chill

A coldness of manner.

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August 14 (Tuesday)

What could have made the insouciant male to approach Kyung Mi? It was confusing and irrational, since he didn’t appear to approach anything first except for animals. She blinked, recalling his words once more and noted that he delivered his request in a decorous manner. Kyung Mi proceeded to conclude that he merely wanted shelter from the rain, so she decided to comply with his request; even if it ended up being peculiar and awkward. After all, why should she allow the poor boy to stand out in the rain when her umbrella was supposedly large enough?

“Ah, Sehun,” said Kyung Mi softly, in an attempt to calm her wavering voice. “You may.” The downpour came down heavier than ever, and so it led her to wonder if the other had heard her words. Sehun had a ghost of a smile on his face before it returned to his usual expression of indifference.

“Thank you,” murmured Sehun as he neatly bent his body to get under the umbrella. Once Kyung Mi saw that he was right beside her, plus sheltered from the rain on the most part, she began walking. It didn’t take her too long to realize that she had a slight struggle to keep the umbrella firmly upright, since it wasn’t a thing that she usually did whenever there was an extra height.

However, Kyung Mi was absolutely reluctant to even propose the thought of asking her unexpected classmate to hold up the umbrella for the both of them. In a way it seemed really strange, and she did not want the male to assume that she was thinking of him as a burden. She sighed inaudibly, hoping that she would be able to gather enough strength for the rest of the journey back. A breeze kicked up, and that was all it took to cause the umbrella that Kyung Mi was using to be held sideways. Though she was quick to hold the umbrella in an upright manner once more, they were already considerable drenched. Kyung Mi felt a twinge of guilt when she saw that Sehun was more soaked than ever.

“Sorry,” uttered Kyung Mi with a smile. “The wind seems to be stronger lately.” She knew that was a feeble excuse, but in a sense she was trying to joke. At first she thought that her failed joke had garnered neither interest nor reaction from the male, but he proved to astonish her immensely.

“Then that calls for a stronger person,” chuckled Sehun lowly as he smoothly took hold of the umbrella’s handle. Shocked, Kyung Mi’s fingers were quick to slip off the handle. He lifted the umbrella above both of their heads in a kind manner, though his face was not quick to show such a thing. He glanced at her, as if he was waiting to see how she would react to his extemporaneous action, and perhaps to even see if she would allow it to be done.

Kyung Mi blinked, observing the other for a few moments before pushing up her spectacles. Was it to be considered as a turn of events? It wasn’t too bad, if he was willing and he harboured no negative intention towards her for this. She didn’t suppose that this was a slight attempt to get closer to her, is it? Maybe it was just convenient for him to do it this way, since he was saved from getting wet and whatnot. So she smiled, and expressed her thanks.

“Then thank you, strong Sehun,” said Kyung Mi solemnly with a nod, trying to suppress her laughter. He appeared to have not made a significant remark at that, so they resumed their walk. However, Kyung Mi couldn’t help but feel particularly weird since during moments like this, it was Gongchan that helped her so.

So used to the fact that the other was usually Gongchan, Kyung Mi had unintentionally and subconsciously leaned towards Sehun when it was chilly. She was terribly close for a first time, that it even brought a look of surprise and bewilderment upon his face — that is, if she was looking. It only took a hasty cough to make her realize that she was doing such a thing, and so she profusely uttered her apology to Sehun. She tried to hide the tiny flush that found its way to her cheeks, for she feared that it would cause a major misunderstanding. Once again, nevertheless, Sehun had surprised her with his reply.

“You’re too used to him, aren’t you?” remarked Sehun innocently, permitting himself the smallest of smiles. “I knew you guys were close, but well, this pretty much grazes dangerously along a certain line…” Kyung Mi gulped, wondering if someone else other than herself had already found out. Surely the word him implied Gongchan Shik? Then Sehun had reverted into his infamous cold expression, continuing the walk. If she wasn’t sure of what she had seen, it would have looked like she had imagined his miniature expression of amusement.

