Luhan strode up to the front door of the library with a stack of books in his hands and a mask of confidence on his face, beneath it was the true feeling that he wouldn’t admit to himself, he was nervous.  It was Friday and he was supposed to meet Sehun to “hang out”, what that entailed, Luhan didn’t know.  He told himself not to worry, that one meeting didn’t mean he had to get close with the guy, that he was smarter than Sehun therefore he could easily fool him, but Luhan knew that he was honestly awful in situations like this.  He had never hung out with anyone except Kai before, and even then their meetings weren’t exactly normal.  Luhan didn’t know how to act or what to say, he was utterly confused as to why Sehun wanted to hang out with him anyway, and still convinced he didn’t deserve to have any friends.  However, he still got up, he still got dressed, and he still came all the way here. 

         He glanced in through the glass and saw Sehun laughing with his coworker, the sight of him made Luhan even more nervous and his hand flew to the knife tucked into his waistband, his fingers outlined it and he took a deep breath to calm himself.  He needed to keep his image intact and appear confident.  His first task was to return these books, and through the completion of that task he would be alerting Sehun to his presence and be avoiding any awkward “hi, I’m here” conversations.  Slowly, he turned toward the door…one step…two steps…nope.  He quickly backtracked and ran to the outside drop box, dumping his books in with less care than he would’ve liked. 

“Sorry.”  Luhan cringed, patting the top of the metal box as he heard the books land roughly. 

“Am I interrupting something?”  A voice sounded from behind him and Luhan cringed even more as he recognized it.  Way to not be awkward, loser.  He chastised himself, fighting the urge to stab himself with his knife. 

“No.”  He said, turning to face Sehun with a challenging expression.  “I was just returning my books.” 

“You could’ve brought them inside.”  Sehun laughed, but thankfully dropped the topic quickly.  “Anyway, it’s nice to see you.” 

“Yeah.”  Luhan said lamely, wondering why it was nice to see him, there’s nothing nice about him.  “So, where are we going?”  He asked, walking closer to the younger guy and trying not to notice how Sehun looked a lot better today than he had the previous times Luhan saw him. 

However, perceptiveness is not something easily turned off, and he couldn’t help but take in the details of Sehun’s appearance.  He was wearing black, Luhan liked black, his clothes weren’t wrinkled, and even his platinum hair looked neater.  A part of Luhan’s brain factored in that Sehun had probably spruced himself up for their meeting, but the rest of his brain was in denial that someone could actually do that for his attention so he refused to acknowledge it.

“I was actually going to ask you what you wanted to do.”  Sehun replied, leading Luhan away from the library and toward a dark blue car that was parked nearby.  Luhan felt a little panicked at the statement, he had no idea what normal people did for fun, but he stayed calm and redirected.

“Nonsense, you asked me to hang out so you pick where to go.”  Luhan stated and Sehun just shrugged as he pulled open the passenger side door for Luhan.

“The mall it is.” 

                And Luhan probably should’ve factored in that the door holding was a bit past the line of friendly and that Sehun was staring a bit more than he should’ve been, but Luhan ignored it all, preferring to look out the window and play dumb.  Luhan liked when things were easy, and not questioning Sehun’s action made everything a lot easier. 

                When they arrived to the mall Sehun parked in the underground parking and Luhan’s mind immediately went back to the last time he was at a mall.  It was the job he worked with Kai, they had to dispose of a famous singer, it was the first time they had tag-teamed a job in a long time and Luhan found that it was more entertaining than it should’ve been.  He could still see the fear in the young celebrity’s eyes and hear the whimpers as he took his last breath.  However, Luhan felt nothing at these memories, he wasn’t like Kai he wasn’t at the place in his mind where he felt remorse.  And one look at Sehun’s bright face, smiling and completely unknowing to the horrors that Luhan had inflicted, told Luhan that he shouldn’t be here. 

                But one thing Luhan is good at is not listening to himself, so he gave a tiny unsure smile back and followed Sehun into the big, blindingly bright shopping center.  Yes, Luhan wasn’t going anywhere, but he was going to stay aware and careful.

“The mall is actually one of my favorite places.”  Sehun explained.  “But I haven’t come for a quite a while because my best friend isn’t back from China yet.  It’s not that fun coming here alone, you know?”

“I’m sure it’s not that bad.”  Luhan looked around carefully, studying the huge yet crowded building in front of him.  It was quainter than the ones in Seoul, but still bright and grandiose, with a ridiculous amount of cameras and security.    

                Luhan might’ve worried about making Sehun uncomfortable, with his strange comment and behavior, but the younger boy didn’t seem that fazed.  Instead he acted like everything Luhan did was normal and seemed to make it a personal mission to get Luhan to loosen up.  He took him through various stores, telling him funny stories along the way while they browsed through aisles and shelves without buying anything.  Sehun told him that his friend Lay is constantly wandering off and one time he found him sleeping on a mattress in the home goods store and had to wake him up and run while being chased by an overweight security guard.  He then told him how his mom dragged him into Victoria’s Secret when he was just a kid and he had threw a fit and knocked over a display but instead of apologizing to the workers his mom had just laughed and took a picture of the small crying Sehun sitting in a pile of bras. 

