Sehun was still kicking himself for his behavior in the bathroom when he woke up the next morning. For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, the boys had a whole day to relax and do whatever they liked, but this also meant that there was nothing to distract Sehun from thinking about last night's disaster. He had hardly slept at all and had finally just gotten up at around five AM. Unsurprisingly, everyone else was still in bed, so Sehun was all alone in the living room of the dorm. Not knowing what to do with himself, he decided to go for a quick run to clear his head. It was a chilly November morning, which gave him the perfect opportunity to disguise himself with a beanie and mask to prevent any incidents with people on the street.

It was still too early for the sun to be up, and the dark emptiness of the street seemed very appropriately matched to Sehun's thoughts. Outside of the dorm, Sehun hung a right and set off at a slow jog. As the dark buildings and buttery street lights marched past, Sehun's thoughts lingered on Luhan. He had looked so confused last night. So...afraid.

How could I do that to him? Sehun growled at himself. You're not supposed to terrify the person you're in love with!

Poor Luhan. He probably had no idea why Sehun was acting like that at all. But why was he being so weird about Sehun changing in front of him? He never used to mind...at least he didn't mind before last summer. Around July, Sehun had started to notice that Luhan would always make an effort to change after everyone else was done...but what did that signify?

He's always been a little weird. He probably just suddenly didn't like changing at the same time as everyone else. Sehun decided.

Not giving a moments notice to where he was, the boy jogged on, musing over the wonderful and confusing person he had the misfortune of developing a crush on. The first time he ever met Luhan, Sehun had been a little surprised to find out that Luhan was, in fact, a guy. Sehun had always assumed he was straight, and the immediate attraction he felt towards the older boy had confused and alarmed him. But as time passed, Luhan's gender had somehow ceased to matter to Sehun completely. He was positive that, even if Luhan was a girl, he would feel the same way. And the more he got to know Luhan, the more he had liked him. He loved how easy he was to talk to despite the language barrier and he loved what good friends they'd become. Sehun's pace slowed to a stop. His feet dragging to a halt on the frigid sidewalk. He tipped his face up to the sky and sighed heavily.

Oh . He suddenly thought. Where in the Hell am I?

Back at the dorms, Luhan had just woken up to the smell of coffee brewing in the kitchen. That meant that Xiumin was up. Luhan yanked a sweatshirt over his head and began the process of stumbling into the kitchen.

"Morning." He greeted Xiumin glumly.

"Good morni-" Xiumin began, stopping suddenly when he turned around and got a good look at Luhan's face. "Dude. What happened to you? You look awful. "

"Didn't sleep much." Luhan grumbled as Xiumin slid him a mug of steaming coffee.

"Well that's pretty obvious." Continued Xiumin conversationally, sitting down at the kitchen table across from the sleepy boy.

"Morning!" Suho yawned as he entered the room. He began pouring himself a glass of juice until he got a good look at Luhan. "Oh, Luhan, are you sick? It's flu season! Let me get you some herbal tea." He rushed to say without waiting for a response.

"Suho. I'm not sick. I just didn't get much sleep." Luhan's words made Suho pause halfway through starting the electric kettle. Suho raised an eyebrow, giving him a skeptical look. Luhan let out a half-laugh. "Really, Suho. I'm fine. I promise."

"Well, is there anything bothering you?" Xiumin asked.

"No. It's nothing." Sighing, Luhan laid his head on the table. Xiumin and Suho exchanged a look. There was a long pause as the three young men sipped at their coffee and juice.

"Oh, hey," Suho said, breaking the silence. "Have either of you seen Sehun? He wasn't in our room when I woke up." Luhan stiffened, but made the effort to act like he wasn't especially interested.

"I haven't seen him yet." Xiumin said thoughtfully.

"I mean, I heard him get up really early this morning, but that's not really unusual. He sometimes gets hot in our room and goes out to sleep on the couch, but I don't think he's even in the dorm..."

"That's weird...but I'm sure he'll be back soon." Xiumin shrugged nonchalantly.

"Yeah. He probably just went out for bubble tea." Luhan muttered quietly. Right? I can't think where else he would have gone... He thought to himself.

It was now about nine in the morning and Sehun was now sitting in a coffee shop in a neighborhood he didn't recognize in the slightest. He had been nursing a coffee for over thirty minutes and lamenting the fact that he'd forgotten to bring his phone.

It's official. I'm an idiot. He told himself for the hundredth time. He didn't know how long he'd been running before he noticed that he was lost. He'd wandered around for awhile, but some girls on the street had started pointing at him and whispering so he was forced to take cover in a bookstore until they left. After that, he'd meandered about some more, hoping to recognize something, and at last decided to warm up in a coffee shop before continuing.

I should probably ask someone for directions. Sehun sighed to himself. But who to ask? He looked around the coffee shop. Two older businessmen were sitting near the door. They probably knew the way to his neighborhood and probably wouldn't recognize him. Perfect. Sehun stood up and made his way over to the men.

