This is it.

 

This is her chance to redeem herself as a human being. She could have been born as a cat or a dung beetle or a hanger, but no. She was born into this world as living, breathing, laughing, crying weirdo of a human being. Animals and inanimate objects have less complications than her right now and she isn't liking it one bit.

 

Even if she decides to go ahead and pick Sehun up from the club, she takes her time on the way. It's not like he's going anywhere at this hour. She assumes he's probably passed out in one of the VIP rooms since he's associated with the club owner.

 

Priceless. She snorts at the mental image of a sprawled and drooling Sehun while upbeat music and flickering lights continue to enhance the tragedy of it all.

 

She then scoffs to herself annoyed, recalling the fact that she had to go out of her way and call his phone again just to get the address of the club.

 

As she stands in front of the grimy building, she mentally reminds herself to keep it together. No need to cause a scene since Sehun's managed to do that ahead of time.

 

What am I doing again? And why???

 

She clears awkwardly before approaching the friendly-looking bouncer. “Um...hi. I--”

 

“Proceed right in, ma'am.” He gestures towards the entrance with a welcoming smile.

 

“Um...no,” She quickly retorts. “Actually, I'm here for Sehun?”

 

“Sehun?” He gives her a puzzled look.

 

“Giant freak who won't leave the club, because he's piss drunk,” She says in one breath, but the bald man continues to look at her unsure. She then adds with much reluctance, “Quite handsome.”

 

“OOOOOHHH. The model.” He claps as if reminiscing on a fond memory. “You must be his girlfriend.”

 

“No, no. Let's stop making that a thing.” She forces a smile, mentally killing Sehun over and over.

 

“Why else would he relentlessly call for you?” He responds with an amused grin as he folds his arms across his chest.

 

“Because he's lost his ing mind?”

 

The aged bouncer roars in laughter. “Alright, I'll humor you with that one.” He then continues with a shrug, “He's not here anymore.”

 

“What??????” She widens her eyes, internally panicking.

 

“He kind of just burst out here yelling profanities to the staff saying that he'll remember their faces and names and that he'll just go look for you himself instead.”

 

She furrows her eyebrows in bewilderment. “...what?”

 

“I'm pretty confused myself too, girly.”

 

Sehun doubted that she'd come. That's already a given. But now, she's faced with a bigger problem than before. She has to hunt him down in an immense city late in the night, slowly turning into early morning. Did he do this on purpose or is he really that intoxicated??

 

“That idiot,” She mutters under her breath, slowly growing irritated.

 

“That I can agree with.”

 

They exchange knowing looks as she tries to figure out where to look first.

 

“Did you see which direction he went??” She asks, running one hand through her hair. If I was an idiotic, drunk, reckless, stupid  looking for me, where would I go???

 

“I think down by that 7-Eleven, but I'm still not too sure.”

 

She looks towards her left and lets out a sharp sigh. Just as she's about to ask the bouncer another question, her phone interrupts her.

 

“Hello?” She answers half-annoyed and half-worried.

 

“Yes, hello. Is this Bambi?” A mellow female voice inquires from the other line.

 

“Yes, this is she.” Half of her mind is still wondering where on earth Sehun could've headed.

 

“Um... Mr. Oh is in the emergency room right now and he referred you as his guardian. May I know your relationship with the patient?”

 

Her ears ring at the mention of his name and instantly, her attention is drawn to the caller. “Wait. What happened to him?”

 

“He's injured in the--”

 

“Is it bad?” She asks before the woman could finish.

 

“Ms. Bambi, if you don't mind...”

 

I DO MIND THANK YOU VERY MUCH! “Roommate. I'm his roommate,” She calmly answers, feeling a sense of relief wash over her.

 

“Your full name?”

 

“Um...can't I just go there and actually sign the papers?”

 

“Of course! Sure!” She bursts a little too loudly and then whispers, “I'm so sorry. It's just that he mentioned—you know what? Doesn't matter. You...go ahead and do that.”

 

Is this nurse high? “...okay. I'll see you in a bit, nurse...?”

