“Someone better tell me what’s going on between you two.” Baekhyun announced, his arms crossed as he descends on Chanyeol and Luhan, who are both sitting on the couch watching TV.

Chanyeol pauses from flicking the remote control and throws a pleading look to his savior-of-the-moment. “Baek, please, get me out of here. Luhan-hyung is freaking me out!”

“What, what did I do? I’m watching TV like you are!” Luhan tries his best to look affronted.

“You’re like, stuck to him all day Luhan-hyung, don’t tell me you’re not doing it on purpose.” Baekhyun roughly shoves both away from each other to make some room as he sits between them with a resounding thump. “I’m going to watch TV too,” proclaimed Baekhyun as he grabbed the remote control from Chanyeol.

Luhan sighed and leaned on the armrest of the other side of the couch. He knows he is being immature since this morning to poor Chanyeol, clearly the guy also had his own issues, if last night was any indication.

He’s desperate though, he barely got enough sleep last night. Chanyeol was already asleep when he got back to the dorm, so he waited for the opportunity to corner him this morning. Fine, hovering over Chanyeol’s bed until he opens his eyes was downright creepy but damn, did he have to wake the entire house with his scream? Luhan thinks he’s going to have nightmares from the murderous glare that half-asleep Kris shot at him when he rushed into the room.

He’d been trailing Chanyeol since then as they go from one schedule to another – from the radio guesting to the live performance to the variety show appearance (it’s Chanyeol who was invited, he just stayed backstage) – and finally back at the dorm. His plan is to constantly annoy Chanyeol until he breaks and spills whatever information he has on her.

He made some progress: 1.) Chanyeol only met her last night (still, what’s with the oppa deal?), 2.) She is a student in Seoul (Chanyeol doesn’t know what school, he just remembered that she mentioned coming from class as they were talking before Luhan arrived), 3.) No, he doesn’t know her number (in this situation, that’s a bad thing), 4.) No, he won’t ask his friend to get her number (Chanyeol won’t tell him why, just that “he doesn’t want to”, read: issues with rocker girl)

Luhan knows he is being a pest (and is now high on Baekhyun’s list from the looks of it) but he’s trying to break Chanyeol’s reserve seeing as he’s the middleman so to speak. His last recourse is to stay at that Hongdae bar until she appears—something that he prefers not to do since it could take forever.

He continues to mull over his battle plan, trying to block the friendly bickering between Chanyeol and Baekhyun. He can’t help it, he knew he screwed things up yesterday. Covering his face is almost like second nature to him ever since they got so popular. He can’t forget the look she gave him the moment she finished talking to that ajusshi. It’s as if she completely lost faith in him.

I just have to get her to trust me. Luhan sighed. He let a good thing slip by three years ago. He’s not going to do it again. He just has to explain to everyone when that time comes.

But first, he still has to work on getting that number.

“Is this your phone, Luhan-hyung?” asks Baekhyun, who almost sat on the phone during the scramble earlier.

“Hey, that’s mine!” Chanyeol suddenly stands and snatches the phone away from a confused Baekhyun.

“What the—Chanyeol, is that your friend’s phone? You didn’t give it back?” Luhan makes a mad dash to reach for the phone. Chanyeol—to hell with him and his height—held the phone above his head.

“Yes, it’s hers. I forgot to return it. And don’t look at me like I betrayed you or something hyung.” Chanyeol still holding the phone aloft. “Who is this girl anyway? Is she worth getting on my nerves? HAHAHA I’m just kidding hyung!” Chanyeol is doing some major backpedalling after seeing Luhan’s thunderous expression. He never thought Luhan could be capable of murdering anyone, but apparently a pissed deer IS a scary deer.

“What friend? What girl? Are there two girls? I’m so confused! Argh!!!” Baekhyun tears his hair in his attempt to make sense of it all.

“Everyone is just too noisy in this house,” complained Lay, who abandoned his effort to sleep, sauntering into the living room to watch the mayhem.

