Chanyeol was quick to arrange a press conference, wasting no time for curiosity to infiltrate’s people’s minds. He knew that they needed to act quickly in order to remain the peace they worked so hard to gain. Kyungsoo had refused to get the police involved, not wanting Sehun’s disappearance to cause any turmoil, but Chanyeol was not going to stand and wait until things would get exposed. It would only be a matter of time before people would start to wonder about ROYELL’s General Manager’s disappearance.

“A good afternoon, everyone,” Chanyeol spoke calmly, eyes already too used to the flashes of cameras to blink because of it anymore, “and thank you for coming today even though it was on such a short notice.”

His eyes wandered for a second to Kyungsoo, who was wearing a blank, professional expression that did not give away anything. Their CFO Jongin had decided to be present as well. Being a good friend of Sehun, Jongin had been quite skeptical when Chanyeol told him that Sehun had suddenly left to Japan, but he had argued no further when he realized Chanyeol would not tell any more than that. It was clear that Jongin was not happy with how things were unfolding, but he knew that his presence meant a lot. Chanyeol could not only be grateful for Jongin’s mature behavior, although he knew it was mostly for Sehun.

“As you can all already see, General Manager Oh, our CEO of the ROYELL hotel chain, isn’t present today. Today’s press conference is to inform you all that General Manager Oh has decided to go to Japan for private reasons we’ll not go further into. However, I can assure you all that this’ll only be temporary. Nevertheless, for now it remains unknown how long it will take before he’ll be back.”

“Who’s going to make the decisions now that General Manager Oh is absent?” One of the reporters automatically asked.

“Is it true that there has been some dissatisfaction about the current CEO of ROYELL?” Another question quickly followed, showing the fast thinking of journalists.

Chanyeol gestured for everyone to calm down, a small professional smile forming on his lips, “I’ll answer all the questions. General Manager Oh’s temporary absence won’t influence any of ROYELL’s state of affairs. We’ve recently finished some big projects, and right now ROYELL will focus on maintaining the current position as one of the most well-known hotel chains in South Korea. I assure you all that nothing will change and everything will continue as usual. It can just be seen as if General Manager Oh is on a well-deserved vacation. However, because of the suddenness of it, we decided to inform everyone with a press conference. With regard to dissatisfactions about our current CEO, I can assure you this is absolutely false.”

“Then how about the new Incheon project? Is it true that you’ve started negotiating with the local owners to buy up a considerable amount of land to build another ROYELL hotel on? Who’s going to follow this project now General Manager Oh is absent?”

“Is it true that Byun Baekhyun, the current CLO of ROYELL, will temporarily take over General Manager Oh’s responsibilities? After all, he’s Byun Hyunsoo’s son.”

It was not like Chanyeol had not expected questions about Byun Baekhyun would come up. From the moment Sehun was appointed as the new CEO of ROYELL, said person has made it his life mission to show his dissatisfaction. Nevertheless, it did not take away the annoyance of being continuously asked about Byun Baekhyun, especially since Chanyeol knew for certain this person would be cause some ruckus very soon.

“Is it true that General Manager Oh wanted to fire the CLO because of his recent scandal with famous movie star and current South Korea’s heartthrob Lee Haebin? Pictures of them entering a hotel together have been posted on several social networks on the Internet.”

“I assure you all that we’re already taking actions towards our CLO’s recent behavior with several celebrities. Although it remains a personal and private matter, we do understand this has caused some upheaval and we are currently in discussion with Byun Baekhyun about this,” Chanyeol said before flashing a bright smile that cost more energy than anyone would ever know, “That’s all I can say.” 

»

“Hey, Shixun, why would you want to go to the market again? You want to buy something?” Lu Han asked as he drove the two of them to the market at Shixun’s request.

Shixun smiled, “Yeah, since I got the money I won from Jonghyun the previous time, I thought I might as well buy something with it.”

Lu Han nodded his head, “Anything in mind you would want to buy?”

“Uh, nothing in particular, just want to look around a bit,” Shixun responded.

 “Sure,” Lu Han said with a smile, “but I need to go meet up with Jongdae, since we’re going to the market. You can look around on your own, or we can go together after I’ve visited Jongdae.”

