Sehun hates summer.

Somehow he hates the hot air, the scent of anxiety and overwhelming excitement filling it. He hates how people became so joyous about it while he just feels simply agitated. What’s the point about the flower blooming completely after the long spring if the end they’ll fall to the ground when autumn comes? What’s so fun about playing or just simply stroll on the beach if in the end your skin will get burn and the sunlight stings everything? What’s really great about the sunny blue sky if in the end it’s just the matter of mixed particles and sun’s light biased through it?

He just hates summer like that. No meaningful reason.

“I know you can’t die, but you’re going to fall and startle everyone if you keep leaning forward like that.”

Sehun shifted his gaze from the annoying bright sky to his friend – also an angel of death. They were sent together and then became best friends as both of them magically could understand each other. “Oh, you’re back.”

Kai smirked at him as he gazed towards the sky too. “Too sunny for you?”

“Always too sunny for me.” Sehun murmured. “It’s the third summer I have and still I hate it.”

“Ouch, come on, loosen up a bit. Summer means holiday, vacation, hot celebration. Enjoy it a bit won’t ya?”

Sehun just kept silent, not knowing what to respond to that sentence. He watched a few girls greeted Kai – oh how he played his role as a Casanova so well. Then they stared at him and shyly bowed. He just nodded before he gazed again to the sky, somehow it became more interesting than them. He could hear Kai joked at them, saying how Sehun is in his period as always.

“You should be friendly to them sometimes, Sehun.” Kai said with that big brother tone. “Who knows one of them will be your next target.”

Sehun just nodded nonchalantly. “Friendly, huh.”

To say that Sehun isn’t friendly is an underestimation.

Of course, of course he needs to be friendly and approachable, as what his boss Suho said. But that doesn’t mean he needs to follow every rule that man – or whatever he is – has settled for them. Angels of death needs to be friendly and capable to approach their target, so they could know what’s the most important three wishes from their target and grants it for them. Therefore, they’re always wondering how Sehun could do his job without any mattered problems. Sehun has no emotion on his face, it’s always flat, with eyes piercing everyone who dares to stare into it, small lips that always pressed into a thin line. They said he doesn’t speak that much because he hated how he had a bothersome lisp. But no, Sehun just never interested in having a long conversation if he could do something more meaningful instead of wasting his energy on talking.

They – the angels of death – named him as the tiny version of Kris, or to be shortened, ‘Kris Jr.’. Somehow both of them had similar looks, only Kris is taller than the already tall Sehun. Sehun really resembles Kris – the way he ignored what he think is bothersome to him, the way his face is always expressionless, the way their eyes seems fierce. Kris just had a more ‘interesting’ face – or what they would call ‘ face’ – and he conversed with the angels often. Well he needs to do that since he’s the boss aside to Suho. And Kris has soft sides, he’s like macaroon, kind of hard and crispy outside but tender and mushy inside.

While Sehun is just plainly a man – or whatever he is – who has no feeling.

“I heard they’re giving you a new assignment tonight.” Kai said casually.

Sehun frowned at him. “Really?”

“Huh? They didn’t tell you?” Kai watched him shook his head. “Neither Suho or Kris?”

“Apparently they had forgotten me.” Sehun rolled his eyeballs. The only appropriate expression he often made.

Kai pouted as he spun around. “Got to go. Taking a nap. Dance class tonight.” he said. “The one that you abandoned.”

“I was taking a temporary quit because of my previous target, I’d like to remind you again.” Sehun glared at him.

But Kai just chuckled, being so used to his glares and stinging words. “Yeah yeah just come back soon. Everyone misses you.”

Sehun just sighed heavily. Ewh hot air.

_______________________

I could only stare and stare.

A lot of doctors are surrounding the table where they lay him down. They’re working on him, they’re fixing him. I could only stare. The words I overheard before keeps ringing inside my head.

‘Patient like this won’t survive.’

I could only stare. Blaming my self. If only I wasn’t reckless. If only I obeyed his words, waiting for him to come back. If only I was careful enough with that stupid bike. If only I didn’t leave him like that.

“He’ll survive.”

I jerked up my head and tilted aside, only to find someone standing next to me. He’s a bit taller than me, his face is unreadable. He just stare at the doctors at the middle of the emergency room.

