CHAPTER 4

Luhan is twenty-seven when he thinks he finally gets a taste of heart break even without falling in love.

He begins to feel it during the early hours of the evening when he enters the yet to be occupied event hall of their main hotel, slowly realizing this is really the reality he has come to. Luhan surveys the area, his parents surely went over the top again –nonetheless Luhan still definitely appreciates the aesthetic and ambiance of the surroundings with a wistful smile. The event room is a sight to behold –fairy lights strategically placed along the pathways together with white flower petals scattered all over the floor while the chandeliers are dimmed to highlight the dreamy aura and the royal blue theme of the event which is about to be celebrated in an hour’s time.

There is a feeling of emptiness that consumes Luhan bit by bit when he closes the door to the event hall. He does not remember himself being this sentimental but a lot of things had changed in the course of a few weeks and certainly this had affected him one way or another as well. Marriage was not something Luhan used to put a lot of thought into before, unconsciously believing that he’d have a say when the right time comes and that he would commit to it with the right person. However that scenario seems to be the furthest thing from possible considering all the events that are currently happening to him.

He walks toward his room, silently pondering about his situation and wondering where it all started to go wrong when he opens the door and sees the familiar back of no other than the man he was bound to marry. Luhan is not even surprised, opting to ignore the stare that Sehun throws towards his direction when the latter hears the door closing. There are no other people in the room so they do not have to act civil with each other but Luhan would rather keep quiet than to spew out a comment and ignite another useless fight with Sehun. It’s not like he is actually giving up on his plan to push Sehun into hating him and breaking off their marriage once it is done, he just does not have the energy to do that right now so he would rather just stay silent for the rest of their time together.

“Are you not going to change into your suit?” But Sehun is the first one to break the silence, turning himself towards the direction of Luhan who has occupied the vacant couch near the doorway. The smaller male dismisses him with a clipped later, voice neither irritated or amused. Sehun takes it with stride, choosing not to push Luhan’s buttons either after sensing how the other is too preoccupied with his thoughts to even look at Sehun in the eyes.

It has been two weeks since their kiss and Sehun is not so sure how to approach Luhan without coming out as too aggressive or directing too much hostility onto the latter. Considering that all they have ever done for the past few months when they are alone together is argue, Sehun thinks it is pretty hard to lower his defenses and approach Luhan as if nothing has ever happened. It does not help either that there are a bunch of questions spiraling in and out of his head whenever he sees the smaller male, his heart painfully reminding him of a yearning that he tried and tried to forget.

An hour passes quickly like that with neither Sehun nor Luhan speaking, both males attention placed onto their respective phones. It is only when someone knocks on their door that they begin to move, Luhan opening the door to welcome a tall and broad man, black hair pushed backed to highlight the charming smile on his face. “Hello I’m Chanyeol, aunt, I mean Sehun’s mother instructed me to get you and Sehun since the party is about to start.” Says the tall male, the deep timbre of his voice surprising Luhan as the latter welcomes him inside the room.

“Please be comfortable and find yourself a seat. I’m sorry just give me a few seconds to change and I’ll be ready.” Luhan responds stiffly, the reminder of his marriage leaving a bitter taste on his tongue. He turns around to get his suit only to be faced with Sehun’s displeased look. “You should’ve changed earlier. Now you’re just wasting our time.” Sehun tells him before standing up to walk towards Chanyeol, completely ignoring the you that Luhan sends his way.

Chanyeol eyes the two males with renewed interest, watching Luhan as he stomps his way towards the bathroom before slamming the door with an obviously irritated face while Sehun merely reacts, simply occupying the vacant space on the couch beside the other tall male. “You want to enlighten me with what’s going on here?” Chanyeol asks Sehun when the man’s attention is finally on him and not his phone. He waits for the latter to respond, furrowed eyebrows suggesting he is thinking way too hard about a simple question.

“Just, never mind us.” Sehun decides to shrug it off although the uneasiness in his movements betray him.

“You don’t have to try and sugarcoat it with me Sehun.” Chanyeol chuckles, “You obviously don’t get along contrary to your mom’s claims that you truly complement each other.” Chanyeol’s voice goes a pitch higher as he mimics the words of Sehun’s mother and thus making the lean male snort in laughter at his best friend’s obnoxious.

Sehun rolls his eyes. “Alright, you’re correct about us not getting along. You know me Chanyeol, and I really just don’t see myself marrying someone right now especially not him.”

Chanyeol smiles, “still a romantic I see. But what’s exactly wrong with your fiancé? He seems nice, intelligent, he’s an heir, and he looks more than fine so why are you not at least civil with him? What made you dislike him so much?”

“I don’t know.” Sehun tries to act indifferent. “I just don’t like him. I don’t like this whole setup to be quite honest. Even when I don’t like him, I think we both don’t deserve to be tied up like this in a loveless marriage. Everyone deserves a shot at love so why can’t the both of us get the same chance to find someone we could fall in love with?”

Chanyeol sighs, flicking Sehun in the forehead, “Did you forget you are both the children of extremely wealthy and influential people? You should have expected something like this to happen a long time ago specially now that a merge is needed by both of your families.” Chanyeol says, fixing Sehun with a stare. “No matter how pessimistic it sounds this couldn’t be avoided and the least the both of you could do is to be kind to each other. Besides, what makes you think you can’t find love in each other?”

“I won’t fall in love with someone like him.” Sehun resolutely states, gazing firmly at Chanyeol as if to convince the latter that he will stay true to his word no matter what. It has been quite some years since he last dated and Sehun thought it would be long before he got into another relationship considerin