“Well, won’t you look at that?!” snarled a man who was sitting at the table beside me during breakfast. He was apparently holding a tablet, and when I took a glimpse at it, he was reading an online newspaper in French.

 

Since the French was really hard to understand, I was confused at first what the article was about. Then, I saw heaps of flowers scattered across a field of grass as the main picture, and the police looking beside themselves with rage.

 

The waitress who came to me must have known I’ve been eyeing the man’s tablet, because she said, “It was on TV this morning. Apparently, the caretaker of Jardin de Tuileries opened the gate at 6:03 AM this morning, only to find out that most of the bushes were practically empty, and the vandalisers had left a mess of flowers.” She pursed her lips. “Rumor has it that the damage cost almost half a thousand euros.”

 

“Oh, did it?” I said, desperately trying to keep my voice steady. “And so… what are they going to do with the perpetrators?”

 

She looked confused again as she answered, “Possibly they’ll serve time at the city prison. The police are still searching for the perpetrators, though. But I think they’ve found a really good lead. During the search, police claims to have found a hoodie that might have belonged to the perp.”

 

I kept chewing the bread I had for breakfast. It was all I can do not to look surprised.

 

Yoona was wrong about something. It did matter whether I lost my hoodie or not.

 

Because the way things are now, my hoodie could be the reason our midnight adventure ended shortly.

***

I stayed at my hotel room all day, not wanting to meet anyone. What if I bump into the hotel concierge, the one most likely to know about my whereabouts last night? Then again, I found it stupid. I only said I was going to go out with some friends. Why worry?

 

While I was desperate to find a way so I could go out without being noticed by the concierge, an IM immediately popped at my laptop screen.

 

minseok26: lu! hadn’t heard from you in a while.

 

Kim Minseok. The friend who’s now my only saviour. Practically because the other shenanigans I call “friends” are responsible for my insanity. I suddenly feel a pang of guilt for not trying to talk to him whenever I have free time.

 

muxluhan: minseok! sorry haven’t talked to you in a while—i’ve been busy.

 

minseok26: no worries. btw, my aunt sounds desperate now. have you located the cousin?

 

Oh, that’s right. The cousin. How is it that I obey the words of the so-called “friends” I’ve only known for a few days, but instead ignore the wishes of the best friend I’ve known for years?

 

No. I couldn’t say that I didn’t give an effort to even look for her. That would hurt him too much. So instead, I told the only piece of truth I was certain of.

 

muxluhan: no, sorry… i don’t know where she is, honestly.

 

minseok26: oh… nvm. i’m sure you did your best.

 

Looking at Minseok’s IM caused another pang in my heart. It was palpable in that IM that he was helpless, that he had turned to his friend to help someone he loved, but even that friend couldn’t help him. I decided I had to make the wrong right. I had to at least try to find Minseok’s cousin.

 

muxluhan: or probably i spotted her but i don’t know whether it’s her or not! there’s a bunch of people from korea i’ve been hanging out with… maybe one of them’s her?

 

minseok26: in that case, let me help you. i’ll send the pic of my cousin right away. via e-mail, if that’s okay with you?

 

The e-mail appeared on my inbox minutes later, and as I opened it, my jaw opened as well.

 

The photo had given a light on the cousin mystery. It made me easier to find out who the cousin is. No, I don’t need to find out her identity—I know her. In fact, I know her very well.

 

Now all I need to do is confront the cousin, and if I could, persuade her to go back home.

***

After the IM session, I let my body drop on the bed and shut my eyes. By the time I opened them, my room was pitch black, with only the moonlight shimmering on my desk and my face. The lack of sleep I had last night must be part of the cause.

 

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. This should be how I spend my night. Alone, with only the moon to accompany me. Not running around Paris with three youngsters who didn’t know any better. They’re probably at Arc de Triomphe now, like Jongin told me, doing God-knows-what…

 

Wait. I was supposed to be there 10 minutes before midnight, right?

 

I quickly my bedside table to get a good look at the clock.

