***********

            Lu Han shyly smiled as a freshman handed him a beautifully wrapped present.  He stuck his arms in front of him and shook his hands, not wanting to accept the present.  The freshman frowned.

            “Oppa, may you please accept it?” she asked.  “I know that you have a girlfriend, but I really want you to have this.  I looked really hard for this present for you.”

            Lu Han just smiled apologetically.  “I’m-” he started.

            “Lu Han, just take it!” laughed Seohyun.  He turned to his side. 

            Thank God, she’s finally here!, he thought.

            Seohyun smiled.  She turned to the freshman.  “Jieun, thank you so much for buying Lu Han a present for his birthday.” she said and gave her a bow.

            The girl smiled, as Seohyun took the present for Lu Han.  “Thank you for accepting my present!” she said, happily.

            The couple nodded their heads as Seohyun led Lu Han away.  They went to somewhere that was secluded and quiet.  She was smiling brightly, as she looked down at the present in her hand.  It was wrapped in a baby blue gift wrap paper with a white ribbon.

            “That’s really sweet of her to buy you something.” said Seohyun.  “Jieun must really like you.”

            “Yah, don’t say something like that.” said Lu Han.

            Seohyun looked up at Lu Han and blinked.  “Well, it’s true.” she laughed.

            He gave her a soft smile.  “You’re not jealous over something like that?” he questioned.

            Seohyun smiled.  “Of course not.” she said.  “They like you, just as much as me.  But, I just got lucky and got to be your girlfriend.”

            Lu Han laughed.  “You’re not lucky.  I just like you the most.” he explained.

            Seohyun rolled her eyes.  “That’s what I meant, Lulu.” she said, as they arrived at the secluded spot on campus.

            She smiled as she leaned in and gave Lu Han a passionate kiss.  He responded eagerly, knowing that he won’t be able to spend time with her later.  After his last class, Lu Han and the Chungs will be celebrating his birthday with him.  This will be the first birthday he will celebrate away from home.  Even when he was in studying abroad during high school, he would still go home for the occasion.  Lu Han was anxious to the celebration.  He decided not to go home this year to celebrate his birthday, to become more independent.  Not only that, but Mr. Ching won’t be home.  He has a meeting in London.

            Seohyun made Lu Han open the gift that he received.  It was cologne from Giorgio Armani called Aqua de Gio.  She took a sniff at the bottle and looked at Lu Han with big smile. 

            “This smells soooooo good.” commented Seohyun.

            “Really?” asked Lu Han, as he smelled it.

            Although he has seen the bottle many times before when he needs to buy cologne, he had never actually thought about trying it.  He liked it.  It smelled fresh and masculine at the same time.  Seohyun sprayed a little bit on Lu Han’s shirt.  She smiled as the scent filled her nostrils.  And, he smiled along with her.  Lu Han pulled Seohyun back into another kiss before taking her to her class.

            Lu Han entered his class, just right before the professor walked in.  He quickly took the seat next to Mia.  For some reason, it felt like they have became strangers.  They haven’t talked in about a few weeks already.  Although they live together, he was always with Seohyun when he wasn’t in class or doing extracurricular activities on campus.  Lu Han looked over at Mia to make sure that it really was her.  It seemed like she has lost some weight and her makeup can’t even conceal the dark circles she have. 

            As soon as class dismissed, Mia quickly packed up her things, ready to go home.  But, Lu Han needed to talk to their professor to clarify on their writing assignments.  He looked at her, to make sure that she made eye contact with him.  Mia wasn’t looking his way.  She was already out the door.

            Lu Han had to decide to whether to talk to his professor, who was busy talking with another student, or go home with Mia.  He was tired, so he decided to go after Mia.  He quickly went down the stairs, avoiding running into anyone.

            Lu Han breathing hard, as he came to Mia’s side.  “So, where’s my present?” he asked.

            “Hm?” she asked, as if she didn’t even realize that he practically ran to catch up to her.

            “My birthday present.” clarified Lu Han.

            “Oh!” said Mia, surprised.  She obviously forgot, which made Lu Han hurt.  “I’m sorry.  I forgot that today is the 20^th…”

            Lu Han smiled, letting it go.  It didn’t matter.  Mia’s friendship is already a good enough present for him.  “It’s OK.” he said.  “I didn’t really get you anything on your birthday either…  Except for a lot of pain killers and a twisted ankle.”

            Mia didn’t respond, as the conversation became quiet.  Lu Han looked over at her and she seemed to be deep in thought.  He didn’t want to bother her, so he didn’t say anything else.

