Turns out Baekhyun and Luhan hit off real well. Both of them are vocal majors, and are studying in the same year. Sehun hears this from Chanyeol, and as much as he tries to convince himself that it’s not a big deal, there’s something clawing at the insides of his heart. Luhan hasn’t spoken to him since their encounter the last time, and as stupid as it is, a part of Sehun actually wishes Luhan would keep up with his promise, to not give up on the remainder of what’s left behind between the two of them, if there really is anything left.

“So I heard Luhan hyung is back,” Jongin plops down on the seat across from Sehun at the tables outside the photography building, a grin on his face.

“Yes, I know.” Sehun looks up from his books, “he’s currently living right across the hall from me.”

“What?” Jongin leans forward, “But, what about your place?”

“I know.” Sehun sighs, “I know. But Chanyeol is living with me now. I’m happy with that. He’s a good roommate. Sure he’s kind of crazy sometimes but he’s a nice guy.”

Jongin stares at him, not saying a word.

“Chanyeol is a nice, fun person.” Sehun repeats, as if reassuring himself.

“But he’s not Luhan.” Jongin murmurs after more moments of silence, looking away. “You know that he’s not the same.”

“Jongin,” Sehun’s voice turns sharp, “stop, please.”

“I just don’t understand, Sehun.” Jongin shakes his head, “I’m sure he had a reason, why won’t you just hear him out?”

“I did.” Sehun snaps, “but he didn’t have an explanation, Jongin. That’s the thing, he couldn’t explain himself, and even now, he still can’t.”

“Maybe you should try talking to Kris.” Jongin suggests.

“Don’t mention Kris.” Sehun scoffs, “I don’t plan on talking to him, ever.”

The two of them falls silent; Jongin shifts his gaze and looks away in the distance, eyes squinting at the figure walking towards them.

“Hey!” Baekhyun waves, as he nears Jongin and Sehun’s table, “haven’t seen you in a while, Jongin.”

“Hey yourself,” Jongin recomposes his face and smiles, “I heard you found yourself a new roommate?”

“You mean Luhan?” Baekhyun sits down beside Sehun, “He’s a really nice person! It’s great, because we’re both studying music and he helps me out a lot. I’m glad you and Chanyeol introduced him to me, Sehun!”

Sehun is slightly caught off guard at the sudden mention of his name, blanking out a few moments ago.

“Oh, no problem.” Sehun replies, voice almost monotone. “Glad to hear you guys are getting along.”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun nods in agreement, “oh right, I almost forgot, I’ve got to go meet Luhan at our faculty building. He said he’d show me some of the old demo tapes in the department. See you guys later!”

 Baekhyun is off and running in a matter of seconds, leaving a whirlwind of happiness that leaves a bitter aftertaste to Sehun.

“Sehun, you have to do something.” Jongin stands up from his seat, “Or in no time your Luhan hyung is gonna end up in someone else’s arms.”

“We’re finished, Jongin.” Sehun runs a hand through his wind-blown hair, “Me and Luhan. So if anyone else wants him, they can go right on ahead.”

“Oh really?” Jongin raises an eyebrow in amusement, “because you know, I’ve always had a thing for him, but because you two were together back then…”

“Anyone but you, Jongin.” Sehun looks up, “Anyone but you.”

“Then Kris?”

There’s a moment of silence.

“ off, Jongin.”

“You’re just in denial, Sehun.” Jongin shakes his head as he hops off into the distance, leaving Sehun with his books, a frown etched on his face.

In denial, huh.

Sehun sighs and pushes his books aside. His eyes falls upon his backpack and he reaches for it. Maybe he should do his photography assignment. He pulls out his camera and adjusts the lenses, while searching for something good to take a picture of when a dark shadow falls over his head.

“You got a new camera.”

Sehun looks up, and his heart tightens for a second.

“You got a new camera.” Luhan repeats. “What happened to the other one?”

Sehun doesn’t answer, fingers playing with the lid of the lens cover.

“Sehun-ah,” Luhan kneels down, and places a hand on Sehun’s knee. “Why—”

“There were memories on there that I didn’t wish to keep.” Sehun suddenly says, brushing away Luhan’s hand.

“You d-deleted them all?” Luhan chokes slightly, and Sehun’s finding it kind of hard to breathe. “Those were our—”

 “Don’t you have to be somewhere?” Sehun cuts in abruptly, “I just saw Baekhyun; he said he’s waiting you at the faculty building.”