“Ah, that’s okay, I’ll look around on my own,” Shixun replied gently, eyes glued to the view outside the window, “I can meet up with you later on.”

“Okay, let’s meet up around five o’clock at the fountain in the middle of the market square, you know where that is, right?” Lu Han said as he smoothly parked the car before taking off his watch, “Since you don’t have a phone or a watch, you can wear my watch. Remember, fountain, five o’clock. If you’re lost, just ask someone how to get to the market square, okay?”

Shixun chuckled at this, shining eyes looking into Lu Han’s, “I’m not a kid. I’ll get there, don’t worry.”

“Don’t worry, you say,” Lu Han said with a scoff, “you’ve only been here once.”

“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” Shixun said with an amused smile as he watched Lu Han struggle with his seat belt, “unlike someone else.”

“Damn this seat belt,” Lu Han mumbled through gritted teeth as he cursed the safety belt to get stuck, “but remember, five o’clock, fountain!” When he saw Shixun already opening the door and stepping outside the car, he yelled one last time, “Five o’clock, Shixun, fountain!”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Shixun said with a playful grin, “see you then.”

All Lu Han could do was sigh as he watched Shixun walk away as he himself looked down and cursed the damn seat belt for getting stuck. His car was desperately in need for some reparation, both inside as outside, but money was something Lu Han never had a lot of.

Alright, maybe what really bothered Lu Han was how Shixun was starting to get a little too comfortable around Lu Han for his own good. Realization hit Lu Han all too sudden that Shixun had become so carefree in his presence that alarm bells were getting off inside of Lu Han’s mind. It was an automatic response when Lu Han got too carried away, a bodily reaction to tell Lu Han that something was getting too out of hand. And it made him realize that he had been letting Shixun get too close to him, without him knowing it. It never felt bad. It always felt good, actually. However, now it began to look wrong.

Lu Han glanced down on the ring wrapped around his finger, and contemplated about what exactly he should be doing next. He would not know.

»

Jongdae’s place was ordinarily small and surprisingly well-decorated. Pictures of his family and friends hung on the wall, and the elegant and ancient ticking grandmother’s clock was almost an ugly contrast against the poorly white painted wall. The walls were an angry mess of white paint thrown on it. Maybe that was why Jongdae put so much effort in hiding it.

“How are you doing?” Jongdae asked nicely as he gestured for Lu Han to take place on the couch.

“I’m doing well,” Lu Han said with a smile before grabbing his bag to give Jongdae the money he needed to pay for the replica bags, “Oh, right, before I forget, the money I needed to give back. Can you hand it to your friend for me?”

Jongdae took the yellow envelope with the money before putting it down beside him, “Sure, I will. Hey, I’ve something good I want to share with you. My girlfriend has a make-up brand she wants to put on the market, and she needs some people to sell them. It’s supposed to efficiently and effectively reduce any flaws on the skin and whiten the skin.”

“Ah, really? But make-up… Is it… You know…” Lu Han said, a little hesitant when it came to things that could go either surprisingly well or horribly wrong for the customers.

“I know what you’re concerned about, but I can assure you it’s perfectly safe, no harms for anyone who uses it,” Jongdae said, “but you can always think about it. She just started asking around for it. If you’re interested, we’ll go to Seoul together then.”

The mentioning of Seoul caused Lu Han to unconsciously gulp down his saliva, “S-Seoul, you say?”

“Yeah, that’s where it can really have an impact,” Jongdae said enthusiastically, “and Seoul is nice to visit sometimes. You’ve been there before?”

“Will you come back for me?”

The words cut into his tongue as he forced himself to speak them out. When Lu Han realized she was not going to answer him, was not going to give him the one response he wanted to hear so badly in order to breathe, the tears started to roll down. It really hurt. It really hurt so much.

“Do you really need to go?” Lu Han asked in a soft whisper.

This time, she did reply, “Yes.”

Lu Han shook his head at this, his gaze wavering as his fingers tugged at the hem of his shirt, “N-No, I haven’t.”

“Think about it,” Jongdae said with a smile.

A nervous smile lingered on Lu Han’s lips as he replied, “I-I will. Hey, can I use the bathroom?”

