Chapter 5: Somewhere in Between

Eventually Sehun curved under one of the many bridges which sprawl over the Han River. This one was outside the city center and very quiet, a small sanctuary of his own. On a clear day you could see stars on the sky but usually only moon would glare back at you. Lonely and bitter. The hay was high around there, whooshing comfortingly in the wind, and the street was far enough to be ignored. Sehun didn't stop under the bridge but drove a bit further on a small opening.

He got out first, walked to the front and leaned on the bonnet with his arms crossed in front of his chest, his eyes staring somewhere far into the distance and his back faced Da Hyun. It took her a while but she too came out. The air had gotten a bit colder or maybe it had been too warm inside the car, however she felt a bit cold in her relatively thin blazer. She leaned on the bonnet beside him and gazed at the buildings on the others side.

“This is so cheesy”, she finally spoke tiredly, with a slight smile.

“Sorry for not being creative enough”, Sehun muttered.

“That's one of your charms, I guess.”

“Thank you I feel so flattered”, was his sarcastic comment.

There was nothing to talk about but the silence was tense and uncomfortable so Da Hyun felt like breaking it. After thinking for a while she decided on a topic which actually interested her and wasn't related to the earlier incident. She didn't feel like arguing with him anymore.

“So you are getting married”, she hummed. “Congratulations I guess. What kid of woman is she?”

“Lovable, sweet, and tender”, was his curt and stern answer. Obviously Sehun was not really into small talk. Da Hyun gave him one dull look but decided to be the bigger person and not get provoked by him.

“Really?” That was hard to imagine. A man like him with a sweet woman, impossible! “How did you propose?”

Sehun let out a frustrated sigh, he was not in the mood to talk at all but answered anyway. “Romantic dinner, candles and all that sh.it.”

This had got to be a lie. Da Hyun chuckled, bringing her fist to her lips. “I just can't imagine. It must have been so awkward.” She leaned her upper body forward and tilted her head to the side to glance at his still gloomy face. He saw that she was smiling playfully, probably ridiculing him in her mind.

“What?” He grunted, eyeing her in annoyance. It's not like he had planned something so greasy it's just that his sister and Jongin had teamed up to talk, or rather, force him into the whole romantic stuff. Anyway, he also knew that his fiancee deserved the best and for her he was willing to sacrifice a bit of his pride.

“How does it feel like, knowing that you will be getting married soon?” Da Hyun asked curiously. Lucky him. “I imagined people who are engaged are happy yet every time I meet you you are angry and frowning.”

He didn't know why she asked such a question and he wasn't sure how to answer either. No one had ever asked him. But suddenly he felt like rambling.

“Instead of happiness it was relief. “ Sehun took in a deep breath. His shoulders relaxed and he uncrossed his arms from around his chest, leaning his palms against the bonnet's cool surface. He grew silent for a while, to gather his thoughts. It wasn't his style to open up to random people but he was suddenly feeling relaxed. There was something calming about the reflections of colorful lights on the dark water. The swooshing of dry hay, the silence. She was standing right next to him, watching his face intently but he didn't see her anymore, he was suddenly alone.

“Everyone was always asking when will I find a girlfriend, when will I marry, when, when, when? Then I met her and I thought this woman would be perfect, my family loves her, she loves them, and her family is wonderful too. I thought that... if I married her people would stop pushing it, I would have someone waiting for me at home after I finish working, every single evening. I'd have kids... and... anyway... I was feeling at peace when she agreed to my proposal. I was feeling very comfortable but then...” He ran his hand through his hair and glanced at Da Hyun with a slight grin on his lips, his eyes twinkling playfully.

“Then what?” Da Hyun's eyebrows raised a bit, she was feeling curious.

“Anyway...” He shifted his gaze off her, somewhere into the distance. “Seriously take that off your head!”

“Why? The world looks so much more interesting through sunglasses, did you know that?” Da Hyun joked.

Besides, it was better for her if he didn't see that sad look in her eyes. She was envious of how perfectly he was doing in his life. She too wished to soon get married and finally feel at ease. Why was it so hard to meet someone nice? Why did it seem impossible to fall in love? Why was it so stressful to be single? Why was everyone pressuring her like this? Why? He wasn't even trying yet...

“You look like an idiot”, he commented.

Da Hyun sighed. That was probably true. She slowly pulled the sunglasses down the bridge of her nose and then untied the scarf from under her chin. Sehun frowned when he saw her scratched and swollen face.

