Chasing You

Chapter Seven

A Period and a Question Mark

Ah Reum came rushing down the stairs because if she didn’t leave the house now, then she'd surely be late. It was a lovely, sunny day and the rays of the sun passed through their windows that illuminated the house. Ah Reum snatched a slice of bread and chewed on it quickly. She did not even bother to take a seat and just chose to stand up. Ah Reum gulped as she drank her juice, watching the clock in their dining room. She looked like she was racing against it. Jiyoung walked in front of her, just in time to greet her after finishing her small breakfast.

"Good morning, Mom."

Jiyoung smiled at her daughter's greeting and stated her observations. "Good morning. You look happy."

Ah Reum was thankful for many things today. She just had the best day yesterday and today was going to be another historic day for her. She would make the best out of it. "Why wouldn't I? Everything is just perfect!" She exclaimed, tilting her neck slightly upward, giggling afterward.

Jiyoung sat down and urged Ah Reum to do the same. "Ah Reum, dear. How would you feel if a really important person in your life who's been gone for a long time suddenly comes back?" Jiyoung asked; it was almost the same tone she used last night.

"I'd be happy?" Ah Reum answered without a clue and just said it for the sake of giving an answer.

Jiyoung took the answer as a good sign. "What do you think about meeting your father?"

Ah Reum's bright face vanished. "What? He's alive?" she asked getting another piece of bread in the process; her tone was flat.

Jiyoung immediately regretted saying it so early in the morning. She destroyed her daughter's happy mood, but she had no choice but to continue now. "He wants to see you," she informed.

Ah Reum wanted to laugh at her mother's words. It had always been a big joke to her. The idea of her father wanting to see her must have been a big lie because he never expressed any want or need to see his daughter. To her father, she was an obligation, a product of ‘wrong timing'. She wanted to humor her mother but based on the look she was giving her, Jiyoung was serious. Her mood changed, and she hated her mother's timing. Jiyoung could be persistent about this, she predicted, but she already knew her decision, and it would be composed of only two letters.

"No, I don't want to see him," Ah Reum answered.

Jiyoung dropped her utensils. "Don't be so bitter when it comes to him, Ah Reum. He's still your father."

"He may be my biological father, but he was never a real father to me," Ah Reum spat. She stood up, ready to retreat for two reasons. One, she hated the topic of the conversation, and second, she was going to be late.

Jiyoung followed after her, getting agitated by her daughter's actions. "That's why he wants to see you, so he can be the father that you've always dreamed of having."

Ah Reum turned to her; her face contorted in anger. "Well, maybe I don’t want a father anymore!"

"Give him a chance," Jiyoung pleaded.

She shook her head, "No, Mom. Never. "

"Just talk to him."

Ah Reum gritted her teeth, hating her mother's pushiness about this. "No! I will never talk to the man who abandoned us and showered us with nothing but his money. His money can go to hell! When I- we... needed him, where was he? What happened to his promises; his promise that he would always be there? That just went to ashes. What did he say that caused you to agree to this? Mom, you have to understand me also. I don't think I can afford to see him."

Jiyoung was caught off guard by her daughter's sudden outburst. She did not know that her daughter hated her father this much. If she just saw this before, she could have done something to lessen Ah Reum's hatred for him. "Okay. I understand, but I'm not going to give up."

The brunette just gave her a blank look and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Then, you are just hoping for nothing, Mom."

"Don't talk to me that way," Jiyoung yelled as her daughter walked out.

Ah Reum turned to her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for sounding disrespectful, but my day started amazing, and now it's been ruined because of your ex-husband."

Jiyoung gasped for air; tears were slightly spilling from her eyes. The tears blurred her vision, and even the simplest task of finding the couch was hard for her. She knew that Ah Reum was angry, but she didn't think that she would close her heart to her father so quickly.

...

"You're busy?" Ah Reum asked.

Sehun did not even bother to turn to face her. "Yes."

She ignored his answer and sat down next to him, hoping that he would listen to her even if it were just for a second. She stared at him for a couple of seconds, wondering if she should tell Sehun about what had just happened. Ah Reum shook her head slightly, knowing that Sehun was the right person to talk to. He would know what to do, and he was always the first person she told her problems.

"My father wants to see me," she said without a hint of hate or anger in her voice. Ah Reum knew she should be calm when her father is mentioned.

Sehun finally paid attention to her. "And you don't want to see him," he already concluded.

Ah Reum bit her lip as she played with her fingers. "Am I being selfish? I even yelled at my mother," she asked and added with a groan, "I'm despicable."

"Are you sure I'm the right person to ask?" Sehun asked because he was also having a hard time dealing with his old man.

Ah Reum sighed as she rested her back on the chair. "There were not a lot of students in the cafeteria because lunch break was just going to start in an hour and a half, so talking about this personal problem was easy. "Why do fathers have to be so hard to deal with?" she asked.

"We're just unlucky."

She sat up straight and pouted. "But I won't call you unfortunate because, hey, at least, he was a good father to you and Seo Ah. He is still with you, and I am sure that he is trying hard to bring your family back to how it was before his infidelity," she said encouragingly.

Sehun wanted to laugh at her. She hated her father so much, but she came to like his whom also done nothing but bad things to them. Ah Reum should start seeing the goodness in her dad and not in anyone else's father. She just came here, but Sehun already observed the different expressions she made. She frowned, pouted, looked baffled, guilty, and tactless. This was one of those times when Sehun realized the differences between them, and the impossibility for them to become the best of friends, but that difference made them a perfect match for each other as friends. He wanted to tell her not to go and see her dad, and he knew she would follow his advice but at the same time, he wanted the best for her. As of this moment, seeing her dad was the best thing she could do. She was longing for him, he knew. He knew because he experienced and was currently experiencing that same feeling.

