Kai’s POV

New day, same old boring .

I sighed as I walked into the school building. Exams were at the end of the year and frankly I don’t think I was even half prepared for it. I couldn’t even pay attention in classes, much less be ready to take the actual exams. We were supposed to have a text in a few weeks, but I don’t think I would bother about that. Maybe I should think of the long run and just mug for the end.

Thinking of that the whole way to class, I barely even noticed that Jiho and Chanyeol were giggling together by their lockers. I only saw them when Chanyeol called out to me. I just waved at them before heading to my own classroom. I swear this whole thing with the three of them, being Sehun, Chanyeol and Jiho, was probably too complex for me to comprehend. One minute, Jiho would be all over Sehun and since the day he disappeared, she’d been so close to Chanyeol. I shook my head, thinking I’d rather not be tangled up in all of it.

As I walked into the classroom, I noticed a familiar pair of eyes boring into mine- a pair of eyes I had not seen for quite a while.

“What have you been doing?” I asked as I took a seat beside him. His eyes looked piercing cold and his expression was blank.

“Nothing, just family business,” Sehun replied coldly before turning his head the other way to look out the window.

Another sigh came out of me. He definitely was hiding something, but I guessed if he didn’t want to say it, maybe I shouldn’t bother him too much about it. I had never been one to interrogate people, no matter how curious I got. It could be both a pro and a con. It’s good not to be all up in people’s grill, but at the same time, it appeared like I cared less, and sometimes people would call me an ignorant bastard who only cared about his own affairs. I rolled my eyes at the recollection of what I heard when people were gossiping.

Class began and everything was normal, except that Sehun was being a little too quiet for my liking. Even when he had become a little more reserved ever since a month ago, he still found it in him to talk about complete crap, especially in boring lessons like these. The only sounds I have heard from him were probably when he was coughing or when the teacher called on him to answer their questions.

The bell for break rang and before I could even get a word out, he already stood up and was walking out of the classroom. The other students all stared as he did so before murmuring to each other. I rolled my eyes. These people could never get enough gossip. Annoyed, I grabbed my books and hurriedly followed him out.

“Hey! Where’re you headed?” I asked as I caught up beside him.

Sehun just shrugged, walking through the corridor, managing to intimidate everyone with his cold stare. People started to give way to him such that the centre of the corridor was emptied, like his own personal lane. I furrowed my brows. He sure had a lot of power for being the youngest one of us. I don’t blame him though. It wasn’t his fault for being born with naturally piercing eyes and an icy look.

Figuring I had nothing better to do, I just followed Sehun to wherever it was he was going. In the end, he walked to the back of the school building and took a seat on one of the picnic benches, took out his books, and started reading.

Stunned, I stood in front of him and gaped. “Are you serious?” I scoffed. Sehun shifted his eyes up towards me, looking at me through his lashes, before shrugging and shifting his gaze back to his books. Something was definitely wrong with the kid.

I was just thinking about how I was rarely ever curious enough to keep pressing someone on a certain subject, but now I knew how it felt like to really worry. It when you worried for someone yet they didn’t seem willing to share anything. It even more when it was one of your close friends. I’m going to get to the bottom of this, I decided.

Taking a seat across him, I got my own books out and started doing some work. Sehun didn’t even bother to look up from his notes. I got out my cellphone and made sure that it was out of his view. I didn’t need him to start knowing that I was trying to get information out of him. I scrolled down my contact list to find Suho’s name.

I’m trying to get him to talk. Don’t wait up for us if we don’t show later.

We were all supposed to meet to sort of ‘welcome’ Sehun back, but I don’t think that today would be a suitable time to do that. Honestly, the Sehun now was starting to intimidate me too. I shuddered at the thought of him possibly being mad at one of us. He could look really scary if he wanted to. Maybe not scary as in fierce, but he was usually so child-like that seeing him angry was rare- actually I don’t ever recall seeing him angry- that it would probably scare the out of every one of us.

“What really happened in America?” I asked after a good five minutes of being silent.

