Luhan, Sehun, Li Yin, and Ziyu were sitting in a circle on the floor in the living room. All four of them looked stressed, especially Li Yin, who had a deep frown on her face.


"Jiejie, you have to believe us."


"Yes, Li Yin, we're telling the truth."


"Right, they're telling the truth, noona. I'm not a burglar in disguise."


"Alright, shut up you all, give me a second to think properly."


Li Yin massaged her temple and mentally whined. She felt betrayed; all this time life hadn't been like what she had thought.


How could you believe when someone told you a dog could change into a human while making love to another human boy? Seeing them make out had already been weird enough to Li Yin.


But again, Luhan and Sehun were no ordinary creatures, whom she had found in a spaceship. Besides, Ziyu had witnessed it too, how Sehun the dog had poofed into a human boy, so Li Yin had to believe them.


"...So you changed because you did it with Lu Han?" Li Yin asked the skinny pale-skinned boy.


"I don't know about that," Sehun shrugged, "I guess it's not like that. Maybe it was just a coincidence, it happened while I was doing it. Before I did it I had been feeling weird since morning, I felt dizzy and my whole body hurt."


"He's right, that time I thought he was sick and I was going to call you but he stopped me," Luhan explained. "Maybe it was just the time for him to change back."


"Then will you change back into a dog later?" Li Yin asked again with tired voice.


Sehun's eyebrows knitted together and he blinked several times. "Honestly I don't know. I hope not."


Li Yin sighed and sank her face in her hand. "Why did you have to do that though? You were a human again, the heat should have gone away."


"It was still there," Sehun mumbled shyly, nervously playing with his own fingers.


"Yeah, the was still there, jiejie. You don't understand, it wasn't that easy to ignore it," Ziyu shook his head and clicked his tongue, as if his sister's statement was too naïve and she couldn't understand a thing. "He's really big, by the way. I got envious."


Li Yin raised a hand and glanced at her brother. "Nope. Too much information."


"Umm, what if your parents find out about this, Li Yin?" Luhan asked sheepishly, "Will they kick us out?"


Li Yin let out yet another sigh. "No. Obviously we can't tell them the truth, can we? They won't believe us. But they'll find out soon or later. If we can explain everything will be fine though."


"We have to make up a story then," Ziyu said. "Let's just say Sehun is Lu ge's friend."


"Call him gege, Ziyu. He's eighteen today," Li Yin reminded her brother for the umpteenth time.


"Right, Sehun gege."


"Is it okay to lie to them?" Luhan mumbled and sighed sadly. "They're so nice to me though, I'll feel bad if I have to lie."


"Guess we have no choice," Li Yin shrugged, "for Sehunnie's sake."


"I'm sorry," Sehun pouted, "I shouldn't have changed."


"Don't be sorry about that, ge!" Ziyu, who was sitting next to Sehun, chuckled and slapped the older's shoulder playfully. "You should be grateful that you've become a good-looking human, although you're kind of skinny."


Right, after Sehun had changed back into a human, it seemed like his body had shrunk a little bit. Not only that, in the next couples of hours after his transformation, he kept shrinking gradually until then, he was only as big as Luhan. If only Luhan had remembered how Sehun had looked like before, he would have noticed how Sehun wasn't bigger than him anymore, although he was supposed to be quite a lot bigger and taller. The new Sehun was like the smaller version of Shixin.


It was yet another flaw of Baekhyun and Chen's faulty invention.


"Don't you think he's handsome, jiejie?" Ziyu nudged his sister and wiggled his eyebrows. "Who do you think is more handsome, Lu ge or Sehun ge? Or me?"


Sehun and Luhan stared at each other for a bit, broke the eye contact and looked down in unison, both of them smiling shyly.


"It's either Luhan or Sehun, but just not you," Li Yin stuck out her tongue at Ziyu, making the younger pout childishly. "They're both handsome, like with different types of handsomeness. You can't compare them. Besides, their faces even match as brothers."


Luhan's shy smile slowly turned into a sad smile. Yes, Sehun was probably his little brother.


"But Sehun ge's name is a Korean's name and he can speak Korean fluently. Their family names are even different, they can't be brothers," Ziyu protested.


"You've got a point," Li Yin nodded slowly and tapped her chin. "However if you convert his name to chinese name, his family name can be Wu too, that's pretty close. Since both of them speak Korean and chinese, maybe they come from a Chinese-Korean family?"


Luhan felt really awful by then. Sehun noticed the change on his face, so he patted his back, smiling at him when he got his attention. Luhan smiled back weakly and lightly squeezed the younger boy's knee.


"You've made them confused, jiejie," Ziyu chuckled. "Say, why don't we do something to celebrate Sehun ge's birthday?"


"Oh, I'm fine, don't mind about it," Sehun said quickly.


"Ziyu is right," Li Yin smiled, "let's go somewhere together."


With that, four of them spent the rest of the day shopping for Sehun's clothes and having a big dinner together at a big restaurant. Li Yin even bought some steamed buns for them too. They were tasty, but Sehun still couldn't understand why Luhan loved them that much. After dinner they went to several different places, wasting money on some more food and clothes. Sehun was exceptionally happy that day, they went home only after their stomachs couldn't take more food and their hands couldn't hold more shopping bags.


That night, after Sehun had fallen asleep, Luhan got off the bed and went to Li Yin's room. He was a bit hesitant actually, afraid that the girl was asleep and he might disturb her. Turned out she was wide awake, busy talking on the phone. It was almost midnight though. When Luhan poked his head in, Li Yin motioned him to come in while she was still talking to whoever it was on the other end of the line.


Luhan sat cross-legged on the bed and watched the other quietly until Li Yin ended the phone call and sat in front of him.


"Sorry, my manager called again," Li Yin smiled apologetically.


"It's okay," Luhan chuckled quietly and stared down at the sheets. "Sorry for disturbing you, you must be really tired."


"Oh, no you never disturb me, Lu Han," Li Yin grinned and cocked her head to the side. "So what do you need to say? You look troubled."


"Yeah, I'm not gonna deny that." Luhan sighed and rested his chin on his hand. "You know, I guess it's time for me to make a decision about your parents' offer."


Li Yin raised her eyebrows and leaned forward. "You've made a decision? Do you accept it or reject it?"


Luhan turned his gaze from the white sheets to Li Yin's face. He smiled sadly and weakly shook his head. "I'm sorry, I guess I can't accept it."


Li Yin lowered her gaze and bit her lip to hold her pout. "Oh, okay, if it's your final decision. Are you sure about it?"


"Yes," Luhan answered with a firm nod.


"May I know the reason why?"


Luhan lifted his chin from his palm and stared at the other in silence. Li Yin furrowed her eyebrows slightly, trying to read the other's expression through his pretty grey doe eyes, but she found them unreadable.


"Besides that Sehun has turned into a human," Luhan started with a heavy sigh, "I'm considering about my feelings too."


"Your feelings?" Li Yin tilted her head. "What does that mean?"


Luhan scooted closer until their knees collided and he stared at her a little bit more. Li Yin held her breath involuntarily when Luhan lifted his hand and reached out towards her, gently brushed her hair aside and tucked it behind her ear with a soft, loving smile gracing his lips.


"I want to get closer to you. Can I?"


Luhan retreated his hand and waited for the answer patiently, his smile not leaving his lips. He had expected the other to be surprised, so he had prepared himself for that kind of reaction.


Li Yin stared at the deer's face with wide eyes and blinked several times as she took her time to register his words into her mind.


And then she sensed something wrong. Somehow she couldn't fully believe that it was his only reason, that he actually wanted to have something more special between them. Or maybe it was just her.


Even to her own surprise, she laughed and shook her head, catching Luhan off guard. He hadn't prepared for that kind of reaction though.


"Really? Are you serious, Lu Han? Are you teasing me again now?" Li Yin raised an eyebrow. "This is not something you can joke about, you know."


"It's not even a joke," Luhan said quickly, "I'm serious, I'm not teasing you."


"What's your motive?"


I need to disract myself from Sehun. "I just want to have something different with you. Like, something that involves both our feelings."


Luhan wasn't the type of person who could say that easily; that was why his reason came out in form of shy mumbles. He bowed his head and awkwardly drew imaginary tiny circles on the bed with his finger, feeling his cheeks somewhat warm. Li Yin couldn't help but melt seeing his shyness.


