Ivy: friendship

It’s a really nice and calm da-

“Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!” Sehun heard Baekhyun scream when Yi Fan had kicked the soccer ball in the class president’s direction.

Okay, maybe it’s just a nice day.

He just watched in amusement as Baekhyun chased Yi Fan around the football field as the other boys, with the exception of Suho and Kyungsoo, were spread in various parts of the area that was about a mile away from the building designated for the high school portion of SM Academy. He could hear Chanyeol and Kai laugh loudly as Baekhyun tackled Yi Fan to the ground. Sehun let out a chuckle as he saw the scene in front of him. How he ended up with a bunch of goofballs as friends was a mystery he wasn’t even going to bother solving any time soon. However, there is something that has been nagging him for a while. How could nine boys with different personalities become friends and maintain peace with each other (most of the time) no matter what happens? Sehun glanced at the boys playing football before turning to face Suho and Kyungsoo.

Should I ask?

“What are you thinking about?” Kyungsoo broke the silence. Sehun just gasped in response to the boy’s bluntness. Suho let out a laugh.

“You were never the one to beat around the bush, right Kyungsoo?” Suho asked Kyungsoo despite the fact that he knew the answer to that one.

“Hyung, I don’t mean to sound nosy or anything, but-“ Sehun paused for a bit, “how can all of you be friends?”

“Um, what do you mean?” Suho was now confused.

“I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with you guys being friends,” Sehun quickly said before any of the two “Special A” students took this the wrong way, “What I meant is that you guys are so different from each other… I find it odd that you guys became friends with each other in the first place.” Silence reappeared for a few seconds.

“To be honest,” Kyungsoo said, “it wasn’t always like that.”

Well, that was unexpected.

“We all knew each other in some way or another, but we didn’t really become friends until our second year in middle school,” Suho explained.

“Then how did you become friends?”

Suho and Kyungsoo stared at each other before facing Sehun.

“Do you really want to know the answer?” Kyungsoo asked. Sehun just nodded.

“The Chairman is in a meeting right now, but it should end in ten minutes or so,” Rhee Mi-Hi informed the two sons of her employer. Kim Joonmyeon and Jong In looked at the blonde with stoic masks that were hiding their curiosity. The boys had been enjoying a free day until their father called them and requested their presence at the headquarters of Kim Enterprise. For what reason, they were to find out soon.

“You two can wait in his office for the time being,” the young assistant told the boys. “Alright,” Joonmyeon said, as he followed the bubbly 20 year-old along with his younger brother. Once they were inside the room, Joonmyeon sat down on one of the chairs in front of their father’s desk while Jong In walked over to the huge window. They stayed like this until the door opened, revealing Kim Jae-Hwa.

“Father,” Joonmyeon greeted, “we were told you were at a meeting.”

 “That’s right. The presentations for the marketing research were brilliant,” Jae-Hwa told his heir. “However, that is not the reason why I wanted the two of you here… Jong In, take a seat.”

“So why did you call us here?” Jong In asked as he obeyed Jae-Hwa.

“The company recently made alliances with Zhang Corporation, which specializes with medical manufacturing and other things related to healing and medicine. I know it sounds odd, but we want to expand the business by creating a new branch dealing with the medical field. We already made an agreement, but we still need to close the deal… and it’s not necessarily related to the business.”

Wait, does he mean-

“Father, Suho is too young to marry!” Jong In practically yelled at his father. Jae-Hwa and Joonmyeon stared at him with wide eyes until the Kim patriarch started laughing.

“Silly Jong In, I’m not going to force either of you into a marriage. Remember, that is the one thing that I am completely against,” Jae-Hwa explained. Jong In (and Joonmyeon) let out a sigh of relief. Both boys have heard of their fellow classmates being engaged to others since birth and that is something they didn’t want; the idea of being married to a horrible person against their will was one of their biggest worries.

“Besides, I doubt Chairman Zhang Liao has a daughter since he told me he only had a son who was the same age as Joonmyeon,” Jae-Hwa shook his head before he got sidetracked again. “The Chairman told me he is interested in getting his son into SM Academy. Apparently, his nephew from China arrived recently to the country and is to attend your school in less than a week. Not only does he want the boy to interact with his cousin, but to socialize with some of the well-known, most honorable families of Korea before high school. What’s a better way to fulfill his wishes than to create a deeper relationship with the Zhang family through a friendship between the children of the two families.”

“You want us to befriend the Zhang heir?” Joonmyeon asked, trying to hide his anger. They always had to befriend a complete stranger and pretend to care about each other when in reality they were after the other’s status and wealth, and they were tired of the same routine. Why couldn’t they just isolate themselves from the false smiles and power-hungry monsters they called allies?

