Eunbi stood with her mother and stepfather in the hallway. They were all dressed and ready to go. There was just this one problem. Sehun wasn’t home yet and Eunbi was quite certain her mother was irritated. Then again, so was she.

“Why isn’t he home? Eunbi. I thought you told him that we were going out tonight.” she had. But what else was she supposed to do? Chain him to the staircase and hope he don’t do anything stupid. It didn’t exactly work like that. Maybe they could put a leash on him? Eunbi contemplated the thought for a brief moment, a smile growing on her lips at the mental image. Neither of the adults would probably like it though, so she kept silent.

“Have anyone tried his cell phone?” Eunbi decided to go hide in the living room for the time being. At least until her mother calmed down a little and didn’t act like Sehun’s disappearance was the end of the world. Disappearance? Maybe that’s why he hadn’t been able to answer any of her calls. What if he’d been abducted? Maybe kidnapped? Eunbi shook her head, unsure as to why those thoughts popped up all of a sudden. It wouldn’t make sense. Not to mention. Who would even want to kidnap him?

To her surprise, it seemed like Sehun answered for her mother raised her voice. Yet another sign that the old woman was upset. What then followed was even more shocking for her mother actually began to reason with Sehun. There were no demands. There were no orders that he needed to get home immediately. It was so different from how Eunbi was treated, and she scoffed from her place in the armchair. The whole thing was so ing unfair.

“Eunbi. We’re leaving now.” with a sigh she stood up, walked over to where her mother and stepfather was standing, before questioning where Sehun was and what he was going to do. Her tone was harsh as she spoke. Whether her mother took notice of her behaviour, Eunbi couldn’t now. But she was not late to show her dissatisfaction when she was told that Sehun would meet up with them at the restaurant.

“That’s it?” she frowned, displeased with the fact that Sehun wouldn’t get any kind of punishment. Why was it that the two males could behave however they wanted? How was it any fair that she was the only one being disciplined and ordered around? Fueled up by anger and irritation, Eunbi walked out the door. She refused to listen to some lame excuse. As if that would make the situation okay. It didn’t. Her mother didn’t seem to understand that though, because the old woman called after her, telling Eunbi that she needed to lay off the bad attitude. She scoffed as she made way over to the car. An action that not so surprisingly caused her mother to lose it.

“Why are you acting like this?” Eunbi didn’t answer. Instead she pulled open the car door, entered, and then slammed it shut. She’d had it with her mother and the latter’s treatment. More so since Luhan and Sehun were treated like kings whereas Eunbi was seen as some kind of servant, someone who should behave and act as she’s told. It wasn’t right. Especially since the culprit of the unfairness was none other than her own mother. She sighed, irritated, when the two adults entered the car a few moments later. Not only because of her arguments with her mother, but also because the woman, once she’d sat down in the passenger seat, spoke. The words were far from friendly, the tone harsh and the threats many. All in all. Nothing Eunbi hadn’t heard before.

She was, much to her own relief, left alone the rest of the car ride. Mainly due to the fact that the two adults were emerged in their own conversation. One Eunbi didn’t want to listen to for it involved several things she disliked. Their work and Luhan were topics she’d hoped they could’ve skipped though, for it sparked further annoyance for Eunbi, who closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. It wasn’t much of a success, something that only increased the bad feelings. More so since the car ride took quite a long time. And as if that wasn’t already enough, they needed to wait for Sehun, who’d not even arrived by the time they parked the car. He’d received half an hour to get there and he hadn’t managed to do that much. Yeah. One could easily say Eunbi was not in the mood.

“It would be good if you could behave now.” Eunbi remained silent for she didn’t want to create a scene. Not in front of so many people and definitely not right at the entrance of the restaurant. It would only be embarrassing. Instead, she kept her gaze straight forward and lips sealed shut. The single person she cared for at the moment was Sehun. She wanted him to arrive so this whole soon-to-be-disaster could end. So when he finally showed a few minutes later, Eunbi was relieved. What ticked her off though, was that he refused to look at her. He was acting just like he’d done earlier that day, and if she hadn’t known better, it almost seemed like he was trying his best to avoid her.

She realized pretty soon, as they were taking their seats and she watched how Sehun placed himself down in the chair farthest from her own, that it was precisely what was happening. But instead of getting angry or irritated, she felt sad. Eunbi couldn’t understand what she’d done wrong either, and that if anything bothered her. His behaviour was an instant reminder, too, as to how he’d acted when she and her mother just moved in with them. This was different though. At least to Eunbi, who slumped in her seat, her gaze set on the menu they’d all received moments earlier.

Her appetite was already long gone by then and she excused herself. That her mother demanded to know where she was going was of no importance to the said girl, who ignored the older woman and headed towards the ladies’ room. A heavy, burdensome sigh rolled off her tongue once she’d managed to lock herself inside one of the stalls, for the temporary hideout brought more misery than relief, as it gave her enough peace and quiet to think about Sehun and his weird behaviour. Something must’ve happened between the time she fell asleep and the time she woke up. What that could be, Eunbi didn’t know. It wasn’t like he’d said anything about it either.