“Chanyeol, please….I never asked you for anything.” Luhan implored, thinking that he might as well come clean. It’s what the guys deserve. “She…that girl…the one in the soccer field…”

“Holy . That’s her?” Chanyeol shouts, thinking how everything is now making sense. “That was years ago! You still like her all this time?”

“Yes, I still like her.” Luhan shouts in return, ignoring the stunned looks of everyone in attendance. He directly looked at Chanyeol. “I’m not expecting you to understand, but three years is already a long time for me to wait. I cannot go three years more regretting that I didn’t try hard enough to be with her.”

Chanyeol suddenly turns pensive, making Luhan panic a bit on the prospect that he hurt Chanyeol by what he said for some reason. He was about to apologize when Chanyeol starts punching numbers on the phone, muttering, “It’s locked though. If I get to break through her phone I’m seriously going to get a beating. So you owe me one.”

“Why is Chanyeol going to get beaten up by Luhan?” asked Xiumin, who magically appeared beside Lay.

“As much as an entertaining visual that will be, I think it’s a girl who’s going to beat up Chanyeol,” replied Lay. “Honestly, I just wished they put names, you know. I’m getting confused with all the “she’s” and the “her’s”.”

“AHA. Got it! Make some noise y’all!” Chanyeol announced, triumphant. It took him 10 seconds to hear the crickets. “What else do I have to give for some support guys? I’m always the one reacting to everything. Here you go, hyung.” Chanyeol sighs and hands the phone over to Luhan. “Just get her number okay? And don’t tell her how you got it.”  

“Are we shooting a mobile phone cf again?” inquired Chen, who appeared at the end of the room with a tub of popcorn. He was about to watch a movie in his room but whatever’s happening here seems to be more interesting.

“Shhhhh…just sit beside me.” Xiumin patted the space to his right. “Luhan’s calling a girl.”

“What? Luhan-hyung likes girls?” Chen joked, “Lighten up, Minseok-hyung, you know I’m just messing with you.” Chen sat and handed his popcorn as a peace offering to Xiumin, who was shooting daggers at him before grabbing a handful of popcorn.

Luhan was thanking his lucky stars when he got to her name. Good thing it’s the only entry in the address book and her friend didn’t save the number under a different tag. He only hopes that this is really her. “How did you know her password?” He asks while taking note of her number on his phone.

“You’re not the only one who has secrets, hyung” Chanyeol smirks, grabbing the phone back.

Luhan guesses that the other boys will do the grilling for him. He was about to hit the “call” button when he notices the growing audience before him. “Guys, c’mon, this is a private call.”

“Hyung, this is a common area. We each have 1/12 rights to it.” Chen manages to say through his popcorn-filled mouth.

“Hey guys, let’s go, Kyungsoo-hyung is already finished cooking. You know how he is when the food gets cold,” Sehun calls out from the other end of the hall. No one moved an inch until Chen finally sighed and went to the kitchen. Luhan waited until the rest followed and he is finally alone.

Thanks Sehunnie, I owe you one. Luhan thought, taking a deep breath before hitting the “call” button.

***

It’s déjà vu and you know it. You’re leaning against the bar again, listening to the band rock out its first set. And trying not to think of Luhan.

You don’t have any class today and while your heart is still aching from last night’s events, you decided to get out of bed (in the afternoon), keep yourself preoccupied, and move on. You even fixed yourself up and put on your favourite dress and stilettos to feel better. Although the stilettos might be a misstep since your ankles are protesting right now. You already told your Unni yesterday you’ll drop by tonight, so you’ll stay for an hour or two before going back home.

Your brows furrowed as you glance at your vibrating phone, not recognizing the number on the display. You make your way to the corridor near the entrance of the bar so that you can hear better. “Hello?” you said loudly, since the sounds are still blaring from the speakers.

“Hello? ____-ah?”

“Yeah? Who is this?” You try to recognize the voice, which seems familiar but you cannot place it.

“It’s me.”

“Uh yeah, and who are you?” Seriously, whoever this is must be under the impression that you’re close and…. “the heck, Luhan?”

