A sliver of sunlight peeks through the curtains, falling on the head of a young man who's still asleep. He stirs, glances at the clock on the bedside table, and frowns. It's 10 o' clock, but Luhan doesn't want to get up. He draws the curtains, retreats back to the comfortable bed fort he built for himself and lays there. It's queen-sized, too big for him alone, but it had been just perfect when Jongin laid beside him. The pillows on the left side still smell of Jongin. Luhan can't bear to throw them away. He still sleeps on the right out of habit, and sometimes, he glances over to his left only to find the bed empty. A sharp, acute pain slices through his heart. He pulls the covers over himself and closes his eyes.

 

 

 

 

"It's been three months since Jongin left! You can't just keep moping around like that, hyung," Zitao tells him. "It's eating at you." His voice sounds weird and tinny through the speakers of his laptop, but the concern still seeps through.

 

"You're not even working anymore," Yixing sighs. "If you go on like this you'll hurt yourself."

 

"What if I want to be hurt?" Luhan says defiantly, with an edge in his tone. He's so, so tired of everything—tired of his friends Skyping him everyday as if he was going to shatter like a piece of glass, tired of waking up alone, tired of feeling vulnerable. He's tired of being tired but the pain never abates, is always as raw as the day Jongin bid him goodbye.

 

"You should stop moping, you know," Yixing advises. "All you've ever done after Jongin left is eat and sleep."

 

"You're gonna die soon if you don't go out and breathe some fresh air. The air in your house is probably 80% carbon dioxide." Zitao wrinkles his nose in disgust.

 

"Will you come out today?" Yixing asks, hope apparent in his expression even through the screen of the laptop.

 

"Nah, probably not." Luhan shrugs. "Don't feel like doing anything today."

 

"Since when have you actually felt like doing anything?" Zitao scoffs. "It's been three months, Lu. Get over him."

 

"It's not as easy as it looks, okay!" Zitao's crossed a line and Luhan snaps, yelling at the both of them. "You think I'm not ing trying? You think it's not ing hard enough for me? you." Luhan ends his tirade, slumping down and breathing heavily in his chair.

 

"Whoa, whoa, calm down dude," Yixing tries to right the situation. "Tao's just worried about you."

 

Luhan quiets, because he knows he's right. All of his friends have been worried about him since the breakup, and Luhan's behaviour isn't helping.

 

"Hey, I have an idea!" Yixing says excitedly. Luhan's startled, sitting up in his chair and Zitao is too, judging from how he gazes curiously at Yixing.

 

"How about we get your house renovated?"

 

"Renovated?" Luhan gets defensive again. "What for? It's nice enough the way it is."

 

"A wise man once said, 'A new apartment is the key to starting a new life after a breakup," Yixing begins. "So to help you get a life, let's renovate your apartment!"

 

Zitao raises an eyebrow suspiciously. "I've never heard of that saying before."

 

"That wise man is me," Yixing explains, to Luhan's groans and Zitao's eyerolls. "Anyway, how about the idea? Hm? It'll occupy you and it'll be fun, I promise!"

 

"Yeah," Zitao nods enthusiastically, warming up to the idea. "You can paint your walls bright yellow or something! It'll help you get over him in no time." He waves his arms around, almost hitting Yixing in the process.

 

"Really? Yellow?" Luhan narrows his eyes. He furrows his brows the way he always does when he's thinking. "I'm not so sure I wanna do this..."

 

"But it's a wonderful idea! Why not?"

 

I just don't like the idea of having a stranger come and mess around with my apartment. "He'll probably screw it up. I can't trust anyone." Luhan and Jongin had picked out all the furniture themselves, and everything in the apartment still reminds him of Jongin. He's not ready to give that up yet, no matter how hard he tries, he can't let go.

 

"Just... let me think about it, alright?" Luhan pleads. Yixing smiles understandingly, and says no more. He changes the topic, talking about how work has been crazy these days with Christmas around the corner. The department store he works at is right in the heart of Seoul, and he has to spend the majority of his time figuring out how not to get crazy with annoying customers. Luhan tuts sympathetically; although Yixing is good-tempered most of the time, he's not someone you want to deal with when you get on his nerves. As Zitao interrupts to whine about his lack of a love life, Luhan isn't really listening. He's seriously contemplating Yixing and Zitao's suggestions.

 

Perhaps it is time to shake his life up a little.

 

 

 

 

Yixing and Zitao manage to drag Luhan along to dinner to meet Baekhyun. "I know just the perfect person for the job," Baekhyun smiled enigmatically when Yixing mentioned it to him at work. It's no news that Baekhyun, being the social butterfly he is, has a large list of contacts. But the question is, are his relations trustable?

 

Baekhyun laughs when Luhan sits down and regards him with suspicion. "Relax, you won't regret the person I'm going to introduce to you," he says airily.

 

"And who may that be?" Luhan asks warily. The last time Baekhyun had recommended someone, Yixing ended up with a black eye because his housekeeper whom Baekhyun had recommended accidentally socked him in the face with a spatula. Baekhyun scrolls down on his phone until he comes across what he's looking for.

 

"Here," he says, passing the phone over to Luhan. He eyes the photo of the man with interest. He's young, not much older than him, with soft skin and round cheeks and eyes curved upwards in a mischievous smile.

 

"Kim Minseok," Luhan reads the name aloud.

 

"Yep! He's an interior designer friend of mine—I met him through university. He's very passionate about his work and is great at dealing with people—just what a difficult person like Luhan needs."

 

Luhan rolls his eyes. Yixing, on the other hand, looks absolutely delighted.