Jong In had similar thoughts. Unlike his brother, who would one day occupy his father’s position, he had no major responsibilities. But just like Joonmyeon, he was a pawn in a game that should only be reserved for people such as Jae-Hwa.

“Yes, it’s the only way I could secure the deal with the company and gain a new ally, especially one whose origins are not in Korea,” Jae-Hwa responded. “If possible, befriend the nephew. We don’t want to exclude him; from what I’ve heard, Chairman Zhang highly regards his nephew. Can I count on you two to do this for me?”

In other words, they had no choice but to agree.

“We have to meet up with the Zhang heir and his cousin before anyone else gets to them,” Joonmyeon explained. Jong In just muttered something about not wanting to do this. Joonmyeon sighed, silently agreeing with the 12 year-old.

The Kim siblings walked inside a smaller replica of the high school building next to the middle school, until they reached the main office. When they entered, they noticed one of the secretaries speaking with two boys. A few seconds passed before the secretary noticed their presence. “Boys, I’m glad you two are here,” she spoke to the brothers as she gestured them to get closer to where she was. As they walked to her direction, they took in the boys’ appearance. The tallest had dark brown hair, chocolate brown eyes that displayed what seemed like nervousness, and trembling lips; basically, he would have assimilated with most of the students if it wasn’t for the small details that showed he was of foreign descent. His companion, who was near the nervous boy’s height but not quite, was the opposite of common. He had light reddish brown hair, fair skin, and hazel brown doe eyes. To Joonmyeon and Jong In, it would have been difficult to distinguish his gender if the male uniform didn’t give any indication. Compared to his companion, the latter was calm and wore an unreadable expression.

“Boys, this is Zhang Yixing,” the secretary gestured the nervous boy to step closer to Joonmyeon. “And this is his cousin, Lu Han,” the woman repeated her actions, but this time, Lu Han was near Jong In. “They will be your new classmates.”

“Annyeonghaseyo, my name is Kim Joonmyeon. This is my younger brother, Jong In. It’s nice to meet you,” Joonmyeon greeted the new students. Jong In just followed his brother’s lead. The boys just bowed in acknowledgement. “We also think it’s nice to meet you,” Lu Han told the brothers with a serious tone.

Almost two weeks have passed since Yixing and Lu Han arrived. Throughout that time, Yixing and Joonmyeon seemed to have reached something close to a friendship, but Jong In and Lu Han were still far behind when it came to the “building relationships” part.

“Uh, a-are you sure it’s okay?” Yixing asked naively. Joonmyeon chuckled, part of him sincerely enjoyed the younger’s reaction. “Of course it’s okay. I’ll just have my father ask yours. Lu Han could come too, if he wants,” Joonmyeon quickly added the last part. “Yes, I would like that! Luhan, what do you think?” Yixing asked his older cousin, knowing that the older would accept if he used the name reserved for certain people. “I see no problem with it,” Lu Han replied with his usual seriousness. Joonmyeon and Yixing kept talking until their homeroom teacher instructed her students to remain silent.

“Class, we have a student who will be joining the Academy after a long absence,” Shin-ssam informed her pupils, “To those who never met him, this is Wu Yi Fan. Welcome back, Yi Fan-ah.”

Said student walked away from the shadows of the walls near the entrance, and revealed himself in front of everyone. Wu Yi Fan was a Chinese boy with dark blonde hair, brown eyes, and an intimidating stare. He greeted the class, but nobody paid attention since they were busy gawking at how tall he was. Yi Fan was probably the tallest boy (even taller than the class clown Park Chanyeol and the quiet panda-looking boy who sat in the back). Gasps and whispers were heard throughout the classroom.

“Why is everyone talking about him?” Yixing asked.

“Wu Yi Fan had attended the Academy when our class was in elementary school. But he left because his parents, who own Galaxy Group, which is one of the largest companies in the car industry of the continent, expanded the business in some regions of the western hemisphere. It’s been almost eight years since he left to go to his hometown in Canada,” Jong In answered as the quartet stared at Wu Yi Fan. Yi Fan was speaking with Shin-ssam before she called Lu Han’s name. “Raise your hand,” the teacher then turned back to Yi Fan and instructed him to sit next to him.  When Yi Fan sat down, Lu Han felt the boy’s gaze on him. Most people would’ve trembled, but Lu Han showed no sign of being intimidated.

“Do you need anything?” he asked.

“I don’t remember ever seeing you or that boy,” Yi Fan briefly glanced at Yixing.

“We never met. My cousin and I arrived just recently,” Lu Han explained.

“Annyeonghaseyo,” Yixing and Lu Han greeted the brunette woman. “My name is Zhang Yixing,” Yixing introduced himself. “And I am Lu Han,” Lu Han followed his cousin’s lead.

