François’ Warehouse

Rue de Baguette no. 45

03.00 p.m tomorrow!

I had received the text message of the time and venue of Seohyun’s private concert during dinner last night. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t smiling giddishly after receiving the text.

That night, because there was nothing to do, I wrote my article (with the help of Minseok and Jongdae, the writing team) and also pictured the perfect date for the both of us. After the concert, maybe I’ll take her to another café (if I could, somewhere nearby Le Tour Eiffel). We’ll chat over life and love, or maybe about trivial things like books and movies. If things go well, maybe I’ll end the night with a romantic kiss under the Eiffel Tower…

“YAH!” yelled Minseok during our Skype session that night. “We are supposed to be discussing your article—not watching you daydreaming!”

Meanwhile, Jongdae laughed. We are currently enjoying the pleasures of free group video-call.

“Well, I’m sorry,” I said bashfully. “There’s this girl…”

“What—your boss sent you to Paris to do a job, and six days later, you’re going to date a girl?” chortled Jongdae. “Who are you and what have you done to the responsible, hard-working, perky Luhan we all knew?”

“Blame it on your brother,” I retorted. “He’s one hundred percent rebel. I guess your parents must be lucky, having a troll and a rebel for children.”

Fortunately, Jongdae laughed. That’s one of his good qualities; he doesn’t take things personally.

Minseok, who has been quiet during our bickering, clicked his tongue, not as a sign of annoyance, but it was his way of saying, “These kids…”

“So,” said Minseok. “Did you find my cousin?”

“What cousin?” asked Jongdae. “Minnie has a cousin?”

“Jongdae, please.” I screamed over the computer. “And yep, turns out that cousin is apparently a friend of mine… but she has no intention of going home.”

From the screen, I could see (and hear) Minseok mutter, “Aish, this Im Yoona.”—something Jongdae wouldn’t have caught, but I did. That confirmed it alright—Yoona is truly Minseok’s cousin.

“But really,” said Jongdae, this time looking serious. “Boss is pretty moody this week… all day he keeps yelling, “Where is Luhan?! Why isn’t he sending that article?! I swear, next time I see him, I’ll rip his neck off from his body—“

“Jongdae, the Boss didn’t say anything of that sort,” exclaimed Minseok, rolling his eyes. “But the Boss is pretty uptight on deadlines, and as far as he’s concerned, Lu, you haven’t sent the first draft. What happened, anyway?”

“Oh, what happened?” I asked back at them. “I—“

Then it hit me. Despite how close I was to Minseok and Jongdae, I really couldn’t say anything about my antics with Jongin, Seohyun and Yoona. I really can’t. What would happen if I told them, and during a board meeting, they’ll say to Kris, “Hey, by the way, Luhan has spent his time in Paris ripping flowers and painting Arc de Triomphe to find out the beauty of Paris after midnight?” Not only would my job be on the line, but my dignity also.

“I— got too busy. Haha,” I said, nervously chuckling. “Jongin was so keen on taking me anywhere that  I almost forgot to sit in front of my laptop and start writing. Aha. Ha. Ha.”

Technically, I wasn’t lying. Jongin was taking me anywhere. But I wasn’t telling the complete truth, anyway.

Jongdae nodded at that statement, whilst Minseok said “Ahhh~”. But the twinkle of unfamiliarity in Minseok’s eyes feared me. It only meant one thing: Minseok didn’t believe in me.

“Anyways,” said Jongdae, “let’s get down to business. So, Lu, how’s your first draft?”

The topics we talked about previously was long forgotten, and I was on fire, describing to Minseok and Jongdae every detail of my first draft, whilst they both typed happily over what I had said. I also sent the pictures Jongin took, which made Minseok croon “Ooh!” and “Aah!” and Jongdae scoff, claiming he could take much better pictures.

 It’s weird how even though you’re focused on work, something (or someone) can never really leave your mind. Like me, for example. Even though I was dead-set on working with my colleagues, the picture of tomorrow night’s so-called ‘perfect’ date never left my mind.

