"Why do I hate you?"

 

He chuckled, repeating the question asked.

 

"Really, Sehyun. Really?"

 

She left the kitchen counter and walked to where Renjun was currently standing. She asked, knowing the answer but wanting to hear it come out of his mouth.

 

She sat down on the sofa, looking at him with eyes that indicated that she was serious. He sat far beside her.

 

"I guess it's not unusual for you to not know why. After all, you're heartless."

 

No reaction. She just sat there like a dog in the afternoon, waiting for her owner to come home. She waited for him to continue.

 

"You...," he chuckled, thinking that maybe it sounded childish, "you left me, Sehyun."

 

His tone was slowly being raised and she just listened to it. Renjun could no longer hold his bottled up feelings in.

 

"You left me as if I was a bonus question on a test. That if you'd answer me, I'd make you happy but was never important. Just like that, Sehyun, you left me unanswered!"

 

The voice resonated through the house. She didn't flinch. Not a single movement. Not an inch. He clenched his teeth.

 

"Do you know how it felt? Of course not."

 

"Renjun..."

 

She whispered to herself. She looked down at her fingers as she played with them, unable to say what she wanted to for Renjun looked like he had more to say.

 

"You know," he suddenly said after a lengthy silence, "looking at you now makes me think that you... you probably understand how I feel. But I don't know why I can't take away my hatred for you."

 

He said, burying his face with his hands. The tone of his voice still sounded furious but it surely became softer compared to earlier.

 

"I hate you. I still do. And nothing's going to change that."

 

He stood up and rushed his steps to the door. He held the knob and was only able to open it halfway when Sehyun shouted.

 

"Renjun!"

 

His mind and heart were both fighting for what he should do. Leave? Stay? What was it he really wanted?

 

"I... I'm sorry."

 

She softly said and placed a knee down on the floor, then the other followed. She bowed her head until it touched the floor. Renjun turned around and simply stared at her.

 

"I... I'm sorry I broke your heart," her voice cracked, "I'm sorry if I made you feel like you weren't enough. I'm sorry if I cause so much trouble to you. I... I'm sorry."

 

He ran to her and grabbed her shoulders for her to stand up. Her tears were flowing as if they have been set free.

 

"I know you won't forgive me," she said in between her sobs, "but I hope you can live happily thinking that you're worthy of a love much better than what I gave you. You deserve so much, Renjun."

 

"Then why didn't you give me what I deserved?"

 

Renjun's voice didn't have an angry tone anymore but one that showed pity. Both to himself and to the girl standing before her. She shook her head.

 

"I wanted to. I thought I could. But even before I could tell you that I wanted to, that was when I knew I couldn't. I just knew that you're off with someone better. You're a great person, Renjun. A person too great for me."

 

She painfully flashed a smile.

 

As she wiped her tears, he felt his heart break into pieces. Was it his heart? Perhaps it was the cage that he couldn't set free from. Maybe that's what broke down.

 

He hugged her, letting her tears fall on his clothes. He didn't mind at all.

 

"Let's go to the counter."

 

She nodded and, together, they made their way back to the kitchen where the cookies were at. She sat down and he did as well.

 

"You're giving this to Donghyuck, Am I correct?"

 

She sat there in a daze. Renjun snapped his fingers and she nodded in response.

 

"Donghyuck loves sweets. He actually likes any type of food as long as it's not seaweed soup. But what he loves more is the amount of your heart you put in everything you've done."

 

Struggling to grasp the overflow of information, she just continued to nod. He smiled.

 

"What should you tell him," he whispered loud enough for her to hear and furrowed his eyebrows, "I think you should get him to meet you in some place where it's just the two of you."

 

"Okay."

 

"You're not remembering any of this, are you?"

 

"Yes."

 

"... Good luck."

 

He laughed and she did too.

 

"So by the time you're alone with him, it's where things get a little intimate."

 

"You sound like an expert."

 

"I am. You should know."

 

She pouted and he chuckled to see her that way. He went on.

 

"I think it's better if you explain what happened that day. Why you acted like that and–"

 

"Wait," she interrupted with a confused face, "I never told you something happened between us though?"

 

He froze. He couldn't tell her that the whole gang knew because of Mark who obtained valuable information from an outside source.

 

"Darn, Jeno really can't keep his mouth shut."

 

She said and Renjun sighed in relief.

 

"Yeah, Jeno's like that," He lied, "speaking of Jeno, where the heck is he?"

 

As he was about to instruct her further on how to communicate with Donghyuck, they heard the door click and saw Jeno who took years to buy a bag for the cookies.

 

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "the place I bought this from was far from here."

 

He walked to where the two were and slapped Renjun's back, earning a glare from him.

 

"So, did you forgive her– ah I mean, do you know how to get Donghyuck to forgive her?"

 

Renjun let out a heartful laugh and she did, too.