Author’s Note: Students start high school at the age of seventeen years old in South Korea, unlike other countries where students start from a younger age. So they started college usually at the age of twenty years old.

*****************************************************

Sehun knew, it was only a matter of time before either his mother or father would summon him and lecture him.

It was his mother, apparently.

He sighed and walked to his mother’s beautiful sitting room, and readied himself for what’s coming.

His mother sipped her tea thoughtfully, before finally addressing him.

“You don’t seem to be managing your wife well, Sehun-ah”

A direct attack, obviously.

“What do you expect from her, Omma? She’s thrown cold-bloodedly into a wedding with a stranger”

“She should be grateful if she’s in her right mind. She wouldn’t be able to get you so easily had it not because of an arranged marriage”

“She didn’t even want me at all, Omma. She never met me before”

“I know, but you’ve been married for two months and I don’t see her behaving properly”

“Omma, she’s behaving well. She doesn’t go out clubbing or sleeping around”

“Sehun-ah, you know I don’t tolerate vulgar language”

“It’s the truth”

“She is indeed unlike your high school girlfriend, I’m so glad we’ve gotten rid of her, but Irene is not exactly obedient either”

He said nothing to that.

“Control her properly, Sehun-ah. Or I will”

“...........Ne, Omma”

*********************************************************

Sehun didn’t meet his wife at all that day, but it’s not the first time this was happening.

Irene was avoiding him and his family as best as she could, leaving the house early in the morning everyday and coming home late in the evening.

They met in the bedroom, but they barely talked at all, even there.

She would always be studying, or going straight to the bathroom to shower, then to bed, sleeping directly afterwards.

She’s merely a roommate, Sehun thought, not a wife.

Still, in whatsoever definition, they were legally wedded.

If he had any other choice, he would be just like another young man his age. Starting university and enjoying probably the freest time in his life.

No one in his status ever really lived free, actually.

He’s only twenty years old. A few months ago, he was still wearing his high school uniform. Now, he already had the headache of marriage.

He knew the schedule of her classes and she was preparing her thesis, so he let her be. However, they need to talk that day, it cannot be postponed anymore.

***************************************************

When it was 11 PM and Irene was still not home, Sehun decided it was high time for him to pick her up.

She’s in the library, no doubt. This would be the fifth time of the month she’s doing this, falling asleep in the library, going home in the morning to shower and change, then going back to the campus, erasing any need to meet him or his family at all.

His two older brothers and sister all lived in their own mansions already. He’s the maknae son and his parents wanted him to live there with them for as long as it was possible. They wished for Irene to dine with them during breakfast and dinner, which she rarely complied.

The library was quiet, though not empty. Students from the med school were cramming more facts into their brain for the nearest exam or finishing papers. No one could accuse these rich young people for not working hard, really. At least not from the med school. They all knew what was expected of them.

He walked silently through rows and rows of desks, until he found her.

Sighing again, he sat across from her.

She slept with her hands as the pillow, breathing softly. Her ponytail created a fountain of smooth dark brown locks on one shoulder.

Whatever happened, he would have no reasons to complain that his wife was not pretty enough.

In fact, when it was decided by his grandfather and father that he would marry her, he agreed simply after seeing her picture once.

She was beyond beautiful, this little lost wife of his. She’s enchanting.

He understood why her closest friends were very protective of her.

Seulgi, Wendy, Yeri and Joy cornered him at the wedding, when Irene was already upstairs, threatening to destroy his life if he ever made her suffer.

He never made her suffer. She suffered because of herself.

And that needed to stop or at least lessen.

He then touched her shoulder.

“Noona. Irene Noona. Wake up”

She sat up with a start.

“Sehun-ssi, what are you doing here?”

“Picking you up, of course, Noona. What else?”

“I’m – I have tons of things to do”

“We need to talk, Noona. Jigeum” he said, gathering her books and papers.

Irene blinked her sleepiness away as Sehun divided the books that had the library’s label and the ones that had none. He picked up her notes, put her laptop into her bag, and carried everything away.

Without looking back, he knew she was following him.

****************************************************

They went to a coffee shop near the campus, sitting facing each other.

“Have some of your coffee, Noona. Then eat your sandwich. I’m going to talk about something heavy. You’ll need it”

Irene was feeling very tired and sleepy. She knew they needed to talk, and avoiding him did not mean the need evaporated.

