THE MISSING PIECES OF YOU

 

 

“Because I love you.”

 

Lu Han still could picture the look on her face vividly when she heard his answer. He also remembered how her eyes grew even sadder and pained even when they didn’t look straight into his.

 

“You shouldn’t love me,” she said and that was the last thing Lu Han could recall before he got dragged away by her sister, shouting to his ears that it was time for him to leave.

 

Cara never got to hear the words he wanted to say:

 

You have already taken possession of my heart

If you also take my choice now

If you don’t let me grasp the love I have for you

What else do I have to live on?

 

 

Lu Han wakes up alone on his bed and he expects nothing less. The only thing he regrets is the fact that he just slept through the entire day, and now, as he glances to the scenery outside the window, the sun is already down and he hasn’t even taken his morning shower yet. Lu Han doesn’t claim himself to be a workaholic, but after Cara’s rejection, he just had to do something to take his mind off that distressing topic. And Kris’ case is just waiting for him around the corner so Lu Han took it and finished what he could get. He spent all night long doing his work with an empty heart and an empty cup of coffee on his side. The pain in his head was back again so he cursed to the air every ten minutes, wishing that he could diminish the throbbing pain at the back of his skull. No such luck on that.

 

Today, he has read most of his materials—eight hundreds pages of cases dealing with international development contracts aren’t something one can finish in one night—and all he has to do now is wait for Kris’ call to schedule another meeting.

 

Lu Han curses under his breath when he notices the aching throbs on the back of his head. Why the can’t this go away? He often asks in his head until he realizes that he hasn’t taken his cup of coffee yet. He needs his daily dose of caffeine and although he can just make a single call from his phone to the hotel’s reception to serve him a cup of smothering hot and extremely expensive brewed coffee, he finds the thought unappealing. He much prefers to walk himself downtown and knocks on the door of that pastry shop for a cheap glass of instant one. Because Lu Han realizes that maybe half part of his headache is caused by his desire to see her one more time, and no phone call or delivery service or any amount of coffee can help him fulfill that.

 

Lu Han kicks his bedcover away before he climbs down from the bed. He’s only wearing his navy blue sleeping trousers—not caring enough to wear a shirt—so it takes less than three seconds for him to undress himself before he takes a quick shower. He dresses himself in a pair of ebony colored khakis, a white button up shirt with sleeves rolled-up to show his wrists, and an eerie black long coat to stop himself from freezing. He doesn’t forget to wrap a scarf around his neck and a pair of gloves to cover his hands this time.

 

Lu Han comes around the pastry shop at the same time he was yesterday. It’s not a coincidence; he actually tries to keep his schedule like that because that’s the only time he knows for sure that Cara is there. He enters the place without being too noisy and notices the shop is much more crowded today than it was on the previous night. He spots Cara’s sister working busily behind the cashier’s desk, taking care of the payments and also the orders. There is another staff working behind her, making teas and coffees for their customers. Lu Han doesn’t dare to interrupt their works, but he braves himself enough to just walk to the kitchen part of the shop without permission.

 

“Cara?” Lu Han calls the moment he slips himself inside through the connecting door. No answer comes to find him and he can’t spot her presence either. In fact, the kitchen is vacant, but he can see fresh-baked breads, cakes, and muffins lining neatly on the kitchen’s pantry. “Cara, are you here?”

 

Lu Han takes quiet steps to the back of the kitchen and stops when he finds there’s another door that leads to the shop’s backyard. Just out of curiosity, Lu Han turns over the doorknob, a bit surprised when he finds it to be unlocked, and opens the wooden door.

 

Lu Han’s lips parted slightly in awe when he sees a beautiful garden located behind the shop.

 

It’s like a deja-vu, really, because Lu Han swears to himself that he once saw this in his dream. The neat green grass extending like a thick carpet under the moonlight; the small, elegantly sculptured fountain in the middle of the garden; the small benches on the sides of it; and the mixed scent of lilies, roses, jasmines, and—

 

Lu Han blinks at the sight, mouth parting in awe.

