Monkshood: Beware

 

In the previous chapter:

"Alright, we're coming," Luhan replied back as he got off the chair. He walked up to Sehun and squeezed Sehun's left cheek softly.

"Thanks for the meal, Sehun," Luhan told the boy before exiting the kitchen with Kai following behind.

Finally alone, Sehun sat on the chair Luhan had just occupied. He ran his hands through his hair as he tried sorting through his thoughts. Had Kai and him fought- no, that's not right, they had challenged each other for Luhan's attention. Sehun wasn't sure, but there was one thing that kept crossing through his mind:

What the heck just happened?

---

The day had passed quite quickly, and night took over. Everyone had cleaned up after their mess before letting themselves fall onto their beds just to fall into deep sleep. A few hours after the sun had risen, alarms began to sound, signaling the beginning of a new day. Despite everyone's tiredness, the residents and guests of the house began to wake one by one, with Yixing and Suho (who had slept soundly since the incident from the day before, and had no recollection whatsoever of whatever happened during that time) being the first to get up, to Baekhyun as the last person to do so. Time passed by quickly, and soon enough, the only thing the guys had to do was to get themselves ready for the night after they had a quick shower.

"Guys, guess what?" Xiao Dan dragged a garment rack into Jiao-long's room, where everyone was resting."Your outfits are here."

"Really?" Baekhyun was the first to rush to the rack to inspect what the clothing looked like.

"Yeah. Tao, remind me to thank your mother for this," Xiao Dan told Tao, who just nodded in response.

"Oh, great," Sehun grumbled when he saw brand new black tuxedos hanged on the rack, "monkey suits."

"It could've been worse," Luhan said next to him as he inspected the clothing. 

"How can you guys wear this?" Sehun glared at the tux. "They're so stuffy after you wear them for a long while."

"Years and years of experience," Luhan rolled his eyes, before grinning in amusement. He then gestured for Sehun to get closer to him. "Just don't let Tao nor his mom hear you call them 'monkey suits'. They take fashion very seriously to the point where they talk Prada in their sleep."

"Oh please," Tao butted into their conversation, "Prada is nothing compared to Gucci, and Mom of course."

Luhan and Sehun looked at each other in amusement as they tried not to snicker. They failed quite miserably.

"Fine, keep snickering you two, especially you, Lu," Tao huffed as he crossed his arms at the two boys. "Wait until I tell Mom that you would love to participate in her next ad campaign."

Luhan stopped and narrowed his eyes at Tao. "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, he would," Yi Fan grinned mischeviously as he placed an arm around Tao, "after all, Lien is in need of a model or two."

"Do I look like a girl to you?"

"..."

"..."

"Never mind," Luhan glared at the two tall boys, who were laughing the same way Sehun and him were a few minutes ago. "I swear, you people have some weird that involves me crossdressing."

"Of course we do," Yi Fan chuckled, "eespecially after everyone enjoyed you dressed up as a lovely maid, Han Na."

"You are so dea-" Luhan gritted his teeth at Yi Fan, hands ready to choke the blond. However, Sehun managed to pull him back.

"Just ignore them," Sehun held on to his hyung a little bit more, just to make sure Yi Fei nor Xiao Dan would end up with only two children by nightfall. He let go when Luhan calmed down. "Guys, stop bothering him," he told them with a disapproving gaze.

"We're only joking," Tao softly nudged Luhan, who just huffed in return. "It's been a while since we could get Luhan to loose his marbles."

"You guys are mean," Luhan pouted.

"Aww, we're so sorry, Lu-ge!" Tao began to approach Luhan, who hid behind Sehun. However, the taller began to circle around the youngest in order to get to the smaller.

"Yi Fan, get him," Tao instructed his blond companion. The tall Chinese boy began to chase after Luhan who still tried to use Sehun as a human shield. But when they realized it wasn't going to be an easy task to get their hyung alone, the two tall boys captured both Sehun and Luhan in a massive bear hug that had both of them lifted off the floor.

"Why?!" Both Sehun and Luhan chorused as they tried to look annoyed.

"Because we could," Yi Fan said victorious, "and Tao just wanted to apologize."

The older boy took a moment of silence before replying. "Hmph, fine," Luhan groaned as he placed his arms around Sehun's neck, clinging on to dear life.

Unbeknownst to him, the accidental back hug caused a chain of sporadic heartbeats inside of Sehun's chest. This made the latter feel some sort of panic when he felt this, along with butterflies fluttering inside his stomach. It was a strange feeling, not necessarily unpleasant, but it had caught him off guard.

What the hell is wrong with me?

"I accept your apology," Luhan groaned, "now let us down."

Complying to his wishes, Tao and Yi Fan released the two of them. Unfortunately for Sehun, Luhan had lost his balance once his feet touched the floor, dragging him along with the fall. Sehun fell with his back on top of Luhan, crushing the older boy who still held his grip on him. This had caused him to accidentally choke Sehun. At that point, the latter was spluttering while he turned peach, with the occasional shade of blue, due to his embarassment. To put the icing on the cake, Luhan let go of him, but he also pushed him away from him.

"Aigoo!" Luhan sat up to face Sehun. "Are you alright?" He asked concerned about any possible injuries that could have been caused by the fall.

"I'm fine," Sehun coughed out. At the moment, all he wanted to do was crawl into a hole and never come out; out of all the possible scenarios that guaranteed embarrassment, this was probably the most cringe-worthy (so far). He fell (quite literally) and lost all dignity in front of Lu-

Wait a sec...

Why am I so concerned about such petty things in the first place? So what if I went through something slightly embarrassing? I don't see why I should be concerned about what Luhan thinks about me?

Oh Sehun, as your conscience, I will tell you this: you are a smart kid, but you can be quite daft at times. And this is one of those times when you are too oblivious for your own good.

What do you mean?

Before he could think of a response to that question, Yixing had walked up to them. "Hey guys, um, what happened?" He saw the state his cousin and his friend were.

"Don't ask," both boys replied at the same time, still embarrassed by what happened, as they stood up.

Yixing shrugged. "Here's your second outfit for tonight." He handed each of the singers a garment bag. "Xiao Dan wants us to start getting ready now," He told the other Chinese boys. "Since we are doing two things tonight, we have to look our best."

"Alright," Luhan answered. "Should we start getting dressed now."

"Yup," Yixing nodded, "Baekhyun told me Taeyeon and the SNSD crew are going to come over in a quarter hour to help our group prepare for tonight."

Sehun groaned internally; as nice as his noona was, she was pretty fierce when it came to her job. If Taeyeon was that bad, he couldn't imagine her with company.

"According to Xiao Dan, we're getting dressed in this room, while the non-singers will occupy the other room to dress up in," Yixing explained to everyone, who just nodded in response.

"Sehun!" Chanyeol called him over. "We're being moved elsewhere right now!"

"I suppose that's your cue," Yixing pointed out. 

"Great, the torture begins now," Sehun said with a very noticeable lack of enthusiasm. Luhan patted his shoulder.

"You'll be fine," the Chinese boy said, "hurry along. You seriously don't want them to drag you out of the room if you stay behind."

"Fine."

With that, Sehun and the non-singers were placed in another room. They were set up in different 'stations' because they were told that Taeyeon's crew was coming over to help the boys. Once the awaited 'guests' arrived, the SNSD make-up artists were paired up with a boy. Unlike the last time, when Taeyeon had done Sehun's hair, he was paired up with Im Yoona. He mentally admitted that Yoona wasn't as bad as some of the girls he had met; heck, she even reminded him a lot of Luhan because of their nice personalities and hair color (although Yoona's was dyed that way. Luhan's was surprisingly natural). What he liked about Yoona (in a non-lovey dovey way) was that she wasn't too dominating like Taeyeon was when it came to her work.

