“Luhan, do you have five dollars? The pizza’s here.”

Sehun poked around in assorted drawers, pots and jars, hoping to find what he was looking for but he knew that it was in vain. He wasn’t the type of person to leave money all over the house, though at the moment, he sorely wished that he was.

“I think so,” Luhan called from the downstairs bathroom. “Check my wallet.”

Sehun strode over to Luhan’s desk and reached into his open bag: an expensive-looking leather satchel that had Jongin stamped all over it. Ignoring the small flare of irritation that arose in his chest, he fished out Luhan’s wallet and opened it. He found the five dollars that he was looking for and quickly returned to the patiently waiting delivery guy, giving him the full twenty-five he was owed and accepting the pizza.

When he walked back into the house, Sehun remembered that he still held Luhan’s wallet. He rested the pizza on a table and walked back to Luhan’s desk. As he started to close the wallet, he happened to glance down and his eyes fell upon a familiar slip of paper. Frowning, he drew it out and opened it, instantly recognizing his signature.

A paycheque.

His cheque, to be precise, paid out to Lu Han. It had yet to be processed.

“Luhan?” he called.

“Huh?”

“Can you come in here, please?”

A minute later, a confused-looking Luhan walked into the room, hands still wet since he’d rushed out of the bathroom when Sehun called.

“What’s this?” Sehun asked getting straight to the point as he held up the cheque for Luhan’s eyes to see.

Luhan froze, cheeks flooding with colour as he looked, for all intents and purposes, like a child who had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

“Um…”

“Why haven’t you cashed this yet?” Sehun pressed.

He couldn’t understand it. He knew that Luhan wasn’t hurting for money, not living in the lap of luxury like he was in Jongin’s home, but it was still money that he’d earned through his own merit.

“Well…um…”

Luhan was mortified. He couldn’t possibly tell Sehun the truth, that he had intended to keep the cheque, the first one he’d been given, as a memento, a kind of proof that he had marketable skills that someone would actually pay for. And a reminder of the person, the first in his life, who had given him the opportunity to prove himself. In a sense, it was a token of his worth. He couldn’t say that to Sehun, though. It sounded too cheesy in his own head, he could only imagine how lame it would sound coming out of his mouth.

“Do you have a bank account?” Sehun asked suddenly. “In your name, I mean.”

Luhan shook his head. “No. I have money that Jongin’s bank automatically deposits into an account every month but it’s co-signed.”

“I see… And you don’t want to deposit your cheque there?” Sehun inquired.

Luhan flushed. “I suppose I could.”

He might be reading more into it than there was but Sehun suspected that Luhan’s hesitancy stemmed from the fact that he didn’t want to mix his hard-earned money with Jongin’s, like it would taint it somehow.

“Very well,” Sehun said with some finality. “I guess there’s nothing else to be done.”

Luhan frowned. “What?”

“Grab your bag. We’re going to the bank,” Sehun announced.

Luhan’s eyes went wide with surprise. “What? But…what about the pizza?”

Sehun shrugged. “We’ll reheat it in the oven.”

Luhan was on the edge of his seat the entire car-ride to the bank. He didn’t know why but he was incredibly nervous.

“You’re just opening an account, Luhan, not robbing the bank,” Sehun said gently, smiling as he glanced over at his assistant.

Luhan blushed deeper but felt an answering smile tilt his lips.

For the millionth time, he felt grateful for having Sehun for a boss. After that debacle with Jongin, the day he’d crossed heaven knew how many lines and embarrassed Luhan in a way he’d never imagined he would or could, he’d been worried that Sehun would look at or treat him differently but he hadn’t. In fact, on that horrible day he’d sent him home early, calling his driver and sitting with him silently as they waited for the man to arrive. When he’d returned to work on the following Monday, Luhan had been afraid that he would see some remnant of what had happened on Sehun’s face but Sehun had greeted him as warmly as he always did and they’d gone straight to work. There had been no mention of the incident whatsoever. He couldn’t help but notice that Sehun never asked him to sit for him again either. He wondered if he had decided not to complete Jongin’s portrait but was too afraid to ask him about it. He’d been doing his best to forget that it had ever happened and he didn’t want to remind Sehun of it either.

