To say that Seo Minsoo looked happy when her son insisted that he wanted to spend some time with his sister would be quite an understatement.
The woman had looked absolutely ecstatic but had tried to hide it with mock-sadness.
“Alright. No one care about where their old mother goes.”

When her children had exchanged looks of guilt, she had looked properly satisfied and had given them a hug each before departing.

“Junyoung.”
Sunjung hit her brother ‘lightly’, motioning for him to make space for her on the couch. The male had been sprawled on the couch since the moment their mother had left and had been watching weekend reruns of TV shows non-stop.
He sat up, looking betrayed.
“Learn to share,” Sunjung chided.

The young man let out a bark of laughter.
“I have been sharing a tiny room with another guy for almost a year now. Let me enjoy some free space for now. You have an apartment to yourself.”

Sunjung just narrowed her eyes at him.
“It can’t be that tiny.” She turned her eyes to the TV. “And I don’t have it to myself,” she added as an afterthought.

“Still,” he changed the channel when the closing credits began to roll, “it’s an apartment.”

Sunjung found herself glancing at the clock on the wall; it had been a while since Lu Han had left to ‘hang out with a friend’.
Now that she thought about it, he had been too eager to leave the apartment. She let out a sigh.

Junyoung looked at his sister from the corner of his eye; she looked deflated for some reason.
“So, noona, I think I owe your—” he cleared his throat, “that guy an apology.”
He felt incredibly guilty every time he thought about his previous behaviour towards his sister.

She turned to him with furrowed eyebrows but realisation slowly dawned on her.
“You mean Lu Han? You surely do.”

“He was horrible to me too,” Junyoung said, sounding defensive.
Sunjung shrugged as if to say that he deserved it, which he probably did.
“But he pissed me off. He’s weirdly protective of you...like super protective.”
The young man shook his head as if the thought confused him.

“He is, isn’t he?”

Sunjung was beginning to wonder if she owed Lu Han an apology too.

***

Baekhyun was having a very hard time holding back the laughter that was threatening to escape his lips.
He had never been able to get Lu Han drunk because the man had greater tolerance than he did.
But tonight, Byun Baekhyun had done the impossible. Lu Han was seated at the bar, having a very animated conversation with someone while Baekhyun sat at a distance, watching in amusement.
Lu Han himself had been very eager to down shots but Baekhyun believed it to be his achievement nonetheless.

“I have been so good to her,” Lu Han slurred in his native language, his eyelids heavy, “You’d think she’d be attracted to that at least. There is only so much I can do to make her open up.”
He was discussing his woes with a younger man that he didn’t know, but who just happened to be Chinese.

The young man who had been Lu Han’s confidante for the past half hour nodded severely, looking very wise. He then shook his head in disbelief, running his hand through his perfectly styled blonde hair. His hand was adorned with more rings and bracelets than a store mannequin. He looked quite intimidating but all that disappeared when he began to whine like child.
“I’ve never been in a situation like that but I can understand how it can be frustrating.”

Apparently having an epiphany, Lu Han slammed his fist down on the counter top. His eyes were wide, whether in horror or excitement, one couldn’t tell.
“She probably thinks I’m gay!” he exclaimed, scaring the young man sitting next to him.
“Do you think I should keep my distance from Minseok? People used to think...you know? In college?”

The man the question had been subjected to had no idea who Minseok was, but he replied with much excitement.
“That’s the worst!”
He eyes ran over the brown-haired, doe-eyed man who sat next to him.
“But you’re pretty,” he said with much seriousness, “but I’m prettier than you.”

Lu Han’s jaw dropped while his eyes widened to stare at the younger man who had dared to say the damned words.
“Listen, kid,” he said as his eyes narrowed, “Tao...was it? I am not pretty, I am manly.”
“I am manly!” he repeated in Korean for good measure.

Hearing the loud exclamation, Baekhyun decided he had had enough entertainment for the night. He swayed in place for a while before walking over to his senior who was fiercely glaring at the young man—Tao, who had previously been his confidante.

“Hyung,” Baekhyun said with a lazy smile, “what are you yelling at the kid for?”

Lu Han pointed to Tao in accusation, “He—”

Baekhyun cut him off with a wave of his hand. “Let it be.”