Once she was done arranging his hair in the same style as last time, she helped him take off his navy shirt to avoid ruining the hair.

"I'm going to fetch your suit, alright?" Yoona told him before she went to get said item. He was left by himself as he looked around the room. It seemed most of the guys were almost in the same state as he was. Not knowing what else to do, he began fiddling around with his pendant.

"That's a nice item you have there," he was startled when he heard one of the girls say. He looked up and saw it was a girl with blond hair; he assumed it was Kim Hyoyeon, the girl who was paired up with Kai.

"Oh, thank you," he replied sheepishly. He then caught Kai walking up to them in a semi- state if it wasn't for his boxers. Sehun became very aware that his hyung wasn't shy to show off his body due to the unfazed expression Kai had on his face. He, Sehun thought, was the complete opposite of Luhan, who wasn't too keen on being in front of others (regardless of their gender) or vice versa.

"It reminds me of the couple's necklace my brother, Heechul, gave his girlfriend," Hyoyeon mentioned as she took a closer look at the pendant. "I wouldn't be surprised if you were in a relationship with someone right now. You could be an ulzzang for all I know."

Technically, it's not a couple's necklace because Luhan and I aren't in a relationship like that...

"Stop being foolish, Hyo. He's obviously not in a relationship." Hyoyeon ignored Kai's comment as she put all her focus on Sehun.

"Kai is right. You are thinking too highly of me, Hyoyeon-noona. Although you are mistaken on both assumptions, I thank you for the compliments," he told her.

"Oh my gosh, Kai," Hyoyeon jumped in excitement, "your friend is so cute. He just called me noona. Why can't you be like that, too?"

"Because I, Kim Jong In, am a living god," Kai spread his arms as if displaying his so-called greatness. "I cannot abandon who I am just to become 'cute.' I am too y for that."

Hyoyeon scoffed. "You, my friend, are a brat who is full of himself." She turned to Sehun. "I'm so sorry for his behavior. I'm pretty sure his nanny dropped him a lot when he was younger."

"That's fine," Sehun told her, as he watched the girl and Kai bicker. He was slightly amused, but he couldn't help but think back to what Kai said. 

Was it just a mere coincidence at the moment, or was Kai subtly offending him?

---

"Woah, we look good," Chanyeol said aloud as he looked at his fellow friends.

Sehun mentally agreed. Despite the fact that he was still against the 'monkey suits', he admitted that the girls did a good job. He just hoped there wouldn't be a lot of girls in their age group that would harass them through the night while they worked.

"I wonder how the others look like?" Suho said aloud. "Yixing had told me they have to deal with more aesthetic work than we did."

"Huh, I bet that Tao and Baekhyun are excited," Kai added before he waggled his eyebrows, "especially the latter. He gets special treatment from Taeyeon after all."

"Okay, we certainly didn't need to hear that," Chanyeol shook his head. "Although I do pity Luhan; Seohyun must be having the time of her life with him."

"Seohyun?" Sehun asked. He didn't see someone named Seohyun amongst the list of the SNSD make-up artists. And what exactly was her business with Luhan?

"Oh, her name is under Seo Juhyun. But she prefers to be called under her professional name," Chanyeol told him.

"She's almost as well-known as Taeyeon and Tiffany, but that's because she prefers to work for films and plays, whereas the other two have individual clients," Kai added.

"The only exception to that rule is Luhan, because she loves his 'exotic' looks," Suho snickered when his brother narrowed his eyes.

"That's not true," Kai scoffed. "Do you not remember that she bats for the other team?"

"Eh?!" Sehun gasped. He was expecting anyone to say that this Seohyun chick was crushing on Luhan, but hearing that she was a lesbian was, well, unexpected. It was more common to hear of a guy being gay than a girl being lesbian. Not that he was against people with a different ual orientation; why should he when they were people just like anyone else?

"Yeah, you heard right. Seohyun is a lesbian, and she's also in a secret relationship with someone who's the heir of a well-known company, too. We don't know who her girlfriend is, but we do know that she's a college sophmore at S.M. Academy."

"Even if she is dating a girl, it doesn't mean that she can't admire Luhan's looks," Suho flicked his brother's forehead. "How many Chinese boys do you know of that have natural light hair and are androgynous-looking?"

"Meh," Kai replied as he waved off his brother's (somewhat accurate) observation, "she only likes his looks because she loves to play dress-up with Luhan."

"Who likes playing dress-up with my nephew?" Everyone jumped when they heard Xiao Dan speak behind them. They all turned to see the grown-up arranging his bow tie in a non-chalant manner. Sehun could now see where Yi Fan got his stealth from.

"Seohyun," all of them (with the exception of Sehun) answered, hoping Xiao Dan didn't hear about their earlier conversation. After all, the patriarch of the Wu family did take his job as Luhan's pseudo-relative very seriously.

"Oh," Xiao Dan grinned, "that girl reminds me so much of Yi Fei and Lien at times. I always wonder if she isn't a relative of ours or of the Huang family. Well, if she wasn't Korean, of course." When she saw four pairs of confused eyes looking at him, he looked down. "I'm going to shut up now."

Suddenly, they heard one of the doors slam open. Hui Lei walked up to them excitedly. "They're ready, and they look amazing. Even my idiot brother looks dashing!" She then walked up to Chanyeol and linked her arm around his. "Come on, you guys!" She dragged the tall boy into the room. Not wanting to be left behind, they followed the girl and walked inside.

There, they saw (gawked at) their friends, who were standing together. If they didn't know who they were, they would've assumed the six boys were part of a boy group, or just models because of how attractive they looked.

On the left, Tao had sported a sleek hairstyle that made his hair look darker than it was; he wore a dark blue blazer, a white shirt with a U-shaped collar, and dark grey pants. Next to him, Yi Fan wore a black blazer, a white blouse with some black designs on the collar and dark pants, making him look taller than he already was. Baekhyun wore a gray checkered blazer, an indigo shirt, and pants colored in a lighter shade of grey. Yixing had worn an outfit similar to Tao's, with some minor changes in color, but it made him look more prim whereas Tao looked like a bad- Casanova. Kyungsoo looked cool with his clothing that included a dark peacock blue blazer, an indigo blouse with a brow neck tie, and dark pants. Last but not least, Luhan had a brown blazer, a beige blouse with a dark yellowish bow tie and dark grey pants, his slightly disheveled hair completing the laid-back vibe.

"Are you guys going to a party or a photo shoot?" Suho asked as he ogled Yixing's outfit. He wasn't the only one; Yi Fan and Tao were busy staring at each other. Chanyeol had to be tugged by Hui Lei many times to stop gawking at Baekhyun. Sehun and Kai were no exception either, for Luhan and Kyungsoo had caught their eyes.

"Nope, just doing free advertisement for Lien," Baekhyun joked as he striked a pose. "My mom and dad will be so proud of Byun Baekhyun tonight because I look fabulous."

"Your parents are coming?" Sehun asked, slightly worried about his parents and his brother's  reaction towards the possibility of seeing Byun Il-Sung and Eun Ae in person.

"Most of our parents are, with the exception of Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, and Luhan's," Baekhyun replied.

"Ah," Sehun almost frowned when he heard this. He almost wanted to meet Luhan's father to give him a piece of his mind, but at the same time, he thought it was good the man wasn't present because of this same reason.

"Sehun," he heard Luhan call his name, amd grinned, "you survived the monkey suit."

"Not really," Sehun replied in an amused tone. "The night has not really begun if you think about it. So I can't say I'm free from this," he gestured at his suit before looking at Sehun's outfit. "I wish I was wearing that, though. Much more comfortable looking and less monotonous."

Luhan laughed at this. "Maybe we can switch clothes in the middle of the party, ne?" Sehun snorted at the comment.

"I guess... but it would only work if I actually looked like a male model."

