Chasing You

Chapter Eleven

Inches to Miles

The Math Department was celebrating.

For the first time in five years, Seoul Academy bagged the championship title again. The news was typical for most students, but the Math Club accepted the report otherwise. They were euphoric, ecstatic, and proud of themselves and the happiest of them all would be Kyungsoo. Finally, after years of waiting, the perfect students to represent Seoul Academy had finally come, and it had become an easy win for him. Kyungsoo gave little effort in teaching and reviewing Sehun and Da Eun. The two students needed only a few lessons, some extra facts, and a little advice. When they came to the location of the competition, Kyungsoo still felt the nervousness and the pressure but that all vanished when Sehun and Da Eun placed first and third respectively in the individual competition. Those victories gave them an edge in the competition and because of that, several representative of various universities went to him and expressed the interest of providing Sehun and Da Eun one of the reasons why many were interested in joining the Math Camp: the scholarship.

The competition was tight. In the last round, Kyungsoo remembered it very well, when the remaining contestants needed to answer a problem-solving question in ten seconds, his dynamic duo remained calm and maintained their support system. When Seoul Academy would score, the other schools would do as well. No school allowed another school to take a significant advantage but what Seoul Academy had that other schools did not have was Oh Sehun.

Sehun was calm, composed, and knew what he was going to do. He led his duo with Da Eun and with that, their teamwork was spectacular to the point that they did not need to command each other who would solve this and that and they never argued throughout the competition. They would help, support, and catch one another if somebody needed help. Their relationship stood up among the contestants that were an extraordinarily positive thing for Seoul Academy and especially for Kyungsoo, who would risk anything for his students to win.

Kyungsoo would always find the two together; if not studying, then having fun talking at the table in the lobby of the hotel, on the seashore, on the table of this traditional dinner, and everywhere. He was not really into gossip in the school, but he heard that Sehun was interested in Da Eun, and he was all right with it since it boosted their teamwork. When the two won, he won with them.

Meanwhile, Sehun found himself very busy with the club he was not even a member of. They had been inviting him to those countless celebrations that got tiring due to its tendency of repeating itself by its cyclic 'Congratulations,' 'You have always been great,' 'Wow,' 'We knew you'd win.' He did not care about the competition anymore since it was over, the scholarship did not mean so much to him, and the last thing he needed was to be complimented. He just needed some free time to himself but every time Da Eun would ask him to go with her, he could not refuse.

The biggest thing that this competition gave him was that he got closer to Da Eun. She told him many things about herself, and he just found her incredible after knowing her real story. Just like that, his interest grew stronger. It was like they were fated to be paired up so that they could know each other more, deeper, and become comfortable with each other's presence. He never imagined Da Eun to be this talkative. They tried not to talk about painting and school since they considered the camp as a getaway. Sometimes, they forgot about reviewing and just talked.

Da Eun sighed and threw her pen across the room, which gently landed on Sehun’s bed. "Do I look weak? Pathetic?" she asked in a desperate tone.

"Do you want me to answer that?" Sehun asked, quite interested.

"Yes! Okay, no. But most of the comments I received were about my outside appearance that looked very fragile. I like things that are less violent than sports, but that doesn't mean that I hate sports, and I avoid it because I'm not good at it. Come on! Tell me, am I making sense?"

"Is that crucial for you?"

"I just... it's just that I have things I like. I want to do baseball, punch a tree and see if it hurts, paint my shirts, and do some tricky stuff like ditching school, failing a quiz, or even talking back to a teacher. I am not Miss Kind and Nice, you know. I have flaws, and a bad attitude; I am not perfect."

"No worries. We are not asking you to be perfect."

"I know. I know. What I don't know is how I got this mindset."

"You're cool."

"I am?"

"Yeah."

"If you say so."

"Don't you think so?"

"I wish I was someone like... someone like Ah Reum!"

"Hm."

"Based on your stories, she sounds like a bright person. The type that you can easily hang out with and talk to… She seems to be the person who always has something to say. I see her in school, and she's always smiling, always there, always friendly."

"She's eager to meet you, you know?"

"Is that for real?"

"Yes."

"She's not angry at me?"

"No. She is not like that, and she never will be. That's what I like about her; she is genuine."

"I want to meet her soon, too."

