3 minutes.

Luhan continued to shove his photography books and binder inside his backpack as he mentally calculated the number of minutes he had left before he attacked. He cursed under his breath when one book slipped from his hands. He bent down to pick it up, but as soon as he saw those dreaded black boots, he felt the blood drain from his face. He swallowed once and attempted to steady his breathing as his eyes travelled upwards. He found himself at a loss for words when his eyes met with a pair of menacing ones, and he knew those eyes all too well. He spent a great deal of his life at university staring down those cold, black orbs which he all too quickly associated with the feeling of fear and dread.

“J-ji Hoo,”even his own voice was foreign to Luhan. With shaky legs, it is a miracle he managed to stand up. “W-what do you want?”

Ji Hoo, with those hooded eyes of his, towered above Luhan’s small figure. He thrived for the feeling of power, of dominance. “You know what I want, Lulu.”

Luhan gulped, tugging the collar of his uniform nervously. Was it really hot inside the empty classroom?

“I-I don’t have it, I’m sorry.” Luhan said. “I didn’t have enough time to finish the last chapter yesterday and-”

“Liar!” Ji Hoo barked, sending Luhan down on the floor in one swift move. “I saw you scribbling down on your notebook in class.” He smirked down at Luhan’s trembling form. “You know how much I hate liars, Luhan. Almost as much as I hate failing in class.”

“I-I’m sorry! But I really didn’t finish the homework yet. I w-was writing down something else in class.”

Ji Hoo raised an eyebrow. He glanced down at Luhan’s bag, then grabbed it from his chair. “Well we’ll just have to see if you’re telling the truth.” He yanked the zipper of Luhan’s backpack forcefully, and Luhan just knew he needed to buy a new bag.

Ji Hoo carelessly rummaged through Luhan’s bag, sending the items flying everywhere. Luhan tried to stop himself from shaking. He never was good at confrontation, that’s why he tried his best to avoid it. He stayed quiet, like he usually did.

When Ji Hoo finally found what he was looking for, he held it up in the air triumphantly. As he opened the yellow notebook, a small piece of paper flew out. Unfortunately for Luhan, Ji Hoo saw it. “Well, well, well, look at what we have here.”

Luhan’s eyes widened in fear, and he felt his blood run cold. He recognized that paper all too well. It was what he was working on in class – his letter to his parents who died years ago. His psychiatrist advised him to write these letters as a way of coping up with their sudden death. Luhan wouldn’t allow Ji Hoo to read it, so he gathered up all of his strength to shove Ji Hoo down on the ground so he could snatch the letter from his hands.

“What the ?!” Ji Hoo exclaimed loudly. “Get off of me, you piece of trash!”

“Give me back that paper!” Luhan wailed, hot tears running down his pale cheeks. There was no way he would let Ji Hoo read what was on that piece of paper.

Angered by Luhan’s sudden outburst, Ji Hoo kicked him right on his stomach, making Luhan gasp for air.

Ji Hoo sneered. “You have no right to attack me like that!”

“And you have no right to read that!”

Fueled by anger, Ji Hoo raised an arm to land one strong punch on Luhan’s face. Luhan squeezed his eyes close, preparing for the painful impact. He heard the sound of skin on skin, but found himself questioning why he didn’t feel a thing. Slowly, Luhan allowed himself to open his eyes. He saw a hand clasped  around Ji Hoo’s, and when Luhan looked up to see who the other hand belonged to, he was astonished to find that it was none other than Oh Sehun’s.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Sehun’s voice was calm, but his gaze penetrated Ji Hoo’s own. His hand was still tightly clasped around Ji Hoo’s.

Ji Hoo’s jaw dropped in shock. “S-Sehun!” Clearly he knew Sehun all too well. Everyone knew who Oh Sehun was: the son of the world-renowned music producer, and one of the biggest donors of their university. Anger him, and you can be sure you wouldn’t step foot in the university ever again.

“Are you deaf?” Sehun tilted his head to the side. “I asked you what you were doing.”

“I-” Ji Hoo glanced quickly at Luhan. “It was his fault! He pushed me, Sehun. I was just returning his notebook to him when all of a sudden he jumped on me and started attacking me!”

Sehun slowly turned to face Luhan. “Is this true, Luhan?”

“What?” Luhan was still in a daze. How did Sehun know his name? Slowly, Ji Hoo’s words sunk in, and his eyes grew bigger than it already was. “It’s not true! He was-” Luhan froze as soon as he caught Ji Hoo’s gaze. His assailant was glaring at him, sending him a warning that if he ratted him out to Sehun, he wasn’t going to hear the end of it. Luhan bowed his head down and said, “Y-yes. What he’s saying is true. I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”

“See! I told you he’s crazy.” Ji Hoo piped in.

