25.

Excited and nervous.

Those were the words that described Rei’s current state. Sehun had brought her to his family house, wanting to introduce her to his mother and the brunette couldn’t be happier. That meant he trusted her enough to want her to get to know the one person he truly cared about and that made her feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

The said man led her up the stairs to a room located on the far left.

Sehun opened the door and greeted the woman who was lying on the bed reading a novel with a smile. His mother’s health had gotten worse to the point where she had to stay cooped up in her room, on her bed, resting.

“Sweetheart.”

Her voice was a soft whisper. She closed her book, placed it by her side and tightly embraced her son. The brunette couldn’t help but smile at the sight, the urge to see her own mother tugging at her heartstrings.

Mrs. Oh pulled away and affectionately patted her son’s back before locking eyes with Rei, “And you must be Rei. Sehun has told me so much about you.”

The said girl smiled and bowed her head in respect. The fact that Sehun had been talking about her made butterflies flutter in her stomach (In a good way)

“Mother.”

The said woman laughed as the tips of her son’s ears turned red. Deep down, she knew that the couple’s feelings would soon pass the stage of friendship (It was only a matter of time until they did)

“What? Did I say something wrong?”

Rei and her shared a meaningful look while the man simply rolled his eyes and grumbled a “never mind”

Sehun’s phone rang, making him sigh before excusing himself for a moment.

That left the two women by themselves. Mrs. Oh patted the empty spot her son had been previously occupying on the bed, ushering the brunette to come and join her. And she did just that.

Rei was surprised when Sehun’s mother held her hand and softly smiled, “Thank you.”

The brunette blinked, her eyes unfocused and confused. Why was she thanking her?

Noting her perplexed expression the woman chuckled and squeezed Rei’s hand, “for staying beside my son and for making him happy,” her eyes twinkled as she spoke, “Thank you.”

The girl shook her head, “I’m the one who should be thankful for having him in my life. He helped in ways he couldn’t imagine.”

He made me see my worth.

“Thank you for giving birth to such an amazing man.” (Another squeeze)

Mrs. Oh sniffled, that smile of hers still intact, “I was so worried about him.”

Rei blinked her tears away as she attentively listened to the woman’s words.

“Worried he’d be so lost, so alone after I-”

The brunette bit her lip, “Don’t.”

The woman only smiled, biting back a sob as she continued, “After I die.”

A tear fell down her cheek and Rei gently wiped it away.

“But I’m not worried anymore, knowing he’ll have you by his side reassures me.”

Tenderly, Mrs. Oh patted the girl’s cheek, “Take care of him for me.”

Rei gave her a tearful smile.

“I will.”

And that was a promise she vowed to keep. (For the rest of her life)

The young woman smiled and cheerfully waved her hand as she caught sight of her friend, who simply walked right past her without the tiniest bit of acknowledgement, making her frown at his cold treatment and indifference. What was wrong?

She turned her head and called out his name, “Baekhyun!”

The said man stopped in his tracks, his back to her.

Emma tentatively stepped towards him, “Is something wrong?”

The latter chuckled then said darkly, “Everything is.”

He turned around to face her, his hard gaze surprised her.

“What do you mean?”

She was utterly and completely confused, why was he acting this way?

“Isn’t there something you want to tell me?”

Emma pursed her lips in thought. Is there? What is he talking about?

“Something in regards to your new boyfriend perhaps?”

Her eyes widened in surprise, “How did you-”

A smirk played on his lips, “I saw you.”

His face was devoid of emotion whatsoever and that scared her, what happened to her smiling friend?

“When were you planning on telling me? Did that thought even cross your mind?”

Emma bit her lip, “It did. Of course it did. I was just waiting for the right time to-”

Baekhyun scoffed, “Right time? How about never.”

The girl shook her head, her eyes blurring with tears, “Don’t say that. You mean a lot to me Baekhyun you should know that!”

Please don’t do this.

“So you lie to the people you supposedly care about.”

His voice sent shivers down her spine. It was cold. Too cold.

“It’s not like that, I just didn’t know how to tell you,” without hurting you.

She looked at him, her eyes begging, “How did you expect me to tell you that I was dating-”

He interrupted her once again and spat the name “Kim Kai” as it were some kind of venom (and maybe in a way it was).

“I’m sorry.”

Baekhyun closed his eyes, he didn’t want her to apologize. He didn’t want there to be a reason for her to apologize in the first place. He wanted things to go back to the way they were but he knew they couldn’t. They just couldn’t. What’s done cannot be undone. And his ache was too deep to be easily dismissed and forgotten.

“Didn’t I tell you to stay away from him?”

Why didn’t you?

“He’s not as bad as you think”.

He knew that look, it was the one he had whenever she was around. That love-struck look.

“I love him Baek.”

His heart broke for the second time in a row. It tore him in half to hear these words coming out of her lips.

“What about me?”

Emma furrowed her eyebrows.

“Why can’t you see me?” Why? “I’ve been by your side for god knows how long…Yet, you’ve never” you’ve never, “looked my way. Not once,” not once. He blinked back his tears as he continued, “I’ve loved you all along,” all along, “Hoping that someday you’d feel the same,” hoping that someday you’d see me and only me, “but that was just wishful some thinking on my part, wasn’t it?”

His broken state made her heart ache but she couldn’t do anything to ease his pain.

“I’m sorry.”

Baekhyun shook his head with a bitter smile, “Why does it have to be him?”

Why him?

Why?

Why not me?

Emma sniffled, “You don’t really get to choose who you fall in love with,” she gave him a tearful smile as she continued, “It just happens and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Nothing at all.

He chuckled, knowing quite well how truthful her words were, “You deserve better.”

You truly do.

“He’ll only break your heart.”

He looked at the woman his heart yearned for, a woman who wasn’t and would never be his.

“And don’t come crawling back to me when he does.”

With that being said, he turned around and walked away with a heavy heart.

Emma looked at his retreating figure as tears kept on cascading down her face. She lost her friend that day. The man who stuck by her side from the moment she started college. The man who was like a brother to her, akin to family. She had lost him. She had hurt him. And she hated herself for that. For causing him pain. For being oblivious to his feelings (ones she could never return).

She was sorry. So very sorry.

But what good does being sorry do?

It can’t appease her friend’s heartache nor can it restore their friendship.

It can’t do .

It can’t undo what’s been done.

It can’t.

It just can’t.

The moment the brunette pressed play on the stereo, Bi Rain’s “Rainism” filled the studio, prompting the man’s body to move to its smooth beat. Ever since that night, Sehun would come to Kai’s studio once a week to dance, as a way to let out all of his pent-up frustration, courtesy of his stressful days at work.

Kai and he even had a dance-off. Till this day the winner remained undetermined, seeing how both were skilled dancers and had completely different styles a comparison couldn’t be easily made. Kai had even offered to let Sehun teach a few classes but the latter (with much reluctance) had to refuse because of the sheer amount of work he already had on his plate.

The said man had been pleasantly surprised to see Emma once again and was able to catch up with her. It was safe to say that his feelings for her were mainly platonic, he viewed her more like a little sister than anything else, much to Kai’s relief. He could have sworn the man had been glaring at him all throughout their talk, if looks could kill he would have been dead by now (seriously).

Sehun had to admit that Kai’s jealous side was quite amusing.