***

The day I waited for had arrived, and I spent the morning lazying around. I’m pretty experienced when it comes to dating. No, not in that way—I’ve only dated one girl in my life. But I know how to treat girls like a gentleman.

Yet the last time I went on a date was to dump someone, and that was a year ago. So much can happen in a year. This is why I’m pretty unconfident in this date situation.

That was the reason why I called both Jongin and Chorong on wardrobe advice. Jongin’s a man who has a sharp fashion sense, whilst Chorong is currently working on a fashion design degree.

“Girls like guys who’s fun, but also takes certain things seriously,” said Chorong. “Like this case, for example. When she invites you to a concert, she expects you to dress up… but not too much.”

“Huh?” I asked, completely not getting what she said.

Chorong huffed on the phone. “Just wear a shirt and trousers. That combination can never go wrong.”

Jongin’s opinion was pretty much like Chorong.

“Seohyun takes music quite seriously,” explained Jongin. “I was invited to her concert once, and she showed up in this sundress. I suggest if you plan to take her out… you should match up her outfit too.”

“What—dress in a shirt and trousers?” I asked.

“That could work,” said Jongin. Even though we’re at different places, I could hear him chewing mercilessly on a chewing gum.

“So, are you coming?” I asked. Jongin did say he was going to go out with Yoona during Seohyun’s concert, just so we (Seohyun and I) can have some time alone.

Jongin sighed. “Nope. I told Seohyun that I might not show up. She was quite pissed. We fought for a while, and there was a point when she hung up.” He clicked his tongue, but unlike Minseok, his meant he was annoyed. “Aish, this girl… why is she so concerned in everything I do?”

“Maybe she likes you,” I said, half-joking. Yet I sort of believed it. I remembered Seohyun’s jealousy showing up whenever she talks about Kai and Yoona. She probably thought the two of them ditching her concert was the last straw.

Jongin scoffed over the phone. “We’re just best friends, okay?”

“Okay,” I chuckled. “What do you have in mind for tonight?”

“Well, there’s this romcom movie Yoona wanted to watch… it’s called ‘What If’. The male lead’s the guy who played ‘Harry Potter’, and since Yoona likes both romcom and Harry Potter, she’s dying to watch it.”

“Ah, I see…” was all that I could say. “Well, I’d rather get going, y’know? I don’t want you to be late for your date~” I said coyly.

“Gosh, Hyung!” exclaimed Jongin as I hung up. (Yes, he has called me ‘Hyung’ now, much to my dismay. But at least it’s better than ‘Deer Boy’.)

Finally, following Jongin’s advice, I wore a button-down pale blue shirt with a pair of black trousers. As I looked at myself in the mirror, I sighed deeply.

“Keep it together,” I muttered to myself.

***

I rode a taxi to the warehouse. At first, the taxi driver was perplexed, because he said he knew that area pretty well and that warehouse is pretty much unused.

I smiled and told him, “That’s okay—a friend of mine is going to perform there.”

When I arrived at the warehouse, I was pretty… spooked. It’s 3 pm, I know, but the warehouse looks a bit spooky. For a while, I wondered if Seohyun was pranking me and she plots to send me to a spooky warehouse all by myself.

As I entered the warehouse, I saw Seohyun, her snowy figure looking perfect in a blue sundress. She looked unbelievably unhappy, and as far as I was concerned, she was putting her guitar back in her case. Was I late? I thought to myself, so I checked my watch. No, it was 3 pm.

“Seohyun!” I called out, running over to her. “Is the concert over?”

“No,” she snapped, shaking her head. “It didn’t even begin. I mean—what’s the use if people aren’t watching?”

She must be thinking about Kai ditching her, I thought to myself. If I didn’t know the reason why Kai did that, I’d probably be angry at him, but I realized the only reason why he’s doing this is because of me. He wants Seohyun and I to spend some time alone.

“Yah,” I said, holding her wrist softly. “I want to watch. I didn’t come all this way to not hear you sing.”

My pleas must be a failed effort, because Seohyun immediately freed her hand from my grip.

“Seohyun, please,” I said, tailing after her, who’s starting to make her way out. “Don’t go, please.”

She turned around.

Feebly, I said, “I’d sit here all day and wait until you open your mouth and sing.”

