“I’m going to Beijing.”

When Lu Han said that to Sunjung straight after walking into the kitchen one evening, she thought he was trying to be funny again. But when he didn’t burst out laughing as soon as he had spoken, Sunjung could only stand and look at him with a blank look on her face.

“What?”
She asked, abruptly placing the glass of water she had been drinking from on the island.

“I’ll be leaving next week. It’s just for a few days though.”
Seating himself on a stool, the brown haired man took a sip from the glass Sunjung had just discarded.

The relief that flooded through Sunjung at that moment was undeniable but it was soon replaced by annoyance. Why had he spoken like he was leaving her for good?
She huffed, “For work?”

Lu Han looked tired when he looked up at her. “Yeah. Sometimes I wonder if I am the only Chinese-speaker in out agency.”

She sat down beside him, wanting to wipe off the tired look on his face for some reason.
“But you’re going home. Won’t it be nice to meet your family?”

The small smile that made its way onto his face made Sunjung smile too.
“That’s the silver lining. I hope I’m not too busy to spend time with them though.”

Not knowing what to say, Sunjung just let out a small sound of agreement.
Silence reigned after that in which the two housemates sat facing each other but never letting their eyes meet. A strange air surrounded them; strange, but not unpleasant.
Lu Han was leaving for a few days, it wasn’t a big deal…it wasn’t supposed to be.
But Sunjung found herself thinking about how it was unnaturally silent when Lu Han wasn’t around for a few hours. How would she deal with it for some days?
As much as she liked solitude, she had gotten used to his presence—enjoyed it actually.

Lu Han couldn’t help but observe Sunjung’s face when she looked like she was lost in her thoughts, an act he found himself guilty of quite often these days.
Her nose was a bit round, her cheeks could be considered somewhat chubby and her eyes disappeared when she smiled happily. But he could not deny the fact that he loved it when she smiled. What he loved even more was the fact that the smiles that made her eyes disappear seemed to be reserved only for him.
He’d seen her with other people, she was civil to everyone but that was it, her actions reflected nothing more. He remembered how she was when they had first met; he could have never told then that she had a smile that could make his heart clench.

I know it sounds incredibly stupid, but I’ll miss you.

The same thing went through their minds as they sat in silence but it never translated to actual spoken words.
They would not like being away from each other; they wanted to tell each other exactly that.
But the silence spoke a lot louder than words.

***

Lu Han wondered why he hadn’t realised earlier that the floor was much more comfortable than the couch. Sitting on the plush carpet with his head resting on the couch made him feel more relaxed than he had done in a long while.

“Are you done packing?”

Lu Han sat up when he heard Sunjung’s question; he had not heard her come in.
She looked somewhat tired, a few strands of her hair falling loose from the tight ponytail. The lip-gloss she usually wore had worn off.
Lu Han found himself asking: Had she always been this beautiful?
He bit his bottom lip, realising he had been staring for too long. He hadn’t answered her question either.
He nodded, the action was too vigorous.

Sunjung smiled and with a small huff turned and left to her room.

in a deep breath, Lu Han ruffled his own hair.
I should stop behaving like a kid with a crush.

Lu Han wasn’t exactly stupid or naive; he knew very well that he was attracted to Sunjung. He also knew very well that Sunjung wasn’t interested...as far a