If you can't be a petal, be a thorn.

"Look, Jiyoon it's not what you think." Luhan stood up anxiously, trying to find an explanation for what she overheard.

"It's not what I think?" Jiyoon took a careful step away from him. Ever since Jin returned, Luhan wasn't Luhan anymore. He had been fidgety, anxious and overprotective of Sojin and she finally figured out the reason why. "Sojin is Anqi isn't she? You knew didn't you."

There was no reason for Luhan to hide things anymore and he sighed in perplexity, running thin fingers through his hair. "I only knew after a few months here in high school. I didn't expect Yixing's so-called ex girlfriend to even be alive, or show up here."

"What about the diary, the memory loss?"

"Everything in the diary was true but her picture was swapped with a photograph of his classmate. Long story short, he suffered a memory loss when he woke up and couldn't remember a thing two weeks back so his parents took it to their advantage and retold the story in an entirely different manner. What he believed was that Anqi died but in actual fact - she went missing. She was missing from school for a week and he went crazy searching for her and ended up being knocked down by a car, in a coma for a week and hospitalised for 2 months. "

"His parents underestimated his love and thought that he would have gotten over her supposed 'death', which obviously did not work out but made things worse seeing that we ran away from home." Luhan shrugged in defeat. "But Anqi isn't Anqi anymore. She's Sojin and that, he doesn't have to know."

It was a shocking revelation and though Jiyoon couldn't understand most parts and would like to have Luhan slow down in his incoherent Korean, she couldn't help but open and close repeatedly and not utter a single sound from the keywords like 'missing', 'hospitalised', 'memory loss'.

"You can't do this to Lay, he loves her." she shook her head in disappointment.
 

"Love? Him?" Luhan sneered, his expression darkening at his name.

"You call that love when he threw her away repeatedly for the business meetings and the arranged marriages his parents set up for him. You call that love when he didn't know how much she was suffering? Her ballet dream that she almost had to give up? Her depression that she was suffering for ages and no one- literally no ing person was there to save her from the mess she became. If not for her mother who remarried and showed up out of nowhere, brought her back to Korea with her-" Luhan took a shaky breath to calm himself down. "Anqi was taken for granted, always a backup plan for that bas-"

"OPPA!"

"Don't side with him if you still treat me as your oppa." Luhan shouted angrily, unable to comprehend why Jiyoon was siding with him.

"Luhan." Xiumin sighed, squeezing his tensed shoulders. He was the only one that knew of this secret because of their close friendship and it was the second time Luhan was explaining this whole issue to someone else, yet getting visibly upset again.

"Yes I know he is my friend, hyung. Heck, he is my childhood friend I grew up with but-"

"I'm sure Sojin knows how to deal with this herself-"

"She's too soft-hearted! She still cares for him I can see it in her eyes! The way she looks at him!" Luhan shouted, pushing Xiumin who fell backwards. His eyes widened in fear after realising what he had done, his emotions had gotten out of control. He was never like that, but when it comes to Sojin everything was different. Taking a shaky breath, he ran his hands through his brown locks of hair. He turned his back against Jiyoon and Xiumin, speaking calmly.

"Do me a favor Jiyoon. Sojin never knew that I was Yixing's childhood friend or even met me before coming to Seoul. So, I wouldn't like to change things the way they are now."

"Please."

"I don't understand him!" Jiyoon complained, plopping down on the bench Luhan sat earlier in defeat. Everything turned out to be a mess as she expected and it scared her, thinking how it might spiral out of control and turn into an irredeemable situation eventually.

Xiumin on the opposing end grew silent. He understood exactly where Luhan was coming from especially after he spilled all of his secrets one night. It was the night of their annual school ball, a year after knowing Jin. He was drunk and puked on Xiumin's million won dress shirt without remembering a single thing until Xiumin stubbornly questioned him the next morning. He knew, and as a friend kept it a secret from the rest and even Lay whom he thought deserved to know as well.

