January 9th, 1989

Sehun paused for a second, before walking back into the hall. He couldn’t get the image of Luhan crying out of his head. Ever since Luhan had arrived at the Oh’s household, one of his main goals was to keep Luhan safe. But now Sehun was confused. If Luhan was crying, it usually meant that he was hurt. So what was Sehun supposed to protect Luhan from?

Sehun walked into the hall to see that Hyuna and her parents had already arrived. The moment Sehun arrived, her eyes brightened and some kind of hope dwelled there. Sehun saw that there was an empty seat next to her and when he saw his father’s expecting gaze, he sighed before reluctantly taking the seat next to her.

Jongin, however, was still in shock.

“Dog…Luhan…k-kiss…” he mumbled to no one in particular. The sound of high pitched laughter woke him up from his thoughts and he suddenly realized that Sehun and Luhan had disappeared. Jongin slowly sneaked back to peek into the hall to see that only Sehun could be seen, sitting next to Hyuna. Hyuna seemed to be really happy and looked like she was trying to tell Sehun something. Jongin’s blood boiled a little bit. How can he sit there when he knows his servant is hurting? Dogs; obviously, he thought.

Then Jongin sneaked back into the corridor. He cracked his knuckles and smirked to himself.

“I will find Luhan myself,” he said determinedly to himself. He started walking down the dark corridor.

Jongin remembered being nine years old and walking down the corridor. He remembered being afraid that the shadows that framed the windows would merge and shape shift into monsters and would eat him up. Remembering all this made Jongin’s heart beat faster. He didn’t even know why he was trying so hard to find Luhan. It was just a boy. A boy who was crying. No big deal.

But still, Jongin ventured further. Eventually, he bumped into a maid and that freaked the life out of him.

“Argh!” the maid squealed, but then she recognized who the person she bumped into was, and bowed. “Mr. Kim, are you lost? The hall is the other way.”

“Ah…okay then…” Jongin said and turned away, pretending to make his way back. When he heard the maid disappear into another room, Jongin turned back quickly and rushed down the corridor. As he walked further down, it just got darker and darker and eventually, Jongin’s fears came back.

Jongin slumped down against a wall and huddled into a ball, making tiny whimpers. He shut his eyes and wished for all the nightmares to go away, but it wouldn’t work. Eventually, he began to cry. He knew it was pathetic, but Jongin’s greatest fear was the dark. You never knew what could be lurking and it was hard to see. The one thing Jongin liked, was seeing things. He liked knowing what was in front of him.

Then a door opened and Jongin squealed in fright.

“M-Mr. Kim?” a small voice called out softly. Jongin thought the voice sounded familiar. Then there were footsteps and then finally, a hand on his shoulder.

“Mr. Kim, come with me,” the voice said. Jongin nodded and followed the person into a room. Once he stepped into the room, he felt so much safer. There was a small bed by the window, a window which was so small that only a small body could fit through. Then there was a warm fire and a bedside table.

When Jongin turned around, his eyes immediately hooked onto his savior. Luhan. And again those beautiful eyes took his breath away.  Staring into Luhan’s eyes made him vulnerable. He felt , to be honest. That’s what Luhan did to him. Although Jongin bore no real feelings for the boy, he had to admit, that the boy’s eyes were really pretty. The shape was cute too.

“Mr. Kim?” Luhan’s worried voice asked. Jongin snapped out of the stare and turned away.

“Mm, thanks back there,” Jongin mumbled.

“It is fine. Would you like me to you back to the dining hall?” Luhan offered.

“Maybe later. That place is suffocating me,” Jongin replied. Then Jongin looked around briefly before sitting on Luhan’s bed. Luhan freaked out.

“Mr. Kim! That bed is dirty!” Luhan shrieked and Jongin lunged forward and clamped a hand over his mouth.

“I can’t let them know I’m here, right?” Jongin asked and Luhan’s eyes widened before his shook his head in defeat.

“What are you doing around her anyway?” Luhan asked as he walked over to his table and started pulling out things.

Jongin didn’t answer. In fact, he wanted to ask something really important, but he wanted to wait for Luhan. Luhan took out two cups; one was white and one was black. Then he took out two tea bags and popped them in. Afterwards, he walked over to the fire and reached in, and when he pulled out, he was holding a kettle. Jongin had failed to notice it hanging above the fire. Luhan poured in the water, followed by removing the tea bags and then handed the black cup to Jongin. Jongin took it gratefully and took tiny sips, blowing every once in a while. Luhan sat down in a chair in the corner of the room and drank too.

The silence was awkward.

Because of what happened before, Luhan couldn’t stop thinking of different ways on how to answer Jongin if he ever brought up the subject.

What were you and Sehun doing back there?

Master Sehun told me not to say.

But Sehun’s not here, so why were you kissing him? Are you guys…in a relationship?

