Word count: approx. 7,400 words.

Waking up in the morning was painful. Very painful.

And what didn’t go well with the pain was someone bashing relentlessly  against his front door at 7 o’clock in the morning.

Minseok rolled over with a moan. “Alright! “I’m coming!” he screamed, lifting his weary head with half-open eyes off the pillow and immediately regretting that decision. But the banging didn’t cease. 

He sighed. This was not what he signed up for.

Shoving his feet into fluffy bear-claw slippers, he slumped his way into the living room and across to the vibrating door. He didn’t have to look in the mirror that he passed to know that he looked dreadful; he was still wearing the clothes from the night before since he’d fallen into bed fully dressed, and he could feel his hair was sticking up at all angles. His mouth was so dry his fluffy, alcohol-tainted tongue kept sticking to the roof of it. He needed water, badly – but not before he beheaded the idiot who decided to wake him up so damn early.

“Shut it! Do you have a death wish or something?” He pounded his hand on the door in retaliation and then opened it wide in a huff.

It was Chanyeol.

“Oh. What are you doing here?” Minseok definitely didn’t expect Chanyeol to be stood outside in the hallway, laptop held out in his arms and an expression on his face that was stuck between wonder, confusion and panic. As soon as the door opened, he ran past and headed straight for the table, plugging his computer into the wall. “And how did you get inside the building?”

“Not important, hyung. Not important.” He quickly typed in his password and jumped up and down in his seat for a while as the screen loaded.

“Then do you wanna tell me what is important enough to wake me up for at 7AM when I feel like death?”

Chanyeol didn’t reply, he just clicked away frantically. After a few seconds, his eyes flew wide with an aha! and he swivelled his laptop around so Minseok could see.

He in a dramatic breath. “Did you, or did you not, go clubbing with Lu Han last night?”

Minseok leaned close to the screen. “What the-”

“Yup, and there are plenty more where these came from.”

Minseok’s jaw dropped. His face was all over the internet – pictures of him looking less-than-glamorous from the night before with the photogenic glow that was Lu Han close beside him in every photo. There were hundreds of them; him and Lu Han exciting the car, him and Lu Han holding hands, him looking awkward outside Enigma’s entrance while Lu Han batted his long eyelashes at a bouncer, even ones of him and Lu Han inside the club – these made Minseok cringe the most. Did he really look that ridiculous on the dance floor?

“These are from Lu Han’s fansites, Facebook pages, Twitter – you name it. You’re everywhere, hyung!” Chanyeol continued. “And I can’t believe,” he started thumping Minseok in the arm, “that you went without me!”

“Ow! Enough with the hitting already!” He pulled his limbs hastily away in defence but refused to venture too far from the computer. “To be honest, I have no clue what happened last night. He was meant to come to the office but we ended up…well…”

“Going to Enigma, the hottest club in the city? Dammit, hyung, you’re so lucky! I would kill to get in that place!” He looked as though he was going to lash out again but he restrained himself, sticking out his bottom lip like a child denied his favourite treat.

Minseok continued scrolling down the page. He kept expecting it to end but a whole new wave of pictures would load with creative watermarks strewn across them. “How did these fans even take so many? I don’t remember seeing them at all. And why take so many of me? I’m not famous!”

“You’re Lu Han’s new toy! Everyone’s trying to work out who you are. There’s already tonnes of theories but-”

“Wait, theories? What kind of theories?” Minseok couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. Were random people throughout the country, or even the continent, talking about…him?

“Theories about who you could be – an SM trainee, a friend from the industry, his new boyfriend…” Chanyeol ticked them off of his long fingers.

Minseok’s heart skipped at boyfriend. “But…I’m just a writer for a student music magazine. I’m nobody.” He realised as he said this that he really believed it.

“Nobodies don’t go clubbing with famous pop stars. Generally speaking.” Chanyeol suddenly perked up excitedly. “Oh! Hyung, you’re still coming to the gig tonight, right? To watch me and the guys play? You should bring Lu Han! He’d love it! Well, I don’t know for sure but I’m pretty sure! Oh my God, what if he liked us? What if he told SME about us after he heard us play? Huh?”

Minseok rubbed at his temples, sorely attempting to massage his pounding headache away but to no avail. “Yeollie, calm down, you know SM don’t sign bands-”

“Yeah, but what if, hyung? What if?” Chanyeol had leapt forward across the table and grabbed a hold of his arm, tugging eagerly.

“Okay, no more sugar for you in the mornings…” said Minseok, trying to pry the excitable fanboy’s grip from his skin.

“But it could totally happen! Even if not with SME, I bet he knows tonnes of people in the industry, right?” He swung round the table to kneel down by Minseok’s side and pressed his hands together. “Please, please, bring him to the gig tonight, I beg you.”

