Wishful Chance || SeChen { 3/5 }

[thechenesis]

“I didn’t actually expect this change to be so immediate,” Jongdae admitted to Sehun while they were roaming the campus side by side, walking in the direction of the Humanities building.

He had woken up that morning to an already washed up and dressed Sehun waiting for him while sitting on a kitchen stool. He briefly wondered if he should freak out about Sehun observing him in his sleep before he remembered that was exactly the way he and Sehun had first met too.

For some reason, Sehun had decided to come to campus with him that morning, Jongdae was not about to complain now that the boy had finally decided to leave the apartment for the first time in weeks.

“I like getting to know new places,” the blond observed plainly, apparently sincere. “Besides Baekhyun said S University was inspired from your university, so I’m curious to see if I can recognize anything.”

“Besides the outer looks from the buildings, I doubt anything else will be similar,” Jongdae remarked humorously. “I don’t think Baekhyun has ever laid a single foot in this place. From the little information I gathered, he avoided higher education like the plague… Something related to his parents.”

“I get it, my parents too―” he furrowed his brows, “Ah, never mind, forget it.”

“What is it about your parents?”

“Nothing. I don’t really have parents, right?” He pointed out nonchalantly (or at least that was his obvious intention).

“Um, I don’t think it works like that. For sure, you don’t have a past in this world… But you have memories, feelings, a personality.” He curved his head a bit, trying to catch Sehun’s eye. “You’re not an empty vessel, so it’s okay if you talk about all these things. They exist inside you.”

Sehun made that characteristic face of his again.

“Deep. I can see you’re a Literature major alright.”

“Are you mocking me?!”

“You do like to whine, don’t you?”

“You’re missing the point!”

“You and your ‘points’ all the time.” Sehun rolled his eyes, as if his opinion was not yet sufficiently clear. “Perhaps you should―”

Jongdae looked at him again, this time trying to understand what had made him stop what he was saying. Sehun’s eyes were gazing in the opposite direction, towards a green field where some boys were playing with a soccer ball.

“Do you like soccer?” He asked tentatively, trying to figure out what was so eye-catching about the boys’ casual kicking the ball around.

“No, it’s just… Do you know that guy?”

“Which one?”

“The one with his hair tied up?”

Since they were close to the Humanities building, it was quite likely that Jongdae could know that person, by sight at least. He squinted, trying to make out the face of the boy Sehun had asked him about; a little taller them himself, soft features in a small face, and a great ability in soccer. Well, it could only be one person.

“I think that’s a guy who used to take some classes with me last year ― he’s a double major in Chinese and Korean studies,” he explained. One of the boys caught them staring and puzzlingly stared at them back; Jongdae looked away shyly, but Sehun couldn’t care less and kept ogling at them ― at the guy with his hair tied up in particular. “Since he started taking more courses from his Chinese requirements this year, I haven’t been seeing him around much, but we used to get along pretty well,” Jongdae continued, even though he wasn’t very sure Sehun was still listening. “His name―”

Jongdae stopped on his tracks because the boy who had seen them was now apparently pointing out that fact to the others. The small group apparently squinted at them briefly before the guy Jongdae knew raised his arm and waved at him. Jongdae waved back, and soon the boy was jogging in their direction, the pineapple-like bun on top of his head bouncing cutely while he drew closer.

“Hey, Jongdae! How are you?” He greeted enthusiastically, handshaking Jongdae in the process. “It’s been quite some time since we’ve last seen each other, haven’t it?”

“Yeah, I’ve been focusing on Literature courses lately. Speaking of which, aren’t you supposed to take some of them too?”

“In principle, yeah, but I’ve been taking only classes in Linguistics lately because it’s a lot more fun.” He offered him a teasing smile, but Jongdae was far beyond the point of getting worked up by such weak baits. “Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t think I know you…?” He said, looking at Sehun expectantly.

“Ah, right. Sorry,” Jongdae nervously apologized. Introducing Sehun to other people was still something new to him. “He’s my cousin, Sehun. He lives in Busan but is thinking about applying here next year, so I invited him to get to know the campus and all.” The two of them had decided on a narrative the night before to avoid contradicting each other, and they had figured their best option was to say Sehun was from some really far place ― they couldn’t risk anyone finding flaws in their story. “Sehun, this is Luhan. We used to study together.”

“Hi,” Sehun’s smile was tiny, but it was already more than he usually bothered to do.

“Hey there,” Luhan friendly addressed him back. “Say, what do you think so far?”

“About what?”

Luhan chuckled. “The campus, of course. Isn’t that what you came to see?”

“Ah… Yes.” Sehun looked to the side, embarrassed. “It’s pretty cool. Just as I remembered actually.”

“... As you remembered?”

“He actually came here with me back in my freshman year,” Jongdae hurried to explain. Damn, Sehun needed to watch that mouth of his. “But it was just a quick visit,” he added to avoid any further questions.

“Ah. Okay.” Luhan fortunately didn’t seem that interested. “Anyway, Sehun, do you play soccer?”

Sehun pondered his answer for a bit. “Kinda. Yeah, I suppose so,” he stated eventually. Jongdae remembered from the manhwa that Sehun had actually been some sort of ace in all sports back in his high school (as most boys love manhwa semes usually were).

“Great! We’re going to the soccer field in a bit but we’re short on goalkeepers. Since you’re tall and all, how about it?” That invitation had been quite sudden, but then again, Luhan had always been very expansive... “Or would you rather watch Jongdae’s boring classes?” He teased again, sticking the tip of his tongue out at Jongdae.

Sehun glanced questioningly at Jongdae; so he wanted to go?

“The only problem is Sehun doesn’t have a cellphone on him,” the shorter of the three intervened. “I think he doesn’t know how to go back to my apartment on his own.”

“Nah, that’s not an issue,” Luhan easily dismissed, flapping his hand in Jongdae’s direction. ”You have my number, right? I promise I’ll stick to Sehun all times. Just call me when you need me to bring him over.”

“Don’t you have classes this morning?”

Luhan scratched his ear, clearly unworried.

“I have to talk to my advisor in about twenty minutes or so from now, but it’ll be something real quick… She just wants to give me some more reference articles she’s found for my bachelor’s thesis. And then I’ll only have classes in the afternoon.”

“Well, if Sehun’s ok with it…”

“Yep. Fine by me.” Jongdae looked at him with surprise. That was a quick response.

“Ok.” Jongdae checked his watch; it was almost time for his class. “I have to go, so… See you guys later?”