It seems like we’ve became distant lately, thought Lu Han as he came to the conclusion.  Could I possibly be spending too much time with Seohyun?  Mia and I hardly see each other…  And, we live together.

            Lu Han opened his mouth to say something, but Mia quickly walked in front of him.  And, into the house.  He was dumbfounded.  Did we already got home?, he thought.  Was Lu Han really that zoned out?  Well, we do live pretty close to campus.  He just simply shrugged as he watched Mia walked upstairs.

            “Hey, kids!” said Mr. Chung, excited.  He was sitting on the sofa.

            “Hi, Uncle Chung.” smiled Lu Han, as he closed the door behind him.

            “Oh?!” he said, as he looked towards the staircase.  “I didn’t know that Mia had such strong legs…”

            Lu Han laughed.  “Well, she has been working out hard lately.” he said.

            Mr. Chung let out a sigh.  “She hasn’t been eating much either…” he added.  Lu Han’s eye brows shot up surprised.  He was about to ask Mr. Chung more about the problem when Mr. Chung suggested something.  “Why don’t we go to Seoul for tonight, Lu Han?”

            Lu Han looked around, feeling uneasy.  Even for Mia’s birthday, the family didn’t go all out.  It was very simple with a birthday cake and a few presents.  Then, again, Lu Han was the one that twisted Mia’s ankle and ruined her birthday.  He was about to say no.

            “Don’t worry,” smiled Mr. Chung.  “Mia doesn’t like the city as much as you probably would.  That’s why we didn’t go there.  Besides, I’ve already made a reservation at a restaurant for your birthday a while ago.”

            Lu Han felt grateful that the Chungs were doing so much for his birthday.  It made him felt better.  He took in what Mr. Chung had said to him.  That was true what he said regarding being in the city. Mr. Chung understood Lu Han well.  You can take the boy out of the city, but you can never take the city out of the boy.  Lu Han was used to living in a bustling, big city and to live in a small town is fine, but he’d much rather live in Seoul any day.

            On the way to Seoul, Mia was fast asleep to Lu Han’s dislike.  He wanted to know what she was up to recently.  As far as he’s aware, Mia, Eunsung, and Minyu had a bake sale yesterday to fundraise for a water tank for a village in Uganda.  Lu Han was surprised when he found out that Mia was the one that thought of the fundraising idea.  He didn’t even know that she was a philanthropic person.

            Lu Han smiled at her as he lightly poked one of her cheeks.  Although Lu Han didn’t like it, her cheeks were no longer as chubby as it used to be.  But, there was still some baby fat.  Her skin was soft and smooth.  And, suddenly, Lu Han had an urge to want to bite her cheeks, like a dumpling.  He had to refrain himself.

            Mr. and Mrs. Chung distracted him from their daughter with a conversation.  But, every now and then, he would glance Mia’s way.  Hoping that she would wake up.  Unfortunately, she didn’t wake up any time soon.  They were minutes away from Seoul when Mia woke up.  She looked outside, dazed and confused. 

            “Where are we?” she asked.  The sun was slowly setting, making the sky full of shades or organe and

            “Almost there, sweetie~!” replied Mrs. Chung.

            Mia nodded her head slowly as she turned to face Lu Han.  He flashed a smile.  There was some mascara smudges on her eye.  So, he reached his hand out and tried to wipe it away.  Mia quickly slapped his hand away.

            “What are you doing?!” she asked, angry.

            “There’s some mascara smudges on your face!” defended Lu Han, as he shook his hand.  It was throbbing out of pain.  “Geesh, Woman!”  Mia rolled her eyes as she pulled her makeup bag from her purse.  Lu Han let out a small laugh.  “Regardless, you look gorgeous tonight.”

            The comment made her stopped halfway from ping her bag.  She was wearing the red dress that Lu Han had bought for her a while ago and the shoes he got for her for Christmas.  Lu Han smiled. 

            I was right, he thought.  It really does look good on her.

            She continued on with the ping and took out the mirror and lightly wiped the makeup smudges off.  For a moment, Lu Han thought about Seohyun.

            Does Seohyun wear makeup?, thought Lu Han.  I honestly don’t remember.

            After Mia was done with the mirror, she took out a rollerball perfume.  She put on the perfume behind both of her ears and the scent filled the car.  Lu Han smiled.  He didn’t know what it was, but it smelled good.

