Chasing You

Chapter Six

Rummaging Papers

She was a breath of fresh air.

Sehun had never met someone like her before. She was too kind for her sake, but she had her opinions also, and she vocalizes it. She might look fragile, delicate, and quiet, but she was more than that. If you got to know her, she would surprise you because she has such a vibrant personality. Behind that kind personality was a beautiful girl. She was a breath of fresh air not only in qualities alone but also regarding beauty. It was not only her voice that was delicate but her features as well, a head-turner. She was a beauty inside and out, and the best part was that she didn't know it. She had always been humble and innocent but also wise. Her attributes made no one question why Oh Sehun had his eyes on her.

He met her last year during the Arts Festival of their academy, a time when people with talented hands and had a passion for art exposed their works. They were competitors of a certain category, and their competition was tight but, in the end, Sehun won the title. Da Eun approached him, greeting him for his win. She amazed him through her witty remarks and unique point of view. After that, they ended up always being together during club activities. Sehun was one of the most popular guys in their academy because of his looks, intelligence, talent, and background, but Da Eun did not even acknowledge that. The standing of a person was never important to her, and she promised him that she would be a good companion.

Their little rivalry in the field of art demised, and lately, they'd teamed up during competitions. This was how they got to know each other better. They became good friends; then their friendship led to another thing. It upstaged into the next level. They became comfortable with each other, and every member of their club noticed it, but Da Eun would always say that nothing was going on between them until Sehun decided to court her. And these all happened without Ah Reum's knowledge.

Sehun didn't get the chance to tell her or inform her beforehand about Da Eun. When he was about to say to her, she already knew. He was worried about what her reaction would be, but she never said anything about it. She never opened that topic and Sehun waited until she would. That never came, though, and she just started asking about Da Eun recently. Sehun wanted to ask her why even though he knew the reason; he still wanted to hear it and make himself realize that Ah Reum was the greatest friend in the world.

"Hey," she greeted. "What's up?" She asked as she disregarded her sketchpad for a bit.

Sehun sat in the chair before her. He took a peek at what she was doing and grinned boyishly at her. "Nothing. Just checking up on you," he said as he grabbed the pad. He touched the paper and felt its texture, admiring her draft for a short moment until she talked.

"I didn't know that you had a lot of free time," Da Eun commented, tucking her stray hair behind her.

Sehun’s grin was still intact. "Don't tease," he said, still looking at her draft.

Da Eun snatched her sketchpad gently from him and disregarded it again. She let out a hearty chuckle and brushed his hair, putting her two hands under her chin after caressing his hair. "No, seriously, why are you here?" She asked again.

He shrugged, and his eyes widened a little, shaking his head in the process. "She's been bugging me about the dance, and it's all she talks about, so I decided to take a break and so I went here," he confessed, forgetting that Da Eun was the person he was talking to.

The girl nodded once and stared at him. Honestly, she did not like the reason he visited her. She was perfectly aware of Ah Reum's relationship with Sehun, but sometimes the brunette's doings was not to her liking. Sometimes, when she was having a casual conversation with Sehun, almost half of it was about Ah Reum. Da Eun knew her limit, and she knew that she had no right to feel jealous because Sehun and Ah Reum knew each other longer than Ah Reum knew him, but she could not help it sometimes. Maybe it was not pure jealousy, but she did not know how to classify it. She was envious of Ah Reum for having such a good guy like Sehun as a best friend, and if she could just turn back time, she would wish that she had met him earlier.

Da Eun eyed him. "You know what? I'm starting to think I'm just your escape route from her."

Sehun’s head went side-up, and he just smiled after hearing that. "No, you're not."

"If she's pestering you so much, why don't you just tell her?" She asked.

"I did that too many times," Sehun answered.

"And it did not work," Da Eun concluded for him with a frown on her dismayed face. "Then, why don't you stop being friends with her for a while? A little less talking and bonding couldn't hurt," she suggested.

"What?" Sehun asked, feeling a little bit irritated by her idea.

"You know, even couples need space. It can also apply to friends," Da Eun continued explaining. "Have some time away from her; bond with your other friends. I might sound like the bad guy here, but Sehun, give yourself a break. Give yourself some freedom away from her."

"That is one thing I will never do. I don't think I can do that," he answered.

Da Eun shook her head. "You are wrong. Of course, you can do it; you just can't live without her. You are used to her being there for you all the time. That is why the idea of you getting separated with her annoys you," she stated her observations in a melancholy tone.

"Maybe you're right," he agreed.

She had no reaction to his agreement. "I don't mean that in a romantic way, though, it's more of a friendly way," she said this for the sake of confirmation that Sehun still had his eyes on her.

"Yeah."

Sehun seemed a little lost after that matter. He looked at her intently with an evil grin. He was tapping his closed fist on the table for quite some time now, and Da Eun knew he was nervous about something. She cannot read his mind, so she had no idea what it was that was making him nervous, and it was making her curious.

"What?" She couldn't help but ask.

"I was thinking," Sehun began.

"About what?" Da Eun asked with a smile; she had a good feeling about this.

