KISS?

Days had passed since Sehun admitted to himself that he likes Haerin. Since then, Sehun freely let himself drown in thoughts of her. He was no longer asking why she’s taking over his entire brain. He kept thinking of whether to tell her or not. Though every time Kai was near, Sehun always think it’s best to keep it to him self. But then whenever Sehun had Haerin to himself, he just wants to suddenly cut off her statement by confessing that he likes her. He thought she’d look cute after hearing it, with her confused face and everything.

After that night he hugged her and told her that she mattered to him a lot, they’ve been open to each other more. They gradually laughed together and they were just simply happy. Haerin could no longer see a trace of lonely Sehun and she was glad. Sometimes, the two would link arms unconsciously as they walk and most of the time, it was Sehun who grabs her arm though Haerin just goes with it. All the time it looks like she’s just nonchalantly going with the flow but every time Sehun makes physical contact towards her, her heartbeat races and she starts to hold her breath for a good five seconds until she can grasp the fact that Sehun’s holding her.

In school, some students had already come to the conclusion that the two are dating, though they weren’t. People thought of it that way because they were almost inseparable in school. Sure there are times when Haerin would still sit with the gang and they’d have a good laugh together but people started to notice that Sehun sits within the circle too and his place is always next to Haerin’s. Sometimes they’d catch them walk out of the classroom together, hearing Sehun tease Haerin about her math grades while he casually throws an arm around her as she pouts and elbows his side in revenge. It’s safe to say that skinship between them had become natural though one of them took it more specially than the other.

The gang, especially the beagle couple—Baekhyun and Chanyeol—noticed how the Sehun and Haerin had developed their relationship more. There was no denying that the two has something for each other though they—well, mostly Kai—were just waiting for Haerin to tell it herself. As her best guy buddies and Kai being the longest best friend of hers, they want to respect her decision as to when she’s going to tell the entire gang about her and Sehun—though they weren’t really dating at all. They didn’t want to jump to any conclusions like the other students, especially girls who were crying of jealousy because of every one of them who adored Sehun, a girl named Haerin eventually ‘caught his heart’.

It was Friday already, lunchtime. The gang was curious that they saw Sehun leave the cafeteria alone as he focused on his phone. They also didn’t see any sign of Haerin through out the day since no one was loud at the halls this morning, screaming “Bacon smells”. No one knocked on their classroom door to yell “Good morning yodayeol” and no one asked for “Chicken mania kkamjong please” teasingly.

“Did Haerin skip school?” Suho asked as he looked around to find the girl in the cafeteria but unfortunately, there was no sign of their friend.

“Well beagle girlfriend probably slept late,” Baekhyun said.

“Any news from her kkamjong?” Chanyeol asked as he nudged the silent guy next to him who was busy finishing his history homework—copying Kyungsoo’s work.

“She’s going to China,” Kai bluntly said.

“WHAT?!” The other guys’ jaw were hanging in shock. They weren’t aware that she had plans to go to China. Besides, she never took interest in learning another language nor living in another country. It was shocking to them.

“For how long?!” Baekhyun exclaimed.

“Just for the weekend. I asked when’s her flight and she said it’s this afternoon so that chatterbox is probably packing a hundred bags right now,” Kai said as he continued to scribble on his notes. The others sighed in relief as they glared at Kai. Most of them thought that Haerin was going to leave for good and none of them wanted that, at least not without saying goodbye.

“Why is she going to China all of a sudden? She never mentioned anything to us before,” Kyungsoo asked as he munched on his plate of kimchi while the others focused on Kai who seemed to be playing cool about the entire thing. For all they know, he’s probably worried for Haerin deep inside.

“Well…Sehun’s mother is having her birthday and she told me that she was invited.” Kai lowly muttered and continued on writing, not wanting to take all of his attention off of finishing his homework—well copying homework. Everyone arched a brow and exchanged looks. Kai sighed and dropped his pen, exasperated.

“So technically, she’s meeting his family.” Suho spoke as the others nodded, even Kai.

“This upsets me,” Baekhyun said with a pout as everyone gave him a look, especially Chanyeol who looked at him like ‘why are you so upset, you aren’t Kai okay’. Baekhyun just rolled his eyes and sighed at them, “We’ve been friends with her longer than that dude from her class-”

“Baek, he’s got a name you know,” Kyungsoo interrupted.

“And I refuse to call him that,” Baekhyun replied stubbornly and decided to continue on with his statement, “What I’m trying to say is, it’s unfair. She had never met our parents, well at least not Kai’s because they’ve known each other since kindergarten. And now she’s meeting that dude’s family that’s all the way to China,”

“You’re such a baby. If you’re so upset about that then take her to meet your parents when she gets back,” Kyungsoo teased as Baekhyun rolled a tissue paper and threw it at Kyungsoo’s direction.

On the other hand, though it sounded a little bit immature for Kyungsoo, Kai felt what Baekhyun wanted to point out. He understood what his friend wanted to say. Since Sehun came in the picture, they can’t go a day without hearing others put Haerin and Sehun’s name in one sentence. Kai was afraid to admit it but he always thought that their girl buddy is always spending so much time with Sehun and it’s not only because they needed to practice but because they also became really close friends…too close for just friends, even.