Sehun let go of Ji Hoo’s hand, gaze still not faltering from Luhan. “You are a terrible liar, Luhan.”

Luhan quickly raised his head to stare at Sehun inquisitively. Had he seen through his lies?

Sehun turned to glare at Ji Hoo. “I saw everything.”

Ji Hoo visibly paled.

Sehun continued, “I won’t say anything since you’re both somewhat liable for what happened. However, if I see you provoking Luhan again, you better be ready to pack your bags and leave. Do I make myself clear?”

“Y-yes!” Ji Hoo quickly collected himself and dashed out of the classroom, leaving Luhan and Sehun alone.

Luhan, unable to hold Sehun’s piercing gaze, decided to busy himself by collecting all of his things from the ground. Sehun continued to watch him.

“Why did you let him hit you?”

Luhan froze. “I didn’t have a choice.”

“That’s bull,” Sehun’s voice was calm, but Luhan could tell he was trying to hold the anger in. Why was he so angry? It’s not like he and Luhan were close or anything. “You shouldn’t have let him do that.”

“And you shouldn’t in.” Luhan regretted those words the moment he said it. He took a deep breath and met Sehun’s unfaltering gaze. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful.” He smiled softly. “Thank you for saving me, Oh Sehun. Although I am grateful, I would prefer if you let me keep my reasons as to why I didn't fight back to myself.”

Sehun looked like he wanted to argue, but decided to drop it in last minute. Luhan was right, he had no right to ask such questions since they were simply strangers to each other.

“But may I ask…” Luhan spoke as he continued to collect his belongings. “What are you doing in this building? The Performing Arts department is one building away.”

“I was looking for you.”

Luhan raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“My bike.”

“Ah,” Luhan let out a nervous chuckle. “I’m sorry for your bike, but I really don’t have any money left to fix it.” Luhan grabbed his bag from the floor and inspected the broken zipper. He was right, he really did need to buy a new one. “Darn it… that’s one week savings down the drain.”

“You don’t have to pay for it in full.” Sehun replied.

“Really?”

Sehun nodded. “Buy me bubble tea for a month – whenever I feel like it.”

Luhan’s eyes widened. “What about me?”

“What about you?”

“You broke my camera.” Luhan pouted. “It meant a lot to me.”

Sehun sighed exasperatedly. “I can pay you for your camera right now if you want.” He reached for his wallet inside his jeans and took it out. “Here,” he said, handing Luhan a large sum of money.

Luhan’s eyes widened at the amount. “I can’t take this! It’s too much!”

“I’m not asking you to take it.” Sehun said. “I am telling you to take it.”

“But…”

“No excuses.” Sehun cut him off. “I expect to receive your first payment by tomorrow.” He brought out his phone and held it out towards Luhan.

Luhan stared at the phone, then back at Sehun.

“I need your number in case I change my mind.” Sehun explained.

“Oh, right.” Luhan cleared his throat and punched his number on Sehun’s phone. He handed Sehun's phone back to him once he was done.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Sehun said as he turned to leave.

“Wait, Sehun,” Luhan called out, jogging after Sehun. When he reached Sehun’s side, he bowed. “Thank you again for saving me.”

“You know if you say it too much, it’ll start to lose its meaning.”

Luhan laughed. “Saying ‘you’re welcome’ would’ve sufficed.”

☆☆☆

“Luhan!” Baekhyun’s loud voice echoed throughout the entire flower shop. His frantic eyes searched desperately for his friend, who was currently behind the cash register, holding his ears because of Baekhyun’s shrill voice.

“Always a pleasure to see you, Baekhyun.” Grandpa Lu said as he stepped out from the back room. He frowned at Baekhyun. “Don’t you have anything better to do than terrorize the flower shop? You’re scaring the handful of customers that we have.”

“Oh hush, dear.” Grandma Lu waved her hands, approaching Baekhyun. “Don’t mind the old coot. He had beans for lunch, that’s why he’s grumpy.”

“Well you’re not getting any younger either.” Grandpa Lu muttered. “Now that Baekhyun’s here, I just remembered, I need to get something from… err… I just need to leave.”

“Bye grandpa Lu! It was nice seeing you again!” Baekhyun waved enthusiastically.

Grandpa Lu responded by waving a hand in dismissal while muttering, “My grandson needs to find new friends. I don’t think my ears can handle his voice anymore.”

