Lu Han came home after his trip to the market; he needed to stock up on a few things after noticing the dwindling supplies in the fridge. He used his foot to open the unlocked door and struggled inside. The male dropped his arms worth of groceries on the floor and wiped his perspiring forehead, completely exhausted. Since Nayoung was still injured, he didn't want to bring her along. It wasn't because he was worried she overexert herself or anything like that. It was because she'd get in the way, he told himself.

“Nayoung-ahhh!' He called to her to see if she was home. Today was Sunday, the weekend, and weekends meant the girl was most likely out 'shopping' as she liked to call it. He smiled to himself, it was kind of cute that she had a caring side like that. “Nayoung.”

The male was pleasantly surprised when he heard noise from upstairs, “Lu Han oppa! I'm here. What do you want?”

He was so taken back he had to say her name for the third time in a row, “Nayoung?”

“I'm hereee.” There was a series of thumps and clunks from above before he saw her distressed face appear from the top of the stair case. She was half changed, wearing jeans and her panda pyjama top. The girl's hair was a bird nest of knots that was falling out of her loose hair tie.

A grin graced his lips; he had long since gotten used to her 'at home' looks. It was kinda of adorable if he was completely honest with himself. “Come help me put away the groceries.”

Nayoung's mouth twisted into a guilty frown, the girl checked her phone briefly before replying, “Sorry oppa. I'd love to help but I'm realllyyy late for something.” She spoke so rapidly that all her words slurred together in one big breath. Without even giving him a second, she had already hopped back into her room and the stomping and thumping continued. Lu Han sighed and slapped a hand to his forehead, how was this girl and the royal queenka the same person at all?

“Eotteokhae? I'm so late today,” Nayoung pouted sadly as she shoved all her belongings hastily into her bag. She jumped from place to to place, rushing to get out the door on time. Her bus would be gone in five minutes, and the next one would be an hour after that. She really didn't want to miss her bus.

“I'll take you there okay? Just help me out with this stuff. I don't know where it all goes.” She heard Lu Han call from downstairs. Hmm, he did have a point. Lu Han didn't really know where all the food was located because she had always been the one to organise the kitchen. But that meant he'd find out that she had been going to a day care centre the whole time. Nayoung paused for a moment to consider her options. Why was she even so hesitant about telling Lu Han anyway? It wasn't because of her reputation, she had given up trying to look good front of him ages ago. And revealing this would even work in her favour wouldn't it? So why was she still hesitant?

She didn't want to admit it, but deep down, she was afraid. Afraid to trust him. She knew he was a good person, but there was still that uncertainty that he'd somehow use the knowledge against her, that he would ridicule her like everyone else.

It was as if he had read her thoughts. “What? You don't trust me? Come on, I'm a good driver. It's not like I'm going crash or something.”

Even though the context was wrong, Nayoung still felt a relieved smile tug at her features. The girl grabbed her bag and the crutches laying against the wall before slowly making her way down. She was still practising how to go the stairs properly, but she didn't need Lu Han's help any more, which kind of . She had been enjoying the skin ship.

“Okay, so what do you need help with?”

“I don't know where the eggs go, the ramen won't fit in the cupboard, and the fridge is kind of full...” he continued to list off things on his fingers.

“Okay, okay. Just bring the stuff over here.” she went over to stand near the fridge, beckoning him to follow. Nayoung immediately began to work her magic, she stacked the boxes of ice cream and frozen food together closely, like they were tetris blocks. In minutes, she was already done.

“You have to teach me this one day,” Lu Han leaned against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed, impressed. Maybe she was wife material after all. The male couldn't the fluttering in his stomach at the thought.

Nayoung reached up, going onto her tippy toes to get the last packet of instant noodles into the cupboard. She cursed at her short height with a disappointed frown. She kind of hated being so vertically challenged, people thought she was an easy target, and everyone seemed to coo at her annoyingly.

“Here.” Nayoung stiffened when she heard his voice call out from behind her, his footsteps came closer, stopping when he was right behind her. Right behind her. Lu Han was so close she could feel the heat radiating off of him, she could feel his breath on her skin. The girl forgot to breathe altogether when he leaned toward her, reaching up to put the noodles where they were supposed to go. It felt as if electric sparks were shooting through her, feeling her with a fuzzy warmth that was completely foreign. He took a step back, and Nayoung turned around to face him, hoping the red hadn't reached her cheeks yet. The girl couldn't help but notice that the Chinese high school student was almost a head taller than her. She barely reached up to his chin. And he was just the perfect height to bury her face into his chest. Her heart fluttered again.

