❝Chapter Five

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✎Her Pessimism

Honestly, Eunyoung really didn’t like the fact she left Luhan alone at her apartment. A million thoughts raced through her mind. What if he ran away? What if he broke something? What if he stole something? What if he got hungry and ate a human being for breakfast?! It because those exact same thoughts ran through her head endlessly. It’s like they were stuck on repeat, annoying the crap out of her, scaring the wits out of her. I mean, sure, Luhan was really naïve. He was cute, definitely, and had a really nice too. But what if that was all an act?

What if he really did know how to use a door, but pretended not to so he could show off his not-so-normal (but incredibly spectacular) ability to jump through windows forty-something feet high? What if he really did know how to use the shower, but pretended not to so that he would have the chance to take off his shirt in front of her (which—oh—she definitely for sure did not mind at all)? What if he really did know how to use the TV, but pretended not to so that she could sit closely to him as she taught him how to use the remote? If so, then there was only one solid, clear, obvious explanation:

I’m being seduced! Eunyoung gasped with eyes widened in realization, startlingly slapping a hand over and looking around suspiciously for no reason at all. Or maybe you’re just being conceited, a voice at the back of her head told her, and her hand fell limply from as she made a face in disappointment. Okay. Fine. That was a possible explanation too.

Lee Eunyoung had always been the girl who, in multiple-choice tests, chose one answer, but then started second-guessing herself and finding “logical” reasons why it could be another answer. She was the one who woke up every morning thinking, “What if I die today?” She was the one who stepped into a car thinking, “What if I got into a car accident?” or entered a building thinking, “What if this place gets robbed?” Yup. She was that girl. The over-thinker. The pessimist. In other words, she was just a ticking time bomb made up of questions, more questions, and even more questions! Hooray, right?

So she couldn’t help but think, what exactly was Luhan up to? Was he really as innocent as he seemed to be, or was there something more? As hard as she tried to push those doubtful thoughts down, she couldn’t. She had never been the type to stick her nose into another’s business, but—this one time—didn’t she have the right to? Since he would be temporarily living with her from now on, did she not have the right to know more about him? His background? His history? She didn’t want to be housing some kind of criminal-on-the-run because jail was just something she’d very much like to avoid, thank you very much.

With questions in mind, Eunyoung unlocked the door to her apartment and slipped through a small opening before closing it behind her. Immediately after she had dropped the little devil Jaehyun off at school she had rushed back to her home—after, of course, telling her parents that she had some unfinished business to do, which was to interrogate the lazy currently sleeping in her living room.

“Luhan.” Eunyoung nudged the called boy’s bare stomach with her foot. She not-so-subtly eyed his slender build, the broad shoulders, the vibrant outline of abs on his light skin. Did this boy had a habit of sleeping shirtless? Because, if so, that was a habit she wished he would never break.

“Ah, stop,” Luhan grumbled, his hoarse voice muffled by the pillow over his face as he felt her poke at his stomach with her foot. Amused by his y just-woke-up voice, she continued to poke at his sides (and of course his abs) with her foot—which was clean, okay?—and a small burst of sleepy giggles left him. “That tickles! What?” He smacked at her foot, making it instinctively pull back onto the floor. The couch pillow was taken off his face, and he squinted up at her as his eyes adjusted to the bright lighting.

“How old are you?” she asked, biting back the smile she wanted to give when he sat up, his hair a wild puff of chaos. He stared confusedly at her, ruffling his red velvety hair as he threw his legs onto the floor, making room for her. “Thanks.” She sat across from him, putting a small pillow over her lap. “And where were you born?” she continued curiously. “Where are your parents? Do you have any siblings? Are you single?” That last question hadn’t been part of the original batch she wanted to ask, so when it slipped out of , she couldn’t help the red creeping up her cheeks. Luhan looked at her, an eyebrow raised in amusement, and she awkwardly cleared . “S-so you gonna answer or what?” She tried to snap, but ended up stuttering in a soft voice, and the corner of his lips twitched.

“Well I can’t really say anything if you aren’t giving me the chance to,” he retorted lightly, taking note of the raging pulse he sensed from her.

“Ah, sorry.” She grinned sheepishly, rubbing her arm, and he cracked a goofy smile at her before turning to the TV.

“My name is Lu Han. I’m twenty-three, born in Beijing, China on April 20^th, 1990. I don’t have parents or siblings. And, yes, I’m single.” He looked at her through the corner of his eye, his seemingly innocent grin curving into a teasing smirk. “Unless you want to change that,” he joked, earning a face full of pillow.

“Nice try, lover boy.” She rolled her eyes. After allowing herself a moment to fangirl over his flirting with her, she switched on her professional mode and thought seriously about his background. Something about the way he said it all in one breath was just a little . . . weird; his tone seemed a bit robotic, and it felt like he was just boredly repeating things off a piece of paper in a monotone voice.