A small laugh echoed from the other end. “Yeah, it’s me, uh…where are you now? We have to talk.”

Damn it to hell and back but your heart is beating faster again. You grip your phone harder. “How did you get my number?”

“Uh, it’s a long story. I have friends in high places…”

“Are those friends of yours people in charge of national security?”

“Um, not quite, but close to it…please, ____-ah, let me know where you are. I really have to talk to you.”

“Luhan, please,” you’re trying to sound firm but feel like it’s a losing battle, “were you not listening yesterday? It can’t work, you and I. And I accepted your apology so your conscience is clear.”

There was a brief pause before Luhan said, his voice more determined than earlier. “Yes, I listened to what you said. I just chose not to accept it. So let me know where you are and you listen to what I think about you and I.”

You try to bank the sudden thrill that came from his words. Screw it, for a pretty boy he could be so thickheaded, you roll your eyes heavenward and prayed for some strength. “Luhan, I beg you, you’re being irrational—”

“Are you at the same bar as last night? I can hear the band playing.”

“What! No! I’m not there!” You curse yourself since the panic in your voice is completely betraying you. “Luhan, I—” You hear the distinct click as Luhan disconnected the call.

Okay, time to get out of here. You go to the side of the stage, waiting for your Unni to finish the set. It’s just sheer bad luck that it took three more songs before they finished. By the time they’re done you’re already a nervous wreck, thinking of a dozen scenarios of how the night could go out of hand.

“Hey are you okay?” Your Unni approached you, putting her bass guitar against the stairs.

“I’m fine Unni!” You wave your hands to ward off the concern. “I just want to let you know that I’ll be going home in a while so don’t look for me later.”

“Um, okay, you still haven’t told me what last night’s all about.”

“I’ll call you about it. I’m sorry, I just can’t talk about it tonight.”

“That’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it. I’m just curious.” Your Unnie frowned. “And I seem to have misplaced my phone so I’ll find a way to contact you.”

“Oh okay. Don’t worry about me, Unni.” You put on your best smile as you wave goodbye.  

Okay, once last stop and I’m out of here, you decided as you make your way to say goodbye to the bartender.

“Hey, it’s you again!”

You’re surprised as you see the same guy from last night. “Oh, hi! Uh sorry, I can’t talk—”

“It’s ___-ah isn’t it? I can’t believe you’re here again. I think it’s meant to be.” The guy smiled kindly at you.

“No, it’s not.”

You stiffened as you feel an all-too-familiar hand cupping your shoulder, bringing you closer to an all-too-familiar lean body. You groaned inwardly as you feel the warmth of Luhan’s side pressed to yours, your cheeks already turning bright red as you smile apologetically at the poor guy in front of you. Kind guy that he is, the guy in front of you chuckles (again, this has déjà vu written all over it) and tells you that he’ll see you around before disappearing into the crowd.

You feel Luhan’s fingers digging deeper on your shoulder. “That was rude Luhan, you’re not my boyfriend and you shouldn’t be here. Someone might recognize you.” You muttered, still not looking at him.

“Do you have a boyfriend, ____-ah?” You can hear the concern in his voice as he turns you to face him.

You look up at him, his face partly hidden by his snapback. “I don’t have one, though I fail to see why it’s any of your business,” you retorted as you walk away to the main exit. You’re barely able to get two feet away from Luhan when he took your hand and led you to a dark spot at the corner of the bar.

“Well it’s my business,” Luhan answered, his teasing eyes bore down on yours with a confident smile, “although if you do have a boyfriend I’m sure as hell you don’t love him based on the way you kissed me last night.”

The sheer gall of what he just said rendered you speechless, your mouth agape as you contain the butterflies in your stomach. He grinned at you with that knowing smile that you’re starting to resent, then shifted and leaned with his back against the wall to face the stage. You’re still trying to process things that you didn’t realize that you assumed a similar position, with your arm aligned to his as he continues to hold your hand.

