Lu Han & Im Yoona

“You look pretty with your new hair style, Luhan-oppa~”

Luhan, who is studying the group dance moves on his phone, looks up to see Yoona standing in front of him, leans down as she tries to suppress her laugh—maybe she knows really well that he doesn’t like being called ‘pretty’.

“I’m not pretty, Yoona-sunbae,” he says aloud—tries to be heard by Yoona in the blasting music on the stage before them. They are in the SM Town concert’s backstage, a day before the actual stage, rehearsing with other SM Town members.

Why, he thinks while putting his phone on his pocket, of all SM family members, must this girl whose ‘praise’ him pretty? Despite wondering in his head, there’s faint blush on his cheeks—he knows that fact, he knows it really well, and no thanks to how Yoona addressed him while she was ‘complimenting’ him. (He thanks to God, though, that not even one of s with him right now; he doesn’t think he can take the teasing.). Luhan tries to cover his blushing cheeks by shifting his gaze from the pretty girl, who by now sits beside him, with a grin on her beautiful face, as if she’s satisfied with his reaction.

“By the way, no need to be that formal. There’s no camera around,” she says, makes him look up. He sees that she’s drinking a bubble tea which he just realizes by now that she’s holding it from the very first time she talks to him; he’s too busy hiding his blushing cheeks to notices it.

(He doesn’t know that she likes to drink bubble tea, by the way. It makes him realize that there are so much he doesn’t know about Yoona.)

Luhan, knowing that Yoona still has things to say, doesn’t reply—he usually nods with an awkward smile when Yoona asks him to drop the honorific. He just stares at the girl, patiently waits while she drinks her bubble tea deliciously (while he himself drunks in the beautiful face of the SNSD’s visual, silently hopes she will sit in front of him for a long time, so he can—

“But you do look pretty in that purplish hair color, Luhan.”

—.

Luhan curses inwardly, more to himself who, again and again, stares too intent at her to be called appropriate, than to Yoona’s so-called compliment. He himself doesn’t know why there’re times he caught himself staring at Yoona. Maybe the girl’s face is just so beautiful that it mesmerizes him to the point he doesn’t even realize that he’s staring. Maybe there’s something in her that he can’t figure out what it is, so he just let himself stares at the girl. Or maybe he just simply likes it—to stare at Yoona.

(And he really, really hopes the said girl will never know. Ever.)

“It’s bad to swear even though you don’t like the compliment, Luhan. I’m just joking.”

…what?

Luhan blinks. There’s a pout in her lips, Luhan sees, while the girl plays with her bubble tea’s straw. If only he isn’t in panic mode—because he subconsciously just said his curse out loud—he will find her expression is very cute. Oh, scratch that. He still finds it is, actually. It’s cute that it makes him want to peck her cheek, or maybe give a kiss on her pouty lips—

You need to stop, Luhan. He warns himself.

He scratches the back of his head. “That’s—it isn’t pointed at you, Yoona,” Luhan says, tries to explain things, unconsciously drops the formality (he usually still speaks to her with much formality even she has asked him not to do so). When he catches Yoona’s raised eyebrow, he quickly adds, “—I mean, Sunbaenim.”

And as Yoona’s eyebrow raises higher, he hesitantly asks, “Did I… do something wrong?”

To his surprise, Yoona laughs and shakes her head. “You didn’t do anything wrong, you know,” she says in between her laugh. “I won’t bite so stop being so tense, Luhan,” she adds, still laughing.

But, in spite of his confusion—for why she raised her eyebrow if he didn’t do anything wrong, because he can’t find anything funny in his sentences, Luhan can’t help but likes the laugh.

He can’t help but likes every single time he hears her laughs.

(And Luhan doesn’t realize that there’s a soft smile curving in his lips—shaped because he sees Im Yoona laugh, sees the Im Yoona looks so… humane—not that he sees her as a monster or something. It’s just she looks so… free, it’s like she’s not a member of SNSD, not to mention the face of that national girl group itself. It’s like she’s just her. Im Yoona.)

“Hey, Luhan…”

He once again hears her voice after her laugh has died down, and once again he looks up. Once again he stares at her intently, gives his full-attention to whatever she will say, and silently smiling at her sparkling eyes when she gives him a smile—a teasing one, actually.