But now he's wondering if he had done the right thing from the beginning.

"I guess love makes fools of us all."

"Let's respect his decision. I'm sure they know how to deal with this, they aren't kids anymore." A sly grin creeping onto his lips as he wriggled his eyebrows playfully. "Besides, I don't think you have the time to be worrying about this issue when someone is waiting to go on a date with you~"

"It's not a date, hyung." a voice spoke from behind Jiyoon, making her jump up in surprise. "We're just going for a walk."

"Yeah yeah, says the maknae who never bring us hyungs around for a walk."  Xiumin shrugged, unimpressed. He helped Jiyoon up from the bench who walked over to Sehun's side limping.

Jiyoon had no idea what the two kids were conspiring because they were supposedly going to have their dinner with the boys. "Are we going somewhere? The broken teacups and I thought the celebratio-"

"What is celebrations when we have one man down." Xiumin clicked his tongue in disapproval. "I'll clear up this mess. Now run along, don't be back too soon."

"I don't want to go for a walk." Jiyoon declared, crossing her arms in defiance. "I can't walk."

"I didn't say you have to walk." Sehun murmured, leading her out of the cafe. She followed him from behind despite stubbornly pouting her lips in displeasure, muttering under her breath how stupid Sehun was. However when she reached the entrance of the cafe- what greeted her was the sight of a wheelchair. It was classy with gold wheels, not the kind you see old men sitting in at hospitals.

And one thing's for sure- it must have cost a bomb.

"Why- do you even have a wheelchair?"

"In case I get run down by vehicles on the road." Sehun made a head gesture and pointed to the wheelchair. "I'm renting this to you for a day so I'm keeping the 50,000 won."

"Unfair." her heart warmed up instantly despite his cold words and she settled herself comfortably on the cushioned wheelchair. "But really, how did you get this?"

"I told you-" Sehun rolled his eyes, annoyed by her incessant questions. "I got it customed made for myself, just in case things happen. I'm only lending it to you for a day."

"Fine, no biggie." Jiyoon stuck a tongue out playfully. She only had a thin grey cardigan and knowing Sehun wouldn't lend his jacket, she tucked the cardigan tighter around her. Despite the cold weather, her mood was lifted. "So where are we going?"

"I don't know." he answered honestly, easily maneuvering the wheelchair. It was late evening and there wasn't much people on the streets, there were kids running out from kindergarten into the arms of their mums and workers are starting to get off work. "Where do you want to go?"

"You are the one who asked me out for a walk."

But Sehun obviously had a destination in mind as he pushed her down the streets carefully, avoiding the bumpy and uneven ground. Honestly, it was becoming so comfortable to hang around him that it scared Jiyoon, a little. The reliance she had on him was growing day by day and what if things happen and-

"I saw you with Xiumin and Luhan hyung outside. What were you guys talking about?"

"N-nothing. Just stuff."

"Yeah." He knew it wasn't just stuff but he kept mum and pushed her across the road. It soon dawned on her that it was the park where they made the deal almost a month ago and her cheeks grew redder just the thought of what had happened that day.

They almost kissed.

If not for the fact that she pulled away. It had been hard to admit what happened right there and they were kind of in a relationship but not in a relationship at the same time, it sometimes confuses her as well. And the most important thing was - Sehun didn't like her. He was dependent on her.

"You know, the first day I attended class wasn't the first time I met you." she spoke, trying to rid the weird atmosphere that she was feeling.

"Oh?" Sehun raised an eyebrow. He was making improvements now, making short comments sometimes if that counts and Jiyoon took it as a prompt to continue.

"I was walking around the day before and I went to the classroom. I peeked in and saw a weird dude with rainbow hair color sleeping on his desk." Jiyoon joked, earning a frown from Sehun. 

"That is not weird."

"I know you look good in everything but I still prefer brown on you most." Jiyoon smiled and lifted her head up to look at Sehun t