“‘Til Later~” was Luhan’s singsonged reply as he pulled Sehun towards his friends, already entwining their arms as he dragged him away.

✎

While sitting in his classroom that morning, Jongdae should have been taking notes on 18th century poetry, but all he could do was think about what had happened instead. He was not naive; it was quite obvious what kind of interest Luhan had sparked in Sehun. He partially wondered if Luhan’s interest was mutual ― as far as he knew, Luhan was bisexual (but they had never been that close to talk about specifics) ―, but more than that, he wondered what was so striking about Luhan that had caught Sehun’s attention so immediately.

He’d never deny Luhan was handsome ― what with his delicate face and his beautiful large and sparkly eyes, not to mention his slim, toned body; if anything, the two of them actually resembled each other in their physique and attractiveness. But for Sehun to become so readily interest from a mere glance at someone who was some good 50 meters away? The only obvious connection would be the manhwa, of course, but Jongdae was pretty sure Luhan was an actual person; either that or he was very good at pretending.

Although…

He opened the browser on his phone, quickly googling for pics of Mr. Catman. The results didn’t startle him. Just as he had just conjectured, Luhan was scarily similar to the main character ― Sehun’s romantic partner in the series ―, even more when compared to the anime adaptation. It actually mildly surprised him he had never noticed it before, but perhaps it was due to the fact that when he met Luhan, it had already been a couple of years since the manhwa had stopped being published (he hadn’t really recognized even Sehun at first glance though ― it had been the combination of his name, his appearance and the things he had said that had pointed Jongdae in the right direction). Anyway, that was certainly an interesting occurrence, considering the ‘Sehun’ he knew was the one from the very first volume who had an exam at S university the next day ― as in, the ‘Sehun’ that had not yet met the main character nor had had any involvement with him.

Maybe Sehun still carried his character’s experiences at some deeper level of his conscience… Or maybe Luhan was really just his ideal type.

Either way, even though he and Luhan had never become best friends, he was surely someone pleasant to be around. He was friendly and talkative enough that it was almost impossible to feel awkward next to him, and perhaps that was exactly the kind of person the quiet, reserved Sehun needed, be it as a friend or a boyfriend. Unlike what someone who was reading a story about his life might have expected, Jongdae was not sad or jealous over that situation at all.

Not at that moment, that is.

That afternoon, after fetching an unprecedentedly good-humored and sweaty Sehun from the soccer field and having lunch with him in the university dining hall, he had taken him to Baekhyun, being careful that time to teach Sehun the way between each of those places so that he could circulate freely if he ever needed to. At night, they had Baekhyun-sponsored take-out in the artist’s floor couch again, laughing at Heechul’s antics about his best friend Gunhee who apparently had been trying to use him to attract the attention of some ladies by pretending they were a couple or something.

Sehun had been quiet as always, but at the same time there was something different about him. Baekhyun had noticed it too. “His disposition,” he had commented to Jongdae when the both of them were alone in the kitchen getting some tea cups, “I think he’s willing to give this all a chance now. I don’t know what you did, but it worked, man.”

“The challenges are all still there for him though,” Jongdae replied while leaning against the kitchen counter, four glasses on his hands. “The loneliness, the feeling of not belonging… I hope he can overcome all of them.”

“You’ve grown surprisingly attached to him in such a short period,” Baekhyun remarked, half teasing, half serious, “especially considering how he had been acting around you until now.”

“What’s it that people say again? That ‘Hardships bring people together’? It’s kind of like that,” Jongdae chuckled, and Baekhyun soon followed him. “Honestly though, even with him being so troublesome, I spent so much time feeling sorry for the misery he was in that now that he’s overcoming it… It just makes me so happy, you know? I really hope he can become happier and happier.”

“Awn, there you go, sounding like his dad again~ That should be my line!” The boy punched him lightly on the arm with his empty hand before grabbing the teapot. “But yeah... Even if this is only my second time seeing him, I feel that way towards him too. I’m pretty sure he’ll get there eventually.”

“You did create him to be quite strong-minded,” Jongdae observed, remembering some adversities ‘Oh Sehun’ had faced in the manhwa. Although manhwa characters typically overreact to even the smallest things, Sehun was remarkably chill.

“That’s not the reason though.”

“Then why?”

Baekhyun showed him a playful grin.

“Because he has you by his side.”

“Oh― Gross!” Jongdae whined, kicking Baekhyun lightly on the shin with his foot. “Get away from me with your cheesy manhwa lines!”

“I thought you used to like them~” the cutesy intonation he was using only making it even more annoying. Jongdae would be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying their bickering though. “Weren’t you my biggest fan?”

“Keyword: ‘used’.” He gave Baekhyun the look, but the boy wasn’t looking at him anymore, having a hard time not spilling any tea because of his laughter. “Besides, there are some lines that should never be used anywhere but in fiction,” he continued after Baekhyun had recovered.

“Alright, alright.” The author placed the teapot over the table again so that he could wipe his eyes.

“Shouldn’t we get going? At this rate the tea will get cold.”

Baekhyun agreed, and after he got the teapot again, both of started walking towards the living room ― Jongdae in front, the other coming slower behind him to avoid any spilling.

“I was joking, but honestly” Baekhyun whispered from behind his ear when they were almost there, low enough that only he could hear. “You’re a pretty cool guy, Jongdae.”

Jongdae smiled, hoping his embarrassment was not showing on his face.

“Thank you, Baek.”

✎

Slowly but steadily, everything started getting better.

Sehun would always wake up early so that he and Jongdae could have breakfast together. At first he would only get up early on the days he decided to accompany Jongdae to university; but then one day he changed his mind after eating, and then on another he had woken up naturally because he had forgotten to close the curtains, and then at some point it just fell into routine and became a part of their mornings both of them enjoyed. When Jongdae fixed the meal, he would always cook rice even on days he was having bread because he knew Sehun couldn’t pass a day without it; and when it was Sehun’s turn to prepare the food, he would always make some coffee even though he hated it because he knew Jongdae wouldn’t function properly without it.

His coffee had been terrible the first times he made it, sure, but through time Jongdae taught him to brew it just how he liked it.