The bank was crowded, as to be expected, which only heightened Luhan’s nervousness. He clutched his bag to his chest like a life-preserver as he walked in front of Sehun, wide eyes devouring the flurry of activity surrounding him.

Opening a bank account was not a big deal, he told himself, mentally chastising himself for his unnecessary over-reaction.

No…it’s only the biggest most important thing I’ve done since I got to this country.

His roots, he realized, were all grounded in Jongin and his relationship with same. Hadn’t he wanted freedom from that? Independence? Wasn’t that what Sehun was helping him achieve? It wasn’t a big deal but why did he feel like he was betraying Jongin for some reason?

Sehun took charge when they reached the bank teller. Luhan was thankful that he always remembered to take his Greencard everywhere he went since it was his most legitimate form of I.D. He had Jongin to thank for that as well, he thought, sighing mentally.

Several sign here, wait a moment and stamps later, he walked out of the bank with a debit card and a nifty little cheque book.

“How do you feel?” Sehun asked as they strolled down the sidewalk to the car.

“Nauseated,” he muttered.

Sehun laughed. “We’ll get some food in you soon, don’t worry.”

When they reached the car, Sehun unlocked the doors and was about to climb in when a thought occurred to him.

“Luhan?”

Luhan paused in the process of seating himself, straightening up to look at Sehun over the hood of the car. “Huh?”

“I don’t suppose you have a driver’s license, do you?”

Luhan shook his head. “No.”

“Did you have one in China?”

He shook his head again. “We didn’t have a car, didn’t have a lot of money to afford one, so I never saw the point in getting it to be honest.”

Sehun nodded thoughtfully. “Okay, we’ll take care of that. But not today. The people at the DMV go into sloth mode after lunch.”

Luhan gasped and opened his mouth to say something but was cut off when Sehun slid into the driver’s seat and shut his door, bringing an end to the discussion. Blinking in disbelief, he had no choice but to climb in after him.

The following morning, true to his word, Sehun took Luhan to the Department of Motor Vehicles. He hadn’t even taken two steps through the door of Sehun’s house before Sehun was ushering him back out again.

Now, doing his best not to squirm in his seat, Luhan clutched the completed application form in his hand as he waited for his turn to have it processed.

“I’m not sure that this is a good idea…” he said for the umpteenth time.

Sehun held back a groan and glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “It’s just a driver’s license, Luhan, not a license to carry a firearm.”

“I know but… The road is a dangerous place.” He turned his body towards Sehun, eyes wide and earnest. “Koreans are crazy drivers, you know.”

Sehun chuckled softly. Luhan had a point. Even he was prone to a little recklessness once in a while.

“Touché,” he said in acknowledgment. “But even so, don’t you want to be able to get yourself where you want to go without having to depend on someone else? Don’t you want even that little bit of freedom?” He hadn’t meant to make his words as pointed as they’d sounded but they both knew exactly what he meant.

Yes, Luhan’s heart cried. Instead, he dropped his gaze. “Jongin iss only concerned for my safety.”

Sehun chose his words carefully. “I understand that. It’s a crazy world we live in and you’re still getting used to life in this country” – or you would be if you actually lived in the world, he thought – “ but you can’t let yourself be afraid to go out and do what you want to do. You have to live while you’re on this earth, otherwise it’s just a waste of a life. And being able to drive is just a small part of it. I‘m sure that Jongin won’t mind.” Liar! “He’ll be so surprised when he finds out what you did. Maybe you can take him out to dinner or something and let him kick back and relax without having to worry about getting you two home safely. Doesn’t that sound good?”

Luhan smiled slightly. He didn’t have the same faith that Sehun apparently did, not given his past experience when he’d tried to broach the subject of getting his license, but once he had it, there was nothing that Jongin could do, was there? It was shady and underhanded, going behind Jongin’s back the way he was, but he actually felt himself becoming excited for the first time since Sehun had suggested it to him.

