§§§§§

Turning at the opening of the door Sehun immediately moved over to lower the music on the computer behind him. He had stayed behind to finish putting together music clips for an upcoming screening. Now, he had moved onto arranging music sheets including the draft of the poster design the club would be using to promote their musical.

“Why are you the only one here?” Seona wondered walking in.

“The others got tired and left early.”

“You should be tired too.”

“Oh, no, I’m fine. I slept in between classes today, so I’m wide awake,” Sehun grinned.

Seona frowned but broke into a smile. “It’s way past club hours. Come on, I’ll give you a ride home.”

“I’m ok, don’t worry about me,” Sehun assured.

Walking over she snatched the sheets in hand from him. “I said, I’ll give you a ride home. The screening doesn’t take place until a week from now, we have lots of time. Now, get up.”

Watching her set the sheets onto the table as a final say Sehun couldn’t help but muster a happy smile that she cared. Hurriedly following her he asked, “Anyway, what are you still doing on campus?”

“I had a meeting with my math tutor,” she explained. “Our schedules didn’t quite match, so we agreed to meet after his classes ended.”

“I could help you,” he enthusiastically offered.

Seona laughed amused, “I don’t think you’re at the level of PBIS yet.”

“P…PB….P-B-I-S?” he repeated uncertainly.

“PBIS,” she enunciated the word. “Are you required to take it?”

“I…I don’t know,” he glanced up at the starry sky. What would his future schedule be like?

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “Have you met up with your advisor yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“You should hurry up. If you wait for later, sessions will already be booked and you’ll be on the waiting list,” she advised.

“Have you seen yours?”

“Of course,” she nodded. “I’ll be graduating next spring. Isn’t that cool? I’ve waited forever for this.”

“Next spring?” he repeated with dying excitement. If she graduated, he wouldn’t be able to see her again. They’d be nothing…

“We’re here, get in.” The beep of her car unlocking noisily rang through his ears while he watched her get into the driver’s seat. Was she so happy to be leaving? Then what about him? Did she not catch any of the signals he had been trying to shed from the beginning? Or had he been to blunt about his feelings that she didn’t understand him? Or maybe, he was just too young for her?

Dropping into the passenger’s seat he set his gaze on the window, watching as the headlights floated by. Everything had been so smooth recently. The semester had resumed, he had caught up with his friends again, and the art club was flourishing with activity – so much activity that he was able to see everyone every day, that including Seona.

They had gotten closer, hadn’t they? He was sure they had. Among everyone else, Hwang Seona was the first friend he met up with upon returning to Seoul. They were even close enough now to share food and drinks. She would even buy him food and deliver it to him if he got extremely hungry between classes and didn’t have enough time to get any of his own. They were small gestures, but were they really nothing?

“You should try getting as much sleep as you can. With club activities coming up, we’ll be getting super busy. I’ll yell at the guys the next time they dump work on you,” Seona said. “Don’t do anything and just go to bed.”

Sehun’s attention shifted when his phone beeped. Glancing at it he saw a message from Chul. “Do you mind dropping me off at the river?”

“At this time of night?” Seona questioned.

“I’m meeting with a friend,” Sehun explained.

“It’s already late though…”

“I’ll go home right after,” he promised. “And he’s a good friend. He’ll know to put me to bed.”

Seona rolled her eyes for the humor of it then turned the car around to drop him off at Hangang River. Bidding her goodbye with a happy wave he crossed the path to Lee Chul. At this time of night, the park was abandoned. Once in every 15 minutes a biker would ride by but that was all. Quite a perfect place for a date.

Hangang Park was a serene heaven on earth in daylight. Grassy green fields, a sight to behold beside the biker’s lane. Beyond the green was the pretty blue sparkles belonging to the Hangang River. The park consisting of 12 districts each was comprised of unique views and activities. In addition to the pleasant river breeze the surrounding city buildings, streets, and traffic added to it a breathtaking sight. In the nights the lights were what brought still-bound-life to existence.

Lee Chul’s lone silhouette against the river was the very perfect image of a man standing against a peaceful scenery. The friend had already turned at the sound of the vehicle’s engine and was ready to ask, “That her?”

Slightly turning back to see Seona’s vehicle veer off into the distance Sehun nodded. “Yea.”

“You’re getting it on fast,” Chul joked with a punch to the arm.

Rubbing the wounded arm Sehun turned back to the friend. “What kind of date is this that you call me out so late at night?”

“Why?” Chul asked with humor. “Your girlfriend angry at you?”

This time, Sehun jabbed Chul’s arm with his knuckles. “She’s not it.” He listened to Chul mock him with a laugh. Observing him, Sehun asked, “So, what’d you do today?”

“I saw Namjoo today.” Even though it was apparently dark, Sehun noticed that timid but cheery smile on his lips.

“You come here from her house?” he wondered.

“I went to her school and then we had dinner together,” Chul told.

“You’re sure happy,” Sehun commented.

