Lu Han wipes the sweat off his brow and heaves the heavy, drink-filled tray up. "For table six, right?" he says.

Yixing, a kind-looking man and Lu Han's best friend, nods and adds, "Yep. That group of giggling girls ordered you. I pity them." He mockingly shakes his head with a sad smile as he washes the utensils he used.

"They'd be disappointed if they knew," he says secretively and winks. He takes the tray to the girls with slow, calculated steps. His boss, Minseok, is usually forgiving, but he doubts that his boss will let him off if he spills some drinks again. He sets down the drinks with a flourish. "Apple, cherry, and strawberry bubble teas for three blooming ladies. Enjoy your drink and thank you for your patronage." He sends them a brilliant smile, not fake, but not particularly real either. It's a practiced smile for the customers. It lures them to come back to the quaint cafe.

He bows respectfully and turns to leave when one of the girls unabashedly stops him by grabbing his free hand. "Oppa," she says with a sweet smile. "I've been here a couple of times and I've heard you sing. You're also so pretty. You should go join a band."

He wants to take his hand away, but he doesn't want to seem rude. Besides, there are no other customers yet. He may as well humor these girls.

She faces her friends with wide and excited eyes. "Omo, Exo's recruiting another member, right?" Her posse squeals in delight and she squeezes his hand. She turns to him and says, "Oppa, I think you should join Exo."

"But don't they need a girl member?" one of the girls asks.

The leader frowns. "I'm really not comfortable with a girl member joining Exo. It's just... Wrong." She turns to Lu Han and eyes him from head to toe. She snaps her fingers and looks at her friends. "I have a brilliant idea!"

The two girls lean in. "Oppa is pretty enough anyway. He actually looks like a girl, see?" They look at him to inspect him and then they nod. "He can pretend to be a girl and our oppa-deul will be safe from the clutches of a girl!"

I think they should be careful of me... Whoever they are. "I think that's a fantastic idea," he tells them with the same smile, albeit more forced. "But I'm not really interested in that area. Thank you, though." He gently pulls his hand away from the pouting girl's face. He flashes them a fake, award-winning smile and sees them brighten up at the sight of it.

Is he that handsome?

He walks back to the counter, careful not to trip on his own two feet. He dramatically plants his cheek on the counter and sighs. "I'm so handsome that girls and boys alike can't resist me."

Yixing rolls his eyes and continues dusting the already dust-free utensils. "You're so narcissistic that I'm trying not to puke on you."

He snaps up from his position and stares at his best friend. His best friend is an angel who is incapable of saying mean things. "Who are you and what have you done to Zhang Yixing?"

"Just get back to work, hyung."

"But there are no customers."

Before Yixing can say anything, Minseok comes bounding up to them. Despite being the manager and the owner of the cafe, the small man with puffy cheeks prefers buzzing around the cafe. He removes his apron and hands Yixing his cheat sheet. "Yixing, take charge for a while. I have to meet someone." He ruffles Lu Han's hair and heads out of the cafe.

Lu Han pouts. "Does this mean I have to take care of Minseok's tables too?"

The door chimes and groups of students come inside. Lu Han's eyes widen and Yixing chuckles heartily. "Looks like today will be a busy day for you, Lu."

He groans and repeatedly hits his head on the countertop. "I hate Minseok. I hate that baozi. I hate him."

"Oh, look," Yixing says and catches Lu Han's attention. "There's an order for table twelve. Extra large chocolate bubble tea with extra chocolate and extra tapioca balls."

Lu Han sighs. "That's an awful lot of extra." He stands up properly and greets the impatient youngsters who have queued in front of the counter. He's only a few years older than them, but he's more responsible. He should be going to college, but it can wait. He needs to earn extra money first. The group of high school girls is no different from the other group of girls. They're chatty and flirty. And they like Exo.

"Oppa, are you part of the menu too?" one of the girls asks and they all giggle uncontrollably. At least the other group is more appropriate.