While Kai was contemplating, the others continued to goof around him. Baekhyun continued to defend himself while Kyungsoo keeps telling him to grow up and Chanyeol and Suho were just joining in the side, laughing at how pathetic Baekhyun looks and how Kyungsoo’s reacting to it without any facial expressions at all.

-

“Arasso. I’ll call you when I land,” Sehun said through the phone and hung up on Luhan who already arrived in China during lunchtime. He was already at the airport by himself. He sighed as disappointment hits him that Haerin wasn’t going…or so he thought. He was already in line to get his ticket checked and get on a plane to China. As he was waiting for his turn, he kept looking at his phone expecting a message from Haerin but there was none. He was disappointed.

He didn’t see her all day because she was absent and he was curious because she wasn’t replying to his messages at all—not that he sent many texts. He greeted her good morning before leaving for school, he asked her if she was going to school before the homeroom bell rang and he even asked her why she isn’t around during their lunch break but all those messages never got a reply. Sehun was so worried that he even thought of cancelling his flight but he knew that Haerin would not want that and it’ll only probably piss her off if he does that.

To: Haerinnie

I’m off to board now… Tch. I’ll get you for ignoring me when I get back.

Sent.

Sehun was finally on the plane and he sat on the seat by the isle because for some reasons the empty seat beside him is occupied. While letting the others go in the plane, he just plugged his earphones and listened to music while staring at the thread of messages with Haerin. She still haven’t replied to his recent text message.

Sehun wondered if he should text her again to say that he would miss her. Well it’s alright to say that, right? Besides, it’s the truth. He will miss her though it’s just for the weekend. And if Haerin asks questions about that, he doesn’t have to answer her soon because he’ll be in China for the rest of the weekend. He has a couple of days to contemplate on what to say to her when they see each other again and maybe even tell her that he likes her.

He tapped his phone and the keyboard shifted out. His thumbs hovered over the letters as he composed a new text message for Haerin.

I’ll miss you. He quickly erased it and began typing a new message.

Hey I’m going to miss you, idiot. He stared at it for a while and then erased it again.

Even though you ignored me today, I’ll still miss you. He sighed and erased it. Exasperated, Sehun groaned to himself as he released another heavy sigh. He just couldn’t get it together. He wants the message to look subtle but at the same time a bit meaningful.

To: Haerinnie

Yah, idiot. Don’t injure yourself while practicing alone, arasso? I’ll see you soon. I’ll miss you. Annyeong.

Sehun stared at his message for a while and his hand hovered over the ‘send’ button. With eyes shut, he pressed on it quickly and when he opened his eyes, his message had already been sent. He sighed and relief and prepared himself for a reply. Well, he isn’t expecting that she would immediately reply but just in case she does, at least he’d know what to text back.

Sehun fixed the settings of his phone to airplane mode. He just shut his eyes and thought of taking a nap even before the plane takes off. Suddenly, he felt the window seat being occupied though he didn’t bother look since he was already feeling sleepy and his presence doesn’t seem to bug the new occupant anyway. Sehun just shifted a bit to give space for the person to move freely and just continued on listening to music.

It wasn’t long until the plane took off. Now he’s got about an hour and a half or two to take a nap before seeing his family again. It’s been a long time since he had seen his stepfather and his mom. The last time he saw them was mid-2013 and that’s only because they surprised visited him at his apartment. When he told them that he didn’t like people surprising him, they never tried to visit him without his consent but whenever they asked if they could go see him, he’d always have a reason to deny their offer. He was used to being alone and he was used to not having anyone. He liked having no company but after Haerin happened, a part of him didn’t want that anymore.

-

At around 6 in the evening, Sehun had arrived at the airport and when he got out, Luhan was already there, waiting for him. His hyung liefted a hand and waved at him with a huge grin. He walked to him and smiled back a little.

“Ah, there he is!” Luhan exclaimed as his face splits in two with a grin and gave Sehun a man hug, “Rough flight?” He added.

“Sort of. I slept the entire time,” Sehun said as Luhan chuckled.

“Typical,” Luhan teased, “Anyway, let’s go now before the guests shows up and fills the house,” And the two went off. All through the car ride, they conversed naturally about how everyone was doing and Luhan told him that the party is set for tonight until midnight or even past that.

“I thought the party was going to be tomorrow, Saturday?” Sehun arched a brow.

“Oh, no. Mom’s having her party tonight and she even invited lots of friends and of course, family. She told me that tomorrow we’re going around town for a little tour.” Luhan answered with a smile.

“We? Don’t you guys already know the place? I don’t really want to go around, I’ll just stick at home,” Sehun said as he looked out the window and saw a few familiar stalls and places. It wasn’t his first time there but it’s been quite a long time since he last went there. Sehun would actually like to go around town but he just imagined it with Haerin but since she wasn’t around, Sehun just wanted to stick at home and maybe call her when he gets bored.