Jongdae looked up at him before nodding his head, “Sure, you know where it is, right?”

Lu Han nodded his head before heading over to the small bathroom, instinctively locking the door before leaning against it, eyes shutting immediately as he let himself slide down on the ground. It was not a panic attack. He would know if it was one, from previous experiences. Just the mentioning of the city would not cause that much. It did, however, trigger some unpleasant memories. A lot of things would trigger those memories. It was as if every little thing that was so irrelevant to others could break his whole world into pieces. It could make life so unbearable sometimes.

“Listen to me, Han, fairytales are just lies,” The skinny woman said sharply and sternly with her cherry lips, “In this world, there are only two types of people: those who have enough money to create fairytales and those who don’t have enough money to let go of those fairytales.”

“But mom, everyone deserves happiness, right?” Lu Han asked hesitantly while he tugged at his worn-out sleeves nervously.

 She shook her head as she looked into Lu Han’s eyes with a kind of emptiness that was a contrast to her beauty, a weak smile dancing on her lips, “There’s not enough happiness on this world for everyone.”

If one’s childhood determines one’s life, then Lu Han’s destiny was determined from the moment he was in his mother’s arms. In a woman’s hands who did not even know how to love herself, let alone her own child.

There were moments, like when Lu Han was all alone in the small attic that smelt like dust and neglect, when certain thoughts would pop up. Questions a young child like him could only think about but never give answers to. And when he got a little older, he would wonder why everyone else could be so happy to have their parents pick them up while he would have to walk home alone. There were moments, like when he would have to walk home alone and no matter how delicious the street food looked and how hungry he was, he never had the money to buy any of it, that he would tug his little hands in his pockets and let his head hung down. There were, among other things, moments, like when he would be told on school that birthdays were supposed to be celebrated, that he would think sadly about why an empty apartment, leftovers of yesterday’s dinner and homework lying on the table would be all that accompanied him on this supposedly special day.

These moments made him wonder whether he never deserved happiness to begin with. Maybe there really was not enough happiness for everyone, and for the sake of everyone else being happy, he needed to be unhappy.

»

There was still one hour left before he needed to be at the fountain, so Lu Han decided to walk around near the market square. He decided to leave Jongdae’s place after awhile, not because he disliked Jongdae’s company, but because of the sudden need of fresh air. The haunting feeling of being suppressed made him throw a quick goodbye to Jongdae before rushing out of the apartment, desperately catching his breath while running aimlessly. It was only moments later, when he had calmed down a little, that he was able to navigate himself through the endless rows of houses and trees and found the market square.

“What should I do…” Lu Han said to himself as he looked down at his phone screen, sighing when he realized there was still too much time left.

Lu Han mindlessly walked through the streets before he stopped in front of one of the shops. The loose grey shirt the mannequin was wearing looked heavenly comfortable and just the right size for Shixun. Lu Han realized long ago that Shixun could never live on just one outfit and occasional borrowing of Lu Han’s rather poor excuse of a wardrobe. Shixun’s size was different from Lu Han’s too, so clearly he was in lack of clothes to wear. However, a sigh escaped Lu Han’s mouth at the sight of the price tag, intently cursing at the expensiveness of clothes in general these days. He was reluctant to remove his eyes from the shirt because it really did look like it would fit Shixun perfectly and he had wanted to buy new clothes for the other. In the end, though, money was the reality that made Lu Han wake up from his wishes to buy everything he wanted, and he reluctantly turned away from the window of the shop. Maybe he could find another shop that would sell cheaper clothes.

The market square had particular small shops and occasionally some market stalls that would sell cheap clothes. However, it was always the question whether you could find cheap and decent clothes buried beneath all the messily sewn and poor quality clothes. It took years and a considerable amount of money to buy some good clothes that would not rob his wallet. Lu Han wandered around a little longer, turning corners and walking through streets until he found a rather promising market stall. He excitedly stepped inside and started looking around, eyes scanning the clothes that were lying on the tables. His hands instinctively reached out for pieces of clothes that caught his attention, but he grimaced at the feeling the rough fabric that would be too harsh for the body. It reminded Lu Han about the slightly noticeable allergic reaction Shixun was getting because of some of the clothes he probably was not used wearing.

