"Why? I thought you liked him."

"Liked him? Where did you get that?" I threw Jangmi a bewildered look. She shrugged.

"You could have given him a chance. A date wouldn't kill you. Besides, you would get to know him better."

I shook my head, fidgeting with my phone. "I know that it wouldn't kill me, but I just don't like him the way he likes me. And I don't want to be with someone whom I don't like. I would just hurt him."

"If I were you I would have given him a chance. He seems like a nice guy", she said under her breath and I decided to ignore her.

"I think we should start studying now", I said, not wanting to talk about Sehun again.

He had been on my mind ever since that day. I tried to make myself busy with studying and I was doing a good job, but when the night came, my thoughts would focus only on him. A week had passed since the day I rejected him and I started feeling bad about the whole thing. Maybe I should have gone to that date with him. But I wouldn't know how to act on a date, what to do, because I've never gone to one.

I shook those thoughts away. I did a good thing by rejecting him. He would get over me soon and find someone else.

It was nine pm when I woke up. After Jangmi left, I had fallen asleep, tired from all the studying. The hunger I felt was no joke, so I opened the fridge hoping that there would be something. It was in vain, because our small fridge was empty. There was only a bottle of milk.

"What the hell am I going to eat now?" I hated being on my period. Aside from the terrible cramps, I literally eat everything I can find. This morning I emptied the fridge and now I had nothing to eat. I guess I would have to go to the store to buy something.

Of course that would happen to me. Only to me. As soon as I stepped out of the dorm, I came face to face with Sehun. It seemed as if he was waiting for me to get out. I smiled wealky at him, not knowing what to say.

"Hey, Chaerin", he mumbled and I looked everywhere but him. 

"Hey", I said. I was looking for words, but they all seemed to have vanished.

"Do you have time for a walk?" he asked. I could hear the insecurity in his voice and remembered how he said that he would always get nervous when talking to me.

"I have. But let's not stay for too long, I have classes tomorrow", I said and I saw him smiling a bit.

We were walking away from the dorm in silence. I was waiting for him to talk. He invited me for a walk, he obviously wanted to talk about something.

"How is school going?" he asked.

"Jangmi was at the dorm today. We were studying for a big exam next week. Your school?"

He shrugged. "I'm trying. But it's not bad, I guess."

Just when we passed next to a store, I realised that I was hungry. "Sehun, would you wait for me here? I have to go to the store." He nodded and I ran into the store. I chose some unhealthy snacks, what else, and bought one for him. Maybe he would like it.

His face when I gave him the snacks was priceless. He looked quite shocked and I had to chuckle. He looked cute and I mentally scolded myself for thinking about him that way.

"Thank you", he said, and I could swear that I saw him blushing for a moment.

We sat on a nearby bench and munched on our snacks in silence. I realised that I felt comfortable around Sehun in moments of silence. Silence was the best for both of us. Words only caused us pain. But still, I had to talk. I had to tell him how sorry I was. It was stupid, I know, but I couldn't help it.

"Sehun, about that day, I want-"

"If you want to say that you're sorry, please don't", he cut me off. He faced me and I could do nothing but to stare into his eyes. "I don't want you to pity me. You shouldn't do that. Because I'm not one of those who give up, Chaerin. Just because you rejected me once doesn't mean that I gave up on you."

I felt my heart speeding up and I took in deep breaths. He looked so confident, different than before.

"I really like you and I don't want to lose you. I will wait, Chaerin. Until you get over Minseok, until you are ready to date, I will wait." He whispered the last few words and I trembled. I couldn't believe that someone liked me that much, especially him.

"No one has ever said something like that to me before", I said. 

After a long pause he spoke. "I just want to be happy, Chaerin. It doesn't matter where or when, I just want happiness and peace. Am I asking for too much?" Again, there was the pain in his voice I couldn't ignore and I started crying.

He held out his trembling hand and took mine. Before I knew it, I was in his arms, crying my heart out. It was warm and I wanted to stay in his arms forever. His hand was gently my hair as I sobbed. Without a word he calmed me down. He didn't ask for the reason of my tears, as if he already knew it. I wasn't sure what were we doing, but I was sure that it was the beginning of something. Just the beginning.