Luhan placed his hand under his chin. "Yah! Don't look down upon yourself with such lies. You looked handsome the days before tonight, and you will keep on looking handsome after this."

Sehun felt his ears become warm, then tried to divert his gaze from Luhan, who was grinning at him in a nonchalant manner. How can he be so calm about this? He cannot just say stuff like this... Wait... Why am I panicking?!

"Er, thank you," Sehun replied shyly.

"Aww, you're so adorable," Luhan tickled his chin. This made Sehun blush as he tried to fight off the smile that threatened to appear.

"Alright guys," they heard Hwang Tiffany clap her hands together. "Sooyoung just texted me saying that she's almost done with Yi Fei. That means that we have to arrange your clothes back to the way they were."

"What does she mean?" Sehun asked curiously.

"It turns out the two outfits that Yixing told us about can be attached together. Almost like two outfits in one," Luhan shrugged whn he saw Sehun with a dumbfounded expression, "I don't know how to explain it. I'm not a fashion lover like Tao. I just know Lien made it."

"Deer boy," Seohyun, the girl that Sehun identified earlier as Juhyun, ran up to them, "there you are! Here are the pieces for your outfit." She then noticed Sehun. "Hello, um-"

"Sehun," Luhan aided her.

"Sehun! There ya go! Can you help me dress Luhan up. Yi Fei is almost done and I a have no time left..."

After Seohyun told him what to do, Sehun helped her zip up the clothing pieces (So, that's what Luhan was talking about!) to Luhan's outfit. The three were chatting with each other while they did this. Sehun decided that he also enjoyed Seohyun's company because she was funny. She wasn't the type to start handing out her phone number just because they see someone who looks attractive (Sehun assumed it was because of her 'secret' relationship and her not being attracted to guys in general), but he was nonetheless grateful for that. She was helpful like Taeyeon and her nice character rivaled Yoona's, but her 'smart humor' was what made her Seohyun.

By the time they were done, Yi Fei walked into the room, looking stunning in a rosy pink dress that reminded Sehun of the flowers he grew up with. She was accompanied by Xiao Dan, who donned a similar outfit as most of the guys.

"Aww, my boys look so handsome," Yi Fei pretended to wipe a tear away. She turned to the SNSD crew. "You guys are miracle workers, I swear."

"Your welcome," the girls chorused before going back to put everything away.

"I'm so glad you guys are here to accompany me on this special day, or night. Night sounds more proper... Oh my, I'm getting sidetracked. Anyways, I know you guys worked hard to organize everything; heck, you're giving up your guest privileges for me just to make this party possible. I can't thank you enough for t-"

"Miss! You can't walk in like that!" Everyone was caught off-guard when they heard Lola yell after someone downstairs.

"Oh, come on!" Yi Fei protested. "I was in the middle of a really good speech!" She stalked out of the room, the guys (and Hui Lei) following after her. Since they were near the staircase, they went up to he stair rail to see what the commotion was about.

Looking down, they saw an exasperated Lola following behind a beautiful woman accompanied by a man in a suit carrying a box wrapped in gift-wrapping paper and a red ribbon.

Sehun couldn't help but stare at the black-haired woman with steel gray eyes and red lips. She looked like someone he's seen before, but he wasn't sure from where. 

"Yi Fei," Lola called out the woman's name after seeing her near the stairs. "I apologize but this woman just barged in after I opened the door." 

"That's alright, Lola," Yi Fei said with a hardened expression, which confused Sehun greatly because Yi Fei seemed too cheerful a person to actually frown.

"You should hire new staff, sister dear," the woman looked up at Yi Fei as she spoke, "they clearly have no knowledge whatsoever of who I am."

Sehun's eyes widened when he heard the female stranger call Yi Fei her sister. He looked around and saw that the majority of his friends were frowning slightly at the woman. He assumed they already had seen the woman before, especially the Wu siblings who were giving their aunt the stink eye.

"Hello Da Xia," Yi Fei greeted her sister with a poker face.

"Yi Fei," the cold, dark beauty gave her younger sister a grimace, "you have not changed at all."

"You are right. However, I cannot say the same about you. How was your plastic surgery?"

Everyone cringed when Da Xia glared at Yi Fei. "For the thousandth time, I never got plastic surgery."

"I was just joking," Yi Fei started going down the stairs, never leaving her sight from her older sister as she displayed the unique elegance that wealthy people seemed to have until she was face-to-face with Da Xia.

"Good, because I-" Da Xia was interrupted when her sister held up a hand, gesturing for her to stop.

"I can still see your wrinkles," Yi Fei lost all seriousness as she began laughing.

"Immature like always," Da Xia said to herself before grabbing the box her companion was carrying. "I suppose you don't want this gift that our dear sister bought for you, since you are acting like a child agai-"

"Oho! Of course I want whatever my sweet baby sister bought for me," Yi Fei began inspecting the boxed gift.

Sehun stared at the two sisters talk about Yi Fei's gift. He could clearly see the differences between Yi Fei and Da Xia. It was so weird seeing siblings treat each other so coldly. He joked around with Jung Hee all the time (actually, it was the other way around). Kai and Suho got along just fine. Yi Fan and the twins were always fighting , but one can clearly see the two parties cared for each other. One couldn't really say the same for the two women in front of him, though.

"They're like fire and ice, those two," Sehun commented quietly to Yi Fan, who was standing next to him.

"Yeah, but it's not really their fault. After all, when you go through a strict childhood full of wealth, you either end up being really strict or really crazy.  Aunt Da Xia got to be the first option, whereas Mom go the second one. The only exception to this rule is my Aunt Hui An; she's probably the only sane person in our family," Yi Fan explained to him.

"Oh," Sehun watched as Yi Fei and Da Xia began to quarrel again because it turned out the oldest sister didn't buy her younger sister a gift.

"Stop complaining! You know that this is nothing new!" Da Xia snapped at her younger sister.

"Yeah, but this is the first time you have actually walked inside the main house. And you have the so-called decency of stepping foot inside my home and not bring me a gift?!" Yi Fei responded in the same tone her sister used.

After this, the sister's yelling increased and Yi Fan decided to rush down the stairs to prevent any more verbal quarrels between the two Lam sisters.

"Hi Auntie-" he began before Da Xia lifted a hand. "Do I really look that old to you, boy?" Da Xia glared at her nephew.

"What? No! You're as youthful as ever," Yi Fan answered nervously. "I was wondering if you had anything else for us?" The tall boy's confidence was decreasing rapidly at this point.

"Actually, there is," Da Xia opened her clutch and took out two envelopes. "This is for your... siblings, and this one is for you," she said dismissively.

Sehun watched as the twins ran down the stairs just to rip the envelope from their aunt's hand, making the woman glare at them since they ran away from her without a single thanks. Yi Fan gulped and thanked his aunt in behalf of himself (and the twins).

"At least there's one person with some sense in this house. Unlike the rest of its residents and the employees," Da Xia scoffed. Everyone just rolled their eyes as Da Xia seemed to sneer at everything surrounding her.

His observations were cut short when he felt Luhan's hand snake around his wrist, squeezing it lightly. "Stand behind me," he heard the other boy tell him. "It's best that she doesn't see you."

Without any objection, he did as he was told. Sehun didn't need to ask his friend why. Regardless of how open-minded and liberal his friends were, that didn't mean others were. He may be dressed in clothes that were worth more than his rent, but that didn't change the fact that he was still a commoner surrounded by the cream of the crop.

---

 After Xiao Dan and Yi Fan managed to avoid a cat fight between the Lam sisters, everyone who was working the night headed to the backyard. There, they were greeted by a large white tent the size of a house surrounded with some of the flower arrangements Soo Yun had helped create. One couldn't really see the inside of the tent, but if they did, one would be amazed at seeing the chandeliers on the ceiling and the tables decorated with fine silver utensils and china plates along with the beautiful stargazer lilies that radiated life. Right in the middle of the large tent laid the dance floor along with a large white screen and a stage, where music performances would be held. Regardless of how expensive each item inside was, the setting had a welcoming feel to it.

