Luhan woke up in the middle of the night to see a handsome tall man by his bedside. ‘My name is Sehun.’ The other-wordly creature said, as he shone faintly with iridescent light ‘And I am sent here to be your genie’. Thousands of questions flickered through Luhan’s mind.

‘Why does your hair look like a lollipop?’

Sehun physically face-palmed ‘ Crazy client. That was centuries ago. Demanded I be trapped in a lamp and whatnot. Anyway, moral of the story is never serve a bat crazy person because not many people use one of their three wishes to dye your hair a different colour.’

‘How did you come?’

‘You rubbed me out of your pillow or something. New apartment isn’t it?’

Luhan hesitated ‘ So the whole traditional three wishes thing then.’

‘Uh-huh.’ Sehun looked at his clear nail polish disinterestedly

‘Can I wish for more wishes?’ 

‘Nope.’

‘Can I wish for more genies?’

Sehun put a hand unemotionally to his heart ‘That really hurt. But no. No wishes that violate the three wishes.’

Luhan thought for a moment ‘Can I spend as long as I want considering it?’

Sehun pulled out a chair ‘Yes. Until you die.’

‘Or I go to heaven?’ Luhan questioned hopefully.

Luhan quite liked having Sehun around, even though sometimes his friends looked at him weirdly talking to himself.

He was getting quite frustrated that no-one else could see Sehun.

(all the more for you, a little piece of his heart whispered)

But it was unnerving.

Especially because Sehun liked to mess with him every time he could. They walked into the café and Sehun asked the cashier whether they could have a strawberry sundae and bubble tea. Luhan didn’t realise the weirded out expression the cashier gave him when he stared into space at the front of the desk.

‘Excuse me, sir? Are you going to order?’

Luhan glanced to the side, startled ‘Oh, yes, did Sehun ask too quietly?’

The cashier glanced around to see no people even remotely close to Luhan, and gave Luhan a forced smile ‘Umm…yes.’

Luhan could imagine his hand under the desk hovering over a red button that said SECURITY . He wasn’t even sure whether he was sane anymore. He spent the whole time with pairs of worried waiters hovering round his table and poking his food, refusing to look at Sehun’s laughing face. The worst thing was that Luhan could even raise his middle finger back (for the genuine fear of being taken to a mental hospital).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘I’m going out for a party.’ Luhan was in his apartment with Sehun quietly sipping some juice.

‘OK then, tell me what time.’

Luhan scratched the back of his neck, a nervous habit acquired from childhood ‘ No thanks, I don’t want more of my friends thinking I am insane.’

‘I can turn visible.’ Instantly Sehun’s glow disappeared and the cushion finally registered he was sitting on it with a satisfied whoosh sound of the air leaving.

‘What?’ Luhan would have screamed it if he hadn’t got a permanent vein popping since Sehun had come and he didn’t want to risk his health any more ‘And is this one of my wishes?’

Sehun waved his hand ‘No probs, brah.’

Luhan raised an eyebrow while Sehun shrugged.

‘Hey, I’m a thousand year old genie, be thankful I can speak your language.’

A lightbulb went off ‘Does that mean you can help me with Shakespeare?’

Sehun said dryly ‘Where fore art thou Romeo.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After Luhan got his English essay complete, the two headed out to Jongin’s party. They arrived through the back door (inappropriately left open) and went down to the garage.

A disco lamp on the ceiling spun round casting huge rings of colour and there was a table with lemonade on the side.

‘I have to say, this is not my idea of a party.’ Sehun sat down on the kiddie chair inappropriately placed there.

‘Then what is your idea of a party?’ Luhan raged back… he felt an innermost duty to protect his friends. No one was allowed to insult them but himself.

Jongin arrived at that moment. The garage door opened while Sehun and Luhan sheiled their eyes from the bright light. A dark silhouette stood out against the white, and Jongin stepped into the room wearing a short red cape and ridiculous purple trousers with matching sparkly jacket.

‘THE MAGICIAN HAS ARRIVED!’ he declared, whilst Luhan blinked his eyes to get the bright afterimages off his eyelids ‘ AND HE HAS COME BEARING ALCOHOL!’

Kyungsoo slid in from behind while Jongin tried to operate the remote control that closed the door.

‘He’s having one of those delusional days.’ Kyungsoo whispered to Luhan who nodded sympathetically. ‘The worst thing was, he insisted going to the shops like that and walking back.’

Jongin swivelled round, apparently having kicked the garage door shut when it wouldn’t close properly. ‘Don’t even play that card! You tried to walk as far away from me as possible without me calling your name.’

Kyungsoo looked guilty and poured himself some lemonade.

‘And who is this?’ Jongin turned to look at Sehun, who just looked at Luhan .

‘Where is the food? And the other people. If these are the only people, I’m leaving.’

‘Did someone say FOOD?’ Jongin screamed the last word. ‘Ahem, DID SOMEONE SAY FOOD.’ His voice broke halfway through and he started coughing dramatically.

Another guy who looked half mad appeared in the doorway with about ten boxes of pizza ‘Yep, heard you just about, you should get that voice checked out I’m Chanyeol.’ Chanyeol finally realised the presence of Sehun.

‘And I’m Baekhyun.’ A bored short brunette appeared from behind carrying, surprise, surprise, more pizza.