“I don’t even know when I’m going to see him next! I can’t promise anything.” But Chanyeol pulled out the aegyo card and flickered his shiny, puppy eyes. Minseok let out a long groan. “Alright, fine, I’ll try. You’re lucky the guy still owes me an interview!”

“Ahh, you’re such star!” Chanyeol seized Minseok and engulfed him with a hug. “I still can’t believe I’m friends with a friend of a celebrity, this is too awesome. I have to call Baekhyun right now, he is going to flip when he hears this.”

As Chanyeol started desperately attacking his phone, Minseok’s gaze flickered back to the fan-taken photos and the memories of the night before began flooding back, one by one; the blurry car journey, the surly bouncer, the sensation of his ribs vibrating with the music, the sour shots that stung at his throat, the dancing like a complete fool, and finally the feeling of Lu Han’s soft skin pressed against his palm. His hand tingled in his lap.

Can the heart truly miss someone after just one night?   

*

It turned out that bumping into Lu Han was a lot easier than Minseok originally expected.

Once he’d managed to get Chanyeol and his computer out the door, with the typical ritual of much pushing and shoving, he jumped into the shower to cleanse his aching skin. He relished the warm water that ran down his body and soothed his skull, breathing in the gentle, steamy air deep into his lungs. The hangover still left him a little shaky and delicate, but he finally felt somewhat human again and prepared for the day. Thankfully it was the weekend so he didn’t have to worry about any lectures, however the magazine was never going to write itself. To counter his crazy whirlwind of a night, he genuinely planned on spending his Saturday being productive.

But he had this feeling, deep down in his queasy stomach, that his post-Lu Han life wasn’t quite going to let him do that.

Wrapped in a light jacket and slipping on a beanie to control his flyaway hair, Minseok headed out into the brisk March morning craving a double shot and something substantial. Nothing particularly different from his usual routine – the same streets in the same city with the same backpack he’s had since his school days – until he bypassed a cluster of teenage girls by the university’s entrance. He couldn’t help but notice that they stopped talking as he walked past and proceeded to watch him with intense interest, mouths falling open in silent shock. He waited a good while before turning back, brows knitted in confusion, and now saw them chattering excitedly in a huddle with one pointing in his direction while the others tapped at their iPhone screens.

That was definitely not part of his usual routine.

The strangest thing was, it wasn’t an isolated case. He swore he was imagining things, but people were genuinely seeming to take a lot more notice of him as he ambled across the campus; some students actually froze mid-stride to get a better look and one woman, the 4^th floor librarian of all people, stopped half-way down the path to slide her glasses down her nose and stare at him intently over the volumes balanced in her arms. In the end, it was all too much for Minseok who took to striding longer and faster with his head down and praying he didn’t crash into anything on his way to the Humanities department. The swinging glass doors at the front of the building were a heavenly sight when he arrived.  

Inside the ground floor elevator, he frantically pushed the button for the 8^th floor until the doors closed, finally shutting himself away from the prying eyes of complete strangers. Is this what spending a few precious hours with a celebrity does to a person? Suddenly being Lu Han’s acquaintance made him something of a star in his own right, despite how little sense that made. He didn’t know quite what to make of it.

As usual, the top floor was deserted. Home to Jjang! HQ, a couple of study areas and the Literature department’s administrators, the top floor never seemed to see much action and, for once, Minseok was grateful. He fished for the office keys in his pockets and almost made 10m of normality until he looked up.

Lu Han was leaning on the wall, waiting patiently, outside the office door.

He couldn’t help but do a double-take and wonder if the last two days were nothing but the result of a good trip. Reality might as well have been a distant memory from once upon that time and it lifted his delicate spirits considerably.

Snapping back to his senses, what Minseok wanted to say as he approached the Hallyu star was something quick, witty and preferably memorable. Instead, his logical brain pieced together:

“Why are you wearing sunglasses indoors?”

He mentally kicked himself as the words fell off his tongue, but he did think he had a point.

Lu Han turned his Ray-ban-crowed face towards him and, presumably, looked straight at him. “Because I feel as bad as you look right now,” he replied with a half-smile tugging at his lips.

Minseok let out a laugh. “Charming.” Unlocking the door and trying to mask his shaking fingers, he asked, “What are you doing here anyway? Nobody usually comes up here, except the magazine crew.” And even then, it’s a struggle, he thought.

Lu Han readjusted his trilby and then perched himself on the corner of Chanyeol’s desk, dangling his long legs like a child. “You promised me a tour of the campus, little bun. I’m here to collect my debt.”

“I did? When did I promise that?”

