[CONTENTID1]Chapter 7 [/CONTENTID1] [CONTENTID2] It feels like I have acid rain in my brain, and it’s killing the flowers of my heart.​[/CONTENTID2][CONTENTID3]

Luhan hung up after he was done checking on Mr Oh's condition from his wife.

When he thought about it again, the excuse he gave them was somewhat illogical. How was he supposed to tell Sehun's parents that he left because of Nana? Since he did assure the elders that he'd come and visit later, Luhan had no choice but to fulfil the promise he'd accidentally blurted out.

As soon as his evening classes ended, he drove to the hospital. The rain seemed to be pouring more heavily than the drizzle from a few minutes ago. 

Luhan craned his neck, searching for a parking spot. It was almost impossible for him to find one at this time. After 15 minutes of driving around, he finally found one. He fished around in his back seat, looking for an umbrella but he was left disappointed when he came away empty. How could he have forgotten that he'd lent it to Kai?

"How do I get out?" Luhan started to feel troubled, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. The rain didn't look like it would stop soon and the sky gradually turned darker and darker, swallowing the sun. Luhan couldn't think of any way to get out. Whether he liked it or not, he was forced to stay in the car until the rain stops. He couldn't get out and dash to the entrance since his car was parked too far from it.

The dashboard showed ten minutes to seven. Not wanting to waste more time, he raced out of the car, using his long fingers to shield him from the rain even though it hardly did a thing; he was drenched from top to bottom.

Despite that, he was much happier that he'd escaped from his car. 

In his drenched state, he entered the elevator, a man in his forties shaking his head disapprovingly. Some were distancing themselves from him and Luhan felt like the worst man alive. He was only capable of keeping his head down.

As he exited the elevator after what seemed like aeons, his heartbeat sped up. God, please don't let Sehun be there too. However, deep down in his heart, he was hoping to catch a glimpse of the doctor, even if he was still mad at him. He admitted he kind of missed Sehun's presence. Love is blind, isn't it? Your loved ones hurt you, but you still find yourself wanting to get closer.

The ward's door wasn't fully closed when he got there. Peeking through, Luhan could see them one by one. Sehun was there!

Luhan gathered his courage and inhaled deeply, gaining enough composure to push the door open. 

"Why don't you guys wait for him? I don't think I have enough time, there's still so many things that need to be done. I promised Nana that I'd fetch her."

The voice was oh-so-familiar to Luhan -- he could recognise it anywhere, Sehun's distinctive monotone. He dropped his intention of wanting to open the door, clenching his fist tightly and laughing to himself in disbelief. Sehun wouldn't do that to him, right?

"It's up to you, don't say I didn't warn you." Mrs Oh replied to her son.

Luhan stood like a statue, not moving an inch. If it was up to him, he would have already left but he couldn't move as if his legs were glued to the floor.

"I'm taking my leave now, mum and dad..."

Sehun footsteps were getting closer to the door until it opened and the two made eye contact with each other.

"Luhan, why are you drenched?" Sehun's tone was clearly telling him that he wasn't pleased with Luhan's presence. Luhan stared at him longingly before breaking into a fake smile. "By the way, I have some things to do, I'll see you later. Erm... you're blocking my way, care to move to the side?"

Turns out Sehun was like one of those people in the elevator. Didn't Sehun take any pity on him? 

God, why do you torture me like this? This is too much for me to handle. I'm just a weak person...

Luhan spent the rest of his day talking to Sehun's parents, doing well in hiding his real emotions. He couldn't get Mrs Oh's words from his head. "Sehun is always like that, Luhan-ah. He's so busy he doesn't have any time to meet his own fiance. Don't worry about it, okay honey?"

How is that convincing me that my marriage with Sehun is going to be happy?

_

Luhan felt as if his head weighed a thousand tonnes, probably due to being drenched in the rain yesterday. He gathered his not-so-much strength to get ready for his morning class. His outfit consisted of a pastel pink sweatshirt and a pair of white jeans. He left his hair messy, not bothering to style it like usual -- it didn't seem to make much of a difference, seeing as he still had his stunning aura. His mood didn't make him want to put in much effort today so he just opted for a thin layer of bb cream and lip balm to at least make him look human.

Luhan was thankful nothing happened on his way to the campus. He stayed in the car for a while, shutting his eyes tightly. The pain got gradually worse, far too much for him to handle. For the sake of stopping the pain, he massaged his head a few times but it wasn't any better. He knew he couldn't get out and stand up straight so he buried his face against the steering wheel.

Luhan raised his head at the sound of a few knocks on the door, Kai staring at him through the window. Kai's face was painted with curiosity at Luhan's strange position in the car.