Soon enough, the guests began to arrive, followed by the occasional photographer from various luxury lifestyle magazines that wanted to capture the setting and the prestigious guests attending. Sehun, who was one of the ushers, began to see some familiar faces such as Kim Jae-Hwa and Ae Cha, Reinette L'Eclaire, and his family (he was pretty shocked to see his parents and his brother dressed in something other than casual clothing, but at the same time amused as they gaped when Xiao Dan dragged them so they would sit at the main table). He was also introduced to some new ones as he ushered said guests to their tables with Tao and Luhan. He finally met the Huang family, who was just as liberal as the Wu family; although he knew they approved of him, Sehun was slightly intimidated by Tao's mother. This wasn't because she carried herself in a similar way to Lam Da Xia, but because she kept inspecting him to see if he would be useful as a model for the new campaign of her luxury brand, BWCW (much to his chagrin, because she declared that he was worthy of being a model after she discreetly slapped his behind). He almost had a starstruck moment when he saw Baekhyun's parents (almost; he would only be reduced to fanboy level when it came to singer BoA). He had seen Byun Il-Sung in a few dramas and movies when he was younger, and dare he say that TV and photographs do not do justice to the man. The same could be said for his model-wife Eun Ae.

Then, there was Zhang Biming.

The man, who was not accompanied by his wife Hwei-ru, was all smiles, just like his son. Sehun would say that out of all of his friends' families, the Chairman would fall in between the moderate level with the Kim family in terms of craziness, seriousness, and strictness (Park Dae-Hyun and Luhan's father being in the strict/serious level and the Wu and Huang families at the crazy level). When Luhan introduced him to his uncle, the man was very amicable and complimented Sehun for his politeness and his treatment of his very adored nephew. The only time he saw Zhang Biming turn serious was when he saw Yixing and Suho with linked hands. According to Tao and Luhan, the man was in good terms with the Kim family in terms of business relations. However, while Chairman Biming was friendly with Jae-Hwa, Ae Cha, and Kai, he began acting strict with Suho a few years back in order to make sure the boy was worthy of being more than a business associate to Yixing. ("Whatever the heck that means," Yixing whispered when his father turned away, "Suho's my best friend before a business associate. Right?")

Other than that, Sehun continued to do what he was supposed to until everyone was seated down after Yi Fei made her entrance. As he moved on to his next task, which was serving the food, he observed his surroundings to see if there was any reaction towards the fact that teenage boys were helping out at the party. He noticed that even though the sight of the members of some of the most honorable and successful families of Seoul (and the rest of Korea) doing something like this, everyone decided to ignore their actions. The boys (and the staff) clearly knew what they were doing, and they assumed that since they have interacted with the young males at least once, they knew what their fellow members of high society preferred better than simple employees who would only interact with them because of their obligation ("Let them have their fun; they're not really causing any trouble. Besides, they're more charismatic and efficient than the staff at the hotel I stayed in New Zealand"). That, and nobody really messed with the Wu family. Regardless of their very liberal antics (apparently, they were dubbed the "Rulers of the Madhouse"), nobody that had a functional brain would try to criticize a family that was known for their international prestige, and their ability to help their allies succeed and their enemies fall in deep disgrace.

After the main dishes had been served, Sehun and the boys who weren't singing had to take over the shift of the singers, who were given the cue from the twins to go and change into their outfits. Once they did this, the boys were waiting at the same time that the singers were standing behind the white screen to avoid anyone from seeing them; all they had to do was to wait for Hui Lei's cue in order to go up on-stage and perform in front of everyone.

"May I have your attention, please?" they heard Hui Lei say on the microphone. The boys could hear the crowd become silent right away. Sehun, who was nearby Yi Fei's table, quickly glanced at said woman's direction. He could see the confused expression on her face since she didn't expect her daughter to appear on stage.

"As you all know, we are all present to celebrate this special day for my dear mother," the girl paused as the audience began to clap. "My friends and my fellow family have worked so hard to put this all together, because we would do anything for her. She is one of the kindest, compassionate person I have ever come across, and I'm really grateful to have someone like her as a mom." Many "Aww"s and clapping sounds could be heard throughout the tent; Yi Fei sent an air kiss to Hui Lei as a sign of her motherly love and gratitude.

"As a symbol of our love and our gratitude towards this amazing woman, I would like to share with you all-" The singers took this as a cue to reveal themselves.

"-a video clip made by my dear twin brother, Jiao-long."

"Eh?" At this point, Baekhyun had almost stepped on stage, but when he realized Hui Lei wouldn't be presenting them on-stage, he halted. Unfortunately for him, his actions created a domino effect where the boys behind me would stumble upon him, pushing him closer to the stage. This didn't go unnoticed by the audience, and much to Baekhyun's terror, Hui Lei, who sported the famous 'Wu glare.' Backing away, Baekhyun hid behind Yixing, who was next to him in line. "I hope you enjoy it," Hui Lei told the crowd with an award-winning smile before heading towards the boys with a menacing look.

The lighting in the room darkened slightly and the screen . A few seconds later, the documentary-style video played, showing clips of the Wu family talking about Yi Fei in a positive manner and some of Yi Fei's pictures from the past and the present, displaying the happy moments the family has lived together with the woman. Everyone was impressed by the high quality of the video since it reminded them a lot of the movies they have watched before, but they were also admiring the closeness (or in Da Xia's case, feeling envy towards her younger sister) that the family had, no matter how 'mad' they were. Soon, the screen darkened and everyone clapped at the hostess, who had teared while watching the homemade video.

Hui Lei stepped on-stage once more as the lighting increased in the tent. "Thank you, Jiao-long for the amazing video." Jiao-long bowed slightly from his seat as the guests clapped for him. "Now, there is another surprise, but this one is from my dad to my mom."

"Oh s***," Xiao Dan muttered as he felt his wife stare at him in wonder.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the musical talents of Byun Baekhyun, Lu Han, Do Kyungsoo, Zhang Yixing, Huang Zitao, and my older brother, Wu Yi Fan," Hui Lei gestured for the boys to walk on-stage as hands clapped together and the occasional wolf-whistling (courtesy of one Kim Jong In) were heard throughout the tent.

"Don't mess this up," Hui Lei whispered to the boys as she left the stage. All of them gulped as they felt everyone's eyes on them.

"Uh, hello," Yi Fan said awkwardly as he looked at Tao, who smiled softly at him as if to encourage him. He then faced the audience, "I hope all of you enjoy this special song dedicated with love to a very special person in our hearts. Mom," Yi Fan looked at Yi Fei, "happy birthday."

Soon, music started playing and it was Baekhyun's cue to start singing.

Please, don't f*** up your Mandarin... or your English

She's my baby, on the tip of those

snow white fingers

I melt like chocolate 

You're walking into my door~ Oh yeah~

Everyone was pleased when they heard Baekhyun's amazing voice resonate through his microphone. Chanyeol let out a loud cheer in response to his singing as a sign of moral support. Baekhyun started to grin and loose all of his initial nervous feelings and doubts when he realized he didn't screw thing up.

However, the same could not be said for the rest of the singers (especially Luhan).

What do I do?! I'm next!

Calm down! Don't focus on the audience. Look elsewhere... I don't know look at a flower bouquet, the food, the chande- Sehun! He helped you a lot with your nerves, right? Just look at Sehun and you'll be fine. Just look at Sehun, look at Sehun, LOOK AT SEHUN, LOOKATSEHUN..., Luhan thought as Baekhyun finished singing his part. He hoped he didn't mess this up (or that Sehun would perceive him as a creep just in case he stared a bit too hard).