“Uh, usually me and Gongchan walk to school and back,” added Kyung Mi for no reason at all. “It’s just that he has to stay back at school for studies, so I have to return by myself now.” She sighed wistfully, realizing that she was acting quite childishly since it wasn’t like she lost him or something.

She still saw him during recess if she chose to leave the classroom, and she still had the chance to walk to school with him. Kyung Mi only lost the time she spent with him on the way back, and nothing else.

“I know,” said Sehun blankly, interrupting her trail of thoughts. “It’s not a good thing for a girl to walk alone though, despite the fact that you might say that you can handle anything and everything, Kyung Mi.” So she carefully tried to understand and piece his odd words together, wondering if he meant to accompany her every time after school from now on. Perhaps she was just misled by him, so she chose to not voice out her thoughts.

He noted her silence, but he let her be. Sehun was fully aware that to others, he was acting out of the norm and so he did not want to frighten her or anything. Plus, it wasn’t like the quietness was unwelcomed. He was someone that did not find pleasure or confidence in many words, so he found a certain, admirable quality in the stillness of the atmosphere. Well, aside from the obvious fact that the rain contributed to the apparent noise, but it still had a calming feel to it anyway. Sehun’s eyes flickered tersely to hers when they had arrived at the park. The park was about five to ten minutes from her place, but he had no idea which route exactly.

“Where to?” inquired Sehun. Suddenly, Kyung Mi was conscious of the fact that she had not even told him the location of her place. It was odd to think that they were just walking normally, with him having no instructions or request to follow. She realized that she was deluded enough to think that the male beside her was Gongchan once more. It wasn’t a surprise, since she concluded silently that they were of the same height. It was so coincidental that she might have found it funny — that is, if she had known Sehun a little more to make plain, innocent fun out of it.

“Here,” replied Kyung Mi hastily, gesturing towards one of the roads and they proceeded to travel down it. It was raining heavily as ever, as if the clouds intended to keep on crying for a loss of some sort. She had found herself childishly wishing that she could find a way to calm the tears and pour the buckets of water away. He kindly let her into the compound of her house, still holding the umbrella above her head.

“Ah, thank you!” exclaimed Kyung Mi, sticking close to the house gates so that both of them would not be drenched. “I think you should take the umbrella for today, I can get it back from you tomorrow at school, Sehun.” She watched the male contemplate her words, and so she took that opportunity to run towards the sheltered part of her house. Guaranteed, she got wet once more, but they were only mere spots.

She watched the other’s eyes widening temporarily before they returned to their usual, undaunted manner. He looked blankly at the umbrella and then back at her.

“Go ahead and take it!” encouraged Kyung Mi nicely, in her attempt to make him take it. Sehun paused for a few moments before speaking.

“But maybe I don’t want to take the umbrella,” remarked Sehun nonchalantly. “I live at the apartment building area. You know, the one across the park we passed by earlier. It’s not that far now, is it?”

“Uh, yea!” spoke Kyung Mi accidentally. “You often jog in that park.” At that she flushed slightly, embarrassed that she had revealed such information so easily. She didn’t want to be thought of as a stalker. Wait, why should she care what she was thought of anyway?

The redness of her cheeks had gone into a deeper shade when Sehun raised an eyebrow at her statement.

“Looks like some people have eyes in places they don’t need to,” quipped Sehun. She felt quite indignant at that statement, but she realized that she had no idea if his remark was a good or a bad one. So she let him be.

“Our farewell seems to be taking too long,” said Sehun in a manner that felt too sharp for her liking, so she hurriedly waved at him and ran inside. She was too inquisitive to let her random classmate to be out of her sight though, so she sneakily and curiously peeked at him from behind the living room’s curtains.

If she had not seen it, she would have never believed it. A soft smile adorned the male’s face as he gently hung the umbrella on her house gate. He took two steps before looking back at her house, his gaze directly at her. She nearly squealed at that, because she didn’t know that he was observant enough to be aware that she was peeping at him. Maybe he had scoffed in her direction before he ran off in the rain. Kyung Mi smiled at her apparent, insensate classmate. Perhaps he wanted to accompany her instead of seeking shelter from the chilly rain after all.