.five

Luhan sat on a nearby bench a few minutes after we got out of the convenience store. I sat silently beside him, not knowing what to do. There were kids playing and laughing in front of us, but aside from that, none of us uttered a single word. When he didn’t speak for about 30 minutes, I asked him what was wrong again, and then he began a monologue about his ed-up love life.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting that.
I thought he was about to pull the ‘I’m okay’ card and I can finally leave but…oh, well.

I never really understood what it feels like to be heart-broken. I’ve never had my first love before, and all the boys I’ve been with are simply annoying. But I guess it must’ve been really painful, seeing as how Luhan is crying his heart out right now.

Immediately, I began inwardly panicking on what to do. All my whole life I’ve seen nothing but smiling faces and grins—seeing someone sad right now is a bit foreign to me. I admit, I’m not really the best person to go to for comforting, as I’ve accidentally made Baekhyun cry even worse once during my childhood (it was something about a broken leg, I think).

I opted for handing him my handkerchief and patting his back instead. A few minutes later, between his heavy breathing and sobbing sounds, I hear him mumble a timid “thanks”.

I wonder if he knows that a stranger is comforting him right now.
And that he’s destroying my handkerchief with all the mucus he’s exhaling.

When I realize that it was getting late already, I stood up to excuse myself. Luhan stops crying momentarily. He stands up and looks at me sheepishly with tear-stained eyes. “I-I’m sorry.”

Yes, you should be. I was literally biting my lip to resist the urge to make up a sassy retort. Luhan looked very fragile right now. One more word and I could probably make him cry again. But I barely know this guy after all, aside from his name. He could be a or a criminal despite his appearance.

I brush the dust from my skirt and smile at him.

“Thanks for the ice pop. Um…see you at school tomorrow?”

He gives me the most innocent-looking grin. “Sure, Yoonmi!”

Wait.
He knows my name?

XXX

I saw Luhan again during lunch break the next day. I swore the brown bunch and hooded jacket was all familiar to me, and when he grinned and started waving like a lunatic, I decided that it was really him. I waved back, but quickly averted my gaze as I entered the cafeteria with Baekhyun.

The thing about