CHAPTER 2

It was past one in the morning but Yibo couldn’t even blink an eye. He could feel his eyes slowly dropping, yet his thoughts would prevent him from completely dozing off. He tried counting imaginary flocks of sheep, counting from one to a thousand, or even humming a lullaby, but to no avail. Bringing himself to sleep that time was like a kitten fighting off a king cobra for its life – a hopeless case. For whatever he did, he just couldn’t fall asleep.

And it’s clearly obvious why.

Wenhan.

The prince of the tennis club, the person he meekly stalked during break time, the person who called him ‘interesting’ at the library, the person who had seen his weird habit of talking to himself, and the person who he had to interview for the university newspaper...

Argh just let me sleep!

If you were to ask Yibo how, when, and where he first knew about Wenhan, it would be like asking a kid if he wanted a lollipop or not – giving an immediate response without thinking so deeply because he was so sure of what his answer would be. He could even recite it without blinking an eye. He could still clearly remember when and where he first laid his eyes on him. There was nothing special and magical in it, though. No awkward moments either. It’s just him witnessing the other side of Wenhan that he bet no one had ever seen...

It was his first day as a transfer senior high school student in an elite academy in Seoul. Though Chinese, his father had been promoted and transferred to another country, which was South Korea. As a family with a close relationship, it was just normal for them (him, his father, and his mother) to move together. Though scared of just thinking what lies ahead for him in an unfamiliar country, he agreed to join and migrate together. They migrated three months prior to the school opening, so he had the time to hire a tutor and learn the new language.

So, back to his first day as a transfer student, he arrived earlier than the allotted time because he wanted to familiarize himself with his new school. As he walked and observed, he noticed the vast difference of how schooling works between Beijing and Seoul.

And truthfully, he was frightened.

There were already students who were lounging in the area, all of them were chatting with friends. Some were giving him curious gazes, while some were just looking at him with no interest in their eyes.

I’m too plain, I’m sorry for disappointing your eyes...

As he continued to wander around, his feet brought him to what it seemed like a botanical garden. The pink and yellow flowers planted in front of him were enticing, thus making him enter the said garden. There were various species of plants and flowers, and Yibo was too happy to find red, pink, and white peonies growing over there. He felt nostalgic, because back in China, peonies were the trademark of his hometown.

He was already almost at the end of the garden when he heard a voice – a very lonely voice.

“Why won’t you let me visit my mom? I’m his only son, yet not allowed to even see her?” he heard an exasperated voice. His eyes wandered around and saw a student who was wearing the same uniform as him alone at the picnic table, talking over the phone. The stranger’s back was facing him so he couldn’t get a glimpse of his face, and moreover, there was something about the guy that made him want to look into his eyes and tell him that everything’s going to be alright, no matter what his problem was.

And Yibo found it weird, because it was the first time he felt that way — like suddenly, he wanted to comfort a stranger by hugging him tight just because he seemed too desperate and lonely. His heart was beating fast and it seemed like his vision went into slow motion when the guy shifted his position, his face was now clearly present on his anticipating eyes. For a while, he was enticed by the guy’s gorgeousness. He was handsome, yes, but that was not what had caught his attention. The stranger, who was blessed with good looks and built, on the other hand, seemed like he was cursed with the saddest pair of eyes, though. But even though he had those lonely eyes, he still couldn’t get enough of him.

He unknowingly gasped when a tear escaped from the eye of the stranger.

The stranger froze. “Who’s there?” he asked while wiping his tear away. His voice sounded dangerous, yet Yibo could tell that he was totally harmless.

He quickly ducked lower from the bushes he was hiding and smacked his forehead many times. So what if the guy cried... was that unusual? Should he really gasp that loud? Argh! Stupid head!

He decided to come out and apologize, but when he finally stood up, the picnic table was already abandoned with no trace of the handsome stranger in it. Disappointed, he quietly walked towards the table and sat.

Why was he sad? Why was he prohibited from visiting his mom?

Though what he heard from his unplanned eavesdropping was limited, he realized that what he was going through was tough. He went to the picnic table and sat where the stranger was just sitting before he left. The melancholy of the stranger’s voice was still lingering in his mind. He wanted to befriend the guy and be his confidant — the reason, he didn’t clearly know...

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The next morning, Yibo woke up feeling the weight of tons of bags under his eyes. He only had two hours of sleep! And that wasn’t normal, because he usually had eight to ten hours of sleep regularly, regardless of how many school works he had to finish. As a responsible student, he believed that one shouldn’t deprive himself with sleep because it’s what makes a person function properly, aside from food, of course.

Although the temptation to remain in his bed and continue to sleep was very high, he still decided to get up and prepared for school. Taking a quick shower (which only consisted of sprinkling his face and body with warm water), he dashed towards the stairs and greeted his mother a good morning.

“Yibo, did you not sleep last night?” his mother curiously asked as she carefully placed the pancakes on his plate. Although he had already taken a bath and was ready to go to school, the bags under his sleepy eyes were very much obvious.

“Uhm... I finished my reading assignments, mom,” he lied. “I’m sorry I look horrible today. Anyway, I think I’ll be going home a little bit late today.” He said as he took a bite of his favourite pancake with overflowing maple syrup in it. He liked his pancakes very sweet and syrup-filled, a thing that his mom always scolded him for.

Yibo’s mom’s face brightened upon hearing his news. “Oh, will you be hanging out with friends? Tell them they can come over here anytime! I’ll be preparing lots of Chinese dishes they’ll surely like.”

Yibo gulped.

His mother didn’t know he still had no friends—close friends, to be exact. In his two months at the academy, no one dared to befriend him; not because he’s a weirdo, but because he’s too shy to approach anyone. He’s not gifted with the right social skills, and it frustrated him big time. Heck, who wanted to be alone, anyway? He’s the type that if not approached first, then he won’t talk.

“Y-yeah, sure, I’ll be telling them.” He lied again.

The truth was, he was going to interview Wenhan that day. No, scratch that, he was going to schedule an interview with Wenhan. Ask him personally. He’d have to approach the guy first and just the thought of it makes his knees shake in nervous (and excitement! Don’t be a hypocrite, Yibo!).

“Wenhan’s free from tennis practice starting tomorrow until next week. You’d have much free time to ask him for an interview. If you can’t find him anywhere tomorrow, maybe he’d be at the school’s poolside and... shirtless.” He remembered Sungjoo said and winked at him afterwards, an obvious way of teasing him.

Yibo blushed hard.

Did he know...?

Updated 151110