 

—and her.

 

Cara stands there, just a hand reach away behind the fountain, with fresh beautiful flowers in her hands. Just like in his dream, she wears a white dress, but this time, it looks less luxurious and much more simple. She also wears a knitted sweater to cover the top part of her body, instead of showing her shoulders just like what he saw in his dream. Her long hair isn’t tied in one knot, but falls effortlessly to frame the sides of her face. And Lu Han just sighs at the sight, because even though she’s not wearing the most elegant looking dress in the universe; because even though her hair isn’t styled in the most beautiful way; Cara still manages to successfully takes his breath away.

 

Because it’s not the dress, or the hair, or the flowers she is holding that make her beautiful. It’s just her and her whole existence.

 

And Lu Han feels exceptionally fortunate to be able to witness her like this, so pure and innocent under the dark night’s sky and the faint light of the moon and the stars.

 

“Cara,” Lu Han dares to speak and her body jolts in surprise before she turns around to find the source of the voice.

 

“Lu… Han…”

 

Lu Han thanks his God once again.

 

“Good evening,” he greets, smiling gently. “I tried to find you back at the kitchen, but you weren’t there.”

 

Even when Lu Han still stays firmly in his spot, giving a safe distance between them, she still takes another step back. Lu Han tries to ignore the ache in his chest.

 

“What are you doing here?” he asks instead.

 

Cara falls silent once again but she gestures her hand to show some baby breath flowers she’s holding in her other one and then proceeds to point her finger to a small sized flower pot beside her.

 

“Oh, you’re trying to plant those flowers?” Lu Han asks again and she nods her head. And Lu Han chuckles because it’s seven p.m. and most people won’t find it enjoyable to do some gardening at this kind of hour. “Can I help?”

 

She hesitates for a second before she shakes her head.

 

“Okay,” Lu Han responds, trying to wash the rejected feeling from his chest. “Can I at least watch, then?”

 

She glues her eyes to his and just like that, Lu Han feels so many emotions swirling in his heart: from being too happy, to nervous, to even scared because she might not like what she’s seeing. But then she nods and allows him to sit on the nearest bench.

 

Lu Han silently observes her cautious movements as he takes his seat. Her hands tremble slightly as she picks up her shovel and adds more soil to the flowerpot. It only takes maximum ten minutes for her to finish planting the flower and that makes him realized that maybe, other than making pastries, Cara has a special interest in gardening too. Lu Han feels immensely proud and happy to find another fact of her.

 

Cara takes a sit on the opposite bench, so now they’re facing each other but still sitting way apart from one another. The fountain stands in the middle of them, creating small comforting sounds of moving water from the tiny waterfall on top of it.

 

“Do you want to hear another story?” Lu Han suddenly says and just like before, she flinches at the sound of his voice but she’s not upset over it. She just stares back at him with her hands folded neatly on her lap, and he continues even without her permission. “Unlike what I told you yesterday, this one is a love story. And just like any other love stories, this one starts with a man and a beautiful lady.”

 

Lu Han stops to take a deep breath. “Once upon a time, there was a handsome young man—probably not much younger than I am—who lived by himself on the outskirts of town. The Man was popular, loved by the women and adored by the children, but he was not happy with it because they only saw them for his looks. He wanted to meet someone who would like him not for his appearance but for his heart. Because looks could fade away, but his heart would stay the same.”

 

Cara seems vastly intrigued with his story, and Lu Han finds it charming when her eyes blink every time his hands move to make small gestures in the air.

 

“The Man liked to spend most of his times alone on the beach. Sometimes he drew on the sand with small branches; sometimes he sang to the starless sky. It depended on his mood. One night, the man chanted a song while he sat on the side of the beach. His ankles were buried in the cold water of the sea. His voice was beautiful and gentle, like a lullaby that could stop a child from crying. He sang and kept on singing until his throat hurt but even then, he still didn’t stop.”

