“Lu Han! Want to watch a movie with us? We’re going to watch ‘The Avengers’.” Yixing smiled as brightly as he can, his dimples showing.

Classes had just finished and Lu Han and Yixing were on their way outside their college building.

“Sorry, but I have to meet my girlfriend at Paradiso Coffee.” Lu Han smiled apologetically, hoping Yixing would understand.

With a heavy sigh, he finally said, “Fine. I know how much you’re trying to be the best boyfriend. Just don’t go crawling back to me when she tells you she’s going back to Korea. See you tomorrow.” Lu Han bid him farewell with a good smack in the head.

Once both guys got out of the building, Lu Han made his way towards the parking area where his car was. He smiled all the way, thinking of his waiting girlfriend at the coffee shop.

It hasn’t been long since the two started dating. If Lu Han was accurately counting, it has only been three weeks, one day, seven hours, fifty-eight minutes, seven seconds and thirty-six milliseconds. No, Lu Han was not counting so he’s just assuming it’s been three weeks since the girl of his dreams had accepted his feelings.

His girlfriend was everything he could probably wish for. Brains, talents and personality. She was a bright girl who, despite her difficulties in the Chinese language, never once frowned while studying. She would always smile as Lu Han taught him basic Mandarin and she would immediately answer with a blinding smile whenever he asks a question, giving Lu Han’s heart a flip every single time. She was also not a loser when it comes to games and sports. In fact, she was captain at her high school’s volleyball team. What more could Lu Han ask for? But that doesn’t stop there. She was such a nice girl with an angelic smile that Lu Han can’t help thinking she was not real. But she is real. And she is his.

As Lu Han daydreamed about his girlfriend, he did not notice the lost-looking boy in his way and accidentally bumped into him.

“Ouch” was the only thing Lu Han could mutter as he rubbed his foot the boy in front of him stomped on.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to bump in--- Oh, I mean… Sorry.” The boy stammered, two languages mixing in his speech. Lu Han could not help but chuckle internally at the boy in front of him, his body bent into a bow as a sign of apology. He would have patted the boy and left when he realized the boy spoke in Korean aside from Mandarin. Oh, an opportunity to use what I learned.

 “No, it’s okay.” The boy lifted his head a little bit too fast that Lu Han swore he heard a cracking sound coming from his neck. Lu Han could not help but smile a little at the boy in front of him. As soon as his eyes met his, however, his smile faltered but came back again as he took in the features of the boy.

He looks so young. I wonder how old he is. Maybe he could be my didi.

He carefully observed the boy. He was a bit taller than him, with eyes that looks small and bored-to-death, dark auburn hair that was swept back, revealing  his flawless, white forehead. Lu Han’s gaze move towards his whole face, realizing how pale-looking the boy was. Even his lips were quite pale-looking despite it being shiny and pinkish.

Perfect. A new didi I could play with. Lu Han clapped internally. Despite his self-declared manly looks, Lu Han’s soft spot is reserved for cute, cuddly things. His girlfriend even gave him a big Donald Duck plushie on their first week together. And this cute boy in front of him looks just as cute as his Donald Duck plushie that he just had to know this boy.

His gaze went back to his eyes and he noticed the boy looking confused and staring straight at him.

 “Excuse me. Are you okay?” Lu Han waved a hand over his face, in an attempt to break him from his trance.

“You… Y-You’re Korean?” The boy stuttered and his eyes widen. Lu Han smiled at the boy and answered, “No, I’m Chinese but I’m taking up Foreign Language and I major in Korean.”

“Oh.” Lu Han noticed the boy’s chest deflating, a sign that he must have been holding his breath.

“I’m Lu Han, by the way. You?” Lu Han offered a hand. The boy looked at his hand like it was going to bite him but he took it nonetheless and shook it. “Sehun. Oh Sehun.”

“Hi, Sehun. So what brings you here to Tsinghua University? Are you a freshman? What building are you looking for?” Lu Han asked, talking in Korean with an accent he could not hide. The boy smiled a little, looking less lost as he was when Lu Han found him.

