Kai’s POV

I smiled apologetically at Jiho before running after Sehun. I still didn’t know what happened, but I figured that being there for him should be the right thing to do, even if he didn’t bother to tell me anything. I just hoped that he would find comfort in knowing that I could be there for him. Right before Jiho and Chanyeol found us, Sehun had gotten a scolding from our Economics teacher, who he hated a lot, so it was only fitting that he got a bit frustrated, what with whatever he was hiding from us.

Warily, I approached Sehun as he took a seat in the bus stop, getting his headphones out. I wasn’t exactly sure where he was heading- not home, for that much I know, call it an intuition- but I decided I was going to follow him anyway. I figured that being along probably won’t be too good for him. And I knew he wouldn’t be vocal enough to tell me to go home and stop bothering him, so that was my plan.

The bus was here in no time, and I took the seat next to Sehun while he just blankly stared out the window. The longer he kept up his quietness, the more curious I got. I had never taken this bus before, so I wouldn’t know where we would end up, either.

There was a stop where everyone got off, which was at a certain mall I had never been to before, and I initially thought it was where we were supposed to get off too, but Sehun didn’t budge from his seat, so I stayed glued on mine. I caught the bus driver staring at Sehun before he drove off again, which I found quite odd. He looked like he knew more than me. Strange.

It was another fifteen minutes before Sehun pressed the bell and got ready to get off. When we were off the bus, I noticed that we were in a fairly deserted place. I only saw one other human being and he was just an old man walking his dog. There was a grey wall enclosing something opposite to the bus stop, and I followed Sehun as he placed his headphones around his neck and led the way around the walls. I’ve lived here my whole life yet I had no clue this place existed.

As we turned the corner and I got a glimpse of what the enclosed walls were hiding, I had to suppress a gasp. Why, of all places, did my friend just take me to a cemetery?

“You wanted to know, didn’t you?” Sehun said, his back still towards me as he walked forward. This kid… he intended for me to follow him. And he knew I’d follow through with it, too. Smart, Oh Sehun.

Not quite sure what, or who, I was walking into, I followed behind him cautiously. This place was really, really deserted. It felt as though I was in a horror movie, except that it wasn’t nightfall yet. I had to take deep breaths to calm myself down.

After walking past several plots, Sehun stopped and looked down. I followed his gaze. I looked at the year. 1924-2003. It must’ve been his grandfather. I gulped as I watched my friend kneel down in front of the tombstone, staring at the picture of his granddad. He was trying to control himself from breaking down, I could see it. I felt really sorry for him. I knew how much he loved his grandfather. He told me and the other guys once before- he loved his grandfather and his father the most out of all his family members.

“Is this why you’re so upset?” I asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. He wasn’t responding, just staring at the ground. I sighed. How was I supposed to comfort him? “I know that you miss him very much but you have to move on, dude. He’d want you t-” I almost fell when he nudged my arm away. I furrowed my brows, confused at his sudden hostility. His angry eyes were looking up at me, but the more I looked, the less anger I saw and the more hurt prevailed.

“You don’t ing get it!” he shouted at me, now crying. Tears were endlessly streaming down his face and his eyes got red in an instant. His blonde hair got ruffled in the wind, making him look disheveled. I gulped, now scared of him. Did I say something wrong? “It’s… it’s not him, anymore.”

The last part he said quietly, and I had to strain my ear to listen. He had turned his head down to the ground again and was sobbing, trying to contain his tears. I knelt with one knee down beside him, placing both hands on his shoulders. I was scared that saying anything would make him even more emotional, so I just settled with staying silent.

“It’s…” he muttered, wiping the tears away from his face as he looked up at the tombstone again, his fingers on the small picture of his grandfather in his late 20-s. He looked so… broken. It made me feel sad too. “It’s my dad.”

He didn’t have to say anything else, because I wasn’t that dumb not to get the hint. I nodded, and we stayed there in silence for what felt like an eternity. I texted Jiho not to be too worried too, because I was scared she’d think it was her fault, and I was quite sure it wasn’t. He finally spoke up again after what I realised was half an hour.

“She was there too,” he whimpered through sobs, with a look of despair on his face. I looked him in the eyes, telling him it was okay to continue. He shook his head in utter disbelief and gave a low-hearted chuckle. His right hand was fiddling with a random tree branch. “My mom, she… she was there, after all she had done.” I had no idea what this kid was talking about, but I’m sure I was going to find out soon. I didn’t know if I wanted to know, all of a sudden, because it was probably his family’s private affairs.

Suddenly, I felt a vibration in my pocket. It was Jiho’s message, and it read: Is he okay though? I sighed and stuffed my phone back in my pocket. I honestly didn’t know, so I couldn’t really say.

Frustrated, Sehun had gotten up and punched the nearest tree, getting his right hand bruised and bloody. I immediately shot up and pulled him back, shocked by his sudden outburst. “She’s the ing reason he was there in the first place!” he shouted, his knees giving way and cupped his face in his hands.

My eyes widened. I knew his family was complicated, but I never knew it could be this complex. A while ago, Sehun had told us all that his family was going through some tough times, but we all guessed he meant financially, but I never thought that…

“It was all her fault for cheating! For ditching him for some younger guy! And now she’s going to act like she cares?” he exclaimed, and I could hear the pain in his voice. “If she just remained as the good wife she was instead of being a… a ,” he retorted, startling me that he would call his own mother that, “then maybe he wouldn’t have gotten into that ing car that night. Maybe he wouldn’t have tried to ing kill himself. Maybe he wouldn’t have lost his mind after waking up! The brain damage just made everything worse…” he muttered that last part.

All that he needed to say, he did. I’m sure there was a lot more he could add to that, but I felt that him opening up this much, was already a lot considering it was Oh Sehun, the one among all of us that was the most isolated in himself. His words resonated in me. I felt so sorry for him to have to go through all of this. I’m sure he was hating himself, and his life. I don’t know what I could possibly do to make him feel better. And I’m sure that seeing Jiho constantly around Chanyeol is something that he probably couldn’t handle- although to others it may seem he was petty- because of the circumstances.

That must be the reason why his parents had gone overseas a few years ago. Heck, Sehun almost stayed in America himself, until his sudden decision to move back here. They must’ve gone there to get better treatment for his dad. I’m not sure what happened between his mom and her lover, but I don’t think that asking him about it would make him feel better, so I shut up, and I just let him vent and cry his heart out. There was nothing I could do really, I realised, feeling defeated.

I accompanied him as he made his way home, and I realised that he was going home to an empty house, and I sighed in frustration. A guy like him shouldn’t be living alone, where there was nothing to distract him from his thoughts. I knew he ached to talk to his father and being alone would just make him think of it even more. I knew that as a friend, I had to offer him something- heck, anything.

“Hey, man,” I called out, and Sehun stopped in front of his gates. “Wanna live at my place for a while? Sure beats living in an empty house.”

It was late at night already and although I couldn’t make out his expression, I saw his head nodding slowly, and I grinned. At least he had agreed to it. “Pack your bags, and take your time, I’ll get my car and pick you up later.”

That was sort of the easy part. Now, the hard part… what am I going to do about him next?

A/N: here's a short update on Kai's time with Sehun! I wonder what Kai would do next... ;) Please please comment guys :(