“It’s not a bad thing, you know? Having… eung… how should I put it? Feminine, soft feature?” she starts, tapping her fingers on her temple while she thinks, “Oh, whatever—I mean, who likes to be hugged with oh-look-I’ve-muscle-everywhere men? That’s scaaaary, don’t you think so? It’s like he’ll crush you or something.”

Luhan laughs. “But I do have abs, you know,” he says, leans on the chair, a gesture that shows he feels comfortable around her. Feels ease talking to her. “And being said you’re prettier than most girls is not a good thing, Sunbae,” he adds, irritation in his tone when he recalls what s said about him being prettier than most of their fans—some of the fans themselves, who most of them are girls, even say he’s pretty.

Yoona giggles and, though he feels at ease and comfortable talking to his certain senior, Luhan has to remind himself not to rolls his eyes and glares at her. As much as he likes Yoona, his dislike being called pretty is absolute. But as much as he dislikes being called pretty, Yoona still is his senior. There are boundaries to react. He’s not with —

Wait.

Did he just think he likes Yoona? 

Oh, you slow-poke. He can clearly hear Minseok speaks in his mind when he imagines himself telling his best friend this new-finding. Isn’t it obvious? With you constantly look after her and—

“As long as Sajangnim doesn’t ask you to fill in the gap and dance with the girls when one of us has another schedule, you are safe, Luhan,” Yoona says, still giggling, and Luhan comes back to earth, leaving imagination-Minseok with his explanation. “And he’s crazy if he does so. Not like he isn’t crazy already…,” she adds, lowering her voice.

They laugh together and Luhan loves it. But much to his disappointment, Yoona stands up.

“Oh, you’ve got to go already, Sunbae?” Luhan asks before he can stop himself, and immediately cusses his stupidity in his head.

“It’s rehearsal time,” she explains.

Luhan nods in acknowledgment, trying so hard not to look disappointed that she must leave so soon. He doesn’t need to be, actually, because Yoona doesn’t move even a step. She just stands in front of him, playing the straw of her bubble tea. Just one glance on her—though he doesn’t just glance—he knows that she’s contemplating to or not to say something. So Luhan tilts his head, giving her questioning look.

When she doesn’t say anything (other than mumbled ‘eung’s) in the next awkward minute, Luhan persuades her. “Is there something wrong, Sunbae?”

It seems his very last word do persuades her, because she finally says, “Yoona.”

That doesn’t make him understand, though, hence the wrinkles on his forehead. “…sorry?” he asks.

“I’ve told you not to called me ‘sunbae’, like, numerous times, haven’t I?” she continues. “Just call me Yoona. We’re same age, right?”

“Ah… yes…” he answers. It’s not the first time or the second time she has asked him to drop the formalities. When he tries to recall it, it’s almost every time they have the chance to talk (not that it’s a frequent occasion, though).

And now come to think of it…

“May I ask you something?” Luhan starts, and Yoona gives him a small nod. “Why do you so insist? I mean, Minseok still talks to you formally and—” he stops, the wrinkles on his forehead deepen when he notices her flustered look.

“I… it’s just—it sounds good,” she mumbles. “I… I like it better and… I—well… bye, Luhan!” she then bids her goodbye hurriedly, waving her hand and makes her way to stage so fast that Luhan can’t even give her a proper goodbye.

Luhan blinks his eyes. Once. Twice. He turns his head to the stage where Yoona and the other SNSD members are preparing themselves to rehearse while joking around. His brain is still processing what has happened just now. Has he just seen blush on Yoona’s cheeks?

Yes. Oh, yes, he’s just seen it. He still can see the blush, actually. And it seems like the SNSD members aren’t just joking around, but teasing a particular member.

He then smiles widely, somehow feels so much energized than before.

Because he, too, likes the way ‘Yoona’ rolls on his tongue better.

Maybe he should ask her out to drink bubble tea when they have time.

(And he could use the drink-bubble tea-out times (yes, plural) to know more about her. Right?)

-fin-

I really want to thanks all the commenters, subscribers, and upvoters. I didn't expect I'll get upvoters for only forewords. :) I hope you enjoy the fics, it's very simple, though. ^-^')a

English isn’t my first language so I’m so sorry for grammar mistakes and incorrectly used words. Please do point my mistakes out. Comments and critics will be very appreciated. :)

Thanks for reading.

xoxo,

araya.