Luhan forced his leg out of the car, giving his friend a small smile. Before he could get out the whole way, he found himself blacking out.

_

Luhan opened his eyes, the first thing he saw being Kai with a smile on his face. He turned his head around, observing the view. Oh, now he certainly knew where he was. Where else could he be besides the hospital, with its overpowering smell of medicine and plain white walls?

Luhan tried getting into a sitting position but the pain prevented him from doing so, though he was grateful that it was less than before. Luhan pressed his hands down on the bed, attempting to push himself up again, this time with Kai's help.

"Thanks, Kai. I can't even imagine what would have happened to me if you weren't there. Thanks again."

"Nah, not a problem. Feeling better?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows.

"My head still hurts but I'm feeling a bit better."

"I'm glad... Do you know how worried I was seeing you suddenly faint like that? Good thing I was there to catch you before you were able to kiss the road. Can you imagine that? It'd be romantic." Luhan smiled at the joke but aimed a punch at Kai's shoulder anyway, earning him a chuckle. Kai always made him feel better. Luhan was grateful for knowing a nice and kind person like Kai.

"Oh! I called your parents too. They'll be here any minute."

"Do know how grateful I am for your existence in my life? I'm really so thankful!"

"Since when did you get so sweet?" Kai faked wiping his tears. "YOU!" He suddenly howled and pointed to Luhan's face, startling the poor sick boy. "Promise me to take care of yourself! How many times do I have to tell you not to thank me? Aren't you tired of saying thanks?" Kai grinned sheepishly.

"Then what should I say instead of thanks?" Luhan asked with a wrinkled forehead.

"Use maybe Xièxiè, Vielen Dank, or even K̄hxbkhuṇ... Ha, isn't that different? And my ears won't be bored by hearing those."

Luhan laughed adoringly. "Those are too complicated for me to pronounce except for the one in Chinese. Part of my brain is telling me you didn't even pronounce it correctly."

"It's enough that I have to speak Chinese at home and now you're telling me to speak Chinese too?" He continued his laugh.

"I think it'd be great if you spoke Chinese, though... Cause I can't understand it so I won't have to listen to your whining." Kai stepped away from the table, knowing that something would be thrown at him in a second.

Just like he predicted, a magazine came flying his way along with a string of profanities and a "KAI, YOU BASTARD GET BACK HERE!" but he successfully dodged it like a pro.

Kai held his stomach, apparently breathless from laughing his guts out. They stared at each other before breaking out into small giggles. Luhan was feeling a lot better and the pain was slowly fading away. Do we need to call this the 'Kai Effect'?

Suddenly, Luhan thought of Sehun. He kept his head down and began questioning things. Why was it so hard for Luhan to approach him? Even when he'd gained the title of Sehun's 'fiance', it felt like the distance between them was increasing. It was a distance that Sehun himself made, leaving Luhan in doubt.

"Hey, Luhan? Luhan!"

Luhan snapped out of his thoughts at the sudden outburst.

"You okay? Something wrong?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. No, nothing. I heard you took leave for two days. You're going somewhere?" Luhan swiftly changed the subject, thankful Kai didn't inquire any further.

"Going back to my hometown," he answered shortly.

"Going back to your hometown? Hey, can't you wait for the weekend?" Luhan was weirded out. Usually, Kai would return to Suncheon during the weekend.

"Okay. Erm... don't kill me yet. I'm sorry, I didn't find a suitable time to tell you -- now doesn't seem suitable either because you're in the hospital but... I'm getting engaged at the end of this week." Kai said, avoiding any eye contact with Luhan.

"Engaged?!" Luhan felt shocked wasn't even the right word -- he felt blindsided. "Why so suddenly?"

"I know, right? It's arranged by my parents. You know that I'm a good and obedient son so I just agreed without complaining."

"Oh, congrats then!"

"Just that? Give me something else..."

"What do you want then?"

"I just want one thing from you..."

"What? Tell me!" Luhan grabbed his pillow and threw it at Kai, who kept on laughing as if he enjoyed annoying the hell out of Luhan -- which, of course, he did. Annoying Luhan was the first thing he needed to do to start the day.

"Okay, okay! Stop throwing everything. I am this close to tying up your hands. So, back to the main point, what do I want from you?" Kai inhaled loudly, teasing Luhan who was about to rip his head off from the delayed answer. "Here's what I want from you, listen! So, whatever happens, do not, I repeat, do not forget to take care of your health. That's all. Do you know how worried I was seeing you stuck in bed like this?"

Luhan stared at his fingers, fiddling with them as he began to zone out. Why was Kai so worried about him when his own fiance doesn't even care about him?

Someone cou