Chapter Seven

Sehun laid his back against his apartment door as soon as it closed. He had just returned from his outing with Kai, bringing along with him a myriad of new thoughts and feelings. He just couldn’t forget about the way Kai stared at him occasionally. He didn’t hate it, but he didn’t know what it was…and it flustered the pale boy.

He wasn’t immune to the thoughts that immediately sprung from being looked at like that, and treated so kindly like that, but Sehun refused to acknowledge them. He refused to allow himself to surrender again. After all, having a crush is equivalent to taking most of the fall, and he…did not want to fall. He couldn’t afford to. Not after everything that happened.

Kai was kind, and that’s all there is to it. Sehun was sure that his boss didn’t have any ulterior motives or intentions behind his actions, and he had witnessed firsthand how well he treated every other employee. Kai had even once taught a struggling intern how to fix the Excel worksheets. Sehun shouldn’t be selfish enough to think he was special…because he wasn’t…right?

Just as Sehun was reorganizing his thoughts and suppressing whatever feeling that wanted to float all the way to the tip of his tongue, his phone received a text notification…and the text message was from Kai. Sehun hurriedly opened it.

“I had a wonderful time today Sehun, I hope we can still hang out together after work sometime soon. How does Monday sound like? I’d love to show you another one of my favorite restaurants!”

Sehun bought his lip in something between frustration and excitement. His entire body and mind were going haywire because this invitation obviously means something. Before he noticed, his fingers were already hovering above the phone keyboard, slightly shaking and wondering how to reply. He already knew what the reply was going to be anyways. His whole being was screaming “Yes! Say yes!” over and over again.

Ding. Another text notification rang. A new message from Kai that read “…if you want to of course, I wouldn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable or pressure you into it. I just…would love to enjoy your company again J”

“…” Sehun cursed as a smile sneaked its way to his face. How could anyone refuse someone this considerate and sweet. He looked at his reflection in the mirror by his entryway and saw the glimmer in his eyes. He really looked so much better now, and it was obviously thanks to his mental strength and a very kind boss who treated him respectfully, and almost like a dear friend.

Sehun wanted more of this. He strived for more of the good things that happened to him lately.

Attention redirected back to his phone, Sehun typed in his answer. “I would love to, Kai”. At that, Sehun joyfully spe