“We're JUST friends, okay?” Bambi insists in a low voice as she glances at Sehun chatting with his brother by the far end of the roof terrace.

 

Though it's only been twenty-four hours since the fiasco of a mess in the loft, two of her friends are back at it again by interrogating her on a rather unnecessary topic. She hasn't the faintest idea where all this suspicion is coming from, but she promises herself she's going to end it here and now.

 

“Yeah, okay. Sure. That's what they all say,” Sandara remarks sarcastically.

 

“But you think he's attractive, right?” Amber implores with keen eyes.

 

“Don't we all? He's a friend and a roommate who happens to be super attractive. Do I have ual feelings for him? No. But do I think, objectively, that his looks are superior to other men? Yes. Simple as that,” Bambi attempts to explain in a mild manner.

 

“Okay. Then answer this,” Amber says unconvinced, “How is it that none of us except you manage to have your eyes linger around his whenever you get a glimpse of him?”

 

“What?” Bambi widens her eyes, feeling her cheeks slowly get hot.

 

“Hey! Mine do too! But that's all in motherly love, of course,” Sandara interjects with a cheerful smile.

 

“WELL??” Amber an eyebrow at her best friend, waiting for a proper answer.

 

“I...don't know what you're talking about!” Bambi exclaims, trying to cover her face as her eyes unintentionally dart towards Sehun's rear.

 

“Your eyes were LITERALLY just there. I SAW YOU,” Amber points out in a raised voice.

 

“You did? When?” Bambi asks, feigning complete ignorance.

 

“JUST NOW!” Amber yells in disbelief.

 

“I did NOT. Will you--?!” Bambi immediately shushes her.

 

Amber smirks at the sight of her panic-stricken state. “You're blushing like mad right now. Just wanted you to know.”

 

“Because you're embarrassing me!” Bambi avoids her eyes and mentally commands her cheeks to turn back to its normal shade.

 

Sandara, who decides to keep shut and remain a mere witness in all of this, giggles to herself in pure amusement.

 

“Hey, little one. You alright?” Sehun's worried voice makes the three girls turn to him instantly.

 

Bambi's eyes flutter up as her cheeks grow warmer. “Yeah, I just--”

 

“I know. You get hot easily. The temperature is pretty crappy right now. You want me to get your cool pack?” He offers with a small smile.

 

“No, no. I'm fine. I can just...fan myself.” She stupidly waves her right hand up and down in front of her face.

 

He cracks up at her reaction, but urges with a dismissive wave, “Don't be silly. I'll check the freezer, alright? Stay put.”

 

“Oh, she's not going anywhere,” Amber remarks with underlying smugness as the lanky roommate scurries his way back to the apartment.

 

“You're as red as a tomato,” Seho comments in an amused tone, “Maybe you should stay inside instead.”

 

“That idea would've been brilliant if she was, in fact, turning red because of the heat, older but just as hot version of Sehun,” Sandara retorts, “She's not, by the way. Just want to make that clear.”

 

He chuckles as his gaze turns to her. “Sandara, right?”

 

“Oh, darling. You can call me anything you want.” She winks with a flirtatious smile.

 

“Easy, Dara,” Amber mutters near her.

 

“What? I'm just indicating the flexibility of my nickname.” She shrugs unfazed and bats her eyeslashes at him.

 

“Sandara will do.” He smiles warmly despite her overly amorous behavior. “It's a pretty name.”

 

“You like that? You should hear my phone number.” Her smile turns into a mischievous grin as she giggles heartily.

 

“Oh, good God,” Bambi mumbles, rolling her eyes.

 

Seho lets out chortle, but utters nothing in reply.

 

“Here you go!” Sehun joins them with Bambi's cool pack in hand and places it on top of her head.

 

“THANK YOU,” She says loudly, throwing Sandara a dirty look as she takes her cool pack and dabs it on her cheeks and neck.

 

“What'd I miss?” Sehun asks as he plops next to a slouching Bambi on the lounge couch and props his arm on her head.

 

“Not really something we'd like to--” Amber starts.

 

“Do you really think this is necessary?” Bambi interrupts, scrunching her nose at Sehun.

 

He shrugs her way and eagerly looks at everyone else for an answer.

 

“We were talking about your brother. How come you've never mentioned him before ever?” Sandara chirps with dazed eyes.

 

“I've talked about him way too many times for any of us to count...” He replies, furrowing his eyebrows.

 

Bambi then furiously shakes her head to get Sehun's arm off it and when she finally does, she shoots him a death glare.

 

“Yeah, but you never told me he looks exactly like what God's gift to the world would be,” Sandara counters in a sweet tone.