“Okay. You’re right,” he finally said. He smiled, a real one this time. “Let’s do this.”

Sehun grinned. “Good. By the time I’m through with you, you’ll be the best driver on the roads of Seoul.”

Luhan’s eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open. “What?!”

Sehun cocked a brow. “Well, you didn’t honestly think I’d let someone else teach you, did you?”

Ten minutes later, Luhan found himself seated outside of a large room where the written portion of his driving exam would take place. It had only taken Sehun five minutes of harmless flirting to get Luhan’s name on the list for the first morning exam.

“I can’t do this,” he’d argued. “Not today. I don’t know anything!”

“What’s there to know?” Sehun had fought back. “The written exam is 90% common sense and you’re smart: it’ll be a piece of cake.”

“But…”

“Do you know street signs? What they mean?”

Luhan nodded. “Yes. Most of them, I guess.”

“And you know the basic traffic laws?”

He nodded again.

“Then you’re set. I expect to see you back out here in fifteen minutes or less,” he joked.

Luhan’s stomach sank. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Sehun sighed. “Listen… Take the whole hour if you need to, it doesn’t matter. Even if you fail, you can do it again, as many times as it takes you to pass it. There’s nothing wrong with failing so long as you don’t give up. You’re not a quitter. I know you’re not.”

Luhan blushed. It always touched him when Sehun talked with such conviction, like he believed that Luhan could conquer the world or touch the skies if he so chose. He wished that he could feel that way about himself.

The door to the room opened and the applicants were called in.

Sehun stood and watched as Luhan fought to calm himself.

“You can do it,” he encouraged. “Just believe in yourself for once.”

Luhan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Sehun was right about one thing. He could take the exam over if he failed, which he suspected he might, but he realized that he would be more disappointed in himself if he didn’t even try. It would be the most recent in a long line of many disappointments. It was time to stop, wasn’t it? Disappointing his parents or Jongin was one thing but disappointing himself…wasn’t that the one that was hardest to get over?

He looked up at Sehun, saw the warm faith in his eyes and smiled. At least there was one person he had yet to disappoint. He hoped that he could keep it that way.

Sehun saw the resolution in his eyes and grinned. “Fighting!”

“How long is this damn exam?” Sehun muttered softly.

The wait was nerve-wracking and it was all he could do to keep himself from pacing the halls. Instead, he clutched Luhan’s bag tightly, questioning, yet again, his need to take care of him.

He didn’t know why he felt beholden to protect Luhan, why he felt that he had to be the one to make sure that he was capable of taking care of himself, but he did. Luhan wasn’t a child by any means, he was quiet and timid yet mature and intelligent, but there was an innocence about him, a purity that Sehun didn’t want him to ever have to lose. That and he lacked even the smallest amount of confidence in himself. He sensed that Luhan had let people walk all over him for most of his life, if not all of it, and Jongin, with his over-powering, aggressive personality, had tuned into that and taken advantage of it. He wasn’t questioning whether his hyung cared about Luhan but he didn’t think that as a partner or boyfriend, Jongin had done what was in Luhan’s best interest. Rather, he’d tried to make him dependent and shut him away from the world, protecting his “investment” the way he guarded his precious paintings. Luhan was a human being, though, and Sehun couldn’t sit back in good conscience and allow that to continue. Not now that he had gotten to know the wonderful person inside of Luhan just waiting for a chance to announce to society that he had something to offer, that he wasn’t useless or worthless like he’d been led to believe.

He wouldn’t lie and deceive himself into thinking that his own motives were 100% pure but the most important thing to him was that if or when he and Luhan parted ways, Luhan would have the skills necessary to become a productive citizen in whatever society he chose to live and find the happiness that he deserved. That was truly all that he wanted for him.

Just then, the door opened and he jumped to his feet as people started flowing out. His eyes anxiously searched for a blond head until he spotted Luhan slowly making his way towards him. His expression was somber.

“Well?” he asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Luhan chewed his lower lip, glancing down for a moment before looking back up at Sehun.