Her eyebrow was raised. “And why would you do that?”

I scratched my head. “I… want to, Seohyun. I know the person you wanted to be here isn’t going to be here, but I know he has his reasons, and the last thing he wants is to hurt you. You’re his best friend, and he’s usually afraid of having relationships of any kind with people… so him choosing you as a friend is something special.”

“I’m here now, and I really want to hear you sing. I really do. You’re the kind of girl with hidden talent in it, and I would love to hear you sing. Please. Do it for me, your devoted fan.”

Seohyun chuckled as she walked to my direction. “You know, you’re kind of funny, Lu,” she muttered as she took a seat next to me. “What do you want me to sing?”

I grinned as I told her, “Anything.”

Taking out her guitar, she sat down and played the opening chords to a song I often heard on the radio. When I first heard it, it was very upbeat, not exactly to my liking. But when Seohyun sang it, it was a mellow, acoustic version. And it was beautiful.

You lift my heart up when the rest of me is down
You, you enchant me even when you're not around
If there are boundaries, I will try to knock them down
I’m latching on, babe, now I know what I have found

Her voice was soothing, like a midnight breeze. My ears tingled at the sound of her singing, wondering why in the world I have never heard a voice as beautiful as hers, and my eyes just stared at her nimble fingers, shifting to form a new chord.

I feel we're close enough
Could I lock in your love?
I feel we’re close enough
Could I lock in your love?

Sometimes, she looks deep into my eyes, and my heart beats quicker than ever. Those truffle eyes instantly capture mine, and before long, it was a game of staring contest with her fingers never leaving the guitar.

Now I’ve got you in my space
I won’t let go of you
Got you shackled in my embrace
I’m latching on to you

Like the song, the afternoon was mellow but soothing; slow but beautiful. And hearing her voice was all it takes for my soul to fly away.

***

Seohyun insisted that she’d play only one song. No matter how hard I tried to make her sing more, she shook her head shyly and chuckle.

“I’ve stopped singing in a long time. I only did this for you guys,” explained Seohyun. “I’ve always liked singing because of my dad.”

“Let me guess—you’re a daddy’s little girl who lost her dad at a young age,” I conspired, half-jokingly.

I expected Seohyun to at least nudge me playfully and laugh. Instead, she smiled sadly at my direction.

Uh-oh. Was that a sensitive matter?

“Of a sort,” she said meekly.

After she packed her guitar, we both walked out and tried to find a place to eat.

The walk was silent and awkward—something a first date is not. I decided to break the ice and talk about things. (I am not a fan of quiet moments).

“So, what’s your favorite movie?” I asked her.

Seohyun’s eyes lit up as soon as she heard the question.

“Pirates of the Carribean,” she answered without hesitating. “The storyline is just so… awesome. I mean, imagine Johnny Depp as a pirate! Oh, and also Keira Knightley. Oh, I’d die to be in her shoes!”

She soon describes her love for Pirates of the Carribean (and also for Orlando Bloom, apparently) in full detail, and I became her listener, laughing at supposedly jokes and giving witty comebacks to her.

This is what a date is about, I thought to myself. Two people just chitchatting about stuff, getting to know each other…

“You? What’s your favorite movie?”

“Huh?” It takes a while for me to register what she’s saying, but then I realize she was asking that question to me.

“Oh… Hahaha…” I chuckled nervously. Truth be told, I didn’t want to tell Seohyun my favorite movie after hearing her favorite movie. Mine seems… girlish compared to hers.

“Aigooo~” She punched my arm playfully. “I wanna know!”

“Alright, alright!” I yelped out in pain. “It’s… Love, Actually.”

Seohyun giggled a bit. “Love, Actually? Wow, I’m impressed, Lu. I thought you’re an Avengers kind of guy.”

“Yeah? Well then, surprise,” I joked.

We finally arrived at our chosen restaurant—a small sidewalk deli, and as Seohyun and I ordered our panini, we sat down at a table and was lost in conversation about movies.

