Minseok loves his job; no really, he does.  He gets to go to college and study music, one of the things he loves in his life, with a full scholarship supporting him.  He gets to visit many places and live in a beautiful and comfortable Seoul penthouse, a complete difference from the cold and empty and dark and uncomfortable apartment that he used to stay in.  And most of all, he gets to be with Luhan.

Luhan is probably the real reason why he loves his job.  At first, the prospect of being Luhan’s personal assistant seemed bleak, but that was years ago and he was pretty desperate for a job that would support him so he took it.  He regretted it at the beginning, Luhan was such a y bastard to him at first but he eventually warmed up, and learned to love and appreciate every single moment of it in the long run.  In fact, he loved, appreciated, and enjoyed every single moment of it that he found himself falling for his boss.  But they can never be together; Minseok knows that, because Luhan already has Yixing, and Yixing is everything you can ask for in a boyfriend. 

Well, okay, Luhan and Yixing aren’t technically together.  Yet.  But they’re getting there; they just need a little more push.  And Minseok’s willing to do everything for Luhan, not just because he vowed to Mr. and Mrs. Lu that he’d take care of their little boy no matter what, but also because he’s Luhan.  He’ll do everything to see him happy and smiling, something that he hasn’t been ever since he lost his parents to a plane crash.

And that’s the reason why Minseok’s standing in the university cafeteria, balancing two trays containing lunch, while waiting for Luhan and his gang to arrive.  It’s been half an hour since lunch started and Minseok’s hungry, he hasn’t eaten anything since last night’s dinner due to the abundance of assignments Jung gyoh-soo-nim has given them, and he still has to go to one of the music rooms in fifteen minutes because the said professor asked for him.  And he’s standing because for him, it’s rude to go and sit on Luhan and his gang’s table before they even arrive.

After five more minutes, Luhan and his gang—consisting of Hwang Zitao, Kim Joonmyeon, Byun Baekhyun, and of course, Zhang Yixing—stumble into the cafeteria, caught in the middle of a story told by Joonmyeon, laughing and giggling like there’s no tomorrow.

“Hey, Min.  Sorry, have you been waiting long?”  Luhan asks once he sees Minseok standing beside their usual spot.

“Uhm… not really,” Rule number one in The Manual on How to Make Luhan Happy: Never disappoint him by saying that he did something wrong to you, “listen, I have to go early ‘cause Jung gyoh-soo-nim called for me a while ago.”

“Yeah, sorry.”  Yixing says as he sits down beside Luhan, putting an arm over the boy’s shoulders.  “We got caught up in the bathroom by one of Zitao’s stories.  If Seokkie here gets muscle cramps later, it’s your fault, Taozi!”

“Shut up!  It was totally funny!”  Zitao says to defend himself, throwing a crumpled piece of paper at Yixing.

“Guys, guys, you’re littering.”  Luhan says as he stands up and gets his lunch tray from Minseok.  “Sit down, why were you even standing up to begin with?”

“Luhan, were you even listening?  I have to go early ‘cause Jung gyoh-soo-nim called for me.”  Minseok says, giving Luhan an exasperated sigh.

“Have you even eaten?”  Joonmyeon asks, concerned.

“I didn’t have time, I’ll be fine though.  I’ll just grab something on the way out.”  Minseok says, gathering his stuff and beginning to head out.  A hand on his arm stops him, though, and Minseok didn’t have to look to know who it is.  He knows that hand perfectly well; he’s held onto that arm and hand so many times ever since they’ve known each other that he’ll know it from anywhere.  And the feeling of that hand touching him, even through his sweater, sends chills through his spine.  Minseok still turns around, though, just because it’s rude not to.

“Min, you haven’t eaten anything since last night.”  Luhan says, concern laced in his voice.  With that voice and face, Minseok just wants to give in and sit down and eat.  But he can’t, it’s Jung gyoh-soo-nim, his favorite teacher, he might ask Minseok something important concerning his grades or whatever.

“Really, I’m going to be fine, Luhan.  I swear I’ll go grab something to eat.”  Minseok says, even though he knows that he won’t do it anyway.  He’s saving up to buy that beautiful piano that he saw in the music store down the corner and hopes to have it by Christmas.

“Ah, there you are, Minseok!”  Jung gyoh-soo-nim, who’s sitting on the piano bench, says as he enters the room.