“Baekhyun?” Luhan’s eyes refocus for a second, “Oh yes, right. I’ll go now then. I’ll… go.”

Luhan stands up, a slight stumble in his step and Sehun tightens his fists to keep himself from reaching out. He can’t, not now, not ever.

Luhan doesn’t say goodbye, and Sehun heaves a frustrated sigh as he shoves his books into his backpack and heads back home. On the way back, he unconsciously finds himself taking the shortcut he and Luhan found that one night when they snuck out together, passing by the bubble tea store they used to visit almost every single day, and the soccer field where he watched Luhan practice shooting goals. Sehun breaks into a run, speeding past the pieces of memories scattered across this corner of the city. When he finally gets home, he shuts himself inside his room and slides down onto the floor. Closing his eyes, the bits and pieces of the past flashes across his mind, as vivid as though it happened yesterday, and Sehun buries his head deep in his arms, an unconscious tear slides down his face.

*

When Luhan and Baekhyun returns home that night, Luhan receives a phone call, and upon seeing the name on the screen, he says goodnight to Baekhyun and goes straight into his room, shutting the door behind him. Curling up on a corner of his bed, he picks up the call.

“Hey,” He says softly.

“How are you doing?” The voice on the line says, “Fully recovered?”

“I’ve been alright,” Luhan answers, “slowly getting there, I guess.”

“You’ve talked to him?”

“Yes, we’ve talked.” Luhan leans back on his pillow, “It’s… not going well though.”

There’s a pause.

“Give him some time, Luhan. It’s not exactly something easy to get over.”

“I know, I will.” Luhan nods his head, “I’ll wait for him, just like how he’s waited for me all this time.”

“If you ever need me to come over…”

“No, it’s fine,” Luhan smiles, “You’re busy yourself, just keep me updated when you have time.”

“Of course, I’ll talk to you later then. Take care of yourself.”

“I will, and you too.”

Luhan hangs up first, and glances at the clock on the wall, it reads 11:36. He should probably wash up and go to sleep.

There’s a soft knock at the door.

“Luhan?” Baekhyun pokes his head in, “can I come in?”

“Sure sure,” Luhan relaxes slightly, “What is it?”

“I just wanted to talk to you.” Baekhyun walks in, and takes a seat on the edge of the bed, beside Luhan.

“What’s wrong?” Luhan his head to one side, “Did something happen?”

“No,” Baekhyun shakes his head, “I was just curious, about you. You used to go to Yongsang, didn’t you?”

Luhan freezes for a second, before answering.

“How did you know that?”

“I overheard some of the senior students talking today at the faculty building while I was waiting for you. They said that you were “back”, and I was skeptical over if it really was you they were talking about but then again, we only have one Luhan on campus. Later on when you were showing me those demo tapes and set up the cassette player in one try that took me nearly half a year to understand… I kind of pieced together an answer.”

Luhan falls silent, and Baekhyun feels a little out of place.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, I was just curious.”

“No,” Luhan chuckles softly, “It’s okay. You’re right, I did used to go to Yongsang , more than a year ago. But something happened back then… and I had to leave for a while. That’s why I’m in the same year as you are, I missed almost two years of classes. Technically, you should really call me hyung.”

“Hyung?” Baekhyun chokes out, “but, you don’t look older…”

“Better get used to it.” Luhan grins and ruffles Baekhyun’s hair, causing the younger to pout and Luhan laughs. This time, it’s a genuine laugh, and it felt good, even just for that fleeting moment.

Baekhyun looks like he had something more to say, but instead, he shakes his head and stands up.

“Good night, hyung.” Baekhyun smiles, and walks towards the door. On his way out, he turns off the lights before shutting the door behind him. As the last sliver of light disappears from the room, Luhan curls up tighter on the bed, knees brought up to his chest and head buried in his arms. Engulfed in the darkness, images flash across Luhan’s mind and he is once again, reminded of the darkness, the coldness, and the pain. He rocks himself back and forth gently, counting numbers inside his head as he waits for Baekhyun to settle down in his room. When he finally hears the click of a closed door from beside his room, he lunges for the light switch and flips it on. Breathing hard, he leans against the pale wall as light illuminates his room once again. Taking small steps, Luhan settles down beside the window, and waits for morning to come.  

*

**really sorry it took so long for this chapter to come up, it's around exam period so... :(
promise the next ones will come up faster though~ 

***anyone know who that person on the phone with luhan is? ;D