Dear Diary,

I’ve always thought that arcades and cafés are overrated for dates like in those cliché dramas (like, you know, girl meets boy, boy meets girl, first date ends up happening in a nearby cheap café with the boy giving flowers and stuff ‘cause happens like that and the next thing you know, they’re ing), but they surprisingly made my day even more fun. Perhaps I could go out sometime and enjoy Seoul since I’ve been practically living under a rock in my whole 17 years of existence.

And did I just say date? Please scatter that from your thoughts instead. Byun Baekhyun had insisted that it was a date though I would just absolutely beg to disagree because I kind of acted more like a personal assistant rather than a girlfriend material (cue Baekhyun’s snarly retort of “hypocrite!”)

Though the deer plushie he won is just absolutely adorable that I find myself hugging it to sleep every single night.

Signed, Lulu

“Can I marry you instead?!”

Sehun nearly chokes in his food again as the deafening scream reaches their table (why is he not surprised that Luhan could actually yell like that?). The girl seemed to be quite loud recently, and he doesn’t know whether it’s a good or a bad thing. Sighing, he mentally reminds himself that it is not his business to meddle and should just keep quiet instead.

That is, until a hand touches Luhan by the shoulder, and a pair of brown orbs were already digging holes at the back of the man’s head.

“Yah, noona! You’re making a scene!”

Sehun knew that Jongin and Luhan’s relationship is purely platonic, but he couldn’t help but stare in jealousy as they began to talk animatedly, a pouting Luhan convincing Jongin about something. He couldn’t really hear that well, but he knew enough that it was about the black haired midget beside Baekhyun.

‘Do Kyungsoo, was it?’ He thinks to himself, but he quickly remembers his place and inwardly slaps himself for being retarded, ‘Aish. Since when did I care about Luhan?!’ A big frown crawls on his face, but the next thing he knew, he’s dialing the Chinese girl’s number.

XXX

A short part of EXO’s ‘Don’t Go’ softly plays in the background. Startled, Luhan quickly fumbles with her pocket and soon enough, she finds her phone ringing. The girl answers the call, not bothering to even see who the person was.

“Hello?”

[Yah Bambi, meet me at the school gate after classes today.]

‘Uh, excuse me?’  She blinks in surprise, wondering why on earth a stranger would call her, though the voice sounded awfully familiar. “Who is this?”

[It’s Oh Sehun, Lu-brat.]

“Oh, it’s you. What do you want now?” the frown on her deepens and soon becomes a scowl.

[Do I have to repeat the same thing twice?] A frustrated sigh comes from the other line, and Luhan’s silence could only mean yes, [As my servant, you are hereby ordered to meet me at the school gate after classes end. Today. We’re going somewhere. Oh, and don’t forget to bring banana milk. Ciao, .]

Soon enough the line ends, and Luhan finds herself nearly smashing her phone to pieces, “Motherer.” She growls, but low enough for everyone not to hear. She doesn’t miss the quirk of Baekhyun’s raised eyebrows though when the younger notices her best friend getting angry.

“It’s nothing,” she smiles, “let’s go back to the classroom now. Classes are about to start.”

XXX

It was by 3PM sharp did Luhan spot the blonde boy waiting patiently at where he had said, arms crossed and eyes closed as he leans on the wall with his earphones on. He looked so peaceful and calm, but of course, that was just life playing games.

The girl comes closer to tap him at the shoulder and comes face-to-face with a terrifying scowl, “What?”

“Excuse you but you called me here, remember?”

“Oh, right.” Sehun plugs out his earphones and places it back at his pocket, “Wait, where’s my banana milk?”

A small container is thrown to his direction, much to his surprise, but Sehun manages to catch it anyway and quickly drinks it all in large gulps, ignoring Luhan’s comment of “ungrateful brat”.

“Where are we going anyway?”

“You’ll soon see.” He flashes a smirk and boards on a bus, much to Luhan’s bemusement. Not that it was her first time on a bus (she’d ridden it a hundred times before with Baekhyun), but the thought of the possible places they would go to began running inside her head.

The ride was somehow silent, which was pretty much surprising since Sehun is rarely silent, and so is Luhan, but the girl just found it awkward to start a conversation when there was really nothing to talk about and ended up just staring outside the window.