                By the time they had stopped for food Luhan had to admit that he was almost, kind of, sort of, having fun.  He had nothing to contribute to the conversation, no fun anecdotes or mall memories of his own, but somehow just listening to Sehun and laughing at all of things he told him was enough. 

“What do you want to eat?”  Sehun asked, as they stood in front of the food court. 

“Everything.”  Luhan replied, glancing at all the different stalls.  Luhan had always been what Kai called “a fool for food”, he loved food, all food.  He had even once received payment for a job in the form of expensive Korean beef.  It was a weakness that he had no plans to rid himself of. 

“Are you sure about that?”  Sehun looked at him with an eyebrow raised.  Luhan just nodded, too engrossed in ogling the food to reply with words.  “Alright then.” 

                Luhan gazed in wonder at the large array of food sitting on the table in front of him.  Sehun had actually went around and ordered something from every stall, and yeah Luhan was starting to think that Sehun is pretty all right. 

“Can you really eat all this?”  Sehun asked incredulously. 

“I definitely could.”  Luhan grinned, and noticed that Sehun looked mildly shocked at his expression, not actually having seen Luhan’s true smile before.  The crazy one, the one he only showed in front of food, Kai, and certain victims.  “But, I won’t.  You have to eat some too, especially since you paid.”    

                Sehun just nodded and grabbed some fries.  They ate in silence for a while before Luhan sensed the younger guy shift around and knew he was going to start talking.  Not being a fan of small talk, Luhan hoped Sehun wouldn’t try, but it was inevitable.

“So, where do you work?”  Sehun asked casually. 

“Why do you need to know?”  Luhan countered, reaching for the kimbap.  Sehun just shrugs.

“How long have you lived in Busan?” 

“A while.” 

“You’re Chinese, right?  What made you come to Korea?” 

“Certain circumstances.”

“Are you going to avoid all my questions?”  Sehun huffed, looking a little put out, before sighing and returning his face to the normal gentle smile he wears.  “I’m sorry, hyung.  I’m prying aren’t I, I just want to get to know you.”

                Luhan put the food he was holding down and frowned.  He knew he was being unfair.  Sehun was just a nice guy trying to be his friend, there really was no need to be suspicious of him.  It was just Luhan’s instinct to not talk about himself, to not let people get too close, but that had to change eventually.  He needed to act normal, act natural, like everybody else. 

“No, I’m sorry.  To be honest I’m not used to this,” Luhan gestured between them.  “The whole becoming friends thing.  I moved to Busan four months ago, and the only people I know are over fifty years old, not exactly friend material.”  Sehun laughed at that, and Luhan felt relief wash over him, that wasn’t so hard. 

“Well, you know me now, and I assure you I am perfect friend material.”  Sehun gave Luhan a smug expression and received a raised eyebrow in response.  “Anyways, as much as I want to get to know you, I didn’t bring you here to force you to talk about yourself.  We came here to have fun, so, since you’ve pretty much cleared this table, let’s go!” 

                Luhan nodded, feeling grateful at Sehun’s words, and started picking up the mess of wrappers and paper bowls to throw away.

“I swear I didn’t think you’d actually finish all of that.”  Sehun said, helping Luhan with the garbage he couldn’t carry.  “Where does all that food even go?”  He asked, eyeing Luhan’s small frame. 

“Ah ah ah, no more questions.”  Luhan scolded him, giving him a playful glare.

“Fine, fine.”  Sehun laughed. 

                They had already gone through most of the store and it was late afternoon, therefore it made sense for them to leave.  As they made their way to the exit Luhan tried to ignore how close Sehun was walking to him, their arms brushing.  The proximity was a little disconcerting, but like always Luhan ignored it, telling himself that Sehun is just a friendly person and probably doesn’t even realize how close they are.  Why should it matter anyway, it’s not like brushing arms means anything, it’s not like Luhan is affected by how soft Sehun’s skin felt in the passing touches or how Sehun sometimes smiles at him with his eyes forming happy moons.  No, he’s not affected at all. 

                Luhan was momentarily distracted by his somewhat uncomfortable inner rant when he saw a strange looking store near the dark corner area towards the exit doors.  The store windows were out and there was a large sign that said ‘Mr. Lee’s Unusual Antiques’. 

“What’s that place?”  Luhan asked, grabbing Sehun’s sleeve to stop him from walking. 

“Hmm.”  Sehun studied it.  “I actually don’t know, it must be new.”

“Let’s go in.”  Luhan declared much to Sehun’s surprise. 

“Are you sure?”  Sehun looked at the store nervously.  “It seems a little shady.”

“You’re not afraid of a store are you, Oh Sehun?”  Luhan laughed, and Sehun gave him a glare. 

“No.  I’m not afraid, let’s go.” 