They had talked about their individual plans for the future, how Kyungsoo was training them, what the universities they might apply to, their plans for going overseas to pursue their dreams, their goals for high school, and what will happen to the both of them after everything. Besides the part where Sehun knew Da Eun more, they also met different people from different districts and schools. Students from other schools looked at them like they were prey, but it came to no surprise for the two since Seoul Academy was indeed always on top in almost every aspect. But also, some students were kind enough and treated them as an equal contestant and not as a tenacious competitor. Sehun was still snobbish though even if the girls present in the camp were swooning over him, but Da Eun made it up to Sehun’s lack of social skills.

Seoul Academy was indeed a popular school in where the best of the best flock and dreamt of studying at. Being from their school alone could give advantages in many ways like advanced lessons and modern facilities that paved the way to sending and receiving information faster, and the application of skills and knowledge were far more given chance through this. Not to mention the people behind the name were bound to live up to the standards of the school.

"Hey," someone called from behind. It made Sehun stop reminiscing about what happened last week.

Sehun looked behind and just as he expected, it was Ah Reum. "Hey," he greeted back.

"It's been a week. Don't you miss me?" Ah Reum teased, opening her arms to signal him that he can hug her any time now, but that was just a part of her teasing.

Sehun shrugged and retorted, "Won't you congratulate me first?"

Ah Reum giggled and went to hug her best friend. She wanted to talk to him since morning came but whenever she went to approach him, someone would snatch him away, and that left her to wait until afternoon just to say a few words. She originally planned to lecture him for not even calling. Not even a single text or a simple e-mail was sent to her throughout that seven days, and it almost killed her. She just tried convincing herself by saying that he must be busy with all that was happening since he was in a competition and not in some retreat, but not even a single effort for him to talk to her was made. Ah Reum was upset by how her best friend was in some place, enjoying himself despite the pressure, and she was left in school to study alone.

She expected Sehun to be home by Saturday, but Shin Ae said that his stay at the camp would be lengthened a bit since the sponsors would like to talk to them, and so did the universities offering the scholarship. Ah Reum was disappointed not to see him, so she just stayed there to have some bonding time with Shin Ae and Seo Ah, who were surprisingly present at the house that weekend. Shin Ae proposed to talk about her son, but Ah Reum asked not to since it would make her miss Sehun even more in which Seo Ah agreed with her. Ah Reum just laughed at herself, imagining how she could have come up with the idea of not talking to him for a week when she could barely survive for days.

"Congratulations, Sehun. You've done well." Of all the words that came into her mind over the past week, those were the only words that came out of . Sehun looked unusually happy and proud of his victory, well, who wouldn't be?

"Not only me."

Ah Reum nodded, no need to explain anymore. "Yes. Give Da Eun my congratulations too."

"I will. I have to go now."

She was alarmed. "Why? Already?"

"Victory Party," he answered.

"Can't I join?" she asked, laughing like she was joking, but she really meant it.

He shook his head and said, "Strictly for Math Club members only and us."

Ah Reum understood the situation and just said, "Oh, okay."

"We'll talk some other time, Ah Reum."

"Okay," she said, but he did not even hear it since he was already gone.

….

The next day came so fast, and she still had not talked to Sehun. She could not help but watch from the sidelines like a good best friend would do, but she hated it. They were treating the competition as it was the biggest contest of the year when it was not. She was never the typical best friend type who would just support and support and support; she was more than that. She had the urge to kidnap Sehun or steal him from the crowd, but that would be over the top, and she could feel that Sehun was enjoying the moment. No matter how badly she wanted to talk to him all day, she simply could not take away this time from Sehun because he was socializing with other people. His crowd was getting bigger which was good on his part since he needed to learn some social skills sooner or later even though he didn’t need it. Somehow, Ah Reum felt that Sehun didn't need her this time, and she could not decide if it was a good thing or if it was a bad thing.

"I know why you're sad," a voice from behind her said, slightly startling her.

Ah Reum turned her head just to see the same freshman who was getting on her nerves. "It's you again," she greeted lifelessly meaning that she was not comfortable seeing the first year student.

The girl simply ignored Ah Reum’s bored look and sat beside her. She made sure that she looked happy enough or smiling wickedly all throughout just to make Ah Reum irritable. "Ever since they won the contest, they started spending time with each other more. Do you think something happened while they were away?" she asked, wanting Ah Reum to realize something.

