dis·sen·sion

Disagreement that leads to discord.

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October 19 (Friday)

“Here,” spoke Sehun in a firm voice as he offered something to Kyung Mi. The girl who had been crying approximately an hour ago blinked tiredly at his hand which held a small item. Glancing at his face, she knew that there was no way she had a chance to refuse his good-willed act and so, the bespectacled female accepted it. They had continued walking straight after his return from entering the large mansion, coming out with a sole piece of candy. As they were taking a few steps that neared the rich gates, the male wore an expression of great distaste.

“… Eat,” he almost said childishly, pointing towards the non-eaten candy in her hands. Kyung Mi didn’t understand why he was so insistent about it, but since she didn’t want to anger him after being a surprisingly kind consoler — maybe it was his impeccable lack of speech — she began chewing on it.

It was the type of candy that one would have to on or else they would choke, and so the flavour lasted in Kyung Mi’s mouth. As they walked out of the mansion’s compound, the eighteen year old girl couldn’t help but to feel guilt-ridden. Firstly, she believed that she was overreacting due to personal feelings that involved Gongchan. Next, it was unmannerly of her to have not mentioned to her older sister that she was leaving. Well, one couldn’t exactly stay after such a big confession. Thirdly, it was partly her fault that Oh Sehun would be leaving the festivity. He merely spoke of it to be necessary since it was not safe for a girl in general to walk home alone, and she had to agree. Even if she had wanted to request for her father’s assistance when it pertained to the subject of transport, it would have been quite the hassle since Min Jae’s presence would be required. So it ended up this way.

“Oy Seehum,” called Kyung Mi suddenly with much difficulty due to the candy in . “Mahbye wie shoold— “ That amount of garble definitely took the insouciant male’s attention, but he did not permit a smile to rest on his expression for it was then his fair companion had choked on that wretched candy. He could only watch as the bespectacled girl fought for breath, eventually succeeding in doing so. He was glad for it, because surely he would not know what to do if she sort of stopped breathing due to the stuck candy. Then the soulless boy would be both an alleged murderer and maybe some person who tried to take advantage over someone? It was unthinkable. If he had been like any normal person, he might have turned red at such improper thoughts because they were unneeded in the first place. Obviously he didn’t, nonetheless. The girl only smiled at him sheepishly after that whole scenario.

He only lifted a brow.

“… Reasons why one shouldn’t be speaking with candy in their mouth,” droned Sehun dryly on purpose, before resuming their initial walk back to her place. With that, Kyung Mi was only allowed to chew on the candy silently. After a while, she realized that it was a rather good tactic since then he’d be spared of conversing, which might have induced tears if he had not been careful. A new wave of respect washed over her as she glanced at him thoughtfully, noting his evident tact. He only narrowed his eyes to prove that he wasn’t actually oblivious to all of these. Eventually, they arrived at her house gate, and unexpectedly, Kyung Mi’s parents were having a late night talk by the doorstep. At least it didn’t appear to be a fight since they were smiling at each other lovingly. It was Kyung Mi’s father who noticed their approach first as they entered past the gate and onto the lawn.

“Ah, Kyung Mi!” exclaimed her father with a big smile. “Did you have fun at the party— wait, maybe not?” His abrupt pause was accompanied by a glare directed at Sehun, who was a stranger to him.

“Did you, or did you not, make my daughter cry earlier?” accused Kyung Mi’s father almost immediately with a frown. The eighteen year old daughter wanted to speak on her companion’s behalf, but she was afraid that the candy would choke her again. However, she was terribly unpleased that it was still unfit to swallow without risking the earlier reaction. It was admirable that the man had noticed his daughter’s tear-stained face behind tinted spectacles even on a starless night like this, nevertheless.

“Yes, she did cry,” answered Sehun truthfully in a monotonous tone. “But you can rest assured that I am not the cause of it.” His eyes flickered to hers blankly and back to her father’s.

The man had not been convinced.

“I would have believed that if it is Gongchan, but you are not he,” responded Kyung Mi’s father sharply. “In fact, who are you?” Luckily, Kyung Mi’s mother managed to rescue the misunderstood situation with her friendly ways.

“Oh my, it’s Sehun,” began her mother warmly as she shook his cold hand easily. ”It’s been a while since your last visit, young man. Do come along some time after tonight, alright? It’s too late for you to drop by now and thank you for making sure that Kyung Mi returns home safely.” A small wink given by the woman made Sehun feel obliged — in the most willing way, honestly — to reply.