“Didn't you put anything cold on it?”

He wanted to touch her chin but she subtly pushed his hand away. She noticed that when he was not busy being angry he busied himself with all these small playful gestures as if it was something natural. He didn't seem like he was flirting, it definitely was not his intention but his body was doing it on its own. He didn't even realize it himself anymore.

“I forgot.”

Upon her touch he suddenly realized something and swiftly pulled his hoodie over his head, handing it to Da Hyun.

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Wear it or something.”

“You are so awkward...” she clicked her tongue, giving him a dull look. “No thanks, you wear it.”
“You are cold.”

“I'm not that cold.”

“Yes you are.”

“What do you care anyway?”

“Just wear it.” He tossed the hoodie on her lap.

“Stop it, you are making this even more awkward”, she tossed it back.

“I said wear it”, Sehun threw it at her harder.

“I said I don't want to!” she raised her voice, throwing the hoodie at his face.

Da Hyun was so cold her body trembled but she didn't want to wear his ugly clothes or anything what had touched his skin. That was too intimate. Besides he would get cold with only a black tee covering his upper body. When she glared at him he brought his hand to her face and slid the back of his index finger down her cheek. He could feel how she shivered under his touch. He was doing it again unintentionally, subconsciously, stepping over the lines, getting closer.

Something struck him when their eyes met, numbing him for a second. Making him feel weak. And Da Hyun stiffened, feeling weird and funny. He was so strange. Time stopped for a fleeting moment and then it rushed forward on full speed as if none of those feelings had ever crossed their hearts.

“What are you doing?”

“You are ice cold”, he said decisively. “Wear it now!”

“Stop trying to act like a gentleman because... you are just too awkward.”

“Fine, but you asked for this yourself!” he grunted.

Grabbing the hoodie he suddenly threw it over her head. Da Hyun fought back but he was stronger and she ended up wearing the piece of cloth, anyway. She glared at him once the struggle was over. Stubborn grumpy awkward man.

“When did you wash this last time?” she asked suspiciously. The hoodie didn't stink, it smelled like him, it wasn't bad. Not at all.
“It's clean”, he argued.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

“I took a shower just a while ago”, Sehun cleared his throat.

“Yeah right... and anyway... no one looks good wearing orange”, Da Hyun mumbled mostly to herself. “And there is a stain here” she pointed at the chest. “And there is a hole too...”

“Fine! Don't wear it then!” Sehun snapped. “Give it back, take it off.”

“No”, Da Hyun refused, the hoodie was warm after all. In fact it was warm because his warmth was still lingering on it.

“I said take it off.”
“No.”

He grabbed onto the shirt and tried to pull it off her but she escaped. “You were the one who made me wear this in the first place”, a smirk twisted her lips.

“Take it off right now!”

“Nope.”

He stepped closer to her and she pushed him away, this repeated a few times when Sehun suddenly stumbled over something and fell on his back, hitting the back of his head against the ground. It looked painful and it, indeed, was painful. Da Hyun gasped and her eyes widened in shock when he didn't get up right away, he only groaned in pain. He was seeing stars.

“Oh my God! I am so sorry!” she went on her knees next to him, accidentally ripping her stockings on her knee in the process. “Are you all right?”

“I bet your intention was to kill me.”

When she helped him to slowly sit up cold pain shoot through his whole body. Feeling a bit dizzy from the hit he saw black for a moment and his hand landed on her shoulder for support. He grimaced and closed his eyes. There would be a huge painful bump on the back of his head in coming days, he just knew it. Damn woman.

But then his eyes fluttered open and he glanced at Da Hyun's worried face. She leaned closer, her cold fingers ran through his hair and he shivered, that's when his heart skipped a beat, confusing him. Her touch felt good, relaxing in a way. He wished she'd run her hand through his hair again. And again. And again...

Sehun his lips as his eyes landed on her lips now covered in pink lipstick. Only then did he actually notice that she was wearing a thick layer of make up. From afar it had actually made her look pretty but up close it was like a clown mask. A chuckle escaped his lips.

“At least you are not bleeding”, Da Hyun let out a relieved sigh. She leaned away from him an her eyes settled on his grinning face. “What?”
“You look horrible with all that make up on”, his voice filled with amusement.

“Thank you for pointing that out... Looks like you are just fine.”

Sehun only gazed at her with a smile tugging at the corners of his lips and his eyes filled with something gentle, almost adoring. Da Hyun shifted her eyes away and then back at him, the way he was looking at her made her feel uncomfortable.