“Last night – at the club?” Lu Han peered at him over his shades. “You don’t remember?”

“Honestly?” Minseok seated himself at his desk, laptop whirring and at the ready. “I don’t really remember much from last night at all. It’s all just a very…colourful blur.”

Lu Han snickered. “A sign of a good night!” He pushed himself off the table and started meandering about the room, curiously picking up random objects and putting them down again. “So, you ready for this tour then, Baozi?”

Ah, of course he would remember that nickname. “What, right now?”

“Why not? I’m here, you’re here…”

Minseok glanced nervously at his laptop screen for a few seconds and then shut the lid down. He could always be productive another time…right?

He gulped as his stomach did a somersault. This was really happening. “Sure, okay. If you want. Where do you want to go? Anywhere in particular?”

“Anywhere and everywhere.” He turned and flashed a smile that glowed despite half his face being hidden by hair and accessories. Minseok quietly wondered if he wore eyeliner even during the day.

“Umm, okay…how about we hit the library first?”

Lu Han swung his arm towards the door. “Lead the way!”

The outside world was surely going to have a field day with this.

*

Just as he’d predicted, wandering through the campus with Lu Han earned them more than a little interest from the student body, yet Lu Han continued to smile innocently as though completely oblivious – either that or he was immune to the attention by this point. Minseok wasn’t so insusceptible, however, and couldn’t help but feel more than a little self-conscious as small crowds formed at the path edges to gossip in hushed voices. No doubt he would be all over the internet once again by the end of the day and Chanyeol would have a fit.

He allowed himself to steal a glance at Lu Han walking at his side. The sun had broken out between the patchy clouds and sprinkled light across his waistcoat and white-washed Levi’s making him look more like a magazine scan that your average university student. Nobody would have guessed that he’d been out partying the night before with him looking so immaculate, unlike Minseok who deemed himself pasty and worn-out in comparison. His mind wandered to the hazy memory of wiping smudged eyeliner from Lu Han’s dewy skin and he jumped slightly as the star’s arm brushed against the hairs his own. He felt Lu Han’s gaze on him then and heard a throaty chuckle but Minseok kept his head down and tried his hardest not to blush.

Once again, the large, square building in the middle of campus was heaving and a dozen or so freshman insisted on holding up the process of getting inside. Thankfully the crowd parted as they approached, staring after them eagerly. One girl, when she noticed Lu Han stood next to her for a second, managed to squeal “Oppa!” and run away in shock, disappearing into the masses.

“Okay, so this is the library,” said Minseok when they finally managed to find some space, gesturing around him. “Ground floor is science and engineering, I think the first floor is social sciences and I don’t know about the rest. Except the fourth floor; that’s the music section. There’s a computer room over there,” he pointed behind them, “and you see those machines on the wall? They’re for topping up your student card so you can print stuff off. You can use the scanners by the entrance to check books out or return them. There’s a café on this floor, too, in that far corner. In fact,” he awkwardly plucked at the belt loops of his jeans. “Do you want to get some coffee or something? I feel like I’m gonna pass out at any second.”

“Hangover getting you down?” Lu Han teased, poking Minseok in the ribs so he squirmed and linking their little fingers. “Now you mention it, I could do with a little pick-me-up,” and he then proceeded to pull him along as he strode across the floor, snaking their way through the book-laden bodies.

Two lattes in hand, they managed to find a table by the window in the midst of sophisticated mature students who didn’t batter an eyelid with their appearance. Minseok was grateful; the constant squeaks and gasps from teenage girls was starting to grate on him a little and he hadn’t even had to deal with it for that long.

As they sat down, Lu Han reached into his inside pocket and pulled out something silver and shiny. It took Minseok a few seconds before he realised it was a hipflask of all things and his mouth fell open as Lu Han began pouring the contents into his hot drink.

“What are you doing?”

“Making it Irish,” Lu Han smirked. “I wasn’t lying when I said I needed a little pick-me-up. You want some?”

Minseok threw his hand over his own cup to shield it. “It’s barely 10 in the morning!”

“So?” He waved the flask in front of Minseok’s face. “It’ll make you feel better…”

Minseok shook his head and pulled his drink closer. “I’m good, thanks.” Though the temptation to delay his hangover was hard to ignore but he stayed strong. Caffeine was bound to destroy him badly enough in the long run without throwing more alcohol into the mix.

“Suit yourself, little bun.” He slurped from his cup with a satisfied mmm and leant back casually in his chair. “What’s the plan for tonight?”

Minseok nearly choked on his latte. “Tonight? You want to do something tonight?” he spluttered.

“Sure. I mean, we had fun last night, right? We should do something again. Together.”