Maybe it didn't to be short after all.

~~~~

Lu Han opened the car door for his wife, making sure she had seated herself comfortably before closing the door. He quickly walked over to the other side and got into the driver's seat.

Nayoung marvelled at the nice car, her eyes lighting up with a curious wonder.

Dayum, what a ride.

This was the second time she had gotten the privilege to be in his car. The first didn't really count because he had been forced to take her, and it was too dark to see anything. Now she was actually able to see what was around her. The car was clean, and had a subtle scent of mint. She wriggled into her seat, taking full advantage of her good luck, a satisfied smirk playing on her lips. The girl spared a tentative glance at the male behind the steering wheel, before turning away and giggling childishly to herself. She was so caught up in her own world that she hadn't even notice that she never told him the address.

“Wait oppa, where are we going?” They had already been on the road for ten minutes. She could hear Lu Han laugh at her question, but the male didn't reply. She huffed immaturely and crossed her arms, knowing that Lu Han was just choosing to ignore her. “Fine, be that way, you can drop me off at the shopping mall.” It wasn't far away from the orphanage, she could just make her way to the day care centre on foot without Lu Han knowing.

 ~~~~

“Hey, oppa, we just missed the shopping mall.” Nayoung turned her face to the window, pointing toward the three story building they had just driven past. Her face scrunched up in concern when he didn't make a move to turn around, “Lu Han, the shopping mall, you forgot to stop.” A puzzled frown distorted her face when all she got was a teasing look from him.

“What is it?” her eyes narrowed apprehensively.

“You thought I wouldn’t find out?”

“Find out what?”

“Minwoo gave you away.”

The puzzle pieces slowly began to find their place, and Nayoung's eyes slowly grew wider with each second that passed, realising her secret was no longer a secret any more.

Lu Han was about to laugh at her cluelessness, until he noticed that she looked like he had just betrayed her. What was wrong?

“Hey, Nayoung?” He turned to her worriedly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“How'd you find out? When did you realise it?” She looked at him with such an angry expression that he was taken back.

“During the volunteering week thing. Hey, did I do something wrong? You don't look all that pleasantly surprised.”

Nayoung replied with poison in her voice. “Yes you did something wrong, you're not supposed to know,” she grew defensive, and turned to him with frustrated eyes.

“What's wrong with me finding out though?” Lu Han would have been displeased at her sudden outburst, except he caught the tiny silver of fear that flashed in her brown iris'. She was scared. “It's not like I would ever use it against you or anything.”

Nayoung only bit her lip and turned away, not meeting his gaze. Her silence was enough for him to understand what she was thinking.

“You really did think I would use that against you, didn't you?” When he was met with silence again, Lu Han knew that what he suspected was true.

She didn't trust him. She actually believed that he'd hurt her somehow. That he'd mock her and scorn her the way everyone else did behind her back. He knew she was naturally a guarded person, but knowing she didn't trust him despite the fact that he was her husband kind of shocked him.

And it hurt him more than it should have.

“You know I'm not like that, I would never do that.”

“I know.” Nayoung still couldn't shake the uncertainty off though. It wasn't specifically about this secret, she just didn't trust anyone in general. Especially him, because there was always that chance that she would end up trusting too much, and she'd become so blinded that she wouldn't be able to see the truth through the lies.

Everyone was like that, they'd promise things, and then break them. They'd make you trust them, and then you'd realise they were lying the whole time. And it would hurt.

Lu Han instinctively reached out for her hand instinctively. He didn't quite know how to comfort her, but seeing so many conflicting emotions swimming in her eyes made him uneasy. Did she really not believe in him at all? The girl's flicked up to him when he placed his hands on top of hers. Calculating eyes, the same cold suspicious eyes that masked her emotions.

He hated it when she looked at him like that.

“Believe me when I say I won't hurt you, okay?”

The anxious girl bit her lip, her eyes casting down to focus on their hands. “Okay.”

~~~~

“Noonaaaaaaaaaaa!”

The children all sprinted toward the older girl, flocking around her so quickly that Lu Han was literally flung out of the way.

“Noona!”

“What happened to your leg?”

“Noona let me show you what I made today!”

“Read to us noona.”

“Are you okay noona?”

The girl was bombarded by a flood of questions before she had even gotten the chance to say hello. Lu Han took a step back, leaning back against a tree and watching in amusement as the children threw themselves at her. He never anticipated that they'd all loved her this much, it was a pleasant surprise to say the least. To think that she had such a caring side to her; he would never have believe it unless he were here right now.

He receded to the shade of the oak tree, watching with a gentle smile on his features. Nayoung was different. There was a gentleness in her tone that he had never heard before, a glow in her eyes he had never noticed before, a charm he had never seen before.

And from his spot from the tree, he saw her smile. It was a true smile this time, one that showed her real emotions. It felt as if this was the first time he saw her with her guard completely down, it was completely different to he ones she gave him, or even Taemin. Nayoung just looked so angelic that he couldn't look away, it was like the only thing he could see was her, like no one else existed except for her. It hadn't occurred to him how beautiful she was until now. And for the first time, he was left completely breathless.

“Lu Han hyung!” The male was dragged back to reality by a young boy's voice, Minwoo. “HYUUNNNNGGGGG!” The little boy charged at him, waving his arms about awkwardly in an attempt to run faster. He ran into Lu Han with an 'umpf' and wrapped his arms around the Chinese guy's legs, “I haven't seen you since forever.”

A chuckle left his lips as he patted the child's head, “It's only been a few weeks.”

Minwoo pouted adorably, “A few weeks is forever.” The young boy grabbed his hand, dragging him over to where the crowd was. Lu Han smiled sheepishly at the group of five year olds, rubbing the back of his stiff neck as he approached. There were a lot of new faces which he didn't recognise, causing him to feel nervous despite the fact that they were kids.

“Ehh? Minwoo-ah, you know Lu Han hyung?” Nayoung's eyes brightened when she met eyes with the preschooler. Minwoo nodded a little too enthusiastically.

“Yeah! He came with the other big kids,” he said, referring to the volunteer week.

So that's how he found out.

Nayoung turned to her husband and crossed her arms in feigned anger. She 'tsked' at him and shook her head disapprovingly. Lu Han gave her the exact same look back, and they both laughed. He watched her secretly out of the corner of his eyes, the girl didn't seem to be upset any more, which was good.

“Nayoung-ah!” Everyone turned their heads at the familiar voice. Mrs Han hurried out the door, waving a hand excitedly at them, “I heard the kids making a ruckus and figured you had come by.” The middle aged woman's eyes travelled to the tall male standing amongst the children.

“Lu Han! What a wonderful surprise!”

The male waved politely, “It's good to see you too, Mrs Han.”

The old woman's eyes travelled back and forth between the two high school students, a knowing look growing on her features. She could recognise that twinkle in their eyes at there smiled at each other.

Ah. Young love.