She sipped half a glass of her iced coffee, feeling the kick of caffeine, before she took a deep breath and told Sehun, “Ahrasseo. Malhebwa. What is it?”

“Noona. I’ll give you what you want most”

Irene raised her eyebrows.

“Don’t pretend you know what I want, Sehun-ssi”

“Oh, I believe I do. It’s time. You want more time”

That made her sat still.

“I’m the maknae son of Oh family, Noona. I’m only twenty years old. All my brothers and sister married when they were a lot older than twenty. If it wasn’t because of grandfather's, I wouldn’t have married this soon. I would have finished college, went to the army, then get my master degree. Only then, would I marry someone. College is four years, the army is two years, and master degree is another two. Eight years. It will be eight years before my family is really pressing us to have a child”

Irene’s stomach churned when she heard his last word.

“Let’s have an eight years truce, Noona. You can study at much as you want, before you need to give a child to my family. We can live as friends under one roof, and that’s it. You complained we don’t know each other at all, then let’s get to know each other during these eight years”

She sat at the edge of her seat and clung to every word he was saying.

“Eight years?”

“Ne. Either that, or I let you keep on avoiding me. It’s bad for both of us, Noona. Because divorce is not an option for us”

Irene looked down at her hands.

“There’s always a first in everything”

“Do you want to be the first person that has a divorce in the distinguished Bae family?”

“......no”

“Neither do I” he deadpanned. “Noona, you have known from a long time ago you will not be able to marry out of your own will, right?”

“.......ne”

“And you hate ours because you feel it’s too sudden, right?”

“Ne. I – I always thought at least I would be able to know my husband for a year or two before saying the vows”

“Our marriage has happened, Noona. There’s no turning back”

“I know”

“I promise I will not touch Noona for eight years”

Eight years is an awfully long time, Irene thought.

The thought shocked her so much she quickly shook her head.

“Unless Noona wants it otherwise”

“No. I want it no other way. Eight years sounds great. I think I will be perfectly ready to um—try to be a mother in eight years”

“Good. And Noona?”

“Yes?”

“I’m not your enemy”

“Sorry?”

“I’m not your enemy, Noona”

Irene stared at him.

“I’m –“

“I’m not out to get you, or hurt you. Or humiliate you in any way.  I wish you would understand that. There’s really no need to keep running away from me”

They stared at each other for some time before she exclaimed, “I apologize”

“Accepted”

“I think I’ve been – unfair to you. You need to understand that it’s so hard to suddenly get marry with someone I don’t know and wake up beside him in bed everyday”

“I understand, Noona. Really. Now that we make things clear, maybe you can have breakfast with my parents every morning. The wives of my brothers and my sister’s husband all do that when they still lived with us”

“Ahrasseo”

“Are we OK now?”

“We will be” she smiled a little.

He smiled back, and that was a good start.

************************************************

“I really do apologize” she said in bed later that night.

“And I really do accept it, Noona. Told you that already”

“I – how do we begin to –“

“Be closer?”

“Ne”

“Well, for starter, Noona” Sehun began, as he leant with his elbow and loomed closer to her.

Irene instantly tensed. It’s the first time in two months that he moved close to her in bed.

She turned to him, with terror in her eyes.

“There you go”

“What?”

“You need to see me, Noona”

“See you?”

“Ne. You’ve been avoiding to look at me, or you see right through me. You can’t even bear to see your husband, Noona. And that’s far from friendly”

“.........I’m—“

“You’re sorry. Ahrasseo”

She gulped and looked away. He’s far too close. She could feel his breath fanning her cheek.

“Talk to me, Noona. How can we know each other if you keep treating me like I’m not here”

“I will. Mo – move back” she replied, putting her hand on his chest and pushing him away.

“Good night, Noona. Remember, breakfast with my parents tomorrow”

“Ne”

*******************************************************

Things were more bearable afterwards.

Instead of avoiding him, Irene had turned to treat him like a new friend. They talked now, and she told him her plans of the day, and he did the same. They went to the campus in one car and talked more.

She learnt that he wasn’t a person that liked to talk a lot, so he preferred to listen to her chat.

He learnt that she ate a lot all the time, without gaining any weight at all.