 

“Why?” Cara suddenly asks and Lu Han has to convince himself to believe that Cara is actually speaking to him.

 

“Why didn’t he stop?” Lu Han asks, his gaze softens and she nods her head. “Because he wanted someone to notice him, I guess. Because he sang the song from the bottom of his heart, so maybe he wished that someone would see his heart first before they see his looks.”

 

Cara’s forehead creases in confusion and Lu Han finds it very endearing—but then again, he finds everything she does to be endearing.

 

“So,” Lu Han continues, “The Man kept on singing even when the nights got colder. At some point, he cried, asking for someone to notice him. But no one seemed to be interested in his voice. No one wanted to take a look of his heart—of the love, and the kindness he had. The Man was broken inside, and no one cared about the pain he hid behind his beautiful face. They only took advantage of him for his good looks. People only used him like another type of accessory—they only wanted to feel good and gather more attention by bringing someone like him to the parties, but none of them ever really cared about how he felt. The Man felt like he was a mannequin, being dressed in fancy clothes and placed under the spotlight for everyone to see, but no one would notice his looks because they only wanted to see what the mannequin wore. The Man sometimes grew frustrated, so he took advantage of them as well. Treating them like trash because they treated him like that first.”

 

Lu Han locks his gaze with hers and expects her to say something, but she doesn’t. She only breaks their eye contacts, bringing her eyes down to her hands on her lap, and looks heartbroken. So Lu Han asks, “Are you all right? Is there something bothering you?”

 

She softly shakes her head. “I…” She begins to say when Lu Han almost speaks again. “I feel sorry… for him.”

 

Lu Han blinks and something in his heart moves, making his stomach tingle in this weird-but-not-uncomfortable way. “Even when he’s treating people badly?” he asks again.

 

Cara stays quiet, swimming in her own thoughts. “It’s... wrong for him to take revenge, but...” She slowly looks up to meet his eyes and Lu Han’s breath catches in his throat. “Don’t you... feel sorry for him too, Lu Han?”

 

Somehow, Lu Han can tell that that’s not the question she really wants to ask. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he sees Cara’s lips forming another line: Don’t you feel sorry for yourself?

 

“Don’t worry, Cara,” Lu Han finally says, masking his emotion with a small smile on his lips. “It’s just a story.”

 

But she looks at him like she knows that it’s not just a story. That she is sure of it. And Lu Han just gulps, trying to keep himself calm while he moves his eyes away from hers.

 

“Back to the story,” he says, clearing his throat. “The Man kept on singing and singing until he almost lost his voice. The second he stopped singing was when he heard a sound of a lady asking for help. He scrambled to his feet, running to the source of the voice, until he found her.”

 

Cara’s eyes follow Lu Han’s movement as he stands up from his seat, silently asking for her permission to take a closer look at the fountain. She allows him to do so but at the same time she grips the edge of her seat tighter until her fingertips went white.

 

“See,” Lu Han starts again, dipping his fingers to the cold water until they reach the bottom line of the fountain. “The Lady was no ordinary human being. In fact, she was an angel. A very, very beautiful angel.” He dragged his eyes to Cara’s and kept them there as he continued with the story.

 

“She had long, brown locks—very beautiful even after the wind ruffled her hair.” He imagined running his fingertips through her strands.

 

“Her hazel eyes were wide open, sparkling just as bright as the stars even though they were sad and pained.” Lu Han bores his eyes into hers, wanting to fix what is broken behind them. “And The Man could only think, ‘oh, even when the stars fall from the sky, they can create happiness in little children’s minds, thinking that their wishes would be fulfilled’. And that was how The Man saw her. She made him feel happy and content, because she was so pure and amazingly beautiful, no matter how many hurtful feelings she kept inside her heart.”