The days Sehun went together with Jongdae to university, he would vary between watching some lectures with him, going to the library to check some books or hanging out with Luhan and his friends either on the soccer field (when it was sunny) or in a large covered space theater and dance students usually used to rehearse (when it was raining). Luhan apparently had a secret talent for dancing Jongdae hadn’t known about ― well, not that secret, really ― and after a few tries, Luhan and Sehun had realized the latter was also surprisingly good at that kind of stuff. Luhan was part of a sort of dance crew ― it was not that official, more like something he and his friends did together for fun ― he gradually integrated Sehun to, and therefore they spent a lot of time together.

Jongdae would sometimes think about how that fortuitous meeting with Luhan had sure had some major repercussions in their lives, especially on Sehun’s. Who would have thought taking Sehun to university with him that day would be so important to Sehun’s assimilation to his world? Now he had friends, social interactions and activities of his own, things he could do without depending on Jongdae’s availability or willingness. Minseok said it was fate, but Jongdae didn’t quite believe in that concept; destiny would mean their lives had been decided upon their birth, but how could something like Sehun materializing from his favorite manhwa have been foreseen? He believed in chance, and luck.

Meeting Sehun had been both.

In the afternoon, while Jongdae was working, Sehun would sometimes drop by Baekhyun’s when he was not with Luhan. He would sometimes come back with more clothes ― Sehun would tell him Baekhyun had said they were new donations, but Jongdae was pretty sure it was just Baek’s way of showing them some support ―, and sometimes Jongdae would go there too so that they could all eat dinner together. Baekhyun soon became a close friend of his. It was just inevitable, really; Minseok had been there for all of Jongdae’s life and there was no replacing him, but he couldn’t understand that whole situation with Sehun as much as Baekhyun could ― especially since he still didn’t quite believe it.

He and Junmyeon had met Sehun a couple of times already, of course, on the days Sehun had gone to university and they’d all had lunch together. Minseok had advocated it would be better to keep that secret to as few people as possible, and for that reason Jongdae had told Junmyeon Sehun was also some distant cousin of his. Despite Jongdae’s expectations that Sehun’s natural coldness would throw Junmyeon off, the two had hit off astonishingly well, especially because normally unimpressed Sehun was for some reason able to understand Junmyeon’s particular sense of humor. Minseok, however, had kept his distance, and although he could not pinpoint any flaws in Sehun’s personal narrative, he simply could not believe his story, no matter how much time had passed.

On weekends, Jongdae and Sehun had developed the habit of making small trips whenever their budget allowed it since Sehun really loved to travel. Most times they would just lend Junmyeon’s car and pay him the gas afterwards, but occasionally they would invite him to come along too (he’d always be so happy they felt like crap about not inviting him every time). They’d never go too far both because of expenses and of their limited time, but the trips were enjoyable nonetheless. It was not the case that Sehun was easily amazed, but rather that he saw wonder in things and places most people would have overlooked. Jongdae couldn’t quite feel the same way even if he wanted to, but he appreciated enough the sight of Sehun’s eyes sparkling with interest and his excitement whenever they were about to hit the road.

Jongdae couldn’t really point out when it had started.

Perhaps it had been when, after asking what his favorite food was in the morning, Sehun had greeted him with that dish in the evening ― a look of frustration on his face because it had been the first time he’d made it and it was a bit overcooked. Perhaps it had been when Sehun had insisted on sleeping on the couch “because he wanted to watch TV” precisely on the same night Jongdae was particularly exhausted after having done many hours of overtime at work. Or perhaps it had been on a random Sunday afternoon, when they had stayed home because of the rain and Jongdae had suddenly realized how beautiful Sehun was while watching him absently look out the window, the blurred gray landscape and the trickling water drops on the glass serving as the most graceful frame for Sehun’s ethereal, cold beauty.

It was most certainly a mix of all these occasions, however ― the collection of all these moments together, the big gestures and the small acts of kindness, the gentle look Sehun would have on his eyes whenever they talked, the softness with which he would touch Jongdae to wake him up every morning, the slight smile on his face when Jongdae arrived home from work,the times he had stayed awake to keep Jongdae company when he had papers to write, his careful attention to Jongdae’s every word when he needed to vent about university or work, his proud expression when he showed Jongdae the first full choreography he had been able to memorize.

“You like him, don’t you,” Baekhyun had asked him eventually about two months after Jongdae and Sehun had had their life-changing talk. They were alone in the kitchen again; Taeyeon, Heechul and Sehun were playing some board game that involved lots of laughs and very loud screaming.

“Is it that obvious?” was Jongdae’s simple reply while he held the mug filled with ice tea with both his hands (summer was approaching and the temperature was already starting to get a bit unbearable).

“No, not really. It’s just because I know you too well.”

Jongdae smiled. “Well, that’s good to hear.”

Baekhyun kept looking at him.

“So… What are you going to do about it?” He asked eventually when it was obvious Jongdae was not going to say anything.

“Nothing.”

“Why?”

“Why would I want to ruin what we have? It’s pretty good as it is.”

“Come on Jongdae, we both know that is not true.” Baekhyun came a bit closer, leaning onto the wall right in front of Jongdae. “You don’t want to kiss him, touch him? Be all lovey-dovey and call him by pet names? That’s totally your style.”

“It might be,” he consented, “but my point is I know I cannot have that. So why would I want to lose what I have?”

“How are you so sure you can’t?”

“He’s dating Luhan.”

“Ah yeah? Did he tell you that?”

“No… We don’t talk about it.”

“So how are you so sure?”

“Besides the fact they see each other about 5 out of 6 days a week ― which would already be suspicious enough ―, I in fact have seen them together.” It had been quite some time ago by now; about two or three weeks after Sehun and Luhan had met for the first time. Jongdae had forgotten to leave his apartment keys with Sehun and Luhan’s cellphone was dead, which had forced him to go look for them himself. After asking one of Luhan’s friends, he had found them at one of the dance labs in the Performing Arts building, Luhan half undressed on top of a breathless Sehun and coating his equally uncovered chest with bite marks. Despite the shock, it had been quite a scene. Fortunately he had been able to run away before any of them noticed him there. “I’m quite sure they are a couple.”

“Um, I don’t know…” Baekhyun unsurely replied, lightly massaging his chin with one of his hands. “I think he likes you.”

“How do you know?”

“I just have a hunch... It’s a manhwa author thing. You know us artists are very sensitive people.”

Jongdae rolled his eyes.

“Ok. Does he talk about me?”

“Well... No, not much,” Baekhyun admitted. “But that’s just how he is, isn’t it?”

“Doesn’t he talk about Luhan though? I’m pretty sure he told you about the festival Luhan performed in last week. Heechul even commented about it with me.”