Both of you stayed silent, still watching the band perform for a few minutes. “This song,” Luhan said, his voice a tad deeper from what you’re used to, “I think they performed it the night I first met you.”

You blink back the tears that are starting to form at the corner of your eyes, remembering that week that felt more like a dream than reality. You can already feel yourself being turned to mush as his thumb constantly rubs against yours, trying to coax a response out of you.

“It’s not as easy as you might think, Luhan. There are just too many people around you, I can’t even compare…” You pressed your lips together to keep them from trembling.

“Who says it will be easy?” He squeezes your hand tighter, angling his head towards yours. “Do you like me?”

You know he can spot a lie a mile away so you had no choice but to give in. “Yes, I like you, Luhan.”

“That’s it then. I know it may take a while for you to love me as much as I love you, but I’m willing to wait. Although don’t make me wait too long.” Luhan said brightly, tugging your hand as he leads you to the side exit and towards what you assume is his car.

Wait—what?!?! Was that a declaration?!?! Your mind is reeling again from what you could deduce is utter nonsense on Luhan’s part. Did he mean it?  You know that Luhan is an honest person despite the brief time you’ve spent with him. But seriously, he loves you? He likes you, yes. Attracted, maybe. But love?

You’re basically catatonic for a good long time that you only realized that you’re in the passenger seat beside Luhan when he started the car.

“Wait, where are we going?” You start turning your head back and forth, trying to guess what direction Luhan is headed.

“Where else? Our first official date! The night is only beginning—shoot,” Luhan glanced at the time on the dashboard. “It’s past midnight. Do you have to call your parents?”

“Um, no, I’m going to the university dorm tonight. But that’s beside the point!” You stammered as you see Luhan smile more widely than earlier. “What first date? I said I like you but that doesn’t mean—”

“It means exactly what it means, ____-ah.” Luhan looks at you as if you’re four years old and slow on the uptake. “Hang on, I’m making a call.” He pulls over at the side of the road and steps out for a few minutes.

You bury your head between your hands as you still try to make sense of the situation. I should be flattered right? Someone like Luhan is pursuing me. There are better girls out there but still he chose me. You berate yourself as you know where this conversation is heading to. You’re slowly reverting back to that awkward and shy girl from more than three years ago, with low self-esteem save for being a soccer player, always trying to gain acceptance from everyone.

Well I’m not that girl anymore. Thinking of your accident and the years you spent picking up the pieces has made you realize that you prefer your newfound self, the one who is confident and goes for what she wants.

And you want Luhan. You love him, for crying out loud. Three years of not seeing him hasn’t mitigated whatever feelings you had in that week you spent with him. You know it’s going to be difficult and you tried your best to avoid it. But deep inside you know that it’s going to be worth it, he’s worth it.     

You just have to show him that you feel the same way.

“Hey, c’mon, _____-ah, I’m not so bad you know.” Luhan joked as he enters the car. You wonder at the remark, belatedly noticing that you still have your head buried in your hands.              

Your head snaps up to face him, “Ah….Luhan, that’s not it. I…was just thinking.”

“O….kay. Well, we’ll be there in a few minutes. Prepare to be surprised.” You can see Luhan practically jumping out of his seat with excitement as he drives through the highway.

You can’t help but laugh out loud at him. “Luhan, how can you possibly prepare to be surprised?” He nods at something up ahead, and your laughter dies as you see where Luhan is taking you.

Holy cow, now THAT’S a surprise.

***

“Luhan, it’s…”

“I know.”

“Luhan, oh my god, it’s…”

“I know what it is.”

Luhan smiled to himself as he parked the car near the entrance. Okay, you’re doing well so far, Luhan told himself. He is still kicking himself as to why he blurted out that half-assed confession earlier in the bar. Damn it, I should’ve waited to say it here, this is a more fitting stage. He knows there’s nothing much he can do about it, now determined to impress her more than ever and make her fall in love with him. He takes her hand and he knocks on the door of the side entrance.

“Ah Luhan, there you are.” A portly man opened the door and pointed to a narrow corridor. “Just go through there, I’ll turn the lights on. I’m just roaming around for the security check so just call me.”

