Loud music blasted from the speakers from his left and right, pumping the crowd into a higher level of excitement. Sehun made his way through the crowd, following right behind his brother. Some girls along the way even wished him a Happy Birthday, and Sehun just gave them a small smirk. It was not even a wonder how all of the people in the club knew him, given that he was the son of Oh Corporation, the largest telecommunication company.

                Arriving at the bar, his brother told him (more like shouted to him, given the volume of the music in the club) that he would be searching for his girlfriend who he had promised to meet that night. Rolling his eyes, Sehun scoffed to himself. Why would his brother even bother to bring him along if he did not even plan to spend time with him? Oh right, it was his 17^th birthday. Sehun scanned the crowd of people to search for any familiar faces but he found none. The female bartender handed him a glass of beer accompanied with a seductive birthday wish. After gulping the whole glass down, Sehun fished for his phone in the pocket to call his best friend but his action was halted when the manager of the club came and hugged him from his side.

                “Hey there, birthday boy! I know that I am not one to judge, but this is sure not the expression that a celebrating guy should have,” the manager, Woo Bin exclaimed.

                “Just not in the mood. My brother ditched me for his girl, by the way.”

                “Aah, so do you want me to bring a thing for you?”                                                          

                Sehun tried to ignore the fact that Woo Bin was using a thing as the phrase to indicate a woman. Sehun had always hated how Woo Bin thought that girls are objects that can be used as toys, instead of human beings that actually have feelings. But what was he expecting; Woo Bin was the owner of a club, who also owned a brothel behind the curtain.

                Maybe it was the alcohol in his system, or maybe it was how he was feeling so damn empty on the inside, but Sehun found himself saying, “Sure, but make sure to give me a pretty one.”

                With a giggle, Woo Bin replied, “Oh this one is really pretty, just you wait.”

                So Sehun followed Woo Bin towards the back of the club, entered a door which led to a stretched hallway. Along their walk, Sehun made it clear to Woo Bin that he had no intention for anything ual, and that he was just looking for someone to talk to on his birthday (that even sounded sad in his own head). Woo Bin offered him a small smile that was too much like ‘Yeah, whatever’ and they stopped in front of a door. Before knocking, Woo Bin turned to Sehun and said “Listen kid, this thing just arrived this morning and you will be the first person getting her service. We didn’t even have the time to dress and doll her up. But I can guarantee you; this thing’s face is enough to cover anything. It’s your birthday brother, I hope you enjoy. This one’s on the house.”

                A wide grin spread on Woo Bin’s face before he turned to the wooden door and knocked. “Hana, there is a person out here waiting for you, be nice.” And with that, he gave Sehun a wink and walked away.

                That left Sehun alone in the hallway, contemplating on whether he should open the door or not. After taking a deep breath, he turned the knob and his breath hitched. Woo Bin telling him that this girl was pretty was definitely an understatement of the century. She was... flawless. Her hair was just past her shoulders, her fingers are long and slender and her body was not too skinny but not too curvy. She was... perfect; that was the only word that came to Sehun’s mind. But then Sehun noticed that the very girl was wearing a very frightened expression, and she was shaking tremendously. Sehun stepped inside and he could see the girl flinching. With every step he took, the girl sank more and more into the couch that she was sitting in. Sehun tried to give her a smile, a comforting one, but even he himself felt that it was awkward, given how Oh Sehun never smiled to any breathing beings.

                When he was about two metre away from the girl, only then that he could see her features clearly. She had a pair of dazzling eyes with lashes longer than normal people possess, a sharp nose that gave her face an edgy look and pink, thin lips that exude an innocent vibe from her. For minutes, both of them just stared into each other’s eyes, not knowing what to say. The difference was that Sehun was standing and wearing a relaxed expression, while the girl was sitting on the huge couch, wearing a terrified expression.

                Trying to break the awkward atmosphere, Sehun walked around the room with his hands in his pockets, and tried to start a conversation.

“So, today’s my birthday.” Silence. “Aren’t you going to wish me a Happy Birthday?” Silence. “I would love to hear your voice.” Silence.

                When Sehun realised that this would end up being a one-sided conversation, he stopped roaming around the room and boldly, sat beside the girl, but caring enough to leave some spaces between them. The girl obviously cowered and scooted towards the end of the couch, trying to create a gap as big as possible between them. Sehun tried another way to strike a conversation. He stared right at the girl, causing the girl’s cheeks to turn light pink.