 

“Holy ,” I muttered to myself.

 

It was 11:30 PM.

 

The hotel and the Arc de Triomphe isn’t that far, but if I don’t go now, I could be late.So the only thing I did was brush my unkempt hair and wash my face, so as not to look sleepy.Then I scrambled out of my room into the hotel lobby, trying to avoid the concierge.

 

And before I knew it, my legs began to float across the pavement. I keep glancing at my wristwatch, for fear the hands will show 11:50 PM.

 

Finally, I could spot the Arc de Triomphe from a distance. Even in the darkness, the lights still illuminate the three figures I was expecting.

 

“Luhan!” Yoona squealed from a distance. I waved back, and saw Seohyun and Jongin waiting expectantly for me.

 

By the time I arrived, my feet felt like it might fall off, my lungs were overworked, and all I want to do was to drop on the grass.

 

“You’re lucky,” said Jongin, his voice sounding more pleasant than usual. “You arrived at 11:49.” He imitated what might be a sigh of relief. “So, should we get going?”

 

Yoona nods. “Sure!”

 

The four of us walked side by side, but it wasn’t long before we walked two by two, possibly because Seohyun tugged at Jongin’s sleeve and made him walk in front with her.

 

That left me with Yoona. Sweet, innocent Yoona, whom I already considered as a friend, but there was never a chance for me to really know her, so I decided to use this time to talk to her. After all, she is a part of us, and has always been the most concerned about me.

 

“So,” I said, trying to converse with her. “You, um, ran away from home, right?”

 

She shook her head.

 

“I didn’t run away from home.” She gave me a knowing smile, which simply made me more curious than ever. “I ran away from the house I used to live in. A home isn’t the place where you spend most of your lifetime. A home is a place where your loved ones are.”

 

Smart thinking.

 

“But have you ever missed your family back in Korea?” I said, desperately trying to dig information from her. “You’ve lived there almost your entire life—don’t you have people you love there?”

 

She opened and was about to reply when we both heard Jongin scream, “Alright everyone, this is it!”

 

We ran and stopped right behind Jongin and Seohyun. Our gaze were now at the Arc de Triomphe. I remembered a few facts about the building from a high-school geography lesson. For example, the famous general of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, built this to honor the French Army. Another fact was that  Arc de Triomphe was slap-bang in the middle of Place Charles de Gaulle, at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. What if anyone sees us here?

 

But the sight of anyone is unlikely in the dark, even though lights illuminate our standing spots.

 

“Ah,” said Jongin, on his face a cheeky grin. “Guys, welcome to Arc de Triomphe. It is a symbol of victory, of honor, of triumph… and together, the four of us shall make us our own symbol of victory!”

 

Uh-oh. Our symbol? What sort of weird things will you make us do, Kim Jongin?

 

“When we walk in to the Arc de Triomphe, you will find buckets of paint and paintbrushes.”

 

No. Please don’t say this is what I thought it is.

 

“Today—“said Jongin, laughing. “We are going to paint the Arc de Triomphe!”

 

And I could not contain the gasp that slipped out of my mouth.

 

“Please, Luhan, don’t overreact,” said Seohyun, turning to me as she clicked her tongue. “We’re just gonna paint the inside of the Arc de Triomphe. The archway, you know?”

 

I couldn’t say anything. In fact, I was stunned. Okay, yesterday wasn’t that bad, just pulling flowers out. But this? Painting on ahistorical relic? What—what—why—

 

Besides me, Yoona looked just as distraught.

 

“Guys… you aren’t serious, right?” stammered Yoona.

 

This time, it was Kai who was acting cynical.

 

“Oh, we aren’t Yoona,” he said sarcastically. “We’re not that stupid. We’re a bit cowardly, mind you, so let’s go spend the night going home and drinking hot chocolate—how about that?”