“It was close…” he said softly.

Sehun’s heart lurched and he felt a wave of sadness overcome him. Nothing remotely close to what Luhan must be feeling, though, he suspected.

“I’m sorry. I…”

Luhan raised his hand to flash a small slip of paper. “…but I passed!” he announced triumphantly.

It took Sehun a second to process what Luhan had said but when he did, he growled deep in his throat and gathered his employee into his arms.

“You rascal! I’ve been going crazy with worry out here and you dare to pull this on me?”

Luhan laughed, his cheeks pinking as he realized how tightly Sehun was holding him. He could feel Sehun’s warmth through his clothes and it was all he could do to resist the urge to take a deep inhale of his special scent. It was hard but he managed to restrain himself.

“You’re lucky that I’m so happy for you, or else…”

“Or else what?” Luhan asked, surprising them both.

Sehun leaned back slightly and glanced down at him the same time that Luhan tilted his head up and their eyes met and held.

For a moment, something passed between them. Sehun wasn’t entirely sure what, he just knew that it shook him to the core.

Clearing his throat, he dropped his arms and stepped back.

“Well, um, that’s done and over with. That was the easy part. Now the real work begins.”

“Now?” Luhan sputtered.

Sehun flashed him a grin. “There’s no time like the present.

Luhan was slightly mollified to learn that though Sehun would indeed be giving him private lessons, he would also have a licensed tutor from the DMV.

Though he had initially been hesitant to allow Sehun to teach him, he soon realized that he had the best of both worlds. The instructor from the DMV was helpful in providing the technical aspects that were necessary for passing the driving exam but Sehun brought the real world perspective, the things that weren’t in the handbook and could only be learned from years of experience.

Because the pursuit of his license was a secret, he had no choice but to take lessons during the day. He felt bad, like he was shirking his duties after only a month on the job, not to mention taking Sehun away from his own work since he insisted on giving him private sessions, but Sehun assured him that it was okay and, most of all, necessary. Still, he felt like he was taking advantage of Sehun’s kindness and understanding. It just didn’t sit well with him.

One afternoon, nearing the end of the work day, Sehun announced that he would drive him home since he had business in the area to attend to. Luhan was more than a little surprised, however, when just as they reached the bottom of his street, Sehun stopped the car and told him to get out, already climbing out of the driver’s side. Luhan immediately realized what Sehun had in mind. It was a daunting task, driving up the steep hill that they had to climb to get to his neighbourhood. It was taxing just to walk it so the prospect of driving it made him pale at the thought.

“Take a deep breath, foot steady on the accelerator and stay calm,” Sehun advised. “It’s a quiet area, there won’t be any traffic, but do try not to roll back. You’ll only terrify yourself further if you do.”

It was easier said than done.

Sehun’s words were something of a premonition because shortly after they started up the hill, Luhan panicked and eased up on the accelerator, which immediately set the car rolling backward. He felt his center of gravity drop and thought that he would be sick.

Sehun’s quick thinking, i.e, pulling up the hand brakes, stopped them from rolling all the way to the bottom again.

Sehun ignored Luhan’s panicky gaze and kept his tone neutral. “Take a deep breath, concentrate and let’s try again.”

Luhan did as he was told and started off up the hill once more.

This time he made it all the way to the top and when Sehun told him to continue navigating through the streets to his house, he eagerly complied. Now that they were on relatively flat land again and now that the crisis had abated, he realized that he actually had the hang of this driving thing. So long as he didn’t let his nerves get the better of him, he was actually quite good and not only that, but he actually enjoyed it too.

When he pulled up to his house and parked, he jumped out of the car, racing towards the gate to go share his good news. He had just finished typing the code into the keypad when he realized that there was no one to tell. Jongin wasn’t supposed to know and even if it wasn’t a secret, he wouldn’t be home yet anyway, and the maid would already have left by now. All that awaited him was a huge, empty house.

Turning around, he walked back to the car and found Sehun already behind the wheel once again.

He leaned into the window. “Thanks for the lift…and everything.”