 

“Poppy. Nurse Poppy.”

 

“Right.” Bambi nods her head before hanging up. Her eyes dart towards the curious man standing in front of her. “Looks like the mystery's solved.”

 

“Your boy alright?” He chuckles while adjusting his black shirt.

 

“He's NOT my boy,” She snaps with a stone cold expression.

 

“It sounded like he was.” He shrugs with a subtly impish smile.

 

“Whatever. I'm leaving.” She sends him a dismissive wave before hailing a taxi.

 

The last thing she needs is to get into an argument with some burly, middle aged bouncer early in the morning.

***

As soon as she arrived in the hospital lobby, she managed to find the buzzed nurse she was talking to over the phone. While she signed the necessary papers, Poppy shyly gushed on about how lucky Sehun was for having a girlfriend like Bambi. Which then led Bambi to clarify in a miffed manner that she's only his roommate and that she actually mentioned that minor detail over the phone. It took a lot of effort, on her part, to not ask whether Poppy popped some pills or shot herself some morphine on the job.

 

“Oh! You must be the girlfriend!” The doctor, Bambi assumes, greets her in the emergency room with a bright smile as she writes something down on her pad.

 

AGAIN?? Is EVERYONE in this hospital high???? “Roommate. The roommate. I specified that. It's in the papers,” She retorts impatiently.

 

“Okay. Well, he's got a minor fracture here on his right forearm,” She explains in a professional tone, but turns to glance at Sehun playfully. “Nothing to get riled up about, am I right, sir?”

 

He only nods and shares a warm smile.

 

Bambi then thanks the heavens that he seems completely sober as far as she's concerned.

 

The doctor's attention reverts back to her. “Whenever you're ready to go, you may take him home. We've applied some ice to reduce the swelling before putting the splint on. Here is the prescription for the painkillers he's going to need for the coming weeks.” She hands the piece of paper with barely readable writing to Bambi and continues, “Do come and see me next week, just so we can see how the progress of the healing is going. Other than that, make sure he gets a lot of rest. Looks like chore duties will be all on you for awhile.”

 

Bambi fakes a smile as the doctor leaves the premises. She scans their surroundings awkwardly before her eyes fall on him. “Does it hurt?”

 

“Yeah, a bit.” He winces at the slight movement of his one arm. “But not like kick you in the balls painful.”

 

“Good.” She manages a small smile, still keeping a distance from him. “What happened anyway?”

 

He lets out a small chuckle. “Stupidly tripped over some crack on the sidewalk. Mailbox in front of me...” He proceeds to demonstrate with his better arm how it got injured. “...and now here we are.”

 

“Right,” She replies shortly, wanting to know if he managed to call 911 on his own or someone actually spotted him in the middle of God only knows where with a gashed arm.

 

“Bambi?” Sehun calls, snapping her back into reality.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Thank you,” He says sincerely, almost in a whisper.

 

Bambi finds her lips slowly curving upwards at his genuine statement. “Let's get you home.”

 

Both the taxi and elevator ride are spent in silence. It's still a bit uncomfortable facing each other after the intensity of their fight even if it has been a couple of weeks.

 

Something lurches inside of her as they continue on the way home, not saying a word to one another. She feels like her neck is going to break from avoiding his face the entire time. No matter how she thinks about it, the only right moment to actually utter anything is when they arrive in the loft.

 

“Do you need anything else? Are you hungry? Thirsty?” She asks as soon as they set foot in the kitchen.

 

“Water. I guess...” He replies as he scratches the back of his neck, rather surprised at how attentive his roommate's being.

 

She quickly shuffles around the room to pour him a glass.

 

“You should sleep,” He suggests.

 

“No use in doing that now.” She shrugs and hands him what he requested. “Unless you want me to get all cranky.”

 

“Wouldn't want that,” He jokes lightly as he sips in silence.

 

Their eyes meet and she leans towards the kitchen counter. The air around them remains untouched and still, just like their gazes.

 

“I'm sorry,” She finally says.

 

“Bambi--”

 

“I'm sorry. For lashing out on you like that. I...didn't have to say all those mean things to you. I understand that you were just trying to help...somehow.”