Ah Reum just rolled her eyes. She was normally not rude, but she hated it when a person annoyed her so much because that person was telling the truth. "I don't know and stop talking like you are my conscience when in fact, I don't even know you," she spat like she had a naturally snobbish attitude.

The freshman sensed that Ah Reum was not happy seeing her, but she somehow predicted it, and she knew something that would irk the brunette more, so she started enumerating the good qualities of a particular girl whom she was sure the brunette knew. "Smart, talented, kind, and beautiful."

"What are you talking about?" Ah Reum asked, confused and having no idea what or who the girl was talking about.

The freshman gave her a sharp look and said, "That's Jung Da Eun, your competitor."

"I'm not in a competition," Ah Reum quickly defended.

The girl did not look convinced. "You are just saying that, but the truth is that you are. You love him, right?"

Ah Reum was surprised by her question. "Sehun?" she asked, laughing. There was no doubt about her love for him.

The girl then changed her position so that she could face Ah Reum. "Who else? So what if he doesn't love you now? Does that mean that he will not love you in the future? Fight for him. He is your friend; I know. That is a disadvantage, but that could be an advantage also. Are you just going to stand there and let another person take away your happiness?"

The brunette was already gritting her teeth and clenching her fist when the freshman said that. "I don't understand. Why are you lecturing me about this?"

"Because you need some persuasion," the freshman answered, catching her breath.

Ah Reum stared at her for a few seconds, tempted by the idea to fight for Sehun longer but then she realized that this was not right, so she said firmly, "No, I'm letting him go."

"Do you want that?"

Ah Reum nodded hesitantly and said, "I made that decision a long time ago."

The girl shook her head, frowning, and seemed to be disappointed by Ah Reum’s answer. "I'll ask you again. Do you want that?"

"It's the best for everybody so yes," Ah Reum answered with her voice barely audible. The moment she said that she felt vulnerable and heroic at the same time. She was willing to give him up for another's sake.

"Park Ah Reum, I never thought you would give up just like that."

"It's not 'just like that,' it has been ten years, and I think that is enough."

The freshman wanted to lecture Ah Reum, and she didn't care that she was older. "You will stop because of a girl that you are not even sure if she is the best for him or if they will last for forever? What kind of reasoning is that?"

"Why are you even doing this?" Ah Reum asked, her voice rising. "You don't have any right to tell me these things. Who are you?"

The girl extended her arm and with a smiling face; she introduced herself. "I'm Wendy, first year, and a girl who seems to be more knowledgeable than you when it comes to these things."

Ah Reum stood up. She could not take this anymore since she was being taught by a kid, a way to trample her pride. Ah Reum did not know what to do with her decisions anymore since it looked like every person she passed by was telling her the pros and cons. Seulgi would support her decision of giving up, but the rest of her friends including Sehun’s friends would not help her which was confusing on her part because she was losing the right to decide for herself. Now, a freshman, out of nowhere, was telling her that she was stupid to let go of Sehun. Certainly, that was the last thing she needed.

"A first year lecturing a third year. Seriously, this is the last thing I need."

"Wait, where are you going?" Wendy asked in a panic.

Ah Reum just looked at her shortly and started her pace. "Obviously, away from you."

Wendy quickly stood up, got her things, and followed after her. "Hey! Why? Are you afraid?"

"Afraid?" Ah Reum asked in disbelief and then laughed hard. "Of what?" she added.

"The truth," Wendy stated confidently.

Ah Reum laughed more, and she was ready to mock Wendy anytime. "The truth? Wow."

"Yes! The truth."

"Fine. What is that 'truth' that you know so much about?" Ah Reum asked, challenging the little girl to prove her answer to be worthy.

Wendy smirked, feeling confident since she was magnificent at this. "That you are so in love with your best friend that you don't care anymore that he's happy, and you are suffering," she said. "You are making yourself believe that you can let go of him so that he can finally be happy, but you know deep inside that you can't. You just want him to notice you, even one time because you believe that, that just once you can finally make him realize his feelings for you. I know the truth that you are morose right now because you feel out of place because the girl that your best friend likes is out there, hanging out with him like something magical happened between the two of them. You want to cry; you want to tell the whole world how much you love him and how much it pains you that he will never love you back! The truth is that no matter how much it hurts, whatever you do, you will always be the best friend! No more, no less."