            “I like that smell.” stated Lu Han, softly.  “What is it?”

            “Daisy by Marc Jacobs.” shrugged Mia.

            “Mmm…” said Lu Han, as he closed his eyes.  He took another whiff and leaned close to Mia.  “I like it.”

            Mr. and Mrs. Chung laughed, making Lu Han open his eyes.  “Mia, I didn’t know that you like Daisy by Marc Jacobs.” added Mrs. Chung.

            “Well, I do.” replied Mia.

            “Like mother, like daughter.” commented Mr. Chung.  “And, you two are just as beautiful.”

            Lu Han smiled as he turned to look at Mia.  She was frowning and quickly turned to look outside the window, just as they entered the sleepless city.  Lu Han raised an eyebrow.  Is she OK?, he thought.

            “Mia.” he heard himself say.

            She didn’t turn around to face him like she would usually do.  Mia kept her back to him…  Abruptly, Lu Han felt an unexplainable emotion that crept into his heart.  Whatever it was, he didn’t like the feeling of it.

            As soon as Mr. Chung told the waiter that they had a reservation at 8 PM, he quickly led the group to the back.  Lu Han was the first to enter the room when a loud party popper popped into his face.  He jumped, being startled.  Suddenly, there was a warm laugh that filled the room.

            A smile danced on Lu Han’s lips when he realized who it was.  “Dad!” he said, giving his dad a hug.  “Dad, what are you doing here?”

            Mr. Ching laughed.  “For your birthday of course!” he said, as he pulled away from the hug.

            “B-But-” started Lu Han.

            Mr. Ching continued to smile.  “I lied.” he said.  “I was going to come to Korea to surprise you.”

            Lu Han smiled and pulled his dad into another hug.  “Thanks, Dad.” he said.

********

            I was tired and was picking at my food.  I didn’t feel like eating…  It felt like it has only been 2 weeks since I’ve realized that I like Lu Han.  And, it felt like I’ve been on a yearlong emotional roller coaster ride.  In addition, I’ve been trying to ignore him too.  Fortunately, he has a girlfriend that keeps him distracted.  I didn’t want to see or talk to him.  I was not happy regarding my feelings for him at all.

            There have been so much emotions running through me for the last 2 weeks that I was literally drained, emotionally and physically.  At times I would be happy, sad, depressed, angry, frustrated, excited, and more.  I was rarely happy, but when I was, it would feel so good that my toes would tingle. 

            It would always happen when I see Lu Han across the campus with that bright, cute smile of his.  My heart will race and there will be butterflies in my stomach.  And, there would be Seohyun, his girlfriend, hanging off of his arm.  As painful as reality was, I had to face it.  I couldn’t keep on lying to myself that one day Lu Han would only see me.

            “Mia.” said Mr. Ching.  I looked up and saw his worried, smiling face.  “You lost weight.  Why?”

            “I’ve been busy.” I replied.  Not only couldn’t I eat properly, but I wasn’t hungry most of the time.  Perhaps the weight lost came from working out and dance practicing so much.  I have been really good with having that in my routine.

            I could feel Lu Han’s hand clasp mine, under the circular table.  He was sitting next to me.  Out of desire, I let him intertwined his hands with mine.  I’ve never realized how perfectly our hands fit in each other’s.  My small hand with his big, warm ones.  Quickly, I dropped his hand and placed my hand in my lap, where it would be too obvious to hold hands.

            Don’t look, don’t look, I thought.  Regardless, I quickly glanced over at Lu Han’s face.

            He wasn’t looking in my direction, as he took a sip of water.  Although he tried his best, I could tell that he was upset about what I had done.  It doesn’t matter, I thought as I looked away. We’re not close any more anyways.  You’d rather be with Seohyun than me any day.

            I remembered something as I looked up at the clock on the wall.  I quickly slipped my hand into my purse to find my phone.  I couldn’t and frantically felt all of my pockets and rechecked my purse.

            “What are you looking for, darling?” asked Dad.

            “My phone.” I replied.  “Mason said that he was going to call me around this time.”  My parents flashed me a disapproving look.  “I need to talk to him regarding something important.”

            Mom opened to say something, but I quickly interrupted.  “Don’t worry!” I said.  “All I need is 5 minutes.”

            She let out a sigh.  “Fine, but you better be quick.” she said.

            “I think my phone is in the car…” I said, after checking my purse again.  “Dad.”

            He handed me his car keys, as I stood up.  I quickly headed out the door.  To my surprise, Lu Han didn’t offer to go with me.  He would usually do…  But, it was obvious that he was mad at me.  I didn’t mind at all.

