Stars

I had completely forgotten to reply to Luhan’s message about hanging out. I texted him backs, telling him I was sorry for forgetting about his text and we organized a day to meet up. How coincidental that Luhan’s favourite café was Cameron’s café. Was everyone’s favourite café the same one?

Luhan came wearing a large coat, a beanie and sunglasses. He said it was used to disguise his identity from fans. When it was time to order our food, how convenient that Cameron was the one to write it down. How many times a week did he work here? Cameron raised his eyebrow at me as if saying ‘What? Another guy? Melinda, you’re making things complicated on your own!’ but of course, my imagination was very wild and I could’ve been totally wrong. Luhan and I engaged in a conversation about why Exo disbanded.
“Well, Tao and Minseok were causing trouble and they dragged Yixing into it. Fans were hating on Taeyeon because she was dating Baekhyun, so SNSD also had a rough time, and the rumours escalated with Sehun and Nari, so Wassup were also having a bad time. Things just fell apart for us.” He sighed sadly. “Enough about Exo and I. What has happened in your life since I last saw you?” he asked. We talked normally about what was happening in our lives until Luhan asked if I had a boyfriend. “Ah, no. I don’t have a boyfriend…” Well, it was true. Leo wasn’t my boyfriend.
“Is there anyone you like at the moment?” he asked.
I nodded slowly. What was with these weird questions? “Do you like anyone?” I asked him.
“Yeah…” he replied nervously.
My eyes lit up. “So who is she? Can I be your wing man?” I said excitedly.
Luhan chuckled nervously. “Um…Sure.” He said it like a question.
“Can you tell me who she is?”
He shook his head. “No one knows who she is.”
“Not even Exo?! Why?”
“It’s embarrassing to admit…She’s not embarrassing! No! Never! It’s just complicated right now.”
I made a confused expression at him.
“She has a lot of other people chasing after her too and she would rather them over me…”
“Nonsense!” I said. “Who is this girl? As if she’d choose someone else over you.” I smiled in attempt to make him feel better.
Luhan smiled weakly and looked down at his soup which was getting cold. The topic dropped immediately. He seemed uncomfortable about the topic.

I could see Cameron’s blond hair in he corner of my eye, he would pace back and forth in my peripheral vision. I glanced at him and saw him staring at Luhan and I. His eyes widened when I caught him and he walked off, smiling to himself.

Cameron was standing at the cash register when it was time for us to pay. He smiled sweetly at Luhan. “Have a nice day.” He said. Luhan thanked him and walked away. I too, was going to walk away, but Cameron grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. “Melinda. Who is this guy? Are you on a date with him? How do you know him? I think I know him. Why are you on a date with Luhan?” He threw questions at me, one after the other. “Cameron! I’m not on a date. Luhan is just a friend and we’re hanging out. I haven’t seen him in a long time so it’s nice to catch up.” I leaned over the counter and ruffled his smooth hair. “Are you concerned for me?” I asked teasingly. “I don’t want you getting hurt.” He sighed quietly. My smile widened. “Thank you Cameron.” I said gratefully. He reached over the counter and tucked some hair behind my ear and he smiled gently. “Are you coming?” Luhan came back into the café to get me. He took off his sunglasses and wiped them. “Oh, sorry Luhan. I got carried away.” I said whilst untucking the hair. Suddenly, Luhan’s name was whispered around the room, people got up from their seats and surrounded Luhan. They talked over each other and tried to get Luhan’s attention. I was pushed back, against the counter as people rush towards the idol. Cameron and other staff members tried to calm the fans down. I stood quietly behind the commotion. This is exactly what happened when Hyuk took me here. There was a struggle in the crowd, Luhan squeezed through the frantic people and took my hand. “Let’s get out of here.” He gasped. Cameron came up to us and quickly told us another way out. We ran out the back door, his hand still holding onto mine. We turned the corner into a very busy pathway and were normal people again. The fans lost sight of us amongst the public walking around. I didn’t know fans were crazy enough to chase an idol out of a café. Hyuk and I weren’t chased. Luhan walked in front of me, dragging me along. I felt so claustrophobic and uncomfortable being rubbed against strangers. My hand slowly slipped from Luhan’s grasp and I lost him in the big crowd. I couldn’t stay standing still because I would’ve been knocked over by the hurried people. “Luhan?” I tried to yell. Luhan turned around with an alarmed expression on his face. He was so far away, how fast did that guy walk? I saw him struggle with a girl before walking towards me. I felt a hand on my shoulder, I spun around to find Leo. “Melinda, what are you doing here?” he asked. Luhan finally came, “Sorry Melinda.” he looked at Leo. “Aren’t you…?” they asked each other in unison. They obviously recognized each other because they’re both idols. We had to move out of the crowd because we were so close to getting crushed against other people.

We found refuge from the busy people at a quiet nearby park. We sat on the grass and sighed. “That was tiring.” Luhan laughed. “So Melinda, are you going to introduce me him?” asked Leo, nodding towards Luhan. I swallowed. I got a bad feeling from him. A cold and icy feeling. I didn’t know what it was, but it scared me a little bit.

Notes