No! We’re not! Trust me!

There’s no need to shout.

*Okay, rewind, Luhan. Make sure you don’t shout at him*

But Sehun’s not here, so why were you kissing him? Are you guys…in a relationship?

It’s complicated, but no.

Do you like each other?

Luhan didn’t get the time to finish off the conversation, when Jongin began to talk.

“What…what was that back there?” Jongin eventually asked. Luhan breathed out.

“Master Sehun told me not to say anything.”

“The dog’s not here. It can be our secret.”

“Recently, it seems as though I’m keeping a lot of secrets.”

“Don’t avoid my question. Why were you kissing him? Are you guys in a relationship?”

“It’s complicated.”

“But do you like him?” Jongin’s question got Luhan stuck. He wasn’t prepared to answer this question yet. It hadn’t been a long time since Sehun and Luhan decided on their special arrangement. So for Luhan to confirm something like that now, it would’ve been a lie.

“I want to tell you everything, Jongin,” Luhan sighed sadly.

“Why won’t you tell me then?”

“I told Master Sehun that it would be our secret.”

“Luhan~” Jongin cried, Luhan froze and looked at Jongin.

“Is there something you want from me?” Luhan asked.

Jongin went silent. Do I want something from him? He thought. He thought about it for a while before he came up with an idea.

“It’s my birthday soon,” Jongin began. “and I would like to know the relationship between you and the dog.”

Luhan shot up from his chair and looked down at Jongin disbelief.

“Please! Anything but that!” Luhan begged.

“Are you seriously begging me?” Jongin frowned. Then Luhan got down on his knees and Jongin’s eyes widened. “Y-Yah! Get up! Luhan, get up!” Jongin grabbed Luhan arm and tried to pull him up, but Luhan didn’t budge.

“I beg you, Jongin,” Luhan whispered. Jongin. It struck a chord in Jongin’s heart and Jongin was going to protest when the word choked him up.

“Why are you so intent on keeping it a secret? I want to know. I order you to tell me,” Jongin said, talking louder to get the message across.

“Jongin, please. If I tell you…I could lose my job. Master Sehun will hate me and I don’t want him to hate me…I…” Luhan began tearing up and Jongin ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

“Fine then. Let’s make a deal,” Jongin said. Luhan looked up with hopeful eyes and nodded.

“Now, listen carefully.”

Luhan led Jongin back into the dining room, slightly stiff. His mind was racing, because the moment Jongin had told him what he was to do, he wasn’t even given time to process it when Jongin asked to be taken back to the dining room.

“Ah! Jongin! You’re back!” Mr. Kim cried out when his son entered the room. Jongin gave a confident smile and strode over to the table, all the while suffering under Sehun’s burning gaze.

“Luhan, come here,” Sehun ordered and Luhan bowed to Jongin before moving over quickly to Sehun’s right side and bowed to him.

“What is the matter, Master Sehun?” Luhan asked. Sehun indicated for Luhan to move closer and Luhan slowly moved in. Sehun put his lips next to Luhan’s ear, making Luhan jump a bit.

“I want to know why you were with that devil,” Sehun whispered.

“Master Sehun, he got lost in the corridor,” Luhan explained, only telling part of the truth.

“Are you telling me the truth?” Sehun asked. Luhan nodded, but then thought, Just not all of it. Sehun dismissed Luhan, but requested that Luhan was to stay in the room and help the maids move the food around the table to the guests.

“Luhan, can you pass me the salt?” Hyuna asked. Luhan reached out for the salt and moved over to Hyuna’s side, handing the salt and bowing at the same time. But before Luhan could leave, Luhan felt Hyuna slip something into his pocket. Luhan reminded himself to look at it later.

It was now the slow dancing time and Mr. Oh had asked for Sehun to dance with Hyuna’s younger sister. Sehun groaned, because Hyuna’s little sister, Hyunmi, was thirteen years old and was more sultry than Hyuna herself. When Hyunmi heard that she was going to dance with Sehun, she quickly brushed herself up and gracefully made her way over him. Sehun groaned, then forced a smile onto his face, before asking her for a dance.

Luhan stood at the back of the room, very aware of the piercing stares Sehun was giving him. He could almost feel Sehun’s longing. But then he tried to distract himself by reading the note Hyuna had given him.

“Come outside,” Luhan read quietly to himself. He looked for Sehun and when their eyes met, Luhan folded the note into his pocket, bowed to Sehun and quickly got out of there.

Hyuna was standing by the fence, nearby the garden. She was staring up at the moon and Luhan was gob smacked at how beautiful she looked with the moon in her eyes. He had read a book once, a long time ago. He hadn’t read many books since then, mainly because he couldn’t read very well. In fact, this book wasn’t even a book, but a poem out of the book.