 

"This is great! You should call him, Luhan."

 

Luhan's jaw drops. "What?"

 

"Now!" Yixing urges, pushing the phone into Luhan's hands. Zitao nods vigorously and Baekhyun smiles in encouragement, so Luhan hesitantly presses the call button. He doesn't even realise he's been holding his breath until someone picks up and he exhales.

 

"Hello? Baekhyun-ah?" It's a warm, mellifluous sound and Luhan can already tell that he's a nice guy.

 

"Ah, no, I'm not Baekhyun. I'm his, um, friend." Luhan trips over the last few syllables, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

 

"Oh, cool. Your name?" Minseok's calm on the other side.

 

"Luhan."

 

"And what has prompted you to call me?"

 

"I want to renovate my house, and Baekhyun told me I should call you," explains Luhan.

 

"Straight to the point, eh," whispers Zitao and a glare from Luhan shuts him up.

 

"Ah, that kid. Always promoting my services," Minseok laughs lightly. "Of course, I'd be happy to help you, Luhan-sshi. Could you give me your phone number so I can contact you?"

 

Luhan dutifully recites a string of digits and Minseok hums to affirm he's recorded them down.

 

"I'll text you later then," says Minseok.

 

"Alright, thanks a lot. Bye!" Luhan quips and hangs up. Yixing is practically glowing with pride, and Baekhyun and Zitao also have matching huge smiles on their faces. Luhan refuses to look at his three friends.

 

"See, you did it! I was about to think you lost the ability to talk to people already," Zitao beams. Five seconds later Luhan's phone lights up with a message from Minseok—wow, that was fast—and he unlocks it to read it.

 

"He's coming over tomorrow." Luhan pointedly ignores his friends as he proceeds to set an appointment reminder in his phone.

 

 

 

 

Luhan does not want Minseok to come. It's ten in the morning, his apartment is in a mess, last night's jjajangmyeon is still on the dining table and he can't be bothered to clear it away. Minseok seems like a nice guy, and he doesn't deserve this. He doesn't want Minseok to see what kind of mess he really is.

 

The door bell rings persistently, though, and Luhan's sheer will isn't enough to force the man away. He hides under his covers, feels bad for Minseok but doesn't get up to open the door. He'll probably think he's not at home and leave.

 

Only, he doesn't. "Luhan! Luhan! Are you home? Open the door, please!"

 

Luhan is annoyed and he just wishes desperately that Minseok would go away. The doorbell rings and rings incessantly and finally, Luhan throws the covers over his head and pads over to the door, throwing it open with unnecessary force.

 

"Hey Luhan-sshi..." Minseok falters when he sees the state of Luhan's face. He's dishevelled and looks intensely pissed at seeing Minseok.

 

"I'm sorry, but could you come again some other day? I'm really unprepared and my apartment is in a mess."

 

Minseok's face falls. "Oh, but I'm not free any other day this week. Can I just come in and take a look, if you don't mind?"

 

Luhan ponders it over and over. "Alright," he finally relents, stepping aside to let Minseok in. He warned him. It's Minseok's own fault if he ends up regretting what he sees. Luhan's apartment is dark, really dark. Minseok takes some time to adjust to the light (or lack thereof).

 

"Hang on, I'm going to get freshened up. You can sit here." Luhan points to the sofa and Minseok heads over to it, making himself comfortable and surveying the apartment as Luhan goes to wash his face.

 

The apartment is cosy, but an obvious lack of care means it has seen better days. The floor is dirty and the windows are dusty. Minseok's making a mental note of improvements needed as the sound of running water is the only noise in the apartment. Luhan re-enters the living room after a while, looking much brighter.

 

"Um, well," Minseok breaks the silence, "your apartment needs some... work. Is there a particular reason why you close the curtains?"

 

"I had a boyfriend. We broke up." Luhan says it casually, like it's no big deal, but Minseok immediately understands. "Oh. Oh. I'm sorry, I never knew..." Luhan dismisses his concerns with a wave. He's not a glass figurine—he won't break at a mention of what happened between him and Jongin. Still, Minseok hurriedly retreats to safe territory.

 

"So, is there anything you have in mind for the renovation?"

 

"No," Luhan says, while making his way to the sofa.

 

"Do you want any specific colour scheme, theme, anything at all?"

 

"No."

 

"Not even something you'd like to change?"

 

"No. Isn't that your job? To help me renovate my home." Luhan sits down beside Minseok on the sofa, props up his legs and closes his eyes.

 

Minseok turns towards him. "I can't do anything without knowing what you like, though. It's your apartment, not mine."

 

Luhan just shrugs. He doesn't feel like doing anything today. He really has no ideas—he thinks his apartment is good as it is, but according to his friends it's not and he doesn't know what to change, so he'll just let Minseok take the wheels.

 

Minseok thinks for a moment and tries a different approach. "I can suggest some ideas and you can tell me whether you like them or not, okay?"

 

Sounds simple enough. Luhan doesn't think it'll be a great use of brain power. "Okay," he agrees. Minseok pulls out a folder from his backpack and opens it. It's stuffed with sheets and sheets of diagrams and templates.

 

"I think a bright palette would be nice, with shades of yellow and brown," Minseok points at a picture on the template. Luhan stares at it for a few seconds, before shaking his head slowly.

 

"You don't like it?" Minseok asks nervously.

 

"It's too bright. And yellow is a disgusting colour." Minseok almost instinctively rebutts with a "Hey!" before remembering that Luhan's going through a difficult time, and he's supposed to help him, not get into an argument with him. So he just nods and doesn't say anything else.