 

For a few seconds, he only stares at her perplexed. Is this really Bambi??

 

“I'm sorry too,” He whispers. “For everything. I'm sorry for pushing you too far, wanting to know more about your past when you clearly didn't want to share that story. I'm sorry for uttering those meaningless, but hurtful words. I was angry. You're not...'no one'...to me, okay?” He feels a sudden pang in his heart at the memory. “And I'm sorry about going through so much fuss just to get you down to the club and then...to the hospital because of my stupidity.”

 

She sighs and blurts out, “Do you really like getting pointlessly drunk or is that just a thing these days?”

 

He chuckles, detecting the subtle amused tone in her question. “It's...kind of my way of dealing with...stuff...temporarily.”

 

“Well, that shouldn't be one of the ways,” She points out while trying to explain herself at the same time, “There's a reason why I said 'pointlessly'.”

 

Letting out a deep breath, she replays the recent series of unfortunate events in her head and takes a step near him.

 

“As for the drunk teenage mess you were, which led to this...” She knowingly looks at his injured arm. “I'm glad I'm around to...see if you're okay.”

 

She clears and asks cautiously, “Do you not...have any family?”

 

“Parents passed away a long time ago. Older brother's out of the country,” He answers as if it isn't a big deal.

 

“Right.” She swallows a lump down . “I'm sorry about your parents.”

 

“Nah...” He smiles and waves at her dismissively. “I was one. I could barely remember what they were like.”

 

She could only stare at the ground ashamed. It doesn't even take a fight for her to find out a little about his past. Sandara was right about her brokenness defining who she is.

 

“Aaron...” She unconsciously starts, slowly looking up at him, “The last guy who lived here... he um...”

 

“You don't have to,” He softly says while giving her a reassuring smile.

 

“No, I want to.” She nods to herself, finally choosing to let go of whatever barrier she held up in front of him. “He...he and I were in a happy relationship...or so I thought. Him living here was supposed to be temporary until he found a better place, but we fell in love and...why not, right? Nine months of bliss and then...”

 

Her expression turns glum. She's told this story so many times, but she still couldn't quite pinpoint why it affected her greatly. “It just happened, you know? Everything was fast and slow at the same time. Just this...big blur. And then the car came...and everything went still. So still. Like this weird force had taken over.”

 

She begins to reveal all the emotions and details that she forgot to fill in before. It all sputters out like wave after wave in the ocean at night.

 

His eyes stay on her as he listens eagerly. Taking in each sequence of the story while studying the littlest changes in her facial expressions.

 

“That was a lot to take.” He shares a warm smile.

 

Is this guy for real???? She wrinkles her nose in annoyance. “Well, sorry for sharing.”

 

Sehun instantly shakes his head while waving a hand in panic. “No. I meant for you. At that time.” He sighs in remorse. “How hurt you must've felt and still feel.”

 

Her expression instantly changes, unveiling the fact that she's moved by his words.

 

“Yeah. I never had any closure,” She agrees with a sad and faint smile. “If he could've just...told me why.”

 

She pauses before continuing, “The rest keep saying that he never deserved me. That I deserved someone better. But what if the fact is the other way around? That I never deserved him? That we never deserved each other.”

 

Memories of her and Aaron flood her mind, but this time, she sees it in a different light. Some of the smiles she shared with him don't seem so sweet anymore, but greedy. Some of the words he uttered so close to her ear weave into a humongous web of lies. Some of the romantic gestures they offered to each other equates as conditional as opposed to sincere.

 

Her frown grows bigger, but she realizes just exactly how different everything looks from another angle. “As the saying goes, 'There are people that are right for you. There are people that are wrong for you. But there are people that you just...choose.' What hurt the most with Aaron is that I chose him. But I never got to know if he chose me.”

 

“He didn't.” The words flow out of his mouth quicker than he expected. “And that was what was wrong with him. If he chose you, he wouldn't have...strayed somewhere else.”

 

“How would you know?”