“You’re not lying about anything, right?” She raised a brow, and then mentally face-palmed herself afterwards. Why would he even tell her he was lying in the first place, when the point of lying was to hide information not wanted to be told? Aish, stupid girl. She rolled her eyes at herself.

“Of course not,” he answered confidently, his voice faltering; he felt a bit offended she doubted him. “Or, at least, that’s what they all told me,” he mumbled grouchily, obviously displeased with the topic, yet Eunyoung ignored it and continued to probe even further with the subject, her interest growing.

“What do you mean ‘they’?” she questioned, unintentionally straightening up and leaning in closer like how women gathered closely when gossiping. Luhan, realizing his slip-up, tensed just a bit, but noticeably to her eye.

“Nothing,” he replied curtly, making a dissatisfied frown grace her lovely features. Before she could open again, he changed the subject; “Did you bring any food?” He was actually pretty hungry now that he thought about it; he was asleep when she left in the morning and didn’t wake up until she decided to oh-so-kindly stab his stomach repeatedly with her foot.

“Huh?” she said, a little dazed by the change in topic. “What? No. I was going to cook, but—“

“Then cook, woman!” He hopped up to his feet, stretching his arms out, and she took a moment of silence to admire seeing his lean back muscles flex so ily. “I’m gonna go freshen up.” Although she tried to protest, he continued with his long strides down the hall until he finally reached the bathroom, and she knew he wasn’t listening to her anymore when the door closed quite loudly.

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Eunyoung had to admit, she was pleasantly surprised when Luhan wanted to join her in watching her cheesy K-Drama marathon. She just assumed he’d be watching some cool variety shows or cooking shows since he just loved food so much. But, she realized she was wrong when the Chinese man offered to join her in her bedroom (nothing dirty intended, you s) to watch some cliché dramas. Letting him choose through her wide collection, they settled on her nice and soft small bed to watch City Hunter.

They got by the first fifteen minutes with Luhan loudly complaining about how unfair the soldiers were treated, and then Eunyoung shoving popcorn into his mouth to shut him up. They both sat closely, their arms brushing lightly; she didn’t exactly have a big bed since, after all, she had always been the only person in it.

As the episode progressed to the protagonist living in Thailand, Eunyoung started fangirling over Lee Minho. (Who wouldn’t fangirl over that piece of perfection?) Luhan, though, wasn’t annoyed by her loud giggles. He was more annoyed by the fact she was praising another guy so much. “I can shoot better than him,” Luhan pointed out obnoxiously, making a face before angrily throwing popcorn into his mouth.

“Sure you can.” Eunyoung had to stop herself from snorting and rolling her eyes.

“I can!” he argued, sensing the sarcasm in her tone. “I bet I can rip his stupid head off, too,” he mumbled, only to get a bigger handful than he liked of popcorn shoved into his mouth by her.

“Less talking, more watching.”

“Less spazzing, more paying attention to the plot,” he retorted, grossing her out when he accidentally spit some popcorn all over her blankets.

And so, they—by some magical miracle—managed to finish the first episode with little to no quarreling. During the second episode, Luhan broke the silence when the club scene came up where Nana, the female protagonist, was kissed by the male protagonist. It was that disgustingly cliché scene where the girl stood frozen with wide eyes while the boy kissed her. “Is kissing supposed to be enjoyable?” Luhan asked genuinely curiously, cocking his head at the screen where the camera rotated a full slow-motion 360° around the leads.

Eunyoung let out a long, dreamy sigh over the hot actor before she replied, “Yeah. If you’re getting kissed by someone super hot like Lee Minho.” She giggled over him a little more, making Luhan roll his eyes.

“But it looks so . . . uncomfortable,” he pointed out, grimacing, and breathing out in relief when the scene was over.

“Because that’s not even kissing,” she said, scoffing almost. “It’s just awkwardly pressing lips together—and barely too!” She chuckled, lightly making a face.

“Oh.” He gazed thoughtfully at her, his eyes unconsciously wandered to her lips. “So kissing is fun?”

“Umm.” She shifted around slightly, obviously not comfortable with his questioning. “I . . . guess?” She let out a nervous chuckle, gluing her eyes to the TV screen as she chomped on popcorn.

“Eunyoung?”

“Hmmm?”

“Can I kiss you?”

“WHAT?!?!” Eunyoung’s head snapped violently to the side, and she let out a loudly surprised gasp when his nose brushed hers, the proximity of their faces nearly nothing. “LUHAN‼‼” She impulsively shoved away his face, which had turned red from all the laughter, while her face had turned red from all the embarrassment. “Seriously?!” She took the pillow from behind her, using it as a weapon to smack him with as he doubled over with laughter. “You scared the crap out of me! Don’t do that‼‼” Her face still burning with humiliation, she buried it in the pillow, hoping to hide how quickly her heart was racing because of him—not because she liked him, but because she was so utterly shocked with how close his face was to hers.

