Chapter 38
Joonmyeon noticed Luhan's glum state as the latter sweeps the floor in the kitchen. Ever since Min-ah left, he began to act to this way. The shy and joyous butler that once made the house brighten suddenly became quiet. He doesn't talk too much and only answers when a question is being asked. Joonmyeon sighs and walks over to him with a smile.
"Hey."
Luhan looks at him. He straightens himself and bows his head in respect. "Good afternoon." He walks past the young heir and continues sweeping. Joonmyeon purses his lips and looks at him.
"Luhan, I was thinking of asking Hana out in a trip to an amusement park." Joonmyeon said. "And I think that it would be great if you could tag along. You can bring Mira if you'd like. After all, even's better than the odds."
Luhan slowly scratches his ear. "I don't know. When will it be?"
"Saturday." He said. "Next Saturday. And I would very much like it if you would come."
Luhan thinks for a moment before nodding with a small smile. "That would be great. Thank you."
Joonmyeon smiles.
Like they've planned Mira and he went to the hospital where Jongdae is currently at. It wasn't easy to come inside unlike before because they needed certain passes and signatures to come in. He remembers the last time he's here was with his Agassi. Min-ah didn't talk too much then but just the act of making Luhan see his family was enough to fill his heart to the brim.
He felt grateful then that he can't help but envelop her in a tight hug.
Luhan grimaces and shakes the thought of his Agassi away. Just thinking of her makes him feel sad.
Standing in front of his family did not seem to ease the pain but he's glad that it lessened in some way. Mira stood in front of Jongdae beside the bed where he's sitting at. A lone tear managed to escape her eye before she bursts out crying in relief when she sees Jongdae looking strong and healthy despite his illness. Jongdae laughs and reciprocates her embrace.
"I missed you, too." Jongdae grins.
Mira sniffles and pulls away. She shifts her attention to the three kids that suddenly ran into her when they realized who she was. "Oh my god, I missed you all too!" She exclaims in tears. "You all are so big now: Himchan, Hansol, and Haneul."
Himchan and Haneul immediately crowded over their Mira noona and how much they missed her and her baked goodies. How much they missed playing with her and how much scary it was to live in a new place and going to a new school with many foreign faces. Mira entertains them all and comforted them with smiles and chuckles. Hansol, however, zeroed in on Luhan, who was standing by the doorway and reaches up at him as if asking to carry him. Luhan obliges.
"Hey, buddy." Luhan smiles.
"Hyung." Hansol said. "It's boring here. Umma's out at work and she left us here to play. Are you staying here until she comes back?"
"Yeah, we are." Luhan steps inside and closes the door with Hansol still in his arms. But the moment he did, Hansol whines and wriggles. Luhan laughs at this and tilts his head in confusion. "Why, what's wrong? You can't play outside."
"The noona you're with when you first visited." Hansol said in a hushed whisper. "Where is she? Isn't she coming inside to play? You promised me that she'll play with us when you come visit again."
Realizing who the person his brother was talking about, Luhan's smile slowly fell from his face. It did not go unnoticed by Mira. She briefly looks at Luhan and Hansol's way before continuing to entertain the two. Luhan sighs and forces a smile back on his face to Hansol.
"She's not here, Hansol-ah." Luhan said. "She's... She went far away."
Hansol tilts his head. "Is she coming back?"
Luhan sighs.
"I don't know."
Chanyeol watches as Baekhyun interacts with other classmates that isn't him. He doesn't notice this until now that the smaller has other friends other than him. Of course they aren't as close like he and Baekhyun has, but it still sucks. Knowing that your best friend is avoiding you because of feelings that aren't supposed to be there.
Chanyeol pursed his lips and watches from afar, jolting in surprise when he feels a soft tap on his head.
"What's with you?" Minho sits down beside him on the grass and zeroes on what Chanyeol was looking at. He hums in confusion. "Normally you two are like two peas in a pod – like some kind of a package deal or something. What's going on?"
"Just a little... misunderstanding." Chanyeol mutters. No it was far from a misunderstanding especially that Chanyeol knows the real reason why Baekhyun is avoiding him. He's yet to sort out his feelings but it's a little too early to know the answer. Rushing things will only hurt Baekhyun and might heighten the risk of losing him forever.
He doesn't want that.
"It doesn't look little to me." Minho mumbles and lies down, hands behind his head. "I even saw him once with that douche, Daehyun." Chanyeol's jaw clenched. "If they're using Baekhyun as a way to lose your cool, it's working. As much as possible, please focus on the game. It's our last year, remind you."