“Annyeong, I am Kim Ae Cha, you can call me by my first name. There’s no need to be so formal,” Ae Cha said with a kind smile. “Any of my sons’ friends shouldn’t be treated like strangers, but more like family.”

Jong In swore he saw Lu Han looking at his mother with shock, but he wasn’t sure. After all, Lu Han rarely showed any emotions.

“Master Yixing, your father is on the phone,” the butler informed Yixing. The boy thanked Joon and followed him into the house, leaving his companions behind.

“So Lu Han, would you like to go play video games as soon as Yixing comes back?” Jong In asked Lu Han. The boy shook his head. “What would you like to do instead?” he asked again.

“I would like for the two of you to stop pretending,” Lu Han said. This caught Jong In and Joonmyeon off guard.

“Excuse me?” Jong In tried to stay calm and collected while his brother was cursing inside his head.

“I know about the agreement between your father and my uncle. That’s why you befriended Yixing; your friendship with him was a key piece in the deal,” Lu Han told them. The Kim brothers started to get nervous. If Lu Han knew this much, the agreement could become void, and they would fail their father and the company.

“Okay, if what you’re saying were to be true, not that I’m admitting or denying anything, why are you telling us this? Most people of our position would’ve kept this to themselves,” Joonmyeon told the Chinese boy. Lu Han just grinned.

“I’m not ‘most people,’” Lu Han reasoned. “Like you said, I could’ve kept quiet and play pretend. But unlike the other people whom you probably befriended for the same reasons, I don’t like lying to others or being lied to; it disgusts me how people use methods as such to get what they want.”

Joonmyeon just sighed in resignation. What could he do? The boy was right; he might as well be the one to end the lies before the situation worsens.

“Fine, you caught us. What are you going to do? Are you going to tell Yixing about this?”

“No.”

“W-what?”

“Why?!”

“Although I don’t enjoy the knowledge of you two using my cousin, Yixing has taken a liking to you. I don’t know if you knew this but he never had any interaction with anyone other than his father, his servants, and his tutors. I’m probably the first person outside his household whom he ever spoke to, and I’m family. I wouldn’t want him to be isolated from the world because there are a lot of good things out there. But I don’t want him to get hurt from the actions of others who seek to use him. Besides,” he paused, “I believe that underneath those disguises you wear, there are two good-hearted boys who deserve a second chance.”

Joonmyeon just stared at Lu Han with shock. For most of his life, he had witnessed a lot of greed, envy, and lies amongst the high society. It was also expected of him to follow that routine since he would one day occupy his father’s place. But someone who he barely knew told them otherwise.

Jong In didn’t know what to say. Most people would have used this piece of information for their own benefit. But Lu Han didn’t use this revelation for power or wealth. He did it for Yixing’s well-being. The surprises didn't stop there; Lu Han also forgave them regardless of their initial actions.

Lu Han was right when he said he wasn’t like everyone else. He was different.

Both Joonmyeon and Jong In agreed that different was good.

“Luhan!” Yixing called his cousin from the doorway. “Father got out from work early and he’s going to pick us up in about an hour or so.”

“Well, I guess that means that we have to make the best out of our time here. Don’t you guys agree?” Lu Han spoke to the Kim siblings, who just exited their train of thought. “Um, yeah. Come on, let’s go upstairs to the game room,” Joonmyeon grabbed Yixing’s hand and dragged him to the staircase. Jong In and Lu Han walked at a slower pace in silence. After a mental debate, Jong In broke the silence.

“Kai,” he said. Lu Han stared at him with confusion.

“You can call me Kai,” Jong In said. “My brother prefers to be called Suho.”

“Does everyone call you that?” Lu Han asked.

“No, it’s only reserved for certain people.”

“Then I guess you can call me Luhan. It’s reserved for certain people, too.”

Kai let out a mirthful laugh. Luhan smiled at this.

“You should laugh more; it suits you.”

That afternoon, Kai swore he’d laugh more if he got to see Luhan’s bright smile.

To be continued...

Author's Note: This chapter will be divided into 2-3 parts. They are basically flashbacks that reveal some key pieces... of what; I won't reveal yet... For those KaiLu lovers out there, this chapter is for you.

In this chapter, Luhan, Suho, Yixing, and Yi Fan are 13. Kai is obviously 12.

I'm sorry if there are some mistakes or anything of that sort. My wonderful sempai xelly14x revised some of it but the poor thing is sick... I honestly can't live without my beta. I hope you get better sempai! I hope you guys enjoyed it, since it's another difficult (and long) chapter. Please subscribe and comment; I want to know what you guys think so far of the story.

Thank you all for your support,

Ulyana ^J^