 

"Or this," Minseok flips a few pages and points to a picture with just white, black and grey. Clean, simple colours. Seeing that Luhan still looks unconvinced, Minseok flips the pages again. Minseok used to be pretty good with hazarding what colour palettes his clients preferred, but Luhan might be the toughest test yet.

 

Minseok shows him a few more colour palettes—even a pretty ridiculous one that's all the colours of the rainbow—but Luhan doesn't appreciate any of them. Minseok furrows his brows and tries one more time.

 

"Or this—I think shades of blue are especially nice." Luhan inspects the pictures, splashed in turquoise, teal and sapphire—they remind him of the sea. And it's beautiful. He stares at it for a while more, then he flips through the rest of the pages. Nothing else catches his eye.

 

This is it, then.

 

"I like it," he tells Minseok, who has a smile spreading across his face in delight.

 

"Great! We can start with this idea, then." Minseok jots down "Colour template: blue" on his notebook before looking back up.

 

"Do you have any thoughts on what you want now? Like what pieces of furniture you'd like to add?"

 

Luhan drums his fingers contemplatively. "I don't know. Can't we just like, repaint the walls or something?"

 

Minseok softens. He hasn't even known Luhan for long but somehow he feels like he knows why he's hesitant, why he's worried.

 

"I won't force you to do anything, but if you really want to forget him, then I suggest you carry through with this," Minseok says gently, as if he was speaking to a child. It hurts, imagining that all these shared memories will be thrown away, but Luhan understands it's necessary.

 

"Give me the catalogue," he requests, eyes lighting up with a new determination. Minseok hands the IKEA catalogue over to Luhan's outstretched hand, and he flips through it.

 

"I've always wanted a swing," Luhan muses, eyes trained on a page with a colourful rope swing, ropes hanging from the ceiling with a little girl sitting on it smiling.

 

"We can get that," Minseok assures.

 

"Is it too childish?" Luhan asks him, worried.

 

"No! I've had clients who requested for their rooms to be decorated with unicorns and rainbows," Minseok chuckles. "I'm serious," he affirms upon seeing how floored Luhan is.

 

"Guess I'm not that bad after all," he says, and Minseok nods, laughing.

 

"But maybe what we should do now, is decide on a theme," Minseok suggests.

 

"A theme?" Luhan echoes mindlessly.

 

"It'll make choosing of furniture easier and it's also more fun to decorate your apartment."

 

"The sea, and the sky," Luhan tells Minseok. "The sea and the sky." It's said with such startling clarity that surprises Minseok, who after seconds of pause jots it down in his little notebook.

 

"You know, we could put little anchors in the living room, and wooden steering wheels beside your bed, that sort of thing," Minseok says excitedly, eyes lighting up with a glimmer.

 

For once, Luhan looks excited. His eyes light up at the mention of anchors. "Yeah, that sounds great. Also I want to paint my walls blue."

 

They spend the rest of the morning discussing various options on how best to interpret Luhan's theme, and by the time noon rolls around Minseok has dozens of sketches littered in his notebook.

 

"I think we've made good progress today," Minseok says. He's looking at one of the sketches of the apartment he drew with Luhan's help. Luhan nods because the meeting has been better than expected—he's managed to be productive, surprisingly.

 

"When should we meet next?"

 

"I'm free next Friday, if it's fine with you."

 

Minseok unlocks his phone, and taps on the Calendar app. "Friday..." he scans the dates, "hm, Friday sounds good." He locks his phone with a click after setting a reminder. "Well then, I'll get going now. Bye!"

 

Luhan waves tentatively as Minseok stands up and slips on his shoes. Maybe it's too early to judge, but Luhan thinks he will like this.

 

 

 

 

Luhan and Minseok start to meet regularly, twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays. Most of the time they discuss Luhan's apartment, but as they get to know each other better, they become comfortable with sharing more personal aspects of themselves.

 

"I don't think I've ever told you about what happened with my previous boyfriend," Luhan mentions one day. Minseok's marking notes on a template and Luhan's words catches him off-guard.

 

"Well, no, but you don't have to," Minseok shrugs, staring intently at the templates in hand. Eye contact, he decides, will make it more awkward.

 

Luhan doesn't know what propels him, but he feels like he needs to get it off his chest, and Minseok seems like a good listener. "It's okay, I guess, I kind of want to talk about it, if you don't mind," he says. Minseok shakes his head.

 

"He was... he was the kind of boy that you couldn't help but like. He had the most boisterous laugh and eyes that sparkled like a thousand suns. He was fun, exciting, romantic, almost the perfect boyfriend."

 

Luhan recalls, with strange familiarity, each of their little routines. Friday was movie night, and they would stay up arguing about which movie to watch. Jongin always wanted to show one of his favourite thrillers while Luhan preferred dramas. In the end, Jongin (almost always) won.

 

Jongin was four years younger than Luhan, and clung to him like he would an elder brother. He depended a lot on Luhan, and it was endearing at first. Luhan relished the responsibility, doting on him whenever he could.

 

But soon, the took its toll. Luhan sighs.

 

"Whoever said that 'age is just a number' obviously had never been in a relationship. If dating is romantic, then cohabiting is practical. And it was precisely when we started spending each and every minute with each other that the problems started. Little nitty gritty details that we'd overlooked came back to haunt us. They were mundane at first—I got annoyed at Jongin for not folding his clothes properly, Jongin was fed up with my perpetual nagging."

 

"I still remember what he said. He said, 'Hyung, I know you're four years older than me but you're not my mum.' I was really, really pissed." Luhan is grim when he recalls that unpleasant conversation. "We had a big fight. In the end it all became too much to bear."