“Your grandpa is so nice.” Baekhyun beamed at Luhan. Then his expression quickly turned grave. “Luhan, why haven’t you been answering your phone? I’ve been worried sick about you!”

Luhan rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. “I’ve been busy helping grandma arrange the flowers on display.”

“Fine,” Baekhyun frowned deeply. “So, what’s this I hear about someone bullying you?”

“Someone’s bullying my baby?” Grandma Lu piped in. “Who is it dear? Do I need to start practicing my wushu again?”

“No, no, grandma,” Luhan patted his grandma’s back to calm her down. Baekhyun shot him an apologetic look. “No one’s bullying me. Hey, didn’t you say you needed to get those flowers for Baekhyun’s mom?”

Grandma Lu pouted. “Fine, I’ll go to the back room. I know when I’m not needed here.”

Luhan sighed as he watched his grandma leave. When she was gone, he turned to Baekhyun and slapped him hard on the shoulder.

“What was that for?!” Baekhyun screeched.

“You know what.”

“Heh, right, right,” Baekhyun’s expression turned serious once again. “So, would you mind telling your best friend what happened exactly?”

“Well there isn’t much to tell.” Luhan began. “Ji Hoo was bullying me again, and he managed to get a hold of my letter to my… parents. You know about that. Anyway, I started to freak out because I didn’t want him to read it so he made a move to punch me.”

“HE DID NOT!” Baekhyun slammed his hands on the counter. “That good for nothing son of a gun. I swear he’s going to get an earful from me tomorrow.”

“Calm down, Baek,” Luhan couldn’t help but smile at his friend’s protectiveness. “He didn’t punch me. Someone saved me.”

“Someone saved you?” Baekhyun asked. “Who?”

Luhan avoided Baekhyun’s piercing gaze. “Oh Sehun.”

“Oh… Sehun?” Baekhyun repeated. “As in Oh Sehun the son of the big shot producer Oh Sehun? The kid everyone runs away from?”

“Yes, that Oh Sehun.” Luhan nodded. “But I swear he isn’t that bad. He’s actually pretty… nice.”

“Nice?” Baekhyun raised an eyebrow. “Luhan, I know the guy. He’s been my classmate ever since we started university. He’s about as nice as a hungry lion. In heat. That is not nice.”

“Well he seemed nice enough.”

“Wasn’t he the one who ruined your camera?”

“Well that’s the thing. He actually paid for it earlier, so I could get it fixed.”

“Woah woah woah,” Baekhyun raised a hand. “That’s a milestone for someone like Sehun.”

“Is it really that hard to believe that someone could actually be nice?”

“If that someone is Oh Sehun, then yes.” Baekhyun scoffed. “I swear Luhan, you’re too kind. You think everyone’s nice. For all we know, Sehun has an ulterior motive. Did he ask you for anything in return?”

“Well he did ask me to pay for his bike in, uh, installments.”

“What did he get you to do?”

“Bring him Bubble Tea whenever he asks.”

“That sounds… safe enough.” Baekhyun said after moments of pondering. He placed both hands on Luhan’s shoulders. “But promise me you’ll be careful, okay? Sehun might have saved you once, but I swear he’s heartless.”

“Don’t worry about me, Baekhyun. I know how to handle myself, I’m not a damsel in distress.”

“My dear friend,” Baekhyun said as he placed a hand on Luhan’s soft cheek. “It’s because you look like one that I worry about you.”

“… Shut up.”

☆☆☆

“So… did you talk to Luhan?” Jongin couldn’t contain his anxiousness. Sehun could sense it from the other end of the line.

“Yeah, I did.” Sehun replied. “Jongin, don't you have anything better to do than to call me and ask about Luhan?”

“Well I would call Luhan myself but that requires me getting his number and I haven’t actually done that yet, so I’m stuck with you.”

“Guess I’m a step ahead of you then.” Sehun smirked. He could imagine Jongin’s astonished expression from the other end.

“… Wait, are you telling me you have his number?”

“Yes, I do.”

“And you waited until now to tell me because…?”

“Because I wanted to torment you.”

“Gee, you are such a great friend, Oh Sehun.”

“I know.”

“So… are you going to give me his number or not? Wait, how did you even get it in the first place?”

“I’m not telling you that.” Sehun rolled his eyes, even though he knew Jongin couldn’t see him. “And get his number yourself. I wasn’t born to be your wingman, Jongin.”

“But Sehun-”

“Goodbye, Jongin.” Sehun immediately ended the call as soon as Jongin started yelling at him.

He started scrolling through his contact list, and let his gaze linger on Luhan’s number. “Good luck in getting his number, Kim Jongin.”