They soon pass a chain of motels and places for one-night stands, and Luhan finds herself blushing furiously as her eyes dart on each building, ‘D-don’t tell me-”

Thankfully though, they pass the district, and the bus ends up getting into a place where the Chinese didn’t even know was part of Seoul.

“S-Sehun,” she tugs at the male’s shirt. “Seriously, where are we going? This is beginning to worry me already…”

Sehun, who was already beginning to appreciate the silence, darts his head towards Luhan with a big frown, and the girl begins to wonder if this is a permanent case already, “Oh relax, will you? We’re still in Seoul just so you know and I’ll make sure you get home in one piece in case you’re wondering.”

“You mean you’ll take me home?”

“No,” the blonde snorts (Luhan somehow feels insulted by this). “I’ll just make sure someone gets you home safely, preferably your guardian or at least Baekhyun. I wouldn’t dare tire myself by carrying someone as heavy as you all the way home.”

Scrunching her face in distort, Luhan turns away only to mumble “tch, ” before turning completely silent again.

XXX

They arrive at an arcade later (Luhan stared wide-eyed at the building first before entering, her eyes expressing a message of ‘I traveled all the way to the ing half of Seoul just to enter THIS?’). It wasn’t really filled with people, more like students skipping classes and old people wanting to be young again, but it wasn’t a shabby place. In fact, it looked happier than the ones near their school.

It breathed an air of vibrancy and freshness, something the girl had wanted to feel for a long time since school and home began suffocating her. Not to mention the whole ‘marriage’ thing.

She looks at everything with big eyes, as if a kid wandering Disneyland, and Sehun couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. Luhan looked like a deer in the headlights (no pun intended).

“I come here sometimes,” he softly says. “When school gets really stressful and my parents begin nagging me, I always go here. It takes quite some time to get here but everything’s worth it. The stress fades away as soon as I play. Just like its name, it’s Magic.”

Anyone would have laughed at Sehun’s childish reason, but Luhan didn’t find the need to do so and simply nods, walking up eagerly to the counter.

“You wanna play?” a man not any older than them asks, a small smile on his face.

“Yep!”

“20 tokens for each of us,” Sehun hands a crisp bill, “and no, I do not want the VIP card.”

“But you come here so often that you’re practically a VIP,” the man pouts, but nonetheless hands them their tokens. “Didn’t expect you had a girlfriend though. Does she know that you’re wasting all your money here?”

“Shut up, Eunhyuk.”

‘Eunhyuk’ feigns a hurt look, “You’re so mean, Sehunnie, but enjoy as always, and don’t forget to treat your princess well. Oh, and it’s Eunhyuk hyung to you, brat.”

Poking his tongue out, Sehun walks off to a nearby machine. “Hey, I can pay for my own, you know.” The girl beside him says, pouting.

“Today, it’s my treat. As my servant, you are hereby ordered to have as much as fun as I want that your laugh box explodes!”

“Not sure about the laugh box exploding moment but sure, I’ll have fun.” Before Luhan could run off to a game though, she makes sure to plant a quick peck on Sehun’s cheeks, “Thanks, by the way.”

Good thing she was too busy playing that she didn’t notice Sehun slowly turning red.

XXX

“Yah, why don’t we try this?” Luhan suggests a shooting game, holding the fake gun in her hands.

Shrugging, Sehun walks closer to drop 2 tokens and quickly starts the game, getting his own gun, “You know how to play?”

“Not really, but I’ll survive.”

“Okay.”

30 minutes later, a dumbfounded Sehun stares at Luhan with wide eyes as the big, red words of ‘You win!’ flashes on their screen. “I thought you said you didn’t know how to play!” he screeches, pointing an accusing finger at the latter.

“I don’t,” she replies, blinking. “I just kind of tampered with the gun and quickly followed whatever the instruction was.”

‘Unbelievable.’ Sehun thinks, staring at what could be the next gaming master, ‘It took me about 3 weeks to clear this game and she just does it effortless on the first try’. Embarrassed, he turns away with a huff and grumbles, “Beginner’s luck.”

“Let’s play it again!”