Ah Reum was surprised by her long answer. She felt it, every emotion attached to every word she said. Ah Reum felt the pain, the longing, the fear. "Are you okay?" she asked, suddenly getting worried because Wendy was shedding tears.

Wendy just sniffed and smiled like before, convincing herself that everything was still in her control, and she would not let the past take over her. "I'm fine. I'm alright. Just perfect."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ah Reum offered.

Wendy hesitated for a moment, but when she thought that no one could understand her like Ah Reum, she told her the reason. "I'm in love with my best friend, too. Well, ex-best friend."

Young love or whatever it was called, Ah Reum was not convinced. "Are you sure? But you are just a freshman." She was pertaining on how youngsters mistaken admiration for love.

"Maybe not love but sooner or later, I know it will be love. I confessed to him that I have feelings for him and just like that he blew me away. He stopped talking to me. He even stopped looking at me. It hurts, you know? It hurts that the person who promised to be with you always will change just like that. Right now, I'm not even sure if I regret confessing to him or not, but every time I see you, so vocal about your feelings, it makes me want to believe that I did the right thing, and the one who is wrong is my best friend. Well, ex-best friend."

"We have the same story," Ah Reum said it sadly.

Wendy shook her head and looked at Ah Reum. "Except, yours is more likely to happen."

"I doubt it," Ah Reum argued quickly.

Wendy stared at the brunette to analyze what she just said. "Why don't you fight for it?" she asked.

Ah Reum just snickered. "Trust me. I've been doing that for the last decade."

"Can you even talk to him frequently after you stop?"

That was the kind of question Ah Reum could easily answer. "I don't know about what will happen, but I'm not afraid that our friendship will be affected."

"Use him as your inspiration instead," Wendy suggested.

Did she do that? Ah Reum wanted to ask. But she chose to leave it that way simultaneously accepting the fact that a mere freshman made her realize something again. These realizations were continuously hitting her for the past few days, and she knew that it meant only one thing, and that was to make up her mind once and for all because if not, she would just regret it in the end.

"I will."

Wendy was satisfied with her answer. After months of being anonymous, she finally shared her story with Park Ah Reum, which made her feel better but didn't change the fact that she still thought that Ah Reum would be stupid if she didn’t fight for Sehun. She hated it when someone got brokenhearted, and so she said, "But I still think that you should fight for him. I mean, I'm not the only one who thinks this way. The whole school thinks so too."

Ah Reum wanted to disagree with her but what Wendy was saying was true, so she didn't bother changing her opinion much. "It doesn't matter what everyone thinks since it won't change a thing. If it can, then Sehun’s mind should have changed a long time ago. And if I continued to be persistent, then wouldn’t I just be selfish? I don't want to hinder my best friend's nearing happiness."

"Are you sure of that?" Wendy asked, eyeing the brunette.

"Yes."

The freshman simply shrugged. "Okay. If you say so."

Ah Reum’s eyes followed Wendy’s stance as she stood up and said, "It's nice talking to you, surprisingly."

"As for me, I'm not surprised at all. I knew that you were fun to be with. Bye!" She gave Ah Reum a wave before finally taking her exit.

Minutes ago, Ah Reum sure she was near to hating the girl, but the kid did something good, something refreshing, and something so effective since Wendy herself experienced what she was experiencing. Weird since Wendy was so young, and she already experienced the pain of falling in love, as she called it. Whatever it was, may it be real love or a simple crush, it never changed the fact that when liking a person, there would always be happiness and sadness or a roller coaster ride of different emotions. Especially when you fell in love with that one person you were off-limits to: your best friend. It got Ah Reum thinking of how the best friendship turned into something gruesome when in fact it didn't need so much effort for two people to stay friends. But, how could she conclude it like that? She never experienced it, right?

Ah Reum stood up, feeling a little happy despite the real situation since someone just opened up to her, and mouthed, "Bye."

She was looking forward to talking to Wendy again.

…

"Wake up, dear."

