Summer classes started and no one was more surprised than I was when Lu Han showed up in the same pottery class that Hannah and I were in. All I could do was gape at him as he took the seat beside me on the floor, flashing me his signature grin.
"What..."
"Hi, Hannah." Lu Han waved at Hannah who was at my other side and when I looked at Hannah, she waved back at him, looking amused.
Not really knowing what's up, I kept my guard up the whole time. Our pottery classmates weren't limited to our year. There were a couple of people from the lower years, some even in elementary while there were also a couple of students from senior high. If Lu Han was going to do something ridiculous again, it would give me fresh embarrassment from all these people.
Fortunately, though, Lu Han did nothing out of the ordinary, even as we went home.
"You're going to burn a hole in my head, Yeon," Lu Han said when we were walking home on that first day of pottery class, his eyes looking straight ahead, his lips turned up in a quirky smile.
"I'm just trying to see through your head and maybe gain access to your thoughts," I said, keeping my voice nonchalant.
"Well," he said, and stopped walking, facing me with a bright grin. "What do you want to know? You could ask."
I eyed him suspiciously. "What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking about how you're so cute when you're thinking too much- ow!" He grinned even more when I hit him. "And when you're annoyed." This time, he swerved to the right to avoid my swing.
"I'm serious, darn it." I didn't like how Lu Han treated everything like a joke.
"Okay, okay." He raised his hands in surrender. "I'm thinking about next week's trip to the Main City's art gallery. Happy?"
"You're not thinking about pranks? Or anything that will embarrass me?" I asked warily.
"Now that you mentioned it..." He pretended to think and I moved to hit him again. He burst out laughing. "Kidding! I'm kidding, Yeon."
"What about your friends? Aren't they all in sports camp?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh, then shouldn't you be with your friends?"
"I am," he said, his face breaking into a wide grin.
I opened my mouth to ask another question, but then I realized what he was saying. Surprised and unsure of what to respond to that, I started walking again. "You're really weird, you know that?"
"Weird how?" He fell into step beside, nudging me on the process.
"I don't know." I shrugged. "It's just that ever since I got here, wasn't your one true goal when it came to me was to embarrass and annoy me?"
He raised an eyebrow at me and motioned for me to go on.
"So this Lu Han-" I gestured to all of him "-who cooks for me, who takes care of me, who walks home with me, is just plain suspicious." I sighed. "I'm still waiting for the surprise worm or the drink that would spew on my face or the rock that would trip me. So any moment now, Lu Han."
When I sneaked a glance at him, he was shaking with laughter beside me.
"What?"
"Nothing. I'm just wondering if I did a good job or not."
"Good job at what, jerk?"
"Nothing," he said again, all trace of playfulness suddenly gone from his features. "Would you like it instead if I get on your nerves all the time?"
"Dude, you still get on my nerves! All. The. Time." I said each word with a stomp, glaring at him.
"I know." He smiled at me thoughtfully, totally ignoring my glare. "You see, I can't stop it completely. It has become a habit to try and get a rise out of you. You're just so..." He paused, searching for the right word.
"Just so what?" I snapped, waiting for the insult or the negative remark that would add to my annoyance because of his indifference to the subject.
Lu Han thought about it for a long time, and I could see the indecision in his eyes as if he was debating on whether to tell me or not. I realized then that we had stopped walking again.
He sighed as if defeated. "You're just so adorable when you're mad, Yeon," he said, this time with no hint of teasing in his voice. "I mean..." He raked a hand over his hair. "You've always looked adorable." Then he bit his lips and shook his head as he realized what he just said. "I mean..."
I couldn't help noticing the pink tint that was blossoming on his cheeks.
All traces of annoyance left me as my body racked with laughter. Lu Han was embarrassed and it was such a sight to behold, so different from his usual confident self.
"What have you been eating?" I joked. "I'm adorable?" I laughed again, my mind unable to comprehend that Lu Han would find me adorable. "I get it, okay? It must be fun knowing you have the power to affect someone so much, and I mean that in a negative way, okay?"
Lu Han frowned, and then blinked, coughing awkwardly. "Of course that's what I've been trying to say," he mumbled, smiling at me sheepishly.
I shrugged and started walking once more. Lu Han followed.
"So we're okay?" Lu Han said.
"About what?"
"About how you can relax around me."
My suspicion meter wasn't going down anytime soon but I mumbled a yeah. "I'll believe you. But only slightly."
"It's a good start, Yeon," he whispered behind me, sounding grateful.
I whipped my head towards him, squinting at him in curiosity. "What did you say?"
"I said." He took two long strides to close our distance. "You can relax, but only for a bit." And with that, he took several swipes at my hair, messing it and ran. "Race you! The loser will be in charge of snacks on our next visit to the treehouse!"
At the mention of 'treehouse', I craned my neck in reflex towards the direction of the forest. In the distance, several gigantic trees loomed over the others. There was one giant tree though that I settled my eyes on.
From where I was standing, nobody would have believed me if I told them it had a treehouse. I couldn't help smiling as I remembered the sight of the whole town under the setting sun. I ran after Lu Han with enthusiasm that I didn't know I had after realizing I could visit the magical place again.
"It's no fair! Why does she get to go to the city?" Chris said over breakfast one week later when they were finally allowed to go home for the weekend.
"It's for her pottery class, Chris," Dad said, munching on his toast. " And you still have your basketball camp."
"I know. I'm just saying that it's unfair."
I stuck my tongue out at my childish of a brother. "Have fun at training camp!"
The trip was a breeze.
We were told to observe the pieces on display, find inspiration, admire, and all of those we did. We wandered around-me, Hannah and Lu Han-along with our classmates from the pottery class and with other people from the city who had come to visit the gallery. We oohed and aahed, pointing out various pieces that looked too good to be handmade. It made us look forward to the time when we would create something on our own.
"Look, Yeon." Lu Han pointed out a jar that looked like a pig. "It looks like you."
I glared at him for comparing me to a pig.
Hannah laughed beside me and nodded. "It's true. It looks cute."
"He said I looked like a pig, Hannah. Not cute."
The rest of our trip went like that, with Lu Han taking lots of pictures with his camera, us joking, laughing, and just having fun in general. I didn't know it was possible with Lu Han around, but now, it really was.
Near the end of the trip, our teacher gave the three of us a task. But because Lu Han seemed to have left his camera in the gallery, another student was called to take his place while he went back inside.
I didn't know then that a new road in my life had just opened up in a new direction. I didn't know then that the student who joined us would become so important to me later on.
And now that I thought about it, it wouldn't have happened if Lu Han didn't leave to go get his camera.
A whole new path had opened, one with tears and smiles. All because Lu Han left something inside the art gallery.