 “Hell no! Let’s go home!” before he knew it though, a pair of puppy eyes is already blinking at him, pleading to stay longer. Sehun finds his breath hitching at the sight and turns away, unable to calm himself down, “F-fine.” He says, irresistible to Luhan’s aegyo, “b-but only for one more game.”

“Yay!”

A few moments later, two teenagers are hovering over the vending crane machine, bickering about what to do.

“You .”

“Not like you’re of any help, either.”

Sehun rolls his eyes, shooing the girl, “Move, twit. Let the master do his style.”

“Style, my . You can barely even hold the damn toy.” Though she says this, Luhan steps aside just enough for Sehun to play, “You better get the plushie.”

“Which one?”

Her eyes land on a stuffed bun, reminding her of a certain baozi-looking junior, “That one.”

Sehun abruptly rolls his eyes again but quickly returns to the game as he his lips in concentration. The attempt sadly failed, though, as the stuffed toy ended up back to its original place. Not wanting to disappoint Luhan and deflate his ego, Sehun quickly picks up the nearest one and dumps it to the dropping box, which happened to be some kind of deer, he thinks.

“You didn’t get the bun,” Luhan deadpans, staring at the toy.

“At least I got you something.”

A small smile appears on the older’s face, “You’re right. Thank you.”

XXX

“Order anything you like. Dinner’s on me.” Sehun suddenly announces as soon as they reach a café, plopping down on one of the chairs happily.

Since they spent all of their tokens already and it was getting late, the two agreed to eat at a nearby place instead, and Sehun suggested a café he knew.

“You surprisingly know every nook and cranny of this place,” Luhan comments, opening a menu.

“Not surprising, really. Chanyeol lives near here.”

“Chanyeol? You mean Park Chanyeol?” he nods. “Huh, then I should probably get his address or something and give it to Baekhyun.”

The younger groans, burying his face under his palms, “Please don’t. I’m sure Baek will start stalking him outside his house or something and Chanyeol hyung will kill me.”

“Kidding.” A soft giggle escapes from the girl’s mouth. “I’ll just have what you have. I don’t really know what they serve here.”

“Okay.”

They quickly order their food and awkward silence soon overcomes the both of them. Luhan, who has been squirming uncomfortably in her seat since they arrived, coughs, gaining the boy’s attention, “Do you come here often?”

Sehun nods, “About once or twice a week. Today’s the third time.”

“I see. Do you like it here?”

“Well, yeah.” The blonde chuckles, “School’s been stressing me out lately. They’ve begun to hand out these annoying projects and reminding every student that they should study hard for the exams. Even our principal’s beginning to be a demanding bastard.”

“They continue to rant on about how we should be valuing our studies ‘cause not every damn kid gets them, and then they tell us about how we should live our lives, like go to college and stuff. And sooner or later we’re graduating, and then they say that we shouldn’t screw this up ‘cause opportunity  is an impatient that leaves if you don’t enter its door.

Sehun continues to complain about how his life is, surprising Luhan because that was the most he had spoken since she’d met him, and as much as she hates people whining and ranting, surprisingly, she didn’t mind the former at all.

XXX

“It’s getting late now. We should probably go home.”

Sehun nods, sitting on a bench near the bus stop, “We are. The bus will arrive sooner or later, that is, if you still want to ride. You could always call someone you know.”

“No, it’s fine.” The girl shakes her head, yawning. “I came here with you, so I should probably stick with you ‘till the end.”e

Though Luhan said it nonchalantly, Sehun couldn’t help but feel the butterflies in his stomach knowing that she wanted to ride the bus home with him. “I hope you had fun today,” he says softly, but audible enough for the girl to hear.

“I did.” Luhan’s voice is quiet, probably tired, but Sehun’s glad that the Chinese female enjoyed it.

“Everything that happened today is actually for you…” the words come off more like a whisper, fading together with cool breeze. He knew that the girl was beginning to frown more recently, albeit he doesn’t know the reason why. Thankfully, though, the older didn’t hear it and is already sleeping, head rested on his shoulder as she snores silently.

‘Seriously, this girl.’ Sehun rolls his eyes, snorting in amusement, but drags out his phone to call someone.

“Baekhyun,” a soft groan is heard from the other line, “I don’t care if you’re getting your beauty sleep. What’s Luhan’s address?”