Jiyoung shook her daughter a little violently this time since she had been trying to wake her up for the last ten minutes. She could not believe that Ah Reum seemed to forget what day is today. Jiyoung was all set and could not help to glance at the clock occasionally due to her being time-conscious. She let out a sigh and her eyes observed the whole room and Jiyoung could clearly see the scrapbook-like slash timeline format Ah Reum creatively did on the wall. It was composed of pictures in which Ah Reum and Sehun shared and it started from the year they met and with that, one could easily tell how closer these two were and how much they'd grown. Jiyoung closed her eyes for a moment, thinking about what Ah Reum’s father just told her over the phone last night but before she could really think about it, she heard Ah Reum’s voice.

"Why?" Ah Reum asked in her sleepy state, fidgeting inside the blanket which she covered around her body just now.

Jiyoung removed the blanket from her daughter and brushed the loose strands of hair that covered Ah Reum’s face. "Today is our outing with the Ohs. We don't want to be late for that, right?"

Ah Reum rolled her eyes and completely removed the blanket, which fell on the floor. "That's today?" she asked with no amount of interest at all which surprised her mother and herself. Generally, she was excited when this event came and could not afford to be late, but now, she forgot about it.

"That's what I said." Jiyoung was disappointed by her daughter's lack of excitement and enthusiasm.

The younger Park was about to get up, but before she could completely do so, she slumped her back onto the bed again and groaned, "Oh, I don't feel like coming."

Jiyoung glanced at the wall filled with photos before saying, "Never in my life had I imagined to hear you saying that."

"I just said it," Ah Reum snapped.

Jiyoung’s eyes automatically widened as she was taken aback by what Ah Reum just said and how she said it. "What's the problem, Ah Reum?" she immediately asked, slightly worried.

Ah Reum was silent for a moment, thinking about her actions for the past five minutes and how she thought that she was being childish about it. She forgot about the mini celebration her Aunt Shin Ae planned for Sehun weeks ago and she was being honest about not wanting to go since she would just see Sehun there and she did not want to. He ignored her for the past two weeks, though some would not call it ignoring as he was really busy all of a sudden but that was not Ah Reum’s point. Her point was that Sehun did not even make an effort to talk to her. She felt guilty for snapping at her mother like that and for keeping the real reason as to why she was angry with her, but how could she be proud of the reason when it was merely a problem.

"Very unimportant. I'll get up now, wash, and follow you in a bit."

Jiyoung merely nodded, making a mental note to talk about it later. "I'll wait for you downstairs, dear."

"Okay!" Ah Reum yelled from the bathroom.

Jiyoung hastily opened the gate and signaled for Ah Reum to move quickly or else they would be late. She started the engine the moment she sat on the driver's seat and waited for Ah Reum as she was closing the gate and without any more interruptions, they drove off.

"We are going to be late," Jiyoung mumbled.

Ah Reum rolled her eyes, laughing at her Mom's disease to always worry about time. Well, it was not a disease, she just liked to identify it that way. "Relax, Mom. It's not like we are miles away from the venue."

Jiyoung was still not relieved because she knew her best friend and Shin Ae was not forgiving when it comes to being late. She tried to smile at what her daughter just said, but it was not enough to calm her down. "Which is a brilliant thing because if we are... Shin Ae would surely beat me up."

"Mom, don't exaggerate."

"I can't help it, dear. I am just so excited. Aren't you?" she asked, glancing at Ah Reum for a moment, hoping her daughter's expression would have changed now.

It was surprisingly chilly today, meaning colder than the usual, so people had to wear extra clothing to protect themselves from the cold temperature. Ah Reum looked up to the skies which were gray and blue at the same time, so probably the weather would be partly cloudy. Even the weather was not agreeing with this picnic. Ah Reum was irritable, and she could easily tell that it was because she didn't want to talk to her Mom. She rather stay in bed than see Sehun, and she would be a lot happier to hang out with Yixing than interact with Sehun. Her Mom just asked her if she was excited and even when she was not answering, the reply was a clear 'no.'

"Will Yibo be there?" Ah Reum asked instead. If Yibo were here like every year, then she could guarantee that this outing wouldn’t be so bad.

"Maybe. By the way, your Dad called."

"Oh."

"He wants to see you," Jiyoung informed.

"You already told me that. Did he say anything else?" Ah Reum asked.

Jiyoung’s eyes were focused on the road since they were