She's my lady, by those colorful lips

I'm a slave, fell for you at the start

I'm running into your heart~ Oh yeah

Sehun felt his cheeks become warm as he noticed Luhan staring at him while he sang beautifully. But as much as he wanted to look away to prevent anyone from seeing him with flushed cheeks, he stared back at Luhan with awe. How could he not? He was pretty sure he wasn't the only one, and this wasn't a simple assumption from his part; it was the truth because just like his singing, Luhan was very beautiful.

Like an angel... Wait, WHATAMITHINKING?! 

Sehun shook his head from these thoughts. He knew Luhan was pretty angelic, but come on! He wasn't one of those fangirls he called classmates that always gaped at Luhan whenever the boy did something as simple as walking or breathing. He always found those sort of comments amusing, but hearing himself think such ideas in his head was just... worrysome? disturbing? Who knew? 'Cause he certainly didn't.

Pit-a-pat...Pit-a-pat...Pit-a-pat

Sehun placed his hand where his heart was at. He could feel it racing at a rapid speed, similar to those occasions when he was running in P.E. class or a long distance. Just like those other times, he thought to himself as he remembered the time the sporadic heartbeats began, which was a day ago. It's so odd and sudden; this had never occured to me before, at least not like this when I'm not doing anything in particular...  

Let me see you more (don't lie)

be honest (it's gonna be easy)

The first time I sensed such sweet harmony

Okay, it's working! It's working! Just keep looking straight at Sehun! 

Luhan kept repeating this mantra inside his head to avoid getting stage fright, and that's what he did. Instead of noticing the many eyes that were focused on the people on-stage, he looked at Sehun. But as he did, he went through something completely odd. Sehun was many, many meters away from where he stood. However, Luhan could see him perfectly even though he should be slightly blurry in his eyes. Instead, it seemed like he had zoomed in to Sehun; he could see the brunnette hair that was so different from his, the dark brown eyes that held no malicious intent whatsoever, the soft, unblemished skin that adorned Sehun's face, and the thin lips that held no scar that proved that he went through some pretty unpleasant moments in his life.

Sehun is really, really handsome. Unlike I, who has to look so different from everyone else when there's nothing really special to look at. He looks manly, whereas I look like a twelve year-old boy (or girl, as most people like to point out). He doesn't have that barely-there scar under his lip as a reminder that tragedy once in his life.

Before he could move on to more depressing topics, Luhan stopped himself so he could remember some of the good moments he had with Sehun. After all, the younger boy had given him comfort and happiness. He shouldn't be associated with anything negative because Sehun had never really caused any harm towards him, especially not with that wonderful personality of his.

He really is perfect...

Don't be too late

Soon, it was everyone's turn to join in the chorus.

 Don't wanna be a friend, I want to be your only

 Don't wanna be just anyone, I want to be your only protector

 Don't wanna be a friend, as soon as you walked into my sight

 Words are not enough, Lady! I'm only charmed by you

At this point, Yi Fei began to cry out of happiness as Xiao Dan grinned sheepishly at her. She couldn't help but remember every moment together that they've spent as best friends since childhood turning into something more. Especially that Wednesday in April when Xiao Dan, her best friend and secret crush at the time, had asked her to meet him on the roof of the International Academy of Hong Kong, where they had met in first grade, just so he could surprise her with the sight of him with "Matilda," his dear Gibson J-35, surrounded with hanged lanterns and golden origami figures and starlight lilies and white roses. Although Xiao Dan wasn't as great a singer like Frank Sinatra or Chan Kong-Sang, it was his thoughtfulness that mattered; he had composed the dear song and sang it to her while he looked at her the way she had wanted him to see her since she was eleven: with love. After he sang to her, he gave her a red paper crane, which was her favorite animal out of Xiao Dan's origami creations. She noticed the small golden letters on the crane's wings which read:

Will you, Lam Yi Fei, the girl who drove her father's car at the mere age of ten, idolized Ip Man and Sachetorte to the very core of her heart, beat every ist male jerk in the academy to play the part of Sun Wukong after cutting her hair in eighth grade,  managed to sneak in Sache the red panda into the dorms (which up to this date, nobody has managed to catch sight of), etc. (I would say more, but I think I would probably need paper the size of an actual crane), be the Bonnie to my Clyde?

After reading the note, Yi Fei immediately agreed to become Wu Xiao Dan's lady. Three years later, they were married and soon enough, had their first son. The twins followed after four years. Now, after being together for thirty-three years (both in a platonic and romantic relationship), Xiao Dan took Yi Fei to the dance floor, where they would dance to their song that was being brought to life by their eldest son and the boys they regarded as family.

It's a mess, all my thoughts are laid

out in front of you

Kyungsoo looked at the happy couple in front of them as they danced to a song that was neither too soft nor too loud to dance to. Then he looked around the audience and saw the very person that he wanted to have the bravery Xiao Dan had to confess to. Unfortunately, there was a problem. Nope, there were actually three. One, he was too much of a coward to do so. Two, that person, who wasn't naive at all in the eyes of everyone else, was pretty daft about who (Kyungsoo) was in front of their very eyes. That person was so daft about his existence to the point that he was curently about to sing about a love confession in front of him (and others), but all they would do is grin and congratulate him for his singing, not realizing that he just poured his heart out into two bloody lines of a song for that person to hear.

I can only offer this lame confession

Are you ready for love?

The third was probably the worst for him. His love is one-sided, but that special person had his eyes on someone else. 

Was Do Kyungsoo a fool for falling in love with another love-struck fool? 

Definitely.

More beautiful than diamonds, I want those eyes to myself

Oh my baby let me stay in those eyes and dream of you

Don't pretend to not know, I want to be reflected in your eyes

Don't avoid my eyes, I won't give up on loving you

 

 Come a little closer (don't stop) if only I

could hold you tightly

Everything's alright

 Constantly teasing my ear, a numbing melody

Don't be too late

 

Don't wanna be a friend, I want to be your only

Kai was impressed by his friends' performance, but unlike most of the guests, his focus was on one person alone. That special person possessed ethreal beauty, a wise mind, a pure heart, and numerous talents like no other. 

A true treasure in the eyes of many, but most importantly, his own. One that he wanted to keep for himself for some time now.

He looked around him, noticing many staring in awe and, in some occasions, lust at Luhan. He wasn't going to lie; he wanted to hide the latter from the sight of everyone. But who could blame those insignificant others? Just like him, they had fallen for the hazel-eyed boy, whether they intended to or not. After all, the boy radiated that charm of his, making everyone fall under his spell without him even noticing.

The difference between Kai and the others? He would succeed in making Luhan his.

Don't wanna be just anyone, I want to be your only protector

Don't wanna be a friend, as soon as you walked into my sight

Words are not enough, Lady! I'm only charmed by you

Don't wanna be a friend,  My lady~

Words are not enough, Lady! I'm only charmed by you

 

 She's my baby, on the tip of those

snow white fingers

As soon as Baekhyun finished singing the last line, everyone rose from their seats to applaud the six boys on-stage. The singers were caught off-guard at the beginning because they didn't expect such a positive reaction from the crowd. Then they realized they had not screwed up with the performance at all, they bowed in gratitude and left the stage with smiles on their faces. As they stepped foot into the ground, they were met with a teary Yi Fei and a proud Xiao Dan, who thanked them for their effort in doing something as special as this. A few of the boys stayed behind to talk to the couple, while others had rushed to find their other friends amongst the guests. Luhan was amongst the last group.

He walked past the many guests that congratulated him on his performance (while acknowledging this, of course) as he tried to make his way torwards Sehun. He saw him standing in between a few tables, looking at him with a small grin. Luhan grinned back at the younger as he kept walking in his direction. However, he was stopped in his tracks the minute Kai was in front of him.

"Luhan," Kai engulfed the fair boy in a bear hug, which caught the boy in question off-guard.