“No… I’m not… I-I… I’m not studying here. Uh…” Sehun answered, his voice hesitating and his cheeks reddening.

“Go on. Don’t hesitate to tell me why you’re here. You’re here to visit your girlfriend, aren’t you?” Lu Han teased but as soon as he saw Sehun blushing a deeper red, he chuckled.

“So, I am right. Where did you plan to meet her? I could probably help you look for her.” Lu Han offered.

“I… I actually planned to surprise her but I don’t know where to find her.” Sehun responded, his eyes stuck to the floor.

“Oh, that’s so sweet. Come on, I’ll help you look for her.” He pulled Sehun towards a bench near them.

“Thank you but that’s not necessary.” Sehun said, still not meeting Lu Han’s eyes.

“No, don’t be silly, Sehun. You’re in a country you have no knowledge about. You need someone who can help you.” Lu Han tried to make Sehun comfortable by flashing him his signature smile, an intoxicating, head-spinning smile no one could resist.

“You sure? Aren’t you busy?” Sehun peeked from behind his bangs and as soon as he saw Lu Han’s smile, he smiled in response. Lu Han smiled triumphantly before realizing what Sehun’s question meant. Oh, . I am busy. What time is it? He looked at his clock and he sighed in relief to see he still had forty-five minutes to spare.

“No, I’m not busy. I just have to meet my girlfriend at four o’clock.” He assured Sehun before an idea popped in his head. “Hey, why don’t you come with me when I meet my girlfriend? She’s Korean so you’ll probably feel more at ease talking to her. Is your girlfriend Korean as well?” Sehun nodded so he continued, “Great. My girlfriend’s complaining about the lack of Koreans to talk to.”

“My girlfriend complained about that, too. She said she’s going to die without anyone to talk to in her native language.” Sehun laughed at the memory, and Lu Han smiled to see Sehun now relaxed.

“So, shall we start looking for your girlfriend, then?” Sehun smiled at him, the first genuine smile Lu Han saw from the boy.

“By the way, are you a freshman here as well? My girlfriend’s a freshman.” Sehun asked Lu Han and he had to control himself from smacking the boy’s head. “No, I’m already a graduating student.” Sehun’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly like a fish out of the water.

“Yes, I know. You don’t have to tell me I look like twelve. I’m twenty-three in Korea. I’m guessing you’re seventeen.” Lu Han eyed the boy.

“Close. I’m nineteen.” Sehun corrected him.

“Oh, so I guess you should be calling me ‘hyung’ then.” Lu Han leaned closer to Sehun. “Come on, call me ‘hyung’.”

“Sorry to say this, hyung, but you’re quite talkative. Are you always like this?” Sehun chuckled.

“Sorry for being so friendly, then.” Lu Han said seriously and Sehun’s laughing stopped. Sehun suddenly looked like a dejected puppy that Lu Han did not have the heart to make the boy frown. “I’m just kidding. But yeah, I am talkative so you have to get used to it if you want me to help you look for your girlfriend.”

“Yes, hyung.” Sehun stood up and saluted the older boy, earning a laugh from him. It was then that Sehun realized he liked Lu Han’s laugh. I could get along well with this guy.

“So, as I was saying… Let’s look for your girlfriend. Do you, at least, have any idea where she’ll be? Or what college she is at?” Lu Han started, pulling out a notebook to write down notes.

“All I know is that she frequents this café near the university. I forgot the name, though.” Sehun’s eyes narrowed as he tried to remember the name.

“Well, there’s a lot of coffee shops here. There’s Paradiso Coffee, which sells the be---” Lu Han was cut off when Sehun literally jumped out of his seat. “Yes, that’s it! Paradiso Coffee!” Sehun calmed down and sat back on the bench when he saw Lu Han’s startled eyes. “If I’m not mistaken, she likes going to Paradiso Coffee.”

