*November 22

The wind was chilly and the sky darkened. The moon’s outline was beginning to sharpen. Inhae checked her phone for the twenty-second time that evening. She hadn’t received a single reply or a call-back from her boyfriend, Sehun. It’s been over half an hour since she’s been waiting on that wooden bench, cold and alone. Where was he? Was he okay? Why wasn’t he here? She had so many questions but didn’t have answers to any.

          It was a little over eight and Seoul’s sky was starless tonight. It was autumn and break for Korean students, so she and her boyfriend had planned on a date at Namsan tower. They were supposed to meet half past seven and yet he wasn’t here. Nor had he picked up on any of her calls. It was supposed to be romantic – meet at the Namsan tower, put a love lock together, warm themselves up at the nearby café, so on. They were busy studying for their upcoming tests and all so the two wanted to enjoy some time together. It was his idea – not that she didn’t want to come, she loved spending time with her loving, sweet boyfriend – but shouldn’t he be extra cautious to at least arrive on time if not a bit early, especially because he had suggested it?

          She looked down at her phone again. 8:12PM. Goodness, where was that boy?! Was he even safe? She wanted to send another text, but she didn’t want to overload him. His parents were overseas and when she called Sehun’s cousin, a lovely girl, Selin, who was a few years older than them, she told her not to worry. But how could she not worry? Could he be cheating on her? What excuse would he have for being late and not replying back to her, or giving her a heads up, or anything? Was there even anything possible to be considered a decent excuse?

          There were couples around her and families too. They were sightseeing and spending a good time with another. But there she was, all alone, by herself. She missed him. She missed Sehun’s smiles, his face, everything. The past few weeks they didn’t get to spend a lot of face-to-face time because of school and their studies. They called lots and studied together at the library on some Sundays, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted to catch a movie leisurely, or take a walk with him, or get bubbletea and enjoy a long, nice conversation. And when they finally had the opportunity – he’s late. No, he might not even come.

          Finally, at 8:16, she gave up. She dialed Sehun only to meet his voicemail. She left about six voicemails. Of course she didn’t get a call back, or even a quick text to let her know he was okay. His cousin didn’t even seem worried.

          Inhae bit down on her lower lip. Oh Sehun…where are you? She tightened the bright red scarf around her neck. It was hand-woven and Sehun had bought it for her in September. He said that because it was getting cold, she would need a scarf. He knew that her favorite color was red. It reminded her of the boldness she desired, the confidence she wished to acquire someday, and the fierceness she hoped she could have to stand up against bullies and whatnot in the future properly. She didn’t want to be a damsel in distress anymore, or a hopeless friend. The scarf was wooly and warm, but his embrace was warmer. His presence was warmer. Without him, she was cold, even with the thick, caramel-brown coat, skinny jeans, and furry brown boots. Just then, a breeze blew and it nipped at her nose, sending her loose black hair flying. But when the breeze passed, she didn’t even bother to fix her hair. She was losing hope. Was Sehun even going to show up? What was keeping him from doing so?

          “Inhae-yah!”

          Inhae spun around to see her boyfriend a mess. His hair was sticking out all over the place, his dress shirt was ed unevenly, and his shoelaces were untied. The first emotion that swept through her was relief – relief that he was okay, that he was here, that he was just fine. But then that relief was quickly diminished by anger. She was angry. How could he? He made her wait for nearly forty minutes. He hadn’t replied to any of her texts or calls or voicemails. He made her stay in utter silence, alone, cold, worried. Did he even care?

          Sehun saw her expression go from blank and confused to relieved, then to angry. Inhae had very dramatic facial expressions, and that was a good thing especially for a dense boy like Sehun. Sehun took a deep breath, not knowing where to start. Without even thinking properly, the first thing he said was: “Hi.”

          “Hi? Hi?!” Inhae hissed sharply. She didn’t like catching other people’s attention too much so she couldn’t shout, but it didn’t stop her from getting up and speaking in such a vicious tone it made Sehun wince. “You come here, forty minutes late, without answering me at all and your cousin didn’t even care and you didn’t even bother to tell me anything and you left me here all alone and all you have to say is ‘hi’?!”