As we chatted, I caught the sight of a nearby table. A little girl, somewhere around the ages of 5 to 6, was happily a strawberry ice-cream cone, while listening to her father singing. She was giggling as her father’s hands did her hair in these cute pigtail braids while serenading his daughter, and when there’s an ice cream spot on her lips, her father wiped it with his thumb. The sight made me miss my father a lot.

Seohyun must have noticed the sight too, because she piped up all of a sudden, “I was that age the last time I met my father.”

“Hm?” I asked, turning to her.

She sighed. “I was just as old as that little girl the last time I met my father. We lived in this rural town in Korea, and my dad was a workaholic businessman who had to travel very often to Seoul. He wasn’t at home much, but when he did… it was heaven.”

“My dad loved me and my brother to bits. Whenever he comes home, he’d make time to build kites and paper airplanes with Inguk-oppa, while he spends time with me playing guitar and braiding my hair. I remember him braiding it into a ponytail. He was so good at it.” As I looked at her, her eyes brimmed with tears. “That was my fondest memory of him.”

“When I was six, my dad said he was going to stay at Seoul for good. But he said he wouldn’t forget about us; my mom, my brother and me. He made Inguk-oppa promise to take care of me and my mom, and he made my mom promise she’d take care of us both. And as for me? He made me promise to grow up and become someone he’d be proud of.”

“Two years passed, and there was no sign of him. No phone calls, no letters, no nothing. Mom often said she’d received letters from Dad, saying he’s fine, there’s nothing to worry about, that he loves us both… but whenever we wanted her to read the letter, she would deny it. That’s how we knew she lied.”

“She lied to you?” I interrupted, getting even more confused by the minute. Did her dad abandon him? Why would her mother lie about him not coming back? If her father loved her THAT much, why did he leave her?

Seohyun nodded. “During the later years, she said she did that to protect us. We still had high hopes our father was coming home, so she lied and said she received letters from my father.”

She continued, her eyes looking sad.

“Then one day, I got home from school, and my mom was ecstatic. ‘Come here! Your dad’s on TV!’ she screamed. Inguk-oppa was hogging the ice cream tub, his eyes glued to the TV as a very popular TV host interviewed my dad for his new job as the new CEO of a retail company. He was the same man I remembered two years ago; a down-to-earth, kind-faced man with a sweet smile.”

“When we got to the ending, he even thanked his family for being there for him. He even said he was sorry for not being at home much, but we—they should know he loves them.” Her voice now sounds upset. “He even said he was sorry.”

“Seohyun, we could stop if you want,” I said. I was afraid she would break down in the middle of this busy street.

The waiter must have also noticed Seohyun’s mood right now, because he put our plates down without a word and left.

Seohyun shook her head.

“No… I always felt like I needed to share this story with someone. I always considered Kai as a best friend/confidant, but now that I know his priorities… I don’t think my problems would matter to him.”

You’ve got it all wrong, Seohyun, I thought to myself. You’ve got it all wrong.

“But I guess I found you. You’re an awesome listener. You must be an awesome confidant too,” she said, smiling weakly at me.

We were both munching on our paninis, but Seohyun wasn’t done. Yet.

“The TV host said that he had a surprise for my dad, and he asked my dad to face backwards so he couldn’t see what was going on. Next thing we knew, a young lady in a doctor suit, this pretty girl, somewhere around the age of nine, and a four-year-old little boy came running and backhugging my dad, saying the one word I had once used to call him.”

“Appa,” I said, muttering softly.

She nodded, her eyes tearing up. I thought she could contain it, but it took seconds before tears began cascading down her cheeks.

“Then, the TV host confirmed that the people who backhugged my dad are indeed, his wife and children.” She sobbed some more before continuing, her voice shaken, “He had married this beautiful doctor for about ten years, while I remember that he had married my mom for thirteen years. The pretty girl was a year older than me. Older. And my dad once said that I was his darling princess, his everything. It was all a lie.”

“My mom turned off the TV and started sobbing loudly in her room. My brother was so angry, he just ran out of the house. Meanwhile, I just sat down while staring at the TV, wondering if this all was just a lie, I wonder whether my dad truly loved me.”

