Chapter Three

Lu Han changed his mind as soon as Minseok started jumping up and down and squealing like a school girl. 

"Omg Lu Han, you are the best person in the world! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" the older guy gushed, bouncing forward to envelope Lu Han in a tight hug. "I promise I will pay you back for this! It's just until my parents leave, so at most a week, and then you can leave this incident behind you as if nothing ever happened!" 

With mental scarring, more like, Lu Han thought sourly. Why hadn't he considered the consequences before proposing such a ridiculous idea to his friend? Lu Han hadn't brought it up for Minseok to degrade his pride and manlihood like this. Sure, if it worked, Minseok would get out of a lot of potential trouble with his parents, but the risks that came with it were dire enough for one to abandon the idea altogether. There were the problems of face recognition, acquaintance encounters, and theatrical acting that would have to be clever enough to fool people into mistaking Lu Han for a girl. Which, to be honest, would be impossible since Lu Han had no idea how to act feminine. 

That was why he had suggested an actual girl to be Minseok's fake wife. No harm could be done if his parents hadn't actually seen Ha Ni yet, and since they rarely visited, Lu Han doubted that they'd remember what Minseok's fake wife looked like if they saw her again. Ha Ni was of average height, average weight, and average looks, so her doppelganger could've been found easily on the streets. It was just too bad that complete strangers couldn't be used in a predicament as the one they were currently in, and neither guy had many girl friends to begin with. 

Lu Han untangled Minseok's arms from his waist, almost with difficulty, and then fixed him with a stern look. "You do understand you are taking a huge risk with this, right Minseok?" he asked. 

The other nodded solemnly. "I know, Lu Han. I'm scared to do this, too, but I can't think of anything else with such an imminent problem blowing up in my face. Just a while ago, I was thinking I could make some lame excuse to cover up for her absence, but knowing my parents, they'd just wait it out until Ha Ni comes back - which I highly doubt she would do if I don't run after her - and camp here like logs at my house. On the phone, they sounded like they really wanted to meet her, and you know I can't defy them. If you and I can pull this off, then my parents will quickly leave and I can run to the States after Ha Ni." 

Hearing Minseok say this didn't exactly make the situation any better for Lu Han. Although he had already agreed, he wanted to back out right now before he would be in too deep to escape. He leveled his eyes with Minseok's and creased his brows in a frown. "What if Ha Ni hadn't left yet and might come back tonight? You never know, she might have a change of heart after she thinks about how tired you were and that you didn't mean what you said. We could be in some serious if she comes waltzing through the door while I'm...in drag." Lu Han slightly winced saying that last part. The thought of it was absolutely mortifying. 

Minseok, clearly unsettled, scratched the back of his neck as a tortured look passed over his face. "Lu Han, if I was sure that she was still here, I wouldn't be standing here right now. I would be going after her, regardless of what may happen. But my wife isn't like that. She means what she says, and if the empty clothes hangers and missing passport doesn't tell me something, then I don't know what else would. Besides, I came back to the house long after she was gone. With what I said to her...I don't blame her for leaving," he said, looking down at his feet.

Lu Han made a face as he mentally drowned his head in a bucket of water. He cursed himself for his empathetic nature, so easily influenced by soft words and heartfelt entreaties, even those that came at the cost of his pride. If he had been anybody else, he definitely would not have agreed to do something so rash. But this was Minseok, who Lu Han cherished as a best friend. Lu Han would always be there for him, especially after what the guy had done to help him in the past. 

"Okay, I get it. I'll do it," Lu Han said, almost begrudgingly as he knashed his teeth together. "But the problem is, I don't look like a girl, nor do I know how to turn into one. If we're going to make this convincing, then we're going to have to...go all out." 

I hate my life right now.  

"Do you know what girls do to look the way they do?" Minseok asked. 

"No..."

Lu Han wasn't exactly sure if what he was feeling at the moment was anxiety or annoyance. His foot was tapping repeatedly against the ground as he waited for the door to open, one fist poised over the mahogany wood to knock again if needed. He so wanted to run back to his apartment, forget all about what happened this morning, and go to work as if it was a normal day. He was sure his colleagues were probably still waiting for him at the office, needing him to work on designing something for a newspaper column. But it was too late to back out of this plan now; he was already standing in front of Sungmi's door after all. 

Lu Han couldn't think of anyone else to come to for help but her. He had gotten to know Sungmi in the second year of university, when they had been assigned a group project for math. During that time, she was going through a love crisis concerning a certain male by the name of Kai, who so stupidly mistook her gender to be his own. Through various - but tiresome - tactics and ways, Lu Han was able to open their stubborn eyes and connect the bridge of their hearts, and from then on, he and Sungmi became best friends. Much to her boyfriend's annoyance, of course. Lu Han was sure Kai still didn't like him even after two years, but it wasn't like he expected any different. Having a civil conversation with Kai made him uncomfortable enough. 

Lu Han heard a noise of someone shuffling behind the door and then the lock jiggling. The door in front of Lu Han swung open to reveal a girl dressed in all black, with reading glasses perched upon her nose and a tight bun of black hair on top of her head. At the sight of Lu Han, she smiled broadly. 

"Lu Han!" she chirped, almost too cheerily in comparison to the way he was feeling at the moment. "Are you off work today?" 

When he didn't answer, Sungmi noticed the irked expression on his face. Her smile dropped. "What's wrong?" 

"I need your help," he said. "Pronto." 

Sungmi raised a questioning eyebrow at him before opening the door wider so he could walk in. The smell of citrus immediately wafted into his nose as soon as he entered, just like it always did. He had been here countless times for various reasons, and was sure he probably knew every nook and cranny of the house aside from Sungmi's room or her brother's. Lu Han figured Sungmi had probably been working on a paper, as he saw a Word document pulled up on the open laptop lying on the couch. Around it was a disorganized pile of papers and a bowl of rice cakes. 

Sungmi closed the door behind her and took her seat on an empty spot on the couch. Being already familiar with each other, she didn't bother to save him sitting room and he didn't care. Lu Han just plopped down on the ground carelessly and rolled his head back, groaning. 

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