I heard him sigh, and I swore I could have seen his expression soften. But before I could rejoice, his expression turned hard again and I felt hopeless all over. “I don’t want to talk about it okay?” he muttered under his breath. In contrast to his fierce exterior, his voice was soft and weak. I didn’t know what to think.

Guessing that I was probably going to get nothing out of him at the moment, I nodded. “Okay then. But if you need to say anything I’ll be here,” I told him. I saw the corner of his lip twitch as he heard that. Even when he was trying to be fierce he couldn’t really succeed. He was a really soft-hearted person, and not many people knew that. It’s because his appearance doesn’t really match his personality.

After half an hour of studying, the bell rang again and we were supposed to have Math class. He got up first and started walking, me trudging slowly behind him, stuffing my books into my bag. As we walked, we never exchanged a single word. But before he walked into the classroom, he stopped at the doorway and glanced slightly over his shoulder at me.

“Thanks.”

Jiho’s POV

Come on, ring already! I stared desperately at the wall clock. I think my pen-clicking on the table was starting to annoy people as they shot me death looks. But I didn’t care. I just couldn't wait for classes to end. My aim today was to find Sehun and talk to him. I would text him, but I just realised I didn’t have his number and I didn’t see Kai around anywhere today. Or Suho and the others for that matter, just Chanyeol.

When the bell finally rang, I pulled Chanyeol along with me out of class and we started to roam the hallways to find for Kai and Sehun. It took us five minutes before we finally found them at their lockers. Sehun was fiddling with something in his locker and Kai was leaning against his, staring at his phone.

My heart started racing the moment Sehun’s gaze locked with mine. I smiled at him, but I got no response. Instead, he looked away and slammed his locker before storming off in the other direction. Kai saw us and smiled apologetically before running after his friend.

“Wait!” I shouted after them, running towards them. I was closing up the distance when I felt a hand grip my wrist, pulling me back. “Let go, Chanyeol, I have to talk to him.” I tried to wriggle free from his grip but it was too strong.

Admitting defeat when I noticed that Sehun and Kai were out of sight, I turned back around to him. He had a firm look on his face. “I don’t think that you’d get anywhere with Sehun, especially not by how pissed off he looked,” he explained. I sighed. During the week Sehun was gone, I had heard so many things about him from the rest to understand how he was like now. I agreed with Chanyeol, but I just really felt the need to hear his voice.

“He’s right,” I heard a familiar voice say. Looking around Chanyeol, I saw Suho and Baekhyun heading over. Suho looked at me with a knowing look. “You’re worried, I get it, but let’s not think of it so much, okay? Kai said he’d try to find out what he can.”

It was good to hear that Kai was worried enough to take care of Sehun. At least I knew there was someone really there for him, but it didn’t take away the worry I had. It that I couldn’t be the one there for him. I really wanted to, though. I really missed him.

They managed to convince me to hang out with them at the mall after waiting for Kyungsoo to be dismissed from a class meeting. I knew they were all just doing that for my sake. They knew I’d think too much if I just went home alone after school, so they would try their best to occupy my free time. Or maybe they were just scared I’d fall back into my old ways. Apparently I had gotten careless and Kyungsoo had noticed the scars on my forearm and asked me about it in the open. Nobody else outside the group heard, though, thank goodness. I managed to get a lecturing from Suho and Chanyeol was just frustrated and worried as . Baekhyun, being who he was, tried to make a joke out of it, which I appreciated because it really lightened the mood. Kai just sighed and shook his head in disapproval. What people said probably were true: he didn’t care about others much, did he?

A vibration in my pocket snapped me back to reality. Getting my phone out, I saw that it was a text message from Kai. I straightened up, hoping that it was news of Sehun.

Try not to worry so much.

My shoulders slumped when I saw that he hadn’t mentioned Sehun at all. Still, I had to try.

Is he okay though? I texted back.

“Come on, the movie’s about to start!” Baekhyun yelled and I realised that they were already standing in line to get into the theatre and I had stopped in the middle of nowhere after receiving Kai’s text.

“Coming!” I said as I hurriedly walked over.

By the end of the night I got home, disappointed. Kai never replied.

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A/N: sooooo double update! do you guys wanna know the conversation between Kai and Sehun or would you rather be kept in suspense? ;)