"Yeoboseyo?" Lu Han answers - patiently waiting for the person on the other end of the phone to respond. He knew it was wrong to answer his sunbae's phone, but it was difficult to ignore his curiosity. What can you say? It is a bad habit of his.

"Se Hun-ah, why haven't you been answering any of my calls or responding to any of my texts' lately?" they quickly respond.

The voice was that of a man's - perhaps one of middle-age. His voice was slightly husky, but calming - yet, somehow, seemingly intimidating. How was that possible - for someone's voice to have those two qualities at the same time? Lu Han wasn't sure himself, but whoever he was talking to made it possible.

Lu Han wanted to respond back, but it was as if his throat had suddenly closed up on him. A simple, "Hm?," was all he manage to force out; although it sounded more like a low, nervous squeak.

The man takes a brief pause - possibly waiting for Lu Han to answer back with a more appropriate response before, finally, breaking the silence.

"Well...I suppose that means you're still upset with me," he proclaimed - clearing his throat before speaking again,"I'll call you back once I think you feel more at ease. I have to get back to work now, but I'll be there to see you at home next week. Study hard, son."

Lu Han covers his mouth with his hand - surprised by the sudden comment. "S-Son?," - hastily hanging up the phone and scrambling around with it before putting it away in his back pocket,"So that was Se Hun sunbae's...father?"

He opens the door to the basement and, reluctantly, proceeds down the stairs - every few pair creaking as he descends further down. Lu Han hated going down into the basement and would never shut the door behind him. His parents used to lock him down there when he was a child whenever he did something wrong, or at least what seemed wrong to them. Almost everything about it freaked him out - the darkness, the random noises, the cob webs and every now and then, a few spiders occupied the place. Even so, he couldn't let his past keep him from going down there - especially since it possesses a lot of things he needs, such as the washer and dryer.

"Why in the world did I do that? Sunbae is going to be so mad when he finds out that I answered his phone. Not to mention it was his father who called and he didn't sound too pleased," Lu Han combed his fingers through his hair - pulling back the loose hair that fell over his forehead,"I have to let him know, he's going to find out eventually when he decides to check his phone. Well...I don't think he needs to know now."

Lu Han throws his head back, letting out a loud, abrupt sigh and makes his way back up the stairs - dragging his feet along with each step and finally makes his way back to the hallway bathroom where Se Hun was still washing up. He backed up against the wall across from the bathroom door and carefully slides down to the floor - taking Se Hun's phone back out of his pocket and stared at it for a few minutes before tapping it on the palm of his hand a couple of times and placing it back into his pants pocket.

About fifteen minutes later, the sound of water movement was coming from inside the bathroom, as if Se Hun were trying to remove himself from the bathtub on his own. Lu Han stands up and presses his ear against the door - knocking gently. "Sunbae?," he asks' - his ear still pressed up against the door,"Are you okay in there? Do you need help?" 

The moment of brief silence was unbearable, even if it was just for a short time. Lu Han can't take it anymore feels the urge to just bust in - Se Hun is being too quiet. But then finally, the sound of movement stirred up again. 

"I'm fine...Lu Han. Just wait a moment and...I'll let you know when you can come in." Se Hun responds.

Lu Han doesn't say anything back, yet just backs away from the door and sits down in the spot he had been sitting in before - glancing down at his watch every few minutes Se Hun spends in the bathroom.

"What's taking him so long?" Lu Han says quietly to himself, getting up and walking back towards the bathroom door - his hand drawing closer to the handle, ready to bust in. But as soon as he was getting ready to grab the handle, Se Hun emerged from the bathroom, already fully dressed.

Lu Han eyes him up and down - surprised at the already dressed older that stood before him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?," Se Hun asks', confused,"I know you felt uncomfortable with me earlier, so I just managed getting dressed myself this time."

"You didn't have to do that," Lu Han replies,"I still-"

Se Hun lifted his index finger up to his own lips - cutting Lu Han off before he could finish his sentence. "I already know what you're about to say and I'm fine," he nods,"I did well, right?"

Lu Han nods and softly snickers. It was weird seeing his sunbae wear his clothes, considering they weren't the style of night wear he pictured Se Hun wearing - maybe silk or Egyptian cotton...something more around those qualities of fabric were appropriate.