 

Their break-up had been amicable, but Luhan was devastated. Perhaps he had been naïve, but he'd honestly thought Jongin was The One, the one who was meant to spend the rest of his entire life with him.

 

"I'm sorry, hyung, but it's not working out." His voice was as sweet as honey, but each word was a stab in Luhan's heart.

 

Jongin moved out of his house the day after. And he moved out of his heart too, leaving a big, gaping space that left Luhan feeling empty and alone. It was a downwards spiral afterwards for Luhan. He refused to throw out any of Jongin's things, keeping them just in case Jongin moved back. Curtains were drawn, enveloping himself in near-constant darkness. He stopped cooking, instead ordering everything through takeout. Yixing and Zitao complained that he wouldn't join them for parties anymore. Luhan locked himself up in his own little world where noone had the key.

 

"And that's why Baekhyun recommended you," Luhan says. "Partly to help with my apartment, but also partly, I believe, for me to know a new friend."

 

"I hope I've done a good job, then," Minseok tries to lighten the sombre atmosphere and is pleased when Luhan chuckles in return.

 

"Yeah, you have. I approve," he affirms.

 

"Thanks for your approval. Being a friend is my unofficial full-time job." Minseok laughs and Luhan smiles. For the first time, he's actually grateful for Yixing and Zitao's suggestion.

 

"Thank you for telling me that, by the way." Thank you for treating me like a friend.

 

"It's no big deal," Luhan shrugs, but the lingering smile on the corner of his lips says Thank you for listening.

 

Silence washes over them again, like the tides on a sandy beach—calm, tranquil, and not unwelcome. It's not awkward between Minseok and Luhan, even though neither of them speak a word. Luhan appreciates that.

 

"Hey, you know what," Minseok says with an intensity so foreign, it makes Luhan stare at him in surprise.

 

"What?"

 

"Do you like coffee?"

 

"Yeah...?" Luhan answers, not knowing where this conversation is heading.

 

"There's a nice quiet place I know in my neighbourhood that serves great coffee. And I mean exceptionally great coffee. We can go there the next time," Minseok smiles, a hopeful look on his face.

 

Luhan bristles. Is this Minseok's way of getting him to go out of the house? Because he isn't falling for it.

 

"They sell quite a few nice cakes too," Minseok goes on. "I know one of the regular baristas, Chanyeol, for a long time now. Anyway," he halts suddenly in the midst of his speech, "you up for it?"

 

"No." The flat refusal stuns Minseok, who sits for a few seconds, frozen.

 

"Why?" he manages to ask. After all this talk, Luhan is still not convinced?

 

"I just, I don't want to go outside," Luhan murmurs, burrowing ever deeper into the neck of his overly huge sweater. Minseok thinks he resembles a hamster, and snickers.

 

"What?" Luhan asks, rubbing his cheeks. "Is there something on my face?"

 

"No, no, no," Minseok refutes it hurriedly. "You're just... pretty childish." He grins.

 

Luhan pouts, annoyed. "Right, Mr Mature."

 

"Come on," Minseok insists, "we can't just meet here forever. You need to go out and get inspiration! What's there to see in this apartment?"

 

"I am sufficiently inspired by what I see online," Luhan counters.

 

"But is what you see online ever comparable to the touch, the smells, the sounds that you experience outside?" Minseok looks at Luhan in earnest. "I know it hurts, Luhan, but you can't coop yourself up in here forever."

 

It strikes a painful chord in Luhan's heart. He is silent.

 

"Look, I'll treat you, how about that?" Minseok says tenderly, as if coaxing a child. "And if you don't like espresso I can buy you anything until you discover what you like."

 

Luhan wants to refuse, but Minseok's looking at him with those large eyes and somehow Luhan can't find the willpower to really reject him, so he exhales and relents. "Fine."

 

"Great!" Minseok beams, the change in expression so fast it makes Luhan chuckle. "I'll pick you up on Friday at two, okay?"

 

Luhan nods and Minseok's cheekbones lift as he smiles—Luhan's never really noticed that he has such a nice smile before.

 

Minseok gathers his things and shoves them into his black bag. "See you!" Minseok waves before shutting the door behind him.

 

An unconscious smile forms on Luhan's face as the apartment quiets, left with nothing but the sounds of his breathing. Luhan feels happier than he'd been in days.

 

 

 

 

"Hey! Looking good," Minseok casually compliments Luhan as he gets into his car—a sleek, black Hyundai sedan that, in Luhan's opinion, fits Minseok's style perfectly. Luhan's wearing black pants and a light blue dress shirt, which he spent a considerable amount of time ironing. In fact, he still can't believe he wore pyjamas when he first met Minseok.

 

Luhan tries not to blush, but the tips of his ears already betray him, turning bright red. He hopes Minseok doesn't notice. Minseok, if he does, doesn't say anything, and Luhan is grateful.

 

They arrive at the cafe after a twenty-minute drive, the quiet ride occasionally interrupted by a few simple lines of conversation. The silence between them isn't awkward, though, and Luhan takes his time to gaze out of the windows, at the hustle and bustle of city folk around them. Luhan feels oddly detached from everything—perhaps because he hadn't really gone outside after the break-up.

 

The cafe is named "Serendipity". The name is befitting as it's a quaint little cafe tucked into a corner of Insadong. Luhan glances around appreciatively. The design is sensible—warm colours, simple tables and chairs and a faint Yiruma song playing over the speakers—it looks like a place he'll like.