“Thank you for the invitation, Mrs Han,” mentioned the eighteen year old boy politely. “I will surely consider it. As you have said, the night has overtaken us and I must bid farewell. Have a good night, Mr Han; Mrs Han and Kyung Mi.” With a slight nod, one could descry his figure leaving the Han residence effortlessly.

Later, just as Kyung Mi was about to retire to her comfortable bed, her cellphone was receiving a call. It was from her best friend. Her eyes stared in deep contemplation, but she picked it up in the end.

“Kyung Mi — where are you?” asked Gongchan in a disturbed tone. “Are you alright? I’ve been looking for you…” Oh, how the eighteen year old dearly wished that he had proposed the query just two hours earlier.

“I’m fine; I’m… at home,” she answered in a very, very small voice. A part of her had wanted to alert him, but she too wanted to see if he cared enough to initiate. It was an irreparable act of selfishness. Even so, it was the sigh of authentic content that made the ends of curl upwards. All of a sudden, his stage-whisper voice sounded concerned.

“How did you reach your home?” he continued rather worriedly from the other side. “By car? By walking? Did you do so alone? You should have asked me if you didn’t want to stay—“ Now, the bespectacled girl didn’t want to interrupt his torrent of words, but she wanted to cut the anxiety in his voice. It was unnatural.

“A classmate of mine walked me home,” she explained peaceably. “I don’t know if you’ve heard of such a guy as inconspicuous as him, but Sehun it is.” In spite of her growing sleepiness, she was able to trace the tinge of dislike in his reply.

“… What?” was all he managed to articulate. Han Kyung Mi was confused, and she continued in her naïve state as she sat on her bed.

“Hmm?” she responded in bewilderment. “What’s with that? I know you’ve not met him before, but he’s nice.” A heavy and uncomfortable pause was left lingering before a click sound was heard by her ears.

“Huh?” she persisted. “Gongchan Shik?” He had hung up. Shrugging at his strange rudeness, she went to sleep.

On Monday morning, Han Kyung Mi walked to school with Gongchan Shik. Deciding to take it as an opportunity, she dared to ask.

“Um, did you hang up by accident the other day?” asked the younger of the two unblinkingly. He looked at his precious innocent friend and only sighed.

“Somewhat,” he whispered softly as that disyllabic word rolled off his tongue. It was the faraway look that distracted her from realizing the truth beneath his reply. Their walk was rather peaceful, and today was considered one of the days in which they conversed more. It was either words were unnecessary to maintain their friendly atmosphere, or it could just be that utterances were getting strained due to their subtle ties that were drifting apart. The girl didn’t dare to shed light to these kinds of possibilities. Suddenly, Gongchan’s attention returned to her immediately.

“Ah…” he began suddenly with a quizzical look. “You were about to say something on Friday night to me?” With that, it was Kyung Mi that hung up on him this time around. A very quiet walk ensued.

Once they had parted ways, Kyung Mi managed to pass by the vending machine in which she often bought her classmate Oh Sehun a can drink. This time, however, she was hesitant because she felt foolish for her actions. Apparently, he had always known while her stupid self had continuously bought them in hopes of keeping him awake in class, thinking that it was a smart trick too. Even so, Kyung Mi found herself making an incredulous bet as she bought a mango-flavoured can drink.

“If he comes up to me before school’s out, then he deserves this,” the bespectacled girl thought with a serious nod. Then she laughed childishly. There was no way Oh Sehun was going to win this at all, whether he knew or not. He was just going to be the dude in the corner of the class as usual, just missing the drink in his hand during recess time.

So why did she find the aforementioned male casually sitting himself in front of her desk during recess time?

“Yo,” he uttered without style as he sat in a place that was not truly his, and it made her explode with laughter. However, a scowl marred his face instead.

“That word is really, really not your thing,” she had to confess, smiling widely. Sehun still looked unentertained with that fact.

“I thought I was being civilised by speaking of hellos and not laughing,” pointed out the eighteen year old male with imperceptible coldness. Hastily, Kyung Mi stopped doing the wicked act and withdrew the can drink from beneath her desk, promptly placing it in front of him.

“Here,” said the female student ruefully. “You actually came for it, so you get it.” For the first time in a long while, Oh Sehun’s eyes widened in genuine astonishment. He seemed to be at a loss for coherent words, and that was a huge feat because he wasn’t particularly talkative in general.