 

Wow. That statement, although it wasn’t meant for me, cuts me deep. Because I’m a man, I didn’t show my feelings, but Yoona did. Her eyes were brimmed with tears, but she swallowed it and finally spoke, her voice trying to be steady but isn’t,

 

“No. I’d rather paint the Arc de Triomphe.”  

***

Seohyun and Jongin were having the time of their lives painting one side of the inner archway. Meanwhile, Yoona and I painted quietly yet hesitantly at the other side, our eyes glancing at each other in fear.

 

“So,” said Yoona after minutes of silence, “what are you painting?”

 

“I—“ I said, speechless. What was I trying to paint, again? “I’m trying to paint—“ Damn, Lu, since when do you struggle with words in front of girls?

 

She smiled. “Still clueless, huh?” A soft giggle escaped her lips before she continued. “Well, I suggest you try painting someone who means the world to you. A parent, a family member, a best friend… That’s what I’m gonna paint.”

 

“And who exactly are you going to paint?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. It seemed like Yoona had no one to care for her—and she didn’t care much for anyone, either. “Are you going to paint me?” I joked.

 

A scoff escaped Yoona’s lips before she answered, “Of course not. I barely knew you, Mr. Lu.”

 

Great. She’s using my dad’s name. Joking purposes, I’ll bet.

 

“In fact,” said Yoona, “I’m going to paint the only family member I’m close with.” She immediately focused on the relic, painting different colored . Seems like I’m going to have to wait until she finished.

 

I decided to focus on my painting. Currently, there are four people that mean the world to me. No, make that three—I’ve only known the other one for five days. The other three are my parents and Minseok.

 

I love my parents more, I admit that. But there’s this guilty feeling tugging at me whenever I think of Minseok. I remember the first years I started working at the magazine, and Minseok was always there to lend a hand. He always put my needs first before him. I realized how unfair I was in this friendship. Though I openly admit Minseok as my best friend, I never truly showed it. No, often it was him who showed the strong bond in my friendship.

 

And that moment on, I knew exactly who to paint.

***

“Phew!” I said, sighing in relief as I finished my painting. I wiped a sweat and took a step back as I saw the picture I had just created. I’m no artist, but at least I had painted a resemblance of Minseok. At the bottom of the painting, I had written something small in Hangul, “To the greatest friend anyone could ever ask for.”

 

As I took a picture of it (I want to send it to Minseok), someone patted me on the shoulder. Surprised, I immediately turned around and was in shock to realize that it was Seohyun.

 

“Hey,” she said.

 

I tried acting cool, so I shrugged and muttered a, “Hey”, three octaves lower than my normal voice.

 

A big grin was on her face. “Nice painting you got there,” she exclaimed. “I tried painting the Eiffel Tower—a failed effort, come to think of it.”

 

I looked at her painting. Truthfully, it was the opposite of what she said. It was beautiful. It was as if she had stared at the Eiffel Tower for two years and managed to capture it perfectly. She was no Monet, but she was… close enough.

 

I was about to say it looked good, but knowing it would ruin my ‘cool’ image, I only cleared my throat and allowed myself to give a small chuckle.

 

Then, out of nowhere, Seohyun sighed.

 

“You must think Kai and I are horrible people,” muttered Seohyun. Her eyes were trained on mine.

 

Immediately, I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? You’ve been generous hosts.”

 

“I mean, snapping at you and Yoona, lost in our own world—“

 

“No, no, it’s fine,” I said, trying to fake a smile. “It’s not nice, though, but it’s fine.”

 

“I beg to differ,” said Seohyun. “You’ve been absolutely quiet these past few days. I didn’t think a man who’s stepped foot on a lot of countries would be a quiet person.”

 

“Well… Jongin and I talked about it, and… we decided to apologize to you. And to truly show us we’re really sorry…” She linked her arm to mine. “I’m going to invite you to a private concert. How about that?”

 

“A private concert?” I said, this time trying very hard to maintain my cool image. “When? Where?”