When Lu Han’s heart stabled, he smiled, “Well, I guess things are going quite well. I’m meeting my girlfriend there so we could go now to check if your girlfriend is there.”

“Great.” Sehun said and the two were off to Lu Han’s car.

----------

“So, how’d you meet your girlfriend?” Lu Han started, trying to make conversation and making things less awkward between them inside the car.

“She’s my sunbae in high school and I was in dance club where her best friend was our club president. She introduced us to each other and things just clicked. Except with bubble tea. She just hates bubble tea that she even threatened to leave me when I ask her out for a bubble tea date.” Sehun laughed as he recalled the memory of the first time he discovered her girlfriend’s hate for bubble tea.

“What? That was so mean. Bubble tea is so delicious. I don’t get why she doesn’t like it. I could live just drinking bubble tea!” Lu Han commented.

“You like bubble tea? I like bubble tea as well! I’d choose bubble tea over my girlfriend.” Sehun said out of excitement and when he realized what he said, he gasped. “Please don’t tell that to my girlfriend when you meet her.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t say a thing.” Lu Han smiled reassuringly.

“So, how did you meet your girlfriend?” It was now Sehun’s time to ask.

“Well…” Lu Han tried not to smile too much and focused on the road in front of him. “I first met her at the university library a few months ago. She looked really lost and she kept avoiding any physical contact with the other students. I wouldn’t have noticed her if she didn’t make a scene at the library, knocking down a few books on her way towards the entrance. Since I was close to her, I had to help her out of courtesy. She simply said ‘thank you’ and left me alone but then, she forgot her bag so an hour after that…”

“My bag… Have you seen red bag, big? Like this.” Lu Han looked up from his book when he heard a familiar voice. He scanned the place for the girl she saw a while ago.

“Excuse me. Bag, red, big. You see it?” Lu Han turned around from his seat to see the same girl from before, talking to the librarian and flailing her hands around.

She’s cute. Lu Han thought. He observed the girl a little more as she continued to ask for her bag. She was of average height, with medium-length hair that framed her snow-white face and big, doe-like eyes that were watery probably from the anxiety of losing her bag… Her bag.

“Her bag!” Lu Han unconsciously shouted and he felt his cheeks burning as he noticed most of the students looked at him disapprovingly.

“My bag!” Another shout was heard and this time it was not Lu Han. Lu Han looked towards the source of the voice and he saw the girl running towards his table.

“That’s my bag.” She breathed out as she pointed at the bag on the table.

“Oh, this. You forgot this on your way out. I was going to give this to the librarian on my way---” Lu Han stopped talking as the girl tilted her head, looking like she didn’t understand a thing he just said. “Here.”

“Thank you.” The girl bowed her head before flashing a warm smile towards Lu Han who noticed the weird accent in her speaking.

“You’re welcome.” He smiled back. “Are you, perhaps, a Korean?”

“Korean? Me?” The girl pointed her finger at herself and Lu Han nodded. “Yes, I’m Korean. How’d you know?”

“Just a wild guess. I noticed your accent while speaking. I’m Lu Han, by the way.” He stood up and offered a hand to the girl.

“Hyeri. Bang Hyeri. I’m sorry but… I’m not good in speaking Chinese yet so…” Hyeri trailed off as she thought of how to translate words in Chinese.

“걱정마세요. 나 한국어를 알아요. 나 한테 한국어로 편하게 얘기하세요. (Don’t worry. I understand Korean. You can talk to me comfortably in Korean.)” As soon as the words left Lu Han’s mouth, Hyeri had hanging open in an inelegant way that Lu Han nonetheless found cute. When Hyeri finally regained herself, she spoke and this time, in Korean, “Are you Korean as well? Because you look like a Chinese to me.”

“No.” He flashed a smile before continuing. “I’m a Korean language major. That’s why I can speak and understand Korean.”

“Wow. That is so cool.” She exclaimed and gave him a thumbs up. “Uhh… Can you help me with my Chinese, then?”