 

“You DO know we look alike right?” He folds his arms across his chest instead and subtly pouts at Bambi.

 

“Yeah, I know, sweetie. But he's more suitable for my age,” Sandara explains as she gazes at Seho, “You are, aren't you?”

 

“Don't answer that,” Sehun snaps annoyed before his brother could respond.

 

Sandara gasps at his hostile behavior and protests, “And why exactly am I being deprived of my basic human right to information?”

 

“Because he's happily taken,” He proclaims.

 

She immediately frowns at the unfortunate revelation as her eyes stay glued to his brother. “Really???”

 

Seho smiles and nods in confirmation.

 

“Well, that was a bust.” She makes a funny noise with her lips and suggests cheerfully, “Hey, at least we can be friends!”

 

“Sure,” He replies tenderly with a sincere grin.

 

Sandara then turns to her younger female friend. “So Bambi, still absorbing the heat around us???” She asks in order to change the subject.

 

“Not anymore. Thanks to you,” Bambi retorts snippily.

 

“You're more than welcome!” Sandara bubbles with a wide beam as she glances at Sehun and Amber, “How about we fly this kite, hmm? I'm so glad I brought it.”

 

Amber gives her and the pink elephant shaped contraption she's gripping tightly a weird look. Just as she's about to , Sehun nods in agreement and drags both of them to the rails of the roof terrace.

 

“He's a good kid,” Seho starts in a soft tone, watching his brother with a fond smile.

 

“I know,” Bambi replies as an unconscious grin forms on . “That's why he's been here long.”

 

“Thank you for taking him in,” He utters with an appreciative sigh and continues, “I knew that girl wasn't quite right for him. I should've been here at the time, but thankfully you swooped in right on the dot.”

 

“It's not me exactly who swooped in. It was Amber.” She chuckles, recalling the first day Sehun set foot in the loft. “If anything, I have just as much to be grateful for to him as he does to me.”

 

His eyes linger towards her and he couldn't help but stare in pure admiration. “I'm right.”

 

“Pardon?” She turns to him confused.

 

“Nah. It's just something I've been thinking about since I got here,” He responds vaguely as he reverts to watching his younger brother fly a kite with Amber and Sandara, “I'm right. I get what the fuss is all about.”

 

Though Bambi has no idea what he's pertaining to, an uneasy feeling creeps up inside her; as if she's just confessed a big secret she's completely unaware of.

***

The day flew by like an eagle hunting for prey and surprisingly, most of their time was spent in the roof terrace despite the summer heat. Kyungsoo and Jongdae managed to join in on the kite fun, but left as soon as dinner was over, along with the rest of the gang. Seho decided to stay a bit longer, wanting to hang out with Sehun more, while secretly trying to get to know Bambi. Although she remained clueless to his tactics, she actually kept her guard up ever since he's uttered that weirdly ambiguous statement a few hours before.

 

When the late evening sky and chilly breeze graced their presence, Seho finally left the loftmates on their own. He mentally noted that he would attempt another shot at the inner workings of Bambi's mind another time, even if it meant blatantly asking her personal questions. This is a person who's going to be living with his little brother for the years to come. If she turns out to be a sociopath killer thirsty for young mens' bloody deaths, then he'll have to snatch Sehun faster than the roadrunner can even 'beep' his way out of a dangerous coyote situation. That would be the worst case scenario, of course. He was hoping he could entrust Sehun's life with her. So far, he thinks he can.

 

As for the roommates who are currently basking in the wondrous moonlight shining upon the roof terrace, the inevitable topic of exes come about. Though they're both unsure of how it actually made its way out of their mouths and into the air, they opted to deal with it. The subject's going arise at one point in time anyway, so might as well get it out in the open and thrash its nasty horns while it stands.

 

“So, was there anyone before Nichole?” Bambi asks curiously.

 

“No one serious,” Sehun answers with a casual shrug.

 

Her nose suddenly wrinkles in disgust. “So, she was your first love?”

 

He turns to her with a perplexed look and bursts into fits of laughter. As he waves his hands frantically, he says, “No. Not at all.” He then continues, “My first love was...”

 

She glues her eyes on him and eagerly waits for him to finish his sentence.

 

“Was surprisingly one-sided and short-lived.”

 

Her eyes then light up in shock, finding it hard to believe.

 

“She was someone...waaaaay beyond me.”

 

She makes a face at his vague explanation. “Your grandma?”

 

“Witty,” He deadpans with a poker face.

 

“Let me guess. Pretty teacher,” She teases.

 

He shakes his head. “It's complicated. I was pretty young, but I knew what I felt towards her was...new and different.”