“S-sorry!” he shouted out, breathing heavily from the laughter as her hilariously mortified expression replayed in his mind, and she only sunk her face even more into her pillow. Clutching his ribs, Luhan quickly regained his posture in a straight sitting position, grinning crookedly when he saw her still doubled over with her face hidden shamefully behind her pillow. “Seriously, though.” The grin never left his face, but the look in his eyes hardened slightly.

“Seriously what?” she grumbled irritatedly, her voice slightly muffled by the padding.

“Can I kiss you?”

“ . . . . . . Dream on, lover boy,” she muttered, and he pouted dejectedly at her. Was it so wrong to want to know what kissing felt like?

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If things weren’t awkward between them enough (in Eunyoung’s point of view), things just got more awkward later. After a long marathon of watching various episodes from various different dramas, it was finally nearing Jaehyun’s release time from school, and Eunyoung was out to go pick him up.

Luhan, dying to get some fresh air, begged for her to let him tag along. Apparently, he had been too longly deprived of natural air and sunlight (?) and spent—I quote—“almost forty-eight loooooooong, booooooooring hours watching stupid human shows.” Which was so not true, she argued, since he pretty much just ate and slept most of the time. But, eventually, he managed to persuade her (with that damn aegyo!) to let him leave the apartment.

As they walked down the hallway of her apartment complex, Eunyoung couldn’t help but note how jittery he was, like he was hopping as he walked. Was he always this hyper? she wondered, answering no to herself. I mean, the guy just slept and ate and slept and ate. Who knew he had this much energy in him to be jumping, excitedly looking around, but she couldn’t tell what was so interesting about a plain hallway with doors everywhere. Shaking it off, they finally reached the elevator, and Luhan stared intently with his mouth slightly agape as the doors slid open. Seeing how dazed he was by the moving doors, she grabbed at his elbow and dragged him inside.

“This is called an elevator,” she explained, grinning at his adorably clueless expression, only to frown moments later. “Something you should have used—by the way,” she snapped, thinking back to her broken window, and he grinned sheepishly at her.

Finally, the exciting (to Luhan) elevator ride came to an end, and the two young adults walked down the streets casually, surprisingly earning lots of stares. Eunyoung was pretty, yes, enough to earn a few glances, but never before had she literally just been stared at so intensely.

But, then, she realized it wasn’t her all the other girls were staring at. It was Luhan, that annoying idiot who was waving enthusiastically at every single person they walked by—be it a middle school girl, some teenage boys, or some old ahjummas. The guy waved at everyone, and practically shouted “HELLO!” right in their faces—which they didn’t mind since he was oh-so adorably cute. And, as he did so, Eunyoung realized something she hadn’t before: This guy had a knack for knowing exactly how to embarrass her.

The rest of the journey to the elementary school was filled with Eunyoung explaining to Luhan the various shops and businesses like what movie theaters were, and what grocery stores sold, and most awkwardly . . .

“What’s that?” He pointed down at a building across the street as they waited for the crosswalk. She glanced over to that direction, her face immediately reddening upon seeing the store.

“Um . . . . J-just a store,” she stammered shyly, playing with the hem of her flowery pink blouse. He, obviously, wasn’t satisfied with the vague answer and therefore decided to hear more.

“What kind of store?” He cocked his head in curiosity, squinting his eyes at the mannequin on display, and she inwardly groaned. Usually, she found his never-ending curiosity of learning things absolutely adorable. This time, though, she just wished he would shut up.

“It’s just a lingerie shop, Luhan, nothing important . . . . ” she grumbled as she grabbed his arm, dragging him through the street when it was time to walk. He stared thoughtfully at the mannequin which wore a y pair of red and black laced undergarments, before the store grew smaller and smaller in the distance. His head turned straight, and he tilted his head down to stare at Eunyoung’s chest. Does she wear those, too? he wondered naïvely, only to be snapped out of his thoughts when a hand suddenly roughly shoved his face away, causing him to stumble back.

“You ‼‼”

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“Noona, is this your boyfriend?” Jaehyun beamed up at her, his tiny fists clutched around the straps of his red backpack. Before Eunyoung couldn’t deny it, he quickly added, “Wait, never mind. Nobody would ever want to date Noona,” earning a smack on the head.

“You’ve never had a boyfriend?” Luhan piped up, a wide smile on his face when he saw how flustered she was. “I’ll be your boyfriend, Eunyoungie~” He opened his arms up happily, waiting for her to jump in them.

“Shut up.” She shoved his face away, annoyed by that cheeky grin. “And I have had boyfriends before.” She made a face at her brother, who had a crooked grin on his face. He glanced up at Luhan, that mischievous smile immediately getting wiped from his face.

“So who are you?” Jaehyun tilted his head up even more. “Are you Korean, Sir? You sure don’t look like it. Do. You. Un. Der. Stand. What. I’m. Say. Ing?” He spoke in slow syllables, almost like how a person would speak with a goldfish or a toddler, and the taller man couldn’t help but frowned. Was he seriously being mocked by a little kid?