"Okay then, I guess trying won't hurt. Let's give it a try."


Luhan shot his head up and looked at the other with wide eyes and mouth agape. "R-Really, Li Yin? You're giving me a chance?"


Li Yin laughed bashfully and nodded her head. "Yeah, we're still not sure if it will work anyways. We're just starting to open up more to each other, right?"


"Yes!" Luhan grinned and nodded eagerly, making Li Yin laugh even more at his cute act. "Thank you, Li Yin. I'll stop teasing you from now on. I'm sorry I've pissed you off so much all this time."


Li Yin chuckled and smiled at the slightly older boy lovingly. To be very honest, all this time she had considered him as someone she had to take care of, like how a mother would take care of her son. She knew it sounded rather funny, but that was just how she felt about Luhan. Nonetheless, she wouldn't mind trying something new and different with him either.


"Don't be sorry, I've become used to it anyways. If you change it will be really different. Just stay the same."


Both of them smiled at each other in comfortable silence until they leaned forward in unison, wrapping their arms around each other, allowing themselves to feel warmth in their own chests. Luhan was amazed at how the other felt fragile and strong at the same time; her body felt small in his arms but he found warmth there, the warmth that made him feel safe and secure. He closed his eyes and tightened his hold a little bit more.


So far he hadn't regretted anything. He hoped it was really the right thing to do.


"Li Yin?"


"Hmm?"


"How will we explain about Sehun to your parents?"


"Don't worry about it, Ziyu will take care of it. Let's talk about it tomorrow."


"Mmkay."








The next day, as usual Sehun sat on Luhan's bed, which was then his too, and stared at the clock while the deer boy was still away at the campus. His Pinku Pinku wasn't lying by his side though; the rilakkuma doll in pink costume was then in his hand, pressed on his puffed cheek. He pouted more until the clock struck two and as soon as he heard the gate being pushed open, he jumped off the bed and ran outside immediately, threw himself into the car right before the driver could drive away. Luhan had forgotten his soccer shoes and the driver was going to the campus to give them to him, so Sehun used the chance to pay a visit and watch Luhan play with his friends.


Besides, he wanted to make sure Luhan didn't get too touchy with that Shixin guy. The possessiveness of his dog self was still there; he wondered when it would go away. Maybe it wouldn't.


As expected, Luhan was surprised to see Sehun in the car. However, unlike the last time Sehun had come to his campus, Luhan was rather happy and excited, as he dragged Sehun to the soccer field and introduced him to the whole club. He addressed the younger as his "close friend".


"H-Hi everyone, my name is Sehun. Nice to meet you all."


"Aww~ He's shy like Lulu on his first day!" Chen Lin cooed, clasped her hands and smiled adoringly.


"He looks like Shixin though! Hey, don't you think their names even sound somewhat similar?" Zhou Kai remarked and the other boys added their comments of approval loudly and noisily.


Sehun only nodded and smiled politely, while deep inside he secretly thought, Me? Similar to that guy? Heh, they underestimate me too much. I'm MUCH better than him in many levels, obviously. Except for my height, which I believe will grow incredibly tall someday. Just you wait and see, Shixin.'


"Captain, don't you think he's your long lost brother?" One of the boys asked Shixin, the others noisily adding some "yeah" and "that's right".


The tall goalkeeper stared at Sehun for a moment with a friendly smile that made Sehun very uncomfortable to the point that he had to look away like a shy teenage girl.


"Maybe," Shixin shrugged and grinned, "but I guess he'll grow much more handsome and cooler than me. You see, he looks cool and he acts cool too, while I don't."


Sehun snorted and rolled his eyes secretly. 'Bribing me with sweet words? I'm not that cheap, cap'n.'


"You think so? Trust me Shixin, he's a dork," Luhan snickered. Sehun glared at him and stuck out his tongue childishly, which Luhan returned it with a playful smile.


"You guys look really close, don't you?" Zhou Kai asked with an amused smile.


Both Sehun and Luhan answered in unison, "Not really."


Chen Lin and Li Yin raised an eyebrow and looked at each other. Earlier Li Yin had told the other girl about the whole story about Sehun the dog transforming into a human, and surprisingly Chen Lin could accept it rather easily. She had also known about the truth of how Li Yin had actually found Sehun and Luhan, so she strongly believed they were aliens from Venus. Why Venus? Because they were hot and Venus was the hottest planet; that was her reason. Dumb but made sense somehow.


"Oookay," Zhou Kai nodded slowly and smirked, not buying the two's answer. "So, Sehun, would you like to play?"


"No I'm okay, I'll just watch," Sehun waved his hand and smiled.


"Oh? That's too bad. Just now Luhan told me you're also good at soccer. I want to see you play though," Shixin said rather dejectedly.


"Maybe next time. I come here to watch."


"Okay then," Shixin nodded, and then turned to his team. "Get to your positions, guys."


Sehun sat together with Li Yin and Chen Lin at the commentators' table, eyeing a certain copper-haired deer from afar. Luhan was laughing with Shixin and Sehun was sure it wasn't even Luhan's position to stand there at the goal. Just after a quick bro hug did Luhan jog to his own position.


The game started and Sehun was amazed at how Chen Lin could shout constantly without looking out of breath. Maybe it was just her nature for being loud. After a moment Sehun managed to turn his attention from the short-haired, big-eyed girl to the deer running on the field. He looked really different, his bouncing fluffy hair made him look even more glorious. He could run really fast, just like a wild majestic deer being chased by a hyena. The shy boy had turned into a shining star on the field.


When Luhan scored the first goal, Sehun felt like shedding happy tears. There were no words that could describe how proud he was of his former master; but not when Luhan ran to Shixin and let him lift him off the ground, spinning him around like a newlywed couple. Sehun's smile faltered instantly.


The game continued and Sehun watched with an ugly scowl on his face. His hardcore pouting turned more intense when Luhan scored another goal and another gay romantic scene took place on the field.


"Sehun, why are you scowling?" Li Yin asked, poking his arm. Sehun fixed his face immediately, taking off his pout and putting on a smile.


"Oh, was I? I guess I was just too into the game," Sehun reasoned, smiling sweetly. He turned his head and pointed at a bench near the edge of the field, close to Zhou Kai's goal. "Uhm, I'll go and watch from there."


"Okay. Be careful not to get hit by the ball." Li Yin smiled, patted Sehun's back and waved goodbye at him, while the younger waved back and made his way to the bench. By sitting there, he could scowl all he wanted.


After quite a while, the black team, which was Luhan and Shixin's opposing team, finally made the first attempt to shoot the ball towards the goal. Shixin spread his legs and his arms open, eyes locked on the rocketing ball, as always ready to catch it. Seeing the angle of the ball, everyone was sure the goalkeeper could catch it easily. Even the black team's striker, who had just kicked the ball, was already whining because he strongly believed it was a failure shot. But of course, there was one person who thought the black team still had a really big chance for that shot.


Sehun squinted at Shixin from afar while kept repeating in his head, 'It's a goal, it's a goal, it's a goal. That so-called dashing captain won't be able to catch it because he's stupid.'


And then magic happened.


The wind came out of nowhere and pushed the ball out of its track, changing its direction, flying away from Shixin's hand and into the goal.


"GOOOAALL!" Sehun jumped and screamed, pumping his fists in the air, doing a random yet cute celebratory dance.


"Oh look, Sehun's on our side!" Zhou Kai laughed and clapped his hands happily. "Let's win for Sehun today!"


"Yes!" His teammates replied in unison, throwing their fists in the air.


Luhan narrowed his eyes at Sehun before shifting his gaze towards Shixin, who was gaping at the ball lying on the ground. He bit his lip anxiously and began to jog towards his captain, but suddenly Shixin kicked the ball back towards the middle of the field, continuing the game again and forcing Luhan to return to his position.


It hadn't been ten minutes yet but the same thing happened again.


"OHMYGOD IT'S ANOTHER GOAL! 2-2! THE WORLD IS GOING TO END SOON!" Chen Lin screamed from the commentator's table. "It seems like there is something wrong with white team's captain today, ladies and gentlemen! Please give applause to support him! Woot!"