“What?”

“Nothing”, he shook his head. “It was a bad idea to come here. I'll take you home.”

He got up first and stretched his hand towards Da Huyn to help her up, doubting she'd accept his help but to his surprise she took his hand and let him pull herself up. Once she was on her feet she tried to pull her hand from his hold but he wouldn't let go. Once again he wast staring at her with the already familiar intent look in his eyes.

“What is it? Will you finally spit it out?” she frowned.

“No”, he said curtly, abruptly letting go of her hand. “After seeing you in the restaurant today I've changed my mind. There is no need to keep up this discussion.” He walked past her towards the car. Stunned, Da Hyun her heels and followed him.

“Why would you even get involved?” She asked, honestly puzzled about his actions earlier. Just now he was smiling sweetly and suddenly he was angry again. Bipolar much?

“He was just annoying the heck out of me. Why? Did you really consider marrying him?” Sehun asked as he opened the door on the driver's side. Angling his body sideways he turned to look at her.

“No, but after this stunt do you think anyone would want to meet me anymore? Rumors always spread fast and I don't have the loveliest reputation either”, Da Hyun complained, running her hand through her hair.

“Oh please”, Sehun rolled his eyes. “Are blind dates really that important to you?”

“It's easy for you to say, after all you are getting married and won't need to think about this kind of things ever again”, Da Hyun argued.

“Do you really want to get married that bad?” he asked in disbelief.

“I don't want to rush with that but is there anyone in this world who doesn't want to be loved?” She mumbled as she walked to the rear door and grabbed on the handle.

One of the reasons she went on blind dates was her mother, if she didn't go she would be nagged to death. Another reason was because she actually wanted to meet someone nice. It had been an eternity since she had dated last time and even though she could live without a boyfriend just fine she genuinely wanted to meet a guy. Why not? She was young, pretty and available. Why not?

Even though her work took a huge chunk of her time she too felt lonely at times. She wasn't close with her family and didn't have much friends, hardly any. She also wanted to be understood by someone on a deeper level. Not just anyone though, she was picky about people she'd let close. Because of the harsh business world she had difficulties trusting others easily, everyone was out there to stab each their in the back in one way or another. Even at the company she only trusted only a handful of people.

Sehun was surprised by her comment. He didn't expect her to say something like that, something so usual, so common, so girlish. As she pulled the door open he pushed it shut. Da Hyun looked up in surprise as he leaned his hand against the closed door, lowering his face on her level.

“Well then, shouldn't you have just let me handle the situation while pretending to be a victim?” He asked, his brows rising higher.

“Why? Because that's what guys like?” She scoffed in response.

“No. How do you even expect to get a married when you act like you don't need anyone by your side?” he asked in a brotherly manner, now completely engrossed in their silly discussion. It was impossible to figure her out, one moment she would act like an ice queen the other she'd melt into a sappy princess and that was really getting to him. “Maybe that do.uche was right after all? Who would ever love you when you are this way?” he taunted.

Da Hyun's brows furrowed at his comment. “Do you really think I could have become the CEO if I wasn't this way, huh? If I don't stand on my own two feet then who will do it for me?” she snapped. With angry look in her eyes she walked around the car to the other side and pulled the rear door open.

“So am I right? You want to get married just to boost your career?” he asked mockingly. That wouldn't be a surprise, it was expected from someone like her.

Da Hyun glared at him, gritting her teeth. “Do you think they are meeting me for fun then? Do you even know what it means to be just a pretty face? Why don't you wear a skirt and act all sweet and cute on blind dates with all those rich playboys? Try it out and then tell me how it was”, she spat.

“When someone stands up for me it feels good, I do appreciate that but I can't stand it when people get involved without knowing what trouble they could be causing. And especially people who would much likely be stepped on themselves in the process. In my world you don't act based on your feelings but your brain, if you happen to have one!” She gasped for more air before continuing. Words poured out from without any control.

“Be angry all you want, hate me all you want, think whatever you want. I don't give a fu.ck about that! But don't meddle in my business and leave me alone! Stop staring at me in weird ways and stop contacting me for no reason. If you want me arrested then arrest me, just stop with that confusing bullsh.it. Get it? Where the fu.ck is your brain? In your as.s?”

She slammed the door shut and groaned, ruffling her hair in annoyance. Now that she had gotten started it was hard to stop. Meanwhile Sehun stared at her in surprise, never expecting for such a reaction.