“Yes I do,” replied Luhan snappily. “But I bet you don’t understand this, you stupid little punk,” he continued quickly in Mandarin, making the Lee siblings blink in confusion.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He beamed specifically at Eunyoung, completing ignoring the kid who then proceeded to roll his eyes.

“Hey, Noona!” Jaehyun rudely got in between the adults, smiling up at his older sister. “I got a hundred precent on a math test today,” he said, earning a proud grin from his sister and an affectionate ruffle of the hair. “Could I get ice cream as a reward?” She rolled her eyes, her lips still curved in a smile, and Luhan butted in before she could reply.

“I want some too!” He lightly shoved the little boy’s head, making him stumble to the side, and grinned widely at Eunyoung, who again rolled her eyes, but this time at him.

“We’re not getting ice cream,” she said, earning a wail of protests.

“But I aced my test!” Jaehyun complained, thinking he deserved a little reward for working so hard. Luhan, totally ignoring the little kid, tugged at Eunyoung’s blouse as a cute pout was formed on his face.

“Please, Eunyoungie?” he begged cutely, making her cheeks pink. “C’mon~ I’ve never had ice cream before!” The first time he heard of the creamy dessert was through a commercial on TV, and boy was it delicious-looking.

“You’ve never had ice cream before?” Jaehyun gawked up at the older, who shook his head with an even bigger pout that made Eunyoung purse her lips to contain her fangirl squeals. “Noona! Noona!” He swiftly spun back to face his older sister. “Now we definitely have to get ice cream!” He grabbed at her hand, attempting to drag her towards the ice cream parlor, but she groaned out in protest with her feet glued straight to the ground.

“But we haven’t eaten dinner yet and—and what are you doing?!” She squeaked out when Luhan tugged at her other hand, dragging her forward without even having to try, which made her wonder, was she really that light?

“Your brother’s leaving us behind,” he pointed out, a gentle but firm grip around her soft hand. Her eyes gazed a while longer at their hands before she finally looked up, stretching her head to see Jaehyun already racing ahead of them as he led the way. Almost unconsciously, her gaze wandered back to their locked hands, staring thoughtfully at them for a moment before she cleared . She picked up her pace to keep in step with Luhan, who still hadn’t let go of her hand, making her a bit uncomfortable.

“Um, are you going to let go now or . . . ?” she asked awkwardly, a rosy pink tinting her cheeks. Still walking, he turned his head to her, his expression blank, and his eyes fell to their hands. He didn’t respond for a moment, gazing at their hands with an emotion she couldn’t exactly read, before his head snapped straight ahead.

“Nope,” he answered, a wide grin spreading on his face as he made longer strides, making her trail just a few steps behind him. opened in shock, and she tried to pull her hand out, but his grip would only tighten. How could a grip be so strong, yet so soft at the same time?

Arriving at the ice cream shop, Luhan finally let go, using his hands to press up against the glass as he gaped at all the buckets of creamy ice creams. Jaehyun was doing the same, except he was up on his tippy-toes, and they both had adorable grins slapped on their faces. “Noona, what are you getting?” His gaze never left the cooler, and Eunyoung lightly bonked his head from behind.

“I’m not getting anything,” she said, and Luhan’s face fell in disbelief. “Hurry up.” She ruffled both Luhan’s and Jaehyun’s hair, treating them both like children—and she had a feeling their mentality was the same age.

“Could I get all of them?” Luhan asked, tilting his head all the way back to look at her, a cute beam on his baby face, and eyes grew to the size of saucers.

“Luhan, there’s twenty-nine flavors,” she managed to choke out, trying not to be swayed by his innocent expression.

“Your point?”

“No!” She squeaked, shoving his face away. “You either get one flavor, or no flavors at all,” she said sternly, resulting in loud groans and whines filling her reluctant ears.

“Meanie!”

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Eunyoung walked with her arms crossed and a sour expression on her face. Luhan and Jaehyun were both just a few steps ahead of her, the smaller boy going on and on about this cute girl at school and the older man half paying attention, half busy eating messily at his ice cream. It looked as if they were two brothers who had always been close all their lives, despite barely meeting less than fifteen minutes ago. Eunyoung wasn’t really surprised, though. Most kids tended to be quite brave and courageous, eagerly making new friends, and Luhan—despite not being a kid like Jaehyun—definitely acted like one.

She looked around, noticing how many stares they were getting. Or, more specifically Luhan was getting. Since most schools were released just less than half an hour ago, there were many junior high and high school students going to cafés to form study groups and whatnot. The female students definitely didn’t pass up the chance to soak in some free eyecandy as they walked down to their designated study area, and Eunyoung couldn’t help but blush despite the attention not being directed at her.