"Kai, um, hi?" Luhan tried to tippy-toe to see over Kai's shoulders. He could see Sehun's figure, but the sudden movement of people around them blocked his view. He was slightly disappointed because he wanted to see the latter, and now, he probably lost him. After all, it seemed like everyone wanted to dance at that moment, making him feel like he was in the middle of a sea of humans.

"That was amazing!" the taller boy gushed, making Luhan exit his train of thoughts. "I knew you could do it."

"Ah, thank you." Luhan was about to step away, but he still felt Kai's arms around him.

"You are a really talented person, Lu. You wowed everyone when you started to sing."

"Thanks, but I wasn't the only one up there."

"I know, but you deserve the flattery."

"As if. What happened to Yi Fei? Are you not going to flatter her? She is the birthday girl, after all," Luhan said with amusement. He knew Kai had a thing going on for Yi Fei (much to the Wu family's chagrin).

"Xiao Dan will probably kill me if I interrupt him dancing with his wife," Kai said as he placed his head on Luhan's shoulder. "But I think I know a way of how I could do so."

"How?" Kai smirked when he heard the confusion in Luhan's voice.

"If you dance with m-"

"Jong In!" The two boys looked at Reinette, who had interrupted them. Kai proceeded to release his hold on Luhan and the latter just stepped away from the tanned boy. "Hi Luhan. Would you mind if I borrow Jong In for a bit?"

"He does mi-" 

"No, I don't mind at all," Luhan said quickly before excusing himself. He started thanking every deity up ther for Reinette's sudden appearance because he really needed to find Sehun as soon as possible before anyone else came between him trying to find-

"Luhan, my boy."

Dang it, Luhan thought as he turned to face his uncle. "Hi Uncle Ming," he greeted.

Biming placed an arm around his nephew. "I was looking everywhere for you."

"Oh," Luhan looked around to see if there was any sign of Sehun. This time, he spotted the boy talking amicably with the Huang family. 

"I need to talk to you," Biming told him, but Luhan was still looking elsewhere.

"Could we talk later. I n-" Luhan faced his uncle. 

"In private," Biming's expression turned serious; his nephew furrowed his brows at this. As much as he wanted to go to Sehun, Luhan couldn't deny his uncle his time if what the man wanted to talk about was important to the point he wanted to be discreet about it.

"Alright," he sighed before giving a longing look torwards Sehun's direction as he was led away from the crowd.

---

"I need to tell you something."

Kai twirled Reinette around to the beat of the music. "What is it?" he asked, trying to hide his slight annoyance. This could've been Luhan and I dancing right now...

"I wanted to thank you for comforting me at my birthday celebration," Reinette smiled up at him, making him feel a bit of guilt for having selfish thoughts earlier. I guess deal with Reinette for a bit... After all, it's just one dance, right?

"Haven't you thanked me enough?" Kai smirked, remembering the notes the French girl passed to him in class two days after seeing her cry. 

"Not really," Reinette looked down, hiding her blush. "I have to thank you once more. But not in words."

The last part confused Kai. "What do you mean?"

As if she wasw given a cue, Reinette placed her right hand on the boy's cheek before approaching his face. It took Kai a few seconds before he processed what was about to happen if he didn't do anything about it.

What the-?! 

"What are you doing?!" Kai grabbed the hand that was holding his face and placed it far from his head to her side. "Please tell me it was your French side that took over you right now."

"I-I'm sorry," Reinette looked at him with a pained expression. "I just wanted to give you a kiss."

"Why?"

"I-I love you. A lot," Reinette told him as she faced elsewhere.

Not again, Kai face palmed in his head. Calm down, just calm down. Try to explain as smoothly as possible

"No, Reinette," he sighed before leading her away from the dance floor into one of the empty tables. "Listen to me. You don't love me. Sure, you may like me, but you don't love me."

"But I d-"

"Let me speak," the boy gestured for her to stop talking in a gentle manner. After all, he was still a gentleman and not a douchebag, and he was currently in the presence of a lady (whom he had addressed for years as The Frog, but that's beside the point). "You are about to commit the same mistake you did when you claimed you loved Luhan if you start insisting that you love me."

Reinette's face dropped. "You don't really love me, because it was just recently that we decided to talk to each other like normal human beings. That, and we barely know each other aside from calling each other "The Frog" and "That thing." Are you on the same page as me?" Kai asked, wanting to make sure she was following. Reinette nodded in response.

"To be honest, I don't know what your interests are. I only know part of what peeved you off, which was me most of the time. I'm pretty sure that's your case, too. Aside from that, I don't believe you should be pursuing me right now since..." Oh Lord, how was he going to rip the plaster off without hurting her?

"Since what?"

"I'm, uh, I'm... currently interested in someone... else."

"Oh," Reinette's voice cracked. Kai felt bad for her; the girl has been rejected not once, but twice. What's worst? He's rejecting her because he plans on pursuing the first person who rejected her.

"Back to my earlier point, about us not knowing enough about the other... I don't want you to get hurt, or mad, when you find out somethings about me that you probably wouldn't approve of me... Oh my gosh... I probably just confused you right now. I had done a better job at your party at explaining clearly..." Reinette just stared at him as a few stray tears ran down her cheeks.

"I'm a big, big, big, big flirt. I like people's attention pointed towards me, and I'm not ashamed of it. I have never been one to pay special attention to only one single person. If I have... they were most likely male." There, he said it. He just hoped she wasn't going to go on a homophobic rant, or worst, try to 'straighten' him out.

"You're gay?" Reinette looked at him with shock and, oh god, she looked ready to cry a river.

"Biual," Kai clarified. "I go for both women and men. But right now, the person who I'm interested in is completely male." More like androgynous...

There was a pregnant silence between them until Reinette sighed in defeat. "I'm pretty sure I won't be able to 'straighten' you out, right?" Reinette said reluctantly. "After all, you brought up some rather scandalous details about yourself right now while risking the possibility of someone overhearing you."

"Yeah," Kai laughed nervously and with lack of humor. "You know, I'm really sorry."

"At least you were sincere," Reinette replied sadly. 

"I guess," Kai shrugged, "again, I apologize."

"It's alright. I should be the one to say sorry for almost snogging you earlier."

"Apology accepted."

"Can we... ugh, can we start anew? As friends?"

"Sure."

Reinette wiped her tears away and stood up from her seat, Kai following her lead. "My name is Reinette Marie L'Eclaire Ahn and I at love. Nice to meet you."

The tanned boy tried not to snicker after her blunt statement. "My name is Kim Jong In, but my friends call me Kai. Since I'm going to be your friend, I'm going to help you with your love problem by becoming your matchmaker." Reinette displayed a small smile.

"Really?" 

"Really."

---

Yixing was right; it is easy to get lost in this house

Sehun kept walking in the hallways of the first floor as he tried to find the bathroom, but he kept looking through every door; so far, he had no such luck. As he got closer to the familiar  kitchen door, he heard hushed voices.  Thinking it was one of the Torres or one of the house employees, he made his way to the kitchen. However, as soon as he stepped foot inside th room, he stepped out when he saw Luhan talking with his uncle. Based on their serious expressions, Sehun asumed it wouldn't be right if he just walked in and interrupted whatever conversation they were having. He was about to walk away if it wasn't because he heard his name being mentioned.

"What about Sehun?" He heard Luhan ask his uncle as he hid behind the kitchen door.

"Was he the one with the brilliant idea of you boys playing servants at Yi Fei's celebration?" The tone Zhang Biming used made Sehun realize that the man wasn't as happy about their little stunt at the party as he made it seem earlier that night. Even worse, he probably wasn't in the man's good graces if he thought he was behind this.

 "No," Luhan said, "I came up with the idea. I discussed it with Yi Fan and Kyungsoo, and the others just went along with it; Sehun is not to blame for this."