~~~~

Everyone had migrated indoors again, the temperature always dropped a few degrees in the evening, when the sun started to set. It was already late into the evening, and the day care centre had slowly started to empty out. Nayoung and Lu Han shared the couch, watching as Minwoo and Sora played with the Lego blocks on the carpeted floor. They were the only four in the room now.

The queenka yawned tiredly, stretching her heavy limbs and purposely hitting Lu Han across the face with the back of her hand. Lu Han shoved her head with his palm, but couldn't muster up any energy to get her back. He turned to the window, watching the silhouette of a bird disappear into the orange and pink sky,

“How do you do this every week? I'm so dead right now.”

He heard Nayoung's laughter chime in his ears, “with skill and talent, something you don't have.”

“Tch.”

The door bell rang, and all four occupants in the room jumped at the noise. Minwoo and Sora sprang to their feet, thumping down the corridor to see who was at the entrance. Nayoung followed them to the door, feeling her heart constrict when she saw Minwoo's hopeful eyes. He still ran to the door every time despite already knowing his parents weren't coming today.

The door opened with a squeak, revealing Sora's parents. “Eomma! Appa!” the girl flew into her parent's arms with a happy giggle. Nayoung watched as Minwoo's smile faded, the disappointment crashing down on him like a bucket of ice.

“Bye Minwoo! I hope your parents come soon.” Sora waved cutely at them all before she took her father's hand and the family disappeared into the car.

Nayoung crouched down beside the little boy as he continued to stare out the door, still waiting. She patted his head gently, running her fingers through is short black hair. It pained her to see him like this, waiting for parents that weren't going to come.

“Come on, let's go back inside. You'll catch a cold.” She guided him back inside by the hand.

“Hey noona?” Minwoo looked up tentatively at her.

“Hm?”

“Do you think they'll come to take me home today? Maybe mum and dad were busy, and they might come back late.”

Nayoung clenched a fist to control her emotions; she didn't know how to reply. The girl didn't know why she felt so horrible, maybe it was because he was like a little brother to her, and she had gotten emotionally attached. Or maybe it was because Minwoo reminded her so much of herself, waiting for parent's that never came, hoping to feel a love that was never there. Maybe that was why her heart ached so much. “Maybe not today Minwoo-ah. Let's get you ready for bed okay?”

His face fell, “Oh okay.”

~~~~

“We'll come visit again tomorrow if you want.” Lu Han suggested casually, throwing himself onto the couch and kicking his shoes off in the process. They had just gotten home, and Lu Han was completely exhausted.

Nayoung's gloomy expression brightened immediately, “You'll come with me to visit Minwoo?” She leaped across the room and landed on the arm rest for the couch, “Really? You're not just saying this because you feel sorry for me? You'll actually join me?”

“Yeah, why not? He's cute.”

“Asssaaa!” Nayoung did a celebratory dance around the house, “But I'm cute too right?” She stopped dancing and crossed her arms with a smirk. She flicked her hair, a narcissistic, but humorous, spark in her eyes. “Who's cuter, me or Minwoo?”

“Definitely Minwoo.”

He could only hope that she didn't know he was lying.

_______

Hey y'all. I'm finally back.

I've been pretty busy with my school work sorry guys. I quickly rushed this chapter to get it up on time, it's not edited for apologies for any mistakes and stuff.

Thanks for sticking with this story despite the fact that I don't update at the right times XD

Love you all~ Thanks for subbing, commenting, upvoting, reading and everything else you lovely people do.