Each connection of the other boys back to Lu Han's chest caused the Chinese boys feet to stumble back a little. The soccer ball was kept safely out of his reach, even with his arms close to his body and his feet sometimes stepping out to block -- Lu Han couldn't steal the ball back. He continued to let out panted breaths of air, shuffling left with his opponent and then jutting his foot out in an attempt to turn-over the ball into his possession. But it only took seconds for the ball to shoot out towards the other direction. A weak grunt came from Lu Han's opponents lips before the other pushed forward after the ball that was already halfway across the grass. Lu Han paused for a second before he hastily braced his feet and sprinted after the soccer ball. He didn't think he'd beat his friend to the ball, but he'd have to try and be there to block the other from shooting.

When he came up behind the other boy, Lu Han wrapped his arm around the others waist, causing them both to stumble forward, panting heavily and letting out some shallow laughter.

"Min-seok, why'd you stop?" Lu Han questioned his Korean friend, leaning into the others back and peering down at the ball the other had positioned under his foot.

There were moments as Min-seok caught his breath and then motioned at the direction he was looking. "Isn't that Sehunnie?"

Lu Han's eyes focused when his friend was looking, and he saw the distinct hair of his friend  who was coming out of a building. Or limping. There was the apparent movements of injury, but Lu Han had been fooled by Sehun more than once. Still. It seemed like the other was in trouble, and Lu Han's eyes fell on Min-seok who was waiting for a response.

"Yeah, that's Sehunnie. And Tao," Lu Han's voice came with heavy breaths and then a small cough as he tried inhaled too sharply.

"What were they doing in the athletics building? Does he look hurt? Should we go check on them?" Min-seok's concern was mostly for Lu Han, he knew Sehun and Lu Han were close.

A pause as Lu Han leaned more into Min-seok, his hands now clasped over the boys stomach and then he furrowed his brow.

"Wushu?" Lu Han remembered the word from the dinner he'd had with the two younger boys days ago. "Zitao was.. is? He said something about doing Wushu in China."

"So you don't want to check on them?" Min-seok affirmed the others wants.

"I'll message Sehunnie, just a second," Lu Han's voice hit Min-seok's ear as his arms left the Korean's waist.

Min-seok slipped his foot from the ball and to the grass as he turned to face Lu Han who was digging his hands through his pockets. He watched the doe-eyed boy find and begin to fiddle with his phone. They were both still trying to catch their breaths, and Min-seok could feel his heart pound with fast strong thuds. It reminded him of the slow, drunken ones that had filled his chest when he leaned towards Lu Han, pressing his lips on the others and almost missing them. His hands fumbled to brace himself, as he fell forward more into Lu Han and  turned his head away from the kiss; his mind suddenly catching on to what his body was doing. The deep, slow breathing brushed against his ear and he could hear his name come from Lu Han in a soft questioning whisper.

"Min-seok, I'm sure Sehunnie will respond soon," Lu Han reassured the boy who seemed lost in thought, concern on his face. "Min-seok?"

"Eh?" Min-seok didn't seem to have heard what Lu Han had said and the Chinese boy laughed lightly.

"Sehunnie will be fine, don't worry," Lu Han repeated himself a little. "He'll respond soon."

"Lu Han, would we remain friends if I was..." Min-seok hesitated, "gay?"

The confession was unexpected, Min-seok had never used those words before. He'd never hinted at the fact either, although Lu Han had considered it more than once before they shared the drunk kiss. But Min-seok had never said it and Lu Han felt it was best to keep his thoughts to himself. The last thing he wanted to do was put Min-seok on the spot or cause any harm.

"Of course," Lu Han shot the other a smile. "Why would I stop being your friend over that?"

Min-seok still didn't seem settled with the answer.

"My best friend told me the same thing when I was sixteen. It's okay," another reassuring smile was given as Lu Han stretched out and curled his fingers on the sleeve on Min-seok's shirt. "Come on, lets go somewhere where we can talk."

"I'm not gay, I was just asking if," Min-seok defended suddenly and pushed Lu Han's hand away. "If."

