Sehun was a sushi.

He was a sad sushi, wrapped on your couch with hot chocolate in front of the fake fireplace that had nothing but moving LED lights. You were next to him on your phone as you tried to pump out a few texts before the next morning would come.

Sehun had just finished his story, his eyes flickering over to you before he sighed.

“Can you just—”

“Wait.” You raised a hand and he shook his head. After good two minutes, you put down your phone to see Sehun glaring at you. “So… what I got from that is that you’re literally Ross from the show FRIENDS.”

“I am not Ross. Ross was a loser whose wife turned lesbian…” Sehun’s voice trailed when he blinked.

Well, hell. What a similarity.

“He has a Ph.D,” you reminded him and Sehun scowled. You reached over and placed your hand on his bicep, Sehun tensing up for a split second before you pinched him.

“Ow!” Sehun frowned. “You don’t seem very surprised.”

“I am.”

“Then act like it,” he snapped before his expression faltered. “Sorry.”

His mumble came out as apologetic but you shrugged.

“Therese always had that vibe,” you told him. “Remember the times we would party together? Drunken nights of dancing with me and grinding against me. Don’t look like that, you enjoyed watching us!”

“Yes, because it’s every man’s dream to see his girlfriend and his best friend dancing ily under the club lights. I thought it was normal.”

You were transported back to a memory of one of those nights where alcohol was running through your veins. You, Sehun and Therese were at a stand-alone table. You and Therese were drunk out of your mind and dancing sloppily against other as Sehun stood across from both of you, drink in hand. He was enjoying the view and both of you knew that.

His black blazer was off his shoulders and folded neatly over a chair. He smirked, shaking his head slightly as you almost toppled backwards, Therese catching you and giving you a hug from behind.

As the night went on, Sehun had to grab both of you. It ended with both his arms around you and Therese, trying to push both of you into the taxi. Therese’ heels were off and Sehun grabbed it, wrapping his arms around her neck so she wouldn’t stray.

“I got to puke,” Therese said and Sehun clicked his tongue. You heard it and let out a giggle.

“Oooh, puke,” you murmured. You shouldn’t have said that because Therese’ let out a choking sound, Sehun quickly pushing her to the side of the street so she could empty her stomach in peace. He grabbed the back of your neck with his free hand, dropping Therese’s heels on the ground just to rub his girlfriend on the back.

“Girls, girls, girls,” Sehun grumbled and you laughed. “Girls.”

“Almost done!” Therese yelled out loud before another gurgle could be heard.

“Ew,” you and Sehun chorused.

Once Therese was done, Sehun led both of you to the taxi stand. One minute after that, he was seated in the middle in the back seat. Hand patting Therese’ back with her head on his lap. He looked over to you, your face squished against his shoulder.

You were drooling and seemed to have falling asleep.

My girls, he thought happily to himself. It wasn’t normal to have such a cool girlfriend and a best friend who loved him the way you did.

“Sehun,” you began that night. He looked over to you and saw that you had woken up, blinking softly. “Mwah.”

Sehun’s heart skipped a beat that night.

It was wrong to feel that way and he told himself that it was because he cared about you. You smiled at him and rubbed your cheek against his shirt. He reached up to pat your cheek with the palm of his head.

“Mwah,” he replied, pecking your forehead.

“Mwah” became something both of you would say. It was something that seemed to take place instead of actually kissing each other. Mwah! Mwah through the phone. Mwah! Goodbye, Sehun! See you soon!

So now that he was a rolled-up sushi, talking about his lesbian wife and the divorce that was proceeding, you knew he needed more comfort that he usually did. You reached over to rub his cheek.

“Mwah,” you said to him, puckering your lips at him and kissing the air.

Sehun couldn’t help but smile, a small tug on his lips.

“Mwah,” he replied.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You had woken up with a very high-pitched ringing. Your back ached, your arms were at an awkward angle. You looked to the side and saw that you had fallen asleep on the couch beside Sehun. Sehun was no longer a rolled-up sushi but a salmon piece, his head propped up on the arm rest and his back straight.

You moved and found your phone on the floor, Sehun stirring. He winced, a hand going to grab the back of his neck.

“Get that, will you?”

Your eyesight was still blurred from the lack of sleep and a lot of brain power being used the night before. You tapped on the screen of your phone to see a flood of messages from Joy.

Joy: Where r u
Joy: Ytd Yunho brought a yoga teacher into the house
Joy: They went up to the study
Joy: And then
Joy: Jihyun came and accused him of cheating
Joy: THE BOMB HAS EXPLODED

Sehun groaned. “I can’t get up.”

You looked over at him to see that his body was frozen on the spot, his head frozen halfway on top of the arm rest.

“Help?” he asked, his eyes pleading. You scrambled up and reached for him, a hand pushing him gently. Once he was sitting up, he winced and you ran a hand through your hair. “The moment you wake up, it’s your phone. What do you do again?”

