This was the fifth school he had been transferred to and the last one in this area. If this school didn’t work out for him like that rest didn’t, he might have to return to China and he didn’t want that to happen. Besides, it was hardly his fault that the other kids didn’t like him. He had tried his best to be friendly and did whatever they asked him to but the bullying still happened, simply because he was from China. But mainly it was the inescapable fact that he looked like a girl. That had caused him so much problems, all his life. Being kicked around and punched all over his body was no fun at all. He had been hit so many times in China and here, in Korea that his body no longer healed the way it should. Bruises took weeks to disappear, cuts and wounds even longer. Luhan could only hope that this time it would be better.

The boy sitting beside him didn’t look up and continued resting his head on the table with his eyes shut. The teacher didn’t seem to mind him but it seemed more like resignation than leniency. Taking my seat beside him, I took the opportunity to examine his face. Though his fringe shadowed his eyes, Luhan could see that he had greyish hair, definitely dyed and not natural, a pale smooth complexion, a strong jaw and a firm but mobile mouth. His facial features were well-chiseled and defined.

Handsome.

That would be how Luhan would describe him. Turning his attention back to the teacher, he ignored the sleeping boy beside him and focused on the side. But the whispers and stares around him were very distracting and a dreadful feeling swept over him. Here we go again. It was the oh so familiar gossipy looks that his classmates were shooting him and he couldn’t help but sigh. There was nothing friendly or welcoming in the glares that he was getting. Why on earth did they judge him so quickly when all he did was to go to his desk? How did anyone hate someone else so fast? He simply could not understand.

Time seemed to crawl as he continued to remain as the main attraction of the class throughout the day. Soon the school bell rang to signal the start of his most hated period in school.

Lunch.

~

The bell jerked Sehun awake as he stirred and stretched his hands over his head. Rubbing the sleep away from his eyes, he turned and nearly cursed in surprise when he saw the table next to his occupied. What the hell?

“Hi, I am Luhan.” The boy stuck out his hand expectantly.

Rolling his eyes, Sehun ignored the outstretched hand, stood up and made his way to the cafeteria. Three boys followed his heels closely, chattering animatedly to him about everything and nothing at all. They were his sidekicks, you could call them that. This was most popular clique of the school and Sehun was the leader. Shoving his hands in his pocket, he sat at the usual table and immediately someone placed a tray of food in front of him.

Eating silently, Sehun paid little attention to the students that were gathered around our table. His thoughts however went back to that boy who sat beside him in class. Why, he had no idea, but that face had already been etched in his mind even though he only glanced at the boy for a couple of seconds. He was pretty, no denying it. Too pretty for a boy.

Luhan, he said his name was.

Interesting.

It had been a while since someone had caught my interest.

~

Students were crowding around Sehun. So were they, around Luhan but for very different reasons. Once Sehun ignored him and walked out, a bunch of students had grabbed him by the hair and dragged him out to the basketball court.

“Who said you could sit beside Sehun-nim?”

“Who said you could even look at him?”

That was the main gist of what they were hitting him for. As he lay huddled on the rough grainy ground, the students continued to kick his stomach and back. It went on for a long time before all the kicking suddenly stopped. Luhan continued to lay on his side, his arms and knees brought close to his chest into a fetus position.

“Your name is Luhan?”

An unfamiliar voice rang out.

“Answer him!” A hard kick connected with his back as Luhan winced from the pain that followed.

Then suddenly, a strong arm pulled him up from the ground and his head whirled from the sudden movement. The ground rotated under his feet as he struggled to find his bearings. Looking around the basketball court, he saw that almost the entire school was here staring at him and the one who was holding on to his arm was none other than that boy who was seated beside him in class. When their eyes met, the boy’s mouth curved up into a smile. A smile that had no happiness in it. A smile that seemed evil and sinister. A smile that was confident and spelled trouble.

It shouldn’t be called a smile.

A smirk was more like it.