Lu Han took his wallet and looked down at the few money bills that were inside it. He had wanted to treat Shixun and himself on something good after a week of rather good money earning, and maybe even save some money for the car reparation that was surely needed, but maybe he could afford to save that all for later. And it was not the first time that he had to wear clothes with holes in it, but it would be terrible if Shixun’s skin condition started to worsen. So he put the wallet back inside his pocket before waving goodbye to the owner of the shop, quickly rushing out and trying to find the shop he had been standing in front of before.

Maybe there should have been alarm bells going off as he ran through the streets for the sake of buying Shixun some expensive clothes he would not even buy for himself, but all such thoughts were pushed to the farthest corners of his mind. All he could remember were the way Shixun’s eyes would turn into crescent moons when he smiled and the way he looked so innocent when he followed Lu Han around and how he stood up for Lu Han when nobody else would. And although it was not always easy to live with another person, Shixun had made the apartment feel less empty than before. That alone had earned Shixun the right of a considerable amount of money that Lu Han had worked hard for. No, money they both worked hard for.

So Lu Han’s eyes gleamed when he finally found the shop he was looking for, the sweat forming on his forehead completely forgotten as he rushed inside, asking the employee for the shirt he had set his eyes on from the very first moment. He ignored how the employee was looking at him with rather criticizing eyes, already long used to being judged for how he dressed himself and for who he was. Caring too much was not something that would make him feel good, so he decided long ago to not bother with it anymore.

“This is good…” Lu Han said as he felt the soft material that certainly would not hurt the skin.

“Of course,” The employee said rather coldly, “it’s made of top quality cotton.”

Lu Han looked at him before looking at the shirt again, a small smile appearing as he thought about Shixun wearing it. Hopefully Shixun would like the present Lu Han bought for him… Because it was Lu Han’s first time to buy someone a present.

He then looked at the salesman, “I would like to buy this one, please.”

»

“Shixun!” Lu Han yelled while waving at the taller male, “You’re two minutes late!”

Shixun looked at him before he broke out into a bright smile that took Lu Han’s breath away, “It’s your watch’s fault, not mine,” He said and showed the watch to Lu Han the moment he stood in front of the smaller male, “See, it says it’s still three minutes before five. I’m early, not late.”

“How’s that possible?” Lu Han said in shock before grabbing onto Shixun’s wrist, looking at the watch with surprise, “I’m certain the time on the watch was just fine…” And then he sighed, “Okay, okay, you’re not late,” He said before his gaze landed on the paper bag in Shixun’s hand, “What did you buy?”

“Ah, this?” Shixun said as he looked down at the bag, before he looked at Lu Han and smiled, “For you.”

“F-For me?” Lu Han said with widened eyes, not sure whether he had heard it right.

Shixun nodded before giving Lu Han the brown-colored paper bag that Lu Han took eagerly, heart swelling up as he tried to take it all in. It was simply overwhelming that someone had bought him something. It made him speechless, stole his voice and his sanity because he had spent his whole life trying to earn money to buy everything he wanted himself, no longer wanting to hope for the day someone would buy it for him.  However, here Shixun stood with his radiating smile, giving Lu Han his first present ever.

“It’s… Really for me?” Lu Han said, still not completely wanting to believe it.

“Yes, it’s for you,” Shixun said with a chuckle, “open it.”

And Lu Han listened to him obediently as he sat down at the edge of the fountain and opened the paper bag, the happiness exploding inside of him as he saw the beautifully wrapped present inside. He took it gingerly, as if afraid that even one touch that was a little bit too strong would break it all. Slightly trembling hands went to slowly take off the colorful wrapping paper, and the moment his eyes landed on the present, his eyes started to water.

“You want that?” Shixun asked curiously as he saw Lu Han’s eyes glued to the light grey robot toy with big, yellow eyes and bright smile.

Lu Han woke up from his memories at this, a little startled at the sound of Shixun’s soothing voice reaching his ears, “Eh?” He said before he was able to compose himself again, forcefully tearing his face from the toy, “Oh, no, I’m too old for toys now, am I not?” He gently tugged at Shixun’s arm, pulling him away from the shop’s window, “Come on, let’s go.”

