Chapter Seven

Lu Han woke in the middle of the night to the feeling of arms draped around his waist. He peeked one eye open to remove the hindrance, only to feel it return exactly to the same spot a second later. 

"Are you serious right now?" Lu Han mumbled in annoyance, before removing the arm once again to the side so he could go back to sleep. 

Lu Han barely closed his eyes before he was engulfed in a suffocating back hug, alerting him to full consciousness. "What the h -" 

"Ha Ni...please don't leave me...I'm sorry..." Minseok mumbled softly into the crook of Lu Han's neck. The latter immediately tensed up. Minseok wrapped his arms tighter around Lu Han's waist and then began rubbing circles into his stomach. "I just want our baby to be sa-" 

Lu Han shot out of the bed at lightning speed, jolting the other male awake with his abrupt action. Minseok sat up in confusion, hair disheveled, and glanced wildly around the room with a bewildered look before his eyes landed on Lu Han, who didn't look very happy. 

Minseok paled, realizing what he had just done. "Crap," he mumbled. 

He barely got another word in before Lu Han had kicked him off the bed. 

"Mom, please change your mind." 

"Oh, but I'm not going to." 

"She can't live with me though. I can't support her, the baby, and Ha Ni all at once!" 

"Of course you can. You and your wife work, right?" 

"Mom, you don't understand. I have two jobs and it's not possible for me to-" 

"Are you trying to say you don't want your sister to go to college? She is nineteen, and she's been prancing around for a whole year not doing anything and we need to get her act together. The girl doesn't want to go to college in Busan and the only other option is here in Seoul." 

"But Mom, there are plenty of other colleges elsewhere!" 

"Doesn't matter. We can't trust her to be on her own and we want you and Ha Ni to look after her." 

"But-"

"Oh, and not to mention, Ha Ni is a fluent English speaker. How wonderful would it be if she could tutor Minseo and help her with English! She has all summer vacation to help with this!"

Lu Han could hear a faint slap that probably meant Minseok was facepalming himself. He peeked around the door slowly, eyebrows raised, watching mother and son bicker on about Minseo and her college residence. 

Minseok lifted his gaze to his mother's and tried again. "Mom, can't you think about it again? I don't think Minseo is smart enough to get accepted into any Seoul universities. I think she has a much better chance in Busan."

"Minseok, how can you say that?!" 

"It's true, Mom! The girl never studied in high school and is a total slacker. Do you really think she'll make it?" 

"Think of your sister, Minseok. Even if she isn't the brightest flower in the bunch, I still want her to be more successful than we have been. The chances are slim, but it's possible if you make sure she studies this summer. And if you're really opposed to this, then alright. Just let her live with you until she can make money and live on her own. I won't ask anymore of you." 

Lu Han watched his friend's face fall, but before he could see anything else, a shadow passed over his line of vision. The door from which Lu Han had been eavesdropping from behind suddenly pushed backwards, and in that nick of a second before it opened any further, he had hopped like a gazelle onto the bed and dove quickly under the covers. 

The intruder closed the door quietly before bouncing on the bed and attempting to rip the covers from Lu Han's tight grip. Today was not the day to get caught and he was going to make sure it wouldn't happen. 

The tugs continued, getting more forceful with each consecutive try, and Lu Han held on to the edge of the blankets with his head underneath like his life depended on it. He wouldn't want the covers thrown off to reveal himself only in a pair of basketball shorts. 

Eventually, whoever was tugging gave up and let out a long sigh. "I know you were eavesdropping on their conversation."

Minseo. 

"It's not polite to eavesdrop on other people, you know. But I'll let it slide since I would've done the exact same thing," she said.

Lu Han silently scoffed. He couldn't believe the girl was talking as if he was going to get in trouble by her. I'll let it slide? Lu Han wasn't even eavesdropping on her. 

Clearing his voice slightly just to make sure it wasn't throaty like how it would be in the morning, Lu Han mumbled, "Why are you in here? This is trespassing."

Minseo completely ignored him. "Am I really that stupid? I mean, I don't really think I am. I make bad grades but it's not because I'm stupid. I'm just too lazy to try." She lifted a finger and poked at the lump under the covers. "Don't you agree? I bet all the kids in school right now probably hate their lives. All they do is study, study, and study. I once witnessed a girl fall over in class from sleep deprivation. That's surely not going to be me." 

Was this girl bipolar or something? Why in the world was she chatting so casually with somebody who she seemed to have a vice against yesterday? If Lu Han remembered correctly, she had been completely rude from the moment they met. Yeah, she was definitely bipolar alright. Lu Han couldn't help but wonder about the sanity of Minseok's family at this point.

Lu Han was suffocating slowly under the blankets, but he was too afraid to lift up a corner and breathe in the case that Minseo could snatch the opportunity to rip the covers from him. He coughed loudly to signal his discomfort and that she should leave, but Minseo didn't take the hint.

She continued. "I think it's just so unfair that parents are always forcing their kids to go to college as if there's no other option out there. There are so many people who go to career training schools and work early, and they don't have to waste as much money or time as those kids who take the university route. I mean, aren't plumbers and construction workers and car mechanics just as needed in the society as doctors and lawyers? Don't you agree Ha Ni?" 

"Mhmm!" Lu Han chimed. He was running out of breath. It was not looking good.

Please log in to read the full chapter