Chanyeol looks down and sighs. "I know. I'm sorry."
Amidst to him, the moment he looked away, Baekhyun turns his head to look at Chanyeol unconsciously giving the younger male a look of longing. By the time Chanyeol looks up, Baekhyun was already entertaining his group mate on making their project.
Luhan envelops his mother in a tight hug. "Umma, I'm sorry I haven't been visiting lately." He said. "With school and work altogether, I don't have the time to." But the older woman flashes him a warm smile and shakes her head.
"It's okay, dear." She said. "I am very grateful for whatever you're doing. Having you work as the Kim's butler is a lot of help." She cups his cheek, which the latter leans into. "Take care of yourself, alright?" Then she turns to Mira and beams. "Mira, dear. Can we talk for a moment? I want to catch up with the news back in the village."
"Yes, auntie." Mira smiles, looks at Luhan, then follows Mrs. Kim outside the balcony in Jongdae's room. Since the triplets were out at the hospital's daycare, playing with the other kids, that only leaves Luhan and Jongdae alone.
Jongdae hums in amusement. "You look glum, chum. What's going on?"
Luhan looks at his friend and blinks. "Nothing's wrong, really."
"I don't believe you." Jongdae leans his back against the headboard and grins. "That reminds me, not that I don't want to see Mira, but why isn't that girl before the one with you? Did you guys have some kind of a misunderstanding or something? Or is she just busy." There was a shift in Luhan's expression that made Jongdae laugh. "I knew it."
Luhan blinks rapidly. "It's not like that." He hissed. "And there's nothing wrong – no misunderstanding." He takes a seat on the edge of Jongdae's bed. "She went to Canada to be with some guy."
"And you're telling me that it's not like that. Right." Jongdae folds his arms and smirks. Luhan huffs.
"Hey," He gives Luhan a playful punch on the arm. "You're Lu Han. Your father is like... the most handsome guy in the village and my mom kept telling me that you're a dead ringer of him. If your old man could get every woman in the village on their knees, then there's no problem with you."
"That's the problem, Jongdae." Luhan sighs. "Every woman in the world, and yet she has eyes on someone else. What's the use?" Then his eyes went wide because he just implied that he does like Min-ah that way. He sighs. Well, that's out in the open now.
"No, man." Jongdae chuckles. "The problem lies in your self-confidence."
Luhan looks at him. "Self-confidence?"
"Your self-esteem always hits rock bottom. Stop degrading yourself, man." Jongdae frowns. "So maybe that other guy might be better-looking than you. So what? You have a good heart." He pokes Luhan on the chest. "You're better than him and you know that. If you like her, go for it. Stop chickening out. Do yourself a favor and just push forward."
Luhan smiles, feeling a surge of confidence after that and chuckles softly. "Yeah, I will."
Jongdae cackles and gives him a punch on the back. Luhan groans and shoots him a glare but Jongdae ignored this and continues to laugh. "That's my boy."
"Oh, shit. This is bad." Joonmyeon stares at the TV, watching the news. He reads the headlines scrolling sideways underneath and sees his sister's name and Do Kyungsoo's name along with the words secretly dating throughout these years. Possible theories about the two came up and they concluded that their break-up was just a cover up to guard their privacy.
With the sudden attention at them, he knows the media will run after Kyungsoo and they might find out about the latter's father's death. Joonmyeon groans and pulls his phone out.
Luhan and Mira walk side by side in town as they make their way towards the bus stop. Mira's gone awfully quiet since that talk with his mother and Luhan can't help but be curious. Though, when he was about to open his mouth to speak, Mira beats him and speaks out.
"About that thing I asked you." She trailed. "You haven't gave me an answer."
Luhan's eyes went wide. Oh, right.
"I don't think I can wait any longer, Oppa." Mira looks at him and shifts her eyes forward as they continue to walk along the pavement. "I asked you that because I really like you... a lot. If you thought I'm playing, I'm not. Everything I told you is true and my feelings for you is genuine."
There's really no other reason why you can't fall for Jung Mira. She's gorgeous, smart and great to be with.
"So what will it be, Oppa?"
The problem is he doesn't like her.
"Listen, Mira." Luhan trails. "I –"
They stopped midway when they heard the reporter mention Min-ah's name on TV. Right in front of the electronic store, Luhan stares at the TV with wide eyes as he tries to process everything that comes out of the reporter's mouth. It wasn't helping that a picture of them walking hand in hand is shown.
Luhan took a step back.
What the hell?
author's note: comeback comeback comeback!