It’s about a few seconds later that he glanced at me and smiled briefly. “He’ll survive.”

He’ll survive? “How do you know?”

“I know.” he said. “It’s not his time yet.”

I keep in staring at him. How could he know? Is this person trying to play with me?

And more than that, “how could you see me?” I asked. No one could see me, no one know my presence, yet there he is, talking to me. “Do I know you? Do you know me?”

“Yes, I could see you. And I know you. And no, you don’t know me. Not yet.” He fixed his eyes on me. “Tell me something you really want to do for now if you have the chance.”

I frowned at him.

“If he live, of course.” he said as he pointed at the mess.

What I really want to do? I don’t even know. There’s nothing I could do now. I don’t exist here anymore. I don’t know where I belong to. It’s like this world had erased me so easily. It’s like I was never here before. And despite how clueless I am about what will happen to me, all I could think about is him. I could only think if he’ll live. Or else, if we will meet again. But not like this. Not when I don’t even know what will happen to me. Not when I wished he won’t meet me and live instead.

“I..” I stuttered. “I want to tell him that.. that he should never do such stupid thing like that. I to tell him that he need to live well without me.”

I could see the guy is smirking. “Perfect.” he said. “Now, would you like to hear an offer?”

I frowned again at him. Few seconds ago he made me wants to bawl my eyes out, now he’s giving me an offer?

_______________________

 “You’re coming?? You finally decided to rejoin??”

“No, Kai,” Sehun huffed as he put on his sneakers, “I’m just paying a visit that’s all.”

“What a shame. You’ve received the new assignment already?”

Sehun shook his head over the phone out of habit. “No one came to me. Well I’m not in the mood to see Suho or Kris.”

He heard Kai chuckled. “Just come then. There’s a new guy here too. And believe me when I say I would’ve thought he’s your twin brother if I didn’t know better.”

“So?”

“I would’ve thought he’s your twin brother if I didn’t know better!!”

“Okay.”

“.. dude seriously.”

Deciding that the conversation has gone nonsense, Sehun immediately hung up and grabbed his backpack, slowly making his way out of the apartment he shared with Kai – yes, they even shared the same home, what a soul mates. He swiftly made his way to the nearest bus stop, waiting in a usual undeniable boredom. Summer nights are always like this, somehow it could still feels cold. And he likes it. He likes coldness, just like how he is.

Five minutes later he hopped into the bus and took the seat at the very back of the bus. He plugged the red earphone into his ears and shuffled the RnB songs in his iPod, head slightly nodding along the beat, eyes wandering lazily over the night view outside the moving vehicle. Lights passing him by like a thousand fireflies and nothing could please him more than that. He likes how the buildings and peoples seem like a blur scene, it’s like the lives passes him by so fast. Lives pass in his hands after all, an art of repeating scenes of transilluminate where the lights of lives pass him through.

In times like this, Sehun will wonders again over the same thing. How did he become an angel of death? How did everyone became angels of death? Kris said angels have their own stories before they became one. Some of them are made to be – which he find boring, but hey everything’s boring for him –, some of them are picked because of their good deeds in the previous life – Sehun never really believe it but well there they are –, the rest of them are picked to be given the second chance. The third one, though, is a result of a deal, he said. But Sehun already forget what Kris said about it, something about deal, or exchange, and obviously second chance. Or what Sehun blurry remembered, Kris said he has a purpose. A purpose that isn’t like what the other angels shared. A purpose of his own.

If he really has it, then what his purpose would be?

Apparently drowning in his own thoughts could actually make the time fly, because when he’s snapped out from his reverie, he’s already arrived in his destination. He gets off the bus and walked for a few seconds until he could see the building. SM Art Academy, place where art of entertainment are trained into fruition. Kai became one of the dance instructors there, and Sehun was going to be one too, if only he didn’t receive the annoying previous assignment. But after all he’s coming tonight just for a visit, not to continue his activity there. He could continue it next month if his upcoming assignment finally given.

Speaking of assignment, he didn’t see Suho or Kris even now. Maybe Kai got the false information?

