Chasing You

Chapter Twenty Two

Two Birds

“Sehun’s so fortunate to have you,” Sooyoung commented, swinging her arms back and forth in hopes of brushing past Ah Reum’s and garnering her attention. From time to time, she would look back and forth from the hallway to her to see if there was a shift in her expression. Strangely there wasn’t.

Ah Reum snorted. If there was anything she had given Sehun, it was stress. She could not even recall a time where Sehun truly asked her to be there for him. Instead of performing the role of his best friend, she was acting like a snoop who was helplessly in love with him. Her part in his life was starting to become discernible as if it did not already.

Yerim sighed. “I do not get how he can disregard the fact that he is lucky to have you. It is unfair how Sehun’s the only one who gets to enjoy his life,” she lamented. “Even though he is going steady with Da Eun, he still has the temerity to glare at other guys who come near you.”

Unlike Sooyoung, Yerim’s energy had gone down the drain ever since she heard that there was no progress in their relationship. She could not help but think that there was something mentally wrong with Sehun because of his indecisiveness.

Sooyoung jeered as she shook her head in dissatisfaction. “That is funny because I heard Luhan talk about something similar today.”

Yerim’s ears perked up as soon as she heard what Sooyoung had just said. “What did he say?”

“Apparently, they were eating lunch, and Sehun glowered at Yixing the whole time,” Sooyoung explained giving emphasis to the last sentence while observing Ah Reum.

That brought a smile to Yerim’s face. “It has not sunk yet! There’s still hope for you, Ah Reum!” she animatedly blazoned as she jumped up and down in enthusiasm. It was indisputable that Yerim was back to her natural self.

Though there was no distinct reason as to why Sehun should hate Yixing, Ah Reum persuaded herself that it was not like that. “Maybe they got into an argument,” she stated, ruining her two friends’ good mood. “Besides, Sehun scowls at everyone.”

That made Yerim and Sooyoung think.

It was typically Seulgi who subverted their fun as she revealed all the whys and wherefores that they could not pinpoint. Even though Seulgi’s speculation was articulate and coherent, they could not situate themselves in her position to figure out what exactly Oh Sehun was feeling. It took a genius to unravel another genius’ skeleton in the cupboard. As far as they knew, they were no genius, so instead of logic, they relied on what little information Ah Reum could give them to ascertain what went on in his brain.

“You should not conjecture from every little thing that Sehun does,” she quickly added.

Yerim pouted as she crossed her arms to show her condemnation. “You would usually be running down the halls in merriment with a broad smile on your face while making a b-line for Sehun’s classroom because even though we’ve been here for years, you still get lost,” she expounded. She bit her lip, contemplating on what to say because if she were to say one wrong thing, then their friendship may dissipate into thin air like it was never there.

There was a thin line that she was not allowed to cross, but as their friendship deepened, the distance between that line lessened. She was taught never to cross it because all kinds of havoc would ensue. Now, Yerim did not care.

“Yeri.” Sooyoung said her name so sternly that it scared her to bits and pieces. Sooyoung only addressed her by her nickname to advise her not to do or say what’s on her mind. Yerim allowed her to censor her words and actions for years, but this time, she could not bear the thought of saying nothing.

She glanced at Sooyoung, examining the glazed look etched on her face. Even though she did not utter a thing, Yerim knew that Sooyoung meant to tell her not to say a single word. 

She was shaking her head now, and with trembling lips, Yerim spoke.“You know, Ah Reum. When I first heard about your unrequited love for him I initially thought that you were another one of those girls who flocked around the hot guy because she thought of him as her future even though they never exchanged a brief glance in the hallways or during class.”

Ah Reum gulped, preparing herself for what was to come. Spotting Sehun from the corner of her eye, she willed herself not to cause a big ruckus. Letting her arms fall to her side, she fixated her attention on Yeri and Sooyoung, who were staring at her worriedly.

Yerim nearly choked on the words that she wanted to say as she merely glanced at the person Ah Reum was looking at. Putting her attention back on the girl in front of her, she noticed the panicked expression on her face. It was the first time she saw that expression on Ah Reum’s face.  “Ah Reum, don’t do this…” Yerim croaked, her voice on the verge of cracking.

“Yeri.” Sooyoung’s warning was final. Whatever happened afterward would be out of their limitation. She uttered but one word, yet it held so much meaning for the two.

Ignoring Sooyoung’s attempts to stop her, she continued. “Needless to say, you were different from the others. I could tell that you were putting his happiness before yours, thinking that if he realized that your feelings for him were genuine, then he’d finally surrender and confess his feelings for you. It would be like killing two birds with one stone, but you know what I noticed?” Yerim paused; the pained look on Ah Reum’s face made her feel guilty. No matter what, Ah Reum always smiled. Even when Da Eun joined them at dinner, she smiled despite wanting to kick herself for being a fool.

“What?” Ah Reum dared to ask. Her wounds were starting to show. What seemed to be her mask now fell to be easily stepped on by passersby who did not particularly care about her lamenting about things to be saddened over. All they cared about was how she’d end up because it was evident that she had no chance against the girl who was picture-perfect.

“That one bird flew away,” she stated, “so instead of knocking down two birds, you knocked down one: your happiness.”

“Yeri, stop.” As much as Sooyoung wanted to admit how right Yerim was, this needed to stop.

“No!” she protested. She was not going to stop, not yet. There was so much to say. Three whole years of not being able to voice it out because she was