Kai and Sehun sat directly opposite each other, soaking in the comfort of the cushioned booth in the cozy cafe. Soft, melodious music floods their hearing. The smell of various coffees lingers in the air, mixed together with the scent of freshly baked Chicago Cheesecake. Kai's double-shot Expresso had bleen cleared in seconds, although the caffeine failed to clear his still very much prominent dark eye circles and eye bags. The accumulated lack of sleep was evident on his countenance. Sehun's Skinny Latte was half finished, the intricate coffee-art no longer there. Sehun had taken a few gulps simply to avoid Kai's fervent questioning. 

 

The two boys were now caught up in an intense staring competition, Kai's piercing gaze boring right through Sehun's soul as the latter matched it with a look just as intimidating. Both of them looked about ready to tear any form of interruptance apart. Both of their expressions betrayed no emotions, although within them, different emotions were threatening to overflow. 

 

 

∞

 

 

"Kai," Sehun exhaled deeply. "Do you realize we're running out of chances?" 

 

'What chances? How am I supposed to know if you've never told me?' Kai answered mentally. "So tell me," he humorlessly murmured, desperate. 

 

"What do I have to do for just one more chance? Sehun, we have lots of time, what happened to us?" 

 

Sehun looked down. Weighing the consequences of telling Kai, the boy decided against it and decided that giving Kai another riddle to solve would work. "Time halts for someone who can't forget, so that they can't move on." Sehun closes his eyes and inhales, slightly tilting his head upwards. "And... It runs from someone that wants to remember, so that person can only be forced to move ahead without any answers."

 

"You can only move on from here, Kai." Sehun breathes out, looking back into the warm, brown orbs of Kai.

 

Kai could only be stunned by the influx of emotions in the younger's eyes. 

 

Both boys fell back into silence, both b with words to confess but lack of courage to convey. The tension around Kai and Sehun was so thick, it suffocated both males. 

 

"Kai, stop searching for answers." Sehun pleads brokenly, with watery eyes.

 

 

∞

 

 

"I know you don't want this, Sehun. Just tell me, please. I'll make everything better, I promise." Kai's tone comes out shaky and he's almost begging. Sehun felt his insides turn at the way Kai was acting. He, out of all people, should know how much Kai valued his pride. 

 

"When you can teach me how to take back the words I've already said, I'll give you all the words I've saved in exchange." Sehun concludes, abruptly ending the conversation. The agony laced in his words do not stay unnoticed by Kai. 

 

Sehun gets up gently, his back facing Kai, as he starts to walk away. 

 

"Sehun." Kai's voice stops Sehun right in his tracks, when he's barely taken two steps. 

 

"Sehunnie, are you seriously expecting me to be fine when you decide to just leave me, not even telling me why you're hurting?" Kai's words rang and echoed loudly in Sehun's head, and the boy does not need to turn around to be able to tell that Kai's crying. Sehun tries his hardest to not melt at the older boy's affectionate endearment calling him and his soothing, velvety voice that Sehun wanted to drown in. 

 

 

∞

 

 

"I'm sorry, Kai." Sehun replies dryly, as he walks away. 

 

The pain of Sehun turning his back on him registers in Kai's mind as he no longer sees Sehun's lean silhouette. Kai breaks down into a mess of warm tears and despair.

 

"Sehun-ah..." Kai calls out one last time, and this time he feels like crying himself into non-existence as Sehun shows no sign of returning. 

 

 

∞

 

 

The intake of fresh air Sehun took in after he walked out of the cafe seemed to strike a searing pain into his lungs.

 

Sehun runs off as fast as his lean legs could take him, in a certain direction, not even bothering to erase the evidence of his hurting heart; the streams of tears that littered his face, his dampened eyelashes, his puffy and watery eyes or his reddened cheeks. 

 

He had been crying since the moment he had his back turned to Kai.