"What's so funny?" Se Hun asks', walking out of the bathroom and closing the door behind him - leaning against the wall as he waited for Lu Han to assist him.

Lu Han shakes his head and wraps Se Hun's arm around his shoulders to keep him from falling over. He still appeared weak and in pain so he wanted to get Se Hun to bed as quickly as possible. "Nothing," he responds,"Let's just get you to bed, okay?," - carefully walking him back to the room and sitting him down on the bed."You can take the bed and I'll take the floor."

Lu Han walks over to his closet, reaches up to the top shelf where he keeps his extra comforters and blankets and walks back over to the bed side where Se Hun was sitting - Se Hun watching as Lu Han gave him an extra blanket and laid out a few on the floor for himself.

"Are you sure you'll be okay down there?" Se Hun asks' - still sitting up, watching Lu Han trying to get comfortable.

"I'll be fine," Lu Han responds, squirming around under his blanket - pulling it up to his chin and smiling softly at Se Hun,"This is luxurious compared to what I've had to sleep on when I was younger."

"Compared to what you've slept on when you were younger? What do you mean by that?" Se Hun asks' curiously - slowly laying down onto the bed.

"You really should lay down and try to get some sleep although you're in pain," Lu Han responds, avoiding Se Hun's question,"Chen sunbae and Baekhyun-ssi will be coming by early tomorrow to take you to the hospital."

Lu Han wanted to vent his problems to his sunbae, but he knows they're not close enough for that kind of conversation. Besides, Se Hun already has enough going on as it is and bringing up his own personal problems now seemed a bit...inappropriate at the moment.

"Lu Han?" Se Hun utters softly.

"Nae, sunbae?" Lu Han responds - turning over to face where Se Hun laid.

Se Hun doesn't say anything for a while, yet, just lays there in silence.

Lu Han lays still - waiting for Se Hun to say something as he fixated his glare on the motionless figure that laid upon his bed. He wanted to say something himself. Se Hun was taking too long to answer and Lu Han was becoming impatient and curious as to what he has to say.

"Are you...truly happy, you know, being here at home?" Se Hun asks' firmly, yet hushed.

"Why is he asking me that? What would ever make him think I'm not happy? Is it that obvious?" Lu Han thought to himself. It came off as strange to him that his sunbae would even ask him such a question that was so personal, but there is no way he can tell him the truth - it isn't the time for him to complain, nor will it ever be the time. Se Hun had already done so much for him. He had no choice but to lie.

"Mm, of course I'm happy here sunbae. Why would you ask me such a thing?" Lu Han questions out of curiosity.

"That's nice," Se Hun grunted as he adjusted his sleeping position,"Too bad I don't believe you though."

Lu Han remains silent and just turns his back towards Se Hun.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me now," Se Hun says calmly as he stares up towards the ceiling,"But just remember, I consider us as friends now. We'll look after each other and over time, our friendship will be as strong as my relationship with Chen hyung and Baekhyun-ah. So whenever you're ready to talk, and I know you will want to eventually, I'll always be around to listen." And with that, Se Hun closes his eyes and slowly begins to drift off to sleep.

"Oh, what does he know?" - is what Lu Han wanted to say at that moment, but instead, a few tears begin to flow from the corners of his eyes. This boy...this boy he hardly knows is showing him much more affection in one day than anyone has ever shown him throughout his whole life. "Why is he being so nice to me, the new kid, of all people? I'm not rich, popular, that good-looking...nor am I very smart."

He didn't want to think about it any further. Not knowing was the best part of it all, and probably for the first time in his life, Lu Han falls asleep with a soft smile on his face.

"Ring the doorbell already~" Chen demands Baekhyun as they stood on the porch of Lu Han's residence.

"What if everyone is still asleep?," Baekhyun argues back,"You ring it."

Chen sharply exhales and rolls his eyes - ringing the doorbell as he rants. "It's not like I didn't let Lu Han's mother know that we would be coming by around this time to retrieve Se Hun, so why are you getting so worked up about it?" 

Baekhyun shrugs lazily. "I'm not, I just didn't want to ring it is all."