Ten minutes later he’s already inside the building, strolling through the corridor at the fifth floor. He was passing by the vocal studio when he heard someone singing so gracefully beautiful. The voice soothed him, making his heart calmed but also twitched at the same time. The voice gave him so much emotion. Deciding that a couple minutes late won’t hurt, he tiptoed into the vocal studio. Fortunately it’s dark, only the recording chamber at the corner is lightened, surrounded with glass walls. And there he sees Do Kyungsoo, the petite guy whom the heavenly voice belongs to, singing whole-heartedly. He knows exactly who he is, considering that he has been Kai’s special interest ever since four months ago. Somehow the Casanova Kai can’t even tell his crush about his feelings.

Planning to retreat back, Sehun suddenly caught a view of someone crouching down behind the black plastic chair with eyes peeking through the holes on it, eyes wandering dreamily over the singing guy. Being an evil he is – metaphorically evil to be exact –, Sehun stepped out of the studio silently and fished out his phone. He dialed Kai’s number in delight.

One, two, three,

Then he could hear the sound of phone ringing loudly from the vocal room. Kyungsoo stopped singing, head glancing here and there in pure shock. “W-who’s there??” he squeaked.

Few seconds after that Kai appeared from the studio, literally crawling his way to Sehun before he stood up and smacked his friend on the head. “Damn you Sehun! Can’t you just let me to enjoy my –oh he’s coming!”

Sehun laughed all the way Kai dragged him along the corridor in such a speed, only to bump into each other when they turned right. They stopped, catching breath in so much effort. “I hate you.” Kai muttered angrily at the evilly grinning Sehun, although he’s kinda awed because that guy rarely shows any expression.

“Aww I love you too.” Sehun joked. “Now shall we go to the dance studio?”

The walk to the dance studio is rather silent, Sehun busy with his thoughts and Kai busy planning his revenge on him.

“You know the rules, Kai,” Sehun speak in a low voice what he has been speaking for months, “angels can’t fall in love.”

 Kai sighed so heavily. “I know.”

Even if there’s no rule of it, all of them know what love could do to them. Let’s just say if they really fall in love with a human being and the human loved them too and then they became attached to each other. What if one day they received the assignment to pick up the soul of the said human? Being the one who took the life of the one you love is not a nice ending of a love story. They could never predict who’s going to be their next target, but they certainly know that Kris and Suho always tried to give easily approachable targets for them, which means their targets are the people near them, like their college friend, or maybe the waiter at Sehun’s favorite bubble tea shop, or maybe their teacher. They could never predict who, but they know it would be anyone near them.

“Just,” Sehun said as he patted Kai’s shoulder affectionately, “don’t get attached with him.”

“Okay.” Kai nodded slowly. They stopped in front of the dance studio. Kai shook his head and put a bright smile on his face as he dragged Sehun inside.

“Guys look who I have here.” Kai announced.

Sehun watched the members of his old dance team cheered on him. “Our baby is back!!” one of them exclaimed.

“Wow Minseok hyung,” Sehun said at the guy who’s already making his way to him, “where’s your mandoo cheeks?”

Kim Minseok squished him in his embrace. “I lost a lot of my weight.”

“Feeling handsome huh, hyung?” Kai smirked at Minseok, only to earn a light smack on the head. “Hey where’s the new guy?”

“He’s probably in the restroom. And you’re right, he’s good, you should’ve seen him danced to our new choreography.” Minseok said to Kai. Then he stared at Sehun again. “We thought he’s your sibling or something! You guys are really looks alike!!”

“Well not really looks alike, but he really could pass as your sibling.” suddenly Yixing popped out of nowhere. He really loves to scare people with his sudden appearance. “And he’s Chinese, thank God. I finally have a buddy to talk in Chinese with.”

“But hey, to think about it again, actually he’s totally different from Sehun. He’s a shy one and well-mannered, while this kid here is, well, you guys know how he is.”

Sehun, being uninterested in the new guy – or uninterested in everything as always – just shrugged as he dropped his backpack and kicked it to slide across the room before it bumped against the mirrored wall. “Good for all of you then.”

“You’re joining us back?” Minseok asked, eyes glistening in hope.

Casting his gaze down on the shiny woodened floor, he shook his head. “Maybe next month, hyung.”

Hopes silently faltering, Minseok sighed. “Okay.” he smiled at him. “As long as I still got the hope to have you back here.”

“He’ll join us, I know it.” Yixing said with his soft smile.