 

"Hey Minseok-hyung!" The barista greets from the counter. He has a wide smile and bright white teeth, reminding Luhan of one of those people who star in toothpaste commercials.

 

"Hey Chanyeol!" Minseok smiles back. Upon seeing Chanyeol's curious glance cast at Luhan, Minseok introduces the latter.

 

"This is Luhan and he's my client." Luhan smiles perfunctorily, not really wanting to partake in social discourse of any sort.

 

"Nice to meet you, Luhan," Chanyeol smiles even wider and sticks out a hand. Luhan shakes his hand and looks aruond the cafe, desperate for an escape.

 

Thankfully, Chanyeol turns his attention back to Minseok. "What would you like to have? The usual?" he asks, looking at Minseok and then at Luhan from behind the counter.

 

"Yes please." Then, turning to look at Luhan, Minseok asks him, "What would you like?"

 

Luhan glances down at the menu, a laminated piece of paper that Chanyeol's passed to him. There are so many options that Luhan feels slightly giddy. After a few moments of deliberation, he makes up his mind.

 

"A caramel frappuccino, please."

 

"Take a seat." Chanyeol gestures at the interior of the cafe, before turning and starting to make the coffees.

 

"Never knew you had a sweet tooth," Minseok jokes as they find a quiet spot in the corner of the cafe and sit down.

 

"Well I like sweet things." Luhan an eyebrow. "Problem?"

 

"But you're so moody all the time," Minseok begins, and at Luhan's warning glance he raises his hands up in surrender.

 

"Do not judge a person by their coffee preference," Luhan says. "Stereotyping is dumb."

 

"Sorry, sorry, I was pulling your leg," Minseok hurries to appease Luhan, who seems pretty riled up by his comments.

 

"Do you seriously think that a person can't like sweet things because he's grumpy?"

 

“… No, I don’t,” concedes Minseok. "Anyway." He pulls out a black folder, one that Luhan's familiar with by now.

 

"We're going to choose furniture and decide where to place them." He takes out an IKEA catalogue and hands it over to Luhan.

 

"Am I really gonna buy everything again?" Luhan asks in dismay. He really likes his sofa, a cream-coloured one that provided him with comfort when he stayed up late on movie nights.

 

"If it doesn't fit in with the theme, then yes," Minseok says gravely.

 

Luhan remains silent, while Minseok pulls out a couple of coloured 3D diagrams. "I've already envisioned what your apartment could look like based on our last meeting," he explains. "The living room will be the sky, painted blue and dotted with white cloud stickers. The bedroom will be the sea, painted in a much calmer, richer navy blue. You can stick sand or fake fishes around if you like," Minseok half-jokes, but Luhan is busy staring at the pictures.

 

Wow.

 

Luhan never knew what he wanted exactly, but after viewing the pictures he is convinced that that's exactly what he wants.

 

"How did you come up with this? It's amazing," Luhan gushes.

 

"Me? I just doodle, mess around with colour schemes on my laptop, nothing special," Minseok shrugs, although he can't hide the grin spreading across his face.

 

"It's amazing," Luhan breathes. It really is. Two months ago he would never have dreamed of having an apartment like that, but now the impossible is within reach.

 

"Great, thanks. I was afraid you wouldn't like it," Minseok says, worries fading away instantly.

 

Luhan cracks a smile, with a gaze so tender that it catches Minseok by surprise. The latter glances away.

 

"What are you talking about? It's perfect, of course I'd like it."

 

There's a few seconds of pause, and Minseok to soak up the praise. Then, he returns the smile. "I'm glad you like it."

 

Chanyeol pops by their table at that moment, delivering their coffees with a grin. Luhan wonders whether Chanyeol perpetually smiles like that, because honestly it's freaking him out.

 

"Enjoy," he says, and leaves their table.

 

The work for the next few hours is particularly fruitful as Luhan finalises which pieces of furniture he wants to buy. As it nears evening and the customers in the cafe leave one by one, Luhan and Minseok finish up their discussion and Minseok smiles, another meeting well-spent.

 

"Luhan, I hope you don't find this weird but, what do you feel about going back to work?" Minseok brings up the topic that Luhan has spent three months avoiding.

 

"Uh, I... I don't know..." Luhan tries to evade Minseok's glances. "I haven't really thought about it yet."

 

"I don't want to seem meddlesome or something, but it might be a good idea. I mean, meeting people is a good way to take your mind off the breakup."

 

"I'll think about it," Luhan tries to brush off the topic but Minseok's gaze holds firm and Luhan can't look away.

 

"Luhan. Listen to me. You need to stop escaping from the world. It isn't gonna help."

 

"I—" Luhan tries to interject, but Minseok goes on.

 

"I know you hate hearing all this, but it's for your own good. I'm gonna stop before you start calling me a nag, but seriously," his gaze turns sterner, "think about it."

 

Luhan stares at Minseok, and it's five whole seconds before he can bring himself to turn away from his probing gaze.

 

"Okay," Luhan whispers.

 

Minseok hears it, and he cracks a smile.

 

 

 

 

Luhan decides to go back to work in the end. After all, he reasons, Junmyeon should probably be missing him right now, and he wonders how much of a mess the company had become since he left. An accountant isn't the most tasking of jobs, but Luhan is certain that none of the brats there had been able to match up to his quality of work since he left.

 

He calls Junmyeon at night, and inadvertently smiles when he hears a familiar cheery voice on the other end of the line.

 

"Oh hey, Luhan!" Junmyeon greets. "Haven't talked to you in a while."