She began sobbing softly, but not too loud. And all that time, I held her hand. She was betrayed by a man she was born to trust. He was supposed to play guitar and braid her hair. He was supposed to drive his daughter to high school. Damn it, he’s supposed to walk his daughter down the aisle. And what did he do? He destroyed it. He showed to the world that he was happier with another family, and Seohyun was nothing more than his mistress’ daughter.

Finally, she stopped crying and said, “I’m sorry. This is not exactly what you had in mind for a first date.”

“Oh, I’m okay,” I assured her, secretly fluttering over the fact that she, like me, thinks this is a first date too.

She smiled halfheartedly.

“You want me to walk you home?” I asked her. “It’s been a long day, and since you’ve told me a heavy story about your past… I’m sure you’ll need the rest.”

She nodded softly.

“I guess so,” she said. “It’s tiring, you know, crying your eyes out.”

***

We walked home silently, and all the time, I was fighting the desire to hold her hand. I was afraid she wouldn’t want it. But at the same time, I didn’t want to sleep tonight and regret that I hadn’t hold her hand.

Surprisingly, just when I was going to give up and not hold her hand, she interlocked her nimble fingers with mine.

And in return, I held her hand not too tightly, but not too loose either.

As she turned her head and smiled at me, I smiled back. This time, I was fighting the desire to kiss her. But I decided to drop the thought. It already felt good to hold her hand—I shouldn’t destroy the moment by kissing her out of the blue.

We walked to the right, and I’m faced with a lovely avenue. Unlike the dark streets I’ve often encountered in Paris, this one was surrounded by lovely city lights of all kinds that I just fell in love. And Seohyun’s lovely flat building is at this street too.

As I stopped at the doorway, I told Seohyun, “I had a wonderful time today.”

She smiled brightly—the happiest I’ve ever seen since she confided in me.

“Me too,” she said, sweetly.

Her fingers slipped away, but we stood still for a while—enough time for me to ask how did she end up here.

“I don’t think your story finished the day you knew your father lied,” I said out of the blue. “What happened next?”

She smiled; her eyes are now at the huge building overlooking us. “Well, we all knew my dad lied, but life goes on. He didn’t have enough decency to come home to us—which in a way relieves us a little. Inguk-oppa and I finished school, and he’s now one of the execs at a prominent tech company. While me? Ever since I was a freshman, my biggest wish is to study at France. I guess… it’s a dream come true.”

I smiled.

“So your story did have a happy ending,” I said, cheering her up.

She hesitated for a while. Finally, she gives one of her sweetest smiles and said,

“Yeah, I guess… so far, this is my happy ending, and I’m planning to keep it that way until my real ending.”

Death, I thought to myself, suddenly remembering my conversation with Jongin: his fear of people he loved dying.

“Well…” I said, scratching the back of my head, “thanks for the amazing day, Seohyun.”

She looked a bit confused, but started giggling.

“Why are you thanking me, Luhan?” she asked. “I’m the one who’s supposed to be thanking you. You know, Luhan, you’ve been everything I’ve always wanted in a boy. You’re a good listener, funny, smart, witty, and patient.”

Wow. So many people have said stuff about me—mostly about my perkiness—but my heart never thumped as much as it did now, listening to that sentence. By that sentence, I was trying to get rid of the red color bursting on my face.

She smiled sweetly again as she walked up the stairs, but not before she turned and yelled yet another sentence that made my heart flutter:

“Night, Luhan. Dream of me!”

***

A/N: And another backstory chapter brought to you by… the weirdest fluff writer ever. By the end of this chapter, you’d probably be thinking, “Oh it’s true… I guess Seo might get over Kai and fall for Luhan, right?”

Don’t worry for those who don’t ship Seohan, I quote from chapter 6: You don’t really know if a person’s in love with you until she says so herself. Neither Seohyun and Yoona has come clean to the guys about who they like (or love!), and besides, we’re only 7 chapters at the moment (gosh authornim is a s l o w updater) so there’s plenty of time for changes. Mhm.

Anyways, thanks for reading this chapter, and I really hope you enjoy it! Gosh, it makes me happy to see you guys happy reading this too.

Okaaay, bye!