Two days had passed since they had arrived back to their hometown.

Two days and nothing had changed.

"Damn, it should start getting cool," Chaekyung whined. 

"I can't agree more,"  Sehun nodded. 

"At least we have library to our rescue. I am never leaving this place."

"Bori, i am with you on this."

"My restaurant must be hotter than the temperature outside" Baekhyun sighed. His head dropped on the table hopelessly. "I can't go there right now."

Ahreum gasped. "You have a restaurant? Where? This calls for a treat!"

"Yeah Baekhyun," sarang joined. "Give us a treat!"

"Are you kidding? Why should i give you a treat?"

"Sarang saved your life once," Jieun answered. 

"Treat! Treat! Treat! Treat! Treat!" Bori, Sehun and Chaekyung chorused, making Baekhyn flustered.

A nerve hit Luhan's head. He banged on the table in  annoyance. It was successful in attracting their attention.

"Did you all come here to chat instead of doing your assignment?" Luhan grunted. 

"My partner didn't turn up yet," Ahreum shrugged innocently. 

"Mine is busy chanting treat!" Baekhyun cried in exasperation. 

"You own a restaurant," Chaekyung answered as if it was an obvious fact. 

"Jieun and i are partners!" Sehun announced proudly which made jieun chuckle. 

"I am done with mine."

Heads flipped towards Bori in shock. 

"What?! How? When?" 

Bori scoffed at the lowly creatures in front of her before pushing up her (new) specs. "Unlike you guys, i don't waste my time. I am very efficient with it. Plus, you all are forgetting who my partner is." 

"Jin Joo," Jieun muttered before all (except for Luhan) of their shoulders slumped in envy. 

"Why did you come here then?" Sarang asked, feeling betrayed.

"To disturb you all," Bori laughed evilly. It earned her pieces of rubber and paper crumbles. 

Luhan sighed as he watched them. He wanted to complete his histroy assignment in peace and submit it. But it seems like it won't be happening. 

Just when he decided to pack up his bag and go home, someone tugged on the rim of his shirt. 

Everyone trailed their eyes down to where Luhan was looking. It was a young girl of around 8 years. Her hair was tied in pigtail. 

Sarang's glance diverted from the little girl to Sehun when he gasped audible enough for only her to hear. His eyes were wide and they seemed to be shaking in discomfort. Sarang wondered why. 

"Nee-san," the girl said in her cute japanese accent. "Nee-san." 

The little girl looked at Luhan with hopeful eyes while continuously tugging on his shirt saying "nee-san."

Everyone peeked from the girl to Luhan, who was still as ice. His bewildered state was, however, broken when the girl tugged on his shirt again. 

Luhan looked around (everyone mimcking his actions without any idea of what he was doing). 

"What are we searching for?" Bori mumbled so that only Ahreum could hear her. 

"We are searching for what Luhan is searching for."

"Ah oka- wait what?" 

"Sehun," Sarang whisperes to the boy who was now biting his nails. When he turned towards her, she asked. "Is something wrong? You look tense." 

"Tense? What? Me?" 

Sehun looked away when he saw the unconvinced look on her face. There was no way he could tell her when he didn't even tell his Luhan hyung.

"Are you lost?" Luhan asked.

The little girl shook her head. 

"Why are you here? Where are your parents?" 

"Wait, you don't know her?" Chaekyung's mouth dropped. 

"No."

Luhan felt a splash of unpleasant memories. The way this girl came tugging to him with no parents around surrounded his heart with discomfort and fear. He looked around again for any presence of adults.

"Maybe her parents are around. We can go search for them," Jieun suggested. 

Luhan gave the little girl a glance. "Do you know where your parents are?" 

The girl simply said, "Nee san."

"Isn't that a japanese term for brother or sister?" Baekhyun said, scratching his head. "Is she japanese? Can she even understand us." 

"Wait, let me try." Chaekyung stood up from her chair and sat near the girl. The latter, however, wasn't shifting her eyes away from Luhan. "Kimi no na wa?" 

On hearing her question, everyone gave her a blank look.

"Tell me you just didn't use a movie title," Ahreum said, rolling her eyes. 