                The inside of the store looked slightly less intimidating than the outside.  There was various chandeliers hanging from the ceiling providing light, and rows of shelves holding the most outlandish objects Luhan had ever seen.  A jar full of something green with floating shapes, Luhan would prefer not to know what it was, gold and silver jewelry hanging from deer antlers, brass tea sets, various animal skulls, and a sight that instantly attracted Luhan.  He walked to the dark wood podium where a fairly large dagger was placed on silk cloths.  It was truly beautiful, a long blade that gleamed in enticing silver, attached to a gold handle that had Chinese characters carved into the surface and red jewels embedded into the cross guard.  Luhan wanted to touch it, hold it, it reminded him of China and he felt like it was practically begging him to buy it. 

Unfortunately, he had to turn his head away from the beauty, he realized that Sehun might find it odd that Luhan was staring at a knife.  Sehun, however, was currently preoccupied with talking to a man who Luhan assumed was the owner.  He was a middle-aged man with bushy hair that was starting to bald on the crown of his head, he had shifty eyes and a crook’s smile.  Luhan didn’t trust him. 

“Luhan!”  Sehun grinned and motioned for him to come closer.  “Mr. Lee just proposed an awesome deal.” 

“What?”  Luhan crossed his arms and gave the man a hard stare. 

“Ha, ha, ha!  Don’t look so serious young man, I offer this deal purely in good fun.  You two are my first customers of the day.”  Luhan scoffed at this, who else would want to come to this hole in the wall.  “As a way to say thanks for stopping by, I want to offer you a game.  I have a dartboard in the back, if you can hit the center on one hit then you can each pick one item from the store for free, however, if you miss then you are both required to buy one item each.  Sounds fair, am I correct?”  The man gave them a smile with a dark glint in his eyes.  Sehun was nodding excitedly, and immediately agreed. 

                The man led them to the back of the store through rows and corners of strange items, until they stepped around a large circular bookshelf and came face to face with a dartboard.  Only, this dartboard happened to be very unusual.  It was huge, almost as tall as Luhan himself, and the center was very tiny, practically half a centimeter.  Sehun’s face fell at the sight and he turned to owner in shock.

“This is ridiculous, you didn’t tell us the dartboard was like this, it’s impossible to hit the center!”  Sehun glared at the man, and Luhan felt anger bubble inside him at how upset Sehun was.  He didn’t know why he was angry, but he did know he wanted Sehun’s carefree smile back. 

“I’m sorry, young man.  But, you didn’t ask.”  The man looked smug and Luhan longed to beat his face until he couldn’t make any expression at all.  However, he knew he couldn’t use violence.  That didn’t mean that he couldn’t put this man in his proper place, though. 

“Where’s the dart?”  Luhan spoke up and Sehun gave him an incredulous glance.

“Luhan…you’re not actually going to try right, I’d rather just call it off.  I don’t want to give this conman my money.”  Sehun gave another glare to the man, but Luhan ignored his words and grabbed the dart from the owner who was holding it out to him with an arrogant smirk. 

“We get any item regardless of price, correct?”  Luhan asked, his face blank and his fingers twirling the dart.

“That’s correct.”  The man laughed haughtily.  “If you succeed.” 

“Sehun, I hope you have something picked out.” 

                Luhan stood in front of the dartboard, his feet shoulder width apart, centering his balance and grounding himself.  He eyed the tiny red colored center and threw the dart with an expert flick of his wrist.  The dart landed perfectly, right in the middle where he knew it would.  He turned with a smirk where he saw Sehun staring in awe and the man looking shocked, his smugness wiped from his face. 

“H-how?”  The man sputtered, but Luhan just grabbed Sehun’s arm and pulled him away. 

~

                They exited the mall ten minutes later with their free items, Sehun had picked out an old-fashioned wall scroll, it was blank but would look beautiful with a drawing on it, which Luhan assumed was why Sehun wanted it, and Luhan himself held the dagger he had been ogling.  It was secured in a sheath that matched the gold handle and wrapped in the dark red silk it had been laying on.  Sehun had not questioned Luhan’s choice and for that he was thankful. 

“That was so awesome!”  Sehun raved, grinning brighter than Luhan had ever seen.  “Is that you’re big secret then?”  Sehun asked jokingly.  “You’re a closet dartboard champion?” 

“Something like that.”  Luhan replied, returning Sehun’s grin because honestly he couldn’t help it.  Seeing Sehun this happy made him feel something, but he couldn’t put his finger in what it was.  Luhan, the person who could practically know a person’s whole life story just by analyzing their appearance, was stumped by a feeling in his own body and mind.  It was puzzling and frustrating, but at the same time it was nice.  Being so confused and unsure made him feel a bit more human.

                After they parted ways at the library, Luhan ran home feeling lighter than he has for a long time.  He didn’t know what he was feeling or where this thing with Sehun was going, but he knew he would see the younger man again, and for the first time ever he was excited for the days to come.  

a/n: Thank you to any new subscribers! This chapter is super late and definitely Luhan biased, the next chapter will be more on Sehun^.^ Did you all see Kris and Luhan reunited, ah my heart<3