“You’re mine,” He declared and then in a loud resounding voice to address the crowd, “He’s mine.”

~

The faces of the crowd were a mixture of shock and disbelief as they took in those words. Sehun took in the reaction and smiled in satisfaction. No way he was going to share Luhan so he called dibs on him in front of the whole school. They wouldn’t dare to even talk to him now. His sidekicks sputtered in shock as they tried to advise him not to do such as a thing but he just waved them away. Pulling Luhan away, he dragged him by the arm out of the school premise.

“W…wait…” The boy pulled against his grip but Sehun was stronger than him so he just ignored the tugging and continued to a karaoke bar. Once in a private room, Sehun released his grip on the boy who tried to make a dash for the door if not for Sehun pushing him back down onto the couch.

“School… School isn’t out yet…”

“So what, goody two shoes? So what?”

“We…We are not allowed to leave the school.”

“Oh, don’t be such a scarey cat.”

“But…but…”

The next hour mainly comprised of Sehun singing and dancing and Luhan sitting worriedly on the couch and biting his nails. Annoyed, Sehun stopped the karaoke machine and plopped down beside the boy and turned to face him. He raised his hands in exasperation before slamming them down on his own lap.

“Will you quit moping around? It is beyond annoying. Come on! Have fun!” He tugged on Luhan’s sleeve but to no avail.

“Look, I’ll pay you if you want. 500 dollars.” Pulling the notes out of his wallet, he threw the cash in Luhan’s face.

~

Was he nuts?

That was Luhan’s first thoughts. Anger rushed through his veins at that degrading gesture. It made him feel cheap and low to have money thrown at his face.

However, the next conclusion that entered Luhan’s mind that he was one very lonely boy. Soon, all he felt was pity for the handsome boy in front of him who must have been so desperate for a friend to go to such means to gain one. Buying a friend? Paying someone to spend time with him?

“I don’t want your money.” He answered quietly.

“Oh yeah? Then what do you want?” The look on the boy’s face was frightening dark and scary but Luhan didn’t feel any fear because all that fierceness seemed to just be a façade to loneliness.

“I’ll be your friend. All you have to do is ask.”

Silence.

The boy’s face was turning darker by the moment.

“Who said I wanted a friend?” He all but growled, obviously pissed off.

“You look like you could use one.”

Luhan’s words hit him out of nowhere. Anger roiled within him, building pressure in his chest like a volcano. And without another word, he grabbed his school jacket and shot another death glare at Luhan. Stalking out of the room, he slammed the door angrily behind him, leaving Luhan alone in the room reeling from the whole incident.

~

Friend?

Who needed a friend?

Annoyed, Sehun rolled his eyes as he shoved his hands into his coat jacket. But a small voice at the back of his mind nagged on.

He was right, and you know it.

No, he was not.

Yes he was, otherwise why are you so pissed?

I’m not pissed.

You’re not?

Oh, just shut up!

The silence filed his mind obediently for just twenty seconds before that nagging feeling returned.

He was right.

And Sehun knew it.

~

Luhan’s feet were dragging as he walked to school the next morning.

The prospect of meeting a certain someone was inevitable though Luhan wanted to avoid it with all his heart. His take on the situation was still the same as yesterday. He just wanted a friend. But yesterday’s courage to talk back had given way to rational considerations of the consequences of his actions.

What was his name again?

Sehun.

Yes. He was probably Sehun. That was the name the kids used when he bullied him in the basketball court.

“Hey, new kid.” The jeering voice of yet another bully rang out from behind and Luhan stopped in his tracks. Frozen to the ground, he just stood there, paralyzed with fear. You would think that after four schools and countless incidents of bullying, Luhan would get immune to the fear or learn to fight back. But no, at least not this time. A group of four boys sauntered up to him, their uniforms dirty and unkempt, stained from cigarettes and drugs. The biggest of the four grabbed Luhan’s collar and pulled him forward roughly. With the bully’s face just inches away, Luhan cringed at the foul smell that hit his nose when the bully opened his mouth to speak. “Don’t you know it’s customary for the new kid to hand over five bucks every day for the next two months?”