“Um,” he hesitated, “perhaps....” he sighed. “Ok, I have to admit, he does talk a lot about Luhan. Isn’t that just natural though, since they spend so much time together?”

“He fucking lives with me, Baekhyun. Don’t you think that would give him plenty of things to talk about with you guys if he wanted to?”

Baekhyun couldn’t quite evade that question, so he opted to remain silent instead. His silence, however, was enough of an answer for Jongdae. He knew very well he was right ― and, quite honestly, he had already come to terms with his platonic feelings a long time ago.

“You’re really going to do nothing, then?”

The dark-haired boy took a small sip of his ice tea; the ice itself had melted almost completely by now, watering down the taste quite a bit.

“Sehun is… Very precious to me.” He spoke slowly, trying to turn his feelings into words. It was so hard though. “Besides knowing it would be pointless, I know he would feel bad about it. He’s a nice kid with a gentle heart. If I like him, would I really confess just to egoistically make my feelings known, even though I’m pretty sure the only result would be me hurting him?”

Baekhyun bit his lips, slightly nodding his head in agreement. “I can see where you’re coming from.” He left his empty mug inside the sink before he turned to Jongdae again, a tentative smile surfacing on his lips. “What you just said though ― can I use it in one of my manhwas? It’s exactly the kind of cheesy line readers love, you know~”

Jongdae laughed softly, albeit briefly too.

“Shut up.”

“Only if you give me a hug~” the boy singsonged, waving his eyebrows. “I mean it,” he added, once he noticed Jongdae thought he was joking. “I need some human contact, my editor have been so rough on me lately~ Pretty please?”

He chuckled at Baekhyun’s lost puppy expression before he gave in, opening his arms to cuddle the same-sized boy against his chest. Baekhyun gave him a koala hug, squeezing him so strongly Jongdae almost started coughing.

His editor had been rough… Sure.

Jongdae hugged him tightly, dipping his face into the curve of Baekhyun’s neck.

Baekhyun was obviously lying, but he wasn’t about to complain.

✎

Sometime afterwards, the summer festivals started.

Jongdae was still not done with college; he had more three weeks of classes, exams and deadlines for papers before he was officially off for summer vacation. Still, when a summer fireworks festival was announced in a district in Seoul just next to theirs, Jongdae couldn’t really say no to Sehun’s plead.

Well, perhaps the fact that Sehun had mentioned he was going with Luhan if Jongdae couldn’t make it had also somewhat contributed to his decision.

It was a Friday night. Jongdae went home to take a quick shower and put on a more casual outfit before they left to take the subway. The park where the festival was taking place was mere five stations from Jongdae’s apartment; they arrived considerably early considering the fireworks were only going to be displayed at midnight, but the place was already filled with both families and groups of teens and youngsters dancing to bands or electronic music being played in small stages here and there.

Summer hadn’t actually started yet ― there was yet other two full weeks before the official season change ―, but the heat was already thick during the day, hovering over them like a giant heavy cloud, making their skin sticky with sweat. At night, however, the weather was quite pleasant, the refreshing breeze taking out the excessive warmth accumulated during the day in enjoyable blows. They were both dressed in shorts and T-shirts, Sehun having chosen flip flops while Jongdae had gone with sandals. They had both mocked each other for their respective choices and were still bickering about it by the time they arrived at the park.

“Wow, it’s really crowded.” Sehun was quite impressed, his mouth automatically curving into his characteristic pout. Jongdae couldn’t help but smile fondly at the sight.

“These fireworks festivals are really popular. They started doing this kind of thing about ten years ago, so I guess you don’t have any memories of it, right? The fireworks are amazing, just wait to see.”

“I don’t really have much of an option but to wait to be honest.”

“Stop being so sarcastic~” Sehun grinned mischievously when he noticed Jongdae’s typical whining intonation. “You know what I mean!”

“Yeah, this is something new for me,” he conceded. “You know, there’s something different about new experiences. It’s like… I can’t quite describe it, but it’s like for some things, there are just… Gaps, you know? Like I had never noticed they existed until they were finally there in front of me. The way I see them, the way I feel them… It’s just different from how I experience stuff I have memories of.”

Jongdae bobbed his head in agreement. He and Baekhyun had talked about it ― how, despite Baekhyun’s very careful characterization of Sehun back when he was writing Mr. Catman, there was bound to be things he hadn’t thought about, since a character is never as deep or complex as a real person. Characters tend to be cohesive, while real people are full of contradictions, paradoxes, conflicting feelings that sometimes cannot be explained by a single line of thought. On his transformation from a character to an actual human being, Sehun had been slowly filling all those gaps; finding out new things he liked, experiencing things he hadn’t before, establishing goals and dreams of his own. He had been able to observe that happening from the outside, so it was interesting to know Sehun also noticed these differences too.

“Baekhyun told me recently that you’ve becoming a lot different from how he originally conceived you,” Jongdae confided to him, smiling. “He said: ‘Sehun has been painting himself with his own colors.’” Sehun huffed.

“He’s always so poetic.”

“He’s been practicing his cheesiness a lot lately for his new series. Apparently he’s been writing about a boy who meets his favorite character a day in his room after a flop date. Seems like it’s been a hit so far.”

The taller boy snickered, unimpressed. “Well, we can admit it’s a pretty intense storyline right there.”

“That for sure,” he agreed, chuckling softly.

They walked to a bingsu stand. Even though they had been saving money on groceries lately, the money Jongdae earned from his part-time job alone was still a bit too little for both of them; still, he decided they could allow themselves a small luxury that night, and let Sehun chose one of the largest portions. Since all the benches were already taken, they sat on a relatively free spot on the grass a few meters from where the fireworks were being prepared, the big pot of shaved ice placed between them on top of Sehun’s knee.

They were eating in silence when Jongdae noticed a dark object pending on Sehun’s shoulder.

“Whose camera is that?” he asked between spoonfuls, eyeing the camera curiously.

“Heechul’s.” Sehun answered plainly. “He lent me it some time ago.” Then he added, as if an afterthought: “This is one of these first experiences I mentioned, too. I found out I really like photography.”

“That’s great, Sehun!” Jongdae sincerely reacted. “You can take my pictures today if you like. I know it’s not often that you have some really great models like myself.”

Sehun actually snorted. That brat!

“I’m still not that good at taking pics at night, but we can try, of course,” he said eventually.