 

He lets out a deep sigh and darts his eyes away from her. “Because our exes are practically the same.”

 

She gazes up at him surprised as he reveals, “She cheated on me numerous times. I just...I loved her so much that I decided to see the best in her instead of the worst. I'm not gonna lie. She had a kid and I kind of grew attached to her as well. So, it was hard to leave.”

 

Kyungsoo's student?

 

“But soon enough, my blindness got the best of me and she asked me to move out, because someone else was moving in.” His gaze finally meets hers. “The dad.”

 

“Wow.” Her eyes soften as she resists the urge to impulsively hug him.

 

Why? Why is he telling me all this after I repeatedly hid my own pathetic excuse of a past? Where's the Sehun who teases me at no end?

 

“So, I'm grateful to a lot of you.” He smiles as he nears her. “Especially you.” His smile slowly turns into a smirk. “Even if I did meet your eye crud first before you.”

 

There he is. She sneers with her classic look of annoyance, “What? Do you have some sort of eye crud ?”

 

“No.” He laughs lightly at her reaction and decides to change the topic, “Noticed you're wearing something special. Little one.”

 

Bambi looks down at the sweater he gave on her birthday. “Yeah, well...” She avoids his eyes and sasses, “You really need to stop calling me that if you want to be friends.”

 

“Friends?” He questions, wondering if he heard right.

 

“Yeah,” She says with a casual nod.

 

“As in...?”

 

She furrows her eyebrows and sarcastically throws, “No. The DVD box set of the TV show, Friends.”

 

He resists guffawing too soon at her deadpan remark. “But I like calling you little one. You're so tiny. Look at you. The top of your head can barely reach my neck!”

 

“That's an overexaggeration.” She sends him a dismissive wave and almost immediately, he pulls her close to him.

 

She glares up at a smirking Sehun, hoping to God her cheeks aren't turning red. But sure enough, he was right about the top of her head schlumping just a little above his shoulder.

 

Well, it's not exactly my fault he was born with long limbs.

 

Getting back to her senses, she shoves him away and spouts, “Fine. But it means I can call you head.”

 

“Deal!” He cheers with a bright grin.

 

“What?” She turns to him confused.

 

“Deal! Go ahead.” His expression remains unfazed.

 

She narrows her eyes. “What about doucheface?”

 

“Deal.” He shrugs.

 

“Asshat?”

 

“Deal.”

 

“Noodle noob.”

 

“Deal.”

 

“What is the matter with you?!” She freaks out at how casual he's acting.

 

He waves his fractured arm with a mischievous grin in response, but groans slightly at the pain from doing so.

 

She instantly rolls her eyes at the notion. “Alright. Just go to bed. ing prick.”

 

“Good night, little one! Or should I say, good morning?” He skips off towards the direction of his bedroom and keeps his gleeful aura up.

 

“Just go. Before I smack your head on the sink.” She shoos him, slowly growing impatient.

 

“Feisty little one,” He teases and he's immediately met by her death glare. He quickly looks away in fear, but cheers, “We're friends! You said so! No backing out!”

 

“STRICTLY PLATONIC friends!” She emphasizes loudly, “And I'm THIS close to changing my mind.”

 

“About being strictly platonic?” He wiggles his eyebrows cheekily.

 

Her jaw clenches as she gives the same glare from a few seconds ago.

 

“Night!” He shouts a little too high pitched as he scampers off into his room.

 

She snorts at the sight, but bites down a smile from coming on. Without a thought, she blurts out, “Gorgeous piece of .”

 

What? Her eyes widen at her unexpected words.

 

“No,” She denies out loud, “No. No.” That never happened. She continues to convince herself as she runs towards the living room and screams into one of the cushions.

 

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

AN: 

YAAAAAAAAAY! *throws confetti*

I don't like prolonging angsty stuff (was that angsty? Idk goodbye *shoots self*). Just a lil' head's up that these two have got a WHOLE LOT ahead of them. So, if you're not into that, it's okay to hate me. But if you're into that, then let's hug and form an appreciation club, my friend!

Catch y'all next week with another chapter! xx