"What do you girls want?" he asks, ignoring the girl's question. He smiles at them. Really, this smile-at-customers thing is getting tiring. They rattle off their orders and he rings them, smile still on his blemish-free face. "Alright," he says when they're done. "I'll bring these to you as soon as possible." The girls giggle and walk to a table big enough to accommodate all of them. The next customers are one girl and one boy. Lu Han assumes they’re a couple since their hands are intertwined.

"Hello, lovebirds. What can I get you?"

The girl blushes. "One wintermelon bubble tea and earl grey tea, please.”

“I’ll pay for it,” the boy says.

The girl pouts and says, “No, it’s okay. I’ll pay for it.”

He thinks their flirting is cute, but he has other customers, so he clears his throat. Eventually, they decide that they’ll just pay for each others’ orders. "Alright, then. I'll do my best to serve it as early as possible!"

They both smile at him and walk to a table, still holding hands. He sighs. "Seeing couples makes me really happy," he tells Yixing with a dreamy look on his face. He places the orders down on the counter and rests his chin on his hands.

Yixing stops shaking the bubble tea maker and grins at him. "I'm glad that seeing them makes you happy because you will be alone until the day you shrivel into dust."

It takes everything in Lu Han not to strangle his best friend. "What's wrong with you?" he groans.

"Nothing," Yixing answers cheerfully. He hands Lu Han the extra-large cup. "Please be careful, Lu."

He scoffs, “When am I not careful? And it’s hyung to you.” He struts like a Victoria's Secret Angel to the back of the cafe, the secluded area, just to annoy the hell out of Yixing. He is too busy balancing the drink on his tray that he doesn't see the puddle on the floor. He comically falls, face first, the tray and the drink falling someplace else.

His empty hands reach the floor first, thankfully salvaging his face. He is on all fours when he hears a small, muffled shriek and he looks up to see a man with a face mask, shades, and a baseball cap on. Thinking that the man is out to get him and ignoring the fact that the drink he brought has been uncapped and is upturned and spilling right on the man’s crotch, he screams. He screams until Yixing comes. His best friend helps him up and clamps a hand on his mouth.

"Lu, shut up," Yixing hisses softly, but loud enough for the masked man to hear.

He scowls at him while rubbing his sore knees. "This man is out to murder me!" he proclaims. "Look at him!" He points at the man and turns to look at him, just in time to see him removing his shades and mask.

"He's a valued cus—" Yixing starts but stops when he sees who is behind the mask.

Lu Han's jaw drops as he eyes the drop-dead-damn-it-gorgeous man in front of him. He can't see the color of his hair because of the cap, but he can see his face and he thinks, Wow. Am I in heaven? He opens his mouth to apologize for mistaking him for a psychopathic killer, but the customer beats him to it.

"He poured my order on me," the man deadpans.

Yixing is a flustered mess as he grabs tissues from his apron—why does he have tissues there?—to try to clean the mess Lu Han made while he apologizes profusely for Lu Han's idiocy. "I am so sorry, Sehun-ssi. Lu is such an idiot. He doesn't know what he's doing two hundred percent of the time. He's really clumsy and stubborn. I'll tell our boss to fire him immediately—"

"Excuse me?!"

"That wouldn't be necessary," the man says and sighs. "Maybe that's why Minseok-ssi doesn't want him to wait on me."

Yixing nods his head so fast that Lu Han thinks he's going to hurt himself. I hope he does. Best friend my . He is about to make an intelligent retort when Yixing pushes his head down, forcing him to bow. "Lu, apologize. Now."

He doesn't want to, but there's a stupid policy that says, "The customer is always right." Besides, it is sort of his fault. He mutters out a soft, "Sorry." He stands up straight and sees the man smiling at him.

"No problem," he says. "Nice to meet you. I'm—"

"It's not nice to meet you," he scoffs. He picks up his tray and the spilled drink and glares at him. "You almost cost me my job."

