Please remember to comment. Updating isn't fun when I only get, like, 2-5 comments per chapter. 

18

“Well, uh…this is it,” Jongdae stated awkwardly. Kai rubbed the back of his neck before clucking his tongue and pulling Sehun into a hug. The two of them patted each other’s backs and exchanged hushed words. 

“Alright, man,” Kai mumbled, stepping back. He offered the blond his signature smirk and jokingly slapped his cheek. “See you in two weeks.” He looked him up and down, grunting. “And build some muscle while you’re here. You’re too skinny.”

“Says you,” Sehun snorted. “Take care of yourself, Jongin-ah.” He then leaned in and lowered his voice. I didn’t quite catch what he said, save for a ‘gentle with her’. I knew there was more to that phrase but he was quite good at whispering. The two males stepped away from each other and Sehun opened his arms to me.

“Be careful, Hunnie,” I murmured, nuzzling his neck as I stood on my tiptoes. I clung onto him because I was afraid — not just for him, though that was a major part of it. I was afraid of how he was coping in this prison, if he was coping at all — or if he was just putting on a brave face. But I was also afraid for myself and the others, of how our group was so broken now and it didn’t get better unless we were visiting either our convicted friend or our dead one.

 “I will be,” Sehun promised. I pulled back and smiled up at him, engraving his features into my brain. He was deadly handsome and it scared the hell out of me — he was too pretty for prison. They would ruin him…had he not trained in mixed martial arts for a good ten years of his life. “I’m kind of a badass, Kim Nara.”

“Kind of,” I chuckled. “We’ll see you in two weeks. Oh, and no tattoos.” I pointed at him and frowned to show that I was being serious. He laughed and kissed the crinkle on my forehead. “Aigoo…now I really don’t want to leave.”

“Go away, Kim Nara,” he laughed again and pushed me towards the guys. Baekhyun and Jongdae said their goodbyes, exchanging hugs with the tall blond. “See you guys soon.”

“Annyeong~” the boys waved at him as we started heading to the exit. The cooler was still on the table, since Sehun had four of the bubble teas left to drink. We’d also brought him new socks, one of my blankets and other knickknacks that had been approved of by the prison. 

“Annyeong, Sehunnie!” I shouted over my shoulder, making other inmates and their visitors look at me. I waved at the blond and he smiled, waving back. “We love you, Hunnie! I LOVE YOU THE MOST!”

“Lies!” Jongdae yelled. Sehun covered his face in embarrassment, and Jongdae and I high-five’d at our little victory. We left the building and made our way back to the car. We were joking about something Baekhyun had said to Sehun just an hour ago.

“Nara-ya, sit at the front with me?” Kai asked, though it was a little commanding. I nodded and gave Jongdae my bag to put in the boot. I then got into the front seat and Kai got in at the driver’s side. The other two boys put our stuff away in the boot before settling into the back. “Baek hyung, give our Nara my iPod so she can DJ.”

“Arachi,” Baekhyun replied and fished the Apple device out of his pocket. He then handed it to me and I connected it to the car’s bluetooth. I tried to contain my excitement: I always loved being in control of the music. And the fact that Kai had the latest tech added to that excitement.

“You want one?” he asked and I looked up from the iPod. “You look like you’re in love with it or something.” I blushed and shook my head.

“Ani~ It’s just…really cool,” I mumbled in response as I chose the first song.

“I’ll buy you one,” he concluded, leaving no room for an argument. Secretly, I was very pleased that he was still willing to do such things for me. It wasn’t the money that impressed me, it was the notion that he’d get me whatever made me happy. The same went for the others.

“Komawo,” I said shyly, looking at him, “Jonginnie.” He turned his face to me and grinned easily. “Yah, look at the road.” I pushed his cheek so that he was facing ahead again. “Pabo.” He continued to grin and a silence fell among us. I was constantly worrying that it would turn awkward. I missed them more than anything, I didn't want to lose them to what happened all those months ago. 

And then…

“Omo! Nara-ya, that Luhan guy,” Jongdae uttered and Kai’s grin instantly dropped, “the rumours about him, it’s that he killed his family, right?”

“Eung,” I answered, twisting my body so that I was looking at him. “Wae? What did you find?”

“For weeks, I’ve been looking for articles about him,” he revealed, then rolled his eyes, “I even had to go to boring Suho for help because he knows people in the press club. We found something, Suho just sent it to me.” I raised my brows and Kai looked at him through the rearview mirror. 

“So? Did he kill his family?” Kai asked.

“What’s the actual story?” Baekhyun questioned.

“The article said the Lu family was composed of Han and his younger sister by four years, Hua Ling, his father Huang Fu and his mother, Jing Hua,” Jongdae went on as he read from his phone, “In 2002, the Lu family were involved in a huge fire. The fire was said to have started in the kitchen and quickly spread to the rest of the house. Luhan was the only one who escaped but he didn’t call the fire station.”

“Why not?” Baekhyun asked with raised brows.

“The article says neighbours saw him, the day before, arguing with his parents,” Jongdae answered, “so they suspect that he started the fire out of anger. Apparently he never got on with his parents since they always preferred his little sister. Oh,” he scrolled down, “it said she hadn’t been seen for a year before the fire. The parents sent her to a private school in Hong Kong but they didn’t send Luhan.”

“That could’ve also angered him,” Baekhyun mused and Jongdae nodded, “Huh. That’s some dark stuff.”

“It’s also not proof,” I quipped, earning myself a snort from Kai. “I’m not saying this just because he’s my friend, or maybe I am, I don’t know. But articles lie. And that article is dated all the way back to 2002.” Jongdae tilted his head from side to side.