Since Sehun was the only spectator, and he wasn't on Shixin's side, the only ones who cheered for Shixin were the two girls and his teammates. Sehun saw Luhan run to Shixin and talk for a bit, maybe asking if he was alright. He even put his hand on Shixin's forehead to make sure he wasn't sick. Sehun chuckled sarcastically and rolled his eyes.


'Look how he's acting. He wanted to keep the safe distance between me and him, while he eliminates all the distance between him and that guy. Can this be more unfair to me? Shouldn't they keep some distance too? Don't they know how gay they look?'


The game continued and the wind kept messing with the ball. It happened so subtly that everyone could barely notice what was actually happening. What everyone believed was that either the black team's players had surprisingly made some improvements with their kicking techniques, or Shixin was troubled about something that he wasn't concentrating on the game. After black team's third goal, Shixin didn't bother hiding his frustration anymore. That was rare. Chen Lin let them take a break, since it was not a real match.


"Why couldn't I catch the ball?" He mumbled sadly when Luhan came to him for the nth time.


Luhan bit his bottom lip and stared up at the older's face restlessly. "I'm sorry I couldn't steal the ball too. Don't blame yourself, Shixin."


"We're going to lose because of me."


"No! What are you saying? Goodness, this is not you!" Luhan held the taller's shoulders and shook him back and forth. To Shixin's surprise, Luhan cupped his face in his hands and pulled his head down until their eyes locked in an unbreakable contact, their noses only mere centimeters away.


"We're not going to lose and you'll be fine again. Even if we have to lose, it's not because of you and you should never blame yourself because you're not playing alone. We play together in a team, you got that?" Luhan scolded softly. The dazed Shixin blinked at the shorter few times before nodding slowly and mumbling a "yes".


Shixin knew he was supposed to be registering Luhan's words into his brain, but he found himself lost in the pretty doe eyes staring at him with full concern. Letting his hand move by itself, he touched the hand holding his face, gently brushing his fingertips against the knuckles. Luhan widened his eyes when Shixin's hand moved to his cheek, while his face seemed to be inching closer ever so slowly.


And then he remembered, Shixin was into guys.


Luhan had forgotten about it for quite some time and then he wasn't sure what to do, he was scared but on the other hand he didn't have the heart to push Shixin away. He didn't want to kiss a guy though, a true man didn't kiss other guys on the lips. Or so he believed. About that kissing scene with Sehun after he had just changed back into a human, Luhan insisted it was an accident. He turned his head a bit to steal a glance at Li Yin; she was busy watching something on Chen Lin's phone and giggling with the manly girl, completely oblivious of his very dangerous position with the dashing goalkeeper.


"Luhan, I..."


At the same time, on the other end of the field, the other oblivious boys were using the break time to practice with the ball. One of them kicked the ball towards Zhou Kai, who stopped the ball by punching it away. It flew towards the edge of the field and landed near Sehun's feet.


"Hey Sehun, kick the ball!"


Sehun, who had been watching the live romantic drama going on the other side of the field, cracked an evil smile and stood up, positioning his foot behind the ball.


"With pleasure!"


Dash!


Everyone's eyes – except Shixin's and Luhan's, which were locked with each other – followed the direction of the rocketing ball, which was obviously not directed towards the group. Their eyes widened and their mouths fell open seeing the ball fly across the big field from end to end.


Whack!


"Ow! Ow, oh gosh!"


Shixin pulled away from Luhan immediately and crouched down, holding his head in pain. The ball had hit him hard he felt like being hit by a brick. Luhan gasped and crouched down also, trying to comfort the other by patting his back. He felt relieved and worried at the same time. His eyes fell on the ball that had just hit Shixin's head and bounced towards the net after. That was a very powerful kick, who had shot the ball? He turned his head and found none other than Sehun, surrounded by everyone on the field.


"Whoa, that shot was impossible! This kid is a hidden striker!" Zhou Kai exclaimed and slung an arm around Sehun's shoulders. "He ended a romantic scene and scored a goal in one shot! How cool is that? He needs to join our club too!"


The other players were also noisily commenting about Sehun's hidden skill, while the said boy quietly stared at the other boy staring back at him from meters away. None of the two was smiling; Luhan's face clearly showed he wasn't impressed at all, while Sehun's didn't look like he was expecting the other to be impressed anyways.


"Sorry, it was just an accident," Sehun said shortly to answer the others' questions. He returned back to his seat and let the club continue the game.


Nothing got any better. The game ended up with white team losing, obviously, with final score 5-3. It was the second lose of Shixin's team ever since Luhan had joined the club; the first time was when Luhan hadn't been in the same team as him, and the second time was then when Sehun was there to watch them play.


No one knew what had actually happened, what Sehun had done unintentionally to the game, even Sehun himself. Shixin apologized countless times to the club while Sehun smirked in victory. The perfect captain wasn't that perfect after all. Sehun still had the chance to prove he could be better.


On the way home, Luhan stayed quiet most of the time. He was pissed off because Sehun had hit Shixin with the ball, which apparently he had done on purpose, but he couldn't be mad at the younger because he had basically saved him from a gay kiss. Therefore, what he said to Sehun was only, "You shouldn't have showed off by kicking that ball to Shixin."


Sehun snorted and smiled sarcastically. Show off? "Sorry." Not sorry.





Later at home, Luhan, Sehun, Li Yin, and Ziyu discussed about what should they say to the parents to explain about Sehun. As expected it turned out to be quite easy because of Ziyu, and after they were ready with a fake story, Li Yin called her parents, asking them to come and talk about Luhan's decision. When the couple saw Sehun, that would be when their planned story would be very useful.


The parents came right away; they arrived almost in the middle of the night. The kids were surprised they came that soon, but saw no problems with that; the sooner the better. And so, they sat together in the living room; Luhan, Li Yin, and Ziyu in their pajamas, the Xi couple in their business suits. Sehun was still in the bedroom he shared with Luhan, waiting for the right time to come out.


As Luhan had expected, the Xi's were disappointed when he told them his decision, which was to reject their offer to be their son. But when they asked him why, he didn't tell them the reason completely. He had prepared that part with Li Yin only.


"I can't accept your offer because I've found a part of my past," Luhan said. It was partially true, but if he had to say it was the only reason, that would be a lie. He just didn't want the parents to be too expectant about his relationship with Li Yin, because he himself wasn't sure if it would work. If he told them that he wanted to get closer to her, and if everything didn't go right later, her parents would be very disappointed.


"A part of your past?" Mrs. Xi asked, curiosity apparent on her face.


"Yes," Luhan nodded, "it's someone important."


Before anyone else could say anything, Li Yin stood up and said, "Let me get him now."


Mr. and Mrs. Xi looked obviously surprised. "Him? He's here?"


"Just wait, please." Li Yin went upstairs, and after a moment, she returned with Sehun following behind her, all shy and nervous. Luhan came to him and led him to stand in front of the eldest ones. He wrapped his arm around Sehun's body and squeezed the younger's arm to give him support.


Sehun bowed deeply and stammered, "H-Hello, Mr. Xi, Mrs. Xi. M-My name is Oh Thehun." He pouted instantly when he heard his own lisp come out. He had been practicing to hide it though.


"Hello, Sehun," the Xi's greeted back.


"Your name is the same as Lu Han's dog, isn't it?" Mrs. Xi asked with an amused smile. All four kids stiffened visibly, which wasn't left unnoticed by the couple.


"Is there something wrong?" The beautiful middle-aged woman asked worriedly, rather suspiciously.


Ziyu answered for the others, "Lu ge's dog ran away. Fortunately Sehun ge came, so Lu ge didn't get too sad. Apparently Lu ge named his dog after Sehun ge, so he must be someone important to Lu ge."


"Oh, I see," the couple nodded understandingly.


"We're sorry about your dog, Lu Han," Mrs. Xi smiled apologetically. "He was a very smart dog though."


Sehun smiled secretly and thought, That's right, I'm very smart, while Luhan nodded and put on a sad smile. "Yes, thank you, ma'am."


"You're not Chinese, are you?" Mr. Xi asked Sehun, raising an eyebrow.


Sehun shook his head doubtfully. "I... I don't know, Sir. I've also lost my memories."