The customer's eyes widen, probably in surprise at how Lu Han suddenly turned from a humble waiter to an arrogant little man. "Excuse me? Is it my fault?"

"Lu," Yixing says with gritted teeth. "If you don't stop now, I'm telling Minseok hyung."

He childishly sticks his tongue out at his best friend. "Baozi won't fire me." He walks away with a huff, muttering curses at the gorgeous man. It's not his fault that he's clumsy! Maybe he should have been more careful, but that doesn't mean it's his fault! It's the puddle's fault for being there. It's also the customer's fault for being so gorgeous and adorable. Life is unfair, he thinks.

He once again plants his pretty face on the countertop, waiting for Yixing. When his best friend comes, he stands up straight and prepares his best aegyo. He raises his hand to do a bbuing-bbuing when Yixing says, "Hyung, you don't have aegyo. At all. And you're not going to get away with it. I'm telling Minseok hyung."

He grabs onto his best friend's arm and wails, "Don't! Minseok is evil and he will make me pay for the spilled drink."

Yixing pulls his arm away and starts making another extra large chocolate drink with extra tapioca balls and chocolate. "It's your fault. We almost lost a customer."

"Who is that anyway? How come you know him?" he asks and leans on the counter, watching Yixing mix the drinks in fascination.

Yixing stops what he's doing and gestures for Lu Han to come closer. He whispers, "That guy is Oh Sehun, bassist of the band Exo."

"Exo?" he says loudly.

Yixing shushes him, but the girls in the cafe stop their chatter and look at Lu Han. Strawberry, the girl from table six, squeals. "Oppa is a fan of Exo!”

“Have you seen them? I heard Sehun always comes here, but I’ve never seen him here before.”

The girls squeal altogether and go back to gossiping with their friends. Lu Han eyes them weirdly and shakes his head. He turns to Yixing and mouths, "They're mental."

Yixing glares at him. "No one is supposed to know that Sehun-ssi is here. He's been here a few times, but I only found out today. Apparently, Minseok hyung thinks it's not to safe let anyone else know." He pouts and goes back to mixing the drink.

Lu Han stares at him, judging him. "Are you an Exo fan?"

"Yes," Yixing replies without missing a beat. "I have all of their albums."

He doesn't ask more questions, not wanting to participate in his best friend's weird obsession. When he sees him finishing up the drink, he gets his tray ready. To his surprise, Yixing takes the tray from him. "I'm going to serve the drinks. You stay here and make them."

"But I like waiting tables," he whines.

Yixing turns a deaf ear to his pleas and walks back to the secluded area. He glares at his best friend's back, but starts preparing the other customers' drinks. He doesn't want to anger his boss.

---

Lu Han removes his shoes and climbs up on the counter top. He lies there, exhausted to the core.

"Lu Han, please. I've only just finished cleaning that," Minseok says with a sigh.

He groans and refuses to move. "I'm so tired. This is illegal."

"Yixing worked more than you did, but he still has the energy to clean," Minseok tells him.

He opens his eyes to look at his best friend, who is fixing the tables and singing a song unfamiliar to Lu Han. Most songs are unfamiliar to him. He grew up in the convent with Yixing and his twin sister, having left it only a few years prior. The two have grown accustomed to the real world and they have started listening to pop songs. He, on the other hand, still listens to gospel songs and Christmas carols only.

"He saw Sehon, of course he'd be filled with energy," he answers absent-mindedly.

"It's Sehun, Lu." Minseok raises an eyebrow suspiciously. "Did something happen?"

He changes his position so he can lie more comfortably on the counter. "Oh, you know. The usual. I accidentally spilled his order on him—"

"You what?"

"I spilled—“ he stops himself and looks at the angry baozi. He smiles sheepishly. "Oops?"

"Lu Han," Minseok says, growing angrier with each passing second, "how many times do I have to tell to be careful?!"

"It's not my fault!" he argues.

"Then whose fault is it? Sehun-ssi's?"

"Yes!"