“Eung, she has a point,” he remarked. “And most of the information in this article is drawn from interviews with neighbours.”

“Witnesses,” Kai stated. “Eyewitnesses. They saw what happened. If they saw that Luhan was responsible for the fire or at least had something to do with it, they’re probably right.”

I nodded, the inside of my mouth.

“Mmmm, okay,” I said, turning to face him. “Let me tell you cases in which the witness or witnesses were wrong and the wrong person was put to prison or death for it. Kirk Bloodsworth was accused of a kid, twice, just because five witnesses say they saw him at the crime scene or near it. He was put on death row. Thankfully, DNA testing proved his innocence.”

I went on, “Or take David Spence. He was executed for killing three teenagers, and torturing two of them. It was later found that witnesses had been bribed into putting the blame on Spence, even though the evidence against him was weak — all they had on him was that the bite marks on the victims looked like they belonged to Spence. Or there’s Claude Jones…”

“Alright, we get it!” Kai snapped, rolling his eyes. “Eyewitnesses can be wrong sometimes. We get it.”

“And that means…?” I pressed. He sighed.

“That means Luhan might have been wrongfully accused by the public,” he mumbled reluctantly. I grinned, nodding. “Might.”

“Nara-ya, how the hell do you know all this?” Baekhyun asked, leaning forward in his seat. Though, he was held back by his seatbelt. “I mean, you’re a psychology major. You don’t even take any forensic science classes.”

“Minseok sunbae,” I answered. “He did a psychology course as his undergrad degree and now he’s in law school, studying to become a criminal lawyer.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait,” Jongdae said repeatedly as he waved his hands in front of him, “Seoul National University has a law school?”

Groans sounded in the car, paired with eye rolls.

“What? It’s a sensible question!”

“Pabo,” I snorted, shaking my head. “Yes, the university also has a law school. More like a college, really. It also has a college of medicine, a college of sports…etc. The College of Medicine is where I’ll be going to for my postgraduate degree.”

“And this Minseok, the criminal law student,” Kai quipped, glancing at me. “Is he friends with Luhan?”

“Eung,” I admitted. “He says that once he becomes a lawyer, he’ll reopen Luhan oppa’s case so that the modern public can see that he’s innocent.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait,” Jongdae chanted and we rolled our eyes again, “Luhan oppa?” Baekhyun and Kai’s brows shot up. I blushed and looked out the window so I didn’t make eye contact with any of them. “When did sunbae become oppa?”

“I’ve known him for, like, six months now,” I shrugged, “We’ve gotten closer so he’s more like an oppa to me than a sunbae.” I darted my eyes to them and put a hand on the one Kai had on the gearshift. “You guys are still my boys, though. Don’t forget that.” A smile teased at his lips and he looked at me. “Eyes on the road!”

“Eyyy….” he tutted, shaking his head before obliging. “You’re really something, Kim Nara.”

I grinned and retracted my hand. Kai pouted and I rolled my eyes, placing my hand back on his. He smirked victoriously. “Pabo.”

“Chipmunk,” he retorted. He then cleared his throat. “And, um…I’ll…I’ll give Luhan a chance.” I couldn’t fight the bright grin that surfaced on my face. I squeezed his fingers.

“Jinjja?” I asked excitedly. He nodded reluctantly. “Ah~~!” I squealed and giggled, holding one tight fist up to my face. Kai laughed and ruffled my hair.

“Kyeopta,” he commented.

“But when I do it, it’s gay?” Jongdae blinked at us.

Laughter ensued.

—

I knew that this was my shot. No, it was Luhan's shot. His chance to persuade my friends to take his side, to believe in him like I did. They might have been willing to speak with him, to hear his side but none of it would matter if 1) Luhan didn't agree to it and 2) If Luhan didn't actually reveal the truth behind his story.

Even Minseok didn't know what Luhan was hiding, despite having agreed to representing him in the court of law once he became a successful defence attorney. In order for my friends to accept Luhan, they had to trust him. Unlike me, they weren't easy to convince.

I knew I had to get Luhan to tell the truth. Back then, I didn't know how horrible that truth would be.

—

“Oppa…what happened all those years ago?” I dared to ask one day. I was sitting on a park bench, books on the picnic table and Luhan opposite me. He had his nose buried in a psychology novel whilst I struggled to solve complicated math equations. I’d always prided myself in being smart but the course work my lecturer gave me was beyond hard — I understood that he thought I had the most potential in class but still.

The pressure was getting to me.

So, whilst I stared cluelessly at a page of math work, my mind drifted off to the male sitting in front of me and the story that surrounded him. I found myself wondering just how much I knew about Lu Han, especially after the conversation in the car with Jongdae and the others.

I trusted Luhan, of course, but I’d be stupid to never question him. It was natural to wonder when the hell he’d finally open up to me, especially after I’d told him about Chanyeol and my unrequited love for him.

“I thought you said I didn’t have to tell you,” Luhan mumbled, not looking up from the novel in his hands. 

“That was a while ago,” I retorted, “this is now. We’re friends, aren’t we, oppa? We ought to trust each other. I trusted you with Chanyeol.”

“And I appreciate that,” he replied, “but I’d rather keep my past to myself.” He flicked a page over. “I thought you understood that. You said you did.”

“How can we continue to be friends if I don’t know the first thing about your past?” I asked, raising a brow at him. He stopped reading but still didn’t look at me. “I don’t mean to pressure you, oppa. I really don’t. But my friends mean a lot to me and they’re willing to give our friendship a shot but…they need a reason to accept it. They need a reason to accept you. And, frankly, I, too, need a reason to fully trust you.”

“You said you trusted me regardless of the rumours,” He looked up from the novel and stared into my eyes. There was a fear there but it was laced with something else. A