Minseok nodded excitedly. “He’d be a nice partner with – oh Luhan there you are!”

Sehun’s eyes wandered to the said guy who just arrived in the studio. And silently he disagrees with everyone. What makes them similar? That guy – or kid? Sehun’s not even sure – has a pair of round deer eyes blinking at him, tiny frame of face with slightly chubby cheeks that hangs there, and tiny lips slightly parted. That kid looks dazed.

“Luhan ge, this is Sehun, the one we told you about.” Yixing said purposefully in Korean so everyone could understand.

“Sehun, this is Luhan hyung, the new guy.” Kai said proudly.

Sehun nodded slowly. Being mannered he is, he stepped forward and bowed to the guy. “I’m Sehun, nice to meet you.”

The dazed guy – or kid – looks a bit puzzled before he bowed. “I’m Luhan, please treat me well from now on.”

Ignoring how dreamy his voice sounds into his ears, Sehun finally realized something as he glanced at Kai. “He’s a hyung?”

“Yeah he’s twenty five like Minseok hyung! A bit old but – “

“Yah we’re not that old!!”

“ – his face looks so young. Don’t you agree?”

Sehun, still uninterested, just nodded slowly. “Yeah.”

Three hours passed by with Sehun eventually taking his own spot in their old choreographies, learning the new ones along with the Luhan guy, and found out that Luhan actually could speak Korean fluently. Not that Sehun is interested in knowing more about him though, but he also learned that Luhan is somehow blurry when it comes to memories, just like Minseok. And again, not that he’s interested to know him more, but Sehun eventually found out that Luhan likes bubble tea too, and end up inviting him to go to his usual bubble tea shop sometimes. And that earns a loud cheer from his friends, considering that Luhan is the first person to be asked by Sehun to go buy the drink together – or the fact that Luhan is just simply the very first one that Sehun asked to do a thing together with. So once again, it’s not like he’s interested to know him more after all.

But when he met Kris at the balcony of their apartment a few hours after that, he find that he needs to be interested to know Luhan more.

“Took you so long to come.” Sehun murmured as he enjoyed the night breeze crushing onto his pale white skin.

Kris just smirked. That guy just naturally smirked over everything. “Well, actually this one is an easy job for you.”

Sehun’s eyebrow twitched at him. “Easy?”

“Hm.” Kris nodded. “Your new assignment starts tomorrow.”

“But you haven’t told me yet who’s my target this time.” Sehun speaks out.

Kris stared at him. “Oh, right.” then he chuckled softly. “You don’t need to go after every class or blocks this time. In fact, you’ve met him already.”

“Oh? Really?” Sehun’s body straightened up.

“Yeah.” Kris smirked again. “That Chinese guy, Luhan. Remember?”

Not knowing why his eyes widened, Sehun quickly put back his poker face on. “Okay.”

But there’s this anxiety, or maybe curiosity, or maybe just simply annoyance tickling inside his head that he frowned as he watched Kris smiled meaningfully to himself. “What’s wrong?” he asked cautiously.

Kris sighed dramatically. “Why do I feel like I’m going to lose you.”

Sehun frowned more. “Ewh. Kris. That just sounds.. so wrong.”

“I know, I know,” Kris chuckled gloriously, “then, good luck. Suho will be checking up on you.”

It’s not like Sehun only want Kris to check up on him, but he’s just curios why does he give the responsible of him to the other boss. “Why Suho?”

Kris shrugged. “Just because.” he murmured before he disappeared in a white smoke, blending with the night air.

Sehun exhaled as he stepped inside the apartment. Why do I feel like I’m going to lose myself either.

___

To recall again, Sehun is a man who lacks too much on having feelings inside him. Or maybe he just have feelings but he chose not to waste his energy on it, so he holds back and being used to holding back until he felt nothing. That way he could do his job more smoothly. He doesn’t really pity his targets. Because pity leads to a large amount of feeling, and feeling leads to affection, then affection leads to attachments, while attachments, well, it leads to a dramatic disaster.

But looking at the happy Chinese guy sipping his bubble tea excitedly as if it’s the best thing in the world, Sehun couldn’t help but agreeing with his own heart that he’s somehow feeling pity towards him.

And yes, it’s a ‘pity’.

