[CONTENTID1]A DAY WITHOUT SUZY[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]A SELECTION OF CHOCOLATE BOYS[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

Luhan stepped into the internet cafe, fixing the tie of his suit. His heart kicked wildly against his chest as he contemplated whether he should have accepted Suzy’s offer. It did not occur to him that he agreed to help out a group of strangers for the sake of one girl that made his world topsy-turvy. The possibilities of himself getting cheated by them were enormous. He silently prayed that he would make it out of this session alive.

His eyes searched for Suzy, but she was nowhere in sight in the cafe. There was an old woman with unruly silver hair glaring at him from a corner, surrounded by two tall men who were conversing with each other in hushed whispers. Luhan gulped and wondered what evil schemes festered inside the woman’s mind.

What if she secretly kept a malicious black cat inside her handbag, which she clutched to with wrinkled hands and yellow nails? What if she wished to throw the cat at him and cackle while he suffocated from inhaling its dreaded fur? What if she planned to stab him behind his back if he turned his guard down? She was old-- old people were useless when it came to managing technology. What was this old woman doing in an internet cafe, and were those two burly men her insidious minions?

The thoughts caused his bones to shiver and Luhan decided it was safer for him to return home. He would just avoid Suzy for the rest of his life if need be. He was already ashamed that she witnessed his transformation the other night. The event haunted the darkness of his nightmares. As soon as he was about to exit, a gruff voice called out to him.

“Are you Luhan?”

His shoulders jumped and his voice hitched inside his throat. Beads of perspiration dribbled down his forehead. If only he had Superman’s laser eye so he could blast his way out of this horrid, dingy place. Someone towered over him with scintillating eyes and a solemn nature that demanded authority.

“Y-y-y-yes?” Luhan stuttered, unable to hide the fear in his voice.

“Come with me,” the tall man grunted, grabbing him by the shoulder and steering him across the crowded room.

Luhan inhaled sharply. His feet dragged across the floor but he managed to pry the man’s hand off his shoulder. He realised that he was getting closer to the old woman with the psychotic face and her second, taller minion who seemed a bit more kind-- but kindness was a false trait of the mafia these days.

“L-l-leave me alone,” Luhan pleaded. “I swear, I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m just a normal guy who tries to make a living using proper means. I can’t help you in anything.”

“...are you Suzy’s friend?”

He was about to protest otherwise but hearing the name of the girl that mesmerised him left him speechless. Like a bewildered fish, he nodded inanely at the trio.

“And she asked you to hack some info for us?” The giant behind the old woman stood to his full height, and as his shadow left Luhan under a shade of obsidian, the latter recoiled with utmost terror. It was as if all his nightmares were seeping into reality.

It was a dream, he tried to tell himself. He half-hoped that he was back inside his car and on his way to home. Heck, he would not mind if Kim Heechul popped from around the corridor to throw more balls of cat hair at him.

“W-w-what info?”

“Did Woozy send a wimp to help my grand nephew?” the old woman muttered. Her eyes were slits as she regarded Luhan with a hauteur that send his nerves into a frenzy. “This wimp can never compete against Himchan for her heart. He deserves her better.”

“Actually grandma, Himchan’s lack of manners doesn’t mean he deserves someone as polite as my marshmallow Sushi, or anyone for that matter” the giant countered. “By the way Luhan, I’m Kim Woobin. There’s no need to be scared of us-”

“I wasn’t scared!”

“--That guy who looks angry all the time is Shim Changmin, and this grandma here is Choi Yoomi who’ll help us find Himchan’s parents.” Woobin winked at him and it only made Luhan despise him even more.

Woobin sent an aura of placidity and composure, something Luhan wished he had. Was he truly that obvious? He wiped away the sweat from his forehead and settled down now that he discovered the identity of the people he mistook for the mafia. In any case, Yoomi gave him sepulchral vibes. She eyed him with disdain and murderous intent. Luhan was certain that the halmoni hated him with a burning passion. It was hate at first sight...with red hot chilly peppers and firecrackers.

Changmin pulled a chair and pushed it towards him. “Sit,” he ordered in the gruff voice that was laced with hostility.

Luhan cringed and wondered how Suzy endured such an intimidating man. At least Woobin was not as unwelcoming as the others. His smile was kind and there was knowledge in the sheen of his deep eyes. His height and rather aristocratic face made Luhan feel a bit insecure. Suzy was always surrounded by such handsome men. It made Luhan wonder if she ever considered him handsome too.

People often that he looked like a girl but Luhan was anything but girly. He always considered himself to be a manly lad. Of course, with men like Changmin and Woobin, he did lose himself into decadent thoughts of unnecessary oestrogen.

“Relax man,” Woobin chuckled. “You’re so stiff.”

Luhan could not relax, not when he was the cynosure of such haughty eyes. Changmin pretended not be irritated but the aura that emanated off him was enough to suggest that the graduate was judging him. He clicked some fingers onto a keyboard, caught Luhan staring at him and raised a brow.

“Well?” he said. “Aren’t you going to start?”

Luhan nodded and began to work his magic. He was always a whizz kid since school and it came as no surprise when he managed to hack into a boy’s facebook account at the age of fourteen. The victim was actually someone that harangued with Luhan on the topic of ‘girly men’, indicating that Luhan was lacking in manliness. Hence, the frustrated boy next door hacked into the account and set up such notorious messages that became the gossip of the school. He was grounded after that…

But this habit became a necessity for him. He indulged himself in hacking into the private profiles of people that he hated, girls that he fancied. Heck, he even did it to Suzy’s profile and her friends. He secretly saved her pictures from the time where she went to the Fresher’s Ball in that beautiful navy gown and recently when she went for the salsa class. Luhan printed those pictures and hid them under his pillow. In the sanctuary of the night, he selected the flashlight on his phone, and perused through the photos with ill intentions.

It disturbed him, this fascination that he had with hacking into profiles-- and his fascination with Suzy but he did not know why the wolf inside of him was attracted to her.

Luhan flinched when Changmin’s hysterical glare pierced his very soul. It was as if the man read his dirty thoughts and it caused him to shrivel like the violet that he was. Sometimes, he agreed with Kim Heechul’s opinion of him.

“What’re his parent’s names?”

“I’ll tell you now, sonny,” Yoomi uttered.

It was not long before Luhan found the details of Himchan’s parents. He sent their contact numbers to Suzy while Woobin and Changmin constructed an email to inform them about their son.

“Wow,” Woobin whistled, “You’re good.”

Luhan grinned at him, timid that he should be receiving compliments for such a derogatory talent. “Thanks. I really needed to do it once, when I wanted to see Shinya Yamanaka win the nobel prize.”

“Shinya Yamanaka?” Changmin inhaled, his eyes almost bulged in their sockets. “He’s one of my favourite scientists. What do you work as?”

Camaraderie stirred within him as he jumped in his seat with excitement. “I’m a bioinformatician.”