Jung gyoh-soo-nim is Minseok’s favorite teacher to date.  He’s a tall young man with beautiful black hair and a load of musical talent.  He always loved Jung gyoh-soo-nim’s class because even if it’s music theory—the hardest music class, they say—he still manages to understand every little thing they’ve discussed.  Minseok greets the teacher and takes a seat in one of the chairs facing the piano and chalkboard at the front.

“So, I’ve been thinking…” Jung gyoh-soo-nim begins, “I know about your situation, Minseok, and it might be a little too much to ask considering you already have a job but… you do know that I own that music store down the corner, right?”  Minseok nods.  “And I was thinking of hiring you.  I mean, you’re a really good musician, student, and friend, and I really want to help you out.”

“I’m sorry, Jung gyoh-soo-nim, I like the offer but…” Minseok begins, but Jung gyoh-soo-nim raises a hand to silence him.

“It’s alright.  I knew you’d say no, I was just trying my luck.  But if your mind ever changes, the offer still stands, okay?”  Jung gyoh-soo-nim asks and Minseok nods gracefully.  “Good.  Oh, and Park Chanyeol, your seatmate, accepted the offer so you might want to visit him while he’s there some time.”

Park Chanyeol, a tall, skinny boy with a really deep voice, is Minseok’s best friend.  Chanyeol is probably taller than you.  He’s also probably skinnier than you.  And he’s also most probably prettier than you, just so you know.  Luhan and his gang are actually juniors while Minseok and Chanyeol are sophomores, so they don’t really see each other that often while at the campus.  He and Chanyeol first met during the registration and after finding out that they have the same course and have the same classes, they’ve been best friends ever since.  Minseok’s been to their place a couple of times and the Park family is amazing, as amazing as their pumpkin pie.

Luhan already left with Yixing a couple of hours before Minseok, so Minseok’s forced to walk back home.  Sure, they have a driver, but he can only have that privilege of being driven to wherever when he’s with Luhan.  When he’s not, he has to walk, even if Minho, the driver-slash-body guard-slash-all around dude, says that driving Minseok is also a part of his job.  Minseok just doesn’t feel like it, he feels that if he’s taking advantage of Luhan’s wealth if he does stuff like that.

So here finds Minseok, walking the long way back to their penthouse from the university.  Snow is already piling on the streets of Seoul, but Minseok knows that it’ll grow worse as Christmas approaches.  I still don’t have anything to give Luhan, he thinks and makes a mental note to stop by some stores to check out some stuff for Luhan during the weekend. 

He really enjoys long walks like these.  It gives him time to think and to detach himself from the demanding and fast life he has.  He sees a couple of homeless kids in one corner and briefly remembers that time he had been homeless too, before he got a job at Starbucks and a proper apartment, and even before he met the Lu family.  Minseok knows that no matter what, he’s never going to go back there again, NEVER.

He reaches their building and climbs up to their floor, a bouncing beagle puppy greeting him once he enters the comfort of their place. 

“Hey there, Bambi.  Miss me?”  He coos as he pets the puppy, now lying on its back, asking to be scratched.  Minseok can’t help but give in, not even bothering to remove his coat (Well, Luhan’s technically.  He never really bothered to buy one since Luhan has lots of them, and he just borrows the stuff that the other rarely or never uses.) and put down his things.  Things continue to be like that, him scratching Bambi while the dog lies on his back, until he hears a pair of feet approach and stop right in front of him.  He looks up, not stopping on whatever he’s doing to Bambi, and sees Luhan standing a few feet from him with a fond smile on his face.

Bambi is technically Luhan’s dog, but he rarely gets to spend time with him that the dog has taken to approaching Minseok when his owner got to college.  And Minseok, being the guy that he is, welcomed the beagle with open arms, and they’ve been tight ever since.

“Seriously, you never even bothered to remove the coat and put down your stuff.”  Luhan says, shaking his head with disbelief.  He has a smile playing on his lips though, so Minseok knows that he’s not upset.

“But he wanted it.”  Minseok replies and pouts as Bambi stands and approaches Luhan, giving Minseok the chance to stand up.  He loses his footing though, and ends up with his on the floor.  The long time he was kneeling down has taken its toll on his legs, and the sudden movement of standing it caused it to give up.