“Kyung Mi, this isn’t the reason why I approached you today,” he said with timely blinks, his eyes still dilated. “Besides, if you haven’t noticed…” He waved his own can drink in his own hand, wearing a tiny smile afterwards.

“I didn’t,” she accidentally blurted out, feeling silly now. Noting her new reaction, Sehun only nodded kindly.

“It’s alright,” assured the insensate male thoughtfully. “I suppose you could just drink it as a treat then, if you like the flavour. And I’ve got a good mind to treat you to something soon since you’ve been spending so much on me.” Then he paused, but not long enough for her to project her own ideas.

“As for my initial purpose, that would have to wait,” he then explained, pulling the sentence to his signature drawl. “Now if you’d excuse me, Kyung Mi, I’d like to throw this can drink away once I’m done with it.” With that, he stood and walked away from him. She only bid him a friendly farewell, since one would have to walk outside of the classroom to get to the trash cans. However, Han Kyung Mi had not seen something that Oh Sehun did. It was Gongchan Shik.

The said nineteen year old was walking past Kyung Mi’s classroom regularly during recess time — a fact that she had not known since forever — when he spotted something unnerving. The male in which he identified as considerably pesky Sehun was conversing with his best friend. Honestly, if it had been anyone else, regardless of gender, he would have been happy for her since it would mean that she got along well in her classroom. Oh Sehun was a differing case, of course. Before the older male knew or could do anything about it, the perpetrator made himself available without an inch of trouble. The boy had the cheek to taunt the other with lifted brows.

“Thought I’d drop by and say my greetings, Mister Shik,” he spoke as he sipped the remnants of the drink, throwing it to a nearby trash can after he had consumed it. It was humiliating, but the tone of aggressiveness was still apparent as the older made an offer.

“Let’s grab something to eat,” he had mentioned. And so to the cafeteria, they went.

At the very least, Gongchan paid for the other’s food as well. He felt that he didn’t need to be uncouth just because he harboured a slight dislike towards him. Besides, he wanted to talk over a few things. Too much have been left unsaid, in the nineteen year old’s opinion. In return, the younger one had thanked him decently.

“I would like to know who you really are to Kyung Mi, and what you feel about her,” said Gongchan calmly after they had eaten for a considerable amount of time in silence. It wasn’t exactly the best choice of words, that he knew, but it was better than beating around a non-existent bush.

“Your demand is not my command,” quipped Sehun with a purposeful blank look. Though the boy in front of him was irksome, the older retained his levelled self.

“Okay, I know that was a poor way of putting things, but still,” amended Gongchan humbly. “As her best friend, I’d want to know.” Sehun stared nonchalantly at him as he chewed on the bread reflectively. An aberrant teasing glint consumed the younger’s stoic expression abruptly.

“How about you ask Kyung Mi, Mister Shik,” he uttered plainly.

The corners of Gongchan’s mouth were beginning to twitch, but he did not intend to lose his patience.

“I would if it was relevant, but it isn’t,” he continued slowly as if he was teaching a young child. “In fact, this is about you.” Sehun’s eyes turned inevitably cold and impersonal.

“… And you are welcomed to give me just one reason to even care,” he spoke icily. The other was rather taken aback at this personality change, for he had associated with the cheeky and semi-impertinent one before — but not this walking bit of refrigerator. The nineteen year old placed his remaining food down on the plate and pushed it aside, wiping his hands with a tissue as he ruminated deeply.

“Because you care about Kyung Mi’s well-being,” assumed Gongchan through his teeth. This discussion was not proceeding smoothly at all. The younger one’s eyes, once being emotionless, were resuscitated with blazing sparks.

“And in fact, a lot more than you,” commented Sehun, nearly spitting those words out that tasted so bitter in his system.

The accusation of not caring for the bespectacled childhood friend more than the enigmatic male in front of him was preposterous.

“That’s not true,” now defended Gongchan firmly. “You don’t know her as long as I had, and I care a lot more.” Then the younger one smiled such an indescribable smile that portrayed his immense disbelief and disgust, finally placing the bread aside.

“You can’t say,” almost insulted Sehun. The older of the two was terribly close to getting infuriated. They were just like water and fire — they really couldn’t mix. It was like a test to see as to who would gain the upper hand in this unbeneficial debate.

