ELEVEN.

Sumin's eyes fluttered open, feeling the heat of the early morning sun come in contact with her face.

She slowly sat up from the soft mattress and looked around to see an unfamiliar yet familiar room far more luxurious than her cheap studio apartment. The room was of black and white interior along with similar furniture that complemented the room.

She looked down and gasped when she wearing nothing long button down pajama top with her shorts underneath.

Everything flashed in her head like the speed of light. It was quite vague but she remembered Sehun taking her to his home, putting ice pack on her foot, and asking her to stay after their kiss.

She was certainly sure nothing else happened after that.

Sumin slowly got out of the bed, dusting down Sehun's pajama top before she got out of his room. She glanced at the wall clock to see that it was almost noon.

She kept on walking until she heard some noise from the kitchen. She hurriedly walked in that direction, peeking behind the door to see what was going on.

A certain Oh Sehun was definitely one to surprise. He was dressed in a plain white shirt and sweatpants, and the kitchen was organized similar of a chef's. The aroma sizzled through the air and Sumin greedily sniffed the smell of beef stew. 

That was enough for her stomach to growl. Out loud.

Sehun froze from his spot, turning to see Sumin shyly peeking from the door. Once their eyes met, Sumin gasped and immediately hid behind. Sehun chuckled.

"Come out," He spoke softly. "There's no point hiding how hungry you are."

Sumin cursed herself feeling embarrassed at the situation but nonetheless, she got out and entered the kitchen where Sehun was looking at her while he preparing some more ingredients for their meal.

"Did you sleep well?" Sehun suddenly asked.

Sumin smiled slightly and nodded, before gesturing at the food scattered on the counter. "Do you need help with that?"

"Yeah," Sehun admitted. "Can you take over chopping these? I still have to fry some eggs."

Sumin nodded and moved closer. Sehun gently handed her a knife while he headed to the other corner to start working. Sumin took a deep breath and started chopping some cilantro from the board, ignoring how her heart was thumping faster every second.

It wasn't long until a pair of arms snakily wrapped around Sumin's waist from behind and a sharp chin was resting on top of her head. Sumin gasped and dropped the knife on the kitchen island. Fortunately, neither she nor Sehun was hit by it.

"I'm glad you're here with me," Sehun spoke as he buried his head onto her hair, making Sumin smile and her cheeks flush.

She tightened his hold around her waist and closed her eyes, leaning against his touch. If it was possible, she wished everyday would be like this.

I'm happy too.

"Thank you for the food," Sehun said out loud before grabbing his pair of chopsticks.

They were both seated across each other with the food prepared on the table. The atmopshere was neither tense nor awkward. Instead, it felt lacking.

Sumin grabbed an egg roll from the middle but instead of putting it on her plate, she placed it on top of Sehun's rice bowl much to the latter's surprise.

"Oh," Sehun nodded at her. "Thank you."

Sumin nodded and started placing some food on her bowl. They both ate in silence, both wanting to start a conversation though hesitant because they were unsure if one will push the other way. Both of them waited for each other to make a move.

It was Sumin who cracked first.

"Dr. Oh," Sumin started, setting her chopsticks down and looking at him.

Sehun did the same thing and sighed. "You can call me Sehun now. We're alone."

"Sehun oppa," His intern nodded. "I think it's time to talk.. about us. I can't wait any longer."

Sehun agreed and reached over to grab both of Sumin's hands on the table. "Let's talk."

Sumin took a deep breath before looking at Sehun who was waiting patiently for her. Sumin sighed.

"I'm sorry," She started. "I'm sorry for pushing you away when you tried to reach out to me, for not telling you about Joohyun and... for not believing you when you said you love me."

"It's just," Sumin continued. "Joohyun said some things and, I foolishly let them get to me. She told me about the time when you were together and how I can never be good enough for you. She told me I can never replace her and we can never have what you had. I was so hurt... and I was so scared."

"I was scared that they were true," She added. "I was scared because it seemed to have make sense then. She came back and you were pushing me away. Then when you told me you loved me, I was hurt because I thought it seemed so easy for you. I had to run away before I got hurt but in the end, I was still hurt. I hurt you as well so I'm sorry, for everything."

Sumin felt the corners of her eyes wet and blurry. Only then did she realize that she may have been on the verge of tears. She did not want Sehun to see her cry again, so she removed her hands from his and looked away to wipe them.

She heard movement from the seat across her and footsteps moving. It was not long before Sehun knelt in front of her seat with one hand to cup her face and the other to wipe away her tears.

Afterward, he grabbed both of her hands and kissed them gently before pulling back to look her in the eyes.

"Don't be sorry," It was Sehun's turn to speak. "To tell you the truth, I was scared too."

"When we first met," Sehun explained. "You were nothing but a burden to me. You spoke whatever the hell was on your mind and you kept messing up. Even with the way I have been treating you, you took care of me, you always worked hard and I saw you."

"You act like you don't care when you actually do," He added. "And just one day, I found myself thinking of you. When you're there, you're all I see and when you're not, you're all I think about. It was crazy but I could not imagine feeling anything else."

"Then Joohyun came back," Sehun finally admitted out loud. "I got scared. You could leave me just like she did, so I deicded to end it. I thought it was better to hurt you before you hurt me. But just like you, it was worse in the end."

