Chasing Her

Chapter 10

Ah Reum was not sure how she ended up in this situation. What were the odds that two of the people she was avoiding, the entire day, to be precise, had caught her at such a ridiculously perfect time? Wasn’t the entire point of her being somewhere unbeknownst to them so that she would not have to deal with two skirmishes in one day? It was frustrating, to say the least. Ah Reum had to fight back the urge to groan at the sudden turn of events. She had spent so much of her life dashing after others and facing their wrath for doing so. Now that it was her turn to be chased, she wasn’t sure how to react.

Should she be happy?

After all, it wouldn’t be so bad to let herself succumb to a feeling she had never known. Baekhyun would probably scold her head off until the ends of the earth for undermining his feelings once again, but this and that were different. ‘In what way?’ some would wonder. In fact, for a while, she wondered why she concluded that Baekhyun’s feelings were nothing close to infatuation; however, as time passed, and of course, after much deliberation, Ah Reum figured it out. If Baekhyun was truly attracted to her, he would’ve never given up without a fight. He would’ve stayed resilient like she once was when she was pining for Sehun’s affections. Rejection or not, he should’ve tried to sway her—make her understand what was so special about her and how amazing things could have been if she had given him a chance. It wasn’t so often that Ah Reum would think about Baekhyun in this way, but considering it now, if her life was any normal, her and Baekhyun would’ve been happy together. Sure, they both have their demons breathing down on their necks, but they would’ve made an incredible team.

Even so, that had never happened.

The one time he supposedly confessed, he had given up soon afterward. As much as Ah Reum pretended to be clueless about his feelings back then because she didn’t want to hurt him and make him feel as if she was using him in an attempt to make Sehun jealous, she was rather disheartened that he had easily backed away from a ‘what-if’. It caused unwanted feelings within her to erupt. At the time, she wondered if she was really that painless to let go of. If Baekhyun could give up on her without wavering for another second, just how effortlessly could her father have given up on her? Did he see her face and then determine he wanted no part in watching her grow up? Was her birth the reason why he had left her mother? Regardless of how many times she asked her father for reassurance and his side of the story, she could not help but presume that everything was her fault. Yes, he was in her life now, and the thought itself makes her feel happy when she wakes up. However, he could vanish again at any second, any day, like she meant nothing after all.

Granted, it wasn’t only her father that made her feel that way. He was unquestionably the first person to turn their back on her, but he wasn’t the last. He definitely wasn’t the last, yet it was his absence that had the biggest effect on her.

The thought of him made her feel exposed anywhere she went, whether it be at school, Sehun’s house, or at a restaurant celebrating her birthday with one of her mom’s friends because her mother was trapped at work. Whenever she was placed in that state, Ah Reum would hesitantly pick at her food as her company would eat, ask her about how old she was now a total of six hundred times, because apparently, her becoming a year older was such an enthralling topic to discuss, and bring up her father and what a ‘bad man’ he was for leaving her mother and her. She would never make sure that Ah Reum would not be wounded by her words; she just said what she felt like saying, and while Ah Reum found it refreshing that the woman had no filter, there were times when she preferred it that the woman would’ve said nothing at all. Unlike the other people her mother brought into her life, she didn’t watch her words around her nor sugarcoat them.

Being brought to Sehun’s house never made her feel comfortable during her childhood. It was amusing that her mother had friends she could talk to, but seeing their family intact was difficult for her, especially when in her household, there was just the two of them. In Sehun’s house, every day seemed to be so blissful. There was the usual sibling banter between Sehun and Seo Ah, and Shin Ae and Daeyong looked like a newlywed despite being married to one another for 10 years. Compared to her two-person household, they seemed more like a family.

Distracting thoughts aside, what on earth was Ah Reum supposed to do? Should she feign ignorance to the company of the two people currently sipping tea with her mother in the living room and make a run for her bedroom?

For the old her, that would’ve been the go-to solution. That or doing something outrageous like trying to climb through the vent or make a whole scene so that their unwanted guests would leave. Unfortunately, none of those options were ideal for this circumstance. One, because her mother had made sure the vent would no longer be used for any of her shenanigans, and two, because those two guests would simply appreciate her acting just to avoid them.

Ah Reum huffed, gently slapping her cheeks as she gazed at her reflection in the transparent, white water. She fathomed, a bit too late, that she was getting too immersed in her thoughts that her mother and their guests would most likely assume that she wasn’t just washing her face. If it were any other visitor, Ah Reum would take all the time in the world just so she wouldn’t have to face them, but these two were not just any visitors. They were beings that held pieces of her heart that she could never admit to anyone else. Not even to Seulgi or to Baekhyun, who would scream at her for calling him at an absurd time just to tell him that there was someone else in her heart. God, she missed Baekhyun.

More than five minutes had passed while she had been pacing across their abnormally large bathroom. Each step made her feel more and more nauseous, but she willed herself to stay calm. She knew that once she left the security of their bathroom, she would have to make sure neither of them would catch onto her tenseness. Ah Reum would not give them the gratification of catching her at an off time, especially when she’s livid with both of them and would fancy not having to see them again for another month.

Ah Reum hesitantly turned the doorknob, anticipating and expecting no one would be there. Luckily, it was neither Yixing nor Sehun that obstructed her way, but rather her mother.

The older woman smiled as she patted her on the shoulder. Ah Reum didn’t like that look one bit. She knew exactly what it meant. She had been the victim of that look for oh so many years.

Ah Reum raised an eyebrow. “Mom?”

“Yes, dear?” Her mother chirped in response; a look of innocence splattered on her still youthful complexion. It was an expression that told her not to pry, but Ah Reum being Ah Reum, she was obviously going to snoop.

She frowned. “Is there something wrong?”

Jiyoung, in turn, smiled knowingly as she placed a finger on Ah Reum’s nose. “Ah, I never thought I’d see the day that my daughter would have two suitors come to our lovely abode in hopes of becoming her lover.” Her mother gazed longingly at the ceiling, sighing as she motioned to wipe a tear from her eye. “My beautiful, amazing, kind-hearted daughter.”

Ah Reum couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Her mother’s theatrics were…quite eccentric. “Mom,” she scolded. “What is this really about