“Dude, one day that’s gonna be me,” Xiumin said with bright eyes as he watched a Germany player on the screen and Luhan laughed, hitting him playfully.

“I pretty much doubt it,” he replied dryly.

“Hey! You doubt my skills?”

“No. But he is a striker. You're a midfielder. So technically, you can’t be the next to him.”

“Yeah, I could be, no? Only more awesome. I’m gonna play for the next ISAC!”

“Yeah, and I’m gonna play for another team.”

“And then we’re gonna play against each other on the final.”

“We so will.”

“And then I’ll score the winning goal.”

“Oh, you wish! We’re so gonna kick your team asses!”

“You won’t!”

“We will!”

Xiumin punched on Luhan, hitting him repeatedly with a pillow.

“You won’t!”


“Minseokkie, sweetie, could we talk for a moment?” Xiumin’s mother called from the kitchen and Xiumin rolled his eyes.

“Eomma, Luhan is waiting for me upstairs!”

“Please, it won’t take long.”

Xiumin sighed. “Fine.”

He walked into the kitchen and sat down across from his mother.

“What’s up?”

“I wanted to talk to you about Lauri.”

“Lauri? What is with him? I thought you and dad like him.”

“Of course we do! Lauri’s a nice boy, we like him a lot. But...”

“But what?”

“I just... Don’t get me wrong, but... How close are you and Lauri exactly?”

Xiumin frowned. “What do you mean? We’re just friends!”

“Really? I’ve just... I’ve just noticed that you and Lauri really are... very close and... I was just wondering. You don’t really seem like... just friends.”

Xiumin’s eyes widened. Had they really been that obvious?

“I...”

“Sweetie, you know your father and I will always love you, no matter what and if you and Lauri are...”

“Eomma, we’re not! We’re...”

“I want you to tell me the truth.”

“Eomma, I...”