“Why did Heechul lend you his camera though? I mean, if you didn’t know you liked taking pictures before you actually started taking them?”

“Um…” He scratched his head, clearly a little awkward. “I didn’t actually expect you to ask me this today...” He licked his lips in an automatic reflex; Jongdae had to force himself to focus on what he was saying rather than on his lips. “So, yeah. Heechul’s been helping me to look for a job.”

“A job??” Jongdae couldn’t help but exclaim. “That’s great, Sehun!”

“Well, it would be great if I had found any, but all of the ones I found asked either for at least a high school diploma or an ID number,” the boy observed, frustration overflowing from his eyes. “Since I don’t have any, Heechul suggested I might try some sort of freelance job, like photography. It wasn’t supposed to be that serious since it usually takes years for someone to become good at this stuff, but… I just really liked it,” he confessed, somewhat embarrassed.

Jongdae sighed. The inconveniences of being a character-turned-real person.

“That doesn’t matter much, really. We’ve been making it on our own, haven’t we? The most important thing is you finding something you really like to do,” he reassured him, slightly squeezing his arm. “You don’t have to rush anything. If you really like taking pictures, then focus on that for now. We’ll be ok.”

“I know that, but I feel bad about what I put you through during those first weeks… And what I still put you through.” They had never really talked about it; about those first weeks when they barely talked and Sehun hid himself under blankets all day. That was a first. “I want to help. Luhan thinks I should, too.”

Oh. Him. “How much does Luhan know about your predicament exactly?”

“He still thinks we’re cousins,” Sehun explained, “but I told him you pay for all my stuff, so he said to me I shouldn’t be taking advantage of you like this and how it was ‘absurd’ that my parents had sent me to your place but weren’t helping you financially.” He snickered. “Of course I couldn’t tell him the truth about that part.”

“Yeah, I suppose you couldn’t.”

“He also told me that if you think I’m bothering you or something, that I could go live with him.”

Jongdae almost choked on the spoonful he had just eaten. “What? Live with him?”

“His parents are really rich, so he lives in a big apartment on his own,” Sehun detailed, apparently not taking notice of the change in Jongdae’s behavior. “He said it doesn’t make sense to keep weighing you down just because ‘we’re family’ if I have easier options.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“Well, of course I told him I couldn’t,” he stated, as if it was obvious. “If we lived together it would be impossible for him not to realize I’m a little weird, but he’d most likely think I’m crazy if I told him the truth.”

“So…” Jongdae bit his lip, feeling a little let down. “Was that why you didn’t want to move in with him?”

“It was obviously one of the reasons, yeah.” Sehun had easily acquiesced at first, but suddenly his expression changed, as if something had just occurred to him. “Wait.” He stared fixedly at Jongdae, a mysterious look in his eyes. “Are you jealo―”

‘Boom’.

For a second, Jongdae didn’t quite understand what had hit them.

Quite literally.

There had been a loud bang, followed by a blinding light and the smell of burned skin. There were tons of smoke, too, making it difficult to see exactly what was happening. In a hurry, Jongdae dropped the bingsu on the ground and pulled Sehun by his arm, trying to drag him away from whatever it was that was happening; they managed to walk only a few meters before they realized something was wrong.

The smoke was dissipating quickly, and before they could understand what was going on, an older man came running in their direction.

“Are you OK?” The man asked, holding Jongdae by his shoulder.

“Yeah, I think so… What was that?”

“They were checking the fireworks but someone stupidly launched one of the sets by mistake,” the man explained. “We’re terribly sorry about it,” he continued. Ah, so he’s staff. “You were close, so I thought you might be― ah, your leg!” He turned to Sehun, taking a look at his right calf.

A large burn was starting to take shape there, long and red and angry. It looked pretty ugly, although most likely Sehun wasn't able to feel the effects yet.

“Ok, don’t worry, we’d already arranged for ambulances in case something of the sort happened. Do you think you can walk there, or would you rather have us get a stretcher for you?”

Sehun tested putting weight on his leg before he answered. “It’s fine, I can walk on my own. Could you point us in the right direction?”

✎

Jongdae thought they were only getting some first aid by the ambulance. It turned out, however, that Sehun’s burn was worse than they thought, and they ended up being taken to the nearest hospital for Sehun to to be properly patched up and also to take some antibiotics.

Sehun had already already been treated and medicated and they were just waiting to be sent home in one of the practice rooms when a nurse arrived, clipboard in hands.

“I need you to fill a form,” she notified Sehun. “Name, ID and address.”

Jongdae and Sehun exchanged a look.

“Miss, is that really necessary?” The shorter between them asked, pretending he was not as nervous as he really was.

“The insurance company hired by the event will pay for all the treatment for the victims, but we do need your data so we can bill them,” she clarified. “I assure you it will only take a minute though.”

Jongdae appreciated her concern, but that was not quite the issue.

“Name?” She asked, pen in hand. Jongdae could see from the side of his eyes that Sehun was this close to freaking out.

“Um, could we fill that?” He asked nervously. “We really want to go home soon, so it’ll be easier if we just write it. Faster too.”

The nurse seemed to consider his question for a moment. “It’s possible… But you have to assure me your handwriting is legible.”

“I assure you it is 100% legible,” Jongdae confirmed in a hurry, stretching his hands towards her.

She shrugged, giving him the clipboard. Fortunately she wasn’t too righteous to actually want to do everything by the book.

Jongdae filled the form with his own information, hoping that nurse wouldn’t cross-compare it to his driving license ― or else she would see the blond and model-like ‘Kim Jongdae’ had been quite different when he had gotten his license a few years before.

Happily for them, it seemed they were incredibly lucky and no system cross-checking took place. Soon after they gave her the form back, someone else came to their room to tell them they were free to go ― and also to give them some boxes of painkillers and antibiotics that Sehun was supposed to take throughout the following week, alongside some clean bandages.

The festival staff also paid them a taxi home (most certainly not out of the good of their hearts but to assure no one would sue), which they were informed of on their way out. During the run, both of them stared out the window in silence, adrenaline still rushing in Jongdae’s blood from everything that had just happened. Most likely nothing too serious would have taken place had they not informed Sehun’s ID number, but that occurring made he seriously realize what a problem it was that Sehun actually did not have a past ― which meant no documents, no history, no references, no anything. If Sehun was ever caught by the police, even as a victim or a witness, how would he explain his lack of virtually any comprobation of who he claimed he was?