“N…no…I...I didn’t know…” Before Luhan had barely finished speaking, another bully ripped his backpack off his shoulders and searched it for his wallet.

“Pl..please… don’t.. I don’t… I don’t have any money…” That was true. He didn’t have a single cent on him. He was poor, yes. His family could barely afford to continue staying in Korea. His father worked three jobs and his mom two. His elder brother had quit school to earn some cash. All to put him through school. How could he ask for lunch money when he was already so indebted to them?

Then suddenly a fist entered his line of sight and connected with the bully’s face.

Luhan jumped back in shock and fell to the ground. His school bag landed on the floor with a thud as the four bullies stared incredulously at the new entrance. Scrambling to get his bag, Luhan peered up and saw the familiar greyish hair. Dread swept over him.

“I said it before and I’ll say it again today.” Sehun’s eyes turned murderous. “But don’t make me repeat it again. Luhan is mine.”

The four boys cowered together as their knees started to give way. Without even looking in Luhan’s direction, Sehun shoved his hands into his pocket once again and walked off into the school. Luhan scrambled to his feet and raced after the taller boy. Coming into a sudden stop in front of him, Luhan struggled to catch his breath even though it wasn’t a very long distance.

“Thank you,” he could barely wheezed that out from the shortness of breath.

The hard glint that entered Sehun eyes the moment he saw him sent chills down Luhan’s spine.

“I didn’t do it for you.”

Nevertheless, Luhan was grateful so he smiled slightly and replied, “But it helped. So thanks anyway.”

Sehun’s eyes softened ever so slightly, before he rolled them in annoyance. He then proceeded to ignore Luhan for the rest of the day.

~

Sehun didn’t know why he did what he did. Why did he defend that kid?

But when that kid smiled at him, it felt like his actions had been appreciated and was all the more worthwhile. Weird, it wasn’t like him to be so sentimental. Maybe he was going soft in the brains. Or maybe it had been such a long time since he received such a genuine smile from anybody. He felt happy. Happy was a word that he had long forgotten. And yet this boy whom he had just met for two days was able to elicit such an emotion from him.

Despite all this, Sehun still found it hard to approach Luhan. Just ask him to be your friend! That was easier said than done and soon the school day ended without them exchanging anymore words. With nowhere to go other than an empty mansion, Sehun decided to follow the boy.

Stalking, more like it.

He was insanely curious about him. Where he lived, what he liked to eat, did he have any siblings, what were his hobbies… the list was endless. Once in a while, he would catch himself thinking what it would be like to kiss those sweet lips. Ew. He was a guy and so was Luhan. He must be so deprived to even want such a thing!

Sehun followed him into an ice-cream store when Luhan disappeared into the back. Before long, Luhan emerged in a uniform and stood at the counter, taking orders and scooping ice cream. Sehun watched him walked endlessly for the next four hours, until the skies darkened and the store closed for the day. He took little to no breaks and worked tirelessly with a bright smile to greet each and every customer. Where he got his energy from, Sehun had wondered curiously. After a long day of school, who wanted to spend their afternoon standing and serving people?

Only when the lights of the store go out did Sehun catch a tiny glimpse of fatigue on Luhan's face. But that was quickly replaced by a look of anticipation. The lightening up of Luhan’s face and the bright thinking in those big eyes were enough to pipe Sehun's interest, enough that he continued to trail after the doe-eyed boy after he left the job. Where is he going? Why does he look so happy and excited to go there? Sehun continued to maintain a safe distance away, all the while keeping the boy in his sight. It was only until when Luhan entered an apartment's lift lobby, did Sehun stop in his tracks. There was no way he could follow him into the building without getting caught. So he settled for walking over to the lift lobby once the lift door was shut and watching the numbers crawl to a stop at nine. Stepping back out on to the streets, he tilted his head up and counted the windows until he reached nine. A warm orange glow came from the window with occasional passings of silhouette figures. That left an aching feeling at where his heart should be.  