Lu Han's mother comes to the door with a big smile on her face as she looks upon Chen and Baekhyun. "Good morning," she greets - gesturing them to come inside the house,"Now, I haven't woken the boys up yet because I figured, maybe, you two would like to wake them up instead."

"Kamsahamnida." they both respond simultaneously - bowing thankfully before removing their shoes at the front door.

Lu Han's mother flails with joy then clasps' her hands together, letting out a pleased sigh. "Omo, you boys are so delightful. Go ahead upstairs to Lu Han's room. Your friend may be awake already. I did hear some movement earlier this morning."

Chen and Baekhyun both bow again with a smile and head up the stairs and down the hallway towards Lu Han's room - Baekhyun being the first to bust in and tackle the peacefully sleeping Lu Han who laid comfortably under his blankets on the floor. "Ireona, Lu Han-ssi!" 

"I am awake." Lu Han grumbles in his pillow - hiding his face away so no one could see it. He doesn't like the idea of his classmates seeing how he looks when he first wakes up in the morning. He quickly jumps up, runs out of the room and down the hallway to the bathroom with his face covered in his arm.

Surprisingly, Se Hun was already awake and dressed but he was still laying down as if he were ready to fall back asleep. Lu Han and him woke up extra early that morning just to help him get ready so they wouldn't be hurrying around later when Chen and Baekhyun decided to show up.

"Se Hun-ah," Chen begins - finding a spot in the bed beside him and carefully sitting down,"How are you feeling today? You look a lot better than you did last night."

Se Hun just sighs deeply. "Why did you two come so early? I'm still tired." he complains.

"Just think of it this way hyung," Baekhyun announces with a big smile,"The earlier you get there and receive all the treatment you need, the earlier you'll be able to leave, right?"

"I suppose you're right..." Se Hun grumbles before letting out a big yawn.

 Chen stands back up and looks over to where Baekhyun is. "Help me get him up so we can go ahead and take him to the emergency room."

Baekhyun nods and walks over to Se Hun to support his right side while Chen supported his left side. "Okay, when I count to three, we're going to lift him up at the same time, okay? One...two..."

"Wait!," Baekhyun shouted - cutting Chen off from counting,"Do we count to three then lift him up or do we lift him up on the count of three?"

"Hm...I honestly thought you were going to ask some stupid question, but that was actually a good one." Chen nods in assurance.

Baekhyun grins happily. "Jinjja? Cause at first I was wondering if I should ask you or not since it seemed kind of dumb when I was thinking about it-"

"Ani, that was a question that needed to be asked."

"That's what I though! Just in case we both were thinking something different then, woo, let me tell you, that wou-"

"Guys!," Se Hun yells - interrupting Chen and Baekhyun's ongoing rambling session,"What's with all this useless chitty-chat? Yes, Baekhyun, that was a good question and Chen obviously agrees. Mwo? Would you like a cookie or something and a pat on the back now?...Glad I'm not bleeding out or I would have been dead already."

"A cookie does sound nice right about now...I'm hungry." Baekhyun mumbles under his breath.

No one acknowledges Baekhyun's complaint and focus' back on what they were attempting to do in the first place. "Alright then, so on the count of three we lift him up," Chen decides,"One...two...three!"

Baekhyun and Chen quickly, but carefully, lift Se Hun up off the bed and start making their way out of the house.

Lu Han comes running up behind them before they could reach the front door. "You're all leaving already?"

Chen nods and smiles warmly. "Nae, we thought it would be best to get him there and checked-in as early as possible. We meant no harm leaving without saying anything to you first, we just didn't want to disturb you."

Lu Han's mother comes out of no where and stands behind Lu Han. "Are you boys leaving without eating breakfast first?," she whines,"I just finished cooking."

"We apologize for the sudden departure. I promise we'll make it up to you." Se Hun reassures.

"Hey Lu Han, you should come with us." Baekhyun says happily. It was nice having someone to talk to that was the same age as him - not having worry about speaking formal all the time.

"I don't know Baekhyun. I still-" Lu Han begins before his mother decides to cover his mouth.

"He'll be delighted to come." she answers for him - taking her hand away from his mouth.