“Don’t you have a…schedule or something to worry about?” Translated: Don’t you have cooler/richer/more famous friends to spend your quality time with?

“Baozi, you worry too much. My schedule can handle itself.” Lu Han leaned in across the table, so close that Minseok could see himself reflected in the dark lenses of his shades. It was slightly unnerving not being able to see where his eyes were looking. “So what’s the plan?”

Chanyeol’s rumbling voice rang through his head: You’re Lu Han’s new toy.

Lu Han’s new toy.

“Actually, I was planning on going to this gig tonight – a friend of mine is a drummer for the band playing. They’re actually really good. Do you…want to come along?”

“Is there a bar?” When Minseok shot him a hard look, his serious facade melted into a mischievous grin. “I’m kidding. Wow, you should have seen your face, Baozi. Priceless!” He tapped Minseok’s leg playfully with his foot under the table and wiggled his eyebrows. “But it sounds fun, let’s do it!”

*

Luckily for Lu Han, the venue itself was a bar, but nothing like what Minseok imagined he was used to. Stripes was more of a backstreet student hangout with a British pub feel; wooden furniture, shabby-chic sofas, a couple of pool tables, a projector for football games and the low ceiling all added to the cosy, chilled out atmosphere. It had become part of Minseok and Jongdae’s monthly routine to spend the first Saturday night of each month cheering for Chanyeol and his indie band, Urban Blackout, in their regular performance slot on the raised stage to one side. In the 2 years that they had been performing there, and in increasingly more venues around Seoul, they had developed something of a following and even a gaggle of female admirers would appear for every show, cheering and shouting for the attention of their favourite member. That particular Saturday was no different from any other.

Except for the fact that an even brighter star was destined to be part of the audience.

At 8PM on the dot, Minseok and Jongdae met, like clockwork, outside the university’s entrance and walked together down the stretch of road that eventually lead to Stripes at the bottom. As part of this sacred ritual, they would each start drinking a cold beer they’d brought along at the start and promise to finish it by the time they got there or else suffer dire one-shot consequences.  A perfect way to get a night on the go.

“Let me get this straight,” started Jongdae, taking a swing of his bottle. “You got Lu Han to come to tonight’s gig? How did that happen?”

Minseok let out a laugh. “No idea. Do you want to hear the strangest thing? He was the one who practically suggested it. I was going to ask anyway, for Chanyeol’s sake. The kid was at my place this morning begging for it to happen.” He sighed. “It’s been a surreal couple of days, let me tell you.”

“I know. I saw it on my news feed.” He cackled loudly as Minseok groaned and he pulled him into a one-armed grasp. “Sorry, hyung, it had to be said! You’re a celebrity now!”

Minseok wriggled out of Jongdae’s mocking grip. “I’m not a celebrity…” he mumbled.

“Sure you’re not, hyung. Sure you’re not.” Jongdae shot him a sly side-look. “So is he meeting us there or…?”

Minseok nodded. “Yeah, I text him the address and told him we’d be there after 8. I think he’s going to wait outside.”

“You text him? You guys are on texting terms now? Wow.”

“You were the one who gave him my number to begin with. He rang me first, remember? His number was already on my call list.”

“Uh huh,” humoured Jongdae. He drained his drink and then clinked it on the bottom of Minseok’s bottle. “C’mon, drink up. We’ll be there in any second. One-shot!”

Minseok rolled his eyes. “My God, you’re as bad as Lu Han.” But he obliged, nonetheless; lifting his drink into the air and gulping down every last drop. As he brought the bottle back down, his gaze caught the lit-up Stripes sign and the outline of a trilby-topped slender someone stepping out of a black Mercedes. His heart suddenly grew heavier and his chest tighter.

Lu Han looked up as they approached and waved, completely ignoring the pack of females that checked him out curiously as they sauntered past.

Once again, Minseok’s tongue got the better of him. “Why are you wearing sunglasses at night?”

Jongdae tutted loudly next to him. “Hi, I’m Jongdae,” he said with a low bow. “From Jjang! magazine?”

“Yeah, from the phone call, right? Last week? Nice to meet you. Lu Han.” He bowed back and turned to Minseok. “I’m trying to be inconspicuous.”

“Wearing shades at night isn’t inconspicuous in the slightest,” Minseok explained as kindly as he could. “Nobody in here is going to care that you’re in there, trust me. It’s not that kind of crowd.”

Lu Han huffed and reluctantly removed his sunglasses. Minseok expected to see another gaudy sight of dark make-up and whatever else but he found himself surprisingly speechless. Lu Han’s face was completely void of any eyeliner or glitter and, instead, stood clean and au natural with an adorable baby-face, making him appear at least 5 years younger than he already looked. He flashed his doe-eyed chestnuts under the neon light and Minseok could only stare in awe at how beautiful he was like a complete and utter idiot. 