 

“Her lips were as red as the roses.” Lu Han longs to graze his lips on hers, but he’s willing to sacrifice his desire just to get a smile in return.

 

“And her voice could make a man create sins just to hear it one more time.” He reminiscences the way she hastily calls his name and thinks that not even the angels can compete and give him the amount of happiness he just received at the moment.

 

“The Man stood frozen on his feet, because The Lady—The Angel—was injured. He noticed her wings were incomplete. She only had half of her white-feathered wings, and when he took a look around her, he could see a gush of blood flowing from her back all the way down to the salt water, tainting the sea with its color. But her blood wasn’t red, mind you; it was gold. The jonquil color tainted her white dress and The Man could see transparent tears streaming down her beautiful face.

 

“’Are you okay?’, The Man quietly asked as he tried to approach her, but she backed away.” Lu Han takes a step away from her and Cara relaxes once again. “She was screaming, and although her voice was beautiful, it made The Man cry, because somehow, he could feel the pain from her voice. He didn’t know what was wrong with her but The Man promised himself to try to patch her up just so he could see her smiling at him instead of crying.

 

“’What happened to you?’, The Man asked again, ‘Where’s the other half of your wings?’. But she never answered. She just continued telling him to stay away. Although The Man never gave up, he gave her some space while he kept on doing impossible things just to make her believe that she could put a little bit of her faith on him. Eventually, she started opening up little by little to him. And one day, she explained, ‘God cut half of my wings away so I couldn’t find my way back to heaven.’ And when The Man asked her why, she only answered, ‘Because I fell in love with a human. God once told me that I would get my the other half of my wings back if he feels the same way as I do.’ The Man didn’t have to ask the rest of her story because it was clear to guess: she didn’t get to be loved back by him.”

 

Lu Han stops and wants to slap himself on the face. You’re being too obvious, Lu Han. Your story is getting too obvious.

 

But when he takes a sneaky glance at her face, she doesn’t show much reaction on it. Maybe, deep down, she realizes that Lu Han’s story is about her. That The Man in this story is the one who tells the story himself. Maybe, she keeps herself in silence because she wants to know how the story ends in his perspective.

 

Lu Han’s gaze falls to his lap as he presses his lips together. The situation suddenly feels awkward and the night breeze brings more chills to his spine. “I’m sorry,” he finally says, adding a casual chuckle to ease the tension. “My story is depressing. I think I’ll just stop right here.”

 

And Cara just keeps sitting still with closed.

 

Lu Han wants to slam his head to his own knuckles as he curses quietly under his breath. What the are you doing, Lu? You’re screwing everything up! Why did you have to bring this up again?

 

“You know what?” Lu Han says, standing up from the bench and rubs his gloved hands together. “I’m freezing. Aren’t you cold? I think we should get back inside.”

 

Cara frowns at his sudden change of attitude and Lu Han panics. He thinks he hurts her at the moment and he’s just on the verge of apologizing when she suddenly says in her delicate voice, “The Man…”

 

Lu Han freezes; his breath catches in his throat. “Y-yes…?”

 

“Did The Man…” She fumbles with her words. “…stay for her?”

 

And Lu Han almost crumbles to his feet; all of his emotions suddenly come surging back to him like waves in a storm.

 

“Yes,” he answers, voice breathy. “Yes, he did.”

 

Then Cara stands up as well, tucking a wild strand of her hair behind her ear and locks her eyes with his as she whispers, “I’m glad he did.”

 

Lu Han feels like he’s numb but at the same time, he also feels like he has too much emotions to feel at once and he doesn’t know what to do, or say, or even breathe because everything feels so surreal.

 

“Yes,” he finally says, mentally cursing his mind because the cold air that the wind brings, makes his eyes sting. But then again, maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with it. “I’m glad he did too.”

 

***

 

“You look happy today,” Sehun comments the moment he’s being faced directly with his favorite Hyung. “Did something good happen?”