Luhan finally thought again ‘Do you eat pizza?’ he asked Sehun, regretting his decision when Kyungsoo rushed up with his motherly instincts ‘ Are you anorexic? You are already thin enough, come on have some.’ He took the box from Chanyeol and put two face-sized oily margeritta pizza slices on Sehun’s palms.

‘I can. I don’t normally.’ Sehun’s glare was directed at Luhan.

He then folded over the pizza twice and popped the massive chunk in his mouth. ‘Nof ‘reshic shee?’

The tomato /saliva caught one of Jongin’s trouser sequins, who wiped it off with distaste. ‘I need to return this after a week for my refund. No dirtying it.’

‘That felt more like a counselling session than a party.’

‘I have a loose definition of party.’

Sehun propped up his feet on the table and leaned back on the chair.

‘So, any wishes for cooler friends?’

Luhan glared then proceeded to highlight Wuthering Heights for his independent project in English.

‘Why don’t you come with me to school tomorrow?’

‘That sounds like a date.’

Sehun found out Luhan did English Literature as a degree.

The first thing he said was ‘What is wrong with you?’

Luhan closed his latest depressing novel Crime and Punishment and marked the page.

They were sitting in the lecture hall just before the professor came in. Several of the students were shaking out of fear.

‘Only just figured? I took you in here about 5 minutes ago.’

‘I just didn’t think you were as bad as your friends. At least Jongin doesn’t do English.’

‘The students are nervous because the teacher’s hormonal by the way. And he’s a guy. Jongin didn’t choose English, he chose Paramedic Sciences.’

Sehun sat back and gaped. ‘What.’

The door slammed open and the professor came in. ‘Today is your lecture on Crime and Punishment.’

The students watched his facial expression with despair. ‘You’ll be getting cake when you leave because of your outstanding essays!’

The entire lecture hall breathed a sigh of relief.

Sehun fell asleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He awoke to Luhan shaking him violently. He drowsily followed Luhan. The professor turned round ‘ Yes, Luhan your grades aren’t … wasn’t your friend here before?’

Luhan turned round to see that Sehun had made himself ‘ghostly’ again.

‘Um, he’s silent. We nickname him Ninja Sehun.’

‘As I was saying, the reason you don’t beat Kyungsoo is the emotion. You get the writing right, but it has no power no oomph’ he swung his hands in an arc shape ‘ which you need.’

‘I need more originality.’

The professor stomped his foot ‘ No MORE POWER!’ His voice echoed round the hall.

Luhan politely bowed and left.

‘First question, is that guy related to Jongin?’ Sehun asked.

Luhan shook his head.

‘Second, whatcha gonna do about that oomph problem? How are you going to get more emotion into your life?’

Luhan looked over to see Sehun with a unreadable expression.

‘My first wish then, if to always get the best grades. Even in PE-related things.’

Sehun frowned for a millisecond, and then it was gone as he said ‘As you command.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luhan woke up to the sound of burning. He jumped out of bed to see Sehun waving a pan full of very-burnt-piece-of-charred-thing down the corridor.

‘Good way of getting people up I found.’ Sehun put the pan in the sink and let water sizzle over it.

Luhan rubbed his eyes and went back into his bedroom to change.

‘By the way, the good grades thing was absolutely LAME.’

Luhan glared ‘You have no idea how much pressure it is.’

Sehun rolled his eyes ‘Did little miss goody two shoes get 2^nd place? What a shame.’

Luhan dropped the subject, slung his backpack on and left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Sehun looked up from watching TV to see Luhan talking on the phone with someone.

‘No, Tao, it’ll be fine! He didn’t mean it… just don’t go overboard OK? Kyungsoo’ll be round there today and I’ll come tomorrow.’

Sehun raised an eyebrow, waiting for Luhan to expand.

‘Second wish,’ Luhan said, mentally going over his wording very carefully ‘Let my close group of friends, like all the people you have met and heard me speak to, never be depressed, give up, or be bullied but still remain their personalities.’

‘Well, that is kind of breaching the no saving lives deal, if you look at broader things. And it is a bit too many people and too many demands, but I’ll let it slip.’  Sehun had a sad look on his face as he made the wish true.

(out of uncertainty, he added the professor, Luhan did say to include anyone he’d been heard talking to)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

'What are you actually made of?’

Sehun’s eyes opened ‘I don’t know, I’ve never done scientific experiments on myself.’

‘Are you born?’

‘Kind of, out of people’s wishes or something crappy and cheesy like that.’

‘Then why are there only a few people who meet genies?’

Sehun smiled sadly ‘I guess there’s not enough happiness for everyone.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luhan burst in on the 3^rd month of their staying together.

‘I thought long and hard! I know what I want!’

Sehun looked at Luhan sadly.

‘What?’

‘I wish for a perfect partner, who will nearly always make me happy, who I love and who loves me. Isn’t that a great one? I’

‘Are you sure?’ Sehun asked carefully.

‘Of course!’

Something began to change in Sehun and he lost his glow. His body suddenly seemed to be more clunky, have bones

He lost his magical hair, which turned to an auburn colour.

His eyes turned from startling green to deep brown.

His body emitted warmth and smelt of home for the first time.

‘Good choice.’ Sehun said, before drowning Luhan in a bear hug and kissing him.