He didn’t really know who he should talk to about it, but perhaps it was time for forging some documents. Although that would not solve the issue of Sehun not being registered in any system whatsoever… Damn. How the hell were they supposed to solve that?

✎

“Are you nervous?”

Sehun kept twitching inside his brand clothes, nervously picking at the sleeves of his shirt.

“Not really.”

“That’s not what it seems like.”

“Why did you even ask, then?”

Jongdae laughed. That was quite an interesting situation they were in, and he didn’t want by any means for Sehun to think he was judging him; he could imagine (to a certain extent) how weird that was being for the boy, and his question had been more conversational than anything else.

A noise came from the other side of the door and attracted their attention ― the lock being popped open. Sehun kept staring straight, while Jongdae couldn’t help but look at him and find his anxiety half cute, half heart-breaking. He could understand the reason for Sehun’s tension (his shoulders painfully rigid, his nails digging into the palms of his hands), but at the same time he knew no positive outcome could really come from what was about to happen. Just as lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice, it was unlikely another miracle was about to take place.

It had all started just a couple of days before. Jongdae had been studying for his exams, the last two and a half weeks of the semester ahead of him, when his cellphone rang, vibrating on the table.

“Hello Dae~” Baekhyun had greeted coyly, as he always did. “Studying much?”

“You guess it.” Jongdae had taken the opportunity to lean against the back of the chair, stretching his arms. “Hi there, Baek.”

“So, I know you’re busy and all, but I just had the most awesome idea and I wanted to tell you about it.”

Jongdae had just hoped it wasn’t some other manhwa series inspired in his life. “Shoot.”

“So next Saturday ― and by this I mean the day after tomorrow ― you and Sehun are coming over to my house.”

Jongdae had raised an eyebrow (quite pointlessly, if he was to be honest, since Baekhyun couldn’t actually see him).

“That hardly seems like a very original idea.”

“I don’t mean the apartment I live in, duh,” had been Baekhyun’s answer, as if it was very obvious. “I mean my parents’ house, where I grew up.”

“Ok...” The dark-haired boy had tried to process that information, but he hadn’t been quite able to connect the dots yet. “But how is that such a great idea?”

“Because.” Baekhyun loved dramatic pauses. In his manhwas, it usually meant excellent hooks between chapters and volumes, but in real life it was just a pain in the ass. “Ok, I’ll explain,” he had continued after a few seconds. Jongdae could almost see his mischievous smile through his voice. “As you know, I was still a high school student when I published Mr. Catman.” That information had surprised Jongdae quite a bit when he had first heard it. “I put a lot of effort into creating all my main characters, but I was quite lazy about everything else… I basically used the same world, the same bands and novels and stylists that were popular at the time,” which was a good explanation for how big a fan of TVXQ Sehun was, “and I also used real people I knew for supporting characters.” He had paused again, but this time with a sense of expectancy. “So? Can you guess where I’m going with this?”

Jongdae had thought about it for a second. “I’m not quite sure I do, Baek,” he had admitted a few moments later.

“Okay, I will spell it out for you.” Oh, god, Baekhyun could be so insufferable sometimes ― why were they friends again? “I used my house and my parents as direct inspirations for Sehun’s parents and the house he grew in.”

Oh.

“You mean they resemble each other a bit, like Luhan and the main character?”

“No… More like exactly-how-my-parents-would-be-if-I-draw-them-in-manhwa kind of similarity,” he had revealed. “I had them and my house in mind every time I drew Sehun’s parents and their house… So I’m pretty sure that’s just how Sehun imagines them too.”

At that moment, he had been able to grasp Baekhyun’s idea quite clearly.

“I don’t know, Baek…” Jongdae had mixed feelings about the other’s proposal. On one hand, he could see what was appealing about it; for Sehun, whose world had disappeared completely, meeting his parents of sorts could feel like a reunion. At the same time, however, it was also very patent to him that it could easily backfire. “Do you think this is really a good idea?”

Baekhyun had pondered about the issue for a few seconds. “Why don’t we let him chose, then?”

… And that had been how Sehun and Jongdae had ended up standing next to each other at that very moment, waiting for what (or who) they were about to see behind Baekhyun’s front door.

“Hello~” A familiar voice had saluted them. Jongdae could almost literally see the tension on Sehun’s shoulders easing a bit when he realized who it was. Baekhyun smiled cutely at them, making way by the door so they could pass. “Come on in! We were waiting~”

For Jongdae, it was the first time he was coming to Baekhyun’s house; it was spacious, the living and dining room all connected, the decoration a mix of old furniture with modern adornments here and there ― the classic case of middle age people trying to keep up to the trends. He had a look around quite carelessly, not really that interested, but when he glanced at Sehun, he could see how his experience was being the exact opposite. Sehun’s eyes were wide and spellbound; he would caress each piece of furniture, grab each portrait, look at each frame hanging on the wall as if hypnotized, seeing more in these objects than most people could realize.

Jongdae did, however, notice the look on Sehun’s eyes ― the wonder, the unexpectedness, the hurt. How many of these objects did Sehun remember, how many were new? Was it the same, remembering them from the manhwa and now seeing how they were in real life? Could Sehun recall their weight, shape, color just the same? How it must feel to see these portraits with Baekhyun in them instead of himself ― a picture of Baekhyun at one of his first birthdays laughing while receiving a huge gift, with his parents at the beach, standing next to a red bicycle a lot bigger than himself, being crushed by his mother in a bear hug, with his friends at a school festival… Had Baekhyun thought everything to such small details or were Sehun’s memories of the portraits just a haze, the feeling there had been frames around his house but he couldn’t really remember what the photos in them looked like?

He wanted to reach out for Sehun, to ask him, to comfort him if that was the case. But at the same time, maybe the boy needed that time to himself ― to learn how to cope with those feelings, or actually to begin understanding them first…

Baekhyun glanced at Jongdae, smiling at him fondly. Baekhyun understood.

“So, guys, I’ll go get my parents, okay?” He said after a few minutes, bringing Sehun back from his daze. “They were just finishing some stuff by the kitchen, they’re most likely done by this point.”

The message was obviously directed at Sehun. When the blond bobbed his head with a tremble, Baekhyun exchanged one last look with Jongdae before he went towards the corridor, leaving them alone. Meanwhile, Jongdae guided Sehun to an empty space in the middle of the living room, where they’d be able to greet Baekhyun’s parents more comfortably. He unintentionally brushed his hand on Sehun’s when he meant to pull him at his wrist. And even from that very brief touch he could tell the boy’s palm was sweaty.