 

"Yeah," Luhan admits, somewhat guiltily. He realises that he hasn't talked to anyone at the company after he went on leave, which to be honest, is a bit unfair to them.

 

"Is there anything you want to tell me? I mean if you want more time off I totally understand and—" Luhan cuts him off mid-ramble.

 

"Hey, uh, I'm just calling to say that I'll be back at work tomorrow. So yeah, thought I'd let you know."

 

Luhan can hear a palpable in of breath on the other end. There is a long pause, and Luhan isn't sure if Junmyeon's still there, thinks he may have hung up.

 

"Hello?"

 

"Yeah yeah I'm here," assures Junmyeon. "And wait, you're coming tomorrow? For real?" he asks, sounding too glad to be true.

 

"Yeah I am, boss." A smile creeps onto Luhan's face. He's honestly flattered by how happy Junmyeon sounds to see him.

 

"Great, great, then we'll all be waiting for you tomorrow. I'll tell the others. They'll be pumped up!" Junmyeon enthuses. "Have a good rest. Bye, Luhan."

 

 

 

 

The next day Luhan barely steps into the office before a collective chorus of "Surprise!" startles him. Sehun, Kyungsoo and Jongdae welcome him, holding a large cake, and Junmyeon saunters towards him to shake his hand and give him a huge pat on the back.

 

"Welcome back, Luhan," Junmyeon smiles, the side of his eyes crinkling.

 

"Thanks," Luhan says gratefully. "You didn't have to, though."

 

"Nonsense, you're one of my most valuable workers and I have to have you properly welcomed," Junmyeon chuckles.

 

"Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it," Luhan repeats.

 

Junmyeon starts asking Luhan about how he's coping with everything, to which Luhan replies he's doing fine. His boss continues asking him about what he has been doing with life in general, and although Luhan appreciates the attention he's getting really uncomfortable.

 

Fortunately, Sehun intervenes. He huffs in annoyance, twitching an eyebrow impatiently.

 

"Can you guys stop with the mushiness and eat cake already?" he grunts.

 

Luhan smirks. Sehun is still such a brat.

 

His first day at work passes without a hitch. Junmyeon doesn't even give him much to do, using the excuse that "the company's not busy anyway" but Luhan knows better. He appreciates it anyway because he knows that Junmyeon cares. Sometimes Junmyeon can be too nice, and Sehun and Jongdae take advantage of him and step all over him. But Junmyeon doesn't seem to mind for the most part.

 

Yixing's more than surprised when Luhan mentions it to him on Skype. His eyes grow so large that Luhan wonders if his eyeballs are going to drop out of his sockets.

 

"You went back to work?" he screeches. Luhan winces, not liking the assault on his ears, turns down the volume on his laptop several notches.

 

"... Yeah, I did. Why are you overreacting so much?" Luhan rolls his eyes. He never pegged Yixing as the dramatic type, but he's going to have to reassess his friend.

 

"You never listened to us when we told you to return to work," Yixing says, and Luhan, with growing unease, senses the changes in his friends' expressions. "You must really like Minseok, eh?"

 

"What are you talking about? He's just a friend!" Luhan repudiates the idea instinctively. Yixing, however, smiles with a knowing glint in his eyes, and even Zitao looks too gleeful to be true.

 

"The blush on your cheeks give away everything," Zitao reminds him, and Luhan instantly reaches up only to find his cheeks blazing hot. Dammit.

 

"He was the one who persuaded you to go back to work, wasn't he?" Yixing asks. Luhan slowly nods.

 

"He... made sense, so I thought why not?"

 

"But you didn't listen when your closest friends told you to do the same," Yixing clucks his tongue in gentle reprobation. "It's not the same." "He just... happened to catch me at a good mood," Luhan argues.

 

"Oh, and he makes you happy too, how cute," Tao sing-songs. Luhan has never really liked the younger's sense of humour, but he hates it even more now.

 

"Just shut up, both of you." Luhan screws his eyes shut and wills the thoughts to go away. He can't like Minseok, Minseok doesn't even like him and he's not ready for yet another broken heart. Tao just cackles happily in the background.

 

"You don't have to deny it or run away," urges Yixing. "It's a good thing. Means you're forgetting about Jongin."

 

And strangely enough, it's true. Luhan feels nothing at the mention of Jongin's name. The wounds have healed, albeit a little faster with some help from Minseok. Unbeknownst to him, he is already starting to look forward to Minseok's visits. The interior designer is genuinely friendly and humourous as well, and also rather good-looking. Gradually, Jongin ceases to be anything more than a distant memory. He no longer has that aching pull in his heart whenever he thinks about him. Yixing asks him one day if he still has feelings for Jongin, and to Luhan's amazement, he has no problem saying no. There's no heartbreak, no tears, just distant memories like echoes against a mountain.

 

"That's great, you've gotten over him already," marvels Yixing. Luhan nods emphatically. He's glad he'd listened to his friends' advice and renovated his house, because most of the time he's so caught up in the fun of discussing what furniture to buy with Minseok that anything else fades away.

 

"Yeah, thank you for the suggestion," he says gratefully. Yixing smiles, "It's my duty as a friend to make you happy again."

 

Zitao ruins their moment by gagging extremely loudly. "All this mushiness is giving me goosebumps. Luhan, you're supposed to be all lovey-dovey with Minseok, not Yixing!"

 

"What the heck, Tao, you just ruined my mood." Luhan rolls his eyes. They chat for a while more before Luhan ends the call.