He can see Minseok getting ready to shout at him when the door to the cafe bangs open and a petite young lady with long brown hair enters.

"We're closed!" they both shout.

Yixing, the ever absent-minded boy, looks up in surprise. He waves at the newly arrived. "Hey, Lu Hee."

Lu Hee grins at him and waves back. She sticks her tongue out at the boy on the counter and the angry boss. "You guys are so mean. I don't know how Yixing puts up with you."

Lu Han shrugs and shifts his position again. He's now lying on his stomach. Minseok has, fortunately, calmed down and is staring at Lu Hee. "So what's the news?"

She grins and brings out an envelope from inside her bag. "I got accepted," she takes out the stack of papers inside the envelope, "and I'm going to be an idol soon!" She raises the contract and waits for a reaction.

Minseok blinks and then goes behind the counter to clean up some more. Lu Han doesn't move. Yixing is oblivious.

"I said," she repeats, losing her patience, "I got accepted into SM Entertainment and I'm going to be an idol soon!"

Lu Han raises his head and locks eyes with Minseok. A grin slowly graces his face. He looks at his twin sister, eyes glinting. "Lu Hee, do you know what this means?”

"We can finally find our long-lost mother and my dreams of becoming an idol will come true?"

"No! I don't have to work my off in this cafe!" Lu Han says triumphantly.

At the same time, Minseok says, "No! It means this cafe will become even more popular!"

Lu Han turns to Minseok and glares at him. "I'm not going to let you exploit my sister."

"I'm not going to let you have Lu Hee for your own."

"She's my sister! My twin sister!"

"I took you both in! Also Yixing! I practically fed you! I gave you a home!"

"She's still my sister!"

"I'm your boss!"

Lu Hee rolls her eyes, knowing the argument won't end soon. She leaves the bumbling idiots and walks to Yixing, who is still cheerfully cleaning tables. "Yixing, guess what?"

Yixing looks at her with enthusiastic, droopy eyes. "What?"

"I got accepted into SM Entertainment and I'm going to be an idol soon!" It's the third time she repeated the sentence, but it doesn't matter. The sentence needs to be repeated a hundred times. Or more.

Yixing stares at her and slowly but surely, his eyes widen. He puts down the rag he is holding and runs to the restroom to wash his hands. He comes back and hugs Lu Hee. "I am so proud of you, Lu Hee noona."

Lu Hee squeals and hugs him back. "Thank you, Yixing!” She pulls away and grins. “I promise to give you special passes for concerts and other events! You’ll finally meet your Exo hyung-deul!”

Yixing’s jaw drops. “You’re joining Exo?”

She nods and gets hugged by Yixing again. “I am so proud of you, Hee. I really am.”

“At least you’re proud of me,” she mutters, “My twin brother only thinks about money.”

He laughs and puts an arm around her. “Hey, your brother is proud of you. I know he is. He just doesn’t show it.”

She nods and hugs him again. “Thanks for reminding me.” She stands up straight and her eyes widen. “Oh!” She clears and says loudly, “Hey, Minseokkie oppa, can Lu Han oppa take a day-off tomorrow?”

Minseok and Lu Han stop arguing and the former looks at her curiously. “What for?”

“I need to go shopping,” she says and smiles angelically.

Lu Han pales and Minseok grins evilly. “Sure!” he says happily. “I’ll even give his salary for this month tomorrow!”

Lu Hee claps her hands and Lu Han groans. “Thanks, Minseok oppa! You’re the best!”

Lu Han starts banging his head on the counter. “I don’t want to carry your bags. I don’t want to waste money on your clothes. I don’t want to do anything that involves you.”

They all roll their eyes. They all know Lu Han can’t resist his twin sister.

---

“Oppa, come on.”

Lu Han sighs and drags himself to the woman’s department. He’s thankful that Lu Hee isn’t too picky with the brand of her clothing. As long as it’s comfortable and nice, she’ll take it. She doesn’t like spending too much either. But Lu Han still doesn’t like shopping with her and he has a very good reason.