“I can say,” responded Gongchan venomously. “I’ve known her since I was seven, I’ve dried her tears, I’ve helped her paint, I’ve met her parents, I’ve made her laugh and smile, I’ve walked her to school and back countless times to ensure her safety. Do I not say?” After that extemporaneous speech, he couldn’t help but to feel satisfied. Surely the other was rendered speechless.

“That’s a fine string of achievements that you have,” drawled Sehun with an expressionless face. “But it looks like even the quickest player wears off, and so they are found in need for assistance.” Then his voice fell to the softest of whispers.

“Have you forgotten that I am the one who walks her home now?” he mentioned with a murderous smile. “It’d be bad to forget, because then maybe a certain girl might be whisked away to a place so, so far away…” Oh Sehun still had the audacity to tease. Gongchan Shik finally took the bait.

“So you do intend to steal my best friend away,” he growled. The nineteen year old actually did. The younger’s eyes resumed its usual dispassionate look. “Maybe I’ve already have,” he smirked dangerously. “Besides walking her home, I’ve seen her place, invited her for lunch, bought her a present, and in fact… I accompanied her home last Friday night. Do you want any more details about my set of achievements, Mister Shik?” The nineteen year old was able to keep under reasonable control, but being referred like that was still annoying.

“I deny you that honour,” answered Gongchan blatantly. “I would be alright if anyone else but you is her new friend or something in my unfortunate absence.” Sehun’s eyes gleamed darkly.

“And a person like you deserves to care for the said princess?” mocked the eighteen year old. “Like you’ve said, your absence has been evident, but that is a poor excuse. A poor excuse when the man has gone after another, leaving the original one in tatters.” Gongchan stared at the other with a nightmarish incredulity. Something was just insanely wrong and immoral with this boy, in his opinion. And his best friend had claimed the younger one to be nice.

“Speak plain, mister,” he said warningly at last. “I am getting tired of your twisted analogies.” It would have almost seemed like Oh Sehun was waiting for this moment, for his smile was as sharp as a scimitar’s. The usually insensate boy stood up first, however, and tucked the cafeteria seat underneath the long table. He leaned forward to Gongchan’s ear without warning, the sneer distinct in his voice.

“Han Min Jae.”

Sehun took his leave immediately after that, sickened with the older one’s actions, and especially his. It was not right no matter what angered him to have acted rashly like in the cafeteria. He could have spoken nicely to the older, and with much more respect. Yet he hadn’t. He scowled, and so he would have the entire way back to class when his eyes descried something suspicious. A male figure from around the corner appeared to be holding something that didn’t look like his. It wasn’t like Sehun to assume, but it was inevitable since it was a girl’s bag. He wished that he could say that the guy was taking it for his girlfriend or something, but it was clearly not. Without a second thought, the eighteen year old began running after the said person, willing his long arms to grab the bag before anything else happened to it. The thief gave quite the chase, and when it ended, it wasn’t Sehun who caught the bag. It was the owner, the girl that the two males had spoken of earlier. It was Min Jae.

Unfortunately, the collision that happened between the tall male and the nineteen year old student caused some of the bag’s contents to be spilled. Since the eighteen year old was shocked at the coincidence, he only watched the other at first. He was surprised that Kyung Mi, in her frustration, had not spoken wrongly of her older sister. She was considerably good-looking, but so was the bespectacled girl. And surely she had quite the spirit since it was Min Jae that successfully retrieved the bag when he couldn’t. The older sister too, proved to be efficient as she packed up everything and apologized to him for the collision. Oh Sehun merely waved it off, still finding the situation to be bizarre. Thinking he should be heading back to his classroom, he turned and habitually glanced at the ground to find a photograph. Picking it up, he realized that the other had not taken everything after all.

“Miss Han!” called out Sehun, hoping she would turn so that he need not do a second set of running. His eyes slowly returned to the photograph although he didn’t mean to pry, and his eyes dilated again. It appeared as though he was doing that more often lately, but he could not help it. It was a picture of a smiling girl, perhaps about the age of six with the words, “I’m sorry,” written below it, suspiciously looking as though it had been dampened with tears periodically. His heart began to beat rapidly from within his chest as his mind began to unravel something impossible. Luckily, the aforementioned female student returned for the photograph and gave a very stiff greeting of thanks. Staring at the disappearing shadow of Min Jae, Oh Sehun was beginning to think that something big was about to happen.