 

Lu Han flickers his eyes to the younger one’s face and the boy looks like he’s in a good mood as well. At first, he wanted to ask what happened with Sehun when they were on the phone the other day, but seeing that he’s being playful and cheery like this makes him refrain himself from asking. If he can be like this right now, it shouldn’t have been that big of a problem.

 

“Nothing,” Lu Han smiled sheepishly as he remembers what Cara said to him yesterday but decided to bottle it inside his chest for now. “You know, I just had a good sleep, had my dose of coffee for today, got to meet my favorite dongsaeng in my favorite bubble tea shop. Life is good~” He ruffles Sehun’s rainbow hair at the end of his line and he immediately swatted his hand away.

 

“Hyuuuuung~ I told you not to touch my hair!” Sehun protests, pouting on his seat as they both just get settled down on their favorite spot in Sehun’s Bubble Tea shop.

 

“Well, then stop looking at me and focus back to your own homework, you brat,” Lu Han says, playfully smacking the younger boy’s head with his thick poetry book.

 

“Why do I have to read poetries—Gosh, Hyung, this is so high school!” Sehun whines and when he opens the first pages of the book, he complains even more. “And it’s all in English!”

 

“Of course it’s in English, Sehunnie, you’re taking an English class,” Lu Han states matter of factly. “Just stop whining and start working on your paper.”

 

“Huh!” Sehun grumbles to himself. “He told me I’m the most handsome kid in his class, and this is how he treats me?”

 

Lu Han snorts, trying to contain his laughter as he shakes his head hopelessly to the sight of the struggling boy. He focuses on his own work after that, trying to deal more about the issue Kris wants him to fix. Lu Han only gets to work professionally for five minutes before Sehun starts whining again.

 

“Hyuuuuung~” Sehun calls, singing out the alphabet ‘u’, “I’m curious. Please tell me why you’re so happy today~”

 

“Like I’ve told you, I—”

 

“Liar, liar, pants on fire!” Sehun actually pinches the back of Lu Han’s hand and he just ignores the way the older one yells, “Hey! What are you, five?” at him. “Hyung, I know you’re not happy because of your coffee or even me, okay? So, tell me~”

 

“Will you promise me you’re going to start doing your homework after I tell you?”

 

Sehun’s eyes grow hopeful and excited. “Yes!”

 

There’s a slight uneasy feeling at the pit of his stomach when he sees Sehun’s smile today, as if the boy is trying too hard to make his smile seem bright. Lu Han’s mind goes back to his previous problem. Lu Han still thinks that maybe it has something to do with the way he rejected him on the phone the other day.

 

it, I’m just gonna ask. “Sehun-ah,” Lu Han starts; his playful tone disappears. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

 

“Huh?” Sehun blinks innocently, but Lu Han knows that for a split second there, the boy makes a weird expression on his face. It’s a cross between being surprised, scared, and unprepared. “No. Not really, Hyung. Why?”

 

“I just…” Lu Han analyzes his face more but Sehun just stares at him back with his usual blank face. “I feel like there’s something you’re not saying. What did you want to tell me on the phone the other day anyway?”

 

“Oh, that…” Sehun shrugs nonchalantly as he raises a hand to wave him off. “It’s nothing, really. I just couldn’t sleep and I thought about you, so I called.”

 

The older one still gives him a suspicious look but he knows Sehun is telling the truth. Lu Han always can tell when Sehun lies. “You sure you don’t have anything you want to say?”

 

Sehun takes a moment of silence to look at his Hyung with so many things written in his eyes, but ones that Lu Han can’t decipher. “I just miss the old you, Hyung. You changed after you met her and I just… I just wish you were you again, you know?”

 

Lu Han smiles but his shoulders slump forward in weariness. “I don’t remember who I was before I met her, to be honest. But I feel like I’m changing for the better.”