“Should I get this one or this one?” she asks, holding up a blue dress with one hand a white one with the other. “I’m going to wear this when I sign the contract with the CEO of SM Entertainment!”

“Why don’t you get both?” he suggests, unable to decide which color will suit his sister more, but his eyes widen when he realizes the hole he dug for himself.

Lu Hee pouts. “But it’s a waste of money to get both when they look exactly the same except for the color.” An idea crosses her head and she smiles at him slyly. “Oppa, I know you want to go home as soon as possible, so why don’t you help me?”

“No,” he replies swiftly. “I will not wear that dress. I’ve had enough of you dressing me up like a doll. No. I will not concede.”

A few minutes later, the twins stand side by side in front of the mirror outside the dressing room. Lu Hee is wearing the blue dress and her doll shoes. Lu Han is wearing the white dress, ending an inch above his knees, and his chucks. His legs are bigger than hers due to playing soccer.

They stare at their reflections, amazed at how alike they really are. They look exactly the same except for Lu Hee’s long hair and Lu Han’s leg muscles.

“So? Have you decided?”

“I think... I’ll get both,” she says.

He looks at her in horror and tries not to strangle her on the spot. “You made me wear this for nothing?”

She smiles sheepishly and twirls her hair with her index finger. “I’m sorry?” she supplies.

He groans and stalks back to the dressing room and she follows him, saying, “Oppa!” They don’t notice the masked blond boy watching them with interest.

They change back to their previous outfits and Lu Han fixes his hair to make himself look manly. He needs to get back his masculinity. He trudges behind a happy Lu Hee, not really interested. He wallows in self-pity, unaware of the world, until a pile of clothes is shoved in his direction. He raises his head and looks at his sister questioningly.

“I didn’t say I was only going to shop for myself,” she says. “I saw the shirt you were wearing the other day. It had a hole.” She pushes him to the direction of the dressing room while saying, “You always buy me stuff and you always forget about yourself. You’ll never get a boyfriend if you keep thinking about me.”

He faces her and gives her a stern look. “Lu Hee-ya! I promised to Mother Superior that I would take care of you and Yixing. The two of you are my priorities. I also promised to our father before he passed away that I would always take care of you. He left you under my care.”

She smiles sincerely but still pushes him towards the room. “Appa also left you under my care. So whether you like it or not, I will take care of you. Now, go get dressed and show me how handsome you are.”

He sighs and walks inside a cubicle on his own. He really loves his sister. He will do anything for her. He changes into the clothes she handed him. He stares at himself before leaving the cubicle. It’s just a graphic white shirt and black jeans, but he still feels special because his sister chose them for him. He exits the room and poses in front of his sister. “Well?”

She grins and gives him two thumbs up. “Oppa, you look handsome.”

---

“Sehun, where are you going?”

Sehun fixes his blond hair one last time before nodding at the leader. “Out.”

Jongin stands from the couch and runs to the door. He spreads his arms before shaking his head. “You’re not leaving.”

Sehun rolls his eyes and tries pushing the older-by-a-few-months boy away. “It’s not for you to decide.”

Jongin holds on to his arm and whines, “Don’t leave me here with Yifan hyung.”

“Kris,” the leader says.

“I don’t want to listen to him ranting about the national fairy,” he continues. He meets Sehun’s eyes and pouts.

The leader just continues playing with his phone, probably stalking the national fairy, the love of his life.

The youngest grimaces and pulls his arm away. “Hyung, you can go out, you know?”

Kris raises his head and looks at him weirdly. “Did you hit your head or something?”

Jongin hits him on the head. “I can’t believe you forgot. Our English tutor is coming over today!” Hearts appear in his eyes as he hugs himself. “I can’t leave. Seonsaengnim will get really angry if I do.”

Kris shakes his head and goes back to his phone. He starts smiling and Sehun knows it’s because the national fairy did something cute.

“What happened this time? A new tweet?” he mocks.

