“Stop sulking just because Shixun isn’t here to do your job, Lu Han,” Yixing said with a sigh, hitting the other on the head.

“Yah! What was that for?!” Lu Han yelled, immediately stopping with cleaning the table as his hand reached for his head, touching it gingerly as he pouted unhappily.

Yixing scoffed victoriously, “Punishment for spacing out during work.”

Lu Han glared at the other, “I’m not.”

“You’ve been wiping this table for a whole thirty minutes already, and I think you’re starting to rub off its paint, so stop daydreaming already or your salary will suffer,” Yixing said before grinning, “Speaking of the devil, look who’s back?”

Lu Han threw the other one last glare before turning around, a smile unconsciously appearing on his lips. Lu Han just was not used to not have Shixun around him. That was all. And seeing that Shixun kept his promise, arriving before lunch time, was enough to make Lu Han feel reassured. It should not make him feel such an emotion, it should not matter at all whether Shixun was around or not. But it was.

“Shixun!” Lu Han said, waving excitedly.

Yixing grinned at the sight before turning his attention to Shixun, “Hello there, Shixun! How are you today?”

Shixun smiled softly, “I’m doing well, thank you for asking,” Before his gaze landed on Lu Han, his smile brightening, “I’m back.”

Lu Han’s heart fluttered at this, “I-I know,” Quickly looking away, the embarrassment of having stuttered causing him to quickly avert his gaze to the table, mindlessly wiping it, “I can see.”

Yixing scoffed before telling Shixun, “He was waiting for you.”

“Am not!” Lu Han said indignantly, “Stop sprouting nonsense, Zhang Yixing!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” Yixing said, not taking Lu Han’s words serious at all, eyes already glued to Shixun, “hey Shixun, since Lu Han wasn’t waiting for you anyways, lend me some help for a moment. I need some suggestions for some of the room decorations.”

“Sure,” Shixun replied nicely.

Lu Han, on the other hand, could only throw daggers with his angry gaze as he watched Yixing stick out his tongue before dragging Shixun with him. Shixun blinked at him before awkwardly waving, and all Lu Han could do was sigh as he was left all alone.

“I’m going to kill Yixing,” Lu Han said through gritted teeth.

Deciding that enough was enough, Lu Han stopped wiping the table that was thoroughly cleaned. He sighed again before pulling a chair out to sit on, glancing out at the window. Birds were chirping and the bashful sunbeams were gently knocking on the glass. His eyes landed on the dancing tree leaves, caressed by the wind like a gently lover. It caused him to smile unconsciously, the peacefulness of a spring day washing over him. He was a busy person, always thinking about ways to earn more money, but that did not mean he did not permit himself to take a rest sometimes.

He was also human, after all.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts and so absorbed in his own world, that he did not even notice someone walking towards him. It was only after he felt a hand on his shoulder, familiarly friendly, that he was woken up. He knew who it was immediately.

“Hey, Minseok,” Lu Han said as he glanced over his shoulder to look at the other, “weren’t you supposed to be helping the cook right now?”

Minseok chuckled at this, “He’s capable of cooking decent meals on his own. I haven’t talked to my good friend for a long time,” He glanced around for another chair, placing it beside Lu Han before sitting on it, “So, how are you doing?”

“I’m doing well,” Lu Han said with a smile.

Minseok nodded his head at this, eyes wide as he smiled a little, “Is that so?”

Lu Han’s eyebrows knitted together as he spoke, “What do you mean?”

“Shixun,” Minseok said, “A family member living under the same roof as you. I didn’t want to ask with Yixing and Shixun present, but,” His soft turned into a concerned one, “are you really okay?”

For a moment, Lu Han forgot how to breathe. It was because Minseok knew what family exactly meant to Lu Han. It was because Minseok had seen him crying his heart out so many times, heard the hopeless cries and felt the intense pain that was laced around Lu Han’s every scream. Minseok did not know much, knew actually nothing aside from the fact that the word family brought Lu Han so much sorrow and sadness. All Minseok had been able to do as a friend was to stay by the other’s side, comfort him and give him a place to fall back to. Lu Han was not one to tell others what he felt, what he went through, instead choosing to bottle it all up inside. Minseok never succeeded in climbing over the wall and reaching the vulnerable Lu Han. He had always only been able to stand miles away from the castle Lu Han had hid himself in.