 

“You’re a better person now, Hyung.” Sehun nods in agreement. “That’s true.”

 

“Isn’t that great, then?”

 

Sehun’s eyes flickers in some way Lu Han can’t understand. “Yeah, Hyung. Sure.”

 

“But...?” Lu Han asks, noticing how his line is unfinished.

 

Sehun looks like he’s on the verge of saying something, but all that comes out from his mouth is just, “No but.” Then, before Lu Han can protest about it, he adds, “You know what, Hyung? You’ve been avoiding my questions. I asked you why were you so happy, isn’t it about time for you to answer it?”

 

“Fine, okay, there’s no need to be so demanding,” Lu Han sighs before he folds his arms neatly on the table and asks him with a grin, “Why do you think I’m so happy today?”

 

“It must have something to do with your Algebra Girl,” Sehun guesses without really having too much thinking about it before. “What did Cara do to you?”

 

Lu Han makes a face. “Why does it have to do with her?”

 

“Everything you do or think always involves her, Hyung.” The younger one actually rolls his eyes.

 

And Lu Han just smiles to himself. “Huh, maybe you’re right…”

 

“Oh, gosh,” Sehun rubs one side of his face, sighing loudly. He doesn’t really like to talk about her, Lu Han knows. It’s not like he hates her personally—it’s more like, he doesn’t like the way she changes Lu Han so much without trying. The boy still misses his old Hyung, right? “What, did she agree to finally make-out with you, Hyung?”

 

Lu Han furrows his eyebrows. “No, of course not—”

 

“Sleep with you, then?”

 

“No,” Lu Han says back, emphasizing the word not only with his voice but also with the scolding look in his eyes. “Didn’t I tell you, Sehunnie? I don’t want her like that.”

 

“Yeah, okay fine,” the other boy replies, lazily making a pillow out of his arms and lays his chin on it. He stares back at Lu Han with a pair of droopy eyes and tries to hold back his yawn. “But you never explained that to me.”

 

“Well…” Lu Han plays his pen with his fingers while he’s sinking deep to his thoughts, moving it from one to the other. “I don’t know, it’s like… I just want to always be there for her, you know? Like, I want to take care of her, and just you know, listen to her talking about her day, eating her special made cupcakes, see her smile.” And Lu Han smiles to himself again at his own imagination. “Little things like that matter the most to me right now, Sehun-ah, do you get me?”

 

“The only thing I get,” Sehun responds idly, “is that you’re getting all girly now.”

 

“Hey, excuse you, Oh Sehun!” The older one snaps back. “I’m manly, all right? I’m so manly, that I can talk about summer dresses and tea parties and people will still think I’m manly.”

 

“I don’t know, Hyung,” Sehun shrugs nonchalantly. “I mean, you never talked like this before you met her.”

 

“Listen here, Sehun-ah.” Lu Han tries to be patient. “Have you ever just… I don’t know, like craved someone? Like not in a ual way. But craved someone whether it was just to hear the sound of her voice? To feel her skin against yours, to see a glimpse of her smile?”

 

“Hmm…” Sehun blinks, looking like a realization just hit him. “Oh! Sometimes, that’s how I feel when I think about you, Hyung!”

 

“Clearly, that’s not the answer I’ve been expecting.” Lu Han palms his face. “Congratulations, Oh Sehun, now you just turned our conversation from being awkwardly girly to awfully gay.”

 

“Maybe we should talk about manlier stuff now?” Sehun tries not to grimace. “Maybe we should talk about , Hyung!”

 

“Or maybe you should get back to your homework,” Lu Han says, shoving the poetry book back to his face again. “You’re a child, Sehunnie, you’re not supposed to talk about .”

 

“I’m almost twenty-two, Hyung.”

 

“But you act like ten years-old.”

 

“Hyung, you always talked to me about when I was barely thirteen—”

 

“I was teaching you about so you wouldn’t get a girl pregnant just because you couldn’t control your . It’s a completely different situation. It was necessary.”