Sehun smiled. “My pleasure.”

Luhan picked his bag up off the passenger seat and with a small wave, started back towards the open gate.

Sehun’s smile fell so soon as Luhan turned away, his eyes sad as he watched him walk up the long, lonely drive to the ridiculously large house. He’d been equally infected by Luhan’s excitement when he’d realized what he’d accomplished but it didn’t take a genius to figure out what had caused it to fade away.

Sighing, he shifted the gear into drive, beeped his horn and took off.

Luhan looked around the elegantly appointed office of the Dean of Seoul University, swallowing thickly, still not believing that he was actually there.

When Sehun had hired him, he’d mentioned meetings and that he might actually have to attend some with him but in his first month of work, he hadn’t stepped outside of Sehun’s house for anything but a few short errands. Now, in his second week of his second month in Sehun’s employ, he found himself sitting beside his boss while they waited for the head of the university to arrive. His driving lessons had distracted him to the point where he’d forgotten this appointment, an appointment that he’d made, until Sehun had reminded him to come dressed in elegantly-casual business-wear one his way out the door the day before. Despite his shock at the reminder, he’d asked Sehun why elegantly-casual and not formal business attire.

“Because they’re trying to woo me, not the other way around,” he’d said, a thought which he now reiterated.

“Don’t be nervous, Hannie-hyung,” Sehun soothed.

Luhan blushed at the endearment. Sometime in the past couple of weeks, Sehun had finally realized that Luhan was older than him and that he had been speaking to him informally the entire time they’d known each other. On the heels of that had come his chosen petnames for his hyung/employee: Luhannie and Hannie.

“We don’t have to do anything but sit here and look mildly interested while they spin their pitch,” Sehun continued. “I’ve already made my decision, this is just a technicality.”

The university had invited him to give a series of guest lectures about his art and what it was like to live and work in the US, making a name for himself abroad before becoming famous in the art circles back in his homeland.

The door opened and in walked a tall – though slightly round – graying, distinguished looking gentleman.

“Good morning,” he greeted as he stepped forward, his voice firm but pleasant. “I’m sorry for the delay. I’m Dean Kim,” he introduced, pausing to shake their hands before rounding the desk to take his seat

“Not a problem,” Sehun replied casually. “We could have rescheduled for another day if it would have been more convenient.”

Though his words were polite, the tone behind them implied that it was his own convenience that he was talking about, hinting that he had not appreciated being kept waiting.

Luhan looked at him sharply, surprised by his rudeness. It was very unlike him.

Dean Kim had the grace to blush, suggesting that he too had caught the censure in Sehun’s words.

“Again, I apologize. I know that your schedule must be hectic.”

Sehun shrugged. “It is what I make of it. My work comes first, however, thus time is the most valuable thing to me.”

The dean nodded, his blush deepening slightly. “Of course, of course. I won’t waste any more of your time and get straight to the point. As we outlined in the letter…”

Luhan listened intently, taking notes here and there like Sehun had told him to.

“It would be our pleasure if you would be our resident guest lecturer this semester,” Dean Kim concluded. “I know that you will not be able to commit to the usual schedule that our residents typically adhere to, which is why we think that one symposium per week for a month, two to three hours in length, should suffice. Many of our art students have been bombarding us with requests to secure your attendance for at least one session. You are in great demand, young man,” the dean wrapped up with a smile.

Sehun smiled slightly. “It’s always nice to know that my work is appreciated.”

“Oh, I should say so. And then some. We are still in the process of fine-tuning the details – I know that you said that you’re in the middle of several important pieces right now – and of course you will be adequately compensated for your time.”

Sehun’s lips tilted upwards at one corner. “Of course.” He stood, Luhan scrambling to his feet as he did so. “I shall review what we have discussed and have my assistant contact you when I’ve made my decision.”

“We would appreciate a response by the end of the week, if not before,” the dean said carefully.

Sehun shrugged noncommittally. “I’ll see what I can do.”

They shook hands and the dean walked them out.