          Sehun felt panicked. He had never seen his girlfriend so angry – no, she wasn’t angry. She was disappointed. Disappointed that they couldn’t spend much time as they’d like; disappointed that he didn’t come on time; disappointed in him. “Sorry,” he said next, then quickly added before his girlfriend could go on about how that was inappropriate too: “no, that’s not all I have to say. I’m so, so sorry. But…” he held up a small red gift bag with white and pink wax paper wrapping sticking out on the top.

          She frowned at him. “What the heck is that?”

          He couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt as the ferocity hadn’t disappeared from her voice. “It’s yours.” He handed it to her. “That’s why I was late.”

          She stared at him suspiciously for awhile. Then she snatched the gift bag. She looked back at him again with dagger eyes before gently taking out the pink and white wax paper. He looked away, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Inhae peeked inside and saw a small box and an enclosed envelope. She took both of them out. The box was velvet indigo and the envelope was thin and white. She tried opening the indigo box first, but Sehun stopped her.

          “No!” he said. Then he blushed madly, making Inhae raise her eyebrows. “Open the envelope first.”

          Without a word, Inhae put the box on the bench and opened the envelope. There were two gift cards – a thirty dollar one for the mall, another fifty for the bookstore. Her eyes widened to such an extent it surprised Sehun, but he did his best to hide it. She looked up at him, her face softer, her eyes reading bewilderment and guilt. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two gift cards and him. “What in the world –”

          “Today’s November 22. Do you know what day that is?” Sehun asked with reminiscing orbs. He doubted his girlfriend knew, and he was proved right when she shook her head, speechless. “It’s the day we met. Well, the day I met you,” he whispered gently. Her eyebrows furrowed in absolute confusion. To her, the day they met was the first day of school back in eighth grade. But for him, that wasn’t it. “I saw you all the time in middle school. I never had the courage to talk to you, but I thought you were really pretty. Not only that, you were really smart and caring. I saw you stick up for your friend even though you ended up crying later, and you never fooled around in class and honestly, I’ve never heard you talk bad about a single teacher. Not even our vice principal.” He took her hands and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. He knew she was staring at him, but he couldn’t afford to meet her gaze. Not now when he was about to get so cheesy she might throw up. “November 22 was the day we first met and talked. You probably don’t even remember because it was such a common and small word exchange, but it was the day I almost bumped into you. I was planning to say hi but you beat me to it. You had the cutest smile and the sweetest voice. You giggled and greeted me. Stammering, I greeted you back. And then you walked on with your arm linked to your friend. Kahyun, was it? Yeah, something like that.” He looked at her now. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and her lips were apart. Not dramatically dangling open unpleasantly, but a bit apart. It encouraged him to go on. He cleared his throat. “I know it’s really corny and everything, but that meant a lot. I really wanted to talk to you. We only had one class together and that was math. Who does anything in math? It’s always textbook, work, study, test. No projects, no teamwork, no group work. I had no opportunity to talk to you. Ever.”

          Inhae was at loss for words. She didn’t know what to say – this boy, Oh Sehun, one of the most popular boys at school, extremely good-looking, kindhearted, considerate, just perfect in general – she was his, and for a long time, it seems. He – she – wow. She didn’t know what to say, what to think. Her anger dissipated and she didn’t know how to feel.

          But as always, Sehun guided her. “Open the velvet case.”

          She did. She was still wordless. And when she opened the box, a small gasp escaped before she clapped her hand on it. It was a necklace – a thin chain with a charm in the middle. It was a circular, worn-out ring with a red gem. It was so irregular and different. A new, clearly expensive thin chain necklace – with an old ring?

          She met his eyes, confused again. She didn’t know what to think, say, do, feel – anything! It annoyed her but the annoyance was replaced with the same confusion, over and over. She wanted to thank him for the gifts but she didn’t understand – she didn’t get anything.