 

“Hyung,” Sehun gives him a hard look. “You were teaching me about s.”

 

“Ah, yes, well the more you know, the better,” Lu Han answers, winking at him and Sehun tries to hold the urge to roll his eyes but fails miserably in the end. “Okay, Sehunnie, enough talking about Cara, or about , or even—”

 

“Wait, so like—” Sehun definitely yawns this time. “You’re telling me that you don’t want to sleep with her?”

 

Lu Han blushes—and he doesn’t know why the hell is he blushing like a thirteen year-old boy having his first talk with his parents—but to be honest, Lu Han has never really thought about having with Cara these days. He admitted that he once tried to with the picture of Cara riding him swarming in his head, back when he was desperate and needy in college, but he felt so guilty after that because Cara was so… pure? Innocent?

 

So now, after Sehun actually asked about this stuff, he kind of, well, thinks about it. “O-of course, I want to—”

 

Sehun throws a knowing grin. “Naughty Luhannie-hyuuuung~”

 

“B-but—I-it’s not like that—” Did he just stutter? Was that a stutter? Lu Han doesn’t know what’s happening to him—why on earth did he stutter over ridiculous topic like this?

 

“Holy crap, you’re blushing!” Sehun sits up straight, staring at his Hyung with his jaw hanging low on his face. “Hyung, you’re actually blushing!”

 

“Shut up!” Lu Han shouts, face flustered as he brings it back to face his own international development contract papers. “Go back to your homework!”

 

“Fine,” Sehun says, exhaling loudly as he takes on his poetry books. After approximately eight seconds have passed by, he slams the book back to the table and whines again.

 

“Hyuuuuuung~” Sehun calls in his nagging voice as he lays his head on the coffee table. “I don’t understand a thing about this! Can we just, like, hang out?”

 

Lu Han simply doesn’t look at him as he answers, “No.”

 

“Whyyyyyyyy~?”

 

“Because I have my own work to do, Sehun-ah.”

 

“Who gives a crap about your work? Ah~ I wish I had brought my Victoria Secret’s Catalogue with me,” Sehun mutters and Lu Han scowls in return. “Hyung, play with me, Hyung~ You always talk about her. It feels like you don’t really have the time for me anymore.”

 

“Sehun-ah, you sound like an old wife that doesn’t have enough ,” Lu Han mocks him, making a face and Sehun just glares at him in return.

 

“But seriously, Hyung,” Sehun says, folding his arms around his chest. “Everytime we get together, you—mmph!”

 

A yelp startles Lu Han and he immediately looks up to see Sehun sitting on his seat with a red face, and a girl pinching the bridge of his nose with her fingers.

 

“Noona!” Sehun calls, his voice sounds weird because of what she’s doing to him at the moment and he tries to breathe from his mouth. “Noona, you came~”

 

“Finish your homework, Oh Sehun,” she says and Lu Han frowns at her because he’s never seen her face in his life before. She wears no expression on her small face, but she’s extremely beautiful and also adorable, Lu Han notes in his mind. She casually takes a seat beside the rainbow haired boy and tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear.

 

“Uuh…” Lu Han starts, gaining attention from both kids who are now sitting across of him. “Who are you?”

 

“Oh, right!” Sehun suddenly seems lively—which is weird because Sehun normally wears a flat, emotionless face whenever he’s not alone with Lu Han. “This is my girlfriend I’ve been telling you about.”

 

“You never told me anything about her,” Lu Han glares at him but smiles when she bows and introduces herself to him, still looking a bit robotic. “Hi, I’m Lu Han,” he says in return.

 

“Noona~” Sehun calls, grinning at her. “Do you miss me today?”

 

She only blinks and stares at him. “No.”

 

The rainbow haired boy cutely pouts. “Then why are you here?”

 

“Because you texted me to come.”