            As soon as I approached our car, I popped the trunk open.  I lied.  I didn’t plan go to the car to find my phone.  And, there was no call from Mason waiting for me.  We already talked last week.  My objective to go to the car was to get the birthday cake that I made for Lu Han.  I made sure that my parents didn’t know about it because it was my surprise for him.  Also, it was a good way for me to test out my acting skills…  My parents totally fell for it, which made me glad.

            I quickly picked up the cake in my hands.  It was a small circular 8 inch coconut cake with white frosting, decorated with a cartoon version of his face as a lollipop.  We didn’t have a plastic cake container and I wasn’t sure where to even get one, so it was just out in the open unfortunately.  I was sure that it was fine to eat because I cleaned the trunk in the middle of the night before, which explains to why I had been dead tired the whole time.

            I made my way back to the reserved room, but saw a figure in the hallway.  It looked like it was Uncle Ching.  Even though it was only his son’s birthday, I didn’t want to ruin the surprise for him either.  Even my parents didn’t know.  I quickly ducked behind a hallway as he passed by.

            As soon as he was gone, I quickly went back into the hallway.  Just as I did so, another human body collided into the birthday cake in front of me.  I was too busy looking over my shoulder to pay attention what was in front of me. 

            “Sorry!!” said the both of us, as I felt myself let go of the cake.

            “No, it’s-” started the other person as I looked up.

            Damn, I thought.

            “M-Mia…” said Lu Han, as he stopped wiping the frosting from his black button up shirt.      He quickly glanced down at the frosting on my dress and the cake on the ground.  Although the bottom of the cake was completely ruined and cracked in the middle, the writing and the cartoon was still legible.  Happy Birthday, Lollipop!

            Lu Han quickly kneeled down to the cake.  He observed it for a few more seconds and looked up at me with a bright smile.  I felt my world spin as emotions took over me and placed my hand on the wall for support.

            “You made this for me?” laughed Lu Han. 

            Well, obviously you stupid, Dum Dum Pop!, I thought as I looked down at him.

            He let out a happy laugh that made me smile.  There was always something about Lu Han that could always cheer me up.  Whether he does it purposely or not, he could always make me smile and forget all the things that would hang me down.

            All the sudden, Lu Han’s hand went down and scooped up a piece of cake.  He eagerly ate it, without a thought.  It all happened so fast that by the time I was able to process what happened, he was already on his second serving.

            “Lu Han, what are you doing?!!” I asked.

            He laughed out loud, as he pulled me next to him and we sat down.  His frosting covered hand tightly intertwined with mine, as  he fed me the piece of cake that he was cupping.  I ate it, willingly, and tasted the sweet flavor of coconut and vanilla.  Lu Han quickly scooped another piece of cake and ate it.  He closed his eyes, enjoying the flavor of the cake.

            “Mmmmm….” he said, softly.  “Mia, this is soooooooo good.”  I nodded my head.  He gave me another smile and closed the space between us.  Lu Han gave me a soft kiss on the forehead.  “Thank you, Mia.  Thank you for being my best friend.”

            I felt my face burn, as I pulled him closer to me.  Even though I feel bad about doing this…, I thought.  Seohyun, just let me have this brief moment with Lu Han with my newly acknowledged feelings...  It won’t take him long to come back to you because he loves you.

Author’s Note:

            I’m quite surprised that this is a good chapter…  Hope you all enjoyed that!!

            Sorry that I made Mia’s birthday so crappy…  It could’ve been so much better and she’s my main character too!  How sad!

Yay!!  My 50th chapter!!  ^^  Thank you all for you love and support!!  I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

And, I recently found out that neither of Lu Han's parents support him and his career as a singer...  I'm so sad to know of this.  I truly applaud him for perserving through the thick and thin...  For going to Korea at such a young age, without even knowing whether he will even get into an entertainment company.  Although I am sad, it has only made me respect and love him even more. 

To my ultimate EXO bias: Lu Han, I will continue to be your fan even if I never meet you once in my lifetime because you truly deserve the love and support of fans.  And, I hope that your parents will one day come to terms with the lifestyle you have chosen.  It must be hard for you right now, but remember that your fans will always love you for who you are and regardless of the choices you make.  This is our unconditional love to you for being the sweet, gentle person you truly are.  To us, you are perfect regardless of how imperfect you may think you are.

LOVE,

loveFORyunho