“You never told me you had a cousin, and even if you had, to say you’ve a good relationship with him… It doesn’t sound right… And, Yixing told me about the ring you were wearing ever since Shixun appeared. Knowing how Yixing could go on and on, I told him that you probably just got it from some rich man or something and to drop the topic,” Minseok sighed before looking Minseok in the eyes, “He really is your cousin, right?”

There was a brief moment in which Lu Han had felt the desire to tell Minseok the truth. There was a brief moment to tell Minseok, who believed him, everything. However, Minseok was only his friend, and although he was a good friend, he was not close enough to Lu Han. Lu Han was scared of telling, frightened to confess, and Minseok just was not close enough. Maybe he once had been almost close enough, but then Yixing came and Minseok slipped out of his fingers like sand.

Minseok heaved a sigh as he noted Lu Han’s silence, “I might not be in any position to say this, but I would’ve rather have him not be your relative.”

Lu Han blinked his eyes in surprise at this, “Why-”

“Because that would make it easier for you,” Minseok said, the sympathy and concern laced around his words, “I don’t want to see you hurt. You don’t deserve that.”

He knew. Lu Han knew that Minseok coped with all he was, all his dreaming and all his cheat actions, because he wanted to embrace the last bits of strength that Lu Han had. As a friend, he could only do so much. He could only let Lu Han work in his hostel, giving him a job and a place to go to when he felt lonely. It was all he could do. He could not prevent Lu Han from getting hurt, could not stop him from earning money in ways that he did not support, but he could give him an umbrella for the rains.

“Don’t get too attached to him, Lu Han,” Were Minseok last words of wisdom before he gave Lu Han a soft pat on the shoulder, hoping Lu Han would listen.

»

“Come on, Shixun, let’s go home.”

Lu Han said as he tugged Shixun’s hand. They had just finished lunch and since there was nothing for Lu Han to do in the hostel anymore for today, he planned on going home to take a good rest. Tonight there would be a party on the beach, and he was eager to go there to earn some more money.

“Okay,” Shixun said with a smile.

They both got into the car, and Lu Han was about to start the engine when he noticed the dirt on the hem of Shixun’s shirt. Lu Han had decided not to ask where Shixun had went off to, told himself that if Shixun wanted to tell, he would do so himself. However, upon seeing the dirt and even some blue paint now that he looked at it more closely, he felt the urge to ask.

“Where did you go to this morning?” Lu Han asked as he held onto the hem of Shixun’s shirt, examining it more closely, “It wasn’t this dirty this morning when you left.”

“I, uh,” Shixun tensed up as he looked down to this t-shirt, “it must’ve been from when I accidentally hit a wall that was being painted.”

“Accidentally hit?” Lu Han said with flickering eyes, “Did you get hurt?”

“No, I was just a little clumsy,” Shixun said with eyes that turned into crescent moons again, a beautiful sight that Lu Han could never get enough of.

Lu Han sighed before smiling, “Alright, alright, let’s just get home, then. Let’s rest before going to the beach tonight.”

Shixun blinked his eyes in surprise while looking at Lu Han, “Why would we go to the beach?”

“There will be a beach volleyball competition tonight. Lots of people will go to watch, so I was planning on going to sell some ice cream there,” Lu Han said as he started the engine, already driving away from the hostel.

“Are you…” Shixun spoke before the hesitation took over.

Lu Han shook his head at the other’s innocence, a chuckle escaping his lips, “I’m not going to sell fake ice cream. Even though I love money, I wouldn’t want to cause anyone to get into the hospital because of me.”

“I’m sorry,” Shixun said softly and carefully, causing Lu Han to glance at him, “I shouldn’t have… I didn’t mean-”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, don’t worry about it. Just help me with selling the ice cream and I’ll forgive you,” Lu Han said with a smile.

Shixun instantly let out a sigh of relief at this, “Deal.”

»

Fortunately Zitao had an endless supply of ice cream, which he was eager to let Lu Han sell. And so Lu Han and Shixun ended up on the beach, which was insanely crowded, with a small ice cream cart that could barely be moved through the sand. The sky was already a blanket of blackness, but stubborn stars decorated it while the neon lights gave the whole surrounding a gentle color. Together with the sound of a carefree crowd, this competition was bound to bring lots of joy tonight.