 

“I’ll text you the details later.” She dragged me to Jongin and Yoona, who are currently conversing deeply in front of my painting. Truth be told, I didn’t focus on Jongin’s and Yoona’s paintings. I mean, I had a glimpse of Jongin’s—a photograph of a car—but I haven’t seen Yoona’s yet, though we’re at the same side of the archway.

 

“Hey!” Seohyun’s soft voice turned cheery and forceful in front of Jongin and Yoona. Secretly, I wondered if her jealousy kicked in.

 

Jongin and Yoona didn’t acknowledge her greeting. At least, they didn’t do it properly. In fact, they did a grunt and was deep in conversation again.

 

Seohyun looked away and rolled her eyes. But even that didn’t make the other two pay attention.

 

It was a while before Jongin called my name. “Hey, Luhan, how come did you paint this?”

 

I creased my brows in confusion. “Um, this is a picture of… my best friend at work.” I chuckled nervously. “Why are you asking?”

 

“Because,” said Yoona, “your painting is a lot like mine.”

 

“Of course,” I answered. “We painted people who meant the world to us, right?”

 

“Right,” answered Yoona, her voice tight. “But I didn’t say we had to paint the same person.”

 

I was quite confused by then. The same person?!

 

“What are you talking about?!” I said, the tone of my voice getting higher in frustration. “We didn’t paint the same person!”

 

“Well, you guys did,” said Jongin. “Accidentally. By chance, Luhan, is your best friend’s name Kim Minseok?”

 

In confusion, I gave a nod.

 

“Well, there you have it, Yoong. He’s the same person.”

 

“The same person as what?!” Seohyun was half-yelling by then in frustration. “Who are you two talking about?!”

 

I turned to Seohyun. Clearly, she was ignored by the two of them, and she didn’t like it. She must have hated Yoona by now. I sure hope they wouldn’t do anything horrible to each other, otherwise…

 

Jongin sighed before continuing, “Well, dear Seohyun, apparently, Luhan’s best friend is also Yoona’s cousin.”

 

“How come?” asked Seohyun, obviously frustrated.

 

 

And for the first time, I took a good look at Yoona’s painting.

 

The clothes were obviously different. But the eyes, the nose and the lips could never lie. Neither could the spikes of his brown hair. It was obvious we painted the same person.

 

“So you’re… Minseok’s cousin?” I asked calmly.

 

She nodded. “He was my favorite out of the cousins. After my dad died, and Jaebum took off, he was there for my mom and me. When things with my mom and I had gotten sour, he was more than happy to be the confidant I didn’t have at home.” She sighed. “Funny thing is, he never mentioned about you. Or anything about work. He’s a very private person when it comes to his job.”

 

I nodded, the cool image I was desperate to have in front of Seohyun suddenly fell into place in front of Yoona. And that moment, I knew exactly what to do.

 

“So if you’re Minseok’s cousin… is this you, then?”

 

I pulled out the picture Minseok sent to me.

 

And the three youngsters gave out a loud gasp the moment they saw it.

 

It was, indeed, a picture of our teenage runaway.

***

A/N: Gosh, after battling writer’s block, I managed to finish chapter 5!

 

I actually enjoyed writing this chapter. I enjoyed getting into Luhan’s soul and see what sort of conflict I could create along with it. I really enjoyed ‘torturing’ Luhan’s soul in here. No, I’m just kidding though! Since Luhan is our narrator, I really want to see how he really feels about the midnight adventure, since he’s the eldest out of the four, and should be the wisest. (In a way, I’m Luhan too. I can’t say no to anyone, which explains how I always get into trouble!)

 

And no, I don’t mean to antagonize any of the four. There are certain reasons to why some people act a certain way (like why is Seohyun feeling stiff around Yoona, why is Yoona clingy to Luhan, and why Jongin seemed horrid to Luhan). We only see things from Luhan’s perspective, but in the next few chapters, there’ll be more reasoning to the other three’s behaviors!

 

Well, to make it up to you guys, it’s going to be a double-chapter update! So, yeah, flip over to find out what happens next! Kissu~