Scoffing with a bright laugh Chul looked him in the eyes, “Don’t I look happy?”

“You’re lame. I’m gonna kill you if you called me out for this.”

“Of course. I just needed to tell someone,” Chul laughed with explosive happiness.

§§§§§

By the time he got back to Namjoo’s house it was barely midnight. No one was up. Yawning, Sehun immediately started toward the refrigerator in search of something to eat. After popping some food into the microwave he peered around the quiet house. It suddenly felt like a part of him was looking for someone.

The beep of the microwave forced him to turn around and attend to his late night dinner. Once he set the table for himself he sat down and started filling his stomach. Sehun realized it was perhaps the first time had eaten alone. Having always been accompanied by Namjoo and her family or his parents he hadn’t had a meal alone before. Strange how things had turned out like this.

How lonely…

Sehun had gotten used to listening to Namjoo’s mother at the table. He was always accustomed to noisy Namjoo and hearing her father giving her remarks. Was this how it was supposed to be growing up, finding a life of his own, becoming independent? First, you’re alone and then you find your place to be?

Glancing up he peered into the dark living room ahead of him. Whenever Namjoo went out and came home late he always waited for her return. Sometimes he did it because he wanted to scare her and other times he did it just because. Namjoo could return the favor he thought.

He finally headed upstairs after washing the dishes. The soles of his feet were worn out and he was mentally drained by this point. It was almost 12:30AM and he was still not in bed yet. He needed to lie down fast. At the top of the stairs he paused and glanced toward Namjoo’s closed door. He barely saw her these days now that she finally started classes. How was she doing? Most days, Namjoo didn’t even drop him off at campus anymore. After breakfast they separated just like that and he’d walk to the bus stop at the end of the corner of the block.

He was curious how her date with Lee Chul had gone, and what she thought about it.

§§§§§

Namjoo slept well last night. After coming home from dinner with Chul she’d easily gotten into bed and knocked out right away. She was pleased when she woke up because she hadn’t uselessly wandered about anything regarding Sehun.

That made her feel good.

This morning she was right back to sitting beside him for breakfast. There wasn’t much to say. They just ate like any other day. They had done this too long to continue bickering every morning.

“I have a research paper I need to prepare for, so I won’t be home for dinner,” Namjoo told her mother that morning.

“How are you going to eat dinner?” her father wondered.

“They have a cafeteria on campus, dad,” Namjoo flatly stared at him as if he should have known.

“Will that be enough for you?” her mother worried.

“I’ll snack. Don’t worry,” Namjoo assured. Rising to her feet she excused, “I need to get dressed. I’ll be late for class.”

A second later she dashed up the stairs, threw on some fresh clothes, grabbed her backpack and car keys, and was out the door. Sehun’s bedroom door opened at the exact same time. Namjoo stopped upon his, “Hey, give me a ride.”

She shot him a look before turning away and rushed down the rest of the stairs with him on her tail. Honestly, she was partially glad they were together that morning but a part of her felt miffed. Namjoo had begun getting used to not seeing him around so often, and not having him around made her more comfortable because she thought too much, felt too much with him. It was better to have no disappointment and not see him than to be disappointed even at the luxury of having him around.

The weight of her car shifted when Sehun got in and closed the door. Namjoo listened as the seatbelt zipped over his torso before buckling it. As she reversed out of the driveway Namjoo fought to concentrate on anything but the fact that Sehun was beside her. If she allowed herself to feel even the least bit of fluttering happiness she would just expect more after tonight.

Lately, she had done good, had been so good about not wondering about Sehun, their friendship, and her feelings. The nuisance of the worry had disappeared for a few days at the least. She didn’t want to start pondering over what would happen if she ever told Sehun her feelings. She didn’t want to feel her heart plunging down into her stomach when she saw him with Seona. She didn’t want to let herself wonder about Sehun being with someone else. She didn’t want the pain.

“How are classes?” Sehun started.

Focusing on the road she replied, “It’s all right.”

“You like your introductory courses?”

Namjoo shrugged, “I can’t say much, but I guess I like them.”

She watched him nod from out of the corner of her eyes. They were quiet for a few seconds before he finally asked what he really wanted to know, “I heard you met with Chul yesterday.”

became tight. Pressing her lips together she made a sharp turn at the intersection and listen to Sehun let out a yelp while clutching onto the door handle.

“Careful!” he raised his voice.

Namjoo made no move to apologize. She didn’t want to talk to him about Chul. She wasn’t interested in the topic of someone else. If there was anything to talk about she wanted to know how he was doing recently, but Namjoo already knew the answer. She would only hear stories about the art club, about Taihee, Seona, and all those other guys he had befriended.

Namjoo didn’t want to hear about them. She wanted nothing to do with them.

This was distressing.

“I nearly lost my liver for a second.” Sehun breathed.

“Don’t kid,” Namjoo nearly rolled her eyes.

Sehun made a face at her before resuming his curiosity, “So, how was it?”