“Err…Earth to Minseok? Shall we go inside?” Jongdae waved his hand in front of Minseok’s face.

He managed to snap back to his senses as the rumble of sound came from the building next to them; the faint strum of a guitar and rough tap of mics being checked. No doubt Chanyeol and his crew were setting up.

Minseok quickly nodded to hide his embarrassment. “Er, yeah, let’s…umm…do that…yeah…” And he lead the way inside with Lu Han gripping hold of his elbow and Jongdae following in tow.

Sure enough, Chanyeol was heaving his drum kit on to the stage while the other members plugged in amps and unwound leads tangled like spaghetti. Their fanclub was already watching them intently and swooning by the bar. It seemed they managed to pull in an even bigger crowd in the new year since the room was more packed than usual and already hot from all the bodies they’d accumulated.

As the three of them entered, the conversational buzz died down as people noticed Lu Han walk in and Minseok could feel his form tense behind him. For a famous Hallyu star, it seemed he was a lot warier of intimate situations than how he acted on stage; a cautious deer compared to confident and charismatic front he put on when he was performing. Or drunk. Minseok wondered if the sunglasses, make-up and booze were less of a fashion statement and more of a defence mechanism to deal with all of the attention. He reached around behind him and felt for Lu Han’s hand, squeezing tight in encouragement. This was his environment now; not some sparkly, high-end nightclub for the rich and beautiful but a hassle-free  retreat for students on a budget, no designer label in sight. He felt the need to look after Lu Han as he explored outside of his comfort-zone, just as Lu Han had done for him barely a day before. He would never forget that.

But it was within mere moments that the level of talk rose again and people returned to their drinks, completely unfazed by the Chinese singer’s presence. Even the Urban Blackout groupies were more interested in watching Chanyeol fish for his drumsticks than focusing on Lu Han and Minseok silently thanked the universe for that.   

“See? You’ll be fine.” Minseok turned to Lu Han’s pale face. “I bet they didn’t even recognise you without all that make-up on.” Lu Han retaliated to that comment by pinching his sides and Minseok had to jump away from his tickling fingers.

“Alright, you two. I’m gonna get the first round in. Meet you by the stage?” Jongdae disappeared towards the bar, weaving through the crowd.

“So, which one is your friend?” asked Lu Han as they walked in the direction of the band.

“Technically all of them, we’re all quite close – but Chanyeol, the lanky one on drums, is on the magazine with us.” Minseok pointed ahead to Chanyeol’s tall form towering over his fellow bandmate. “He’s in charge of photography and live gig reviews.”

“Who’s he talking to?” Lu Han had leaned in so close when they stopped that Minseok could feel his breath brush his neck and it made him shiver.

He cleared his throat in an attempt to act normal. “That’s Baekhyun, the lead singer. He likes to wear a lot of eyeliner. You two would get along.”

Lu Han nudged him in the ribs. “You’re never going to let that go are you, little bun?” he laughed. “Who are the other guys?”

“The short-ish guy on bass is Kyungsoo and lead guitar with the dark circles is Zitao, but we just call him Tao.”

“Zitao? He’s Chinese?”

“Yup, an international student. Can’t speak a word of Korean but his riffs are mentally good. You should hear their version of Zeppelin’s Heartbreaker, it’ll give you chills.” 

Just then, Jongdae returned cradling 3 icy beers and pushed one into Minseok’s hand while the lights dimmed and a kohl-lined Baekhyun stepped up to the mic to an applause.

“Hey guys!” he called out to the crowd. A loud reply of hey! echoed in return. “Wow, this is a great turnout! Better not disappoint you guys then, huh? Jongdae, one of those beers better be for me. Dude, I’m joking, don’t look at me like that! Okay, okay, I’ll shut up now. Let’s get this show on the road!”

The room erupted with whoops and shouts as the music reverberated into existence; Chanyeol throwing his arms around and expertly beating at the drums while Tao slid his hand up the neck of his guitar seductively with his typically brooding glare. The girls went crazy for it every time. Nobody ever guessed that he was, in fact, the youngest of the group and a total softy offstage. Baekhyun was the typical flower-boy front man with a killer smile and lips he just loved to as he sang – a self-confessed fanservice connoisseur. Minseok wouldn’t dare tell him but Kyungsoo had always been the better singer though he preferred to stay out of the spotlight. Baekhyun, however, loved nothing more than lapping it up.