Lu Han blinked at the girl’s request. They haven’t even known each other for half a day and here she was asking him to teach her. He didn’t decline though and found that teaching her would be a good opportunity to practice Korean while helping out a fellow student.

Never did Lu Han though that he would be ending up loving the girl and her loving him back.

“Wow, you must really love her. I can see the colorful aura around you right now.” Sehun mumbled and nodded to himself as he observed Lu Han’s face glowing.

“W-What?” Lu Han looked at him but as soon as his eyes met Sehun’s scrutizing ones, he decided it was best to just focus on the road ahead of them.

“Nothing. I just said you look so in love with your girlfriend. She must be lucky to have you.” Sehun smiled though Lu Han didn’t see.

“I’m sure your girlfriend is lucky to have you, too.” Lu Han turned and flashed a smile to Sehun, who blinked and blinked and blinked. Wow. He has such a pretty smile… Wait, did I just say pretty? I meant to say n---

“Oh, we’re here. Come on.” Lu Han got off the car. Sehun followed and walked towards him.

“You ready? Don’t get your hopes up, though. She might not be here right now. But I guess my girlfriend could help us find her.” Lu Han rested a hand on Sehun’s shoulders and started to lead him inside the café.

“Oh, wait. I forgot something in the car. Wait for me inside.”

Sehun simply nodded and walked to the café. He took in the environment. The place looked cozy, the aroma of coffee filling his nostrils the moment he took a step inside. It was spacious, the tables and chairs neatly placed to the side. The walls were decorated with earthy colors but the contrasting colorful decorations around the café gave a hint of life to the place. He smiled, this was exactly the type of café his girlfriend would frequent.

Remembering his purpose here, he looked around to look for a familiar face. For a face he had embedded in his heart after hours and hours of simply staring at their photo together. He looked to the left but no sign of those pretty locks of hair he longed to touch. He looked to the right but there was no dazzling smile that could’ve melted his heart. Finally, he looked in front of him where there was a long line of customers. He sighed as he still found no Hyeri that he could call out to and hug from behind. He almost gave up looking until he heard a laugh. A laugh he couldn’t miss even in a crowded marketplace. Hyeri.  Hyeri. Hyeri. His head snapped to the source of laughter and he almost melted into a puddle of goo as he finally saw his sun, his source of happiness, just a few feet away from him. He didn’t know what to do. Should I just hug her from behind and surprise her? Or should I call out and casually wave? Or maybe… He scratched his head in frustration just in time for Lu Han to come inside.

“Sehun, what are you doing here? Why didn’t you take a seat? Or gr--- Hyeri!!!”

Hyeri? Sehun thought as he saw Lu Han waving frantically at someone. He followed Lu Han’s gaze and there she was, Hyeri smiling and hopping towards them.

“Lu Han! I thought you’d never come. I missed you.” Sehun’s eyes widened as he took in what was happening in front of him. Hyeri wrapping her arms around Lu Han’s neck and Lu Han around her waist. The boy giving a quick peck on the lips to the girl. Everything suddenly clicked in Sehun’s head. The girlfriend Lu Han had been talking about was none other than his own girlfriend, Hyeri!

“Sorry, something happened so I’m kinda late. Oh, by the way…” Lu Han looked to his side and Hyeri followed his line of vision. Sehun froze as his widened eyes met with Hyeri’s own. “This is---”

“Sehun.” Hyeri’s voice was almost inaudible but both had heard her sound and clear.

“Wait, you two know each other?” Lu Han’s hold on his girlfriend slackened as he looked back and forth at the two. He blinked once, twice, and things started to click in his head. “Wait, are you Sehun’s girlfriend?”

Hyeri’s body tensed at the question and looked back hesitantly at Lu Han before returning her gaze to Sehun. Her lips were shaking as she answered, “No.”

With that, Sehun stormed off the place, leaving Lu Han and Hyeri dumbstruck.

Lu Han got Hyeri off of him and looked straight at her, waiting for her to do the same. When Hyeri finally looked back, she shivered at the intense glare Lu Han was giving him. It was the first time she has saw his eyes like that and she didn’t like it one bit.

