Boredom had prodded Lu to leave the dull comfort of his library and come to a place where socializing was inevitable - or so he thought. The bath house was nearly barren, with only a few sleeping elders sprinkled around the main rooms and businessmen with towels glued to their fat faces. Accepting the prospect of a quiet bath, Lu navigated to one of the nicer rooms and settled in with a long brush of air. Maybe being alone wasn’t entirely bad. Still, his towel remained submerged at his hips, arms draped over the rough cement and head tilted back to watch orange splashes unfold beneath his eyelids.

     Then there was movement. The smaller perked up hopefully. That hope drowned with the poor boy that fell face-first into the water. Lu would have yelped if this man wasn’t thrashing so vividly, his brown eyes widening despite the upheaval and hands moving underwater to try and steady him. He jumped in his seat when the other finally surfaced, his rose lips parted and gaze truly striking of a deer. He didn’t notice the fact that his towel was missing until it was tossed at him. The stranger’s embarrassment was contagious, causing Lu to stand from the water and stammer, but still he persisted, holding the towel between his legs.

     “W-- wait,” He replied, reaching a hand out to touch the taller male’s shoulder. Now that Lu looked at him(with a painfully raised head), he resembled a tree. This made him spit out a bubble of laughter. His face alight with ivory teeth and glass eyes, he moved to sit again, motioning to the space next to him.

     “Lac-ri-mo-sa,” His small shoulders bunched beneath his uniform when his roommate teased. His dumpling soup didn’t look all that appetizing anymore. He tried to flash an apologetic smile - oh, did he try. No amount of warm gestures or friendly small-talk could hold a candle to the four boys circled around him, looming, picking at threads of his uniform and strands of his black hair. The new boy sitting opposite of him looked confused. At first, he’d tried to defend Lu, urging the boys to cut it out. But now something shifted in his eyes.

“Oh, you poor kid. You don’t know why he’s called that?” 

     Lu’s small fingers tightened around his spoon. No- not this one. Not again. His lips were curled against each other while a storm raged in his throat.