“Does it really that good?” Sehun asked cautiously, never been so aware about the fact that he’s talking to a guy whom he’ll pick up a soul from in forty nine days from today.

Luhan nodded, round eyes forming a pair of crescent moons. Now Sehun understand why they thought this guy looks similar like him. “I love it. Don’t you love it too? You said you always drink it.”

Sehun shrugged. “Maybe I drank it too much that I forgot why did I liked it at first.”

Eventually that makes the happy face of Luhan faltered. “Oh.” he said wryly.

Cursing at his own stupid answer, Sehun glanced at the guy, who’s casting his gaze down on his drink. What is that deer eyed guy thinking right now? Sehun keeps noting at how his eyebrows furrowed, and magically that creates a cute face of him. And did Sehun just say someone cute?

“So, Luhan hyung,” Sehun said as he clasped his hand. “Tell me about yourself.”

Luhan looked up at him with that innocent face, but the excitement in his eyes are too visible. “About myself?”

Sehun nodded. “Why did you come to Seoul or how long you’ve been in Seoul, as example.”

“Oh,” Luhan grinned, “well I came to Seoul to live with my cousin. I’ve been here for, hm, maybe two months already.”

“Your parents allowed you to do it?”

“Magically yes. I’m the only son but they let me to live here anyway.” Luhan grinned along with the words.

Nodding again, Sehun slurped his own bubble tea. A cliché story so far.

“I heard you’re Kai’s roommate.” Luhan speaks again.

“Unfortunately yes.” Sehun chuckled.

Luhan smiled briefly at him. “What about your parents? Are they okay with you not living with them?” he asked sincerely. Then he decided to put some spice so it won’t sounds like he’s too bombarding Sehun’s private life. “My parents have been calling me too often about how the house feels empty without me, geez.”

With that, Sehun looked up to stare intensely at Luhan. Never in his experience that his target will ask such a thing like that with affection. His targets are basically boring people with various manners yet always end up acting the same. They’ll ask, but not because of affection, they’ll ask because they’re curios, and end up dropping it on the floor when they understand about it and decided that it’s not that appealing. But this guy seems like he truly cares about others too.

Sehun suddenly felt a bit guilty to lie. “What I’m going to say is a bit dramatic, but I never know who my parents are. They.. left me when I was still a baby.” he murmured quietly. “Me and Kai, we were raised in the same orphanage. That’s why we stick together the whole time.”

Well, at least the ‘I never know who my parents are’ is true.

He could see Luhan’s eyes glistened with pure sadness and pity. “Oh God, Sehun I’m so sorry to ask, I’m so – “

“No, hyung, don’t be.” Sehun sincerely smiled to him. “Past is past.”

Luhan seems to be drowning on that information too much that his eyebrows are knitted together and his lips pressed into a thin line, his eyes gazing down at his drink sadly. Sehun laughed cheerily because oh how cute his face as he leaned forward. “Hyung, your face is kinda scrunched.”

Then Luhan stared at him, his deer eyes widened in awe. His mouth slightly parted before he speaks. “You laughed.”

Sehun’s laugh reduced. “Yes?”

“You laughed.” suddenly Luhan lets out this wide toothy smile, as if he’s so proud of his own son. “You laughed!”

“What’s so interesting with me laughing?”

“But,” Luhan’s smile didn’t falter, “what I saw yesterday is, you’re an expressionless person. But now you laughed, and it – okay I’m blabbering too much.”

Sehun winced at him, the smile didn’t leave his lips. “And you’re a person who doesn’t have a problem with speaking out his mind.”

Luhan seems a bit dazed with the words, but he nodded nonchalantly. “Maybe I am!” he exclaimed before he lets out a cheery giggles.

And that particular moment when Luhan’s sweet voice rings into his ears, Sehun swear his heart jumps, and that is, if he really has a heart to begin with.

_______________________

HELLO THERE!!

I’ve wanted to write a story like this since a very long time, but I never have the idea how to put it in words. I never really figured out how the story will go. So I tried to build it one by one and finally I have the courage to post it. And of course, I use HunHan, my favorite OTP ~

Maybe I'll update this story four days later or next week since I actually want to finish it till the last chapter before I update. There will be around five or six chapters.

Sorry if the story goes weird and delusional and boring .__. Please bear with me..