“If you are not his girlfriend, then why do you know him?” Lu Han’s voice was deeper than usual and his eyes were almost shooting out lasers.

“I-I’m not. He’s just a hoobae of mine… Uh, from high school.” Hyeri shook as she answered.

“Really? Then if he’s just a hoobae, then why did he looked so hurt and ran away when you denied that you were his girlfriend?” Lu Han took a step forward and Hyeri hesitantly took one backwards.

“Uhh…” Lu Han continued walking towards her with hateful eyes that Hyeri had to push Lu Han slightly to stop him. “Please, please. I can explain, Lu Han. Just give me space to breathe.”

Lu Han did just that and violently pulled out a seat at the empty table near them. Hyeri followed and cautiously sat in front of him. She played with her fingers, avoiding Lu Han’s eyes, as she spoke, “Look, Lu Han. Sehun’s really not my boyfriend. He was my boyfriend but I’ve been meaning to break up with him the moment I met you.”

“But you didn’t.” Hyeri’s head snapped up but lowered again as she could not stand the intimidating stare from the boy in front of her.

“I-I couldn’t. But we haven’t talked for months and I assumed we were already over.” Hyeri lied, remembering the last time she talked to Sehun just days ago. “I didn’t---”

“You didn’t expect to find him suddenly appearing here in China, looking everywhere for you. You don’t know how lost he looked like when I found him at school today.” Lu Han was trying to remain calm as spoke but his voice still came out rough and angry.

“Lu Han, don’t worry about him. I’ll send him back home and break up with him. He’s just a kid.”

“Yeah, he’s just a kid whose heart just broke because of you… Because of me! Oh my god! I’m the third wheel in this relationship, aren’t I?” Lu Han stood up from his seat as he realized that indeed, he had just gotten into a relationship with someone who already had someone waiting for her back at home. He wanted to scream out his anger at Hyeri for making him look like a fool but at the back of his mind, he imagined Sehun running around the city, crying and looking lost. He couldn’t help but feel a pang in his heart as he saw Sehun’s tears in his mind.

“You know what? I really wished you didn’t hurt Sehun like that. The poor boy loved you but you just took advantage of that love. You broke the boy’s heart into tiny little pieces that would be hard to fix. I never thought you’d be such someone so selfish.” Lu Han turned to leave but couldn’t help speaking some more. “Oh, I’m off to find Sehun. Don’t expect I’ll be back for you here. We’re over.”

Hyeri hastily stood up and caught Lu Han’s arms. “Lu Han, don’t leave me. I need you… I love you.”

“You don’t love me. You don’t love Sehun. You liked the idea of being in love but you don’t know what love is. If you knew, you would’ve been faithful to Sehun or chose to let him go before being with me.”

With that, Lu Han removed Hyeri’s hand from his arm and walked out, leaving a crying Hyeri alone in the café to deal with all the judging looks focused on her.

As soon as he got out of the café, Lu Han ran around to possible places Sehun would go to. The nearby mall and the park. Realizing it would be easier for him to look with his car, he went back to get it and drove around the city. He looked left and right, searching for the poor boy but to no luck.

He passed by the park he first went to, thinking this would probably the safest place Sehun would stay at. He got off his car and walked around, wishing Sehun would come here.

Luckily, Lu Han finally did see Sehun. Though he felt sad for the boy, he couldn’t help but chuckle at the lost expression on his face again. Sehun was probably roaming around the city, forgetting he was in China and not in Korea, and then realized he was lost. Lu Han slowly walked towards the lost-looking boy and soon, Sehun noticed his presence. As he looked to see who was walking near him, Sehun looked angrily, realizing who it was.

“Don’t come near me.”

Lu Han stopped walking and put his arms up. “Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you. I just want to talk to you.”

“What do you want to talk about? Are you going to laugh at me because my girlfriend denied me as her boyfriend? Or are you going to laugh at me because my gir---”

Sehun’s words caught in his throat as Lu Han plunged into him, hugging him tight. “Sehun, I’m only here to comfort you. To be a friend.”