"Seeing you cry and knowing that I was the reason behind those tears," Sehun inched his hand towards her face, to wipe more droplets off. "I couldn't handle it, not when I knew I was hurting someone I love. I'm really sorry Sumin."

Finally.

It was all there. The truth to their words, the truth to how they felt. It was as if a huge weight was taken off their shoulders and there was no more holding back on being free.

Sumin let out a watery laugh, hurriedly wiping the remaining tears before she got off the chair and knelt on the ground to move closer to Sehun.

She pressed her forehead against his before kissing his nose, much to the latter's surprise. When it finally sunk in, he pulled away and tenderly gazed at Sumin.

"I'm not Joohyun," Sumin whispered to him. "I would never leave you. Even if I had a choice, I wouldn't."

"But why?" Sehun asked curiously. "After everything, how could you still choose to stay with someone like me?"

Sumin smiled softly. "Because I love you."

"Do you really mean that?" Sehun asked hesitantly.

Sumin nodded anc cupped Sehun's face before kissing his forehead.

"I"

She kissed his nose.

"Love"

And finally, she kissed his lips.

"You."

Sumin pulled away. "Is that proof enough?"

"No," Sehun frowned.

"What-"

Before Sumin could finish her sentence, Sehun grabbed her by her arms and hugged her, until she was practically on his lap. Sumin squealed and held onto Sehun's shoulders while he held onto her waist.

"Say it one more time," He told her.

Sumin smiled and looked into his eyes, making sure he heard and that he knew she meant every word of it.

"I love you."

"And I love you," Sehun responded, inching closer to brush his lips against hers. "And I'm never letting you go, ever."

"Never?" Sumin looked at him, as if she was looking for assurance.

"Never," Sehun assured her.

And they sealed that promise with a passionate kiss.

"Someone woke up on the right side of the bed today," Misuk spoke as she watched Sumin happily skip into the Resident's Room. "Actually, you've been like that for the last 48 hours. Mind telling me what's going on?"

"W-What do you mean?" Sumin worriedly asked when she realized that indeed, she had been overtly zest in the past few days.

Misuk looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Nothing. You just... seem happier lately. After everything from the past week, something seemed to have changed."

Sumin looked at her and smiled.

"I just decided not to dwell in the past," She said. "That's all."

It wasn't exactly a lie either. After she and Sehun talked a few days ago, they both did agree to forget every bad thing that had happened and move forward with their relationship. She was happy and she loved him just as much as he loved her.

"Hm," Misuk looked at her skeptically. "Alright. Anyway, it's lunch time. Do you want to go out and eat? Taehyung found this new place we can go to."

"I can't," Sumin quickly responded. "I have to, uh, stay on duty and check on Mrs. Nam. You know, to see if her wound needs cleaning. Maybe Han and Kento."

Before Misuk could even respond, Sumin excused herself and hurriedly ran out of the room, waving at Taehyung who was just about to enter as she made her exit. Taehyung looked at her questioningly before he turned to Misuk who had the same expression as he did.

"What's wrong with her?" He asked.

Misuk shrugged. "I don't know. She's been like that since Monday. It's kind of creeping me how jolly she is."

Taehyung looked at the door, wondering what could have happened from the last time they spoke to when they went back work a few days ago that made Sumin so elated; however, he knew.

Taehyung was not stupid, and he was well aware that Sumin was not the only one who came back to the hospital in high spirits.

Taehyung smirked.

"I wonder."

Sumin hid in a corner, a few feet away from the resident's room, taking a few deep breaths.

She felt awful for not telling her friends about everything that had happened but at the moment, Sumin really just wanted Sehun for himself.

Over the weekend, they both agreed not to make their relationship public yet. They had to remain professional on hospital grounds and the fact that they were doctor-intern and in a relationship may give people the wrong idea.

So in the meantime, their relationship consisted of private restaurants, dinner and cuddles at Sehun's apartment, sneaky glances at work, and late night phone calls.

Sumin glanced at the side to see that her friends have not come out of the room so she calmly stepped out of the corner and headed straight to Sehun's office, bowing to higher doctors whom she encountered on the way.

She fixed the tendrils of her hair then took another deep breath before knocking on Sehun's office. After hearing his soft response, Sumin opened the door and entered the room. Upon seeing Sumin, Sehun's face lit up and he closed his laptop to look at her.

"Hey," Sumin greeted shyly.

Sehun opened his arms and Sumin immediately walked towards him, letting him pull her until she sat on his lap. She giggled when Sehun started peppering kisses all over her face, ending it with one big smooch on her lips before he pulled away.

"How was your day?" Sehun asked.

"Tiring," Sumin let out a little yawn. "But I'll be okay. I just need more tea."

"Hmm," Sehun hummed. "Well, it's noon already. Do you want to eat?"

Sumin nodded. "The café is serving roasted fish today so-"

"Not in the café," Sehun interrupted her. "Let's go somewhere nice."

"But-"

"I know this restaurant downtown," Sehun interrupted her. "No one will see us there."

Sumin smiled and let out a little nod. "But still, what-"

"If someone from the hospital sees us," Sehun quickly spoke. "Just say that you're accompanying me in meeting some professors."

Knowing that there was no point in arguing with Sehun, Sumin finally agreed. Sehun chuckled before pressing his lips against hers and pulling away as Sumin got off his lap and held out her hand.

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