When she tuned back into the boys’ conversation, it seemed as if they had moved from talking about girls to sports. This time, Eunyoung was actually surprised when she heard Luhan say he’d never played soccer before. He seemed pretty athletic, that was for sure. And, now that she thought about it, a little too athletic. Where’d he get the leg strength and speed to jump from the ground up to the fourth floor of a building?

And, now that her mind was back on the night he arrived, she couldn’t help but recall every detail of the memorable night. She had seen clearly how, after he had landed on the carpet, he had stood up all casually as if he hadn’t just jumped forty-something feet high in the air through hard glass. Shards of the crystal had sunken deep into his arms, chest, and legs, but not his face since it had been shielded by his arms. He had looked so normal, almost as if he was used to doing inhumane stunts like that.

But the part that stuck most hauntingly in her memories was when he had plucked the glass out of his body like a woman would pluck hair from her eyebrows: wincing slightly, but overall normal. Blood bubbled through the cuts on his skin—his skin that started to pull together within just a matter of seconds. For moments she thought she was just hallucinating, but it was real—everything had been real. How was it possible? Because she was pretty damn ing sure her skin took days or weeks to heal after a deep cut rather than seconds. It wasn’t normal. He wasn’t normal.

And, honestly—being a girl who grew up around normal—she was starting to regret not having had called the cops. But then again, just seeing that innocent little smile on Luhan’s face, every ounce of fear and regret and panic just flew right out of her body—replaced with the warmer, more gentle feeling of comfort. Despite being at times rude and annoying, he was always just cute without even trying; he was just so childish and naïve and unaware of his surroundings. Kicking him out would be like throwing out a cold puppy, or dumping a little kid all alone on the streets. And she didn’t have the heart to do something like that.

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After a slow-paced stroll through the nearby park, the trio finally arrived at the parents’ house. Luhan was about to step in, when Eunyoung suddenly paused on unlocking the door.

“Luhan.” She turned to him, who had a confused expression painted on. “Wait outside,” she said, making Luhan’s face just fall in shock.

“What?” He squeaked out in surprise. “Why? It’s hot out here!” he complained, lightly thrashing his arms, and a tinge of guilt burst through her skin.

“Sorry. My parents just can’t see you, okay?” She gave him an apologetic smile, and he groaned while rolling his eyes in frustration and annoyance.

“Fine. Just come back quick,” he told her, stepping back and plopping down onto the grass. “I’m hungry.” He gave a boyish grin while she was now the one to groan and roll her eyes.

“You’re always hungry,” she pointed out, a playful smile on her face as she unlocked the door. After opening it, Jaehyun was the one to go inside first, her following right behind and closing the door.

“Eunyoung, Jaehyun.” Their dad peered at the kids through the corner of his eyes which were glued to their HDTV. “You guys are back,” he said in a monotone voice.

“Obviously.” Jaehyun grinned jokingly, earning a smack on the head from his older sister.

“Brat,” Mr. Lee and Eunyoung chorused, and the father-daughter pair looked at each other with soft chuckles.

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Although she was supposed to join her family for dinner, Eunyoung left shortly after arriving, telling her parents she had an essay to write and groceries to buy—which weren’t at all lies. Today was Wednesday, and she again had classes on Thursday tomorrow. Most of her essay was written gradually over the weeks, but she still had a lot to edit and rephrase with better words and whatnot. And groceries. Well. Thanks to a certain someone—cue the evil glare to the naïve idiot Luhan—she had no meat left in the fridge.

“What are your favorite foods, Luhan?” Eunyoung asked as they strolled into the supermarket, Luhan walking with his mouth agape as his eyes wandered all over the long aisles and seas of people.

“Anything with meat,” he replied dreamily, grinning when she rolled her eyes, and he followed right behind her as he pushed the shopping cart. There were some teenage girls shopping with their moms, ogling over his good looks as they wondered if he was some kind of ulzzang* or something. He caught a certain girl staring for a little too long, and shot her a dazzling smile that made her almost faint from shock. Grinning to himself, he quickly hurried over to Eunyoung, who was scrutinizing at the pile of onions.

“Where’s the meat?” Luhan complained lightly, making a face at the vegetables, and Eunyoung waved her hand airily, almost smacking him in the face.

“We’ll get there.” She grabbed a bag and immediately started tossing in onions (a little too many for his liking, but he didn’t complain). A sour expression still on his face, he caught the bag she threw at him, and harshly threw it into the cart—hoping to bruise the onions so that they wouldn’t have to eat them.

“Could we get some chips?” He beamed, jumping up and down cutely as he gripped the handle of the shopping cart. “And some cookies! And could you make patbingsu*? I saw it in a commercial and it looked really good! And how about some poolppang*? I saw an ahjussi selling them outside! And—“

“Luhan!” Eunyoung shrieked in frustration, throwing a bag of mushrooms at his face, which conveniently landed flat in the cart. “That’s too many sweets!” she scolded, not giving in to the gloomy pout on his face as he softly rubbed his bruised nose. “You need to eat some veggies. They’re good for you.” She patted his head comfortingly before skipping on over to where the tomatoes where, and he pretended to gag when she wasn’t looking.