“But... but why? We’re rivals. Hyeri’s your girlfriend and she is mine, too.” Sehun choked on his words as he tried to stop the tears from flowing once again. He had been crying when he left the café but it stopped as he realized he was lost. But now, Lu Han was hugging him and his hug felt so warm that he wanted to hug back and cry his heart out again.

“She’s not our girlfriend anymore, Sehun.”

“She’s not?” Sehun shifted to look Lu Han. Sehun’s eyes, Lu Han thought, were full of innocence and he couldn’t believe how Hyeri could hurt such an innocent boy like him.

“No, she’s not. I broke up with her, for you and for me.” Lu Han released Sehun from his embrace and patted the boy. He couldn’t understand why but he didn’t feel that hurt as he said that.

“But I thought you love her. And she loves you. Why didn’t you just stay with her?”

Lu Han walked over to a bench and sat. “Yes, I thought I love her. But maybe the feelings weren’t that deep yet. And I couldn’t stay with her, knowing you were alone and in pain.”

“But why? We are not even close yet you chose to follow me.” Sehun couldn’t really understand why Lu Han was being so kind to him. He couldn’t see what the point was in comforting his girlfriend’s other boyfriend.

“Why do you have so many questions?” Lu Han tried to lighten the mood and chuckled. “I don’t know why but I just wanted to come to you and comfort you. Is that reasonable enough?” Sehun shook his head.

“Look, I honestly don’t know why I’m here, trying to make you feel better. But I just don’t like the fact that you are hurt because of someone like Hyeri. I didn’t like that she could hurt such a sweet boy like you. And I feel so guilty causing your heartbreak.”

“Excuse me, I am not a boy. I am a growing man.” Sehun snapped at Lu Han. But Lu Han just chuckled and ruffled his hair. “I don’t know, but you look like a kid to me. I want you to be my didi.”

“I cannot be your didi. You just stole my girlfriend.” Sehun half-joked but the atmosphere around the two became heavy. There was an awkward silence that followed. Lu Han couldn’t take it so he sighed and spoke, “Listen, Sehun. I really am sorry about what happened with Hyeri. I honestly didn’t know she was in a relationship. If I knew, I wouldn’t have even started anything with her. I promise. I hope you believe me.”

“I believe you, hyung. And I guess, I’m not that surprised she was already over me. She’s been avoiding going back to Korea for the past few months so I had a good guess that she didn’t really want to see me. I just ignored my assumptions and avoided facing reality.” Sehun felt a heavy weight got lifted off his chest as he admitted his feelings.

Lu Han rested his hand on Sehun’s shoulder and sighed. “Sehun, I know you must still be feeling hurt after what happened. But I just want you to know that I am here for you. I told you, I want you to be my didi. I mean that.”

Sehun smiled a little, feeling rather happy that Lu Han was actually really a nice person. He thought that this might be the reason why Hyeri fell for Lu Han in the first place. He was so considerate of others and his words gave out a feeling of reassurance.

“Hyung, thank you.”

Sehun leaned, hugging Lu Han suddenly. Though surprised by the boy’s action, Lu Han hugged back and smiled.

Both didn’t realize that their hug had continued for a few more minutes than necessary. Both didn’t want to let go as the warmth of their bodies seeped into the each other’s skin, the feeling making them both comfortable in each other’s arms. They had no idea that their hearts were already fluttering as their breaths graze each other’s neck. What they do know is that this was only the start of their relationship. That relationship, though, they don’t know where it will end.

A/N: Oh my gosh... This chapter is obviously months delayed. Very sorry about that. Didn't know that school work would be too much to handle now. >.<

I hope there are still a few people who have been waiting for this and will read this. Though I admit this is not as good as I expected. I'm not used to writing again so sorry for this being crappy. >.<

Anyways, double update. Will just re-read the last chapter (more like an epilogue, actually) then post it. :D