 "Are you being truthful? You're not covering for hi-"

"I'm telling you the truth," Luhan paused, "why the sudden dislike for him? You seemed to be okay with him out there."

"I don't dislike him. He seems like a nice boy and his family is well-mannered." Sehun almost released a sigh of relief when he heard Luhan's uncle say this. "However, I think you should be careful when you hang around him in front of others."

"Not this again."

"Whether you like it or not,  you have to take into consideration what others think of you, especially those who are in our inner circle. They may not take it lightly if they see you befriended a commoner."

"I don't care what they think of me. Never have, never will. Let them speak their minds about my friendship, because at the end of the day, I know for sure that Sehun is more worthy of my friendship than half the students at the Academy." Sehun wanted to jump as he felt joy when he heard his friend would choose him over others; he didn't know why, but that reassured him of something. Of what, he didn't know.

"Luhan, you have to be reasonable and cautious. What do you think would've happened if one of your father's business partners attended the celebration? What if they told him about what you did?"

"They didn't-"

"But what if they did?"

"Then I would think of something to-"

"No, you and I know you're deluding yourself, because we both know that your father would deal with you the way he deems right and proper. Ying had done this five years ago, and he won't hestitate to do so again if he deems it necessary. And if this were to occur once more, he will not allow me to interfere this time."

"What do you mean by 'interfering this time'?" Sehun heard Luhan's voice falter slightly.

"I said more than I was supposed to. Just forget I said anything else."

There was another pause before his friend spoke again. "No. You know something that I don't. I want to know what is it that you're hiding?"

He heard footsteps pace around the kitchen; he hoped one of them would speak soon enough.

"Luhan, I can't-"

"You said so yourself, whatever Father and you discussed has to deal with me. If that's the case, I want to know what is it."

Sehun heard a hestitant sigh that probably came from Yixing's dad. "Fine. But whatever you do, don't tell your father or anyone about what is going to be discussed. I also want you to promise me that you will not do anything drastic that might affect Ying or you; after all, what I'm about to tell isn't something you would like to hear."

"I've witnessed unpleasant things before. I doubt your words will be worse than that," Sehun winced when he heard Luhan say this. It was a reminder that Luhan had almost come face to face with death when he was younger. That, and the time he saved Luhan from being assaulted weren't really good memories per say.

He heard another sigh. "Fine... I just hope you don't end up having a bad judgement of your father and I."

Sehun wasn't sure if he should stay any longer; he had heard enough. He didn't want to feel like he was intruding into something he shouldn't even be in at all. But at the same time, the conversation he just heard involved him in a way. His more mischevious side of his conscience, that has been making more of an appearance as of late, was agreeing with what Luhan said earlier; if it dealt with him, he should have a right to know.

"You know very well why you are not living in China anymore, right?"

"Of course I do. I wasn't dragged out of my own house when it was time for my departure if I hadn't known beforehand."

Sehun perked up when he heard Luhan say this. He didn't want to be nosy, but he couldn't help but be just that right now because of his damn curiosity. Now that he thought about it, he knew Luhan had moved to Korea in his early teenage years. But he just assumed there was no special reason behind it. But he could tell from his friend's serious voice that, maybe, there is something behind his move from one country to another.

"Well, your father and I had finished having a meeting and we were just talking about a lot of stuff. During that conversation, he told me he didn't want you to live in the main family residence anymore. His reasons were that you have been without proper supervision for the past few years, and he wanted you to be more disciplined in order to have his heir be prepared for his future role. He had arranged for you to stay at another country-"

"Uncle Ming, I already know this part. What's so relevant about it?" Luhan said, frustration clear in his voice.

"No, you don't. You were only given half the truth about this meeting, because if that was the case, you wouldn't even be here in the first place."

"... What?"

Sehun was seriously not expecting that. Although he was just as confused as Luhan, he was so caught off guard by Zhang Biming's statement, he was unable to stand properly. Which had lead to him stumbling slightly, making him move the door. Unfortunately for him, the door made a loud creaking sound. This alarmed the two relatives right away.

"Did you hear that?" 

Sehun began to panic when he heard Luhan's uncle ask this. He didn't want to get caught so he made a run for the closest hallway turn to hide in. Although he was being silent in order to avoid being discovered, he felt like his heart would betray him due to the loud beating sounds it was making. His heart began beating faster when he heard footsteps in the hallway he was previously in.

"Do you see somebody?" Zhang Biming inquired.

"... No, the coast is clear," Luhan said without a doubt.

"I swear I heard someone.... Let's just lock the door just in case. We don't need anyone interrupting our conversation."

When he heard the footsteps return to the kitchen followed by the kitchen doors locking, Sehun tried to find his way back to the party as fast as possible. Even though he had a calm expression on his face when he returned to the tent, his mind was clouded by questions Unfortunately for him, he wasn't able to come near Luhan when the latter came back since he stuck around Biming and Yixing for the remainder of the party.

---

It was almost dawn and even though he was really exhausted and he was tempted to fall under Morpheus' spell on that extremely comfortable bed, Sehun couldn't fall asleep. Instead, he kept tossing and turning; his mind was being plagued by the private conversation Luhan and Zhang Biming had (well, now that Sehun thought about it, it wasn't really private since he had been eavesdropping on them). Although he managed to hear most of it before he escaped, he was still confused as to what did Luhan's uncle mean by saying that Luhan was not meant to be here in the first place. Questions such as these made him realize that the deeper he digged, he would only find more pieces that lead to what he was looking for.

By the -nth time he sat up to arrange his pillow, he paused when he saw Luhan closing his door. There was complete silence in the room until the older boy released a small gasp after noticing Sehun.

"Can't sleep?" Sehun asked quietly. After Luhan nodded in response, Sehun shifted to the right side of the bed. Luhan climbed on the bed and started to cover himself with the bed sheets.

The two boys looked at the ceiling, neither of them making an attempt to look at the other. Minutes passed by and no word was said between them. This fact was making Sehun frustrated; he wanted to ask Luhan about the conversation, but if he did, he would reveal that he was eavesdropping.

"Sehun," he heard Luhan whisper almost hesitantly, "are you still awake?"

Sehun gulped. "Yeah, I'm still awake."

"W-Where you there," Luhan paused, "where you the- ugh, where you eavesdropping on the conversation my uncle and I had?"

The younger of the two felt his heart race faster. He gulped again before answering yes. "How did you know it was me?"

"I saw you turn the corner. I had just lied to my uncle."

There was a pause. "Are you mad?"

"At you? Never."

Sehun wanted to sigh in relief. "I'm glad."

"But my feelings are conflicted."

Oh no...

"What do you mean?"

He heard Luhan sigh. "I don't know whether to feel relieved or nervous knowing that you heard us... How much did you hear?"

"The truth?" Sehun paused before continuing. "I managed to hear everything up to the part where I pushed the door."

Silence prevailed again without the awkwardness. Sehun decided to face the boy next to him. Luhan was still looking up at the ceiling.

"From what I heard, it seemed like a pretty intense and unpleasant conversation... I will understand if you don't want to answer, but what did your uncle mean when he said you weren't supposed to be here in the first place?"

Sehun watched as Luhan's chest rised and fell with anticipation and, if it could be described as that, fear. He didn't know what to expect to hear, that's if Luhan would reply.

"I will answer your question, but before that... do you promise not to tell anyone about this?"

"I promise."

Luhan paused again beforw speaking. "After Mom and Chu-Hua passed away, Father began to appear less and less at home until his presence was similar to that of a stranger's... My grandmother took care of me until her death a year later. At that point, Father no longer came home. Just like he disappeared into a plane to Korea, my voice did too... I was mute until a therapist was hired to cure me. The therapist, Kim Min Ah, came from Korea along with her only son, Minseok... Min Ah was a great help in my recovery, but it was Minseok who helped me speak again." 