Lu Han nervously scratched his neck. This was not as easy as it had been with Yixing. Xing Xing had confessed in a dull tone, but an amount of certainty before he asked if Lu Han would stay his friend. There was no way that Lu Han could have said or done any different. Not with the way Yixing's lips pursed a little and his eyes grew watery.  Xing Xing was a good kid, a good friend and had a soft heart, and Lu Han could never hurt the other.

"When will I get to meet your best friend? The one who is visiting," Min-seok's change in subject made Lu Han glance at the other apprehensively.

"He's still learning hangul," an awkward air was brought in past Lu Han's lips. "Are you sure you don't want to talk?"

Min-seok shook his head as he began to dribble the ball. "How about we go to an amusement park this weekend? Your Chinese best friend and Korean best friend have to meet."

"Sounds.. good," Lu Han agreed as he gave Min-seok a worried look. The other clearly didn't want to talk about it.

As Min-seok began to rattle out ideas for where the could go and do, Lu Han realized what he'd just said he'd do. Introduce Min-seok and Yixing. His heart skipped a beat in his chest and he felt more sweaty than he did when he was playing soccer with Min-seok. Not to mention Min-seok clearly wanted to talk, or didn't want to talk? Lu Han couldn't get his own head sorted and usually he was glad to have someone elses problems to help with -- but Min-seok's was far too tangled around his own confusion as well. 

"I'll ask Sehunnie to come too," Lu Han cut into Min-seok's talking.

"Uh, sure."

- - -

Min-seok was leaning against the wall outside the entrance of the building as he waited for Lu Han to finish the meeting with their teacher. Both he and Lu Han had met during their first years. Engineering students. Min-seok could remember the girls reactions when the met Lu Han. His face, personality and then a bright student on a scholarship. It was easy to say Lu Han was popular in the school, but the boy seemed almost unaware of his affect on people. That might have been Min-seok's favourite thing about Lu Han. His heart was made of gold; he was pure and kindhearted. Lu Han and Min-seok quickly began to study together, and then they would hang out in their spare time. Their friendship had grown quite firmly through the years. 

But they still had their secrets and Min-seok felt he bore most of them. Unlike Lu Han who people would describe as bright and warm, Min-seok required a little more time to show his kindness. It was there, just a slightly hesitant and a fairly shy. There was another thing Lu Han was good at, getting close to people who others didn't understand--Sehun and Min-seok--both required a little effort and Lu Han was able to do it without even looking like he was trying.

He didn't know why he'd asked the question earlier. He'd just been watching Lu Han and wondering if being honest would have made a difference. But then it felt scary and awkward. Min-seok rubbed the back of his head as he ran through what he'd said and Lu Han's reaction. Had the other believed him? And why had Lu Han brought up his best friend? 

"Sehunnie's not answering," Lu Han's voice came from above him and Min-seok's eyes shot up to meet his friend.

"We can go to his place and check on him," Min-seok offered. His mouth moving before his thoughts could catch up.

Lu Han paused as he reached the bottom, twisting on his feet and shaking his head. "If it's bad, he might not be at home. I'll try calling again in a little bit."

They shared comforting looks before Min-seok checked the time on his phone. 

"There's some time before we have our last class, did you want to go get some food?" 

"Let's go," Lu Han agreed. The Chinese boy knew there was nothing he could do besides go along with things. If he stopped to question, or tried to figure it out; he'd get more confused. That's how it'd been since the night of the kiss. Questions wrapped in questions, and no firm answers he could hold on to. And no matter how uneasy he felt, Lu Han didn't want to hurt anyone around him.

- - -

An uneasy Yixing bounced on his feet as he stood in line, there were people lined up in front of him and he glanced down at the words he written in the palm of his hands. The Korean was written neatly above the scribbled Chinese. Lu Han had told him to enjoy himself, and Yixing could only sit hunched over the books filled with Korean for so many hours in a day. Back in China, he'd often go out on his own and meet new people. Yixing loved meeting new people. They were always interesting and even if sometimes they didn't want his company, Yixing still gave them a smile. It was hard to upset or anger him. 