Jongdae stared at him meaningfully until Sehun stared at him back. It will be ok, he tried to say through his eyes.

He hoped Sehun understood.

The sound of a few pairs of footsteps resounded from the corridor. Both of them straightened themselves up, although their feelings while looking at the people coming were radically different.

“So, you are Baekhyun’s friends?” Baekhyun’s likely mother was short and a bit plump, although she was still quite in shape for her age. Her eyes were a bit sloppy just as his, her smile just as bright. “It’s always a pleasure to meet friends of my son, although I must apologize on his behalf ― we know he’s a lot of trouble.”

“Well… Perhaps just a bit,” Jongdae played along, bowing respectfully at her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, m’am. I’m Jongdae.” He glanced at Sehun; he was too awe-struck and didn’t seem the least ready to introduce himself. “And this here is Sehun.” Jongdae added, just in case.

“Hello, Sehun,” she greeted. The blond took a few milliseconds to react, bowing to her. “Dear, you should greet them yourself, too!” Mrs. Byun said to her husband, lightly punching him on the arm.

“Hello there, boys.” Baekhyun had quite clearly gotten his temperament from his mother. She was expansive and lively, just like him; Mr. Byun. on the other hand, was very calm and composed ― not properly unfriendly, although he looked like a man of few words. Baekhyun’s nose was shaped just like his; apart from that detail, they didn’t look alike much. Now that he was paying attention to it though, Baekhyun and Sehun’s noses were a bit similar…

Imagining Sehun being born from the Byun couple didn’t seem as weird as Jongdae had imagined it would. In a way, he actually fit in there, although he’d have taken more after Baekhyun’s father.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Byun,” Jongdae replied, bowing politely. Sehun simply imitated him, not ready for words yet.

Mrs. Byun actually chucked.

“My my, Sehun is not the talkative type, is he?” She joked, not a bit unpleasant; just like Baekhyun, she had a thing for teasing, but it was easily noticeable she didn’t mean any harm by it. “Although I suppose he wouldn’t have to be, considering Baekhyun usually does all the talking even when he doesn’t have to.”

“Hey, don’t badmouth me in front of my friends, mom!” Baekhyun complained cutely (although this time Jongdae wasn’t sure if he had meant it to be cute or not).

“It’s nothing we didn’t know already anyway,” Jongdae mocked him, getting a light punch as retribution.

Their small talk was cut short when Baekhyun’s father suggested they sit at the table (“He’s actually very hungry.” Baekhyun had whispered secretively to Jongdae). The two guests sat side by side while the Byun family went to the kitchen to fetch the food; Jongdae wanted to ask Sehun about his impressions so far, but the blond kept staring at the table with such a lost expression in his eyes that he thought perhaps that was not the best moment to bring up that subject yet. Was that table also a memory from his childhood?

They started dining not long afterwards, the Byun couple sitting right in front of them while Baekhyun sat at the head of the table, enjoying his position of being able to look easily at both sides.

“So, what is it that you two do?” Mr. Byun had asked them eventually during the meal. Jongdae had expected him to ask them that; he seemed the kind of person who worried about such things.

“I’m studying Literature,” Jongdae explained briefly, “I want to work at a publishing company, be an editor. Actually, that’s how I met Baekhyun.”

Mr. Byun uttered an acknowledging sound before he turned to Sehun. “And you, boy?”

“I…” he looked at Jongdae, who encouraged him to continue. “I’m a Law student.”

“Law?” Mr. Byun eyed him more carefully. “With that blond hair? Isn’t it more respectable to keep it black?” Sehun hesitated to answer, so the man continued before he could. “I suppose it does fit you though… Gives you a Western look.” That seemed like a compliment, although it was a bit hard to tell. “Anyway that’s what I told Baekhyun to do!” He beat the table with his fist for an emphatic effect, so strongly that all the plates moved a bit. “I always told my son here to study Law or Medicine. Honestly though, even his being a teacher or a standard office worker would have already pleased me enough. But no ― he became a… a…”

“Manhwa artist, dear,” his wife completed.

“Yes, that.”

“He does earn plenty by doing that,” she pointed out.

“That’s not the issue at hand.” Jongdae looked at Baekhyun, but the boy simply made him a dismissing gesture. “That’s not a proper job. Do you boys believe he didn’t even go to college?”

Jongdae wondered how exactly he should reply to that, since Mr. Byun seemed to be expecting some reaction. He did know for a fact Baekhyun hadn’t gone to college, so the information wasn’t surprising to him; however, he felt like “yes” wouldn’t be a proper answer either…

“Well, it’s true he doesn’t have higher education,” Sehun suddenly said, taking both Jongdae and Baekhyun by surprise, “but I personally think it’s amazing how talented Baekhyun is. He was able to publishing a manhwa while he was still in high school. That in itself is already a very rare thing.”

Mr. Byun seemed a bit taken aback. “... Is it?” he responded after a few seconds. Fortunately, he didn’t seem offended.

“It is. And not only that, but all his manhwas are incredibly successful. Maybe you don’t know since he writers under an alias, but his works are literally everywhere.”

“Are they?” Now he seemed genuinely surprised. “Why did you never tell me that, son?”

“Didn’t figure you’d care, dad,” Baekhyun sincerely answered. The words were a bit harsh, but his tone made the message a lot softer to receive. “Besides, the kind of manhwas I write… I don’t think you’d approve.”

“Now you’ve made me curious,” he remarked, “but on second thoughts, perhaps I really don’t want to know.”

“I assure you you don’t, dad.”

Mr. Byun furrowed his brows for a second, most likely deciding if he should let that go or not. “That reminds me of when I was young, actually. I had a friend who was in the same condition ― he didn’t want to tell his family what he did for a living, although he earned a good amount of money. You see, he was a really handsome fellow, so he would―”

“―pose for Art students for their human drawing classes.” Sehun completed. “I remember that.”

Mr. Byun looked at him, confused.

“You… remember?”

Sehun gasped, realizing what he had done.

“Ah, dad, sorry!” Baekhyun dramatically facepalmed himself, attracting everyone’s attention. “I had told them this story already, so Sehun remembers it. Sorry for spoiling your story telling.”

“Oh… Oh no, son, it’s okay…”

Jongdae squeezed Sehun’s wrist under the table, whispering “Be more careful” when the boy looked at him.

The blond gave him a tiny smile in agreement.