The couple raised their eyebrows in surprise. "What relationship do you have with Lu Han then?"


"He's my friend," Luhan answered for the other, "my... long lost friend."


"How did you find each other?" Mr. Xi asked again, interrogating in the nicest tone.


"With these," Luhan showed his necklace and the tattoo on his neck, Sehun following suit. "We have matching symbols. Our necklaces are also the same kind, both have our names on the pendants."


"What symbols are they?" Mrs. Xi asked, standing up to take a closer look of the pendants.


"Honestly we don't know, ma'am," Luhan answered rather sadly, "but they prove that Sehun and I are related."


"Maybe those are symbols given by their parents, or maybe just some lovers' symbols?" Ziyu suggested, getting a smack on the shoulder from his mother.


"How can you say they're lovers? They're both boys," Mrs. Xi scolded his son.


"That's possible though," Ziyu mumbled and pouted, rubbing his shoulder.


Mrs. Xi returned to her seat and told the two boys to sit down on the sofa. They were then discussing about the solution of the situation.


"Honestly, Lu Han, even if you reject our offer, we will still consider you as our son. Is that okay?" Mr. Xi asked restlessly.


Luhan smiled sadly and bowed his head. "Of course it's okay, sir. I'm sorry I can't accept your offer. This family has been really nice to me."


Mrs. Xi pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed the tears welling in her eyes. "You will still stay here, right, Lu Han?"


"...If you allow me to," Luhan said doubtfully, "but I just have to stay with Sehun from now on. So if he has to go, then I will go too."


Mr. Xi and his wife stared at each other, as if they were having a silent discussion through their eyes.


"Mama, baba, you can't possibly kick them out," Ziyu whined. "If they go then I will go too. I'll be a sad hobo forever."


Mr. Xi raised a hand and shushed his son, "Shh, please be quiet, Ziyu. We're trying to think."


Sehun scooted closer to Luhan and let him take his hand. They both held their breath when the couple looked at them.


"I'm sorry, Sehun, Lu Han," Mr. Xi said in a sad tone, "but I guess we can't let you stay..."


Luhan let go of Sehun's hand and wrapped his arms around the younger's body instead. Sehun squeezed him really tight and whispered, "I'm sorry, hyung. This is my fault."


"Mama, baba, you're nuts!" Ziyu shouted madly.


"You can't possibly be doing this. Please let them stay," Li Yin begged, almost crying.


Luhan was already crying on Sehun's shoulder, the scene making Li Yin and Mrs. Xi broke into tears too. Sehun pried Luhan's arms off his body and leaned back to give space for his hands to wipe the tears off the older's face.


"S-Sehunnie..."


"Sshh, don't cry, hyung," Sehun whispered, pulling Luhan back into his arms.


"This- This is not as fun as I thought," Mrs. Xi sobbed, dabbing her tears with her handkerchief in a classy way.


"Yeah, I didn't expect any tears though," the husband pouted like a kid.


"Baba, what do you mean by that? Stop messing around," Ziyu muttered and scowled at his father.


Unexpectedly, the couple bursted out in laughter.


"You guys didn't even let me finish my words!" Mr. Xi roared, laughing loudly and slapping his knee.


Everyone except the crying-laughing wife blinked dumbly at him.


Ziyu hit the armrest of the sofa and stood up abruptly, glowering at his parents. "Explain, baba!"


Mr. Xi wiped the tears welling in his eyes and struggled to stop laughing incessantly. Luhan stared at him in great bewilderment while Sehun's hands were working on his face, getting rid of the trails left by his tears.


After everyone had calmed down, Mr. Xi heaved a long breath and finished his sentence, "I'm sorry we can't let you stay outside on the street like some sad hobos like Ziyu said, so we are afraid we have to hold you two here."


The husband and wife laughed again together, while Luhan cried again in Sehun's arms, Ziyu and Li Yin scowled at their parents.


"Why did you have to say sorry while actually you allow them to stay??" Ziyu fisted his hair and groaned in annoyance.


Mr. Xi laughed more and roared, "That's the art of trolling, I tell you!"


And so, in the end everyone was happy again. So many emotions in the middle of the night.








Few days later...


It was Li Yin and Ziyu's comebacks. Unlike their previous single, which had been a colaboration between the two of them, this time they appeared again with solo performances. Li Yin with her piano, Ziyu with his guitar. The latter was actually still a newcomer in mandopop, he was a model-turned-singer, yet he was quickly getting popular and extremely well-known among teenage girls as the baby-faced guitarist who knew he was cute and therefore exploited his cuteness to kill fangirls.


That night, they were on their way to a music event where they would perform again for the first time after vacuuming for quite some time. Luhan and Sehun were going with them too, both dressed casually with masks covering half their faces. Still sticking to his mission, Luhan was acting like a gentleman towards Li Yin, all polite and protective. Sehun was okay with that, probably because he was used to seeing Luhan stick to Li Yin most of the time at home. Besides, his attention was distracted by Ziyu, who was eagerly babbling about manga stuff. As a dog Sehun had once accidentally found a manga under Ziyu's bed, which from the cover - a blushing pink-haired girl with ies as big as volleyballs and a tiny man squished in the middle, and the big title "Pinku de Pinku" - Sehun had assumed as a manga. Since then he had always been curious about manga, so he was listening intently to whatever manga Ziyu was talking about.


When they arrived, Luhan stepped out first, bowed and gave his hand to Li Yin, which she took with a shy smile as she stepped out of the car gracefully.


"You look beautiful today, Li Yin," Luhan complimented sincerely, flashing a charming genuine smile. It was true; the girl looked like a y high-class Chinese lady in her expensive-looking high-cut white dress. Her natural make-up was applied perfectly and her long dark brown hair was nicely done in simple waterfall braid. With her blinding smile, she simply looked like a goddess.


"Thanks. You're handsome too," Li Yin giggled.


"Ah, I look like your servant," Luhan chuckled shyly.


They forgot that they were surrounded by fans and cameras.


Another black sedan came and two men jumped out of the car, rushing towards Li Yin and Ziyu. They were their managers.


"Hurry up, get iniside," Li Yin's manager said hurriedly. The two men in black ushered them towards the main entrance of the building. Before they disappeared inside, Ziyu took the small chance to turn around, wave at the fans screaming his name and wink at them, causing them to scream even louder.


After they were all safe in the dressing room, they could finally sit and relax. They had come early; the event started in one and a half hours, yet many other idols had come too. There were only four of them in that room; it was actually Li Yin's dressing room, Ziyu had his own, but he opted to stay there and kill time with the other three before he had to go to his own room and get changed. If they went out of the room, they could find many other doors leading to similar rooms, which were the dressing rooms for other idols. Luhan looked around the room and he thought it was quite cozy, since it was their private waiting room too. There was even a small flat screen television there, showing the venue of the event with different angles that changed automatically. The seats were still empty and the staff were still running back and forth here and there.


Luhan sat next to Li Yin on the white couch, both of them looking at the latter's phone. Same position applied to Sehun and Ziyu; they were looking at some pictures of themselves on the internet.


"They're so fast," Luhan commented. He took off his mask and put it on the table. "It hasn't even been fifteen minutes yet."


"The power of fancams," Ziyu chuckled, "now you're famous too, Lu ge."


"Some of them say Lu Han is probably our secret brother," Li Yin laughed lightly and shook her head. "Mask is not enough. Maybe next time sunglasses will be needed too."


"Why brother though?" Luhan furrowed his eyebrows.


"Because you look like Ziyu. At least only your eyes, which are the only parts of your face that they could see clearly," Li Yin grinned.


"Lu ge, that's much better than being rumored as jiejie's boyfriend, so you have to be relieved," Ziyu snickered, and then suddenly pouted at his phone. "Sadly some of these sick fangirls think Sehun ge is my boyfriend."


Li Yin and Luhan bursted out in laughter, while Sehun gaped at the picture on Ziyu's phone. There were two pictures in that one post on a famous blogging platform; one of them taken from the side, the other one from behind. In that picture Sehun had his arm wrapped around Ziyu's waist, and below that picture the fangirl who had posted it wrote, "Ziyu has got a new hawtie boyfriend! That tho ;A; nvm, finally my baby boy is getting laid!"