“Thanks, ajusshi, I really owe you one.” Luhan knows that he owes this man a lot.

“Nah, that’s okay, this is going to be between just us three.” The guard waits for both of them to nod. “I can’t believe that just your signature alone already made me “Daddy of the Decade” to my two daughters. So yeah, just keep it a secret. You’re lucky there’s nothing scheduled for today.”

“Thank you so much.” Luhan nodded as he takes her hand and guides her through the corridor.

“I swear Luhan, the people you know…”

“I have my ways, don’t underestimate me.” Luhan winks at her. They continue walking until they emerged on the other end of the corridor, darkness completely surrounding them.

“____-ah?”

“Yes, Luhan?”

“Do you trust me?”

“I do.”

Luhan wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming sensation at the pit of his stomach when he heard those words. She really matters to me, I really have to make things right this time. Luhan links his fingers with hers and walks blindly, arriving at where he estimates is the center of the place.

By of genius, the security guard decides at that opportune moment to turn on the flood lights, showing the mind-numbingly awesomeness of what lay before them.

Luhan knew he was making progress when she did a slow 360 degree turn before sinking to her knees, shock written all over her face.

Yep, being in the middle of the Seoul World Cup Stadium can do that to you.

“Luhan, this is crazy.” She looks up at him, elation clearly seen in her eyes.

“Isn’t it grand? We had a performance here before but I didn’t get to play in it.” Luhan sits beside her and starts to untie his shoelaces. “Let’s go, ____-ah, take off your killer shoes and feel the ground.”

Luhan didn’t see the slight hesitation on her face before taking off her shoes. He helps her stand up, and they both laugh over how automatically their toes curl to feel the grass beneath them.

“I’m sorry Luhan, just indulge me for a bit.” The smile on her face making him more pleased than ever. “Can I scream? Like, just once? I still can’t believe I’m here and I think I’m going to explode.”

“Haha, be my guest. Just don’t make it horrifying or else the guards might think I’m having my evil way with you.” Okay, I just made myself sound like a predator, Luhan inwardly cringed.

If she is even bothered at all by what he said, she didn’t show it. She just cunningly grinned at him before shouting loudly, skipping a few steps across the field.

Luhan can’t help it. As soon as she stopped skipping, he grabs her hand and brings her towards him, embracing her tightly. “God, you’re just too cute,” he murmured through her hair, smiling as he feels her arms wrap around his waist. They hugged for a long time before he gives her one final squeeze before letting her go. Or else he’ll really be the predator that he just chided himself to be.

“Wait here, I’ll go find a ball.”

***

You tried to stop Luhan from searching for a soccer ball but can’t seem to find the words. Okay, I know I can do this, you try to psych yourself for the challenge that lay ahead. The doctors told you that you can play so there’s no need to panic.

Even if it’s the first time you touched a soccer ball in three years.

You pray that muscle memory can help you survive the night as you start doing your warm-ups, your body moving automatically to the steady rhythm of your breathing. You can already feel your muscles loosening up, and start to sense the unmistakeable streak of competitiveness that soccer naturally brings out from you. Okay, at least I can make it through one play, that I’m sure of.

“I really miss that look on you, ____-ah.” Luhan shouted, coming closer as he starts to bounce the ball on his knees.

“What look? The I’m-going-to-kick-your--in-this-expensive-dress look?” You asked, eyebrows raised as you mock him.        

He takes off his cap and ruffles his hair before doing his own warm up exercises. “So now we’re already in the trash talk stage? See, you’re half in love with me already!”

Oh Luhan, if you only knew. You finished stretching and retrieved a rubber band from your bag, tying your hair to a high ponytail. “This dress is expensive, and I like it very much. I’m already doing it a huge disservice by risking it being dirtied in the field. I’m still a girl you, know.” Your lips curved, “but the World Cup Stadium demands no less.”

