Chapter Thirty Four 

A Day With Mina and Eunhee 

You awoke early Saturday morning, once again greeted with numerous encouraging messages from your friends. You noticed you felt a little bit better this morning, granted you still felt heart broken, but for some reason you just felt fresh. Like somehow, somewhere, it was just going to be okay.  

You typed a reply to Mina briefly, she had managed to convince you to have a day out with her and Eunhee today as a sort of 'girl's day '. You knew she was just doing it so she could keep an eye on you and so that you finally had an excuse to leave the house. But you still felt grateful towards her, she cared about you and that meant a lot. Unlike him- 

Stop right there. You warned yourself, taking a deep breath. No more destructive thoughts, you had your 24 hour crying fest and now it was time to get a hold of yourself. Though, the more you told yourself that, the more your heart throbbed. You sighed, it wasn't going to be easy. 

Not to mention... You looked at the calendar on your wall, a star marking today's date. Today was the day of Lay's dance competition and you had previously promised him that you would go. But that was before you broke up with Luhan and that was before you confessed that you held some kind of special feelings towards Lay. Why did I even say that. You groaned into your hands, remembering it so clearly. 

"A part of me does like Lay, because unlike you, I know he would never hurt me. Because I know that if I was his girlfriend, he would never cheat or lie to me!" 

You physically flinched once you remembered what Luhan had said after that, calling you an awful word that you really wished you would forget. You frowned, blaming yourself. "I shouldn’t have said anything about Lay..." You mumbled to yourself, thinking about your feelings towards him. Even if it was true... It wasn't fair. 

You laid back down on your bed, covering your eyes with your hands. "What am I going to do?" You groaned. You hadn't spoken to Lay since that night, and he hadn't spoken to you either, yet you were somewhat thankful for that. You didn't know what to say to him, or more like you were afraid to talk to him. You were confused and hurt, the last thing you wanted to think about was your feelings for Lay. 

A cautious knock at the door interrupted your troubled thoughts, which you were actually grateful for. "Come in." You called as you sat up, ready to welcome the distraction. 

Your father stood awkwardly in the door way, dressed up in one of his grey business suits. That's a surprise. You noted. And he knocked, too. Mum must of talked to him. 

"I heard you were sick," He began lowly, keeping his voice leveled as a sign of peace. 

You gave a small smile, appreciating his efforts, "Yeah I was a bit yesterday, but I'm okay now." No need to go into detail about your dramatic breakup. Not wanting to think about it you changed the subject, "I'm going out with my friends later today-" 

Immediately, your father's eyes widened, "The boyfriend?" 

You flinched, you didn't have a boyfriend anymore and Lay was never your boyfriend to begin with. "No, dad. I mean my girl friends."  

"Oh," Your father let out, awkward again, "Anyway, I just came by to say... to say sorry." 

You softened, your father was not an emotional man so for you to see him opening up and apologising was a pretty big deal. "I'm sorry, too." You said, "I was in the wrong as well. I shouldn't have barged out like that." Thinking back to it, it felt so far away, so childish and distant. And to think, if you hadn't got into that fight with your father you and Luhan would probably still be together. Whether that was a good or bad thing you didn't know. 

"No," Your father shook his head, coming to sit by you, "No, I shouldn't have said those things to begin with. It is your life and well," He let out a deep breath, "I want you to be happy. And if Art makes you happy then who am I to get in the way of that?" 

You did a double take, speechless and shocked to the core. Did he really just say that? Since you could remember your father had told you about his high hopes for you in an academic field, whether it be a doctor, lawyer or a financial manager, he had always openly mocked the Arts. To say the least you were in disbelief. "Are... Are you serious?" 

Your father nodded, a rare smile lighting his face, "Yes, I am." 

You let out a shaky laugh, a smile beginning to widen across your lips, "Really?" 

"Yes." Your father chuckled. 

You let out an ecstatic squeal before you wrapped your arms around your father in a hug, "Thanks so much, dad! This really means a lot!" 

"Alright, alright." He chuckled again, ruffling your hair before he stood up, "I don't want to see any slacking though," He playfully warned before his tone turned more serious, "And about that boy-" 

You were one step ahead, "Don't worry dad, Yixing isn't really-" 

"I would like to meet him." Your father announced with another smile. "I wasn't exactly nice to him the first time we met and first impressions are always important. So I would like to try again. You're around the age that..." 