After loading up on plently of red onions, tomatoes, green onions, bell peppers, etc., she finally proceeded to leave the vegetables to get some fruits. He trailed right behind her, grudgingly pushing the cart. Every time she was too busy examing some fruits, he would very subtly toss a bag of tomatoes out here and a bag of onions out there and so on, but he made sure not to throw too many out of the cart since she would notice the large decrease in veggies.

“What’s your favorite fruit?” Eunyoung hummed lightly as she tapped her chin, peering at all the rows of baskets.

“Um.” Luhan shifted around in his spot, leaning his forearms against the bar on the shopping cart. Truthfully, he hadn’t had much fruit so he wasn’t really sure. “Anything’s fine,” he said with a shrug, and she blew a raspberry at his vague answer. Dedicing to choose her favorite fruits instead, she ripped a few bags from the roll and filled each bag with carefully chosen mangos, sour green apples, and juicy fat peaches. He watched her boredly, yawning here and there as he waited for her to finish. “When are we getting meat?” he asked grumpily, wanting to just get home and eat already so he could sleep.

“Shut up, Luhan.” She tossed a bag of oranges at him, which would have slapped him in the face if not for his speedy reflexes. Grinning at him, she spun around happily, sauntering off toward the meat section. His face brightening up, he quickly raced after her, easily dodging through ahjummas and children with incredible speed and agility.

Since there was a loud crowd of women around the cold displays of red meats, Luhan had to stay back to watch the exceptionally full cart, but that didn’t stop him from stretching his head to peer at the racks of meat. His mouth watered at the dripping blood from a slab that a worker picked up, and he could feel his heart hammering wildly against his chest. Seeing all this blood—all this meat—made his teeth tingle into small little fangs, fangs that just wanted to bite into every slab of raw meat there was. A wave of hunger flashed through his eyes, and his body became all jittery from the excitement and anticipation of food.

“Get lots of beef, Eunyoungie!” he cheered in an excessively loud tone, catching weird glances from the people nearby, and Eunyoung’s head ducked in embarrassment when eyes turned to her. “And some pork‼ I like pork‼‼” he shouted enthusiastically, childishly jumping up and down, and she smacked her face repeatedly with her hand.

I don’t know him. I don’t know him. I don’t know him, she chanted to herself, clearing as she tried her hardest to ignore the amused, or irritated, looks thrown her way. Quickly getting some beef and pork at the idiot’s request, she slipped through the crowd, and Luhan nearly tackled her for the packages of meat. Realizing he was seriously just about to tear them open and eat them right here, Eunyoung quickly slapped at his hands, squealing as she took the packages back.

“Wait until we get home!” She threw the packages into the cart, watching as his face fell with disappointment, which soon swiveled into cute anger.

“But Eunyoungie‼”

“No!” she denied firmly, her voice higher than she would have liked, but it would be hella embarrassing for her if he just suddenly ate raw meat in the middle of a crowded aisle. “I need it to cook,” she explained even further, putting the meat underneath a few bags of onions, which made Luhan’s face scrunch up as if he just ate a really sour lemon. Oooh, lemons. She snapped her fingers, almost forgetting to buy the lemons. With a speedy turn, she marched back to the fruits and vegetables area.

Luhan stayed back for a few seconds, gazing longingly at the corner of a meat package, his lips as the red meat showed through the plastic wrap. Wait for me, my love. With an overly dramatic sigh, he spun around, hurriedly pushing the cart after her.

He reached the designated area, only to be confused when he caught no sight of his host. Did she go somewhere else? Scratching his head with a little pout on his face, he hopped up and down, trying to catch her over the heads of random people and the tall signs advertising discounts. “Eunyoungie!” he shouted with his hands cupped around his mouth, and people around looked at him like he was crazy. If only they knew he jumped through a window on the fourth story. “Eunyoungie‼‼” he screamed even louder, startling the other shoppers into anger.

Finally he caught a glimpse of her head as it popped out from behind a fruit stand, her eyes so wide that it reminded him of his good old, tiny little Korean friend Kyungsoo back at the lab. A sad smile formed on his face at the sad memories, and he quickly shook off the bitter feeling of nostalgia before rushing toward her, weaving the cart through a group of ahjummas. After a few seconds, he finally reached her, grinning when he saw her flustered look. “I was looking for you!” he shouted out of habit, slapping a hand over his mouth when she shushed him loudly.

“You are so embarrassing!” she whispered squeakily, throwing a bag of lemons she picked out into the cart. Note to self: Never take Luhan grocery shopping.

“Ahehe . . . . ” He scratched at his temple, giving her a sheepish grin that made her almost forget the amused looks people were throwing at them. Almost.

