Sehun's POV

Nam Soon and I sneaked into the back room hoping to surprise Ling with a cake we had just bought from a nearby bakery. I ducked my head and peeked up from underneath my baseball cap.

"MINSEOK!"

I jumped and beside me, Nam Soon tripped on the leg of a chair in surprise. We rushed to the shop to see Ling and Xiumin in an embrace and Luhan standing opposite to them.

"Luhan," Ling's voice was barely a whisper, muffled by Xiumin's shirt. "I think you should leave."

Luhan hesitated a little but walked out the front door after pulling on his hood and covering his face. He glanced back for a split second and we made eye contact before he walked down the street.

The moment he left, Nam Soon rushed to Ling's side and I joined after.

"What happened?" Nam Soon muttered as Ling helped Xiumin sit down on the nearby stool. "Did Luhan come to apologize?"

Xiumin scoffed. He looked away from us and his eyes lingered on Ling. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry."

Ling furrowed her brows and examined his bloody fist. "You two should really make up, you're supposed to be really close friends."

Xiumin bit his lip and shook his head. "Not until he comes to his senses."

Nam Soon and I stared at them in silence, not knowing what to say next. I looked at Ling who looked visibly upset. I held up the boxed up cake in my hand and grinned dryly. "We bought cake,"

Ling and Xiumin stared blankly at me before breaking out in laughter.

"Aish, Sehun," Xiumin said sighing. "Learn to read the atmosphere!"

I looked at Ling's smiling face and grinned. Oh, I know perfectly well how to read the atmosphere.

-----
Ling's POV

The cake they bought was delicious. While we ate, I took the time to bandage up the cuts on Xiumin's fists. It felt strangely familiar to the time I had taken care of his burn from the spilled espresso back when he was a runaway idol.

"You guys are kind of gross," Nam Soon blurted out and after stuffing a big piece of cake into his mouth. "The way you stare at each other is like you're a married couple or something."
I blushed and looked down to hide my face. Sehun motioned to hit Nam Soon on the arm. "Aish, saying useless things again aren't you."

Nam Soon shrugged and continued to eat his cake bitterly.

I tried to calm my heart as Nam Soon's words rang in my head. I didn't dare to look up at Xiumin in case Nam Soon was going to point out more embarrassing things about us.

"Ling," Xiumin's voice was soft when he said my name and I blushed even more. I hear him chuckle lightly. "Your ears are red."

I felt him lean in closer to me until I felt his cheek brush against mine. I felt a shiver run down my spine as he blew lightly on my ear. I felt my heart race to the point of suffocation and I stood up abruptly, surprising Xiumin.

"I, I need to-" I didn't know what I needed to do. All I knew was that if I stayed here any longer, I was going to die of embarrassment. I walked quickly to the back room, keeping my head down the whole time. Behind me, Nam Soon called after me asking if I was alright and Xiumin restrained Sehun from following after.

It hadn't even been a few minutes since I entered the back room to splash water on my face and Sehun called after me again.

"Ling, you got a text!" He called out. "Should I check it for-"

His voice faded out and was replaced by silence. I peeked out from the back room and wiped my hands dry. I walked out and looked at them curiously, all three of them were huddled around my phone that was lying on the table.

I brushed back my hair and leaned in just as Nam Soon stood and held me back.

"What," I stared at Nam Soon. "Are you guys snooping around on my phone?"

"Ling, teach me how to make coffee." He beamed at me.

"Why all of the sudden?"

Nam Soon turned me around and motioned me to the coffee grinder. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously and maneuvered my way around him, pushing past Sehun to get my phone.

"Why are you guys so serious?" I muttered glaring at the screen.

"No-" The three of them bellowed.

The graphic photos surprised me and I let out a squeal dropping my phone to the ground. I stared at my hands blankly trying to understand what I had just seen.

Nam Soon picked up my phone and deleted the pictures. Sehun let out a sigh and Xiumin pressed my head against his shoulder.

"What were those?" I asked bewildered at my shaking hands.

"Photos that should never be released into the internet," Sehun frowned and hugged himself. "It scares me how she got those, I don't think I'll be going back to the dorm anytime soon."

"Borin sent those?" I grabbed for my phone again and Nam Soon pulled it out of my reach.

"She's threatening you with those photos to stay away from him." Xiumin pushed Sehun playfully and he let out a small yelp.

"But honestly, hyung," He tilted his head back to look up at Xiumin. "This is really getting out of hand, we need to do something."

I thought for a moment as Nam Soon read my phone again. I peeked at the message barely making out the words.

Even when you're not in Korea, you seem to be getting in my way. I know Sehun is staying at your place, if you don't want these photos to leak out, you know what you should do.
-Borin

I felt chills run down my spine as the realization suddenly dawned on me. Borin sent people to watch me.

-----
Luhan's POV

I didn't go back to the hotel after my visit to Zhang-ge's shop. I couldn't ignore the nudging feeling of jealousy that lingered in my heart. Feeling slightly creepy, I stood in the back of the cafe hoping to talk to Ling alone after work.

I ducked my head as a person from the next store over walked out to the back door and stared at me.

This is going to be bad if someone recognized me back here, I should really come back another day.

Just as I was about to leave, a Native Korean voice caught my attention. A figure stood in the darkness of Zhang-ge's shop peeking into a small window at the side of the shop. He held his phone between his head and his shoulders and held himself steady on the box he was standing on.

"Yeah, Sehun is in there," His Seoul accent was glaringly obvious. "I see him, next to the girl."

The girl as in Ling?

I frowned and straightened up ready to approach him. Was he one of those stalker fans?

"Didn't Borin already send threats to her? Why is she still with Sehun?"

I froze at the sound of her name and my mind blanked out.

Notes

//Author's Note:
Luhan has seen something he shouldn't have, what does that mean for his feelings for Borin and Ling? Is he finally seeing the truth?

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Thanks for continuous reading!
Enjoy the story.