Lu Han looks back at his mother, confused. "She never let's me go anywhere unless I'm running an errand for her. What is she up to this time?"

"Okay~," Lu Han averts his eyes over to Baekhyun, "I'll go get ready and meet you guys there."

"We'll see you when you get there." Baekhyun responds - giving him a short bow along with Chen and Se Hun, leaving him off with a subtle smile.

Lu Han's mother waits for them to leave before grabbing both of Lu Han's shoulders and turning him around to face her. "Do you have any idea who they are? Your friend Se Hun, he's the son of one of the richest CEO's in South Korea. And the other two, their families own their own businesses. Become close with them and take care of your family. It's the least you can do for your father and I. You already ruined our chance with Fei."

"Yes, ma'am." Lu Han responds miserably. Lu Han's intentions were never to befriend Se Hun, Chen and Baekhyun just because of their money. If anything, he could care less how rich they are or even if they were poor. Just the fact of him making new friends was good enough.

He retreats back to the bathroom to finish getting ready - taking his time with minor details so could blend in with his new friends. Lu Han doesn't want to feel like he would embarrass them by looking like he belongs to a middle-class family.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to look presentable," Lu Han says to himself - observing his appearance in the bathroom mirror before heading out towards the living room,"Oh! I should make them something for lunch later. Hospital food is not always the best...nor is mother's." - scrunching up his face in disgust at the thought of it and heading into the kitchen to cook.

"I'll make sure they get food that's actually worth eating."

Chen and Baekhyun sat out in the waiting room while Se Hun was being examined before they moved him into his own room. It was so cold in there and there was hardly anyone around. Many of the staff members were missing too as if they got sent home early. 

On Baekhyun's right side, there was a man sitting a couple of chairs down from him that kept coughing and hardly covering his mouth the right way. "Hyung," Baekhyun says softly to Chen while leaning back his way - pulling his shirt up over his face so his mouth and nose wouldn't be exposed,"can we switch places?"

Chen looks over to Baekhyun and then averts his eyes over to where Baekhyun is glaring - noticing the man who sounds like he's about to cough up a lung. "No way," Chen laughs,"I don't have time to get sick either. Just find somewhere else to sit."

Baekhyun crosses his arms and stands up. " You ." he replies - immediately moving to the row of chairs across from him instead.

Chen couldn't take Baekhyun seriously and snickers quietly to himself before one of the doctors they were speaking with about Se Hun earlier approaches them. Baekhyun and Chen stand up - eyeing the doctor as he drew closer.

"Well, we have some good news and we have some bad news," the doctor says, stopping in front of the both of them,"Which would you like to hear first?"

"The bad news." Chen and Baekhyun reply simultaneously.

The doctor flips through his folder that held all the test results in it for Se Hun - pulling out an x-ray and holds it up to the light. "Now. if you look here on the left side, your friend, Se Hun, has a few broken ribs. But the good news is that they were clean breaks and were easy to fix up so it looks like he'll heal nicely. He has been heavily medicated to ease the pain, but you two are welcome to go see him before he falls asleep if you'd like."

Baekhyun nods hastily and grabs Chen's arm. "Let's hurry, hyung."

Chen nods in agreement and walks down the hospital halls towards Se Hun's room - the doctor leading them there so they wouldn't get lost.

"What's taking Lu Han-ssi so long to get here?" Baekhyun asks' quietly.

"Beats me," Chen shrugs,"Maybe he has something to do first before he comes here."

They reach Se Hun's room and quietly let themselves inside, just in case he already fell asleep, which he hasn't. He was laying in his bed, staring blankly at the t.v. with a cheesy smile on his face and his eyes half-way open.

"Hyung, we're here." Baekhyun says calmly to Se Hun as him and Chen slowly approach him.

Se Hun lazily turns his head to face Chen and Baekhyun. "Hey~ h-hey guys," he replies drunkenly due to the medication,"You came back for me."

"We never left you, Se Hun-ah." Chen smiles - calmly his hair. 

Slowly beginning to fall asleep, Se Hun lets out a few, soft chuckles and dozes off almost immediately - letting his head slowly turn over on his pillow.

"Aww, he's sleeping, hyung." Baekhyun cooed.