“My boss’ money hungry girlfriend just caught our boss going to the study with his yoga teacher.” You were texting Joy about what to do next. You had to make sure that this did not affect the environment at the office. “She accused him of cheating and I just know she’ll use it as a reason to break up with him. I need to make sure—”

“You need to make sure of nothing,” Sehun blurted out. He had that look on his face. The look of someone who did not understand why you were doing what you were doing. “It’s their personal problem.”

“That personal problem will make the environment tense.” You looked up at him to see him staring at you. “What?”

“I don’t get it. So?”

“I’m HR,” you pointed out. “I need to make sure it does not happen. Wash up. I need to get ready for work.”

“What about me?” Sehun asked and you narrowed your eyes at him. “I’m serious. What about me?”

“Here,” you said, placing your credit card on the table. “Go for some shopping therapy.”

Sehun scoffed but he reached for it and winked.

When you reached the office, you knew something was wrong. Something was wrong every day but this was different. You had arrived a little bit later than usual and you could see everyone in front of their computers, their eyes darting back and forth between you and back up to where the study was located.

You opened your mouth when Mingyu, Head of Customer Service, reached up and pressed a finger against his lips.

“What?” you mouthed.

Mingyu pointed at the stairs and then brought his fingers to drag it across his neck before shaking his head. Your eyes widened and you raised your shoulders as if to ask what he meant.

He waved a hand as if to ask you to drop it. There was a sound of the door opening and then suddenly closing.

“Is she here yet?” a gruff voice asked. You looked up to see your CEO walking down the stairs in his bathrobe. He called out your name and you scampered up the stairs to rush to him. He turned when he saw you, going back up the stairs to indicate bringing you with him.

The moment you reached his study, Yunho cleared his throat.

“My parents arrived,” he said, going back to his seat and sitting down. “Joy handled it. Sit.”

You nodded.

“I was talking to Jihyun last night. I’m thinking of taking her off the shareholders list. I want her name off and taken care of.” His voice was tight and he rubbed between his eyes. “I want you to see if you can discuss it with her.”

“Discuss?” your voice raised an octave. This was getting too personal for you – Jihyun being removed from the shareholders list would mean that the day of their break up was soon to come and almost confirmed.

But this is not what you wanted, being caught in a crossfire between two ex-to-be lovers. One a neurotic lunatic, another a money hungry gold digger.

“Yes, just get it done.”

Oh, how you hated it when he said that. He blinked and you nodded, Yunho relaxing.

“Thank you,” he murmured. “Thank you.”

The moment you left his room, you rushed down to the kitchen where Joy was already waiting for you. You grabbed her arm and dragged her to her room.

“What? What?” she demanded. Upon telling her everything, she gasped. “Oh, that’s not good. He’s trying to sever all ties with her, is that correct? How are you going to tell Jihyun?”

“I honestly have no ing idea,” you groaned, burying your face in your hands. You had no idea what to do next, your phone buzzing.

Sehun: hi
You: Whatcha doing?
Sehun: I’m on Tinder
You: Already?
Sehun: no time to lose

You sighed.

Sehun, on the other hand, was not on Tinder. He had a few friends here and there. Friends who he did not talk to quite some time. One of those friends being Kim Jongin, his buddy asking him a million questions as to why he was back in Korea after so long.

How was Therese?

Where was she?

Sehun: jk, going to Kai’s apartment.
You: EXO brother?
Sehun: ya

Leaving you to your work, Oh Sehun opened up his bag and began to put an outfit together. Tugging on the long coat to shield him from the wind, he called Kai to tell him that he was coming. The grogginess in his friend’s voice was an indication that he was not awake just yet – Kim Jongin was a late sleeper and a late riser.

“Coming,” Sehun said and Jongin grunted, hanging up the phone. Sehun made his way down stairs and hailed himself a cab, the male sighing to himself. Everyone looked different here in Seoul. So unkind to everyone around them.

He his lips when a car approached. Sehun wondered what he should tell Kai. He would surely ask… He already did. Friends knew when something was wrong. Sehun never came back to Korea without coming up with an elaborate plan to surprise his friends.

Sehun and Kai sometimes shared the same braincell and like you, Kai always was there for him. So casual in his friendship with him. Sehun could appear any time and Kai would welcome him with open arms.

But Kai always had a tendency of saying things that would surprise Sehun.

Sehun looked at the taxi meter before diverting his eyes back out of the window to the gray buildings. He remembered the one time he and Kai were chatting by the pool side. Being the closest in age, both of them united under their hate for controlling authority (by the name of Kim Suho).

“I know he cares but can he just get off our backs?” Kai complained. “It’s not like I signed up for another father.”

Sehun snickered. Suho had given Kai a “time out” and he was not allowed back into the frat house until he “thought about what he had done”. Sehun had decided to stay with his friend at the university pool, battling mosquitos and their feet dipped in the water.

“All I did was cheat on a ing test, bro. What the .” Annoyance was evident in Kai’s voice. “Like, not everyone is like you. You don’t even have to study.”

“My best friend is the studier,” Sehun said, referring to you. “I just absorb the information every time she says it out loud.”

“You’re lucky,” Kai said and Sehun shrugged. “What’s going on with you both? You don’t think I notice that every time she’s at the party, you magically decide not to take a girl home?”

