“Hana…” Luhan whines at the sofa. He has been trying to get Hana to talk to him for two hours ever since she got mad at him for lying to her about the acceptance. “Talk to me…”

Hana ignores him like usual and acts like he’s not there. She even looks passed him and says to Luna, who is behind him, “Luna, can I sleep over at your house tonight with Taeyang?”

“Eh?” Luhan interjects. He looks back at Luna and shakes his head.

Luna sticks her tongue at him and says to him, “This is my revenge for tricking us,” she looks back up at Hana, “Sure. Stay with me forever, if you want. I know I won’t make you worry like how some jerk does.”

“Hana!” Luhan rapidly falls down to his knees in front of Hana, “Sorry, I’m sorry!” As he bows to her, he misses the chance to see how happy Hana finds how this is miserable to him. “I won’t lie ever again.”

“Didn’t you say that when Taeyang was sick?” She arches a brow at him, remind him of the last pain she was given.

He quickly answers without hesitation, “Starting from now on, of course.”

“I can’t trust you anymore, Luhan.”

“Hana, don’t leave me! You can’t leave me.”

“And why can’t I?”

“B-Because…” His new idea comes to mind and he says to her, “Fine, I’ll let you make me do anything for a day.”

“A day?” She doesn’t take it.

“Fine, three.” He puts up his fingers and adds a smile.

She shakes her head, “Still too short.”

The friends agree.

“A week!” He shouts, standing up.

A shake again.

He knows he’s going to regret this, but if it’s going to make his friend happy, he’s willing to. “Fine, your choice.” When he sees her gorgeous smirk, his heart wavers but calms down soon after.

“A month.”

*

“Massage my shoulders,” Hana orders her friend, which he comes over with a slapped smile. She has just put Taeyang to sleep beside her and wants to order her friend around.

Everyone else has left home since seven after dinner and after four hours of endless T.V. watching and cleaning, the virtual family is getting ready for sleep.

“Yes, M’Lady,” Luhan says. He even adds an act of giving his respect as a butler would. However, he sees that she’s wearing a spaghetti strapped tank-top and asks, “You’re okay with me touching you with that on?”

She looks at her shoulders and understands his question. She shrugs, “Yeah, why?” Seeing her friend standing there with hesitation, she teases him, “Hey,” when she gets his attention, she slides the left side of her spaghetti strap down over her shoulders and raises her shoulders over to near her chin. She gives him a firm look, “Scared to touch this?”

Luhan clears his throat and knows that his friend is mocking and challenging him. He puts up a front and casually says, “As if. You should know that I’m the only brave person to touch a man-girl’s body because no one else would.” Not wanting to look at her to give away that he’s shy, he walks to sit behind her on the bed and to accept her challenge, he pulls down the other strap. “See, I’m brave.”

Hana giggles to herself. “Yes, yes. You’re brave.” The moment she feels his touch, his hard but soft pressure on her shoulders, she can’t help but be relaxed. She thinks back to when Luhan had lied to them about not getting accepted into the same university and the same hurt emotions overwhelmed her. He has been her closest friend and family for almost a year and a half and she can’t imagine life without him. She doesn’t think she can handle another separation, even if they can still meet outside of school. But, she doesn’t have to worry about it anymore. He’s always going to stay in her life, whether she likes it or not. With that assurance, she brings a hand to her shoulders and places it on top of one of Luhan’s hand.

That prompts Luhan to question her. “What’s wrong?” He leans inwards to see her reaction when she doesn’t give him a response. He sees her staring blankly at the wall in front of her. “Hana, you—”

Hana sniffs and a tear drops down from the side. At the same time, she swiftly leads his hands to give her a back hug from around her waist. She rests her upper body on his chest and interlaces her fingers with his. She smiles when Luhan comfortably puts his chin on her shoulder.

“I’m glad we’re going college together, Luhan.” She can feel him smile as his cheek expands over to hers.

“Yeah. Me, too.” He begins to rock them sideways, in tuned with how the current atmosphere is. “Hana…”

“Hm?” She looks up at him.

He looks down at her, “Thanks. Thanks for wanting to be with me.”

The two of them chuckle under their breaths. The longer the two friends stare at one another, it becomes a deep and passionate. Luhan’s hands tingle to move all around her body, itching to caress every inch of her, but he manages to not do so. As for Hana, without knowing and without any restraint, she finds herself raising her head up and inching in closer to his face and landing him a stagnant kiss on his lips.

The both of them close their eyes at the same time, indulging in the zone until Taeyang’s out-of-the-blue gasp retrieves them from their own little world. Hana removes herself away from him and stands up, pulling up her straps. She looks over him, trying to fake that she’s looking at him when she’s not. He, too, looks behind her, aiming for the same thing.

“I-I—we should go to sleep, Luhan,” she says, as casual as ever. “I’ll fix the blankets.”

“Yeah,” he stands up to make way for her to do her stuff. He walks over to his side of the bed and patiently waits for her to fix the bed. As he watches her diligently folding the blankets over them and padding the pillows, he already has a hint that she’s just as shy as he is now. But, no matter how shy and happy they both are at what happened, they won’t deny that they’ve come to conclude that their relationship has taken on a route that they shouldn’t take.