                “You have really, really pretty eyes, have anyone told you that before?”

                Sehun expected a thank you, or maybe just a small smile, but the girl just stared back at him, without blinking.

                “What’s your name?” Still, a stare was all he got.

                “Can you talk?” And with that, the girl nodded slightly. Sehun did not know why, but his heart swelled with pride as if he had just achieved a tremendous achievement, when in fact he just received a nod from a stranger.

                “My name is Oh Sehun, and I am 17 years old. Well actually I’m 16 and going to turn 17 in a few hours but you get my point.” Sehun was usually not a talkative person, but he tried very hard just to hear a single word, or any type of voice coming out from the girl’s mouth.

                “I’m Hana.”

                Oh Sehun could not help but smile so wide, knowing that the girl felt a little bit more comfortable with him compared to their first meeting a few minutes prior. Sehun noticed how her voice was smooth but silky at the same time, and oddly, he yearned to hear more.

                “Hana? Kim Hana? Lee Hana? Park Hana?” Sehun asked with a bit of playfulness in his voice.

                Hana smiled a little and said, “No, it’s Ji Hana.”

                Seeing this as a good sign, Sehun continued his talking. “Well Hana, you do know what day today is, right? I just told you just now.”

                “Your birthday?”

                “Yes, so you were listening! Aren’t you going to wish me?”

                “Happy birthday.”

                And it was weird how those two words from a girl that he just met less than an hour prior meant more to him than all the greetings he got that day.

-

                The next day, right after school, Sehun found himself going to the club again, this time without his brother. Entering the main door, he went straight to Woo Bin’s office.

                “Hyung, can I... umm... meet... umm... Hana for a while?” Sehun asked with a hand on his nape.

                “Yes, but may I ask why?”

                Truthfully, Sehun did not even know the reason himself. All he knew was after he got back from the club the day before, he only saw Ji Hana everywhere. It was weird as they did not even have a real conversation as his brother had come barging into his room, telling him that they had to go home as it was a school day the next day. But be it at his home or in his class, Hana was everywhere. Even his best friend, Kim Jongin realised that he was a little bit out of it, but Sehun just told him that it was nothing. So, Sehun found himself walking to the club by himself, to again see his main problem that had been haunting him.

                “Just.. I just want to talk to her, about something.”

                “Okay then, you know the room.”

                So Sehun trudged along the same hallway as yesterday, all the while thinking of the excuses that he would give to the girl if he was asked why he was there. You were in my mind. I was bored. I miss you.. wait what? It could not be that Oh Sehun, the cold guy, actually missed a girl that he had just met one day before, right?

                But when he opened the door, all thoughts vanished, and his little mind whispered I miss you.

                The smile that graced Hana’s face fell a bit.

                Wait, did he just say that out loud. “No Hana! I mean I... miss this room. Yes! No! Okay... that sounds weird. What I meant was...”

                Seeing Sehun’s flustered state, Hana snickered a bit and said, “That’s fine, really.”

                Stepping into the room cautiously, Sehun realised that Hana was writing something on the table before he interrupted. “So, what were you doing?”

                Sehun was not really expecting an answer as Hana was a little bit of a taciturn, so he himself was a bit shocked when he heard “Studying,” as a reply.

                Only then that his mind started working properly. Hana looked like she was the same age as him but what is she doing in a place like this? Where are her parents? Did she miss school today?

                Sehun thought that it was way too early for him to ask such intimate questions, so he settled into the chair right next to her. He could so how the paper in front of her was full of her scribbling of numbers and formulas.

                “Wow, Hana. You must be really clever.”

                And all he got was a small smile in return.

                Sehun became more nervous. He wanted to talk more to Hana, but he had no idea on what to talk about. And this idea came to his mind, and although he hated studying, he found himself asking…

                “Hey Hana, I have this Mathematics question that I could not solve today at school, mind showing me how?”

                Hana stared at him while wearing an incredulous expression, but still nodded after a few seconds. “Sure.”

                Sehun rushed to his school bag (and he was thankful how he decided to come there right after school, or else he would have nothing to talk about with Hana), and grabbed the first Mathematics book that he landed his eyes upon. Flipping through the pages, he realised that his book was mostly empty, aside from some drawings that he drew lazily in class. So, he just pointed to a random question and asked Hana to explain it.