“She gets drunk off her mind.”

“Of course, she does. Because she knows you’ll make sure she’s safe.”

“What are you saying?”

“You’re not in love with her, are you?” Kai asked. Take it up to Kai to be honest. Sehun frowned at the question before he shook his head.

He was not in love with you, no. Maybe not. He wasn’t sure. He just cared about you. So deeply and he knew you did the same. What surprised him even more was the fact that he did not say it out loud to Kai.

Instead, he said the one line that he knew was true.

“I promised I wouldn’t hit on her.”

A beat of silence, Kai rolling his eyes before kicking the water.

“Why make a promise you don’t want to keep?” Kai said it so softly but Sehun heard it.

He pretended he didn’t hear it. This was before Therese, of course. Before Therese came and swept him off his feet. Kai told him a day after that that he was happy that Sehun found the love of his life.

Sehun blinked when he realized that the car came to a stop. He got off the vehicle after paying before going to the reception. He noticed a few glances from the woman in front of him, his thumb going to smooth over his finger where his wedding ring used to be.

It was no longer there.

He passed her a smile and a blush traveled up her cheeks, Sehun saying Kai’s name. She rang him, the flush on her cheeks making Sehun feel a little bit more confident. He still had it.

“Room 702, sir,” she said politely to him.

Up the elevator he went, rapping his knuckles against the door when he heard a click. The lock was disabled and he entered.

“Sup,” Kai greeted. He was seated in the living room in his bathrobe and Sehun noticed a girl with big sun glasses, despite being indoors. “My cousin. Meet Jihyun.”

Sehun bowed, the women lowering her sunglasses before greeting him with a wave of her hand. Kai sat up, tightening his bathrobe.

“What brings you back to South Korea?”

Sehun had no idea what to say – not when Kai’s cousin who he had never met before was in front of him. Kai flickered his eyes over to Sehun’s face and years of friendship was enough for him to realize his hesitation.

“She’s cool,” Kai said, motioning to his cousin. “Jihyun here just fought with her boyfriend. She just got a message from HR that she’s being taken off the shareholders list.”

Jihyun scowled and Sehun raised an eyebrow.

It was a small world.

Back at the company, you had decided that you did not have the balls to call her so you drafted a formal letter. You, however, titled the email with “Sad News <3” to make it less formal. Yeah, that was the only thing that you could think of doing.

Jihyun took it rather well. She knew it was coming and coming from a background that made money accessible (With Yunho, CEO of the company you were working at, it was a couple times more accessible), she didn’t give two s about it.

She knew that you had no choice.

What she did know was that Yunho was easy to shake up and she was pissed at him.

“I caught him the study room with his shirt off and practicing yoga with a very hot yoga instructor,” she snapped. “Of course, I’d accuse him of cheating.”

“You sure you did not say that just because you thought that another fight would add more zeros to the numbers in your bank account?” Kai asked, Jihyun raising an eyebrow at her cousin’s comment. Sehun decided to sit down and enjoy the family bicker.

He had no idea that you, yourself, was also thrown in the mix.

“What company is this?” Sehun asked, leaning back.

“TVXQ Coin Base,” she replied.

Sehun knew that name real well – He was also in the crypto industry. There were not many big players in the industry and you had mentioned the name to him over and over again along with complaints of how your CEO was.

It did not take long for Sehun to put 2 and 2 together to know that it was you, the HR of TVXQ Coin Base that sent that email to Jihyun, the woman was seated in front of him.

Poor you.

While he was thinking of that, Kai had noticed a very big detail.

“Where’s your wedding ring?”

.

Unbeknownst to you that Sehun was sitting with your CEO’s ex-lover in his frat brother’s apartment and being interviewed by him as to why he had no wedding ring, you sat at your desk, the repeated clicking of the mouse the only thing that keeping you sane.

You could hardly operate because of how nervous you were.

Would Jihyun get mad at how you handled it? Ugh, you did not even have the courage to shoot her a call. Maybe if you approached it in a way where it was a complaint, she’d understand! But it wouldn’t professional, would it?

A knock on the door and you jumped.

“Come in,” you said and the door opened, your CEO walking in for a split second. You looked up and nodded, trying to mask your concern when he paused.

“Are you free tonight?” he asked suddenly and you couldn’t keep your voice was rising when you let out an “Eh?”. “Jihyun wants to have dinner tonight. I need you to be there. To formally tell her that as HR, you have already drafted a termination letter and will take her name out.”

He wanted you to be there to be a buffer.

“I—Uh,” you began.

“Make time, thanks.” He had cut you off when he checked his watch. “I have a meeting so book a restaurant and let me know. We can leave together after work.”

The searing feeling of anticipation and nervousness travelled across your stomach. No matter how many times you’ve felt it, you could never get used to it. You buried your face in your hands.

Back in Kai’s apartment, Sehun and Kai were yelling at each other.

“She turned lesbian? Are you serious? What did you ing do?” Kai demanded, Sehun making a face.

“What does that mean? Maybe