After I internally acknowledged that maybe Lu Han was a tiny bit good-looking, I did everything I could to see him the opposite way.

I emersed myself in Lunar Sages' pictures, even going to the extent of comparing their pictures side by side with the hope that I'd wake up and realize that Lu Han was nothing compared to my "boys". Unfortunately, all it did was reinforce the fact that Lu Han could compete with them in terms of looks. (Where did I even get his picture? Oh right, I might have accidentally screen-captured a moment of our video call from before.)

When I started to compare what they could do, like how Lunar Sages were such great singers, I realized that I didn't really know what Lu Han liked doing. Instead of putting Lu Han down by what he couldn't do, I actually became curious instead as to what he could.

I was nuts. What sane Lunar Sages fan would compare her biases to a mere human boy? Apparently not me, because there I was, on a Friday afternoon, locked up in my room right after class, looking up at the ceiling while still in my uniform, contemplating whether I should add Lu Han's picture to my collage of biases or not. Mad, I tell you.

But as I gradually got over the initial "freaking out stage" over my newfound discovery, I started to realize that my crush may not be so ridiculous, after all. Lu Han may not be a Lunar Sages member, but as I had found out over the last few weeks, he was kind, charming, chivalrous, patient, considerate, ador- I slammed a pillow to my face to cut off my silly train of thought before I could use up all the good words in the dictionary.

Rolling on my side, I bit my lips as I truly let it sank in. Maybe I didn't like Lu Han as much as I liked Lunar Sages, but I like him enough to actually feel giddy when I think about him. I couldn't believe it but the smile on my face reflected on the mirror was proof enough that there was no getting rid of this fluttering feeling, at least not at the moment.

The issue now was how do I clear the misunderstanding between us? Over the last few days, I had been blatantly avoiding him (and the twins, for that matter, hence why I was locked up in my room). He had sent me countless apology text messages and snuck handwritten notes in my backpack, thinking I was mad at him because of last weekend. That couldn't be farther from the truth. 

I ruffled my hair in frustration as a message notification lit up my phone. It was from him.

Hi, Yeona. Can I call in my first melon bread payment?

At first, I didn't understand what his message meant. Then I realized that I was supposed to give him a bunch of melon bread in exchange for the fan signing ticket. I had totally forgotten! 

Before I could type a reply, another message came in.

You don't have to, though. Just if you're not busy or anything.

I could already imagine the face he was making. Aww. I really was heartless and mean for letting him misunderstand that I was mad at him throughout the week.

Okay. Where are you? I replied.

I'm at the children's park near your house.

I raised an eyebrow at that. What was he doing near my house?

Five minutes later, I found Lu Han on one of the swings in the park. The sun was just setting, illuminating the place and Lu Han with an orangery glow. I walked towards him slowly, feeling nervous because this was the first time in days that I was walking towards him instead of running away.

He looked up, his eyes lighting up upon landing on me. "You really came," he said.

"Didn't I reply that I would?" To my surprise and relief, I didn't stutter. Despite feeling like my heart was beating a mile per second with every step closer towards him, I found that I could actually control my expression. I cleared my throat and asked as coolly as I could. "So where do I actually find you a melon bread?" 

He stepped away from the swing and met me halfway. He smiled at my uniform. "Did you just get home?"

I was still wearing even my ID. Crap, he couldn't be thinking that I rushed to get here, could he? Sheesh, stop overthinking, Yeona.

"No, I was doing something." I waved my hands vaguely. I could feel my stomach churning in knots.

Lu Han's face fell. My curt reply must have given him the wrong idea again. "Come on then," he said, not looking at me. "We should be able to find some melon bread in the convenience store next block."

I wanted to correct him, that I wasn't being unfriendly because I was angry at him, but I couldn't exactly tell him it was some sort of a defense mechanism. Instead, I followed him out of the park, hoping he wouldn't hear the crazy rhythm of my heart. How did I manage to act so casually around him before?

"Yeona?" he suddenly said my name, breaking the ensuing silence, and I nearly missed a step.

Nervous that I would act weirdly again, I started to run to the store, leaving him behind. When he didn't follow me, my chest tightened. There I was again, letting him misunderstand. I slowed to a halt and turned around. Lu Han was standing at the same place, a defeated look in his face. Ugh, I couldn't take it. I marched right back.

"Before you jump to another wrong conclusion, I'm not mad at you, okay?" I said when we were face to face. "I was never mad at you. I-" I just had to sort out my feelings. But I couldn't exactly say that. "I-" 

A hard shove suddenly hit my back, sending me colliding with Lu Han. Caught off guard, Lu Han lost his balance and we fell to the ground. Before we could make sense of what was happening, something got yanked out of my head and the last thing I saw was a pair of shoes running away from us before Lu Han helped me up.

"What just-"

"Are you okay?" Lu Han interjected, giving my arms a gentle squeeze.

With him staring at me so closely, my mind blanked out for a second.

"Yeona?" Lu Han's worried voice pulled me out of my stupid daze.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said in a breathy voice. Remembering something was taken, I patted my chest and sure enough, my ID cord was missing. I looked at Lu Han in surprise and alarm. "My ID is gone." I couldn't believe the ID thief was real.

Lu Han's eyes widened and he glanced at the direction of where I saw the thief was heading. He must have seen him, too.

"Yeona, stay here, okay?" Lu Han suddenly said.

"What?" 

"Just- I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." And before I could respond, he was already sprinting to the direction we were staring at.

At first, I did as told. Worry and fear literally rooted me to the spot. But with every passing second that Lu Han wasn't back, the anxiety building up in my stomach propelled me to run after him.

The sun was nearly gone now and they had taken off in the direction of the poor-lighted alleys. I picked a road and hoped it was where they went. I ran for a couple of minutes, finding nothing. I thought about yelling for Lu Han's name but that seemed like a bad idea. So I just continued running, hoping they weren't fighting. But if they were, I just hoped it was one of Lu Han's strengths.

I was about to retrace my steps when I heard a scuffle nearby. My heart jumped to my throat as I hurried my steps, and sure enough, at the end of one of the darker alleys, Lu Han and the thief were fighting.