 

“That’s right~” Sehun lets out a girly giggle. “Don’t you wonder why I texted you that?”

 

Blinks again. “Not really.”

 

“Aah~” Sehun leans closer cutely as he pokes her cheek. “Then start wondering now~”

 

The first actual human look of her that Lu Han has the privilege to witness is the expression of her rolling her eyes. “Fine. Why did you text me?”

 

“Because I missed you~” Sehun grins cheesily.

 

And he calls me ‘cheesy’?! Jesus, Lu Han shouts in his mind.

 

“I’m out of here,” Lu Han says, disgusted with the situation, but he realizes that he’s not the only one who said those words just now. Sehun’s girl just says the same thing to her own boyfriend, and she’s even already a step ahead of him, taking her bag and slings it on her shoulder.

 

Lu Han laughs and offers his hand to her again. “I think I just met my twin. Allow me to introduce myself once again. I’m Lu Han. Please sit, I want to have a chat with you.”

 

And she goes along with a blank face, bowing her head again before she sits back down beside her nagging boyfriend.

 

“Yah!” Sehun juts his lower lip out, almost adoringly. “Why are you both so mean?”

 

“Why are you suddenly acting like this?” Lu Han asks, eyebrows knitted together. “I’ve never seen you like this, Sehun-ah.”

 

“You told me yourself, Hyung,” Sehun answers. “People change when they’re in love. You got cheesy when you met Cara, I got lively when I met my noona~” and he actually giggled again. Hearing it one time is already too much for Lu Han, but hearing it twice? Goodness.

 

“No, you look like you’re stoned,” Lu Han comments, rolling his eyes for the billionth time today before he brings his eyes to Sehun’s girlfriend’s. “Does he always speak to you like that?”

 

She nods. “It’s okay, I’m used to it. He tends to speak a lot whenever we’re alone. He can’t even stop talking during .”

 

Sehun gasps, face flushed. “Noona! That’s a private matter!”

 

“Now, this is the topic I’m very interested on,” Lu Han grins creepily. “Does he in bed?”

 

She nods her head again, completely looking unashamed in having this topic. “I’ve had better.”

 

“Oh my God!” Lu Han can’t stop himself from cackling. “You’re my new favorite person in the world! Does he still drool in his sleep—”

 

“Yah, Hyung!” Sehun suddenly leans forward and throws a small punch to Lu Han’s shoulder to stop him from laughing. His face is flustered with embarrassment. “Stop ganging up on me with her!”

 

“Sehun-ah,” Lu Han says, wiping a tear from his eyes. “I think she’s perfect for you.”

 

Sehun glances to his side and pouts again when she just coldly stares back. “You’re mean. Both of you are mean.”

 

She sighs and pats his hair. “I’m sorry if I went too far.”

 

Sehun tilts his head like a child, still pouting. “You’re sure you’re sorry?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Promise me you won’t insult me in front of my Hyung again and maybe I’ll—” She cuts him off with a peck on his lips. It doesn’t take long for Sehun to turn into jelly and giggle in delight from the simple kiss. “Okay, I forgive you.”

 

And just like that, the problem is solved.

 

The sight of this young, extremely weird couple is heartwarming and adorable, and Lu Han is grateful because Sehun can finally find someone who is mature enough to deal with his bratty acts and powerful enough to, let’s just say, tame him. He was just starting to worry that maybe Sehun couldn’t ever open up to people other than him, but that doesn’t seem to be the case now.

 

Sometimes, he feels jealous of how easy Sehun is dealing with his issues—just a little kiss here and there and everything gets back to normal. While Lu Han, on the other hand, can’t even say something to Cara without making her flinch at the beginning.

 

But every problem has its solution, right? Lu Han just has to find the key to fix his own.

 

You’ll be all right, Cara. Lu Han thinks as he promises himself to offer his best efforts for her. You’ll be all right.

 

***

Thanks for reading! Comments would be great! :)