Back in the car, Luhan shot furtive glances Sehun’s way, still wondering exactly what had come over him in the dean’s office. He had never seen him act that way.

“I’m hungry…” Sehun murmured. “Let’s stop for lunch.”

He drove to his favorite café, the one that Jongin had thumbed his nose at, and was seated at his favorite table by his favorite waitress.

“I come here a lot,” he explained when Luhan sent him a curious look after the waitress greeted him by name and asked him how his work was coming along.

They put in their lunch and drink orders, falling into silence thereafter.

“Can I ask you something?” Luhan broached carefully. Sehun was nice and friendly with him but he was still his boss so he wasn’t sure how he would react to what he was about to ask him.

“Sure, anything.”

“Back in the dean’s office,” he began. “Why were you…why did you act that way?”

“What way?” Sehun asked in confusion. It dawned on him a moment later. “Oh, you mean like a complete jerk?”

Luhan nodded.

He laughed. “The truth is, it’s kind of expected. It’s basically part of the artist package. Personally, I prefer to just be myself but after returning to Korea, and even before then back in New York, I realized that if you don’t embody the image of an artist, people start to question if you really are one. The moodiness, the sensitivity to criticism, the snobbery: they expect all of that. I just think of it as acting and go with whatever comes.” Sehun smiled gently. “I should have warned you. I’m sorry.”

Luhan shook his head, smiling though he was slightly embarrassed that he’d almost questioned everything he thought he knew about Sehun based on that one incident.

You really need to learn how to trust people, he mentally chastised himself.

“My turn,” Sehun announced. “Can I ask you something?”

Luhan nodded.

“Your parents…” He saw Luhan tense but didn’t let it deter him from his course. He had delayed it for far too long, giving Luhan time to get to know and trust him before peering into his past. “What do they think about your being here? Do they know about Jongin and…everything?”

 Luhan studied his water glass for a moment before speaking.

“The day before I left China, I finally told them that I was gay. I’m sure they already suspected but it’s another thing to have it confirmed. I had one foot out the door and somehow I knew that I wouldn’t be going back, at least not any time soon, so it seemed as good a time as any. It’s cowardly, I know.” He smiled self-deprecatingly. “I just felt like I owed them that much. And me too, like… I was starting a new life and I should start it honestly, you know?” He blushed.

Sehun smiled. “I know.”

“Jongin wasn’t kidding when he said that he met me as soon as I stepped off the boat. I had to take a ferry to get to where I was supposed to live and work and he happened to be there on the dock. I didn’t notice him until he was right in front of me. I didn’t speak much Korean and he spoke absolutely no Mandarin yet somehow, we understood each other. He seemed fun, I remember thinking that. He smiled a lot and spoke engagingly. I didn’t know what he was saying but it sounded funny. He took me to dinner and we stumbled through awkward, but still fun, conversation. Then he took me home.” His blush deepened, embarrassment coursing through him at having admitted to sleeping with a man he’d only just met. “Well, technically it was a hotel room since I didn’t yet know how to get to my residence and he lives here in Seoul. We’ve been together ever since.” He shrugged, trying his best not to show how nervous he was. “You know the rest.”

Sehun nodded, ignoring the pangs of jealousy and anger that at him. “And your parents?”

Just then, the waitress arrived with their drinks so Luhan waited until she left before continuing.

“I left them reeling from my pre-departure announcement but they are my parents so once I was settled here, I called to let them know that I was doing well. I actually did like my job but Jongin…well, you already know that too. So the next time I spoke to them, I had moved in with him and gave them his address just in case they needed to reach me. Naturally, my mother wanted to know what was going on so I told her with as few details as I possibly could. She started to freak out, thinking that I had fallen into the clutches of someone who would take advantage of me or turn me into a e or something really dramatic like what you’d see in a drama.” He rolled his eyes. “I assured her that she couldn’t be further from the truth and she demanded proof so I emailed her a picture of Jongin, lounging by his pool. I think she fell in love, both with Jongin and his money. She said something along the lines of, “It’s not going to be easy, having a son who’s gay and will bring shame and embarrassment to the family, but at least if you had to go that route, you did well for yourself.” Money makes every bitter pill much easier to swallow, doesn’t it?”

