Sehun’s phone makes that horrid clapping sound against the pavement of the studio driveway as it falls out of his hands. He doesn’t hear Minseok telling him to pick it up because it’s been five years since he last saw her and that wasn’t how it was supposed to be at all. She turns to leave the moment she sees him and Sehun instantly calls out the name that he loves so dearly.

“KANG SEULGI!”

That only makes Seulgi break out into a run but Sehun wastes no time and darts right after her with his longer legs. His heart is racing faster than his legs and it’s getting harder and harder to breathe with the pain growing in his chest. He comes to a sharp halt at the end of the block due to the traffic and curses as he watches Seulgi’s backside grow smaller and smaller in the distance. She slips onto the bus moments before the door closes and Sehun can only watch helplessly as it passes by with his first and only love on board.

“!” He kicks at the ground and a group of female students nearby gasp when they realize who he is. They squeal and call out to him but Sehun dips away towards the alley and dashes back to the studio to find Hera. There’s a look of fear in her eyes when he stomps up to her and holds out his hand.

“Phone.”

She leans back due to the intensity in his eyes as Minseok remains silent. “W-why...?”

“Unlock your phone and give it to me,” Sehun demands calmly despite the burning fire in his stomach. “Now, Hera.”

He doesn’t know what she’s thinking about but after a moment of hesitation, Hera eventually unlocks her phone and slides it into his awaiting hands. Instantly, he searches for Seulgi in her contacts and sends the number straight to his phone before handing it back.

“Tell Kang Seulgi to pick up her phone at nine pm sharp.” It comes out a little more desperate than what he had hoped for. “Just this once.”

Sehun waits until Hera nods then turns to finally pick up his phone off the ground before heading back inside the studio, leaving a speechless Minseok outside with Hera. Never in a million years did he ever think the one person he was looking for would be so close by this entire time and it takes everything in him to not call her right there and then.

Seulgi is already pale to begin with so when she returns home looking whiter than a ghost and shaking as if she had just seen one, Wendy is immediately worried and darts to the door just as Seulgi’s legs finally give out under her.

Wendy gasps. “Dude, are you okay?! What’s wrong?!”

Everything, everything comes rushing back like a boomerang and the tears come at full force. She shakes her head to erase his face but he remains in her brain as a fixed image. Always has and always will.

“Oh Sehun,” Seulgi hiccups and Wendy turns to her with a confused look. “Sehun was my first love.”

Wendy’s already big eyes grow even bigger and Seulgi breaks out into loud painful cries. To others, that may be a simple statement but to Hera and Wendy, it’s the missing puzzle piece to a question they’ve had since meeting Seulgi.

“It’s okay honey.” Wendy instantly wraps her arms around her sobbing roommate and Seulgi clutches onto her tightly while she attempts to calm her down.

Seulgi doesn’t pick up on the first call, nor the second or the third. Sehun calls a total of seventeen times before she finally gives in. She doesn’t say a word after answering but Sehun doesn’t allow her to anyways because the first thing he says is:

“I miss you.”

He repeats it a total of thirty two times while Seulgi silently cries on her bed with her head tucked in between her knees and chest. It just feels so surreal to hear his voice so close again but as much happiness as it brings, there’s just as much pain.

“Do you hate me that much?” Sehun mumbles with a shaky voice. “If I did anything wrong, anything at all, I’m sorry. Please.” He releases a sharp inhale as he tries to hold back his tears. “Don’t run away. Please.”

Silence follows and Seulgi knows she should be the one apologizing but she’s scared to speak because she’s afraid this whole visage will vanish if she does. There’s so much to say but nothing that she can. Seulgi uncurls herself to lie on her bed and tucks the phone between her ear and the pillow. All she can hear is his breathing that has become even within the past few minutes and she wonders what he’s thinking about. Is he angry at her? Does he still love her? Is he going to ask her why she cut him off so suddenly?

“Did you ever think of me… during these past five years?”

Seulgi swallows at his question. When was there ever a day when she didn’t?

For the first time since he called her hours ago, Seulgi finally part her trembling lips to speak.

“Everyday.”

***

He texts her the moment he opens his eyes in the morning until the moment his eyes close to rest at night. She leaves him on read every single time but that’s already more than enough for Sehun. As long as she doesn’t run away again, he’s more than content with being left on read. He sends her pictures of s, of Jongin, of the filming sight and whatever he sees on the road. Seulgi wonders how Jongin has been and wonders how he managed to snatch up the girl of his dreams. She can still recall the days when he use to talk about the quiet girl from San Francisco named Jung Soojung. He was absolutely smitten with her and obviously still is.

It’s about four in the morning when Seulgi awakes to Hera mumbling about Sehun being in their living room. Almost like a natural instinct, Seulgi flips off the covers and sprints out her bedroom to find Sehun standing in their living room. He turns away from Wendy to her when she emerges from the dark hallway and her heart shatters at the sight of his dark circles that drags all the way down to his chin.

“I just wanted to see you,” he says in a quiet breath as Wendy quietly slips back into her bedroom. In reality, Sehun was beginning to fear that she wasn’t real and he needed to see her to validate that she’s back in his life, whether she wants to or not.

She slowly sighs. “Did you just finish a schedule?”

Looking at him hurts.

He nods and she runs a hand through her hair before turning around and motioning to their couch.

“You can sleep on the couch if you don’t want to go back. It’s a pullout bed. There’s blankets and pillows in the clos—.”

She doesn’t get to finish her sentence because his broad chest is suddenly pressed against her back and his arms around wrapped around her to keep her locked in his warmth. His chin digs into the dip between her neck and shoulders and his breath creates a trail of goosebumps when it trickles across her skin. Her body instantly recognizes him and relaxes into him. Even after all these years, he still smells and feels the same.

“I just want to make sure this is real,” he mumbles with his body relaxing and exhausted shoulders slumping against her. “That you’re real.”

Seulgi is defenseless when it comes to him. As much as she tells herself to pull away, her mind and heart can’t do it because his arms still feel like home.

“I’ll leave,” he whispers with exhaustion lacing his words and she’s surprisingly disappointed. “Just let me hold you for a moment longer.”

There’s no answer to how much they stand there with his arms tightly wrapped around her. Eventually his arms unravel and Seulgi slowly turns to face him. His face is unreadable but she knows he’s absolutely exhausted.

“Stay,” she says quietly and he lifts his gaze up to her. “You look beat. At least sleep a bit before you go.”

He moves slightly to sit on the top of the nearest couch and slips his fingers into her hand. She surprises him when she holds onto his index finger like how she use to back in the days. The corner of his lip twitches into a tiny curl and n