And it sure didn’t get better when she returned to their table, for she recieved a minute to decide what to order. A feat easier said than done. As if that wasn’t already bad enough, she ended up having to listen to a conversation much like the one that’d taken place in the car. It made Eunbi question the two adults and the decision to dine out at a restaurant. Really. She saw no point with the visit when all they talked about was work, something they did until the food arrived.

Eunbi dug in, the amazing taste of the pasta carbonara melting on her tongue. She came to halt halfway through the second bite though, because a certain memory made itself known and she glanced over at Sehun. The latter was staring at his own food, the fork in his hand sinking into the dish he’d ordered. His action was an instant reminder as to how he’d behaved weeks earlier, when the two of them ate at another Italian restaurant. He didn’t like it. His expression showcased that more than well. Sehun must’ve felt her staring for he looked up from his plate of food, thus causing their eyes to meet. He said nothing and neither did Eunbi. But she was certain she saw a smirk.

“Why aren’t you guys eating?” her stepfather urged them both to eat, something Eunbi did and Sehun did not. The latter found the food repulsing and refused to eat any of it. And to be honest, he could not understand why he’d even agreed on following them there. He disliked Italian food. Yet, he sat there.

The dinner continued on just like that, with everyone minding their own business and with their parents keeping it cool. Eunbi was relieved by this fact and for once thought they could get by without causing a scene. A thought that seemed impossible the moment her mother mentioned Yixing’s name. The older woman wanted to know how everything was going between Eunbi and him. The girl answered, if not slightly hesitant, that it was all fine. Her mother nodded in reply and Eunbi noticed right away that there was an underlying question yet to be asked. One that soon enough followed.

“Why don’t you invite him to the New Year’s Eve party?” there. Eunbi knew her mother had some alternative motive. Luckily for her, Yixing was out of the country and wouldn’t return until school began. There was another person at the table who disliked the idea as well. Sehun. He tried to act unconcerned about the issue even though he did in fact care. To openly admit that though, was out of the question and he could only hope that the younger girl would decline the offer.

“He’s in China. So he can’t come.” not that it mattered for she wouldn’t have invited him either how. Not after last times fiasco when they all succeeded with embarrassing themselves. It was painful to even think about and Eunbi would never again put Yixing through that situation. Her mother however, was not one to give up and instead continued to question her about Yixing and the reason as to why he was in China. All in all. Eunbi needed to explain how he’d flown there together with some of his teammates, in this case Tao and Kai, to compete in a swimming competition. Something that made him unable to show up at any New Year’s Eve party. To her relief, her mother didn’t ask anything else after that. And it was not long before they’d all eaten up, with the exception of Sehun, and were ready to leave.

The ride home was awfully quiet, too. Much like the ride to the restaurant. The only difference this time around was that Sehun sat in the backseat together with her. He’d plugged his earphones in and were listening to music on his phone the whole way. Eunbi on the other hand, kept her gaze on the window and the winter landscape outside. Twinkling lights and snow illuminated the city streets and she couldn’t help but to wonder how Yixing was doing as she sat there. Eunbi let out a low sigh for she realized that she would have to celebrate New Year’s Eve together with her family. Something she really didn’t want to. Then again, what else was she supposed to do?

Luckily, both adults excused themselves once they arrived back home. The two had work the coming day and needed to get to sleep. Sehun, too, headed upstairs not long after, which meant Eunbi was left alone downstairs. She shrugged her shoulders and decided to not bother with Sehun’s actions before she went ahead and played the video game. She couldn’t put any sound on though, for she didn’t want to risk upsetting her mother and stepfather, and therefore plugged her own earphones into the tv before starting the game. One that became more mesmerizing the more she played. It’d completely captivated her to a point where she couldn’t focus on anything else, for the game and the mission was the only thing running through her mind.

She missed that Sehun had showed up because of that.

The said male stood in the doorway, his eyes locked on Eunbi as he watched her play the video game. His stupid heart was acting up again and it was getting harder even though he was trying to ignore the feelings. He knew what it meant, he knew what it could cause if he acted upon those emotions. Yet. There was a part of him that didn’t care. A part that was daring him to make a move. A part that slowly but surely winning him over.

Eunbi didn’t see him coming. She was so transfixed on the game that she didn’t noticed him until a warm hand cupped her chin and she, out of pure surprise, turned to face whoever was touching her. Utter disbelief struck her when she met Sehun’s eyes. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected. But definitely not Sehun.

“I’m sorry.” he apologized. But with Eunbi still wearing her earphones she couldn’t hear what he said and instead only saw his lips moving. She blinked at him and was right about to move away when he suddenly leaned in and their lips clashed together.

Hot lips moving against hers. Warm hands against flushed skin. It was so unlike Yixing’s kiss one could get. It was everything Yixing’s kiss wasn’t. But despite all that. She shuddered in delight and to her fear, she felt her heart tingle ever so slightly.