Sehun slowly dragged his hand towards his and blinked once at the picture. "I didn't know my bottom looked that nice."


"What's so nice of it? It's flat. It's probably because of the effect of the angle," Luhan remarked.


"Well at least it's only my that is flat, not my crotch," Sehun shot back. Luhan's jaw fell open.


"Hey, what are you trying to say, Oh Sehun?? Are you insulting me again now?" Luhan straightened his back and pointed at the younger boy.


"Oh, why are you feeling offended? Is your crotch actually flat like a girl's? Did I hurt you with my words just now? I'm sorry then, I thought your tiny little peepee was still there."


"Hey! It's not small, alright! It's just yours that is oversized!"


"Look at you, talking about size bluntly in front of a girl."


"Ugh- You started it first!"


Li Yin and Ziyu were laughing at the two's childish bickering. Li Yin patted Luhan's thigh in attempt to calm him down, which was quite succesful. The copper-haired deer sank back in his seat and pouted hard at Sehun, stuck out his tongue at him, and then fixed his face and gave Li Yin a sweet smile. He shifted in his seat, turning to face Li Yin and giving his back to Sehun.


"Let's just ignore him. So, are you nervous now, Li Yin?" Luhan asked, still with his sweet smile.


"I am," Li Yin chuckled, "but you and Sehun are here, so I'm not that nervous. Maybe someday you'll understand how it feels like, to be sitting in the dressing room waiting for your turn to impress people and show them what you can do."


"Maybe," Luhan grinned. "I don't know if I want to have a life like that though. You know, idols look free and bound at the same time. Free to express themselves, but bound to their busy lives and rules. At times you can't always have your privacy, can you? You can't do things that you want to do."


Li Yin chuckled, nodded and patted Luhan's arm. "You're very right. But that applies to almost all aspects in life, doesn't it? No pain, no gain. If it really is your dream to become a star, you'll be able to endure everything on the way. Besides, I've become used to it by now, it's been seven years. Like you said, idols look free to express themselves. If I had backed out because of how hard it was to reach this point, I wouldn't have been able to feel that 'freedom', the joy and pride for being the center of attention, the nervousness that mixes with thrill and excitement. Those kinds of feelings you can feel only on the stage."


Luhan listened intently while staring at the other with sparkling eyes, the images of showbiz life flashing in his mind. He imagined himself standing on the stage, showered by countless lights and lots of love from the audience shouting his name, maybe also holding banners with his name on them. He absolutely loved the vision.


Luhan gathered Li Yin's hands and cupped them in his. "Your hands are cold and damp."


Li Yin gaped a little bit at the small action before laughing lightly. "That's completely normal, isn't it? It's a quite big event."


Luhan squeezed the thin hands and brought them up to his lips, blowing them softly before giving each of them a soft peck. If Li Yin hadn't had any make up applied on her face, Luhan would have been able to see a tinge of pink spread on her cheeks.


"Don't get too nervous," Luhan smiled, "I'll be watching you."


"Sehun ge, give me your hands," Ziyu said loudly to get Li Yin and Luhan's attention and took Sehun's hands, copying Luhan's gestures kissing the hands exaggeratingly. Sehun pulled back one of his hands and placed it on his cheek, pretending to smile and giggle shyly.


"Awh, oh no, I'm blushing! My cheeks feel hot and I'm sweating now, oh gosh, I think my heart is going to explode!" Sehun said mockingly with girly high-pitched voice.


"Shut up, Sehun. That sounds really gay," Luhan stuck out his tongue.


Sehun raised an eyebrow. "Well, aren't you yourself gay?"


"Obviously I'm not!" Luhan answered quickly, his face reddening slightly. "You see, I'm going to get a girlfriend soon."


While he was saying that, he wrapped his arm around Li Yin's waist involuntarily and gave a light squeeze to her hip, causing her to bow her head and smile shyly.


"Oh, jiejie why are you smiling? Wait, are you guys...?" Ziyu gasped and widened his eyes in realization. "Oh my gosh, Lu ge is going to be my brother-in law! He's going to end up being a part of our family anyways!"


"Shut up, Ziyu," Li Yin waved her hand, "there's nothing between us."


"Just not yet," Luhan added, winking at the girl sitting next to him, making her blush a little bit more apparent.


Sehun didn't know if he actually liked Luhan, but he did feel a bit jealous. But strange enough, he wasn't as jealous as when Luhan was around Shixin.


Maybe he sensed something gay in Luhan, so he wasn't that afraid.


An hour passed, Li Yin and Ziyu went away to the venue, while Sehun and Luhan waited in the dressing room. They didn't have any tickets, so they would just watch the other two on the television.


Right when the clock struck eight, the MCs appeared on the screen. A handsome young man in black suit and a pretty young lady in black long dress, both smiling and waving at the audience.


"Sehun, c'mere," Luhan patted the seat, motioning Sehun to sit next to him. The younger boy got up and plopped down again beside him obediently. Luhan leaned back, crossed his leg over the other and rested his arm on the back of the couch around Sehun's shoulders. Sehun was starting to think that his dog self hadn't gone completely because suddenly he had the urge to curl in the older's lap, but he held himself still.


The music event started and many singers performed one by one. Some songs were familiar to Sehun and Luhan because they were the latest songs and they heard them almost everywhere, but watching the singers' live performances was the first time for both of them. Knowing that the event was taking place inside the same building as where they were, although not exactly in the same room, they felt kind of lucky to be there.


Li Yin had told them that she and Ziyu would appear about an hour before the event ended, which was eleven at night. Sehun and Luhan got a bit bored while they were waiting for the two's performances, so they decided to tear their gazes off the television and look at each other for a small talk.


And they jumped away from each other immediately, staring at each other in horror.


"W-What happened to your eyes?" Sehun asked cautiously.


"No, what happened to your eyes?" Luhan furrowed his eyebrows. "My eyes are fine. Yours are... gold."


"What- Yours too. When did you put those contact lenses?"


"I didn't put any, I sat next to you all the time."


They stared at each other for a moment before racing towards a dressing table in the room, checking their eyes in the mirror. They were bright pretty gold. The two tried to rub their eyes and see if they would turn grey again, but of course, they stayed gold.


"How should we explain this to Li Yin and everyone else?" Luhan whined.


After a while Luhan didn't get any replies, so he turned to see the other. Sehun looked extremely perplexed and horrified, freezing like he was having a heart attack. Luhan's brotherly instinct took over right away.


Luhan encircled his arm around Sehun's slim waist and led him back to the couch. Sitting next to the younger boy, he didn't retreat his arm and squeezed the other instead, lightly shaking him to snap him out of his dazed state.


"Sehunnie, it's okay. Don't be scared," Luhan said softly.


Sehun turned his head and blinked at the other. "What are we?"


"We're humans... Aren't we?" Luhan smiled doubtfully. He pulled Sehun's head gently and put it on his shoulder. Like what he had always done to his beloved doggy, he Sehun's chest to calm him down and touched his chin, and even though Sehun wasn't a dog anymore, apparently his touch still worked on him. A small smile found its way to Sehun's lips as he relaxed and wrapped his arms around the older's waist.


"I guess we're not, but okay," Sehun mumbled, "I'll believe that."


"Guess we'll have to use that contact lenses excuse," Luhan chuckled, "I really do wish our eyes will turn grey again though."


Sehun glanced up and mumbled weakly, "Shouldn't we let Ziyu and Li Yin noona know the truth?"


"Sure. We don't hide anything from them, do we?" Luhan smiled to himself. "We'll just use that excuse if anyone else ask us about it."


"Okay." Sehun tightened his hug and nuzzled Luhan's neck with his nose, causing the older to flinch slightly.


The deer boy laughed awkwardly and Sehun's arm. "You clingy baby."


Sehun giggled and unintentionally glanced at the television. A young woman had just finished her performance and the MCs returned to the stage to introduce the next performer. They didn't mention the name right away but talked a little bit about the clues, allowing the audience to guess who it was by themselves.


"...After vacuuming for almost half a year from music world, yet still active in modelling, this boy finally returns as a solo singer!"


The male MC gave a short pause and smiled at the audience; loud screams of fangirls could be heard in the background.