Sehun smiled at her once again, and his mouth opened. "Of introducing you to my friends," he announced.

Da Eun's lips instantly crept into a smile. She was surprised about what she heard, and she was not expecting that Sehun would say something like that. She could feel that she was blushing, and she hid it by burying her hand on . "Are you crazy? We're not even together yet."

"Yet?" Sehun teased.

"Did I say yet?" She asked, blushing and mentally kicking herself for slipping like that.

The boy repeatedly nodded with a chuckle. "Yes, yes, you did."

She hit him lightly on the head with her sketchpad as she stood up. "Come on, Sehun. Don't be such a tease."

He stood up also. "Fine, fine. I know how much you don't want to talk about this."

"Just give me enough time, okay?" Da Eun requested.

"I'll be waiting."

Seulgi was passing by in the hallways, searching for her club president to give her the photos that she had taken during Science Week. It was just an envelope filled with developed images of the entire celebration. She was about to give the envelope to her editor when she saw Sehun in the same room as her editor. Last time Seulgi checked, Sehun was not a part of this class, and when she saw Da Eun, Seulgi instantly felt the different kind of aura from Oh Sehun, and she was not pleased about it.

Plus, she had to talk to Ah Reum, her idiot friend.

...

Ah Reum was just stacking some files in their room because the teacher asked her to do so when Seulgi came barging in.

"Hello, Seulgi."

Seulgi hated Ah Reum's expression. The brunette looked like she was not hurting and was fine. She was sure that Ah Reum knew, and yet, she still chose to be persistent. "I need you to confirm something," she said, her voice was desperate and demanding.

"What? Why is your expression angry?" Ah Reum asked, not knowing what she did wrong to Seulgi and started questioning herself.

Frankly, Seulgi asked, "Is Sehun courting someone?"

"Seulgi," Ah Reum called out her name with a smile.

Her fists were clenched, and she could feel her teeth gritting. "Just say yes or no," she ordered.

Ah Reum felt sorry for not telling her friends that Sehun was courting someone already. It seemed like it gave Seulgi a bigger shock than she expected, and she knew very well how against Seulgi was with her lifelong wish to be with her best friend. Telling the truth would do all the work while lying would just be pointless. Ah Reum took a deep breath and tried to be as calm as possible.

"Yes. He is courting someone."

Seulgi could have hit the board near the cabinet where Ah Reum was stacking files. "How long has this been going?" She asked coldly.

"I don't know. Before this year's classes started," Ah Reum answered like it was just an ordinary thing.

Seulgi sighed unhappily. "You're an idiot."

Ah Reum refrained from stacking the papers as she faced her friend entirely. "Seulgi, what is your problem?" She asked, getting annoyed. "Why are you doing this? Why are you so caught up with this thing going on between Sehun and me?"

"My problem is you. You are so stupid. Get over him, Ah Reum."

"I told you; I can't."

The raven-haired girl wanted to hit the brunette on the head. She was more than ready to scold her friend. "He's done a very obvious move to make you stop, and yet, you're continuing it. He likes someone else. You are always crying because of him. You keep us updated with your relationship like it's getting better and better every day when the truth is it's not, and now he is courting someone. Listen to me, Ah Reum, and listen well, stop this. In the end, you'll be the loser."

Ah Reum rubbed her forehead with her hand. "I am now a loser, Seulgi."

"Then why don't you let go of him?" asked Seulgi.

"I can't," Ah Reum quietly answered.

"Do you know how unreasonable that sounded?" Seulgi asked in disbelief.

Ah Reum was getting irritated by the repeated questions being thrown at her. "What can I do? I love him."

Stressing the words out, Seulgi stated, "But he doesn't love you. Face it."

"I know. But maybe, one day-"

Seulgi interrupted her to prove her point even more. "There is no "one day" Ah Reum. He chose a long time ago. It's about time you respect it. Accept not even for the sake of your love or your friendship but as a sign of respect to his decision. Give him, at least, that. Because if you keep on bugging him, then one day he'll be fed up and he might push you away."

Fear.

It was the feeling that engulfed Ah Reum when Seulgi said those words. It never crossed her mind that Sehun might push her away one day until now. She was terrified that what just Seulgi blurted out could be possible. She could not imagine living her life without Sehun even if they would stay as friends forever. Well, she was getting her strength from him. He was the assurance to her doubts. He was real.

"He would not do that. He promised."

Seulgi sighed in defeat. She really could say no more. "This is all I can do for you. If you need some help, I'll be here."

Her tensed brown orbs calmed down, and after the heated conversation, Ah Reum's expression finally broke into a thankful one. "Thank you, Seulgi. I appreciate it."

"Hey, guys! What happened here?" Yerim asked, entering the scene.

Ah Reum shook her head. "Seulgi just told me something. What's up?"

"We're searching for our dates for the dance," Sooyoung replied.

"But we can't find anyone yet," Yerim said with a frown.

"Don't lose hope," Ah Reum encouraged, "It's still far from now."

And the conversation was ringing in Ah Reum's mind like an echo and later on, it died. Her mind was a mess bec