"I'd try a little harder if I were you."

Sehun frowned at him through the laptop screen. They had been webcaming for the past half hour; Lay was packing up for their trip to Changsa the next morning while Sehun chatted to him about life back in Korea. The subject, however, had changed to his fight with Luhan that everyone had somehow heard about.

"What do you mean?" Lay asked as he threw a bundle of socks in his overflowing suitcase. "I already told him I was sorry."

"But were you actually sorry?"

"Well..." He had apologized dozens of times to be sure, but he had to admit they were half-serious attempts. He hadn't thought it was that big of a deal, at least not until Luhan had stormed away.

"I thought so," Sehun sighed. "Okay, listen up. I'm going to tell you exactly what you have to do to win over Luhan-hyung."

Lay nodded eagerly. He had never seen Luhan angry at the maknae of the family, so the kid must have figured out the secret to dealing with Luhan's childishness. "Thanks. I owe you one."

"Of course you do. Who said I was doing this for free?" Sehun grinned. "Alright. The first step is..."

*****

It was time to bust out his emergency escape kit.

Lay rummaged through his suitcase for the long black wig he kept hidden in a side pocket. The thing was itchy as hell, but looked real enough when he covered it with a baseball cap. After pulling on baggy sweater to hide his non-existent chest, he quickly scribbled "Cover for me" on the hotel-provided notepad, praying that Chen would find it before Manager Kyun.

Taking a deep breath, he set off, Wonder Girls' Nobody blasting through his earphones. The song reminded him of the god-awful videos from his embarassing past, but no other tune could put him in his diva mode and tonight, he had better behave as fabulously as Key if he had any hope of getting past the eagle-eyed fan girls.

Lay took the elevator down to the atrium and with his head held high, he strolled as casually as he could through the revolving doors.

"It's him!"

He froze in his tracks. He looked left, then right, searching desperately for an escape route. The teenage girls swarmed towards him and...

Rushed right past him. They pressed their faces against the glass window, pointing excitedly at the figure of Manager Kyun conversing with a receptionist at the front desk. Probably chatting her up, judging by his freshly ironed shirt and suave gestures. Lay let out a small sigh of relief and hurried away before his pounding heart could explode.

The streets were crowded despite the late hour, lit with flashing signs whose light drowned out the night sky. It felt amazing, being anonymous, free to do whatever he wanted without worrying about embarassing paparazzi photos surfacing on the Internet. He wished he could wander around, take in the wonderful sights and smells at his own pace, but he had to return before Manager Kyun made his rounds (the guy had a one-in-ten chance of asking the receptionist out, and Lay was not going to risk the ty odds). He stopped by a handful of snack booths and hurriedly stuffed his purchases in his bag.

"Hey there, gorgeous."

Lay flinched as he felt an arm snake around his shoulder. The speaker was a pimply, mohawked teen who reaked of alcohol. He wriggled away but was pushed back towards Mohawk by one of his lackeys. They surrounded him, nasty smiles spreading across their faces. He must have looked like an easy target, a lone, skinny girl with nothing to defend herself but a bagful of pancakes.

Too bad he wasn't a girl.

"Hah!" He spun and landed a kick in Mohawk's groin, just like how Tao had taught him. As a fellow man, he knew exactly how much it hurt, but there was no time for sympathy. He dodged under an arm and bolted. With a hand pressed over his head to keep his wig in position, he made his way through the crowded streets and ran straight back to the hotel.

"Luhan," he panted when he arrived on the right floor. "Open up."

The door swung open. "Lay? Is that you?" His friend stared at him with bewildered eyes. Oops. He had forgotten he was still undercover.

"Here." Panting from the exertion, he pulled off his wig and held out the plastic bag crammed with Luhan's favorite foods. "I know I'm a sorry excuse of a friend, but please accept my sincerest apologies for not wishing you a happy birthday. Forgive me?"

He looked up at Luhan, whose face still bore traces of annoyance. Time to lay it on thick.

"Pretty please with chocolate sauce on top?"

Luhan narrowed his eyes. "You completely ignored me and spent the whole night watching some stupid video. What kind of birthday wish is that?" Marathoning a month's worth of Running Man had seemed like a good idea at the time, but he had obviously neglected something much more important than Yoo Jaesuk in a green suit.

"I know, I know! I'm a horrible person and I'm really, really sorry." He rummaged through the bag and pulled out the cup of bubble tea he had begged the café owner to whip up, despite it being closing time. "It's mango flavoured. Your favourite."

"How thoughtful of you."

Lay ignored the sarcasm in his voice and continued. "I snuck out after curfew, dressed up as a girl and even fought off a bunch of thugs hitting on me. All for you."

With a dramatic sigh, Luhan took the drink. "Fine, I guess you're forgiven." His eyes took in Lay's dishevelled appearance. "I suppose you've suffered enough."

"Knew you couldn't stay mad at me for long," Lay grinned, more relieved than he was willing to let on. He flung his arm around his newly reinstated best friend. "I'm simply too lovable."

Luhan let out a snort, but couldn't quite hide his smile.

The Good Life

| Posted on Apr 23, 2012  | 11:52 pm |

I've realized there's two things I should be thankful for. Firstly, it's friends that can never stay angry at me. Well, not for long anyway. It helps that the secret to their forgiveness is plenty of food and a bit of grovelling (according SH,who is an expert in this field). Secondly, it's the fact that I'm a guy. This is by no means a ist statement, but simply an observation that girls definitely have it rough. Running away while being repeatedly whipped in the face by my own hair is not something I ever want to experience again. Well, not for a cup of bubble tea anyway. 

Tags: lifesgood

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