"Although Min Ah was a great therapist, she had been dealing with some economic issueas after her husband died. Initially, she only worked as my therapist. Then, she moved in with Minseok. After I completed speech therapy, she decided to work as my care taker. This benefitted her and Minseok since they would have a roof over their heads, and Minseok would be able to get homeschooled with me. Because of this, I was able to spend my days with Minseok."

"Minseok was the smartest person I had ever met. He was able to learn stuff at the snap of a finger. I was able to improve on my lessons with his help. That, and I got him to teach me many things; amongst them were basic housekeeping."

"Everything was fine until my Father came back to China to stay for an indefinite amount of time. During his stay, he realized that I was doing what he would call 'degrading activities' after a few demonstrations ... He didn't like that I was able to clean the house like the rest of the maids. In his words, I was allowing our employees to lose motivation in their jobs by doing their work, and that my behavior was not appropriate for an heir like me... As a result, he believed it was better that I move elsewhere to stop whatever foolishness I was doing at the moment... That is why I moved to Korea."

"However, I found out today that Father's original plans involved sending me to a boarding school in Britain... His own son was never meant to live in a country where he was at... I was to remain at a far distance from him... Fortunately for me, Uncle Ming convinced him to let me live here after telling him that Yixing would abandon home-schooling to attend SM Academy."

Sehun was surprised at the fact that Luhan was mute. But that was quickly replaced when he realized Luhan's problems seemed to never end. He also realized that these problems seem to arise due to the estranged relationship between Luhan and his 'father' (in Sehun's opinion, he shouldn't even be considered a father if he has neglected his son for many years).

"Uncle Ming asked me to be cautious of my actions, or the past will repeat itself... that Father will not hestitate to send me to Britain or somewhere far."

Sehun's heart cracked when he heard Luhan release a sob. After the first time he heard the doe-eyed boy cry, he always feared hearing that sound once more. 

"I get that I  have expectations to fulfill... But what I don't like is that I have to wear a mask like everyone else because it is common for people to abandon their true selves for the sake of acceptance... You would think that as a wealthy person, we have a right to have it all. But it's quite the opposite. We end up sacrificing a lot of things in the quest for acceptance, power, and success. Just look at me as an example; I ended up losing Minseok and Min Ah just so I could become the perfect heir in the eyes of my Father," Luhan scoffed, "As if I wanted to be an heir. I just ended up loosing whatever freedom and security I had in a place I'm supposed to call home... and it's always so lonely there..."

"I'm sorry... that was out of hand," Luhan told him. "I'm always crying in front of you... But I neede to tell you because I don't want to lose you, or anyone else for that matter."

Sehun couldn't stand seeing Luhan with tears running on his face anymore; he pulled the boy closer to him. He placed his arms around him to offer the comfort that Luhan deserved.

"Sshh, it's alright," Sehun whispered. "You won't lose me any time soon. I won't allow that to happen because I promised I would always be there for you, at your best and worst times." Sehun hugged Luhan, making he latter get closer to him until there were no gaps between them.

"I will offer you sanctuary when no one else will. I promise."

I will make the loneliness go away...

---

Around nine in the morning, most of the guys were in the midst of waking up. Yixing, who was amongst these, had decided to go wake up his (grumpy) cousin to prevent the likes of Yi Fan from losing any more possible children because of Luhan's anti-morning behavior. Once he reached Luhan's room, he knocked on the door before entering. When he stepped foot inside the room, he saw that Luhan's bed was in a state of slight disarray. But the hazel-eyed boy was not there.

After fully inspecting the room, he decided that he should probably ask Sehun, since the boy was amongst the four boys that have not made their presence in the dining room. He knocked on the door, hoping that Sehun was awake by now.

"Come in," he heard Sehun say from the other side. Yixing opened the door quickly.

"Sehun? Have you seen- Oh?" Yixing remained by the door when he saw Sehun in mid-dress while Luhan was sleeping soundly on the younger's bed.

"It seems like the search is done," Yixing muttered to himself before he turned to Sehun. "I just wanted to know if Luhan was here, since breakfast is going to be served soon."

"Alright," Sehun answered as pointed at the sleeping figure on his bed. "Do you want me to wake him up?" 

Yixing was about to say that he would do it to avoid any accidents, but he decided not to. If Luhan was okay with sharing the bed with Sehun, he was pretty sure the Korean boy wouldn't have any trouble waking him up. He just hoped he wouldn't be wrong.

"Sure," he told the younger.

As soon as Sehun finished getting dressed, he sat on the corner of the bed. He then proceeded to shake Luhan's shoulder softly before he began to caress the latter's hair. 

"Luhan," Sehun whispered the boy's name a couple of times until he saw Luhan becoming conscious once again. "Wake up."

Luhan's hazel eyes opened, giving away their drowsy state at first. Then, they were filled with serenity. "Good morning, Hunnie."

Yixing remained standing where he was, staring in hidden amazement at how Luhan woke up slowly just to smile at Sehun in the end. No flinging arms or kicking was done while this happened; a single smile was all that occured. But that single smile was one of the brightest smiles Luhan has ever displayed in a while.The surprises didn't end there, though. Sehun turned peach when Luhan smiled up at him. He had also caught the pet name Luhan gave Sehun.

"Hunnie?" He heard Sehun ask in confusion, the latter's cheeks still tainted with faint pink.

"My dream turned weird after the twins turned you into a child.  I had to take care of you. You had insisted in me calling you Hunnie for some reason," Luhan explained as he rubbed his eyes.

"Oh, well then, I hope I didn't give you any trouble," Sehun scratched the back of his head.

"You didn't. Even in your miniature form, you were still the same good person I know," Luhan patted Sehun's head, rewarding the other boy with a smile.

"Thanks for taking care of me, then," Sehun joked as he poked Luhan's cheek.

It's like they're in their own little world, Yixing thought as he realized neither Luhan or Sehun had noticed his presence during their little exchange. He decided to leave the room quietly to avoid interrupting that moment with his mere presence.

Once he closed the door, Yixing decided that he should keep an eye on the two of them from now on. Time, he figured, would eventually tell if he had finally figured out the change that had occured.

 

---

Author's Note: [Disclaimer: I don't own any of the songs listed in the foreword. Meaning I don't own My Lady by EXO. Meh]

Thanks to everyone who subscribed and commented to my story. I really appreciate it. Moving on to my rant:

+I had edited, taken out, added more, etc. things from this chapter. Hence the tardiness.

+I changed the name of Yixing's dad (oops). It will remain as Biming from now on.

+I know some of you want Minseok to make an appearance. He will, but in later (much later) chapters. For now, he will appear in just flashbacks.

+After the Monkshood arc, stuff will start happening. Meaning the plot will thicken after this. There are A LOT of foreshadowing stuff and hints in the Monskshood arc.

+I want to do art for this story, but I'm a freaking amateur at both drawing (no, I'm not at Kris-level, but I'm no professional manga artist either) and Photoshop (*cries in the corner*)

+I need money for college, pronto (meaning I will sell thosebrand new CDs of that Canadian twerp I will never bias on (and Luhan unfollowed), and probably auction a signed CD of that British band, who I used to like and is now missing one member, on eBay. Not lying; I really need the money for books and loans).

+Zhang Yixing is messing with my heart strings... big time (you don't choose a bias, the bias chooses you) Like, why?!! He's so... Argh!!!

+BTS is freaking gorgeus and adorable (God bless Jimin's abs and J-Hope's existence!)

+Do you guys have any fanfic reccomendations?

+Zhang Yimou and Hur Jin-ho ruined my life with House of the Flying Daggers and Dangerous Liaisons respectively

(I finished ranting)

Don't forget to subscribe/comment/upvote. I will appreciate all your support.

See you soon,

~Ulyana ^J^