Sehun heard the hurt beneath the bitterness and his heart went out to him. He always counted his blessings for having parents who, while they didn’t necessarily approve of his lifestyle choices, also didn’t judge or turn their backs on him. They simply accepted him for who he was. He knew that many others weren’t nearly as fortunate as he.

“Were you close to your parents? Your mother?”

Luhan shook his head. “Not especially. My dad is a hardworking man who did his best to provide for his family but he comes from the old school: children are women’s business. My mother…she’s always had big dreams and I think my father never quite lived up to them. He’s not the type of man to care about that, though. He knows that he gave her, and my sister and I, everything that she needed, even if it wasn’t everything she wanted. I guess she sees my life with Jongin as some kind of fantasy or fairytale. Whenever she calls, she always wants to hear about all the things we’ve done and places we’ve been. I make stuff up sometimes,” he admitted with a shy smile. “She doesn’t need to know that Jongin spends most of his time at work and I’m alone at home in that big house. Although, I don’t think she’d see a problem with that. I imagine she’d say something like, “At least it’s big.”” He shook his head. “My sister says that she tells anyone who’ll listen that I’m living the high life, dating someone rich and important. She conveniently omits the fact that the person I’m dating is a man, of course. It’s not all that important in the grand scheme of things, I suppose.”

Luhan’s mother sounded like a cold, opportunistic parasite. Sehun couldn’t help but resent the woman, especially having had the kind of warm, loving upbringing that his parents had given him.

“Has she ever met Jongin?” Sehun asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Luhan shook his head again. “No. She’s not-so-subtly suggested that he visit on a few occasions but he’s always had a reason not to, usually work. It’s not really an excuse if it’s true, I guess. But he makes it up to her by sending stuff. A gift here and there. And a monthly stipend.” At Sehun’s surprised gasp, Luhan nodded. “I didn’t know at first but during one of their conversations, she had apparently implied that she and my father were having…financial troubles and Jongin offered to help. I was so embarrassed when I found out. How could she do that to me? Why hadn’t she said anything to me? Jongin didn’t care, though. It was just money and that was the one thing he had a lot of. It was like making donations to charity, he said.”

Again, Sehun could hear the hurt and mortification in Luhan’s words. He was sure that Jongin hadn’t meant to sound as pompous and elitist as he had – at least he hoped so – but it had been a bad choice of words nonetheless.

Luhan shrugged, forcing a smile. “Water under the bridge now.”

“Indeed…”

Luhan picked up his drink and took a long sip.

“Well, as of now, you will be financially able to fulfill your filial duty if ever you’re called upon to do so,” Sehun pointed out, desperate to dispel the heavy tension hanging over them and ease the darkness he saw clouding Luhan’s eyes. “You can always demand that your boss raise your salary if he’s under-paying you. Bosses can be such scamps.”

A genuine smile tugged at Luhan’s lips. “That is true.”

“And,” Sehun continued, his voice taking on a teasing note, “since you’re sitting pretty these days, you will be paying for lunch. Ahh, here it comes.” He rubbed his hands together gleefully. “My mouth is watering already.”

Luhan laughed, his head falling back at Sehun’s exaggerated antics. He knew what he was doing and he truly appreciated it.

He raised his hand in mock salute, eyes shining with merriment. “Yes, Sir.”

Luhan paced back and forth behind the partition, weighing the pros and cons of what he was about to do.

Sehun was at his easel painting and he didn’t want to disturb him but he’d finally mustered the courage to do what he’d been trying to talk himself into for the past two days. He still had an hour left before he finished working for the day but he didn’t want to wait until he was almost out the door. He’d done that before with his parents and while it hadn’t bothered him then, the thought of doing it to Sehun was just… He simply couldn’t. Besides, he would still have to see him tomorrow when he arrived for work so running away really wasn’t an option.

“Alright, coward,” he muttered. “Time to be a man.”