                Hana gave him an odd look, and Sehun figured that maybe it was because the question was too easy now that he had the chance to actually read the question. But Hana still took her pencil from the table and started pointing. “You see how this is the given mean? And the question states that there are three groups in total so…”

                Hana went on and on with her explanations, but Sehun could not care less as he was too drowned in her beautiful voice.

-

                Going to a club with his homework in his hands had become a ritual for Oh Sehun. Every day after school, he would go back to his apartment which he resided alone, changed into a casual outfit, grabbed his homework, and made his way to the club. He had no problem in entering the club as his brother was a regular at it. People always gave him odd stares for entering the club with books in hands (and also for the fact of how he is too young to be in a club), but he gave them no heed. The only thing on her mind was to meet Ji Hana and look at her beautiful face and hear her velvety voice.

                As usual, when Sehun entered the room, Hana was already at the table with her notes.

                “You’re here.”

                Sehun was very thankful of how Hana had started to become more talkative compared to the first time that they met. They then found no problem in striking up a conversation anymore. Although most of the words that came out from Hana’s lips was about Maths or Biology or Physics, Sehun could not ask for more. The fact that Sehun actually had zero interests on all of the subjects also need not to be known by Hana.

                “Yes, and this time I bring Biology with me,” Sehun complained with a whine while taking a seat beside her. However, Sehun could see the shine in her eyes and he knew that it was because Biology was her favourite subject (although Physics and Additional Mathematics came to a very close second, according to her).

                “Great, bring it on,” Hana said with a mischievous glint.

                Not even 15 minutes into Hana explaining how the chromosomes in a human’s nucleus separate to form DNA of different genetic combination, Sehun let out a yawn and asked for a break. Hana said no and told him that they would not have enough time to finish if he was acting like that so Sehun used that opportunity to ask the single question that he had been itching to ask since the first time he met Hana.

                “Okay, I will not ask for a break, but in exchange, let me ask you a question.”

                “Make it quick.”

                “Don’t you want to get out from here?”

                Sehun could saw that her face fell and he panicked. Did I just touch on a sensitive topic? Sehun was on his way to apologize when he heard a timid “Of course I do”, so he couldn’t help but ask, “So why don’t you?”

                When Hana lifted her head, Sehun saw that her pair of dazzling eyes were b with tears and she answered, “I’m trapped. No one is able to bring me out from here.”

-

                After that day, Sehun became a little busier with the club and co-curricular activities, seeing how it was only the starting of the year. So unintentionally, he found no time to go and visit Hana at the club. He was too busy with school. The fact that he was chosen as the president of the Social Club also limited his time more. Sehun was nowhere near to the status of a social person, but it was inevitable how he was so famous at school just for the fact that he was the son of Oh Corporation, although his handsome looks and tall figure also contributed a lot to his popularity.

                By the time that he was settled with his school work, Sehun realised that it was nearly one month that he had not seen Hana. So that evening, Sehun ought to do something a little special, and decided to buy some flowers at the florist for Hana. Arriving at the club, Sehun realised that there were more cars than usual and stepping through the front door, he could see that it was packed. Sehun ignored the crowd, and made his way to Hana’s room, but a voice from the main stage intrigued him. It was Woo Bin’s.

                “So, I heard a 10000000won. Do I hear any 20000000won?”

                “20000000won!”

                “50000000won!”

                And a fit of cheer roared. When Sehun looked towards the main stage, his heart stopped. His jaw slackened. There, at the middle of the stage, Hana was standing with her head dropped. She was wearing provocative clothing, with mesh stockings and sleeveless, black tube. Sehun would have awed by how Hana looked like then, if not for how her face looked so crestfallen, and Sehun’s heart ached just as much as Hana’s.

                Sehun grabbed an old man beside him by his arm, and asked him for details of what was going on.

                “They are having a bidding, kid! This one’s new though. Very pretty, right? Everyone is in a frenzy to get her right now. It’s crazy. Not just that, she’s a !”

                Sehun’s heart dropped. He looked at Hana with sadness on his face, but Hana was too busy staring at her hands to notice him.

                “Is 50000000won the last one I heard?”

                Then Sehun started to think of something completely nonsense. His parents might hate him for this...

                “50000000won going once...”

                And his parents might cut his monthly allowance and even block all his credit cards...

                “50000000won going twice...”

                And his parents might even disown him if they know about this...

                “50000000won going thrice...”

                But Oh Sehun could not care less about his parents at that moment.

                “100000000won!” he shouted with his right hand up in the air.