Finding clothes to wear was a bother. It wasn’t like I was usually the most fashion-savvy person on the street, but I didn’t think I could just turn up to meet my friend wearing just anything. To say the least, my attempt at finding an outfit was futile. I had no clothes here that were up to the job of impressing anyone. In the end I just put on a pair of jogging trousers (unused) and a hoody. I would just go with the jogger look to avoid explaining my shabby clothes. A double life is a hard thing to lead.

When I approached the park, guided by the just-lit streetlights, I kept my eyes peeled for the familiar face. As I was looking around, it occurred to me that perhaps I should at least make it seem like I was jogging. Half-heartedly breaking into a walk-jog thing, I continued to search for him. His face should make him so obvious to spot, and yet I couldn’t see him anywhere.

“Mira!” a voice called from behind me, causing me to stop and peek over my shoulder.

As soon as I saw his face, I smiled. He was just as adorable as always, a cute smile playing across his full lips as he pulled his jacket around himself and jogged over to me. He was wearing a thick woolly hat that I had given him for Christmas the previous year. It had been an ongoing joke that I knitted it myself.

“Luhan!” I beamed, bracing myself as he threw his arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. It felt a little awkward, but I had really missed him “How are you?” I managed to squeak out.

He let go of me, holding my shoulders at arm’s length. “I’m fine.” He suddenly seemed to notice my attire, “Since when do you jog?”

I internally cringed at my outfit choice. “It’s sort of a trial thing.”

Being around Luhan was nice. It was almost like being back at my old school, just without the rest of the bother. It must have sounded funny to anyone who listened to us talking because we would mostly talk in Chinese but occasionally when a word slipped my mind or sometimes unintentionally I would say it in Korean or English. Luhan would always complement this by switching to whatever language I had changed to. We had a good friendship like that.

Luhan filled me in on all that had happened since I was gone. There was a multitude of rumours going around about me; some that I’d secretly been married off to an Indian prince, some that I’d moved to Africa to join a native tribe, and some that I’d died in a horrible accident and no one was confirming anything because of how it would affect the stock market.

“I think I like the African tribe one best,” I laughed.

He nodded, “I know, they’re all so funny. People keep coming up to me and asking if you’re ok and I just stare at them with a sort of sad expression and walk away. It’s hilarious! You should honestly see their faces.”

I gently slapped his arm as we walked, “Yah! You shouldn’t encourage them.”

Playfully shrugging, he replied, “Have to amuse myself somehow.” It occurred to me that he might have a point. 

Up ahead of us was a little street food stall. My stomach rumbled instantly. Grabbing his arm, I dragged him towards it.

“What are you doing?” he asked, clearly surprised by my impulsion.

“Trust me! It’s amazing.”

He still looked utterly confused. I raised an eyebrow at him, “You’ve never had street food before, have you?”

“Street food?” the words came out of his mouth like he had never spoken them before and this was his first time trying them out.

Nodding, I joined the queue of people and motioned for him to do the same.

When Luhan caught sight of what I was proposing we ate his face fell a little. “Uhm, Mira… Are you sure that this is edible?”

In this situation, I couldn’t help but imagine what Sehun would have said to that if he were here. Some stupid, snarky blonde kid response, no doubt. “Yes! It’s totally edible and totally delicious.”

Luhan leaned a little closer to me. “But is it hygienic?” he whispered, seemingly forgetting that he was speaking in Chinese so there was a very low probability that anyone would be able to understand him anyway.

It was our turn to order then. Ignoring Luhan’s worried expression, I ordered a little of everything. We sat on a bench nearby and I tucked in. Luhan, naturally, was more hesitant as he s