She found out that he let her do whatever she wanted, as long as she obeyed the ground rules.

He found out that she’s incredibly interesting to be with and he really didn’t mind spending the weekend watching her study and talking about random stuffs from time to time, rather than hanging out with his friends.

She knew that he couldn’t eat spicy food, loved sweet drinks, and enjoyed reading books. Like, he literally could not move from his bed on Sunday at all, to finish reading a book.

He liked one thing though, the fact that she looked at him when they spoke. She wasn’t like that before.

********************************************

On the sixth month of their marriage, Irene was about to present and defend her thesis. The night before, she couldn’t sleep at all.

“Quit reading already, Noona. I’m sure you’ve memorized everything in your thesis by now”

“No. I could forget it tomorrow. You know how nervous people could be. Or maybe I should read these medical journals once more. Sometimes people are too focused with the thesis and couldn’t answer the general questions”

“I know one thing for sure, Noona. You won’t be able to focus when you’re sleep deprived”

“Oh believe me, Sehun-ssi, I can”

“Go to bed now, Noona”

“I’ll sleep just after one more time reading this”

And then he did something unthinkable.

He marched to her and bodily carried her to the bed.

“YAH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? SEHUN!!!”

He would have thrown her to the bed had she was not clinging to his neck in a death grip.

He put her down slowly then, sitting beside her in bed.

She hadn’t let go of her hold, though.

“I’ve put you down, Noona”

She let him go as if touching him burnt her.

She cleared and tidied her hair.

“I had my arms around you because I was afraid I’ll fall”

“I know. I brought Noona to bed because you don’t want to listen to me. You can be so annoying sometimes”

She laughed before finally giving in and lied down.

She did need to sleep after all.

**************************************************

When she finished, she excitedly searched for him, but he wasn’t there.

He had promised he would wait until she’s done and they would have a huge lunch together.

“Where’s Sehun-ssi?”

Seulgi approached her with a serious face.

“He was here until fifteen minutes ago. His grandfather passed away. I think you should go to him”

Irene dashed to the parking lot, calling her driver on the way.

The driver definitely knew where she needed to be, racing to the hospital beside the university.

Her in-laws were all there. Sehun’s parents, brothers and sister. But Sehun himself was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Sehun-ssi?” she asked her mother in-law.

“We don’t know. We can’t find him. Maybe he’s getting some air outside. I tried to call him but he wouldn’t pick up. I guess he just needs some time alone. He’s very close with his grandfather”

“He must be very sad, Ommonim. Why do you let him be alone? You have a legion of bodyguards, why don’t you search for him?”

His mother was speechless because she was being reprimanded by her youngest daughter in-law.

Irene was so annoyed she turned around and ran outside.

She might have to pay for that later, but she didn’t care for now.

She tried to call him but he wouldn’t accept.

The hospital was too big for her to search for him on her own.

Not knowing what else to do, she texted him.

Where are you?

Unexpectedly, her phone vibrated with a reply.

Rooftop, he wrote.

*******************************************************

It was cloudy and windy.

The rooftop was so wide, made into a park for the patients to relax and feel refreshed.

Because it was so windy that day, the rooftop park was empty.

She found him at one corner, behind the trees.

He was sitting on a bench in the corner, his palm closing his eyes, crying.

She approached him carefully, putting her hand on his arm.

“I’m so sorry for your loss” she said gently.

When he turned to her, his eyes were full of tears, wetting his cheeks.

“He’s my entire childhood” he confessed sadly.

Maybe it was how broken he looked that made her reached out and put her hand on her shoulder.

It was entirely normal considering the situation, but Irene was caught off guard when Sehun pulled her closer and hugged her waist, putting his face on her belly.

She hugged him back and he sobbed in her arms.

Some time later, after his sobs subsided, he leant back on the chair, both his hands reaching for hers.

“How’s your thesis defense, Noona?”

She pulled her hand from his hold and wiped his tears.

“They’re giving me an A”

“Yeokshi, you’re Bae Joo Hyun anyway. At least there’s one good news today”

“I think you need to be with your family, don’t you think so?”

“Noona is my family as well”

“We need to prepare for the funeral. Come on, Sehun-ssi, let’s go”

He got up and walked with her to the elevator.

Their hands still clasping each other.

**************************************************

Author’s Note:

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