She stood by the gate,

Her eyes holding the moon,

Hair flying with the breeze,

Taking breaths away.

It was short and Luhan only recognized a few words, but he could still make out what the poem was getting out. Hyuna was the perfect description of the book, almost like as if she was making a movie for it.

Luhan took a step forward, cracking a stick and turning Hyuna’s attention towards him. When their eyes met, Luhan quickly bowed and then hurried forward.

“Good evening, Luhan,” she greeted politely and nodded to him.

“As to you,” Luhan replied. Then she turned around and went back to facing the moon. Luhan didn’t want to be disrespectful and did the same.

“Do you believe in God, Luhan?” she suddenly asked.

“I know of him,” Luhan replied.

“How much?”

“They say he was the creator.”

“He’s more than that, Luhan,” Hyuna said firmly. “In the book of Genesis, it said that God separated the day into two; day and night. He made the sun light the day and the moon light the night.”

“That is interesting,” Luhan commented.

“Don’t you get it, Luhan?” Hyuna asked. Luhan shook his head. Hyuna turned to look at Luhan briefly.

“All I seem to understand is that God made the moon, but even that sounds a bit ridiculous to me,” Luhan said, slightly nervously.

“Christians don’t really care about that God made the moon,” Hyuna said.

“What do they care about?”

“They care about the fact that even in the darkness, God still cared enough about us to guide us in the night,” Hyuna replied. “That’s why I like the moon. It makes me feel as though I am always loved.”

“Christians are really in depth people,” Luhan commented and looked directly at the moon. He hadn’t ever thought of the moon like that. Thinking of it like that made it sound beautiful. Now that Luhan looked at it, he suddenly felt a great presence wash over him. Like a protective figure. And in his head, the words ‘I will always protect you’, rang.

“You know, Luhan, I’d really like to know you one day,” Hyuna said.

“Why?” Luhan asked.

“Because I want to be your moon,” Hyuna replied. Luhan smiled sincerely.

“Thank you, Miss Hyuna. Your concern is greatly appreciated,” Luhan replied.

“Luhan…can I…hug you?” Hyuna asked. Luhan was taken back for a second. His mind raced with the obvious questions like ‘Am I clean?’ and ‘Should I?’ But then he realized that he was still a servant and Luhan shook his head.

“It is not my place,” Luhan said and stood back. But that didn’t stop Hyuna and she reached forward and pulled Luhan into a warm hug.

Luhan had never been this close with a female. He could hear her heartbeat; that sound that was going at a slightly faster pace than his. Like as if she was a blanket, he was engulfed in warmth and protection and he felt loved. It was at this time that Luhan felt special. He knew that out of all the maids and servants, he was the most favored one amongst them. He had access to Sehun’s heart, he had connections with Jongin and he was now under the guidance of the moon, a new kind of moon; a special one.

But the feeling didn’t even last for more than five seconds, when there was the sound of hurried footsteps and then Luhan and Hyuna were ripped apart. Hyuna fell backwards and landed onto the grass, while Luhan fell into someone’s arms. It didn’t take Luhan more than a second to know it was Sehun. He could recognize his scent and the body structure of his master anywhere. But Sehun was holding him tightly, really tightly, like as if he was trying to get a serious message across. Don’t touch him, he seemed to show.

“Miss Hyuna, keep your hands off my servant,” Sehun ordered in his master tone. Luhan shrank a bit, knowing the power of that tone. Hyuna quickly got to her feet and bowed before running off.

It went silent for a while and all that was left was Luhan in Sehun’s arms.

But then Sehun pulled away and made Luhan face him.

“Why were you hugging her?!” Sehun demanded. Luhan dropped his head and bowed in disgrace.

“I’m sorry, Master,” Luhan apologised. Sehun shook him and that made Luhan look up at him.

“Never, ever…touch Hyuna like that again. That’s an order,” Sehun said in his master tone. Luhan nodded, slightly frightened and Sehun’s grip on him was beginning to hurt.

“Yes, Master…I un-understand,” Luhan stuttered. Then Sehun reached forward and cupped Luhan’s face. Luhan’s eyes went wide at the sudden change of treatment. Sehun was being soft now, holding him gently like as if Luhan was capable of breaking.

“Good, because you are mine,” Sehun said with his childish tone and Luhan smiled and nodded.

This time, when Sehun kissed him, he didn’t cry.

~~~~~

Hello subscribers and readers!

Thank you to the people who subscribed to More Than a Phase

I greatly appreciated it. Now to the comments.

iheartminwoo - thank you, but personally, I wish I had better twists. I should probably kill off a character or something, aye? Jks...or am I?

kpopbadgirl - haha. its really weird. I want to rewrite it. I'll get onto it soon.

Sehunny - an abomination

gorgeousoo - thank you for understanding!

Thank you!