Through the tantalizing lights and melodic sounds, Minseok found himself looking over at Lu Han as always, never being able to truly digest how someone could naturally look so flawless. A part of him wrung with jealousy at his perfect, little nose that tilted up slightly at the end and his long, fluffy eyelashes beating above unblemished skin –  while another part yearned to appreciate his otherworldly beauty, though what that meant he wasn’t sure quiet yet. Those feelings were still very much buried under deep piles of confusion and butterflies from anxiety whenever the star was nearby.

Lu Han looked so peaceful despite the surrounding chaos. His eyes were wide and staring around the venue in supposed awe while a secret smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he bit down on his lip, bobbing his head slightly to the music. If Minseok didn’t know any better, he would’ve said Lu Han looked genuinely happy.   

Minseok leaned in close to his ear. “It’s not quite the Olympic Stadium, huh?”

“No,” Lu Han agreed. “But that’s what makes it so great.” He turned his head and their eyes connected for a few heart-fluttering seconds; so close that Minseok could just about see the faint imprint of a scar on Lu Han’s cheek – but that slight imperfection only made him even more perfect. He sighed.

In that moment, Minseok really felt as though they truly understood each other for the first time.

*

The band played a handful of songs before they took a break. Minseok waved his arm in the air and yelled out Chanyeol’s name to get his attention and call him down. When he finally looked up, his eyes did a double-take as he realised who was looking at him from the sea of heads.

Even over the racket of the jukebox and everyone talking, Minseok could still hear his rumbling, panicked voice:

“Oh my God, it’s him! It’s Lu Han! He really came! Holy crap!”

Chanyeol clumsily scrambled over his drum kit, all legs and arms, fumbling over leads and wires and almost tripping over any solid object within a metre radius as he stepped down from the stage in a fluster, flapping his hands in the air. He came to stop just in front of them and bowed a full 90 degrees with a wild smile.

“Oh, wow. Okay. Hi! I’m Chanyeol. Or Yeollie. Or Yeol-meister, whatever! Call me whatever you want! Wow, it’s really you. Hi! Wow.”

“Alright, now breathe,” said Minseok, patting his shoulder.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lu Han.” He mirrored the deep bow and Chanyeol squealed with excitement.

“I love your music, I seriously do! I have all your albums at home! You’ve finished your drink. You have to let me buy you another one! Can I?”

“Sure, why not?” Lu Han smiled and followed the excitable Chanyeol to the bar. Tao ran to catch up and started speaking fast into his ear in Chinese.

Baekhyun chuckled and jumped down from the stage. “Whoa, it’s so cool that you know Lu Han, man!”  

“Yeah, how did that happen?” asked Kyungsoo, stepping forward after carefully putting down his guitar.

“You can thank this guy right here.” Minseok slapped Jongdae affectionately on the back. “He was the one that scored the interview slot. Although there hasn’t actually been an interview yet…” he trailed off.

“Well, you know me!” said Jongdae proudly, plucking at his shirt collar. “I’ve got-“

“-friends in high places!” they all chorused.  “We know!”

Jongdae rolled his eyes while they cackled.

When Lu Han and the rest returned, Chanyeol was holding an armful of beer bottles and Tao helped pass them around to everyone.

“You didn’t have to buy all of us a beer, Yeollie. It’s not your round,” said Baekhyun.

“They’re not from me. Lu Han bought them.”

Minseok sighed. “Lu Han, you didn’t hav-”

“Yes, I did,” said Lu Han. “Now shut up and drink. Cheers!”

And they all reached in and clinked their bottles together.  

*

The usual Saturday night at Stripes would end by 11:30 with a less-than-tipsy Minseok and Jongdae climbing back up the road, only to reunite again at the office by the early morning – because what else were Sundays good for anyway? However, it soon became apparent that this wasn’t a usual Saturday, just as it hadn’t been a usual Friday, and 11:30 swam past without even a ripple.

The named culprit for that night’s escapades was a simple Chinese phrase that had seriously caught on by the end of the evening: ganbei. Once shouted by someone in the party, Lu Han and Tao being enthusiastic repeat offenders, everyone one was ordered to finish the contents of their drink, regardless of how much was left. After a half-a-dozen beers being consumed in such a way, the rest of the night started to become a little hazier and Minseok’s liver was probably suffering from shock.

But the most important thing was that Lu Han seemed to be in his element. He spent most of the night supplying the group with drinks and, naturally, moulding into the group’s dynamics perfectly.  His initial hesitancy was overrun by pure Dutch-courage and people gravitated towards him like meteorites straying too close to a wandering planet. Minseok couldn’t blame them; Lu Han’s celestial charm was addictive.

At one point during the night, Chanyeol shouted, “You should sing for us, hyung! On stage!”

Everyone yelled in agreement to that, even people beyond the general vicinity, but Minseok intervened.