“Let’s just go,” she grumbled, shyly lowering her head, and she quickly shuffled past him. A goofy grin still plastered to his baby face, Luhan happily obliged, pushing the cart right behind her.

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After Luhan unloaded the eleven bags of groceries from the taxi, the young adults headed up the slightly big elevator to her apartment. Although Eunyoung offered to help carry just one bag, he denied firmly, saying he wanted to help out a bit since she paid for so much.

But pfft. Yeah right. She knew it was just because he wanted to show off his strength. The guy had a tendency to show off, she guessed, based on how he was always shirtless at home, putting his smooth abs right on display, and how he easily helped her stand by using just one pinky finger, and how he was now carrying eleven heavy plastic bags of groceries without even ripping one. But it’s not like she minded anyway. Because—oh—she really had no problem. Especially with the whole “walking-around-shirtless-at-home” part.

Grinning to herself, she happily unlocked the door to her apartment, and Luhan couldn’t help but raise a brow in amusement. Why is she so happy all of a sudden? he wondered, not knowing she was giggling ertedly about his body, but then he shrugged it off a second later. As long as she’s happy, he thought with a cheesy grin. She opened the door, revealing the darkness of her vacant apartment, and he stepped inside first.

Only to scream and drop the bags when a woman suddenly charged at him with a baseball bat in her hands.

With his well-trained reflexes, he managed to catch the bat before it cracked into his skull, and his eyes widened in horror. He had never been so thankful towards the scientists in his life.

“Tiff!” Eunyoung squeaked in surprise when she saw the puffy mess of hair on her older roommate’s head, and she would have laughed at Tiffany’s crazy twitch of the eye if not for the fact she just nearly killed Luhan with a baseball bat. Tiffany looked at her, finally noticing the figure by the door, and the air in her lungs were finally released disguised as a loud sigh.

“Eun, oh my God!” The Korean-American flung her arms open, accidentally hitting Luhan in the face, but she didn’t notice his irritated eye spasm as she tackled the younger girl into a bone-crushing hug.

“What were you doing?!” Eunyoung squealed, still in shock from her best friend’s sudden attack, and Tiffany pulled away from the embrace with another loud breath.

“I thought . . . ” The older of the two placed a hand on her hip, doubling over in exasperation. “He was a robber. Didn’t you see the news?” She shot the younger girl a look. “There’s this jewelry thief going around apartments in Seoul.” And Luhan nearly died at her answer, his eyes still popped out in horror as he held the baseball bat which nearly fractured his skull.

“And that gives you the right to pound his head with a bat?!” His voice went a knotch higher than Eunyoung’s, and Tiffany gave him a sheepish smile.

“Self-defense?” she argued, but when she saw the terrified looks on the other people’s faces, she quickly cleared and decided to change the subject. “Um. So who are you?” she asked, genuinely curious now that she had calmed down. She quickly straightened up, fixing her wild hair. Hey. The guy was cute. Yummy even.

“Um.” Eunyoung massaged her temples, chewing down on her lip. She had been so busy fussing over her new guest, that she had forgotten about her two roommates who weren’t supposed to know of him. She shot a look to Luhan, who made a face at her and then glared at her roomie, before he picked up the bags and trudged to the kitchen. Hell no was he going to introduce himself to someone who almost killed him. Tiffany, noticing his rude attitude toward her, scratched her tilted head with a clueless expression.

“I think he’s mad at me,” she pointed out densely, and Eunyoung almost snorted at the obvious comment.

“No. He totally loves you even though you charged at him with a steel weapon.” She wasn’t usually very sarcastic or witty, but really? The answer was so obvious.

“Well,” Tiffany scoffed, flipping her hair arrogantly. “What the hell am I supposed to do when I come home to a missing window, and a random guy walking into my apartment?” she reasoned, crossing her arms, and the younger crinkled her nose. She probably would have done the same. She glanced at the window, reminded of it by Tiffany, and she blinked when she saw the blanket lying against the wall instead of covering it up. It wasn’t windy today, so the weather wasn’t a possibility for the blanket to have fallen. Plus, the blanket was held up by strong tacks, which were now lying questionably on the carpet.

“Did you take the blanket out?” she asked curiously, walking over to it and picking up the thin fabric. Tiffany stared at her, blinking back.

“No. It was already down when we got back,” she said, making the younger furrow her brows. So who took it down? Her lips pursed suspiciously. “And what the hell happened anyway?” The Korean-American threw herself onto the couch, frowning at the empty window frame. “Did some kids throw a soccer ball into our apartment or something?”

“Um.” Eunyoung fiddled with the blanket, again putting her lip between her teeth. “Sure,” she answered with a hesitant grin, and Tiffany rolled her eyes. The girl was a horrible liar. But whatever. As long as a robber didn’t break in, she was good.

“So who’s the hottie you brought with you?” Tiffany asked boldly, glancing over at Luhan as he sneakily tossed a few onions into the trash can, and she died of laughter as he tried to hide it by throwing crumpled napkins over it.

