Chapter 1
Turn BackPast ¦ Present
Hiding the bouquet of roses behind him, Sehun knocks lightly on the door as he tries to disguise his smile, which is already stretching three inches wide.
Knock, knock knock knock, knock knock.
Their secret code.
They've known it ever since they were young, and it was a way to differentiate themselves between others. Krystal likes using it, Sehun knows that all too well. Sometimes, she overuses it - not that he minds, of course.
Trying to keep a pokerface, he pinches at the tip of his nails as Krystal opens the door and peers at him. Her first expression is surprise, followed by slight annoyance as she pokes at his forehead playfully. He pokes her nose at her response and smirks, leaning against the door. "Missed me?"
"Yah, you -" She's obviously about to blush but somehow manages to stop her face from going completely red. He chuckles slightly at that adorable face she makes. Krystal places both hands on her hips, as if to accuse him of some wrongdoing. "What are you doing here?" She shoots him a question, still glaring. "It's your birthday and I'm planning a surprise."
A smirk curves at the side of his lips. "I know that; which is exactly why I'm here, to spy on you." Leaning forward to peck her cheek, he pulls back. She bristles slightly at the sudden skinship, blushing hard this time. Sehun steps into the house, again taking in the scene, but Krystal's fast enough to push him out and slam the gate in his face before he catches sight of anything significant.
"Out, Oh Sehun, and don't come back in at least two hours!" With a flustered yell, the door shuts as well.
Sehun sulks and turns away from the house. Well, you abandoned your boyfriend. Nice going, Jung Soojung. He lets out an audible sigh and walks towards the nearest convenience store, jiggling the money in his pocket. If he's going to have to wait outside for this long, he might as well take the chance to buy some cup noodles. Less than ten seconds after he steps into the store, he bumps into Im Yoona, the girl his friend Luhan is marrying in a couple of weeks.
"Sehun." She seems surprised, judging by the way her brows raised when she met his eyes.
He shrugs, edging slightly past her to get to the 'instant food' section and opens the fridge to get a bottle of water. Despite her chummy relationship with both Krystal and Luhan, Sehun's not all that close to Yoona. Both of them have no special liking for each other whatsoever; they remained as just friends, acquaintances even. He finds Yoona, despite her pretty face, to be rather shallow. Of course, you could say he likes to judge people. Indeed, he does. Nevertheless, Yoona's never been considered close to him. "What's so surprising about seeing me here?"
"The fact that it's your birthday, and that your girlfriend is planning something special for you opposite the street?" She replies with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Does Krystal know you're here, or are you simply keeping things from her like you always do?"
The fridge slams shut and Sehun whips around to face her, eyes dark. "I don't always keep things from Krystal."
"You told her you never had an ex."
"There wasn't a need for her to know about S" - Sehun falters, obviously at a loss for words - "the other party. Would you like it if I revealed anything about your seemingly perfect relationship with Luhan-hyung, Yoona noona?" His tone is drily; a sign that patience is running low. "I happen to know many things that happened before you got all lovey dovey with him."
Yoona's eyes narrow. "And what might those be, Oh Sehun?"
"There's no need to know." Sehun strides past her with the bottle of water and a cup of instant noodles, resuming his composed self as he flashes a smile at the cashier before turning back to face her. Her face is hard, and her fists tightened. Knowing that he's managed to hit a sore nerve satisfies him somehow. "Maybe I'll tell you in time. That is, if you keep your mouth closed about my previous relationships." Despite the friendly tone, Yoona knows that he means business.
"Whatever. Just make sure Krystal doesn't find out. If she does, you're toast. Happy birthday, by the way - have a good one," she snaps curtly before walking out of the store.
-
Sehun finds himself standing outside Krystal's doorstep, holding on to a fresh bouquet of red roses. His memory stirs, everything kicks in and he realises that he's really travelled back in time. Wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans, he knocks on the door softly.
Knock, knock knock knock, knock knock.
The door opens to reveal a surprised Krystal as she stares awkwardly at him for the first few seconds with a shocked expression before it turns to annoyance. She jabs his forehead with a finger, leading him to look at her blankly. Stunned and still traumatised by the impact of his time travel, Sehun backs away slowly. Krystal's brows furrow as she places both hands on her hips in a playful manner. "What are you doing here?" She demands, pushing him away slowly and grins up at him. Sehun can't help but smile back; her smile is too contagious for any hesitation on his part. "It's your birthday and I'm planning a surprise."
"That's why I'm here; I want to spy on you."
"No." With a smirk, the door slams shut in his face and he hears the sound of gates being locked. "Come back in at least two hours, idiot!"
Sehun groans softly, burying his face in his lap as he sits on the steps of Krystal's doorstep. What have I done? Can I really turn back time by preventing her death?
His stomach starts to growl and he looks up at the convenience store across the road. Within minutes, he's on the other side of the street, both hands in his back pockets as he steps into the store humming a tune. Just then, he bumps into someone. Meeting eyes with her, he lets out an inward sigh.