"Before vacuuming, he was famous for his duet with his sister, as their song ranked first in many music charts for weeks. His trademarks are his cute face and the guitar he always carries around, many said he 'makes love to his guitar' whenever he plays it. Tonight, he's back to melt your heart with his soft voice and his mindblowing finger-dancing! Can you guess who he is??"


"It's Ziyu," Luhan and Sehun answered in unison, and then giggled together. They could hear the crowd shouting Ziyu's name too in the background.


"Fangirls and fanboys, ladies and gentlemen, give a huge applause for..." Both the MCs said in unison, "Xi Ziyu!"


The fans screamed as the camera moved to one of the dark stages. It was lit up by only a single light above a lone figure. Ziyu was sitting on a chair in the middle of the stage, his black guitar in his lap. Luhan and Sehun noticed that he was wearing a different outfit and his hair was perfectly styled up too; his bangs didn't cover his forehead anymore. He was wearing a serious look on his face.


"He looks different," Sehun commented.


"Yeah, looks much more mature," Luhan chuckled, "his fans would be very surprised if they found out how childish he actually is."


For a moment they had thought Ziyu was about to sing a sad song, sad face and dim stage and heart-piercing intro and all; but after Ziyu ended the perfect solo intro he played perfectly with his guitar, suddenly the stage turned bright and some dancers jumped in as an upbeat song started playing. Luhan and Sehun's faces brightened up as soon as they recognized the song; it was the song Ziyu had always sung at home. All this time they had thought it had been someone else's song. That song had sad lyrics, but not the music. Ziyu sang it as if the song was about his own story, his sad love life, and Luhan couldn't help but pity him and think he had a strong heart. He knew he was certainly fooled by the younger boy's performance.


He wondered if he could have showed that many emotions if he had been in Ziyu's position on the stage. It made him want to sing too, so he sang along. Sehun glanced up at the older's face and a small smile crept to his face.


"Your voice is so beautiful, hyung."


Luhan stopped singing abruptly and laughed bashfully at the compliment. "Thank you, Sehunnie."


Li Yin's turn to perform was right after her brother's. She appeared on other stage that had a white piano and other classy white decorations to match her white dress. An angel in heaven, Luhan thought, smiling at his own cheesiness. Just after he had seen her on the tv did he realize how her high-cut dress was revealing quite a lot of skin of her long, slender thigh. He blushed a little at the sight.


Li Yin sang the song she often played on the piano at home, the one Luhan had played once in front of her parents. He hadn't expected it to have lyrics too though. To Sehun and Luhan, watching Li Yin perform on stage was like seeing someone else they didn't know, a mature lady, a professional idol. It was a ballad song that had lots of emotions in it, Li Yin's soft yet powerful jazzy voice showed all of them. She was like telling a story about her love; it was about a forced relationship, where the girl and the boy pretended to love each other for the sake of "happiness" that they couldn't get in the end after all.


Li Yin closed her eyes, opened them again slowly and glanced at the camera right when it zoomed on her face.


Thump.


Luhan stiffened and widened his eyes; he felt as if Li Yin was talking to him through the song. Her gaze was really sad; he wasn't sure if it was real or if it was only her talent in stage act.


Luhan shook his head and furrowed his eyebrows. 'It must be only her acting, she can't be talking to me. There's nothing forced between us, we're not pretending either. Well at least I'm not. I'm trying, not pretending. Yes, trying.'


Even after Li Yin's performance was over, Luhan was still frowning at himself. Sehun noticed it and kept staring at the other anxiously, but didn't ask anything about it, until ten minutes passed and Luhan still had the same expression and Sehun just had to ask about it.


"Hyung, what's wrong?" Sehun asked, tugging the older's sleeve, snapping him out of his deep thoughts.


Luhan widened his doe eyes and shook his head. "Oh, no- nothing. There's nothing wrong," he forced a smile.


Sehun's forehead scrunched up and his bottom lip stuck out slightly. After a moment of trying to figure it out by himself, he finally asked, "Is it because of Li Yin noona? Are you actually making a move on her?"


The question got Luhan taken aback, not seeing that coming. He panicked and stammered, stumbling on his own words until he finally managed to say, "I am." He sighed sadly and sank his face in his palm.


The frown on Sehun's face turned even deeper. "Does it have anything to do with me?"


Luhan lifted his face from his hand to glance at the younger. "You should just figure it out by yourself."


"...You're stupid."


"Are you mad now?"


"No." It was true; Sehun wasn't sure what he was feeling because he wasn't even sure if he had a crush on Luhan, but he did feel a bit jealous, although not to the point that he got mad at the older boy.


"Then why am I stupid?" Luhan whined.


"Because you might hurt anyone's feelings."


Luhan bowed his head and chewed on his bottom lip restlessly. "I'll make sure it won't happen. I've already started to feel it anyways, I don't see her in the same way anymore."


"Okay, whatever you say."


"You should get a girlfriend too."


"I'm not like you."


Luhan groaned quietly and sank back in the couch, tossing his head back and throwing his hand over his face. He knew he would never win any arguments with Sehun.


The event wasn't over yet but the door to the dressing room swung open suddenly, giving a way in to a smiley Ziyu and a giggly Li Yin. Luhan sighed in relief secretly; what he had seen on the tv had actually been only her professional act.


He was too relieved that he jumped from his seat and threw himself at Li Yin, wrapping his arms around the shorter's body. He grinned and giggled behind her ear, failing to notice how she had frozen like a statue in his arms.


"That was perfect, Li Yin," Luhan complimented sincerely, "I'm so proud of you."


Ziyu rolled his eyes before throwing his arms around Sehun's body and imitated Luhan with a girly high-pitched voice, "Sehun ge, that was perfect! You did a great job watching me, I'm so proud of you!" He faked a sob and patted Sehun's back.


Sehun was about to get annoyed seeing Luhan make a romantic scene in front of him again, but he ended up laughing instead because of Ziyu. Luhan pulled away from Li Yin hesitantly, both of them blushing madly but laughing as well.


While still laughing, Li Yin asked, "By the way, where did you guys get those gold contact lenses?"


Luhan and Sehun stopped laughing abruptly. Their mouths parted open as they turned their heads and stared at each other.


"Oh yeah right, it's been bugging me too," Ziyu nodded in approval, and then walked away to a dressing table. "Did someone leave them here? Are there some left? Those lenses look pretty cool, I want to try them too."


"Ah... Umm, we'll explain later. But we didn't steal them, these are... ours," Luhan explained, grinning sheepishly.


"Yes, ours," Sehun parroted.


"Oh? Okay then. Those are kind of... scary, though." Li Yin stepped closer to Luhan to take a closer look at his eyes, making him stiffen visibly. The deer was starting to feel something weird inside him and he felt a slight chill on the side of his neck, to be exact right on his tattoo, but all of those weird feelings disappeared as soon as a smile grew on Li Yin's face.


"Nah, they look pretty, actually," the girl giggled, "so pretty they look real." Luhan and Sehun secretly let out a sigh in relief.


"Aww, there are no contacts left here," Ziyu whined dejectedly as he walked back to the others. "Jiejie, let's go find some gold contacts tomorrow."


"We're too busy for that, Ziyu," Li Yin said, "but let's go when we have time."


"Awesome," Ziyu grinned and pumped his fist.


"So childish," Li Yin chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Now, can you guys please get out? I have to get changed."


Ziyu went to the door right away, dragging Sehun by the arm behind him, while Luhan remained on his spot next to Li Yin.


To everyone's surprise, suddenly Luhan asked, "Can I stay here?"


Li Yin was the first to answer, "No, Lu Han. Go with Sehun and Ziyu."


"Yeah, Lu ge. We can wait in my dressing room," Ziyu added.


Instead of heading towards the door, Luhan stepped even closer to Li Yin until he had to look down to meet her eyes. He brought his lips to her ear and said, "Let me stay here."


The tone he used sounded somewhat urgent, making the other three tense up, which he noticed so he turned his head towards the other two boys and flashed a sweet smile at them.


"You two can leave now," Luhan said sweetly, more like ordering them to go away quickly.