One more person moved forward, and another.

The cheerful boy behind the counter was cute but he talked to fast for Yixing who stared blankly as the others mouth moved and words jumbled up in Yixing's head. He wished they'd speak a little slower for him, how did he say it again?

"Speak slowly. I'm not good with hangul," Yixing spoke in a gentle manner and bobbed his head.

This caused the brown haired boy in uniform to laugh a little and nod his head before he started again. "Welcome, what would you like to order?"

Yixing's expression brightened when he understood the other. "Orange juice and this."

He pointed towards the small brown muffin that sat behind the glass. The boy in the uniform nodded his head and shot a wide smile at Yixing. The other must have understood him! Yixing felt accomplished in his mission to procure food.

"How much?" Yixing felt eager to use as much Korean as he could. He liked being understood. "For the orange juice and this."

 The price was given slowly and in a manner that assured Yixing; each syllable given with a smile and even when the change was returned, the boy behind the counter seemed happy to help the foreigner. He didn't rush or hurry Yixing along, even as the other struggled to get his money back into his wallet. Yixing picked up the orange juice and muffin that were placed in front of him by the helpful boy at the counter. An awkward moment hung between Yixing and the server until Yixing realized he had everything he was waiting for. Muffin and orange juice in hand. He nodded his head again before he turned to head towards a table. 

There was a falter in his step as he glanced around for one that was empty.

After he sat down, Yixing looked around the cafe. It was a little empty although plenty of customers came and left with their things. He watched people leave through the glass doors and walk past the windows that made up the walls. It felt warm and bright in the cafe. Clean white floors and wooden furniture with the aroma of coffee. He wondered why the didn't stay. But they all looked very busy. Yixing suddenly couldn't help but feel a little useless. As much as he liked free time, all he was doing was studying Korean at his friends apartment. No job, no school, no dancing classes. He missed having something exert his energy into and he'd only been on vacation for just under a week. There must have been something he could do, maybe Lu Han needed help with something, or even Tao. Yixing had made a very fond spot for the dark haired boy, Zitao. He tried to act like he was tough, but there was an undeniable sweetness in the boy.

He sipped his orange juice, and almost choked on it when someone called out loudly in the quiet cafe. He glanced over his shoulder to watch one of the workers come out from behind the counter and chase after another a boy.  

"Hyung, wait a second," the man in the workers uniform called out. The two stood outside and looked like they were having a heated conversation.

Yixing didn't realize his phone was ringing until it got to its third ring. He'd been so focused on watching the man in the cafe uniform and the other talking outside the glass window. He fumbled a little as he picked it up and saw the low lit image that he and Lu Han had taken the other night. The street lights making their fcaes just recognizable in the dark. Both of them were smiling bright, and Lu Han was pulling a cute expression. Yixing smiled at the picture before he awkwardly slid his finger over the screen to answer.

"Lulu!" Yixing greeted happily, before he had some more of his orange juice.

"Xing Xing, did you want to go to an amusement park this weekend? My friend Min-seok wants to meet you and it'll be fun," Lu Han didn't sound right to Yixing. He was trying to sound happy when clearly something was wrong underneath.

"Okay," Yixing paused a little, "but is everything okay? Something sounds wrong."

"Have you heard from Zitao or Sehunnie?" Lu Han's question confused Yixing who didn't even know their numbers.

"No," Yixing thought for a second before he spoke. "Is something wrong with Tao and Sehun?" 

"I don't know, Sehunnie isn't answering," Lu Han exhaled deeply and Yixing could feel his friend had something on his mind. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Saranghaeyo, Lulu," Yixing brightly used some Korean on his friend. Part of him trying to cheer his friend up and part of him wanting to comfort the other. "Wo Ai Ni. That's what I learned today and I even ordered orange juice and a muffin."

Lu Han laughed into the phone and Yixing felt better hearing his friends laugh. "Well done, Xing Xing. You're learning faster than I did."

And I want to thank people for the vote and comment and all that nice feeling I get which motivates me. <3