The next couple of days continued in the same fashion. Sehun would ignore him in school. Sometimes when their eyes met coincidentally, Luhan's mouth would open slightly as if wanting to say something. But at the last moment, it slammed shut, muting whatever words that Luhan had wanted to say. Each time Sehun was secretly willing the boy to just speak to him but it never happened. And once school was out, he would secretly follow the boy to the ice cream shop. There he would spend hours simply staring at the boy. Something about Luhan attracted him, there was no denying that. But what it was exactly, Sehun could not put it into words. The day would then end by Sehun standing out on the streets watching the warmth radiate from Luhan's house.

Leaving that place was always the worst. Going back to the cold empty mansion was excruciating. So he always left with heavy feet.

~

"Take out the trash, Luhan ah! Thanks!" His mother called out from the kitchen.

"Ok!"

Grabbing the plastic bags, Luhan tied a solid knot to secure the contents before making his way to the recycling bins in front of his apartment. Humming his favorite song, he made his way from the ground lift lobby to the recycling bins parked at the front of the apartment buildings. Something moved at the corner of his eye and what he saw made him froze.

Sehun.

The back view of Oh Sehun.

What is he doing here? How did he find my house?

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Luhan noticed the slightly despondent slouch in his posture and the dragging of his feet. Almost as if he didn't want to leave. Shaking his head slightly, Luhan erased that possibility. What could possibly hold any interest to him here? No, why was he even here? He watched until Sehun was completely out of sight before racing to the nearest PC room. Using whatever measly coins he had on him, he logged onto a computer and googled Oh Sehun, hoping to find a Facebook page or some kind of a profile on a social media site.

To his extreme surprise, there were numerous pictures and links all connecting to the very boy that sat next to him in class. Apparently he was one very rich kid, his parents discovering some underground ancient gold city or something. Luhan read news after news about Sehun until his time in the PC bang ran out. As he strolled home, he pondered over the information he had just gathered. If everything he read had been true, he must really be very lonely with his parents hardly ever in the country. Having come to that conclusion, Luhan made up his made.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow he would do it.

Tomorrow he would take the first step.

~

Another boring day in school.

Well, at least it was the last period of the day and tomorrow would be the weekend.

His head on its resident place on the table, Sehun shut his eyes to block out the teacher’s nagging voice in the background. Teachers in the school couldn’t care less about him; they just let him do what he wanted. After all, his parents had donated a ginormous sum of money to the school so no one really dared to deal with him. His grades were average, not too bad but not the best either. In short, school was just a waste of time.

Suddenly, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Frowning slightly, he wondered which idiot would be brave enough to wake him up from his slumber. Irritated, he lazily pulled himself up from the table and turned to glare at the criminal who interrupted his sleep. Only to come face to face with a wide-eyed deer. Sehun left the anger and irritation slowly seeped away as his face softened involuntarily.

Luhan.

Something about him that drove Sehun crazy.

Luhan reached out and handed him a white slip of paper folding neatly in the middle. It wasn’t the first time Sehun had received letters from the students of this school. At the beginning it was flattering but soon it became annoying and burdensome. Usually he would ignore them and his sidekicks would proceed to either rip the letters in half or dump them in the bin. But this note. The note in Luhan’s hand was one that he really wanted to see. Grumbling about the interrupted sleep, Sehun snatched the note from Luhan’s hands and slowly opened the note.

Want to have dinner at my place tonight?

Dinner?

With someone?

Sehun couldn’t remember how long he had dinner with another person who was not a servant or a butler. A sense of longing flooded his entire being and before he had second thoughts, he scribbled a rough Ok, whatever on the slip of paper before crunching it up and tossing it onto Luhan’s table as nonchalantly as he could.