          And Oh Sehun, the silly boy knew that. He sighed, but it wasn’t because he was tired or bothered. It was because he knew he would be getting sappy again. “You know this ring?” he whispered quietly. Inhae shook her head numbly. “You dropped it on that day. I guess when I bumped into you, it fell out of your finger or whatever. You were so thin and fragile…you looked like you could shatter any moment…” he shook his head violently, bringing himself back to reality. “I kept it since then. I never had the chance to return it to you. The rest of middle school I was still really shy. You always had your friends around you. But then in high school, when I met Luhan and Chanyeol and the rest, I guess I got more open? You have no idea how happy I was to find out you were Luhan’s good family friend. I was a bit jealous but I was really glad that I had the chance to talk to you.”

          It was stupid. It was stupid and foolish and very unlike of her, but Inhae felt hot, salty tears b. Now it was Sehun’s turn to be surprised. “What! Why are you crying? No, don’t cry! I didn’t give you this to make you feel sad! Darn it, this wasn’t supposed to happen…Inhae! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you cry – I just thought it’d be a good time to give you the gift, you know, since we’ve been dating for two years now and everything and the ring was yours and –”

          “Stupid Sehun…” murmured Inhae as she wiped her tears away. A chuckle of disbelief left her lips. “I’m not sad, I’m touched…this – this is so sweet, I’m sorry for getting mad at you before I let you explain, I didn’t know…I –” she scoffed. “I’m so stupid. Why am I crying?”

          Sehun couldn’t help but crack a small smile as he brushed her black hair away from her face. He took her hands, revealing her puffy eyes and leftover tears. “Stupid Inhae, it’s my fault for not letting you know where I was. I just wanted this to be a surprise, and Selin-noona was helping me and both of us got carried away. I didn’t want her to answer your calls because I really wanted it to be spontaneous but she answered anyway because she knew you were going to be worried. Sorry – I didn’t know you would be worried.” He wiped the traces of the tears on her face. “It won’t happen ever again, I promise. But…keep this, won’t you?”

          His eyes trailed down to the velvet case. So did Inhae’s. But when she didn’t smile, he suddenly felt worried again. “You don’t have to! You can throw it away if you want, I just thought, you know, I should return it to you because it’s yours and –”

          “Stupid Sehun!” was all he heard before she attacked him with a tight hug. His girlfriend was still so thin, so fragile, that sudden hug didn’t even hurt him. “Stupid, stupid Sehun, how could I ever even think about throwing it away…Stupid Sehun, you’re so stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid…”

          He laughed as he hugged her back. “Thanks. So you’ll keep it?”

          “Forever.”

          His smile widened. She pulled away, more tears streaming down, and he didn’t hesitate to wipe them off with his thumb carefully. The soft tingles that Sehun’s fingers sent were simply ecstatic and memorable. The thrill that he made her feel was pure and gentle, much like Sehun himself.

          “I see you wore the scarf I gave you.”

          “Of course I did,” Inhae replied with a grin much like her usual self. It made Sehun relax, knowing that he hadn’t ruined things with his girlfriend. That would be the last thing he wanted. Nope – it wasn’t even on the list.

          Sehun took her hand and put it in his pocket. “Your hands are freezing, Inhae. Next time I should buy you red gloves.” She laughed, and Sehun felt at ease. Her laughter was his medicine, his joy. “Let’s go to the nearby café, hm? We must continue our well-earned long-awaited date. I’ll buy you a slice of lemon cheesecake and some hot chocolate, your favorite.”

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Yay! So, this is the first one-shot in this collection. I hope you guys liked it. Please subscribe for more and comment your opinions! If you have any suggestions, please tell me - if it was too long, too lengthy, too simple, etc. If you have ideas for character personalities or specific shippings you want me to do (member x girl only please; eg. rebellious girl x Baekhyun, Seohyun from SNSD x Kai, etc.).

*I will be constantly updating the "Foreword" page to add on OCs continuously. Inhae's the first one! I'll be doing this in case you want me to do a one-shot on one of the OCs and a member. (eg. Inhae x Kris; a second Inhae x Sehun).

Thanks again! Don't forget to subscribe & comment if you liked it~❤

-Seohee