 

“How so?” She tilts her head at him intently.

 

“I don't know...” He searches his mind for an appropriate description of the past emotions he felt. “But I remember seeing her and just...”

 

“Your heart went crazy?” She offers.

 

“No. But my palms were sweaty as and I was just...standing there. Still. Like the ocean early in the morning. I couldn't look away and I didn't want to. It felt wrong if I did. She was just...enchanting. In the purest form.” A blurry image of his first love materializes in his brain and he couldn't help but smile at the memory.

 

In the purest form?? “How old WERE you?” She questions confused.

 

“Not too sure. Around 3 or 4?” He replies.

 

She immediately shoots him a look of disbelief. “You had your first love when you were a toddler? You ACTUALLY remember THAT specific time of your life at THAT particular age?” I can barely remember what date it was yesterday...

 

“I told you it was complicated, didn't I?” He pauses and sighs sadly. “It was just that one time and I never saw her again. One day spent together and she was gone.”

 

“That doesn't really sound like love...”

 

“It was to me. I thought about her for months...until my brain couldn't visualize her face anymore.” He frowns at Bambi, getting rather defensive. “She made me feel something besides happiness, sadness, and anger. At the time I didn't actually know, but later on, as the years passed, I realized 'Ah, so that's what it was.' Even if it was just that one day. Because no one else could make me feel the way she did.”

 

She lets out a sigh, not wanting to say anymore. For some odd reason, it's riling her up and she doesn't like the slight rage growing inside her.

 

“Speaking of complicated...” He starts, noticing how quiet she's been. “There's something I always wanted to ask you about Aaron.”

 

“What about him?”

 

“Not really about HIM per se, but the situation involving him.”

 

“Okay...” She drawls and quickly reminds him, “I'm deducting this from your questions by the way.”

 

“Deduct away. I think I still have more than 10 unlike SOME people.” He shares a smug smirk.

 

Her nose instantly scrunches up in irritation. “Just ask the damn question already.”

 

“Would you have left him?” His expression becomes serious as he repeats, “If he lived, would you have left him?”

 

A sarcastic guffaw escapes as she replies, “And be the nasty who broke up with her boyfriend after he got involved in a car accident?”

 

“You know what I'm talking about.” His tone turns somber and soft.

 

“I don't know. Hard to tell, really.” She sighs, thinking of how pathetic she was during that particular moment in her life. “Given that I was so desperately in love with him.”

 

After much mental deliberation, she continues, “I probably wouldn't have in the moment, but eventually...” She exhales deeply and finishes, “It would've been him, not me.”

 

He frowns at her conclusion and murmurs, “You're giving him way too much credit.”

 

“You would agree if you were in my life at the time,” She counters, forcing a smile, as she inquires lightly, “Speaking of exes, how's yours?”

 

“Peachy,” He responds shortly. “Misses you dearly.”

 

“Ha-ha.” She scowls and narrows her eyes at him annoyed.

 

He chuckles at her irritated state as a sudden thought occurs to him. “By the way, just want to give you head's up. I'm gonna be in Japan next month with Seho.”

 

She stares straight ahead, rather stunned at his casual announcement and stays silent. When she's finished mentally processing everything, she slowly turns to him. “Really?” She barely says.

 

“Yeah. Why? Are you gonna miss me?” He teases and leans towards her, his face only inches away from hers.

 

She lets out a scoff and averts her gaze elsewhere. “You wish.”

 

“Even if you end up eating your own words, there's still Snapchat and FaceTime. So, hit me up whenever,” He proposes in a bright tone.

 

“I'd rather not.” She scowls.

 

“Awww. Is that resentment I'm sensing in your voice??”

 

She exhales sharply and hisses, “No, you face. Leave me alone.” As she hastily turns away from him, she tries to run back inside the loft without a hitch.

 

“Awwwwwww, little one! Come here! You don't need to feel bad for me going on a month-long vacation!!!” Sehun coos, catching up to her and sharing a sickly sweet smile.

 

“SHUT UP!” Bambi yells, trying to push him aside.

 

“I'll buy you lots of matcha goodies!” He chirps.

 

Silence abruptly surrounds them and she halts on her steps.

 

“You're an idiot,” She mutters under her breath, dashing past him.

 

A giddy yet mischievous smile forms on his mouth as he shouts proudly, “AN IDIOT YOU'RE GOING TO MISS!!!”

 

She stops again on her tracks to turn towards him and hit his shoulder as hard as she can. As his complaints get lost in the cool air, she walks away and bites down an enraptured smile that's been aching to burst onto her lips.