"Excuse me, could I ask you for directions? I'm looking for ________ street." He asked politely.  The businessmen were happy to give him directions, but said that it would take him another hour or two to get home by foot. Sehun thanked them, bowed, and headed out.

"I'm starting to get worried." Suho paced through the living room for the fifth time. "He doesn't have his phone and he's been gone for hours. What if something happened?"

"I'm sure he's fine. He's a big boy." Baekhyun offered cheerfully. The boys had been gathered in the living room for an hour or so channel-surfing. Sehun still hadn't appeared. Luhan was really starting to worry that he was the reason Sehun had left. After all, he'd yelled at him and called him awful...He had probably really upset him.

Lay took a covert peek at Luhan to see how he was reacting to all of this. Luhan was staring at his hands, eyebrows furrowed,  and chewing on his bottom lip. He looked really concerned. He probably really wanted to go looking for him, but was afraid someone would guess his feelings if he suggested it, but maybe Lay could give him a hand...

"Hey, Luhan?" He began. "Could you do me a huge favor? My knee is killing me and I'm out of the brand of muscle cream I like. Could you go get me some? You're the only one who knows the drugstore that sells it." Lay smiled and rubbed at his knee like it was hurting him. Luhan gave him a perplexed look.

"Okay...I guess." Luhan paused, thinking.

Maybe I can look for Sehun while I'm out. Then I'd be able to apologize!

"But...um...it might take me a while..." He finished slyly.

"Oh that's okay. Take as long as you need." Lay told him kindly.

"Alright then!" Luhan disentangled himself from Tao and Xiumin, who were sitting on either side of him, and went to find a jacket.

A few minutes later, Luhan was outside and geared up for action. He had wrapped a scarf around his face as a disguise and was trying to decide where to start looking for Sehun. On a whim, he headed left. As he walked, he tried to figure out how exactly to apologize. He couldn’t exactly tell Sehun why he had been acting strangely about him changing; To do that, he would have to confess. But maybe he could get away with saying that he had just had a long day? He had been tired and grumpy? He really wasn’t angry at all?

That might work. He decided.

Luhan walked for a long time down those cold streets, occasionally taking a turn if his gut told him to. A few people gave him curious looks, but he didn’t really think anyone recognized him. After about fifteen minutes, he caught sight of someone ahead of him wearing a beanie and a mask....It was Sehun. Even from this distance, there was no mistaking him. Luhan broke into a run, hurrying to meet him.

“Se-Sehun!” he panted as he reached him, the cold air stinging his lungs.

“Luhan?” The boy replied, eyes widening with surprise.

What’s Luhan doing out here? Was he....looking for me? Sehun wondered.

“Are you stupid?” Luhan asked suddenly. “Why didn’t you tell any of us where you were going? Suho’s been worried. You know how he gets. Why don’t you have your phone?” Luhan blushed and looked away as he said this.

“I’m sorry...I went for a jog and got lost. Then some girls almost recognized me so I had to hide in a bookshop for a while....” He cleared his throat. There was a long, heavy pause.

“Listen, Sehun...I’m really sorry about what happened last night. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I was just really tired and...”

“Wait.” Sehun stopped him. “I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn’t have teased you like that. You must really hate me.” He shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

“Don’t be stupid. Something like that doesn’t matter! I was just in a bad mood, is all. I’m really sorry for snapping at you. Now...let’s just head back. It’s freezing out here.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

As the two boys headed back towards the dorm, both of them felt a wonderful sense of relief.

Thank God he didn’t figure out why I was embarrassed. Thought Luhan happily to himself. He probably couldn’t have forgiven me so easily if he had found out.

I’m so relieved. I thought he’d be scared of me forever after that... Smiled Sehun.

The two walked in silence. This time, a comfortable one. Both of them felt glad that their apology had been accepted by the other, but both still thought they were at fault for the incident in the bathroom the day before. When they finally reached the dorm with frozen fingers and toes, Sehun turned to Luhan and quickly threw one arm around his neck, pulling him in for a half-hug.

“Thanks for coming to look for me.” He said simply before opening the door and heading inside. For a moment, Luhan was frozen. This was one of those awful moments that gave him hope. Damn Sehun. Luhan trotted after him, a light blush hidden under the red of his cheeks from the cold.

As they entered the living room where the rest of the boys were still watching crappy cartoons, Luhan’s eyes widened with a sudden, unfortunate realization.

“Lay...” He trailed, embarrassed. “I’m so sorry. I totally forgot to get your muscle cream!” Lay turned to look at him with one of his usual 4-D expressions.

“What muscle cream?” He asked pleasantly. Everyone turned to look at him in curious amazement, but he had already returned his attention back to the televison.

Looks like they made up. Lay mused. Mission accomplished.