“Believe me, I know you’re a girl.” You notice something flare in his eyes, before he quickly covers it with a laugh. “But the question is,” Luhan looks at you mischievously, remembering the same words that you threw at him three years ago, “do you play like one?”

So who’s doing the trash talk now? You smile lethally at him and grab the ball.

 

 

“You. Are. Insane.” Luhan sputtered as you laugh uncontrollably when he called for a break. He hands you a handkerchief as you both sat on the nearest set of chairs. You wipe the sweat off your forehead then politely hand it back to him, since he needs it as well.

“I was trying to be considerate, ____-ah. You just about killed me.” Luhan complained as he wipes his own forehead.

“What did I do? You’re the one asking if I play like a girl.” You are highly amused at how Luhan is still cute even when he pouts.

“I was kidding!” Luhan laughed. “You’re wearing a dress, and we’re playing barefoot! I can’t even remember the last time I did that.”

You giggled as you stretch your legs in front you, try to catching your breath from exhaustion. The last time you played barefoot was when you were 12 years old in the beach with your dad. You smile at the memory, and then start wiping the traces of dirt on your feet with your hand.

By the time you were breathing normally, you finally let yourself accept the constant thought running through your head during the past 40 minutes – that you shouldn’t have let go of soccer in the first place. And it took your pride and Luhan to make you face it. Sure, your muscles are aching now and your injured knee is becoming a source of discomfort (but not pain) since you haven’t pushed it this much in such a short amount of time. But it still feels amazing, just like how it used to be.

Maybe with Luhan beside you now, you can draw more courage and play the sport as frequently as you can.

“____-ah? What happened to your knee?”

Alarmed, you see him staring at your outstretched leg. Since he was sitting next to you, he can see the faint scars from the small incisions to your knee. You start to pull the hem of your dress over it but he covered your hand.

“Please, ____-ah, tell me what happened. I noticed that you were moving a bit differently earlier but I wasn’t going to say anything.” He deepened his frown, worry plainly etched across his face.

You decide to give him the sanitized version. “I got into an accident…collided with a defender so I busted my knee.”

“What the hell, you should’ve said something earlier!” Luhan almost shouted, you see that he’s been trying to keep his temper in check.

“It doesn’t matter Luhan, I’ve been off rehab for two years.” Okay, you weren’t supposed to give that last tidbit. But at the same time you don’t want him to get caught up in the past.

“Rehab? What injury is it?”

“An ACL tear. They had to do surgery for the reconstruction.” You run your fingers along his arm trying to appease him. “Please, Luhan, let’s not talk about it. It’s already fixed.”

But Luhan seems unable to drop the topic. “If it’s an ACL tear with a surgery and you’re off rehab for two years, then that just means that you injured it around the time I left.” Luhan gritted his teeth. “When was it, ___-ah?”

“That friendly game during the winter break.”

You can clearly see the devastated look on Luhan’s face. You take both of his hands in yours. “Whatever you’re thinking, just stop it. It’s not your fault okay? It could happen to anyone anywhere at any time.”

“Still, I should’ve been there. I could have helped.”

“Luhan, you have helped me far more than you can imagine.” You took a deep breath as you lay your hand against his cheek, causing him to look directly at you. “I love you, Luhan. I…I know that it might be hard for us to be together all the time, but I’m ready to go for it if you are.” You draw his face closer to yours, noting the surprised look on it as you place a soft kiss on his mouth.

You’re about to pull away when you feel his hand at the back of your head, holding it prisoner as he smiled against your mouth, “I’m ready as I’ll ever be, ___-ah. Let’s go to the deep end together.” And he proceeds to kiss you senseless.

 

 

A/N: Ack, I know! Manly Luhan driving me nuts, haha. This was actually supposed to be part of the previous chapter. But again, word vomit…

We’re nearing the homestretch, and I’m already sad just thinking about it TT it’s like a mother bird letting her baby bird leave the coop. This is not the last chapter but I’m taking advantage of the text real estate to say thank you to all those who read, commented, and subscribed to my bumbling attempts to make a decent story. I love you all! *crying with joy*