When she came up behind him, he thought she was just going to be annoying, but he was completely wrong. Ah Reum was the type of person whom you could not tell if she's currently experiencing a problem or not because she could hide it perfectly with her cheerful attitude and happy smile. It turns out that she was just like any other person. She too had problems. Over the years, Sehun could already tell if his best friend was currently in a crisis or not. He was bad at opening topics and asking if a person was okay because it had never been one of his best assets, but he would be willing to know and would be prepared to ask if it was Ah Reum.

"You have so much faith in my father," he commented.

She did. She wondered why she believed so much that Sehun's dad would change for the better. "He's kind to me," she reasoned out, knowing that it was not the only reason. Sehun's father had always been rooting for her.

Sehun gave her a dark look. "Surprisingly."

"Hey! You're together. I knew it."

It was Yixing who said it. Ah Reum and Sehun turned to see both Luhan and Yixing making their way toward them. The brunette wanted to smack Yixing's head for interrupting a conversation that would soon be a serious one. She hadn't yet asked for advice. 

The two boys had their trays with them, and Ah Reum forgot that it was lunch time. These two always had their lunch with Sehun, as cheesy as it sounded.

Ah Reum then said cheekily, "No need to be so hyped up, Yixing. We are usually like this."

Yixing gave a smile which meant that there was more. "Ahh, yes. Yes."

"What are you doing here, Ah Reum?" asked Luhan.

She scratched her nose and said between her teeth, "I'm here to thank you two."

"For what?" Luhan asked innocently, afraid that Ah Reum knew about the origin of the date.

Ah Reum decided to play with the two but realized she could not do it. In fact, she was sincere when she stated that she wanted to thank them. "For forcing Sehun to go out with me."

The two just let out a nervous laugh.

Ah Reum stood up, still disappointed at the interrupted conversation with Sehun, who remained silent. "While you two are laughing, I should go." 

Then, she was ready to go.

Yixing waved at her. "See you, Ah Reum. Always visit every lunch break."

"Sure thing," Ah Reum replied.

When she was gone completely, the two concurrently leaned their arms on the table and waited for him to spill everything. "So, you took her out. Well, that's fast. I predicted that you would ask her out sometime this week," Luhan said.

Sehun could not believe how his two best pals wanted to gossip about his friendly outing with Ah Reum. Usually, the girls were the ones to do this. "As if there would be any difference," he answered quietly. There was no need to elaborate.

"Forget that. How was it?" Yixing asked, dismissing the urgency of the date.

"It was normal," Sehun gave them a dull look.

Luhan was disappointed because of how ugly his explanation was, but this was Sehun they were talking about. What could they expect? "And that explains everything?" Luhan asked in disbelief.

"Pretty much."

"When's the next date?" Yixing asked with his excited tone again. Clearly, between Yixing and Luhan, the latter was much more excited about this.

Sehun felt like a sissy spelling this out with his pals. "There won't be one."

"What?" asked Yixing.

"You should know why I did that."

Yixing nodded, feeling a little protective of Ah Reum. "Yes, because you care for her."

Sehun was getting irritated with the interrogation. "She's my best friend, okay? I just don't want to make things complicated between us."

"Ah Reum won't let that happen," Luhan said.

"Look, it's not just about Ah Reum."

"What do you mean?" Luhan asked, slightly surprised that Sehun had other reasons. He had a theory that Sehun did not want to ruin his friendship with the brunette or he was scared to tell her that he already felt the same, or it could be that Sehun was afraid that he was falling for her too, and he did not plan for it to happen.

"Da Eun."

"Your co-artist?" Yixing asked for confirmation.

Sehun felt a little awkward with the way how he told his two friends the name of the girl he liked. "She's...she's special, okay?"

Special.

Luhan and Yixing didn't know what the word special meant to their friend, Sehun. If Ah Reum were not special enough, they could not imagine how much Sehun would do for this Da Eun. It shocked them both that Sehun was courting someone. Courting, yeah. That was the word. Sehun agreed to take Ah Reum out on a date despite this so-called girl named Da Eun.

Suddenly, the two boys were confused. Their eyebrows met in confusion. They wanted to question Sehun. Why was he doing this? Why was he letting Ah Reum chase after him with nothing but false hopes?

The date must've only occurred because of their persistence, and not because Sehun wanted it himself. All the romantic-sounding words he had given Ah Reum was just his comment as a best friend. His initial plan to dedicate his artwork to Ah Reum, his most important piece on his upcoming exhibit, was just a sign of thanks to her as a friend. For all ten years, they were still nothing but friends. Sehun's effort of helping Ah Reum whenever, whatever, and wherever was just his normal way of helping her. All the years they had been friends with the raven-haired guy, they could not believe that they had the wrong perception of things. They thought Sehun was just in denial, but now they were sure, and they were wrong.

Sehun never liked Ah Reum.

This made Yixing want to punch himself in the face for being pathetic. He was the reason Sehun agreed to the date in the first place. He insisted it happen, for he thought that it would lead Sehun and Ah Reum's friendship to a whole new level. It did not happen because, ridiculously, it was one-sided. 

He gave Ah Reum false hopes. No, Ah Reum didn't seem like she got the wrong encouragement. Realizing that made Yixing want to punch himself even more. Ah Reum knew all along about Da Eun and everything.

Yixing tried to find the words to say after hearing Sehun's unexpected confession. "Hearing you confess like that makes her special, huh?"

Luhan gaped, losing track of what was happening. "What are you saying? What about Ah Reum? Does she know about this Da Eun?"

"She's the first one who knew," Sehun admitted.

"," Luhan mumbled.

Yixing looked unhappy. "This could be a big problem."