“I don’t think his manager will let him just perform anywhere for free…”

Lu Han grasped his shoulder kindly and whispered into his ear, “It’s okay, little bun. My manager isn’t here.” He nodded at Chanyeol. “Okay, I’ll sing. Choose a song.”

“Ooh, ooh, sing Into Your World! It’s my favourite! I can play the tune for you!”

Chanyeol leapt up on to stage and rooted around in the back for a while, making a complete racket, before reappearing with an acoustic guitar in hand.

Lu Han laughed, turning back to Minseok with raised eyebrows. “He can play guitar, too?”

“The kid is surprisingly multi-talented. You should hear him rap.”

He bobbed his head thoughtfully, drained his drink and then followed the drummer to the performing area to a wave of cheers and clapping. Kyungsoo popped up on stage for a second to hand them both chairs to sit on. Minseok presumed it was a slow song; he’d never actually heard of it before. The only Lu Han songs he had heard of were electro-pop that grinded on his ears and patience. The idea of a slow song intrigued him.

The whole room went quiet and Chanyeol began to strum to Lu Han’s soulful voice. Within seconds, Minseok found himself hooked as though under a spell; it wasn’t just a slow song, it was…beautiful. The melody was soft and delicate compared to the squeaky electronic synths he was famous for and it showed a completely new side to him – a vulnerable, genuine side, as though the song was meant for a lost lover and they were all intruding on a private moment. This wasn’t shallow and commercialised; it was heartfelt and emotional, and Minseok was completely drawn in to the profound, poetic lyrics as they thrummed at his heartstrings. Did he write this himself? he wondered. Lu Han was even an angel as he sang; glowing under the bright spotlight that illuminated his head like a halo. The entire bar had melted into goo just listening to him sing.  

All the while, Minseok could only dream and stare at the mortal seraphim that had unexpectedly taken over his existence for one spin of the Earth and not regret a single second of it.

When the song finished, the bar erupted into an roaring applause that made the walls shake and Chanyeol looked as though he was about to collapse with happiness, eyes stained with tears. Lu Han bowed politely, cheeks blushing, and returned to the group suddenly coy and scratching behind his ear with embarrassment.

Baekhyun’s mouth remained wide open. “Wow, that was…wow…I mean, I’ve got goosebumps right now!”

“Me too, that was incredible,” Kyungsoo beamed.

Lu Han’s cheeks reddened and his gaze flickered to Minseok. “What did you think, music critic?”

Minseok gulped. He was still lost for words. “I thought…it was pretty decent.” He jumped out of the way quickly as Lu Han went to poke him in the ribs again. “Okay, okay, I thought it was incredible. Great song choice, Yeollie!”

Chanyeol remained grinning like an idiot and didn’t say a word as if language completely defeated him.

*

It was far later than 11:30 when they finally dragged their tired souls out of the bar. The early Sunday morning sky stretched dark and starless over their heads as Kyungsoo and Jongdae heaved a very drunk and slightly disorderly Baekhyun on their shoulders. It turned out he’d gone a little overboard with the ganbei-ing and even disappeared for a short while with one of the groupies carrying a tray of shots. Nobody ever did find out what he got up to because he’d forgotten everything by the morning but they reassured him that he returned afterwards with a massive grin spread across his face.

The boys said goodbye outside the doors, Chanyeol pulling Lu Han into a lumbering, brotherly hug and proceeding to sway into the night humming off-key snippets of Into Your World with Tao. Since Jongdae promised to help get Baekhyun home in one piece, it left Minseok and Lu Han to make their way up the hill alone. It was a lot colder now and Minseok pulled his jacket tighter around himself. His alcohol-blanket was faulty.   

“So, what are you going to do now?” he asked. “Are you going to call your car? Is that how it works?”

“Actually, my car is already here.” Lu Han pointed ahead and, sure enough, the black Mercedes was waiting at the top of the road by the university like a sleek and stylish panther.

“Whoa. That was quick. I didn’t see you ring anyone.”

“That’s because there’s an app for it.” Lu Han waved his iPhone in the air.

“Really? Wow, there really is an app for everything, huh?”

When they approached the rumbling vehicle, Minseok stood awkwardly on the pavement with his hands in his pockets and shifting his weight from one foot to another.

“So…I guess I’ll see you around?” He knew he sounded lame but what else was he meant to say? He knew he didn’t want to say goodbye to him but he also knew he didn’t have much of a choice.

Until Lu Han blurted out, “Can I come and stay at yours?”

Minseok’s head snapped up. “What? Why?” He didn’t mean to sound so defensive but he wondered for a moment if his own head had invented those words and his ears deceived him.

