*chapter forty;

School wasn’t the same without Soah. For Luhan, it was less lively, less funny.

There was no one at the other side of the classroom he could have watched - how she brushed some streaks of her hair behind her ear, how she puckered her lips when she solving a task concentrative, how she tapped with her pen on the wooden table when she was nervous; how her cheerful laughter filled the room, how she slowly looked up before a smile spread across her face when he entered the classroom, the lunch breaks under the big tree; her cheering during his soccer matches, the way she jumped up and down, clapping her hands and calling his name when he scored, her enlightened face when he was waiting for her to bring her home; the sneaky kisses in the hallways when no one was around, the after-school-dates in the ice cream parlors and the mall ..

Luhan missed Soah every single moment when he was in school.

It didn’t take long for Soah’s deregistration to be officially announced. Luhan could see the pleasure in his teacher’s face as he spoke it out, his gaze wandering to Luhan who shot an angry look back. Since their confrontation, he tried to avoid him as good as he could, but it was obvious that he couldn’t avoid speaking to him forever – he was the homeroom teacher at last. Luhan felt disgust and anger whenever Taehyun was around - which was every day. And the fact that Soah wasn’t there either made him sadder, but he knew it was better for her.

As long as she was fine, he wouldn’t mind.

Their classmates were very sad about his girlfriend’s decision as well, although they didn’t know why she chose that way. They were aware that Luhan and her friends knew, but were still respectful enough to accept the fact that they wouldn’t reveal anything. Some asked Luhan if he was okay with that and he always answered ‘yes’, he needed to be. As long as they were still together, they could overcome and cope with the time they were separated - which was six days a week.

Luhan’s daily routine contained of school, more private lessons and soccer trainings. He came home very late and just had a few minutes to call his girlfriend and text her goodnight.

Soah on the other hand had too much time that she didn’t know what to with it. She knew she could study more, which she actually did before her new school year would begin in around six months, but starting in the morning, she was finished by midday. Therefore, she looked around for other things which would make time pass faster until she could meet Luhan again.

She played the piano more often, which really pleased her parents, learned new songs, read one book after another and even helped her mum with all the cooking and chores where she didn’t find time to do so before.  

But still..

Soah missed Luhan every single moment when she was home.

There was no one at the other side of the classroom she could have watched - how he straightened his fringe when it was messed up, how he over his lips when he was concentrated to solve a task; how his cheerful laughter filled the room, how he raised his arm and greeted her so warmly when he entered the classroom, making her smile widely every time, the lunch breaks under the big tree; his soccer matches where she’d always cheer him, the way she felt when he scored, so happy and so overwhelmed, proud of her boyfriend; the sneaky kisses in the hallways when no one was around, the after-school-dates in the ice cream parlors and the mall ..

Her life wasn’t the same without Luhan. For Soah, it was less lively, less funny.

But yet, they still found a way to cope with it.

The weekdays were spent separately, everyone making the parting bearable for their own by doing different things and trying to think about the other one as less as possible. Yet, although their thoughts always drifted off to the question: “What is he/she doing now?”, they made it.

The nights were spent on the phone, listening to each other’s voices, even it was for a few minutes. They asked each other if they were okay, how the day had been, assuring how much they had been missing the other one. These night calls were always the highlights of their days - there was no hour that passed without them looking forward to these phone calls. Just to hear the other’s voices was enough to make them happy, to bridge the time until it was Sunday.

The Sundays were spent in each other’s arms between the sheets, holding onto their bodies tightly as tender kisses were shared until the morning sun had to part them again.

Soah watched Luhan getting dressed every Monday mo