"Shut up people. At least i am improvising. So, little girl," Chaekyung tapped on the said girl, who craned her neck to look at her. "Kimi no nawa?" 

"Miyu Miyazaki." 

Besides Luhan and Sehun, everyone's faces turned comical. They were horrified by the fact that it actually worked. 

"See?" chaekyung said smugly before standing up. Her smirk soon fell when Luhan asked her to ask Miyu about her parents. 

"I only know how to ask her name." 

Collectives sighs were heaved while Miyu watched them with a blank face. She was still gripping tightly on Luhan's shirt.

 "Bori, do you know how to ask? You might have learned it from watching animes?"

"Sarang, i watch animes only to WATCH it, not to learn japanese." 

"Oh! Maybe we can google it. Right Sehun?"

Sarang's eyes turned into slits when the said boy jerked in surprise after Jieun said that. Her suspicion grew when he got flustered and excused himself from there. 

"What's with him?" Baekhyun grumbled. "He looks constipated." 

"This won't do," Luhan heaved. He sat on his knees, facing Miyu. "Where-"

"Goryoshin! It's goryoshin!" Luhan's head snapped towards Bori who said that. Both her and Jieun were eyeing Bori's phone. "Goryoshin is "your parents" in japanese."

Luhan shifted his attention back to the little girl just  as everyone. He hoped he wouldn't embarrass himself with whatever japanese he was going to say.

"Goryoshin doko-desu ka?" 

"Whoa!"

They shut up when he glared at them.

"Anata wa watashi no Kyusei-san desu." 

 

....

 

Huh?

 

"I am on it," Bori said, almost dropping her phone. "What did she say again? Anata wa what?"

"Something kiwi..." Baekyun trailed.

"Sensei?" 

Jieun cowered in embarrassment when she was met with judging looks. 

"Ask her again Luhan," Sarang said, encouraging the boy. 

He nodded (jieun and Chaekyung exchaged a knowing look to each other).

"Is it just me or is Sarang more civil towards him than before?" Bori murmured to Ahreum who simply shrugged. 

"No idea."

"Maybe she is starting to like him."

Ahreum and Bori moved way instantly from shock. 

"Do you know the importance of private space?"

Beakhyun shrugged innocently. "It was fun scaring you two."

While the two girls were busy hitting Baekyun, Luhan and Sarang were as attentive to Miyu as before. 

"Can you say it again?" Luhan asked, hoping she would understand him. But when he got just a blank look from her, he sighed. "Goryoshin doko desu-ka?"

Sarang giggled inaudibly when he hissed out those words. Tsk. Looks like little Luhan is embarrassed with his japanese. He looked cute though.

Her thought bubbles popped when Miyu spoke again.

"Wonderland."

Eh?

"What is that?" 

"Amusement park," Chaekyung answered. "About 25 kilometers away from here. Your goryoshin wonderland desu?"

When little Miyu nodded they cheered.

"Awesome!"

"Let's go then." 

"Wait, wait. We have to wait for Sehun."

"Didn't you see his face Jieun? That guy is constipated,"  Baekhyun stopped laughing whe he saw Jieun's diapproving face. "Geez, chill woman. I will wait for him, fine? You guys go."

All of them were too busy laughing at him to see how luhan had frozen still after hearing the word 'wonderland'.

 

 

 

Baekhyun was agitated. He has been waiting for Sehun for fifteen minutes outside the cubicle he had occipied. 

"Oh Sehun, i am asking you again, are you done or not? Seriously, what the hell are you doing there?"

"Baekhyun hyung."

"What?! Do you want another five minutes?"

Baekhyun was surprised when the door swinged open the instant he finished his sentence. His eyes grew more wide when he saw how pale the boy looked.

"Are you okay? Is your constipation really bad?" Baekhyun asked, his face distorting in concern.

"It's not that hyung." 

Sehun took a deep breath, wondering if Baekhyun will be able to take this news without another asthma attack. 

"That little girl, Miyu Miyazaki...well...she is someone really close to Luhan hyung."

"Sehun, what are you blabbering. Is it because of your constipation that you are hallucinating?"

"It's true!" Sehun said exasperatedly. "Hyung, Miyu is Luhan hyung's sister."

 

"..."