Not liking the situation, Ziyu chuckled in attempt to loosen their nerves and said, "Okay, okay, we'll go now. I guess Lu ge really wants to do it. Oh, don't be too loud or else the others will hear, and Lu ge, please be careful not to get my jiejie pregnant too soon-"


"HEY!" Li Yin shouted all of a sudden, even Luhan jumped few feet backwards in surprise. "Who taught you to think that way, Xi Ziyu? We're not doing stuff like that-"


"Okay, I'll be careful," Luhan cut Li Yin's nag, pulling her into his embrace and flashing a sly grin at Ziyu. Li Yin's eyes rounded and fell open; the same expression as her brother's, while Sehun furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his fists.


'So he's serious about making a move on her? But isn't this too much?' Sehun thought angrily, not noticing Luhan's gaze on him.


Sehun felt his boiling blood rush to his face when Luhan ed the top button of his shirt, tilted his head and smiled at the shocked Li Yin.


"Oh my gosh- Okay, Sehun ge, we have to go now okay bye jiejie Lu ge have fun see you later!" Ziyu pulled Sehun out of the room by force and slammed the door shut.


Li Yin glanced up slowly at Luhan's face and gulped seeing his smile still there.


"We're alone now." Luhan held the second button on his shirt and Li Yin ran to the corner of the room immediately with a strained shriek, which was heard by Ziyu and Sehun outside. Sehun was about to kick the door open again but Ziyu held him, and with his own face blushing madly, dragged the older towards his dressing room next door.


Inside the room, Luhan approached the scared cornered cat Li Yin while chuckling rather shyly. He stood in front of the other and scratched the back of his head.


"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said while buttoning his top button. "I'm not doing anything like that to you, okay? Now come here."


Li Yin punched the taller's chest weakly before throwing herself into his arms. "You're so mean," she said shakily and pouted.


Luhan tilted his head to see the other's face and gently her hair. "You're not going to cry, are you? I feel guilty now," he chuckled and squeezed her lightly. Li Yin didn't answer that and pouted harder instead.


Luhan let go of the other and grabbed her chin, gently lifting it up until their eyes met.


"Look, Li Yin," he said softly, "I have to tell you something."


Li Yin's annoyed face turned into a curious one. "What is it, Lu Han?"


Luhan lowered his gaze and bit his lip doubtfully. "Promise me you won't freak out."


Knowing that it wasn't a good sign, Li Yin heaved a long breath and grabbed the other's hand. "Okay, let's sit down first and talk about it nicely."


"Okay then."


They moved to the couch and Li Yin had to wait for a couple of minutes until Luhan finally started talking. He bowed his head and held her hand as his own support.


"It's about these... gold contact lenses."


Meanwile, in the room next door, Sehun was pacing back and forth while Ziyu was sitting on the couch, anxiously watching the older boy.


"Are these walls soundproof? Why can't I hear anything?" Sehun asked, more like to himself.


"Maybe they're still warming up-" Sehun stopped moving abruptly and Ziyu quickly changed his answer, "I mean, maybe they're not actually doing it?"


"But Luhan hyung had that erted look on his face," Sehun protested, "they must be doing it."


Ziyu massaged his temple before standing up and catching the other's wrist, pulling him towards the couch and sitting him down on it. The bewildered Sehun stared up at the younger and cocked his head to the side out of habit, while Ziyu rested his hands on his waist and furrowed his eyebrows.


"We shouldn't think about it. Let's do something else," the younger suggested. He plopped down next to the other and folded his arms behind his head.


"Like what?" Sehun asked.


Ziyu turned his head and with a serious face he said, "Let's read a manga."


Sehun widened his eyes and involuntarily straightened his back, causing the younger boy to laugh at him.


"Just kidding," Ziyu stuck out his tongue and threw his arms around the older's body. "Seems like you really want to read some, huh?"


"N-No, I don't," Sehun said, a tinge of pink apparent on his face.


"It's okay, ge, we're both boys," Ziyu giggled and buried his face on the other's shoulder. "You're so cute, Sehun ge."


"Ah... Thank you," Sehun smiled shyly, "but I-"


"You're handsome too," Ziyu looked up and grinned before dropping his head again. "Let's stay like this until they're done, I'm so tired."


The flushed-faced Sehun encircled his arm around the idol's body, a shy smile still gracing his pinkish lips. It was the first time Ziyu praised him that way as a human; usually he had only called him cute as a dog and it had stopped since the first time Sehun had changed back into a human, but then Ziyu was acting all sweet again towards him.


Sehun wished Luhan would do the same, but by the looks of it, apparently the deer would only go even further from him instead. He couldn't understand why his former master had to try so hard to make some distance between them, it wasn't that they had actually fallen for each other anyway.


About half an hour later, Luhan and Li Yin came to Ziyu's dressing room, getting curious gazes from the two boys. Ziyu and Sehun looked at each other confusedly because the other two didn't look messy at all; no signs of any previous wild activity. Nonetheless, Sehun stared at Luhan coldly as if the deer had done something nasty with the girl.


Li Yin came to Sehun and handed him a contact lenses case. The boy was a bit surprised, but Li Yin smiled at him and said, "Use them, so we won't have to explain anything to anyone."


Sehun glanced at Luhan and just after he had focused on his eyes did he realize they were black, not gold. Luhan offered a small smile, as if to make sure if his former dog had figured out what he had been doing with the idol girl, but Sehun shifted his gaze away, feeling bad and rather embarrassed for thinking bad about the other. After he had put on the contacts, Li Yin and Ziyu went away for the closing of the music event.


On their way home, Ziyu kept asking about what Luhan and Li Yin had done in the latter's dressing room earlier, but the two refused to answer since they were with the driver; they couldn't possibly talk about it around anyone else, unless they wanted their secret to go public. But at home, it was Li Yin's turn to explain to her brother about what Luhan had told her.


"So your gold eyes are real?" Ziyu asked the two older boys in awe. "Maybe you guys are some kind of human-wolf! Wolf's eyes are yellow-gold."


"Wolf?" Li Yin chuckled, "They're more like cats, aren't they? But are you saying that they're possibly..." she cringed, "werewolves?"


"Maybe," Ziyu shrugged nonchalantly, and then suddenly straightened his back and widened his eyes. "It's full moon tonight! They're going to change into wolves soon or later!"


Li Yin furrowed her eyebrows, while both Sehun and Luhan began to panic.


"What to do? What to do??"


"I don't want to be a wolf!"


"Me too! Help us, Li Yin!"


"They'll eat us, jiejie! We have to hide them-"


"SHUT. UP." Li Yin raised her hands and glared at the boys. "No one's changing into a wolf, alright?"


"How can you be sure though?" Luhan asked, tapping his foot restlessly.


"Hmm," Li Yin hummed and curled her fingers around her chin, "I'm not really sure, but you guys turning into wolves just sounds like a complete nonsense. How about going to sleep now? We'll just see if your eyes will turn normal again tomorrow."


"That's a perfect idea," Sehun said before yawning widely. "Let's go upstairs, hyung."


Sehun and Luhan went back to their shared room and Li Yin to her own, leaving Ziyu alone in the living room, gaping at empty space. "What... How could everyone be so calm about this??" he fisted his hair and stomped his feet childishly. "I've just made a comeback, I don't want to be eaten!"


Nonetheless, the next morning it was proven that he had been worried for nothing. Nothing had happened; both Sehun and Luhan woke up with their eyes back to pretty grey. Only they got hungrier than usual in the morning; after having breakfast, they spent another half an hour in the kitchen digging for more food. Other than that, they did no harm to the idol siblings, so there were no reasons for them to be worried.


Especially for Li Yin, since Luhan was showing more and more attention and affection he could give to her; he literally treated her like a princess. Li Yin still strongly believed that Ziyu's theory about Sehun and Luhan being werewolves was an absolute bull, like the other theories he had ever made; because, how could a true gentleman like Luhan turn into an evil monster?


At night, whenever she came home worn out after performing on multiple music shows or doing some photoshoots, Luhan always came to her room to give her a massage while listening to her stories of the day. He would tell her about his day as well, but then he would change the topic back to her. He did that not because he was forced to; beside that he actually liked listening to her, the kind of life she told him everyday really got him interested that he grew more and more curious about how it would have felt if he had had a life like hers.