Lu Han picked at his fingernails and replied in a small voice, “I just…don’t fancy being alone right now.” His little eyes looked up and melted Minseok’s heart all over again.

“How can I say no if you look at me like that?” Minseok joked, but he realised as he said it that is was true and quickly moved on. “I mean – of course you can. My place is a tip, though. It’s probably no-where near as nice as your flat…hotel room…wherever you’re staying…”

“I don’t mind.” Lu Han opened the car door, climbed inside, and then Minseok followed with a very questionable heart-rate.

*

The journey home was quiet and comforting and unsurprisingly short-lived since Minseok’s apartment block was walking distance from the university.

When they arrived, he walked up to the building’s front door with his forest of keys at the ready for once, but something caught his eye. Something had been stuck to the side of the doorway, on the wall in the darkness. He squinted but he couldn’t make out what it was, especially since the porch light hadn’t been working in months because the sensor broke and was never replaced. Lu Han seemed to notice it, too, so they both pulled out their phones and used the light of their screens to illuminate their discovery. What they found was something Minseok never guessed he would ever see.

It was a poster – better yet, a large, red, heart-shaped poster filled with the fan-taken photos of him and Lu Han from the night in Hongdae. Across the top, someone had written in thick bubble writing: LuMin 4ever and around the pictures were cute messages with little hearts dotted here and there.

Minseok was officially rendered speechless.

“I-…what-…huh?”

Lu Han let out a long breath. “It’s from fans. The fans must like you.” Minseok didn’t have to look at his face to know he was smirking.

“But…LuMin?”

“It’s our couple name, silly bun. They put our names together.”

Couple name. Our couple name.

“How did they find out who I am…and where I live?” He felt the need to suddenly stare around apprehensively, half expecting to witness the glowing eyes of sasaeng fans ready to ambush him.

“They will always be one step ahead of us, Baozi. Always. But don’t worry, it looks like they’re on your side.” His mouth was suddenly right by Minseok’s ear. “For now.”

“Stop it!” Minseok pushed him away as Lu Han burst out laughing at his own joke.

His leaded feet dragged heavy as they made their way up the stairwell inside. A surge of exhaustion had hit him and he found it difficult to keep his gritty-feeling eyelids open. He opened the door to his apartment, almost tripping over the welcome mat, and threw his keys onto the sofa where they would undoubtedly slip down the cushions and disappear into another dimension, never to found.  

Even in the limited glow of the lamplight from outside his windows, he could see that his poky flat wasn’t exactly prepared for guests and there was a good deal of useless crap strewn about on the furniture and floor. The cheap sofa, too, was definitely not for sleeping on if you wanted full control of your limbs in the morning.

“Umm…I’m not sure how you want to do this,” he said with a wide yawn. “We could always…umm…”

“I’ll just crash in your room. That’ll be fine, right?” Lu Han asked brightly.

Minseok’s insides squirmed. “You mean…in my bed? With me?”

Lu Han nodded, ing his waistcoat. “I don’t see what’s wrong with that.” He threw it aside and walked up so close to Minseok that he could swear their noses were close to touching and it made him dizzy. “Don’t you want to sleep with me, Baozi?”

“I-…well, of c-…sure, I mean…” he stammered.

Lu Han’s bright smile could have lit up the room entirely. “Good. There’s no problem then.” He tugged at the bottom of his shirt until it came loose from his tight jeans and started ing that, too, but still never took his eyes off Minseok’s face. Minseok caught glimpses of his chest flash through the opening and he almost groaned as his gaze fell downwards to Lu Han’s stomach and a light happy trail leading to things he did not want to think about right now.

“Cool, okay, great, I’ll just, um...” The words fell out of his mouth so quickly he was pretty sure they came out in a jumble, but he scooted quickly to the bedroom nonetheless.

He crawled into bed in an old t-shirt and pyjama bottoms as Lu Han came in removing various accessories and bits of jewellery. Minseok lay stiff as a board on his back when he joined him, scared to move a muscle in case he touched anything inappropriate. Lu Han reached up and tugged at the light pull hanging over the headboard and wriggled until he was comfortable.

“Baozi?” his soft voice called out.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for tonight. I had a lot of fun. Your friends…they’re pretty awesome, too.”

Minseok smiled. “No problem. Thank you for last night.”

“We make a good team, huh?”

Minseok could see it now: the Star and the Steamed Bun.

“Yeah. We make a good team. Good night.”

Lu Han turned over to face away from him and Minseok was sure he heard the word ‘LuMin’ muttered from Lu Han’s mouth, but he convinced himself that his brain was playing tricks again.

As sleep finally took him, bright lights played behind his eyes in the shape of angel wings and soft hands reached out and wrapped around his skin.