TEN

Author’s POV

            Weeks had passed and EXO finally ended their first world tour. The boys headed straight to the agency right after arriving at the airport. All of them their sleeping mode once they were in the car, totally exhausted after all the concerts. Once they reached the agency, the manager woke them up and rushed them into the building as fast as they could. The members were all worn out that they could barely smile at the staffs as they headed to the elevator. On their way to the meeting room, they bumped onto a group of girls who just came out from the practice room.

“Good afternoon, sunbae-nims.” The girls greeted whilst slightly bowing.

“Oh, Red Velvet girls… congratulations on your successful debut.” Suho congratulated them although he was obviously tired.

“Boo-yah!” Bright Baekhyun suddenly yelled before he slightly chuckled, “Happiness is so addictive. I watched the MV after we finished our final concert and I love it.” He complimented.

“Thank you. Congratulations on your world tour too, sunbae-nims. See you guys later, and have a nice day.” Leader Irene thanked them followed by other members.

As they were bowing down to each other before parting, Sehun caught Seulgi’s eyes fixed on him, emotionless, but meaningful. Sehun slowed down his steps, letting the hyungs passed by first, and same goes to Seulgi who halted her steps near Sehun.

“I haven’t got the chance to watch your MV or performance yet, but still congratulation on your ‘Happiness’ debut.” Sehun told as soon as everyone’s gone.

“Thanks, but please make sure to watch us later. By the way, how’s T-ara Jiyeon’s sunbae? I heard they’re coming back this September. Has she recovered yet?” As Sehun expected, Seulgi would ask him about Jiyeon.

“I’m not sure. Last time I saw and heard from her was when I met you at the hospital back then.” Sehun calmly answered.

“Ah, I hope she’s in a good condition to comeback or she might get hurt again. You guys must be close right?” Seulgi smiled as she asked the question.

“Why do you think so?” Sehun slightly chuckled, sounded rather anxious.

“Why would you fly back to Seoul in the middle of world tour to visit a friend of she’s not a close one, right?” Seulgi smiled as she said her opinion, “Also, the way you talked to her was so… gentle, as if you care a lot about her. Therefore, I’m not wrong when I assume you guys are really close, didn’t I?” She added, seemingly proud of her own assumption.

Sehun only smiled as he nodded, “Who knows? But I would be more than grateful if this talk about Jiyeon ends here, and only here. Thanks Seulgi.”

“You’re most welcome.” Seulgi replied before she walked away.

---

            That evening on the same day, Sehun’s brother who picked him up at the agency dropped him at the basement parking of their apartment as requested. Although the dark circles obviously portrayed how exhausted he was, his expression was rather bright. He was carrying lots of paper bags filled with souvenirs he got for Jiyeon and her family when he was on tour. He rode the elevator straight to Jiyeon’s apartment’s level and happily rang the bell. After about a minute, Hyojoon opened the door while rubbing his eyes, obviously just woke up from his sleep.

“Sehun, you’re back?” He asked with his husky sleepy voice.

“Yeah, is Jiyeon home?” Sehun went straight to the point.

“I heard she left the house after talking to someone on the phone while I’m on my evening nap.” Hyojoon answered.

“What about mom and dad?”

“They’re out on date. Are these for me?” Hyojoon shamelessly asked while pointing at the paper bags.

“I’m giving these out once everyone presents. Please resume your sleep hyung. I’ll come down once everyone’s home, okay?”

“Sure. See you later.”

            Sehun then made his way back to the elevator. Once he arrived upstairs, he went straight to the apartment and keyed in the passcode. Still struggling with his paper back, Sehun hardly able to open the door. He walked in and placed all the paper bags onto the sofa before stretching his arms while yawning, obviously still exhausted. He planned to get a long sleep as soon as possible but he suddenly sensed a significant scent coming from the kitchen and an unclear sound. He stared towards the kitchen’s way while knitting his brows, confused. He then curiously advanced towards the kitchen.

As Sehun reached the kitchen, he saw a back of a girl at the kitchen counter. She was cutting some vegetables before throwing them all into a pot on the stove. Sehun only silently observing her as she stirred her cooking, slightly tasted it, shook her head, and began adding some more spices. Sehun smiled lovingly at the sight in front of him, and his heart actually pounded quite unsteadily. He painstakingly approached the girl from behind without making any sound. While she’s busy tasting the food, Sehun took a peek into the pot and a delicious looking vegetables soup.

“That looks yummy.” He uttered right next to her ear.

“Huh!” She exclaimed, surprised, “Yah! Why did you appear without notice? I almost got heart attack warghh…” Jiyeon complained as she caressed her chest and showed a crying face.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to.” Sehun urgently apologized as he patted Jiyeon’s back.

“I’m joking,” Jiyeon then curled a smile, “Let’s eat. I was waiting for you. I figured you’ll be tired. Although I wasn’t sure whether you’ll come here or not, I cooked vegetables soup. Just in case…”

“Thanks. I can’t wait to eat. But how do you know we’re back from our tour. I thought I forgot to tell you before.”