During the day, he made sure to text Li Yin at least once, reminding her to tell him when she would have her break time. When both of them had time, he would call her just to have a little talk about how they were doing; Luhan at the campus, and Li Yin at anywhere she was working with her idol stuff. Since she had made her comeback, she rarely went to campus, and it made Luhan the object of Chen Lin's unending teasing. He was caught staring either into the distance or at the black screen of his phone so many times and the short-haired girl would shout each time, "Look, our deer is acting like a pregnant woman waiting for her lost hubby's call again!" and his other friends would continue the teasing until his face and his ears turned red.


Few weeks after Li Yin's comeback, she fell sick due to exhaustion, so she had to rest at home while her brother still continued with the shows. With Sehun's help, Luhan took care of her and stayed by her side most of the time. The first things he did whenever he came to her room in the worning; he would hold her hand and gently ask how she was feeling, and then he would flash a worried smile before helping her with her breakfast. At first Sehun was completely okay with that, but when Li Yin recovered and then it was Luhan's turn to get sick, he began to dislike how the relationship between the two was going. Li Yin took care of him as much as she could, even though it wasn't much, since she was back to her busy life. Therefore, Sehun became the one in charge of nursing the sick boy. The former dog was still as confused as ever, whether Luhan was only pretending to have a crush on Li Yin or if he actually did have a crush on her; but in the end he opted to believe the first one.


That one morning, while the sick Luhan was lying asleep on his bed, Li Yin opened his door slightly to peek inside.


"Can't I get one more day off?" she whispered to the phone she was holding, "This is kind of urgent."


Hiding behind the wall not far away, Sehun eyed the girl curiously, wondering what she was doing whispering on the phone while peeking into their shared room. He narrowed his eyes and tried to sharpen his ears.


"Can't we postpone it? ... No ... No I'm fine, I'm not sick ... It's someone important. Please? ... I know, I know, I promise this will be the last. I have to take care of him ... Oh? Oh really?" she gaped a little, and then let out a heavy sigh. "Okay I'll come, but... Maybe I'll be a little late? ... But it's only ten in the morning. It's still early. ... Fine. Fine fine fine, I'll be there soon. Thank you, bye."


Li Yin ended the call and quietly made her way into Luhan's room. After making sure she wasn't coming out again right after, Sehun tiptoed towards their shared room and opened the door ever so carefully so it wouldn't make any sound. He closed one eye and peeked through the very small gap.


Inside the room, Li Yin was sitting on the edge of the bed, next to the sleeping deer boy. She leaned down to get a closer look of his face as her hand moved ever so gently, caressing his pale cheek.


"Lu Han,” she called softly, slipped her hand under the sheets to take Luhan’s, giving a light squeeze to it. “Lu Han.”


The pair of doe eyes slowly fluttered opened, showing the grey orbs that had lost their usual twinkling light.


“Li Yin,” Luhan croaked, smiling weakly. He blinked several times before flying his sleepy gaze towards the window. “Is it noon already?”


“Not yet, it’s only ten. You’ve slept for fourteen hours though,” Li Yin beamed, “I’m glad you could finally get a good sleep. Does your head still hurt?”


Luhan closed his eyes to feel his head. “Mmm… It’s much better, but still hurts a little.” He opened his eyes again and sat up slowly, with the other’s help. He rubbed his eye with his balled hand and yawned a little. “Oh, thank you for taking care of me last night, Li Yin. You must have been really tired. Don’t get sick again because of me, okay?”


“Look who’s talking,” Li Yin chuckled and rolled her eyes. “You should thank Sehun instead, Lu Han.”


“I’ve done that yesterday.” Luhan’s lips stretched into a loving smile, his long eyelashes brushed against his cheeks as he blinked slowly at the other. In the most natural way, he leaned forward and captured Li Yin into a hug. With the same smile still plastered on his face, he closed his eyes and rested his cheek on her shoulder, his arms weakly clutching the fragile body.


“You’re busy today, aren’t you? Go, Li Yin, don’t make your manager come here to get you. I’m okay now,” he mumbled lazily, still with his eyes closed.


“I’m not leaving you like this,” Li Yin said, patting the other’s back. “You have to eat first, okay? And then I’ll ask Sehunnie to clean you up.”


For a split second Luhan stiffened at the mention of the younger boy’s name, but his smile was still there. “…Very well then. Did you cook again?”


“I did. So you have to eat a lot, you got that? Don’t waste my cooking,” Li Yin giggled and patted the other’s back again. “Now let me get the food for you.”


Li Yin got off the bed and Sehun returned to his hiding spot quickly. Soon Li Yin came back with a tray of food and the curious boy continued to peek, watching her feed Luhan with a weird feeling bubbling inside him, something that made him really want to kick the door open, although he didn’t even know what he would do after that. After a while the idol came out again and instead of returning to his hiding spot behind the wall, Sehun went away to the backyard to kick some grass around lazily, with an ugly scowl that wasn’t going to leave his face anytime soon.


“Sehunnie!”


He flew his gaze towards the back door of the house and found Li Yin running towards him. He turned his back to her and patted his cheeks in attempt to fix his face, and then turned around again with a forced smile plastered on his face.


“Li Yin noona,” he said, flashing his eye smile.


“I’ve been looking for you everywhere in the house,” Li Yin chuckled between her panting.


“Oh, is there something wrong?” the younger raised his eyebrows, pretending to be surprised.


The brown-haired girl glanced at her wristwatch and restlessly bit her bottom lip. “I really need to go now, I’m running late. Can you please look after Lu Han? Maybe wipe him too?”


“Oh, I’ll be glad to,” Sehun smiled sweetly. “Don’t worry, noona, I’ll take care of Luhan hyung. You can go now.”


“Thank you so much, Sehunnie! I’ll buy you bubble tea on the way home,” Li Yin grinned and winked as she walked away and waved goodbye. “Take care, bye now!”


“Bye!” Sehun beamed and waved his hands cutely like a little boy. He turned around and secretly pumped his fist. ’Yes, bubble tea!’


The skinny boy quickly returned into the house and went to where Luhan was. He was still sitting on his bed, seeming to be daydreaming while staring at the window. When Sehun walked in, he became visibly nervous and restless without any clear reasons.


“Hi, hyung,” Sehun greeted with a warm smile, “are you feeling better?”


“Hi, Sehunnie,” the older greeted back with his eyes locked on the sheets. “Yes, it’s better than yesterday.”


“Nice. I’ll help cleaning you up, okay?”


“Okay.”


Sehun got a warm wet towel and helped the older take off his sweater and his shirt. He proceeded to wipe his body and his face, being as gentle as he could.


“Is it cold?” the younger asked softly, “You’re shivering a little.”


“I-I’m okay,” Luhan smiled rather awkwardly. “Thank you, Sehunnie.”


While cleaning him up, Sehun found himself not able to stop staring at his face. Luhan kept his head down, a faint tinge of pink coloring his pale cheeks as the other’s cold hands made contact with his hot skin every so often; seemed to be unintentionally, but also too suspicious because of the unnecessary touch.


Trying to think positive, Luhan thought to himself, ’He just really looks up to me, doesn’t he? I should be a good example of a hyung.’


While on the other side, Sehun thought, ’So you wanna play this game of pretending, hyung? Then I’ll accept your challenge, we’ll play this together. We’ll see how far you can pretend, or if your forced feelings can become real. If you can pretend this well, then I can too.’


Sehun bowed his head and smiled secretly as an idea popped out in his head. A naughty idea.





A/N: here’s another chapter for sehun and luhan x) what do you think about Luhan and Li Yin though? Are they okay? I’ve always wanted to write a part where Luhan becomes so manly and gentle towards a girl, I guess it really suits his image no? Do you think he’s that type of boyfriend? Hehe x) next chapter continues this one, it’s hunhan again and it will have more drama. It’ll be a bit sad and I’m considering if I should rate it M, because it does have a rated m scene hehe yeah so wait for it ^^


Oh, and about Luhan being sick, I hope he’s perfectly fine by now. He played soccer didn’t he? That kid, he really makes everyone so restless no~ Hope he’ll get on stage again only after he’s fully recovered and the bad rumors will stop going around. We should pray for SM, they’re really screwed up this year aren’t they haha D:


Anyways, as usual thank you so much for reading and subscribing! <3