*

In two and a half weeks from now, the gang, excluding Gayoon, will be graduating from High School and will go off to college. At the same time, Xiumin is asking for help from his friends to come up with a good way to ask Gayoon out because he fears that with the distance and less time to see Gayoon, he won’t be able to be as close to her once he graduates. Luna had suggested an overly expensive way which Xiumin denied because he has no money. Lay had suggested to ask her out like a normal date but Xiumin said that she might not see the underlying message. As for Luhan, his suggestion was to expressively kiss her and then confess. In response, Xiumin said he wants to be Gayoon’s boyfriend, not Gayoon’s ert. When it came to Hana, he didn’t bother to ask. His reasoning when his friends asked why: she has no experience in dating. He promised to come to her when he needs help with babies, though, thinking that’d make her feel better.

Because the term is almost ending, the gang, including Gayoon and Taeyang, are at the nearby park hanging out together on a Saturday to discuss their graduation trip after a light game of baseball together. They haven’t decided on the destination because they figured that their finances put together is what determines how far and how long they can go. They form a wide enough circle with junk food in the middle and with Taeyang walking around them. When the little boy gets too far, Hana uses her “puppy Luhan” to fetch Taeyang to her.

When she sees Taeyang’s hands covered in dirt, she orders Luhan to bring her him. Once Taeyang’s in her lap, she takes out hand wipes and starts to clean Taeyang’s dirty hands, snotty nose, and saliva-covered mouth. She thinks she’s done but Luhan sticks out his mouth full of crumbs that he purposely smeared around his mouth. She can’t help but laugh and wipes it off for him. “Yes, all gone, ‘Taeyang Jr.’.”

“I want to do something dangerous but fun,” Xiumin confesses and then continues, “like bungee jumping, skydiving, or jumping off from a cliff and into the ocean!”

“I’ll drop you right now,” Luna retorts with a tone of irritation. She sighs and shows him a printed paper with bars and graphs and a long list of whatever it is that she has on there, “I want to live after I turn eighteen, not die.”

“Of course we’ll be prepared, Luna.”

“What about Gayoon? She’s not going to be eighteen and I’m sure all of your ‘dangerous but fun’ activities will need consent. Do you think her parents will consent to her death?”

Xiumin props his mouth opens at first but closes it when he understands that her point of view. He sadly shakes his head in defeat.

Gayoon voices out, “Um, you guys don’t have to worry about me. It’s your guys’ graduation trip, so I don’t have to—”

“—you have to go,” Xiumin insists, turning to face her. “If you don’t go, I’ll be lonely and—and—”

“—oh, you’re going to say it now?” Thanks to Luhan’s unnecessary comment, it makes Xiumin stops speaking with a bashful expression while cowering away.

To get revenge for embarrassing and worrying Xiumin, Hana smacks Luhan in the head for purposely doing so, although Luna and Lay laugh behind the scenes. Hana smiles to Gayoon, “You’re a needed friend for Xiumin, and for us, too, so you have to come along.”

Xiumin brightens up, nodding to Hana’s comment. He mentally thanks her for helping him out.

“It’s better if we can all do everything together.”

 Gayoon shyly bows to thank the group, “Thank you for thinking of me too.”

“How about…” Hana picks up the nearby Taeyang and places him on her lap while she gives him his toys to play with, “…let’s do something cheap but fun.”

“Cheap…but fun?” The friends whisper. Is there such a thing? Everyone knows that in order to have fun, a lot of money is usually spent; for example, to go karaoke-ing costs money, to go shopping costs money, to go ice-skating costs money, to go anywhere but home costs money.

The sadden silence is only filled with the innocent laughter from Taeyang who has no worries about the trip, even though he’s going to go anyway with no worries about money.

When Luhan stares at his son, trying to understand what Taeyang finds amusing about those toy blocks, an idea that perfectly matches Hana’s ‘cheap but fun’ statement. He shoots up with excitement, “Let’s go camping!”

“Camping will probably cost as much as skydiving, though,” Lay inputs.

Luhan raises a finger, “But, unlike skydiving where we pay for ourselves, we can split money to pay for a cabin and food and we’re set!”

The friends have an “ah” moment and after two hours of their enthusiastic plans for their decision on camping, Hana and Luhan start to pack up. The friends ask why, and Hana explains that she’s going to meet up with the person who has given the necklace to Taeyang and then take Taeyang to his health checkup.

“Why not go together, Hana?” says Lay, “You don’t know who that stranger is and you’re just meeting him or her alone.”

Luhan steps in, “I wanted to, but she says that I’ll make the situation worse. Since I can't go with her, I'm giving her my bat in case she harasses someone and the stranger can use it against man-girl.” He and Hana laugh together at the joke.

“How is Luhan tagging along going to make the situation worse, Hana?”

Hana butts in before Luhan can because she knows Luhan’s going to say something other than the truth, “He wants to keep the necklace, but I want to return it.”

“I would keep it, too,” Luna comments. She and Luhan high-five one another for their rare agreement.

“I appreciate his or her thought, but I’ll only accept it if it’s from a person I know.”