 

"..."

 

"..."

 

"..."

 

"...you kidding!"

 

"I wish i was."

 

 

 

 

"Let's play hide and seek," a lady whose face was hidden in shadows said. 

"But mom i want to ride the merry-go-round," little luhan, who was 7 that time, said in a whine. He had been waiting for this moment forever. It was a dream come true for him to come to wonderland. 

"There is a long line," that lady said. "Until the line decreases, we can play hide and seek."

"Reall?" His eyes twinkled in excitement. He lifted his pinky before saying, "Promise me that you will let me go on the merry-go-round."

 

"Promise," the lady replied, conjoining their pinkies. 

 

 

Their hands were clasped together: his and Miyu's. The latter trailed her eyes up at him when she felt his grip tightening. 

"Welcome to wonderland!" Chaekyung cried, stretching her arms like she had just finished a tedious work.

"What is the plan?" Bori asked, pulling up her glasses. 

"We can't go around asking for her parents," Ahreum said. "It would be impossible."

"Why don't we just ask the little mistress there," Sarang suggested before she bend down to meet Miyu's eyes. "Miyu, goryoshin doko desu ka?" 

Luhan snapped out of his trance when he felt two eyes glancing at him. With an inaudible sigh, he looked down at them. 

While Sarang was giving him a curious why-is-Miyu-looking-at-him glace, Miyu was looking at him as if asking him if it was okay to answer Sarang. Like a kid who is looking at his/her parent for permission.

Luhan wasn't sure why he nodded, but he did anyway. 

Instead of answering, Miyu pointed at a certain direction. All five pairs of eyes followed from her index to the place it was pointing. 

Luhan's chest gripped in discomfort and probably hurt. Was it plain coincidence that Miyu had brought them in the exact place and was now pointing at the exact same location where his mother had left him. 

The same time Luhan shifted his gaze tentatively at Miyu, Sarang moved her line of sight too. She didn't miss the way Luhan was looking at Miyu, who was looking ahead with her arms still raised. His face was a mixture of surprise and curiosity and it made Sarang wonder why. 

"Let's go," Chaekyung's loud voice broke their daze. "What are we waiting for? Chrismas?"

"Why aren't Sehun or Baekyun coming?" Jieun asked, looking around behind her. "Is Sehun really sick?" 

"Don't worry Jieun," Chaekyung scoffed. "They will come around." 

"Yeah," Ahruem added. "For now, let's just go and wait near the merry-go-round."

Jieun pursed her lips. She had a bad feeling for some reason. It wasn't helping that Sehun was not there yet. At least his presence would have worked as a reassurance for her ominous thoughts.

Shaking her head, she followed her friends.

"Are you fine?" Sarang asked when it was just her, him and Miyu behind. 

"Yeah."

Although she was doubtful of his answer, she followed behind him without any question.

 

 

 

 

Miyu unclapsed her hands from Luhan's and ran straight towards a woman who was wearing an elegant floral print dress which was cream in color. 

Behind her, Sarang could hear her friends aruging (completely oblivious that Miyu had found her mother), but her ears perked up on hearing Luhan's shaky breath. She craned her neck to peek at the boy only to be astonished at how pale and sick he looked.

"Sehun!" Jieun cheered on seeing the him and Baekhyun. 

"Where is Miyu?" Baekhyun asked warily, which confused Jieun. She turned towards Sehun who had the same look. 

"She is with Luhan," Jieun pointed towards them. "Oh? She found her mother! Look!" 

"Jieun," Sehun said it so lowly that she had almost missed it. "Have you ever wondered how Luhan's mom might have looked like?" 

Jieun looked at him as if he had grown three heads. "Of course! I have always wanted to meet his mom!" 

"You are going to meet her Jieun." 

"What are you spouting, Baekhyun-"

"Miyu's mother," Sehun interupted, which made Jieun eyes him in confusion. Her eyes then averted towards the lady to whom Miyu ran to. "That lady is Luhan hyung's mother."

 

 

Sarang turned from Luhan to Miyu's mother ,whose face was hidden in shadows, and then back to Luhan. It wasn't until later when Luhan finally uttered a word. However, when he did, Sarang's face dropped. 

"...mom...."