 

Luhan flops back against the sofa. "It's not true, what Yixing and Tao said, Minseok is simply a friend and no more," Luhan tells himself. "I do not have feelings for him. I treat him like any other person." But the more he goes on, the more he realises how wrong he is. He likes Minseok. A lot, actually. Calm, humourous Minseok, who’s also very endearing. Like Jongin, Minseok makes him happy, and his heart actually twinges when he remembers that the renovation date is coming soon, and their meetings will eventually cease to happen.

 

These thoughts consume Luhan, wrap around him with their noxious fumes until he can't breathe, can't think, can't see. He doesn't know what to do with this newfound information, thinks it will only sour their relationship thus far. Minseok had been nice to him, that was for sure, but Luhan's pretty sure it was only because of how he was moping and looked like he needed consoling after a bad relationship. He did say that being a friend was his job, so maybe he treated all clients like this, personal enough for them to think they were friends, but still maintaining a professional distance. He definitely wouldn't react positively if he learnt of Luhan's feelings for him.

 

Luhan drags himself to get up with a heavy heart. He won't confess to him—he wants to continue being friends with Minseok, even after the job is done and their professional ties are gone. It hurts to keep his feelings bottled up, but it'll hurt even more if he doesn't, so Luhan chooses to keep quiet.

 

 

 

 

They select the furniture on a drab Monday morning. Luhan complains of Monday blues, but they quickly disappear when he and Minseok arrive at the huge IKEA store on the outskirts of Seoul. Luhan's reaction is typical for someone who first steps into IKEA—surprise, wonder, amazement. They have no problems searching for what they've already circled on the catalogues, and within two hours, Luhan has already paid for everything and he's driving home.

 

"So when are we gonna start the renovation?" Luhan asks as they head towards the payment counter, actually for the first time in his life looking forward to an event that involved the complete and utter upheaval of his life as he knew it.

 

"Next week, I'll bring a couple of guys over and we can start the job." Then, his brows furrow, having thought of something. "Where will you stay?"

 

Luhan could stay at Yixing's of course, he's sure his best friend won't mind him crashing in for a few days. The only bad thing is that Luhan will have to put up with Zitao, who's annoying at most times.

 

He voices that out to Minseok, who nods. "That's good."

 

"See you next week then!"

 

They bid farewell when their coffees are finished and the date is decided. But for Luhan, the goodbye is said with a tinge of sadness—it's one of the last times he will get to see Minseok. He almost wishes he could have the renovation date pushed back so he'll get more occasions to see him.

 

Luhan laughs self-deprecatingly. It's not healthy for him to be so obsessed.

 

 

 

 

Luhan has his stuff packed neatly in boxes on the floor, and is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the workers. And Minseok, of course. When he hears knocks on the door and Luhan gets up to open it almost immediately.

 

"Hi Minseok!" he smiles, waves and opens the door. "Come on in," he gestures inside the house, and Minseok tugs off his shoes before stepping in.

 

"I see you've packed, good job," Minseok appraises the surroundings. Luhan's belongings are tucked neatly into foldable boxes and the apartment is almost empty.

 

"Yeah, I had Yixing and Tao helping me," Luhan explains. "When are the workers coming over anyway?"

 

Minseok checks his watch. "Soon, I think. I'll be supervising them while they work everyday, so you don't have to worry."

 

There he is with that smile again. It's agonising how much every little glance, smile or gesture from Minseok brightens up Luhan's day. He gazes longingly at Minseok's side profile. The clattering of equipment makes Luhan turn and he sees a couple of burly men standing outside the door, holding various construction equipment and tools.

 

"Great, they're here!" Minseok rushes to open the door.

 

"Well, I better get going then." Luhan starts dragging his suitcase to the door. "I'll see you in three days!"

 

"Don't worry, your apartment will look amazing!" Minseok reassures him. Luhan waves before turning and heading to the lift.

 

 

 

 

Luhan barely steps into the house before Yixing drags him over to his room and sits him down on his bed. "Hey, we need to talk," Yixing doesn't beat around the bush. Zitao just raises an eyebrow but doesn't move from his spot on the sofa where he's busy watching a Korean drama episode.

 

"What about?" Luhan is very confused. He doesn't remember any pressing issue that Yixing wants discussed—he never mentioned anything during their Skype chats.

 

"Be honest with me here: do you, or do you not, like Minseok?"

 

Upon hearing that question, Luhan swallows and is silent for a minute. Then, "Yeah, I do. Unfortunately," he gives a wry smile.

 

Yixing nods in understanding. "I expected it. How did it happen?"

 

"I just fell for him while we worked together, you know. He has so many ideas; he's creative; he's smart; he knows what he's doing and he's funny. It's nice to meet a guy like that," Luhan shrugs, because if it were up to him, he would not choose to fall in love, but things don't always work out like that.

 

"You do know that you guys won't have a reason to meet each other that frequently after the renovation, right," Yixing deadpans.

 

"... Yeah," Luhan admits. It's the very same issue that has been troubling him for weeks. He wouldn't have any more excuses to meet Minseok, and not seeing him for long periods sounds like a very depressing prospect.

 

"So after your apartment's done, what will you do?" Yixing presses on, knowing full well that Luhan finds his questions intrusive and annoying. In his mind though, he knows that asking acute questions is the best way to make Luhan concede to do something.

 

"... I don't know," Luhan answers despondently. "I don't know what to do, I've never liked someone so much before, and he's so calm and nice about everything and I don't want to ruin our friendship."

 

Yixing scratches the back of his neck, sitting down beside Luhan. "Look, I know it's hard, but you've got to take risks." Luhan side-eyes him doubtfully.

 

"What have you got to lose?"