“Oh, you’ll go for sure.” Luhan smirked and momentarily looked at his younger brother before eyeing back at the road. Sehun was too deep in thought of how Haerin was doing so he didn’t really read onto much of his stepbrother’s smirk.

They arrived at a private lot. The gates opened automatically and Luhan drove around. There were already cars lined up and parked at the curb and that’s already enough to tell that some guests have probably arrived at the mansion. Sehun was still pretty familiar with this place. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t like it. The house was incredibly too big for a family of four and it’s designed modernly. There’s a huge lot beside it that had a few trees and a huge garden. On the other side were a rest area with a fountain and a bench. By the back was the beach. Ah, yes. The beach. That’s what Sehun liked the most around here.

“Did mom invite all her friends over?” Sehun arched a brow as he looked at the number of cars.

“Trust me, those are just some of her friends. I bet her best friends haven’t arrived yet,” Luhan stated and stopped the car right across the wide flight of stairs to get to the tall front door. The both hopped off the car and immediately one of their male caretakers caught the car keys that Luhan threw at his direction. Another male caretaker took Sehun’s luggage out of the car though he didn’t really bring much. It was just a small suitcase.

They went up to the front door and Luhan came in first as Sehun walked behind him, “Mom, look who’s already here!” Luhan yelled towards the group of people at their huge living room. There were so many adults just around their mother’s age. Sehun wasn’t familiar with all of them but he knew that some of his mom’s sisters were around already.

Suddenly a woman stood up and placed her glass of wine on the table as he turned her head to see Sehun. She was beautiful and she looked younger than her real age. The woman smiled brightly as Sehun approached her and gave her a hug.

“Oh my gosh, my baby! I missed you so much darling!” Sehun’s mother—Xi Seri—exclaimed as she hugged Sehun tightly. On the other hand, Sehun was a bit embarrassed that he got called ‘my baby’ in front of his mother’s friends, who were chuckling as they witness the mother and son. He hugged her back as he caught something familiar, lying on the table—pictures of him during his childhood—most of them were cute but to him, they were plain embarrassing.

“Were you showing them my baby pictures?” Sehun asked as they both pulled away from the hug. They all chuckled as Seri lead him towards the table.

“Yeah, I was showing it to someone earlier and everyone came in to tell some of your childhood stories they could remember,” Seri answered with a light chuckle as Sehun flushed. He was quite embarrassed that a group of adults were huddled in a circle in their living room just to talk about his childhood, “Don’t worry, your friend thought you were cute,” Seri’s statement made them chuckle but Sehun to arch a brow.

“My friend?” He asked and suddenly his sight was black as he felt two soft hands cover his precious eyes, “Yah,” Sehun exclaimed as he touched the hands that were covering his eyes and he couldn’t help but grow comfortable with the touch. He heard a small chuckle behind him and from that he already knew that it’s a girl. He pried the girl’s hands on him but he didn’t let go of her. Sehun turned and was surprised to see the girl he thought he’d miss because she wasn’t going, but she was there—in front of him.

“Haerin?” He asked, shocked. She was wearing a white dress down to her mid-thigh and a blue cardigan a few centimeters longer than her dress as she wore a pair of her low-cut converse. Her hair on the other hand didn’t change at all; she just let it down freely as one side was tucked behind her ear.

“Surprise!” She exclaimed as she threw her hands on either side and smiled big. The others chuckled at how cute she was but then they all gasped in shock when Sehun pulled her into a hug. Everyone thought it was adorable—they were adorable. Even Seri couldn’t help but feel the warmth of her heart, seeing the two hug.

Haerin blushed, not expecting that Sehun would suddenly embrace her. She didn’t think twice of hugging back as she chuckled, “Is it true that you ate your test paper during kindergarten?” She suddenly asked as Sehun pulled away and glared at her.

“Because he was upset that his score was so low,” Luhan teased as he pouted and made a baby face at Sehun who only rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Mom, really?” Sehun turned to his mother who was giggling with almost all of her friends.

“What? She thought it was cute, right Haerinnie?” Her mom asked.

“Yes Mrs. Xi. I thought it was cute,” Haerin replied with a small chuckle as Seri’s face fell in some sort of disappointment.

“Yah, what did I tell you about calling me Mrs. Xi? I told you to call me mom, right?” Seri said as Sehun’s brows raised in quite a shock. His mom was always known for being the kindest woman, letting every kid she knows call him ‘mom’, even Sehun’s cousins call Seri ‘mom’ too but they were relatives so he thought it was only normal for her to be so comfortable around them. But this is Haerin, someone she only met a few hours ago.

“But-” Haerin was cut off after Seri gave her a pout. Sehun could not believe his mother was using that pout to get Haerin to call her ‘mom’. Haerin on the other hand just chuckled sheepishly, “Alright…mom?” She sounded hesitant but Seri liked it very much.

“Don’t worry about it, she lets everyone call her mom,” One of Seri’s sisters called out as the group of adults chuckled.

“Alright, well, d