“How was what?” she asked trying to feign stupidity.

“You met Chul yesterday. I heard you two went out for dinner.”

“What, does he report everything to you?”

“Well…” he began with a shake of his head while trying to drag on his answer.

“How annoying,” Namjoo mumbled.

“So, how was it?”

“How was what? What do you want me to say?” Namjoo asked almost irritated. What was his problem? Was he checking up on her reaction for Chul? Now she was even more irked. If Lee Chul told Sehun everything then she might as well stop doing anything at all.

“Hey, I’m just curious,” Sehun said.

Speeding up Namjoo glanced into the rearview mirror before changing lanes. “Why do you care? Just worry about yourself.”

Sehun frowned at her, “Hey, I said I’m just curious. You don’t have to be so mean.”

Biting her lower lip she spent the rest of the time ignoring him. When she drove up to his campus he said as he got out, “I’ll get home on my own later. And don’t be angry for too long. People will think bad of you.”

Namjoo listened to the door close and immediately drove off without even looking back to see if Sehun had walked away safely. She was now even more annoyed with herself. Groaning, she sped off.

The rest of her day was spent sitting in the library, drinking coffee, snacking on sweets from the vending machine, and skimming through what felt like hundreds of books. She napped every time she felt sleepy and would wake up to students packing up and leaving. It wasn’t very long before she was one of the few left at the tables. By then she’d only cited four of the ten sources required for her paper. It was 11PM when she glanced at the clock on the laptop. Yawning, she gently slapped the back of her neck in hopes of staying awake. One more source, she promised herself, then she’d go home. Her attention span was veered when someone walked by her table and dropped a piece of white paper down in front of her. Looking up Namjoo spotted a young girl her age.

“Someone outside wanted me to give this to you,” she explained then walked away. Namjoo watched her go with a frown then snatched the note. Opening it up Namjoo read “I know you’re hungry. Don’t starve that stomach and come out.”

At first she thought Lee Chul but quickly shot that scenario down. She knew this handwriting.

Packing up she returned the unneeded books and rode the elevator down to the lobby. The first thing she heard as she walked out the doors was, “What took you so long?”

Sehun turned to look at her with wrist held up. He’d been looking at his watch, probably timing her. The irritancy that had cooped itself up within her chest that morning was now long gone. She didn’t mind seeing him right now. The one thing on her mind was why he was here.

Walking over Sehun grabbed the books in her hands from her then reached for something on the ground beside his feet. A bag of takeout landed in her arms, the stench of Chinese food hitting her nose immediately.

“I bet you thought saving those few dollars of yours will come in handy later, so you skipped dinner, isn’t that right?” he asked sitting down on the stairs. “If your stomach growls by the time you get home, the lecture your mom will give you won’t be the end of it. I guarantee it.”

Scoffing with a smile Namjoo sat down beside him and began taking out the food. Oh Sehun was her one and only best friend in this whole wide world, whom she trusted with her heart and soul. If he continued being this good to her, how could she stop herself from falling for him?

“How’d you get here?” Namjoo asked digging into the food.

“My girlfriend dropped me off,” Sehun proudly announced. Namjoo felt the noodles passing through her lips drop back into the carton stunned. “Seona.”

***My short evaluation: Both Sehun and Namjoo are starting to become mature adults. Sehun realizes that as he chooses other things in life he begins losing what he currently has - such example as he doesn't have dinner with Namjoo and her family anymore while sitting alone and pondering over life. This is a stage where he also hopes Namjoo does what he does for her, like waiting for him to get home when he's out late and keeping him company like he does for her. He realizes they're drifting as they begin planning for their own careerpaths, so he spends the morning trying to be with her but it backfires because Namjoo's caught up with her emotions of trying to stay in just a friendship with him - only her heart doesn't stay in check. By the end of the chapter Namjoo is suddenly ok because she's gotten the air needed from him - for her, it's like she only needs a few minutes of Sehun in her life a day in order to stay sane or else everything in her world will revolve around only him and she can't possibly see anyone else. Namjoo's already ahead in the stage of love but between a sense of denial and endearment while Oh Sehun may only see Namjoo as his lifetime friend he's also greedy for her attention and dedication to him, but he doesn't realize this yet. Hence, he keeps getting curious about what goes down between her and Lee Chul when they meet up. Remember his "My Namjoo?" He was not ready for Chul's confession and here he isn't too keen about hearing that he went to see Namjoo at school or that they had dinner together - recall Sehun expected to hear that Chul came to the park from Namjoo's house, not from dinner with her. Anyway, it's just my two cents on the characters and this story.

***Thank you guys for the comments <333 Now that I think about it, I'm actually Yunyeong in this story xDDD I just realized a similar thing happened in the past to me 

***Oh...I have so much planned but it's taking so long to write. Sorry for the super late update. I've been super busy trying to find another job so I won't have to work nights anymore :( I realized I just can't do it anymore /cries a little/ I couldn't update much this week, sorry guys.