“Why am I even here with you? Why? Why? What's your problem? Why can't you just leave me alone for fu.cks sake?” Da Hyun muttered.

“It's you who got in my car in the first place”, Sehun pointed out receiving a deadly glare from Da Hyun.

“Stop always saying that it's me!” she protested.

He let out a sigh and looked at her dully. “Then why do you even keep meeting these rich guys?” He asked unexpectedly. That part was a bit confusing for him. Never mind what she had just said about his actions.

“Then who should I meet? Someone like you?” Da Hyun scoffed.

“Yeah...” Sehun swallowed. “Like me”, he added a bit hesitantly.

“You are a good example why not”, Da Hyun said arrogantly. “Maybe I don't want to meet some confusing a.ssholes with their heads stuck in their as.ses.”

It's not like she was the one who decided whom she'd meet on blind dates, it was her mother. Besides, there was one thing Da Hyun had to agree to, when considering a potential husband candidate she'd have to consider his background too. As open minded as she was she didn't believe in miracles. There were a lot of things which would clash with people from two different social classes. Like now with Sehun at the pressing moment.

She knew how to play the game with the people on her social level but people from other levels were more complicated. They had different ways of thinking and there would be a lot of misunderstandings, it all seemed confusing and troublesome. Besides, she had never thought about meeting someone who wasn't from her own social class, the thought simply hadn't crossed her mind. What she knew was that people who were not career oriented had their feelings all over, she didn't need drama.

She wanted to meet someone like she was, someone well mannered and collected and not someone who'd make her lose her cool. To her love was not about explosions and turbulence. Strong feelings were tiring and if she wanted an increased heartbeat she'd go jogging. She just wanted to be with someone who wouldn't judge her. Love was peace, security and comforting hugs. Maybe she had a skewed opinion about love then, maybe there was something wrong with her. But that's what she wanted.

“That was unnecessary”, Sehun narrowed his eyes at her. He got her point, she had drawn a line between poor and rich and was looking down on the poor. That made him angry. She probably didn't know that some people were poor only because people like her were too greedy. “So poor people like me disgust you, huh?” he asked bitterly.

“What's so good about poverty?” Da Hyun scoffed. “It's the source of all problems in the world.”

Her comment made him lose his cool. Just who the he.ll did she think she was? “Step away from my car”, he glared at her. “Now.”

“Fine, keep your sh.it!” She yelled, angry and insulted. What did he expect her to say? Why was he asking these kind of things? Slamming the door shut she started walking to a random direction, anywhere as long as she'd get away from him.

She tried to think over their puzzling conversation just now but it didn't really make any sense to her. Why would he care whom she met with? It's not like she hated men who weren't rich, she didn't mind them. She felt neutral about them, they were just people living their lives. Why would she think anything about them?

It just happened so that she was from a rich family, that she had lived her life lacking nothing and bathing in money. She was privileged and lucky, she knew that. And even though she had nothing against men who didn't have what she had, she knew better than well that they would be the ones to judge her harshly. Just like Sehun. They only caused trouble, they were selfish when it came to feelings, they were confusing, there was no peace only fastened heartbeats and boiling feelings.

A groan left Da Hyun's lips and she stopped. She had forgotten her purse in his car. It's not like she needed it, she could live without it and there was nothing inside of it. But if she left it behind he would have another reason to find her and bug her. She was also still wearing his hooded shirt. If she didn't return it he would probably use it against her in some strange way, the confusing rat he was. Thinking about him, she wondered why hadn't he driven past her yet?

When she came back to his car he was standing there motionlessly, his back slumped against the driver's door and his left palm on his forehead. Shooting him one sharp glare she walked to the rear door on the other side from where he was, opened it, grabbed her purse and slammed the door shut loudly. He didn't react and she scoffed as she proceeded to take off the hoodie but then her eyes widened in shock when he started sliding down and by the time she came over to his side he was lying on the ground, unconscious.

It was a miracle how Da Hyun managed to drag him on the back seat of the car. He was much bigger than her and his body was the heaviest thing she had ever had to move. In process the hem of her dress ripped on the side but she didn't even realize. The only thing she was thinking about was to get him to the hospital as son as possible.

Kang Da Hyun

Saving the enemy.

Absurd.

The last thing Sehun had been thinking about was how much he loathed Da Hyun. She thought she was such a princess, looked down on poor people and couldn't even appreciate it when others helped her. He was now sure she had embarrassed him at the restaurant on purpose just to prove him how great she was. She could make a man kneel in front of herself if she wanted to. “Well... good for her.”

