Egocentric [Book I]

Best Friend

The mood between Minah and Luhan had shifted when they went inside the elevator to Luhan’s floor. He decided to bring back the happy conversation they were having earlier before all the drama, and Minah wordlessly agreed.

It was a pretty long elevator ride, and thank God it wasn’t awkward.

“You don’t live with your family?” Minah asked when they stepped inside Luhan’s apartment. It was simple and would easily be concluded as a boy’s place, considering how masculine the interior design was.

Whites and dark shades of blue made up for the whole ensemble. A small flat screen TV, a couch, a beanbag and some other minor furniture finished the whole living room and it extended to the kitchen. There was no dining table whatsoever, or pots and pans hanging of the hooks nailed to the cupboards.

Perhaps Luhan had food delivered every night and he ate it in front of the TV.

“We’re not Seoul natives. I only went here and stayed to study.” Luhan explained shortly as he disappeared to a room.

Minah just stood uneasily in the middle of the apartment, waiting for him to come back. When he did, he had towels on hand and tossed it to Minah so she could wipe her bag and uniform off of water.

“I can’t believe someone like you is staying in a place like this.” Minah muttered, but Luhan heard. He didn’t take it the wrong way though, he just questioned with a small smile.

“Someone like me?”

“I guess I was expecting a whole lot of bigger stuff... a fully furnished home or something.” Minah shrugged nonchalantly, looking around Luhan’s residence. “A little bird told me that M and K came from prosperous and influential families.”

“Did you think I was taking you to a mansion?” Luhan scoffed and threw himself on the couch. Minah ignored his remark and wrapped the towel around her shoulders. “Just because a family’s wealthy, doesn’t mean their sons don’t want a minimal life to live. This is basic and I feel very much at home.”

They both turned their heads to the sound of the door unlocking, and the guy grinned from ear to ear.

“Speaking of feeling at home, here comes the feeler.” Luhan laughed, followed by Minah’s confusion. “Anyway, I won’t be staying in this apartment for long.”

The door opened completely, and it revealed a girl taller than Minah by a few inches, wearing an oversized jacket, black leggings and wet leather boots. Luhan ran forward in the mini corridor to greet the girl, who gazed back at him with a wide smile.

“Luhan!” The girl exclaimed, pushing the door closed behind her and jumping into Luhan’s wide open arms. He hugged her tight and swayed back and forth, planting a short kiss on the side of her head.

“I missed you.” Luhan said when they pulled apart.

“We saw each other the other day!” The girl laughed, only stopping when she saw Minah staring at them both like a fool. Her smile seemed to melt at Minah’s presence, and she quickly looked at Luhan for answers with her eyes asking a hundred questions at once. “Who is she?”

“Oh, I forgot about you for a second.” Luhan joked as he pulled the girl by the hand. “Minah, this is Eunchae. Eunchae, this is Minah.”

***

For the whole time being, Minah thought that she’d rather poke her eyes out with pins and needles than to seat with Luhan and Eunchae any longer inside the apartment.

When she learned about this Go Eunchae girl from Eunri, she thought that she’d be nice and not the other way around since she was friends with Luhan. He was actually a decent person despite the bad image, but this friend of his was the opposite.