Im Yoona.
To say he doesn't like her is an understatement. The two were never on good terms, reason being that he finds her shallow and she finds him, well, just plain irritating. He used to try convincing Luhan that she wasn't the right one for him, which didn't result in a particular liking on her part. Yoona, despite her pretty face, is just an empty shell. She speaks of moral values but she doesn't apply them on herself; in short, a hypocrite through and through.
Sehun edges past her to get a cool drink, causing her to raise both eyebrows and cross her arms. "Sehun."
"What, I can't be here?" He rolls his eyes, turning away from her to glance at the price tag plastered onto the bottle. A dollar - he can afford that. He's been a little tight on money lately, but it'll work out. "Stop dampening my spirits."
"I didn't mean to dampen your spirits." Yoona's lame attempt at defending herself is useless and feeble. "I just wanted to tell you that your girlfriend is opposite the street, planning your birthday right now. Did you know that?"
He feigns shock, placing a palm on his chest. "Really?"
"You didn't know?" Yoona's eyes widen slightly, and he wonders why Luhan chose to marry someone who couldn't detect even the most basic level of sarcasm.
"Yeah, just like I didn't know pigs could fly." Striding past her, Sehun places the bottle of water on the counter. He'd originally thought of buying instant noodles as well, except for the fact that his appetite had just been ruined by a particular someone.
Yoona runs a hand through her brown hair in annoyance. "You're impossible, Oh Sehun. Why did Krystal choose to fall for someone like you?"
Normally, he would have shot something witty back at her. This time, though, he doesn't. He can't, somehow. Knowing time has turned back, Sehun doesn't want to be as rash as before. He thinks things through; it isn't worth it to get back at Im Yoona. He'll leave it at this - he'll even try to get along well with her, for the sake of Luhan and Krystal.
With a smile, he shrugs. "I don't know. You should ask her. What about you, why are you here?"
"You're asking about me?" Yoona's eyes widen significantly and he knows he's surprised her with that question. He feels slightly embarrassed as guilt tugs at his heartstrings. Perhaps he's truly been the one not making the effort to improve relations with her. Perhaps ... he should change his attitude towards her.
"Why not?" Giving her another smile, he raises a brow and spins on his heel to face her directly. Both of them walk out of the store and take a seat on the wooden bench, Yoona shaking her head while laughing. She looks at him with an amused expression, and he realises that her eyes are sparkling.
This is the first time he's looked carefully at her.
"Luhan insists on me getting icecream for him. The kid refuses to move an inch, and I somehow managed to end up agreeing to being his errand doer," she chuckles lightly, pointing to the tub of chocolate icecream in the bag she's been holding. "He told me to get vanilla, but you know me; I end up adding a twist to things."
"I'll bet you ended up agreeing because he showered you with his kisses and told you all the mushy stuff."
Yoona's bright red face shows that his guess was correct. Sehun winks at her, causing Yoona to get even more flustered. "Y-Yah! Stop it! It's as if you've never said lovey dovey things to Krystal -"
Have I? Thinking back about it, Sehun realises that he used to shower Krystal with corny phrases when they first got together. During lunch, he'd paste a sticky note on her lunchbox that said some mushy romance quote. He's hardly said anything half-romantic to her these days, however - their pace has changed, and it's become faster at that. He just doesn't have time for those things anymore.
I wonder if Krystal misses me doing those things. Before he can stop himself, he's thinking of how he's neglected her. Sehun bristles slightly in guilt and sighs, standing up. "I've got to go. Catch you some other time, Yoona noona."
Yoona nods and gives him an 'ok' sign with her fingers, tilting her head cutely. "Happy birthday, by the way; and enjoy your day!"
As Sehun heads towards the nearest jewelry store, he turns to glance at Krystal's house - it's lighted up, and he can vaguely hear sounds of laughter coming from that direction. A soft smile caresses his cheeks; he visualises her smile and expression.
Losing her once was enough. He doesn't want to lose her again.
I'll make it up to you, Soojung-ah.
-
Hello all, & thank you so much for those who subscribed + commented ; A ;
I created this fanfic out of impulse - was having a Sestal spasm because of those pretty tumblr edits asdfghjkl - so I really, really do appreciate all those people who actually bothered to click on it ^^
It means a lot to me, you know? Someone likes my fanfic, & they subscribe. Even better, people comment.
It means a lot to me, you know? Someone likes my fanfic, & they subscribe. Even better, people comment.
So this is the first chapter; I hope it wasn't too bad nor confusing! Critical suggestions are appreciated, and commentors are loved. I don't need much motivation to keep this story going since it's more of like writing for myself, but do take the time to tell me what you think if you can! c:
I'll do my best to update fast, & lastly ... thank you all.
Comment replies will be done in the next update, I promise!
<3
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