“His name’s Luhan.” Eunyoung replied, too busy pinning the blanket up to notice what he was doing in the kitchen.

“Is he single?”

“Yes, but I don’t think he’s interested in ahjummas.”

“Hey!” Tiffany laughed, throwing a pillow at her dongsaeng’s* head.

“So where’s Jessica Unnie*?” the younger asked, rolling her eyes as a subtle smile was on her face. Tiffany turned away, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV.

“She went out to buy groceries.” A brow raised. “And what the hell happened to the all the meat? Did you eat all? Huh? You fatty,” she said teasingly, and the same pillow she threw at Eunyoung was thrown at her head.

“Luhan’s a big eater,” Eunyoung admitted, a crooked grin on her face as she stepped back to see if the blanket was up straight. “I swear. His appetite is beastly.” Because, really, “beastly” seemed like the most proper term to describe the naïve young man. The way he jumps so high. The way he can grow claws (which she would have to question later, when they had more privacy together). The way he can heal magically (which made her kind of envious).

“Oooh.” Tiffany looked at her, a playful smirk on her face. “So that’s why you ditched the sleepover? To sneak some alone time with your little boyfriend?” she asked in a mocking tone, but there was a hint of seriousness in her tone.

“No,” Eunyoung replied a little too hastily, a little bit flustered. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Mhm.” Tiffany waved her hand, obviously not believing it. “That’s why he’s been having dinner here, and probably sleeping over too?” she joked, but she was actually right; he had been eating and sleeping here, but not for the reason she thought. Eunyoung heaved an exhausted sigh. There was really no point in arguing with her unnie. With a shake of the head, the twenty-two-year-old shuffled into the kitchen just as Luhan finished putting in all the groceries (either in the trash or the refridgerator).

“What are you going to cook?” he asked eagerly, jumping around excitedly when he saw her fumble through the freezer where he just put the meat in.

“Hmmm.” Eunyoung twisted her lips in thought, and he stared at her with his mouth slightly agape. She’s cute, he thought, a soft smile gracing his features. “I don’t know.” She shrugged, scratching at her head. She was kind of in the mood for jjajangmyeon*, but, then again, she had that just a few days before his unexpected arrival. Maybe bibimbap*? She hadn’t made that in a while. “Have you ever had bibimbap, Luhan?” she asked as she—much to his pleasure—pulled out a package of red, bloody beef.

“Nope,” he answered dreamily, eyes gazing longingly at the meat, and she gave him a bewildered look.

“Geez.” She almost rolled her eyes as she closed the freezer. “How could you not have had such a classic meal?” He gave her a shrug, a dorky smile on his face. “What have you eaten the past twenty-three years of your life?” she asked with a groan as she pulled the fridge open to look for vegetables.

“Not much,” he replied honestly, leaning against a chair. “They mostly just gave us energy pills. Those’d last for weeks. Sometimes, if we’re good, they’d give us rice and—“ He stopped abruptly, cursing himself when he realized he told too much, by her confused expression.

“‘They’? Who’s they?” she inquired interestedly; this was the second time he had mentioned that pronoun, and she felt it only right she knew its antecedent. He opened his mouth, silence spilling out. Before he could think of an excuse, she suddenly spun around to face him. “Where’d you put all the onions?” She put her hands on her hips, giving him an accusing look, and he blinked innocently and his body swaved with his hands folded behind his back.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb.” She rolled her eyes, holding out the bag of onions. “I bought eight, yet there are only three.” She gave him a look. “And I’m pretty sure you didn’t eat them,” she pointed out, wagging a finger at him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He crossed his arms firmly, huffing as he held his chin up high, and she narrowed her eyes at him. She opened to protest, but he cut her off with a cheeky grin. “Shower time!” he shouted, waving bye to her before bolting into the bathroom, and she groaned frustratedly while banging her head on the fridge door. Remind her again why she was taking care of such an annoying child-like idiot?

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When I saw in comments for other stories, I realized not everyone knew Korean terms, so I decided to add in footnotes. Hopefully it will help.^^

*ulzzang: “best face”; someone who is considered more beautiful/handsome than average

*patbingsu: shaved ice dessert with various fruits (strawberries, bananas, kiwi fruits, etc.), condensed milk, fruit syrups, etc. and topped with ice cream or frozen yogurt

*poolppang: sweet custard bread filled with slightly sweet red bean paste; soft, chewy, and yummy in my tummy

*dongsaeng: used to refer to a younger sibling, or a close friend who is younger than you

*unnie: used to refer to an older sister, or a close friend who is older than you (only girls call girls this)

*jjajangmyeon: noodle dish (preferably with kalguksu noodles [“knife noodles”]) topped with a thick chunjang (salty black soybean sauce), diced pork, vegetables, and sometimes seafood

*bibimbap: rice mixed with veggies, beef, and egg usually with gochujang (spicy red pepper paste) and sesame oil