Giving himself a fighting! for encouragement, he picked up the folder and walked out of his corner. He was surprised to find Sehun on the sofa munching on a messy pile that somewhat resembled a sandwich. Exactly how long had he been in there talking to himself?

“I got hungry,” Sehun explained, smiling sheepishly.

Luhan nodded and approached him slowly.

At the strange look on Luhan’s face, Sehun set his plate on the table, wiped his hands on a napkin and asked, “Something wrong?”

“Um…” Luhan cleared his throat. “I was hoping you could take a look at something for me.”

Sehun raised a brow. “Oh?”

Wordlessly, Luhan held out the folder, watching with breathless anticipation as Sehun opened it and withdrew the sheets of paper within. Unable to bear the tension, he started to turn away when a hand grabbed his wrist and tugged. He found himself tumbling down beside Sehun on the sofa, eyes wide as he looked up at his boss in surprise, gasping when he found Sehun’s face mere inches away from his.

With Luhan so close, Sehun almost forgot why he’d stopped him from leaving. Almost. Reining in his emotions, he released his hold and turned back to what had initially stunned him.

“These are brilliant, hyung.”

He skimmed through the pile of sketches, marveling at how perfect each one was. He could still spot the flaws in Luhan’s amateur technique but his style was such that even the flaws seemed like part of the whole, intentional. He was truly amazed. And Luhan hadn’t taken the easy route either. He’d attempted a variety of subjects, from animals and plants to a person: him. Knowing how difficult faces were, he was more than a little surprised to look down at his likeness and actually be able to recognize himself.

He looked back over at Luhan, grinning widely. “Really. I’ve never seen someone improve so quickly. Maybe you really are a genius.”

Luhan blushed, eyes drifting downward as he was no longer able to meet Sehun’s gaze. He had butterflies in his stomach and his chest felt incredibly warm. Sehun had become his role model, the one person whose opinion really mattered, so to have him compliment him was just…

“When did you do this? When did you have the time?” Sehun inquired, still mesmerized by Luhan’s pieces.

Luhan’s blush deepened. He didn’t want to admit to Sehun that he’d had to sneak around to do it, not wanting Jongin to know what he was up to. Jongin always came home hours after he did but like Sehun, he’d developed the habit of becoming so absorbed in his work that he didn’t hear Jongin’s arrival until he was almost upon him. He’d almost been caught on two separate occasions. Once the sketches were complete, or as complete as he was capable of, he’d left them in his desk at work, locking them away, knowing that Sehun would never invade his privacy.

“Here and there,” he replied vaguely.

Sehun rolled his eyes but his grin widened. “Well, for here and there, it’s turned out excellently. We need to get you enrolled in some intermediate art classes. Not beginners because you’re clearly more advanced than that. We should…”

As Sehun continued talking, Luhan found himself staring. He loved how expressive his face was. He couldn’t always tell what he was thinking but when he talked, like now, it became animated and bright. He liked that. And he was so handsome. His eyes were often hooded, which gave them a kind of intensity that he found attractive, y even. His lips…they were pink and supple and his lisp and tendency to them often drew his gaze. He even had a mole on his neck that Luhan found incredibly cute. Everything about Sehun was cute and attractive and…lovable.

Without realizing it, he started to lean forward. Only when Sehun unknowingly turned towards him in the middle of his lengthy diatribe and their lips met did he realize what he had done.

It took Sehun a minute to understand what was happening. He had unconsciously turned towards Luhan only to find Luhan’s lips pressed against his.

Luhan’s…lips…

Luhan was kissing him.

Luhan…was kissing him!

Just as it clicked and he started to respond, his lips softening and opening to Luhan’s pliant ones as his hands rose to hold him, Luhan pulled away and scrambled up, disappearing behind the partition.

Still stunned, his brain moving slower than usual as a result, Sehun didn’t realize Luhan’s intention until it was too late.

“Luhan, wait!” he called, jumping to his feet as Luhan raced out.

But he didn’t stop.

The front door slammed shut, leaving Sehun alone in the thundering silence surrounding him.