Luhan keeps his gaze glued to the ground long after Sehun has given his words and left.

He’s shivering slightly because it’s freezing cold when you’re sopping wet (even in the summer) and the thin silence is broken with a sneeze.

“Ugh,” Luhan groans, wiping his nose with the sleeve of the bathrobe that’s still draped around his shoulders.

He hears the manager tell the crowd of people outside that it’s perfectly fine to go back in and that nothing’s broken or destroyed.  He knows without looking up that the manager is ushing people into the building, answering questions, and gathering all his employees for a head count before pushing them all back into the building to continue work.

How anyone can survive with being so busy, Luhan has no idea.

He hears the man clear his throat, and he sniffs once (both from fear and the cold he knows he’s catching) before looking up, completely expecting the manager to be furious, and start yelling, and red-faced, and Luhan just knows he’s going to get kicked out and be punished and humiliated—maybe the man will rip away his bathrobe and laugh in his face at his appearance before giving a few shoves, an-

“’s your name?”

“What?” Luhan’s completely surprised to hear a soft question instead of a bark, and even more surprised to see a concerned expression rather than one of fury.

In fact, he’s so surprised, he’s stunned in his spot before the man speaks again, voice just as soft as before, but now there’s a gentle hand on his shoulder, and it’s surprisingly comforting.

“What’s your name?” The man repeats, and Luhan’s surprised he can still speak.

“L-luhan,” he stammers. Okay, so maybe he can’t quite speak right yet.

“Luhan,” the man says, smiling softly.

‘Maybe he’s smiling because he’s enjoying the panic, fear, and worry on my face’ Luhan thinks in a brief moment of paranoia before he sees the look in the man’s eyes again: kind and genuine.

‘So maybe he’s smiling because he pities the state I’m in.’ Luhan concludes on a just-barely more positive note.

“You can call me Yixing, Zhang Yixing,” the man introduces with a warm smile. The smile is all it takes for Luhan to relax, his stiff shoulders loosening as he nods.

Yixing breathes an internal sigh of relief seeing the other finally relax.

He knows it was an honest mistake, he really does, and he makes sure to let Luhan know that.

“Stop apologizing,” Yixing insists as a flurry of apologizes spills from Luhan’s lips, his ability to speak coming back all at once.

‘How could anybody stay made at this boy?’ Yixing thinks.

“Just because I’m not mad doesn’t mean you can’t take responsibility,” Yixing speaks once Luhan has managed to shut up, “You’ll have to pay for the damages,” Yixing explains, making a mental note to call Yifan.

He’s wanted to try a few new room layouts and designs anyways.

Yixing’s so caught up in his own long list of mental ‘to-do’s’ that he nearly misses Luhan’s quiet words.

“I-I…I don’t think I can afford that.”

Luhan’s waiting for the worst after he’s uttered those words, but Yixing shakes his head, still smiling.

“You can advertise the hotel and help us take photos in addition to the side jobs you can take from the hotel.”

Luhan opens his mouth to speak because,

“How did I know you were a photographer?” Yixing interrupts, speaking just before Luhan’s words leave his lips, and he chuckles at the shocked expression on the other’s face.

Luhan can only nod in response, mouth hanging slightly open, a bit afraid that he has some sort of psychotic stalker, though Yixing looks far from any psychopath.

“Well, I assumed that,” he points over to where the three firemen are standing, with the camera still in Jongin’s hands, “was yours, and I remember seeing you leaving the hotel with you camera in hand anyways.”

It takes a moment for Luhan to grasp everything, especially the fact that Yixing’s nice enough to offer him several jobs at the hotel to pay off his immense debt, and the moment he understands, Luhan makes a noise, attacking Yixing in a hug, still sopping wet and all.

An endless string of “Thank you”’s leave his lip, and Luhan can’t even describe how thankful he kis, and as Yixing pushes him and his wet limbs away, Luhan bows deeply.

“But,” Yixing begins to say, and Luhan’s heart momentarily drops because he just knows this is bad news, “I’m afraid the hotel is completely booked.”

 And Luhan’s heart really does drop because, where will he stay? He knows that all other hotels must be full too and—

“Don’t worry.” Yixing interrupts Luhan’s panicked thoughts, probably from seeing the look of pure panic on Luhan’s features, “You can stay at my apartment with my roommate and I.”

Luhan knows it’s a terribly bad idea to stay with a stranger, or rather, someone you’ve just met, but a gut feeling tells him that Yixing can definitely be trusted, and before he’s really thought everything through, he’s nodding and Yixing smiles widely, giving Luhan a pat on the back.

“Get your things and I’ll take you over to get changed. It’s not far at all. It’s actually within walking distance, or you could take the bus, but I’d figured you’d want to take your car.”

Luhan’s about to ask, ‘Why did you know I had a car?’ before another chill runs through his body from the cold wind hitting his wet body, and he nods.

“I’ll get everything now.”

It takes Luhan a second, but he remembers that the firefighters had his things. He turns, looking for the men; Jongin, he remembers, has his things, and he sees them huddled together, which is strange, because, what could they be doing?