You drowned your father's blabbering out while you had mini break down, scrambling for excuses and deterrents. Anything that would make your father change his mind. There was no way you could invite Lay over. "N-No that's okay, dad." You interrupted him, "Yixing is kind of busy these days, you don't have to-" 

"Nonsense!" Your father scoffed, "No man is ever busy enough to stay away from his girlfriend." 

You cringed. That was the point, Lay wasn't your boyfriend. "Dad, seriously-" 

"It’s final." He declared happily, "Invite him over for dinner sometime during the week, I know your mother would be happy to meet him, too." 

"Dad-" 

"Well then," He did up the buttons of his jacket, "I have to pop into the office for a few hours so I'll be back later." He announced as he started to leave your room, sounding awfully chummed with himself. "Have fun with your friends," Was heard before he gently closed the door behind him, leaving you alone. 

You sat on your bed, dumbfounded. How am I going to get out of this one? You didn't want to tell your dad Lay wasn't really your boyfriend because then you would have to try and explain why a boy was in your room, or why Lay lied about it. But you really didn't want Lay coming over to meet the family. 

You sighed, taking a look at your phone. You bit your lip. Maybe I should text him or- "No." You told yourself, flinging your phone back onto your bed. No more boys. Especially not Lay. You thought seriously. For now, at least.  

You took a deep breath and walked to your closet, it was time to get ready for that 'girl's day' Mina had convinced you to go to. From your colourful array of clothes you pulled out a short, yellow summer dress and a soft white cardigan. Just because you were depressed didn't mean you had to dress like it. 

Just as you finished changing you got a call from Mina. 

"Hello?" You answered, running a brush through your hair. 

"Hey," Mina chirped from the other end, glad that you had picked up. She was worried you were going to cancel on her last minute. "Are you ready? Eunhee and I are almost at your house." 

"Almost," You replied as you applied some BB cream to your face, a confused look reflecting in the mirror, "I thought we were going to meet at the station?" 

"Oh, Eunhee wanted to drive today," Mina explained and you cracked a smile, "Are you trying to get me killed?" You joked, driving wasn't Eunhee's strong point. 

Mina chuckled into the phone, "We'll be fine. See you in a few minutes." 

You shook your head with a small smile, you were so grateful you still had them. You had previously worried about what would happen if you and Luhan were to ever breakup, wondered if you would still be friends with the group. But things weren't looking too bad, you had both Mina and Eunhee, Baekhyun and even Suho had sent you a sweet text message earlier that day. 

Hey Saerom, it's Suho. I got your number off Mina. I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry for what has happened but I don't want you to feel excluded. Whatever happens, you are always welcome and are a dear friend.  

You actually teared up when you read that, but it felt good to know just because you lost Luhan didn't mean you lost everyone. 

You sighed, your hand absentimedly reaching up to your neck to brush over where the heart shape locket used to be. "Luhan..." It didn't mean you weren't still hurt though.  

"Saerom!" 

You jumped at the loud voice calling out to you, removing your hand from your neck. It was your brother. 

"Your friends are here!" Your brother announced from the bottom of the stairs. 

"Coming!" You called out, taking another look at yourself in the mirror to make sure everything looked fine before you grabbed your phone and bag, heading downstairs. Before you reached the bottom of the stairs you took a deep breath and sternly reminded yourself that today was going to be fun. That there would be no thoughts of Luhan and definitely no crying. 

"Hey," You greeted Mina and Eunhee, who were standing in the doorway, "Sorry for making you wait." 

Mina and Eunhee both breathed a sigh of relief, they didn't know what they were expecting but they were happy that you looked somewhat like your usual self. 

"No worries," Eunhee grinned, "Ready to go?" 

*

The car ride was chatty as ever when you got into Eunhee's small car. The moment you entered she quickly delved into a detailed recount about her dream last night which, once again, was pretty much just about food. However you couldn't help but notice Eunhee was a bit too chirpy today, as the words sprung from at a speed which you thought impossible and her bubbly laughter filled the air at relevant intervals – you began to find it rather suspicious, it was desperate and forced somehow. Something must be up. You noted, but you