The beach was well known to have the occasional financially well off young people hang around on, which was good enough for Lu Han. Those who had too much money in hands were the easiest to get some profit from.

“Hey, handsome, why don’t you buy some ice cream?” Lu Han asked the young man, who seemed al little bit familiar, who walked passed their ice cream cart, eyes gleaming under the artificial light.

The stranger looked at before smirking, “Sure, how much beauty?”

“3000 Won,” Lu Han said in a heartbeat.

This caused the stranger’s smirk to grow wider, harsher and darker, “Sure, give me ten,” Lu Han’s smile widened at this but the stranger was quick into getting to the point, “but why don’t we go somewhere after this. Just the two of us, you know, to get to know each other.”

The frown on Lu Han’s face came immediately, fingers clenching around the ice cream cup harder than he should, but he tried his best to keep the smile up, “I’m sorry, that won’t do, I’m afraid. I’ll be working here all evening long.”

The stranger threw Shixun a nonchalant glance before saying, “You’ve got him here, right? And you’re not really selling ice cream right now, are you, pretty face?”

Lu Han tried to remain calm, really tried, put patience was not something that came from an endless pool. However, before he could even say anything more, Shixun already stood in front of him.

“You must be really desperate if you go to such lengths just to get some company,” Shixun said coldly.

This struck a nerve of the stranger, “You… What are you implying?”

“I’m implying that you shouldn’t think that just because you’ve a little bit more money to spend that you can go around and pretend to be a king,” Shixun said sternly but ever so calmly, “so if you’re not going to buy any ice cream, you might as well take your leave.”

“You!” The stranger said before grabbing Shixun by the collar, pulling him close to his own face, “Take that back!”

“Hey!” Lu Han said frantically, nervously trying to reach for Shixun but the stranger had already dragged him away from the ice cream cart, “Leave him alone!”

“Don’t act like you’re all high and mighty yourself, ice cream boy!” The stranger said before punching Shixun on the face, gradually catching everyone’s attention.

The punch was not light, but not hard enough to break any tooth or bones. It would certainly create a bruise later on, but that was not something Shixun or Lu Han could care about. Lu Han was so close to rushing to the two of them and trying to do whatever that would be able to stop them, but all Shixun did was grin as he slowly stood up again, gingerly wiping away the small amount of blood on the corner of his lips.

“Seems like you’re the kind of person who can only resolve to violence to get what you want,” Shixun simply said.

“You!” The stranger said angrily, “Alright! You know what, since it seems you’re so full of yourself, why don’t we’ve a small battle?”

“What kind of battle?” Shixun asked while wearing a judging expression, not intimidated at all.

“Shixun, don’t-” Lu Han tried, but it was already too late to have any of his words reach Shixun’s ears.

“I’m the local darts king here,” The stranger said while making a gesture to emphasize his grandiose, “so let’s have a darts battle. If I win, I’ll give you the money of ten, no make that twenty ice cream cups. However,” An evil smirk grew on his lips, “if I win, I need you to get into the water, ice cream boy. And when I say going into the water, I mean into the water .”

This caused Lu Han’s eyes to widen in shock, “No, Shixun, you’re not going to-”

But Shixun already cut him off, leaving Lu Han to deal with the helplessness, and he wore an amused grin as he said, “Deal.”

Lu Han could only hastily follow, leaving the ice cream cart neglected and behind as he rushed to Shixun’s side, desperately tugging at his arm, “Don’t do it, Shixun. Do you even know how to play darts? I… I think I’ve seen his face somewhere before now that I’ve had a closer look. I think he wasn’t bragging about his darts skills. Come on, Shixun, let’s just go.”

Shixun glanced down at him, a gentle but confident smile appearing as he said, “I’m not backing down, but don’t worry, I got this.”

And all Lu Han could do was watch as Shixun was pulled away from him and in the middle of the room. Curiosity was eating everyone up as many people rushed inside the small beach café, eyes gleaming in excitement as they yelled the stranger’s, supposedly Jonghyun’s, name. The more fans of Jonghyun came, the worried Lu Han got. Jonghyun did not waste any time as he grabbed the darts before preparing himself in front of the dartboard. Eyes were glossed with confidence as he eyed the dartboard, hand swinging back and forth as he prepared himself for the first throw.