~

When Luhan warned his mom that he might be bringing a friend home, his mom went into a complete frenzy and whipped up a feast fit for a king!

In Luhan’s eyes, of course.

On normal days, they would have rice and a stir-fired dish, period. On bad days, it would be just rice and soya sauce or just ramyun. But today was just wow. There were three dishes, instead of one. And! there was a fish! Fish and meat were expensive and they couldn’t afford those so when Luhan saw that grilled fish on the dining table, he literally danced around in joy.

He pulled Sehun into the house, who stood awkward in the middle of the living room as Luhan’s mother cooed over his good looks.

“Thank you for being Luhan’s friend.” And she proceeded to plant a huge kiss on Sehun’s cheeks.

“Ma! Don’t embarrass me!” Prying his mother way, Luhan dragged Sehun to the dining table and sat him down. When everyone was seated, they dug in. The fish tasted so good that Luhan couldn’t help but gobble down the pieces of fish meat his mother had placed in his bowl of rice. His family chatted animatedly, asking occasional questions to Sehun. They took turns to talk about their day, shared some jokes and laughed loudly together.

Dinner, after all, was never a quiet event in this household.

~

In the dim glow of the light at the lift lobby, Luhan looked so damned beautiful, his deer-like eyes shimmering, his soft mouth begging to be kissed. Sehun was sorely tempted, but the innocence in those eyes held him back. If Sehun kissed him right now, Luhan might read more into it than he intended. Yes, Sehun was interested in him but he had no idea how Luhan night react to his feelings. And he didn’t want to spoil what this budding friendship. So instead he shook his hand. Luhan’s almost disappeared in his.

Thanks for the dinner. It was quite a treat to eat with a real family.

Though he didn’t say it out loud, the gratitude he felt was alarmingly huge. Luhan looked down at their joined hands and smiled. "I hoped my family didn’t embarrass me too much."

Sehun continued to join Luhan’s family for dinner on a daily basis now. Sometimes he would bring some fruits, other times he would get his butler to deliver meat or fish to the house in advance. Being in the tiny apartment did not bother Sehun one bit. The food obviously couldn’t compare with the gourmet food he would get at home but it tastes much more delicious because of the company he ate with. Luhan’s family had been nothing but gracious and welcoming to him. Luhan’s mother treated him like his own son. His father and elder brother took him in without the slightest of hesitation. The four of them, him, Luhan, Luhan’s father and brother, even went to a public bath together once. They made him feel included and loved for the most sincere and genuine reasons. It made him feel that accepting that invitation on the white slip of paper was the best decision he’d made all his life. This was exactly what he need.

A family.

The friendship between him and Luhan blossomed as well. Sehun would sit in the ice-cream shop as Luhan worked and they would chat endlessly. They never seemed to run out of topics to talk about. Sehun began to open up to Luhan more, telling him about his own family and the loneliness he faced at home. Luhan told him about the problems he faced because of his looks.

One night, as Sehun was preparing to leave Luhan’s house after a warm hearty meal, he took a deep breath and garnered the courage within him. "Next time, why don't you come to my place?" Sehun suggested rather timidly. "I can start up the barbecue. I grill a great steak." He gave Luhan a small smile. "It won't compare to your mother’s grilled fish but I can promise a decent meal."

Luhan seemed taken aback by the offer and seemed to ponder over it for a moment.

"Sure, I'd love to come."

“Great!” Sehun couldn’t hide the excitement that Luhan had agreed. "What evening would be good for you?"

"Are you free tomorrow night?"

Saturday night?

In his wilder days, he'd always reserved weekend nights for raising hell in the clubs but those habits seemed so far behind him now. "Sure, tomorrow night would be fine."

“Ok! See you tomorrow.” Luhan gave a sweet grin that made Sehun’s insides quiver.

Get a grip, Oh Sehun, he told himself sternly. Okay, you're attracted to him. But chances are he just sees you as a friend.