Chen shakes his head and quietly laughs. About ten minutes later, the room door swings open and Lu Han steps inside with several lunch boxes wrapped in cloth in both of his hands - walking over to where Chen and Baekhyun are sitting.

"Sorry I'm late," he softly announces - trying to catch his breath from the long journey to get there,"I brought lunches for you guys. I thought you may get hungry later." 

Baekhyun eyes the lunch boxes held before him and quickly grabs one out of Lu Han's hands. "Uwa, gomawoyo Lu Han-ssi!" - already tearing into one to eat.

"Be quiet, you're going to wake up Se Hun-ah," Chen quietly hisses."Sorry Lu Han, you just missed your opportunity to talk to Se Hun. He just fell asleep not too long ago."

Lu Han nods and finds somewhere to sit closest to Se Hun. "It's okay, I'll just wait until he wakes up."

"Yah...Lu Han?" Baekhyun asks - finishing what food he already has in his mouth.

"Nae?" Lu Han responds.

"What took you so long to get here?," Baekhyun asks', taking  another bite of food,"Chen and I were waiting quite a while for you."

"Well," Lu Han begins,"after I finished getting ready, I decided to make lunch for you all, as you can see, and I also had to walk here."

"You walked here?," Chen asks', surprised,"That's almost 5 miles to get here from where you live. Why didn't you drive or take a taxi or something?"

Lu Han shrugs timidly. "I'm too scared to drive and I'm not good around strangers so I prefer to walk instead." - which was not exactly the whole truth. Lu Han wasn't scared to drive, but more-so, doesn't know how to drive. No one ever taught him how to drive - not like it was necessary anyway since he was rarely aloud outside of the house.

Baekhyun stares at him confused. "What's wrong with you?"

Chen nudges Baekhyun's arm causing whatever he was eating to fall back into his lunchbox. "Watch your mouth Baekhyun-ah. Not everyone is lazy like you."

"It's okay Chen sunbae. I know he means no harm by what he just said," Lu Han slightly smiles, looking down at his hands - sliding them between his knees,"I know I do things a little different, but it's just how I was raised."

Everyone falls silent from the awkwardness of that conversation - directing their attention towards the t.v. until Baekhyun's phone goes off, playing Ice Cream by Hyuna as his ringtone.

"Jinjja?" Chen comments with a raised eyebrow.

"Mwoya? I love this song," Baekhyun mumbles - answering his phone,"Yeoboseyo? Mm, nae eomeoni?...Nae...Right now?...Okay, on my way."

"What's wrong?" Chen asks', eyeing Baekhyun as he waits for an answer.

"Eomeoni and abeoji have a last minute business meeting this evening so I have to go watch my younger sister for a few hours." Baekhyun responds - standing up to leave.

"I'll take you home," Chen replies - grabbing his coat and standing up also,"I actually have some things I need to do too. Will you be okay here with Se Hun for a little while Lu Han?"

Lu Han nods and stands up to hand Chen the lunchbox he made for him. "I'll be fine. You two go ahead."

Chen bows and grabs the lunchbox from Lu Han with a smile. "Gomawo." - leading Baekhyun out the door and quietly closing it behind him.

Lu Han plops back down in his chair and deeply exhales from exhaustion. "I guess I'll just close my eyes for a few minutes." He eventually falls asleep and wakes up about an hour later to the sound of nurses coming in to check on Se Hun's vital signs. Lu Han yawns and stands up to stretch before approaching one of the nurses.

"How is he doing?" he asks' one of the nurses.

"He's fine," she smiles warmly,"We'll be back to check on him in a couple of hours." She closes her folder and leaves Lu Han with a comforting pat on the shoulder - her assistant following close behind.

Lu Han picks up one of the chairs and puts it down close to Se Hun's bedside - sits down and stares at him. "He looks so peaceful when he sleeps...just like a prince," Lu Han thinks to himself - his heart gradually beginning to beat faster,"Maybe I'll just..." He leans over closer to Se Hun, who is still sleeping - nervously drawing his lips towards Se Hun's with every heartbeat. The closer he got, the more nervous he became so he closed his eyes to help ease his mind. That was until he heard a voice that made his heart drop to his stomach.

"Lu Han?...What are you doing?"