And the first throw hit the bullseye perfectly.

Lu Han’s gasped the moment the dart hit the dartboard, perplexed at how the stranger had hit the bullseye so beautifully. And it might have been the atmosphere, the crowd that yelled his name, the glory of a moment of fame, but the second hit the bullseye too. He had the concentration, had the control over himself that made the dart go straight to the bullseye. And as if to show himself off, the third one was a perfect bullseye too.

A grin was one his face as he looked at Shixun, “Well, your turn to show what you got. But I wonder what you’ll be able to do.”

A girl quickly gave Shixun the darts, and Lu Han was so close to telling Shixun to stop because he would not even be able to win anymore, but Shixun stood with so much confidence in front of him, that there really was nothing Lu Han could do. So he could only watch, and hope for a miracle.

Screw miracle, he just waited for a moment to grab Shixun’s hand and get the hell out of the café.

Shixun’s eyes were filled with calm concentration, the serious expression looking so beautiful on him. He shone, he really shone. Lu Han could not deny that it seemed as though Shixun had it all under control, had everything perfectly calculated and planned out, and all that was left was a swing of the hand and everything would be executed flawlessly. That kind of aura was so strong, that it drew Lu Han’s attention on him like honey.

The first dart went straight to the bullseye, knocking Jonghyun’s dart off the dartboard of its own rightful place, causing the whole crowd to gasp in shock. Lu Han could only gasp in shock at the sight. Even Jonghyun, who had seemed so confident until now, was perplexed as he saw his own dart falling on the ground mercilessly. Shixun could only grin before throwing his second one.

And it hit the bullseye again, its force causing yet another one of Jonghyun’s darts to drop on the ground.

Finally, the third one was thrown with such swiftness and smoothness that it looked so crazily easy.

The end picture was three darts at the bullseye, all from Shixun.

Shixun touched his wrist before looking at Jonghyun, eyebrows moving up in amusement before grinning, “You’re good,” He said before grinning, “but not good enough, I’m afraid.”

“You…” Jonghyun said, too shocked of just having his reputation crushed by some poor ice cream boy, “How…”

“Why don’t you give me the money you promised, so I can go back to selling some ice cream while you spend your time rethinking what just happened,” Shixun said with a hauntingly handsome lopsided grin, hand already extended to Jonghyun.

And all Jonghyun could do was mindlessly reaching for his wallet, pulling the money bills out before handing them to Shixun while the crowd began to gossip loudly about what just happened. And Shixun was about to turn around to look at Lu Han, but before he could even turn around completely, Lu Han already threw himself on the taller male, embracing Shixun tightly.

“I- What- I don’t even know-,” Lu Han said, the words sounding muffled because Lu Han had his face planted against Shixun’s chest, “Thank God you won… Thank God you won, Shixun…”

Shixun smiled at this, patting Lu Han gently on the head, “I told you it was okay. I won, see?” Shixun said before showing Lu Han the money, “Let’s go.”

And with that Shixun pulled Lu Han with him as he made his way out of the crowd and out of the café, slowly walking back to their ice cream cart. Luckily it was still there, unharmed and probably untouched.

“Why would you want to play against him? What if you lost?” Lu Han asked Shixun, overwhelmed by what had just happened but still not completely understanding why Shixun would risk so much to win against Jonghyun.

“When it comes to darts, I won’t lose,” Shixun said before his face turned into a serious expression, “and you’re my cousin, I’m not going to let someone fool around without doing anything.”

This caused Lu Han’s heart to flutter, “You… You did it for me?” And then his eyes landed on the forming bruise on Shixun’s face, “But look at the bruise on your face… It must’ve hurt…”

Shixun blinked his eyes as he looked at Lu Han before laughing, “It’s nothing. I’m not going to die,” He said before handing Lu Han the money, “Here, for you.”

Lu Han frantically shook his head at the sight of the money, “No, it’s yours!”

“This caused Shixun to frown, “It’s okay, I don’t really need it. You can take it and use it to pay the fees or something-”

“It’s money you earned, Shixun, money you earned fair and square,” Lu Han said before his eyes softened, “so it’s yours to keep. It’s completely yours, I’m not going to take it.”

It took a moment for the words to sink in, but soon a sincere smile crept on Shixun’s lips, “Thank you.”

“No,” Lu Han said softly, “thank you.”