The Twenty-Second Chapter

Sehun made sure that Daesom was sound asleep before he dressed up warmer to fight the freezing temperature outside. Hoping that she wouldn’t wake up to see that he was gone, he placed a light kiss on her forehead and got out of his apartment quietly. He decided to walk down the block because driving this evening was dangerous with sleet on the roads. The coffee shop where he would be meeting Daehyun wasn’t that far anyway.

Most shops closed early but some were still open even this Christmas. People were still walking down the streets, mostly couples who were celebrating the last hours of the holiday. He quickened his pace and dug his hands deeper into his pockets because the temperature was dropping every second. It was probably going to snow again tonight.

Sehun entered the coffee shop with a light jingle of the bells and his eyes immediately scanned the area for Daesom’s older brother. He quickly found the latter sitting at the leftmost part of the place beside the glass windows. Daehyun looked up as soon as he heard the bells and waved a hand at Sehun.

“I’m sorry for calling you out this late. I just got back from Busan.” Daehyun said as soon as Sehun sat down across him. “Happy holidays, by the way.” The older one smiled warmly.

Sehun just nodded. “I was expecting you to visit Daesom earlier, since it’s Christmas.”

“Ah, yes.” Daehyun’s smile turned into an awkward one. “Daesom told me not to see her for a few days so I didn’t visit her even though I wanted to. We’ll get to that later. Let get something warm to drink first.”

It was a cup of cappuccino for Sehun and an espresso for Daehyun. The former wasn’t really a fan of coffee but since it was a coffee shop, he settled for one. Sehun had an idea though that what Daehyun wanted to talk about with him wouldn’t be as warm and welcoming like the coffees.

“Does Daesom know that you came here to meet me?” Daehyun asked after taking a sip of his drink.

“No. She was already asleep when you texted.”

“Daesom would probably go ballistic and ask you to decline if she knew.” A small smile appeared on Daehyun’s face and Sehun couldn’t help but notice the affectionate tone he used when he said his sister’s name. “But you should tell her tomorrow when she wakes up.”

“I was really planning to.” Sehun stared at the cup on his hands for awhile before he looked Daehyun into the eyes again. “So, Daehyun-ssi, what is it that you wanted to talk about?”

“You’re too formal. You can just call me ‘hyung’.”

Sehun wasn’t used to calling someone with familiarity so he ignored the offer. “It’s about Daesom, right?” He pressed on.

Daehyun heaved a sigh. “We weren’t exactly on good terms when she left Canada with Kris. I tried patching things up with her but she refused to answer my calls while she was here. And now that we met again, I found out that she’s sick. I was glad that she didn’t push me away when I arrived and she’s warming up to me again, but when I mentioned about taking her back with me to Canada, she refused and got mad.” There was a pause before Daehyun spoke again. “She doesn’t want to come with me even if there’s a bigger chance for her to get better there because she wants to stay here with you. Daesom.. is too much in love with you.”

There was a subtle hint of bitterness on Daehyun’s tone but Sehun guessed that Daehyun was trying to hide it. “I love your sister more than anything else, even my own life, and I don’t want her to be away from me, too.”

“Even if the treatment in Canada would let her live much longer? Even if it could make Daesom’s life normal again?”

Sehun dropped his gaze for a moment and gathered his thoughts. It would be best for her to go back to Canada and get treated there but he couldn’t bear to part from her anymore. “So, what do you want me to do? Persuade her to go back there with you?” His voice was calm when he said it since he was trying to keep his emotions in check.

“If you would.” Daehyun replied curtly.

“You’re in love with Daesom, too. She’s more than a sister to you and she had feelings for you before. How could I trust you?” No one could blame him if he would be suspicious about Daehyun’s intentions. Love was powerful, scary even, and things always were unpredictable.

Daehyun looked mildly surprised upon hearing what Sehun said. The former didn’t know that Sehun knew about his feelings. Daehyun clenched his jaws before answering. “This is not about me or my feelings for her.”

“I know. But the decision isn’t mine, too. Daesom will decide where she wants to be. I won’t lie and say that it would be fine with me if she goes away, but if that’s what she wants, I won’t stop her.” Even if it would pain him for her to be far from him again, if it was for her own good, he would have to sacrifice.

Daesom’s brother didn’t respond immediately. He seemed to ponder on Sehun’s words for a moment before letting out a sigh. “You’re right. Though it seems like she has no plans of coming with me. I only want what’s best for her.”

“The best thing for her is the one where she’ll be happy and she won’t have any regrets.” Sehun pointed out.

“That’s why I let her stay with you. But, Sehun..” Daehyun’s gaze bore into Sehun’s eyes and there was an intense warning in it. “If you hurt my sister, or her life would be in more danger because of you, regardless of what she wants, I’ll take her back with me. I’m still her brother. Are we clear on that?”

Sehun nodded once, but he was serious. Of course, he wouldn’t let anything hurt the girl he loved but if staying away from her was the only choice, he would have to give way.

Sehun left the café a few more minutes after, since there was nothing more to say between them. He was worried that Daesom might wake up from her sleep, too. He walked back home quickly despite his feet going numb because of the coldness. When he was about a few meters away from his apartment, he saw that the lights from the living room were on. Worried that something was wrong, his steps turned into a jog until he was already on his front door.

After quickly punching in the passcode, the door opened and he immediately saw Daesom sitting at the couch. She stood up upon seeing him come inside, the blanket she wrapped around herself slipping off and dropping on the floor.

“Where did you go?” Daesom asked in a croaked voice with her brows pinched together.

“Why are you up? You should be in bed.” Sehun asked instead as he neared her and picked up the blanket to wrap it around her again. “You should h