Lay stands up from his spot and furrows his brows together in a manner or curiosity, “Do you think it’s from his mother?” His question brings a whole new wave of tension in the group.

Xiumin, the supposed-slowest one in the group, catches on quite fast and shoots the question, “Is that why you want to meet this stranger—to see if it’s Taeyang’s biological parent?”

Hana deeply exhales and then follows it with a light nod.

Everyone else stands up in shock after this revelation. Xiumin and Luna, the only two thrilled ones, surround Hana and repeatedly say to her, “You have to tell us if it’s Taeyang’s real family or not, okay?”

She takes a step back and almost trips on Luhan’s leg when he supports her, “Okay.” She looks at her two friends jumping up and down in anticipation and then feels a light squeeze from around her shoulders. She turns her attention to Luhan, who is still holding onto her, and forces a small smile.

He whispers to her, “You’ll be fine. Even if it is Taeyang’s mom, you will always be the one who raised him. In my heart, you’ll always be Mommy Hana.”

She stands up straight and pulls him into a hug, “Thanks, Luhan. Thanks.”

*

Luhan’s encouraging words are repeated in her mind, giving her strength to walk on as she heads towards the destination to meet up with the stranger along with Taeyang in his stroller. She wants to walk slower, but knows it’s best not to, for it’d be rude of her. She’s the one who made the appointment and for her to show up later than the guest, it’s not acceptable.

“Taeyang,” she speaks, lowly, “do you also wonder what your real mother is like? I do, too. Sometimes, I have dreams that she stops by the door and asks for you back with a gentle voice, tears smeared all over her face, and an angelic smile that resembles yours. In my dream, I gave you to her without hesitation, but now…” Hana stops walking and looks down at her son in the stroller, “…I wonder if I can do that.”

*

Luhan keeps looking at his cell phone in hopes that he’d receive a text or a call from his virtual wife, but so far, even though it’s been two hours, there is nothing from her. Even his friends, Luna and Xiumin, have been bugging him about it, calling every thirty minutes or so. Around five-thirty, his cell finally rings after its long silence and instead of a number that he is waiting for, it’s a number he isn’t quite familiar with.

“Hello?” He picks up.

“Hi, is this Luhan, father of Taeyang?”

“Yes, I’m Luhan.”

“I’m calling from Seoul Children's Clinic in regards to Taeyang’s appointment change. Your wife and your son have missed today’s time, so we—”

“—wait missed?”

“Y-yes, there was no sign of them present, even after thirty minutes from the appointed time.”

Luhan stands up in confusion and something tells him that something has gone amiss from their side, “I-I’m sure there’s something wrong. Hana’s punctual and—and she’d never missed anything related to Taeyang.” Especially not this.

He hears some shuffling from the other line and assumes it’s the lady going through the paperwork to double check.

“Mr. Luhan,” the lady speaks to the phone again.

“Yes?”

“There is no record of Ms. Hana signing in from three to five.”

Luhan inhales and accepts the possibility that Hana may have missed the appointment probably because the discussion between the stranger and Hana turns out to be longer than expected. Hoping that is true, he asks for the new appointment and memorizes it. Soon after, he hangs up the phone and stays where he is at in doubt.

*

Around six-thirty, right before Luhan is about to take off the towel on his lower half to take a shower, his cell rings and he quickly runs out of the bathroom to pick it up in case it is Hana who has called after five hours of not calling ever since they've separated at the park. To his disappointment, it isn't.

"Hello?"

"Luhan? Is-is Hana there?" The Head Lady from the Day Care Center calls and asks.

"Hana? She's not here. She's…" He pauses because he doesn't know where his friend is. But, why would she call for Hana when Hana doesn't go to the Day Care Center on the weekends. "…Have we forgotten to bring home something?"

"Um, no. Actually…"

Luhan senses an anxious tone from the other line and figures it has something to do with today's meeting between the stranger and Hana.

She asks, "Do you know that today is the day Hana's supposed to meet up with the person who gave Taeyang the necklace?"

"Yes, I do. Are you calling to ensure the appointment?"

There is a pause and the feeling of doubt is washed away and fear overtakes Luhan.

"Luhan…" She sounds desperate. And worried. "…Hana…she…she didn't show up."

*

Luhan's fear increases within the time as he glances up at the time on his cell phone. It's almost eleven and Hana hasn't called once nor is she home. He wonders if what he and Hana have joked about getting kidnapped coming true and he silently prays for her safety and regrets not tagging along regardless of how much she had stopped him. He promises that by eleven thirty, if there's no call or sign from her, he's going out to search for her.

By eleven-fifteen, he is dressed and has prepared a bottle of water, and a bag of snacks to calm him down and to encourage him; however, before he can enter the kitchen, his cell phone rings and he flinches in response. Running over like a mad dog, he sees that it's only Luna. Angered for being tricked, he annoyingly said, "Oi, she's not—"

"—Luhan!!! Hana was in an accident!!!"

Luna's terrified shriek pierces his soul and his body drops to the floor and everything else that she says goes out the other ear.

"She's lost a lot of blood and—and—Luhan," h