Was it her way of warning him? That she would do the same to him if he kept meddling with her business? People like her thought they were above the law and he was there to prove them they were wrong. He still couldn't believe Jongin had never agreed with him. To he.ll with all the suspicions about Kang Min, he'd make sure Da Hyun would rot in jail for as long as possible.

Then he felt a sharp pain in his head, it was so strong it took over his senses and made him gasp for air. “Not again”, he muttered under his breath collapsing against the car and grabbing onto his head. Would something horrible flash through his mind like last time? He heard a door slamming shut and then everything was black.

When his eyes fluttered open he was resting on a hospital bed, immediately he wondered how he had gotten there. He felt just fine and there was no pain, in fact he felt well rested and energetic. There had been no flashbacks and he was thankful for that.

“Someone like you”

Da Hyun's voice lingered in his mind for no particular reason but this phrase seemed to carry some unbelievably important meaning. He though he was losing his mind or something. Why would he think about her the first thing when he woke up? “What time is it?” he mumbled as he sat up.

He looked to his both sides and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw Da Hyun. She was sitting on a char beside his bed deep asleep. Leaning against the backrest of the chair sideways, her arms crossed on top of it and her head resting on her arms. She was still wearing his hoodie but she had washed the make up off her face. The bruise had gotten darker and her cheek was still swollen. Her shoulders moved along her steady breathing and unlike yesterday she now looked small and vulnerable.

Sehun threw the comforter off himself and slid his legs off the bed. Sitting on the edge he leaned towards Da Hyun, staring at her calm face with a frown. She mumbled something in her sleep and stirred a bit, however she didn't wake up. It was clear to him that she had taken him to the hospital. “Why would she come back?” he wondered. How could she lift his body? Where would such strength come from? Why didn't she leave him behind? What was she thinking?

Just what was she always thinking?

Unconsciously his fingers brushed her bangs off her face as his heart was bursting in his chest. He hadn't been so confused about his own feelings during his entire life. He hated her, he loathed her, she disgusted him, she made him curious. He wanted to condemn her, he wanted to get rid of her, he wanted to save her. Was she as bad as he had made himself believe or was she different from what he had expected? Yes and no. What was true and who was the liar? After all, no matter how he looked at it the one remaining was either Da Hyun or Kang Min. One innocent the other guilty. And he felt numb again.

The door to the room started to open and Sehun pulled his hand away from Da Hyun, his eyes falling on the person who was coming in. His lips parted and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw a petite woman at the door, she smiled at him sweetly before stepping in quietly and closing the door behind herself.

“How are you feeling?” she asked softly as she walked towards the bed, her eyes darting briefly at Da Hyun.

“Eun Yoo, what are you doing here?” Sehun whispered in surprise.
“Maybe it was her who sent me the message.” She glanced at Da Hyun. “Who is she?”

Instead of answering Sehun went trough his pockets only to realize his phone was gone. He saw it lying on the small table next to the bed. He narrowed his eyes at sleeping Da Hyun who must have gone through his pockets while he had been out of it. And she had called him a ert? Annoyance flashed behind his eyes but once he glanced at Eun Yoo it was gone. He pouted and ruffled his hair.

“I only saw the message this morning, she had sent it so late I had been already asleep. Sorry I didn't come earlier”, Eun Yoo's smile didn't waver even though he had chosen to avoid answering her question about the mysterious woman. Stepping closer, she took a good look at his face and reached her hand to touch his forehead. Sehun closed his eyes, leaning against her warm palm.

“You look pale but it seems like you don't have fever. Doctor said you might have.”

“What else did he say?” Sehun asked absentmindedly leaning a bit too much against her hand and almost falling off the bed. He quickly regained his composure, acting cool about it. Eun Yoo stifled a laugh and stepped closer to him to smooth his messy hair with her hand.

“He said everything is fine. This is just a normal aftereffect and you might slowly be getting your memories back.”

“I don't want them back”, Sehun grunted, pulling his head away from her hand. His brows furrowed, his narrowing eyes landing on Da Hyun. If not her none of this would have happened. Eun Yoo left out a soft sigh, her gentle eyes following his gaze. No matter how curious she was she didn't ask him about Da Hyun again.

“Let's not talk about it then”, she simply smiled. “Let's wait for mother and then go have some breakfast together. You haven't visited home for a while and she has been wondering about you.”

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