✎

About an hour after, when they had all eaten and talked, Sehun and Jongdae were standing together on a wooden deck that extended itself on the back of Baekhyun’s house. Mrs. Byun and Baekhyun had gone to the kitchen to sort out the dishes, while Mr. Byun had withdrawn for the night, leaving both with some time alone for themselves. Jongdae leaned backwards against the railing, and peeked at Sehun with curious eyes.

“Sehun?”

The boy turned his face slightly towards Jongdae, placing his folded arms over the railings right next to him. “Yes?”

“How… How are you feeling?”

“You sure are fast,” Sehun remarked, sighing. Jongdae wondered if he had been too hasty, but Sehun quickly reassured him. “Don’t worry, it’s fine.” He thought for a bit. “I suppose it’s… weird. They have no idea who I am, but I really… I remember them as my parents? I knew how they’d react, the stories they’d tell, their personalities, everything… Except for the stories from the years after the manhwa was published, of course.”

“And how do you feel about it?” Jongdae looked at him, worried. “Does it make you sad?”

“Well, that’s an obvious question, isn’t it? Of course it does, to some degree.” He exhaled again, this time biting his lips afterwards. “But… It’s not that bad. I didn’t really expect it to be any different, after all, so I was already prepared for it anyway.”

“I understand, although, to be honest… It’s kind of sad. They really are your parents, more or less, but they don’t remember you...”

“I suppose.” Sehun bent his head back, looking at the starry sky above them. “It does sound sad, right.” His face was straight, same as always, but… His lips… They were quivering. “Perhaps it is.” Sehuns eyes were glistening, watering at the borders…

Jongdae pulled him by his shoulder, dragging him for a hug.

Sehun embraced him tightly, letting his own head fit itself in the curve of Jongdae’s neck. His skin got wet almost immediately.

It was hard, not knowing what to say, what to do. Jongdae allowed Sehun to hold him as close as he wanted, and of course he also hugged him back just as strongly, but how else could he help Sehun make that pain a little more bearable? Not knowing anyone, or knowing someone but not being remembered back ― which one was worse?

The worst part was actually that Sehun had experienced both: he had been alone, and he also had been forgotten (in a way).

Jongdae felt Sehun’s hands grabbing the fabric on the back of his T-shirt; felt his fingers squeezing it, pinching a bit of his skin by mistake, using the touch as leverage to pull him even closer. Sehun’s tears wetting Jongdae’s neck were already trickling down his skin, running till the cleavage of his tee, the ones that were not absorbed rolling down his torso, making small wet marks on the way. He didn’t mind any of it. Jongdae raised a hand to Sehun’s head, ran it through his locks, caressed his neck, in his somewhat futile attempt to comfort that boy who in such a short span of time had been able to conquer such a large part of his life and heart.

Sehun didn’t deserve that, any of it.

“I’m so sorry that you have to go through this.” He whispered to Sehun’s ear while feeling his soft, silent hiccups against his neck. “It’s so unfair. I wish I could go back in time and change it ― although I don’t know how it happened or who was responsible… But I wish I could go back and prevent it somehow.” He leaned on Sehun’s head, nuzzling against his hair. “I wish you didn’t have to experience any of this pain.”

They were both quiet for a few seconds, Jongdae feeling the Sehun’s grip on his back slowly easing, the wetness on his neck drying up and not being replaced by new tears. It had perhaps been a couple of minutes when Sehun at last let go of him completely, using his hands to wipe up his eyes. He didn’t even seem like he had been crying hard though ― so unfair. If it had been him, his eyes would have swollen to the size of red golf balls by now.

“I don’t,” Sehun said a bit weakly, completely out of the blue. Jongdae looked at him, confused.

“Sorry, Sehun, you don’t what?”

“I don’t wish I hadn’t experienced this.” Jongdae kept staring at him, so he continued. “There are hard parts, I won’t deny that. But there are also good things. In my world, my father had convinced me of doing what he wanted. I was an unhappy Law student who didn’t really have any major dreams besides being successful in my profession and earning a lot of money. Of course that’s a reasonable goal, but… If anything, this experience has shown there’s so much more than that. I know this sounds a bit cheesy,” he laughed softly, “but I mean it.”

They looked at each other in silence, smiles starting to be shaped at the corners of their mouths.

“I’m happy to be here.”

Jongdae rubbed his eyes (he, also, had almost cried) before he beamed at Sehun. The weight that had been lifted from his chest was indescribable; he felt as if he could fly. “I’m happy you’re here, too.”

“If I hadn’t been brought up to this world, I wouldn’t have met you,” Jongdae’s heart skipped a beat, and oh god he hoped his cheeks weren’t blushing (although he could blame it on the crying if it happened), “nor Baekhyun, nor Taeyeon or Heechul, nor my other friends… Nor Luhan.” Jongdae tried to keep a blank expression. Shit, he had been happy way too early. “And now I can’t even imagine my life without all of you.” Sehun paused for a second, thinking. “I mean, of course I liked Donghae too, but… This is just different.”

“I’m honestly happy you were able to make so many friends… I had been worried in the beginning,” Jongdae admitted, smiling.

“Yeah. When I think about it, I think Luhan was a large part of it, don’t you think?”

Well... Jongdae did, in fact. But why was it that he felt a great desire to disagree now that Sehun was asking him?

“I suppose he was a huge influence, yeah.”

“Luhan is just so awesome.” Jongdae started asking himself how they hell they had moved from a deep emotional conversation to talking about Luhan of all people. “I wonder why you two didn’t become close friends.”

“We were kind of close when we studied together,” Jongdae corrected him, “but it just didn’t stick. Perhaps because I’m not that good at soccer,” he joked. “Seriously though, I think we don’t have that many tastes in similar.”

“I’m pretty sure you’d find some tastes in similar if you talked more to Luhan, Jongdae. He’s good at so many things, there’s bound to be one you like in common.”

Jongdae felt a terrible urge to raise his eyebrow ― or more than that, to directly question Sehun if he had any secret agenda with all that Luhan praise. Luhan was a nice guy, sure, but wasn’t that going a bit over the top and even slightly off topic considering their previous exchange? Was he just being delusional due to jealousy or does Sehun have some hidden intentions?

Hard to tell, since Sehun was always so good at managing his expressions.

“Um, don’t you think we should go in and see if they still need any help? We’ve been slacking off here for far too long.”

Sehun grinned impishly for a very brief moment before his face was back to its default blank look.

“Of course. Let’s go.”