 

Luhan screws his eyes shut. "No, you don't get it. I... I thought Jongin was everything for me, and now, I've just started to get over him and I think I might like Minseok. Really like Minseok. And I can't afford to screw things up with him. And also..."

 

Luhan pauses. "Yes?" prompts Yixing.

 

"He might or might not think I still haven't gotten over Jongin," Luhan spits everything out in one breath. It feels nice, somehow, to finally have the opportunity to confide in someone. He feels a lot lighter.

 

Yixing stares at him. Luhan wants to hide but he can't look away from Yixing's gaze.

 

"Luhan, take this advice from a friend. For the sake of your happiness, just take a risk. Tell Minseok you like him. If he likes you back, great. If he doesn't, at least you guys can still be friends. If he stops being friends with you just because you have feelings for him, then well, he's an and he's not worth it."  Yixing doesn't mince his words and it cheers Luhan up a little, knowing that he has Yixing's support.

 

"Yeah, listen to Yixing. It's high time for you to get laid anyway," Zitao pipes up. Luhan rolls his eyes. Typical Zitao, butting in and ruining everyone's conversation. He wonders how Yixing puts up with him 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He would've gone crazy.

 

He doesn't make his thoughts known. "Alright, alright, I will," Luhan says instead. "You actually made a few decent points there."

 

Luhan spends the next three days at Yixing's apartment in a state of constant worry. Not about how the apartment will look like, but about how best to confess to Minseok upon meeting him. He whines so much that Zitao threatens to skin him alive if he doesn't stop.

 

"You need to stop worrying; it's not gonna help," Yixing agrees. "Just be yourself."

 

"That's what they all say," Luhan mutters, "but what if you are an unattractive with no clue on how to romance a guy?"

 

"Oh what a glorious day," Zitao declares. "Luhan just admitted that he's an ."

 

Yixing and Luhan stare at him simultaneously, and Zitao raises his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright, I'll shut up." He mimes zipping his mouth shut.

 

"I think he must like you to some degree at least, if not he would never have gone out of his way to bring you to that cafe." Luhan nods slowly, the worries waning as Yixing continues, "Anyway I think your personality is rather likeable, so it's better if you do what's natural instead of something that appears forced. What do you think?"

 

"You make sense," agrees Luhan. "Oh Yixing, you're the best. What would I ever do without you?" he cries out melodramatically, clinging onto Yixing's arm.

 

"I'm the left out one again," Zitao mumbles, "but it's none of my business."

 

"Oh no, you've been a great help too," Luhan says, and Zitao's face lights up, "by annoying the hell out of me."

 

"." Zitao looks murderous but Luhan simply laughs it off.

 

Three days pass by all too quickly and not quickly enough. Luhan hasn't perfected what he wants to say to Minseok, yet desperately longs to see what his apartment looks like. Minseok with a string of messages: wow it looks amazing, you won't BELIEVE what yr apartment is turning into and the last one which sends tingles down Luhan's spine—i think i could live here myself haha. Is that a hint that maybe, just maybe, he does have a chance? Luhan's hopes are reignited immediately and he leaves Yixing and Zitao in high spirits.

 

 

 

 

 

Luhan is absolutely floored. The once cramped space suddenly looks much brighter and more capacious. The delicious shade of blue is a pleasing sight to the eyes, and the little painted clouds on the wall make Luhan smile. Indeed, he can imagine coming to a home like this everyday.

 

"It's beautiful," he sighs, running his fingers over the new coffee table.

 

"Told you so," Minseok retorts, but he seems more relieved than anything at Luhan's praise.

 

"So... Minseok, I have a proposition to make," says Luhan, surveying his new apartment one last time. It has surpassed his expectations and he can't begin to describe how grateful he is for Minseok. And now it feels like the right time to say it.

 

"Hm?" Minseok hums, distracted by a speck of dust on the wall.

 

Luhan hems and haws, but finally says it. "Would you... I mean, if you wanted to of course, will you live with me? Here? In my apartment?"

 

It takes a moment for Luhan's offer to sink in. Minseok is wide-eyed, cannot begin to fathom how much courage it took for him to ask this question.

 

"You mean... I move in with you?" Minseok clarifies.

 

"Yeah, I really like you, Minseok. Will you be my boyfriend and move in with me?" Luhan looks at Minseok anxiously, reading every slight change in his facial expression. He's at first startled, then flattered, then finally, he breaks out into a wide grin. Luhan didn't know Minseok reciprocated his feelings, but this confirmation makes him the happiest man in the world.

 

"I never knew you liked me, but that's good to know," Minseok smiles. "Despite your rather strange idiosyncracies, I would very much like to be your boyfriend."

 

They're standing close, way too close. Luhan sees Minseok leaning forward and closing his eyes, and so he does the same too, melting into Minseok's embrace as they close the gap between their lips. Minseok tastes like a gentle breeze, the golden rays of the sun, and clean, dry linen.

 

"Let's take this slowly, Luhan," Minseok chuckles. "I'll move in after you prove to me that you don't snore in your sleep." Luhan laughs boisterously, ecstatic that Minseok's agreed.

 

Falling in love with Jongin was like drowning, but falling in love with Minseok makes him feel like flying above the clouds.

 

"I love you," whispers Minseok against Luhan's skin, hot and heavy.

 

Luhan smiles with his eyes closed, leaning into Minseok's warmth. "I love you too."

---

A/N:

I would not have finished this if not for , who cheered me on and, at my last minute request, kindly beta-ed this for me. Also I'm grateful to for holding my hand and listening to my incessant whining (even though you backed out of SNCJ at the last minute tsk). I hope you enjoy this everyone!