“Chanyeol called and informed me that he’s back. That’s how I know.”

“Oh… Chanyeol hyung. Okay.”

Sehun’s expression changed as he heard Chanyeol’s name from Jiyeon’s mouth. He knew they are friends and had known each other even before he met Jiyeon, but the fact that he knew she was once in love with Chanyeol, the insecurities hit him so quickly. Jiyeon who was filling the bowl with rice took a glance at Sehun and saw his sudden sullen face. She smiled and slightly nudged Sehun.

“Eat first and then you can take a long rest. I know you’re tired.” Jiyeon told.

“Alright.” Sehun replied with a smile.

As they ate together at the dining table, awkward silence filled the room. Sometimes the sound of either of them sipping the soup was heard, but that’s all. After their marriage, this is actually the first time they spent time like what marriage couple should do since Sehun went to his world tour right after their private wedding. Sehun finished his last sip of vegetable soup before resting his back against the chair, showing how full he is after the simple meal.

“You should go clean yourself and take a rest quickly. I’ll tidy up here.” Jiyeon urged as she got ready to stand up.

“Wait, let’s have a talk first.” Sehun suddenly stopped her. She looked like she’s about to refuse but she nodded eventually, “I’ll go straight to the point. This marriage happens... because you’re pregnant with my child. But now that the child is… no longer exist, it’s okay if you want a divorce. I mean, I’m waiting for you to declare the end of this marriage.”

Jiyeon curled a bitter smile as she heard Sehun, “I know you’ll bring this up. Of course, we need a divorce, but later. I know you’re busy, and I’m busy too. Let’s talk about this once I’m done with ‘sugar free’ promo. Okay?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. For the time being, can you let me use this place until the end of the promo? There’s a hectic schedule waiting for me ahead, and I don’t want to disturb my family in case I comeback home very late at night and leave the house very early in the morning. They’ll surely worry about me and I don’t want that to happen.”

“Ahh, so it’s okay for you to disturb me and let me worry about you?” Sehun smirked.

“Yeah, of course. I don’t think you’ll be at home to worry about me though. You’ll have to go back to your dorm soon right?”

“Ah right… I’ll visit whenever possible. For the time being, take care of your health while promoting, and don’t overwork your body since you’re still in the process of recovering.” Sehun suddenly nagged.

“You’re like a naggy mom. As you wished, Oh Sehun-ssi.” Jiyeon giggled as she stuck out her tongue.

Sehun curled a loving smile as he watched Jiyeon’s adorably giggling. His heart fluttered only at the thought of their developing relationship. He felt guilty at first, for almost ruining the career of an ambitious idol like Jiyeon. After all her hard works, efforts, struggles, stumbles, he carelessly almost ruined her already miserable life by making her pregnant. Now that everything turned normal again, he told himself to just be grateful for becoming a husband to a person he’s adored for years, even though barely for a few months. He had prepared himself to accept the divorce from Jiyeon soon.

---

            A few days after coming back from their first world tour, five of the EXO members made their appearances on a radio station to share their experiences and stories, which were Suho, Sehun, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and D.O. They had a very fun time with the DJ which was a senior from their own agency, Ryeowook. After singing to one of their famous side track, Baby Don’t Cry, Ryeowook then threw a question towards random members.

“Baby Don’t Cry is indeed a great song about protecting one’s love, right? So, Sehun-ssi, have you ever experienced falling in love? Before your debut for example.” He asked Sehun who was slightly flustered once his name was called.

“Me? Ah yes, towards the end of my middle school, I had once fell in love with a high-schooler I met in the street. She’s my first love.” Sehun laughed as he answered the question.

“Ohhh we never knew this.” Suho then told.

“So how was it going?” Ryeowook asked again.

“I saw her couple of times but she was a different person every time we met. She was furious the first time, bubbly the second time, and sad the third time. All our meetings were meaningful to me, and I really treasured those moments I had with that noona.” Sehun slightly blushed after he finished talking.

“What a fun first love you experienced. So what about other members?”

“I wanna share my story?” Chanyeol suddenly raised up his hand.

“Sure Chanyeol-ssi.”

“During my pre-debut, I entered a modeling contest and there I met lots of new friends. There’s this one girl, particularly close with me but we’re always bickering. Even after the contest ended, we’re still contacting each other and meeting up. We were both trainees that time but in different agencies. One day, she confessed to me but I rejected her saying that I’m going to focus on my training and I don’t have time for a relationship so she punched me on my stomach. To be honest, I liked her too but that wasn’t my priority that time. She then debuted first.”

“Oh! So she’s still around?” Ryeowook asked, curious.

“Oh yes, and we’re still friends.” Chanyeol nodded.

They all entered the car once they’re done with the radio schedule. In the car, the members began asking Chanyeol whether the girl he’s talking about was Jiyeon and he admitted to it. Sehun just silently watched the members as they started teasing Chanyeol about his relationship with Jiyeon.

“Ohoh Chanyeol, she’s one of the most beautiful idols, you were so dumb for rejecting her back then?” Baekhyun voiced out his regrets toward Chanyeol.