A blush appears on the leader’s cheeks as he nods. “A tweet with a selca.”

“You’re hopeless,” he tells him. He points to Jongin and tells him, “You’re hopeless too.” He shudders and opens the door. “I don’t want to be surrounded by crazy people like you two.”

“You’re mean!” Jongin shouts while Kris ignores him, as usual.

He leaves their dorm in a huff and meets their manager, Jongdae, outside the gate. Their manager is only a few years older than him and is actually younger than the leader, but is very capable. He cooks really good food too. He also likes pranking the other two members, which Sehun appreciates very much.

“To the bubble tea shop?” Jongdae asks as he gets in the car.

He enters the car and answers, “Yes, hyung.”

“Why do you keep going back to that shop?” Jongdae asks curiously. He looks at Sehun in the rearview mirror.

The maknae maintains a straight face and answers simply, “Just because.” He looks outside and observes the busy streets of Seoul. He vividly remembers the day he was scouted by someone from his current company. He was just fifteen and he didn’t know what to do. He thought the man was making fun of him so he ran away. The chase went on for thirty minutes until the scout caught him and gave him bubble tea. He cracks a small smile as he remembers how his mom had scolded him for being bribed by just bubble tea. But to his defense, the man showed him his ID.

He was not really interested in becoming an idol, but he thought that it would be nice to give it a try. He auditioned and fortunately, he got in. And now, here he is, the bassist of the most popular group in Asia.

“Sehun, we’re here,” Jongdae says, stopping his train of thoughts.

Sehun mumbles his thanks and wears his mask and cap. He opens the door of the car and exits. His one foot is already out when he sees Lu Han and a Lu Han lookalike leave the store. He retreats to his car and watches the two walk to the bus stop.

“Well? Aren’t you going inside?” Jongdae asks him curiously.

He continues watching as he answers, “No, I’m”—he sees them enter a bus—“Hyung, follow that bus!”

Jongdae looks at him confusedly, but he starts shaking him. He points to the bus, which is already moving. “Hyung! Follow that bus!” The manager blinks and then shrugs his shoulders. They chase the bus with Sehun clutching the edge of his seat.

The only reason why Sehun goes to the bubble tea shop during his day-off is to see Lu Han, the apple of his eye. And although he refuses to admit it, he's just as hopeless as Jongin and Kris.

They end up in a department store and Sehun makes up the excuse that he wants to go shopping. Jongdae doesn’t protest and tells him that he wants to go shopping too. They part ways with Jongdae going to a music store and Sehun following Lu Han and Lu Han II.

He doesn’t call it stalking, but he doesn’t have a word for it either. It’s just not stalking. He ducks behind a mannequin when he sees the two walking towards him. He can’t be caught. After getting Lu Han into trouble the day before, he thinks the boy won’t appreciate seeing him that soon.

He trails after them and he remembers the day he met Lu Han. It happened half a year ago. He was shopping with the other members when he saw him in the women’s section, buying dresses. He followed him even when the other boarded the bus and until they reached the shop. He dismissed it as mindless fascination at first, but when he kept coming back to see him, he came to a realization.

I have a tiny crush on him, he thinks. It’s not my fault. He has really nice doe eyes and an ugly but cute smile—

“Oof!”

He bumps into someone and almost falls on top of that someone. He quickly shifts their positions so he can cradle the other’s fall. He closes his eyes and winces when his back hits the hard ground. He opens his eyes and sees a very familiar pair of doe eyes looking back at him.

---

A/N: I'm back?

First of all, I sincerely apologize for disappearing for almost three years. I don't want to make excuses, but I really was busy. I just graduated from college this year, so now I've found the time to write again. And I'm not going to lie, I had a difficult time writing Hunhan for a while. But now I'm back and I don't plan on leaving again! At least... I'm going to try not to.

Again, I'm really sorry. Please bear with me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. (This is also crossposted on AO3.)

Thank you very much!

With love,

themaskedgirl