If my room had been messy before, now it was a bomb shelter.

“’Bring your past papers’ he says. ‘You should already have them’ he says.” I mocked what Sehun had told me as I sifted through my ‘past papers’ file.

“Yes!” I shouted in joy as I found the long-forgotten pile of Korean History exams I’d done.

I nearly had heart failure when I glanced at the time and saw it was 3:23PM already. I needed to get a move on if I didn’t want to be late and I was not willing to do so – what a horrible first impression!

I flew out the door and ran to the bus stop, texting Kris to remind him I wouldn’t be home ‘til later. The bus – by some kind of miracle or twist of fate – was on time for once and assured me that I’d be on time.

Powerwalking through the campus, I reached the library at 3:50PM, with 10 minutes to catch my breath, set up my stuff and ask Minseok just what this Sehun kid looked like.

3:56PM BAOZI: He’s tall, 180cm+, skinny and he has a well-defined face and brown hair and brown eyes.

3:56PM ME: Just going to pretend like you didn’t just describe half the guys in here.

3:57PM BAOZI: That’s what he looks like, what can I say?!

At that moment I spied a person approach the desk, intended for 6 people, that I’d reserved for myself. Looking up, I nearly fell out of my chair in surprise.

It was the waiter from the café earlier today! What was he doing here?!

“A- Are you Lu Han?” He asked, his voice soft and low.

I nodded in reply, too confused to manage any words.

The boy sat down opposite me, a grin on his face. “I’m Sehun.”

My mouth formed an o-shape for a split second as everything sunk in before I smiled back at the boy. “Nice to meet you, Sehun.”

My phone vibrated and I ignored it, figuring it’d be rude to check it anyway.

“You can reply if you want, I’m not a teacher.” Sehun chuckled.

“No, it’s fine. I’m sure it’s only Minseok anyway.” I dismissed with a wave of my hand.

Seeing him up-close now, I could tell Sehun was lanky, emanating nervousness and slight discomfort in the way he carried himself. He didn’t seem to have much to say for himself, speaking softly and as little as possible.

I wondered if it was because of his lisp. After all, a child with a lisp was outright adorable and loveable whereas a grown boy, especially one with such mature features, with a lisp was quite embarrassing and, honestly, a tad laughable.

“Okay, so, let’s get started, shall we?” Sehun asked, gently placing his palms on the table.

Throughout the entire hour-long session I constantly felt like I knew even less than Sehun had expected of me. His simpler questions I could handle but as they grew in complexity all I could do was stare back at him with wide, blank eyes. I felt stupid, to say the least.

“Well, Lu Han, you’re in a good position, the way I see it.”

I could swear the boy was insane. All I could do was blink back at him.

“You know all your basics thoroughly and even some of the more complex areas. Improvement is definitely far from impossible.”

“That’s what you got from that one hour of me sitting here saying nothing? Are you sure?”

Sehun nodded. “Of course. You’re a smart kid, we can do this.” Ha. Who was he calling kid?! “Now, the first area that needs work is the personality study of Sejong the Great.”

And that’s when he gave me homework. I hadn’t even seen it coming. In fact, at first I thought it was a joke. It was simple enough, though – summarise Sejong the Great’s contribution to the period of time in which he lived and his impact on current society into dot points. I could do that.

“Thanks for doing this, Sehun,” I said as we walked out of the library together. “I’m sure you realise how much I needed the help.”

Sehun laughed, such an easy and breathless laugh. “No worries, Lu Han. I’m just glad I can help.”

I smiled before waving goodbye and heading home.

On the bus ride, I thought about Kris’ possible reaction to what I’d said to Yixing. He wouldn’t get upset with me, would he? He’s the one always telling me “you keep too much inside, just let it out,” how could he be annoyed if I’d done exactly that?

I hadn’t expected, however, to trudge in and find a grinning Kris perched on the bar stool in the kitchenette. My eyes widened of their own accord as I raised an eyebrow at him. It was then that I realised he was on the phone as he laughed at whatever the other person had said.

“Okay, he just came home now.”

So he was talking about me.

Kris laughed again. “See you later.”

He hung up, turning to face me, barely containing his laugh. “I see someone gave Yixing an earful today.”

I nodded slowly, confused by this reaction. “I meant what I said, you know. I don’t regret any of it… I don’t know why you’re laughing.” The tone of my voice became too blunt, it was almost downright rude. Kris seemed to note this as he made attempts to sober up.

“I know, Lu Han. I’m sorry, it’s just, after telling you so many times that it was time you gave voice to your thoughts, I never thought the time you’d eventually do it would be to Yixing,” he let out another chuckle. “And by the sounds of things, you really let him have it.”

I shrugged. “I had a lot I wanted to say. I hope he passed a lot of it on to you?” I raised my voice at the end, to pose it as a question rather than a statement.

“He did, I think I understand completely how you feel now.” He got up from his seat and approached me, placing his hands on my shoulders, having to bend a little (okay, a lot) to reach my eye level. “You’re my best friend, though. Don’t feel like you’re not as important to me as Yixing because you are, okay? I don’t value his words more over your own or side with him over you. Please just don’t turn this into an us-versus-you thing because it’s not and it won’t be, alright?”

“Of course,” I nodded, grinning. “Thanks, Kris.”

“Anytime, Xiao Lu.” He smiled back, patting my arm before heading to his room.

Dumping my bag on the living room floor, I plonked down onto the couch with a sigh.

5:26PM BAOZI: So, how was it? Sehun’s nice isn’t he?

I was too tired and lazy to reply in that instant, so instead I continued watching television, allowing my brain time to recuperate before texting back.

5:41PM ME: I think he’s a little crazy?? Idk, when he’d asked me stuff all I could do was blubber and um at him and then he said I’m in “a good position”? He’s the tutor, not me, though, so I suppose he knows what he’s doing.

5:27PM BAOZI: Ahahaha! He’s not crazy, you’ll be fine, Lu Han, don’t worry. Just trust Sehun. I’m glad it went well, though ^_^

That little dumpling face had better not rub it in and suddenly go all “I told you so~”. That was one thing I could not stand.

5:28PM ME: Yeah, I suppose you’re right and I’m relieved it went well, too! It wasn’t even that awkward!

5:28PM BAOZI: That’s awesome! Okay, break time’s over, gotta get back to studying -_-;;

5:29PM ME: Alright, have fun with that ;D

Having showered, made and eaten dinner, finishing all my homework – including what Sehun had set for me – and studying for the night, I collapsed into bed at 9:42PM. Feeling so knocked-out from the full-on day I’d had, I was too tired to even think before I drifted off into a deep sleep.

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They've finally met! Woo! Lu Han's a bit blunt it makes me giggle heheheh ^^ 

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