The robot toy that reminded him of his childhood, of moments in his early life when he could only look at the things he wanted so dearly with his eyes but never get to hold with his both small hands. The robot toy that he told himself he did not need anymore, because he was already too old, but in reality he just never got the money to buy the things he could not get in his childhood. Shixun had bought it for him. Something he could never buy for himself, could never afford to buy for himself, Shixun had bought it for him. And maybe that was exactly what made the toy so meaningful, because even back then, Lu Han had wanted his mother to buy the robot toy for him. All for the sake of showing Lu Han that he, too, deserved to be spoiled sometimes.

“Y-You…” Lu Han whispered in shock as his fingers gently traced the box.

“I saw you looking at it back then, with the kind of intense desperation to get it. I wanted to give you something for letting me stay at your place, but I didn’t have any money back then. I started trying to find some ways to earn some money, and was lucky to find out one of our neighbors wanted help with painting his living room. And then one time I overheard Soojung talking on the phone about a tutor who cancelled last minute and I told her I could tutor her little sister for a few times. She comes to the hostel whenever she goes visit her parents’ house, which is actually quite close. I wasn’t lying though when I said I spent some time with her, because she had always wanted to find someone to talk about literature with. And of course, I got a huge part of the money from winning against Jonghyun, so I could finally buy you this,” Shixun said honestly before breaking into a full smile that could lighten up the darkest room, “Here you go. I hope you like it.”

“You…” Lu Han said before breaking into tears, “You d-didn’t have to…”

“Hey, don’t cry again!” Shixun said in utmost distress at the sight of Lu Han crying, “You’re a grown-up, already, please don’t cry in public!”

Lu Han laughed a little at this as he wiped away some tears, “Adults can cry to sometimes, Shixun.”

“D-Do… Do you like it?” Shixun asked carefully as he watched Lu Han’s face intently.

A chuckle escaped Lu Han’s mouth before he looked the other in the eyes, “I love it. Thank you so, so, so much.”

And it would remain a secret that only Lu Han would know that Lu Han felt so happy he could die at the moment. It would remain a little secret that only Lu Han would know what this was the first time Lu Han had felt so happy, so crazily happy that it almost felt like he had committed a sin. It almost felt as if he was going to be punished very soon for feeling so blissfully happy. As if the Heavens were going to take everything away from him very soon. He felt so incredibly happy that it made him almost convinced that this was merely a dream. A dream that he wished he would never wake up from.

“Thank you so much, Shixun,” Lu Han said once again, sincerity swimming in his eyes.

Shixun smiled at this, “You’re welcome.”

“I’ve got something for you too,” Lu Han said as he wiped away some more tears before handing Shixun the bag he had been holding onto, “for you.”

“You got something, for me?” Shixun said in surprise, eyes flickering as he took the bag.

“It’s expensive so no meat this week,” Lu Han said as he watched Shixun intently, his own arms slowly embracing the gift Shixun had given him as if it was something he needed to protect with all his life, “hope you like it.”

And it was not long before Shixun took out the shirt and looked at it before glancing at Lu Han, “A shirt?”

“The shirts you’re wearing right now aren’t good for your skin at all,” Lu Han said while looking away, a pout forming on his lips before he continued, “so I decided to buy you a new one. And I know they’re worn-out and I wish I could buy you more clothes but this was all I could afford so-”

Lu Han could not even finish his sentence because all of a sudden there were arms wrapped around his body and a head resting on his shoulder while soft hair was pricking his cheek. All of a sudden there was this warmth tightly enveloping him and it made him feel as though he was going to have a heart attack any time soon with the way his heart beats were going like crazy. And Lu Han never thought skinny Shixun could make him feel so protected with the way he held Lu Han, skin and bones being the only thing that protected Lu Han from any danger. Then again, it was not only skin and bones.

“Thank you,” Shixun said sincerely.

This caused Lu Han to smile, “You’re welcome.”

It was certainly not only skin and bones.

Because there was also something that Lu Han was not sure whether he had the right to feel.

Because it felt too good.