Luhan laughs and helps him up, removing his coat and backpack and telling him to change his clothes before he catches something.  He goes back to his room and chooses the most comfortable pajamas (a long and fluffy one full of printed dogs) and an oversized hoodie (a grey one that Luhan got him for his birthday last year) that he owns.  He’s also clad in socks when he walks back out and smells something good coming from the kitchen.  He steps in and sees Luhan, cooking.

“You’re cooking?”  Minseok asks disbelievingly.  Luhan gives a nervous laugh before he approaches Minseok and takes the other’s hand, leading the way to the stove.  The action causes Minseok to blush, and he’s really thankful that Luhan’s not facing him right now.

“Yeah, but I’m not sure if I’m doing it right.  Can you check it out and make sure that I don’t feed us something out of an alien movie?”  Luhan asks, handing Minseok a recipe.  Minseok reads over the piece of paper and tastes the soup a little.

“It’s okay, just add a little more pepper.  Who gave you this, anyway?”  Minseok asks, curious.  Luhan blushes a hundred shades of red and Minseok thinks, Oh.  Luhan didn’t even have to reply because he already knew the answer.

“Yixing.  He said that he got it from his parents and told me to check it out.  He says it’s awesome, is it?”  Luhan asks.

“Yeah, it really is.”  Minseok replies and Luhan’s face lights up, sending shivers down Minseok’s spine, again. 

“So, you guys have a project that’s due at the end of the year.”  Jung gyoh-soo-nim announces before they leave their class.  “You have to make a compilation of songs—all original, meaning you wrote it and you composed it—about anything under the sun.  You’ll work in groups; you may choose your members and your group name.  I’ll be taking the final list of groups next meeting.  That’s it, goodbye.”  He finishes as he leaves the room, dismissing the class fifteen minutes earlier than the bell.

Chanyeol magically appears right beside Minseok as he fixes his stuff, Oh Sehun standing right next to him.  Sehun, or Ohdult as they like to call him, has been friends with Chanyeol and Minseok since he transferred here this year.  They both have their stuff with them and are both wearing a smile when they made their appearance.

“Ready?”  Chanyeol asks just as Minseok finishes closing his backpack.  He nods and stands up, following them out of the room and into the cafeteria.

“So I guess we’ll be working together, huh.”   Sehun says as he fumbles with his phone.

“Yeah.  So, how do we do it?”  Minseok reply.

“Well, we all write and , and we all compose and , so… we’ll figure something out.”  Chanyeol replies and Sehun and Minseok laugh, knowing full well that the strategy always works perfectly on them.  The trio enters the cafeteria and goes to their usual spot, leaving their things there before they line to order their food.  It’s already fifteen minutes into lunch and they’re just about done when Luhan and his gang enters, Luhan heading straight for their table.  Chanyeol clears his throat and Minseok looks behind him, spotting Luhan approaching them.  Luhan immediately smiles and waves once he sees Minseok look his way.

“Hey, Min, Chanyeol, Sehun.”  Luhan greets and the three greet back.  “So, uhm… there’ll be an early holiday party at the Hwang’s this weekend, and Zitao was wondering if the three of you would like to go.”  Luhan says.

The three look at each other before Sehun replies.  “Yeah, sure.  Want time do we have to be there?”

“Uhm… the party starts at 7 and it’s until morning so whenever you like.”  Luhan replies with a satisfied smile before he waves them goodbye and going back to their table, Yixing greeting him with a hug.  Minseok just looks at the two of them and he thinks that they’re perfect, and that he should just be happy.  He just stares until Chanyeol lets out a displeased noise, causing Minseok to look back at him.

“You really have it bad for him, don’t you?”  Chanyeol asks, forking his spaghetti.

“I’m sorry?”  Minseok replies, feigning innocence.

“Dude, cut the .  We both know that you have this huge crush on Luhan since, I dunno, whenever.” Sehun replies, giving Minseok a sly smile.  Minseok bangs his head against the table, causing Chanyeol to hold onto his glass of juice, fearing that it might bounce off the table from the force.

“It’s that obvious, Sehun, Yeol?”  Minseok asks, desperately.

“Yeah, we’re actually wondering why he hasn’t gotten it yet.”  Chanyeol replies, causing Minseok to groan and bang his head on the table once again, leading the other two to pat his back comfortingly.